USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Salem > Memorial of the old and new Tabernacle, Salem, Mass., 1854-5 > Part 2
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Neither have we been obliged to leave this our hallowed sanctuary, because driven out by the
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constraint of strife and ecclesiastical divisions. Our predecessors who built the former house, were thus compelled by a power, equal to that of the bayonet, to leave the place which they greatly loved, and to which they deeply, if not justly, felt, that they had all the rights of a majority to retain. I waive the merits of their unsuccessful strife with those, who, when church and state in Massachu- setts were practically united, were enabled by law to hold the house of worship, to the exclusion of the pastor and the majority of the First Church in the Bay Colony. In the "Discourse delivered on the first Centennial Anniversary of the Tabernacle Church," the subject received a careful attention. And although some new light has since appeared, we need not its shining, at this present hour. (See Appendix A.)
Our dissatisfied and inconsolable predecessors evinced a sincere persuasion of suffering wrong- fully. And there were those among them, who had both wealth and will enough, to take very de- termined measures, as if neither disposed to crave forbearance from their opponents, nor solicit as- sistance from their friends. But however they may have regarded their trial, it is undoubtedly true, that, when they planted the foundations of their new house, their condition was in no re- spect enviable or desirable. And devoutly grate- ful should we be,-that not in embittered strife among ourselves, or with others, but in peace and harmony so great, and with so much of the genial
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sympathy and approval of our fellow-citizens and fellow-Christians, we have yielded, in good time, as it became us, to the irresistible law of decay, that we may the earlier enjoy the ripe and rich fruit of obedience to the higher and the ascending law of re-production.
It is, secondly, an occasion of gratitude and of gratulation, that we can obey the law of re-pro- duction, without any such burdens in experience or in prospect, as for many years afflicted those, who commenced the erection of this our Taber- nacle.
A part of the church, and that the wealthiest, had separated from Dr. Whitaker and the majority of their brethren and sisters, in a violent contro- versy, as early as 1772. (See Appendix B.) Al- though the congregation was still . very large, not less probably than 1,400 souls,-in 1771, by actual census, over 1,900,-yet they were generally poor, or in quite moderate pecuniary circumstances. It was mainly because of the great number, who were reckoned of the congregation,-more, proba- bly, in the autumn of 1774, than in any other so- ciety in Salem,-that the present house was made so large.
Dr. Whitaker's personal reputation was not now favorable to the growth of the society or the church. By unanimous vote, the church had agreed to adopt the presbyterian form of govern- ment, at the time he was settled as the pastor, in 1769; but they had delayed to fulfil another part
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of their contract with him, and did not formally express their willingness to become connected with a presbytery, until November, 1773. The connection was strenuously opposed, and was not completed until the following June.
A meeting of the Boston Presbytery was held in the former house, only a few weeks before it was burned down. This could hardly have been agreeable to the congregational churches in Sa- lem and vicinity. And from various causes, Dr. Whitaker had many difficulties to overcome, be- fore he could expect to officiate in a new house of God. With gigantic energy and determination, however, he set about his plan for the Tabernacle. The building was to be constructed, in the form of a tent, a rectangular parallelogram, and pyra- midal in the roof, like Whitefield's in London, and in honor of that unrivalled modern evange- list. Less than five years previous, he had preach- ed the last time in Salem ; and for Dr. Whitaker, a few days only before he fell asleep at Newbury- port.
Application was made for help to some presby- terian churches, chiefly in New York and New Jersey. Of £536, subscribed for the new house, £238, or about two fifths appear to have been re- ceived from donors abroad. But the whole sum was not a quarter part of the amount which was needed.
Dr. Whitaker was a general agent for the col- lection of money, and the requisite materials for
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building. After some delay in securing a site, the work of construction was begun. So far as appears from authentic evidence, the frame must have been raised in the autumn of 1776; which, you will perceive, was just after the Declaration of Independence. The figures 1777, on the wall behind me, unquestionably denote the year, when the house was entered for public worship. Wheth- er there was a dedication, in any other exercises, than those of a Sabbath-day, has not been ascer- tained. It is supposed, that there was no other ; for the house was but a boarded frame.
