“Mark the Perfect Man.” 
A SERMON 
Preached in Trinity Church, 
Newport, R. I., 
ON THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, 
MARCH 19th, 1882, 
BY THE 
REV. GEORGE J. MAGILL, 
RECTOR. NEWPORT, R. I. : 
DAVIS & PITMAN, PRINTERS. 
I8S2. Rev'd George J. Magi17, 
Rev’d and Dear Sir :—In behalf of the 
Vestry of Trinity Church, we would respect- 
fully ask permission to print in pamphlet form, 
the sermon you recently preached in Trinity 
Church, commemorative of the worth and char- 
acter of the late Dr. David King, who was 
intimately identified with this Parish and in 
the more active years of his life was promi- 
nent as a Vestryman. 
Respectfully, 
GEO. C. MASON,) w . 
SAMUEL ENGS, $ vvarnens. 
Newport, R. I., April 17, 1882. “Mark the Perfect Man.” 
“Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man 
is peace.”—Psalms xxxvii, 37. 
The Psalmist does not here set up a stan- 
dard of absolute perfection. He was too keen 
an observer of human nature, and felt too 
strongly the tide of passion surging in his own 
breast, to claim for any mortal such uncon- 
ditioned excellence. There was only one Man 
of whom it could be said that He was per- 
fect, in every respect; and He came into the 
world unfettered by the chains of evil which 
hold in bondage every other child of Adam. 
He had to struggle with the most powerful 
temptations. There were times when, to the 
human eye, the conflict seemed doubtful; but 
He always triumphed in the end. And if 6 
Christ is held up as a model lor our imitation, 
it is not with the hope that we can walk on 
the same high plane where His victories were 
won. The Word of God abounds with the 
testimony of Him who knew what was in man, 
that no one of our race is "free from moral 
imperfection, and endowed with every virtue,” 
which seems to be a proper definition of per- 
fection. A modern writer has rather exagger- 
ated the same idea. "Probably,” he says, 
"there never was one thought., from the foun- 
dation of the earth, that has passed through 
the mind of man, which did not offer some 
blemish, some sorrowful shadow of pollution, 
when it came up for review before a heavenly 
tribunal.” No, it is not absolute perfection of 
which the Psalmist speaks. Our Psalter trans- 
lation is nearer to the Septuagist text, and 
more in accord with the early meaning of 
the word perfect. "Keep innocency”: guard 
yourself from doing wrong: are phrases that 
allow a condition of positive excellence for 
which we should strive, but do not promise 7 
its absolute possession. Pcrfcio, the Latin 
word from which the word perfect is derived, 
means to carry through—to have a clearly 
defined purpose of good in life—and to work 
up towards that good, under all kinds of diffi- 
culty. 
In this modified sense of the word we may 
point to many bright examples of perfection 
among our brother men. Their lives, from 
first to last, have been marked by one steady 
aim to reach some fair ideal. They have 
been misunderstood, no doubt. Their ideal 
has not been thought worth the seeking.. 
Their persistency has been called obstinacy. 
But they have had the grace of perseverance, 
upheld by conscience; and posterity has recog- 
nized the value of their labors and applauded 
them. Perhaps the searcher for truth has 
followed only the light of an "ignis fatuus.” 
If so, his energetic, conscientious aim absolves 
him from the guilt of wrong belief, and ought 
to screen him from the charge of folly* Unless 
we accept this conclusion, we brand with 8 
shame, faithful scientific workers in past cen- 
turies, whose theories, honestly reached accord- 
ing to the light they had, have been over- 
thrown by later investigation. And we put 
the stigma of impiety upon all religious faith, 
which, though defective, was, for the age or 
locality, the highest revelation vouchsafed from 
heaven; and was conscientiously held. We 
have surely more admiration for the heathen 
who, not having the law, does by nature the 
things contained in the law; than for the 
Christian, who, with the Gospel light shining 
brightly on his path, and the crown of eternal 
glory full in view; halts and vacillates and 
stumbles, and has not the energy to go on. 
