/ +//tm tvCtoibr^ §rom f 0e feifirar^ of (professor ^amuef (JJtiffer in QJtemotE of 3ubge §bi Society — Parish Affairs. Settlement of a Pastor. Support of the Pastor. Vari- ous Modes of Providing for Parish Expenses — Taxes — Rent of Pews— Sub mds — Sabbath Col- lections. Meeting Houses. Free Seals. Secular Use of Churc i es. Pars The Young Men. Schools - - - - 173 CHAPTER f.VT! I ' C Dismission of M >mbei . from one Church to another. — Exchanges. Councils. Associations. Transfer of Ministers from >ne Church to another - - 211 CHAPTER XII. Relations and Intercourse with other Denominations, Relations with Presbyterians. Deportment towards Churches not in Communion with us. Proselyting, and its Unworthy Arts. Joint-stock Meeting Houses. Union Meetings. Catholicism - 221 CHAPTER XIII. Conclusion. Things requisite to the Practical Christian — Holiness — Prayer — Knowledge — A sound Faith — Concern for the Purity of the Church — Judgment — Candor — Pru- dence — Liberality — Constancy and Perseverance - 239 L* Erratum.— At page 144, 3rd line from bottom, for "settled tendencies," read subtle tendencies. Correction.*— The number of Congregational Churches in England and Wales is larger by several hundreds thau I have stated, page 15. The number there given (1600 or 1700.) is only the number associated in the "Congregational Union of England and Wales." This, upon the authority of one of the Baptist Delegates from England, now in this country. PREFACE. This little volume has been written with r< h rence to the youthful and growing Congregation of which it is the Author's; happiness to he the Pastor. If it should please God to make it serviceable to them, my end is answered and my labor abun- dantly repaid : if its usefulness should bo extended bc]-oud them, I shall have the greater cause to be thankful. The title will remind the real me other books, from abler pens than mine. I allude "Church Member's Guide," by Mr. James, the " ' mal," by Air. Bacon, and the "Tribute to the Me n 'ilgrims," by Dr. Ilawes, — books with which [ ho| ti is too well ac- quainted to make it necesa their excel- lence and worth. The to\ lume, are, for the most part, distinct froi Our several roads may lie within sight ■ dom coinci- dent. Ef mine lie in a mo -. if it lead through a tract more mo of emo- tion, it is also less freque 1 t account may contribute somethin ler, if not to his amusement. It will bo noticed tl touched upon in the : ussed or lich fall Vlii PREFACE. among the controversies of the times. I have taken them up as they came in my way, and endeavored to dispose of them agreeably to the dictates of the Bible and common sense, not expecting to meet the views of everybody. It is impossible to be universally orthodox in an age when almost every subject, doctrinal or practical, is matter of excited altercation, — when with many, truth itself is ultraism, while with others, sobriety of judgment is too lukewarm a quality, and " meek-eyed" charity too smooth of tongue, to suit their inflammable zeal. Without attempting to write, in a formal way, on our eccle- siastical polity, I have wished to promote among our people a more general acquaintance with that subject. I do not suppose that Church order is the most important thing in religion. But neither is it the least important. It certainly is not unimpor- tant. Churches were instituted by Christ for particular pur- poses ; to wit, the edification of the members, and the efficient propagation of religion in the world ; and it is obvious that the manner of their constitution, that is, their polity, must have much to do with their adapteduess to the ends in view ; and of course, that it can never be otherwise than an important subject to be studied and known. One could not wish, indeed, to see it exalted into that undue consequence, relatively considered, which was assigned to it in the discussions of by-gone centuries, much less to resuscitate the spirit of those discussions ; but neither is it well that it be wholly neglected. Besides the intrinsic and proper importance of the subject, it is desirable to know something about it, to be able to estimate PREFACE. IX the comparative claims of the different existing system3. AVe still hear of the lineage and validity of this order and that. — for though discussion has iu a great measure ceased, as to this par- ticular field, pretension has not, — and it needs some intelligence to settle us. As to the Congregational system, its claims to a scriptural antiquity, and its practical utility, will be best understood, and most truly, and I trust most highly appreciated, by those who have studied it most. If it be as " jjrimitive''' as the Scriptures, and was familiar to Paul, it is doubtless primitive enough, and quite tolerably " apostolic," the claims notwithstanding, of primogeniture by others. Be this as it may, I cannot but think we are suffering it to fall into too much neglect among us. Our fathers sought truth on this subject with the same conscientiousness and care, as they sought the mind of Christ on other subjects. They sough; it at the expense of persecution and exile ; and having, with unwearied pains, found it, they rejoiced in it. It was to them " like unto a treasure hid in a field ; the which, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." In that age of ecclesiasti- cal confusion, and of turning back towards popery, they pro- fessed that " they looked upon the discovery and settlement of the Congregational way, as the boon, the gratuity, the largest of divine bounty, which the Lord graciously bestowed on his people that followed him into the wilderness." But we, their descendants, so far from entering into their studies, are almosi PREFACE. content to be ignorant of the very results of them, furnished to our hands. Is it not true, — and if it be true, is there not utterly a fault among us, — that not a few of our ministers