The congregation had so long been obliged to crowd together within the walls of a school-house, or to stand without,-that the earliest day appears to have been taken for entrance into the new structure, for public worship. On Saturday after- noon, the floor would be cleared up, as well as practicable, so as to give room for the planks or boards, placed on blocks, and arranged for seats. With no better accommodations, the first worship- pers in the Tabernacle assembled together, for a considerable time.
There were no pews, until the latter part of 1778. There was no plastering, for some years later. The galleries, except that for the singers, were yet to be,-save only in the connecting tim- bers of these pillars of masts, rough indeed, but not, I think, as has sometimes been said, from the privateers of the Revolution. The roof was all open, and not even a screen of furring and lathing
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concealed the forest of timber, which gave such ample strength of support to a heavy dome, at the summit of the pyramid above. There in the dome was the appointed place for a bell,-which, if it had even been raised and located, would probably have been rung, from one of the middle aisles, or from a pew, near the centre of the house !
The land purchased for the new building, and that to be obtained subsequently, was then a part of a large field. There was no such street as Marlboro, and in the whole distance west to the " old Boston road," in what is now called Federal Street, there were but very few houses. The loca- tion, it is supposed, was chosen in part for econ- omy, the old ground being more valuable, and the new equally advantageous at less expense. It has proved to be a wise choice, by which none have been more profited than we ourselves. (See Appendix C.)
From the time of the burning of the former house, Dr. Whitaker had no fixed salary. He at first held the new house as his own property, in trust for his successors ; and was to rely upon the income of the pews for his maintenance. Votes were passed, from time to time, to aid him in his need. At one period, he would have had a very liberal allowance, if there had been as much sub- stance as sound in the appropriation. In 1780, he was to receive twelve thousand pounds,- which, however, was equal to only about $540. Collections were also taken every Sabbath ; and
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money " unmarked" was the pastor's own per- quisite.
After the war had fairly begun, the cry was in- cessant for money to hire soldiers and arm priva- teers. Every person that had a dollar to give, found no want of solicitors or agents to receive. And at some times, the scarcity of bread was such, that the municipal authorities imposed re- strictions upon the sale, limiting the quantity to purchasers, so that a part of the people should not be wholly unsupplied. What a contrast to our present means of subsistence, in the inexhaustible granaries of the West!
Dr. Whitaker entered into the war with all his great talents and energies, but his course, however honorable to his patriotism, neither edified his church, nor promoted his own christian graces. As he became more unpopular, his hearers were less and less willing to provide for his support ; and also were slower and slower to advance to- wards the completion and finishing of their house of worship.
After Rev. Mr. Spaulding's settlement, in 1785, measures were successfully taken to put the house in better condition,-himself generously leading in the work. For eight years the congregation had heard the walls echo in very natural, but un- welcome chorus to every loud wind that blew. Each returning winter, they had breathed each other's frozen breaths, while the children were scarce restrained from very clamorous sympathy
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with their freezing feet. On one tempestuous day, the preacher, the late Dr. Spring, of Newburyport, could only make himself heard, by coming down into the "Deacons' Seat," and gathering his few auditors into the nearest front pews.
The old pulpit, as we have called it, for these more than twenty years, seems to have been con- structed, in answer to Mr. Spaulding's desires and efforts. It must have been completed, before the middle of 1787; with the seat for the deacons, after the old custom ; with the " sounding-board " also over head, on the summit of which the dove that became so dusty was so long an object for the speculating gaze of the children, both older and younger. Two years later, the galleries were par- tially fitted up; leaving, however, much of the space to be possessed. Not until 1794, or twenty years after it was undertaken, could the Taberna- cle be said to be decently or tolerably finished. As the house was, when it had stood for one third part of its whole seventy-seven years, it was yet in a condition, which none could now bear, un- less they had learned far better than is common, to be content in any state whatsoever.
In 1804, an incident occurred, which greatly af- fected the exterior, and gave occasion to a series of important changes. During a gale, with the wind from the north-east, the dome of the roof started off in its entire body ; and without any harm to life or neighboring property, was found erect in yonder garden. It could not have de-
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scended with more felicity, for all concerned. It is yet to be seen in our city, as a small dwelling.
