THE QUAKER HOMILETICS ONLINE ANTHOLOGY

EDITED BY PETER SIPPEL
SECTION 3.1: THE 19TH CENTURY (HICKSITES)


JOHN COMLY:
The Gospel Dispensation. Comly, then the Assistant Clerk, was, according to his own Journal, was the one who conceived of the idea of a separation in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and traveled about the Yearly Meeting promoting the idea. As such he was one of the most important of the 19th century figures.

SUNDERLAND P. GARDNER:
The Woman Clothed With the Sun. A funeral sermon, taken largely from John and Revelation and like most addressed to the living. Gardner, from Farmington, N.Y. was from the Hicksite Genesse Yearly Meeting (later laid down with the Meetings divided between New York and Canada.) This message includes a brief section on war near the end. A brief reference in his Journal reads "Eight month 11th.--The funeral of Demaris Hoag, widow of Jacob Hoag. She was about ninety years of age, a worthy and exemplary woman. The meeting on the occasion was largely attended by various classes of people. It was thought a favored meeting." (Pages 85-86.)

LUCRETIA MOTT:
Righteousness Exalteth A Nation. Probably the best known of the 19th century liberal and activist Friends; this message was delivered in 1860 at the Bristol, PA Meeting. This is included for historical reasons, not because the editor thinks much of her.
TOWNSEND HAWKSHURST:
There Is a River. A speaker otherwise unknown to me; largely an exhortation to humility and self abasement, following the pattern of our great example, to be enabled to know the light of Christ within.

ELIAS HICKS AND OTHERS:
Let Brotherly Love Continue/Strengthening the Hand of the Oppressor/Fallen Angels. A lengthy message, dealing with three different themes, delivered at Byberry Friends Meeting, (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) 4th day morning, 8th of 12th month, 1824. Selected as an example of his anti-slavery preaching.
Great is The Sin of Unbelief. At the Rose Street Meeting in New York City, June 1st, 1826; sermon by Elizabeth Robson followed by a prayer by Anna Braithwaite; followed by a sermon in response by Thomas Wetherald and remarks by Elias Hicks. A good example of the contrasts in theology, with each accusing the people on the other side of unbelief.
The Blood of Jesus. Sermon and Prayer, Delivered at Darby Meeting (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) November 15th, 1826. This demonstrates how he made a very sharp (and, the editor think, fundamentally false) distinction between the "animal nature" and the "immortal soul," which appears to be the root cause of at least some of the controversy.
Peace, Be Still. Sermon by Elias Hicks; responses by Jerusha Curtis and Philadelphia Pemberton; response to them by Elias Hicks; Sermon by Othneil Alsop; Sermon in response by Elias Hicks (he spoke three times in one Meeting.) Delivered at Key's Alley Meeting, Philadelphia, December 12th, 1826.
Let Love Be Without Dissimulation. Sermon delivered by Elias Hicks; Responses to Hicks by Jonathan Evans and Isaac Lloyd; and Responses to them by Elias Hicks and Willet Hicks. Delivered at Pine Street Meeting in Philadelphia, December 10, 1826.
The Foundation Principle Jesus Laid. Delivered at Ohio Yearly Meeting, September 7th, 1828; with response by Elisha Bates.

JOHN JACKSON:
No New Doctrine/War. Dealing with Divine Revelation and War. Jackson was a second generation Hicksite, son of Halliday Jackson, one of the instigators of the Hicksite separation in Philadelphia; the editor believes a close examination of the sections dealing with revelation shows that the "Hicksite" tendencies of taking one part of the truth and neglecting the rest entered very early.