do not inform themselves even, much less acquaint their people, thoroughly, with the principles and grounds of our ecclesiastical system 1 And does it not hence arise, that our people are often too little intelligent in this matter properly to discharge the duties wl5;ch our system requires of them as members ; and too little estab- lished in their views to be not soon unsettled and drawn away to churches of a different order, whose polity they find to be more insisted on, and whose claims they are not qualified to canvass ? Ought we not, as a part of our duty to our churches, and especially when large accessions are made to them of the subjects of our revivals, to instruct them, not only in the doctrines and moral duties of their religion, but in the polity also, under which it is their duty and privilege to act ? " The Principles and Practice of the Congregational Church- es," become the more important in view of the place which these churches occupy, and doubtless are destined to occupy, in rela- tion to the great cause of Christ on earth. It is not to be sup- posed, indeed, that the world is to be converted by means of any one denomination of Christians. All shall be privileged to share in that glorious achievement. But if we consider the history of these New England churches, with their numerous and increasing offspring in the west — if we consider the way in which God has led them from the beginning, who " sifted thre§ PREFA' W kingdoms that he might plant the American wilderness with tho finest of the wheat," — if we consider their principles and spirit, their institutions, their intelligence, their presses, their zeal for moral reform, enlightened, principled, and constant; and their liberal devotedness to tho work of missions and other objects of universal philanthropy 5 we cannot but suppose that they are to have a very prominent agency in tho renovation of the world. It is therefore important that every member of their communion, should be prepared with every sort of instruction and qualification for the fulfilment of so high a destiny. If this humble volume contribute at all to such a result,— if it cause so much as one church, or member, of so important a communion, to be better informed, or more judicious— if it cast a little salt into so great a fountain,— it will not be valueless, nor the labor of it lost. CHAPTER I. ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE CONGREGATION- AL CHURCHES. If every man should know something of the history of his own religious communion, it is especially desira- ble that such a history as that of the founders of the Churches of New England should, by every means, be kept alive in the minds of their posterity. The char- acter of our Pilgrim Fathers, the causes and objects of their removal hither, the hardships they suffered — more for the sake of us their children, than for their own, — have a most sacred claim upon our memory. It is a history which every son of New England should value as his birth -right. " No sober New Englander (says Dr. Dwight) can read the history of his country, with- out rejoicing that God has caused him to spring from the loins of such ancestors, and given him his birth in a country whose public concerns were entrusted to their management:" and it mav be added, that no New Englander who is willingly ignorant of that history is worthy of his origin ; or capable of appreciating, or competent to defend, the inestimable inheritance which has descended to him. " I shall count my country lost, (says Cotton Mather) in the loss of the primitive prin- ciples, and the primitive practices, upon which it was 2 14 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. at first established :" that loss, however, will ensue, and New England will cease to be New England, when her degenerate children, (if that should ever be,) shall be generally ignorant of her history, or cease to revere the memory of her founders. It is not, however, the design, nor is it within the com- pass, of this volume, to give such a history. A few things only can be noticed, as introductory to the matters which are to follow. The Congregational polity, at least in some of its leading features, began early to be discussed, among the schemes which occupied the Reformers of the six- teenth century, but did not assume a visible and per- manent existence till about 1600. The exiled church at Leyden, under the care of the celebrated Robinson, which afterwards removed to Plymouth, in New Eng- and, is regarded as the mother of the Congregational sister-hood, and its pastor, as the founder of the Congre- gational plan. This church was gathered in England in 1602. Be- ing harrassed by an intolerant establishment, they re- moved, a few years after, to Holland, and thence, in 1620, to Plymouth; where the first detachment of them arrived, in a forlorn condition, in the depth of winter. From the distresses of the sea, which had detained them long upon its bosom, they escaped, at length, to encoun- ter the greater distresses of a houseless forest and an inclement season, — distresses, both of sea and land. THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. 15. which only a piety like theirs would have been willing to encounter, and a faith like theirs, been able to sus- tain. The settlement at Plymouth was the first of the reli- gious colonies which, within a few years after, during the " Laudian persecution," peopled the streams and harbors of New England. And this was the begin- ning of Congregationalism in this country. Meantime, a branch of the same vine was beginning to take root in England. The first church which was gathered there, after Mr. Robinson's, was organized, with simple and affecting solemnities, in 1616. Its pastor was a Mr. Jacob, who during a visit to Leyden had embraced Mr. Robinson's views. In that unpro- pitious soil, it struggled with even greater difficulties, of another kind, than these encountered which were planted in the wilderness. " It subsisted almost by a miracle for above twenty-four years, shifting from place to place, to avoid the notice of the public," till, the times changing, it openly appeared in a house of wor- ship in 1640.