The centennial discourse delivered in Westhampton, Mass., Sept. 3d, 1879, on the one hundredth anniversary of the formation of the church in that town

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ONE HUNDRED YEARS

OF A

NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH.

THE

CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE

DELIVERED IN

Westh.^mpton, Mass., Sept. 3D, 1879,

THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY

FORMATION OF THE CHURCH IN THAT TOWN.

By DORUS CLARKE, D.D.,

BOSTON:

LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS.

1879.

THE
, ,,iWYOFlK
PUBLIC LIBRARY

ftstor, Lenox and Tilden^

Foundations.

1896

BINDINdl
NUMBER
OF 1899.

[4

"49

o

OXE HUNDRED YEARS

NEW-EXGLAND CHURCH

Jeremiah, 6: i6 — Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways
and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and
walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.

**\Vays" are not necessarily " good," because
they are "old," or necessarily "bad," because they
are "new," — that depends on circumstances.
The world, as a general fact, is doubtless advan-
cing in science, in literature, in art, in culture, in
politics, in philosophy, in religion, while, at the
same time, in some departments, or in some
aspects of all these departments, it may sometimes
be stationary or even retrograding. George Can-
ning, a brilliant Premier of Great Britain, used to
say, that " the House of Commons, as a body, had
better taste than the man of the best taste in it."
The whole is sometimes better than the best of

ONE HUNDRED YEARS

the parts. When we say, then, that ''the former
days were better than these," in order to get at
the exact truth, we should take a comprehensive
view of the case, look into the particulars, and
ascertain what it was which made them better.
As I am now to lay before you some of the leading
facts in the history of this church, I must do it
under this restriction, and try to find out in what
respects the ''old ways" of our fathers, in which
we are required to "walk," were "better" than
the present, so that we may "walk therein, and
find rest for our souls."

Lord Macaulay says, that " any people who are
indifferent to the noble achievements of remote
ancestors, are not likely to achieve any thing
worthy to be remembered by their descendants."
Let us, then, attempt to look into the deeds of
the Fathers of this Church, not with a blind reve-
rence for what they did, whether it was good or
bad, but with that discrimination which will
enable us to ascertain what was good in their
example, and with the resolution to profit by it.

One hundred years ago, Sept. ist, 1779, ^^^'^
beloved Cono;re2:ational Church was formed. It

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCFL

was at an important epoch in the history of human
affairs. The Revolutionary war was then in prog-
ress. The liberties of the country hung trem-
bling in the balance. Whether the Declaration of
Independence, which had just been issued, could
be made good, was a question which fixx-d the
attention of the whole civilized world. Edmund
Burke was thundering in the House of Commons
against the coercive policy of Great Britain, and,
on the other side, Bishop Horsely said, in the
House of Lords, that he '' did not know what the
mass of the people in any country had to do with
the laws, except to obey them." Our fathers
thought differently. They held that " taxation
and representation " ought to go together, and
that those who had to "obey" the laws ought to
have some hand in making them. This was the
idea which lay at the bottom of that terrible con-
flict, and our fathers "fought it out on that line"
from Lexington to Yorktown. The mother coun-
try was determined that the "rebels," as she was
pleased to call them, should "obey" her laws, and
the "rebels" were equally determined not to
"obey " them. France was preparing to take our

ONE HUNDRED YEARS

side in that great contest. Three miUions of
people, scattered from Maine to Georgia, were in
a state of the highest excitement. Westhampton
then contained only about three hundred inhabit-
ants. Several of them had already left their
families in the wilderness here and had gone to
the front, and every man of them was liable to be
drafted into the army. The whole country was
ablaze with war. The very air was full of the
rumors of war and of the sounds of war.

THE FOUNDERS OF THIS CHURCH.

If that was an unpropitious time to organize a
church here, it was a time, too, when a church of
Christ was more than ever imperatively needed.
Great events are often born of great adversity.
Great adversity often graduates the ablest pupils.
The most resplendent luminary of the American
pulpit had recently left Northampton, but it illu-
minated and still illuminates these hills and val-
leys. ''The Great Awakening of 1740'' had
resulted in the hopeful conversion of some fifty
thousand souls, and in the organization of one hun-
dred and fifty new Congregational churches in

OF A NEW-ENGLAXD CHURCH.

New England, and this church was now to be
added to that number. Thus the people here had
been taught, both by adversity and mercy, to put
their trust in the Living God. "They looked unto
Him and were lightened, and their faces were not
ashamed. The poor man cried, and the Lord
heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about
them that fear Him, and delivereth them."

It was a most favorable Providential ordination,
that the places where most of the fathers and
mothers of this town originated and from whence
they came, were the very places upon which the
Great Revival of 1740 had exerted its greatest
power. It was also a most fortunate circumstance,
that their first pastor, the Rev. Enoch Hale, came
from one of those specially favored localities.
Northampton and Southampton in Massachusetts,
and Coventry and Lebanon in Connecticut, where
many of the pioneers w^ere born, had been most
signally blessed by the Holy Spirit. If any of
the early settlers had been affected by the great
heresy of that day — the old *' Half-way Covenant,"
— which was that any persons, of good moral life,

ONE HUNDRED YEARS

misfht be admitted to the church and have their
children baptized — the great influence of Jona-
than Edwards and of that Revival had exploded it
into thin air, and had emancipated them entirely
from its power. The first members of this church
were unanimous in the belief, that no person was
prepared for admission unless he had experienced
the ** new birth." They regarded that great
change to be indispensable to admission to the
church on earth and to the church in heaven. It
was on that ground alone that they considered
themselves prepared to be incorporated into a
church, or were willing that others should be re-
ceived as members ; and it is by the most stead-
fast, unwavering adherence to that principle, that
the Evangelical churches of this country have
reached their present remarkable prosperity.

When this church was formed, the members had
little idea ''whereunto it would grow." They
"builded better than they knew," and they did so
partly because they built in poverty, and perils,
and tears. Almost literally, like the Jews under
Nehemiah, ''every one with one of his hands
wroudit in the work, and with the other held a

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH.

weapon." Little did they know that the church,
whose foundations they laid here in so much
trouble and yet in faith and hope, would live a
century and have such a creditable history. For-
tunately for themselves, for their descendants, and
for the world, they were homogeneous in their
views of church polity and Christian doctrine.
They were all Congregationalists, and they were
all Calvinists. Probably but few of them had
ever read Cotton's "■ Power of the Keyes," or the
Cambridge and Saybrook Platforms, but they
were largely gifted with common sense, which is
quite as good as the best treatise on church polity.
They were eminently sagacious in religious mat-
ters, not only because they were men of sense,
but men of prayer and diligent students of the
Word of God. The remark, that Congregational-
ism is "sanctified common sense," has become
trite, but the greatest truths often seem to be
mere truisms, because they are so level with the
good sense of level-headed men. Herbert Spen-
cer affirms, that *'the best state of society is where
the freedom of the individual is the greatest possi-
ble, and governmental power the least possible,"

lO ONE HUNDRED YEARS

and that is precisely Congregationalism. What is
true of Republicanism in the State, is equally
true of Congregationalism in the Church.

