USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the church in Brattle street, Boston > Part 12
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but was not intended to be a church-covenant or creed. Under date of December 12th, 1699, Dr. Colman writes, " After solemn calling upon God, the following brethren declared their con- sent and agreement to walk together in the ordi- nances of our Lord Jesus Christ." And this is all that the records contain in relation to any cov- enant or form of admission to the communion. Probably there was at some time some action of the church upon the subject, but no record is made of it. In the small pulpit Bible were two covenants, one for admission to the church, and the other for the administration of baptism to the children of non-communicants. But when, or by whom, or by whose authority, these covenants were introduced, could not be ascertained. Their use reached back beyond the memory of the old- est members of the society, but no reference to them could be found in the records.
It was under these circumstances, that, in 1835, as stated above, the matter was brought before the consideration of the church. The covenant adopt- ed on the report of the committee above men- tioned, and now in use, was mainly the covenant still to be found in the small pulpit Bible. With the exception of abridging its length, the most impor- tant change made was the introduction of a clause, found, I believe, in the covenants of several of the earliest Congregational churches of New Eng-
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land, to the following purport : - " You promise to yield obedience to every truth of God that has been or shall be made known to you as your duty, the Lord assisting you by his spirit and grace." This clause secures individual liberty, and em- braces the idea of change, progress, advancement in the knowledge of divine things, of truth, and duty. It is, therefore, a most important clause in our covenant, truly Christian in its spirit and char- acter, requiring no other and no further surrender of individual freedom and independence than that a person be strictly conscientious, obedient to his honest and sincere convictions of truth and duty. Through this clause many have been brought to the Lord's table, to enjoy all the benefits and hal- lowed influences of that holy rite of commemora- tion, who would otherwise have been restrained through fear of too large a surrender of individual liberty and independence.
In the outward administration of our affairs, these are the principal changes that have been made since the commencement of the present ministry. During this period, the society has been harmonious, and as prosperous as was to be expected, perhaps, under the great and rapid changes which have taken place in this city during the last sixteen years, - changes greater, more rapid, and affecting to a greater extent the rela- tive position of this church, than any which have
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occurred during the whole of the one hundred and thirty-four previous years of its existence.
With some minuteness of detail in portions of it, I have now laid before you the history of this venerable church and society, from its first incep- tion. And as we close the retrospect, what is the great thought that rushes to our minds and leaps for utterance to our lips ? Is it not all ex- pressed in that supplication of Solomon breathed at the dedication of the temple ? - " The Lord our God be with us as he was with our fathers. Let him not leave us, nor forsake us." Signal- ly was the Lord God with our fathers. Rich are the tokens of Divine favor which from the beginning have rested upon this religious society. It has been a church of peace. For one hundred and fifty years, its harmony has never been essen- tially disturbed. No discussions have occurred sufficient to obstruct its prosperity or invade its quiet, - a fact, I believe, which cannot be so strongly asserted of any other of the churches of our city that have been established a century and a half. Here, notwithstanding there have been occasionally differences of opinion, brotherly love has continued, and mutual forbearance and char- ity made it a church of peace, - and of peace, because of liberty. It has been a church faithful to the great Protestant principles of Christian liberty. Our fathers were not disorganizers or
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radicals. In things spiritual, they reverenced the authority of Christ and his Gospel, but would bow to no other authority. They were noble and independent men, men of a lofty piety and a holy zeal, who, in the calm confidence of a good cause, scrupled not, amid obloquy and opposition, to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free, and all succeeding generations have had the benefit of their steadfastness. The three wise, just, but at the time obnoxious prin- ciples which they introduced have now become all but universally prevalent in the Congregational churches of New England.
And because of its liberty, it has been an en- lightened and progressive church. Restraints, legal or conventional, barring the avenues of relig- ious truth to the mind, - these are the things that produce violent changes of religious opinion and make them necessary. Here these restraints have never existed, have never been imposed This church has known no law but liberty, no object but truth. Its ministers have ever been free to ascertain it in their studies, free to utter it in their preaching as their consciences and judg- ments might dictate. Consequently, all changes that have taken place here in the religious opin- ions of the ministers, and of the general body of worshippers, have come on gradually, have been the natural growth of the religious freedom here enjoyed.
