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A public-domain text about Boston, accessioned whole so the archive can quote it.","text_extract":"\nThis is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project \nto make the world's books discoverable online. \n\nIt has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject \nto copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books \nare our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. \n\nMarks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the \npublisher to a library and finally to you. \n\nUsage guidelines \n\nGoogle is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the \npublic and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to \nprevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. \n\nWe also ask that you: \n\n+ Make non- commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for \npersonal, non-commercial purposes. \n\n+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine \ntranslation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the \nuse of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. \n\n+ Maintain attribution The Google \"watermark\" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find \nadditional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. \n\n+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just \nbecause we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other \ncountries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of \nany specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner \nanywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe. \n\nAbout Google Book Search \n\nGoogle's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers \ndiscover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web \n\n\n\nat jhttp : //books . qooqle . com/ \n\n\n\nJSS/3/&9* \"O'S./O \n\n\n\nHARVARD COLLEGE \nLIBRARY \n\n\n\n\nFROM THE \n\nwinslow lewis \n\nCOLLECTION OF TRACTS \nGift of the \n\nNew England \nHistoric Genealogical Society \n\nNovember 26, 19x7 \n\n\n\n/ \n\n\n\n\n\nSERMON, \n\n\n\nPREACHED IN THE \n\n\n\nWEST CHURCH IN BOSTON, JANUARY 2, 1831, \n\n\n\nA QUARTER OF A CENTURY \n\n\n\nFROM THE \n\n\n\nSETTLEMENT OF THE PRESENT MINISTER. \n\n\n\nBY CHARLES LOWELL, \n\nMINISTER OF THE WEST CHURCH. \n\n\n\nPRINTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE \nOF THE PARISH. \n\n\n\nBOSTON : \nBOSTON PRESS WATER STREET. \n\n1831. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nFor obvious reasons, whilst the author of this sermon has \ncomplied with the request that it should be printed, he has not \npublished it. \n\n\n\n;> \n\n\n\nSERMON. \n\n\n\n1 John II. 17. \n\n\n\nTHE WORLD FASSXTH AWAT. \n\n\n\nA few hours only are gone since we entered on a \nnew year. Yesterday all was joy and congratula- \ntion. Children hastened to greet their parents with \nthe salutations of the season ; and parents, with full, \nbut anxious, hearts, responded to the greeting. Kind \nwishes were heard from every quarter. They were \nuttered by the sober and the gay; — in the careless lan- \nguage of thoughtlessness, and in the earnest language \nof sincerity. The coldest heart was warmed. \n\nTo-day is the christian sabbath. You come hith- \ner to have the subject of yesterday's congratulations \nrepeated. — And you will not be disappointed. The \nwish of yesterday, that the new year might be a \nhappy one, is the wish of to-day. The language \nthat was then uttered by the fire-side, in the streets, \n\n\n\n4 \n\nand on the exchange, may be uttered in the house \nof God. \n\nBut the christian sabbath is a day for serious re- \ncollection, and sober thought ; and the wish that was \nheard in the ordinary scenes of life, assumes a graver \ncharacter, and a tone of deeper and more solemn feel- \ning, when it is breathed in this place. To congrat- \nulate you merely on the return of a new year, would \nneither become my profession, nor the relation I bear to \nyou. It is but one day in seven that is devoted to \nthe public service of God, and nothing should min- \ngle with that service which is not promotive of spir- \nitual improvement. It is but one sabbath in the \nyear that, in the journey of life, we stand on the \neminence, on which we now stand, with an opportu- \nnity so favorable for pointing you back to the years \nwhich have gone by, and forward to those which may \nbe yet in store for you. \n\nThe voice of religious congratulation is a mon- \nitory one, and it is in unison, if I mistake not, \nwith the sentiments of every reflecting mind. It \nis true that we have arrived at the beginning of \na new year, — but it is also true that another year \nof life is gone. If a new year has begun its course, \nthe days of the old year are numbered and fin- \nished. Though dead, they yet speak, and, uniting \ntheir voice with the year that is