The leading principles of Congregationalism,
which the Fathers of this Church cordially adopted,
are found in the New Testament. The highest
ecclesiastical authorities, such as Mosheim, Hal-
lam, Milman, Neander, Archbishop Whately, Dean
Stanley and Bishop Lightfoot, affirm, that for
the first two centuries after Christ, Congregation-
alism, or the independence of local church, was
almost the only form of church government.
When the ambitious spirit of hierarchy crept into
the church and overspread it in the form of
Popery, and made the ages ''dark" because the
light of a pure Christianity had almost ceased to
shine, the Waldenses, in the inaccessible fast-
nesses of the Alps and in the primitive and Con-
gregational spirit, for six long centuries kept the
coals of ecclesiastical freedom alive on their altars.
In 1380, Wiclif sounded the first note of liberty
in modern times, by giving the first English trans-
lation of the Bible to the world. Luther echoed
that note, when he threw his inkstand at the head

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. ii

of the devil and nailed his theses upon the door
of the Wittenberg church, and Hooper, in Eng-
land, re-echoed that note, when he positively re-
fused to be consecrated in the vestments of the
English and Romish priesthood. Richard Fitz
was the first pastor of the first Independent or
Congregational Church in Great Britain, and
Robert Browne was the first man who set forth,
in writing, that system of church order. That
system was still further matured in England by
Owen, Howe, Goodwin and others, and in Hol-
land by Robinson and Brewster. It was brought
to this country by the Pilgrims and the Puritans,
was still further improved by Cotton, Hooker and
the Mathers, and has been dovetailed together
and "compacted by that which every joint sup-
plieth " by many later writers.

The Fathers of this church were Congregation-
alists because they believed and accepted the
New Testament. Consfre^rationalism is not indeed
revealed there in a scientific form. The "judi-
cious " Hooker affirmed this great principle, that
"the omission of a point in Scripture docs not
decide against it, but only throws us upon the law

ONE HUNDRED YEARS

of reason in the matter." The framers of Congre-
tionalism into a system, in filling up the outline
drawn by the New Testament writers, were of
course thrown upon "the law of reason in the
matter," and they made good use of " reason " in
doing it. The founders of this church were more
largely endowed with good sense than with the
knowledge of books, and that told them that the
form of church government which is ^the people,
and by the people, and for the people, is the best
conceivable form. They, therefore, unanimously
adopted it. Other ecclesiastical questions, which
keep other communities in ceaseless strife, they
settled by the same means. For instance, they
saw no reason, because John the Baptist, for con-
venience' sake, baptized the multitudes in " Enon "
where there was a plenty of water, that, therefore,
when persons in Westhampton are to be baptized,
they must go to the Connecticut river or to
Sodom brook. There is no necessity for it and
no convenience in it, but the contrary. Nor,
clothecl in homespun themselves, were they so
fascinated with clerical millinery that they required
Mr. Hale to pray in white muslin and preach in

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CIIURCIT. 13

black silk. Common sense is an important factor
in Biblical interpretation, and a panacea for most
of the ecclesiastical ills of life.

But this church from the beginning has been
correct not only in its church polity, but in its
views of Christian doctrine. It has always stood
squarely upon the Westminster Confession and
Catechisms. It has not accepted them under that
elastic condition — "for substance of doctrine," —
a phrase which can cover almost any amount of
latitudinarianism, — but in the sense in which the
framers of those immortal manifestoes understood
their own language. Language, we all know,
often undergoes a change of meaning by lapse of
time, and in its interpretation it is necessary that
its terms be understood in the sense in which the
users themselves of the terms understood them.
Were this most obviously correct principle adhered
to, it w^ould, I believe, even with the present
theological philosophy, relieve those venerable
formularies of very much if not of all their ap-
parent incorrectness. When we define our terms
alike, we often find ourselves and unexpectedly
find ourselves at one, so that many of our differ-
ences are mere logomachy.

14 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

THE SETTLEMENT OF MR. HALE.

But I should observe something like chronologi-
cal order in this narrative, and must therefore at
this point give some account of the settlement of
the first pastor, the Rev. Mr. Hale. And here a
new and most important factor is introduced into
the history of this church. The settlement of a
pastor is a very important event in the history of
any church, but it was especially so in those early
days, when a church had to be organized and a
minister was to be "settled for life." Then, min-
isters gave a character to the church and people,
which few, if any, of the modern short pastorates
can possibly do. With all the favorable charac-
teristics of the original members of this church, it
is most impressive to imagine, what would have
been the history and present condition of this
town, if the first minister had been of a different
stamp. It would quite likely have revolutionized
this community. It might have introduced here
some three or four competing denominations, and
the substantial unity in ecclesiastical and political
matters which has always prevailed, would have

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 15

been destroyed. The secular education of the
town would doubtless have been greatly neglected
in the unholy strife of sectarianism. Pure revivals
of religion could hardly have existed, and the long
and honorable list of college graduates, which dis-
tinguishes this community, would be unknown.
The Assembly's Catechism would probably not
have been taught at all, and heaven would have
now a smaller population. I shudder at what
Westhampton would probably be to-day, if a pas-
tor of less piety, less wisdom, and less prudence
had been selected, or one who would have led the
people into error and ruin.

The order of events in the history of this church
was as follows : — The town was incorporated in
1778, and on the 19th day of November the same
year, — there being then no church here, — the
tozvn hired Mr. Hale to preach four Sabbaths.
The next March, the toivn voted to hire him to
preach eighteen Sabbaths more. Mark their great
deliberation and care. The town felt that very
much was at stake. The settlement of a minister
was too important a matter for haste. They heard
Mr. Hale preach as a candidate five months, and

1 6 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

then they made inquiries about him a month more
before they gave him a call. Their call was dated
Aug. nth, 1779, and on the i8th day of the same
month, having become as thoroughly acquainted
w^ith the people as they were with him, he accepted
their invitation. And here I wish to call your
attention to the transparent nobility of spirit of
both parties in arranging the matter of his salary.
The town voted to give Mr. Hale twenty acres of
land, to build him a house, and to give him a cash
salary of forty pounds the first year. The cash
salary was also to rise three pounds per year till
it should reach seventy pounds. After the first
six years of his ministry his fire wood was also to
be given him, and if all this was found insufficient,
the town agreed to make such addition as his
necessity should require and their ability permit.
Mr. Hale, in his acceptance of the call, acknowl-
edged the "generosity" of the people, and offered
to give up five pounds of the proposed salary, so
that, at the highest point, it should be only sixty-
five pounds per year instead of seventy; and if
that should be found insufficient, he would trust
the town to make such addition as his necessities
might require and their ability admit.

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH.

