USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > Discourse delivered at Newburyport, Mass., November 28, 1856. On occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the building of the First Presbyterian Church > Part 5
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In conclusion. After completing a full century of hallowed
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service, our venerable sanctuary has now the honor of a re-dedication. This I suppose to be an event entirely singular. One who is good authority in matters of the kind, writes to me, " Where is there another which has been thus honored ? of what similar occasion is there a memorial in our commonwealth, or in New England ?" The instances certainly must be very few, if there are any ; and it furnishes one additional reason, why God's servants should " take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof." And now, what is our out-look upon the future ; " watchman, what of the night ?" what lessons and hopes may we gather from the past ? "The watchman said, the morning cometh, and also the night." First, our statistics show, of living church members, 366 ; a number greater, it would appear, than at any former period except for a short time in 1832, when it reached 365. The benevolent contribu- tions, also, have trebled since Mr. Williams' day. Although, therefore, churches have multiplied in the place, and the congre- gation is, no doubt, smaller than during the first half of the century, the church has not lost ground.
Second, churches, like individuals, have a character, impressed upon them at the beginning of their history, by the men who founded and the circumstances which surrounded them. Cradled in a revival, a revival of sound doctrine as well as piety, and through its youth fostered by men deeply imbued with the spirit of that revival, and whose principles persecution helped to confirm, this church received a peculiar character. It has been perpetuated. The catechism is still a text-book in the Sabbath school, the doctrines of that revival are still preached, the prayer-meetings are still maintained, the charac- teristics of the church are much the same. And in cach gene- ration there have been, there are still those whose piety bas been of the olden sort, when the church was in " her first glory ;" "say not, the former days were better than these." We need
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but the divine blessing upon the means of grace, continued as in the past, and our God shall still have here a seed to serve him ; in him is our hope and our confidence.
Third, by this review we are taught to " hold fast that which is good," and not be seduced from the old foundations. Our form of government has stood the test of one hundred years. Providing all desirable safe-guards for individual rights by its courts of appeal, it has preserved a healthful discipline in the church, and brought her through many difficulties. And if at times it has stood in the way of agitators or those who were loose in doctrine, so much more reason do we find to love and cherish it. The old doctrines, too, have here commended them- selves by their fruits. The speenlations of men have never entered this pulpit. And if the track of our history is one luminous with examples of a devout, prayerful, sterling yet benevolent piety, under the preaching of the old doctrines were they formed and trained. "Hold fast, therefore, the form of sound words ;" for your own sakes, for the sake of your chil- dren, for the sake of religion. The circumstances of the day, render this a point of peculiar importance. Your fathers made their protest against Arminianism. "The Arminian churches, it has been said, in that revival stood as a barrier to check the fanaticism? which threatened the land "-they were the " ballast- chests " which restored the vessel's balance, when by the rush of passengers to the opposite side, a fatal disaster was impend- ing. Rather would I say, it was they that kept her down, and by long persistence caused the panic and the rush. It was churches like this and men like Parsons that restored the vessel's trim.
Of certain philosophic subtleties which prevailed carly in this century, a divine of note attributes the arrest, to " the power that had been left among the unsophisticated churches by Whitefield and the Tennents ;" their preventive, although
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unsuspecting antagonism. And to the various errors and the abounding ungodliness and wickedness of the present day, let us offer the same " preventive antagonism." Such has been the position and mission of this church from the beginning. A controversial or antagonistic attitude in any other way than that alluded to, this church has never assumed. The only weapons of her armory are the doctrines of the Gospel, taught in their simplicity and plainness in her Sabbath school and sanctuary, and the prayer-meeting. These are her burnished weapons. It has been the preaching of these doctrines, and the faith and illustration of these doctrines in her members, that have alone given her standing among the churches of Christ.
Finally. There was in Sparta the following custom. The inhabitants, on a certain day, divided themselves into three companies, the old, the middle aged and the young ; and each company had its speaker. The old then said to the middle aged :
" We have been in days of old, Wise, generous, brave and bold "-
to which they responded,
" That which .in days of yore ye were, We at the present moment are."
In turn the young now reply :
"Hereafter at our country's call, We promise to surpass you all."
