USA > New York > New York City > The history of the Broadway tabernacle church, from its organization in 1840 to the close of 1900, including factors influencing its formation > Part 21
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Attend now to the
COVENANT.
In the presence of God, His holy angels, and this assembly, you do now solemnly dedicate yourselves to GoD the FATHER, as your chief good; to the SON OF GOD, as your Mediator and Head, humbly relying on Him as your Prophet, Priest, and King; and to the HOLY SPIRIT, as your Sanctifier, Comforter, and Guide. To this one God, FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST, you do heartily give up yourselves in an ever- lasting covenant to love and obey Him. Having subscribed the Articles of Faith and Government adopted by this Church, you promise to walk with us in conformity to them, in submission to all the orders of the
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Gospel, and in attendance on all its ordinances, and that, by the aid of the Divine Spirit, you will adorn your profession by a holy and blame- less life.
This you severally profess and engage.
In consequence of these professions and promises, we affectionately receive you as members of this Church, and in the name of CHRIST declare you entitled to all its visible privileges. We welcome you to this fellowship with us in the blessings of the Gospel, and on our part engage to watch over you, and seek your edification, as long as you shall continue among us. Should you have occasion to remove, it will be your duty to seek and ours to grant a recommendation to another Church; for hereafter you can never withdraw from the watch and communion of the saints without a breach of covenant.
And now, beloved in the Lord, let it be impressed on your minds that you have entered into solemn circumstances from which you can never escape. Wherever you go, these vows will be upon you. They will follow you to the bar of God, and in whatever world you may be fixed will abide upon you to eternity. You can never again be as you have been. You have unalterably committed yourselves, and henceforth you must be the servants of God. Hereafter the eyes of the world will be upon you ; and as you demean yourselves, so religion will be honored or disgraced. If you walk worthy of your profession, you will be a credit and a comfort to us; but if it be otherwise, you will be to us a grief of heart and a vexation. And if there is a wo pronounced on him who offends one of Christ's little ones, wo, wo to the person who offends a whole Church! " But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak." May the Lord guide and preserve you till death, and at last receive you and us to that blessed world where our love and joy shall be forever perfect. Amen.
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FOR THE WELL ORDERING OF OUR AFFAIRS, WE ADOPT THE FOLLOWING DECLARATIONS AND PERMANENT RULES.
I. The design of a Christian Church we understand to be the enjoy- ment of Christian ordinances and the maintenance of the worship of God.
2. The permanent Officers of the Church shall be a Pastor and Deacons, who shall exercise their respective offices as directed in the Scriptures.
3. The Officers for the year shall be a Clerk, who shall also be Treas- urer, and five brethren, who shall co-operate with the Pastor and Deacons in the more especial oversight of the interests of the Church. This united Committee shall especially provide for the supply of the pulpit in cases of emergency; they shall confer with persons who offer themselves for admission to the Church, enquiring into their char- acter and circumstances, and the reason they have for the hope that is
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in them, and report to the Church the cases of all whom they may deem suitable candidates for admission.
4. Officers permanent, and for the year, shall be elected by ballot and without any public nomination, unless the Church shall appoint a Com- mittee for that purpose.
5. The Church will meet for prayer and conference every Monday evening. The Sacrament of the Supper will be administered on the first Sabbaths of January, March, May, July, September, and November, and the Monday evening meetings next preceding these Sabbaths shall be business meetings, at which any matter relating to the interests of the Church may be introduced, and the Monday evening preceding the first Sabbath in March shall be the annual meeting, at which the Com- mittee shall make a report of their proceedings, and new elections shall be made.
6. Candidates for admission shall be reported to the Church at least two weeks and propounded to the congregation at least one week before the business meeting at which their cases are to be acted on by the Church. They shall become members by election and signing the articles of faith and covenant, and, those who have not done so before, by making a public profession.
7. All questions shall be determined by the votes of the male mem- bers, of lawful age, present on the occasion.
8. The Confession of faith, Covenant, Form of admission, or Stand- ing Rules may not be altered, except by a vote of two-thirds at an annual meeting, such alteration having been proposed in writing at a previous business meeting.
D Preamble and Resolutions Concerning Charities, Adopted November, 1841.
