USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > Wakefield Congregational church; a commemorative sketch. 1644-1877 > Part 4
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And this it is which has made such an uproar, opened the mouths of the profane, filled the secret hypocrite with indig- nation and wrath, and, I fear, stirred up the corruptions of many a good man. Such evils as these, as they ever were. so I doubt not they ever will be, the close followers of enliv- ened zeal and animated piety. It is granted that our Saviour came to set up a new religion, and that we are Christians. But is the religion of Christ a new name. of a new nature? If only a new name, I can hardly persuade myself that the devil would have made such an opposition to it. It would not greatly displease him to have Jewish men and heathenish practices baptized by a christian name. If the christian religion be a new nature, I humbly conceive that it will stir up the resentment of hell at one time as well as another."
Replying to the charge that Mr. Whitefield had said that many ministers were. perhaps, unconverted men, he says :- "I do not know of any tendency which such a reflection ought to have in relation to ministers, unless to quicken our watchfulness, excite us to self examination, and bring us to resolve with the philosopher, who said -. I will so live that none will believe my enemies.' As to any that have ques- tioned the state of their ministers, merely on such expres- sions of Mr. Whitefield, I never met the man. It is true. I grant, when men have known their ministers load Mr. White- field with hard censures and severe invectives ; when they have seen them bar their pulpits against him, which were open to poor miserable creatures. while to them he appears to preach the truth as it is in Jesus. and to be himself a kind of living gospel-while this. I say, has been the case. many have been brought to question the state of their ministers- and I do not wonder at it. If Mr. Whitefield has insinuated the idea that some ministers were unconverted, why need they pave the way to the proof of it. He is not half so faulty as some who, by their own virulence, have produced cvi- dence for their own condemnation."
After admitting that most of the ministers were good men, he says :--
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"In a word, however honorably the clergy in general deserve to be spoken of. yet so many of them are of the con- trary character that I think Mr. Whitefield excusable while he expresses his fears about an unconverted ministry ; and, while others are manifesting their angry resentments, I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to him for his cou- cern about the ministers of Christ's kingdom. which I hope has been no dis-service to me."
He acknowledges that Mr. Whitefield has foibles. but asks :
"Shall I condemn a man because he is not perfect ? God- honors him, notwithstanding his imperfections, and, there- fore, so would I. In a word, I would do by him as God does by sinful men-damn the sin, but glorify the sinner."
Towards the close of his pamphlet he concedes the posses- sion of proper motives to the men who had arraigned White- field, but adds-
"I hope they will pardon me if I express my fears that the measures they are taking to prevent schisms, disorders and separations, will be most likely to promote them. If I had aimed at the greatest confusion in my own church, I would have kept Mr. Whitefield at a distance ; but, as my pulpit has ever been, and shall ever be, open to him, we are, so far as I can learn, free from all danger of confusion."
Theological controversies often become more heated, and theological divisions become more marked, by causes that are not strictly theological. The so-called Unitarian controversy had for its source a radical diversity of theological opinion ; but he who studies it carefully, in its rise and history, will assign a place of no slight importance to the quarrel over Whitefield, as one of the agencies that, by embittering men against each other, and setting their supposed differences in a stronger light, paved the way for the disruption that follow- ed. The fear expressed by Mr. Hobby was verified. The measures taken to prevent schisms, disorders and separations, promoted them.
The pamphlet from which I have quoted provoked heated replies, in contrast with which, it was a high-toned and manly paper. Its author wasted no time in controversy. His
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church, in common with many others, passed through a sea- son of unprecedented religious awakening, which, doubtless, engrossed all his strength. When the fervor of that revival had passed away, and the charge continued to be repeated that the whole work was one of enthusiasm, he wrote, preached and published, a series of sermons designed to refute, indi- rectly, that charge. I will quote a few words from the pref- ace to that book.
"Multitudes at present seem to think it religion enough to be no enthusiasts ; and others seem to look upon it as an atonement for, if not a consecration of, the vilest profane- ness, to level it against the enthusiast. In which task enthu- siasm seems to be as little understood as it is admired; and, therefore, the soundest principles, the best regulated zeal, se- riousness in conversation, and strictness of life, are branded with the name, and share deeply the fate of the rankest enthusiasm."
