USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the Old South church (Third church) Boston, 1669-1884, Vol. II > Part 24
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Lords Day 17th Novr 1782.
The Brethren of the Church and Congregation were desired to stay after the Blessing was given, and Voted that they would have a collec- tion on the ensuing Thanksgiving Day vizt. Thursday 28 Novr. for the benefit of the poor belonging to the Society. Jos : ECKLEY.
Mr. James Freeman, a young man of twenty-three years of age, then living in Walpole, was invited by the wardens of the Chapel to officiate as reader for six months. He was a native of Charlestown, and graduated at Harvard College in 1777. At the Easter meeting, April 21, 1783, he was chosen minister of the Chapel. In the letter of invitation addressed to him it was said: "The proprietors consent to such alterations in the ser- vice as are made by the Rev. Dr. Parker; and leave the use of the Athanasian Creed at your discretion."1 "The society still desiring to retain its connection with the Episcopal Church, Mr. Freeman applied for ordination to Bishop Seabury, of Con- necticut, and then to Bishop Provoost, of New York, -to the latter not without reasonable hope of success ; for American
1 Mem. Hist. of Boston, vol. iii. p. 450.
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
Episcopacy was still so far inorganic as to admit into its admin- istration what would now seem the grossest irregularities. On the failure of these applications recourse was had to the doctrine of the Cambridge Platform, that the greater right of election, which resides in the members of the church, includes the lesser right of ordination." 1
The coming to New England this year of John Murray, who is recognized as the founder of the Universalist denomination in this country, led to a spirited but not unfriendly discussion among the ministers on the question of future punishment. An expectation of the final triumph of good over evil throughout the universe had long been cherished by a few leading men among them, but, except by inference, it had found no place in their preaching, because, as they believed, it had no direct bearing upon the practical and pressing duties of the life that now is. When Mr. Murray came here, and made this particular dogma the burden of his ministry, and proposed to establish a sect upon it, some who did not differ so widely from him in his opinions thought it their duty to oppose him, and, at the same time, to state their own views definitely and distinctly. The "stranger," as he was called, had been imperfectly educated in England, and his credentials as a minister of the gospel were regarded as defective. The clergy of Boston, therefore, without exception, refused to receive him. An anonymous pamphlet appeared shortly, with the title "Salvation for all Men," which, it is believed, was written by Mr. Clarke, with a preface, probably from the pen of his colleague, Dr. Chauncy, although it is signed T. W. In this preface, passing reference is made to Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Jeremiah White, one of Cromwell's chaplains, David Huntley, and John Wesley, and the writer proceeds : -
It may not be unseasonable to add here, that it is freely and fully acknowledged by all the above writers, that many, among the sons and daughters of Adam, will pass through a state of unutterable mis- ery ; before they will be prepared for, and admitted to the joys of God's presence in the heavenly world. This I judge proper to men- tion, because the doctrine of Universal Salvation has in this and some other towns, been held forth by a stranger, who has, of himself, as- sumed the character of a preacher, in direct contradiction not only to all the before mentioned writers, but to the whole tenor of the New- Testament-books, from their beginning to their end. According to
1 Mem. Hist. of Boston, vol. iii. p. 472.
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UNIVERSAL RESTITUTION.
this preacher, a man may go to heaven, notwithstanding all the sins he has been guilty of in the course of his life. Such a doctrine looks very like an encouragement to libertinism, and falls in with the scheme of too many in this degenerate age, who, under pretence of promoting religion, undermine it at the very root.