Whereas, The design of a Christian Church, as stated in the first declaration of this Church, is the enjoyment of Christian ordinances and the maintenance of the worship of God; and whereas, a Congre- gational Church possesses no power to compel a member to engage in any particular department of Christian labor; and whereas there are now societies to which Christians may unite themselves for the fur- therance of all works of Christian benevolence if they believe that their usefulness will be thereby promoted; and whereas we have in this Church members who are connected with almost all the great religious charitable societies, who may see to the interests of these societies; and whereas there is a great diversity of opinion among us in reference to the various charitable movements of the day, but great harmony in regard to the peculiar and special design of the Church, which harmony
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might be interrupted, as it has been in other churches, by any effort to co-operate in our organized capacity with other societies. Therefore,
Resolved, That we deem it expedient in our action as a Church to confine ourselves to that design set forth in the following declarations, viz., The design of a Christian Church we understand to be the enjoy- ment of Christian ordinances and the maintenance of the worship of God.
Resolved, That the pastor be and he is hereby requested to bring before the congregation the claims of such objects of Christian Charity as may seem to him best, either himself or by the employment of other persons.
E Articles of Faith, and Covenant, Adopted February 24, 1846 ; Also Standing Rules.
The Broadway Tabernacle Church deeming it expedient to revise the " Articles of Faith " and " Covenant " adopted at the organization of said Church, and such revision being now complete, we, the mem- bers of said Church, do hereby adopt the following as the bond of ecclesiastical union, expecting to find the same faith in all who shall hereafter unite with us, viz .:
ARTICLES OF FAITH.
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
And, in accordance with the teachings of Scripture,
We believe in One God, subsisting in three persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; eternal, unchangeable, and omnipresent ; infinite in power, wisdom, and holiness; the Creator and Preserver of all things; whose purposes and providence extend to all events; and who exercises a righteous moral government over all his intelligent creatures :
We believe that man was originally holy; that our first parents dis- obeyed the command of God; and that, in consequence of their apos- tacy, all their descendants do also transgress his Law, and come under its just condemnation :
We believe that God has provided a way of salvation for all man- kind; that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, having taken upon himself our nature, has, by his voluntary sufferings and death, made an atonement for sin; and that everyone who, with repentance for sin, believes in Christ, will be pardoned, justified, and saved through that faith alone :
We believe that while salvation is thus freely offered to all men, none
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do truly repent and believe in Christ, but those who, according to the sovereign grace and eternal purpose of God, are renewed and sanctified by his Holy Spirit in obeying the Gospel; and that none who are thus renewed and chosen to eternal life will be permitted so to fall away as finally to perish :
We believe that there will be a resurrection of all the dead; and that God will hereafter judge all men and award to them eternal happiness or eternal misery.
COVENANT.
We covenant and engage as fellow Christians of one faith, and par- takers of the same hope and joy, to give up ourselves unto the Lord for the observance of the ordinances of Christ together in the same society; and to unite together in one body for the public worship of God and the mutual edification one of another in the fellowship of the Lord Jesus; exhorting, reproving, comforting, and watching over each other for mutual edification; looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, even our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Thus, also, we the subscribers, members of said Church at the time of the adoption of the foregoing, but who have never before subscribed its Articles and Covenant; and we the subscribers who have been elected as members of said Church since the adoption of these revised Articles and Covenant, do each of us solemnly declare our belief, and consent to the same, promising to walk in conformity thereto and to the government of said Church.
STANDING RULES.
I. A Christian Church we understand properly to be, and we accord- ingly declare this Church to be, an association of professed believers in Christ for mutual watchfulness, for the enjoyment of Christian or- dinances, and the maintenance of the worship of God.
II. The permanent officers of this Church shall be a Pastor and Dea- cons. The officers for the year shall be a Clerk and five brethren who, with the Pastor and Deacons, shall constitute a committee for the general oversight of the interests of the Church. This committee shall especially provide for the supply of the pulpit in cases of emergency, they shall confer with persons who offer themselves for admission, and report to the Church the cases of all whom they deem suitable can- didates. They may also transfer a prayer meeting to another evening of the same week.
III. Officers, permanent and for the year, shall be elected by ballot, and without any public nomination, unless the Church shall appoint a committee for that purpose.
