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Account of Monies received by the Treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of the United States.

1825.

Dec. 1. From Dea. Benjamin Prescott, Treas urer of the Dublin (N. H.) Society auxiliary to the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, for the Burman Mission, 850, and for Indian Stations in this country, g30,

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80,00

12,36

100,00

7,00

1,00

3. From Female Mite Soeiety, Dedham, for Carey Station, by Mrs. Adlam, 8. From Worcester County Mission and Education Society, by Rev. A. Fisher, jr. Treasurer, From Mrs. H. Bassett, 82; Mrs M. Leonard, 85, by Rev. Mr. Leonard, for Indian School at Carey Station, 14. From a friend, by Mrs. Hope, 15. From Mrs. Sally Howe, Treasurer of the Female Baptist Society of Hillsborough, N. H. for Foreign Missions, by the hand of Mr. Stow, 8,00 20. From Female Union Missionary Society of Perth Amboy, N. J. for the Carey Station, by G. A. Brinley, Secretary,

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30,00

8233,36

H. LINCOLN, Treasurer.

POETRY.

LINES

ON SEEING THE PICTURE OF A LOVELY
GIRL WHO WAS DEAF AND DUMB.

IMAGE of loveliness! that look
Is melting to the heart,

And scarcely can our feelings brook,
To think of what thou art.

The softened smile upon that cheek,
The brow with beauty hung,

The beaming eyes might seem to speak,
But silence seals the tongue.

And is it so, that ear of thine,
May never know the voice
Of tenderness, and truth divine,
Source of a thousand joys?

Oh! shall it never drink the tones

Of fond parental love,

Whose echoes every bosom owns,
Like music from above?

What mournful mystery must rest
On all thine eyes can see,

What thoughts, what feelings be supprest,
That might have woke in thee!

Yet let us not arraign the will
Of Him who reigns on high:
Ye murmurs of the heart be still,
Ye tears of grief be dry.

He whose unfathomed wisdo. brings
Out good unknown to us,
Sovereign of all created things,
Ordained it should be the s

And who can tell what designs

Of mercy, working deep,

Like treasures wrought from hidden mines,
May burst on those who weep?

Not without end, the sentient mind,
Within this breathing frame,

Of silent beauty was enshrined-
But to exalt His Name.

Tho' deaf the ear, and mute the tongue,
Read in that speaking eye,

Thoughts from the inward fountain sprung,
Of Immortality.

Deem ye the spirit stirring there,

Impatient of its clay;

That pants with kindred minds to share
Knowledge' enlivening ray :

The feeling heart, the active mind,
So instant to perceive,

So prompt to search, so quick to find,
To gladden or to grieve:

Deem ye that spirit may not live,
When mortal scenes are o'er;

The bursting of its bonds survive,
And into freedom soar?

Oh! to Eternal Love be just!
Eternal Wisdom own;

When dust has crumbled back to dust,

To spirit, spirit flown:

Amid the innumerable throng,

Whose harps are strung on high,

This lovely mute may raise her song,
Of richest harmony.

Ransomed from sin, released from thrall,
Unbound in glory's sphere,

How rich must Heaven's own music fall
On her immortal ear.

Yes, child of silence and of hope!
Thro' a Redeemer's love,

Thy powers may have a nobler scope,
In worlds of bliss above!

To Correspondents." Lines to a little Orphan Girl,” in our next.

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In our last Number we brought || bly settle with them. Two considthe Memoir to the time of Doctor erations, however, had an influence Baldwin's arrival in Boston. We shall proceed with the events connected with his settlement in this

city.

in determining his mind to this city. One was, that he wished to reside where he could give himself wholly to the work. This was the Dr. Baldwin, as we have related,|| great object for which he wished to preached his first sermon on proba- remove at all. For this, Boston tion in the church of which he af- appeared the most eligible situation. terwards became the pastor, July He perceived that here nothing was 4, 1790. In the beginning of Au- expected of a minister but what begust, some indications of a revival || longed to parochial concerns. This began to appear in the congrega- to him was a most desirable considtion. These daily increased, until eration. Connected with this, the a very considerable number were special attention which appeared heard with deep solemnity to in- among the young people at this time quire, What shall we do to be sav- had great weight upon his mind. ed? The interest excited by his He sincerely believed that there public labours was very general; was a greater prospect of usefulness and on the 22d of August the Church here than in any country town and Society, by an unanimous vote, whatsoever. Besides these considinvited him to become their pastor.erations it may be remarked, that As we have before stated, Dr. a striking coincidence of events Baldwin had previously received an invitation to become the pastor of the Baptist church in Hampton, Conn. and also another from the church in Sturbridge, Mass. With the appearance of this latter society he was much pleased, and for some time thought that he should probaJAN. 1826.

connected with his first coming to this city, seemed to point out the path of duty too plainly to be mistaken. Under these circumstances, though with much trembling, he gave,fon the 18th of September, 1790, an affirmative answer to the invitation.

