I am your friend and Pastor,
D. T. KIMBALL.
JOSIAH Caldwell, Esq.,
ABRAHAM HAMMATT, Esq.,
Col. NATHANIEL HARRIS,
Trustees of the First Parish in Ipswich.
Feb. 25, 1846.
Dear Sir,—In conformity to the expressed wish of many of your people, who are desirous to preserve an authentic account of the valuable statistics, communicated in your able and eloquent discourse of yesterday, on taking leave of their old Meeting House, and in accordance with their own feelings, the Trustees of the Parish cordially and respectfully request you to furnish them with a copy for the press.
With great respect and regard, I am your obedient servant,
JOSIAH CALDWELL.
Per order of the Trustees of The First Parish, Ipswich.
Ipswich, Feb 23, 1846.
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GENTLEMAN:
I cheerfully submit to your disposal a copy of the sermon, requested for publication, in the hope that it will tend to perpetuate the remembrance of our ancient and venerable house of worship, when we shall sleep with our fathers.
With sentiments of strong affection to you and all whose wishes you represent,
I am your friend and Pastor,
D. T. KIMBALL.
JOSIAH Caldwell, Esq.,
ABRAHAM HAMMATT, Esq.,
Col. NATHANIEL HARRIS,
Trustees of the First Parish in Ipswich.
Feb. 25, 1846.
The present hour, in its solemnity, savors of eternity. It is 'pregnant with all eternity can give.' The number now present; the stillness pervading the assembly; the fixed eye; the expressive countenance; the whole appearance, indicates that the occasion is one of unusual interest. Rogers and Frisbie and the Christians they instructed here, and guided to the New Jerusalem, look down from their high and holy abode with intense desire to see in what state of mind we perform the duties, close the book, and terminate the services of this house to-day. The impression, the moral impression of these last services on this great assembly is interesting to those upon and around the throne of glory; and it will be interesting to us, when the books shall be opened, and the last sentence shall be pronounced.
Assembled as we are, my friends, to bid farewell to this venerable house, permit me to pour out my heart in connexion with such thoughts as the occasion naturally suggests. Caving the text more or less in my eye, but sketching no particular landmarks, I proceed to say in familiar terms, that we should take a respectful leave of this sanctuary, because it is an old friend.
It is older than was either of its predecessors; almost as old as all of them put together. This is the fourth house, in which this religious Society has statedly worshipped God, since the year 1634, when this church of visible believers was gathered. The first house, erected soon after the settlement of the town, stood on the south side of the river, near the spot where the South Church now stands. It was 'beautifully built, and afforded a good prospect to a great part of the town.' The second was as on the north side of the river, and near the place where this house stands. It was a handsome building, and completed and paid for on or before the year 1678.' The third occupied the same site this does, and was of the same length and height, and thirteen feet wider. It was built by Abraham Tilton, in 1699. It was then the only meeting house in this village. It continued fifty years, during the latter part of the ministry of Rev. John Rogers, the former part of that of Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, and the entire ministry, in this place, of Rev. Jabez Fitch.
The present edifice was built in 1749, two years after the erection of the first meeting house of the South Parish. A brief history of the house will naturally be expected, in preparing which I have had recourse to the parish records. The house was built twenty-seven years before the declaration of our national independence, when warrants for Parish meetings ran in this style - 'You are required in his Majesty's name to notify and warn the freeholders and other inhabitants of the Parish to meet,' &c. At that time George First was king of England, and Louis Fourteenth was king of France. Rev John Cleaveland was Pastor of the Second Church in Ipswich now the church in Essex; Rev. Samuel Wigglesworth Pastor of the Third Church, now Hamilton; Rev. John Walley Pastor of the South Church; Rev. George Leslie Pastor of the Church in Linebrook; and Rev. Jedediah Jewett Pastor of the First Church in Rowley.
At a meeting of the First Parish in Ipswich, December 24, 1747, it was voted that Thomas Burnam and ten others be a Committee to take under consideration the affair of repairing the meeting house, or taking it down in order to rebuild, and thoroughly weigh the matter, and make report at the adjourned meeting of December 29. The Committee then made a verbal report in favor of rebuilding, on which it was voted, that. the old meeting house be taken down, and a new one rebuilt in the room thereof at some convenient time; and a Committee was chosen to consider what may be the most prudent method to proceed in order to take down the old meeting house, and rebuild it again for the interest of the Parish. This Committee made their report at a legal meeting, held January 5, 1748, which report was put on file, but not accepted. The question was then put, whether the Parish would, at present, proceed to rebuild the meeting house, and it passed in the negative. At a meeting of November 15, 1718, it was voted, that the Parish will proceed this present year to take down the old meeting house, and rebuild it again as soon as may be. Voted, that William Dodge and thirteen others be a Committee to consider what dimensions may be most suitable and accommodable for the Parish to build again, and what timbers and other materials will be wanting for the present, and make report at the adjourned meeting of November 21, 1748. The Committee then reported, that, having maturely considered the matter, they were of the opinion that a house of sixty-three feet in length, and forty-seven in width, and about twenty six in height, will be most suitable and accommodable for the Parish. Voted, that tile new meeting house be erected and built in the same place where the old one now stands. Voted, that Maj. Rogers (Samuel), Mr. Thomas Burnam, Mr. William Dodge, Capt. Treadwell, Dea. Haskell, Lieut. John Smith, Mr. John Treadwell, Mr. Thomas Dennis, Moses Kimball Jr., Mr. Francis Cogswell, Sergeant Daniel Potter, Mr. Daniel Heard, Jr., Jeremy Lord, Ensign Moses Wells, and Mr. Francis Sawyer, be a Committee, authorized, empowered and directed at the cost and charge of the Parish, to take down the old meeting house and erect a new one in the same spot, improving as much of the timber and other materials belonging to the old house as may be beneficial, of the dimensions already stated, and finish the house completely, as soon as may be, reserving the pew room for the use of the Parish, and to be at their disposal. Voted, that the house be glazed with eight by ten glass. At a subsequent meeting, held January 19, 1749, it was voted, that a suitable and convenient steeple be built with the house, and that the house be sixty-six feet in length, which is its actual length. At the same meeting, subscriptions, which had been made by many individuals to forward the work, were presented by the building Committee. accepted by the Parish, and put on record. These subscriptions were to be paid in money, timber and other materials, and in labor, and that on condition that the Parish, as soon as may be, build and finish the house, place it where the old one stands, grant room in it for forty-eight pews, and grant to each of the subscribers a convenient spot on the floor to erect a pew, &c. The amount subscribed was £4,567 Is, old tenor.