The steeple was raised in 1805, and by this operation, it became necessary to alter the roof in its eastern slope. The original symmetry of model was thus sacrificed to the sufficient reason of con- venience and comfort. And full many a gibe or pleasantry was the consequence.
For the first time, the tones of a harmoniously sounding bell of the Tabernacle were heard, the following year. The first Sabbath day, I was myself all eye to look, and ear to listen,-though not perhaps as much as was our venerable friend, [Deacon Punchard,] who still sits with us,-and who then, as also at a later day in behalf of its successor, had the chief agency in procuring it for its high position and honorable calling. And it is not unworthy of record, that it was the first bell in Salem, that was rung for an evening lecture !
But no stoves were yet, save those which the hand could bring. And cold enough it sometimes was,-as many of us now alive can bear witness.
And here may I turn aside for indulgence of reminiscences, which I could not easily repress, if I would.
This Tabernacle of my maturest manhood, is the Tabernacle of my childhood and youth. And now how changed,-since those days, when I used to see the fathers and mothers,-so punctually every Sabbath in their places,-with their reveren- tial attitudes in prayer and sermon,-and the aged
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women who sat there, and the aged men, who sat there,-not excepting the old sexton, Mr. Beckford, nor the sightless eye-balls of George Mullett, who had such unequalled powers of vision in his ears and his feet!
And from yonder orchestra, with a full choir, as " the more excellent way " then was, "young men and maidens, old men and children," and surely not least from the double-bass viol of one that could "play well" upon the instrument,-how many times have these ears of mine been regaled with strains, not indeed of the artistic oratorio, but of melody and soul, that touched my young nerves and veins, with the power of the electric mysteries. While memory lasts, never can I forget " TRISHAGION," which, in its solemn and jubilant grandeur, so often sounded forth, as the doxology after sermon, on Communion Sabbaths ; after the " Christian Psalmody," both in hymns and tunes, had come to be in the ascendant with those, who " were set over the service of song" in this " house of the Lord!" (See Appendix D.)
When the former " players on instruments " all became silent before the organ, of which we were at last so weary, I was not one among you ; nor did I ever expect to hold the position which I oc- cupied, when we so rejoiced at the coming of its successor. This will go out with us. And gladly shall we hear its thrilling welcome, when the doors of the new Tabernacle shall be open for us to enter in,-with our hearts all awake, and
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in tune for a chorus of Thanksgiving and Al- leluia.
It may seem strange to some, but even I can well remember, when, for the first time in this house, a prayer of invocation preceded the sacred song; and a chapter of the Holy Scriptures was also read, in the morning exercises of worship. There was an expression in many countenances, as if a marked innovation had been introduced .- The present custom of allowing GoD to speak him- self, for once at least in each public service, did not begin, until the voice now addressing you was recognized as your pastor's voice.
And what might I not say of the feelings, which at this moment move within me, as I seem to hear again from the old consecrated desk, that mild and gentle, but distinct and earnest elocution, which in my childhood and youth was to me, as no other utterance ever was; and to others also,-some still lingering with us, but far more, I trust, are in that city, the Jerusalem that is above, where pas- tors and people that have lived and died in the ever-living Jesus, worship together, without weari- ness or worldliness, and
Where the assembly ne'er breaks up, The Sabbath ne'er shall end.
Of other changes, whether in the house itself, or in the mode of service, which has now been much the same for twenty years, I need not speak for information. Neither is any more of suggestion
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or proof needful, that, in our long Farewell to-day, we can give praise, to the God of our fathers, and can congratulate ourselves, for the absence of such burdens and privations, as for so protracted a pe- riod embarrassed our predecessors, who were so glad and grateful to be permitted to sit upon the rudest benches, beneath the uncovered beams and rafters !
How different the prospect, at this hour, when before us is the fast coming reality of our new Tabernacle; its beautiful and lofty spire, lifting our eyes, if not our hearts so high towards heaven ; crowning so fitly all the goodly arrangements of the commodious interior,-where the eye of taste and the love of goodness may have mutual de- light, in finding neither extravagance to censure, nor deficiency to lament!