* From these oppressed beginnings, Con- gregationalism in England has gone on increasing and flourishing, '* as a grain of mustard seed," till it now number-, in that country and in Wales, about 1600 or 1700 congregations, and as many ministers. Of it>' numbers in Scotland I am not informed ; but if the eu- Jogv of the celebrated Chalmers, (a Presbyterian) be fNeaJ. 16 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. just, who says of the Scottish Congregationalists, thai they are " the purest body of Christians in the united kingdom/' it is to be wished that the number were greater than it is, whatever k may be. The state of society in the New England settlements, as might be expected from the causes which originated them, was altogether peculiar. It was entirely and eminently religious. It might be said of every family, that it was a pious family ; of every adult individual, that he was strictly moral, if not religious ; and of ev- ery child, that he was piously educated.. They were of the best people of England. For it is the best peo- ple, — the most pious and exemplary always, and com- monly not the least intelligent and respectable, that persecution banishes from its communion, while it re- tains the worst. They were the best people of Jerusa- lem, " who were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen." They were of the best people of France who fled on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. And England had no better people within her bosom than she exiled from it, by the intol- erable vexations of her High Commission and other spiritual courts. The immoral and unprincipled — peo- ple of lax lives and pliant consciences — are not the people who either disturb the persecutor, or are dis- turbed by him. When the Rev. Mr. Cotton, the first minister of Boston, a man of excellent learning and piety, and of much repute in England, as he afterwards was in this country, was informed against in the High THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. 17 Commission, and applied to the earl of Dorset for his interest with the primate, the earl sent him word that, " if he had been guilty of drunkenness, uncleanness, or any such lesser fault, he could have got his par- don : but the sin of puritanism and non-conformity was unpardonable, and therefore he must fly for his safety.'' It was for " the sin of puritanism and non- conformity." and for no other " fault," that our fa- thers were forced to leave. The settlers of New England were all of one per- suasion. There was no mixture of emulous and pros- elyting sects. All the inhabitants of a parish were called by the same bell to the same sanctuary ; all lov- ed and respected the same pastor; instructed their children in the same schools, and catechisms ; mourn- ed together in the same church yard : all kept the uni- ty of the Spirit in the bond of peace ; being called in one hope of their calling ; having one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. If they ori- ginally brought any diversity of views with them, their common piety, and common trials, and the earnestness and simplicity of their common search for truth, soon matured them into harmony. This happy unity prevailed for several generations. Nor was this a drowsy and secure state of things. The presence of God was eminently with them. The first age of New England was one of an almost continuous revival. Preaching was attended with so much power in some places. " that it was a. common inquiry by such 2* 18 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER members of a family as were detained at home oft 9 Sabbath, whether any had been visibly awakened in the house of God that day."' " Few Sabbaths did pass- without some evidently converted, and some convin- cing proof of the power of God accompanying his word.''* Thus the children of the settlers, as they came forward into life, under the faithful care of iheir parents, and ministers, were gathered, by the favor of God, into the same communion with themselves. The Spirit of revivals has overshadowed these churches from the be- ginning.! * Priuce's Christiau History. f There was one considerable period of extensive and alar- ming declension in the early days of New Englaud. It com- menced, visibly, about 1660 or 1670, i. e. with the third genera- tion. The days of trial had by that time passed away, and prosperity had succeeded. Prosperity is the greatest of all tri- als to churches. But even of this period, Mather, the historian, says, "Indeed the people of God in this land were not so far gone in degenera- cy, but that there were further degrees of disorder and corrup- tion to be found in other, yea, in another places, where the pro- testant religion is professed; and the most impartial observers- must have acknowledged, that there was proportiouably still more of true religion, and a larger number of the strictest saints, in this country, than in any other on the face of the earth. But it was to be confessed, that the degeneracy of New England' in any measure, into the spirit of the world, was a thing ex- tremely aggravated by the greatness of our obligations to the contrary." Magnal. Book V. In view of this- declension- there THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER 19 Thus one in sentiment, and thus blessed, were the early churches of New England. I have heard opin- ions and reasonings advanced in support of the suppo- sed good effects of a diversity of sects ; but I have seen no evidence of such effects, like the evidence to the contrary in the history of these churches. There is no scripture for the