The volume itself is on the "Duty of Self Examination," and portions of it are every way worthy of re-publication.
During these eventful years of his ministry, Mr. Hobby ob- tained a reputation not only for soundness in doctrine, but for great prudence in practical matters, and was called to a very large number of Councils. The most noted of these were two which assembled at Northampton, in the years 1750 and 1751.
The name of Jonathan Edwards is honored wherever re- markable intellectual power and high personal worth are rec- ognized. Though more than a hundred years have passed since his death, he stands without a peer among American theologians. But his evangelical convictions well matched his strength of intellect ; and it was owing to his preaching and writings, more than to those of any other man, that the ancient life of the churches was re-enkindled. Nevertheless, the best intentions and the noblest service do not always save men from the hostility of others. Mr. Edwards preached that only regenerate persons should come to the communion. His people denied the truth of the position. He insisted ; they became angry, and demanded that he should leave them.
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He offered to submit the question to a council, on one condi- tion. As the churches immediately about Northampton were thought to sympathize with his church against him, he asked that two churches from a distance might be summoned. To this condition his people at first demurred, but at length con- sented, and this church was one of the two chosen by him. The church accepted the invitation, and Mr. Hobby was accompanied by Dea. Samuel Bancroft as Delegate .* There was but one course for the Council to take. The feel- ing against Mr. Edwards was a tempest. and they could only advise him to retreat before it. Some of his friends publish- ed a protest against the result ; which having been assailed, Mr. Hobby wrote and published a defence of it. A year passed away. The friends of Mr. Edwards in Northampton urged him to gather them into another church. He consent- ed to leave the question to a council. This church was again summoned ; and Mr. Hobby, with Dea. Bancroft and Dea. Brown as Delegates, again visited that town. The project did not seem to the council a wise one ; and Mr. Edwards soon went upon his mission to the Stockbridge Indians, from which he was called to the presidency of Princeton College. Had Mr. Hobby possessed the privilege of choosing an earth- ly honor, he could scarcely have desired a higher one than that of being the trusted adviser and friend of Jonathan Ed- wards.
Mr. Hobby was a man of much native shrewdness ; and many passages in his writings illustrate this quality. Among the incidents of him that tradition has handed down through a century and a quarter, is the following : He was the pos- sessor of a fine orchard ; and the boys, neither respecting his rights, nor awed by his dignity, appropriated the fruit. One Sabbath morning he surprised his people by delivering him- self in this manner-"I am not going to have any more of my apples stolen : and, to prevent it. I hereby give full liber-
*See, in the part of this volume containing an account of the Commemorative Gathering. a letter from Hon. Geo. Bancroft, relating to Dea. Samuel Bancroft.
See also, for authority for statements regarding Mr. Hobby, and other statements made above, Tracts in Boston Athenaeum, American Register. and Uhden on Congregationalism
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ty to every person in the parish to take what he wants." It is needless to say that the parson's apples found their way to their rightful owner afterward.
That Mr. Hobby was a diligent observer of the tendencies of theological speculation of his time, and feared the result. is very evident. Ilis refusal to sit upon councils, unless he was personally acquainted with the candidates for ordination. proves this. But there is other proof, in a curious document which he wrote to his people, to be read by them after his death. A voice from the grave, upon the qualities to be sought in a new minister, he thought would have an empha- sis quite too great to be disregarded. A few sentences from that production are as follows-"Don't judge of a minister as you do of a bell. by mere sound : watch narrowly his preaching. Take heed what ye hear. Examine whether his preaching be close, pungent and particular, or only large, vague and general ; whether by bringing in bad principles he do not corrupt and endanger your souls, or whether he do not cunningly conceal his principles for the present, that he and his bad principles may creep in unawares together. Re- ligion, I am confident, will be likely to live, as those doc- trines which for distinction's sake are called Calvinistic, live, or so die as they die. Guard against precipitaney. Take time, and you will not only do it better, but do it sooner. I solemnly charge you, as from eternity, that you do not lift up your hands suddenly for any man."
