USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Salem > Memorial of the old and new Tabernacle, Salem, Mass., 1854-5 > Part 5
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If you were soon to die, could you, ye heads of families, bequeath a better legacy, than a family pew in such a delightful sanctuary ?
If we had not enjoyed so much in the former house, and so many priceless blessings had not been there received by the living and by our departed ones,-whose spirits may be now hovering over us,-we should never have adventured to take down the old sanctuary, or to have laid the first stone of this building. With those hallowed memories of the old Tabernacle, we have garnered up many precious hopes for this our new Taber- nacle. Ye blessed spirits, that have gone from us, to be where Christ is,-are ye not now here to re- joice with us, as we are giving to our God these walls, these seats, this pulpit, and all that apper- tains to this goodly structure ?- Is there one among you, who would have said " forbear !"
And let me say to the children and the youth who are with us, on this occasion, that if it had not been for you, for you far more than for them- selves, parents and grand-parents would not have built this house. The venerable old sanctuary might have answered every personal need of your fathers; and much more the need of the aged men and women, who parted from the old house with many tears.
The days will come, when they who have given of their substance, and those who will also give of theirs, will all be in the grave and in eternity. If you shall live to take their places,-remember,
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I charge you, all the solemnities of this solemn and joyful hour. Remember that this house was dedicated to the worship of Jehovah, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Remember, when I am dead, that it was for the everlasting Gospel, and in hope of God's covenant mercies to children and to children's children, that so much of expense has been incurred by many of this church and congregation. Remember that you all have souls to be saved or lost forever ! Give your hearts and
your all to the Saviour. Here let your " young hosannas sound his praise !" And when it shall be said, "instead of the fathers are the children," may it be to your honor,-as being all of you the true children of God, and humble followers of God's dear Son !
It is recorded of Solomon, that all which came into his " heart to make in the house of the Lord, he prosperously effected." My respected and be- loved friends of the old Tabernacle, which we so loved, and of this new Tabernacle, which we have already begun to love,-have you not all occasion this day, to record with your liveliest gratitude, HITHERTO THE LORD HATH HELPED US ! These walls are the witness, that it is even so. And from the foundations to the summit of the lofty and graceful spire, let the whole be a memorial of the good hand of our God upon us, and a monument of our gratitude and thanks- giving, for the year eighteen hundred and fifty- four !
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When we celebrated the laying of the corner- stone, we prayed to God, that they who laid the foundations might live to see the work completed and finished. They are all alive this day. We prayed for all that might be engaged in the work, so perilous in many places, and for many days together, that God would keep all their bones, that none of them might be broken. It has been our great joy, not boastfully have we spoken of it, that the perilous labor was all done ;- the house built in every part; and there had been not the slightest harm to life or limb in any exposure.
On Tuesday morning, a leading paper of our city, characteristically candid and magnanimous,- in an article, as sincere, and as honorable to the writer, as it was commendatory of ourselves and those who have preceded us,-published to the country and the world, as a striking and extraor- dinary circumstance, that " no accident, or misad- venture, or miscalculation of the slightest sort, had occurred to interrupt the process of construc- tion, or mar the satisfaction with which it has been watched by the parties immediately concern- ed, and by the public generally."-[Salem Gazette, Nov. 28, 1854.]
Scarcely had this gratifying statement been read in our dwellings, before we were startled by the tidings, that a workman had fallen from the roof, and had probably received a fatal injury ! Why was it, that our sympathizing emotions were so prompt, and that we all were so keenly affected ?-
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We might have felt deeply, if the same casualty had befallen one, who had ascended any other building. But should we have felt, as on Tues- day ? And would our joy be as now, that the in- jury is but as nothing, in comparison with what from the first rumor we had feared ?
Some of us had known of casualties, like one in an interior town of our New England, where in raising the roof of a house for God, the frame fell, and left beneath the ruins eight men dead, and many more sorely wounded! And when this roof above our heads was all safe; when those heavy timbers of the tower were all right,-when the lofty spire that so trembled, had settled fast into its own place, and the last ladder had come down, which was expected to be lifted up,-who of us was not able to breath more freely, and did not feel that the good hand of our God had indeed been with us ?