position, that I am aware of, (but much to the contrary,) and I fear there are no facts. Has the condition of New England been improved by the flood- ing of sects into it ? Have we more piety, and better morals ? Was such diversity of sects deemed desirable in the apostle's days? The benefits — what are they, in comparison of the evils ? They are to be shown, perhaps, by Pope's doctrine, " All discoid, harmony not understood ;" or by the philosophy of an older theo- was a special meeting, or synod, called at Boston, to consider a work of reform: and it is remarkable with what fidelity and minuteness this synod went into an iuquiry respecting the pre- vailing sins, — the result of which they published. A similar re- form was engaged in in Connecticut. Many churches set apart seasons for special prayer, faithful inquiry, and solemn renewal of covenaut: and " very remarkable was the blessing of God upon the churches which did so." "Many thousands of spec- tators will testify, that they never saw the special presence of the great God our Savior more notably discovered than in the solemnities of thuse opportunities." Mather. Though there was no general revival during this period, which continued till the great awakening of 1629 and 1640. there were numerous local ones, as c. g. in Northampton, where there were five during the ministry of Mr. Shepard. 20 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. rist, who tells us that "the whole world is kept in or- der by discord ; and every part of it is a more particu- lar composed jarre." Are divisions and subdivisions of congregations, into nandfuls of people; are more houses than can be filled, and more ministers than are needed ; are rivalries and jealousies, and strifes and en- vy ings ; are gradations of truth and of error, accommo- dated to all sorts of men ; are schemes against schemes, and churches against churches ; and lo ! here, and lo ! there, the benefits intended ? I know it is with God to bring good out of evil ; and how much he may bring out of this is known -only to him : but the evils are manifest, and the sin, I fear, great. " For whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men ? For while one saith, I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal ? » The first ministers of New England were episcopally ordained, and had been settled pastors previous to their coming hither. " I have before me, (says Neal,) a list of seventy-seven divines who became pastors of sundry churches and congregations in New England before. 1640, all of whom were in orders in the Church of Eng- land." They received their ordination, generally, in the time of the mild arch-bishop Abbot, a man of such piety and temper, that had his predecessor, Bancroft, and his successor, Laud, been men of the like views and spirit, New England had not been settled as it was. They received their education at the Universities of THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. 21 Cambridge and Oxford, and were all of them respectably, and some of them extensively, if not profoundly, learn- ed. Their excellence, both as preachers and as men, has been abundantly testified to, by men, not only of their own, but of other persuasions. Two persons* who well knew them, have left the following account of them. " We that saw the persons, who, from four fa- mous colonies assembled in the synod that agreed on our Platform of Church Discipline, cannot forget their excellent character. They were men of great renown in the nation from whence the Laudian persecution ex- iled them : their learning, their holiness, their gravity, struck all men that knew them with admiration. They were Timothies in their houses, Chrysostoms in their pulpits, Augustines in their disputations. The prayers, the studi6s,the humble inquiries, with which they sought after the mind of God, were as likely to prosper as any means upon earth. And the sufferings wherein they ■ Rev. John Iligginson, son of the first minister of Salem, and Rev. William Hubbard, minister of Ipswich- both born in England. These venerable men, at au advanced period of their lives, Anxious to perpetuate " the old principles of New England." drew up a joint paper, expressly for after genera- tions, which they left behind them, with the following super- scription: "A testimony to the Order of the gospel in the chur- ches of New England: left in the hands of the churches by the two most aged ministers of the gospel yet surviving in the coun- try. The former died 1703, aged 93; the latter in 1704, age«i 2 % 2 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. were confessors for the name and the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, add unto the arguments which would per- suade us, that our gracious Lord would reward and honor them, with communicating much of his truth unto them." There was no one subject which engaged the atten- tion of the founders of New England more than the subject of church polity. Having escaped from the half reformed protestantism of their native land, they were deeply anxious to establish a system here according to the true primitive model. They were now in circumstances to do so. The reformation in England had stopped short of the reason- able expectations of its most enlightened friends. It was often stationary, often retrograde. It retained, at its best estate, too many of the habiliments, and by far too much of the spirit, of the popish religion which it had professed to supplant. It was retarded by the hab- its of the people, which had been formed under Catho- lic influence. It was involved in numberless controver- sies. It was entangled with interests of state. It was opposed by the claims of arrogant prerogative, and re- pressed by arbitrary power. Freedom of thought was " an heinous crime," and liberty of conscience, " an iniquity to be punished by the judges." But the New England