Not least among those who have builded the unseen but nobler city, and who have stamped their names indelibly upon human hearts and lives, even unto the third and fourth generation of its citizens, is John Chambers8. During forty-eight years he was pastor9 of the First Independent Church, whose second edifice10 stood from 1831 to 1899 on the site of the twenty-storied "sky-scraper" at Broad and Sansom streets.
Happily, in the eternal fitness of things, history and sentiment were not ignored in the uprearing of the mighty11 structure, whose cornice is not far from the clouds. In the two lower stories of the fa?ade is a happy reminder12 of the old brown stone church of pillared front. Most felicitously13 does memory find here a sermon in stone and a stimulus14 in architecture. Indeed, a former worshipper walking on the[2] other side of the street, who chanced to look no higher than the old familiar altitudes, might imagine that the house of prayer, with its Ionic columns, still stood to bless its worshippers. Even of the same hue15 and tint16 as in childhood's days, eight columns of fluted17 brown sandstone renew in verisimilitude the old architecture. Thus the mighty edifice enshrines upon its front, in imperishable masonry18, suggestions, at least, of former history.
To be exact, whereas there were in old times six round fluted Ionic columns, resting on high square bases, supporting a simple but imposing pediment, there are to-day eight front columns supporting an architrave, with two mightier19 upholding pillars within.
At first thought, men might be tempted20 to see in this colossal21 structure, whose roof is so much nearer the sky a symbol of "the power of the press," which is alleged22 to be more influential23 than the pulpit. One political gentleman whom I knew well—even he who in 1893, raised the stars and stripes over Hawaii—affirmed in my hearing, that "one newspaper was equal to three pulpits". Yes, but that depends on which newspaper and which pulpit. It is certain that in the eyes of some, printing machinery25 and type, and daily square miles of inked paper, for which whole forests have been destroyed, have more moral potency26 than worship, prayer, and preaching. Yet against this modern parable27 of the mustard seed become a tree, phenomenal and imposing, we have happily also the Master's parable of the leaven28, or of might unseen, of a kingdom coming "without observation". "Things seen", even when dazzling are not really as potent29 as those which transform the life. It could add little or nothing to the reputation of John Chambers, to put on paper with ink his words that kindled30 our souls. Yet, "did not our hearts burn within us" when we heard? Can[3] we forget them? Was not his a life unto life? "He being dead yet speaketh."
So then, whether standing31 in the shadow of the great edifice—typical of the soaring twentieth century—or setting foot on its roof high in air, many fathoms32 higher in the deeps of space than where once we sat or stood, and thence gazing upon the sea of humanity beneath, or over the great city set between the two silver streams, and ever fascinating and beautiful with boyhood's memories, let us stop to recall the past. Let us think of that busy and potent life of John Chambers (1797-1875), and of that First Independent Church (1825-1873), which, like a spiritual storage battery, still supplies the power that pulses in many thousand souls. Man and edifice, though vanished from earth, give by their visible potencies33 or inspiring memories, in churches and Sunday Schools, in hallowed homes and beautiful careers of men and women, even to the fourth generation, the shining and convincing evidence of an earthly immortality34, of life unto life. In the ever widening circles of eternity35, that unspent influence will be felt.
Let us now descend36 from the mountain to the plain. Until the first early autumn of the twentieth century, one could see also on the east side of Thirteenth Street, north of Market and within a few feet of Filbert Street, a four-sided, plain gray stone or marble post, in which even a casual passer-by could detect a survival. It was an old-timer, battered37, rubbed, and chipped. Evidently it had once been a hitching38 post. Then, after sundry39 paintings and daubings, it had served for various advertising40 purposes, setting forth41 the changing business carried on in the dwelling42 place itself, in front of which it stood, or, in the cellar of the same. The Belgian block pavements, the flagstone sidewalks, the great Reading Railway Terminal, not far away, and the lofty business edifices43 of steel and stone, with a[4] thousand modern suggestions, all seem by their contrast to suggest antiquity44 in that horse post, and possibly its descent from once more noble uses.
When, however, to the evidence of eyesight, was added the play of memory and imagination, then there rose upon the mind's vision the little brick church, the Church of the Vow45, that stood directly opposite, where John Chambers, master of hearts and transformer of human lives, wrought46 and taught. Within its now vanished walls the sunny pastor, the shining ornament47 in social life, the soul-stirring preacher, the unquailing soldier, who fought evil in every form, prayed, preached, and labored48 with men. Here he communicated quickening impulses not yet spent, but ever urging on to vaster issues. Yes, there is where the old church stood.
But this old battered horse-post,—so close by the curb49 stone as to wear ever fresh marks of tar24 and grease from passing wagon50 wheel hubs—what has it to do with John Chambers and the First Independent Church of Philadelphia, which is almost forgotten before a brood of lusty children and vigorous grandchildren that now train thousands in the ways of holiness? Especially may we ask the question, since the church and the post were on opposite sides of the street, here a few feet wide.