The good hand of our God has been with us, my brethren. In our regret for the occurrence of Tuesday morning, we have in our gratitude a new element. We have "joy of grief" for him who has received the harm, joy inexpressible, that his life was spared. And now if we lose anything from the height to which our joy would have risen, we may gain more in the greater depth of our grati- tude,-that in removing the former and in erect- ing the present house, we have had such a marked and signal succession of experiences of the pro- tecting and preserving providence of God. And
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it will do no one of us any injury,-to be admon- ished to "rejoice with trembling" in all cases, un- less we are sure that we rejoice in God. The ad- monition may have been just what we all needed, that we should this day the more humbly acknowl- edge God, and think much the less complacently of ourselves, as if the work which we dedicate, were the work of our own hands, and for our own glory. (See Appendix H.)
We take, we accept the admonition. With a deeper humility as we trust, and a more fervent and chastened gratitude for those mercies, which have so abounded towards us, we can pray,- " Now, therefore, arise, O Lord God, into thy rest- ing-place, thou, and the ark of the strength ; let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salva- tion, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness !"
Here may the Father of lights ever afford his presence which is life, and his loving-kindness which is better than life. Here may the Redeemer of perishing sinners ever be honored, as we honor the Father! Here may the blood of his atoning sacrifice cleanse many souls from all sin ! Here may the Holy Ghost, the Enlightener, Sanctifier, and Comforter, impart plenteously his awakening, converting, and quickening influences to accom- pany our prayers and praises, our meditations upon the word of truth, and the administration of the ordinances. Here may the poor be remem- bered, and the widow and the fatherless never be forgotten, in our charities. May the Macedonian
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cry of perishing millions never be unheeded ! O that there may be many, that shall be minis- ters of Christ at home, and heralds of his salva- tion in other regions of the earth! And when the Lord writeth up the people of his choice and his praise, may it be said of a great multitude, that they were born here !
We know not the destiny of our new Taber- nacle. It may stand, when we are all dead, and when the youngest child here, that shall live to be the oldest of all, shall long have been buried. To those now unborn, it may become even more venerable and dear, than was the old Tabernacle to ourselves .- But its period may be very short. Our elevated and rejoicing hopes may soon be turned into mourning and lamentation. Thy will be done, O God ! Spare us, we pray thee! "Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us ; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands, establish thou it !"
Are there not many, who will unite with us, in these our supplications ? Are there not many in other cities and towns, and some in distant lands, who, as our work has been advancing to this happy completion, have had in their hearts to pray, that the glory of this house may be greater than the former,-as the venerable servant of Christ prayed, while fervently imploring the Divine bles- sing upon our solemnities.
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May it please our God that the glory shall be as great,-and we will call upon our souls and all that is within us, to bless his holy Name. And if it be far greater, we will say,-" Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy Name give the glory for thy mercy and thy truth's sake !" Amen !
NOTE .- Since the first part of this Discourse was in type, it has occurred to the author, that a statement in the intro- duction respecting the "ability of the natural reason and conscience," may seem to be inconsistent with Rom. i : 19, 20. From the context, however, the reader may perceive the meaning to be, that, according to the witness of history, mankind have never come to a right knowledge of the being and perfections of God, unless they have been taught by the Spirit of God, through the Word of his revealed will. But they may learn enough of God, by the light of nature, to make them inexcusable for the deeds, which they do against their own consciences. And it may be true of all the hea- then, who have the use of the "natural reason and con- science," that while "holding the truth in unrighteousness," so far as it is known by them from whatever source,-they literally "resist the Holy Ghost," as do many thousands who have been taught " the knowledge of God" from the Holy Scriptures.
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTICES.
In the Salem Observer and Daily Evening Traveller, Dec. 2, and in other papers, extended notices of the dedica- tion were published. The Salem Gazette of Nov. 28th, and the Observer of Dec. 2, contain an elaborate description of the house, by the architect, Richard Bond, of Boston. A small part only can here be inserted.