Answers to this pamphlet soon appeared from Dr. Mather, Dr. Gordon, and Mr. Eckley, and vigorous rejoinders followed. Dr. Belknap, to whom we shall have occasion to refer more par- ticularly, as this chapter goes on, throws a good deal of light on this controversy in his correspondence with Mr. Ebenezer Hazard, then of Philadelphia. In a letter dated December 19, 1782, he speaks of a work by Mrs. Stevens, of Gloucester, afterward Mrs. Murray, "a sensible lady, and of an amiable character, but so thoroughly dipped in Murrayism as to be a mere Priscilla," and then says : -
The other pamphlet is the work of Mr. Clarke, Colleague with Dr. Chauncy, who wrote the preface to it. The design of emitting this piece was good ; but I am not altogether pleased with its execution, because it seems to be an attempt to recommend the doctrine by the force of human authority. There is a piece in one of your Bailey's papers which gives a better reason for it, and I believe the writer was honest in saying what he does. However, the truth of the case is this : The doctrine of universal restitution has long been kept as a secret among learned men. Murray has published some undeniable truths concerning it, mixed with a jargon of absurdity ; and one Winchester among you has followed his example. Many serious minds were un- settled, observing that the Scriptures contain very universal expressions respecting the redemption and reconciliation of the world, which are eagerly laid hold of by Murray, and yet not being able to give into his forced allegories and mystical nonsense ; while, on the other hand, libertines swallow all at once, and deny any future state of punish- ment, and from thence take occasion to "continue in sin that grace may abound." This view of things occasioned very earnest and re- peated applications to a venerable gentleman, whom I have already mentioned, [Dr. Chauncy,] - who has had for some years prepared for the press a very laboured, judicious, and strongly argumentative, as well as deeply critical, treatise upon the subject, - that he would publish to the world the true state of the doctrine, as supported by Scripture, and void of all mystical trash. In consequence thereof, the above pamphlet, entitled "Salvation for all Men," came forth as a forlorn hope, or, rather, as a scouting party, to make discoveries and try the temper of the public. The consequence has been that some serious minds are disgusted, some are agog for further discover-
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
ies, some are vexed beyond measure &c. Dr. Mather has wrote a weak but well-meant pamphlet, which he calls an answer to it, and I hear there is to be a reproof administered to him. All this I am sorry for : it does no good ; it is only the skirmishing of light infantry, while the main body lies still, and nothing decisive will come of it. The passions of the contending parties will be embittered, and I am afraid that such prejudices will be raised against the doctrine that, if it should be properly published, it will not be so generally received, at least in the present day. There are several reasons given for not printing the large work yet, one of which is the want of Greek and Hebrew types, of which there are none in Boston . . . As to the doc- trine itself, of which you desire my opinion, I frankly own to you that I have for several years been growing in my acquaintance with it and my regard to it. I wished it might be true, long before I saw any just reason to conclude it was so. I once, however, set myself to oppose it in a sermon, but was brought to a stand by that text where Paul says, " I have hope towards God that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both just and unjust." My query here was, Why should the resurrexion of the unjust be an object of hope to a benevolent mind, if that resurrexion should be the beginning of not only a never ending, but perpetually increasing, state of misery?
Mr. Hazard wrote in reply : -
As to the doctrine you mention, I confess I am not unfriendly to it, because reason certainly approves of it, and I do not think that Rev- elation contradicts it. The other hypothesis (an eternity of punish- ment) is utterly subversive of every idea of mercy in the Deity, and degrades his justice into revengeful cruelty. Are these the thoughts we ought to have of God? By no means. He surely could not pun- ish thus without delighting in the death of sinners. However, al- though I believe the doctrine of a general restitution, I would wish to see all men live as if the other were true ; and, after all, it is of little moment what our sentiments may be. The councel of God will stand, and our duty is to fear Him, and keep his commandments.1
Mr. Eckley's pamphlet was entitled "Divine Glory Brought to View in the Condemnation of the Ungodly, or, the Doctrine of Future Punishment Illustrated and Vindicated, as Rational
1 [Dr. Belknap wrote to Mr. Hazard, September 12, 1787, of a sermon of John Murray : "It is a jewel in its kind, - as complete a specimen of a twisted, tor- tured, hunted metaphor, as ever I saw." Mr. Hazard wrote in reply : "I have read part of Murray's sermon, but can not read it all. I hate such trifling. In a sermon which Mr. Carmichael preached
to Captain Ross's independent company at Lancaster in Penn. he says : 'Above all, my friends, be careful not to jar the blessed unison of the American Harpsi- chord, which is so well set to the tune of Liberty by those grand artists, the Amer- ican Congress.' This would do; but such a mess as Murray gives is absolutely intolerable."]
