our congregations should be taught||ister, in the performance of this important duty. How many are constantly engaged in providing for the temporal welfare of their offspring, without seeming to take any interest in the salvation of their souls. They permit them to pursue their vicious inclinations and evil propensities, without pretending to exercise any the fundamental principles and essential doctrines of our blessed religion, before they are confirmed and admitted to the communion of the church. Instances may occur, where it is proper for the minister to exercise his own judgment, in the admission of members, whom circumstances may have prevented from authority over them. They suffer learning the catechism, but he should them to grow up in ignorance and never dispense with a custom, which sin, without giving them any religious has been so long established and gen- instructions themselves, or encouraerally adopted in the church, unless ging others to do it. And when they peculiar circumstances render it ne- are charged with this neglect of ducessary. He should act upon the ty, they are often ready to excuse general principle of admitting none themselves, by saying, that they canto church membership, without hav- not force their children to become reing previously passed through a reg-ligious-that they do not wish to biular course of catechetical instruction. as their minds in favor of any particThis is an old established principle||ular creed-that they must wait unof our church; and we regret to say, that this principle is not universally adopted by our ministers. We have heard of instances, where pastors of our congregations have relinquished some of the good old customs of our most ancient protestant church, because they were spoken against by other denominations. These instances, however, where ministers of our church have endeavored to render themselves popular in this way, are but few. Our ministers, generally, are found diligent and faithful in the catechetical instruction of the youth of their congregations. til they have arrived at a sufficient age to choose for themselves, before they receive any religious instruction. These careful parents, consider it very wrong, that their children should attend catechisation while they are young. It might bias their minds in favor of their religion—it might lead them to their own church—it might have a tendency to establish them in their faith-no, they must be permitted to follow their own inclinations they must be indulged in their wicked pursuits-their hearts must first be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin-their minds must first be biBut the faithful endeavors of min-assed in favor of no religion at allisters are not sufficiently supported and then, after they have grown up by parents, who neglect their duty in in sin, and become accustomed to do this respect. This is a sore evil in evil, if peradventure, they should be our church. Parents, generally, are converted by the grace of God, they too regardless of the religious instruc- will experience religion and make tion of their children. How few are good christians. ready to aid the endeavors of the min Now the consequence of this mode of reasoning, which is adopted by too might favor us with a fuller account of his character and services. But as we have as yet, received no such account, we consider it proper to no This venerable partriarch of our Zion was one of the first apostles of Evangelical Lutheranism in America. He was a native of Germany, many parents, is, that thousands of children grow up as it were, in the very bosom of the church, without any serious religious impressions.tice his death more particularly, in And when they come to judge and our present number. act for themselves in the world, they have formed no moral principles, and established no religious characters; consequently, they have no security against the evil temptations to which and emigrated to this country at an they are constantly exposed. They are easily tempted to forsake the church of their fathers, and soon led astray by sectarian influence. And if churches are sometimes affected by these means, it is owing to the inexcusable negligence of parents, who have been altogether too regardless of the religious interests of their children. early period of his life, to share the privations and sufferings of the first laborers in our vineyard. Having devoted himself to the work of the ministry, he labored diligently to propagate the principles of our most holy faith, and promote the interests of our church in the United States. When our fathers were scattered through the wilderness like sheep Most solemnly, then, would we without a shepherd, he was engaged urge it upon every Lutheran parent, in preaching the gospel to the poor, to attend to the religious instruction in collecting the congregations and of their children;-and we urge it rearing the churches, which are now upon every pastor, carefully to feed occupied by his successors in the and watch over the lambs of his flock. work of the ministry. He was one Let both ministers and people unite of the first laborers, who planted and in preserving a custom of our church watered our vineyard in this country. which God hath so often approved by He suffered many of the inconvenhis blessing. Let the duty of cate-iences and hardships connected with chising the young people, and even its early history. In the war of the the children of our congregations, be