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JAMES S. WOODS, D. D.

HE REV. JAMES STERRETT WOODS, son of Samuel and
Frances (Sterrett) Woods, was born in Cumberland county,

Pa., April 18th, 1793. His parents were Scotch-Irish, and one of the best families in the Cumberland valley. They were remarkable for their intelligence, integrity and energy. Their piety was Scriptural and practical, resting on the sound basis of clear and thorough doctrinal knowledge. The greatest care was taken in the training of their children.

Samuel Woods, the father, was a man of the highest probity, courage and reliability. During the progress of the War of the Revolution he acted as Indian scout-a most perilous undertaking-in the service of the Government, or on behalf of the neighbourhood in which he lived, which was then the red man's undisputed home. The mother, whose maiden name was Sterrett, it is said, was a woman of devoted piety, and pre-eminent for her faith. The character of their children is their best eulogy. They worshiped in the Presbyterian Church, in Carlisle, Pa., under the care of Rev. Dr. Davidson, and subsequently Rev. Dr. H. R. Wilson. Here Mr. Woods first professed religion. James S. Woods received his classical education with Mr. John Cooper, Hopewell Academy, Pa.; graduated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., under the presidency of Rev. John McKnight, D. D. He obtained his theological education at Princeton, N. J., and was licensed by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, in 1817. His first settlement was in Mifflin county, Pa., whither he came in 1819. From this time until 1822 he laboured as an evangelist in the valley of the Juniata, from Lewistown to Shade Gap. Through this field, embracing McVeytown, NewtonHamilton and Shirleysburg, he laid the foundations for the present churches. Here he is claimed as the father of Presbyterianism. Often he preached in private houses, school houses and barns. He mingled much with the people, catechising statedly and faithfully, and visiting the sick and dying wherever known. Many still live in the churches of McVeytown and Newton-Hamilton who count him their spiritual father, and hold him in the highest esteem. In the bounds of these places a work of grace was carried on for two years, which he considered one of the most powerful he had ever seen. He resided, at first, in the vicinity of McVeytown, and was called, in 1822, to take

charge of the Lewistown and McVeytown churches. In the spring of 1823 he moved to Lewistown, and continued the pastor of the church there until the time of his death, a space of nearly forty years.

James S. Woods was married before he came to Mifflin county, to Marianne Witherspoon, a daughter of John Witherspoon, D. D., one of the presidents of Princeton College, and the only clergyman who signed the Declaration of Independence. He was a lineal descendant from the eminent Scottish Reformer, John Knox, and one of the most illustrious patrons of religion, liberty and learning in America. This lady, a native of Princeton, N. J., was possessed of fine mental powers, and great moral worth, and exercised, it is believed, an important influence in the formation of her husband's ministerial character. The fruit of this marriage was nine children, six sons and three daughters. In the religious training of these, Mrs. Woods was assiduous till the time of her death, which occurred in 1846, in the "sure and steadfast hope, which, as an anchor, entereth into that within the vail." Two of the sons have died: one, John W. Woods, while preparing for the profession of law; 'the other, Lieutenant James S. Woods, of the United States Army, while gallantly leading his company in the storming of Monterey, Mexico. The father of this family lived to see his children become, through the grace of God, his hope and his joy, and closed his life in the prospect of meeting his loved and loving ones in heaven.

"His household circle," says the Rev. David D. Clarke, D. D., in a sermon preached to Dr. Woods' bereaved church, by request of the elders and trustees; "his household circle was a rare example of unmarred communion. He was always its attractive centre. The appreciating visitor could not fail to see how each heart clung, as the tendril, to that true and trusted husband and parent, and fondly entwined each other. Even his grand-children were made merry and frisky as lambs under the charm of his smiles; and to take tea at grandpa's was counted a special honour.

"But it is not meet that I should enter further within the precincts of this stricken home! The bereavement by this death is first and greatly, but not solely yours. We tell it in two sweet words, 'Our father!' You knew him as none other did; you loved him as none other could. God gave him and took him. Bless his name that he was spared to you so long, to be the guide of your youth and the glory of your ripened years. His life, so consistent and beneficent, was a grand success. Much of its fruit has already been gathered and garnered in heaven, and more awaits the hand of the great husband

man.

To sustain your relation to such a man and such a ministry is a

heritage more precious than silver or gold. He did not live to become a burden to himself, or to you. God, whom he served, took him in his own time and way-always the best. He spoke not in death, but you know his life, and being dead he yet speaketh.' What more can you do-what more does God require than to bow down in trusting, hopeful submission, and say, 'Not my will, but thine, O Lord, be done!'