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MR. ECKLEY'S PAMPHLET.
and True, in reply to a late pamphlet, entitled Salvation for all Men. By a Friend to Truth." He says in the preface : -
The compiler of the pamphlet on Universal Salvation seems to promise that it will act as an antidote against the sentiments of a " stranger, who has of himself assumed the character of a preacher," and discoursed on this subject "in direct contradiction to the whole tenor of the New Testament books from their beginning to their end." It is true, that learning and human judgment must be at a very low state indeed, when it shall become necessary to reason in a formal manner against opinions of this kind, or in opposition to the writer [James Relly] from whom they are selected or deduced. But, since the compiler, just mentioned, while he promises unconditional and eternal salvation to all men, attempts not to ascertain any precise pe- riod to the duration of the punishment which is to proceed - and it may be judged, that the most of men, from a disposition to self- flattery, and an unconsciousness of the evil of sin, will be ready to believe it will be very short, it ought to have occurred to his mind, that the opposition he is professedly making against those who pre- sume there will be no degree of punishment after the judgment day, is very trifling ; - that they will be ready enough to esteem him as one of their own party, and imagine that a coalescence in opinion is not far remote.
In the body of the pamphlet, Mr. Eckley endeavors to ex- plain the passages of Scripture which have been offered in defence of universal salvation, and then argues on the neces- sity of future punishment, and the ends it answers in the moral government of God. Believing in the universality of the atone- ment, as well as in that of the fall, the author explains that the consequence of Adam's offence is that the whole world has forfeited the privilege of being in a probationary condition, for judgment, which is the desert of sin, is come upon all men to condemnation. He then asks, What is the consequence of the righteousness of Christ ? and he thus answers the question : -
" The free gift is come upon all men unto justification of life," the natural explanation of which is, the free gift, or the grace of the gos- pel, is come, or proposed unto all men, bringing with it justification, which justification produces, or ends in life : That is, as by the sin of Adam, which introduced sin among his descendants, all men have fallen from a state of probation, and are under condemnation, so by the righteousness of Christ, the proposal of grace and pardon, or the free gift, has come upon or unto all ; - whosoever will may be saved, being in fact put into an equal state of probation, and entitled to an equal privilege with that, which existed before the fall, and any state
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
of trial whatsoever ; or which would have existed, if Adam had never sinned, and his posterity had not joined in rebellion.1
Of this pamphlet Dr. Belknap wrote : -
Mr. Eccley has written in favour of the common doctrine a modest, sensible pamphlet, entitled " Divine Glory displayed in the Condem- nation " &c. I have not the book or would send it you. He has said some things very handsomely on the subject, and ad rem. Noth- ing has yet appeared on the side of the restitution since the first pam- phlet, but the Murrayites are bestirring themselves, and reprinting Relly's Epistles.
An answer appeared soon after this, written by Dr. Chauncy,2 or Mr. Clarke, from which we will quote a few sentences : -
Though unconvinced by your arguments, I am pleased with the temper you discover ; and am happy to find, you can unite the mod- eration of a fair disputant with the candour of a Christian. Unlike some others, who have engaged in the controversy, you attack opin- ions, and not their author, wisely considering others may differ from you in sentiment, without being insidious foes to the innocence of mankind. However - though recommended by so much candour and moderation, I am still under the disagreeable necessity of dissenting from your religious system. Nor can I calmly resign up a number of my species to everlasting misery, notwithstanding all you have said to prove it consistent with the justice of God, and essential to his glory. I have such a veneration for my Creator, as to suppose he needs no foil to set off his perfections : Such an opinion of the saints, as to imagine they could relish their felicity, without being spectators of the misery of the damned. I place such a value upon the merits and death of my Redeemer, as to conclude all will be happy for whom he suffered on the cross. And I pay such a regard to the positive decla- rations of Scripture, as to anticipate the restitution of all things ; when the ruins of the fall shall be more than repaired, and the creature which now groans shall groan no more.
1 [An anonymous critic, less courteous in his tone than Dr. Chauncy and Dr. Belknap, said in his reply to Mr. Eckley : " Your principles and those of Arminius and his followers, agree with each other, and conspire to the destruction of the very essentials of Calvinism. Had your sentiments been published in the days of our fathers, they would not merely have reprobated you, but loudly exclaimed against you, as you have done against the one tenet of the Universalists, warning all to take care that they be not drawn aside by your dangerous errors."]