revolution he was engaged as a chapfaithfully attended to, and the bles-lain in the army of Gen. Washingsing of God, will continue to attend us in our endeavors to promote the welfare of our Zion, and the salvation of our children. ton, and served his country in imploring the blessing of the Lord of hosts upon the patriot band, who, under God, achieved our national independence. After the close of the war, he was located as pastor in several of our congregations, and finally settled in Sharon, Schoharie County, where he died, as he had lived, full of faith Death of the Rev. Henry Maller. -We briefly noticed the death of this aged servant of God, in a former number, and expressed a hope, that some one better acquainted with the history of his life, than we were,||and holy confidence in the principles Editorial-The Avenger Stayed. 65 He of our blessed religion. To our rea-||tions. He felt deeply interested in ders who were personally acquainted our ecclesiastical proceedings, and atwith him, it is unnecessary to speak tended our meetings as often as cirhis praise. Those who knew him-cumstances would permit. But on who have seen and heard him, both earth he will meet us no more. in public and in private, the same hath gone before us, and when we eminently pious and devoted minis- shall follow him, may our last end ter of Jesus Christ, know how to ap- be like his-when we shall have preciate his long, faithful and success-fought the good fight, and finished ful labors in the cause of his divine our course, may we like this veteran Master. He was universally belov- soldier of the cross fall gloriously in ed and respected. He was the most the arms of victory. inoffensive, harmless, upright and pious old man we ever knew. He Selected. possessed the most childlike disposi- From the Spirit and Manners of the Age. tion we ever witnessed. He could expose the transgressions of his hear fields of roses, and the stream cover ed with the lotus: but if a land be romantic in proportion as it differs from all that is common place and usual, romance should take up her abode in the arctic circle. THE AVENGER STAYED. It is to the East that the romantic ers and yet conciliate their favor.-imagination most delights to wander He could reprove and admonish, and -to the lands of nature's throne-to yet gain the affections of the offend- vineyards, and palm-groves, and er; and if he had an enemy on earth, we never heard of it; and we believe that he was unconscious of it himself, for he suspected no one, and was by all unsuspected. He performed the active duties of his proThere the phenomena occasioned fession, until he was prevented by tion almost supernatural: refraction by the temperature, are of a descripthe infirmities of old age. His talentirely prevents the eye from measents as a preacher, were not brilliant, uring distances; some things appear but highly edifying to his hearers.-close at hand, which are far distant; In his sermons, he mostly treated of all at once, by some mist, a line of practical and experimental religion, coast, nearly out of sight before, is brought apparently within gun shot; which, on all occasions, he endeav- at another time, the sky itself beored to inculcate as the first duties of comes a mirror, in which are distinctthe christian minister. He was ly reflected objects far below the horstrongly attached to the distinguish-izon: objects are perpetually changing doctrines and principles of our ing in apparent form, as if the whole church, and when he was assailed by mountains of ice-ice-bergs rising were enchanted. There are high persecutors, he earnestly contended hundreds of feet above the sea :for the faith delivered to the saints. there winter, in apparent mockery of After his bodily infirmities had com- man, forms temples, domes, minapelled him to relinquish the pastoral rets, with their spires, and porticos, and columns. The flashing auroras station, he expressed his ardent wish-dart from ice to ice; there are stues, and did not cease to pray for the pendous ice-bridges stretching over welfare of the church of his affec-frightful chasms; winter, compared with which, all other winters are un-de: his diary is full of interesting indeserving the name; and a summer, formation, conveyed in a most simple which, for the short period of its du- and Christian style. The following ration, surpasses the effects of a trop- is an instance of peculiar interest, in ical summer; one long day, without which, beneath the sacred influence a night, in which the sun drives of the Spirit of Christ, the heart of round the heaven without decline, the lion became the heart of the lamb. and in which plants spring up, flower, seed, and a new species appears, in a period almost incredibly short. This land, where nature appears to our ideas most unnatural, was inhabited by a race of men whose whole employment consisted in fishing, in hunting the arctic animals, and in procuring oil and blubber; their whole amusement in gluttony, when the means were in their power; and their whole religion in some confused ideas of the Great Spirit, whose only priests were the conjurers or necromancers. It has ever been a fixed law in Greenland, that murder, and particularly the murder of a father, must be avenged. About twenty years before the arrival of Saabye, a man was murdered with circumstances of great atrocity, in the presence of his son, a boy of about thirteen years of age;he was too young to defend his father, but he