USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the First church in Boston, 1630-1880 > Part 8
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Our congregation, small as it was, constituted the bulk of the population of Boston. The influence which it had on the government of the colony may well be imagined when we consider that no one was a freeman until he became a member of a church ; 1 that the minister was always consulted by the Gov- ernor in any important emergency, and very often his decision entirely settled the matter.
The growth of our church, from the foundation down to the present time, and the various changes
1 " We must be careful to bear in mind, however, that when this provi- sion was passed, viz. in May, 1631, Massachusetts was a little community of traders, having no semblance to a state," so that the hardship of the depri- vation did not count for much till the latter condition was realized. - DEX- TER's Congregationalism of the last Three Hundred Years, etc., 420 et seq.
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FIRST CHURCH IN BOSTON. [1630-32.
which have taken place in the sentiments of the worshippers, during a period of two centuries and a half, open up another field of inquiry more properly included in a later period of our history. All that concerns us in this connection is simply to hint at the origin and foundation of this church.
Who that reflects for one moment on the manner of this planting will feel the least surprised at the result ? But will he not have reason to be proud of that result? Built on a sure foundation, the ark of the Lord has continued during the space of two centuries and a half. The same covenant, the same principles of purity and liberty which our fathers established, have come down to us from generation to generation, shedding their blessings not only on our own body of worshippers, but on the whole community. Well may such an influence be called one of the " distinguishing glories of New Eng- land."
And now, before we close this chapter, let us take a glance at the mode of church worship and gov- ernment peculiar to the Puritans. The order of worship was common to all the churches, with per- haps some slight variations. That of Boston Church is thus described. " Every Sabbath, or Lord's day, they come together at Boston by wringing of a bell,1
1 At first by beat of the drum. For an account of the various ways (at first of necessity) resorted to for summoning people to the meeting, e. g. by blowing a shell or horn, and raising a flag, - methods resorted to as late as the middle of the last century, - see an interesting note to Dexter's Con- gregationalism, 452.
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1630-32.]
about nine of the clock or before. The Pastor be- gins with solemn prayer continuing about a quarter of an houre. The Teacher then readeth and expound- eth a chapter; then a Psalme is sung, which ever one of the ruling Elders dictates. After that the Pastor preacheth a sermon, and sometimes extempore ex- horts. Then the Teacher concludes with prayer and a blessing." Once a month they observed the Lord's Supper, of which notice was given a fortnight in advance. The ministers and ruling elders sat at the table, the rest in their seats or upon forms. The afternoon service began at two o'clock. The pastor began as before noon ; a psalm was sung, and the teacher preached his sermon. After and before the sermon was a prayer. Then followed baptism, if there was any. After this ceremony a contribu- tion was taken up; one of the deacons saying, " Brethren of the congregation, now there is time left for contribution, wherefore as God hath pros- pered you, so freely .offer." The magistrates and chief gentlemen then passed up, followed by the elders, and after them the rest of the congregation, one by one, all the men and all single persons, widows, and women in absence of their husbands, and deposited their offerings in a wooden box in charge of the deacon, if money or papers promising money; if anything more bulky, then to one side ; 1
1 " I have seen a faire gilt cup with a cover, offered there by one, which is still used at the Communion." - LECHFORD'S Plain Dealing, 15. This cup may still be among the valuable collection of church silver, and, if so, would rival in antiquity the famous Winthrop cup.
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[1630-32.
and, after doing this, passed another way back to' their scats.1 Then followed admission of members and hearing of complaints. If not too late, they sang a psalm, and then the pastor closed with a prayer and blessing. " Upon the week dayes, there are Lectures in divers townes, and in Boston, upon Thursdayes, when Master Cotton teacheth out of the Revelation." 2
As for the form of church government, "Every church hath power of government in, and by itselffe, and no church, or Officers, have power over one an- other but by way of advice or counsaile, voluntarily given or besought, saving that the General Court, now and then, over-rule some church matters ; and of late, divers of the Ministerie have had set meetings to order church matters; whereby it is conceived they tend towards Presbyterian rule." 3
The governing body of officers has already been alluded to, together with their proper functions. The church endeavored to rule as much as possible by unanimous consent. But where they could not agree, as, for example, on the admission or censure of a member, the matter was referred to a select council
1 Until 1710, and even later, careful attention was given to the seating of people in meeting, with reference to social or civil dignity.
