USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the church in Brattle street, Boston > Part 2
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They aimed not, as is sometimes the case in the formation of new societies at the present day, to hold out the idea that there was something very peculiar in the character of their society, some- thing in the principles of its organization and con- templated modes of action making it altogether dis- tinct and different from others, but rather to show the extent of their union and harmony with others, and that, in the particulars in which they saw " cause to depart from what is ordinarily pro- fessed and practised by the churches of Christ here in New England," there was no just ground for suspicion and jealousy towards them.
This suspicion and jealousy were indeed enter- tained. They met with distrust, if not with strong opposition. Though the "undertakers," as they style themselves, were men of high standing and character, men of substance and influence, some of them holding important official station, - though it is probable, from a comparison of names, that portions of them had previously been connected with one or another of the three societies then ex- isting in the town, -it does not appear that their enterprise met with any encouragement or sympa- thy from either of the ministers of these societies. So much ignorance and prejudice prevailed in relation to the movement, that in November, 1699, a few weeks before their church was dedi- cated, the " undertakers " published " A Mani-
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festo or Declaration," setting forth their aims and designs, together with the principles and rules they intended by God's grace to adhere unto. The original of this important document is not on the files, nor in the records, of the church. It was printed on "a half folio sheet," in a con- venient form for circulation, and in this way dis- tributed to the churches. Dr. Palfrey, in a note to his sermon, says, he had " not been able to find an original copy of it," but used a manuscript copy made by the late Judge Thacher in 1807. Since that time a copy of the original publication has been discovered, and is now in my hands. As it was found among the papers of a clergyman long since deceased, formerly pastor of one of the Congregational churches at the North End, it is not impossible that it may have found its way into his possession from the files of the Second Church, and be, therefore, the original copy sent by the undertakers to the pastor of that church, then worshipping at the head of North Square. As this document, of no little interest and impor- tance in the history of this church, is known to but few of my hearers, I shall read it from the original copy to which I have just referred. Thus it begins : -
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A MANIFESTO
OR
Declaration,
Set forth by the Undertakers of the New Church
Now Erected in Boston in New-England, November 17th. 1699. I NASMUCH as GOD hath put it into our hearts to undertake the Building a New Meeting-House in this Town for His Publick Worship ; And whereas through the gracious Smiles of Divine Providence on this our Vnder- taking, We now see the same Erected, and near Finished : We think it Convenient, for prevent- ing all Misapprehensions and Jealousies, to pub- lish our Aims and Designs herein, together with those Principles and Rules we intend by G ODS Grace to adhere unto.
We do therefore as in the Presence of GOD our Judge, and with all the Sincerity and Serious- ness, which the nature of our present Engagement Commands from us, Profess and Declare both to one another, and to all the World, as follows.
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[I.]
First of all, We approve and subscribe the Confession of Faith put forth by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster.
[II.]
We design only the true and pure Worship of GOD, according to the Rules appearing plainly to us in His Word ; Conformably to the known practice of many of the Churches of the UNIT- ED BRETHREN in London, and through- out all England.
We judge it therefore most suitable and con- venient, that in our Publick Worship some part of the Holy Scripture be read by the Minister at his discretion.
In all other parts of Divine Worship as (Prayer, Singing, Preaching, Blessing the Peo- ple, and Administring the Sacraments ;) We conform to the ordinary practice of the Churches of Christ in this Country.
[III.]
It is our sincere desire and intention to hold Communion with the Churches here, as true Churches ; and we openly protest against all Suspicion and Jealousie to the contrary, as most Injurious to us.
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[IV.]
And although in some Circumstances we may vary from many of them ; yet we joyntly profess to maintain such Order and Rules of Discipline as may preserve, as far as in us lies, Evangelical Purity and Holiness in our Communion.
[V.]