puritans were now beyond the action of all these adverse influences. They had come out from among them, and were separate ; and with an ocean intervening, and a wilderness about them, there was no impediment to their free inquiries. THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. '40 In these inquiries the Bible was their guide. The Bible alone. They were not ignorant of history, nor slow to avail themselves of any light which fathers, councils, or reformers, might shed upon their minds ; but they regarded the Bible alone as authoritative. If alone authoritative, it must be sufficient alone ; and the man of God, possessing the Bible, is, in respect to all that is essential to faith or practice, perfect, thorough- ly furnished unto all good works. So the Puritans be- lieved and acted. They built their system upon the Bible, and thought the foundation broad enough. They needed no traditions, or inventions of men, or reasons of state, to make it broader. Deeply feeling their respon- sibility to the God of the Bible, to that law and testi- mony they constantly referred their own and other men's opinions. " The supreme judge, (say they, in their Platform) by which all controversies in religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other, but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit ; into which Scripture so delivered, our faith is finally resolved." What a world of confusion and darkness would have been swept away, had all men been as simple in their appeal to the Scriptures as were the Puritans of New England ! Besides their numerous tracts and volumes on the sub- ject of church order, it was abundantly discussed in ser- mons, and in other forms. The results of these discus- 24 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. sions were embodied, generally, in the Cambridge Plat- form, which was considered and agreed to by a Synod convened at that place, in 1648, and recommended to the acceptance of the churches. This Synod was com- posed of ministers from all the colonies ; the invitation being general, and the interest a common and important one. They also adopted a confession of faith, namely, the Westminster ; which had then lately been set forth. For this the Savoy Confession was afterwards substitut- ed. Having finished their work, in which they had pro- ceeded with great harmony, " they did, with an extra- ordinary elevation of soul and voice, then sing togeth- er the song of Moses and the Lamb, in the fifteenth chapter of Revelation :" and thus the session was clos- ed. From that time onward, the Cambridge Platform, (till it was superseded in Connecticut, in 1708, by the Say- brook Platform) was the general directory of the Church- es. It did not originate, or essentially modify their practice, but rather recognized and digested the princi- ples upon which they were already established. It is an instrument the wisdom of which will be more seen, the more it is studied, and compared with the Scrip- tures. The Say brook Platform is based upon the same gen- eral views as the Cambridge ; differing from it only, or chiefly, in the further provision it makes in respect to councils, and associations of ministers. THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. 25 Such, briefly, is the rise and early history of the New England Churches. Of other institutions which have had their origin and growth with these churches, I can take no notice. It is the habit of infidels and vain persons, and, we must now add, of Catholics, and some others from whom better things might be hoped, to disparage the memory of the Pilgrims, — with what motives, it need not be mentioned. But the attempt is vain. Their works speak for them. Their schools, their colleges, their laws and governments, — to say nothing of their churches, — institutions which all men admire, liberties which all men are breathing after, a state of society which, for its intelligence and morals, has no parallel in any country, — these are their memorials. When our praise of the Pilgrims, or, rather, when our gratitude to God on their behalf, surpasses the benefits received through them ; when it rises higher, or spreads farther, than the healthful influences which they originated, then shall our gratitude be abated, and our praise restrain- ed. There is one reflection which ought to be made, per- haps, in passing, touching the sensitiveness of some, who cannot endure to hear of the puritans being perse- cuted, and that by bishops, without conceiving them- selves assailed with reproach. The facts cannot be questioned. They cannot be blotted from history. But they are not now to be mentioned to the prejudice of the existing Church 3 £6 THE PRACTICAL CHtJRCH MEMBER. of England, much less, to the reproach of Episcopalians in general. They belong to times which have long since passed away. The odium of them cannot attach to the children, except as they allow the deeds of their fathers, and approve their sayings ; and manifest, them- selves, the same exclusive, high-church spirit which was the cause of persecution in them. It was an exclusive, high-church spirit in Saul of Tarsus, that made him a persecutor ; it was an exclusive, high-church spirit in Laud, and his coadjutors ; and an exclusive, high-church spirit, in any age, or church, is not far from a persecu- ting spirit. " There never was a time, (says the vener- able John Jay) when high-church doctrines promoted peace on earth and good will among men."* As it regards the Congregational communion at the present day, its members still cherish, in a good degree, the principles and habits of their fathers, They are still the enlightened friends of liberty and religion ; the effi- cient patrons of education ; the advocates, even to a proverb among the licentious, of law, and order, and virtuous morals. If in some degree they have declined from the strictness of former times, it may yet be said, that they are among the most strict of the existing de- nominations. If, as a body, they keep the Sabbath with less exactness, than the fathers did, (a fact to be * Letter to Trinity Church, New York, — a paper worthy to be read by all Churchmen. See his Life, chap. 12. THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. 