USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lexington > History of the town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1868, Volume I > Part 34
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One thing which stands out prominently on the church records of that day is the discipline of the church, evinced by the public confessions which were made before the church and congregation. That these confessions were not always effectual appears from the fact that some of the members were arraigned the second time for the same offence.
We have already seen that John Merriam and Samuel
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Stone were chosen deacons at the organization of the church in 1696. Deacon Stone died in 1703, and Samuel Stone, Jr., was elected in his place in 1715. In the year following, Joseph Estabrook, a brother of their first minister, Rev. Benjamin Estabrook, was chosen deacon. In 1727, on the death of Deacon Merriam, Joseph Brown was chosen to fill his place. In 1733, Deacon Joseph Estabrook died, and the church made choice of John Laughton, who, in 1744, was dismissed to the church in Harvard; and Joseph Estabrook, son of Deacon Joseph, was chosen in his stead. He died in 1740. In 1743, John Stone and Joseph Loring were chosen to that office. The former died in 1762, and the latter in 1746.
Rev. Mr. Hancock not only performed all the duties in his own parish, but was often called to the neighboring towns, when they were without a settled pastor, to administer the ordinances to the destitute churches. November 25, 1705, he was called to Groton, where he administered the Supper and baptized twenty-four persons. Subsequently he baptized nineteen more in that town. That same year he administered the ordinance to sixteen persons in Chelmsford; and during his ministry he baptized about fifty other persons in the neighboring towns, a list of which he preserved.
Mr. Hancock appears to have been very accurate and care- ful in keeping a record of all his acts and doings; but unfor- tunately the records of his marriages before 1750 are lost - a loss which is severely felt in preparing the genealogies of many of the early families of Lexington.
Though Mr. Hancock preached on many public occasions, his only printed discourses are the following: (1) A sermon at the general election, 1722 - text, Luke XXII, 25. (2) A ser- mon at the ordination of his son John, in Braintree, 1726 - text, Luke xxXIV, 49. (3) A sermon at the ordination of his son Ebenezer, in Lexington, 1734 - text, 2 Cor. 1, 24. (4) A sermon at the public lecture in Boston, November 21, 1734, before his Excellency the Governor and the General Court - text, Jer. v, 5. (5) A sermon at the ordination of Rev. Timothy Harrington, in Lancaster, November 16, 1748 - text, 1 Cor. Ix, 19.
CHAPTER XIV
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, FROM THE SETTLEMENT TO THE DEATH OF MR. CLARKE
The Call and Settlement of Rev. Jonas Clarke - Introduction of Tate and Brady's Version of the Psalms - Mr. Clarke's Death and Character.
THE loss of such a pastor as Rev. Mr. Hancock was duly realized by his devoted people. They not only showed their respect for his memory, but they decided promptly and with great wisdom that they could best subserve the great cause to which he had devoted his long and active life by embrac- ing the first reasonable opportunity of settling another man. Consequently, at a meeting held May 18, 1753, they not only chose a committee to supply the pulpit, but instructed them to "make dillgent Inquire after a Gentleman Suetable to Settell."
Realizing the importance of the subject, and remembering the teaching of their late pastor, that God would by his provi- dence guide those who meekly called upon him for aid, before making the selection they appointed a day of "fasting and prayer," and invited the clergymen of the neighboring towns to meet with them on the occasion, to enlighten them by their wisdom and aid them by their prayers.
On the 19th of May, 1755, the town concurred with the church and extended a call to Mr. Jonas Clarke 1 to become their pastor - offering him a salary of eighty pounds and twenty cords of wood, and one hundred and thirty-three pounds as a settlement. The call being accepted, the ordi- nation took place on the 5th of November, 1755.
Between the death of Mr. Hancock and the settlement of Mr. Clarke, a period of about three years, six were admitted to the church by letters of dismission from other churches, four owned the covenant, and fifty-six were baptized. Two members were in the meantime dismissed to other churches.
After the labors of a public servant as able and faithful as Rev. Mr. Hancock, and one who was so highly esteemed by
1 See illustrations. Ed.
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his people and respected by the community at large, they could hardly expect to find a man who would fully come up to the same standard. And yet Mr. Clarke so succeeded in meeting public expectation that in a few years he gained the entire confidence of his people, and acquired such a reputa- tion in the community as but few clergymen ever enjoy. He soon exhibited powers not to be cirumscribed by a parish or confined to the ordinary routine of professional duties.
