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THE

SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

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HELD ON THE

LORD'S DAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1859,

THE FESTIVAL ON THE DAY FOLLOWING,

BOSTON :
PUBLISHED BY HENRY HOYT,
NO, 9 CORNHILL,
1861,

I'HINTED BY GEO. C. KAJS'D &, AVERY,
No. 3 CoitKBiLL, Boston.

SBMI«GENTSITNIAL COMMITTBB.

ON THE PART OF THE CHURCH.

EEV, A, L, STONE,
NATHANIEL WILLIS,
EDWIN LAMSON,
TIMOTHY FAEKAE,
SAMUEL NEAL,
EZRA FAENSWOETH,
W. T, EUSTIS,

JOSIAH BUMSTEAD,
LEMUEL SHATTUCK,
PETEE HOBAET, ,TR,
HENEY HOYT,
LUTHEE DANA,
T, W, NICKEESON,

ON THE PART OF THE SOCIETY.

E, W. PIKE,
TISDALE DEAKE,
E. A, BIECHAED,

WILLIAM T. GLIDDEN,
B, F. CAMPBELL,

ptiirnSttriiirg.

INTEODUCTOEY,

jtlr HE Park Steeet Chuech was organized at
^^^ the house of William Thurston, on " Beacon
HiH," on the twenty-seventh day of Feb
ruary, A.B. 1809. Early in the winter of
1858, the church voted unanimously to hold, on the
approaching fiftieth anniversary of its founding, its
semi-centennial celebration, A large committee was
at once appointed to make preparation for the suit
able observance of the Jubilee, by whom circulars
were sent out, through the mail and the press, to all
surviving members of the church, past and present,
inviting them to participate in the celebration. The
hospitalities of the families of the Park Street people,
resident in Boston, were tendered to all members
of the church, from abroad, who should attend the
services. The Park Street Society was invited to unite with
the church in the commemoration, and most cordially
responded, appointing on their behalf, to act in con-

10 INTRODUCTORY.
currence with the committee of the church, a com
mittee of their own, who rendered most valuable
and efficient aid in devising and carrying out the
arrangements for the occasion.
The anniversary falling upon the Sabbath, it was
resolved that the three ex-pastors of the church still
living be invited to deliver discourses through the
day and the evening, — the Lord's Supper to be cele
brated in connection with the sermon in the after
noon ; . — ¦ and that a Festival, with a collation, be held
in some public hall, on the succeeding day, for social
reunion and the exchange of such greetings and
salutations as the occasion might inspire.
The pastors of sister churches in the city of
Boston, and other distinguished gentlemen between
whom and the church there had existed any special
bonds of alliance, were invited to be present through
such parts of the celebration as their engagements
would permit them to honor. Aged members of the
church, and those most familiar with its early history,
were solicited to furnish their reminiscences of the
past ; and those who had been connected with the
choir in former years were invited to be present
and lend their voices in " the service of song."
It was also resolved that a sketch of the proceed
ings should be preserved in a Memorial Volume, for
the use of the present members of the church, and
of those who should come after them.

INTRODUCTORY. 1 1
The Rev. Silas Aiken, d.d., of Rutland, Vt,, the
Rev. Joel Linsley, d,d,, of Greenwich, Conn,, and
the Rev, Edward Beecher, d.d., of Galesburg, 111,,
the three survivors of all who had previously filled
the pastoral office in the church, cheerfully con
sented to perform the parts assigned to them in the
commemorative services ; and on the Lord's day,
February 27, a.d. 1859, pronounced the following
Discourses in the Park Street Meeting-house, which
was crowded to its utmost capacity with a deeply
interested audience.

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MORNING DISCOURSE,

BY REV, SILAS AIItEN, D,D,
PASTOK FROM MARCH 22, 1837, TO JULY 12, 184S.
THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH.
¦ The Chukch of the living God, the Pillar and Ground op the
Truth," — I Timotliy iii, 15,
rv,r_ \ . HE Scriptures attach great meaning to the church,
— Crod's ecclesia, as the word itself denotes, —
the called of God out from the world. The church
holds a high place in God's moral administration.
That institution which hy man's wisdom and philosophy
has been little accounted of, if not scorned and despised,
is none other than God's chosen instrument for carrying
into efiect his purpose of redemption. The church, com
prehending, of course, the ministry, — for ministry and
church are, in the main design, one, — the church is of
God's ordination. He laid the foundation, and planned
the superstructure, appointed its sphere of agency, pledged
his omnipotence for its security ; and while the heavens
declare his glory, and the firmament shows his handiwork.

16 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
he designs to make known unto principalities and powers
his manifold wisdom, by the church. Thus will he humble
the pride of man. By an association, not of the wise and
mighty and noble after the flesh, but mainly of the poor
and base and despised of the world, he will show that the
foolishness of God is wiser than men, and that the weakness
of God is stronger than men, that no flesh may glOry in
his presence.
In name and form of organization, patriarchal, Jewish, or
Christian, there is nothing essential. The form has been
wisely adapted to the varying exigencies of the world, to
the light enjoyed at different epochs, and to the specific
work to be done at particular times. In its essential
character, the church, however variously styled, is one and
the same in all ages. It may be designated as " the king
dom of heaven," in distinction from the kingdoms of this
world; or as " the house of God," built up of lively stones,
embodying his spiritual children, the home of their social
affection and blessedness ; or as " the temple of the Holy
Ghost,'' the seat of his regenerating and sanctifying influ
ence ; or as " the body of Christ," indicating the vital
union of believers with their Lord, — he the head and they
the members of the same body, one in spirit, in labor, in
suffering, and in joint heirship to the eternal inheritance ;
or, again, as " the pillar and ground of the truth," denoting
the high trust committed, of upholding the word and wor
ship of God, But these are but different names of the one
church of the living God, — the chosen generation, the holy
nation, the pecuhar people, who are to show forth the praises

MORNING DISCOURSE. 17
of Him who has called them out of darkness into his marvel
ous light.
That the youthful Timothy, now left in charge of the
church of Ephesus, might feel the importance of his work,
Paul, with the solicitude and affection of a father, addressed
to him this epistle, filled with wise counsel in regard to the
right performance of his ministry : These things I write,
hoping to come unto thee shortly : But if I tarry long, that
thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in
the house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth. Whatever shade of
meaning is to be attached to the flgures here employed,
the main idea is obvious. The terms '¦'¦pillar and ground of
the truth, explain and strengthen each other, God has
appointed tlie church to he the foundation and support of
revealed truth.
In illustrating this sentiment, I propose to inquire, what
we are here to understand by '' the church," and what is
the office or mission of the church as " the pillar and ground
of the truth,"
I, What is here to be understood by " The
Church ? "
The word church, in its religious sense, is employed in
the Scriptures with some variety of meaning. It is most
frequently used in the New Testament to designate a com
munity of Christians, who meet for religious worship and
ediflcation in a specified locality; denoting a single congrega
tion or society of believers, — as the church of Ephesus, of

18 semi-centennial CELEBRATION,
Corinth, of Colosse, of Sardis, and of the Thessalonians. It
is thus applied to the company of disciples dwelling and
worshiping together in the same city.
The word is used to designate the faithful in particular
households, — as the church in the house of Nymphas, and
that in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, — though it is
probable that these household churches embraced believers
in the vicinity, who were accustomed to assemble with them
for spiritual fellowship. In this sense, the church denotes
any body of professed believers voluntarily associated for
the worship of God and the observance of divine ordinances.
The term is not employed to designate a sect, or the aggre
gate of Christian societies in a province or kingdom, as
is done in our day. We read not of the church of Galatia,
or that of Achaia, or Macedonia, but of the churches, each
congregation of Christians constituting a separate church.
The term is also applied to the whole company of visible
believers, — the universal church militant, — including all
true churches of Christ throughout the world. In this
sense, Christ is declared to be head over all things to the
church ; and against this church the gates of hell shall not
prevail. The church universal, embracing all who receive
and profess the faith and walk by the rules of the gospel, is
God's organization for maintaining his word and worship
in the world. In this sense, the word is evidently employed
in the text ; and its broader signification here, differs from
its more restricted import only as the whole differs from
a part. The main design of the church universal is also
that of the particular or local church. Nor can imperfection

MORNING DISCOURSE. 19
or misjudgment in the outward form destroy the nature of
the organization, or make God's purpose therein of no effect.
The visible church is God's institution, though gathered
according to man's fallible judgment. Tares may grow with
the wheat. Yea, in particular cases, the door of the church
may be left unguarded, and the unconverted find admission,
Sound doctrine may be exchanged for heresy, and the leaven
of wickedness may so taint the whole body that the house
of God at length becomes a synagogue of Satan, Of this
there are not wanting melancholy instances. But none the
less is it God's will that his people organize into churches,
for the upholding of his truth and worship. Organization is
necessary for the edifying of the saints, and for efficient
eo-operation in saving the souls of men. The precise form
or polity thereof, the Lord, as I apprehend, has not pre
scribed ; and let us beware of contending about shadows.
Form is something, but it is not the main thing ; and that
form is best which is most conducive to spiritual worship.
It is in regenerate souls, and in the indwelling spirit of
Christ, that the life and glory of the church consist. Where
these are, be the form or name what it may, there is a true
branch of God's church, the pillar and ground of the truth.
And while the institutions of man shall wax old and vanish
away, this church of God, built upon the foundation of the
apostles and prophets, shall live, an everlasting kingdom,
and throughout all ages be a standing proof of the divine
power and faithfulness.