2 Winthrop's Journal gives the earliest notice of this lecture.
3 The first synod, or council of ministers and others, was held at Cambridge (then Newtown), the 30th of August, 1637, and just escaped dealing with the famous Hutchinsonian controversy, which came up before the General Court two months later. John Cotton, the " patriarch of New England," at that time teacher of the church, attended with John Wilson, pastor, as messengers to the council. John Davenport, first of New Haven, afterwards of Boston Church, was also one of the twenty-five ministers summoned. See Chap II.
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1630-32.]
to hear and pass upon privately, or in presence of such of the brethren as saw fit to attend. The rules of admission and expulsion were very strict, as in- stance the following, from the church records : -
"The 17th of ye 5th Moneth (1636). Thomas Matson, formerly received by Communion'of churches, but now as a member vpon ye confession of his fayth & repentance & pfessed subjection to ye Lord Jesus Christ according to ye Covenant of the Gospell, was admitted.
" The 24th of ye same 5"! Moneth Robert Parker o' brother whoe was Excomunicate y" 6. of ye 10th Moneth (1635) for scandalous oppression of his wives children in selling away their inheritance from y" & other hard vsage both of her & y' was this day vpon pfession of his repentance received againe to ye fellowship of ye Church."
"The 29th day of ye 2ª Moneth 1638. Anne Walker ye wife of one Richard Walker & sometime ye wife & widdowe of or Brother Robert Houlton having before this day beene often privately Admonished of sundry Scandalls, as of Drunkenish, Intemperate, & vncleane or wantonish behav- iors, & likewise of Cruelty towards her children & also of manifold lyes & still to this day psisting impenitently therein, was therefore now w" Joynt. Consent of ye Con- gregation Cast out of ye Church."
"The 13th of ye 11th Moneth (1638). Our brother Richard Wayte having purloyned out of buckskyn lether brought vnto him, soe much thereof as would make 3. mens gloves to y" Scandall of sundry w"out, as well as of his brethren, & also having beene by some of ye brethren dealt with all for it, did often deny & forsweare ye same, w"hout hark- ening to their Convincings according to ye Rule, or to ye Church to weh it was brought, was therefore this day, wth Joynt Consent of y" Congregation, Cast out of ye Church.
" The 26th day of ye same 9th Moneth (1639) being a day of Publique fast for our Congregation, our brother Mr
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[1630-32.
Robert Keayne was Admonisht by o' Pastor in ye Name of ye Church for selling his wares at excessive Rates, to ya Dishonor of Gods Name, ye Offence of y" Generall Co't, & ye Publique Scandall of ye Cuntry."
" The 8' Day of ye, sd 1" Moneth 1640. Also, o' Sistar Temperance Sweete ye wife of one John Sweete was by o' Pastor (in ye Name of ye Lord & wth ye Consent of ye Church (taken by their silence) Admonisht for having received into house & given entertainm' vnto disorderly Company & ministring vnto y" wine & strong waters even vnto Drunkennesse & yt not w"out some iniquity both in ye measure & pryce thereof." 1
Another instance is that of a gentlewoman who was excommunicated for saying : " A brother and others she feared, did conspire to arbitrate the price of Joyners work of a chamber too high, and endeav- oring to bring the same into Civill Cognizance, not proceeding to take two or three to convince the party, and so to tell the Church, (though the first told the party of it) and this without her husband."
Still another instance is that of a good woman who was severely dealt with because she absented herself from meeting more than was thought proper. Her reason for doing so was, in brief, because she did not like the kind of preaching she heard. It mattered not which of the two powers, civil or ecclesiastical, first got jurisdiction. They both pro- ceeded to try the cause, pari or non pari passu. The views of church government and order, at first indeterminate, were, by the powerful influence of John Cotton and others, embodied in a platform
1 Church Records, 8 et seq.
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or religious constitution, called the Cambridge Plat- form, afterwards tacitly adopted as authority in all questions relating to church government. The power of the church made itself felt in those days against all who refused to conform to the established tenets.
Any such offender was first admonished, and then, if he did not obey, was excommunicated, and there- after had no more rights than an Indian. It is curious to note how even the great John Cotton, leader of the church and expounder of religion, barely escaped censure for the sympathy which he was supposed to have secretly entertained for the views of the famous Anne Hutchinson. If we seek for the causes of this antagonism, they will be found in the temper of the age. The disorder, of which Puritan intolerance was the exponent in New England, was prevalent all over Christendom. All the religious world was busy trying to separate the chaff from the wheat. In New England, baptized in freedom of religion, they had not yet wrought out the problem how to unite toleration with a vigorous defence of the truth. It was still the age of witch- craft as well as of reformation. As long as the spirit of the former was abroad in the land, so long must the intolerance of the latter remain.
And yet, even in New England, allowance must be made for the peculiar kind of experiment that was set on foot. No scheme of the kind had ever before been attempted. " By charter from the Eng-
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lish crown, the land was theirs as against all other civilized people, and they had a right to choose according to their own rules the associates who should help them to occupy and govern it. Exer- cising this right, they determined that magistracy and citizenship should belong only to Christian men, ascertained to be such by the best test which they knew how to apply." 1 All who could not come up to their standard were excluded, and if any persisted in staying where they were not wanted, more effec- tive measures were tried. From this point of view the charge of intolerance perhaps could hardly be made out.
As we look back on that early church in the wilderness, with its noble company of worshippers, we strive in vain to recall a like picture. The severe aspect of the structure called a meeting-house,2 rudely fashioned from clay and stone, and thatched from the weather, must have been in marked con- trast with what its occupants had been accustomed to at home, and in only too sad keeping with the stern lot they had encountered from the moment of setting foot on this virgin soil.
And that goodly company of men and women gathered within its sacred walls! Winthrop, Dud- ley, Humphrey, Vane, Endicott, are but a few of those most readily called to mind, whose presence
1 Dexter's Congregationalism, 420, note.
2 " Our fathers, from conscience, called their houses for worship 'meeting- houses.'" - DEXTER'S Congregationalism, 454.
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filled this little sanctuary, and whose delight it was to sit and listen to John Cotton as he unfolded the Scriptures for their guidance and action.
We, whose happy lot it is to enjoy the fruits of their hard labors, can form but a faint conception of the struggle it must have cost even these sturdy zealots, to abandon their old home with its precious memories and associations, all that they held most dear, and with a wilderness around them, set them- selves about a task full of nothing but anxieties and uncertainties. We lose sight of the great responsi- bility they thereby incurred, - leaders in a vast en- terprise, with no rule of action to guide them, and a wilderness to tame before them. We call them over-zealous, over-firm, narrow, and bigoted. This is the repelling side of their nature. Take a differ- ent view, and we shall find that these Puritan fathers were good and faithful men, " blameless and exem- plary in character and life," and founders of a godly commonwealth. " The household purity, the do- mestic fidelity, the family discipline, the industry, thrift, and steadily increasing prosperity," of the Bay Colony, are all the fruits of their influence.
While we may be tempted to find fault with their ways and methods, let us not keep out of sight their true and noble natures.
CHAPTER II.
1633-1652. JOHN COTTON.
Arrival of Cotton. - His Installation as Teacher. -- Life of Cotton. - Boston Association of Congregational Ministers. - Cotton's Influ- ence. - Salaries of the Ministers, how provided for. - Sympathy for the Indians. - Discussion about Veils. - Dispute with Roger Williams. - Dismissal from First Church doubted by some of Charlestown. - Rules of Doctrine laid down by Cotton. - Unsuc- cessful Attempt to reduce the Number of Lectures. - Ministers appointed to "deal " with Eliot. - Convince him of Error. - Cotton helps to save the Common. --- Council of Ministers at Bos- ton. - Endicott admonished for defacing the Crosses. - Return of Wilson. - Arrival of Vane and Norton. - Formation of Cam- bridge Church. - Fast proclaimed in all the Churches. - Growth of Liberalism. - Sermon by Peter. - Hutchinsonian Controversy. - Trouble with Wheelwright. - Banishment of Mrs. Hutchinson. Attempt to reclaim her, and to admonish her Son Francis Hutch- inson. - Banishment of Underhill. - Collins and Hutchinson Fined. - Keayne dealt with for Overcharging. - Building of Sec- ond House of Worship. -- Ministers called to Westminster As- sembly. - La Tour. - Gorton. - Death of Winthrop. - Discontent in Hingham. - Mission to Bermuda. - Gathering of Second Church.
