USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the Old South church (Third church) Boston, 1669-1884, Vol. I > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
1 Mr. Willard married, August 8, 1664, Abigail, daughter of the Rev. John Sher- man, of Watertown ; and, secondly, July 29, 1679, Eunice, daughter of Edward Tyng.
" Many of the people went to Concord, and remained there until the spring of 1678. At a town meeting of the inhab)- itants of Groton, held in Concord on the 12th of December, 1677, "such as were present did then and there agree, that if the Providence of God prevent not by death or sickness, or by the enemy, that then we will go up in the spring follow-
ing and begin to repair our habitations again, if God permit; and for the trne performance of this agreement we do engage the forfeiture of our whole right in Groton unto those who do go up and carry on the work."
Soon after the resettlement of the town, measures were taken for the erec- tion of a new meeting-house. Mr. Wil- lard, however, had gone to Boston, and had accepted a call to the pulpit of the South Church. The Rev. Gershom Ilo- bart was settled as his successor. - But- ler's History of Groton, pp. 85, 86.
Samt. auchan. Joander.
227
THE REV. SAMMUEL WILLARD.
At first in his younger years, his master committed to his pastoral care a flock in a more obscure part of this wilderness: But so great a light was soon observed through the whole land : And his Lord did not design to bury him in obscurity, but to place him in a more eminent station, which he was qualify'd for. The providence that occasioned his removal to this place was an awful judgment upon the whole land ; yet was eventually a mercy in this respect, that it made way for the translation of this bright star to a more conspicuous orb ; where his influence was more extensive and beneficial ; and in this it was a great blessing to this congregation, to this town, nay, to all New England.
In the same sermon, we have a very full and discriminating estimate of Mr. Willard's qualifications for the conspicuous position to which he was now called. "In him, bountiful heaven was pleased to cause a concurrence of all those natural and acquired, moral and spiritual excellencies, which are necessary to constitute a great man, a profound divine, a very consider- able scholar, and an heavenly Christian." " The God of nature was pleased with a liberal hand to bestow on him those natural intellectual endowments, which laid the foundation of great improvement in knowledge. And did from his youth presage uncommon service for God and his people, which his master had designed him for. In natural endowments, he appeared as the elder son among many brethren : in these very few, if any, could pretend to stand upon a level with him." We learn fur- ther that he had a copious fancy and a quick and accurate per- ception ; in argument he was profound and clear. His piety was consistent, devoted, self-denying, and confiding. His learn- ing was extensive and solid, especially in theology, which was his favorite study, "and a great divine must of necessity be a great clerk."
" His discourses, were all elaborate, acute and judicious ; the matter being always weighty, and his subjects well chosen, suited to the state of his flock, and every way adapted to make them wiser and better. His common discourses might have been pronounced with applause before an assembly of the great- est divines." "His style was masculine, not perplexed, but easy as well as strong." His delivery was characterized by " gravity, courage, zeal and prudence, and with tender solicitude for perishing souls. And, when the matter required it, no man could speak with greater pathos and pungency." "He knew how to be a son of thunder to the secure and hardened, and a
228
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
son of consolation to the contrite and broken in spirit." "His public prayers were always pertinent and pathetical, animated with a spirit of devotion and" marked by " an uncommon com- pass of thought." As a pastor, he was distinguished for "pru- dence, faithfulness and impartiality." " All his talents and acquisitions were consecrated " to the service of Christ, and over the whole was shed the lustre of a " remarkable and unaffected modesty," and a "spirit truly pacific." He was ardently at- tached to the work of the ministry, and unusually diligent in performing its various duties.1
After Mr. Willard had been admitted to the church, but be- fore his ordination, a vote was passed which was recorded by him, and which undoubtedly had his approval. It was a step towards the mitigation of the severe rules which then governed the admission of members to the churches.
1 [We have in our possession a paper Mr. Willards Salary 60/ containing an abstract evidently made from an account-book kept by the dea- cons, which shows the sums paid to the various pastors from 1669 to 1740, with other items of expenditure. We copy it entire : - 1669
Dec 19 Mr. Thacher Ist minister 40/ p Week
Contributed this year from 7 to 8 £
Ministers had provisions etc. sent in to the Value of 1 30 /.
Bell cost £18.