But no church had yet been organized here.
All, or nearly all the voters were professed Chris-
tians, so that the town itself was practically a
church in all their votes for the settlement of Mr.
Hale. 13ut they were such thorough Congrega-
tionalists that they saw that they could not prop-
erly settle a pastor, till they had a church over
which to settle him. Accordingly, only fifteen
days after Mr. Hale accepted the call, this church
was formed by the Rev. Jonathan Judd, of
Southampton, who preached the sermon, and the
Rev. Solomon Williams, of Northampton, who
offered prayer. Twenty-eight days later, or Sept.
29th, 1779, Mr. Hale was ordained. The ordaining
council were the Rev. Jonathan Judd, of South-
ampton ; the Rev. Samuel Hopkins, of Hadley ;
the Rev. Joseph Huntington, D.D., of Coventry,
Conn. ; the Rev. Joseph Lyman, of Hatfield ; the
Rev. Aaron Bascom, of Murrayfield, now Chester ;
the Re\^ Solomon Williams, of Northampton ;
and the Rev. Gershom C. Lyman, of Marlborouo-h,
Vt., and their delegates. The Rev. Mr. Judd was
Moderator, and the Rev. Joseph Lyman, Scribe.
The services were performed in the unfinished

1 8 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

barn of my grandfather, Capt Azariah Lyman.
The Rev. Mr. Bascom made the introductory
prayer ; the Rev. Dr. Huntington preached the
sermon from I. Cor., 2 : 7 ; the Rev. Mr. Hopkins
made the ordaining prayer; the Rev. Mr. Judd
gave the charge ; the Rev. Mr. WilHams the right
hand of fellowship ; and the Rev. Joseph Lyman
made the concluding prayer.

Mr. Rufus Lyman, of this town, presented
"cider, wine and apples for the ordination."

After the settlement of Mr. Hale, the educa-
tional, moral and religious condition of this town
must be ascribed, under God, to the joint influence
of the pastor and the people. Mr. Hale was very
methodical in his habits, and kept a Diary, in
which the little incidents of his life were quite
fully recorded. He was also the clerk of the
church, and every thing of any special importance
was noted down with his usual accuracy. When
I was preparing for college under his tuition I
was often permitted to see those records, and I
greatly admired their correctness and tlieir beauty.
His house was destroyed by fire in 18 16, and his
valuable library, the church records, and more

OF A A'EIV-ENGLAND CHURCH. 19

than three thousand and five hundred of his ser-
mons were burnt up. Through the kindness of
his 2:randson — the Rev. Dr. Edward Everett
Hale, of Boston, I have in my possession fifty-six
volumes of his Diaries, extending from 1777 to
1833. These Diaries were in a drawer together,
and when his house was burning, somebody seized
and carried it out, and thus its valuable contents
were Providentially saved. I have thoroughly ex-
amined all these little volumes, and am indebted
to them for many of the facts narrated in this
Discourse. Under date of Oct. 29th, 1798, I find
this entry: — "Walked to the house of ^Nlr. Jona-
than Clark, Jr., to see his sick child." That
**sick child," after the lapse of more than eighty
years, is now addressing you.

MY OWN RECOLLECTIONS OF MR. HALE.

I was born in this town Jan. 2nd, 1797, and
have therefore lived under the '* reign " of all the
Presidents. ]\Iy own remembrance extends back
almost to the beginning of the present century.
From that time onward for many years, my recol-
lection of the leading events in the history of

20 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

this church, I think, is quite distinct. I have
therefore permitted myself, whether wisely or
unwisely you will judge, to reproduce some of
it in this narrative.

The excellence of Mr. Hale's example was pro-
verbial. He was one of the most discreet men,
and one of the best counsellors I ever knew. His
preaching was not eloquent, but it was calm and
instructive. I think, and I believe I am not alone
in the opinion, that it was the earnest, prayerful
spirit of this church, and his own almost spotless
life, together with the thorough incorporation of
the searching truths of the Bible into the faith and
practice of the people by the universal use and
knowledge of the Assembly's Catechism, rather
than by any marked qualities in his sermons,
which, with the Divine blessing, created and has
so long sustained the high state of religious feel-
ing in this community. Revivals of religion have
been frequent and pure, and the church has in-
creased rapidly in numbers and in grace. Mr.
Hale was also a decided friend of education. He
was active in the support and effectiveness of the
common schools of the town. He prepared and

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 21

published a Spelling Book, which was called
" Hale's Spelling Book," and it was used here
and to some extent in this vicinity for several
years, and until it was superseded by Webster's
more elaborate work.

IMr. Hale always acted in character, as a clergy-
man, in all his secular duties. He never compro-
mised the proprieties of his profession. He was
genial and mingled freely with his people, but he
was always the minister. He had the rare talent
of combining familiarity with dignity. He never
put on the clerical character, and he never put it
off. It was always there. I find the following en-
try in his Diary : — June 23d, 1789. " Assisted in
raising Jonathan Clark's cowhouse." Jonathan
Clark was my grandfather. I have done some
work but more play in that ** cowhouse," and Mr.
Hale always commanded respect, whether he was
preaching sermons or "raising cowhouses." He
rarely said an indiscreet word or did an unwise
thing, and his remarkable influence, here and else-
where, was very largely owing to his great practi-
cal wisdom in the ordinary affairs of life.

I have already alluded to the seasons of special

22 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

religious interest in this town. In my boyhood,
though youthful frivolity was often apparent and
the most genial intercourse existed among the
people, it seemed to me that the claims of religion
were always paramount to every thing else, and
that death and the judgment, and heaven and hell
were always very near. After evening meetings
on this very spot, I have gone home up that rough
road with my father and mother, and those hills
were wet with their tears, — tears, which I at last
discovered were shed for their sins and for my
salvation.

The maiden name of my godly grandmother
Clark was Strong. She was a descendant of that
famous Puritan, Elder John Strong, of Northamp-
ton. She originated in Coventry, Conn., — Mr.
Hale's birthplace. They were related to each
other. She was well acquainted with Mr. Hale in
his boyhood and youth, and with his younger and
noble brother, Nathan Hale, the patriot-spy of the
revolution. She used to relate, that the British
commander refused Nathan Hale a Bible in his
last moments, and that, when he was led out to
execution, he said, " I only regret that I have but

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 23

one life to give for my country." Enoch was ani-
mated with the same patriotic spirit, and did all
in his power to uphold the courage of the people
in those terrible days which '* tried men's souls,"
and finally to make them accept with gratitude
the Constitution of the United States. That Con-
stitution was adopted by the Convention of this
Commonwealth after a most heated discussion,
by a majority of only nineteen votes, and Major
Aaron Fisher, the representative of this town, had
the high honor and satisfaction of casting the vote
of Westhampton in its favor.