Well, hereto hangs not only a tale, but literally51, there hung a chain, with associations. Before the First Independent Church—that church which, according to scripture52 and reality, though not in common parlance53, is not an edifice, but a company of believers—was formed, in 1825, there stood at Thirteenth and Filbert streets, a comparatively new building. It had been reared in fulfilment of a vow made during a storm on the Atlantic by a holy woman of prayer, whose life was saved. Those who carried out her purpose were Irish refugees, seeking freedom in America.[5] Being intense Sabbatarians, they would have no sound of passing wheel or hoof54 on the Lord's Day, for theirs was the age, also, of Delaware river cobble stones, and of iron tires. No pneumatic or sound deadening rubber-swathed wheels existed then. Hence, to warn off all matutinal disturbers of the solemnity of worship, and evening passers on wheels, an iron chain was stretched across the street, guarding either side, north or south, of the holy edifice. Thus, in quiet, the people within could worship God. The same rule held in other neighborhoods as in this congregation, and in front of the Presbyterian church edifice at Fourth and Arch, as the pictures show, a similar stout55 iron chain was stretched. It was the rule in Sabbath-keeping Philadelphia, according to the vigorous law of 1798.
Philadelphia was, early in the last century, a little place, of only tens of thousands, and so long as there were but few churches, the chains seemed appropriate. As the city grew, the problem for the firemen, mail wagons56, and ambulances increased. In time not a single street running north or south, even in case of a fire, was open to the firemen, who were apt to make quick work in removing obstacles. A snow storm of petitions, for and against the repeal57 of the Acts of 1798 and the removal of the street chains, fell on the legislature and the law ceased to be operative, March 15, 1830. The old stone posts remained and occasionally one may be recognized by the keen-eyed antiquarian in dear old Philadelphia.
Both the first and second edifices, in which John Chambers labored in the Gospel, have been levelled and their sites built upon. That old post, effective Sabbath guardian58, has gone; the First Independent Church, in edifice or organization, is no more. Nevertheless, its spirit lives. Like Huldah's home, our old church in its "second quarter" was a "college," and, fellow alumni, we shall try to tell the story[6] of our Alma Mater, "mother of us all," and sketch59 the life and work of the great and good man, with whom the First Independent Church began, continued, and ended. Both church and pastor have become as leaven that transforms, and in leavening60 is itself transformed,—lost to form and view, while yet potent. "The eagle's cry is heard even after its form disappears behind the mountain," says the Chinese proverb.
The "three measures of meal" still abide61. From them is still supplied the bread of life to thousands. To change from metaphor62 to facts that are as hard as stone, and as enduring as human character, there are, first in point of time, the Bethany Mission Sunday-school and the Bethany Presbyterian Church; the John Chambers Memorial Church, an offshoot and outgrowth from the Bethany Church; the Presbyterian Church at Rutledge, Pa.; the St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in West Philadelphia; and the magnificent edifice and active congregation of the Chambers-Wylie Memorial Church on Broad below Pine Street, which enshrines the name not only of John Chambers, but of T. W. J. Wylie—two noble preachers of the gospel, sons of thunder and also of consolation63.
Shall we attempt to measure influence, by even suggesting how three churches, one Presbyterian, one Baptist, and one Lutheran grew up out of the early prayer meetings before 1840, sustained chiefly by John Chambers' young men? Shall we hint at the missionary64 and educational impulses given at "the ends of the earth" by missionaries65, or of lives nourished or transformed in our home land by the forty or more ministers of the gospel, who call John Chambers their father in God?
Nay66, our dear under-shepherd himself, were he with us, would say, "Not unto us O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake."
Nisi Dominus Frustra.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
throngs
|
|
| n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
imposing
|
|
| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
chestnut
|
|
| n.栗树，栗子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
northward
|
|
| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
crest
|
|
| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
Founder
|
|
| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
makers
|
|
| n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
chambers
|
|
| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
pastor
|
|
| n.牧师，牧人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
edifice
|
|
| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
reminder
|
|
| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
felicitously
|
|
| adv.恰当地，适切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
stimulus
|
|
| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
hue
|
|
| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
tint
|
|
| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
fluted
|
|
| a.有凹槽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
masonry
|
|
| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
mightier
|
|
| adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
colossal
|
|
| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
alleged
|
|
| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
influential
|
|
| adj.有影响的，有权势的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
tar
|
|
| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
potency
|
|
| n. 效力，潜能 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
parable
|
|
| n.寓言，比喻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
leaven
|
|
| v.使发酵；n.酵母；影响 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
potent
|
|
| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
kindled
|
|
| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
fathoms
|
|
| 英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
potencies
|
|
| n.威力( potency的名词复数 )；权力；效力；（男人的）性交能力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
immortality
|
|
| n.不死，不朽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
eternity
|
|
| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
battered
|
|
| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
hitching
|
|
| 搭乘； （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的现在分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
sundry
|
|
| adj.各式各样的，种种的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
advertising
|
|
| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
edifices
|
|
| n.大建筑物( edifice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
antiquity
|
|
| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
vow
|
|
| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
ornament
|
|
| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
labored
|
|
| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
curb
|
|
| n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
wagon
|
|
| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
scripture
|
|
| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
parlance
|
|
| n.说法；语调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
hoof
|
|
| n.(马，牛等的)蹄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
wagons
|
|
| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
repeal
|
|
| n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
guardian
|
|
| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
sketch
|
|
| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
leavening
|
|
| n.酵母，发酵，发酵物v.使（面团）发酵( leaven的现在分词 )；在…中掺入改变的因素 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
abide
|
|
| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
metaphor
|
|
| n.隐喻，暗喻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
missionary
|
|
| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
missionaries
|
|
| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
nay
|
|
| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |