South Congregational Church history and catalogue, 1852–1865 · scan page 253

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"the  memorial  stone."  243
Eternal.'  As  we  stood  around  his  grave,  we  tran-
scribed the  lines  from  Machpelah  to  his  headstone,
— the  epitaph  of  Abraham,  written  by  no  human
hand, — "An  old  man  and  full."  "  An  old  man  \"
— Yes,  we  see  the  patriarch  in  the  wasted  face ;
in  the  dimmed  eye  ;  in  the  furrowed  brow  ;  in  the
trembling  hand  ;  in  the  hoary  head,  whitened  by  the
frosts  of  four-score  winters,  yet  unto  him  a  crown  of
glory,  because  "found  in  the  way  of  righteousness," —
covered  with  snow,  yet,  like  the  mountain-top,  because
nearest  unto  heaven.
And  "full," — full,  like  Abraham,  not  merely  "of
years,"  but  of  experience,  not  earthly  only,  but  hea-
venly,— the  favor  and  friendship  of  God  ;  like  him,
full  of  graces,  not  human,  but  divine, — obedience,
prayer,  faith  ;  like  him,  full  of  anticipations,  not
bounded  by  the  horizon  of  earth,  but  sweeping  be-
yond the  shadows  of  time  and  the  gloom  of  death, —
looking  for  Christ ;  and  he  too  "saw  His  day  and  was
glad,"  clasping  Him  in  his  dying  arms,  "the  antidote
of  death  ;"  looking  for  "  a  city"  too, — and  lo  !  break-
ing on  the  dying  vision,  bathed  in  supernal  splendor,
are  the  jasper  foundations,  the  sapphire  walls,  the
golden  street  of  that  "  city  whose  builder  and  maker
is  God,"  What  anticipations  these  !  full-orbed  hopes
of  seeing  Jesus,  and  of  entering  where,  with  no  shadow
on  the  heart,  no  tear-drop  in  the  eye,  with  golden  crown
on  the  brow,  and  palm  branch  of  victory  in  the  hand,
he  should  be  "  presented  before  the  presence  of  God's
glory  with  exceeding  joy."     And  of  these  hopes  he

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Silent Grounds Collective, Church Burial & Death Records, CH-P004-0253. South Congregational Church history and catalogue, 1852–1865, printed page not verified, PDF page 253. Hallock, Gerard, 1800-1866; digitized copy contributed by University of California Libraries https://archive.org/details/historyofsouthco00hall/page/n257/mode/1up Accessed September 8, 2026.

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