For many years, a weekly neighborhood prayer-
meeting was held here by Mr. Hale and the mem-
bers of the church. My grandmother was so anx-
ious to make me a good boy, that she often took
me on horseback upon the pillion behind her, to
attend those meetings. They were held in the
long summer afternoons, and generally were con-
tinued four hours, or from two o'clock to six
o'clock. I fancy I hear some incredulously ex-
claim, *' What ! a prayer-meeting four hours
long ! " Yes. '* What ! a prayer-meeting four
hours Ions: in the summer — the busiest season of

24 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

the year ! " Yes. *' Do you mean, Sir, a prayer-
meeting four hours long, when the corn wanted
hoeing and the hay had to be got in ? "' Yes, yes ;
and I believe that the corn was never better hoed,
or the hay better secured. It is an old maxim,
that ''prayers and provender hinder no man's
journey;" and it is equally true, that prayers and
preaching hinder no man's work. But how were
those long prayer-meetings conducted } There
were generally three prayers, interspersed with
singing and expositions of the Scriptures. Lieut.
Noah Strong, I verily believe, used to pray an
hour long by '* Shrewsbury clock." Joseph
Kingsley, Senior, and Capt. Azariah Lyman were
not much shorter, but Dea. Samuel Edwards and
Dea. Pliny Sikes, being of a somewhat later gen-
eration, did not tax my patience quite so much.
Then, perhaps, such questions as these would be
asked and considered, *' Is there any special seri-
ousness in the town .? " '' Have there been any
conversions since our last meeting.?" ** How can
we pray so as to bring down the Holy Spirit .'' "
Then, again, some of the knottiest points in
metaphysics or theology would be discussed, and

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 25

with a degree of ability which would do honor
to a synod of divines. The profoundest ques-
tions and answers in the Catechism often under-
went the most searching examination, and every
point was thoroughly supported by pertinent
quotations from the Bible. If the fathers some-
times disagreed a little on some diflicult meta-
physical or theological point, they referred the
question to Mr. Hale for decision, and his de-
cision was final. It was cordially accepted by all
parties, and it was *' the end of all strife." Though
I was tired out again and again by those long
prayers, I cannot but record my deep conviction,
that those holy veterans had " power with God."
They seemed to say, ** I will not let Thee go ex-
cept Thou bless me," and He did bless them. The
remarkable religious prosperity which has been en-
joyed here for many years, I think, is largely owing
to the earnestness, and faith, and ceaseless impor-
tunity of the venerable fathers and mothers of this
church.

But the extreme thoroughness with which the
Assembly's Catechism was incorporated into the
very life of this community, laid a strong founda-

26 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

tion for serious thought, for earnest prayer, for
genuine conversions, and for a devoted Christian
life. As I recently had the honor of delivering
an Address on that subject before ''The New
England Historic-Genealogical Society," in which
** Saying the Catechism seventy-five years ago,
and the Historical Results," were described with
some minuteness, and as many of this audience
have probably seen that Address, it will be super-
fluous to repeat that narrative here. But perhaps
it may not be improper to say, that that Address
has already passed through three editions, has
been widely circulated throughout the United
States, and some two hundred responses, by let-
ters and newspaper notices, have been received,
all showing that a widespread interest has been
awakened for the study of that venerable formu-
lary of Christian doctrine. I find that there is
an almost universal conviction, that our Sunday
Schools, excellent as many of them are, do not
thoroughly indoctrinate the rising generation in
the great truths of the Bible, and that something
much more effective should be done. Experience
here points out the course to be pursued. The

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 27

conversion to Christ of such a large percentage
of the inhabitants, the general intelligence of the
people, their liberal support of our missionary
societies, and the large number of young men
who have graduated from college, and of young
ladies who have been highly educated at our best
schools and seminaries, — are among the blessed
results of " Saying the Catechism " here a century
ago ; and the same efforts would doubtless be
crowned with similar success in any community.

The ten pastors of this church, since Mr. Hale,
have ably and successfully entered into his labors
and carried forward his work ; and the records of
the church and other evidence show something of
the measure of success which has rewarded their
fidelity.

CHURCH MEMBERS.

According to the best evidence now accessible,
this church, at its organization, consisted of fifty-
two members — twenty-eight males and twenty-
four females. Reuben Wright and Martin Clark
were the first deacons. In 1789, forty-two were
added to the church. In 1790, "about one hun-

28 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

dred persons were present at the Lord's Supper."
In 1806, Jan. 6th, Mr. Hale says he **was called to
the centre school house to converse with the chil-
dren, who were crying for their wickedness." The
religious interest through the town was profound.
The result of it was that forty-eight were admitted
to the church, '' mostly young people." With the
greater revival in 181 5 and 18 16, I had much per-
sonal knowledge, and the manner of its commence-
ment was so peculiar, that, were it proper, I
should like to state the facts. It resulted in the
hopeful conversion of some eighty persons, of
whom Mr. Hale says in his Diary, "■ nearly seventy
were added to the church ; " and I remember that
the Rev. Calvin Clark, of blessed memory, was
one of them. In 1823, forty-three additions were
made. In 1849, thirty-two were received. In
1857, fifteen were admitted. In 1858, there was
an extensive and powerful revival. The whole
town was moved. Ninety-two -persons, including
fifteen from the disbanded Union Church, were
received. In 1868, fourteen were added. In
1872, twenty-three, in 1874, thirty-four, and in
1877, fifteen were admitted. The present number

OF A NEW-ENGLAXD CHURCH. 29

of members is two hundred and thirty-nine, which
is considerably more than one-third of the popula-
tion of the town.

To obtain a correct view of the comparative
prosperity of this church it should be remem-
bered, that in our cities and large towns very con-
siderable numbers are received into the churches
by letter. That is no gain from the world. It is
no evidence of the prosperity of those churches.
But in this town the population is stationary, and
very few indeed have been received by letter.
The large numbers which have been admitted
were converted here, and received on profession of
faith. The good people of this church, however,
have no cause for boasting. They rather, I be-
lieve, lay their faces in the dust and cover them-
selves with sackcloth, that the results have been
so small.

But the morals of this town, after all, have not
been entirely perfect. Mr. Hale has recorded in
his Diary some cases of *' confession " for breach
of the seventh commandment, and that one night
his watermelons were stolen !

30 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

THE FIRST BAPTISMS.

The first infant baptized in this town was Noah
Kingsley. He was baptized by the Rev. John
Hooker, of Northampton. The first child bap-
tized by Mr. Hale was Elihu Lyman.

COLLEGIATE EDUCATION.

It is quite certainly true, that a larger percent
age of the young men have obtained a collegiate
education, and have risen to distinction in the
learned professions and other spheres of useful-
ness, and perhaps a larger proportion of the young
ladies too have distinguished themselves, than in
any other town in the Commonwealth. For the
first fifty-eight years of this century, there was a
constant flow of the young men to the colleges,
and nearly all of them to Williams College.
Twenty-two years ago that stream suddenly
ceased. Within that period, however, one young
man, a native of the town, has graduated with
great distinction, but who then resided in another
part of the State.

The inspiring motive which sent most of these

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 31

young men to college was a desire to be useful
in the Christian ministry, in this country or in
foreign lands. John Howard's monument in St.
Paul's cathedral tells us, that ''to devote one's
self to benefit mankind, is an open but unfre-
quented path to immortality." Westhampton has
sent several of her sons and daughters to travel
in that ** unfrequented path," and their ''record
is on high."

CHURCH EDIFICES.

May 2ist, 1779, or about three months before
Mr. Hale was called to the pastorate, the town
voted to build a meeting-house. Before it was
erected, divine service on the Sabbath w^as usually
held, alternately, at Capt. Azariah Lyman's in
the south part, and at Mr. Nathan Clark's in the
north part of the town. For various reasons the
work of building w^as delayed till June lOth, 1785,
when the frame was erected and partially covered.
Religious services began to be held in it while it
was in an unfinished state, and it was not com-
pleted till four years afterward. That church,
having become too small and quite dilapidated,

32 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

was removed in 1816, and another and one of the
finest in Western Massachusetts, was erected the
same year. That beautiful sanctuary was de-
stroyed by fire Feb. 17th, 1829, and the present
substantial edifice was built, and was dedicated
Dec. 3d, 1829. It also deserves to be stated that
it was wholly paid for many years ago.