begun, they teach \nthe lesson of the text, — the instability and inconstan- \n\n\n\ns \n\n\n\ncy of earthly things. It is the voice of God, Na- \nture, with its unnumbered tongues, re-echoes it. Day \nUtters it to day, and night to night. The barren \nfields, and leafless trees, repeat it. Everywhere, \nand in everything, it speaks to us. Memory hears it \nin the past, imagination in the future. It is told in \nthe knell of the departing year. It is told by the \nyet voiceless year that is to come. \n\nThe world passeth away ; — its state and condition ; \nits manners and customs ; its pomp and beauty ; its \nenjoyments and business and cares ; — everything that \nemploys the desires and projects of its inhabitants. — \nThe gay appearances of the world are constantly \nchanging. Every day they assume a new form, \nshowing us how unstable and deceitful they are, — \nthat they are dreams and shadows. \n\nOne generation, active in business, eager after en- \njoyment, displays itself, for a while, on the stage, \nand vanishes. Another succeeds, acts over again the \nsame part in the drama of life, and, like the preceding, \ndeparts, and is no more seen. As we call up the \nvisions of the past, what a multitude of unsubstantial, \nshadowy forms, are dimly descried in the long — \nlong distance ! — a multitude that no man can number ! \nAnd such as these shadowy forms appear to us, \nshall we, my hearers, appear to those who come af- \nter us. They, too, shall call up the vision of the \n\n\n\npast, and we, who are now acting our part on the \nstage of life, shall come, in that vision, with those \nwho have been. We shall come to the domestic cir- \ncle which we have once gladdened, or saddened, by our \npresence. We shall come to the musings of affection, in \nits solitary hour, in sweet or bitter recollection. We \nshall come to the house of God, as the new year comes \nround, and the thoughts go back to the years that went \nbefore. We shall come, as bright examples, shed- \nding a clear and steady light on the path of duty ; \nor, as awful warnings, casting a gloomy shade upon \nthe way we have trod. Yes, my hearers, the time \nis coming when nothing but the memory of our \ncharacters shall remain of us. The time is coming, \nperhaps, when even that remembrance will be lost, — \nwhen our memory shall have perished, and, in the \nvisions of the past, no eye of affection will seek us \nout,— when we shall be undistinguished in the crowd. \nThe world passeth away. The world itself, when \nall its airy forms are dissipated, will give place to a \n' new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth \nrighteousness.' \n\nIt is to such sentiments, it is to a deep and melan- \ncholy feeling of the instability and inconstancy of \nearthly things, and to the contemplation of a world \nwhere there is no change, that I am led by the in- \nteresting period at which we are now arrived. In- \n\n\n\nforesting to all, — peculiarly interesting to me, for a \nquarter of a century is completed since, in the house \nwhich occupied the spot on which this church is \nerected, I stood to be invested with the sacred \noffice. It would be unbecoming, if it were possible, \nfor me to give vent to the feelings which fill my breast \non this occasion. I would rather, in silence and \nsolitude, bow my spirit in humble adoration, and \nunfeigned humility, before God. \n\nIn the freshness of youth, and, as I trust, with a \nsincere purpose of fidelity, I came to this work. \nThe freshness of youth is gone, and I may lament, \nthough I may not proclaim, how much of good I had \npurposed which I have not done. \n\nFor a series of years from the commencement of \nmy ministry, in consequence of the advanced age of \nsome of my brethren, and the infirmities of others, a \nlarge portion of the duty which peculiarly belonged \nto no one, devolved upon me. The encroachment \nupon my more appropriate duties was not inconsid- \nerable. But if it brought with it evils, I trust it \nbrought with it also some lessons of wisdom and \nexperience, which have not been without their use \nto myself, and to you. \n\nWhen 1 came here, our churches were at peace. \nTheir ministers were of * one heart,* if not * of one \nmind. 