USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the Old South church (Third church) Boston, 1669-1884, Vol. I > Part 59
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the period of his dismission, December 21, 1741, until his death, June 27, 1785, he continued to be the minister of a sep- arate congregation, most of the mem- bers of which, at his decease, returned to the Second Church." Dr. Joseph S. Clark says that the flock returned to their former fold in accordance with the dying request of their pastor.
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528
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
plentiful effusions of his Spirit, particularly on this church and con- gregation ; and to Bless his Name for Spiritual Blessings already re- ceived.
JOSEPH SEWALL.
Dr. Sewall preached on this occasion, and in the course of his sermon said: "Let the success which God hath of late given to the ministers of the word above what we have known in times past, animate us to labour more abundantly. . . . And let not any pervert what has been said, to prejudice themselves or others against that wonderful work of grace, which I verily believe, God has wrought in this town and other places." In this last sentence there is an intimation that there was a dispo- sition in certain quarters to misjudge the work, and that a dif- ference of opinion in reference to it was beginning to manifest itself, which, as we shall see, developed into a very wide diver- gence during the next few years.
March 28. 1742. Lord's Day.
The Brethren of the Church and Congregation stay'd and Voted,
I. That twenty pounds be given out of the Collection for Charita- ble and pious uses towards the encouragement of some suitable per- son or persons to Preach the Gospel at Little Compton and the neigh- bouring towns.
II. That ten pounds be expended in Books of piety, to be distrib- uted to proper objects by our Revd Pastors.
III. That the Deacons be empowered to distribute the remaining sum of £63. 18. o to the Poor of this Church and Congregation.
IV. That there be another collection for Charitable and pious uses on the Anniversary Fast approaching, April 8. ; And that the Congre- gation be notified of this vote, and be desired to assist in said collec- tion.
April 8. Collected for charitable and pious uses as follows,
Unappropriated .
68. 5. 0
Appropriated to the Fund for Charitable and pious uses. 5. 0. 0 73. 5. 0
JOSEPH SEWALL.
On the 14th of April Mr. Andrew Eliot was ordained at the New North Church as colleague pastor there with Mr. Webb.1 His father, of the same name, became a member of the South Church in 1701 ; and he was baptized by one of its pastors in 1718.2 He graduated at Harvard College in 1737. At the or- dination Dr. Sewall offered prayer, Mr. Eliot preached from I
1 The Rev. Peter Thacher died Feb- 2 " Andrew of Andrew and Ruth ruary 26, 1738.
Eliot," baptized December 28, 1718.
529
THE REV. GAMES DAVENPORT.
Cor. iv. 2; Mr. Webb gave the charge, and Mr. Appleton, of Cambridge, the right hand of fellowship. The Rev. Ebenezer Parkman, of Westborough, who was present, records in his journal : " A vast assembly, and a glorious time of God's grace."
Mr. Prince mentions an incident which shows the excitable state of the public mind at this time : -
On Friday Night July 30, 1742, at the Lecture in the South Church, near nine o'Clock, being very dark, there came on a very terrible Storm of Thunder and Lightening : And just as the Blessing was given, an amazing Clap broke over the Church with piercing Repetitions, which set many a shrieking, and the whole Assembly into great Consterna- tion : God then appeared "terrible out of his high Places ; they heard attentively the Noise of his Voice, and the Sound that went out of his Mouth : he directed it under the whole Heaven, and his Lighten- ing to the Ends of the Earth ; after it a Voice roared, he thundered marvelously with his Voice : and at this the Hearts of many (as Eli- hu's) trembled, and were moved out of their Places " for near two Hours together. And yet in all these Displays of the Majesty of God, and terrifying Apprehensions of Danger of sudden Destruction, neither in this surprizing Night, nor in all the Course of thirty Years have I scarce known any by these Kinds of Terrors brought under genuine Convictions. And what Minister has a Voice like God, and who can thunder like Him ?