did not forget the debt which was due to the murderer. He had quitted that part of the country, and for five-and-twenty years the secret fire burnt within his bosom, waiting only for a fit opportunity to burst forth the murderer was a man high in influence, with many around him to defend him, and the avenger was afraid to attack him; but he finally succeeded in persuading a number of his relations to accompany him, and they passed with him over to the province of the murderer, who lived near Saabye, for the purpose of executing their vengeance. The first man whose heart was touched by Christian pity for these out-casts from the rest of the world, was the celebrated Hans Egede. He quitted his home, and the comforts of civilized life, to dwell in the midst of savages, who, in return, gave him nothing but insult. For seventeen years this devoted man and his associates labored without a single convert; and during the greater part of The Greenlanders occupy their the time, the natives lost no opportu- houses in the winter only: they quit nity of making him as uncomfortable them for their short summer, and reas possible; but afterwards he saw turn the following winter to any enough to repay his toil. He had which may be unoccupied for a till then, preached only the fall of house does not always belong to any man, and such parts of Christianity particular family, but to the firstas he considered should be first un-comers. There was no house in derstood but he resolved to change his method, and taking all these things for granted, he preached a Saviour crucified; and, as if in honor to such preaching, from that hour, converts came rapidly into the Christian church. which the son could enter, as they were full, except one that belonged to Saabye :-this he asked for; and Saabye, although he knew the purpose for which he had come with his relations, took no notice of it at that time, but granted his request. The Danes have since kept a mis- They soon took possession, and the sion there, although on a very inade-son went afterwards to thank Saabye quate scale, and many excellent men for his kindness, and very frequently have been employed in it; among repeated his visits: he apologized for them was Hans Egede Saabye, a their frequency at one of them, by grandson of the celebrated Hans Ege- saying, "You are so amiable, I can The Avenger Stayed, not keep away from you." Two or three weeks afterwards, he said, "I should like to know something about that great Lord of heaven, who, you say, created all things, and some of my relations wish to learn too." His request was granted, and it appeared that ten or twelve who had come with him wished for instruction. catechist was sent to live with them, and their progress was very satisfactory; the son, in particular, often left his fishing for the purpose of receiving instruction, and he soon resolved to ask for baptism. A As the spring advanced, his desire increased; and in the month of May he went to Saabye to solicit it, when the following conversation passed between them : Kunnuk, (this was his name.)Will you baptize me? You know that I am obedient. I know God; and my wife, as well as I, wishes to become a believer. Saabye. Yes, you know God; you know that he is good, that he loves you, and desires to make you happy; but he desires that you shall obey him, K. I love him; I will obey him. S. If you wish to obey him, you must kill nobody. You know that you have often heard his command, "Thou shalt do no murder.' (He appeared affected and silent.) Hear me, good Kunnuk. I know that you have come here with your relations to avenge the murder of your father; but this you must not do, if you wish to became a believer, K. (agitated.) But he murdered my father! I saw it, and could not help him; I must now punish him for his crime. S. You grieve me! S. That you will murder. 67 Have you forgotten how often during this winter, you have heard his command," Revenge not thyself, neither give place to wrath; vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord?" K. Shall, then, the wicked murder with impunity? S. No, that he shall not; God will punish him. K. When? S. Perhaps in this world, but certainly at the day of judgment, when he will reward every one according to his deeds. K. That is so long; my countrymen and relations will blame me, if I do not avenge my father. S. If you did not know the will of God, I should say nothing; but now I must not be silent. K. This is hard! what shall I do then? S. You shall not kill him: you shall even pardon him. K. Pardon him! your doctrine is very difficult. S. It is not mine, it is Christ's. (He sighed without replying.) Perhaps your father was not innocent; he too may have killed somebody. K. I do not know that; I only know this man deserves to die. S. Well, kill him! but remain an unbeliever, and expect that one day one of his children may kill you. K. You are amiable no longer ;— you speak hard words. S. Kunnuk, I love you, and therefore wish that you may not sin against God, who has caused you to be instructed, who will do justice to your adversary. K. Stay-I will speak to my relations. His relations urged him to the revenge, and that for days together ;and it could have been no common resolution which could resist their influence. Saabye visited them; and without taking any notice of the peculiar subject, he read to them parts S. But you must not kill even him of the scriptures, and also hymns, K. Only him who deserves to die. |