I have said that Mr. Hobby was a man of vigorous mental powers, and of much native shrewdness ; he was also a man of deep emotional nature. Some of the entries in the church record prove this ; but it is more fully shown in a published sermon which he preached in his own church, before a regi- ment then about to march to Canada against the French. The regiment was commanded by Col. Ebenezer Nichols-a member of this church-and composed in part of the young men of the congregation. He commenced his address to them in these words -.. My dear Brethren and beloved Children :" -and then he pours out his heart in affectionate desires for them.
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The last years of Mr. Hobby's life were burdened with disease. He was laid aside from preaching, and suffered great pain. It was not strange that his people thought it desirable to settle a colleague with him ; nor was it strange that, when he heard of it, he took it amiss, and expressed his feelings in a letter more emphatic than cautious. The letter, however, which is still extant, if sharp at the begin- ning, is kind at the close, and the records of the parish show entire friendship toward him. The following inscription may be read upon his tomb stone. "Learned, vigilant. faithful, he was a preacher of the word of God deservedly commended for his pure evangelical doctrine, replenished with erudition and piety, together with solid judgment and eloquence. Being at length worn out with studies. and with most acute pain of long continuance, and calmly resting on the will of his Almighty Friend, and earnestly pointing to his heavenly home. he breathed out his soul into the hands of his Saviour."
REV. CALEB PRENTICE.
Mr. Prentice, born in Cambridge in 1744, was the seventh pastor. Graduating at Harvard. he spent some time there as Librarian, and was installed here Oct. 25, 1769. He died Feb. 7, 1803, having been pastor here thirty-four years.
It seems to be according to a customary working of Provi- dence, that leanings of opinion in one direction shall be fol- lowed and balanced by leanings of opinion in an opposite direction. It certainly cannot be said to violate the provi- dence of God, that, in the town of Franklin, so long under the dominant influence of Dr. Emmons, who had the least possible sympathy with Universalism, one of the most flour- ishing schools of that denomination has sprung into life. The same idea received an illustration when, in the pastorate of this church. Mr. Hobby was followed by Mr. Prentice. Mr. Hobby had been brought into antagonism with the college from which he graduated :- Mr. Prentice was presumed to be in full sympathy with the college on the questions at issue.
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Mr. Hobby adhered strenuously to the ancient doctrines of the Puritans ;- Mr. Prentice accepted the modified doctrines which have since developed into Unitarianism. Mr. Hobby was a great advocate of revivals, and labored to promote them ;- Mr. Prentice does not seem to have believed in them, and trusted rather to the gradual effect of truth. In short, they were upon opposite sides of the questions which vexed the churches during well nigh a century. Yet, a care- ful study of their lives, so far as we possess the means to prosecute such a study, will show them to have been equally conscientious, laborious and faithful. If there was that in the preaching of Mr. Prentice which, judged by orthodox standards, would be likely in the course of years to make re- ligion less vital and controlling, it was something that did not seem to mar his personal piety, or make less urgent his desire to commend religion to men. If we assume to say that he had embraced, and was wont to preach, such views of truth as tended to undermine certain essential doctrines, we must also say that, judged by any standards which we have a right to apply, he was a devoted Christian minister. There is very slight evidence to be found in the church records. that his views differed, in any respect, from those of his predeces- sor. The practice of requiring from each candidate for ad- mission to the church, a relation of his experience, was sus- pended during his ministry, though the ground for the inno- vation is not stated. If it was upon the ground, insisted upon by some, that it transcends the right of a church to ex- amine the evidence for or against the fact of conversion in any case, the change indicated an important divergence of view from that of all his predecessors. That there may have been other reasons is indicated by the fact that no other change was introduced. The strong Calvinistic creed adopt- ed a short time before his settlement, was left unmodified. The Catechism was diligently taught, as few teach it now. Sermons and lectures were carefully prepared, and vigorously preached.
