USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of the church in Brattle street, Boston > Part 5
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He does not hold that prominent place among the worthies of our church, or in the annals of the New England clergy, which his talents and ser- vices might claim for him. This is attributable, I think, to the fact that he was a junior pastor, dying before he came into the sole charge of the pulpit, and also to the circumstance that his pulpit was so soon filled by another person of the same name; his own son, whose more popular talents and showy qualities and longer ministry tended to
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obscure the father's fame. Mr. Cooper was, in reality, a man of uncommon talents, of large and accurate learning, and possessing some sterling qualities of character. He was chosen President of Harvard College, and his election would have been unanimously confirmed by the Board of Overseers, but that, just before the vote was to be taken, a letter from him was read, in which he " wholly excused himself from that honor and trust," being unwilling to be separated from the people of his charge. To this charge he devoted himself with entire fidelity and una- bating zeal.
Unlike Dr. Colman, he concerned himself little with those interests of the community that lie outside the immediate duties and walk of the clerical profession, and to this is it owing, perhaps, that his name is now so much less known among us. He was a strenuous advo- cate, however, for Congregational liberty and independence. One of the most important inci- dents of his life, and one that served admirably for the display of the sterling qualities of his char- acter, was his connection with the troubles that occurred in the church at Springfield, at the or- dination of the Rev. Robert Breck, in 1736. These troubles originated in the supposed heresy of Mr. Breck, who was not thought to be quite sound upon the doctrines of Atonement, Election,
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and some other points. He was charged with holding the opinion, that God could forgive sin upon simple repentance, without any satisfaction being made to his justice ; and with maintaining, that, if the decrees of God in regard to election were absolute and unchangeable, so that naught men could perform or neglect could alter their condition, all encouragement to duty and moral effort was removed. He was accused, also, of regarding the important passage, 1 John v. 7, as no part of holy writ, and with receiving the Apostles' declaration, " In every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is ac- cepted of him," in an unqualified sense, and believing that the heathen who acted up to their light would not be damned hereafter for want of faith in Christ. But though obnoxious to several ministers of the Hampshire Association, in conse- quence of his supposed opinions upon the above points, he was regularly invited to become the pastor of the church in Springfield, and the coun- cil called to ordain him met there on the 7th of October, 1735. Mr. Cooper was moderator of this council, which was composed of two other Boston ministers, Messrs. Welsteed and Samuel Mather, Mr. Cooke of Sudbury, and three cler- gymen of the Hampshire Association. The coun- cil entered upon the examination of the charges against Mr. Breck ; but its proceedings were
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interrupted. Mr. Breck was arrested and carried into Connecticut. , An attempt was made even to arrest those members of the council who were not citizens of the county of Hampshire. A warrant for this purpose was issued, but not served. The council, after coming to a result in which they advised the church in Springfield to abide by their invitation to Mr. Breck, and continue their favorable regards towards him, ad- journed for a few days, to meet in Boston. The parish brought the matter before the General Court, where it was decided, after a full and patient hearing, that the proceedings of the ma- jority of the parish in reference to the call of Mr. Breck were regular, and within their legiti- mate rights ; that the council was regularly consti- tuted, and the matter must be allowed to proceed. After this decision, the council met again in Jan- uary, and Mr. Breck was ordained on the 26th of that month, 1736, Mr. Cooper preaching the sermon.
The real question at issue in this difficulty was, whether the church at Springfield should be al- lowed to choose its own minister, itself judging of his soundness or heresy, or whether it should be controlled in that choice by the Hampshire Association and other foreign influences. In the proceedings of the council, as its moderator, and in the pamphlet controversy that ensued, Mr.
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Cooper took an active and prominent part, and always in behalf of Congregational liberty and independence. A pamphlet of a hundred pages, examining and answering a document put forth by the Hampshire ministers, is presumed to have been written by him. This pamphlet was anonymous, but it was attributed to him at the time, and there can be little doubt that it was the production of his pen. Of this, Dr. Palfrey very justly observes : "He did few things more honorable to him. It well expounds the true doctrine concerning the rights of churches, the constitution of councils, and the impropriety of interference on the part of associations." Aside from the sphere of his immediate duties as the pastor of this church, this was the most impor- tant public event in which Mr. Cooper took a prominent part, and his conduct on this occasion illustrates the practical wisdom and the firmness and independence of his character.