27 deplored) it may still be asked, what body of Christian professors respect it more than they do, or have shown themselves more solicitous to protect it from profana- tion ? If less severe, or strenuous, in their opposition to vice, which of the sister denominations is before them in every work of reform ; or against which has the en- mity of the profligate been more manifested on this ac- count ? I hope we may never be backward to confess our sins, and to lament our degeneracy. But whatever our sin, or degeneracy, may be, may it never be that of abandoning the principles and habits of our fathers. Return, we beseech thee O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and behold and visit this vine! We revere the memory of the Pilgrims. We revere their principles. We cherish their institutions. We cannot but love the churches of their planting ; not merely, or blindly, because of their origin with them, but because of their scriptural simplicity and tried excellence. We hold fast that which is good. We contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints, identical, as we believe, with the faith of these churches : and for its precious fruits, as developed in their influence. We cannot look at the results of the Congregational system, ecclesiastical and doctrinal, as we behold them in New England, and elsewhere, without feeling that for us to abandon it. would make us culpable as freemen and 28 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. philanthropists, as well as degenerate as sons and Christians. If it was an enlightened piety in the fath- ers which devised the system, must it not be either ig- norance or degeneracy in the sons, that discards it ? And though we can appreciate, and acknowledge what- ever is excellent in other communions, yet. after more than two centuries experience of the fruits of this, un- aided as it was, and for a long time unmolested, by other systems, and operating alone in forming the char- acter of New England ; we may, without bigotry, we trust, say to such as would proselyte us, or our children, to other modes, brought in to rival, or supplant, the Con- gregational, Show us better fruits, before we forsake the tree which produces these.* If this land were now a wilderness, as it was, and the foundations of our welfare were now to be laid, who were the men, or what the principles, which were bet- * " Let it be recollected, that for nearly a hundred years af- ter the settlement of New England, there were very few of any denomination in the land besides Congregationalists. In 1700, there were in all the New England states then settled, 900Epis- copalians, [equal to one moderate congregation] of whom 185 were communicants. There were no Methodists : and with the exception of Rhode Island, very few Baptists. Not a single church of this denomination existed in Connecticut, and but two or three in Massachusetts/ There were at the same time one hundred and twenty Congregational churches, besides thir- ty churches composed of Indians. It is plain then that New England is, what it is, chiefly from the influence of the Cou^ gregationalists, and of Congregational principles." Hmves, THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. "29 ter fitted for the work, than those we are considering? And if these principles are any less valuable now than they once were, if they are less scriptural, or less effica- cious, let the system be brought forward, of all the ex- isting systems of faith and order, which is more scrip- tural, and endued with a greater efficacy to make men virtuous and happy. " Where is truth, where is pietv, where is hope and salvation to be found, if not in these Christian societies, which, for two hundred years, have shared so signally in the protection and care of Almigh- ty God, and which, for the same period, have exerted so happy an influence on all the dearest interests and hopes of this favored community?"* Or if these principles do not now reside in the Congregational communion, if the gold has become utterly dim, and the most fine gold changed, let it be shown in what communion they do reside — and we will be converts to that communion. But if no such church or system can be named, then let the Congregational descendents of the Pilgrims sus- tain, under God, to the latest times, the faith, and the order, of their Congregational progenitors. Meantime, we repeat the testimony of the venerable men before quoted,! and hand it down to our children. "We do therefore earnestly testify, (say they) that if any who are given to change, do rise up to unhinge the well established churches in this land, it will be the du- ty and interest of the churches, to examine, whether the • Hawes. f Messrs. Higgiuson aad Hubbard. 