USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the Second Church, or Old North, in Boston : to which is added a History of the New Brick Church > Part 23
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" II. Another evil which he is guilty of is rash and sinful judging, and that of a whole church of Christ, having condemned the whole church of Charlestown of irregular, rash, wicked proceeding (those being his words) ;
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and that, too, before he hath heard the church speaking for themselves, contrary to Matt. vii. 1. James, iv. 11. Proverbs, xvii. 15.
" III. He is an offender also by breaking covenant with the church, and becoming guilty of schism. When he joined to the church, he promised (yea, and set his hand to that covenant) to walk with the church in all the ordinances of God ; whereas he hath forsaken all the ordinances of God with the church, being wont upon the Lord's day to forsake the public assembly and go to another disorderly meeting, and turneth his back upon the table of the Lord, as well as upon the word and prayer. In this respect he hath greatly transgressed against the Lord, and broken many holy precepts of the word. 1 Cor. i. 10. Gal. v. 12. Rom. xvi. 17. Heb. x. 25. John, ii. 19. Gen. xvii. 14. Matt. xxviii. 20. 1 Cor. xi. 22.
"IV. He hath offended God and his people by holding such commu- nion with excommunicate persons as whereby he doth manifest his approval of that state and way which such persons are in. By this evil practice he hath grieved the Spirit of God in the hearts of the people, and gone directly against the rule, 2 Thess. iii. 6, 14. Matt. xviii. 17. It must appear that such persons were unjustly censured, before such communion can lawfully be maintained with them.
" V. Unto all these his evils he hath added contumacy and hardness of heart. For when the elders told him (when he was before them) that his carriages and speeches were offensive, he replied to them that they might be offended at a thousand things, if they wanted, he cared not; and also said to them at the same time, that there was never an elder in the country that would have any one read the Scriptures beside themselves. Thus transgressing the commandment, Exod. xx. 12. 1 Tim. v. 1, 17. Heb. xiii. 17. 1 Thess. v. 12, 13; as well as violating the rule of truth in this unworthy and most sinful charge against many renowned men of God.
"These matters of offence were distinctly and particularly mentioned by the officers at a church-meeting, 6th of 7th moneth, 1665 ; and pressed upon the conscience of the offender, showing him what rules of the word he had transgressed in every of these particulars. He justified himself in what he had said and done : only he said, as to his judging the church of Charlestown, he might, through zeal and passion, go a little beyond bounds, for his impudence wherein he was sorry. Whereupon the church declared themselves unsatisfied with him, and appointed him to attend the church at another meeting; in the mean time waiting to see if the Lord would give him repentance unto life. He told the church he would not promise to meet them again.
" Upon the 15th 7 mo. the church met again, when the former evils were severally again repeated to the offending party, and another thing was then alleged, viz., that he had spoken falsely against his conscience in re- porting that the teacher forbad him from coming to the Lord's table, and that therefore he forbore coming. At first he would not own that he had
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so spoken ; but two of the church-members, Brother Wills and Sister Wil- liams, did witness to his face that he had so said unto them ; whereupon he owned that in that, as well as in other respects, he had spoken falsely and wickedly. But he added withal, that the church must not expect that he should whine and blubber and keep a stirr. Which words, considering also the manner how he expressed them, gave the church cause to fear that his verbal confession of his evil (so far as he did confess) was not from the spirit of unfeigned repentance. There was more time given him to con- sider of his evil, that if possibly the church might gain his soul from the snares of sin and Satan and death.