20 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
II, What is the Office or Mission of the Church
AS " The Pillar and Ground of the Truth ? "
This is our second inquiry. Here mark the intimate
relation of the church to truth, — not scientific or philo
sophic truth, but to that revealed word of God, which
enlightens, sanctifies, and saves the soul. The regenerate
church is in living sympathy with the mind of God. It is
a characteristic of the ecclesia, the called of God, that they
receive, hold fast, and practically exhibit, the divine word,
I observe, therefore,
1, That the church is the appointed guardian of the
truth. Paul declared it a signal advantage conferred on the Jews,
that unto them were committed the oracles of God, And
if the possession of a few inspired writings was a matter
of such moment to the Jewish church, the possession of the
entire volume of revelation must be a more sacred trust
committed to the Christian. The preservation of the divine
word in its purity is a vital matter. To whose keeping could
it be safely intrusted ? Would fallen angels prove reliable
guardians of the truth ? Would unconverted men be such
an agency as divine wisdom would select for the purpose ?
Who but the regenerate church, the living witnesses to the
power of the gospel, are fitted to discharge the trust ? And
since the divine word is the appointed means of salvation,
and upon the knowledge and belief of that word depends
the everlasting destiny of unborn generations, when, since
the Lord's hand spread out these heavens, has he placed in
man's keeping a more sacred deposit? God's revelation

MORNING DISCOURSE. 21
of his own character and law and purposes ; of man's ruin
by sin, and redemption by the blood of Christ ; of the
renewing and sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit ; of the
doctrine of life and immortality ; of the endless blessedness
of the righteous, and the everlasting punishment of the
wicked ; and of the only way of salvation ; — are these
utterances of small concern ?
Receiving the Bible as a divine revelation, we regard
that book in a different light from all others. We make
a fundamental distinction between the writers thereof and
all other teachers. Here God speaks to mankind, and
reveals the only authoritative rule of faith and duty. The
Bible being the word of God, but one course remains ; we
are to hearken to its declarations as strictly and solemnly
true, and receive every doctrine and precept as from the
mouth of God, and bow to its decisions as the end of all
debate. We are not here listening to the opinions of men,
speaking as man's wisdom teacheth, but to the infallible
oracles of God. And though uttered by men, they are as
truly from God as if declared in our ears by an audible voice
from heaven. We hearken to these teachings as we hearken
to no other words. The men who spake by the Holy Spirit's
inspiration, were merely the organs employed by God for
the revelation of his truth. The message comes from God,
clothed with divine authority, unerringly true, and infinitely
important. We are not at liberty to alter, to modify, to add
or take away a jot or tittle, but are to receive the whole in
the filial spirit of faith and obedience.
Revelation is supernatural, and philosophy cannot explain

22 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
it, as darkness cannot comprehend the light. Whatever
God declares, is to be received in its proper import, whether
it accords with our opinions or contradicts them, " Let God
be true, but every man a liar," is here the true philosophy.
And is it a small thing to be put in charge of such a trust ?
To say nothing of truth as the essential means of edifying
the church, is it a trifling matter to be the appointed guar
dian of the divine word, on the faithful keeping of which
depends the fulfilment of God's purpose of grace to a fallen
world ? To the church is this trust committed ; and how
well it has been discharged hitherto, you need not be told.
Amidst revolutions and tumults, and persecutions unto
death; upon the earth, distress of nations with perplexity,
the sea and the waves roaring, and men's hearts failing them
for fear ; through dreary centuries of darkness, superstition,
and apostasy, God's hidden ones have held fast the revealed
word ; and it is with adoring wonder and praise that we con
template the fact, that to ourselves have been transmitted
in their fulness and purity the identical oracles of God
which were uttered by men of old, who spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost.
But guardianship is not all, for —
2, Upon the church it devolves to defend and vindicate the
truth against the aspersions of enmity and unbelief.
God calls his people to contend earnestly for the faith once
delivered to the saints. No trait of unregenerate man is
more marked and universal than the dislike of evangelical
truth, and a desire to change it into a lie. Man naturally
hates the light that condemns him, and hence his turns and

MORNING DISCOURSE. 23
shifts to get free from its annoyance. To the Jew the
doctrine of the cross is a stumbling-block, to the Greek,
foolishness ; and while the former would overlay the doctrine
with his traditions, the latter would substitute for it his
philosophy. No other book was ever so rancorously assailed
as the Bible, There have not been wanting those who
pronounce it all a fable, Infldel philosophy, like an unclean
spirit, has gathered its disciples to the battle, and in their
endeavors to destroy the credit of God's revelation, no
weapon of ribald jest or blasphemy has been left unem
ployed. Such were they, described by Jude : Filthy
dreamers, speaking evil of things which they know not, —
clouds without water, raging waves of the sea, foaming out
their own shame ; complainers, walking after their own lusts,
their mouth speaking great swelling words, — sensual, hav
ing not the Spirit.
From assaults of this kind, however, the Bible has little
to fear. A much more dangerous foe is that which, under
the name of Christianity, seeks to undermine its foundation ;
at one time by discarding the idea of plenary inspiration,
and again, by explaining away distinctive doctrines, and
divesting the gospel of all that is vital and authoritative as
a revelation from God, thus opening wide the floodgates of
rationalism and infldelity. Reason is exalted above revela
tion, and presumes to decide what alone the Most High can
consistently say. The holiness of God, and his anger against
sin ; the depravity and ruin of man, and his just desert
of damnation ; God manifest in the flesh, as an atoning
Redeemer ; regeneration, by the Holy Spirit ; the essential
2*

24 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
distinction between saints and sinners; salvation by grace
through faith alone, and that the gift of God ; — these, it is
claimed, are antiquated notions, unsupported by the Scrip
tures rightly interpreted, abhorrent to reason, and false.
The plain facts of revelation must bend to such interpreta
tions as the wisdom of man can accept, and the cross of
Christ is made of none effect. Strange indeed, that after
the experience of almost sixty centuries, testifying that
human reason and philosophy are blind, and that the world
by wisdom knows not God, reason should now pretend to
supernatural discernment, arraign the doctrines of Christ
at her bar, and reject everything peculiar in them as
unworthy of God, But so it is, Man's wisdom exalts
itself against the truth of God, and scorns the Christ of
revelation. Human pride and self-sufficiency ignore the
plain testimony of the Bible, and mark out a broad and easy
way for the prayerless and unholy into the kingdom of
heaven. Moreover, under the pretended sanction of revelation,
come various covert assaults from new discoveries and
improvements in religion, generally old heresies revived
under new names and combinations, perverting the truth
with pious glosses, or claiming to know the mysteries of God
by methods which entirely supersede the written word, or
substituting philanthropy for regeneration, and gain for
godliness, denying the Holy Ghost, and by nameless inven
tions beguiling unstable souls to their ruin. These are the
fan in the Master's hand, for the purging of his floor, that
they who are approved may be manifest. Indeed, what

MORNING DISCOURSE. 25
scheme of folly can be in such glaring opposition to both
the letter and spirit of the Bible as to fail of adherents
among those who love not the truth ? Nor in this does any
strange thing happen. So it was in the apostolic age. One
declared the resurrection already past. Another pronounced
the resurrection of the dead an absurdity, saying. With
what bodies do they come ? And many denied the Lord
that bought them, and turned the grace of God into
lasciviousness. Now by whom are these open and covert assaults upon
the word of God to be repelled ? Will the unregenerate,
whose hearts and lives are in antagonism to the truth, and
whose souls are yearning for deliverance from its stern
demands, enlist in such a work ? Did the thought ever
enter a sane mind, that the maintenance of law and order
may be safely left to those whose desires and interests are
on the side of transgression ? Was it ever known that a
prisoner at the bar wittingly brought forward evidence that
convicted him ? Or must the work of vindicating the word
and ways of God be assigned to those who have felt the
power and preciousness of the gospel, and to whose souls
the truth has proved spirit and life ? To the blood-bought
and regenerate church, God has committed this trust. It is
the friends of God who must rally round his standard, and
hold fast the form of doctrine delivered to them. They are
his witnesses in an unbelieving world ; and, by pureness, by
knowledge, by the Holy Ghost, by godly sincerity, by un
yielding faith, by exhibiting the transforming power of the
gospel upon their own hearts, and by an outspoken testi-

26 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
mony, they are everywhere and at all times to hold forth the
word of life, commending the truth to every man's con
science in the sight of God,
Hence, in addition to guardianship and defence, a third
point involved in the church's mission is —
3, The propagation of the truth.
This is a work of transcendent grandeur. It is the bring
ing of this revolted world into subjection to Jesus Christ,
The truth may be essential to the growth of holiness in
believers, and their preparation for heaven. Within the
church, the efficacy of truth is to be manifested in mutual
fellowship, watchfulness, and aid. Its ministrations were
appointed for the edifying of the body of Christ. This
feature of God's design is not to be overlooked. But the
gospel was committed to the church in trust for a perishing
world, " Go teach all nations," is her Lord's injunction,
" Freely ye have received, freely give," And is there not
something beautiful and fitting in God's plan of making
pardoned sinners the means of extending salvation to others ?
No sooner is one born of the Spirit, than the word of God is
in his heart, as a burning fire shut up in his bones, and he
is weary with forbearing and he cannot stay. His soul
burns to make others partakers of his joy, God has
ordained the blood-bought church to he the propagator of
his word ; and in this his people are coworkers with him
in accomplishing his purpose of grace. Would you know
the importance of this work ? See it in the mission and
sacrifice of the Son of God, He who alone bears the name
of God our Saviour, judged the salvation of man to be an

MORNING DISCOURSE. 27
adequate reward for the humiliation of the manger, the
strong crying and tears of a suffering life, and the ignominy
of a malefactor's death. For the joy that was set before
him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame. The
greatness of the object gave dignity to his condescension,
honor to his poverty, splendor to his obscurity, beauty to his
life, and glory to his death. To Christ, the salvation of the
lost was all in all, from the manger to the cross. His heart
and life were full of it. His doctrine, and miracles, and
prayers, and tears, all had relation to it. Of such moment
was redemption in his view, that he gave his life a ransom.
Was that a false estimate ? Was the union of divinity with
humanity for the sufferings of death a thing uncalled for ?
Did the Son of God overestimate the value of the human
soul ? How sacred the trust committed by Christ to his
church, " Ye are the light of the world," " Ye are the
salt of the earth," " To you, my disciples, have I given
the revealed word, the ministry, the institutions and ordi
nances of the gospel, and the Holy Spirit of promise. Go
make my gospel known to every creature," The enemies
of Christ will not do this work, God will not send angels
to do it. He has expressly assigned it to his regenerate
people, the church. To them is it given to set forth and
hold up the word of life. By a holy example, by personal
activity and zeal for God, by self-denial and sacrifices, by
importunate prayer, by the armor of righteousness on the
right hand and on the left, they are called of God to diffuse
far and wide the knowledge of salvation. Theirs is an honor
which angels well might covet ; to be Christ's messengers
of mercy to the guilty, to show the way of life to the per-

28 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION.
ishing, to wipe away the mourner's tears, to hold up the
lamp of life in the regions of darkness, and press forward in
the work of the Lord, until the earth is emancipated from
the thraldom of sin and Satan, and brought into the liberty
of the sons of God, Feeble as may be the instrument, it is
of God's appointment ; and its feebleness will the better
illustrate the riches of his grace. This work will reach a
glorious consummation. While Paul plants, and Apollos
waters, and the people of God bring their peace-offerings of
thanksgiving, consecrating themselves, their substance, their
sons and daughters to the Lord, lifting up holy hands with
out wrath and doubting, God will not fail to give the
increase. From the church shall again be sounded out the
word of the Lord, and in every place their faith to God-
ward shall be spread abroad.
We may despise our birthright, and fail in duty. The
local church may fail; but help shall arise from another
quarter. This world shall be evangelized. The mouth of
the Lord hath spoken it. And when by the faith, the zeal,
the united labors and prayers of the church, holding up and
setting forth the truth, idolatry has been aboHshed, the man
of sin dethroned, infidelity and falsehood put to shame, and
every kindred and people under heaven are doing homage
at the cross of Christ, — then will it be seen and known of
all men, that the church is " the pillar and ground of the
truth," From the foregoing view we learn in what consists the
true prosperity of the church, whether of the church uni
versal or the local church, — for both exist for the same end.