From such examination as I have been able to give to his writings, and from all that I can gather of his history, he seems to me to have been a man to be profoundly respected and revered, rather than strongly and tenderly beloved ; - a man of independence, firmness, courage, zeal, sincerity, but not a man in whom any winning graces of manner or of disposition abounded ; - in short, a man in whom the rigid Calvinism of that day, in
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its austerity, its repulsiveness, and its strength, was fitly represented .*
After his death, Dr. Colman, with occasional help from President Holyoke and Professor Ap- pleton from Cambridge, took the sole charge of the pulpit, thanking God, as he says in the rec- ords, "that I have found strength renewed for the double work and care which this bereavement hath called me to." Already sinking beneath the burden of threescore years and ten, his great de- sire now was to see the flock which he had gath- ered, and to which for so many years he had min- istered, provided with a faithful shepherd before his death. In this desire he was not disappointed. After hearing several candidates, the society, in
* Among the writings of Mr. Cooper that are extant, the most important and elaborate that I have met with is a little volume, published by " J. Edwards and H. Foster, Cornhil, 1740," entitled, " The Doctrine of Predestination unto Life, Explained and Vindicated : In Four Sermons, preached to the Church of Christ in Brattle Street, and published at their general Desire : With some additional Passages and Quota- tions." This volume is preceded by a Preface, signed by Benjamin Colman, Joseph Sewall, Thomas Prince, Andrew Le Mercier, John Webb, in which they say, " We willingly take this opportunity to testify our concurrence with the Author in the verity and importance of this Doctrine, and our satisfaction in his having preached and published these Dis- courses." I have by me a copy of the first edition of this work. It was published in London about twenty-five years after its publication here, and was reprinted in Boston in 1804.
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December, 1745, made choice of Mr. Samuel Cooper, the son of their late junior pastor, and he was ordained May 22d, 1746. Fifteen months afterwards, August 29th, 1747, Dr. Colman closed a long and useful life, and with a few re- marks upon his character and ministry I shall close this discourse.
Among the distinguished men of the clergy of Massachusetts, there have been few, if any, whose talents, character, and usefulness make them more worthy our thorough esteem and grate- ful remembrance than Benjamin Colman. Like his two associates in office, he was a native of this town, his father having come from London and settled in Boston about two years before his birth, which occurred on the 19th of October, 1673. He was, therefore, twenty-six years of age when called to the pastoral office in this church. He was prepared for college by that celebrated grammar-master, Ezekiel Cheever, and took his Bachelor's degree in 1692. " Being de- voted to the work of the .evangelical ministry by his parents, and inclining to it from his child- hood," he immediately commenced the study of theology, and began to preach occasionally about a year after leaving college. There being a va- cancy in the pulpit at Medford, he preached there for some months, but declined an invitation to settle in that town. His health at this time was
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delicate. When he pronounced the Master's ora- tion on taking his second degree, "his thin and slender appearance, his soft and delicate voice, and the red spots on his cheeks, caused the audience to conclude him bordering on consumption, and to be designed but for a few weeks of life." But Providence had an important work for him to do on earth. Within three weeks after his Master's oration, he sailed for England, to make improvement by what he could see and learn there. The vessel in which he sailed was taken by a French privateer, and he was carried into Nantes. After various fortunes he was set at lib- erty, and made his way to London. He was four years in England, where he preached with great ac- ceptance in various places, and made the acquaint- ance and secured the friendship of some of the most distinguished of the Dissenting clergy of that day, and also of several divines of the Established Church, particularly of Dr. Hough, Bishop of Oxford, celebrated for his opposition to the arbi- trary measures of James the Second, for the wisdom and humility which led him to decline the primacy of England, and for the green old age which he enjoyed to his ninety-third year. This visit of four years to England was of essential service to Colman, in enlarging his knowledge of men and things, and confirming his liberal views and principles. But for the invitation which he