"We come now to survey a little further the public and professional life of our departed brother, as it was embraced in his pastorate here of forty years. Appearance, temper and manner, it is well known, are often elements of personal attraction and influence. Brother Woods possessed a commanding presence. His temper was warm, social and genial. There was a dignity, seriousness and kindness in his mien, which commanded attention and respect. His piety was stable and practical, his convictions earnest, and his purposes decided. For the authority of Scripture his regard was profound; to whatever he thought right his adherence was unwavering. Principle, duty, honour, he never sacrificed; yet he was not dogmatic or obstinate, but modest and humble. He did not seek his own praise in the disparagement of others. He was willing to be enlightened, and even led by others, in whose judgment and honesty he confided. He was punctual in all engagements-in pulpit and pastoral service, with his friends, and in his attendance on all the judicatories of the church. His desire was not fame, but to perform his duty and do good. Wherever you met him, his character was transparent, whether under his own roof, which was truly a minister's home, or that of others, in the sanctuary of God, or in the church courts, he was the same-the true friend, the agreeable companion, the Christian gentleman, and the conscientious servant of God. A conscience void of offence toward God and man made him fearless, and no one could despise him. He had a pleasant look and a kind word for all he met. It is easy to see that such a man would make friends, secure confidence, and have influence. No man in the county had a stronger hold on the veneration of the people. By his brethren of the Presbytery he was held in the highest esteem, and the Christian people of our churches were always glad to make him their guest. I deem it a great privilege to have enjoyed his acquaintance and regard.

"Dr. Woods was a patriot. While a student at college he joined a company, chiefly of students, to march to Baltimore when attacked by the British troops. He was not a perfect man; we don't present him as such, for such he did not claim to be; but he was a rare man, a

good man, a faithful man, a useful man, loved and honoured by God and man.

"If descent from an exalted ancestry, if a marriage alliance to one of the most renowned of American names, if personal worth and a long life of well-doing, entitle one to the grateful remembrance of posterity, Dr. Woods has a claim, and this record of his long, faithful and fruitful ministry fills one of the brightest pages of the church's history.

"Let us hear the testimony of those who knew him best: Dr. Woods,' says Rev. G. Elliott, 'was remarkable for his candor, his modesty and his magnanimity. His heart was the seat of kindness, and his home the scene of untiring hospitality. Those who had recently conversed with him familiarly could realize that he felt how precarious was his condition, and that he was growing in meetness for Heaven.'

"Dr. Engles, in The Presbyterian, says: 'An esteemed and venerable minister of our church, and a beloved member of the Synod of Philadelphia, has departed this life. After such a life, death is but a transition from labour to reward.'

"We knew him well from early manhood,' Dr. McKinney, in The Presbyterian Banner, says. 'We were twenty-two years co-presbyters. Often did we labour together in religious services of great interest. He was a good man, a devoted minister, and an exalted though lowly Christian. He has turned many to righteousness, and will shine as the stars forever and ever.'

"But let us see how this high praise is supported by the long ministry which has just closed on earth. Much of the harmony of social life, and much of the success in every vocation, depend on the observance of the great law of adaptation, of properly fitting things. Ignoring this law commonly entails difficulty, disappointment and failure. He, whom we all mourn, was in the harmony of his relations, and in the success of his labours, a delightful example. Who was better suited to this field, in all its aspects, than he? Who could have endured so long and so well? Who could have so won the respect of all around, and the confidence and love of those especially committed to his spiritual oversight, binding them in the stability and repose of an intelligent and harmonious communion, and anchoring himself more deeply, with every revolving year, in the confidence and veneration of the community? In your just and appreciating tributes, brethren, in this appropriate and beautiful edifice, confessedly to a great extent the fruit of his judicious and patient efforts, in what he has done for the numerical and spiritual

increase of this church, and through it for other churches, and for the general cause of God-in these is found the answer.

"To the work of preaching the Gospel he devoted his life. Whatever of talent or culture, whatever of gifts natural or gracious he possessed, were gratefully, and without reserve, laid at the feet of Christ. In the cross, as the symbol of the truth and power of God, he recognized the chief and sure agency for the reformation and redemption of our ruined humanity, the sovereign antidote to mortal woe. Baptized in the spirit of Him who triumphed as he expired on Calvary, at once the Saviour and Sovereign of the world, his was a faith that would give Christ the throne of the universe, his a charity that would make the world its beneficiary. Textual, evangelical, methodical and earnest, his preaching everywhere commanded attention and secured edification. In the early part of his ministry, he wrote out and committed to memory his sermons, dispensing with the manuscript in the delivery. His style was simple and unadorned, but clear and forcible. His good taste, his apprehension of spiritual and eternal things, and his desire to win souls, made him intensely anxious that all should understand what he spoke. But few men felt more fully than he did that the pulpit is the 'preacher's throne.' Out of it, he evinced the meekness of the lamb; in it, the boldness of the lion. He felt that he could teach his hearers. However striking their superiority over him in many things, he felt that in the most important of all things he had, as he ought to have, superiority over them. He could make the wisest of them more wise. He could reprove the most learned of them for their ignorance of 'the one thing needful.' 'Physicians, jurists, statesmen, must,' says an elegant writer, bow themselves before the pulpit, and must yield their dignified obeisance to him who is distinguished by the appellation, “the mouth of God.""

"Dr. Woods loved his people, and while his strength supported him was much amongst them. His school house preaching, his regular catechetical instruction, his Bible-class exercises, and his wise, untiring and affectionate pastoral visitation constituted a most arduous and useful part of his long and fruitful labours. The Sabbath school, one of the best ordered and most efficient in the Presbytery, he considered a model Sabbath school. He loved the young. In the season of trial, in the chamber of the sick and the dying, his ready perception of propriety, his tenderness, his familiarity with the Bible, his rich fund of Christian experience, endeared him to all who, in those times, were privileged to enjoy the counsels and consolations of his benignant ministry. To exhibit Christ, to bring men to Christ, to confirm and

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