After the settlement of Mr. Clarke, the cause of religion received a new impulse, twenty-seven being admitted to the church during the first year of his ministry.
At the meeting of the church, May 20, 1756, it was voted unanimously to choose two deacons, and James Brown and Joseph Loring were elected.
The affairs of the church went on prosperously under Mr. Clarke, and nothing worthy of note occurred till 1766, when the church was convened to elect a deacon, and Jonas Stone was chosen.
"At the same Time read a Petition, of twenty-4 Members, to know the Minds of the Brethren, relative to the Introduction of Tate and Brady's Version of the Psalms, together with a select Number of Dr. Watts's scriptural Hymns, to be sung in public, instead of the New England Version of Psalms now in use, - after some Debate upon the Matter, the Church voted to refer the Con- sideration of said Petition to thursday, October 2d, next ensuing. - To which Time the Meeting was then adjourned."
"At a meeting of the Church, in Lexington, upon Adjournment, on October 2, 1766, Admitted Jonas Stone, by a Letter of Dismis- sion from the Church of Christ in Rutland. Considered the Peti- tion, above mentioned, as read in the Church Meeting September 4, 1766 And Voted: To introduce Brady and Tate's Version of the Psalms, together with a Collection of Dr. Watts's Scriptural Hymns, to be sung in Public, instead of the New England Version of the Psalms that has been in Use among Us.
"The church voted by Yeas and Nays and upon sorting and counting the Votes, It appeared that there was a Majority of Three to One."
"Voted also to elect some Person to set the Psalm or Tune, and lead in the Singing for Six Sabbaths next ensuing upon Tryal (or Liking) as a further Attempt for regular and religious Improve- ment in that Part of divine Worship.
"The brethren then broug't in their Votes, from which it ap- peared that Robert Harrington, Jr., was (unanimously) chosen to this service."
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The New England version of the Psalms was prepared, in 1640, by the leading divines of New England; among whom Rev. John Eliot, Rev. Richard Mather, and Rev. Mr. Weld were the most prominent in this work. When the several portions were versified, the whole was committed to Rev. Henry Dunster, President of Harvard College, and Richard Lyon, of Cambridge. The work reflects no great honor upon them as poets.
This version was used generally by the New England churches up to about the time of which we are speaking. The earliest version used in the English and also in the American churches was that of Sternhold and Hopkins, a very literal rendering of the text, but far from being what good taste would require. This perhaps led to the New England version, which was scarcely an improvement upon its English prede- cessor. There are stanzas and even whole psalms in both that are barbarous, if not actually ridiculous. Hence we can pardon the English wit, who thus lampooned one of these versions: -
" Sternhold and Hopkins had great qualms, When they translated David's Psalms, To make our souls full glad: But had it been poor David's fate, To hear us sing, or them translate, By Jove, 't would 've made him mad."
The practice long prevailed in our New England churches of what was called "lining the hymn"; that is, reading one or two lines and then singing them, and so on through the whole hymn. This labor was generally performed by one of the deacons, and hence obtained the popular designation of "deaconing the hymn." The introduction of the present mode of singing in a choir and of reading the hymn from the desk was in many cases a very delicate subject, and one which gave great offence, especially to the deacons, who considered their prerogative invaded.
A good anecdote, bearing upon this point, is related of the facetious Pierpont Edwards, of Connecticut, of whom it has been said that "he was of godly stock, but of devious inclina- tion." In Connecticut the parishes were formerly all terri- torial, and there were two and even three in a township. The people in one of these small parishes erected a meeting-house and partially covered it with boards; but owing to their
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limited means, and a dissatisfaction growing out of its loca- tion, they were unable to do more. The building in this situ- ation stood exposed to the weather till it became so dilapi- dated that "the rain descended and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell." By this time their old feud had subsided and they resolved to build another church. The timber was collected and framed, and on the appointed day the building was erected. After the raising was over, the people collected in a group to sing a psalm, appropriate to all raisings, but particularly so at the raising of a church. Hav- ing no psalm-book at hand, they looked around for some one who would be able without a book to repeat the appropriate psalm, and young Edwards, who happened to be present, was selected for that duty. He consented to perform that service, and repeated in a clear and distinct voice the first two lines -
"Except the Lord doth build the house, The workmen toil in vain."
