AN ADEQUATE SUPPORT.

241

In another letter, written a little later, we find the following:

"Were we always suitably sensible of the all-sufficiency of God should we ever distrust his providence? But Ŏ, how much do I think of my wants! how little of my mercies! how much less of him that has given all that was good for me, and has promised to withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly.' I do not know but such anxious thoughts sometimes knock at brother B's door-for he has written once or twice about small salaries, dismission of ministers for want of adequate support, &c. But I believe my friend is some like one who formerly said, 'I have learned in whatsoever state therewith I am, to be content.' So he says to these knockers, 'There is no place for you in my house.' Keep 'em out, good brother, keep 'em out; the good hand of God which has fed you all your life long, will always have something to give you and yours, while it continues to feed the ravens. As to being dismissed for want of support, I suppose I might have been so dismissed ten times before now, if I could have found so many new places to settle in; but I think when I begin to feel a little uneasy, of an old proverb, ‘As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.' Though I have need enough of Christian resignation, yet it has been fixed in my mind ever since I entered upon the work of the ministry, that I should have no abiding city on this side heaven; that I should go whither and stay where my Master directs, and remove when he calls me away. I trust he sent me to this place; I came freely: I am willing to stay as long as he finds me employment and support here; and as willing to go whenever he calls me away. As to salaries, I believe it would be far better for ministers to preach them down than to preach them up -not so much by diminishing their demands, as by removing the causes of them. And what are those causes? Extravagance in consuming, and improvidence in securing the necessaries of life. And what are the causes of those causes? The extravagance and pride

242

HIS CONVERSATION AT HOME.

of the people. The former raises them above their ministers, the latter is ashamed to see them poor. Let ministers preach down these vices in their people, and they will live as well and be as useful, with a small salary as a large one. I call them vices, for I consider them so in their own nature, and the fruitful sources of the complaints both of ministers and people."

In his family, while Dr. Yale never put on the aspect of moroseness, he was always serious and sedate. He never said any thing silly or unbecoming his profession; but his conversation was always instructive and useful. He was always particularly guarded against making censorious remarks about others, even such as were doing their utmost to destroy his peace and mar his usefulness. During the few last years of his life, especially, his conversation in the domestic circle was almost exclusively on the subject of religion. During most of the time for many years, did he have under his care and at his table, a number of young men or boys who were mostly occupied in literary pursuits or in studies preparatory for college. In associating with these youth, it always seemed to be his object so to direct the conversation as that they might receive some useful information, or that some salutary religious impression might be made upon their minds. The proper education of children he always regarded as of primary importance; and whenever he associated with the young whether in his own family or elsewhere, he aimed to say something which they would afterwards remember to their profit. The youth in his family he was careful to instruct in the things of religion. He faithfully and diligently taught them the truths contained in the Shorter Catechism; for many years they committed a verse of scripture each day, which was recited at the table during the morning meal, and he afforded such assistance as the case required, to the members of the family, in familiarizing themselves with those parts of the sacred text which constituted the lessons of the sabbath school.

As an illustration of the fidelity with which he sometimes dealt with those under his care, I have transcribed the following from his memorandum:

HIS FIDELITY WITH A YOUTH.

243

1845, June 22, Sabbath. " Since meeting I have been attending to the sabbath school lesson for the next sabbath. Ps., xcii, 9: For lo, thine enemies, oh, Lord, for lo, thine enemies shall perish.' I was hearing the lad Elisha say the lesson, and repeating it, when an impression came and I asked him: Do you believe it? He said he did. Are you God's enemy? I suppose I am.' Do you believe it? He thought he did. No, you do not believe it. If you believed you had a serpent in your stomach, would you not be concerned about it? 'I should.' Would you not be inquiring: 'What shall I do?' Would you not go to Dr. Peake and ask if he could not do something for you? Now, the devil, the old serpent, is in your heart, and you do not believe it. He manifested some alarm. I pressed him; but every word I said pressed my own conscience. You do not believe. No, I do not. If I did believe that every impenitent sinner had the devil in his heart, and was God's enemy, and would certainly perish, I should not, I could not live as I do. My faith is dead. It produces no works. Is not God now hearing prayer for the Spirit, by convincing me of unbelief? This is the very thing. The Spirit is come. The Spirit now makes me feel my deadness in regard to faith. Do I now desire to have God pour out his Spirit upon me? Then shall I hear his reproof. Then shall I do as my convictions tend. Is not this the beginning? Is not this a little speck of a cloud? Oh, that God would add to it; for I am so dead that I can hardly say: Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.”