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received from this church, he would probably have settled in the ministry in England, and passed the greater portion, if not the whole, of his life there. Under the circumstances, the selection of Col- man to be the first minister of this church was the most fortunate that could have been made. At least among his contemporaries we find none better fitted for the difficult post. Firm without obstinacy, conciliatory without compromise, dig- nified without pride or pretension, a polished gen- tleman in his manners, a patient student and thorough scholar in his learning, enlarged, pene- trating, comprehensive in his views and princi- ples as a man, sincere, benevolent, devout in his faith and feelings as a Christian and a pastor, he was admirably fitted to take charge of the new church, and carry out with mingled wisdom, firm- ness, and gentleness the customs and principles which it had adopted, and to him do we greatly owe it, that the most important of these customs and principles received at last the approval and adoption of most of the New England Congrega- tional churches. But though ever faithful as the pastor of this church, his influence and his labors were by no means confined to it. Though gifted with every quality to attract admiration and ap- plause, he seems to have had little love of mere popular notoriety. His great ambition was to be useful ; he therefore gave himself to many labors
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that are eminently serviceable to the community, but bring in little fame. His services to the Col- lege, direct and indirect, are sufficient to make him rank among its first benefactors. By his large correspondence abroad, he attracted to it the attention of eminent persons in England, and pro- cured for it important donations in books and money. He was for many years an active mem- ber of the Corporation, and would have ac epted the presidency, to which he was chosen and con- firmed by the Board of Overseers, but the House of Representatives, with whom the matter then rested, would make no provision for his support .*
" Upon the death of President Leverett, in 1724, and the refusal of Rev. Joseph Sewall to accept the vacant chair, Colman was chosen by the Corporation, on the 18th of No- vember, to succeed his former tutor and constant friend as head of the institution whose interests it had been the study and delight of both to promote ; a sufficient evidence, if we had no other, of the confidence reposed in his abilities by the friends of the College. His election was approved by the Overseers on the 24th of the same month, and a committee of that body was appointed to inform Mr. Colman of their approbation of his election, and to desire his acceptance, and to apply to his church for his discharge from the pastoral of- fice; and also to 'wait on the Honorable Gen1 Court to in- form them of the Choice that is made of a President and to move for a proper Salary for his Incouragement.' But, un- fortunately, Colman was peculiarly obnoxious to a majority of the House of Representatives, where sectarian prejudices and political animosities now raged hand in hand ; and con- sequently, when the memorial of the committee of the Over- seers was laid before them, praying that they would 'appoint
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Of many measures for the benefit of the town of Boston he was the originator, and in every enter-
a larger salary than has been usually allowed, for the honor- able maintenance of the President,' it was voted that, ' foras- much as at present it is uncertain whether the Church, of which the Rev. Mr. Colman is Pastor, can be persuaded to part from him, or whether Mr. Colman is inclinable to leave his Church and undertake the office of President of Harvard College, and this being a matter of great weight and impor- tance, especially to the establishment of the Churches in the Province, as well as to the said College, the further consider- ation of this memorial be therefore referred until the said Mr. Colman's mind, as well as [that] of the Church of which he is pastor, be communicated to this Court, and made certain, whether he and they are willing he should accept of the choice and undertake the office of a President of Harvard College, to which he is chosen as aforesaid.' This vote, al- though not concurred in by the Council, indicated with suffi- cient clearness the disposition of the popular branch of the General Court towards Mr. Colman, and convinced him that it was useless to expect from them a permanent provision for his support, should he accept the Presidency ; and the melan- choly experience of his predecessors in that office was a warning to him of what he himself might expect, should he trust his fortunes to the tender mercies of the Provincial government. He was also well acquainted with the feelings of the General Court towards him, as is evident from a letter on this subject to White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough, in which he says, ' I am not well in the opinion of our House of Representatives of late years, on whom the President de- pends for his subsistence, and they could not have pinched me without the Chair's suffering with me, which I could by no means consent it should do for my sake.' Determined, therefore, to bring the question of his support to a speedy de- cision, and having privately seen a copy of the vote passed