MORNING DISCOURSE. . 29
It is in fulfilling God's design, in preserving, defending, and
diffusing his truth. Here alone is found the standard of
the church's life. There is great misjudgment on this point.
Tests appropriate to worldly enterprises are often applied to
the church, and lead to fatal mistakes. The secular busi
ness, or moneyed corporation, which secures patronage, and
where capital brings in large gain, is pronounced a success.
But the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, and its
prosperity is to be measured by no such rule.
The true life and strength of the church do not consist in
numbers. The one hundred and twenty disciples who met
daily in the upper room at Jerusalem, after Christ's ascen
sion, were a thousand-fold more efficient for good than the
millions who composed the Jewish church of that day.
Provided the membership be of real Christians, full of faith
and of the Holy Ghost, numbers give strength, and are to be
desired. But if, to secure numbers, the door of admission
is thrown open, and unconverted persons, without discrimina
tion, are received, and by and by eome to constitute a lead
ing element, then comes paralysis ; a heart leprosy infects
the whole body, and what was ordained to be the exponent
of truth, becomes a household of heresy and deceit. Without
a living, pervading piety, great numbers bring great weak
ness. The true end of the church is not answered by
wealth and learning and worldly infiuence in its members.
These things, consecrated to the glory of Christ, become
means of good. But riches and honors, with their usual
concomitants, are rarely associated with active piety. Their
tendency is to worldliness, to the pride of caste, to the pam-

30 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION,
pering of those lusts which war against the soul. Coveted
as they may be, they are dead weights to spiritual growth.
Nor is the end of the church answered by union among
its members, unless such union is based on truth and holi
ness. There may be union in error and sin. The tenants
of the graveyard do not quarrel. Strifes and divisions are
evils, nowhere more so than in the church ; but not the
greatest evils. When Luther posted his theses on the
church door of Wittemberg, he inaugurated division in the
church that then was, and God be praised for it. Strife in
the church may be nothing else than the struggle of truth
against error. It may be the effort of life to throw off a
superincumbent mass of death, and thus be a harbinger of
good. Nor is the end of the church answered by outward forms,
and costly houses for worship, and imposing decorations, or
by captivating music, or by learned and eloquent preaching.
All these, strictly subordinated to the purpose of truth and
spiritual worship, are well enough ; but they enter not into
the essence of the church's hfe. When did the faithful
better fulfil their Lord's design, and achieve greater victories,
than when, hunted as wild beasts, they met in dens and
caves, and filled the night watches with songs of praise to
Christ as to God ? Amid imposing forms and gorgeous
rites, and all the appliances of art and taste, the Searcher
of hearts may see nothing but empty show, and hear nothing
but the sounding brass and the tinkling cymbal. No ; the
true hfe and prosperity of any and every church is found
in answering the end for which it was instituted ; in main-

MORNING DISCOURSE. 31
taining the doctrine of the cross for its own edification, and
in setting forth and holding up the truth for the salvation
of the world. Fidelity to God's design, is the essential
condition of the church's preservation and success, God's
promise of perpetuity is not to be restricted to the church
universal. When has he abandoned to extinction the local
church that was faithful to its mission as the pillar and
ground of the truth ? When did the Good Shepherd desert
the feeblest portion of his flock, who were holding fast his
truth, and walking in his statutes, and fulfilling their true
mission ? Who does not know that it is only when a local
church has departed from the faith and practice of his
word, and failed to answer its design, that God abandons it
to spiritual blight and ultimate extinction ?
But I must hasten to a conclusion.
Beloved brethren and friends of this religious society,
to you the present occasion, marking the fiftieth anniversary
of the Park Street Church, is one of no ordinary interest.
In that interest I claim to share. If the labors of more
than eleven years in this pastorate ; if sharing your pros
perity and adversity, your joys and sorrows, during that
time, has any meaning, then I have an interest in this day.
Upon the religious history of the period which called for
the formation of this church, I do not propose to dwell. It
is sufficient to say that after a season of studied reserve and
painful hesitation, there had been avowed a fundamental
departure from the faith of the New England fathers. The
ancient foundations were fast yielding ; all the Congrega-

32 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
tional churches of Boston, save the Old South, were involved
in the defection, and Unitarianism was making inroads
throughout the surrounding country.
In this state of things, a few individuals, after prayerful
deliberation, felt moved to stand forth in the breach, and
hold up the standard of evangelical doctrine, then reproached
and ridiculed, and, by God's help, stay the flood of rational
ism which was desolating the Lord's heritage.
The twenty-seventh of February, 1809, was a day fraught
with great issues, when that little band of twenty-six breth
ren and sisters, in that private apartment, entered into
covenant with God and each other, to reaffirm and uphold
the doctrines of the cross, and thus rekindle the flame of
experimental piety then ready to expire. To this end they
at once set about the erection of this spacious temple, at
great personal sacrifice, and dedicated it, in the following
January, to the worship of the Triune Jehovah, And the
history of fifty years, with their results in this community,
shows that that consecration of hearts and of worldly sub
stance to the glory of Christ, was approved of heaven.
Few of those who were flrst and foremost in this great
work remain to see this day. There was a man who took the
first pastoral charge of the infant church, at whose mouth
the trumpet gave no uncertain sound ; a man endowed with
gifts and graces which eminently qualified him for the service
then to be done. As a son of thunder, and in strains sweet
as angels use, he vindicated and commended the doctrines
of the cross. The opinion has been expressed, and I know
of no reason for questioning its correctness, that amid great

MORNING DISCOURSE. 33
services, in many important spheres of labor, Dr, Griffin
here did the great work of his life. Under trials which
few at this day can appreciate, he here wrought mightily for
God and truth. And it is said that not a few who came
into this house to scoff, remained to pray. The sword of
the Spirit in his hand was without a scabbard. His brief
labors of less than four years produced a marked effect.
The tide began to turn, and many were beginning to ask
for the good old way.
And there was his successor, an able and good minister
of Jesus Christ, a workman that needed not to be ashamed,
Frank, generous, discriminating, lucid in the exhibition of
truth, and pungent in the application of it, his ministry of
eight and a half years was fraught with rich blessings to the
church and society. Griffin and Dwight, who watched
over and guided the infancy of this church are not here
to-day. They have rested from their labors. To not a few
in this community, now pillars in this sisterhood of churches,
these names are still fresh and fragrant. Others who have
shared in the labors of this pastorate are here with us, and
will speak for themselves.
Then, as to the original members and those who early
joined them and shared their burdens and trials, many have
fallen asleep. With not a few of them I have taken sweet
counsel, I felt the warmth of their loving hearts. I wit
nessed their labors of faith and love. Dark and sorrowful
were the days when devout men carried them to their
burial. Homes, and Homer, and Odiorne, and Hub
bard, and others no less justly held in honor, are not here

34 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
to-day. And were Paul present, he would not forget to
name, as his manner was, the pious women, who labored
much in the Lord, — the Phoebes, the Lydias, and Marys,
who were fellow-helpers to the truth.
And, of the early membership, there are also living ones,
still witnessing a good confession, of whom I may not speak.
Spared to see this anniversary, with what emotions do they
recall the scenes of bygone years ! Let the memory of the
founders, and their early associates, living and dead, who, in
that day of rebuke, here raised a standard for Christ, and
stood by it in peril and reproach, be fondly cherished by
those who have entered into their labors.
May this church, expressly established to uphold evan
gelical faith and practice, and diffuse the knowledge of
salvation at home and abroad, remain firm on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief
corner-stone. May it fulfil its high trust, and stand forth in
all future generations, " the pillar and ground of the truth,"
This fraternal gathering of those who are, and of those
who have been, members of the Park Street Church, with
the surviving ex-pastors, to unite in a tribute of acknowl
edgment and praise to God on this occasion, how well is it
fitted to admonish us of that greater gathering, when all the
redeemed, from every nation and kindred and tongue, shall
come together on Mount Zion above, with songs and ever
lasting joy upon their heads. The Lord grant that we all
may find mercy of the Lord in that day.

Mtxmm

\mnmt.

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE.
PREPARATORY TO THE SACRAMENT OF THE SUPPER,

BY REV. JOEL H, LINSLEY, D.D,
PASTOR FROM DECEMBER 5, 1S32, TO SEPTEMBER 2S, 1&35.

