27
October 1791 A.D. Rev.
Elihu Spencer: Celebration Service for
Victory over England at First Presbyterian at Trenton, NJ
Archivist.
“October 27: Rev. Elihu Spencer.” This Day in Presbyterian History. 27 Oct 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/10/october-27-2/.
Accessed 27 Oct 2014.
October 27: Rev. Elihu Spencer
Victory Over England Brings Celebration in
a Presbyterian Church
Granted!
After the final victory over the British military forces at Yorktown, Virginia,
there were celebrations being held everywhere in 1781 in the United States. But
one of those celebrations took place in the First Presbyterian Church of
Trenton, New Jersey on October 27, 1791. And this was no
sparsely attending worship service. The Revolutionary War Governor, William
Livingston, the Council of the state of New Jersey, the entire Assembly of
Representatives, and citizens of the town came together to hear the Rev. Dr.
Elihu Spencer delivered a discourse adapted to the occasion.
The
pastor of this church, Elihu Spencer, was no stranger to the vicissitudes of
the Revolutionary struggle. Indeed, he was the chaplain to colonial troops in
the long battle for liberty. As such, he was a marked man by the British and
his parsonage suffered damage as a result of his affiliation with the
Continental army. Two revolutionary battles were fought in Trenton, including
the famous midnight crossing of the river to do battle with the German
mercenaries, or Hessians, in the town, which battle Gen George Washington and
his troops won, bringing new morale to the American citizenry.
This
celebratory day began with the beating of drums. The American flag was
displayed throughout the town. At eleven o’clock, this worship service was
held. In the afternoon, after artillery discharges, there came a
series of toasts to everybody and anybody by the assembled political and general
citizenry. In fact, it was good that they began with a worship hour, because
had they done it after these toasts, none of them would have been able to stand
up and sing praises to the Lord! There were many, many toasts of gratitude to
those who brought about this victory. The night of celebration was over by 7
p.m. and the whole town was illuminated by candles in the evening.
Words to live by:
Today in our secular culture, post-Christian era, the idea that you mention
that God is the God of war, or the God of battles, or the One who brings
victory over your enemies, is considered anathema. Yet our forefathers did not
think so, and frequently mentioned the God of providence in the events which
made up our country. We need to return to the God of our Fathers, in conversation,
in conduct, in celebrations of liberty by our people, in concerns of
patriotism in our assembly halls — in all of life. Without Him, we would
be a defeated people long ago.
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