Such a Pagan is a man of principle and 
convictions; such a Christian is not. Put the 
Pagan in the Christian’s place, and he would 
carry all before him by the conquering power 
of the love of Christ. Now that is what the 
Psalmist meant by a perfect man. A man 
of strong convictions, tender conscience, reso- 9 
lute will: whose purpose is to find out what 
is his duty, and the grand aim of his life to 
fulfill it. 
If we had any doubt about the meaning of 
the word "perfect” in the text, the Psalmist 
sets it at rest, by using the word "upright” 
which follows. Remember, he is not alluding 
to two characters, but one. It is the same 
as if he said, "Mark the perfect and upright 
man.” If he had had two persons in his 
mind, he would not have added "the end of 
that man is peace.” The word upright is 
applied to motives rather than to actions, to 
the regulation of the conduct rather than to 
the conduct itself. A deed may be called 
honest when the motive is upright. Every 
upright man is honest, but every honest man 
is not necessarily upright. Law makes the 
standard of honesty, but conscience determines 
what is upright. And uprightness is superior 
to honesty, because it will move a man to do 
more than law sometimes demands. A debtor 
meets with adversity, and makes an assign- 10 
ment. His creditors agree to release him from 
further obligation on the payment of a certain 
percentage of his indebtedness, because he has 
got into the strait through misfortune rather 
than misconduct. Now, when he has paid 
over the stipulated amount, he has done all 
that honesty requires. But the upright man 
is not satisfied until every dollar of the origi- 
nal debt has been liquidated. 
The upright man is guided by principle. 
His motive is to administer by equity rather 
than formal justice. He is thoroughly impar- 
tial. His character stands erect. It is not 
bent by prejudice. It does not cringe and 
creep and let go of its convictions for the 
sake of popularity. Its judgment may be at 
fault, but its motives never. General Garfield 
stood alone in his conception of how the cam- 
paign in Tennessee should be conducted, and 
he fearlessly pressed his views upon the notice 
of the men in power, at the risk of misun- 
derstanding and disfavor; because his whole 
heart was invested in his country’s cause. 11 
Athanasius did as much for the true cause ol 
Christ, when the imperial power had its hands 
upon the throat of the Church, and unprinci- 
pled ecclesiastics became the easy tools ot polit- 
ical usurpation. We are to look for the per- 
fect man—i. e., the man who comes nearest 
to perfection—not among those whose vast 
achievements, though grand and historic, have 
been stained by motives of violence, vengeance 
and self-aggrandizement, but among those who, 
comparatively obscure, have preserved the integ- 
rity of conscience, and, by heeding its admo- 
nitions, have established, it not the reputation 
for, at least the imperishable consciousness of, 
an upright character. 