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
IV. The Church will meet for prayer and conference on Tuesday evening of each week; except that the first Monday evening of each month shall be substituted for Tuesday evening on the weeks of its occurrence. The Sacrament of the Supper will be administered on the first Sabbath of January, March, May, July, September, and November ; and the prayer meetings next preceding these Sabbaths shall be also business meetings, at which any matter relating to the interests of the Church may be introduced; and the meeting preceding the first Sabbath in March shall be the annual meeting, at which the Committee shall make a report of their proceedings, and new elections shall be made. The Clerk shall call special meetings for business by causing a notice to be read from the pulpit on the Sabbath, upon the requisition of any ten brethren, presented to him in writing.
V. Members will be admitted upon regular business meetings only. Candidates shall be reported to the Church at least two weeks, and propounded to the congregation at least one week, before the business meeting at which their cases are to be acted on. They shall become members by election, and signing the articles of faith and covenant, and (those who have not done so before) by making a public profession.
VI. It is expected that members on removing will ask for letters of dismission and recommendation. Requests for such letters may be announced at the weekly prayer meeting or lecture; and if, at the end of one week, no objection has been made to the Clerk, he shall issue the customary certificate.
VII. All questions shall be determined by a majority of the male members present on the occasion; except that the articles of faith, covenant, form of admission, or standing rules may not be altered but by a vote of two-thirds at an annual meeting, such alteration having been proposed in writing at a previous business meeting.
F
Extract from the Resolutions Adopted by the Church May 13, 1851, and April 26, 1853.
" The names of members who have been absent for one year, of whose residence or spiritual condition the Church cannot, after proper effort, obtain information, shall be entered upon a separate list to be kept by the Clerk, and to be called the 'Absentee List.'
" The names upon this list shall be publicly read three times during the year, at each alternate Preparatory Lecture, and the list shall be reviewed at the Annual Meeting of the Church, or at such other time as the Church shall designate.
" At the end of ONE YEAR from the time the name of any member is
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placed upon this list, if the Church has been unable to obtain informa- tion of that member, it shall become the duty of the Church to withdraw its watch and care over such member, thus excluding him or her from its fellowship for neglect of ordinance or breach of covenant, until such time as he or she may appear before the Church and give satisfactory reasons for his or her absence and delinquency."
G
Conditions of Membership in the Broadway Taber- nacle Society, Adopted March 2, 1855.
First .- Resolved, That payment of pew-rent, or pew-tax, or regular contributions to the boxes upon the Sabbath, shall be considered the usual and customary mode of contributing to the support of this Society.
Second .- Resolved, That any person intending to contribute to the support of this Society through the contribution boxes upon the Sab- bath, as specified in the first resolution, and for the purpose of qualifying himself to vote at any election held in this Society, shall, in order to be judged a regular contributor, make, from time to time when in at- tendance on Divine Worship in this Society, such contribution as shall in the aggregate each year meet the approval of his own judgment, but every such contribution should be accompanied with the name of the contributor, and must, if doubted, be acknowledged by a certificate of the Clerk of the Society and an entry on his register; or it must, if doubted, be proven at the time of election by evidence equally satis- factory to the judges or inspectors of such election; and without such certificate of the Clerk, or evidence equally satisfactory to the judges or inspectors of election, no person shall be deemed as having con- tributed to the support of this Society by gifts received in contribution boxes.
Third .- Resolved, That any person desiring to become a member of this Society, by reason of his contributions to the boxes, shall notify the Clerk of the Board of Trustees, in writing, of such intention, stating his name and residence, and if the Trustees shall, within four weeks from such notice to the Clerk, decline to receive such applicant, then his contribution shall cease its aforesaid effect, and notice shall be given him by the Clerk personally or left at the place of residence so specified. And all applications so rejected shall be laid before the Society at its first meeting thereafter, and if a majority of the members then present shall vote to confirm the action of the Trustees, then such rejection shall be confirmed.
Fourth .- Resolved, That the usages and customs of the Society in the matter of such contributions be established and ordained according to the above resolutions, and not otherwise.
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
Fifth .- Resolved, That the Secretary of the Board of Trustees be required to keep a register of the members of this Society, according to the statute, and that a copy of said register be left in the office of the Sexton for the inspection of members.
Sixth .- Resolved, That every male of lawful age shall be entitled to vote who shall have been a stated attendant on Divine Worship in this congregation for at least one year previous to the election, and who shall have contributed to the support of this Society, according to the usages and customs thereof as established and ordained by the afore- said resolutions, and not otherwise.