Deacons Frary and Eliot Brackett Tomp- son
[There is a mistake in connection with the last name. It should be Williams.] A present of feo made Mr. Thacher } 1672 5
Do
20 Do 1674
Do
5 Mrs. Norton ) 16755
Help by the Ministers pd. p the Ch. @ 20/ p diem
Revd. Mr. Willard settled 1678, his wood allowed him cost 8/ p Cord. 1677-8 Contrib. abt 110/. p Week 1679 raised to 140/. 1685 abt 110/.
from 1686 to 1694 abt 100/. to 1703 abt 110/.
Mr. Pembertons Do 40 / ) 1701
The Ch. allowed Mr. Willard {1o p annum for Entertaining the Elders, be- sides abt {6 for Every Election
After Mr. Willards Death 1707 Mr. Pemberton had 50/ and presently after 60/ p Week Salary, and 20/ for help.
Deacons Hill, Checkley, Green, IIench- man, Simpson Hubbard.
Contrib. 1703 To 1708 150/ To 170/ To 1711 abt 180/. 1711 and 12 abt {12 dureing the Old Ch. meeting there after- wards abt £8.
The Ch. allowed Mrs. Willard £40 p annum for her Support and {1o for Entertaining, for 4 years after his Death and then the same to Mr. Pemberton for Election and Elders.
Dr. Sewall invited to preach 1713 allowed him 20 p Week Settled Sept. and then 40 / Anno 1714 50/ and Mr. P. 70/ 1716 Mar. Dr. Sewall 60/. 1719. Oct. 65/. 1725 July 85/ 1730 Aug. 120/. 1740 May 180/.
Mr. Prince preacht ist time after his return from London Aug 26 1717. Set- tled in 1718 @ 40/. p Week 1719 Oct 65/. 1725 July 85/. 1730 Aug. 120/. 1740 May 180/.
Capt Belcher left {50. Legacy to the Ch.]
229
DEATH OF MMR. THACHER.
February 14, 1678.
At a Church meeting ;
That it shall be left to the discretion of the Eldership ; in case any that desire fellowship with the Church, through scruple of Conscience shall bee unwilling to consent that his Relation shall be read before the Church, apprehending it not to bee according to rule to require it ; and they shall otherwise Judge him a person desirable for communion ; that the relation of such person or persons given to the Elders, and by them attested to the church, shall be received as if it had bin made before the Church, provided that in other cases our common and con- stant practice shall be attended.
Consented to by the Church.
Mr. Thacher did not long survive to enjoy the benefits of the co-pastorate, nor was he permitted to see the completion of the first decade of the church's history. Under his min- istry the admissions to its membership had increased from the original twenty-eight to two hundred and seventeen ; but only in elevated spiritual vision could he have anticipated its future enlargement, influence, and prosperity. Only to the borders of the promised land might he go with the people of God whose wise and honored leader he had been through many hard and bitter experiences.
Cotton Mather gives the following account of Mr. Thacher's last sermon, - preached at the North Church, - and of his sick- ness and death : -
It happened that this excellent man preached for my father a ser- mon on I Peter iv. 18: "The righteous scarcely saved ;" the last words of which sermon were, "When a saint comes to die, then often it is the hour and the power of darkness with him ; then is the last opportunity that the devil has to vex the people of God; and hence they then sometimes have the greatest of their distresses. Do not think him no godly man that then meets with doubts and fears ; our Lord Jesus Christ then cries out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? God help us that as we live by faith, so we may walk in it !" And these proved the last words that ever he uttered in any sermon whatever. For visiting a sick person, after his going out of the assembly, he got some harm, which turned into a fever, whereof he did, without any "hour and power of darkness " upon his own holy mind, expire on October 15, 1678.1
been buried in Mr. Sheaffe's tomb, in King's Chapel burying - ground; but strange to say, there is no inscription to show that this was so. His funeral ex-
1 [Mr. Thacher is supposed to have penses amounted to £45.6.3. His li- brary was valued by Increase Mather and John Usher at {Ho, and consisted of 160 volumes in folio, 120 in quarto, 130 in octavo, with a considerable num-
230
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
Among the many tributes to his memory, perhaps the most interesting is a Greek verse, written by Eleazar, an Indian youth then studying in Harvard College, and preserved for us in the Magnalia ; the following is a translation : -
Though earth contains his dust, his name is yet immortal : It shall light the future ages as o'er the past it beamed : While his soul, set free from prison, seeks the ever-open portal Where the shining ones are waiting to welcome the redeemed.