" Upon 16 of 8 mo. the church met again. The pastor declared to the peccant brother, that the church now expected a manifestation of repent- ance, and hoped that the Lord would now help him in it, inasmuch as the church had exercised much patience towards him. He replied, saying, 'I desire none of your patience, and have nothing to say to you but what I have said formerly, and that God has humbled me for my sins, and I have peace of conscience.' The teacher told him his evils were such as must be wayled with brokeness of heart. He replied, 'My heart is broken.' Whereupon the teacher rejoined, 'But, brother, we must see it broken, by the fruits and effects of it.' To whom the offender answered, 'You shall not see it.' 'Nay,' said the teacher, ' but we must see it, or how can we receive satisfaction ?' Whereupon he replied again, with great bitterness, ' You see it! You shall never see it!' Then some of the brethren told him his carriage and speeches were very sinful and offensive, and they had not seen the like. Unto them he replied, 'I did not come here to be snapt and snub'd and snarled at by every one.' Then, turning his back to go away, the pastor said to him, ' Brother Farnum, in the name of the church and in the name of Christ, whose church we are, you are required to stay and hear what further we have to say unto you.' He replied, 'Don't use the name of Christ to me; I am not one that can stoop and bow to every one,' and flung himself away, refusing to hear the church and officers solemnly speaking to him in the name of the Lord Jesus. After that he was gone, the church resolved to send two brethren to call him back again from his own house, and, if he came, to lay him under a solemn admonition. When the brethren came to him, be told them he should be glad if the church would censure him; for then he should leave them, and have a better society. Upon his coming, the pastor, in the name of Christ and the church, solemnly admonished him to repent of the evils which he had been convicted of. After the admonition, he said, ' You may proceed to censure me, if you please : I desire none of your patience.' The teacher saying to him, ' The Lord humble you and pardon you,' he replied, ' And the Lord humble the church, for I think they have need enough of it,' and so flung out of the door in a very scornful manner.
" Upon 13th of 10 mo. the church met again, to see what effect
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the admonition which was laid upon him might have. He presented a paper, wherein were some general acknowledgments of his evil, and some passages that were untrue, and more offensive. The church was not willing to take notice of his paper, but declared that they expected a real and cordial repentance. He confessed in words that he was to blame in re- porting untruly of Mr. Simms and Mr. Shepard, and in disorderly carriage when he was last before the church ; but as to the evil of his schism, cove- nant-breaking, disorderly maintaining communion with excommunicated persons, he would own no guilt as to those particulars. 'Also, when he confessed his evil in other matters, he turned about and laughed, which was very offensive unto the church.
" Upon 5th of 11 mo. the church met again. He gave no satisfaction to the church, but had diverse passages which were more offensive. This day he denied that he had so spoken concerning Mr. Simms and Mr. Shepard, as formerly he had been convicted of, and also had confessed his evil in such speeches.
" Upon 16th of 12 mo. He acknowledged evils and miscarriages in the general. This day, when the pastor was preaching about infant-baptism, he was observed to go out of the meeting-house in such a manner as was uncomely and offensive. The teacher asked him before the church whether he had any just cause to go out of the assembly, or whether he did it not in contempt of the word which was speaking; unto which he would give no answer. The teacher urged him (so did the brethren, some of them), saying, ' If you should ask me such a question, I would answer you.' Yet he would give no answer.
" Upon 30th of 1 mo. 1666, the church met again to wait for the re- pentance of the offending party. The pastor declared particularly what his offences were. He would not fall under a sense of his evils, but said, ' that as for his turning his back upon the word when the pastor was preaching, if he heard such a matter again, it may be he might do the like again ; and that the church should do four things, or else he would not have communion with them: 1. They must set up the ordinance of pro- phecy ; 2. They must not baptize infants ; 3. They must all be baptized themselves ; 4. They must put away their teacher, and not own him for an officer.'
" The teacher having declared unto the church the heinousness of those evils which this impenitent offender was guilty of, and that therefore the rule of Christ did require that there should be a procedure unto the high- est censure ; after that the teacher had ended his speech in endeavoring to clear up the rule before the church, this offending party made a leg to him in a way of scorn and derision before the church. For which contempt and profaneness of spirit in not considering the presence of God, angels and saints, before whom he was then standing as a delinquent, he was by the pastor reproved. The issue of this meeting was, that the church unani-
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mously concluded that they must, in the fear and name of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, proceed unto the sad and dreadful censure of excommunication ; only they declared that, if before the 22d of 2d month he manifested repentance, that sorrowful work would be gladly prevented.
" Upon 22d of 2d month. In the public congregation, the teacher having preached two sermons on Matt. xviii. 18, the said John Farnum was called forth. (N.B. He sat in the highest gallery [there were two, one above the other], where few in the meeting-house could see him ; and, when the pastor spake to him to come down, he replied, 'You may speak to me here, if you have any thing to say to me : I can hear you well enough.' And it was a long time before he would vouchsafe to come down.) It was put to him in the face of the congregation, that if he had an heart given to him to repent of his evils, in breaches of the ninth commandment and of the fifth commandment, as also of his breach of covenant, his schism, his disorderly walking in holding irregular communion with censured persons, before it did appear that they were unjustly censured, &c., that then the sad sentence of being delivered unto Satan should be prevented. He said ' that he was guilty of no such evils, and that we cast him out only for his conscience, because he was against the baptism of infants.' It was replied to him that he might be of that opinion still; and, if he would walk as did become the gospel, no censure should be laid upon him for his opinion, for there are diverse in the church of that opinion, whose children were never baptized, and we are far from censuring of them.
