402 John Bachman. 



Brethren, take the best wishes, the fervent pra3^ers 

 and the heartfelt blessing of your aged father and 

 Pastor. May your children be trained up to the 

 fear of God and in the nurture and admonition of the 

 Lord. Ma}^ the young before me, crowd around this 

 altar to receive the blessing of their Heavenly Father, 

 may husbands and wives draw nigh to this Table 

 of the Lord with devoted aifection in their hearts 

 towards each other and towards their God, and may 

 these, m}^ aged friends, who are tottering on the 

 brink of the grave, now give evidence that they 

 have a well grounded hope for their anticipations 

 of a reunion with their beloved beyond the grave. 

 And may God have mercy upon usalL — Soon — very 

 soon, if we walk faithfuily with Him, will earth's 

 tears all be wiped away and the waitings of sorrow 

 be swallowed up in the songs of joy and rejoicing ; 

 chill poverty soon shall be felt no more, but in the 

 mansions above — w^ithin the pearly gates, light and 

 peace and joy will abound throughout the ages of 

 immortality. Amen. 



This was the last time that the aged Pastor of St. 

 John's occupied his pulpit — his work as a preacher 

 was ended ; l>ut his pastoral labors were still abun- 

 dant. 



Meanwhile the seductive eloquence of the sermons 

 of the assistant charmed the congregation and Dr. 

 Bachman, witli joy, threw the whole weight of his 

 influence in his favor. When the Synod of South 

 Carolina convened, Mr. Hicks was received into the 

 Lutheran ministry, and was fortliwitli elected co- 

 pastor of St. .John's. 



The pews and even the aisles of the Church were 

 crowded. About this time, Dr. Bachman sent a 