Well may the Psalmist affirm ''the end ot 
that man is peace.” The close of life reveals 
to a man his real inner self. However, in 
the flush of life, he may have reasoned him- 
self out of his better convictions, suffered the 
storms of passion to drown the voice of con- 
science, cast the cloak of a false but ingen- 
iously wrought charity over motives that could 12 
not bear the light, had his vision distorted 
from inward self-inspection by the glamour of 
popular applause; he must yield, at last, to 
that inexorable power, which strips the gaudy 
raiment from the soul, discards its decorations 
of worldly honor, dispels the mists that made 
it glow with rainbow colors, and leaves it 
naked, face to face with God. How, then, 
shall it stand before Him? O, this is the 
supreme question we should be asking our- 
selves all through life ! We can gather no sat- 
isfactory answer from the worldly things we 
have accumulated. The highest efforts of 
genius, the grandest intellectual achievement's, 
the vast results of physical and mental energy 
will avaii us nothing. All this will be swept 
away in that solemn hour, when, on the brink 
of eternitv, we review the past, and the soul 
thrills to its very core, as God puts the ques- 
tion, not f'What hast thou?” but "What art 
thou?” Then, if never before, the soul will 
look at its real self. Then will it see the 
utter uselessness of all earthly possessions for 13 
the life that is before it, whither it can carry 
nothing but itself. Then only one thing can 
still its agitation, and give it peace—the 
approval of conscience.—This monitor, sitting 
in judgment on the motives of the heart, is 
not deceived by pretentious deeds or spasmodic 
exhibitions of devotion, but reads the character 
aright, discerns that its achievements, great or 
small, have been the result of godly princi- 
ple ; that, if conspicuous on account of its many 
noteworthy acts, it has not been sullied by 
mean, worldly ambition, or that its modest, 
steady, even progress has not been due to 
apathy or indifference. Yes, it is only charac- 
ter that will be put to the test of that last 
searching investigation, and he only can 
fold his hands restfully upon his breast, and 
peacefully close his eyes upon a vanishing 
world, whose character has been growing up 
unto perfection because of the uprightness of 
his heart. "Keep innocencv and take heed 
unto the thing that is right, for that shall 
bring a man peace at the last.” 14 
My dear friends, I think it is no exaggera- 
tion, I am sure it is no merely graceful 
panegyric, to say that our late friend and fel- 
low-parishioner, Dr. David King, made such 
a character the aim of his long and useful 
life. You know it is not my custom to preach 
obituary sermons, but it seems to me that the 
occasion demands that some reference should 
be made to the great and good man who has 
passed away, even if my heart, touched by 
his many tokens of kindness, did not prompt 
me to do so. The various societies, of which 
he was a member, have expressed regret for 
his loss, and reverence for his memory. They 
bear testimony to the deep practical interest 
he took in the objects for which they were 
organized, and the deference that was paid to 
his judgment in matters of importance. And 
in the fact that these societies differed in their 
aims, being literary, historical and scientific, 
we discover a breadth of culture, and versa- 
tility of mind, which the modesty of their 
possessor endeavored to conceal. 15 
As a citizen, Dr. King was devoted to the 
welfare of Newport. Some ot the societies, 
to which he belonged, were formed for the 
purpose of promoting its prosperity, and in 
these he wielded no small influence. But he 
was also, in a private and perhaps more direct 
way, instrumental in advancing the interests of 
the people. His large professional practice 
brought him into close and frequent contact 
with large numbers of our citizens, and, with 
their respect for his ability as a physician, 
and their strong personal attachment to him, 
there was coupled confidence in his judgment.. 
In this way he was able to control opinion,, 
and, I have been told that some very import- 
ant measures, having secured his co-operation, 
were successfully carried out, because his advo- 
cacy, as a careful, conservative man, brought 
with it the support of others. 
Dr. King was eminently a lover of books, 
especially of those that were rare. A visit 
to his library—a most choice and valuable 
collection—would convince the connoisseur of 16 
his exceptional taste and judgment, and pro- 
voke surprise that with so extensive a practice, 
he could hnd time for such close attention to 
literary pursuits. He was methodical and 
industrious. He had the gift of utilizing odd 
fragments of time, which too many waste. 
This habit of diligence clung to him to the 
end. I believe the last time he left his sick 
room, shortly before his decease, he made his 
way to the library in order to consult some 
of his books ; and even as the shadows of the 
great change were gathering round him, he 
sat up in his bed engaged in correspondence. 
But his chief devotion was to his chosen 
profession, in which he was so eminently suc- 
cessful. There is many a household that will 
lament his absence, when the day of sickness 
comes, an absence for which his protracted 
illness has hardlv prepared them. His extreme 
modesty, and his reticence about the case he 
was treating, while they might have impressed 
some unfavorably, never weakened the confi- 
dence of those who knew him in his ability; 17 
while his tenderness and gentleness and unself- 
ishness endeared him to all. There is many 
a living voice to bless him for his kindly 
ministrations, and I am sure there are souls 
both here and in the world of spirits, that 
treasure up his Christly words of hope and 
consolation. 
As a member of this parish, he was always 
interested in its good estate. For many years, 
he took an active part in the management of 
its temporalities, and presided at the meetings 
of its corporation. Conservative in all things, 
he was especially so in regard to the 
antiquity of this building. He regarded it as 
a heritage of the past, which, in these days 
of vandalism, should be jealously preserved. 
To him, as much as to any one man, we 
owe it that Trinity Church is substantially the 
same today as it was a hundred and fifty 
years ago. His religious life was unpreten- 
tious. Professional duty kept him often from 
the public services. But I believe he had 
Christ in his heart, and that he died trusting 
in Him as his Lord and Saviour. 18 
I wish to put on record here, the fact of 
his great kindness to the poor. It falls with- 
in the sphere of my labors to be much among 
this class of God’s people. I would like to 
relate some incidents of his goodness, so as to 
inspire others with a kindred ambition, but it 
is perhaps juster to his memory to leave them 
in the privacy where he wished to have them. 
We dare not invade the sanctuary of the 
home, where that gentleness and loveliness of 
character shone out most clearly in congenial 
atmosphere. It is not a picture for common 
iraze. It is not a story for common words. 
But our hearts may steal in unawares to sym- 
pathize with those who will "pine for the 
tender grace of a day that is dead, and long 
for the sound of a voice that is still.” 
I feel, my dear friends, how utterly inade- 
quate is this brief reference to our departed 
brother, to describe so noble a character as 
his. But I remember that I am speaking to 
a congregation, the majority of whom knew 
him longer, and some more intimately than I. 19 
And having had his character in my mind 
from the beginning of this sermon, much that 
I have said about the perfect and upright 
man, whose end is peace, belongs to him. 
For his was that quiet, steady, even life that 
made its progress towards perfection noiselessly, 
guided by conscience, never deserting principle, 
never losing sight of its goal, abounding' with 
acts of goodness and kindness; and yet to be 
judged rather by its inflexible purpose to do 
right, and the sweet sincerity of its motives. 
And his was a death where all the tokens of 
peace were present. This servant of God lit- 
erally fell asleep in Jesus. The church will 
reverence his memory as that of a sincere, 
devoted Christian. His unobtrusive virtues and 
the peaceful end that crowned them, shall 
admonish us to serve God, with a pure heart 
fervently. 
The most lasting monument which perpetu- 
ates the memory of departed worth, is not the 
stately column or triumphal arch that records 
some single bright achievement, or some tran- 20 
sient victory. To live in people’s hearts, 
where the record of quiet virtues has been 
engraved, is better far. The day may come 
when the pyramids of Egypt shall bow their 
haughty heads, and lie low in the dust, like 
the haughty kings whose memories they have 
failed to preserve. The glory of the Ca;sars 
may not survive the monuments of marble 
which Romans erected. But as long as the 
world shall last, the modest virtue, the unpre.- 
tentious love and service of the woman who 
poured ointment on our Saviour’s head, shall 
be proclaimed for a memorial of her. And 
we shall treasure in our hearts the memory 
of our departed brother. We shall miss his 
well-known form from our houses and our 
streets; we shall miss his cordial welcome at 
the door of his home, but his genial spirit 
shall abide with us still, and keep ever green 
in our hearts the remembrance of his Christian 
graces. 
"Mark the perfect man and behold the 
upright, for the end of that man is peace.” 21 
Let us endeavor, dear friends, to make our 
lives what God would have them to be. Let 
us get under the surface, and examine the 
springs of action. Let us see what is the 
motive power that sends us forward on our 
daily round of duty. It must be God’s hand 
that guides us; it must be the spirit of His 
dear Son that sustains our life; if our end is 
to be peaceful. "Every good gift and every 
perfect gift is from above,” the gift of upright- 
ness in our day and generation, the gift of 
that peace which passeth all understanding, 
when the toils of life are over.