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It was my purpose to unfold some of these changes, and the causes which operated to pro- duce them. But I find this no easy task. It is a matter involved in some obscurity. The ecclesiastical history of New England, especially of Massachusetts, as respects changes of religious opinion, is yet to be written. It is thoroughly embraced and treated in no one work. Its mate- rials are to be searched for and gathered from an immense mass of occasional sermons, tracts, and pamphlets of various kinds. Its great outline of independent Congregationalism is distinct and clear, but within that outline much of the picture is vague and indistinct, - the lights and shadows blending so gradually into each other as to give bold and strong prominence to but few points. Thus is it also in the history of this church, as respects the religious opinions of the ministers or worshippers. At the beginning, in its Manifesto, it defined very distinctly its position. So far as that instrument is a declaration of the principles to be here observed in the administration of the Gospel as a religious institution, there has always been a strict adherence to it. In this respect, the Manifesto is still the law of the society. So far as it is a declaration of theological doctrine, there has been on some points a gradual departure from it. No violent changes, however, have occurred. The Manifesto, even so far as it is a recognition
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of theological doctrine, has never been formally revoked, and no action has been had, either by the church or the society, defining and setting forth its theological tenets, or assuming any new denominational name, or any name other than that which it assumed at first, and has always held, derived from its locality, - the Church in Brattle Street. Its ministers have all been independent Congregationalists, and zealous supporters and de- fenders of that form of church organization, and under all the various shades of opinion which they have held and preached, this church has always had that liberal, " catholic air " which Colman says he " breathed in at Cambridge." *
* Dr. Thacher, in the memoir of him to which reference has already been made, is said to have been in early life somewhat narrow and bigoted, and, in his preaching, some- times harsh and denunciatory towards those who differed from the orthodox standard of faith. He very early, however, out- grew this temper, and was distinguished for his large charity and his catholic spirit. Mr. William Cooper was more strict and stern in his Calvinism than any other of the early ministers of this church ; yet there was much that was generous and cath- olic in his spirit. He was disposed to recognize and maintain the true Gospel liberty both of the church and of the individ- ual Christian, and was severe and denunciatory, not so much against religious error as against religious indifference and sin. In his Confession of Faith, published in connection with Dr. Colman's sermon at his ordination, he says of the books of the Old and New Testament, -" These I believe to be of divine original and authority. These I would make the fountain from whence to draw all my knowledge, the touch-
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In most periods of its history, it has been a church distinguished for zeal, piety, and charity. Here, in all times, the Christian ordinances have been largely observed. It was a well-founded declaration of Dr. Thacher, that " he did not know an unbaptized child among the families of
stone to which to bring every doctrine; and whatever does not agree hereunto I will reject, as not having the light of truth in it. . .... I believe that Christ is the alone King and Head of his Church, and that none else has power over our faith or dominion over our consciences."
The following passage from that part of the Confession in which he presents the " rules and methods of conduct " by which, as a Christian minister, he hoped " in some measure to reach unto the great and worthy ends proposed," gives such a favorable impression of the man that I insert it.
" I am sensible that the minister implies the Christian, and that the good effects of my ministry upon others does in a great measure depend upon the holiness of my own heart and life : I would therefore take heed to myself and keep my own vineyard ; and first seek after an experience of the work of Grace in my own soul and to exhibit the power of it in my own life. The word of God I would make the rule of my whole behavior and conversation, that so I may be an exam- ple to the believers, in word, in conversation, in faith, in love, in humility, in purity, in gravity, and may give no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed.
" As a minister, I shall endeavor to perform all ministerial duties and labors both public and private. I am sensible (God make me more so!) of my own deficiency in Knowl- edge, as well as Grace : I therefore purpose to give myself to reading, meditation, prayer, and diligent study, especially of the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make the man of God thoroughly furnished. The truths of the Gospel I will en-
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his charge." The table of communion, though formerly, as now, neglected by many, has always witnessed a good attendance, and at some periods a full and large one .*
It has been a church of philanthropy and benefi- cence. Early in its history, we find that, at the
deavor faithfully to dispense, and not keep back any part of the counsel of God.
" The laws of the Gospel I will inculcate and enforce. Against sin in every instance of it I will faithfully witness. To every particular person I will, as I am able, give their portion in due season.
" The worship and institutions of Christ I shall endeavor to observe in the purity of them, according to his holy word, and to maintain and exercise that holy discipline which he has instituted in his Church, without partiality.
" But concerning what I shall do, if trouble and persecution should arise because of the word, I would be very jealous over myself; yet I trust that, through the Power of Christ resting upon me, I shall be enabled to suffer for the Truth, yea, to seal it with my blood, rather than betray it.
"To move and quicken me to all which, I shall endeavor to affect myself with the worth of immortal souls, and the danger of my own ; to get and preserve an awful sense of the bonds of God upon me, and the strictness of that account which I must shortly give up to the chief Shepherd at his appearing.
" These purposes and resolutions I would make in an hum- ble reliance on the grace of God, in a sense of my own insuf- ficiency ; asking the prayers of ministers and people of God for me, that I may find mercy and grace to be faithful herein unto the death."
* During one period of twenty-seven years, there were six hundred and sixty-six additions to the church, an average of at least two at every administration of the communion.