After singing these lines with becoming emotion, what was their confusion when they heard this wicked wight utter as the remaining lines of the stanza -
"Except the Lord doth shingle it, 'T will tumble down again."
But nothing like this, it is presumed, ever occurred in the town of Lexington. The change of psalm-books and the mode of singing were adopted without difficulty, and Mr. Clarke was so well pleased with the change that he entered in his diary - "October 19, 1766, began to sing the new version of psalms, and Dr. Watts's hymns." But the introduction of singing by the choir and singing from the new psalm-book did not do away with the practice of lining the psalm. This continued some fifteen years longer.
In November, 1781, the church voted to dispense with reading the hymns by line in public worship, and chose Cap- tain Daniel Harrington to lead the singing. In October, 1787, John Bridge and Nathan Reed were chosen deacons.
Mr. Clarke died November 15, 1805, in the seventy-fifth year of his age and the fifty-first of his ministry. He was born December 11, 1730, and was graduated at Harvard, 1752.1
1 For a full account of his pedigree and family, see Genealogical Register. (Vol. II, Ed.)
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During his ministry three hundred and sixty-five were added to the church by profession and ten by letters from other churches. Sixty-nine owned the covenant, and ten hundred and sixty-nine were baptized.
Few towns have been blessed with more distinguished clergymen than Lexington, in the persons of Mr. Hancock and Mr. Clarke. They were both eminent for talents, for piety, for fidelity - for everything which could recommend the preacher or the pastor, the citizen or the man; and hence both were greatly esteemed by their people and respected by the public at large. The aggregate length of their ministry was one hundred and four years. The influence of each of these clergymen was great, not only in the town, but in the community around him. It is not too much to say that Lexington owes its standing and character more to these eminent divines than to any other men who ever resided within her borders. A history of Lexington, without the men- tion of Mr. Hancock and Mr. Clarke, would be as defective as one of the Jewish Dispensation without the mention of Moses, or one of the Revolution without including Washington.
Mr. Clarke was distinguished himself and in his family, as will be seen in the Appendix.1 His influence was felt in his parish and in the Colony. We have seen his devotion to the affairs of state; but this did not lead to a neglect of parochial duties. There were no jars or difficulties in his church or society; everything went on smoothly, to the satisfaction of all concerned. Nor did this quiet arise from indifference or inattention to the spiritual wants of his people. No minister was more faithful or preached the Gospel with more fidelity. The additions to his church show that he preached with earnestness and power. The fact that under his guidance the young men in his society formed themselves into an association for religious improvement and edification is the best com- mentary upon his religious influence. This society he cher- ished with special care, as he regarded it a safeguard to the young and a nursery of the church.
Mr. Clarke had a just appreciation of the ministerial office, as will appear from an extract from his sermon delivered at the ordination of Mr. Josiah Bridge, in East Sudbury, November 4, 1761. Addressing the candidate, he said: -
. 1 Now Vol. II. Ed.
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"Dear Sir, as you now present yourself before God and his people, to take part of this ministry, we trust you do it, not as the horse rushes into the battle, without consideration, but as the result of the most serious, solemn, and prayerful deliberation. The office you take upon yourself is high and responsible, the work you are engaged in is great and arduous, the charge you are to receive important and solemn, and the account you must render of your stewardship at the last day, awfully strict and impartial. To mag- nify your office, to be faithful in your work, and to keep the charge you are to receive of the Lord, will therefore be your constant care and most ardent endeavor, as you desire to lift up your head and give up your account with joy in the day of Christ. Your sacred regard for the glory of God, and the honor of Christ, will excite you to make his Word and his Gospel the sole standard of your faith and practice - 'a light to your feet, and a lamp to your path.' And jealous of the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free, and willing that your brethren should freely enjoy the same, you will, we trust, never dishonor yourself, disgrace the ministry, or dis- please your Lord by receiving or imposing the schemes of fallible men, however great or good, as a rule of faith and practice."