Mr. Thacher's youngest son, Peter, arrived in Boston, on his return from England, May 9, 1677. He kept house here in 1679, occasionally supplying the pulpits of the Second and Third churches. There are a few entries in his diary, at this time, which seem to belong to our history.
March 2. I preached at the South Church in the afternoon for Mr. Willard. My text was out of the 94 P's. 11 v about the vanity of thought [The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.] the Lord was pleased gratiously to help and assist both in praying and preaching, blessed be his holy name, tho I was greatly surprized with fear and sorrow remembring my Honoured and Dear Father.
March 16. I heard Mr. Willard both parts of the day. . . . About 4 aclock the morning Governor Leverit Dyed.
April 3. I was at a fast at the first church in Boston occasioned by the death of Governor Leveret. Mr. Mather preached in the fore- noon Isa. 3 - 1. 2. 3, in the afternoon Mr. Willard prayed, then Mr. Allen preached 34 Ps. 18. there was much of god to be seen in carry- ing forth his servants both in preaching and praying.
April 27. This day was Sacrament at our Church which I was at. Mr. Willard preached in the morning Mr. Foster in the afternoon.1
May 25. Was the Sabbath and I was at the South Church both parts of the day heard Mr. Willard of Christs being altogether lovely and Mr. Higginson 8 Ezek 15 this day I received the sacrament.
August 7. Night about Twelve or one a Clock there was fire brock out at Grosses and prevailed exceedingly for soe much that most of the considerable warehouses were burnt and abundance of dwelling Houses. Mr. Ting Mr. Nowell &c. were burnt out of house and home. It is judged that there was consumed by the fire above five and twenty hundred thousand pound [sic] lost in that fire. I was to preach the
ber of small books. The inventory of his estate included " I negro maide Nan " and " I negro man Franke." Mrs. Thacher died February 24, 1693-4.]
1 [We suppose this was the Rev. Isaac Foster, a classmate of Samuel Sewall
and Peter Thacher. Ile succeeded the Rev. Joseph Haynes as pastor of the First Church, Hartford, in 1679 or 1680, and died " in his prime or youth," August 20, 1682. See Walker's Ilistory of the First Ch. in Hartford, pp. 212-220.]
231
THE SENOD OF 1679.
next Sabbath for Mr. Willard and had almost prepared upon the Heb. but when I saw the fire mind soe run upon the 4. Amos 11 [" Ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning "] that I must preach upon it the next Sabbath. This fire was the most dreadful that ever was in New England. It was Judged to be wilfully done. the wind dureing the fire was very little and that which was, was favourable. It was North West as I Judged but as soon as ever the fire stayed the wind came East and North East a very fresh gaile which if it had done soe before it would have carried most of the towne.1
Aug 24. Sabbath, I was at the South Church both parts and heard Mr. Willard. This day wee had a Contribution for those that were burnt out to which I gave five shillings. After this the Church stayed to chouse Messengers for the Synod, and Major Savage, Capt. Hull and myselfe were chose to Joyne with the Elders.
The last entry brings us to the Synod of 1679, known as the Reforming Synod. There had been a long period of material prosperity in the colony. Hutchinson says that "the colony about this time [1669] made a greater figure than it ever did at any other time. Their trade was as extensive as they could wish. Some of the magistrates and principal merchants grew very rich, and a spirit of industry and economy prevailed throughout the colony." The same historian says, also, that during this time there had been a gradual and rapid decline of religious life, the effect in part, as was believed, of the prevailing worldly prosperity, but more especially of " the mingling of politics and religion from the beginning," and the " prostituting of the mys- teries of our holy religion to mere secular views and advan- tages." This condition of affairs gave great uneasiness to the more sober-minded and religious portion of the community ; it was seriously and earnestly discoursed upon in several elec- tion sermons as well as in the regular pulpit utterances of the clergy : and to quote the words of Thomas Prince, "it grew very visible and threatening, and was generally complained of and bewailed bitterly by the pious." The feeling of sorrow was soon succeeded by one of alarm, for, as was thought, the dis- pleasure of the Most High began to be manifested in the events of his providence. "Consuming disasters befel the labors of the husbandman ; losses at sea were uncommonly numerous ;
1 [John Hull thus describes the extent of this fire : "Aug. 8. About midnight began a fire in Boston, an alehouse, which, by sunrise, consumed the body of the trading part of the towne: from the
Mill Creek to Mr. Oliver's dock, not one house nor warehouse left ; and up from my warehouse to Mr. Skerret's, thence to Mr. Hezekiah Usher's, thence to Mr. Thacher's, thence to Thomas Fitch's."]