THIS period in the history of First Church is amply chronicled by Winthrop in his " Jour- nal of New England." Following the lead of a dis- tinguished biographer,1 " instead of diluting it into a mixture from which all the pungency and raciness
1 Campbell's Lives of the Lord Chancellors of England, Vol. I. 66.
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would evaporate, I think I shall much better con- vey an accurate notion of the character of the indi- vidual, and of the manners of the times, by a liberal transcript of a few of the most remarkable passages of this interesting work."
" 1633], Sept. 4," Arrived the "Griffin," having on board John Cotton. "They gat out of England with much difficulty, all places being belaid to have taken Mr. Cotton and . Mr. Hooker, who had been long sought for to have been brought into the high commission; but the master being bound to touch at the Wight, the pursui- vants attended there, and, in the meantime, the said min- isters were taken in at the Downs."
"On Saturday evening the congregation [of Boston] met in their ordinary exercise, and Mr. Cotton, being de- sired to speak to the question (which was of the church), he showed, out of the Canticles, 6, that some churches were as queens, some as concubines, some as damsels, and some as doves, &c. He was then (with his wife) propounded to be admitted a member. The Lord's day following, he exercised in the afternoon, and being to be admitted, he signified his desire and readiness to make his confession according to order, which he said might be sufficient in declaring his faith about baptism (which he then desired for his child, born in their passage, and there- fore named Scaborn). He gave two reasons why he did not baptize it at sea, (not for want of fresh water, for he held, sea water would have served:) 1, because they had no settled congregation there; 2, because a minister hath no power to give the seals but in his own congrega- tion. He desired his wife might also be admitted a mem- ber, and gave a modest testimony of her, but withal requested, that she might not be put to make open confession, &c., which he said was against the apostle's
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rule, and not fit for women's modesty; but that the elders might examine her in private. So she was asked, if she did consent in the confession of faithi made by her hus- band, and if she did desire to be admitted, &c .; whereto she answered affirmatively; and so both were admitted, and their child baptized, the father presenting it (the child's baptism being, as he did then affirm, in another case, the father's incentive for the help of his faith, &c.)."
" 17]. The governour and council met at Boston, and called the ministers and elders of all the churches [Salem, Watertown, Dorchester, and Roxbury] to consider about Mr. Cotton his sitting down. He was desired to divers places, and those who came with him desired he might sit down where they might keep store of cattle; but it was agreed, by full consent, that the fittest place for him was Boston, and in that respect those of Boston might take farms in any part of the bay not belonging to other towns ; and that (keeping a lecture) he should have some maintenance out of the treasury. But divers of the counsel, upon their second thoughts, did after refuse this contribution."
" October 10]. A fast was kept at Boston, and Mr. Leverett,1 an ancient, sincere professor, of Mr. Cotton's congregation in England, was chosen a ruling elder, and Mr. Firmin, a godly man, an apothecary of Sudbury in England, was chosen deacon, by imposition of hands; and Mr. Cotton was then chosen teacher of the congregation of Boston, and ordained by imposition of the hands of the presbytery, in this manner : First, he was chosen by all the congregation, testifying their consent by erection of hands. Then Mr. Wilson, the pastor, demanded of him, if he did accept of that call. He paused, and then spake to this effect: that howsoever he knew himself unworthy and 1
1 N. E. Hist. and Geneal. Reg. (1850) 121. " He died the 3 : of ye 219, 1650, having been an useful man both to the church and town." - Church Records, 258.
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unsufficient for that place; yet, having observed all the passages of God's providence, (which he reckoned up in particular) in calling him to it, he could not but accept it. Then the pastor and the two elders laid their hands upon his head, and the pastor prayed, and then taking off their hands, laid them on again, and, speaking to him by his name, they did thenceforth design him to the said office, in the name of the Holy Ghost, and did give him the charge of the congregation, and did thereby (as by a sign from God) indue him with the gifts fit for his office; and lastly did bless him. Then the neighboring ministers, which were present, did (at the pastor's motion ) give him the right hand of fellowship, and the pastor made a stipulation between him and the congregation."
LIFE OF COTTON.