A few weeks before this the Rev. James Davenport, of Long Island, had made his appearance in the town, "and then," says Mr. Prince, writing two or three years later, " through the awful Providence of the Sovereign God, the wisdom of whose ways are past finding out, we unexpectedly came to an unhappy pe- riod, which it exceedingly grieves me now to write of." Mr. Davenport was a lineal descendant of the Rev. John Daven- port, whose removal from New Haven to Boston, three quarters of a century earlier, had divided the First Church ; and his coming at this time was to be followed by results even more disastrous. He " early caught the revival spirit, which, in him as in many others, soon rose to enthusiasm, and ended in fanat- icism. In the progress of his wild career, and before his ex- travagances had crippled his influence, he came to Charlestown." 1 This was on Friday evening, June 25. On Sunday morning he attended public worship and went to the Lord's Table, but re- mained at his lodgings in the afternoon, " from an apprehension of the ministers being unconverted." "Monday afternoon he
1 Clark's Hist. Sketch, p. 167.
530
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
came over the ferry to Boston." The ministers were a good deal alarmed. "Instead of taking no notice of him," says Dr. Wisner, "and thus effectually discountenancing his irregulari- ties, the ministers of Boston, with the best intentions, but most unhappily, pursued a course in regard to him which at once attracted universal attention to him, awakened a general de- sire to see and hear him, and contributed to procure for him sympathy as a persecuted man." 1 Being together in a meet- ing of the Association, they " sent to signify that they should be glad to see him ; whereupon he presently came, and they had long and friendly conferences with him about his con- duct on that and the following day. On Thursday, July 1, they thought themselves obliged to publish a declaration of their judgment concerning him," in which, while they "own'd that he appeared to them to be truly pious, and they hoped that God had used him as an instrument of good to many souls," they bore their " testimony " against him in several " particulars," on account of which they declared that they "judged their present duty not to invite him into their places of public worship."2 The result of this action is thus given by Mr. Prince : " Upon pub- lishing this declaration on Friday, many were offended : And some days after, Mr. Davenport thought himself oblig'd to be- gin in his public exercises to declare against us also ; naming some as unconverted, representing the rest as Jehosaphat in Ahab's army, and exhorting the people to separate from us : which so diverted the minds of many from being concern'd about their own conversion, to think and dispute about the case of others, as not only seem'd to put an awful stop to their awakening, but also on all sides to roil our passions, and pro- voke the Holy Spirit, in a gradual and dreadful measure, to withdraw his influence. And now a small number from some of our churches and congregations withdrew, and met in a dis- tinct society. The cry, What shall I do to be saved ? soon ceased to be heard. But few were added to the churches. The heav- enly shower in Boston was over."
Mr. Davenport's case was not left to the action of the minis- ters alone. The grand jury took it up, and in their presentment,
1 Wisner's History of the Old South Church, pp. 103, 104.
" This declaration was signed by all the Boston ministers except Mr. Chaun- cy (the junior pastor of the First Church), and by the Rev. Messrs. Hull
Abbot and Thomas Prentice, of Charles- town. Mr. Chauncy appears to have been present at the conversations with Mr. Davenport ; he probably declined to sign the paper because it bore general testimony in favor of the revival.
531
MR. DAVENPORT INDICTED.
August 19, set forth that "one James Davenport, of Southold - under pretence of praying preaching and exhorting, at divers places in the towns of Boston and Dorchester, and at divers times in July last and August current, -did - in the hearing of great numbers of the subjects of our Lord, the King, ma- liciously publish, and with a loud voice utter and declare many slanderous and reviling speeches against the godly and faithful ministers of this province, but more particularly against the ministers of the gospel in the town of Boston aforesaid, - viz : that the greatest part of said ministers were carnal and uncon- verted men ; that they knew nothing of Jesus Christ, and that they were leading their people, blindfold, down to hell, and that they were destroying and murdering souls by thousands ; the said James Davenport. at the same time, advising their hearers to withdraw from the said ministers, and not to hear them preach ; by means whereof, great numbers of people have with- drawn from the public worship of God and the assemblies by law required."1 The indictment was sustained. Davenport was arrested on Saturday, August 21, and refusing to give bail, though two gentlemen offered to be his sureties, he was com- mitted for trial. "The sheriff offered him perfect liberty till the day of trial, if he would promise so to conduct, that he should receive no damage; but he refused to promise, and was kept in comfortable quarters." "On Tuesday, August 24, the Rev. Messrs. Colman, Sewall, Checkley, Welsteed, Byles and Gray, addressed a note to the court, then in session, entreating that no severity might be used on their account, and that the matter might be conducted with all the gentleness and tender- ness which their honors might judge consistent with justice and the public peace." Davenport was declared by the verdict to have been non compos mentis when the words charged against him were uttered, and therefore, technically, not guilty. This verdict was as just as it was humane, for the man was un-
1 Among the witnesses before the grand jury was II. V., who testified that Mr. Davenport said in July, on Copp's Hill, "Good Lord, (or O Lord), I will not mince the matter any longer with thee ; for thou knowest that I know, that most of the ministers of the town of Boston and of the country are unconverted, and are leading their people blindfold to hell." This witness was undoubtedly Hugh Vans, a Scotch merchant, who,
since 1728, had been a member of the South Church. He married Mary Pem- berton, a daughter of its third minister, the Rev. Ebenezer Pemberton ; and one of his daughters became the second wife of its deacon, Jonathan Mason. He had nine children baptized between 1728 and 1743, three of whom, Mary, Katharine, and Elizabeth, afterward became mem- bers of the church. His sons were John, Ebenezer, William, and Samuel.