At a meeting held October 30, 1749, voted, that Maj. Rogers and fifteen others be a Committee for appraising and numbering the pews on the floor of the new meeting houses acccording to their value and situation, and rank them into distinct classes according to their appraisements together with the subscribers, having respect to their taxes and subscriptions, in order to their being granted accordingly. Voted, that no subscriber be admitted to draw a pew in the meeting house till he has paid his subscription. The Committee performed the service assigned them, and made their report, November 6j 1749, which was accepted and recorded. The numbering of the pews was in the following order: beginning at the first pew on the left hand of the front door' (tile house fronting the north-west,) as you enter the house, and so round the wall to the pew on the right hand of said door, including said pew, and then from the first pew of the second tier, as you enter the front door on the left hand, and so round to the pew on the right hand of said door, including that pew. The pews as appraised, varied from £120 to £60, and amounted in all to £3,480. Voted, that No. 40 be set apart for a Parish or ministerial pew. Voted, that fifty pews be allowed to be drawn by the subscribers, they paying the respective sums at which they are appraised. No. 1 was drawn by Maj. Samuel Rogers, at £120. The aristocracy of that day chose the wall pews; and the two wall pews next to the front door on each side commanded the highest price. No. 2 was drawn by Mr. John Treadwell, at £115; No. 3 by Mr. Isaac Appleton, at £110; No. 4 by Mr. John Wainwright, at £105; No. 5 by Joseph Goodhue, at £!30; No. 6 by Mr. Richard Dodge, at £105; No. 7 by Richard Shatswell, (This and the following numbers which are italicised, have continued in the family line of the original owners down to the present time.) at £105; No. 8 by Mr. John Goodhue, at £100; No. 9 by Richard Manning, at £100; No. 10 by Job Harris, at ;£75; No. 11 by Nathaniel Lord and son, at £75; No. 13 by Thomas Lord, hatter, at £75; No. 13 by John Appleton, at £75; No. 11 by Nathaniel Warner, at £75; No. 15 by Capt. Daniel Tilton, at £66; No. 16 by John Safford, at 60; No. 17 by Ensign Moses Wells, at £85; No. 18 by William Goodhue, at £90; No. 19 by Mr. John Perkins, at £90; No. 20 by Jeremy Perkins, widow Hannah Wallis and others, at £75; No. 21 by Daniel Potter, at £75; No. 22 by Mr. Thomas Burnam, at £1L00; No. 23 by Francis Cogswell, Jr., at £105; No. 24 by Francis Cogswell, Esq., at £110; No. 25 by Lieut. John Smith, at £105; No. 26 by Robert Wallis, Jr., at £90; No. 27 by Dea. Mark Haskell, at £105; No. 28 by Lieut. Thomas Dennis at £110; No. 29 by Capt. Nathaniel 'I'readwell, at £115; No. 30 by Rev. Nathaniel Rogers, at £120; No. 31 by John Pinder, at £90; No. 32 by Daniel Heard, Jr., at £85; No. 33 by Thomas Burnam, Jr., at £80; No. 34 by Nathaniel Lord, Jr., at £75; No. 35 by Caleb Warner, at £80; No. 36 by Daniel Lumas, at £80; No. 37 by Joseph Lord and Joseph Wilcom, at £85; No. 38 by Nathaniel Cross, at £85; No. 39 by Mr. Francis Sawyer, at £90; No. 40 Parish or ministerial pew; No. 41 by Samuel Wainwright, at £75; No. 42 by Mark Haskell, at £80; No. 43 by John Hodgkins, at £80; No. 44 by Joseph Perkins, at £80; No. 45 by Jonathan Brown and three sisters, at £85; No. 46 by Sergeant William Adams, at 80; No. 47 by Jeremy Fitts, at £80; No. 48 by William Jones, at £75; No. 49 by Benj. Shedley, at £80; No. 50 by Jabez Treadwell, at £85; No. 51 by Emerson Cogswell, at £90. Thus the pew-ground on the two outer tiers of the floor of the house was disposed of.
At a Parish meeting held December 21, 1749, a Committee, previously appointed for the purpose, presented a plan for gallery pews, which was accepted by the Parish, and was as follows: Beginning at No. 1 at the easterly corner of the house, and thence proceeding round the wall to the northerly corner, containing twenty-six pews. These pews were appraised from £35 to £38 each. No. 1 was granted to Joseph Fowler,No. 2 to Jeremy Lord, No; 3 to Richard Kimball, No. 4 to Berj. Kimball, No. 5 to John Henderson, No. 6 to David Peabody, No. 7 to James Lord, No. 8 to Baker and John Roberts, No. 9 to widow Sutten and her son Eben, No. 10 to John Warner, No. 11 to Bickford Pulsifer, No. 12 to John Holland, No. 13 to David and: Francis Pulsifer, No. 14 to Thomas Smith, No. 15 to Jacob Leatherland, No. 16 to Michael Farley, No. 17 to Nathaniel Jones, No. 18 to Aaron Kimball, No. 19 to Dea. Williams, No. 29 to Benj. Wait, No. 21 to Moses Kimball, No. 22 to Samuel Lord, No. .23 to Thomas Safford, No. 24 to Mr. John Denison, and John Newmarch, No. 25 to John Lull, No. 26 to Edmund Hurd, Jr. Appraisement of gallery pews £926. Appraisement of gallery and floor pews £4,406 Amount subscribed £4,567, 2s. Subscriptions supra appraisements £161 2s.