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suggestion of its first pastor, it voted to take up a collection twice in each year, to form an " Evan- gelical Treasury for the propagation of religion and piety, and to be held sacred to such uses." The sums thus obtained were expended in efforts to diffuse the knowledge and influence of the Gospel through " the dispersing Bibles, cate- chisms, and other instruments of piety among the poor." In every generation, its members have acknowledged the obligations of Christian benev- olence, and been ready to give, and give largely, of their means for the relief of the poor and for the advancement of the cause of Christ. I know not that a worthy object or enterprise of charity has ever sought the aid of this church, and been refused.
Such, briefly stated, have been some of the characteristics of this church. Thus has the Lord our God been with it in times past, enriching it with the gifts and graces of his spirit. Thus has it come into our hands, - been given in charge to our fidelity ; and a long array of venerable and holy men will rise up in judgment against us, if we prove faithless to that charge. Under any circumstances, it is a responsible and weighty charge. Of all the interests that come down to us from our predecessors, religion, its institutions and influences, are the most important ; and in our case, the history of our church, and all the
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associations that gather around it, make an appeal to our honor and conscience which ought not to be unheeded. The interests of this religious so- ciety, its prosperity and permanence, its healthy condition and influences, now devolve upon us. We occupy the places, enjoy the privileges, and hold the power, that once belonged to others.
There are strong reasons moving some of us to feel a deep interest in the prosperity of this church. We have been long connected with it. Much of the joy and sorrow of our lives is asso- ciated with it. It is, and has been, the scene of our deepest religious experiences. Holy and hallowed memories gather around it in our thoughts. With some of us, the recollections of early childhood cluster thick and fast about it. In unconscious infancy we were baptized at this altar. Hither the hand of parental faith and affection led our early steps to the worship of God, and through all the years of life the path has since been familiar to our feet, though the parents and brethren and sisters with whom we took sweet counsel, and walked to the house
of God in company, now sleep in dust. And where recollection goes not back to early child- hood, it reaches with many to the dawn of early manhood, to those days when, stepping on the stage of active life, we rested here the ark of our faith, made this the tabernacle of our worship,
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sought here the instructions that were to guide and the influences that were to protect us through the duties and perils of the world. Amid all these duties and perils, in the hour of our prosperity and in the hour of our sorrow, when our hearts have been full of gladness or heavy with grief, hither we have come with the homage of our grat- itude and submission, with the supplications of our necessity, and found an answer of peace to our prayers ; and if ever the chances and changes of life have carried us long and far from home, this church has risen up to our memories as the home of our holiest hopes, and we have been ready to exclaim, " If I forget thee, O Jerusa- lem, may my right hand forget its cunning."
And where there are not these strong reasons, founded on pleasant memories and attachments that are the growth of years, there are other con- siderations that enforce the duty of all of us to feel an interest in the prosperity of this society, and strive to promote it. We occupy seats here. We unite here in the public worship of God. This is the religious society with which for the time being we are connected ; and such a connection, wherever it exists, and so long as it exists, involves duties and responsibilities that should not be neglected. It is a benefit to re- ligion and a blessing to the community to have its religious societies prosperous, - peace, piety,
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and zeal pervading and animating them. It is every one's duty to aid in promoting this prosper- ity ; and this general duty can be best performed, this aid can be most effectually rendered, by any one in the religious society with which he is con- nected, by his doing there, without exclusiveness, bigotry, or uncharitableness, what he can, and all that he can, to make that society prosperous in things temporal and spiritual, - a true and living church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is our duty, then, - a duty to which strong attachments and hallowed memories prompt many of us, - it is every one's duty who statedly wor- ships at this church, - to feel an interest in its prosperity, and to do what he can to promote it. I would not imply that there is any special lack of this interest, or neglect of this duty. But we all need to be reminded of what we know, to be en- couraged in what we are endeavoring to perform. In closing these discourses, therefore, suffer me to say, -
First, that we shall promote the prosperity of this church by cleaving to those principles of liberty and order which were recognized in its origin, and have ever been regarded in the con- duct of its temporal affairs, and in its administra- tion of the Gospel of Christ.