CHRISTIAN OBLIGATIONS ENFORCED BY
REDEEMING LOVE.
^.-^^^O transient, in the mysterious orderings of Provi
dence, was my connection with you as your pastor,'
that I had but slight claims to a part in these
commemorative exercises. And yet I could not,
under the kind invitation extended to me, deny myself the
pleasure of meeting and greeting this beloved church, on
an occasion like the present, — a church dear to many, even
strangers in far-off lands, by reason of its well-known origin,
character, and history, its love for the truth, its hospitality
to the saints, its connection with missionary movements,
and its liberal patronage of every good cause ; — how much
more dear to me, who, in years gone by, alike in health
and loss of health, shared so largely iu its sympathy, for-
3*

38 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
bearance, and generous kindness. The speaker will ever
recur to his pastorate here, — brief and imperfect, yet not
altogether fruitless, — as to a bright spot in a life which,
like many others in this world of change, has had its dark
shadows, as well as its cheering sunlight.
But I must not forget that the nature of the service
assigned me forbids anything beyond the most limited indul
gence of personal feelings. While, therefore, there are
numbers of the membership of this church, now gone home
to glory, whose memory will ever be fragrant here, and
whose virtues I would gladly help to embalm, yet I bear in
mind that I should chiefly move you to honor that Saviour
whom they so ardently loved, considering that the grace
which shone in them was his gift, and that humility was
their brightest ornament.
You will find my text in 2 Cor, v, 13-15,
" For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God ; or whether we
be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us;
because we thus judge, tliat if one died for aU, then were aU dead.
And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live
unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."
Paul's preaching at Corinth, as he testifies, was with
" much fear and trembling," and therefore, perhaps, with
all the more prayer, and certainly with great success. He
gathered among that gay, pleasure-loving, and corrupt
people, a strong church. It was a church very dear to
him ; but it was one also which occasioned him much
anxiety and sorrow of heart. There arose in it false teach-

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE. 39
ers, who strove to depreciate his character and weaken his
influence. Among other things they accused him of self-
glorying, and also with being carried away with an over
wrought zeal. In the chapter before us, we have a virtual
reply to these charges. It develops the feelings which
animated and the principles which controled the apostle's
ministry. He acted in view of things unseen and eternal,
and by that standard he must be judged. His apprehen
sion of the terrors and glories of the eternal world, made
him careless of the reproaches of men, and anxious chiefly
to please him to whose judgment bar he saw himself
hastening. Having felt in his own soul the " terrors of the
Lord," he labored in view and hy means of them " to per
suade men." Acting under the responsibilities of such a
ministry, so related both to time and eternity, to the glory
of God and the well-being of immortal souls, he and his
associates might indeed seem beside themselves; but whether
they were so judged by some, or whether, by others, they
were accounted sober and right-minded, it was their love for
Christ that furnished the key to their conduct, " Because
we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.
And that he died for all, that they who live should not
henceforth live unto themselves," Observe here —
That Paul assumes as a well-known truth, that Christ
died for all. From this he infers another, even more vital,
in the gospel system, to wit, that all were dead, that the
race were hopelessly lost under the power of sin. And
since these things were so, he draws the conclusion that
those who live, those who through the sacrifice of Christ

40 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION.
and the power of his Spirit are raised from the death of sin
to the life of holiness, should not live as before, unto them
selves, but unto him who died for them and rose again.
Now, I do not propose an elaborate discussion of any one
of these great truths. The occasion forbids this. As to
their proof, the text is so explicit that I see not how any
thing can be added to its clearness and force. And, more
over, though fundamental truths must every where be dis
cussed and established in men's convictions, yet I should
hope that here, if any where in the world, a labored argu
ment for essential Christian doctrine might be dispensed
with. For I run my eye back along the line of successive
generations, for at least fifty years, and what do I see ?
A little company of believers, perhaps some twenty or
twenty-five, banding together under a solemn covenant to
sustain and diffuse the very doctrines alluded to. Few in
numbers, and feeble in resources, they are strong only in
the belief of the truth, and in the purpose to maintain it;
and above all, in their unwavering confidence in him who
" died for them, and rose again," Few and feeble as they
are, and struggling with all the difficulties of a pioneer
enterprise, yet they draw off from the mother church, and
single-handed, on this beautiful elevation, on this consecrated
hill of Zion, they plant their standard and unfurl their
banner. And, blessed be God, from that hour to the pres
ent has the true gospel been proclaimed from successive
pulpits to growing members. These pulpits, as they have
from time to time been built, have been consecrated to
Jehovah Jesus, the God of the Pilgrims, — the Father, the

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE, 41
Son, the Holy Spirit, — and they have resounded with these
great doctrines of a standing or of a falhng Christianity, —
the moral ruin of man, — the redeeming grace of God, our
incarnate Saviour, — and that new birth, that new life of
love, which is by his Word and Spirit and their affiliated
truths. In the strength of these doctrines of grace, this church
has moved steadily forward amid all changes through its
successive ministries, until, by the divine blessing, it has
gained its present strong position. This people, then,' must
forget their origin and their entire annals as a religious
association, before they can repudiate fundamental truth,
and become careless of its defence and its diffusion.
But while I propose no formal attempt to establish the
doctrines of the text, yet so far as they enter into Paul's
argument for unselfish and holy zeal for God, they ought
also to find a place in mine,
" If one died for all," reasons the apostle, " then were
all dead," If God so loved the world as to give his Son a
sacrifice for its redemption, then, since in his benevolent
plans there can be no waste of happiness, no uncalled-for -
suffering, therefore the world must have lain under the
power and condemnation of spiritual death. All were dead
and doomed. This is "a first truth in the gospel scheme.
But it is one concerning which mere speculation is pre
eminently fruitless. It is a truth to be felt. The conviction
of it must penetrate the depths of your soul. It is to our
purpose, therefore, to ponder the apostle's words, — " then
were all dead,"

42 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION,
What is it to be dead, in the sense of the text ? To live
wholly to and for self, in opposition to living for God, It
is, to use Paul's language, to " walk after the flesh, and to
fulfil the desires of the flesh and the mind," In his epistle
to the Romans, and also in that to the Ephesians, he recurs
again and again to this truth, and does it, as in the passage
before us, with a view at once to magnify the condescension
and grace of Christ, and enforce the infinite obligations of
his redeemed people. He would have every believer now,
as heteafter in glory, turn from that height of privilege to
which grace has exalted him, and look down into " the
hole of the pit whence he was digged." He tells the
Ephesian disciples that it demanded the same power of
God to raise them from the death of sin, by which he
wrought when he raised up Christ from the grave, " And
you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,"
Among whom, not you only, but I with you, — " we all
walked in the lusts of the flesh, and were by nature children
of wrath, even as others," Wherefore, — he would say, —
forget not the wormwood and the gall of this your miserable
state, when ye were "aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope, and without God in the world," And again, in the
same chapter, he adds : " But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,"

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE, 43
Now, my brethren, it seems to me worthy of special notice,
how this guilty condition of unregenerate man affected the
apostle's mind, and how he prefaces every appeal to Chris
tians, as blood-bought souls, with a deeply shaded picture
of that moral ruin in which they had shared. But why,
0 Paul, art thou so much in earnest to live wholly for God
thy Saviour ? Ah, he replies, how can I live otherwise ?
I cannot forget how dead I was in sin, how " mad upon
my idols," and how low my blessed Lord had to go down
into the pit to bring up and save my guilty soul.
Would to God, oh sinful man, I could suitably impress
thee with a sense of this overwhelming truth, that in thine
unconverted state thou art under the power of death ; alive
indeed to the world, but dead to God, dead to hope and to
heaven. Thou hast all the attributes of a moral being, and
of moral responsibility, but sold under sin ; the balance
of thy soul is utterly lost, and with disordered action and
fearful energy thou art rushing down to hell. Once, I did
not fully understand why Paul, in addressing Christians,
should insist so much upon the particular view of truth here
adverted to, A clearer insight into the Christian life
resolved the mystery, A deep experience of the power and
condemnation of sin, — a thorough law work, as the old
writers call it, — has much to do with a lively Christian
hope, and with stability and consistency of Christian
character; and this deep work does not always precede
conversion. Is there, then, any help for man, in his lapsed and low
estate ? Yes, blessed be God, in heaven there is both pity

44 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
and power, " Out of Zion there comes a Deliverer, to turn
away ungodliness from Jacob." His name is Jesus, for
" He shall save his people from their sins," He saves by
giving his life a ransom for them, the just for the unjust.
He dies for all, that they who live should not henceforth
live unto themselves. Here, then, Paul's great argument
for renouncing the world culminates. It was a view of
Christ crucified for sinners, that first broke his heart, and
that afterwards never ceased to melt and move it. My
brother, are you sure that the same views ever broke your
heart? Do you remember and ponder as you ought, the
love of a suffering Saviour, either as a preparation for the
Holy Communion, or as an incentive to holy labors ? Such
meditations, particularly on the closing scenes of our Re
deemer's life, should live in the perpetual imagination of
the believer's heart, for it is only as they do so that he can
be a living Christian,
Let us now glance at several considerations suited to
magnify the love of Christ for us, and, of course, to add
intensity to our love for Him ; and —
1. This love is munificent. It is so alike in the extent
of its range and the richness of its provisions. Paul was
deeply impressed by this feature, and stretches every energy
of language to set it forth. He speaks of God as " rich in
mercy," of his superabounding love, of the riches of his
grace in Christ Jesus, Many think of the atonement as
made only for this or that individual or class of individuals,
— the elect subjects of its grace. But this is confounding

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE. 45
the provision with its application. Certain passages, stand
ing by themselves, might bear the construction claimed ;
but the general current of the New Testament is manifestly
in harmony with the plain language of the text, " God
so loved the world " that he gave his only begotten Son,
" He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,
but also for the sins of the whole world,"
We rejoice in this view of atoning love. It invests it
with sublimity, with godlike greatness. It makes redemp
tion to correspond with the grandeur of Jehovah's other
works. The natural sun does not shine for this or that
individual or community, but for the race. And so it is
with the Sun of Righteousness, " I am the light of the
world." Look at God's fullness of provision in the natural
world, — air, light, the dews and rain of heaven. They are
made for all, and free for all, though many abuse them,
and the good, the elect only, make them in the highest
sense personal blessings. Just so with the provisions of
grace in Jesus Christ, They are not only made for the
world, but are sincerely tendered to the world, — to every
creature. Let the atoning love of Christ then stand before
men and angels, in all its infinite sufficiency for dying men,
" Deep as our helpless miseries are,
Aud boundless as our sins,"
This view is practical. It enlarges and quickens our
sympathies for a fallen world, — for men of every clime,
and color, and caste. Since Christ died for the race, we
would live for the race. We can not rest till " one song
i

46 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
employs all nations." To my own mind, the most affecting
stanzas that Watts ever wrote for the communion table
begins — " Pity the nations, 0 our God ! "
Again. 2, Christ's atoning love was not only large, but
free and cheerful. This greatly magnifies a self-sacrificing
affection. No constraint was laid upon the Eternal Word to
undertake the work of our redemption. It was on his part
a perfectly voluntary movement. " Lo, I come ; in the
volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do
thy will, 0 my God." We have Paul's authority for put
ting these words into the mouth of our divine Redeemer,
And he himself says, — " I am the Good Shepherd, I lay
down my life for the sheep. No man taketh it from me,
but I lay it down of myself," And mark what follows,
" Therefore my Father loveth me, because I lay down my
life that I may take it again," It is certainly intimated
here that the cheerfulness with which the second person in
the Trinity entered on the enterprise of putting away sin
by the sacrifice of himself, enhanced the value of that
sacrifice in the eyes of the Father, Should it not, then,
render it doubly precious to us, and, as a constraining influ
ence, doubly powerful?
3. Christ's atoning love was not only abounding and
free, but, — how shall I describe it ? — it was heroic, per
severing, triumphant love. " Many waters could not quench
it," " Having loved his own, he loved them to the end,"
How can this feature of the Saviour's love be adequately