6

Dr. Baldwin was in consequence | years of age; a time of life beyond

which men do not generally make much advancement in knowledge. All the resources upon which, depending on the grace of God, he could rely in this arduous situation, were sincere desires to be useful, native vigour of mind, a fixed resolution to prepare himself for the duties to which Providence had

installed on the 11th of November following. The services were performed in the meeting-house of the Rev. Dr. ELIOT, which was kindly offered for the purpose. The Rev. Dr. STILLMAN, then Pastor of the First Baptist Church of this city, preached from 2 Cor. iv. 7. For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the pow-called him, and we may add, a er may be of God and not of us. store of sound reflections on theolThe Rev. Dr. SMITH, of Haverhill, ogy, an intuitive knowledge of hudelivered the Charge; the Rev. man nature, and sagacity in reTHOMAS GREEN, of Cambridge, marking the workings of the human presented the Right Hand of Fel- || heart. lowship; and the Rev. JOSEPH GRAFTON, of Newton, the venerable and the only survivor, offered the concluding prayer. The day was pleasant, the services highly interesting, and the assembly numerous and respectable.*

We are now called to contem- || plate the subject of this Memoir under circumstances very different from those with which his ministry commenced. From the frontier settlements of New Hampshire, where almost the whole of his life had been spent, he was removed at once to the centre of a polite and literary metropolis, and was placed by the side of men whose praise had long been in all the churches, and whose lives had been devoted to academic learning. Probably the pulpits of this city have never since been more ably filled. Drs. LATHROP, ELIOT, HOWARD, BELKNAP and THACHER were the minis ters of the Congregational churches, and Dr. STILLMAN, probably the most eloquent and most universally beloved clergyman that Boston has ever seen, was his immediate fellow labourer. His early advantages for education were, as we have seen, but scanty. Constant labour had left him but little opportunity to improve them. He was now 38

* Dr. Baldwin's Discourse preached on the first Sabbath in January, 1824; with an Appendix, containing an Historical Sketch of the Church and Society.

For this situation, Dr. Baldwin proved himself manifestly equal. And his success at least proves one thing, that a man of sense is at home any where. He here commenced that course of judicious theological and critical study, which laid the foundation of his extensive reputation, and which enabled him not only to serve the church in the pulpit, but also still more extensively to illustrate and defend her doctrines through the medium of the press.

The ministry of Dr. Baldwin was at its commencement in this city unusually blest. The revival which began whilst he was preaching as a candidate, continued without much interruption for two years. To the second and first Baptist churches more than 100 were added during the year 1790. In 1791, additions were made every month, sometimes to the number of nearly 20. The whole number added to the 2d church this year was about 70.

At the time of Dr. Baldwin's installation, the number of members whose names were recorded on the books of the church was 90. Of these, many were unknown and had been long forgotten. The present number of the church is about 450. During Dr. Baldwin's ministry, he baptized more than 670 who were the fruits of his ministry in this city.

Of his life, from the time of his

settlement to his death, very few || themselves neglected by the world. records are extant. The history of He was their minister. To him

they could unburden their sorrows; to him could they as to a father unbosom the overflowings of their penitence. He it was whom they wish

hour of their departure, and to commit the dust of their friends to its lone and silent grave.

a clergyman, who devotes himself to the appropriate labours of his office, is of course barren of incidents which would interest the world. It is the plain and reitera-ed to see at their bedside in the ted account of studies and visits and conversations and preaching, in which week after week has in rapid succession been consumed. His world is the people of his charge, or to speak still more truly and with still nicer restriction, it is that people seen only in the light of their moral relations. The changes in these relations are so gradual, that generally the minister himself, can hardly estimate them with- || out comparing attentively and at leisure two pretty distant periods. To describe these slowly moving revolutions, the means by which they were produced, or the results by which they were made manifest, would savour of egotism, or frequently of senility. In this unos tentatious labour is the time of a minister of Christ usually and most profitably employed. Unseen, and noiseless as the evening dew, his influence descends upon the people of his charge; and after his sun has set and another has arisen, its effects are most visibly acknowledged in the moral loveliness of a succeeding generation.