By whom was the house built? According to tradition, many hands were employed in the work. The frame was made by Daniel Heard, father of the late John and Nathaniel Heard; the staircase by Nathaniel Lord, grandfather of Capt. Nathaniel Lord, now present. The pulpit was planned and partly finished by Abraham Knowlton, who also gave the final polish to much of the work. He gave his whole soul and even sacrificed his life to it. While finishing the part about the belfry, he took a severe cold, which brought on a fever, of which he died. His son, a young man of about nineteen, completed what his father happily began. The sounding-board over my head, the brightest ornament of this temple, though planned by the father, was wrought chiefly by the son. Whatever becomes of this house, that sounding-board ought to be preserved, as a memorial of the ingenuity of its artifices throughout all generations. The entire house has always been regarded as a good piece of architecture for the time in which it was built. It has been standing on its original foundation more than ninety-six years, an evidence of the soundness of its materials, and the faithfulness of its workmanship. (On taking down the house it bears the .firmest testimony to the honesty of the day in which it was built.)
(Note: for more information on the pulpit see Pulpit in the Steeple)
For almost a century its lofty spire has been pointing the citizens to the visible heavens, while the pulpit within has been pointing the worshippers to the heaven of heavens. No firebrand of the incendiary has been permitted to inflame it below, and no flash of lightning to strike it from above. For nearly a hundred years it has been a faithful land-mark to the sailor on our coast, as well as a faithful directory to the haven of eternal peace. Its pulpit has been justly admired by men of taste from the beginning; and it does high honor to the original genius of the self-taught man who invented it. It has been taken as a model in the chief city of our solemnities. Though in 1747 Ipswich complimented Boston by employing one of her artificers in building a pulpit, designed to be of superior elegance, to the neglect of one of her own sons, that son in 1749 more than regained for her the compliment; and Brattle Street Church still pays honor to our pulpit.
But I must recall your attention to the history of the house. The whole central part of the floor, all within the two outer tiers, first sold, was originally made into free seats for the accommodation of those persons who were not pew owners. And a large and very respectable Committee was chosen every March meeting to seat the people according to their ages, taxes and rank. Though, generally speaking, the people were satisfied with the places assigned them, it was sometimes difficult to suppress the feeling, and to prevent its manifestation, ' I am entitled to a higher seat in the synagogue.' Then the complaint was not, 'They have taxed me too high,' but 'too low.' 'Gentlemen of the, Committee,' says Mr. K., 'you ought in justice to have given me a higher seat.' 'But, sir, you must consider that Esqs. A. B. and C. all pay higher taxes than you.' 'Ah! But they ought to have taxed me four times as much as they have done.' Such occasionally were the complaints of those days. Any person, however, who refused to take the place assigned him, and presumed to take another; was subjected to a penal punishment for the offence. Several aged and venerable men were seated directly in front of the pulpit. Next to them were the deacons in their proper place, facing the assembly, and, like Aaron and Hur, holding up the hands of the minister. And if the good men were either sleepy themselves or thought others so, they arose from their seats, stamped with their feet, and smote the banister with their fists, and commanded attention. One of the deacons sat near the hour glass, ready to turn it up the instant the text was named. And though ministers in those days ruled their people, as well as served them, and did both faithfully, a minister seldom presumed to pronounce the amen, before the last sands in the glass were run down; and if he ever did it, it was at the hazard of being cut short in the measure of grain, granted by his hearers for his support. But the minister as often overrun his hour as he fell short of it, and then, tradition says, though I do not find it in the records, the minister would call on the deacon for a second glass, as I should have occasion to do this afternoon, if the glass were in its place, and the deacon at his post. The people filled the seats in the body of the house, the men on the west and the women on the east side of the broad aisle; tything men being stationed, with stipulated salaries, well paid, to keep the boys and girls in order, as sentinels in earlier days were placed without our sanctuaries to prevent the interruption of public worship by the Indians. Nor was the office of tything men confined to boys and girls, nor to the interior of the house, for the Trustees, by vote of the Parish, were desired to treat with the tything men and use their influence with them, that all boys, and all persons whatever, that should play on the Sabbath in the meeting house or about it, or be abroad at time of divine service, should be complained of to authority, that they might be punished, as the law directed. On Monday morning, the boys who had been disorderly on the Sabbath were put into the stocks near the whipping post on the common. ( In the closet under the pulpit are found 16 rods, used by tything men, being about five feet in length and one inch in diameter.)
Though the ground of free pews was from time to time contracted, the practice of seating the people, as originally begun, continued down to the year 1791, more regard latterly having been paid to age, than to purse and to civil distinction.
No particular place in this sanctuary was assigned to singers during the first thirteen years of its existence. But in March, 1763, fourteen years after the house was built, the Parish voted, that the two back seats on each side of the front alley be banistered at the Parish charge for the accommodation of the singers. Those two back seats, thus banistered, the choir of singers occupied eighteen years, viz: from 1763 to 1781, when the Parish voted, that the singers should have leave to sit in the gallery during their pleasure.
Some time after the singers had vacated their seats below, viz: on June 1st, 1786, the Parish offered for sale, as pew ground, the space which they had occupied. In consequence of this, six pews were added to the fifty-one first made, raising the number to fifty-seven. No. 52 was sold to Mr. John Hodgkins 4th, for £22 l0s, lawful money; No. 53 to Mr. John Heard, Jr., for £21 15s;No. 54 to -Dr. Samuel Adams and Capt. Joseph Dennis, for £18 l0s; No. 55 to Mr. John Hodgkins 4th, for £19; No. 56 to Capt. Ephraim Kendall, for £10s;20 10s; No. 57 to Capt. Jabez Treadwell, for £24. Twelve years after, viz :. March 22, 1798, eight more pew-rights on the floor of the house were sold: one to Mr. John Heard, for $151; one to Mr. Jacob Treadwell, for $157; one to Mr. Moses Treadwell, for $151; one to Mr. Richard Shatswell, for $166; one to Capt. Ephraim Kendall, for $140; one to Mr. Samuel Lord, Jr., for $145; one to Mr. Richard Sutton, for $110; and one to Capt. Jonathan Ingersoll, for $104. These were the pews nearest to the broad aisle, and on both sides of it. This increased the number of pews to sixty-five.