Seventh .- Resolved, That in connection with the regular legal notice of the Annual Meeting of the Society, the aforesaid resolutions, or a statement containing the substance thereof, be read, and that all persons who desire to become members of the Society be requested to signify their intention to the Clerk prior to the Annual Meeting.
Eighth .- Resolved, That the Clerk of this Society shall be present at its elections, in order by his register to test the qualifications of electors if questioned.
Ninth .- Resolved, That two Deacons (or if there be none present, then two members of the Society, to be nominated by a majority of the members present) must preside at the elections.
Tenth .- Resolved, That the Inspectors of Election, as prescribed by statute, shall preside in front of the audience with a box for the recep- tion of ballots, and as each ballot is offered the name of the individual offering such ballot shall be called aloud, and if in the judgment of the Inspectors he is a duly qualified member his ballot shall be received.
Eleventh .- Resolved, That no person shall be allowed to vote, by ballot or otherwise, at any meeting of the Society who does not possess the statute qualifications, and who has not contributed to the support of this Society in the manner and form ordained by the foregoing resolutions.
H
Among Joseph P. Thompson's published works are the following:
Abraham Lincoln: His Life and Its Lessons. Pp. 38. New York : 1865. Address on the Life and Character of Mrs. Sarah Abbott Bridgman. Pp. II. New York: 1871.
America as Seen from Europe: A Look Homeward Across the Sea : Thanksgiving Address. Pp. 27. Bremen : 1874.
American Comments on European Questions, International and Relig- ious. 8vo. Boston : 1854.
The Believer's Refuge. 1857.
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Broadway Tabernacle Church: Its History and Work, with the Docu- ments Relating to the Resignation of its Pastor. Pp. 51. New York: 1871.
Bryant Gray. 1863.
Christ, the Church, and the Creed: Letter to Professor Dr. A. Weber. Pp. 7. Berlin : 1877.
The Christian Graces: A Series of Lectures on 2 Peter i. 5-12. 16mo. New York: 1859.
Christianity and Emancipation. Pp. 86. New York: 1863.
Church and State in the United States, with an Appendix on the Ger- man Population. 16mo. Boston : 1873.
The College as a Religious Institution: Address before the Western College Society. Pp. 34. New York: 1859.
Commemorative Discourse at a Memorial Service for 300,000 Union Soldiers. Pp. 28. New York: 1866.
The Congregational Polity and a Biblical Theology: Discourse before
the Congregational Board of Publication. Pp. 26. Boston: 1860. Contest with Ultramontanism in Germany. Pp. 36. London: 1874.
Duties of the Christian Citizen. Pp. 24. New York: 1848.
The Early Witnesses; or, Piety and Preaching of the Middle Ages. 24mo. New York: 1857.
Egypt, Past and Present. 1866.
The Egyptian Doctrine of a Future State. Pp. 43.
" Egyptology."-Smith's Bible Dictionary.
An Essay toward Principles of International Law to Govern the Inter- course of Christian with Non-Christian Peoples. Pp. 20. Berlin : 1876.
The Faithful Preacher: Discourse Commemorative of the Late Dirck C. Lansing, D.D. Pp. 54. New York: 1857.
Final Cause : A Critique of the Failure of Paley and the Fallacy of Hume. Pp. 22. London, n.d.
The Fugitive Slave Law Tried by the Old and New Testament. Pp. 35. New York : 1850.
Habitual Thankfulness: Discourse. Pp. 23. New Haven: 1840.
Hints to Employers. 1847, 1851.
The Holy Comforter. 1866.
Home Worship.
How to Build a Nation : Discourse.
Implements of the Stone Age in a Primitive Demarcation Between Man and Other Animals. Pp. 9. 1877.
The Inalienable Possession. Pp. 48. New York: 1856.
The Last Sabbath in the Broadway Tabernacle: Historical Discourse. Pp. 51. New York: 1857.
Lectures to Young Men. (Second edition of "Young Men Admon- ished.")
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HISTORY OF THE BROADWAY TABERNACLE CHURCH
Lewdness and Murder: Discourse Suggested by the Late Murder. Pp. 24. New Haven : 1845.
Love and Penalty; or, Eternal Punishment Consistent with the Father- hood of God. 16mo. New York: 1860.