PASTORS OF THE CHURCH.

The Rev. Enoch Hale w^as ordained Sept. 29th,
1779, and died Jan. 14th, 1837.

The Rev. Horace B. Chapin was installed July
8th, 1829, and dismissed Feb. 29th, 1837.

The Rev. Amos Drury was installed June 28th,
1837, and died July 22d, 1841.

The Rev. David Coggin was ordained May nth,
1842, and died April 28th, 1852.

The Rev. Andrew Bigelow w^as installed March
2d, 1854, and dismissed April i8th, 1855.

The Rev. Roswell Foster wms installed Nov.
20th, 1856, and dismissed Dec. 28th, 1858.

The Rev. Edward C. Bissell was ordained Sept.
2 1st, 1859, and dismissed May lOth, 1864.

The Rev. Thomas Allender \vas installed June
2 1 St, 1866, and died Sept. 17th, 1869.

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCIT. t^t^

The Rev. P. F. Barnard was installed June
30th, 1870, and dismissed July ist, 1873.

The Rev. Joseph Lanman was installed June
3d, 1874, and dismissed Sept. nth, 1876.

The Rev. Edward S. Palmer was installed Dec.
7th, 1876.

Mr. Hale's actual pastorate was fifty-seven
years, and his active pastorate was fifty years.
The pastorates of all his ten successors have
been forty years, so his active pastorate was ten
years longer than all the others put together.
''Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the
old paths, where is the good way, and walk there-
in, and ye shall find rest for your souls."

The history of this church, thus imperfectly
sketched, appears to me to throw much light upon
some of the most important ecclesiastical and
theological problems of the day, and to these
I now ask your attention. But it may be said
that this is a small church, and that therefore its
example cannot illuminate the pathway of larger
ones. But I have a deep conviction, that some-
times very important principles may be better
illustrated by a small church than by a large one,

34 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

as less extraneous influences may be brought in
to affect the result, and especially so if the small
church is really right in its principles and prac-
tice. We have the highest authorities, Divine
and human, for this belief. Jesus Christ Himself
was born in Bethlehem — '' little among the thou-
sands of Judah," — and was reared in Nazareth,
perhaps the most insignificant town in Galilee,
but of His influence ''there shall be no end."
Sometime in the last century, a poor woman in
England, of whom the world knows but little,
had a son, and she poured out her prayers and
her tears for his conversion. But he grew up
reckless, and dissipated, and profane. He en-
gaged in the slave-trade on the coast of Africa,
and was perhaps as hopelessly abandoned as any
pirate who ever trod the deck of a slave-trader.
But at last, when all hope had nearly expired,
his mother's ceaseless prayers were heard. He
was converted to Christ, and finally became one
of the most eminent ministers in London. That
man was the celebrated John Newton. John
Newton, in turn, was the instrument of opening
the eyes and bringing to the foot of the cross

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 35

that moralist and sceptic, Thomas Scott, after-
wards the distinguished author of the Commen-
tary on the Bible. Thomas Scott had in his
parish a young man of the most delicate sensi-
bilities and whose soul was " touched to the finest
issues," but he was dyspeptic, and sorrowful,
and despairing. At times he believed that there
was no hope for him, and that he should certainly
go to hell. After long and repeated efforts, Dr.
Scott led him trembling to the Great Physician.
The darkness broke away, and the ''true light"
shone. That man was William Cowper, the
household Christian poet, whose sweet, delight-
ful hymns have allured hundreds of sinners and
the most polluted, to

" The Fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins."

Among others whom he conducted to that " Foun-
tain," was William Wilberforce, a distinguished
member of the British Parliament, and the great
philanthropist who gave the death blow to the
slave-trade in Great Britain. Wilberforce brought
Legh Richmond to Christ, and he wrote the

36 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

" Dairyman's Daughter," which has been read
with devoutest gratitude and through bhnding
tears, in many languages all over the earth. All
this indescribable amount of good, — which will
be doubled and multiplied through all time, —
can be traced back to the Christian fidelity of
John Newton's mother, — that humble, unheralded
woman, — whose history is almost unknown. Say
not, then, that Westhampton, small as it is, may
not settle some of the most important questions
of the day. Small as it is, it has already become
historic. From Maine to Georgia and from Plym-
outh harbor to the Golden Gate, it is now known
and honored as the ''banner town " of this country
for "Saying the Catechism," and in other lines of
usefulness it may become equally distinguished.

I. One point which the history of this church
strongly affirms, is the importance of long pasto-
rates. As already stated, Mr. Hale's active minis-
try was ten years longer than that of all his ten
successors. The taste of our fathers required a
permanent ?,^\.\\^xVi^x\X., — the taste of the present
day is for brief settlements. Which is the best t
Which is the best both for the pastor and the

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 37

people ? Which makes the best state of society ?
Which does the most for the salvation of men ?

This is one of the most important practical
questions of the day. Mr. Hale's ministry, espe-
cially the earlier part of it when society here was
unformed and unsettled, was certainly more un-
promising of success than that of any of his
successors. They have entered into his labors.
They have built upon his foundations. They
have had advantages which he could not com-
mand, but their brief pastorates, even the most
successful, I suppose, cannot compare with Mr.
Hale's for permanent influence on this commu-
nity. His influence is deeply felt here to-day. It
has passed into history and will be perpetuated
for many years to come. The difficulty lies, not
in his successors but in the fashion of the times
— in the spirit of this generation. Angels, we
may believe, could not make a short pastorate
equal a long one in point of usefulness. It is
high time for us, then, in this most important
matter, to return to the **good ways" of our
fathers.

That a long ministry, where the pastor can

38 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

rear and educate his family, where he and they
can incorporate themselves into the society of the
place, form a part of the web and the woof of its
institutions, bear their share of its duties and its
burdens, and thus become really identified with it,
is far better than a short one, is, I think, self-
evident. Frequent changes break up his family
arrangements, subject him to extra expense which
he is unable to bear, sever the tenderest social
ties, discourage and dishearten him, compel him
to go to some other place where he knows he can
never take root, and with the moral certainty that
soon he must go round through the same process
again. It is not in human nature to endure such
dislocations very often. His health frequently
gives way, his spirits are broken, and he dies a
premature death ; and his family are thrown, like
waifs, upon an unsympathizing world or the charity
of friends. To a family of culture and refinement,
this is about the sorest of earthly calamities.

Short pastorates, too, are about as injurious to
the churches themselves. They create divisions
and heart-burnings among the people, for every
pastor has his friends. They create and perpetu-

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 39

ate the spirit of fastidiousness, and criticism, and
restlessness, and desire of further change. They
destroy the homogeneousness of society, and pre-
vent the formation of those staid habits, which
are such an important element in the best regu-
lated communities. Dean Stanley, comparing the
religions of the globe, says, — " Reverence, seri-
ousness, and repose are the chief characteristics
of the religion of the East ; and activity, freedom,
and progress are those of the West." In this
matter of the settlement and dismission of pastors,
it is my deep conviction, that we should do well
to combine something of the "repose" of the
East with the " activity " of the West, and return
to the **old paths, where is the good way and
walk therein."