1
532
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
doubtedly insane during this period of his life.1 But his insanity did incalculable mischief, for all his wild words and deeds were laid to the charge of the revival spirit then prevalent in the churches ; and although he made a solemn retractation in 1744, the echo of his words and the sweep of his influence had passed far beyond his control. This retractation was sent to Mr. Prince, for publication in Boston, by the Rev. Solomon Wil- liams, of Lebanon, Connecticut, who, in a letter enclosing it, said : " He is full and free in it, and seems to be deeply sen- sible of his miscarriages and misconduct in those particulars, and very desirous to do all he possibly can to retrieve the dis- honour which he has done to religion, and the injustice to many ministers of the gospel." 2
At a Meeting of the Brethren of the Church and Congregation Novr. 1. 1742
Voted- I. That the Deacons give thirty pounds out of the last collection for Charitable and pious uses to the Poor of this Church and Congregation to supply them with wood and other necessaries.
II. Whereas there is a considerable deficiency in the Church Stock to pay the necessary charges arisen : Voted - That there be a collec- tion on the Thanksgiving approaching for that purpose, and that the rest of the Congregation be notified of this vote, and be desired to assist in said collection.
III. The Committee for Seating having acquainted the Brethren of a Petition of sundry persons, praying that the seats next the wall of the Men's front Gallery may be turned into Pews : It was Voted, That said Committee be desired to take the care of that affair, and order it according to their Discretion.
IV. That Messrs. John Trail, Andrew Eliot, Isaac Walker and William Ireland, be a committee to take subscriptions of the church and congregation for the weekly contribution. JOSEPH SEWALL.
Novr. 11. General Thanksgiving, collected {115 for the use above said.
1 He organized a company of his fol- lowers into a church in New London, Conn., and, March 6, 1743, in imitation of the "pyramid of vanities " of Savona- rola at Florence, two hundred and fifty years before, be caused a bonfire to be made of wigs, clothing, and jewelry, and to the burning heap were added copies of the writings of Beveridge, Flavel, Increase Mather, Colman, and Sewall. The destruction of fine clothing, rings,
jewels, and necklaces was ordered by him to cure his followers of their idola- trous love of such objects. John Lee, of Lyme, according to Trumbull, said that, for himself, his idols were his wife and children, whom he could not burn, as the word of God forbade it, and that idolatry could only be suppressed by a change of heart.
2 Sce The Great Awakening, pp. 241- 255.
533
THE ANNUAL CONVENTION, 1743.
March 13. 1742-3. The Brethren of the Church and Congregation stay'd ; and voted as follows -
I. That ten pounds be given out of the last collection for Charitable and pious uses to the poor of this Church and Congregation in Books of Piety.
II. That the remainder of said Collection, about twenty pounds, be given to the Poor of this Church and Congregation to supply them with the Necessaries of life.
III. That there be another Collection for Charitable and pious uses on the Anniversary Fast March 24 Instant, and that the congregation be notified of this vote and be desired to assist in said collection.
JOSEPH SEWALL.
March 24 1742-3. Collected as follows
Unappropriated
£86. 2. 9
Appropriated to the fund for charitable and pious uses
5. 0. 0
To Dr. Sewall 2. 0. 0
To Mr. Prince 2. 0. 0
To Mr. Byles
2. O. O
97. 2. 9
JOSEPH SEWALL.
At a Meeting of the Brethren of the S. Church and Congregation April 3. 1743.
Voted - That thirty Pounds be given to Mr. Simeon Brown out of the last Collection for Charitable and pious uses, towards his support under the great Loss which he has sustained lately by Fire.
JOSEPH SEWALL.