"The size of the body of the house is 68 by 90 feet, with an apsis 25 feet wide, and projected 6 feet from the rear wall of the house. The tower is projected from the front wall 19 feet, and is twenty-three feet wide on the front, and is finished with buttresses projecting 18 inches at the an- gles, with offsets at several different heights, thus reducing the size to 18 feet, at the height of about 66 feet from the ground, where the buttresses are merged into the square form of the tower, and the space between them filled with little arches resting on corbells. The tower to the height of 70 feet assumes an octagonal form, at the base of the bell- tower which is finished with pilasters at the angles, with a plain but full entablature. The openings of the bell tower are 4 by 10 feet, with a ballustrade at the bottom of each, and an arched bracket at the top resting on corbells. Above the bell tower is a story, 10 feet high, a continuation of the form of the story below, but with plain piers on 4 sides, pro- jected 8 inches. In each pier is a small circular window finished with heavy, beaded mouldings resting on brackets. This last story forms the pedestal of the spire which is oc- tagon in plan, 8 feet three inches diameter above its base, and rises to the height of 77 feet, including the spindle, thus making the whole height of the tower and spire, 180 feet."
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After detailing the different parts of the structure, exterior and interior, Mr. Bond says :- " The style of the exterior may be characterized Romanesque. The interior is finished in a style corresponding to the exterior. The architecture may be considered, in general, a mixture of Romanesque, and Italian of the French type."
Mr. Bond makes no allusion to the "Minister's room," which the Building Committee added to the house, and connected with the pulpit. While out of sight, in the com- mon views of the edifice, it is so prepared and furnished, as to be much admired for its obvious convenience and comfort.
The whole house, exclusive of the large orchestra, will seat nearly or quite 1,050 persons. The pews below are lined, stuffed, and cushioned ; and with the aisles and pul- pit, are uniformly carpeted.
The work of upholstery and the iron-fence occasioned an expenditure of more than $2,700. And the entire cost of the building, as furnished, is $21,400.
The 136 pews below were appraised, from $40, to $250 ; and the 44 in the galleries, from $25, to $60. At the sale in the afternoon of the day of dedication, and subsequently, " the choice money " amounted to $2,254 58. The aggre- gate for 75 pews on the floor and a few in the galleries, was $16,119 48.
By receiving in addition $1,000, from the late Mrs. Eliza- beth King, for the " Minister's pew," and $500, for the pul- pit, from a former member of the church, not now resident in Salem,-with some other contributions in the same lib- eral spirit, together with the avails of the old house and a small piece of land,-the Building Committee have been able to pay all the bills of the new Tabernacle, without ren- dering the Proprietors liable for loans, beyond one tenth part of the expense. The loans should be regarded as little else than a nominal indebtedness ; the income of the house be- ing ample to meet current expenses, and also to diminish the principal of the indebtedness, even if this should not all
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be cancelled, by future sales of pews now rented. Quite a number of pews are thus occupied, as was the fact in the old house ; while the number of proprietors is considerably larger. And the pews which may yet be sold, in more fa- vorable times, would much more than liquidate all claims against the Society, although sold at much less than half the valuation.
December 3d, was the first Sabbath of worship in the new Tabernacle. The first hymn sung was the 142d ยท Select :-
" In sweet exalted strains, The King of glory praise ; O'er heaven and earth he reigns, Through everlasting days : He, with a nod, the world controls, Sustains, or sinks, the distant poles.
To earth he bends his throne- His throne of grace divine ;
Wide is his bounty known, And wide his glories shine : Fair Salem, still his chosen rest, Is with his smiles and presence blest.
Great King of glory, come, And with thy favor crown This temple as thy dome- This people as thy own : Beneath this roof, oh deign to show,
How God can dwell with men below. etc.
The discourse in the morning was from John iv : 24. " GOD IS A SPIRIT," etc. The Lord's Supper was administered, at which, without purposed coincidence, the 408th Select Hymn was sung,-the same as at the last communion in the old house. It was a grateful season. And while the anticipa- tions were so animating, it was not forgotten that seven
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times the service had been enjoyed in the vestry ; and with no ordinary consciousness of fellowship one with another, and, as is believed, with the atoning and all-sufficient Re- deemer.