There was one factor which most materially
aided in making Mr. Hale's ministry long and
successful which is now quite neglected, and that
is, a thorongJi acquaintance between the candidate
and the people before he is settled. Mr. Hale
preached here five months as a candidate, and
then the people made inquiries about him a month
more, before they gave him a call. Both parties

40 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

had six months in which to become acquainted
with each other, before the union was formed.
Each party was fully posted as to the peculiarities
of the other. They took ample time to consider
the question of adaptation, and when they found
that they were adapted to each other, it laid the
foundation for a long, and happy, and successful
ministry. Contrast this case, then, with the
hasty and inconsiderate manner in which ministers
are often settled now-a-days, and we need not
wonder that the parties soon find out that they
did not understand each other, that they were not
adapted to each other, and that the connection is
so soon dissolved. There must be adaptation in
order to success.

2. The history of this church shows zvhat
Congregationalism can do, wJien it is not em-
barrassed by other denominations. Congregation-
alism has had here a fair field. There never has
been a church of any other denomination in the
town, and to human appearance there never will
be. If Congregationalism, then, under these con-
ditions cannot show good results, it must be and
it ought to be set down as a failure. But it has

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH.

results to show, and results which prove it to be
the very best form of church order ; and here I
must be permitted to quote a few sentences from
my Address on ** Saying the CatccJiisni seventy -five
years ago : " —

** Sobriety, large intelligence, sound morality,
and unfeigned piety exist there to a wider extent
than in any other community of equal size within
the limits of my acquaintance. Revivals of reli-
gion have been of great frequency, purity, and
power ; and to-day more than one-third of the
population, all told, are members of that Congre-
gational Church. Nine-tcntJis of the inhabitants
are regular attendants on public worship. Thirty-
eight of the young men have graduated from col-
lege, have entered the learned professions and
especially the Christian ministry ; and several of
them have risen to positions of the highest use-
fulness and honor." "I have nowhere else found
such profound reverence for the name of Jehovah,
the Infinite and Personal God ; such unquestion-
ing faith in the divine authority of the Holy
Scriptures ; such devout and conscientious observ-
ance of the Sabbath ; such habitual practice of

OXE HVXDKED YEARS

family prayer; such respect for an oath in a court
of justice; such anxiety for revivals of religion;
such serious determination to enter into the king-
dom of heaven ; and such deep conviction that it
never can be reached except by repentance for
sin and faith in crucified Redeemer, as I have
seen in Westhampton. That the moral and re-
ligious condition of things there is not what it
should be, is unquestionably true ; but that it is,
on the whole, better, yes, much better than that
of any other municipality on the face of the earth,
which has not been similarly educated, is my
honest belief." *

* The Rev Joseph Cook clo=-ed one of his Lectures in Boston in the
following eloquent lanjuage, in which, it is supposed, he referred to West-
hampton, and whJdj would do credit to Jeremy Taylor or John Milton : —

" I hold that when our fathers on Clark Island, yonder, rested their
first Sabbath day, they were setting a good example not only for the church
but for the factories and railways and e^'ery industrial establishment of
Americau Until we have enough of their spirit to enable us to keep
tlie day of rest without any substantial infraction, we shall not be safe in
tliis countr}-, as our fathers were safe, without bulled doors. Tho-e are
many gray-luured men here to-day ; and, if some of them were bom in
New England, they have slept in bouses with unbolted doors in the
countr}- side of New England fifty years ago. 1 read not long since in a
brilliant paper by a New England public man. the statement, that in his
boyhood he used to go to sleep with the front door in his father's house

OF A NFAV-ENGLANP CIirRCH. 43

Can any other system of ecclesiastical polity —
antl such polity has much to tlo in toiinini;- the
social and rclii;ious life of every community — can
any other system furnish such an example ? In
what history of other communions can such a
specimen be found ?

The corner stone of Coni;rei;ationalism — in dis-
tinction from all other forms of church pohty — is
the iiuicpcHiicncc of the loeal ehureh ; or, as it is
well expressed in the " Manual " you have adopted,
— "This church is an independent ecclesiastical
body. It is amenable to no other ori;anization,
but will receive from and extend to other e\an-
gelical churches fellowship, counsel, and assist-
ance." It places the whole matter of church
government in the hands of the church itself, and

o]icn, ami tliis was in the Connecticut valley, where the tramps annoy the
farmers occasionally to-day. You wish to restore to jniblic lite that sweet
security, and to industrial life that peace that tilled New I-'.n-land when
she had a Sabbath worthy the name. I look hack to the nioonli-ht drop-
ping through the open doors of New England country homes in the
midnights of fifty and eighty years ago, and find in that unsuspicious
radiance, and in the religious culture, the united citizenship, the theocratic
brotherhooil which lay beneath it, the pillar of lire and the only pillar of
fire that can lead us out of communism, and socialism, and the political
dangers of universal sutlrage."

44 ONE FIUNDRED YEARS

thus educates all the members up to a high meas-
ure of intelligence and usefulness. It teaches,
and this is one of its fundamental excellences,
that the church is made for the berfefit of the
individual. All other forms of church polity hold
that every thing is made for the church, and little
or nothing for the individual. It was for the
individual that Christ died, and not for the
church in its collective capacity. It is the indi-
vidual whom the Holy Spirit converts and sancti-
fies, and not a collective body of men. It should
then be the supreme object of every church
polity to convert and save individuals, and not
to glorify the church or the leading members of
the church. This Congregationalism does. It
gives the individual members something to do,
and hence they have the highest motive to do it
well. It is therefore the best conceivable form of
church order ; and here it has not been obliged
to waste its strength in competing with other
denominations.

Mr. Hale records in his Diary for the year 1817
a fact, which shows that this church was more cor-
rect on one point in Congregationalism than he

OF A NFAV-ENGLAND CHURCH. 45

was himself. The project was started in Massa-
chusetts of getting up a Consociation for the gov-
ernment of the churches, after the Connecticut
plan, which is a mongrel kind of Presbyterianism
and which is dying out there. Strange to say,
Mr. Hale was warmly in favor of it, and a large
Convention of ministers and delegates was held
in Hadley, which matured the plan and presented
it to the churches for their adoption. Mr. Hale
laid it before this church, explained its provisions,
and earnestly urged them to adopt it. The church
hesitated. They doubted whether it was sound
Congregationalism. After much discussion it
was referred to a committee. On the 19th of
Jan., 18 18, the committee reported against it ; and
after considering the subject for three months
more, the church adopted the committee's report,
the plan was rejected and the scheme utterly
failed. My own recollection serves me with a
curious incident relating to that matter. The
Rev. Dr. Lyman, of Hatfield, was decidedly op-
posed to that plan, brought it before his church
and urged them with all his eloquence and with
the great weight of his personal character to re-

46 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

ject it, but they voted to adopt it. Thus, it ap-
pears, that this church understood the principles
of CongregationaHsm better than Mr. Hale, and
better than the church in Hatfield.