Such was the general tenor of Dr. Baldwin's ministry. He was a faithful, affectionate, and devoted pastor. No man was perhaps ever more tenderly beloved by his church and congregation. Nor was his usefulness confined at all to these. He was for the part of the city in which he lived, appropriately the minister of the poor, and of those who but for him, might have said, No man careth for our souls. In the chamber of sickness and the house of death, he was emphatically at home. His amiable deportment, venerable appearance, and unassuming piety, rendered him the peculiar favourite of those who felt

But not to this city alone was the usefulness of Dr. Baldwin restricted. Under his fostering hand, many of the churches in this vicinity arose, and by his parental care were they sustained. And it is no small praise both to his piety and to his ability, that they drank so universally into his spirit. He had the faculty, the true evidence of greatness, of forming other men into his own likeness. And hence it is that his character has left so broad an impression upon all this part of New England. The standard of the pulpit rose in his own denomination every where around him. He assisted the young of his brethren in their attempts to acquire the advantages of education. He set before them an example of simple, unaffected piety. He was a man of peace, and hushed all their contentions, until in his vicinity contention was wholly forgotten. In few places of our country, perhaps, is there so great a degree of harmony existing as in the associations of which Dr. Baldwin was a prominent member. This fact all will unite in ascribing to his meek, patient, wise, and upright precept and example.

It was in labours such as these that his life was principally consumed. There are, however, a few circumstances somewhat more deserving a particular notice.

We have alluded to the revival of religion which was witnessed during the two first years of his settlement. After this subsided, the church continued for some time to advance with the growth which usually attends the faithful dispensa

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tion of the word and ordinances of || half from its commencement, that

the gospel. In the year 1797, the congregation had so much increased, that it was found necessary to enlarge their place of worship. This work was completed and the house re-opened on the 30th of November, in that year. A sermon was preached by the Pastor on the occasion, from Psalm cxxii. 7, 8, 9. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces, &c. And although the addition comprised two sevenths of the whole house, yet the pews were soon taken up, and the house became as full as before the enlargement was made.

it could be considered to have terminated. During this period. the first church received 135, and the second 212; in all, 347 members.

We cannot, whilst referring to this work of grace, omit a few extracts from the remarks which accompany the narrative to which we have alluded. We do it to illus→ trate the nature of the religious impressions then made upon the minds of the multitudes, who thronged the houses of worship, as well as to show the sound discretion of him whom God used as one of the principal instruments of their conver

sion.

"This work," he remarks, "has, we believe, been carried on with as little noise and confusion as any of equal extent which has ever taken place in our land. We are far from thinking that there cannot be a good work where there is a consid

In the year 1803, a second revival of religion, and the most remarkable that was witnessed during Dr. Baldwin's ministry in this city, occurred. It extended to both the first and second, then the only Baptist churches in Boston, and its results were felt also in the church-erable mixture of enthusiasm ; but es of other denominations. It is perhaps not too much to say, that the happy change in the religious views of a large portion of professing Christians in this city, may date its origin very evidently from this event. It continued for more than two years, and a very great number were the subjects of its salutary influences.

The particular account of this work of the Holy Spirit, may be found in the 1st vol. of the American Baptist Magazine, 1st series, numbers for September, 1804, and September, 1805. To these we must refer our readers, as the narrative would be too extended for our present purpose. It will only be proper here to remark, that the attention commenced simultaneously in both churches in the spring of 1803. In September, October, and November of that year, the attention was the most solemn. In September of 1804, though somewhat abated, it was still pleasing and interesting; and it was not till August, 1805, nearly two years and a

still we think it not very desirable. There has been little or no outcry, swooning, &c. in the present work. The mind has been silently yet powerfully impressed.

The converts in general have appeared to have a deep and thorough sense of the depravity of their own hearts, and of the infinite evil of sin as committed against a holy God. They have not so frequently expressed their fears of hell, as their dread of sin on account of the wrong which it contains in itself. Comfort has been variously communicated. The precious promises have in some instances been powerfully applied. Others on viewing the Divine character, have had instant joy infused into their souls. They have felt such a sweetness in meditating upon the perfections of God and the glories of the Redeemer, as apparently to lose sight of every thing else. In other instances, light has been gradually let into the mind, and they have obtained evidence of their change by finding within themselves the tem

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