In pursuance whereof we further Declare, that we allow of Baptism to those only who profess their Faith in Christ and Obedience to him, and to the Children of such ; yet we dare not refuse it to any Child offered to us by any professed Christian, upon his engagement to see it Edu- cated, if God give life and ability, in the Chris- tian Religion.
But this being a Ministerial Act, We think it the Pastors Province to receive such Professions and Engagements ; in whose prudence and con- science we acquiesce.
[VI.]
As to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, we believe that as the Ordinance is Holy, so the Partakers in it (that it may not be visibly pro- faned) must be persons of visible Sanctity.
[VII.]
We judge it therefore fitting and expedient,
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. that whoever would be admitted to partake with us in this Holy Sacrament, be accountable to the Pastor to whom it belongs to inquire into their knowledge and Spiritual State, and to require the Renewal of their Baptismal Covenant.
[VIII.]
But we assume not to our selves to impose upon any a Publick Relation of their Experi- ences ; however if any one think himself bound in Conscience to make such a Relation, let him do it.
For we conceive it sufficient, if the Pastor publickly declare himself satisfied in the person offered to our Communion, and seasonably Pro- . pound him.
[IX.]
We also think our selves obliged in faithfulness to God, our own Souls, and theirs who seek our Communion, to inquire into the life and conversa- tion of those who are so propounded ; and if we have just matter of objection to prefer it against them.
[X.]
But if no objection be made, before the time of their standing propounded is expired, it shall be esteemed a sufficient Consent and Concur-
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rence of the Brethren, and the person propounded shall be received to our Communion.
[XI.]
If ever any of our Communion should be so unhappy as to fall into any scandalous Sin (which God by his Grace prevent) we profess all dutiful submission to those Censures, which the Scrip- ture directs, and the Churches here practice.
[XII.]
Forasmuch as the same power that Admits, should also Exclude, We judge it reasonable, that the Pastor in Suspending or Excommunicating an Offender, have the consent and concurrence of the Brethren.
[XIII.]
We apprehend that a particular Church, as such, is a Society of Christians by mutual agree- ment, usually meeting together for Publick Wor- ship in the same place, and under the same Min- istry, attending on the Ordinances of God there.
[XIV.]
In every such Society, the Law of nature dictates to us, that there is implied a mutual promise and engagement of being faithful to the Relations they bear to each other, whither as
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private Christians, or as Pastor and Flock, so long as the Providence of God continues them in those Relations.
[XV.]
We moreover Declare our selves for Com- munion of Churches, freely allowing our Mem- bers occasionally to Communicate with other Churches of Christ, and receiving theirs occa- sionally to the Table of the Lord with us. And in extraordinary cases, when the Providence of God makes it needful, we conceive that any Authorized Minister of Christ, may upon our request, Administer the Sacraments unto us.
[XVI.]
Finally, We cannot confine the right of chus- ing a Minister to the Male Communicants alone, but we think that every Baptized Adult Person who contributes to the Maintenance, should have a Vote in Electing.
Yet it seems but just, that persons of the greatest Piety, Gravity, Wisdom, Authority or other Endowments, should be leading and Influ- ential to the Society in that Affair.
T HESE are the Principles we Profess, and the Rules we purpose through the Grace of GOD, to govern our selves by ; and in some
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of these particulars only, and in no other, do we see cause to depart from what is ordinarily Profess- ed and Practised by the Churches of CHRIST here in New-England.