These principles are worthy of support and adherence. Indeed, the independent Congrega-
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tionalism of New England should command our respect and attachment, as a form of church or- ganization and religious administration in harmony with the spirit and genius of the Gospel, closely resembling the organization of the primitive Apos- tolic churches, and eminently adapted to promote civil and religious liberty, the development of individual character, and the progress of society. The principles upon which Christianity is admin- istered in any community are of more importance than the particular doctrines that are taught or believed. Upon the great themes of God, Christ, man, upon the great questions of the trinity, the atonement, human depravity, regeneration, the influence of the Holy Spirit, in short, upon all the important points coming strictly within the department of theology, a majority of the Congre- gational Churches have held, and still hold, es- sentially the same opinions that are held by the Catholic Church. The difference, always mani- fest, between a Catholic and a Congregational community, the difference, for example, between Congregational New England and Catholic Mexi- co, and the influence of religion as an element of social progress in the one country and the other, is to be mainly attributed, not to any difference in strictly theological doctrine, but to the difference in the organization of the two churches, and the spirit and principles upon which the religion of
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the Gospel is administered by each. It is the tendency of Congregationalism to enlarge and liberalize the mind, to give it freedom and scope, to impart energy, activity, enterprise, to character, to make a man feel that he is not the slave of the Church, but a member of it, with a right to have his own opinions and to express them freely, -to derive them from the Bible through his own read- ing and interpretation of it, and to prove and de- fend them by it against all that the Church and the world may oppose. The spirit of Congrega- tionalism breathed into an individual gives him dignity, elevation, energy of character ; breathed into a community, it gives a mental independence, freedom, and activity, produces an application of religion, direct and indirect, to the intellectual, moral, and physical progress of society, which cannot exist where the individual has little power to think and act for himself in religious matters, where the Bible may not be read and interpreted, save as the Church decides, and where the au- thority of the Church is made to absorb or over- shadow the essential substance of religion.
That Congregationalism is exempt from all imperfection, no one would contend. No form of civil or religious organization to be administered by human wisdom is thus exempt. In all things in this world, the tares and the wheat grow to- gether. But the evils, the imperfections, that
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attach to Congregationalism, are not to be named with those that come in the train of spiritual des- potism. The intellectual, moral, and religious condition of New England, its various institutions of learning, science, and philanthropy, the general spirit and character of its people, are mainly the result of the form in which religion has been ad- ministered within its borders, and this form has been predominantly Congregational. We are willing to point to them, we have a right to point to them, as evidence and illustration of the effi- cacy and value of this form of ecclesiastical or- ganization.
Would we promote the prosperity of this church, let us cleave manfully and firmly to those great Congregational principles upon which it was founded, and of which clear and distinct declarations were made in its Manifesto ; * let
* While these sheets have been passing through the press, I found, in an old volume of miscellaneous pamphlets in the Boston Athenæum, a copy of the " Manifesto " as originally printed, which is curious for two reasons. Written upon it, in a bold, legible hand, is the name of " Benjamin Walker," who was one of the " undertakers," and is mentioned in the deed conveying the land on which the church now stands. This copy undoubtedly belonged to him. Upon the blank page of the " Manifesto," in the same handwriting with the name above mentioned, are the following memoranda : -
" December 8th, 1799.
" Voted, For the explanation of the 7th article, it is in- tended that the renewal of the baptismal covenant required
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our hearts cherish an attachment to them ; let our influence go to sustain them.
Having confirmed our confidence and increased our interest in the form of church organization and the mode of administering religion here estab- lished, we may promote the prosperity of this society, -
Secondly, by a faithful and punctual attendance upon its services. We cannot expect the society to be prosperous so long as we fail in this duty ; and to whatever extent we neglect it, to that ex- tent our influence goes to impede its prosperity, to dishearten its minister, to extinguish the fire upon its altar, and to impart our own coldness and indifference to others. Punctual attendance upon the church where he claims to be a wor-
therein shall be in public, before their admission to the Lord's table.
" Voted, For the explanation of the last article, it is intended, that every baptized adult person, which hath a vote in elect- ing a minister, be a settled inhabitant, of a good conversation, a constant hearer, and contributor to the minister's main- tenance."
As the records kept by Dr. Colman do not begin till De- cember 12th, 1699, it is impossible to determine whether the foregoing votes were actually passed by the society, or whether they are simply memoranda of votes which Mr. Walker intended to propose. In either case, they are inter- esting, as throwing some light upon the sense in which two important articles of the Manifesto were intended to be received.
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shipper is one of the efficient and direct ways in which a man may promote its prosperity. This attendance is due to his brethren, for the very purpose of their organization as a society is public worship and instruction, and every unnecessary absence, an irregular and negligent attendance, tends to defeat that purpose and cause it to fail. It is due to the pastor, whose best efforts can only be called forth by the encouragement he receives from the zeal and sympathy of the peo- ple. Two live coals brought together soon pro- duce a flame ; let a live coal and a dead one be placed in contact, and the former will soon set on fire the latter, and presently both shall glow with intense heat ; but a live coal left to itself soon expires. The influence of pastor and people is reciprocal, and if no zeal exists or can be awa- kened in the latter, it will not long burn in the breast of the former. No religious society ever yet died out, dwindling first into insignificance, and finally becoming extinct, when the people, the members of it, were faithful to the obligations of membership ; and the highest genius, talent, and piety in the pulpit could not keep it up and keep it alive, if they received little or no help from those who sit in the pews.
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