My young friends, the fathers of this church were men of vigorous and exemplary picty ; and if in any measure their successors have fallen behind, I trust they have not been entirely unworthy of this lineage. The post of duty will soon be yours; and what this church is to be in coming years, it is for you to decide. Aim, then, by a diligent improvement of your priv- ileges, and with fervent prayers for grace to help you, to sur- pass them all ; to make this church what it was in "her first glory " not only, but tenfold better. I commend to you the words of John Higginson in 1663, as still good and appropriate: " If any man amongst us make religion as twelve and the world
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as thirteen, let him know he hath neither the spirit of a true New England man, nor yet of a sincere Christian."
And now, Lord God of the fathers, thee we invoke for their children, that their heart may be perfect with thee, to walk in thy statutes, and to keep thy commandments; and that thou would'st maintain the cause of thy people at all times, as the matter shall require, and hearken unto them in all that they may call for unto thee. Amen.
MINISTERS THAT HAVE SPRUNG FROM THIS CHURCH.
Rev. Nathaniel Noyes,* Maine.
Caleb Jewett,* Gorham, Me.
Paul Coffin, D. D.,* Maine.
Thomas Peirce,* Maine.
Stephen Sewell,* Elder, voice failed, preached at times. Silas Moody,* Maine.
Jonathan Atkinson,* Limerick, Me.
¥ James Morse, D. D.," Episcopal, Newburyport.
Jeremiah Noyes .*
Eben Coffin,* Brunswick.
Jonathan Greenleaf, D. D., Brooklyn.
Daniel D. Tappan,* New Hampshire.
66 Jacob Eastman, Methuen.
William Horton, Episcopal.
George Noyes, D. D., Professor at Cambridge.
John March,* Belleville.
Warren Nichols, Home Missionary.
M. A. H. Niles,* Congregationalist.
Thomas M. Clark, D. D., Bishop of Rhode Island. John Pike, Rowley.
= William C. Dana, Charleston, S. C.
Daniel T. Smith, D. D., Professor at Bangor.
William P. Lunt, D. D., Quincy.
William C. Greenleaf, Springfield, Ill.
Isaac W. Wheelwright, never settled.
Rufus W. Clark, East Boston.
William Hills,* the West.
66 George Clark, Episcopal, Georgia.
¥ Samuel Clark, Episcopal, New Jersey.
Joseph Noyes, New Jersey.
Jolin E. Emerson, Newburyport. Elias Nason, Natick.
Roger S. Howard, Episcopal, Bangor.
Francke Williams, M. D.
APPENDIX.
One hundred years having elapsed in July since the building of the church, extensive repairs were commenced under an intelligent and judicious committee, viz. : Isaac H. Boardman, Benjamin Harrod, William Pritchard, John N. Cushing and William Graves, Esqs. July 16, a " corner stone " was laid, with appropriate services, none having been found under the building. The house was re-opened November 28th, the day after Thanksgiving, and re-dedicatory services held. The fol- lowing hymns were written for the occasion.
HYMN, BY GEORGE W. CAMPBELL.
A hundred rolling years have fled, Since the true hearted, honored dead This temple reared, where they might meet, To sit and learn at Jesus' feet.
His voice inspiring urged them on, Whose name is graved on yonder stone; His stirring voice is hushed, and here He sweetly sleeps, till Christ appears.
Pastors, whose lips the altar fire Had touched, their accents to inspire, Here warned of Sin's destroying sway, "Allured to Heaven, and led the way."
Their virtues let us emulate, Who, sternly good and simply great, Bowed here, imploring grace divine, But made their hearts a holier shrine.
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Still may we guard with jealous care The truths the fathers held so dear; Their Savior serve, like them press on And sing at last, the vict'ry won.
Ever upon this sacred height, May Christians keep the beacon bright; Still may it light the heavenly way, Till the glad dawn of endless day.
HYMN, BY HON. GEORGE LUNT.
Behold ! the house of God ! Our grateful toil is done; These courts a hundred years have trod The father and the son.
Within its sacred walls, Once more each reverend head, Each sainted form the heart recalls, Fathers and mothers dead.
They wrought with pious hands, In God they put their trust, And like his word their memory stands, To consecrate their dust.
Yet, though the house be drest With honors newly won, While they from earthly labor rest, Our work is but begun.