There is nothing that determines the author- ship of this Manifesto or Declaration ; the infer- ence that its publication was suggested by Dr. Colman, and that it was prepared by him, seems to be sustained by the circumstances of the case. The association of " Undertakers," who were to carry forward the enterprise of building a church and forming a new religious society in the town, had now been in existence nearly two years. From the beginning, the movement had been regarded with coldness and distrust ; but so far as we can learn, no public declaration had been made to satisfy public curiosity as to its charac- ter and purpose, or remove the ignorance that existed or the prejudice that had been awakened against it. Dr. Colman had been invited to become the pastor of the society, and arrived in this country from England on the Ist of Novem- ber. On the 19th of that month, the Manifesto was published. As it had not been done before, when there was equal occasion for it, and was done so soon after his arrival, it seems to be a natural inference to trace the doing of it now to his mind. A man of great practical wisdom,
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of large discernment, he saw at once the neces- sity of such a public declaration, both for his own reputation and standing among the New England clergy, and for the prosperity and the just appre- ciation of the church of which he was to be pas- tor and the society whose temporal and spiritual prosperity he was to labor to promote. The result justified the correctness of his judgment. The Manifesto, so full and explicit upon the most important points both of theology and of church order and discipline, at once enlightened the pub- lic mind as to the character and principles of the new society. It led to a sharp controversy, indeed, in which several interesting tracts or pamphlets were published. Of the two most im- portant of them, one was entitled, " The Order of the Gospel " ; the other, a reply to it, was entitled, " Gospel Order Revived." The former was prepared by Dr. Increase Mather, and made its appearance early in January, 1700, about two months after the Manifesto was published, the principles of which are stated in the Dedicatory Epistle, and, together with some others, elaborate- ly controverted in the work. The other, "Gos- pel Order Revived," was published in the course of the following spring or summer, and purports to have been prepared " by sundry Ministers of the Gospel in New England." It is presumed to have been principally from the pen of Colman,
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aided by the Rev. Messrs. Bradstreet of Charles- town and Woodbridge of Hartford. Several other similar publications followed these, in the course of the next two or three years, all of them making reference, more or less direct, to the Mani- festo, and the principles adopted and practised upon by this church. In a manuscript volume entitled "Colman Papers," preserved in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, may be found, among other interesting documents, a letter of admonition and rebuke, addressed to the " Undertakers " by the Salem ministers, Higginson and Noyes. This letter, which ought to have been preserved on the files of this church, with whose early history it is so inti- mately connected, serves also to illustrate the character of the times and the relative position of the clergy. I have, therefore, obtained leave of the Historical Society to publish the following copy of it : -
" To the Gentlemen, the authors and owners of the Declaration, set forth by those who call themselves the Undertakers of the new church now erected in Boston, in New England, No- vember 19th, 1699. We, the ministers of Salem, having received the said declaration from Cap- tain Benjamin Davis, think it our duty to offer our advice ; and do humbly offer it in the follow-
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ing particulars, praying that it may be consid- ered in the fear of God.
" 1. We advise you that the word Manifesto in the frontispiece is offensive, it being a sovereign, imperious word, and whatever it signify in its na- tive etymology, yet in its common use it signifies the declaration of a prince or state about public affairs, and often for showing the reason of their taking up arms. Though we believe you in- tended it not so, yet it is too much that it looks like it, and needs to be removed. It is an hum- bling consideration in such an undertaking to stumble at the threshold.
"2. We cannot but think you might have en- tered upon your declaration with more reverence and humility than so solemnly to appeal to God, your judge, that you do it with all the sincerity and seriousness the nature of your engagement commands from you ; seeing you were most of you much unstudied in the controversial points of church order and discipline, and yet did not advise with the neighboring churches or elders ; but with a great deal of confidence and freedom, set up by yourselves. Sirs ! how could you for- sake the dear churches some of you belonged to, whose breasts you had sucked, and on whose knees you had been dandled, without dropping one tear for it in your declaration ? How could you forsake the footsteps of the flock, the prac-
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tice of the churches in New England in such and so many instances, yea, and the principles of the united ministers in Old England also ? Truly, Sirs, if you did it without much seeking of God by fasting and prayer, without much fear and trembling, without the most mature deliberation of your own, and without much advising with others that were at least as likely to know the mind of God as yourselves, you were not so serious and sincere as they had need to be who appeal to the heart-searching God as their judge.