232
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
desolating fires wasted the chief seats of trade ; a dreadful pesti- lence raged through the colony ; and. in the political horizon, a cloud was gathering of most portentous aspect."
On the other hand, Cotton Mather gives us a much less gloomy view of the moral and religious character of the colony at this time. He says : "New England was not become so de- generate a country, but that there yet was preserved in it far more of serious religion, as well as of blameless morality, than was proportionably to be seen in any country upon the face of the earth."
In May, 1679, the General Court, in compliance with a me- morial addressed to it by John Eliot, Increase Mather, and eighteen others, "reverend elders," called upon the churches to send elders and messengers to a synod to be held in the follow- ing September. We give a copy of the call addressed to Mr. Willard, which is still preserved on the files of the church, with a private note from Mr. Secretary Rawson accompanying it. It is addressed : These fore the Rever'd Mr. Saml Willard, Teacher to the 3d Church in Boston To be communicated to the Church.
REV'ND. SIR. These are only to inform yourself and church of the underwritten Generall Court's Answer and order, not doubting of your and their obedience and complyance therewith at the time, remayning Your friend and servant
EDW. RAWSON Secty
BOSTON IIth July 1679
At a Generall Court held at Boston, 28th of May 1679 : In answer to a motion made by some of the Reverend elders, that there might be a convening of the Elders and messengers of the churches in the form of a Synod, fore the revisall of the platforme of discipline agreed upon by the churches 1647 ; and what else may appeare necessary for the preventing schisms, heresies, profaneness, and the establishment of the churches in the faith and order of the Gospel : This Court doe approve of the said motion ; and order their assembling for the ends aforesaid, on the second wednesday in September next at Boston. And the Secretary is required to give seasonable notice hereof to the several churches. And it is further ordered that the charge of this meeting shall be borne by the churches respectively. By order of the Court
EDW RAWSON Sectry.
Questions given in were. I Quest. What are the evils that have provoked the Lord to bring his judgments on New England ? 2 Quest. What is to be done that so those evils may be reformed ?
233
THE REFORMING SINNOD.
While the several churches were really independent in the management of their own affairs, the mutual relations of church and state were such that they could be brought together au- thoritatively, to take united action, whenever any seeming exigency required it. Nor does the calling of a synod by the General Court seem so strange, when we know that all the members of the court were also church-members, and that there- fore the whole body of freemen in the court was only a meeting of representatives of all the churches. "In the General Courts of magistrates and deputies, none but church-members could legally sit, or have a voice in choosing others to sit. .. . Thus, when the General Court took cognizance of ecclesiastical affairs, it was but the whole body of the church legislating for its parts ; and this, with the important peculiarity that all the legislators by whom the church exercised its supreme power were of the laity. The system had no element of prelacy or presbytery : it was pure democracy installed in the ecclesiastical government." 1
The proposal for a synod was received and acted upon by the churches with becoming solemnity. A general fast was ob- served, "that the gracious presence and Spirit of God might be obtained " for its direction. At the appointed time, September 10, a very full representation from the churches convened in Boston. Mr. Willard was present, and Edward Raynsford, John Hull, Thomas Savage, and Peter Thacher accompanied him, as messengers from the Third Church.2 Mr. Sherman, of Water- town, and Mr. Oakes, of Cambridge, were chosen moderators. The deliberations began with "a day of prayer with fasting before the Lord." "Several days were spent in discoursing upon the two grand questions laid before them, with utmost liberty granted unto every person to express his thoughts there-
1 Palfrey's Ilist. of N. Eng., vol. ii. p. 40.
2 The First Church voted, August 5, to send its elders and messengers to the Synod, but evidently with some hesita- tion, fearing, possibly, that the questions at issue between it and the Third Church might be brought forward. To its vote it added this proviso: "Tho wee doe not see light for the calling of a Synod att this time, yett there being one called : that what good theare is or may bee motioned may bee encouraged and evill
prevented by our Testimony, wee are willing to send our Messengers to it : Tho whatever is theire determined, wee looke upon and judge to bee no further binding to us than the light of Gods word is thereby cleared to our Con- sciences." This last sentence contains the very essence of Congregationalism. No synod or council has any right to legislate for the local churches. It may commend its views " unto the serious consideration of all the churches and people," but beyond this it may not go.