But whatever our hopes for the future, and whatever the joys that gild and enliven our fond anticipations, the new Tabernacle will never be as the old to not a few, who to-day are parting forever with the old. To them this is a sad hour, indeed !
We naturally feel an attachment to things to which we have long been accustomed, and in which we have had much personal satisfaction and delight, through successive years of very di- verse experiences.
" It is with a painful reluctance, that an aged man quits a decayed and tottering house, for one in itself much more comfortable and elegant. It
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is with deep-felt regret, that he leaves an apart- ment, where for years he has sweetly slept, or a seat by his fire-side, where he has been wont to sit in social converse with his family and friends. Those marks of decay in buildings and furniture, which excite disgust in the young, are from fa- miliarity become pleasing to him. The sight of them assists his meditations, and recals to his mind past agreeable scenes."
Such was the witness of the aged pastor, Dr. Lathrop, of West Springfield,-when standing in a similar position, to that of myself to-day. And I too can add, as did he,-that " many here pre- sent have similar feelings in the thought of aban- doning this temple, sacred in its design, venerable by its antiquity, familiar by long use, and pre- cious by the benefits, which have resulted from it. Their judgment favors the contemplated " change " for another sanctuary ; but their feelings reluct. While they rejoice in the preparation for assem- bling in another place, it still seems good to be here."
To all such especially, and to all others, who cannot but have tender participation in such natural and christian emotions, I would address the inquiry, whether it would not be ungrateful and unfitting,-if the grief of this parting hour were suffered to swallow up the joys of the re- membered mercies of our covenant God, in this our dear old sanctuary ?
Is it in your hearts to exclaim, " We have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God, in the
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midst of thy temple ?" Then can you respond to me, as once more, I call upon you, as I call upon the others, one and all,-to rejoice and be grateful !
Yes, beloved friends and brethren, let us all con- gratulate one another with devoutest thanks to God, for what he has permitted this church and people to enjoy, and enabled them to accomplish for his glory, at home and abroad.
The past at least is now safe. Whatever may be revealed in future days, the recording angel can this day seal up a record of one uniform, unbroken testimony of this house of God,-for seventy-seven years of most important, most inter- esting, most remarkable time, since the Saviour ascended from the Mount of Olives.
From the first Sabbath that here witnessed a congregation of worshippers, to this the last of the series, four thousand in all,-yes, four thousand Sabbath-days,-the LIVING GOD has here been adored ; and in some mode of "doctrine, reproof, correction, or instruction in righteousness," the Word of his grace has been preached. And on how many other days also, in annual observances, or on special occasions ?
That system of faith, which the earliest, the godliest, and the ablest of the fathers of New England accounted " the truth as it is in Jesus," and the richest inheritance which they could transmit to their children's children, has been up- held, may I not be allowed to say, by each of the
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six ministers of the Tabernacle, from 1777 to 1854! Has there been one who did not show himself ready, to contend earnestly for "the faith ONCE delivered to the saints,"-ONCE for all, de- livered by the Lord and his apostles ;- and " con- tend earnestly " not with friends only, but against foes, whether within or without, seen or unseen ? And besides, how many pastors of other churches, or other ministers of the New Testament, have also here preached Christ and him crucified ?
Blessed be the name of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that my predecessors in the Taber- nacle were ali men of undisputed independence and fearlessness in declaring the divine counsels, for conviction and conversion, for sanctification, consolation, and glorification ! Recreant indeed to their example, would their present successor have been, if, according to his humble ability and manifold opportunity, he had not endeavored, through "evil report," as well as " good report," to preach the same word, which they also preached ; and to vindicate as they also vindicated, both the doctrine of Christ and the order of his house.
Blessed, also, be the name of God, our Father through the Son and by the Spirit, that the faith- ful preaching of the Word has been so uniformly and steadfastly supported and encouraged. Where has there been a more harmonious congregation ? In neither of the eleven sevens of years-the children must remember the eleven sevens-most of them golden periods, and all now to be sealed
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up forever; in neither one has the church or congregation had any special disquiet or solici- tude, from manifestations or signs of favor for " another Gospel, which is not another." What power of influence for the cause of truth and righteousness has thus silently accumulated ?