In doctrine, Mr. Clarke held the views which were gener- ally prevalent at that day; but he held them in meekness and charity. He was a pious and practical rather than a denun- ciatory and controversial preacher. And he strove more ardently to make men follow the meek and lowly Jesus than to array themselves under this or that leader. As a pastor he was faithful and devoted, as a Christian he was meek and resigned, bearing affliction, of which he had a full share, with a patience and fortitude rarely excelled, firmly believing that the chastenings of the Lord were ordered in wisdom. As a man he was justly esteemed by all who knew him. Blessed with a social nature and being attached to the people of his charge, he kept up an intimate and familiar intercourse with them and was ever a welcome visitor at their houses. The old and the young were always pleased with his society; for to the dignity of the clergyman, which he never laid aside, he added the familiarity of a friend and the conviviality of a companion. His journal, which he kept upon an interleaved almanac, shows that his house was a place of resort for the young and old of his parish and for the clergymen and dis- tinguished persons from abroad. His journal also shows his method in business and his careful attention to the most minute affairs. The daily state of the weather, the occurrence
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of remarkable events, the visitors who called upon him, the journeys he or any of his family performed, the visiting of the schools, the catechising of the children, the deaths in his parish and of distinguished individuals out of his parish, are all carefully noted. Nor did the more domestic affairs escape his attention - the ploughing of his ground, the gathering of his harvest, even the bringing in of his cabbages and squashes, the killing of a calf or a pig, and other matters pertaining to his household affairs, are set down - all going to show that while he was religiously devoted to his charge as a pastor and to his country as a citizen, he did not neglect minor matters or suffer the smallest interest to languish in his hands.
He was a man of method and of industry. As a farmer, by care and good management he was able on a small salary to rear up a large family, to cultivate his land, and to leave unen- cumbered at his death a farm of sixty acres. Nor did his devo- tion to worldly affairs lead him to neglect his religious duties. Rev. William Ware, a family connection of Mr. Clarke, in- forms us that he had seen a manuscript sermon of Mr. Clarke's, numbered 2179, which would make an average of fifty-six sermons a year during his whole ministry at Lexing- ton. When it is considered that his sermons would occupy a full hour in their delivery, fifty-six original sermons in a year must require great labor both of body and of mind. He also published several discourses.1
His personal appearance was naturally dignified and com- manding, and this was heightened in the desk by his clerical costume of gown, cassock, and bands, and a wig of immense dimensions and of snowy whiteness. He was also characterized by a neatness so extreme as to serve as a constant rebuke to any want of this graceful virtue in his people. His eloquence was of a commanding character. His voice was powerful and
1 Mr. Clarke's publications are: (1) A sermon preached to a religious society of young men in Lexington, 1761 - text, Prov. 1, 9. (2) A sermon at the ordination of Rev. Josiah Bridge, in East Sudbury, 1761 - text, Luke x, 3 and 16. (3) A sermon at the Artillery Election, 1768 - text, 2 Chron. XVII, 16. (4) A sermon on the use and excellency of vocal music in public worship, 1770 - text, Ps. XLVII, 6, 7. (5) A sermon delivered April 19, 1776, with an Appendix containing a narrative of the events of April 19, 1775. (6) A sermon at the General Election, 1781 - text, Ps. XLVII, 8, 9. (7) A sermon on the death of Rev. Samuel Cooper, D.D., Brattle Street, Boston, 1783. (8) A sermon at the ordination of Rev. Joseph Estabrook, at Athol, 1787 - text, Jer. III, 15. (9) A sermon at the ordination of Rev. William Muzzy, in Sullivan, N. H., 1798 - text, 1 Thess. II, 4. In addition to his other labors, he wrote numerous state papers, of which we have spoken elsewhere.
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agreeable, and when excited by his subject, which was fre- quently the case, it extended beyond the bounds of the meeting-house and could be distinctly heard by those in the immediate neighborhood.
But Mr. Clarke, though eminent as a divine, was some- thing more than is usually implied in that designation. To his knowledge of the Scriptures and whatever else is generally supposed to appertain to the clerical profession, he added a knowledge of men in their individual and in their associated capacity, and had broad and correct views of civil polity; so that he might be denominated a statesman as well as a divine. But though he was distinguished in both these relations, he did not put these characters on and off at pleasure, assuming the one at one time and the other at another. In him the divine and the statesman were coexistent - dwelling to- gether in perfect harmony, prompting at all times to deeds politically religious and religiously political. His theology did not begin and end in certain abstract speculations upon the divine government in the narrow and restricted sense of that term. He fully realized that man was created for society, and that many of his duties and obligations grow out of the relations which society imposes. Consequently, he viewed the study of human government as an important part of an enlightened theological education.