This day was also the 20th Anniversary of the Installation of the present pastor, whose ministerial connection has been longer than that of either of his predecessors, from 1735. The discourse in the afternoon was from the words,-Thus have I been twenty years in thy house. Gen. xxxi : 41.
Sabbath evening, Dec. 31, the United Concert of Prayer for Foreign Missions was held in the new Tabernacle. Thus as the last evening meeting in the old house was a MIS- SIONARY meeting, so was the first in the new.
But the first Sabbath of the new year was the " great day of the feast." Twenty-one persons were received to the church, on a profession of their faith ; a majority of whom, in the year just closed, had come to cherish a hope in Christ, as those receiving him from the heart. Others from a similar experience, it is believed, will ere long join them by a similar profession .- Ps. cxv : 1.
The number of church members, January, 1855, was 411. Three-fourths of the whole have united with the church, during the last twenty years,-two-thirds of them by pro- fession. But so many have been the changes by death and removal, that the present total of the Church is but about the same, as in Jan. 1835. Very large additions had been made in 1831-2, from the results of the " Great Awakening " of that period.
The Deacons of the Church, with the date of their ap- pointment, are
1818. John Punchard.
1837. Jonathan Perley.
1839. Nathaniel Appleton.
1846. Ira A. Brewster.
1849. George H. Smith.
Clerk. George C. Hodgdon.
APPENDIX.
A. p. 19. In some brief " Historical Notices " prefixed, in 1851, to a new edition of the " Articles and Covenant of the Tabernacle Church," it is said, that " for twenty-seven years there were nominally two FIRST Churches in Salem." By a recent examination of the First Church Records, it is found that this statement is erroneous. For twenty years, the present Tabernacle Church alone was called the First Church. The minority of the First Church, by the aid of a Council and the Legislature, " dismissed" Mr. Fisk, the pastor, on the 18th of April, (O. S.) 1735. Having held together and hired preaching, for about a year, they were duly organized as a church in 1736, under the style of "the Church and Parish of the Confederate Society in Salem." More briefly, they were called the "Confederate Church ;" while their brethren who had been separated from them, by an ecclesiastical pro- cedure which would not have been possible, since the Revo- lution, called themselves and were called by others, "the First Church of Christ in Salem." Their organization was the same as had been transmitted from 6th of Aug. 1629.
In course of twenty years, some of the former friends of Mr. Fisk returned to the Church and Society of those who had procured his forced and violent dismissal from his origi- nal pastorate. Perhaps, the thorough evangelical spirit of Rev. Mr. Leavitt's preaching disaffected them. However this was, their return gave the Confederate Church a "ma- jority of those who were members of the First Church, at the time of Mr. Fisk's dismission ;" and it was therefore voted, that, from July 28, 1755, the Church "take on them in all public transactions the title of the First Church in Salem !"
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There were now "two First Churches in Salem," in name ; but with what propriety ? Seven years afterwards, the Church that would now seem to be justly and really the First Church surrendered the title, and put an end to a long and embittered controversy .- See First Church and Taberna- cle Church Records ; also Felt's Annals of Salem, vol. 2. pp. 593-96.
B. p. 20. Previous to the installation of Dr. Whitaker, in 1769, the Church voted unanimously to adopt "his plan of Church government," which was Presbyterian, and which he had made a condition of his settlement. It was provided, however, that " if any member of the Church should appear to have scruples of conscience respecting being judged by the Eldership,-on their manifesting the same to the Ses- sion, he or she may for the present have the liberty of a trial by the Brotherhood." (Church Records, p. 51.) It was also provided, that, until "a stated Judicature," (as that of a Pres- bytery) should "be fixed on by the Church," an appeal from " the judgment of the Session " might be made to a Council, convened according to the usual practice of Congregational Churches.
Soon after Dr. Whitaker's installation, (or Sept. 11, 1769,) five elders were chosen, and until 1784, the government of the Church was administered by the Eldership, or Session, of which the Pastor was Moderator, and ex officio, a member.