Before us still their race, By bright example given, Their faith to keep, to win their grace, And meet them safe in Heaven :
Of ministers from a distance, there were present Rev. Dr. Proudfit of New Brunswick, N. J., Dr. Stearns of Newark, Dr. Vermilye of the Collegiate Dutch Reformed Church in New York, Dr. Worcester of Salem, Dr. Perry of Groveland, Dr. Chickering of Portland, Rev. Messrs. Kimball, Fitz and Southgate of Ipswich, Pike of Rowley, Tenney of Byfield,
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Prince of Georgetown, Herbert of West Newbury, Thompson of Amesbury ; with those in town.
In the afternoon addresses were made. The venerable Dr. Dana, now 85 years of age, opened his remarks with an affect- ing allusion to the occasion ; and then addressed his audience in words which his years made impressively solemn :
" Once more," he said, " he was permitted to stand before this dear church and to address his dear friends. His feelings it was difficult for him to explain, or for us to conceive. The occasion called back his mind to scenes long passed-to periods of great interest-and found him once again in the midst of a beloved people, with an assurance of their continued regard and kind sympathies. The seasons he had enjoyed with this church, when as their pastor he was with them in their joys and their sorrows, in sickness and in health, were this day renewed ; and memories were awak- ened of a portion of life which would never be forgotten. This beloved people had always been the subject of his prayers. While he had enjoyed this occasion, his mind had been deeply impressed with one thought; the vast importance of properly hearing the gospel preached. By way of putting out some particular thoughit to illustrate the importance of this matter, he would look to the great number who have rightfully heard the gospel preached in this church. Who could doubt that they were now joined to the angels in their happy worship; and how many who now live will, by and by, find themselves in the same holy and happy regions of bliss. He would have his hearers ponder . these thoughts and pray over them. He would suggest a few thoughts as to the proper manner of preaching and hearing the gospel. 1st. He would have the minister fix his undivided attention upon the Word of Life, and select the purest topics for his sermons, the character of God-the undying love of our Savior-the mercy of our Redeemer-the everlasting happiness of the Christian and the equally undying misery of the sinner, beyond the grave. Topics of great interest like these should demand his fixed attention, and be presented in a manner to command the hearers. It was a beautiful impression that the angels of heaven were present in our worship; he would have in our ministrations a devoutness that would be acceptable to them. God is always present with us, his searching eye scans our hearts, and he would that this presence should never be forgotten, and never be without its influence. 2d. He would impress upon the minister the importance of faith, and the import- ar.ce of inculcating in the hearts of his hearers a corresponding implicit faith in his doctrines. By these he did not mean a blind belief and bigotry in all things. It was the duty of all to examine carefully and in the right spirit. When the hearer is satisfied that the preacher declares the truth, it is his duty to receive such truths with implicit faith. He knew that some were luke-warm, and although they had faith, and the doctrines inculcated were clear to them, yet they would go away and find fanlt with the preach-
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er. They make a sad mistake, to their own great injury and to the discour- agement of the preacher. 3d. The importance of self-application. He was bold to say that a vast amount of good was lost through this neglect. A preacher may be fervent and zealous, he may bestow much care upon his sermons and pains upon his preaching, his doctrine may be pure, and his truths weighty, yet if he fails in application, his hearers go away without benefit. He would entreat them, if they would not lose their labor, to give their sermons an application.
We should come to the house of God with the desire and purpose to gain good. He was glad to know that many did come with the full belief and expectation that here they would receive good, and receive advantage in the way of religion, and progress in the pathway to Heaven. God treals them according to their purposes and actions. But alas! for the multitude who come without such feelings, and who gain no real good, they too are treated according to their merits. He wouldhave a full attendance at every service, and would desire that no one should depart without a blessing. It would do no hearer any harm to attend every sermon. What a new air it would create could it be so. What a new kind of people we should have. How pleasant for the preacher to come with this impression upon his heart. He would have him reflect that the sermon he listens to may be the last he will ever hear. He would have him make the consideration and the purity of the heart a preparation for eternity. The hearing of the Gospel to be truly profitable must be attended with prayer. To go to God in prayer woud greatly aid in hearing and speaking his divine truths. The most earnest listeners come from their bended knees. No one could tell how much aid this custom would be to us. It would lighten the labor of the preacher, give to his tongue unusual eloquence in the unfolding of the gospel, and open the understanding and hearts of his people. If all could be thus be prepared what a living hope could we have.
lle congratulated the church on its prosperity-a prosperity dear to his heart-and closed with an earnest entreaty to all to direct their thoughts to the welfare of their souls. and prepare themselves for a glorious immor- tality."