It was the fortune of Mr. Prentice to be pastor during the Revolutionary war; and, having warmly espoused the
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patriotic side, he marched in the ranks, musket in hand, to the battle of Concord.
Simultaneously with his entrance upon his ministry here, the Old South Church in Reading withdrew, taking eighty- eight members, among whom were some of the strongest pil- lars of the church, and leaving the new pastor to grapple with the discouragement of a great depletion, and the accom- panying irritation and dissatisfaction. But the church recov- ered itself, and during his long pastorate enjoyed prosperity.
At the funeral of Mr. Prentice, a ministerial brother spoke of him as follows :- "He was meek and modest, unassuming in temper, and prudent in his inquiries after truth ; not cred- ulous to embrace the first opinion that offered, nor unwilling to be convinced, on rational grounds. He was judicious in forming his religious sentiments. He embraced the Christian faith from conviction of its truth. From searching the scrip- tures, and from other sources of evidence, he was fully con- vinced of their divine authority, and that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and the King of Israel. The gospel of Christ he received as the rule of faith, and the foundation of future hope."
Up to this period in the history of this church, all the old- er residents of the town have in it a common interest ; for, un- til the year following the death of Mr. Prentice, it was the only one in town. It had stood more than a century and a half ; had gathered into its fold many members in successive generations ; and furnished them the only church home they enjoyed. It was in the pastorate of the eighth and last min- ister, of whom I am now to speak, that the dividing lines of denominations began to appear.
REV. REUBEN EMERSON.
Mr. Emerson, the eighth pastor, was born in Ashby in 1771; graduated at Dartmouth college in 1798; was install- ed here in 1804; and died in 1860, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years, having been sole pastor forty-one years,
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and associate pastor fifteen years longer-making fifty-six years during which he sustained that relation. He was do- scended from Peter Emerson, one of the early settlers of the town ; and while preparing for college resided here. He had the advantage, if it was such, of being known by the people to whom he was called to minister. During the later months of the year upon which the former pastor died, a revival of wide extent and great power visited the place. The minis- ter who had been employed to preach as a candidate for the vacant pulpit, and whom many were ready to settle, lent no sympathy to the revival, and even sought to change its movement, if not to arrest it. His subsequent course con- firmed the impression that he differed widely from those who adhered to the old standards. Aside from the feeling pro- duced by his attitude toward the religious interest prevalent at that time ; a feeling of uneasiness on account of the doc- trines preached, had long existed under the previous pastorate. These facts, as I am informed by our venerable friend whose head ninety winters have whitened, and whose memory goes back to that time-Mr. B. B. Wiley-gave ascendancy to the general sentiment which demanded in the next pastor a vigorous type of Calvinism. There were other influences at work. Opinions, both among ministers and laymen, had be- come sadly divided. The Unitarian controversy was rapidly shaping itself to the separation that followed. The questions between Baptists and Congregationalists were forcing them- selves into prominence ; while other questions advocated by Universalists were vigorously discussed. It was natural that a church anchored as this had been upon the doctrines of the Puritans, should seek a man whose opinions were of the Pu- ritan stamp, and who had courage to declare them. Such a man they found.
Mr. Emerson was a clear thinker and a strong reasoner ; and when he had taken a position he could not be moved from it. IIe had a large acquaintance with the scriptures, and could use them with great effectiveness. As is often true of men of strong convictions, he did not fear controver- sy, though there is no proof that he went out of his way to
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provoke it, or continued it longer than the vindication of what he deemed the truth demanded. He employed much of his time and energy in elucidating those doctrines which pertain especially to the divine side of religious truth ; and wrote and published a volume for the instruction of his peo- ple. Several sermons of his were printed. Coming hith- er as he did when opinions were unsettled, and bitter charges were scattered about by professed christians ; when old land-marks were being removed, and new ones were tak- ing their places,-it is not strange that a man of his mould should sometimes have provoked the remark that he was rigid and unyielding. But this firmness had its use. It not only served to keep this church upon the old foundations, but it brought out the characteristics of other churches in bolder relief. If, as we shall all admit, God permits the rise of different denominations in order to emphasize various points of truth which no one denomination could sufficiently emphasize, it is, in a broad view, well that the strong features of each denomination should be made distinctly to appear. Though controversy offends many, and strong characters pro- voke criticism, they are yet needful and useful.