"1772, April 27. A letter gives information that 'an of- fended party have determined to withdraw from Dr. Whita- ker, and gather another Church,' etc. It says that forty or fifty families make up such intended seceders."-Felt's An- nals, II. p. 602.
Nov. 27, 1773, a majority of the Church requested the pastor to join with them in applying to the Boston Presby- tery "to take the Church under their watch and care." This action was in accordance with the conditions of Dr. W.'s settlement. Application was made in May following, (1774) ; and the Church was accordingly received. The Church was afterwards connected with the " Salem Presbytery," so called.
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Feb. 11, 1784, the Church voted to "re-assume the Con- gregational mode of Church Government, having renounced the Presbyterian Judicature and all subjection thereto."
During all the period of Dr. Whitaker's ministry, from July 28, 1769, to Feb. 26, 1784, the original Covenant of the Church was continued; and the Church, as before, was styled the Third Church of Christ in Salem.
From the name given to the house of worship, the Church soon became generally known, as the TABERNACLE Church. This designation formally appears in the Church Records, in 1786. It had been gradually adopted, without any act or vote of the Church.
C. p. 23. Since this Discourse was preached, the name " Marlboro" has been dropped, with the name also of " County " Street, and both have given place to " Federal."
D. p. 27. The full title of this work was "Christian Psalmody in Four Parts ; Dr. Watts's Psalms Abridged ; Dr. Watts's Hymns Abridged ; Select Hymns from other Authors ; and Select Harmony ; together with Directions for Musical Expression. By Samuel Worcester, D. D., Pas- tor of the Tabernacle Church, Salem." In a few years, " Watts Entire and Select Hymns" came into use. An edition, enlarged and improved, was adopted in 1835.
E. p. 35. Capt. Hardy Phippen was one of the very first, who were baptized in the old house. At the opening of the services, P. M. March 5, 1854, was baptized " the little one," James Augustus, son of James F. and Rachel H. Smith.
F. p. 43. For " inscriptions " and other particulars, see Salem Observer, April 29, 1854. The "box" was not ac- tually deposited and sealed up, until June 3d. Meanwhile, beside City and State Documents, Salem Directory, etc. from Messrs. A. Huntington, T. S. Jewett, H. Whipple, and others, the likenesses of Rev. E. Cornelius, Rev. J. P. Cleave- land, D D., and a Memoir of Rev. John Prince, D. D. LL. D.,
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with a likeness, etc., were added. George D. Phippen, Esq. also deposited a " List of the Pastors and Church Officers from the beginning ;">-of the "Subscribers to the new House of worship ;" of the "Proprietors of the Tabernacle as they were, Sept. 1, 1780 ;" of the " Architect, Contractors, and Building Committee, of the new Tabernacle, the Stand- ing Committee, and other Officers of the Society ;" and of " the pew-holders, before the taking down of the old house,- with a plan also of the same."
G. p. 66. The note is omitted.
H. p. 74. On the 9th of March, the work of demolishing the old house began at the top of the tower. There was much fear of some disaster. The attempt being made to re- move the tower, below the bell-deck, in one body, the whole fell in an oblique direction ; but did no injury except that of crushing a large elm tree .- The raising of the new building commenced on the 9th of May. The frame was of great magnitude and admirably prepared. The operation of ele- vating the different sections, and especially the tower and spire, was, for successive days, an object of mingled admira- tion and anxiety. By a slight mistake in adjusting the ropes, the spire, when suspended at the highest point, appeared, for a few seconds, as if it might be precipitated, either upon the roof of the building, or that of a neighboring house. The effect, at the instant, surpasses all description.
Three days before the Dedication, Mr. John Conant, a ma- son, went upon the roof of the "apsis " or recess, to remove the cap of the south chimney. When about to return to the window of the " attic," his ladder slipped. Providentially, he so gave a direction to his fall, as first to strike the roof of the vestry, which is but a few feet west of the recess, and was taken up from the steps, leading to the Minister's Room, having broken a leg, but otherwise receiving no material harm. Great was the joy and gratitude for his signal deliv- erance from an untimely death !
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