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE. 47
displayed ? There is in the universe no parallel for it, —
nothing in human or angelic love with which it can be
compared. You cannot imagine a case in which any crea
ture, even the loftiest, should give himself to suffer for the
lowest, that would approach to a parallel. The sacrifice of
a creature for a creature, though rare, we can understand.
Magnify it as you may, it is still a finite transaction, and
has soundings which a finite line can reach. But, oh, the
love of God for sinful man ! — " such manner of love," as
John speaks, — so large, so free, so persistent ! Some,
possibly, may have carried love so far as to die for friends ;
but " God commendeth his love toward us, in that while
we were yet sinners,'' — enemies to his being, and rebels
against his throne, — " Christ died for the ungodly.'' He
knew well what glory and bliss he must leave behind, and
how low he must stoop. He foresaw our pride, ingratitude,
and base insensibility to the greatness of his sacrifice. As
our surety, Christ knew that he must bear the wrath of God,
the scorn of men, and the rage of devils. He must live
in daily contact with sin. He must submit to taunt and
mockery from the creatures he had made and even then
upheld, to the buffetings, the cruel smitings of the soldiers,
and the ignominy and anguish of the crucifixion. Mark
the merciless monsters that gather around the innocent
victim. See how they drive the ragged nails through those
hands that had never been raised but to bless, and through
those feet that had never moved but on errands of love.
And then consider that over and above all that we can see
and hear of the dreadful reality, there remains a mystery

48 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION,
of suffering which we can not penetrate, a lower deep
which we can not fathom. We see the Father avert his
face, at the moment that agony thrills every nerve, and
the life-blood ebbs away drop by drop through every pore.
This is the last ingredient of bitterness that is thrown into
the cup, and the meek sufferer cries out, " My God ! my
God ! why hast thou forsaken me ! " And now, though
man is mute, and heaven seems to withhold its sympathy,
yet nature is moved. The sun is darkened, the rocks are
rent, the graves give up their dead,
" Oh, for this love let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break ;
And all harmonious human tongues
The Saviour's praises speak,"
0 Christian, I counsel thee to retire often from the
world, and go stand over against the cross, or with the
loving Mary look into the sepulcher. See where the " Lord
of glory loved and died," and hear him say as you look,*
" Was there ever sorrow like unto my sorrow ? " Let us
behold and meditate, until, with all saints, we comprehend
what is the height and depth, the length and breadth, of
that love which passeth knowledge,
I now add the fourth attribute of redeeming love, — its
disinterestedness. The other attributes which I have named might possibly
characterize a love that had in it some alloy of selfishness.
And ah, my brethren, what drawbacks of this sort all human
philanthropy is subject to, we too well know. Every sincere

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE. 49
Christian has indeed some true love to God and his neigh
bor, — for nothing short of this constitutes him a Christian,
— but how inconstant and unreliable ! In our good deeds
what a mixture of motives often consciously appears, and
in other cases, how self creeps in unconsciously. It was a
striking remark of one of the most liberal givers that I
have ever known, that it seemed to him there was scarcely
an act of beneficence he had ever done in which he could
not, on a searching review, discern some taint of selfishness.
Doubtless this judgment was too severe ; but this we may
safely say, that whoever holds up his sacrifices for Christ
to the light of Christ's great sacrifice for him, will be the
most ready to fall down in the dust before God, and
pray that atoning blood may purify his holiest duties, and
" purge his conscience from dead works, to serve the living
God," But oh, the love of a redeeming Saviour ! that was
wholly unselfish, — as pure as it was large and free. What
was there in poor fallen man to engage the notice of God ?
He could not, even if recovered from ruin, be profitable to
him, God could, indeed, through Christ, and only through
him, accept his imperfect services ; but not because he
needed at his hand any thing. It is God's delight to give,
— to bless out of his boundless store, — but how can infinite
fullness need or receive from finite measures ? God saw man
lying in all the ruin of his rebellion, and the compassion,
the mere good will of his loving heart, moved the enterprise
of his redemption. And the grace that drew the plan was
couspicuous at every step in its execution. Look at the
Saviour's life. What an impersonation of pure, self-sacrific-

50 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
ing love ! Mark his own words, " The Son of Man came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister," Truly, blessed
Saviour, thou didst not, as many who call themselves by
thy name, live to amass and enjoy, but to dispense and
to bless. Thou didst empty thyself of heavenly glory and
bliss, that thou mightest " fill us with all the fullness of
God," Thou wast in our sin-ruined and suffering world, an
angel of mercy, wearing out thy frail body, in which thou
didst humble thyself to dwell, in labors of love, — instruct
ing the ignorant, reclaiming the wandering, composing the
distracted, healing the sick, and raising the dead.
Thus, my beloved brethren, I have placed before you a
miniature representation of your Saviour and his sacrifice
for sin, — that sacrifice, a view of which was with the great
apostle an ever-living incentive to holiness, — always present
to his mind to humble and quicken him, to mortify self and
sin, and constrain him to consecrate his entire being to the
glory of him who " died for him and rose again,'' And why
should it be a feebler power in your soul or in mine ? We
have before us the same great facts, — the eternal Word
turning away from all the glory and blessedness he had
" with the Father before the world was," the unselfishness
of his sacrifice, its infinite fullness and freeness, its deep
humiliations and sorrows, the greatness of that salvation
which, by mysterious agonies, he brought out; — and, while
your heart melts, pass a step further, and consider that
discriminating love which has made you, as you hope, a
partner of this salvation, — which has "called you out of

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE. 51
darkness into God's marvelous light," — saying, "Awake,
thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead," Oh yes.
Christian, it was that Almighty Spirit that raiseth up and
quickeneth whom he will, that raised you from the death of
sin and the grave of your lusts to the life of God, — that
made you a partaker of the divine nature, and gave you to
" sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," And ever since,
this love has followed you, — has kept your feet from falling,
and your soul from death. You owe it to this same grace of
Jesus Christ, that instead of standing aloof as a heartless
looker-on, or sitting in the seat of the scornful, you are
here to-day in the comfort of " a reasonable and holy hope "
in Jesus; that his "banner over you is love;" and that
you hear his gracious voice, saying, " Eat, 0 friend ! drink,
yea, drink abundantly, 0 beloved ! " Can you in the review
help breaking forth, " My Lord and my God," I acknowl
edge thy perfect and infinite claims to all that I have,
and all that I am ?
" Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine.
Demands my soul, my life, my all,"
The Christian, then, being no more his own, can no more
hve or die to himself. This was Paul's doctrine, and this
was alike his manner of living and of dying. Do you, my
brother, order your life on such principles ? Do you " keep
your heart in the love " of him who died for you, and now
lives and reigns for you? If the Saviour has occasion to

52 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
say, " I remember the kindness of thy youth, the love of
thine espousals," when every faculty and possession was
holiness to the Lord, does he find the same order of affection
still ? Search and see, for that dying love can not brook
a cold return, the very institution of the feast we celebrate
to-day bears witness. " Do this in remembrance of me,"
In conclusion, I must add that while engaged in throwing
together these thoughts, I have not been without much
sorrow and heaviness of heart. I have compared Paul's
Christian life with my own ; I have extended this compar
ison to the ministry and to the church at large, and after
every allowance of charity, I find cause for personal and
general humiliation. It is meet that the great apostle of
the Gentiles should talk of the constraint of a Saviour's
love, for his life of toil and sacrifice for Christ and the
gospel's sake vindicates his profession ; and the churches he
planted imbibed his spirit. " To believe, to love, and to
suffer," — this, it has been said, was primitive Christianity,
" The faith once delivered to the saints," says the ven
erated Lyman Beecher, " produced a piety of great solem
nity and power, — a love for Christ so ardent, an avowal
of his death so undaunted, and an enterprise so effective,
that it moved on from conquering to conquer, through
honor and dishonor, through fire and blood."
But after all God's goodness, after all the light of prov
idence since enjoyed, and all the illuminations of the Spirit,
where are we as Christian churches and Christian profess
ors ? Can we truly say that we ^'^ live not unto ourselves?"

AFTERNOON DISCOURSE. 53
Paul plead his love for a dying Redeemer as a reason
for a missionary zeal so ardent that it was accounted mad
ness. Was his love then in fact excessive, and his zeal
insane ? If not, what shall we say of the present standard
of effort and sacrifice for the same glorious cause ? We
have revivals and conversions, and I can not regard them
as spurious. Our churches are made strong in numbers
and resources; but is the church, as at first, distinctively
a united, holy, and truly missionary church, — moved by
the constraint of dying love, and living for the salvation
of the world ? It should be so. This is the spirit of the
living Christian and of the true church. That most able
and excellent man and minister of Christ, the late Pres,
Olin, of the Methodist connection, says truly, in one of
his eloquent appeals to his own denomination in behalf
of missions, " Every Christian is born into the kingdom
of God a missionary and a propagandist, — not only a lover
of the truth, but a herald of truth," It is even so : like
the converted woman of Samaria, he desires and seeks,
and is ready to believe that he can accomplish the conver
sion of all his impenitent neighbors. Why do we so often
see this first love and zeal of the young convert soon wax
cold, I fear we must refer it to the unspiritual and worldly
state of the church. His ardor does not avail to raise the
temperature of her zeal, but she, alas ! reduces his to the
low dead level of her own. Thus, a cold, barren religion
is propagated and perpetuated, and the salvation of a per
ishing world is indefinitely postponed.

54 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION.
I must not say more ; but with such a subject, and on
such an occasion, how could I say less ? An angel's tongue
can not tell how much you and I need, and the world
needs, a more Christlike spirit, and a more apostolic zeal.
Oh, my brethren, when we look at the opening fields for
Christian effort, and the perishing multitudes that go to
form the harvest, must we not say with one voice, "if
there ever was a time when the church of Christ should
fall down on her face before the throne, and plead for a
new and holier order of Christians and of Christian min
isters, men full of faith and the Holy Ghost, — that time
is now passing over us,"
Dear brethren, how many praying men and women have
lived and labored and died in the faith of Jesus and as
witnesses for his truth, on this spot! Other men have
labored, and you have entered into their labors, I will
institute no comparison between the living and the dead.
Among the latter I call to mind some, both men and women,
of blessed memory, whose names can never he heard by
me, or by this church, but with tender, grateful emotions, —
now radiant in glory, and drawn into loving and everlasting
companionship with Jesus, If you make good their vacant
places, and fill the measure of their faithfulness, you will
do well ; and if, through grace, you excel them, their pure,
celestial spirits will feel no envy or jealousy. Oh, no ! they
will exult rather in your holy love and fruitfulness in every
good work, and new songs of praise to the God of Salvation
will break forth before his glorious throne.

afternoon discourse. 55
" The Lord bless thee, and keep thee : The Lord make
his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : The
Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee
peace."