9 The 'root of bitterness,' which has since \n\n\n\n8 \n\nsprung up to trouble us, and which, at a former pe- \nriod, had brought forth its bitter fruits of alienation \nand strife, had not again been planted. All the \ncongregational churches in this place united in the \ncouncil, and the ministers of all denominations, I \nhave reason to believe, were present at the ordi- \nnation. \n\nThis peace has been disturbed, — a ' wall of parti- \ntion ' has been erected, — christians who were once \nunited in spirit, are now divided, — weapons have \nbeen used which were not spiritual, — the congre- \ngational church is ' a house divided against itself.' \nNor is this division confined to congregationalists. I \n. know of no denomination into which the spirit of \ndisunion has not entered. I have taken no part in \nthis controversy. If it has been useful, I have not \ndeemed it so. To me, it has seemed to be a dis- \npute about speculative theology, and not about re- \nligion, and I have mourned that religion, and not \ntheology, has borne the blame of it. In this so- \nciety, there has been no interruption, — not even \nfor a moment,— of the harmony and confidence \nthat have subsisted between us. \n\nIt was said, in the obituary of one of my distin- \nguished predecessors, that, 'at his ordination, he \npromised, like a true christian, to take the holy \nscriptures as the only rule of faith and practice ; ' — \n\n\n\nthat ' he despised the shackles of creeds and confes- \nsions, and steadfastly refused to teach for doctrines \nthe commandments of men ; ? — that ' he was a hearty \nlover of all good men, let their peculiar sentiments \non some points of doctrine, be ever so different from \nhis' own. ? \n\nIt was the effect of the independent ground he \nhad taken, that, of the five churches called to assist \nin his ordination, two did not attend, and a third be- \ning, from another cause, prevented, the ordination \nwas postponed. The two churches which declined \nattendance were the First Church, and the church \nin Brattle Street, In the First Church, however, \none, of the ministers was his sincere and steadfast \nfriend, prayed at his funeral, and paid a tribute \nof respect to his memory, in his' church, on the \nsabbath after his interment* \n\nThe two churches that were present, were the \nfirst church in Cambridge, Mr Appleton, and the \nfirst church in Hingham, Mr Gay, A large major- \nity of the second council, — eleven out of fifteen, — se- \nlected entirely from the country, attended, and \na minister was inducted to this charge who was es- \nteemed in his life, and pronounced at his death, ' as \n\n* Dr Chauncy. He performed a similar service at the Old South \nChurch, on the Lord's day after the funeral of Dr Sewall. \n\n2. \n\n\n\n10 \n\nbrilliant a genius as this country had ever produced.' \nBut, more than all, he was ' a man of real piety and \ntrue devotion,' as eminent for his christian graces, as \nfor his intellectual endowments. He has given this \nchurch a distinction, of which it may not indeed be \nproud, but in which it may well rejoice. It will \never be associated with his name as maintaining the \ntrue principles of the reformation. May it never \nforfeit its title to this honorable distinction ! \n\nThe churches which alone attended on the first \ncouncil summoned, were present at the second ; and \nit may be further stated that the ministers of both \nof them took a part in the ordination of the next \npastor,* Mr Gay of Hingham offering the prayer \nof ordination, and giving the charge, and Mr Apple- \nton of Cambridge presenting the ' right hand,' and \nthus welcoming the pastor elect to the fellowship \nof the churches. \n\nThe successor of Mayhew, an eminently wise and \ngood man, followed in his steps, and neither brought \nhimself, nor his people, under 'the yoke of bondage.' \nHe did not enter, indeed, like his great predecessor, \ntipdri the thorny field of controversy, but, like him, \nhe asserted his independence, and inflexibly main- \ntained the sufficiency of the scriptures, and the in- \n\n* Dr Howard. \n\n\n\n11 \n\ndefeasible right of every man to search and judge for \nhimself. It was his own language, with respect to \nthe duty of a christian minister, that he should * sub- \nscribe no man's creed, and require no man to sub- \nscribe his.' ' I know not,' he says, * how to recon- \ncile the conduct of those, who set up other stan- \ndards of orthodoxy, besides the holy scriptures, with \nthat superior regard which is due to those sacred \nwritings.' * \n\nIt has been my ambition, like those who have \ngone before me in this church, to keep myself free \nfrom the shackles of human authority ; and, to this \nend, I have adopted neither the name, nor the creed, \nof any party. If I had selected any other name \nthan that which the first disciples bore, it would \nhave been eclectic, — taking from each party what \nseemed to me to be truth, — but better than any \nother name, is the name of christian, and better \nthan all other creeds, the word of God. This name \nis as definite, and this creed is surely as intelligible, \nas any other. Whilst, however, I would build my \nfaith on no man's foundation, in matters of religion, \nI have an entire respect for him who diligently and \ndevoutly studies his bible in search of truth ; and \nthough he may come to a result different from my \n\n* Sermon at the Ordination of Mr Thomas Adama, 1791, \n\n\n\n12 \n\nown, if I perceive in him the fruits of holy