3* 30 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. men of this trespass, are more prayerful, more watch- ful, more zealous, more patient, more heavenly, more universally conscientious, and harder students, and bet- ter scholars, and moie willing to be informed and ad- vised, than those great and good men, who left unto the churches what they now enjoy. If they be not so, it will be wisdom for the children to forbear pulling down with their own hands, the houses of God which were built by their wiser fathers, until they have better satis- faction.'' And they conclude with their " prayers unto the Lord for these holy churches, [in which, who will not unite ?] that he would surely visit them, and grant much of his gracious presence and Spirit in the midst of them ; and raise up, from time to time, those who may be happy instruments of bringing down the hearts of the parents into the children. The Lord bless these His churches, and keep them steadfast, both in the faith, and in the order of the gospel, and be with them, as he was with their fathers, and never leave them nor forsake them!" CHAPTER II. PRINCIPLES OF THE CONGREGATIONAL SYS- TEM OF CHURCH ORDER. As the rights and duties of a church-member are es- sentially modified by the polity of the church to which he belongs, it is important to him, and also to the church, that he should understand the principles of that polity. The government of a church, like any other government, is a practical thing : it defines rela- tions, distributes powers, prescribes duties. And these vary with the character of the system. It is therefore obvious, that though all believers, considered simply as disciples of Christ, have the same duties to discharge, yet considered as subject to this or that particular eccle- siastical organization, their duties, as well as their priv- ileges, may be quite diverse. As the active duties of the citizen of a republic are not the same as those of the passive subject of an oligarchy ; being more numerous, more responsible, more noble : so, under the various schemes of church order, there is more or less for the laity to do. or to submit to, in the management of af- fairs, as the schemes have more or less of the character of free institutions. The following are essential features in the Congrega- tional system. They do not comprise the whole, but include those which are most distinctive. They 32 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER, relate to the constitution of churches, their members, powers, officers, and relations. A church is a society of believers, united together, by their own consent, or covenant, in obedience to the will of Christ, for the observance of ordinances, their own edification, and the propagation of the faith. Each society, thus formed, with its proper officers, is to all intents a church. No persons are to be received as members, but such as are hopefully renewed by the Spirit of God, giving credible evidence of the same. Church power, as it is called, that is, the power to receive, and to discipline members, to elect officers, and to do such other acts as concern the body, in mat- ters of practice, is vested in the church itself, and not in its officers. The latter have their proper authority and influence, (as will be noticed elsewhere,) but have not power to rule the church, except by consent of the brother-hood. The officers of the church are of two orders, namely , presbyters (or ministers) and deacons. They are elected by the brethren, and ordained by presbyters. The churches are, in a qualified sense, independent. No church admits the right of any other church, or number of churches, or church officers, to interfere authoritatively with its faith or discipline. They maintain, however, an endeared and extended com- munion and co-operation with one another ; and are so THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. 39 far mutually subject to discipline, that an erring church is open to the reproofs of others, and, if the case re- quire, may be disowned from the general communion. They do not allow the imposition of human creeds, or standards, as tests or orthodoxy, or terms of com- munion. The relations of Church and Society, as they have been established by New England Congregationalists, are, it is believed, peculiar, and eminently happy. I merely state these items, without the grounds or proofs of them. But for the elucidation of some of them, I subjoin the following remarks. 1. Churches, properly constituted, are voluntary as- sociations, being formed by the free consent of the mem- bers. They can be properly formed in no other way. Men are not bom into the church, but into the world : though volumes have been written to the contrarv. Nor can any act of power, ecclesiastical, or civil ; or any parish, or diocesan, or other geographical lines, make them members. It must be by their own intel- ligent act. The whole business of religion, as it stands m the Bible, is a voluntary thing ; and this as well as the rest. •2. It is essential to the due organization of a church, that the members enter into a covenant, either express or implied. According to Congregational usnge, it is express and written. 34 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. The propriety of this is obvious. A number of per- sons associate together for certain ends which require their faithful co-operation. They therefore pledge themselves to each other so to co-operate ; and as God is concerned in the matter, the covenant has regard to him, as well as to the members. The practice is abundantly supported by scripture example. For covenanting with God, see Gen. 17. Deut. xxix. 10—13. Exod. xix. 8. Neh. ix. 38, (in which instance the covenant was written and sealed,) and other passages. For covenanting with one anoth- er, see Neh. x. 28—31. 2 Cor. viii. 5. It also appears from history, that this was the prac- tice of the primitive churches.* 3. Congregationalists hold to the local and separate being of churches, as composed of single societies of believers, in opposition to the idea of an extended church, composed of many societies ; as a catholic, a national, or a diocesan church. The New Testament never uses the word church in this extended sense, (except as it speaks of the whole family of the redeem- ed,) but applies it only to local assemblies : as the church of Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, at Corinth, &c. When it speaks of provinces, or countries, it uses the plural, churches ; as the churches of Galatia, of Mace- donia, the seven churches which are in Asia, &c. And this is the Congregational idea. Each society * See Upham's Rat. Dis. §§29—31. THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. 