2 Dr. Charles Lowell attributed the authorship to Dr. Chauncy.
Some doggerel lines in the Evening Post, April 2, 1783, seem to show that Dr. Mather and Mr. Thacher made the doctrine of everlasting punishment prom- inent in their preaching, and that Dr. Chauncy, Mr. Clarke, and Shippie Town- send (see ante, vol. ii. pp. 97, 98) were the most prominent on the other side. Mr. Thacher was not yet settled in Bos- ton, but what he preached at Malden would be well known in town. He came to Boston in 1785.
223
MR. ECKLEY'S " APPENDIX."
Mr. Eckley brought out a brief " Appendix," in reply to this writer, closing the discussion with these impressive words : -
In regard to the author of the letter now replied to, although this Appendix bears the form of controversy, the writer wishes him to accept his undissembling and fervent desire, that the spirit of all truth may so influence both their hearts, as that when the designs of the Mediatorial government shall be displayed in inconceivable glory at the resurrection of the just and the last great day, they may mutu- ally unite in worshipping the one true God, and join with the prophets and apostles - the saints and angels, in sublimely chanting his eter- nal praise.
Dr. Chauncy's book was printed in London, and appeared in Boston early in the summer of 1784. Dr. Belknap wrote, May 24 :-
.
The Metropolitan's [Mr. Buckminster, of Portsmouth,] nerves are much agitated by the prevalence of these sentiments in his diocese ; he is totally opposed to them ; consequently he and I are not of a mind, for though I am warmly set against the antinomian part of Relly's scheme, yet I cannot oppose the universal extent of redemp- tion, provided repentance and holiness are taken in as necessary to the completion of the work ; and without these essential prerequisites it is absurd to talk of salvation. I have been waiting for the publica- tion of Dr. Chauncy's book, and it is now printed and coming over in the same ship in which I expect my brother Eliot every day. When it arrives, and begins to be read, I intend to be more open and explicit on the subject than I have yet been. Hitherto I have been loth to anticipate what the Doctor has said, and said in such a manner as must carry conviction to many minds, though I fear not to so many as would have been open to it, if there had been no skirmishing among the light infantry upon the subject.
We have this estimate of the work from the pen of the Rev. Dr. Rufus Ellis : -
The reader of his book upon this subject, if there can be any such person in our own day, will be delighted to find how manfully, as well as tenderly, he has opened and argued his theme, and how steady is his appeal to Scripture, whilst at the same time he recognizes most ear- nestly the absoluteness of the moral sense. He is much broader in his handling of this high argument for our larger hope in God than many modern writers, because in mercy he remembers truth and jus- tice and the inevitable retributions which they constantly disregard and practically make light of. He has left little to be added to the Scripture argument. He is free from mere sentimentalism. He does not explain away the terrible and yet kindly warnings of Jesus, or
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
deny that only a few are saved from great sinfulness and great conse- quent suffering, because he sees that in the end good, which is infinite, shall overcome evil, which is finite, and light, which is a reality, pre- vail over darkness, which is a nonentity.1
Lords Day 23 Feby 1783.
The Old South Society met in the Chapel for the last time. The Pastor preached a sermon adapted to the occasion. After the service, the Brethren of the Church and Congregation stayed, and a letter and vote of thanks, directed to the Wardens of the Chapel were agreed to, communicating the sentiments which the members of the Old South Society entertained of the kindness of the proprietors of the Chapel, in affording them the use of their Church so long a time, and expres- sive of their good wishes towards them. Jos : ECKLEY.
Remarks. The Old South Society assembled in the Chapel for publick worship about Five years, three months and half from Novr. 1777 to 23d Feby. 1783, excepting however from this time the five months when they met in the Representatives Room at the State House. On the aforesaid 9th Novr 1777, the members of the Society convened for worship by themselves for the first time after their disper- sion occasioned by the siege of the Town, with the decease of their former Minister, and Mr. Eckley, having been previously invited, be- gan the same day, to officiate among them.
Lords Day 2 March 1783.