At a meeting held April 15, 1813, the Parish voted to sell the pew floor on the east side of the broad aisle for two pews, and half the floor on the west side for one pew, the remaining half to be built into a pew at the expense of the Parish April 7, 1818, the sale of the last pew was referred to the Trustees. These four made the whole number of pews below sixty-nine. Thus eighteen pews, the property of individuals, covered the ground originally improved as free seats. The only seats of that description then remaining were in the side galleries. Nor did all of these long continue free. For in February 21, 1825, the Parish voted, that the south-east gallery, together with sufficient room in the front gallery for two pews on each side of the singers, be appropriated for pews, and disposed of as will be most for the interest of the Parish.
In early times contributions were made for the support of the gospel in the afternoon of every Sabbath. This practice prevailed here as early as 1641, and probably from the first establishment of this Church; and continued till the year 1763, when it began to be omitted. These contributions toot place under the direction of the deacons, whose care it was to see that the ministers were well provided for. At the proper moment one of the deacons would say:
Brethren, now there is time left for contribution, wherefore, as God hath prospered you, so freely offer.' The order of contributions anciently was this: ' The magistrates and chief gentlemen came forward first, and then elders; and all the congregation came up one after another one way, and brought their offerings to the deacon in his seat, and put it into a box. Eighty years ago it was customary in congregations generally for persons visiting in town on the Sabbath, to put some money into the box. This was called the strangers' money, and was stipulated as a perquisite for clergymen, when settled.'
Our singing seats have gone through various changes, without arriving to perfection; and various versions of the psalms have been used in the songs of our sanctuary. Sternhold and Hopkins' version was first used. About 1667 the Bay Psalm-book took its place. Before 1757 Tate and Brady were adopted. The introduction of Dr. Watts, Psalms and Hymns marks an important era in the history of our psalmody. This took place in 1776 At a meeting on April 25th, of that year, the Parish voted a concurrence with the Church to change the version of the psalms we sing in the public worship of God for Dr. Watts' Psalms and Hymns.
While ruling elders were in office, one of them read a single line, and all in the congregation who could sing rose in different parts of the meeting house, and sung it, and then another line, till the psalm was through. When and where there were no elders, one of the deacons performed this office. In later times, the deacon read two lines at once, and still later, a whole verse; In l 790 Dea. Perkins, for the first time, and at the request of the singers, read a whole verse at once for them in the psalms. At or about 1793, ministers began to read at once the whole portion to be sung, as at the present day.
A clock, purchased by subscription, was landed in Ipswich May 29, 1762. The Parish, on May 31st, voted their readiness to receive it into the steeple of this meeting house; and September 16, 1762, they voted to be at the charge of putting it up there, and also of the two dial plates and of one hand, and to record the subscriptions for the clock. That clock, though I am sorry to say that in these degenerate days it does not always speak the truth, has with great fidelity measured out time for our fathers and for us, during the space of eighty-four years. As it has been directly in view from my study windows for more than thirty years, I acknowledge myself under great obligations for its constant and faithful friendship.
'The clock strikes one. We take no note of time
But from its loss: To give it then a tongue
Is wise in man. As if an angel spoke,
I feel the solemn sound.'
A bell, presented to the town by Hon. Richard Salstonstall, was rung in 1659 at nine o'clock in the evening. In 1696 it was voted by the town to get another of two hundred pounds from England. This was sold to Marblehead in l 700, and another, weighing six hundred pounds, was purchased in its stead. In 1716 the bell was rung at five o' clock in the morning from the 6th of March. In 1769 it was rung at half past twelve at noon, and at nine in the evening. By vote of the Parish it was first hung up in the balcony of this house, at the town's cost, in 1794. This bell being broken in its great joy on the announcement of peace with the parent nation, the present bell was procured by the concurrent action and the mutual expense of the First and the South Parishes.
This house has occasionally been used for other than strictly religious purposes. A company of French soldiers spent a night in it near the close of the revolutionary war. It was filled with those who rejoiced on the declaration of our national independence, and with those who mourned on the decease of him to whom more than to any other mortal we are indebted for the blessings of that independence; whom we delight to call the father of our country; and whose memory and exalted virtues come up fresh before us on this the anniversary of his birth. It was also filled to overflowing August 6, 1775, at the religious services immediately preceding the execution of Pomp for murdering his master, on which occasion prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Frisbie and a sermon preached by Rev. Dr. Dana, of this town, from the text ' He that sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.' It was filled in like manner at the centennial celebration of 1834, when the piety of Dana and the eloquence of Choate, were united in portraying the excellent characters and worthy deeds of our ancestors.
That noble philanthropist and devoted friend of America the renowned Lafayette, in 1824, received such honors and congratulations as this ancient and respectable town could give him. In 1815, it was brilliantly illuminated at every window on the return of peace with Great Britain.
In surveying once more this house of our fathers, what do we see? The elders' seat in front of the pulpit deserted by its venerable occupants, retaining only the communion table, and that of modern date; the deacons' seat, sacred almost as the pulpit itself, removed, its banisters torn away in a heat, or for a heat; for the accommodation a stove to warm a generation, unable to endure hardness or unwilling to endure coldness, like their fathers before them; the deacons themselves once in a few months traversing the whole house to receive the contributions of a few in behalf of some benevolent object, instead of receiving it at their pew from all the congregation every Sabbath; the large company of men on the right hand, and of Women on the left, banished from their free seats; the hour glass destroyed; and the minister himself substituting for a sermon of a full hour a discourse of thirty minutes, or, at most, of forty-five; and the people glad to have it so. And what will be the end thereof What will come next? Why, the house itself must be taken down. So all the young people say. So most of the middle-aged say. So say not a few of the fathers and mothers in Israel. All, all yield their assent in a spirit of harmony. And last of all, to cap the climax, the Pastor, with stronger attachment to the house than any other mortal on earth, but with a love to the souls of the young inconceivably stronger, pronounces his hearty Amen.