At the conclusion of this discourse, seventeen
individuals present were admitted to membership in
the church, six by letter, and eleven upon the pro
fession of their faith ; and the Lord's Supper was
administered to more than one thousand communi
cants. Rev. Drs. Linsley, Aiken, and Beechee, with
Rev. Dr. Crawford, of Deerfield, Mass., son-in-law
of Rev. Dr. Griffin, the first pastor of the church,
ofBciated. It was a scene of tender and solemn
interest, never to be forgotten by those who par
ticipated in it.

iunm MbmuBh

EVENING DISCOUESE,

BY REV. EDWAKD BEECHER, D.D.
PASTOR FROM DECEMBER 27, 1826, TO OCTOBER 28, 1830.

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the •will of God, to the saints which
are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and
peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. According as he hath
chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children h^ Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath
made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having
made known unto us the m3stery of his will, according to his good pleasure,
which he hath purposed in himself. That in the dispensation of the fullness
of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him. In whom also we have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." — ^kesians i. 1-11.

E liave in tliese words a comprehensive view of
the history and destinies of the church of God.
Elect, before the foundation of the world, to holi
ness, predestinated to the adoption of children,
redeemed through atoning blood, — and all this not on
grounds of individual desert, but in order to consummate
an eternal purpose of God to reorganize the universe under
one head through Christ.
5

60 semi-centennial celebration.
Such is the sublime and yet inspired view of the relations
and destinies of the church. Not indeed of any outward
worldly organization bearing that name, but of that redeemed
multitude, of every age, who are truly restored to the life
of God, and, as a glorious organic whole, are at last united
to him in the covenant of eternal love, and in the ever
lasting fellowship of his kingdom and reign.
This result is represented as effected not suddenly, but
through a long course of ages, by a dispensation adapted
to secure this final issue only, in the fullness of times, —
that is, after a long course of development, ending in the
final judgment, and by which the universe shall be fully
prepared for the mature and glorious result.
Amid all the conflict which has existed on earth, to
make good a claim to the name and authority of the church
of God, those, and those only, will at last possess them,
who shall be found to have lived and acted in the closest
sympathy with him, in the development of those great ideas
that are involved in the execution of this eternal purpose.
It is a succession, from age to age, of divine ideas and
Christian experience, upon which depends the continuity
and connection of the church of God, and not an unbroken
line of outward organization. If the true divine ideas and
spirit die out, nothing remains but an organic corpse, falsely
called by the name of the. church of God,
If you, beloved brethren, who are or have been members
of this church, are in that line of thought and experience,
then to you the words of my text apply, and I welcome you
to this review of the history of this church for the first

evening discourse, 61
half-century of its organic life. But what is the history of
this church ? God only can give a full answer to that
question, for he only understands it as it appears in the
invisible world, and that is its true history. To understand
truly the history of this church, is to understand the divine
ideas, purposes, and emotions which gave rise to its organ
ization, and have been unfolded in its progress. There is
a view of history, even of the history of the church, which
is superficial and narrow in its range of thought. It is
outward and human. It is a mere detail of facts and
statistics ; or, if underlying principles are considered, it is
from a low point of vision.
Thus viewed, the history of this church would unfold
in dry detail who were the originators of the enterprise ;
when, by whom, and how the church was organized ; what
were their doctrines and order ; who their successive pas
tors ; what their yearly statistics of gain or loss, in mem
bership, influence, and resources ; and what their present
numbers and power. Even from such a history, of such a
church, much beyond all doubt could be learned to interest
and instruct; and yet no just idea could thus be formed
of the peculiar and distinguishing ideas of God out of
which the movement sprung ; no thrilling emotions, no tide
of feeling, would lift the soul on high, nor would any
genuine insight be given into the spirit of the movement,
nor into its relations to the great whole towards which the
development of the divine purposes in the course of ages
is tending.
No one who behoves that there is a God, will deny the

62 semi-centennial celebration.
simple but sublime dtDctrine of the text, that he worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. His ideas and
purposes underlie the creation of the material and the
spiritual world, and give shape to the development of prov
idence in both. Nor can there be any true history of the
church, nor indeed of any thing, which does not regard
primarily the development and embodiment of the divine
ideas. These ideas are generally at first unknown to the masses
of men, and dwell as abstract conceptions in the minds of a
few, who, by communion with God, rise above their age.
But as these divine conceptions come into active develop
ment from age to age, in order to assume their place as
reigning powers on earth, they cease to be abstract thoughts
of individual minds, and begin to embody themselves in
outward and visible organizations. These, too, are commonly
at first so feeble as to be overlooked and despised by the .
great worldly powers ; and yet, as embodying the sublime
and deathless ideas of God, they are destined to an immor
tality of ever-increasing power. They are a little leaven
in a vast mass, and yet destined to pervade and leaven the
whole. The necessity of such an organic embodiment of ideas
implies that all things tend to and result in a designed
organic exclusion of them by the reigning powers of earth,
invisible and visible, and that they are resisted when they
put in their claim to be embodied and reign in human
society. Accordingly, the main element of the history of
this world, truly apprehended, is the resistance of organized

evening discourse. 63
powers to the progress of these divine ideas. Often the
conflict over one idea lasts for centuries, until, at last, it
wins its day and place.
From this point, we are now able to approximate to a
true conception of the real church of God, in all ages, of
which we profess to be a part, and from our relation to
which arises all of our interest and importance. The real
church, in any age, consists of those, and those only, who
by regeneration and sanctification have been so brought into
intellectual and moral sympathy with God, that through
them he has developed his ideas and purposes, and embodied
them in human society. The true church, thus viewed, is
one and continuous, just as is God's plan.
The history of this world, then, is a history of conflicts
for divine ideas, as the proper and only lawful organic
principles of human society.
The progress in this warfare is, of course, onward and
upward, A divine idea, which has once conquered and won
its ground, is never lost on the great scale. Every such
idea is permanently retained, and becomes the basis of new
successive developments.
The whole system of society, growing out of and based
on this natural life, ought, according to the divine idea, to
be subordinated to the spiritual life. The final issue of all
things should be to produce, support, and perfect it, and so
reunite all again to God, So used, it has immense power ;
and this consummation is the perfection of the develop
ment of God's ideas in this world.
We need not wonder, then, that the systems of hostile
5*

64 semi-centennial celebration.
spirits ignore the true idea of life in God, and of the
analogies of natural to spiritual life, and of the subordinar
tion of the whole system to that end. Their policy is to
exclude God, and to enthrone creatures in his place. This
is done sometimes by a denial of his being j at others, by
exalting him so far above human knowledge and sympathy,
that he ceases to be an active power in life, and created
beings take his place. Society, too, is organized to carry out
such a system, — to exalt creatures, and exclude the one true
God, Such organizations, too, may wield immense power,
of various kinds. Wealth, armies, intellect, fashion, num
bers, rank, uphold the reign of apostasy from God. And
so great, for a time, is their power, that the simple, true,
sublime ideas of God seem weak, contemptible, and even
insane. But they are never weak. True and sublime views of the
universal system may be held by individuals against an age,
and against organized power ; nevertheless, they are sus
tained by still greater power, God, and the invisible uni
verse of holy minds, and the eternal order of things,
underlie and sustain them, and the eternal course of Provi
dence will give them augmented power. Therefore, to give
God's ideas due power, there is needed a habit of transcend
ing the senses and the present order of things, and looking
.at the invisible world in the light of God. This is the
habit of faith, and it is the characteristic by which, in all
ages, the church has been united to God. Faith gives
present power to the spiritual universe, as it is, and in its
future developments.

EVENING DISCOUESE. 65
To reveal the power of God's ideas in act, requires his
providence and time. It is the action of these elements
which produces the sublime results which characterize the
history of the church in all ages. The ideas developed are
God's J the system to which they belong is infinite and
glorious j human power arrayed against them is great. One
or two often stand alone at the great points of conflict,
against the wealth, intellect, and physical power of an age.
They are ridiculed as visionaries, as abstractionists, as mad
men. They stand for an idea, for a visionary and imprac
ticable principle. They are contemned, hated, slain ; but
they die testifying to its truth and power,
God, meantime, and the invisible universe, work on. Cen
turies roll by, and at last the contemned idea has triumphed ;
the invisible, intangible, impracticable truth is enthroned,
and sways its scepter over numbers, organization, force,
wealth, and is eternal. Now, too, wisdom reveals its true
worth, as more precious than gold. During the conflict, it
calls often for the loss of gold ; and when a conflict for a
divine idea comes on, men take their choice between it and
gold ; and often the men of wealth and standing prefer the
existing order of things, apparently so fixed and permanent,
and contemn the visionary advocates of intangible ideas.
Nevertheless, ages roll on, and God's ideas prevail, and
become the life of the ruling order of things ; they become.
fixed and eternal. Thus, through successive ages, the divine
ideas, through organic development, advance from victory
to victory, until at last the glorious consummation spoken
of in my text, and so often referred to in the inspired

66 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
oracles, is fully attained, all of God's eternal conceptions
and purposes are triumphant, the universe is reorganized in
accordance with them, and all false and hostile organizations
fall to rise no more.
This, then, is the sublime import of the text : that when,
after the course of ages, the fullness of time shall have
arrived, there shall be a reorganization of the universe, a
glorious and all-comprehending order of things, in which all
truth, and beauty, and power, will be harmonious parts of
one eternal system, centralized in God and the church by
the great redemptive work of Christ, It is this that invests
the history of the church in this world with its glory and
sublimity. To the eye of man, in the hour of conflict, nothing
appears but weakness, suffering, and an endurance of con
tempt, for something invisible, for a principle, a mere idea,
bringing no present proflt or reward, but rather involving
sacrifice and loss. Yet, on the other hand, this idea is
God's idea; the principle is a part of his infinite and
eternal system; and in due time the hour of its eternal
victory must come.
Let us trace, in a summary way, the course of this .conflict
of ideas. First of all, man, in the earliest ages, not deny
ing the being of God, set at naught his retributive justice
and power, in open and contemptuous insolence. This
development of depravity characterized the centuries before
the flood. Long life and great physical energies emboldened
them, and no previous history of divine retributions had
revealed the power and justice of God, For ages God

EVENING DISCOURSE. 67
endured the increasing outrages of man, and at last disclosed
his purpose of judgment and retribution by Noah, And
here was developed the first great world-struggle for an idea.
That idea was the reality of the retributive power and
justice of God, These an impious world derided ; and
openly contemned, in fearless impiety, the omnipotent ruler,
judge, and avenger, (See Jude 15,) Of this strife, heathen
mythology has preserved the image, in the fabled war of
the giants against heaven.
In this war, Noah stood alone against a world, the con
temned advocate of an unpopular idea, the vindication of
the power and justice of God, But beneath these unpopu
lar abstractions was the omnipotence of God, in them was
his vitality. Men scoffed and blasphemed, but God, and
Noah in him, won the day. The fountains of the great deep
were broken up, the windows of heaven were opened, and
the deluge swept to perdition the world of the ungodly.
So this conflict was decided, and a fear of the power and
justice of God fell upon the world, from which it never
recovered. It was conceded that there was no hope in an
open warfare with God, whatever might be the power
and numbers that might combine against hini.
The next effort was to exclude the true idea of the real
God, creator of all things, as the present and active ruler
of this world. The creation of the world was denied.
Matter was declared to be self-existing and eternal, God
was exalted out of the reach of human conception, and
vice-gods, or men, were practically enthroned in his place.
Thus God, not denied or defied, was practically exiled.