" He used diverse unseemly speeches and carriages in the meeting- house, saying to the pastor and the church, 'Much good may your baptism do you!' in a light manner expressing it. Likewise he smiled and laughed in the face of the congregation, which occasioned the teacher to say, ' What a sad spectacle is here ! A poore creature ready to be delivered up into the hands of Satan, to be bound in heaven and earth ; and yet his heart is so strangely besotted and hardened with guilt and sin, and the wrath of God against his soul, that he even laugheth at the calamity which is coming upon him !'
" At the last he turned about and smiled, saying, 'The place is too hot for me.' By which words he caused many vaine youths to burst forth into an open laughter in the midst of a work so awfull and dreadfull, and went to go out of the congregation. The pastor required him, in the name of Christ, to stay ; but he refused to hear the church, and went away out of the congregation. When he was gone, the pastor did, in the name of the Lord Jesus, the Judge of quick and dead, deliver this impenitent and pro- fane offender unto Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved. Now, out of the hands of Satan, whose at present he is, the Lord, if it be possible, deliver him."
This sentence was delivered in 1666. Nothing more is heard
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of the offender for about seventeen years. The next and final notice of him is the following, in Increase Mather's handwriting :
" On the 31 day of the 6 mo. 1683, John Farnum came to me with brother Collicot, expressing his desires of returning to communion with this church again. The next Lord's day I acquainted the brethren with his motion, who, upon the reading of his confession, were willing he should be readmitted, provided he did publicly owne it. The next Lecture-day " (Thursday lecture) " I read his confession amongst the ministers who met at Mr. Willard's. None of the elders there present objected against receiving him ; but Mr. Eliot said that he thought the church would sin if they did not receive him upon that acknowledgment. September 9, 1683 : His confession was read in the public congregation, owned by himself, and accepted by the church ; so that the censure was then taken of, and he received to communion. His confession was in these words following : -
"' God hath convinced me of my great evil and sin in the matters for which the church dealt with me about, both in word and action ; not only in the things charged on me, but also in my carriage and behavior, espe- cially in the time of their dealing with me. My manifold miscarriages, both in words irreverently and unbecoming a Christian, and in my gestures in the time of the church's patience and dealing with me, both towards the elders and towards my brethren also, they were so great that I am ashamed before God and man; and I am heartily glad I have a season to confess them to God's glory and my own shame, which I have often begged pardon of God for, and do now beg the same of you, my brethren, for Christ's sake ; for I know my evils are greatly aggravated by my passionate corruption, which is my great evil.
""' This is freely acknowledged, in hopes to find acceptance, by me, JOHN FARNUM.' "
Note in Church Records. - "Several of the church (viz., Brother Colli- cot and Brother Way) did, by the desire of the church, enquire of some of the Anabaptists' Society (viz., Skinner and -) whether they had any matter of scandal to object against John Farnum, because then we would not receive him again. They said they had not, and that they had nothing to object against him but only his leaving them."
OTHER INTERESTING AND CURIOUS VOTES.
Allusion has been made to a vote of the church in 1676, on the occasion of building the second house of worship of the Second Church, that no pews should be made with a door into
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the street. It is evident from the same vote that the society built no pews in the house, but only provided ranges of seats. Any individual who desired was permitted to build a pew for himself; but he could not dispose of it if he wished to leave it, the church reserving to themselves that right.
" 2d mo. 21 day, 1678. - The brethren consented that Brother Blake should be dismissed, or permitted to joyn with the brethren of Milton, who purpose (if the Lord will) to gather into a church-society.
" 25th 4th mo. - At a church-meeting, voted, that Mr. John Cotton be desired to assist the teacher, in preaching once a fortnight ; and that twenty pounds per annum, in money, shall be given him : to be paid quar- terly, in case he accept of this invitation.
" 30th day, 1 mo. 1680. - Voted, that Mr. Avery be desired to join unto this church, in order to his being chosen a ruling elder amongst us ; in case, upon further experience, the Lord shall make the way clear, both on his part and ours.
" 14 day, 2 mo, 1691. - Voted, that Lieut. Way, Mr. Gill, Mr. Robee, and Mr. Barnard, be desired to take the care of seating persons in the meeting-house.