3. The history of this church proves that the
Assembly s Catechism has contributed very largely
to its prosperity. Edmund Burke said that "New
England Puritanism is the Protestantism of the
Protestant religion ; " and New England became
so Puritanic, because it studied more thoroughly
than any other country the Bible in its condensed
form in the Catechism. Cotton Mather says,
** Few pastors of mankind ever took such pains
at catechising, as have been taken by our New
England."

"Pure livers were they all, austere and grave,
And fearing God ; the very children taught
Stern self-respect, a reverence for God's word,
And an habitual piety, maintained
With strictness scarcely known on English ground."

The Catechism contributed most essentially to
the formation of the high religious character of
the first settlers of this town. They were firm
believers in the Bible, and in the correctness of its

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 47

interpretation by the renowned Asseml^ly of West-
minster. They were themselves brought up on
the Assembly's Catechism, and that accounts for
its early introduction and persevering use in the
family, in the schools, and in the church, during
the long ministry of Mr. Hale, But, after earnest
inquiry, I have found no town in New England
where it was so faithfully used in the instruction
of the children, in the family and in the schools.
I have found none where it was so thoroughly
committed to memory. I have found none ivJiere
it ivas recited in tJie broad aisle of the eJiureh by
all the ehildren in the town for half a century, as
it was here. It is my settled conviction, that that
practice had quite as much to do in forming the
theological views of this people, as the jDulpit it-
self with all its wisdom and fidelity.

The necessity for some Catechism or formula
of doctrine lies down deep in the structure of the
human mind. We are all so constituted, that we
need such an aid to compass and understand the
Word of God. A digest of Divine truth helps the
understanding to grasp it. In all the Christian
ages, men have sought for epitomes or creeds ;

48 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

and some forty General Confessions have been
constructed by the best scholarship and wisdom
of the times. Every succeeding one has at-
tempted to eliminate from all its predecessors the
last particles of error, and to state the truth in
more guarded terms so as to prevent all possible
misapprehension, till finally they crystallized in
the Westminster Confession. That Confession
has stood the test of hostile criticism for nearly
two centuries and a half, has been more popular
and widely accepted than any other, and it must
therefore be regarded as the closest approximation
to the absolute tnith^ which it is possible for hu-
man sagacity and human wisdom to make.

The project has lately been revived to attempt
to make a better one. The Baptists tried their
hands at it a few years ago, and failed. Other
similar efforts at various times have been made,
and failed ; and if the National Council should
itself, or by a Convention as has been lately sug-
gested, make such an attempt, that will fail ; and
not only so, but that Council itself will perish in
the attempt, (which, by the way, would be no loss
to the world,) because, as has long been feared, it

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 49

will then have tried to control the faith of the
churches. A new Catechism for the Congrega-
tional Churches could not, in my judgment, possi-
bly be made which would be so generally accept-
able as the Westminster. The attempt would
throw the whole denomination into confusion, and
awaken discussions and alienations from which it
could not recover for half a century.

Besides, to adopt a new Catechism would cut
us loose from all our ancient moorings, — from all
our ancestral relations and associations. It would
cut the denomination loose from the venerable
Theological Seminary at Andover which is founded
on that Catechism, and all its Professors are re-
quired by its Statutes, upon their induction into
office, publicly to declare and subscribe their
belief in it, and in the presence of the trustees to
declare their continued belief in it every five
years. It would also cut us loose from our breth-
ren of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States, with whom we have gloried in being at one
in every thing except church government. More-
over, it would be suicidal. We should forfeit the
respect and confidence of the whole Evangelical

50 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

world, by such an avowed departure from our
ancient and traditional Faith.*

The churches in New England are generally
well satisfied with the present Catechism. It has
done so much for them, that they expect nothing
better, and want nothing better. Next to the
Holy Spirit, the Bible, and the pulpit, it has done
more than any thing else to form the New Eng-
land character. There are now indications all
over the United States of return to the study of
the Catechism. Good people wish to get back

* When this Discourse was passing through the press, my attention
was called to an article in the Christian Union by the Rev. Dr. Leonard
Bacon, and copied into the Congregationalist, presumably with its appro-
bation, in which he says : —

"It may seem an easy thing to form and set forth a Confession of
Faith which shall be accepted as the doctrinal basis of the denomination.
The National Council, at its next session, can appoint a representative
committee— say. Prof. Park of Andover ; Prof. Thompson of Hartford;
Prof. Hamlin of Bangor ; Pres. Porter of New Haven ; Prof. Fairchild of
Oberlin ; Prof. Boardman of Chicago, and the fittest that can be obtained
from the Pacific States. Such a committee, sitting down to the work, and
taking time for it, could agree (though not without many explanations and
concessions one to another) on a written syntagma of doctrines, which
would be a just representation of that unwritten cojisensiis which is the
actual (though heretofore somewhat indefinite) doctrinal unity of the
Orthodox Congregational churches. The Confession thus prepared can
be presented to the next triennial session, and if, by any parliamentary

OF A NEW-ENGLAiYD CHURCH. 51

again to the " old ways," to the clear definitions,
the sharp statements, the solemn facts, the
weighty questions which startle the conscience,
make the reader cry out, ''What must I do to be
saved?", and establish Christians intelligently in
the most holy Faith.

In the days of the thorough study of the Cate-
chism, all the children and youth statedly went to
church, both forenoon and afternoon. Now, Sab-
bath Schools are permitted, quite extensively, to
usurp the place of the pulpit. The members of
the schools, in many of our towns and cities, do

artifice, all motions to amend and all debate can be shut off, it may be even
unanimously adopted."

The Westminster Confession and Catechism are precisely one and the
same thing theologically, and Dr. Bacon does not think that both can be
superseded and a new Confession "unanimously adopted,'' without resorting
to "artifice" to circumvent the people, and a gag-law to prevent discus-
sion. Such a strange proposal savors quite too much, for these enlightened
tmies, of the thumb-screw and the auto da fe to compel uniformity of
religious belief. The object is, to substitute modified Pelagianism for Cal-
vinism. The churches should be thoroughly aware of the danger before
them.

Besides, to ordinary minds it would be a curious spectacle, for Professor
Park, who has declared and subscribed his belief in the Catechism and
re-affirmed it again and again, to act on a "Committee " to cut away from
under his own feet the theological basis on which he has stood for thirty
years.