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prise that concerned the improvement of the com- munity he took a prominent part. In short, his life forms a chapter in the history of New Eng- land. His influence was felt in every quarter, his advice was sought upon all occasions, and in
on tire 3d instant by the House of Representatives, and been informed of its nonconcurrence by the Council, Mr. Colman addressed a letter, on the 10th of December, to Hon. Samuel Sewall, chairman of the committee of the Overseers, in which, after stating that, although he had always served the College to the extent of his abilities, he not only had never sought the office of President, but had rather shunned it, and expressing his disinclination to leave his church, he declares that, 'as I wish the President in all times to come may espe- cially give himself unto sacred studies and exercises, so I would humbly supplicate the General Court for any one who shall do so, to grant him a very sufficient and honorable sup- port ; but for the honorable Court to insist on their vote of knowing my mind, whether I am willing to accept of the choice, and to undertake the office of President, to which I am chosen, and also of knowing my Church's mind, whether they can part from me, before they will fix any salary for me in the said office, must determine me to give my answer in the negative to the Honorable and Reverend the Overseers of Harvard College, which in that case I now do.' This letter being read at a meeting of the Overseers, on the 17th of December, the committee was directed to ' wait again on the honorable General Court, with Mr. Colman's answer and with this vote, praying that the matter of a salary may be considered by them, and so acted upon as may be most for the speedy settlement of a President in the said College, and therein for the good of the whole Province.' The proceed- ings of the Representatives, upon the reception of this ap- plication, were as follows, as stated in the Records of the Overseers (Book I. pp 72 - 74) : -
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matters civil and ecclesiastical his opinions had weight. Perhaps the best summary of Dr. Col- man's character that has been given is that of Dr. Barnard, who describes him "as a most gentlemanly man, of polite aspect and conversa-
""" The Overseers met according to adjournment aforesaid Dec. 18, 1724, In the Council-Chamber in Boston.
"' The aforesaid Committee of the Overseers made report that they had waited on the General Court with Mr. Colman's answer and the Votes of the last meeting, which were read and debated in the House, the return thereto being as fol- lows, viz. :
""" In the House of Representatives Dec. 18, 1724. ""' The question was put,
"' Whether the Court would establish a salary or allow- ance for the President of Harvard College for the time being before the person chosen to that office had accepted the duty and trust thereof.
""' It passed in the NEGATIVE, nemine contradicente.
"'WM. DUDLEY, Speaker. "'Sent up for concurrence. "' In Council, Dec. 18th, 1724. """ Read and NONCONCURRED.
"' J. WILLARD, Secretary.'
" Notwithstanding the nonconcurrence of the Council, the symptoms of hostility were too strong to be mistaken, and Colman's independence of spirit would not allow him to be dependent for support upon the uncertain favors of party ad- ministration. Accordingly, upon the 26th of this month, in answer to another application from the Overseers, he trans- mitted his final answer to the committee of that board, in the negative, declaring that he ' does not see his way clear to ac- cept of the choice made of him to be the President of the College.' " - New England Historical and Genealogical Reg- ister, Vol. III. pp. 223 - 225.
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tion, very extensive erudition, great devotion of spirit and behavior, a charming and admired preacher, extensively serviceable to the College and the country, whose works breathe his exalt- ed, oratorical, devout, and benign spirit, an ex- cellent man in spirit, in faith, in holiness, and charity."
With all his excellences and valuable public services, Colman was not popular, that is, he was not a general favorite with the community. It is a singular circumstance, that, with the exception of the sermon preached by his young colleague, no notice was taken of his death in the pulpits of this town or neighborhood. But in him the text is fulfilled. Though some of his contemporaries failed to do him justice, his name is now held in honored remembrance ; and to us of this church and congregation, this brief review of his minis- try, his life and character, should be an incentive to fidelity in all duty.