Entertaining these views, he never put off the character of the clergyman, but brought the solemn sanctions of religion to bear upon all purposes of state. With him patriotism was not a blind attachment to one's own country, but a religious obligation to the land in which we live. On this principle he animated our fathers to stand by the interests of the Colonies as one of their highest duties. Regarding all true government as growing out of the great plan of the Almighty, and believ- ing that form of government best which approaches nearest to the divine standard, he was one of the most ardent and active friends of liberty; and did more, perhaps, than any clergyman in this vicinity to prepare the public mind for that sanguinary struggle which gave us a place among the nations of the earth. He was an intimate friend of Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and a fellow laborer with them in the cause of liberty. To his house they frequently repaired, where they always met with a most cordial welcome, and drew the fire of patriotism from the sacred altar of religion. His counsels are
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known to have had a great, and perhaps a controlling, influ- ence upon John Hancock, at a time when he was supposed to be in doubt relative to his duty.
Mr. Clarke's character for patriotism was so well under- stood that all the ardent friends of liberty used to frequent his house; and they never left uninstructed or unwarmed with truly religious, patriotic ardor. His patriotism being en- grafted upon the holy principles of his religion, it was modest and unobtrusive, but as firm and as abiding as the source whence it drew its nourishment. However dark the dispensa- tion or gloomy the prospect, he was always cheered with the hope - nay, animated with the conviction -that if we are faithful to the trust committed to our care, we shall ulti- mately triumph. And though he was a man of peace and would sacrifice everything but principle to preserve a filial regard for the mother country, when he witnessed her wanton encroachments upon our just rights and her determination to reduce us to a state of vassalage, he believed that it was our religious duty to raise the standard of revolt and to resist the attacks of the oppressor.
That Mr. Clarke had just and enlightened views of the science of human government and an ardent devotion to the great cause of justice and equal rights will be seen by the fol- lowing extracts 1 from his Election Sermon, preached before His Excellency Governor Hancock and the Honorable Legis- lature, in 1781 :-
"Were there no Laws, Magistracy Government nor Shields in the Earth, for the Preservation of Peace, the guard of Liberty, the Protection of Property & Life, it is easy to foretell, even without a Spirit of Prophecy, what the Event must be: - That anarchy, Con- fusion, Blood and Slaughter, Waste & Destruction would soon take Place in the Earth. The weak would be devoured by the Strong, the innocent, like righteous Abel, would become an easy Prey to the vicious, ambitious, and abandoned - and the longest Sword must determin the Fate of the World. Hence it appears, I had almost said to a Demonstration, That under God the Supreme Ruler, This wise Institution, this richest of Blessings, takes Rise from Necessity.
"It is true Reason teaches the Propriety, Convenience, and all the social Affections concur to urge the Importance Advantage and Usefulness of civil Government. But however engaging or Empor-
1 Revised from the manuscript, which, with the exception of the last para- graph, is now in the archives of the Lexington Historical Society. Ed.
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tant, these Arguments might appear to the benevolent, the wise & judicious, they would be at best, but a feeble support to the order of Society, and could never avail to establish a Government, against the lawless Lusts of vicious, aspiring, or Blood-thirsty Men. It is Necessity - absolute Necessity alone which is the great Bond of Society is at the Foundation of civil Government. . .. This neces- sity, in a great Measure at least, is founded in, & takes its Rise from the Lusts, Corruption, and Vices of Mankind.
"'T is not indeed pretended nor even supposed, that any one Man or any Number of Men, have a natural Right of Superiority, or an inherent Claim of Dominion, or governmental Authority over any other Man, or Body of Men. All Men are, by Nature, free, equal, and independent, in this Matter. It is in Compact, and in Compact alone, that all just Government is founded. ... The first steps in entering into Society, and towards the establishing of civil Government among a People, is the forming, and ratifying an original Compact for the Regulation of the State - describing & determining the Mode, Departments, & Powers of Government And the Rights, Privileges and Duties of the Subjects. This must be done by the whole Body of the People, or by their Princes, Leaders, or Delegates, by their Choice Appointment or Consent. This Right in the People, whether emerging from a State of Nature or the Yoke of Oppression, is an unalienable Right. It cannot be disposed of or given up by a People, even though ever so much in- clined to sell or sacrifice their Birth-Right in this Matter ..
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