living, 1 \nhave no anxiety to convert him to my faith, how \never dear it may be to me. The faith that is best \nfor me, may not be best for him. — I am satisfied \nwith his faith, if it is productive of good works. I \nremember that the Saviour has said, By their fruits \nye shall know them ; and that an apostle, too, has \nsaid, Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will \nshow thee my faith by my works. \n\nTwentyfive years ago, I looked forward to this \nperiod as a long ministry, — a period I had no san- \nguine expectation of reaching ; but how swiftly has \nit gone ! And yet, when I remember through what \nvarious scenes I have passed, to how many I have \nministered in health and sickness, in joy and sorrow; \nhow many have received from me the seal ofdis- \ncipleship in the ordinance of baptism, — many of \nwhom have grown up around me ; — and how often \nI have offered my prayers over the cold remains of \nthose whom I respected and loved, it seems as if this \nperiod of twentyfive years was greatly extended. \nWhat great and affecting changes have taken place ! \nWhat vicissitudes have I witnessed in this time! \nHow many do I miss* from the places they once \noccupied I— Our fathers, where are they? — Of the \nministers, of all denominations, who were here at \nthe time to which we have looked back, only two \n\n\n\n13 \n\nremain in their churches, and but four are living. In \nthe congregational churches but one remains.* \nEvery church, but this, has had a new minister in \nthis time, and most of them more than one. \n\nWhat a fearful void has occurred in this society \nduring this period ! Of the forty, who were pro- \nprietors at the settlement of the present minister, \nthirtyone are dead. — In some instances, whole fami- \nlies have disappeared ; — the places which once knew \nthem, know them no more. — Of the sixtysix who were \nreceived to communion with the church during the \nministry of my immediate predecessor, eight or nine \nonly are living ; — of the thirtynine who were admit- \nted in the ministry immediately previous, not one. \nOf the four hundred and thirtyone who have been re- \nceived within the last tWentyfive years, ninetyfive are \ndead.f Four remain in the parish who were bap- \ntized by Dr Mayhew, fortyeight who were baptized \nby Dr Howard, and four who received this rite in \nthe year and a half immediately succeeding his death. \nTwo, — and probably the only survivors, — who were \nbaptized by the first minister of the church, havQ died \n\n* Dr Channing, who was settled in 180). \n\nt Nine, in addition to those mentioned above, were received to com- \nmunion on the day this sermon was preached. The number of communi- \ncants is probably about four hundred. \n\n\n\n14 \n\nthe past year, at the ages of eightynine and ninety.* , \nIn the present ministry there are recorded eleven hun- \ndred and fiftyfive baptisms, including eightysix adults ; \nsix hundred and nine marriages ; t and the obsequies \nof nine hundred and twentyfive. Of these, four hun- \ndred and eighty had reached the age of twentyone \nyears, sixty nine that of seventy years, and six of nine- \nty years ; — the oldest ninetythree. \n\nWhen I contemplate, as I now do, the past and \nthe present, I seem as if I were standing, like Aaron, \n4 between the dead and the living,' — or rather be- \ntween the inhabitants of the present, and the eter- \nnal world. I behold a large congregation, to whom \nI have ministered, both within, and beyond, the \nboundary of time. I tremble whilst I reflect on the \ninfluence that what I have done, or left undone, has \nhad on the condition of those who have passed the \nboundary, and are dwellers in eternity. I tremble \nwhilst I turn to you, and reflect on the influence that \nwhat I may yet do, or leave undone, may have on \nyour final destiny, — on my own. I look forward, \nas I have looked backward, twentyfive years, — and \n\n* Harrison Gray, who died in London, Feb. 26th, and Benjamin Hall, \nwho died at Watertown, March 12th. \n\nt The number was 409, April 1818, the time of the minister's removal to \nCambridge. For a few years previous, the average number was from 40 \nto 50. This event has since subtracted from the number nearly all but \nhis own parishioners. \n\n\n\n15 \n\nby whom am I surrounded ? — Where do 1 stand ? — \nOmniscient God ! to whom the future is as the \npast, — it is known only to Thee ! — In thine infinite \n\nMERCY, PREPARE US FOR THY WILL ! \n\nI remember this day your kindness, your sympa- \nthy, your \"forbearance and candor. If they have \nnot been deserved by the importance and value of \nthe services rendered; there has been some claim \nto them from the desire that has been felt to pro- \nmote your welfare. — 1 have been c with Jon without \nfear.' * 1 have kept back nothing which I deemed \nprofitable to you,— but have showed you, and taught \nyou publicly, and from house to house, ' I have re- \njoiced with you in your joy, and * in all your afflic- \ntions have been afflicted.' — In a little while, we must \nboth appear before God — I, to give an account of how \nI have taught ; — you, of how you have heard.