The controversy between the friends and the opposers of the recent revivals was becoming more and more heated, and the churches and ministers were gradually separating into two fac- tions. At the annual convention of the pastors of the Massa- chusetts churches, held in Boston, May 25, a " Testimony " was promulgated "against several errors in doctrine and disorders in practice, which have of late obtained in various parts of the land." It had been drawn up by a committee, was read and accepted paragraph by paragraph, and the moderator, the Rev. Nathaniel Eells, of Scituate, by a majority vote of thirty-eight ministers, was directed to sign it in the name of the convention.1
1 This paper magnified the errors in the revival, and would not have con- tained one word in recognition of the revival itself but for the strenuous in-
doctrine and disorders in practice which, in some places, had attended or followed
534
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
The manner in which this paper had been introduced and adopted occasioned much dissatisfaction and some angry correspondence. It was questioned whether there would have been a majority in its favor but for the votes of ministers from other provinces, and whether more than " one fifth of the ministers in Massachusetts would have subscribed their names, if the proposal for a per- sonal subscription had prevailed." Another convention was called, therefore, by those who had been in sympathy with the revival, to meet in Boston on the day after commencement at Cambridge. Those who could not be present, and who were opposed to the testimony issued in May, were asked to " send their attestations, and communicate their thoughts seasonably in writing." Dr. Colman was chosen moderator of this second convention, with Dr. Sewall as assistant, and Mr. Prince and Mr. Hobby were chosen scribes. Dr. Colman excusing himself, Dr. Sewall acted as moderator. On the first day, after "decla- rations, discourses and debates," the following vote was passed, without objection : -
We, pastors of churches in the provinces of the Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire in New England, met at Boston this seventh day of July 1743, being persuaded there has of late been a happy revival of religion, through a remarkable divine influence, in many parts of this land, and apprehending it our duty to give an open con- junct testimony, to the glory of God, to an event so surprising and gracious, as well as against those errors in doctrine and disorders in practice, which, through human frailties and corruptions and the per- mitted agency of Satan, have attended it, and in any measure blemished its glory and hindered its advancement ; came to the following reso- lution : that a committee be chosen to consider the premises and make a report tomorrow morning at nine o'clock.
The committee consisted of Dr. Sewall ; Mr. Wigglesworth, of Ipswich ; Mr. Prince ; Mr. Adams, of Newington, New Hamp- shire; Mr. Cooper ; Mr. Rogers, of Ipswich ; Mr. Leonard, of Plymouth ; and Mr. Hobby, of Reading. The paper reported next morning is admirable in expression, fervid and evangelical in tone, and thoroughly frank in its discriminations. Two or three paragraphs will illustrate its general tenor :-
If it is the duty of every one capable of observation and reflection, to take a constant religious notice of what occurs in the daily course
sistence of Dr. Sewall, and the only sen- of pure religion in any parts of our land tence he was able to insert in it was this : at this time, we would give unto God all " and where there is any special revival the glory."
535
A SECOND CONVENTION.
of common Providence ; how much more is it expected that those events in the divine economy, wherein there is a signal display of the power, grace and mercy of God in behalf of the church, should be observed with sacred wonder, pleasure and gratitude ! Nor should the people of God content themselves with a silent notice, but publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all his wondrous works.
More particularly, when Christ is pleased to come into his church in a plentiful effusion of his Holy Spirit, by whose powerful influences the ministration of the word is attended with uncommon success, sal- vation-work carried on in an eminent manner, and his kingdom, which is within men, and consists in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, is notably advanced, this is an event which, above all others, invites the notice and bespeaks the praises of the Lord's peo- ple, and should be declared abroad for a memorial of the divine grace ; as it tends to confirm the divinity of a despised gospel, and manifests the work of the Holy Spirit in the application of redemp- tion, which too many are ready to reproach ; as it may have a happy effect, by the divine blessing, for the revival of religion in other places, and the enlargement of the kingdom of Christ in the world ; and as it tends to enliven the prayers, strengthen the faith, and raise the hopes, of such as are waiting for the kingdom of God, and the coming on of the glory of the latter days.
But if it is justly expected of all who profess themselves the dis- ciples of Christ, that they should openly acknowledge and rejoice in a work of this nature, wherein the honour of their divine Master is so much concerned ; how much more is it to be looked for from those who are employed in the ministry of the Lord Jesus, and so stand in a spe- cial relation to him, as servants of his household, and officers in his kingdom! These stand as watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem ; and it is their business not only to give the alarm of war when the enemy is approaching, but to sound the trumpet of praise when the King of Zion cometh, in a meek triumph, having salvation.