After the close of Dr. Dana's remarks, DR. PROUDFIT spoke as follows :-
I am happy to be with you my friends, to-day, and join you in thankful commemoration of the goodness of God to this church. The happy years of pastoral labors and social joys which I spent among this people-none happier in the retrospect of the past, none happier, I may add, among the anticipations of the future, on this side Heaven-come up before my mem- ory. I came among you little more than a boy in years, and quite destitute of pastoral experience; I succeeded to men eminent in the Church of God for every ministerial endowment ; how kindly you bore with my youth and immaturity, how cordially you sustained me, how generously you appreci-
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ated me, I can never forget. Nor can I forget, nor you, the rich blessing of God which rested on our mutual relation. I scattered the seed of the Spirit with a weak and trembling hand, but lo! it sprang up before my eyes and ripened quickly to fruit ; and my own hand was permitted to gather much of it into the garner of God. These were the first years of my ministry ; we cannot, I know, judge of the consequences of our own labor, but as to visible result, they were far the most fruitful. Your pastor has given you the statistics : two hundred and eighteen added to this church in those five years-an annual average of thirty-nine. This is something for a man to remember with joy se long as life shall last, the traces of which can never be obliterated, but like an incision ou a living tree, will grow deeper, broader and more vivid while the soul itself shall live. No doubt much of this was fruit ripened from seed sown long before. The perpetual culture of the Christian ministry is necessary to its results. [ am willing to share my joy with those who sowed before me and those who reaped after me. He that soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice together. No mean rivalry, no invidious competition over the works and achievements of Christian love, should ever exist ; but mutual joy, joy together. Yet I do love to dwell with thankful and wondering joy on these remembrances of my early min- istry-that period of quiet, visible, and abundant growth and fruitfulness. It was the first thrust of my sickle into the Spiritual harvest, and it yielded the largest and fullest sheaf. If there is somewhat of " glorying " in the recollection, I do not suppress it. Who would not rather-who, at least, that looks at the whole course of this immortal existence, would not rather convert one to God than found a State or discover a continent ? Who would not rather "shine as the stars forever and ever," than flash and glitter for a brief hour across the lower atmosphere of this world ? If it is the boldest ambition, it is the purest. We may indulge its highest aspirations without fear of selfish taint. God has enjoined it. God manifest in the flesh looked to its gratification as to " the joy that was set before him." May he cause it to burn in my soul, and in the souls of all his ministers with an everlasting flame.
The presence of these beloved and honored brethren, Drs. Dana, With- ington and Dimmick, with the remembrance of others departed, add a solemn interest to this scene. We have preached together, prayed together, deliberated together, held an alternate weekly lecture and a commen monthly concert ; and not one word of unkind dispute or altercation has ever passed between us. This is a pleasant recollection to-day. We have had differences, should doubtless have them now, and that too upon matters which we deem important; but not important enough to cause the severing of Christian tics or the interruption of ministerial intercourse.
Among the thoughts which press for utterance at this hour, some of the most solemn are those which are awakened by the very name of this festi- val. A hundred years ! The world has seen but some fifty-eight of these periods, and will not, probably, see so many more. A hundred years ! Giant strides of time they are, these centuries. Time will not take many
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such to reach the end and witness the completion of " the mystery of God." One hundred years back, and this powerful nation was not founded. The venerable church in which we stand is older than our republic by some quarter of a century. While these 100 years have been rolling away, what vast changes have taken place in the comparative power and political rela- tions of the nations, in the condition of science, the application of material forces, the visible boundaries of the kingdom of God! No century, since time began his march to the song of the morning stars and the shouts of the sons of God, has witnessed such changes, such progress, such amazing develop- ments as the last. The next will be still more memorable. The prophetic voice tells us that events will erowd upon each other with increasing rapid- ity as the world grows old and the end approaches. A hundred years hence ! Who will attempt to forecast what shall then have taken place ? One thing we may look upon as certain ; at the expiration of that period, you and I will not be here. Your pastor's retrospect has shown that four generations have passed away since this century began. Four generations of church members and of hearers ! Four generations of believers and of unbelievers ! That is a solemn reflection. Yes, if another centennial cel- ebration shall be held in this house, you and I will not be here. Not here, but where ? Where? O, it is the great end of the ministry, it is the great business of life to get that question happily answered. Where? Let it never cease to agitate our souls till we can say with humble faith, " When I go hence and am no more seen, I shall be at home with the Lord. Neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, shall separate me from the love of Christ."