January 27th, 1850.
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SERMON III.
THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL BE IN EVERLASTING REMEM BRANCE. - Psalm cxii. 6.
THE Lord's Supper was publicly administered to the church in Brattle Square for the first time on the 14th of February, 1700. I make the proximity of the anniversary of this event an occasion for continuing our review of its history.
My last sermon closed with the ministry of Dr. Colman, and some brief remarks on his char- acter and services. We enter this morning upon the ministry of one of the most celebrated and distinguished men of his day, Dr. Samuel Cooper, the third pastor of the church, whose name will always be had in remembrance. His ministry covered a very interesting period in the history both of this church and of the country ; and although on the whole it was eminently bril- liant and useful, it was marked by some events, in relation to which the decisions of the parish seem not to have been guided by a practical and
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prospective wisdom, and to have entailed conse- quences which have a somewhat unfavorable influ- ence upon our present position and prospects.
It was a fortunate circumstance, that before Dr. Colman's death the parish was already pro- vided with a young minister, who, from the mo- ment of his assuming the charge of the pulpit, gained constantly a stronger hold upon their con- fidence, affection, and respect. Mr. Samuel Cooper was settled as colleague pastor about fifteen months before Dr. Colman's decease. Judging from the records, I should think that, notwithstanding his eminent gifts and qualifica- tions, it was owing, in large part, to the influence of Dr. Colman, and the great weight which his opinion and wishes had with his people up to the hour of his death, that the choice of the society fell upon Mr. Cooper.
At a parish meeting held September 4th, 1744, about nine months after the death of William Cooper, it was voted " to come into a nomina- tion of three persons to preach each his month with us, reserving to our pastor the liberty of asking Mr. Samuel Cooper to preach also, if he find him inclined to begin his evangelical ser- vices." The three persons nominated at this meeting were Messrs. John Whaley, William Vinal, and Samuel Langdon. They preached each his month ; they were followed by Mr.
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Cooper, who preached the same length of time, " all of them," say the records, "to the great acceptance and esteem, both of the pastor and the congregation." At the end of these four months a parish meeting was held, on December 31st ; "a very full meeting," says Colman, in the records, "of no less than one hundred and thirty-eight in number, when, having opened the meeting with a prayer suited to the occasion, I spoke to them in the following words." As the address is characteristic of the times and the man, I give it entire.
" Honored and Beloved, - You will remem- ber that at your last meeting, the fourth day of September past, you nominated and chose four persons to preach each his month with us, who have accordingly done so, every one of them appearing now to you, I suppose, by the grace and gift of God in them, very like to prove great blessings in their generation. At the meeting aforesaid, you were pleased to vote your assem- bling again on this day, and I thank God for the opportunity of seeing you together, with a happy prospect of unity and concert in the great and important point that we are met upon. The year of our mourning under the holy, bereaving hand of God upon us is now finished. We have from one Lord's day to another, as well as on our set and solemn days of humiliation and pray-
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er, been supplicating the great Head of the Church to repair the breach in his own time and way, and give us another pastor after his own heart, gifted and spirited like the dear deceased ; and I hope the gracious Saviour has such an one in store for you and your children, your families and households. Through the patience of God I continue with you to this day, under the growing infirmities of age. Nevertheless, having obtained help of God, I have not failed, in one administra- tion or other, to minister every Lord's day, and, I thank God, to your kind acceptance. And if I may now live to see you united in your choice of another pastor, as I once saw your worthy predecessors and not a few of yourselves here present, I should rejoice and give thanks with you all. Yea, might this be the day, it will be a gladsome one to me. I will now repeat the names of the young gentlemen who have been preaching to you at your request, - Messrs. Whaley, Vinal, Langdon, and Cooper. Show, Lord, which thou hast chosen, and lead us in thy truth, and teach us, Father of righteousness, for thy name's sake, in the determinations of this morning. Amen."
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