For these and other reasons, we, whose names are hereunto annexed, pastors of churches in New England, met together in Boston, July 7, 1743, think it our indispensable duty, (without judging or censuring such of our brethren as cannot at present see things in the same light with us,) in this open and conjunct manner to declare, to the glory of sovereign grace, our full persuasion, either from what we have seen ourselves, or received upon credible testimony, that there has been a happy and remarkable revival of religion in many parts of this land, through an uncommon divine influence ; after a long time of great decay and deadness, and a sensible and very awful withdraw of the Holy Spirit from his sanctuary among us.
The report proceeds to show that the recent work was re- markable and extraordinary, "on account of the numbers
536
HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
wrought upon," " with regard to the suddenness and quick prog- ress of it," and "in respect of the degree of operation, both in a way of terror and in a way of consolation." That there were imperfections in it is admitted; but sorrow is expressed that accounts should be published abroad representing it as " all en- thusiasm, delusion and disorder."
It is not to be denied, that in some places many irregularities and extravagances have been permitted to accompany it, which we would deeply lament and bewail before God, and look upon ourselves obliged, for the honour of the Holy Spirit, and of his blessed operations on the souls of men, to bear a public and faithful testimony against ; though at the same time it is to be acknowledged with much thankfulness, that in other places, where the work has greatly flourished, there have been few, if any, of these disorders and excesses. But who can wonder, if at such a time as this, Satan should intermingle himself, to hinder and blemish a work so directly contrary to the interests of his own king- dom? Or if, while so much good seed is sowing, the enemy should be busy to sow tares ?
" After solemn, repeated prayer, free inquiry and debate, and serious deliberation," the report was adopted. The first to sign it were the venerable Samuel Moody, of York, and John White, of Gloucester, who were at college together nearly half a cen- tury before. The Boston pastors who signed it as it was adopted were Dr. Sewall, Mr. Prince, Mr. Webb, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Foxcroft, Mr. Gee, and Mr. Moorhead, minister of the Presbyterian church in Long Lane. Others approved of the testimony for the substance of it, but were not satisfied with what was said about itineracy or the intrusion of ministers and others into the parishes of ministers without the consent of the latter, which disorder they thought was not sufficiently testified against. Among these were Dr. Colman, Mr. Checkley, and Mr. Eliot, of Boston; Mr. Abbot and Mr. Prentice, of Charles- town ; Mr. Eells, of Scituate; Mr. Parkman, of Westborough ; and Mr. Maccarty, of Kingston. On the other hand, Mr. Prince, and a few with him, objected to the clause relating to itinerat- ing ministers, because, as adopted, there was danger of its being "construed and perverted to the great infringement of Christian and human liberty of conscience." The number of signers at the meeting was sixty-eight ; attestors by letter, forty- five : total, one hundred and thirteen. Dr. Chauncy (he had recently received a diploma from Edinburgh), Mr. Mather, Mr.
537
A SECOND " TESTIMONY!"
Byles, Mr. Welsteed, and Mr. Gray 1 took no part in the pro- ceedings ; Mr. Appleton, of Cambridge, sent his attestation, and no doubt was in full sympathy with Dr. Sewall and Mr. Prince in their estimate of the revival .?
Lord's Day Novr 13, 1743
The Brethren of the Church and Congregation stay'd; and Voted as follows -
I. That what remains in stock be expended by the Deacons to sup- ply the Poor of this church and Congregation with the Necessaries of life.
II. That there be another collection for charitable and pious uses on the Anniversary Thanksgiving Nov 24 Instant.
III. That the rest of the congregation be notified of this vote and be desired to assist in said collection. JOSEPH SEWALL.
1 . The two pastors were not among the most distinguished in town, though faithful and highly respectable men. During the great religious excitements of this period, they appear to have fallen in with the current. I find, however, from a well-written, serious, animated sermon, delivered in 1742, at an ordina- tion, by Mr. Gray, that he was fully aware of the dangers and evils of that period, and did not hesitate to speak of the ‘discord, division, bitterness, clam- our, wrath, evil speaking, groundless surmises and jealousies ' which prevailed in the churches. Neither of the minis- ters, however, were among the leaders on either side, though possibly it was to his opinion on this subject that Welsteed alluded, when he said, in his last illness, ' I have in some things thought different- ly from my brethren, but I thank God I have constantly meant well.'" Mr. Wel- steed confined himself in preaching to the doctrines of religion which are not disputed amongst sound Protestants, and the " impressive duties of repentance, faith, love and universal and constant obedience." - Ware's Two Discourses, pp. 29, 31.
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