PAGE 216: CHAPTER VI
succeeding Sabbath, he preached in the Middle
Church, in Nassau-street, to a large and attentive
auditory, from 1 Cor, L 22, 23, 24 — For the Jews
require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
but unto them which are called both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom
of God: — and having delivered this introductory
sermon, he was then acknowledged, in a suitabie
manner, by the Rev. Messrs Ritzema and De
Ronde, and Dr. Laidlie and the Consistory — one
of the ministers of the Reformed Dutch Church
of New-York,
Dr. Livingston commenced the discharge of his
pastoral duties with great diligence and zeal. He
assumed at once a full share of pulpit and parochial
labours; preaching regularly twice on the Sabbath,
making visits among the people, and attending two,
and sometimes three, catechetical exercises every
week — an amount of service, it will be admitted by
all who are competent judges of the matter, which
few young men, under similar circumstances, would
have had the courage to undertake, and fewer still
the ability satisfactorily to fulfil. But though only
just settled in a populous city, where interruptions
to study and occasional avocations, not always of
|
PAGE 217: CHAPTER VI
a professional nature, are numerous and unavoidable; though connected with a large congregation
whose situation was a little peculiar, provided with
few sermons, and associated with colleagues of established character, as judicious and able preachers,
he did not hesitate to attempt his part, and he performed it to general acceptance.
The fervour of pious feeling which he uniformly
discovered, both in and out of the pulpit; his affectionate, dignified, and prudent deportment; and
the style of his preaching, novel, yet plain and forcible, admirably calculated to engage attention, to
alarm the consciences of sinners, and particularly
to comfort and build up believers in faith and holiness, rendered him indeed in a high degree, beloved
and popular. His labours, if arduous and weighty,
were pleasant. Blessed with a number of godly
and devoted friends, who sincerely and constantly
prayed for him, and by various little attentions or
expressions of kind solicitude, encouraged without
flattering him, he was cheered and sustained in his
work: blessed, too, with a coadjutor (Dr. Laidlie)
who was well acquainted with the state of the congregation and who was, at any time, ready to afford
him all the counsel and assistance in his power, he
|