Cotton came of a good and ancient family. He was the eldest son of Rowland Cotton, a lawyer of Derby in Derbyshire, England; was born in that town on December 4, 1585, and baptized the 15th of the same month. The son of a Puritan father, he naturally imbibed his parent's strict religious views and doctrine. In the year 1598, at the age of thirteen, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge (preferred by Puritans to Oxford), where he received his degree of B. A. in 1602-3,1 and that of M. A. in 1606. From Trinity he went to Emmanuel Col- lege, and there became, successively, fellow, dean, catechist, and head lecturer. He had by this time
1 The records of Trinity do not extend so far back as the date of his first degree; but his M. A. is recorded, and from that the former can be deduced with reasonable certainty.
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acquired a great reputation for scholarship. His degree of B. D. was received at Emmanuel.
" SUPPLICAT FOR B. D.1
" Coll Eman : -
" Supplieat Reverentiis vestris Johannes Cotton ut studium 7 annorum in Sacrâ Theologia postquam rexerit in Artibus una cum omnibus Oppositionibus, Responsionibus, Sermonibus, coterisque Exercittuis per Statuta Regia requisitis sufficiat et tam, ad opponendum quam ad intrandum in eadem Sacrâ · Theologiâ." " GUILILIELMUS SANDCROFT."
He was chosen to fill the office of vicar of St. Botolph's Church in Old Boston on June 24, 1612. The following is the entry on the corporation records : -
" Mr. John Cotton, Master of Arts, is now elected vicar of this Borough, in the room and place of Mr. Wooll, the late incumbent, for that Mr. Alexander upon whom it was purposed to bestow the vicarage has yielded up the same.
1 flis sermons at the University, at first, were more calculated to charm the intellect than to refresh the soul. " He was at last awakened," says George Hood (who derives the account from Cotton Mather), in his little sketch of Cotton, appended to his " History of Music in New England," "by hearing a sermon from Dr. Sibs, on the misery of those who have but a negative righteousness. This was the means of turning not only his heart towards vital religion, but his whole course of action for life. From this time he preached Christ and him crucified. But it cost him his fame at the University. The wits and scholars were unwilling to hear the truth, and the Vice-Chancellor no longer offered him the hand of friendship." - Ibid., 205. Dr. William Everett discusses the subject in a poem on "Cotton in the Pulpit at St. Mary's," delivered at the recent celebration of the 250th anniversary of First Church in Boston. - The Commemoration by the First Church in Boston, etc. (1881), 132.
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Mr. Cotton is to have his presentation forthwith' sealed, and to have the same stipend and allowance, that Mr. Wooll had."
His election came about in a curious way. The ballots were evenly divided between Cotton and one other candidate. The mayor had the cast- ing vote, and did not favor Cotton, but curiously enough twice made the mistake of voting for him. When he called for a third ballot to rectify his error, they refused his request, whereupon the choice fell upon Cotton, through the blunder of his most ardent opponent.1 Soon after his settlement at Old Boston he went to Cambridge to receive his degree of Bachelor of Divinity. In 1613 the parish regis- ter of Balsham, County of Cambridge, records his marriage with Elizabeth Horrocks of Cambridge. " Contractora nomina Anno Dom. 1613 Johannes Cotton de Boston clerc in Theolog. Baccalaureus and Elizabetha Horrocks de Cantab : Sigel. nupti July 3." He continued in his labors at Old Boston for nearly twenty years, preaching with marked suc- cess. Great numbers of people came from all parts to hear him, till at last his fame reached the cars of Bishop Laud. That persecutor of the Puritans made no exception in his case, but strove hard to have him arrested for non-conformity. The crisis came shortly after his second marriage to Sarah Story in Old Boston, April 25, 1632. In 1631 he had been obliged to give up preaching on account
1 Cotton Mather's Life of Cotton.
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of a severe indisposition, and for a short time found a residence with the Earl of Lincoln, the father of the Lady Arbella, whose brief and romantic career has been previously mentioned.1 While there he performed the duties of chaplain, and in April, 1631, lost his first wife.
Hutchinson says that Cotton had been threatened several times with proceedings for non-conformity, but that Thomas Leverett2 made intercession and got him off. One instance is worth mentioning, because of its close resemblance to an event in our early colonial history. In 1621 he was accused, with others, of a "very evil done and dangerous matter." Somebody had cut off the tops of two crosses which adorned the maces carried before the mayor of Boston, just as in our early colonial times Governor Endicott defaced what he regarded as an " idolatrous emblem" in the royal ensign. After repeated trials of the case Cotton was found to have had no connection with this affair.
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