In their morning devotions in the family, each reader had his Bible, and each took his turn in reading, thereby securing a more close attention to the word of God than would have been likely to be secured in any other way. It was expected that the whole household should be present at family worship; and it was his wish, also, that these services should be participated in by laborers in his employ. It was hardly to have been expected that persons in his employment and in his presence, would often be guilty of grossly vulgar or profane language-but a story is told of one, to this ef

244

THE PROFANE SWEARER REBUKED.

fect, that at one time a man in his employ became very much irritated at some thing, and uttered an oath in the presence both of himself and some youth who were then residing in his family.

Dr. Yale says to him somewhat as follows: "Mr. C., when we swear, we won't swear before the boys." The man felt the rebuke, received it kindly, and remembered it ever afterwards.

At his own table, Dr. Yale was always in the habit of having two religious services, the one at the commencement, and the other at the conclusion of the meal. This practice he maintained to the last, although the second religious service at the table had gone so extensively into disuse. He deprecated the practice of rising from the table at the close of a meal, without giving a formal expression of thanks to the Giver of all good for the blessings received.

His sentiments on this point he uttered in a letter to a friend under date of Aug. 15, 1852, as follows:

"In the families of Christians and ministers, one exercise of devotion at the table operates rather worse in general where I have been, than it did in your family. Rarely are the members together at the table, or the family altar. It grieved me greatly to see this irregularity. What a little thing is the neglect of giving thanks at the table, instead of asking a blessing and giving thanks! What a little thing! How great an evil! With many families, even religious, where they have prayer and reading the word morning and evening, some of the members, sons or daughters, or some of both, are never present at the same time; and as to family instruction, it is out of the question. My soul has cried in the night over these evils. If there is not a change, religion will die out. In more than thirty families where I have been at table within three months, only two have been regular. Those two have two exercises at the table. All are present when the blessing is asked. All are present when thanks are returned. And when family worship is attended they are all present. There is no need of a bell or a call to get

HIS PULPIT PREPARATIONS.

245

them together. For they are together, and ready to read and give attention to prayer. What a terrible influence this irregularity has upon the Christian family and community! No wonder the bands of parental authority are feeble. Children despise the religion which is eaten up by the world. Can I expect to effect a change to dip out the waters of the St. Lawrence with. a thimble? I will try to do what I can, and God is able to do the work. Will you not help me?"

CHAPTER XX.

HIS PULPIT PREPARATIONS AND THE CHARACTER OF HIS
PREACHING.

As to the amount of labor bestowed upon his preparations for the pulpit, there was no uniformity. There were times when he was so much occupied with a great variety of other duties, and his studies were so much interrupted that he found it impossible to bestow as much labor upon the preparation of his sermons as he desired. Sometimes he preached extemporaneously. Sometimes he wrote but the introduction and heads of his discourses. On some of these occasions he preached with much comfort to himself, as well as profit to others; while at other times he speaks of his own want of enjoyment in his ministrations, and expresses his apprehensions that but little good had been accomplished. He was accustomed however, very generally, both in the early and later years of his ministry, to write out a large portion of his public discourses. He felt the need of careful preparation for the pulpit, to such an extent that, in systematizing his labors, he designated particular por tions of time to be employed in this specific business.

Thus: 1828, April 1. "A month for study. By the help of God I am going to spend two hours every day,