Life of Christ for the Young. 1875.
Man in Genesis, and in Geology; or, The Biblical Account of Man's Creation Tested by Scientific Theories of his Origin and Antiquity. 12mo. New York: 1870.
Manning and Germany. Pp. 8. Glasgow: 1874.
Man's Completeness in Christ: Sermon at the Installation of Rev. William B. Clarke. Pp. 40. New Haven : 1863.
Memoir of David Hale. 8vo. New York: 1850.
Memoir of David Tappan Stoddard. 12mo. Boston: A. T. S.
Memoir of the Late Timothy Dwight. 16mo. New Haven: 1844.
The Moral Unity of the Human Race: Sermon at the Ordination of Luther Halsey Gulick, M.D. Pp. 71. New York: 1851.
Paganized Ecclesiasticism, the Chief Antagonist of the Modern Mis-
sionary: Address before the Society of Inquiry, Andover. Pp. 32. 1854.
La Paix Considérée Comme Berceau de la Chevalerie. Pp. 29. Genève: 1874.
Paparchy and Nationality. Pp. 42. 1875.
Peace Through Victory: Thanksgiving Sermon. Pp. 46. New York: 1864.
The Permanence of Christianity, in the Intention of its Founder: Ser- mon before the Foreign Missionary Society of New York and Brooklyn. Pp. 57. New York: 1865.
Photographic Views of Egypt, Past and Present. 12mo. Glasgow : 1854. The President's Fast: Discourse upon our National Crimes and Follies. Pp. 26. New York: 1861.
Revolution against Free Government not a Right, but a Crime: Ad- dress before the Union League Club. Pp. 46. New York: 1864. The Right and Necessity of Inflicting the Punishment of Death for Murder : Sermons. Pp. 54. New Haven : 1842.
The Sergeant's Memorial. 1863.
The same, abridged.
Sermon at Dedication of Broadway Tabernacle. Pp. 26. New York: 1859.
Shall England Side with Russia ?- Letter to the Committee of Peace Society. Pp. 4. Boston : 1876.
Statement to the Evangelical Alliance in Behalf of the A. B. C. F. M. Pp. 4. Berlin : 1879.
Stray Meditations. 1852.
Teachings of the New Testament on Slavery. Pp. 52. New York: 1856. Test-hour of Popular Liberty and Republican Government. Pp. 30. New Haven : 1862.
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Theatrical Amusements : Discourse on the Character and Influence of
the Theatre. Pp. 40. New York: 1847.
The Theocratic Principle; or, Religion the Bond of the Republic: Ser- mon in Behalf of the American Home Missionary Society. Pp. 27. New York: 1868.
The Theology of Christ from His Own Words. 12mo. New York : 1872.
The United States as a Nation : Lectures on the Centennial of American Independence. 12mo. Boston: 1877.
The Uses of Affliction to the Ministers of Christ: Sermon. Pp. 16. New York: 1847.
Vice Progressive: Sermon to Young Men. Pp. 24. New York: 1846. The Word of Life the Law of Missions: Sermon before the A. B. C. F. M. Pp. 31. Boston : 1867.
The Workman: His False Friends and his True Friends.
Young Men Admonished. (First edition of "Lectures to Young Men.") 1846.
Contributions to the New Englander, North American Review, Bib- liotheca Sacra, Journal of the American Geological and Statistical Society, Kitto's Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature.
I
Some Appreciations of Joseph P. Thompson.
Extract from Resolutions adopted by the New York and Brooklyn Association in Conference with the Bedford Congregational Church, November 1, 1871, on motion of Rev. William I. Budington :
" Resolved, That this Association acknowledges with grateful recog- nition his long continued and valuable services in the support and vindication of our Congregational Christianity in the days of its weak- ness and infancy here, and attributes much of its present extension and influence to his indefatigable labors in its behalf.
" Resolved, secondly, That in the conscientious studies which have enlarged our Christian literature, in the particular labor which con- tributed to the support of our Nation's life in its great conflict, and in the earnest discussions which vindicated the cause of Freedom against Slavery in the past, Dr. Thompson bears among us a record and a remembrance honorable both to him and the cause of our Lord."
Part of the minute put upon record of the Conference of the Congre- gational Churches of New York and Brooklyn and Vicinity, November 9, 1871 :
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