68 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Hence came polytheism, in its various developments; and
the organizations of the world were based on this assumed
system of things. Practically, gods many and lords many
ruled the world. All the wealth, intellect, numbers, and
military power of the world sustained polytheistic organ
izations. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Tyre, Persia, Greece,
and Eome were polytheistic nations. They, too, had the
power of the world. The idea of one God, a spirit, the
creator of all things, a present God, who could be known
and loved, the life of all, holy, just and good, full of sym
pathy and love, and yet an avenger of evil, — was a mere
visionary, impractical idea. To the true church alone it
was real and powerful, and to develop and defend it was
their great mission. For centuries this idea was the center
of world-wide conflict. All of the Old Testament was
written in view of it. But one nation, and that small and
relatively powerless, stood on the side of the one true God ;
and they were charged by the rest of the world with
illiberal and narrow-minded bigotry. Beneath the power of
this contempt, and worldly seductions addressed to their
depraved passions, this one people was so prone to apostatize
as to need correction by repeated chastisements and cap
tivities. Yet God's elect, in every age, — even if alone, as
Elijah, — stood up in its defence.
When Christ came, this great conflict of centuries was
at its height. But he came to give to God's idea its final
and eternal victory. He came to recall the unknown God
from his exile, back into actual life, as a real, living God,
who could be known and loved. This was one great end

EVENING DISCOURSE. 69
of the incarnation. It had been said, the eternal Father,
the infinite God, can not be known ; let us enthrone gods
whom we can know. Christ revealed the supreme God in
human form, disclosed his ideas, purposes, and sympathies,
and said, " He who hath seen me, hath seen the Father,"
In human form he atoned for sin, and thus secured the
influences of the Holy Spirit to reunite men to God in holy
knowledge and victorious love. And now where is this
idea of the one supreme God, a being who may be known
and loved, the true and only ruler of all things ? It gained
its victory centuries ago, and now the wealth and power of
the world obey it. Monotheistic nations are at the head of
the world in knowledge and civilization, in arts and in arms.
Polytheistic nations, once the rulers of the world, are in'
universal decadence and decay. The balance of power was
changed forever, when Home renounced polytheism, and
bowed to the cross of the despised Nazarene,
The recognition of the one God being thus restored, and
he being acknowledged as the practical ruler of all things,
the next step of Satan was falsely to organize human society
in his name, by radical corruptions of the true conception
of God, and a spurious religious experience, thus retaining
the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. This
was the deep root of the great apostasy so often and so fear
fully portended in the New Testament, It originated in a
false and Gnostic idea of the material system and of natural
life; and the influence of this idea reacted on the concep
tion of God, Thus, Gnostic ideas perverted and corrupted
the whole system. Marriage was pronounced impure, Cel-

70 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
ibaey, fasting, and forms usurped the place of holiness.
Hence came the conception of a proud, heartless, unsympa-
thizing God. Hence came sacramentalism, formalism, and
outward organization. Hence came a worldly church in
league with the state. The whole was a form of godUness,
denying its power. But the true conception of God, thus
suppressed by Satan, could not die. It was destined to
have its resurrection, its conflict, and its victory. Nor could
the bondage of the human mind and of society, based on
this false conception of God, be eternal. It was destined
to be assailed and destroyed. Hence, in the fullness of
time, a new warfare for divine ideas was sure to begin.
Accordingly, the strife of ages has turned on the purpose
of God, to reveal and make ef&cient true conceptions of
himself, as the proper organic forces of human society, and
to give the true power of godliness an ascendency over
forms and worldly organizations and power. In doing this,
it became necessary to vindicate the duty of the correspond
ing right of man to live for God in all things, whatever
anti-christian organizations might enjoin. This right ex
tends not only to religious, but also to civil and political
life. For this idea the martyrs contended, who would not
take the mark of the beast nor the number of his name.
For ages, this was a mere idea, unable to organize itself
in any extended society. The beast and the woman in
scarlet ruled the world in God's name, and yet denied .
him in idea and in life. At last, God moved the world
through the Reformation, and in part enthroned these ideas
in outward organizations, repudiating and refuting the

EVENING DISCOUESE. 71
universal organic claims of Rome, But in part only, for
though Protestantism was detached from Rome, and ascet
icism, and formalism, still, even Protestant kings and states,
from the habits of ages, claimed the right to decide how
men should worship God,
That the so-called Christian state was inferior to the Word
of God, and to individual conscience, in the field of religion
and church order, was yet to be learned ; and the develop
ment of this idea was the mission of Puritanism, It was
not at first fully apprehended. It needed centuries of
development in New England before it was fully disclosed
in its purity and power. But the peculiar church order
of New England tended to this result. It gave to each
church independent power, and made the Word of God the
only standard of doctrine and of order. Thus the despotic
power of great human centralization was paralyzed, and the
elements of the highest spiritual freedom were conferred
upon mankind. Long were the ideas underlying this great
result weak, persecuted, contemned. They were derided as
visionary abstractions, and as tending to disorganize human
society and reduce all things to chaos. But they have
triumphed. They are enthroned, and the whole world is
yet to yield to their sway.
Thus the battle for freedom to think and act for God in
all things was fought and won. But still another came
on, — the greatest, the most arduous, the most wide-reach
ing of all. Men were next to be taught how to use that
freedom aright, and to defend the truth against an abuse
of freedom. Think, then, for a moment, how much this

72 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION.
involved. All false conceptions of God introduced by past
ages, — all false decisions in doctrine made by force and not
by reason, were to be reviewed and corrected; all pious
frauds were to be renounced, that nothing but the true
character of God and his pure truth might remain. But
the possession of this liberty, and the undertaking of this
work, rendered certain an over-action and an abuse. It
was sure, as men are, that the truth itself would be assailed
as an ancient error ; that the doctrines of Depravity and
Regeneration, of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Atone
ment, and of Eternal Retributions, would be called in ques
tion and rejected; and the fiible itself be repudiated as
the basis of them all. Meantime, the progress of the induc
tive sciences and of the arts would place new elements of
power in the hands of men, and start new theories of pro
gress, and of the reorganization of human society under the
lead of the new ideas and forces of the ages. Where the
highest freedom had been reached, this battle would, of
course, be most intense, and therefore its center was in
New England,
, The divine idea to be developed in opposition to this
movement was that the fundamental doctrines of Chris
tianity, truly apprehended, can be vindicated as ra
tional in the center of the highest knowledge possible to
man, and of the most perfect freedom. The church was
now to say, Let all concealment and all force be abjured;
let the full and highest light of divine illumination be
invoked and enjoyed ; let science be fully developed, yet
can the Bible be defended as the Word of God, and the

EVENING DISCOUESE, 73
fundamental doctrines of Christianity as the only true
organic powers of human society, the only hope of the
world. At this point, God moved to develop new ideas,
and hence this church. Look at the case. The downward
progress of things had extended so far here that orthodoxy
was by the majority of the Puritan churches abandoned in
this city, as unworthy of the freedom and progress of the
age; the leading civil influences were arrayed against it;
the college of the State was made an engine of assault
against the faith of the fathers; the judicial power had
virtually made the church a mere appendage of the parish,
and the germs of a destructive criticism of the Bible began
to be developed on every side. Meantime, in this center
of New England, and even in the small remnant in the
churches planted by the fathers, the fire of piety was
burning feebly, and its energies were almost exhausted.
Many of the founders of Park Street, had sunk so low as
to feel incompetent to engage in social prayer. To meet
this crisis, there was needed, first of all, a revival of the life
of God, and then a power of learning to embrace the wide
range of thought involved in the work to be done, A
thorough vindication and exposition of the Word of God,
the invigoration and extension of revivals of religion, and an
energetic development of the spirit of benevolent enterprise
in the form of missions and reform ; — this was the sublime
work to be accomplished. And now, beneath the inspiring
influences of the eternal mind, came into existence the
different, but conspiring parts of a world-embracing system,
designed to develop and vindicate the great divine idea of

74 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION.
the age. They were like the wheels in Ezekiel's vision,
full of eyes, and animated and moved by one spirit.
To take the lead in the great work of biblical exposition
and defence, Andover Theological Seminary was founded,
and MoSES Stuart called to his post, to thrill this nation
by the fiery enthusiasm of his spirit, and to arouse the culti
vated intellect of the church to an intense and profound
study,- exposition, and vindication of the Word of God,
As a counterpoise to the Cambridge apostasy, Amherst
College was endowed. Mills and his associates aroused the
churches to the great work of foreign missions, and the
American Board was organized, and all other parts of the
great system of evangelization and reform sprang into life.
The same movement called this church into being. The
men who moved in its formation were in full and profound
sympathy with all of this enlarged system of things. It
was founded for the exposition and defence of evangelical
truth, and for the extension of its influences throughout
the world, and into all departments of human thought and
action. It was to be a center of revivals at home and of
missionary enterprise abroad. Griffin bore aloft the ban
ner of God, and soon, among its leading members were such
men as Evarts and Hill, whose labors in the cause of
foreign missions need no eulogy from me. Nor have I time
to trace in detail the enlargement of the church ; the labors
of its successive pastors ; its efforts in the organization and
support of new churches in the city and its vicinity ; the
call of my honored father to this field of labor, and his
wide-reaching and victorious apostolic labors, and my own

