134
��Barnabas Bradi David.
��the Evangelical system of faith as the ground of his own hope of God's favor, he acted intelligently. He acknowl- edged his dependence on the grace of God in Christ Jesus. He recognized the sacredness of the Christain calling. He became a student of the Scriptures, entered the Sabbath School as a teacher, and assumed the responsibilities of sus- taining the ordinances of public and local religious worship. In 1846, he was elected deacon in the Congregational Church. He accepted the ofifice with some reluctance, being distrustful of him- self, but his counsel and service were of great value to the brotherhood. Intent on improving himself in all the qualities of Christian manhood, he was observant of the great movements of society, and deeply interested in the new and enlarged applications of Chistianity. He followed the operations of the American Board, as new fields opened to the missionaries of the Cross ; keep- ing informed as to the changing phases of Evangelical effort in this and in for- eign lands. In this particular he mani- fested the same accuracy which marked his knowledge of current affairs. He was familiar with the history of the United States and Great Britain, and having a lively admiration of learned men, statesmen, scholars, and divines, he was a reader of biographies. While emulating the excellence which he ad- mired, these stores of information were employed to enliven conversation and to furnish material for public discourses. In the gathering of the people, whether for secular or religious purposes, he was often called upon to speak. His remarks were received with attention, and had weight with his audience, because they embodied the fruits of his study and reflection.
In the meetings of the Church for conference and prayer, he was often
��very helpful. He had too much rever- ence for the place and object of the assembly, to indulge in crude and repeti- tious utterances. He prepared himself for the duty, by recalling the lessons of his own experience or citing illustrations from the wide stores of his reading. His words were well chosen, and his thoughts seldom common-place. In the exigencies of the missionary cause, or on some occasion of special peril to the truth he would bring forward an instance of signal deliverance from similar trial, in the previous his- tory of the Church, or in the lives of her servants. There were those, who might speak ^vith more fluency, or employ a more impassioned man- ner, but no one spoke more to edifi- cation. His prayers also were marked by the same evident thoughtfulness and spirituality. He was not hasty to offer his desires before God. You felt, in fol- lowing his petitions, that he had a mes- sage, and his voice would often be trem- ulous vdth emotion as he made suppli- cation in behalf of the sick or the sor- rowful ; as he prayed for the youth of the congregation, or interceded in be- half of the Church and the country. As an officer of the Church, he was considerate of the feelings and wants of his brethren ; visiting the sick, searching out the poor, and practicing a generous hospitality. Ministers of all denominations were welcome to his house, and among his chosen friends there were none held in higher esteem than the ministers whom he lovea for their works' sake.
Deacon David was averse to strife and controversy ; the convictions which he cherished had been matured by care- ful study, and he was ready to give them- expression on all suitable occasions ; but he avoided personal disputes, and the imputations that accompany heated
�� �
