Supreme. Paul addressed his Athenian audience as "very religious," and in the inscription on their altar to the unknown God, he found a text from which to proclaim Him whom they ignorantly worshiped. The time is past, if it ever existed, when worship could be confined to any particular locality. Neither in Jerusalem alone, nor in the mountain of Samaria, ye shall worship the Father. The true worshipers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. Sincere worship always commands respect, while the pretense of worship is beneath contempt.

The place where we have assembled on this the centennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln is, therefore, hallowed ground; and it is fitting that one of the first exercises of the day should be of a religious character. For twelve years prior to his election to the Presidency, Abraham Lincoln sat in yonder pew, more regular in his attendance at the services of the sanctuary than the average communicant, a reverent and devout worshiper of Almighty God in a Christian congregation. That fact in itself is sufficient to make this old church one of the sacred spots to be visited by every resident of Springfield, and by every one who makes the pilgrimage to this city to view the places so closely associated with the career of him whose life was sacrificed on the altar of union and liberty. But did Lincoln really worship? Was he sincere, or was it all a pretense? Strange questions to ask concerning one to whom honesty was ascribed as a ruling characteristic. Can it be that Lincoln was honest in his business dealings and in his political relations, and dishonest towards God? Yet such is the charge that has been made against him by a biographer, whose intimate business relationship has led some to accept his statements as authentic in other relations of which he had but slight personal knowledge. Listen to the accusation as it appears in Lamon's Life of Lincoln, the material for which was supplied by Mr. W. H. Herndon:

"While it is very clear that Mr. Lincoln was at all times an infidel, in the orthodox meaning of the term, it is also very clear that he was not at all times equally willing that everybody should know it. He never offered to purge or recant; but he was a wily politician and did not disdain to regulate his religious manifestations with some regard to his political interests. As he grew older he grew more cautious * * * He saw the immense and augmenting power of the churches and in times past had practically felt it. The imputation of infidelity had seriously injured him in several of his earlier political contests; and, sobered by age and experience, he was resolved that the same imputation should injure him no more. Aspiring to lead religious communities, he foresaw that he must not appear as an enemy within the gates; aspiring to public honors under the auspices of a political party which persistently summoned religious people to assist in the extirpation of that which is denounced as the 'Nation's sin,' he foresaw that he could not ask their suffrages whilst aspersing their faith. He perceived no reasons for changing his convictions, but he did perceive many good and cogent reasons for not making them public * * * At any rate Mr. Lincoln permitted himself to be misunderstood and misrepresented by some enthusiastic ministers and exhorters with whom he came in contact."

If the above charge can be sustained, Mr. Lincoln was neither a sincere worshiper nor an honest man. He might have been an infidel or even an atheist and still have been a good man. He might have worshiped here without approving every sentiment expressed from the pulpit. The Presbyterian church requires no such surrender of individual opinion on the part of worshipers, or even on the part of its members. Since the adoption of its doctrinal standards in 1729, it has welcomed to fellowship in sacred ordinances all such as there is ground to believe Christ will at last admit to the Kingdom of Heaven. In matters of individual opinion or interpretation there was room for much latitude; but there was not room for the hypocritical pretense of holding views which in his heart he spurned. "God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in TRUTH."

I am therefore called to the defense of the sincerity of Abraham Lincoln before I can establish the claim that he was a true worshiper. This requires that we shall make some examination into his religious views as well as his religious practices. In doing this I shall endeavor to set forth the facts as they are contained in the records and traditions of this church and of this community, not reading my own faith into his, but giving the testimony of those who were in a position to know, and allowing an intelligent public opinion to decide the case.

Abraham Lincoln's parents were godly people, Baptists in their denominational preferences, and his early knowledge of the Bible was derived from this source. That he was familiar with this Book, and that his literary style was to a great extent moulded by it, are facts well known to every careful reader of his letters and speeches. The straggling settlement at New Salem had neither church nor school house, and was visited seldom, if at all, by the circuit preachers of that day. There was a strong skeptical influence there, and among the few books that were passed around were the writings of Volney and Paine. It is pretty well established that Lincoln imbibed some of these views, and that he wrote an essay on the subject which his employer burned in the stove, leaving the world in ignorance of the extent of his unbelief. After coming to Springfield in 1837, he was not a regular attendant at any church, and probably very seldom went to any place of worship prior to his marriage. The family of Mr. Ninian Edwards, with whom Mary Todd made her home, were Episcopalians, and the officiating minister was the Rev. Charles Dresser, Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal church. (The records of that church show that it was the