" Voted, that the pastor be desired to take what care he shall judge proper in choosing and settling fit persons for the inspection of the children in the meeting-house.
" 1694, 8th day, 2 mo. - Two young women belonging to the com- munion, to wit, Rebeckah Adams and Alice Pennel, having been guilty of consulting an ungodly fortune-teller in the neighborhood, with desire to be informed of some secret and future things, this day in public made a penitent acknowledgment of that miscarriage; and so the church was reconciled unto them.
" 1700, 11th day, 5th mo. - The brethren of the church being as- sembled at the desire of the Governor and the General Assembly, and messengers from both Houses in the Assembly coming to them with a motion that they would consent unto the removal of their teacher's resi- dence to the Colledge at Cambridge, the ensuing vote was passed : -
" ' Being under the sense of the great benefit we have long enjoyed by the labor of our pastor, the Rev. Increase Mather, among us, it must needs be unreasonable and impossible for us to consent that his relations to us, and our enjoyment of him and them, should cease.
" 'Nevertheless, the respect we have to the desire and welfare of the publick does compel us to consent that our good pastor may so remove his personal residence to the Colledge at Cambridge as may be consistent with the continuance of his relation to us, and his visits of us, with his publick administrations, as often as his health and strength may allow it.'
" 1707, 19 day, 8 mo .- Mr. John Barnard having given scandal by 38
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the liberty he took of using the scandalous game of cards, when he was lately a chaplain abroad in the army, he this day made his public acknow- ledgment, which gave satisfaction to the people of God.
" 1715. - Voted, nemine contradicente, by the brethren, after the pas- tor had withdrawn, that the house of Mr. Thomas Hutchinson, in Ship- street, now vacant, be hired for the accommodation of the Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather, at the charge of the church, until some further provision be made for him. (Drawn up by Col. Winthrop.)
" 1727, 28 day, 11 mo. - Whereas, in the holy providence of our Lord, his aged servant, our reverend and dear pastor, Dr. Cotton Mather, is visited and brought low by sickness, which takes him off from those exer- cises of the pastoral care, whereby God has greatly endeared him to us, and threatens his removal from us by death, which we would deprecate as a most awful frown of Heaven, - we do therefore desire and appoint next Wednesday afternoon to be set apart and employed in humble, penitent, and earnest supplications to God our Saviour, that it may please him to restore and confirm the health of his servant, and prolong his life and use- fulness as a rich blessing to his people. And we humbly desire the Rev. Mr. Colman, Mr. Thacher, and Mr. Sewall, to assist in the services which are called for on this occasion."
BILL OF FARE FOR ORDINATION, 1722.
" To be sent to Mr. Townsend's [for ministers entertained there], one plum cake, one Cheser cheese, } barrel beer, two bread bricks, } doz. Canary wine, two pounds fresh butter, ¿ barrel ale.
From the cook's shop : three small pattyes, 12 doz. tarts.
To boil : 5 hams bacon, 5 leggs porke, 15 neat tongues, 2 doz. fowles.
To rost : 5 pieces beefe, 5 loins of veal, 5 qrs. lamb.
All sorts of sauce, as anchovies, pickles, greens, sallets, sparrow grass, oysters, onions, cramberrys.
40 lbs. butter, eggs, ¿ hund. reasons, ¿ do. corants, spice of all sorts, 16 pudings.
Lickquer : 1 bl. beere, 1 bl. cyder, 1 quarter cask Madeira wine, } hundred powder sugar, 1 loaf refine do., 1 galloon vinegar, } galloon lim- juice.
40 bread bricks, pips and tobacco, 1 dozen drinking glasses.
To looke after the dressing : Mrs. Black, Delly, Mrs. Arnold.
¿ cord wood, rose water, radishess, turnups, potatoes, cabbage, mus- tard."
The names of the deacons of the Second Church, as far as I have been able to ascertain from the records, are the following : -
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John Phillips, Christopher Gibson, John Atwood, Obadiah Gill, John Barnard, Thomas Baker, John Buchanan, Grafton Fever- yeare, William Larrabee, Edward Langdon, - Proctor, Tho- mas Tyler, Jonathan Brown, Wm. Bordman, John Tudor, Thos. Greenough, Samuel Ridgway, Wm. Bell, Benjamin Henderson, Samuel Parkman, Thomas Lewis, James Foster, Peter Mackin- tosh, jun., Enoch Patterson, R. W. Bayly, J. N. Daniell, Samuel G. Simpkins, Simon W. Robinson, Nathan Clark, Isaac Adams.