The ministry of Mr. Emerson was a prosperous one. The gospel was faithfully preached. The discipline of the church was careful-extending with perhaps too close scrutiny to mere opinions, but yet keeping the faith and lives of the members pure. The pastor gave his warm support to the temperance movement ; but for another movement which then attracted some attention, and is now attracting more. he had less sympathy. It was, doubtless, by his suggestion. that the church once voted that the sisters of the church have the right to listen in church meetings.
Mr. Emerson was versatile in his talents. He was an ex- cellent musician ; composed music, and sometimes ventured into the region of poetry. Like his predecessor, he was much interested in public affairs, and preached and published sermons which breathe a thoroughly patriotic spirit.
From one of these, preached in 1839, I may quote the fol- lowing : "Could my voice be heard from Louisiana to Maien,
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHICAGO
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and from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, I would speak out with trampet tongue, and declare as by prophecy, that subordination to civil laws in a free state can no easier be induced without the concurrent teaching of religion, sci- ence and morality, than the fundamental laws of God's em- pire can be annihilated."
Having become enfeebled by his long service, Mr. Emerson was, in 1845, provided with a colleague. The choice of the church and parish fell, with his hearty consent, upon Rev. Al- fred Emerson, who was descended from the same Reading family with himself.
It is the testimony of the associate pastor that his personal relations with the senior pastor were of the pleasantest char- acter. Perhaps the fact was owing to the spirit which prompted the following sentiments, which I find in the "charge" given by the elder to the younger, when the latter was ordained : "It is very possible that too much may be expected of us who are constituted co-workers in this vine- yard of our common Lord. And who will not say-It is right that more should be expected than from one? I will tell you, brother, how we may clear ourselves in this mat- ter. Employ all our talents at all times in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, disenthralled from the world :- then, though Israel be not gathered, and we fall under the unsparing censure of misjudging men, yet, while these will find that a perverse tongue is a breach in the spirit, we shall find that a wholesome tongue is a tree of life; our con- sciences will disabuse us, and we shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and our God shall be our strength."
In the year 1850, the parish made an amicable arrangement with Mr. Emerson, whereby he was relieved of pastoral re- sponsibility ; but with the express understanding that he should "continue to hold for life all the ministerial rights and privileges which he acquired by virtue of his settlement." After that time he rarely preached, though his influence was felt, and he bore the name and honor of the senior pastor till his death, ten years later.
Up to the close of Mr. Emerson's active service as the pas-
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tor of the church, in the year 1850, none of its ministers had ever been dismissed. Ten years later it could be said that the eight pastors, serving upon an average more than twen- ty-five years each, had all lived and died with their people. To the credit of the wisdom and forbearance of both pastors and the church, the record stands. that. for more than two hundred years, no difficulties demanding the services of a council for any purposes whatever, had ever been allowed to rise. Save for the purpose of inducting pastors iuto office, no council had ever been called. If dissatisfactions arose. they were suffered to subside, and the shepherds and their flocks went together down the hill-sides of life.' The mortal remains of most, if not all, of those shepherds, repose near together upon a sunny knoll not far from the church, while on every side are the resting places of those whom it was their privilege to lead and to cheer.
In conchiding these brief notices of the good men who have adorned the ministerial profession in this place, let me recall to your mind the thought with which the first of these sermons commenced. Other men labored, and we have en- tered into their labors. The outward blessings that we en- joy are not the result of brief and careless effort ; neither are our social and religious institutions, our means of educa- tion, the truths we hold, and the sentiments we cherish. If with the Psalmist we can say -.. The lines have fallen unto us in pleasant places, yea, we have a goodly heritage," the power to say it exists because men sustained and impelled by faith in God and love for Christ, have prepared our places for us. We are indebted to many men who have walked these streets. and established these homes-civilians of various ranks and of many virtues-but to none are our obligations greater than to the men whose careers I have briefly sketched.
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