But, my friends, none of us can think of taking our leave of this house with other sentiments than those of profound respect. I have mentioned its age, as a reason why we should leave it with such sentiments. It is universally acknowledged, both by the pagan and the Christian world, that age is entitled to respect. What man of common decorum, and what body of men, when taking leave of an aged and venerable friend, do not do it with expressions of respect and veneration? Does a man, distinguished for wisdom and worth as well as years, retire from our company? who, that possesses a particle of the spirit of our fathers, does not rise to pay him reverence? This house is an old friend, as it respects the highest interests of men. Can we part with a friend, so constant, so valuable, and so venerable for age, almost all of whose cotemporaries have gone before it, with other sentiments than those of profound respect? Though laden with infirmities, and on the point of dissolution; shall it not receive this day our sincere and united veneration ?
It must awaken among us deep emotions to take a retrospective view of those who were engaged in the active scenes of life, when this house was erected
Our fathers, where are they ? Where are the men who planned and erected this sanctuary ? Where are they who, with demonstrations of joy, resembling those of the morning stars who sang the birth of time, were present when its corner stone was laid when its noble, firm frame was reared; when the whole work was completed; and when with solemn religious services, led by the excellent and venerable Nathaniel Rogers, it was consecrated to Jehovah? Where are they who first conducted its worship; who first guided its sacred songs; who first joined in its solemn services? Where are Rogers, and Appleton, and Hilton, and Perkins, and Wainwright, and Williams, and Denison, and more than seventy others, who with their respective families first took possession of the pews of this house, and there first listened to the words of eternal life? Gone, without a solitary exception, to the world of spirits. And since their departure what has been seen here but troops of pilgrims on their way to eternity? Since this house was erected, at least two thousand persons, while connected with this Society, have gone to their account. I have conversed and worshipped with those who saw the former house, and who rejoiced when the foundations of this then new one were laid. But not one of them remains among us; not one of them: exists on earth. Where are the men to mingle their tears of joy and sorrow, in remembrance of the time when this sacred structure, founded on a rock, fit emblem of the Rock of Ages on which the Christian Church ever rests, was built, and in consideration of the fact, that henceforth it is no more ?
We should take a respectful leave of this house on account of the good it has done.
Of this good, our present conceptions are very inadequate. It is not confined to earth and time. Its grand results, eternity alone can disclose. Here, three generations of men have assembled to pay their honors to the Most High, and learn the way to heaven. Here, on five thousand Sabbaths have they met to listen to the gospel's joyful sound, and to offer the incense of devotion. Here, from this sacred desk, on the Lord's day and on other days, not less than eleven thousand times have Christ's ambassadors proclaimed the messages of grace and salvation. For some time after this house was built, there was a weekly Thursday lecture, to which succeeded a monthly lecture in 1753, attended by members of the courts, when in session. Here, full twenty two thousand times have our fathers and we called on the name of the Lord in prayer. In this sacred temple have the high praises of God been sung full twenty-eight thousand times. Here, around the sacramental board, have professing friends of Jesus, at no less than eight hundred and thirty precious seasons, commemorated the dying love of their Redeemer; deacons Williams, and Perkins, and Low, and Crocker, and Story, and Lord, and Knowlton, and Haskell and others, officially distributing the sacramental elements. Here, baptism has been administered to two thousand and four hundred individuals. Here, four hundred persons have entered into covenant with God; the young with joy, that they might devote their whole lives to their Maker, and the aged with regret, that they did not earlier join themselves to God and to his people. Here, occasionally have the precious remains of some dear friend, accompanied by mourning relatives, tarried a sad and solemn hour, on their way to the silent grave, while the minister of the sanctuary commended the bereaved to the God of all grace, and endeavored to administer to them the balm of consolation. Here, too, have been seen the steps, if not heard the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, after their hands and their destinies have been united in virtuous wedlock. Here, in former times, children assembled in joyful troops to be instructed by their Pastor in 'the chief end of man.' Here, have the teachers and the members of the Sabbath school met together to impart and to receive that instruction which is adapted to guide them safely to heaven. Here, have ministers of Christ been solemnly consecrated to the pastoral office. Here, the most high God has taken up his gracious abode. Here. he has poured out his Holy Spirit. The sacred influence in the days of our fathers and in our day has been like the dew of Hermon, like the dew that descended on the mountains of Zion, where God commanded his blessing, even life forever more. Here, from generation to generation he has met his people and blessed them. Gracious and glorious things have been done in this house of our God. Glorious things also have been spoken of her. Of this our Zion it has been said on earth, and it will he said in Heaven, and, I doubt not, that it is said thereto-day, 'This and that man was born there.'