35 is a church, a whole church, and not a fraction, or con- stituent part of a church. It is complete in itself, and competent to all the acts which it is proper for a church to do. Hence, while we hear of The Church of Eng- land, The Presbyterian Church, The Methodist Episco- pal Church, meaning extended bodies, having common and imperative articles of subscription, and amenable to some central, or common power, we never hear of The Congregational Church, but they are spoken of as churches. Nor do we commonly hear from Con- gregationalism, such phrases as our Church, our Zion ; or such personifications as her communion, her pale, and the like. Such imposing phrases and ideas, though there be no great harm in them, perhaps, are as uncon- gregational as they seem to us unscriptural. In the mouths of some they are unamiably sectarian. The Co i ^tegational communion is not one great imposing consolidated church ; but a band of related Christian families ; bound together by oneness of faith, affection, and aim ; having the Bible for their common directory, and Christ for their common head. Such were the New Testament churches. 4. That churches should be composed of those who, in the judgment of charity, are true believers, and of such only, is essential, not only to the purity of churches, but to every object for which they exist. Supposing them to be made up indifferently of believ- ers and unbelievers, the children of God and the chil- 36 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. dren of the world, there could be neither fellowship, discipline, co-operation, nor visible separateness from the world. What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, or what communion hath light with darkness ? This is clear enough in scripture, and in reason ; but not every church has acted upon it. If churches are to be formed carefully and strictly upon this principle, we may see how wrong it is to in- vite the entrance of the unconverted, either by urgen- cy, or by too easy admission. How often have church- es sought to enlarge themselves by lowering the terms of admission ; by too large or lax a charity, in respect to evidence of grace ; by extolling the saving efficacy of their sacraments, and " valid ordinances ;" or by the too ready embrace of a merely sectarian and pros- elyting zeal ? How often is " the temple of God" sinned against, in these and similar ways ! " But let ev- ery man take heed how he buildeth. 1 ' The apostolic churches were composed of none but those who were hopefully renewed, according to the best evidence that could be had of them. They were all addressed as " saints," " saints in Christ," saints and faithful. 1 ' Our Savior himself offered no facilities for the admis- sion of the impenitent, but discouraged them ; as the Bible everywhere does. Ps. 1. 16. Matt. viii. 19, 20. Luke xiv. 26—33. Eccles. v. 5. 1 Cor. hi. 10, 12, 13. 5. As the members are required to have fellowship THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. 37 one with another, and as there can be no fellowship be- tween those who are brought together without consent, or likeness of character, (for how can two walk togeth- er except they be agreed ?) it is manifestly fit and rea- sonable that new members should come in by consent of the brotherhood. Again, as the brethren admit members, so it is for them to expel members, when their conduct requires it. In other words, as it was with them to say whether a person was worthy of their fellowship, at the first ; it is with them to say whether he continues worthy, or has forfeited their confidence. That is ; the power of admission, and of discipline, is properly in the brother- hood. Suppose it to be elsewhere, and to be exercis- ed independently of them : it may force an unworthy and unwelcome member upon them, but it cannot force their confidence and love. He may be among them, but he is not of them. 6. If the right of admitting and excluding members be important to the brotherhood, much more is the right of choosing their own ministers. My edification, as dependent on my minister ; the love and respect I am required to bear towards him ; my concern for my children and friends, and for all who are to share with me in the influence of his ministrations ; and many other things, make it exceedingly desirable to me, that I should have a voice in his election. Xor let it be said that the brethren arc not qualified 4 38 THE PRACTICAL CHURCH MEMBER. for such a trust. Our Savior virtually judges other- wise, where he says, the sheep know the shepherd's voice, and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him ; for they know not the voice of strangers. True Christians soon discern the spirit of their minis- ters ; and are made to feel what occasion they have in them either to rejoice, or to mourn. Blind guides may satisfy the blind, but not the " children of the day." " Of such moment is the preservation of this power, [of choosing their officers] that the churches exercised it in the presence of the apostles."* Acts xiv. 23,f and vi. 3 — 5. 7. Of church officers we have but two kinds, because but two are recognized in the New Testament. But two kinds recognized, I mean, of permanent officers, — ministers and deacons. The apostolic office was not a permanent one, but expired with the twelve. The words bishop, elder, pastor, and minister, are used in the New Testament to signify the same office, being applied to the same person. Hence the equality of ministers. It was not intended that some should be set up as overseers and lords over the others. " Be not ye called Rabbi : for one is your Master, even Christ ; and all ye are brethren." " Ye know that they which * Camb. Plat. f This passage reads in our translation, " they ordained" &c. but the word in the original, means to elect by lifting up the hand. See Robinson's Lex. verb, ^si£o