234
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
upon. A committee was then appointed to draw up the mind of the assembly ; which being done, it was read over once and again, and each paragraph distinctly weighed ; and then, upon mature deliberation, the whole was unanimously voted, and presented unto the General Court." 1 In an act passed October 15, 1679, the Result was " commended unto the serious consideration of all the churches and people in the jurisdiction," and all persons were enjoined and required, " in their respective capacities, to a careful and diligent reformation of all those provoking evils mentioned therein, according to the true intent thereof, that so the anger and displeasure of God, many ways manifested, may be averted and his favor and blessing obtained." 2
The Synod appointed " a committee of elders " to draw up a confession of faith for the churches, and assembled again on the 12th of May, 1680, to take action upon what had been pre- pared. In the preface to the Confession it is said: "That which was consented unto by the elders and messengers of the Congregational churches in England, who met at the Savoy, being for the most part, some small variations excepted, the same with that which was agreed upon first by the Assembly at Westminster, and was approved of by the Synod at Cam- bridge in New England, anno 1648, as also by a General As- sembly in Scotland, was twice publicly read, examined and approved of; that little variation which we have made from the one, in compliance with the other, may be seen by those who please to compare them."
Of the Confession of 1680 we would speak with the utmost respect. It is the work of great and good men. It is the result of the best thought of that and the preceding time upon the profound and awful questions with which it deals. It is a part of the history of the ancient churches of Massachusetts. These
1 [" 16 Sept. 79. There was fast in the Synod Mr. Higginson began and prayed, then Mr. Cobbet preached Isa 63. 7. Mr. Buckley prayed. in the after- noon Old Mr. Eliot prayed Mr. Mather preached 99 Ps. 6. Then Mr. Cobbet went to prayer who was Exceeding in- larged. there was much of god appeared in him. I desire to blesse god for this day my heart was much drawen forth this day and in family prayer after ward." "6. Octo. 79. The deacons of our Church came and brought mee five pound for preaching and being a Messenger
from the Church to the Synode." - l'eter Thacher's MIS. Diary.]
2 In this account of the Synod of 1679 we have followed Dr. Wisner, who has condensed the statements of Mather in the Magnalia, and Hutchinson in his History. Palfrey says of the Result (drawn up by Increase Mather), that it is "chiefly remarkable for its freedom from that sectarian jealousy which would have marked any similar document in earlier times." It contains a passing reference to the Quakers and Baptists, but no repressive measures are proposed.
235
OWNING THE COVENANT.
churches may never have adopted it formally, - it does not appear that the Old South ever adopted it by formal vote, - and it has no binding force upon them now; but it represents historically and authoritatively the doctrinal position of these churches and of their ministers in the seventeenth century, and it should always be read in the light of the period which pro- duced it, and never in the brighter and clearer light which shines upon our homes and altars to-day.1
"Very remarkable," says Cotton Mather, " was the blessing of God on the churches " which conformed to the recommendations of the Synod, " not only by a great advancement of holiness in the people, but also by a great addition of converts to their holy fellowship. And many thousand spectators," he adds, " will testify that they never saw the special presence of God our Saviour more notably discovered than in the solemnity of these opportunities." The additions to the Third Church dur- ing the next six or twelve months were not as many as from such a statement as this we should expect to find ; but we can- not help thinking that the register is defective here, as we know it to be elsewhere, for only two admissions are recorded during the entire year 1681, - Eunice, second wife of the Rev. Mr. Willard, and Mary Baker.
We have, however, striking evidence of the religious interest which prevailed among the families of the congregation at this time in the register of the baptismal covenant, and an illustra- tion also, as we think, of the light in which this covenant was regarded, and how it was made use of by the first members of this church. On the 30th of April, 1680, seventy-nine persons owned the covenant ; of these, at least thirty were children of the founders. So far as we can judge, they were all, or nearly all, young people, and this was their first step in the open con- fession of Christ's name and of their purpose to lead a religious life. Most of them in later years became members in full com- munion of this or some other church. Among the number were three children of Elder Raynsford, Solomon, Elizabeth (Grenough), and Mary ; three daughters of Deacon Frary, Han-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.