Who, what mortal, what immortal creature can estimate the good, in the formation of character, in the happiness of this life and during an endless state, resulting from services performed here? The influence this house has exerted, is not confined to those who remain among us, and who have died in this place. Hundreds, who in early life worshipped here, who received the rudiments of their religious education at this sanctuary have gone into various parts of our country, where their influence, as it respects the common good of society and the cause of Christianity; as it respects the present and the future welfare of men, is both powerful and happy. What part of New England or of our country do you visit without meeting some, who remember, with gratitude to God, this ancient sanctuary as the seat of their early worship, and the source of their best impressions? There is great power, great moral power in the sanctuary. Its prayers, its instructions, and its sacred songs have a mighty and momentous influence on the character and destiny of men. And where is the sanctuary, which, considering the number of its attendants, has exerted a more Extensive and more salutary influence than this? Its sons and daughters are in city and country, at the east and at the west, in this and in other lands. And the influence they exert and the good they effect, the spring of which was in our Zion, exceeds all our thoughts. If God sifted three kingdoms that he might bring choice wheat into this wilderness, and if a good portion of that wheat fell in this place, it has been scattered by our children broadcast over the land, and the harvest is rich and abundant. It is among the most pleasant circumstances of my life, that in most places which I visit I meet those who had their birth or early residence with us, and who, with gratitude to God and man, acknowledge the happy influence of this sanctuary on them. Said a man to me; a man venerable for years, rich in experience, careful in observation, and deeply interested in the temporal and spiritual good of men, living in one of our populous cities, whose name gives weight to every sentiment he utters; 'We always expect your young men to be correct in morals, respectable in character, and valuable members of society; and we are seldom disappointed.' Young ladies, who have come to this place to receive literary instruction, while they have added intelligence and brilliancy to our assemblies, have also received a new moral impulse which has given increased power to their instructions and example in subsequent life. But, my friends, the services of this day being closed, not another prayer will be offered, nor another sermon preached, nor another song sung in these courts of our God. Good impressions, which have been made on the minds of those who have worshipped here, will be continued and extended, and a happy influence will thence go down to the remotest period of time. But no new impression will thus be made here. Never again will the sacramental table here be spread with the emblems of the Saviour's dying love. Never again will any, whether children or adults, here be consecrated to God in baptism. Never will any hereafter in this sacred house join themselves to the Lord in solemn covenant. Never again will the sable bier, followed by those who mourn, on its way to yonder grave-yard, be borne in hither. Never will a Pastor here again impart catechetical instruction to the lambs of his flock. Never will another lesson to the Sabbath school be given out, another question asked, or another answer returned. Never will another minister of Christ here be consecrated to his holy office. Never will another contribution be made to relieve the common wants of any among ourselves, or to promote the cause of piety or benevolence abroad. Never will another benediction be pronounced within these sacred walls. In view of the benefits this house has conferred on mankind; in view of the good it has done, how deep should be our emotions, how solemn our feelings, since this afternoon its services close forever
.Here, holy men of God proclaimed with great power his sacred truth.
Vain were the attempt to enumerate all those servants of the Most High, who occasionally ascended this sacred desk to minister in the name of Christ. On this rock (The pulpit is literally founded on an immense rock) the renowned Whitefield spread out his hands like the wings of a seraph and with an eloquence rarely equalled by man, poured. forth weighty and eternal truth, grounded on the sacred passage, 'On this rock will I build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' Here, the beloved and venerated Nathaniel Rogers preached the gospel for the space of twenty-six years, after laboring in the former house almost as long, in connection with his father, Rev. John Rogers. Pleasant, modest, yet dignified in deportment; strong and discriminating in intellect; various and rich in knowledge, and happy in his manner of communicating it; thoroughly acquainted with the truths of the gospel, and full of love to them and to souls ; uniting in an uncommon degree the great and the good; and firmly sustaining the loss of one half his church and congregation a short time before the dissolution of the former sanctuary; with distinguished ability, fidelity and zeal, he preached the gospel of Christ in this house the first quarter of a century after its erection. The happiest harvest of his labors he ever gathered, was in the former house, under the united ministry of himself and his father, who, a century ago, at the age of eighty, left the world in most successful action. Here, the amiable and lamented Frisbie, affectionately remembered by some of my hearers, for thirty years prayed with the fervency of the prophet Daniel; and, with unsurpassed integrity and faithfulness, preached the unsearchable riches of Christ. A house whose religious services for more than half a century were conducted by such able and pious ministers of the New Testament, ought on their account to be regarded with respect on retiring from it.
True, the success of their labors, if tested by the number received to the communion of the Church, was small. After the great awakening under the united ministry of John and Nathaniel Rogers, which in the course of five years brought 149 into the Church, there was here as in other parts of our country a lamentable declension of religion, which continued many years. So that during the twenty-six years of Nathaniel Rogers' ministry in this house, only thirty-five, and during the thirty years of Mr. Frisbie's ministry, onlyeighty persons, were received into communion with this Church, both by profession and by letter. During the last thiry-nine years, blessed be the God of all grace, two hundred and eighty-eight have been received. The largest number admitted at any one time, since the house was erected, was thirty, which was on May 2d, 1830. The largest number admitted in one year was ninety-four, which was the year 1830. A recollection of the interesting and momentous transactions of that year; a recollection especially of the vows of consecration to God by so many of the present members of this Church, connected with the consideration, that the very house which witnessed those vows will soon be no more, (those vows are still heard in heaven) should give additional solemnity to our minds on retiring this afternoon from these sacred courts.
It should excite in our hearts deep emotion to reflect, that our fathers' fathers worshipped here.
Not only have three generations come up to this sanctuary on the first day of the week, but among them were those from whom many of us descended, and whose very names we bear. We attach a high value to a private dwelling which was the residence of our parents, grandparents, and more remote ancestors, because it was their residence. So we naturally feel a deep interest in a house of worship in which our ancestors in successive generations met to pay their honors to the Most High. The pews in which they sat to hear the word are dear to their descendants. Those who this afternoon occupy seats first owned and occupied by their fathers' fathers, will leave them with deep emotions, as though they believed that the spirits of the first owners were actually present. With deep feeling should we leave this house to-day, considered as the place where our fathers poured out their hearts unto God, and where they received the counsels of his love.
The fact, that many Who have waited on God in this house are now praising him in heaven, should impart to us at once solemnity and delight. Not only has there been an invisible ladder, such as appeared to Jacob in vision, reaching from this consecrated spot to heaven, on which angels of God have ascended and descended, as divine worship has here been paid; not only has there been a happy sympathy between Christians here and saints in glory, on the subject of redeeming love; but many worshippers have hence ascended, and are before the throne of God, uniting with an innumerable multitude of the redeemed in their holy and sublime services. This house has been to many the gate of heaven. The foundations for eternal joy and praise to many now within the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem were laid amid the services of this sacred temple. Voices that once united in joyful praises here, now unite in sweeter and loftier praises there. Hundreds who received the grace of God in these humble courts, about to be dissolved, are now worshipping God in a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. See them bending from their lofty seats today, and looking down with intense interest on their descendants, in affectionate and grateful remembrance of those instructions which were happily instrumental in preparing them for their present glorified state. Is this house remembered, and will it always be remembered with deep interest in heaven by all who were either new-born or nourished here? Then it should be regarded with interest by those who have been trained to piety in it, who are still on earth. Their last look upon its sacred walls, should be a look of filial respect.