* \n\nI enter, with you, upon a new year, with good \npurposes. It is my highest ambition to be a faith- \nful minister of Jesus Christ, and it would be my \nhighest earthly reward to know that I had not labor- \ned in vain. \n\nWe commence this year with uncertain prospects. \nWe strive to turn over the page on which its events \nare written, — but it is sealed. We stretch our ach- \n\n* Lukeviii. 13. \n\n\n\n16 \n\ning sight into the distance before us, — but it is vain. \nWe can descry nothing with certainty. Conjecture \nmust supply its place, and how fallacious conjecture \nis, our past experience will teach us. But our times \nare in God's hands, and there we may safely leave \nthem. With devout gratitude for his jfast. mercies, \nand with humble, yet firm, reliance for the future, let \nus enter on this year. \n\nMost of us have been doomed to know, — and \nsome of us on the very threshold of the year, — how \nsad a tale a year can tell. May the admonitions of \nthose, who can now only address us in a voice from \nthe tomb, reach our hearts with an impression which \nshall never be effaced ! May they excite us, by the \ngrace of God, to fulfil with diligence the duties of \nlife, — to give ourselves to God in Christ,— that \nwhen we, too, shall address others in the silent lan- \nguage of the grave, it may come to them with the \nmore effect from the recollection that we had been \nourselves mindful of the warnings of mortality. \n\nThe world passeth away, — and we are passing \naway with it. \n\n\n\n( Life speeds away, \n\n\n\nFrom point to point, though seeming to stand still. \n\nThe cunning fugitive is swift by stealth : \n\nToo subtle is the movement to be seen ; \n\nTet soon man's hour is up, — and we are gone.' \n\n\n\nAPPENDIX. \n\n\n\nThe West Church was formed January 3d, 1737. By an error of the press, \nin the discourse, containing a history of the church, printed in 1821, it is stated \nto have been July, instead of January. The first minister, William Hooper, was \nfrom Scotland. He was ordained May 18th, 1737, and, having become an \nepiscopalian, resigned his office in 1746. I am indebted to the kindness of \nWilliam Lincoln, Esq., of Worcester, for the following extract from the Boston \nEvening Post of Nov. 24th, 1746. ' Wednesday last, the proprietors of Trinity \nChurch in this town made choice of the Rev. Mr William Hooper (then settled \npastor of the church in the West part of the town) for their minister, in the \nroom of the Rev. Mr Addington Davenport, deceased. Mr Hooper imme- \ndiately accepted the call, and is going home for orders in the Chester man-of- \nwar, which we hear is to sail to-day or to-morrow. This event is the more sur- \nprising, as Mr Hooper had never signified his intention to any of his hearers, \nnor was there the least difference between him and them; and 'tis generally \nthought no minister in the country was ever better respected and supported by \nhis people than Mr Hooper has been. 1 Mr Hooper died very suddenly, April \n14th, 17*7, much lamented. His wife was a twin sister of Mr John Dennie, \nan eminent merchant, father of Thomas Dennie, Esq. His son, who graduat- \ned at Harvard College in 1760, was member of Congress from North Carolina, \nand one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The second min- \nister, Jonathan Mayhew, a native of Martha's Vineyard, was ordained June 17, \n1747, and died July 9th, 1766, eet. 46. The third minister, Simeon Howard, \na native of Bridgewater, now W. Bridgewater, was ordained May 6, 1767, and \ndied Aug. 13, 1804, rot. 71. The present minister, a native of Boston, was or- \ndained Jan. 1, 1806. He was the 58th congregational minister ever settled in \nBoston, and there have been 32 since settled. \n\nFrom a correspondence, in 1740, between Dr Colman and Mr Hooper, to \nwhich my attention has been directed by my friend Mr Palfrey, and which I \nfind in MSJ. in the Historical Society's library, I am led to think that Mr \nHooper's greater liberality of sentiment than some of his brethren, had an in- \nfluence in determining him to leave the congregational communion, fl* fet- \nters on both sides are written in the true spirit of Christianity. That Mr H. \nwas not influenced by pecuniary motives in leaving this parish, I think is evi- \ndent from the following statement, given by Douglas in 1750, by which it ap- \npears probable that Mr Hooper's society stood second in the town in point of \nnumbers and ability ; — certainly in liberality. * The ability and numbers of the \n, several religious societies,' he says, ' may be gathered from a Sunday's contribu- \ntion for charity to the poor of the town, distressed for want of fire-wood in the \nhard winter, Feb. 1740—1. Dr Cutler (Christ Church) 72/. 