52 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

not, as a general thing, attend public worship.
They think that they cannot go to church in the
morning because they must get their lessons for
the Sabbath School, and in the evening they can-
not go to church because they must go to bed.
The preaching of intelligent and faithful pastors
is thus very generally neglected, and the instruc-
tions, if such they can be called, of many very
incompetent Sabbath School teachers are substi-
tuted in its place. The parents, and many of
them are church members, connive at this state
of things, and no serious and energetic efforts are
made to correct this most alarming neglect of the
house of God. Unless it is corrected, when the
present generation leaves the stage, ministers, if
they are wanted at all, will preach in almost
empty sanctuaries. To prevent this result, parents
should at once return to the **old ways" and
require their children to " go to meeting " twice
every Sabbath, and forenoon and afternoon. The
present increasing practice of having but one
public service on the Sabbath, is portentous of
untold evils. It opens wide the door to Sabbath
desecration in the afternoon, and even by the

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 53

members of the churches. The keeper of a livery
stable in this vicinity recently said, " If the minis-
ters and churches give up the afternoon service,
I shall have to get more horses and carriages."
That tells a part of the story of Sabbath desecra-
tion, which has resulted and will result from the
discontinuance of the afternoon service. What
pastors and churches are willing to be held
responsible for such violations of the day of holy
rest } One service a day educates the children
not to go to church at all. Every pastor should
be not only willing but anxious to have two ser-
vices, not in the forenoon and evening but in the
forenoon and afternoon, and the churches should
require it. If the Sabbath Schools are unwilling
to restore the pulpit to its proper place in the
afternoons, as v/as universally the case in trhe
days of catechetical instruction, then it will be
time for the churches to consider the question,
whether those schools ought not to be entirely
abandoned, and the pulpit resume its proper place
for the instruction of the people. The preaching
of the Gospel is the great, the Divinely-appointed
means for the instruction and salvation of "the

54 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

world " ; the Sabbath School is not. The dangers
which have followed and which will follow the
present practice should then be sounded with
trumpet-tongue through the land, and the Chris-
tian public called back with all possible haste to
the good ''old ways" of the fathers, to which
Westhampton has always faithfully adhered.

4. The history of this church shows the un-
speakable importance of revivals of religion.
Christianity was inaugurated in a revival on the
Day of Pentecost, and from that day down to the
present such scenes of mercy have multiplied,
enlarged, strengthened and transfigured the
churches, and sent them on their way rejoicing.
They have especially signalized the churches of
New England. The Great Revival from 1732 to
1740, created one hundred and fifty new Congre-
tional Churches in New England, and added about
fifty thousand souls to the membership of the
whole. Jonathan Edwards says that that revival
— the greatest New England has ever seen — was
"brought about by a series of his sermons on the
doctrine of Justification by Faith," that it was
"greatly promoted by other sermons," proving

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 55

that ''every mouth will be stopped" at the Day of
Judgment, and that nothing at any one moment
keeps wicked men out of hell, but the mere mercy
of God." He also says, that *' no discourses were
more remarkably blessed than those in which
God's absolute sovereignty in the salvation of
sinners, and His just liberty in answering their
prayers or not, were insisted on." This church
has frequently and richly shared in such blessings
of heaven, introduced and intensified by these
sharp and incisive truths carried home to the con-
science by the Spirit of God, and they are our
great hope for the salvation of the fourteen hun-
dred millions which now people the earth. The
gradual theory — the theory that we should always
live so as not to need any special reviving, and
that our churches should be built up gradually —
may be very good on paper, but it will never save
the world. The history of the church of Christ
is against it. The constitution of human nature
is against it. The usual mode of the Divine dis-
pensation of grace is against it. These scenes of
mercy are then to be preached for, and prayed
for, and labored for, incessantly by pastors and

56 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

churches. It is only in this way that " every
valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and
hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be
made straight, and the rough places plain, and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together ; for the mouth of the Lord
hath spoken it."

Now see what magnificent preparations are
being made to fulfil these predictions of Him, who

" Touched Isaiah's hallowed lips with fire."

The Bible is already translated into nearly all the
most important languages of the world. Look at
the increasing unpopularity of war, and the in-
creasing disposition of the nations to settle their
differences by arbitration. See how much better
religious toleration and Christian comity are
understood and practised. See Christians, of va-
rious names, groping about in the twilight of
schism, trying to return to the " Oneness of the
Church " as it existed in apostolic times and for
the first two centuries of the Christian era. Look
at the decrease of intemperance in many of the
civilized nations of the earth. Look at the bet-

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 57

ter understanding of the ri£;hts of man, and the
disposition to settle the question between capi-
tal and labor upon the principle of reciprocity
of interest. See the comparative case with which
any great evil can be abated, when public senti-
ment is aroused and concentrated upon it. See
how courts of justice are now deciding difficult
legal questions, on the high moral ground of "pub-
lic policy," — ground which can never be shaken.
See the vast increase of wealth, even within the
last five years of commercial depression, and the
increasing disposition of rich men to devote it,
in large sums, to eleemosynary, educational and
religious uses. Look at George Peabody making
good homes for thousands of the poor in Eng-
land, and creating schools for the people all over
the Southern States of this country. See Otis,
with' no wife, or child, or relative to look after, be-
queathing a million of dollars to the American
Board. IMore than tJiree viillions of dollars have
been given the past year, by only a dozen individu-
als, in Europe and America, for missionary pur-
poses. Look at Stone and others, giving the
present year two hundred and seventy-five thou-

58 ONE HUNDRED YEARS

sand dollars to the Theological Seminary at An-
dover. Look at the munificent endowments,
which are equipping for great usefulness and for all
time many of the colleges throughout the land,
and think that all these vast donations are only
the harbingers of much greater ones which will be
made to all good objects, as wealth increases in
the country. Think of the multitudes of young
men and young women who are crowding into our
institutions of learning to be highly educated,
many of whom will exert an influence for good
which will be felt on the other side of the globe.
Think of the fact, that the American Board and
other missionary societies in this country and in
Europe say, that, with the men and the money
which the churches can easily furnish, they will
give the Gospel to every nation under heaven by
the year of our Lord 1900, — only twenty years
from this time. Think of the greatest event of
this century — the Revision of the English Trans-
lation of the Scriptures — upon which nearly one
hundred of the best Biblical scholars in Great
Britain and the United States, for some ten years
have been diligently engaged in clearing it of its

OF A NEW-ENGLAND CHURCH. 59

literary imperfections, which will make it sharper
in the ''hearts of the King's enemies." Think,
too, that the English language — a language more
heavily freighted with sound religious literature
than all other languages put together, within
another century, by means of commerce and colo-
nization— seems likely to be spoken and read by
one thousand mil lions of the human race. See the
increasing disposition to return to the ** old paths "
for the instruction of the youth in the doctrines
of the Bible, and thus make Christianity much
more effective upon the hearts and the lives of
men. See Christians of every name giving up
their differences, and uniting their efforts for the
world's conversion. See such men as Joseph
Cook, establishing broad and strong the founda-
tions of Divine truth, and Dwight L. Moody,
building up on those foundations the glorious
structure of Christianity in both hemispheres.
Mark the universal expectation of the Christian
world that most important beneficent changes will
take place on earth in the near future — expecta-
tions, which will themselves hasten the result.
And, finally, see how Christian missions are being

6o ONE HUNDRED YEARS.

established in all the most populous cities of the
globe — the high places of influence — the strate-
gic points, whence Christianity will soon command
the nations, and become the dominant religion of
mankind. All these vast agencies for good are

" Tides that are flowing
Right onward to the eternal shore."

Coming decades will see a measure of consecra-
tion to Christ, which will put to shame the piety
of this generation. Coming decades will see re-
vivals outdoing the marvels of all past history, and
the Second Centennial of this Church will be cele- f

brated, I trust, in the splendors of the Millen-
nium. Hail, all hail, ye coming generations ! ye
will see this world filled with the glory of God.

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