The Repairs of the Old South Church being completed, the Society met in it for the first time since the destruction of all the inside work by the British Troops in the year 1775. A great number of people, brought together by the peculiarity of the occasion, attended the pub- lick service performed by the Minister of the Society on both parts of the day.2
We know little about these interesting services, except the texts upon which Mr. Eckley preached. The morning discourse was founded on Heb. xii. 22, 23 : " But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusa- lem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect." The text of the afternoon was Ezra vi. 16 : " And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and
1 [Ellis's History of the First Church, pp. 196, 197.]
2 [" Last Lord's day Divine Service was perform'd at the Old South Meet- ing House in this Town, being the first
time since the mercenaries of the Brit- ish Tyrant transpos'd the same into a riding-school in the year 1775." - Cont. Journal, March 6, 1783. See Wisner's History.]
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THE RESTORED MEETING-HOUSE.
the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy."1 Dr. Wisner tells us that the following words were sung to music composed by William Selby, then organist of the Chapel : -
Behold, God is my salvation ! I will trust, and not be afraid: For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and song ; he also is become my salvation. He hath raised up the tabernacle of David, that was fall'n ; he hath closed up the breaches thereof ; he hath raised up the ruins ; he hath built it as in the days of old, and caused his people to rejoice therein. Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the nations, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord, for he hath done excellent things ; this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel, in the midst of thee. Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Amen.2
With these feelings of joy and exultation there must have been in the hearts of many an undertone of tender sorrow and regret. The congregation was gathered again within the walls reared by the fathers half a century before, but how changed was everything since the days immediately preceding the Revolu- tion. The pulpit of Sewall and Prince was gone, - the pulpit in which Benjamin Wadsworth, Benjamin Colman, Samuel Phillips, Nathaniel Appleton, and Samuel Hopkins had stood, and from which Whitefield had preached so often during his various visits to Boston; and the family pews in which the Bromfields, the Belchers, the Willards, the Olivers, the Hub- bards, and others had worshipped, were gone also. And how many changes had passed upon the congregation itself ; war, exile, and death had done their work; and those who remained
1 These texts were recorded by the Hon. Jeremiah Powell on a scrap of" paper two inches square, which was pre- served with his other papers, and which Miss Eliza Susan Quincy gave to Dr. Manning, May 23, 1869, on the two hun- dredth anniversary of the foundation of the church. The following note is on the same paper : " 1783. Jan. 25. Draw'd the pews in the Old South Meeting House newly fitted up, and new pews, very Elegantly repair'd and Neat, per- haps the best on all Accounts in the Town, or in the Common Wealth, (Rev'd Mr. Joseph Eckley the Minister,) the Pew No. 78. on the left hand in the Broad
Alley, prized at £30 - money at 6/8 p. oz - draw'd by Jer. Powell, and Widow Quincy, Daughter to William Phillips Esqr. Each one paid £15-and to pay each one half the tax, or contribution towards the Minister and charges, and £7. 1. 10 for Cushings &c."
Mr. Powell was president of the Sen- ate as the immediate successor of Thomas Cushing, and predecessor of Samuel Adams. He married Sarah Bromfield, who was aunt of Mrs. Quincy, the widow of the patriot. He died in 1784.
2 [Wisner's History, p. 109. After Dr. Wisner's sermon, Sunday afternoon, May 9, 1830, this anthem was sung.]
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HISTORY OF THE OLD SOUTH CHURCH.
were entering upon a new epoch, politically, socially, and reli- giously, which was separated from the pre-revolutionary period as by a great gulf.1
A few days later, March 28, news reached Boston of the peace which had been concluded in Paris on the 20th of Janu- ary. "Happy, inexpressibly happy, in the certain intelligence of a general peace," wrote General Washington to Samuel Adams and Tristram Dalton, in replying to a letter of congrat- ulation from the two branches of the Massachusetts legislature. Public celebrations, however, did not take place until the an- nouncement of the definitive treaty of peace, nearly a year later. Samuel Adams wrote to Richard Henry Lee : -
I thank God, that I have lived to see my country independent and free. She may long enjoy her independence and freedom if she will. It depends on her virtue. She has gained the glorious prize, and it is my most fervent wish (in which I doubt not you heartily join me) that she may value and improve it as she ought.
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