"3. We cannot conceal from you how we re- sent your making a church and church-members without so much as making a public and personal profession of your repentance toward God and your faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, and without a public and personal giving up your- selves to God in Christ, according to the cove- nant of his grace. If any such thing had been, we should surely have found something of it in the 4th, Sth, 12th, or 13th article ; but there is nothing of this public and personal profession and covenanting so much as hinted, but rather the needlessness of it implied : if we understand those articles, Sirs, how is it you did not consider that the followers of the Lamb on Mount Zion have his Father's name written in their foreheads ? (Rev. xiv. 1.) Hath God promised to bring any to his holy mountain and to make them
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joyful in his house of prayer unless they take hold of his covenant ? See Isaiah vi. 4, 5, 6. See also Jeremiah 1. 5, ' They shall go the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant, never to be forgotten,' compared with Deut. xxvi. 17, 18, ' 'T'hou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people,' &c. See also Deut. xxix. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, ' You stand this day all of you before the Lord your God, that thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, that he may establish thee to-day for a people unto himself,' &c. See also 2 Cor. xi. 2. Doth not espousing the church of Cor- inth to Christ plainly imply a covenant and con- tract ? Is not the Church subsequently called the bride, the spouse, the wife of Christ ? Sure- ly explicitly covenanting is ordinarily necessary to the well-being, not the being, of the Church.
" 4. It seemeth by your 5th article, you allow baptism to parents and their children on lighter terms than the public personal profession and covenanting before spoken of ; which we appre- hend to be contrary to the foregoing texts and many others.
"5. For aught we can see to the contrary, you do, in the 5th article, contradict yourselves,
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as well as us, for after you have expressed you allow baptism only to such and such, you say you do not deny it to others also, and that in such words as will admit of godfathers and god- mothers in the utmost latitude, and so at length all will be promiscuously baptized.
" 6. After lax, and as we judge too lax, ad- mission to sacraments, the discipline you expound seemeth to us too slender and remiss, seeing you allow the brethren no more in suspending and excommunicating than you had before in admit- ting, and yet have no consistory of elders among yourselves, nor say any thing of any help you expect from neighboring elders or churches, in the most difficult cases. You seem to us to put more confidence in your pastor than is meet to be put in any one man living.
"7. Though you speak of communion of churches, you seem to take it in a very re- strained sense, as if communion of churches ex- tended no farther than communion of members at the Lord's table and of ministers in sacramental administration, having omitted in your declaration, and in your practice (as we are informed), the seeking the right hand of fellowship of neighbor churches to your church and of neighboring elders to your pastor, which to us seemeth very unac- countable, and that neither yourselves nor your minister have sufficiently considered the danger of being alone. Eccl. iv. 9, 10, 11, 12.
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"8. Seeing the Lord Jesus was faithful in his house as a son, and we have the mind of Christ. in the Holy Scriptures, you might have found some other direction and obligation to relative duties between pastor and flock, and brother and brother, besides the dictates of the law of nature ; and yet, when the law of nature was dictating, we see no reason why it should not dictate that an explicit mutual promise and agreement about rela- tive duties would be more effectual to obtain the end. There is a little book (called 'Spiritual Milk for Boston Babes, drawn out of the Breasts of both Testaments'), which had a great au- thor, and many of you had special reason to re- gard ; that, with the Scriptures annexed in the `margin, might have been very helpful to you in defining a particular church, and about the obliga- tions to relative duties ; to which we refer you, praying you to consider the questions with their answers, and the Scriptures produced for proof annexed in the margin, - beginning at that ques- tion, ' What is the church ?' and so forward.
"9. It seemeth to us by your 13th and 14th articles, that if a member of your society should be so unholy, as well as unhappy, as to fall into any scandalous sin, and should then forsake the town, or forsake attending the public worship of God in your assembly, he would no longer be subject to the discipline of Christ in your church ;
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for by his withdrawing, he ceaseth to be a mem- ber of your church ; and consequently not subject to any censure by your pastor. The consequence seemeth to us as intolerable as unavoidable.