14*. 2d. Mr Price \n(Chapel) 134/. 10*. Mr Davenport (Trinity) 133/. 3*. Zd. Mr Welsteed f (New \nBrick, now 2d Church) 58/. Mr Hooper 143/. Mr Foxcroft, (First Church) 951. \nFrench Church 14/. 11*. 3c/. Anabaptist, 14/. 2*. Irish Presbyterian (now Fed- \n\n3 \n\n\n\n18 \n\neral Street Church,) 27Z. bs. Mr Checkley (New South) 72/. 12s. Mr Byles (Hol- \nlis Street) 40/. 2s. Dr Colman (Brattle Street) 164/. 10*. Dr Sewall (Old South) \n105Z. Mr Webb (New North) 105/. Mr Gee (2d Church) 71/. 10*. bd. \nThe Thanksgiving contributions, which commenced in 1809, have amounted \nto about $4193 ; the collections at the communion, (which are given, after a \nsmall deduction, to the poor) for twenty five years, to about $4925. Beside these, \nthere have been contributions, at various times, for sufferers at a distance, and \non three Fast days. Among other collections, about $600 were collected some \nyears since, chiefly through the exertions, as I believe, of Thomas Dennie, Esq., \nfor the poor of the town, in consequence of a sermon preached by the pastor, \nand two hundred and thirtytwo dollars more recently, for the poor of the parish, \nby the late benevolent Mr John A. Bacon. A bequest of $500, to the poor \nof the society, by Mrs Eliot, was one among the numerous acts of benevolence \nof that excellent lady. Mr Eliot, it may bo remembered, gave thirty or forty \nthousand dollars to valuable public objects. \n\nThe present house of worship was dedicated Nov. 27th, 1806, and cost about \n$52,000. An additional expense of $483 was incurred in 1809, for the sup- \nport of the roof, and a new roof was put on in 1823, at an expense of $4600. \nThe cost of the furnace, the same year, was $300 ; of the new collection of \npsalms and hymns, same year, $750; of the organ made in England, first \nused Jan. 18th, 1818, $3000 ; of the new bell in 1824, (the other having been \nbroken) weighing 1456 lbs. $560 ; deducting $219, the amount of the old bell, \nweighing 878 lbs. leaves $341. In 1823, a silver pitcher, of the value of $100, \nwas presented to the present treasurer, who was chosen in 1812, with this \ninscription, c Presented by the \"West Boston Society to N. P. Russell, Esq. \nas a memorial of their resDect for his assiduous services as treasurer. Boston, \nApril 3d, 1823. 1 The immediate predecessor of Mr Russell, was James \nPrince, Esq., an ardent Mend of the parish, who died, deeply regretted, Feb. \n10th, 1821, aged 63. In 1824, through the exertions, chiefly, of Charles G. \nLoring and' William II. Eliot, Esqs., the present beautiful pulpit was substi- \ntuted for the former one, at an expense of about $1500. To the latter gen- \ntleman it is owing that our church music, for several years, has taen ex- \ncelled by none in the city. The inside clock, given by the late John Derby, Esa,., \na man much honored and beloved, and the outside clock, are both noticed m \nthe historical sermon printed in 1821. The current expenses of the Society, \nfor the support of public worship for twenty five years, averaging $3000, has \nbeen $75,000. The tax is at the rate of eleven cents per week, on $100 \nof the valuation. The present number of proprietors is about 150 ; — of families \nabout 330. Some are gratified with minute details, and, as far as they are \nproper in a document designed only for the parish, they can be given. In re- \ngard to many of the particulars mentioned hi this appendix, it may be found \nconvenient to have a memorandum of them at hand. It will be gratifying to \nsome, to know that the children first baptized in the present church, were John, \nson of Mr Andrew Calhoun, and brother of the Speaker of the House of \nRepresentatives, Matilda, daughter of Mr Ebenezer Eaton, and Jonathan Dix, \nson,of Mr Jonathan Goodwin. The first child baptized in the old church Was \n%twDaV»son of Mr Thomas Winter. The lost in that church were the \nchildren of Deacon Haskell, a child of Mr J. Cushing, and of Mr D. Wise. \n\nThose, from the parish, who have graduated at Harvard College, since 1820, \nwhen the history of the society was last given, are Francis Cabot Lowell, Charles \nW. Upham, Joseph S. Hubbart, Edward Jackson Lowell, Henry S. Wade, \nWilliam G. Prince, George W. Wells, William P. Matchett, Benjamin \nBrigham, Francis Cunningham, Augustus S. Doane, Charles Phineas \nFoster, John C. Howard, Charles Russell Lowell, Charles Ritchie, Fran- \ncis Caleb Loring, Charles Tracy Murdoch, John A. Swett, Andrew Ritchie, \nSamuel B. Babcock. Those now in college are George C. Shattuck, Horace \nDupee, John S. Perkins, George A. Eaton, Robert T. S. Lowell, John Murdoch, \nand Thomas B. Pope. \n\n\n\n19 \n\nThe oldest