We should feel a deep interest in this house to-day, be cause lost souls are painfully interested in it.
Lost men in wo have clear memories and faithful consciences. 'Son, remember thy past privileges,' pierces with intense anguish the soul that passes impenitent from the sanctuary of God to the tribunal of its Judge. All his sins in this life, especially his sins against gospel grace, against precious sanctuary privileges, rush upon and confound him. Do hundreds in heaven remember this house with gratitude to God for the benefits they received in it? Do they cherish its memory with pleasure, as the place of their spiritual birth or growth? And do not other hundreds in hell remember with painful and poignant regret their absence from its services, their neglect of its privileges, and their rejection of its offers? Does not their exclamation seem to break upon our ears to-day: 'O, that we had been wise, that we had thought of these things, that we had considered our latter end! O, that we had duly valued and united in the prayers' offered for us in the house of God, near to which our lot was cast, and which we were accustomed to visit on the Lord's day! O, that from the heart we had joined in the praises of God in his earthly courts! O, that we had listened to Rogers, Frisbie, and other ministers of Christ, when they taught us the way of life, and entreated us in his name to be reconciled to God! Then had our peace been like a river. Then, instead of mingling our wailings with the spirits of darkness here, we should have been uniting our praises with the spirits of light in heaven. Do their lamentations, my friends, come up to us from their dismal prison? Let us take heed, lest we come to the communion of their wo. Let us takes heed, lest our sins in this house, our sins against its prayers, its praises, its instructions, invitations and warnings, be to us matter for deep regret in the world of despair. Let us tremble at the thought of leaving this house in a spirit of opposition to its last calls and warnings. Let us tremble at the thought of taking our final leave of this sanctuary, where some of us have assembled for worship many years, with all our sins against its gracious calls, unrepented and unpardoned. Surely, impenitent rejectors of gospel grace will have cause for fearful forebodings, if they pass the threshhold of this house, as they return from it to-day, in that character.
I cannot blame our aged friends, to whom this sanctuary has been the Zion of their days, if their sensibility is moved at its fountain; if tears run down their eyes at the thought of worshipping in it no more. I tenderly and fully sympathize with them. Did the aged men at the time of Daniel, who had seen the former temple which had long lain in ruins, weep on remembrance of it, when the foundation of the new one was laid? Why should not our aged friends, who have spent all their Sabbaths in this sanctuary, weep, when they know that its dissolution is at hand? While I sympathize deeply with you, my aged and respected friends, whose worship I have here guided almost forty years, let me bear you along with me in the sentiment of a highly respected aged brother, while he was with us, but who is now in glory, that as our fathers left us a convenient house of worship, we ought to leave a convenient one for our children. Your partiality to this venerable structure, arising from your long and familiar acquaintance with it, and from its numerous tender and hallowed associations, you will cheerfully relinquish in the earnest desire of leaving to your children a house adapted to their taste, in which they and their children, and children's children may hope to worship God. What better legacy can you leave your posterity than a home in a house of God, erected on one of the best sites in Zion, where the gospel in its simplicity and purity is to be preached every Sabbath?
If tears of sensibility should flow from the eyes of aged Christians, in view of the approaching dissolution of a house they so much venerate, tears of another kind; tears of penitential sorrow, should flow down the eyes of those, who, though they have made that house the place of their worship many years, have misimproved their precious privileges, and are entirely destitute of Christian faith and holiness.
It is a question of momentous interest for all stated worshippers, How hve you improved your past privileges here? As it is the last time for you to worship within these sacred walls it seems as though the final day had come to settle the question, Have you improved your sanctuary privileges in a manner acceptable to your Judge? I entreat you, brethren and friends, to revolve this question in your minds, as if you felt that the Judge is at the door. Do you not hear the voice of the Son of God, saying unto you, 'I am he who searches the reigns and the heart, and I give to every man according to his deeds?' The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly knows how you have heard and received, or how you have refused, the counsels of his word and the offers of his grace, during your attendance at this sanctuary. And he is making up his final sentence accordingly. What is that sentence? one of approval or one of condemnation? Have you improved your seasons of worship here in such manner that you are now prepared to give up your account with joy ? Do not these seats, do not these walls, do not these pillars, does not this sacred desk, does not this holy book, does not the voice of God within you, speaking by your own consciences, testify against some of you, and reprove you for disobeying that gospel, which has here been preached to you, and for rejecting that Saviour who has here been offered you? Should the sentence immediately go forth from the great Judge, would it not be to some a sentence of condemnation?
My dear friend, would it be so to you? 'Repentance should like rivers flow from both your streaming eyes.' If the doctrine of immediate repentance ought ever to be preached, (and when should not that doctrine be preached to persons every moment liable to perish in their sins?) it ought to be preached to stated worshippers in this house, who are now impenitent. Let me then earnestly, but affectionately, call upon all such to repent without delay. Have you not grievously sinned in this house? And will you not make the place where you have sinned against God, against the calls of his gospel and the strivings of his Spirit, the place of sincere and thorough repentance? Will you not repent in this house of your sins against its precious privileges, while its walls are yet standing; before the sentinel on its lofty steeple shall cease to remind you of your transgressions, and before the ground beneath it shall exhibit a scene of desolation, before the last religious services within it shall be closed ?