" 10. Your last article must needs be offensive, seeing it has a direct tendency to subvert the ministry and grace and order and liberty of all the churches in the land, and that whether the word male be in or out. If it be in, the females are certainly more than the males, and conse- quently the choice of ministers is put into their hands ; nor doth the blotting out of the word male wholly remove the objection ; for a fe- male is a person, as well as a male ; but sup- posing nothing of that be insisted upon, yet it is certain the baptized adult non-communicants, in most if not all the assemblies in the land, are more than the communicants, and consequently, if they should take their rule and manners from this article, they might make worse work in all the churches than we are willing to say. But we hope better things.
" 11. Was it fair to give notice to the world, that you see cause to depart from some things that are ordinarily professed and practised in the churches of New England, before you had inform- ed the churches of what was offensive to you, and offered conviction to them by the word of God that there was cause so to do ? How did you know
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but by that means you might have let in such light into their souls, as might have persuaded them to have forsaken their own principles and practices as well as you do ? If you could have convinced them that they were evil, they would certainly have done so, for they do not pretend for perfec- tion in knowledge. However you had endeav- ored it, you would have been more excusable in departing from them ; or had you used such means, they might possibly and more probably have convinced you that the way you were going in was not safe and good, and if so, that surely had been better than to rush on in an evil way. The word of God requires us, if it be possible, to live peaceably with all men, and surely then to live peaceably with all the churches, if it be pos- sible. Did you well consider whether emitting the Manifesto was the most likely way to live peaceably with all the churches ? Can you in cool blood think that nothing else could possibly have been done more likely to have made or maintained peace between the churches and your- selves, and if so, have you not cause to regret that you did any thing or omitted any thing, that having been done or omitted, peace might have been maintained ? 1535088
" 12. We might also inquire why you did not give notice to the world that you departed from the principles of the United Ministers in Old
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England, seeing it is certain you do, as who- ever is impartial shall find, if he compare your declaration with the Heads of Agreement as- sented to by the United Ministers formerly called Presbyterian and Congregational ; particularly let it be compared with the 3d, 4th, and 5th articles in the chapter of the Ministry, and with the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th in the chapter of Communion of Churches, and with the 1st article of Occa- sional Meetings of Ministers. Sirs, had you but contained yourselves within the limits of the Heads of Agreement assented to by the United Min- isters, you might have assured yourselves of the right hand of fellowship between your pastor and other pastors, and your church and other churches, and how easily might you so have done ; and thereby one instance might have been given that, notwithstanding lesser differences, brethren may dwell together in unity, and that it is good and meet to do so. This would have been like precious ointment on the head of Aaron, that ran down on his beard, and so to his pectoral, that perfumed and influenced all the tribes whose names were therein. This would have been as the dew on Hermon, yea, as the dew on Zion, where God commanded the blessing, even life for ever more. But alas ! we cannot now but fear it will be far otherwise, unless God shall persuade you to revoke your Manifesto, or ex-
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plain it to satisfaction, by adjusting matters be- tween yourselves and neighboring elders and churches, by free consultation and conference with them, to such a temper, at least, as may conform to the Heads of Agreement above men- tioned ; - that so the right hand of fellowship may be given to your pastor by other pastors, and to your church by other churches, and that you may not be the beginning of a schism that will dishonor God, grieve the good people, and be a matter of triumph to the bad. So we pray you take in good part what we have pre sented and freely offered to you as the best advice that is with us. We assure you we have not done this out of any design or desire to grieve you, but out of a design and desire to benefit you, and to keep our consciences void of offence toward God and toward man ; and we beseech you, out of regard to the name of God and the purity of his worship, and the peace of his churches, and your own souls, that you lay to heart what hath been offered to your consideration by ourselves, or may have been offered by any of our breth- ren in the ministry, especially your neighboring elders, that, being on the spot, may be capable of giving you better advice than we can ; and may personally confer with you about these things, which we cannot. We have nothing further to add at present, but shall not cease to pray that
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