JESSE KERSEY:
And Shall Our Stubborn Hearts Refuse/the Grateful Song to Raise? An early sermon, paraphrased and put in poetic form by a listener; a look at how nature praises its creator and points us to the same. "Then let us praise Him and adore / In early youth's fresh bloom, /Nor cease till life's pulse beats no more / And the last summons comes. Ironically, Kersey once stayed at the home of George and Ann Jones prior to his becoming a Hicksite and their becoming vehement critics of Hicks.
This Is The Temperament That He Enjoins. Touching upon the parable of the good Samaritan, and saying that this temperament is one that enables the Christian to identify with the suffering, the poor, etc.
The Green Street Sermon. This was the message he delivered at the Green Street Meeting during the Green Street Meeting during the Yearly Meeting of 1827, at which the separation between the Hicksite and the Orthodox Friends took place. I wish I could say it was profound sermon that addressed the issues that were so divisive, but it is not; in this editor's humble opinion it wanders from platitude to platitude without developing good cases for any of them and never addresses the problems existing in the Yearly Meeting.
Perceiving with the Spiritual Senses. Shortly after the separation the Hicksites arranged a series of Meetings held at Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia; the spot being intentionally chosen for its association with independence. This is one of the sermons delivered in those Meetings, dealing with the need to be spiritually perceptive, an ability that comes only from the gift of God. This is the only sermon I have found by Kersey that includes a prayer.
The More I Am Convinced That God Is Love. Also delivered in Carpenters' Hall. Most of the content is good, but he begins with a subtle setting up of a strawman, then going on to declare that he agrees with the Apostle John. It ends with an invitation to the youth present to take upon the yoke of Christ.
The Light Is Bursting Forth. Dealing with the universality of the Inward Light. This sermon is directly connected with the I have entitled "When the Mind is Humble" by Joseph Moore, with Moore preceding Kersey at the same Meeting at Green Street, and both are in the same file. It is the most upbeat and optimistic of the sermons by Kersey I have found, frequently taking on the tone of an invitational message.
Obedience to Parents Jesse Kersey was recorded as a minister in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting prior to the separation of 1827; he is best known as the author of Kersey's Treatise, or more officially, A Treatise On Fundamental Doctrines of Christianity, published in 1815. His was a difficult life with multiple business failures, severe familial losses, and even a period of alcoholism and drug addiction as the result of the medical treatment he received for Typhus (from which he did recover.) He joined the Hicksites after the separation, but was soon disappointed with them too, and once remarked that he hoped the real Quakers in both groups would reunited and let the others go their other way if need be.
A Prophecy by Jesse Kersey. Delivered at New York Yearly Meeting, 1845, very late in his life. Like most such prophecies, most of this one including the most important points, did not come to pass and still seems unlikely to come about.

SAMUEL J. LEVICK:
Hearken Unto The Voice of The Lord. Levick was one of the most conservative members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Hicksite) and an active citizen of Philadelphia; member of the Pennsylvania Bicentennial Commission, The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, an advocate of a public school system, etc. This is an exhortation, apparently given to a mixed audience.

ABRAHAM LOWER:
The Word is Nigh You. Lower, from the Green Street Meeting in Philadelphia, described in Ingle's Quakers in Conflict as "combative" and "a self styled illiterate cabinet maker," was perhaps the most aggressive and badly behaved person at the Yearly Meeting of 1827. This message, post separation, is taken largely, it appears, from Hebrews.

JOSEPH MOORE:
When the Mind is Humble. A brief exhortation to remember that while the Lord is present and willing to speak and be heart, the heart and mind must be humbled enough to be receptive. This message directly connected with the sermon by Jesse Kersey I have entitled "The Light Is Bursting Forth," with both messages given at the same meeting and Kersey's in response to Moore's.

JACOB RITTER:
The Good Feelings I Experienced! A brief sermon taken from a childhood reminiscence. Ritter was a fascinating individual, brought up a German speaking Lutheran yet attracted to Friends from early childhood, and given to experiencing visions, and one of the proteges of William Savery.
We Must Keep Each Other Awake. A very short (two sentences) message addressed to people sleeping in Meeting.

LOUISA J. ROBERTS:
What Must I Do To Be Saved? An example of 19th century Hicksite liberalism. Roberts, a former Baptist, was a minister in Green Street Meeting, Philadelphia, one of the organizers of first day Bible schools, and an editor of Friends' Intelligencer. It is interesting to note how quickly the fictitious story of William Penn and his sword came to be accepted as truth.