person in the society, who was baptized here, is Mrs Susanna \nLapham, whose father, Mr Thomas Pillsbury, was a member during the min- \nistry of Mr Hooper. The ancestors of Mrs Derby, and of the children of Dr \nShattuck, were contemporary with the formation of the society . The father of \nthe late Mr Avery, of Mr Jones, of the late Mr Prince, of Mrs Langdon and Mr \nC. \"Walley, of Mr Eliot, of Miss Jackson, were proprietors in Dr Mayhew's \nministry. The late Mr B. Vose, an upright, honorable man, whose daughter \nis still with us, was also then a member of the society. Of the proprietors in . \nJanuary, 1806, all but one, who are in the city, are with us; viz. Mr Carnes, \nMr Gore, Mr Dennie, Mr Jones, Mr Loring, Mr Jonas Coolidge, and Mr C. \nWalley, who was proxy for his father. A list of the proprietors at the time of \nDr Mayhew's death, I have inserted in the church records. \n\nThe separate publications of the ministers of the church, as far as I know \nthem, have been as follows : \n\nMr Hooper. ' Christ the Life of true Believers,' a sermon, from Colos. iii. 4- \n1741. * The Apostles neither Impostors nor Enthusiasts,' a sermon from Acts \nxxvi. 25. 1742. ' Jesus Christ the only \"Way to the Father,' sermon from John \n\nxiv. 6. 1742. Sermon at the Funeral of Thomas Greene, Esq. 1763. Dr \n\nMayhew. Seven sermons, 'on the Difference between Right and Wrong, &c.' \n1749. Sermon on the 30th of January, 1750. Sermon on the Death of Fred- \neric Prince of Wales, 1751. Election Sermon, 1754. Two Discourses on the Earth- \nquakes, November 23d, 1755. Two Discourses on the Earthquakes, Dec. 13, 1755. \nFourteen sermons, ' on Hearing the Word, &c.' 1755. Two Thanksgiving Ser- \nmons, 1758. Two Thanksgiving Discourses on the Reduction of Quebec, \n1759. Sermon occasioned by the Great Fire in Boston, March 20th, 1760. \nTwo Thanksgiving Discourses on the Reduction of Canada, 1760. Discourse on \nthe Death of Chief Justice Sewall, 1760. Thirteen Sermons on Ps. cxix. 59, \n60. 1760. Discourse on the Death of George II. and Accession ofGeorge III. 1761. \nTwo Sermons on Luke xiii. 24. 1761. Two Thanksgiving Sermons for Decem- \nber 9th, 1762. 1763. Eight Sermons to Young Men, with two Thanksgiving \nSermons, 1763. ' Observations on the Character and Conduct of the Society for \nPropagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts,' 1763. ' Reply to Candid Observations, \n&c.' ' Remarks on an Anonymous Tract, &c.' ' Letter of Reproof to Mr John \nCleaveland, of Ipswich,' 1764. Dudleian Lecture from 2 Cor. vi. 16. 1765. \nThanksgiving Discourse on the Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766. Dr How- \nard. Artillery Election Sermon, 1773. Sermon on the Death of his Wife, 1777. \nSermon before the Free Masons, 1778. ' Christians no Cause to be ashamed of \ntheir Religion,' a Sermon, 1779. Election Sermon, 1780. Sermon at the Or- \ndination of Thomas Adams, 1791. The present minister. Artillery \n\nElection Sermon, 1810. Sermon at the State Prison, 1812. Sermon before \nthe Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Piety, and Charity. 1816. \nSermon after the Execution of H. P. S. Davis, 1817. Sermon before the \nSociety for Propagating the Gospel, 1820. Century Sermon, containing a \nHistory of the West Church, 1821. Sermon at the Ordination of R. M. \nHodges, 1821. Sermon at the Ordination of S. Barrett, 1825. ' The Christian \nSpirit,' a Sermon at the ordination of G. W. Wells, 1827. « The Name»of \nChristian the only appropriate Name for Believers in Christ,' sermon at the \ndedication of 3d congregational church in Cambridge, 1828. ' The Trinitarian \nControversy, ' sermon at ordination of D. M. Stearns, 1828. 'Union in Senti- \nment among Christians not essential to Peace,' a sermon at dedication of the \nchurch in Natick, 1829. ' Theology and not Religion the Source of Division and \nStrife in the Christian Church,' a sermon at ordination of J. L. Sibley, 1829. \nSermon at dedication of a church in Milton, 1829. ■ The Wisdom and Good- \nness of God in the Appointment of Men and not Angels to the Christian Min- \nistry,' a sermon at the ordination of D. H. Barlow, Lynn, and of R. F. Wall- \ncutjBerlin, 1830^' * Men accountable only to God for their Religious Opinions, • \na sermon at the ordination of J. Fessenden, at Deerfield, and W. Barry, Jr. at \n\n) \n\n\n\n20 \n\nLowell, 1831. Sermon on Completing a Gtuartcr of a Century of his Ministry, \n1831. Three discourses were published in this country on the death of Dr \nMayhew ; viz. by Dr. Chauncy, Mr Gay, and Mr Brown, and an Eclogue to his \nmemory, by B. Church, M. D. The discourses delivered on the death of Dr \nHoward were not published. \n\nDr Mayhew (owing, as it is understood, to difference of opinion) was not \nadmitted a member of the Boston Association of Congregational Ministers. It \nis customary to apply for