And blessed, also, be the name of our God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, that, from the earliest indications of an awakened missionary spirit in our American Zion, the Tabernacle has been so signally honored. If the Tabernacle in London is entitled to be called "the cradle of the London Missionary Society,"-the Tabernacle in Salem is entitled to be called "the cradle " both of the Massachusetts Missionary Society and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Who can estimate or imagine what God hath wrought, by the missionary sermons here preached, the many appeals of charity and philanthropy here made, the contributions here collected, and the prayers here prompted and offered,-that the Redeemer's dying love, and liv- ing, everlasting power to save, may be published in all the world, to every creature! That single ordination scene, Feb. 6, 1812,-to say not a word of others of kindred purpose,-is alone enough to hallow the memory of this revered and endeared old sanctuary, until time shall be no longer. In all this western world there is no house,-there never has been,-a house of God more honored in all the carth !
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And never has there been a house of God in this land, it may be confidently affirmed, the an- ticipated farewell solemnities of which have pro- duced such a wide and deep sensation ! We did not ourselves imagine the half that others feel around ; and much less than this did we know of what we should feel ourselves, in the parting hour .- At this moment, there is scarcely a State in the Union, if one, in which there are not some, who with deep emotion are meditating upon this our last service in the Tabernacle.
It may be as new to most, as it was to me, that on the memorable " dark day" of 1780, when the whole town was filled, as never before or since, with terrors,-a sound went out into the streets, just as the darkness was beginning to abate,- and the people flocked from every quarter to hear in this house of prayer, what this pulpit should counsel and supplicate from God's majesty or mercy. A far different, and far greater assembly it was in 1807, when the Rev. Gideon Blackburn, from Tennessee, with a Whitefield's thunder and a Whitefield's melody of persuasiveness, poured out his soul for the children of the wilderness,- the Aborigines of the South. Very similar in numbers and in interest, was the assembly in 1830, when Boudinott and Ridge, from those same Aborigines,-with your loved and almost idolized Cornelius,-others also assisting them,-aroused every heart of all the thronged multitude to throb with unwonted pulsations of responding sympathy and ennobling magnanimity.
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But after all that is to be remembered on earth, of signalized occasions or seasons, may it not be that there has been more "joy among the angels of God," when far, far less was here witnessed and felt of the grand and the thrilling ? Yes, on many a quiet Sabbath-day,-when God's Spirit has come down in the still small voice,-there has been the beginning of a new creation to the glory of " Love-divine-all love excelling,"
" While endless years 1459226 Their everlasting circles run !"
What a company it would be, could we see them all, who have here first confessed Christ be- fore men, in solemn covenant with his people ! How many a precious season has here been en- joyed, in the communion of the saints with their common Lord and with one another, in bonds that death sunders never! How many,-would that there had been far more,-yet how many in all have here received the consecrated water in the baptismal seal of the Abrahamic and the Christian covenant,-from one of the first of all, who is still among us, to the little one, that must now be last ? (See Appendix E.)
And what volumes could contain the memorial, which might be written, if we could but know the individual history or the unpublished conscious- ness of all the thousands, of quick and dead, who here have heard the messages of life and peace ! While God's people have been edified, admonish-
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ed and comforted,-many, many times met by a good word in season, like an angel's visit on mer- cy's chosen errand,-how often has some other word found a right way, when sent forth either with purposed aim, or like the arrow from the " bow drawn at a venture ;" and has been effect- ually lodged in a vital spot of the body of sin and death, so that the spirit has become life unto the Lord our Righteousness! Whether in revivals or at other times, of how many might it, and will it be said,-although they were never numbered with us as members of this church,-" This and that man was born there !" And how many more have gone out, some far off upon the sea, and to the ends of the earth,-with an undying remembrance of hours or days, when here God's holy truth and Spirit bore witness to their heart and conscience, for wisdom and for blessedness !
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