LEGACIES AND DONATIONS TO THE SECOND CHURCH.
Capt. Samuel Scarlet, by his last will, left a legacy of twelve pounds per annum to the Second Church in Boston, and the poor thereof. Major Richards bequeathed a legacy of one hundred pounds to the Second Church, the yearly profits thereof to be towards the maintenance of the poor belonging to said church, to be applied according to the direction of the teaching officer or officers. Madam Foster bequeathed the sum of one hundred pounds to the Second Church, to be employed for the relief of the poor belonging to said church in communion with it. Dr. Increase Mather left five pounds by his last will for the benefit of the poor of the church. Dame Dorothy Saltonstall left by her will fifty pounds to the poor of the church, and fifty pounds for a flagon ; also a strip of land adjoining the meeting-house (in North Square). Mrs. Rachel Shute gave, by an instrument, five hundred pounds to the poor of the church, to be received after her decease ; but, her property having become somewhat reduced, she afterwards requested that the "instrument" might be returned. The church voted that the Trustees named in the instrument should be allowed to give it up, upon the receipt of a sum not less than twenty pounds for the whole. Hon. Thomas Hutchinson bequeathed several sums of money for the use of the poor of the church. Madam Frizzel gave a lot of land to the church. Deacon Samuel Parkman was a liberal benefactor to the church and society. Deacon John Tudor contributed largely to its funds.
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Adam Winthrop also deserves honorable mention in this con- nection. The living benefactors to the church, of whom there are several belonging to the society, would not wish to have their names written in this catalogue. Some future minister who may write the history of the present period will be as glad to search out their acts of Christian generosity, and as pleased to record them, as we are in rescuing from oblivion those who of old have loved and remembered our venerated church.
The following address was delivered to the people in the meeting-house by Deacon Tudor. It must be remembered that the currency had been depreciated.
" June, 1779.
" To our Brethren and Sisters in the Gallery, and to som below, I am, &c., Yrs., J. T. : by the Comte. I am desir'd to acquant you with what perhaps som of you have not heard of, - that our Revd. Ministers sallery, and also the Saxtons, is lately rais'd ; but the Contrebution is not suffisiant at present to pay it.
" Therefor, first to you our Breathren, even to som who may work by the Day, you have from 10 to 12 Dollors a Day, which is from 60 to 72 Dollors per Week : now suppose you, my friends, should give 6s. a Sabbath, 'tis but a 70th part of your incom ; nay, supposeing you did not earn but half so much, it would not be a 30th part. As to you our Sisters, boath above and below, even to those who may go oute to Jorning or som other Busness, you have 4 Dollors a Day, which is 24 Dols. per Week : now, if you should give 3s. a Sabbath, it would be but a 48th part of your earn- ings. But som will say, we are not imploy'd half our time in that way. Supposeing that to be the case, the 3s. is but a 24th part of your earnings.
" Now, my friends, if we are attentive hearers to the 2 Sermons and 4 prayers we hear, or may hear, every Lords-day from this pulpit, wil recompence us only in our Temporal conserns a 1000 fould for the small matter we may Weekly Contribute. But, if we carry it to our Speritual conserns, the comparison of a few Shillings will be but as a drop of Water to the Otion.
" The advantage to our better part will be 10 Thousand times 10 thou- sand in our favor, and that to all Eternity, should God be pleased to say Amen to the joint petitions from the pulpit & our own hearts. But I may not inlarge ; but permit me to remind you & my self of 2 or 3 exortations from St Paul, in the 1st of Corinths. 9 Chapr. 13th and 14 verses : 'They which waite at the alter are pertakers with the alter : Even so hath the
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Lord ordained, that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gos- ple.' Again, the same Apostel in the 2d Corinths. Chapr. 9th, 6th and 7th Verss. tels us that he which soweth Sparingly shall reap also sparingly ; and he which soweth Bountifully shall reap also Bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give : Not grudgingly, or of Necessity ; for God loveth a cheerful giver. Once more, in Hebrews, Chapr. 13th and 16th Vs. : 'To do good & to distrebute, forget not ; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.' Hear I mite mention many places of Scripture, and bring many arguments to enforce the point before us, but the present time wil not admit of it; and we shal rest it with your Serious consideration, and hope for your genorous complyance."
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