admission. \"Whether Dr Mayhew, from an impres- \nsion he should not be received, did not apply, or applied and was refused, 1 can- \nnot say. By an extract from the records of the association, furnished me by \nmy friend Mr Young, the present scribe, it appears that, Aug. 0, 1784, a commit- \ntee (Mr Eckley and Mr Clarke,) appointed at a former meeting, 'to wait \non Rev. Mr Howard, and know of him whether he wished to join the Association, \nreported that they had attended that service, and the Rev. Mr Howard would \ntake the matter into consideration.' It appears, further, that July 4th, 1790, Dr \nHoward signified his desire to be admitted, and was admitted accordingly, and \nwas requested to preach the Thursday Lecture. On this subject, my much re- \nspected friend, Dr Porter, the pastor of my childhood and youth, who was a \nmember of the Association in 1784, remarks — f T never heard that he (Dr H.) de- \nsired, or was invited, to become a member of the Association, till the time you \nmention, when an exclusive spirit had yielded to liberal principles and feelings. \nThat he did not seek admission at an earlier period, I am persuaded was not \nowing to his want of liberality and affectionate regard to his brethren, but to \nthe circumstances in which he found himself placed as successor to Dr Mayhew. 1 \n\nThe Association consisted, in 1806, of the ministers of the nine congrega- \ntional churches in Boston, and of the churches inRoxbury, Dorchester, Brook- \nline, Charlestown, and Chelsea. The present minister of one of the nine \n(the Old South) is not a member. It now consists of the ministers of twelve \ncongregational churches in Boston, of King's Chapel, of one in Charlestown, \nthree in Roxbury, two in Dorchester, one in Brookline, one in Chelsea, and \none at Lechmere's Point. They meet twice a month, for mutual intercourse \nand improvement. The Thursday Lecture is preached by this- association. The \nmembers of the association who have died since Jan. 1, 1806; are Dr West, Dr \nEckley, Mr Emerson, Mr Buckminister, Dr Eliot, Mr Abb0t, Mr Cary, Dr \nLathrop, Mr Thachcr, Mr Huntington, Mr Prentiss of Charlestown, Dr \nMorse of Charlestown, Mr Bradford of Roxbury, and Dr Holley. Eight of \nthese were settled before the time above mentioned. \n\nThough the ministers of the town stood aloof from Dr Mayhew, yet I have \nbeen told that they did not neglect him in Ins sickness, and had a day of fasting \nand prayer for his recovery. It is said that Dr Sewall was requested, when he \nvisited him, to question him on the subject of the trinity, which he was supposed \nto disbelieve, but that he found him in such a happy frame of mind, he forgot \nhis errand, or did not think it important to fulfil it. On being asked if he had \nsaid anything about it, in his interview, he replied, 'Oh, no, no; I believe he \nloves the Lord Jesus Christ dearly.' \n\nAt the ordination of Dr Howard, there were three churches from Boston on \nthe council, viz. the First Church, the New South, and Mr S. Mather's. This \nchurch has been invited, during Dr Howard's and the present ministry, to attend \none hundred and twentyseven councils ; forty of them in Dr Howard's ministry, \nand one between the time of his death and 1806. In some other cases, letters \nhave not been sent, when it was understood the minister could not attend. \n\nIn order to be received to communion with the church, application is made \nto the minister, and if the minister see no good reason to refuse admission, \nthe name of the applicant is enrolled on the records of the church ; and the \nperson thus enrolled, is entitled to all the privileges of membership. If the \nminister should withhold his assent, he must submit the case to the church for \ntheir decision. It is the rule that the names of the persons admitted shall be \nreported to the church ; but there is a discretionary power, in this particular, \nwith the minister. \n\n\n\nTHE BORROWER WILL BE CHARGED \nTHE COST OF OVERDUE NOTIFICATION \nIF THIS BOOK IS NOT RETURNED TO \nTHE LIBRARY ON OR BEFORE THE LAST \nDATE STAMPED BELOW. \n\n\n\n\nr? \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n086 364 957 \n\n\n\n","title":"A sermon, preached in the West Church in Boston, January 2, 1831 : being a quarter of a century from the settlement of the present minister","updated_at":"2026-09-05T09:59:47.845349Z","urn":"urn:lemay:boston:document:a-sermon-preached-in-the-west-church-in-boston-january-2-1831-being-a-quarter-of-a-century-from-the","version":1,"withdrawn_reason":null},"urn":"urn:lemay:boston:document:a-sermon-preached-in-the-west-church-in-boston-january-2-1831-being-a-quarter-of-a-century-from-the","version_history":[{"change_note":"accessioned from the Internet Archive, item gb2Db0mDG6CY8C","changed_by":"archive-ingest 0.1.0","recorded_at":"2026-09-05T09:59:48.136270Z","version":1}]}