I advise you as a friend; I entreat you as a father; I beseech you as an ambassador of Christ; in his name and by his authority through the imposition of hands in this sanctuary, I conjure you, not to leave this house this afternoon, not to leave it for the last time, in a spirit of alienation from God, in a spirit of unbelief, in a spirit of disobedience to the gospel. Repent, for God from on high, who in his providence led your fathers to erect this house to the honor of his name, calls you to repentance. Repent, for Christ, whose death has been commemorated here for almost a century, as from the cross of Calvary, enjoins on you this duty. Repent, for holy apostles and ministers of Christ, in earlier and later periods, from the mansions of bliss add their urgent exhortations to the same. Repent, for all the friends and followers of Jesus, who have worshipped here and gone to their rest, this day enjoin it. Repent, for all the privileges of this house, all its instructions and warnings, will bear witness against you. Repent, for this sanctuary itself, about to be closed forever, calls upon you to turn to God without delay. No, as the last service you can render here, yield your heart up to God.
I entreat you all, my friends, in view of these sacred walls and of this more sacred desk; in view of the spirits of your fathers, who ascended to glory from under the ministrations of this sanctuary, and of those servants of Christ, who 'pointed them to brighter worlds and led the way;' in view of the God of our fathers, who has honored this house with his frequent and gracious presence; and in consideration of thee fact, that this is the last time for divine worship to be performed here; I entreat you all to close your services here with a hearty, entire and solemn consecration of yourselves to God. Let his courts above and his sanctuary below witness at once the sincerity of your devotion to him.
To little children in particular let me say: My dear young friends, if you live to grow up, you will be asked: Do you remember the old meeting house on the hill in Ipswich, and the minister who last preached in it? and each of you will be able to say: O yes, I remember it well. On a very pleasant day in February, 1846, when the house was full of people, the Pastor preached in it, and looking directly at me, he said:
'O come, before you further run,
And give yourself to God.'
And shall it, my dear young friend, appear in the light of eternity, that you followed his advice?
Still we love to linger within these sacred and time-honored walls. But we must now take our final leave of them, looking back on what is most dear to our hearts.
Thou Sacred Desk, ingenious in contrivance, excellent in workmanship, venerable for age, dear to our fathers and to us, where on the Sabbaths of almost a hundred years, stood the messenger of grace, 'negotiating between God and man, as God's ambassador, the great concerns of judgment and of mercy,' for the knowledge, holiness and happiness imparted by thee, thou art worthy to be preserved until that day which shall consume all things terrestrial, with terra firma herself. In the memory of the faithful, thou
'Shouldest stand acknowledged, while the world shall stand,
A most important and effectual guard,
Support and ornament of virtue's cause.'
Grateful for thy kind and faithful services, we bid thee an affectionate farewell.
Ye seats, devoted to 'music divine,' your songs more grateful than you commodious, with the song of Old HUNDRED, a song worthy to be sung in every Church, in every land, by every tongue, in all ages, we take our leave of you, rejoicing in the hope, that seats more convenient will soon be provided, from which more joyful praises will ascend to Zion's King.
Farewell, thou Temple of our God; farewell. The voice of prayer shall be heard no more in thee. The voice of praise shall be heard no more in thee. The voice of instruction shall be heard no more at all in thee. The sighing of the prisoners and the songs of the ransomed shall be heard no more in thee. The table of the Lord, overshadowed with the banners of his dove, will be spread no more in thee. The rite of baptism will be administered no more in thee. The covenant of peace will be embraced no more in thee. The Sabbath school will meet no more in thee. The light of the candle will shine no more in thee. The multitude who keep holy day will assemble no more at all in thee. The solemn and affectionate benediction will be pronounced no more in thee. Farewell, thou sacred and venerable house of God, Farewell!
In taking our leave of this house, thanks to the God of our fathers, we do not take leave of the hill on which it stands. 'This hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets.' As a seat of divine worship for almost two hundred years, it is sacred, like the hill of ancient Zion. Here, on this rock, a church will stand, till hills and mountains, seas, Earth and time shall be no more. Soon will another house rise here, rise in beauty and in strength. May its glory, through the gracious presence of the God of Jacob, far exceed that of its predecessor. When God shall come to build up Zion, he will appear in his glory. In the meantime, wherever we pitch our tabernacle, may his
presence and grace attend us. May the cloud of glory be upon our tabernacle by day, and fire by night in the sight of all the people. Let our affections still cluster around this sacred spot. Never on the returning sabbath let us forget the place where this house was. In reference to it let us say with all the affection of the pious Jews, when, in the land of their captivity hanging their harps upon the willows they remembered Zion, and say individually, If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning; if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Be it our care that we do not become scattered upon the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd, between the time of leaving this sacred spot and returning to it, to consecrate a new house to God. During that interval may the God of our fathers, who chose this hill, as the Zion of their day, be with us and bless us. With us may he return on that glad day. Then will be heard anew the voice of religious joy and gratitude. Applicable to that season will be these words of ancient prophecy, Thus saith the Lord, again shall be heard in this place the voice of joy and the voice of gladness; the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; the voice of them that say, Praise the Lord of hosts; for his mercy endureth forever; and the voice of them that bring the sacrifice of praise unto the house of the Lord.
Let us all now listen with attention to the dying words of the House itself.
My dear family, for many years I have been a nourishing parent to your fathers and to you. I have fed you with pure gospel truth, with ' doctrine uncorrupt.' I have refreshed you with divine ordinances. To many of your departed friends I have been the gate of heaven. Many who honored me, as their earthly Zion, are now citizens of the New Jerusalem. But my days are numbered and finished. The time of my departure has come. No more can I feed you with the bread and the water of life. I die; but God be with you and bless you, if you keep in mind the counsels I have given you, and obey them. When I am dead, bury me speedily. Carry me silently to the place of my rest. Lay up in your hearts the instructions you have received from me. They are your life. Practise them. Then you will be prepared the better to receive the instructions of my successor. Let none of my aged friends, who hoped that I should live as long as they, too much lament my death. The days of my years have far exceeded those of either of my predecessors. When another church shall rise in my place, transfer in full your affections from me to it. Repair to it, parents and children, old and young. Make permanent seats in it; and let them never be vacant. Invite the attendance of those who naturally belong here; but who in consequence of my age and infirmities, or from whatever cause have had no church home of late. Be of one mind, and the God of love and of peace will be with you.
Blessed are all they who hear the word of God, And keep it. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.