All that meets the eye this morning, as compared with former years, is changed. The children have grown up into men and women. I look over the pews in vain for many beloved faces of former days-faces beaming with intense and thoughtful interest in the great themes of the Gospel. They are not here. Other occupants hold these pews, other feet walk in these aisles, other forms fill youder choir, other hands touch the organ, other voices resound from these walls.
But amidst all these changes there is something here that is not changed, that will never change. The faith that founded this church, the love which like a holy bond has held it together-the spirit of Christian liberality and activity which has caused it to abound in all holy works and Christian charities, (Dr. Cornelius once told me that the largest collection he ever took up for Foreign Mission, was from this church), all these, I hope and believe, are here yet. "The Church,"' said an eloquent preacher fourteen centuries ago, " not the place, but the character, spirit, life." That is the church which stands here unchanged to-day. The material church deeays and is repaired, grows antiquated and is re-fashioned, falls down and is re-built. But the Spiritual Church cannot decay, and undergoes no changes but by growth, progress, expansion. Its materials are "living stones," it is "a spiritual house." It cannot change except by a continual approxima- tion to that form of perfect grandeur and beauty in which it will stand forth
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at last-every renewed soul from the creation to the end being inserted just in its right place.
There is not a more beautiful illustration of this immortality of the life of the Spirit than the constant mutual love of those who are related by spirit- mal ties and sympathies-especially by those which unite [a pastor to his people. This truth, in fact, first struck my mind in a real and living way as exemplified by yourselves. From my first coming here to this day, I have continued to receive from this people proofs of constant, generous Christian love ; now in one form, now in another, but always beautiful, always precious for the spirit which prompted them. Far above all others, I prize and am thankful for the prayers which have here been offered up for me. Paul says to his Christian friends, " I have all and abound. I am full." But amidst all this abundance and sufficiency, he begs a continu- ance of their prayers. I have often felt in my own soul and seen in my house what I believed, and now believe, to be the blessed virtue of the prayers which have been offered for me and mine in this church. Brethren, pray for us. And for myself, so long as I shall tread the path to the throne of grace, "my former flock "' will be remembered in my intercessions.
If time and premonition had permitted me to take a subject to-day, it would have been the influences and benefits of the pastoral relation ; not its benefits to the people only, though these, I believe, are beyond all appreci- ation. How much of our American liberty, with the solid intellectual and moral basis on which it rests, is due to the Christian pulpit and preacher, I will not attempt to decide. Certain it is, that liberty in the true republican idea of it, has no existence on earth but in connection with a free gospel ministry. It is not, therefore, extravagant to suppose that it is really an emanation from that of which it is only found as a concomitant. Since I have ceased from the pastorate and ministered occasionally to many differ- ent congregations, I have been more powerfully struck with this fact than ever before. Often, as I have looked from the pulpit over the assembled congregation, it has occurred to me that the spectacle is unique and strictly American. Nowhere does it meet the eye out of our own country. I am not insensible to the rich and beautiful culture-Christian culture, of the old world. But it is, in its finest aspects, an individual affair. It is the general aspect of the American congregation which characterises and dis- tinguishes it. Intelligence, competency, self-reliance, reverence for the word of God combined with a disposition to scrutinize everything that claims its sanction, this is what seems to me to be the congregational ex- pression of the assemblies in our American churches. Now these are the very habits, mental and moral, which go to make up a freeman-thoughtful, earnest, fearing God, and therefore fearing nothing else, bowing with awful reverence to truth and law, but looking with bold and searching scrutiny into the things which claim his homage under these venerable names. The disposition to question and investigate, if it do not stagnate into skepti- cism, is favorable to freedom and progress. This disposition is constantly cherished by the Christian ministry, which is ever throwing out great and
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