EVENING DISCOUESE. 75
labors for a time as the pastor of this church in delightful
fellowship with him and other brethren beloved ; — the
fervor, the enthusiasm, and the energy of the great move
ment were divine, and transcend my powers of description.
But I will endeavor to look at some of the conceptions
peculiar to this movement, and out of which its deepest
emotions and most fervid enthusiasm sprang.
In the first place, the doctrine of a spiritual millennium,
not far remote, and involving the perfect reorganization of
human society, as set forth by Edwards and Hopkins,
had taken possession of their minds and pervaded all their
anticipations. In this, are found the highest motives to
effort, and the justification of the highest hopes, and the
most earnest intellectual study. The victory of Christ is to
come, not by force, but by intellectual and moral develop
ment. What encouragement, then, for the highest intel
lectual and moral effort ! No form of millenarianism had
any power to weaken these convictions and to check such
a joyful and impulsive faith by portending the deterioration
of all things on the field of intellectual and moral conflict,
until Christ should at last interpose to effect by force what
he had failed to accomplish by the power of truth and of
the Holy Spirit,
It followed from this general view, that the channel of
divine power was to be, as of old, through revivals, originat
ing from the direct and special influences of the Holy Spirit
attending the faithful and earnest preaching of the Word,
Connected with this, was the idea of a special relationship

76 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
of this country to the renovation of the world. This idea
had been developed by the first President Edwards, and
had diffused itself through the religious convictions of the
masses. The ideas out of which it sprung, were simple and
obvious, and yet sublime. The magnitude of our prospec
tive development, the freedom of our institutions, the room
for a glorious reorganization of all things, if the extent of
revivals and the power of sanctification should turn the
hearts of the majority with true devotion towards God, In
one of the yearly reports of Evarts, these ideas are devel
oped with transcendent elegance and power.
Moreover, as the great renovation of all things was at
hand, and as an instrument of such power was needed, and
as the providence of God seemed to have been ordered to
prepare it, it came to be incorporated as an element of hope,
and almost as an article of faith, in the minds of the lead
ers of this great evangelical reaction, and no less in the
hearts of the people. It created an all-pervading enthusiasm
of excitement like that which existed just before the coming
of Christ. It was also an article of belief that the agency
of the Holy Spirit would not supersede the wise use of
means, and hence the necessity of fitting our doctrinal
system more perfectly for its work by removing all human
additions and corruptions, and adapting it to act on the
mind in accordance with the divine laws of thought, emo
tion, and choice established by God in the constitution of
the mind. This led to a revision of the theology of other
ages, and this led to controversy even among the good ; and
in this controversy all the doctrines were re-debated, so

EVENING DISCOUESE. 77
that the subjects of old discussions came up anew; as for
example, the trinity, the divinity, and incarnation of Christ,
the depravity and regeneration of man, the atonement, and
its issues and results. Yet it was not a mere repetition of
any discussion that had gone before. It was a review of
all things in the enjoyment of a new and unwonted freedom
on a field of moral infiuence of unexampled extent, and
with a power of social reorganization unknown before, and
with a proximity of final results on earth deeply stirring
the mind. If, now, we assume that in fact the ideas and
emotions of God were underlying all of this movement, and
tending to such final issues, we can form some conception
of the profound feeling that pervaded and bathed this period,
and made it a half century of the deepest, most absorbing,
most delightful, most heavenly emotion.
Let us look at some of the results. It has been a half
century of earnest intellectual effort, in a wide range of
thought. Revivals, biblical exposition and defence, the
translation of the Bible into the languages of men, the
theory and practice of social reform, have all been studied
in the light of a glorious coming future, and under the
stimulus of its highest excitement. It has been a half
century of revivals and of missionary enterprise. It has
been a half century of profound religious discussion and
controversy. Out of it, vast results, no doubt, have sprung
for coming ages. The records of this church show the
results, in part, of the revivals. The history of other
churches in this city springing out of the movement, the
invigoration of evangelical doctrine and the evangelical

78 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
churches in the State at large, the increasing power of the
missionary enterprise and its results in all coming ages, the
formation of various associations for domestic missions and
evangelization, the inception of various measures of social
reform, — all of these things are to be regarded as the
results of the divine ideas and emotions out of which this
church grew; and in them this church has acted sympa
thetically, and to them it has consecrated its resources. For
it is an eminent characteristic of a true church of God, that
it can not be narrow and local in its feelings. If it will
commune with God, it must extend its thoughts and sym
pathies as far as those of God himself extend. Neverthe
less, though so much has been effected, the main idea of
the times is still in conflict, and has not gained the victory.
Its complete victory implies a perfect development of the
true God, in his full intellectual and moral power, as in
vested with all truth, beauty, honor, and right, as the great
organic power of human society, and yet in perfect consis
tency with this, a deep and thorough development of human
depravity, and a regenerating power that shall penetrate to
its depths, and new create individuals and society at large.
This, I need not say, has not yet been obtained.
We are not to overlook in this review the reactionary
progress of the anti-christian principles of the age. They,
too, have revived, and reviewed, and reorganized all the old
forms of error. Atheism, Pantheism, Infidelity, Material
ism, Spiritualism, Infidel Phrenology, Natural Theism, have
been developed with new power. All of these, however,
are not mere repetitions of old errors, — they partake of the

EVENING DISCOURSE. 70
spirit of the age, and are revised, reviewed, and modified
for an end. The true answer to all these is the same, — a
full development of God,
The last great idea of the series is the idea of perfect
social organization in and through God, This is involved
in what precedes, but in this last half century it has come
more distinctly forward, and has been more definitely the
subject of study than ever before. The Christian doctrine
rests on the assumption that all minds were originally made
for God, but have been deranged and disordered by sin, and
that a renewed life in time is essential to their proper
reorganization, and that he has a right to diffuse that life,
and to claim room for its power in social systems, including
government, political economy, commerce, education, and
daily life. This divine idea, too, has begun its development
in weakness, and has had its martyrs. It is, to most even
yet, an abstract impractical conception. Slavery reacts at
its claims, and seeks to fortify itself in political constitutions
and parties. Governments repudiate its claims as visionary
and impractical. Political economy, arts, manufactures,
commerce, repudiate its laws. But the idea is a divine
idea. It has in God a divine life. It can not die. It will
gain power from year to year. It will embody itself. It
will array increasing moral power against all corrupt organ
izations, till they are aroused to a last and decisive conflict.
Then God will come in supreme intellectual power and
majesty, and judge, condemn, and consume all false organ
izations, and enthrone all his own ideas in those forms and
relations which are best adapted to this present earthly

80 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
sphere. Then, after a long period of the glorious reign of
divine truth and order, will come a brief revolt and a fierce
onset of the powers of error, to be followed by the final
judgment, and the eternal reorganization of the universe so
emphatically spoken of in my text,
1, The true history of this church is not disconnected,
local, provincial; it is the result of the divine ideas and
emotions in ages past and for ages to come, and is, therefore,
intimately connected with God's great whole. It is a living
part of that one great living body, the church, of which
God is in all ages the life. Since it has been a strife for
universal principles and a development of God's ideas, it
can not be disconnected and insulated; it is rather a part
of God's eternal, all-embracing chain of thought, plan, and
purpose, for all ages and all worlds. The deep channel of
God's emotions has been here revealed.
2, The future of this church may be more striking and
affecting than even the past, for the highest and mightiest
development of God's ideas is yet to come. Nevertheless,
to become meet for such a future, requires a peculiar and
correspondent preparation. The center of that preparation
is a higher intensity of life in God, based on a more perfect
knowledge of him, and a more perfect moral conformity to
him. This is essential in order to defend and rightly use
the freedom and organic power of this land. To defend it.
For the element of force and injustice in our national com
promise is seeking to become the law of the land, in order
to enthrone organized wrong above the normal and free

EVENING DISCOURSE. 81
development of a life in God, To this effort all the political,
commercial, and social depravity of our land will administer
strength. Nothing can prepare us rightly to meet it, but
a higher development of life in God, and of his moral power
through the church, and of a universal consciousness of
Christian unity in and through him.
Still more do we need higher measures of divine life,
in order to carry out all of God's organic ideas to their
perfection, in so great a field. Never was there a theater
of action so vast, with elements of so much power, to be
controlled. There is power in God for the emergency,
beyond all doubt ; but that power needs a channel of devel
opment. And, in comparison with the crisis, our ideas are
yet low and unworthy, and our moral power is weakness.
We need, then, in its fullest measure, the all-renovating
baptism of the Divine Spirit,
3, The review of the past calls for gratitude to God, and
should be so conducted as to exalt him, and not us, except
as in him. Not unto us, not unto us, 0 Lord, but unto thy
name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake.
His mercies have been in part common to you and other
churches. Others have been peculiar to you, according to
times and circumstances. Let all be so rehearsed and
acknowledged, that he shall be pleased with it, — as a
grateful commemoration of his mighty deeds, and not the
offering of incense to the pride of man.
4, This reunion should add new power to the fellowship
of the churches. To how many other churches is this

82 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
church now linked by her own children, now returning to
renew the memories of other days, and to all by common
principles and interests. The tide of divine ideas and
emotions underlies us all, and lifts all together towards our
eternal inheritance. There is one God and Father of all,
who is above all, in all, and through all. There is one
Lord, one faith, one baptism. May his Spirit, then, make
us still more perfectly one, as Christ and the Father are
one, — even as he prayed before he gave himself to death
for our redemption,
5. The God who has done so much, can complete his
work by a final reunion of the sons of the pilgrims in one
common fellowship of love and faith. For this, in this
sacred hour, let us pray, in the full assurance of faith.
When we recall the prayers and labors of our pious fathers,
we can not doubt that their children are still beloved for
their fathers' sake. The excitement and alienation of con
troversy have gone by. The evil tendency of false systems
is more and more revealing itself. Why should not the
Divine Spirit then be trusted, as able to bring all the
children of so beloved an ancestry to the unity of the faith
of the gospel in its purest and noblest forms ? How
glorious such a result, when the short episode of division
and strife has for ever passed away,
6, If there is so much sublimity and soul -elevating
emotion in the review of the past on an occasion like this,
if there is so much joy in such a reunion, what must it he
to review all things from the throne of God; and what

EVENING DISCOURSE, 83
must be the joy of that final gathering that shall bring
home the perfected church to her eternal inheritance as
reigning in unity with God over a reorganized universe.
The conflicts of earth pass by like the shifting scenes of
a great drama. Generation after generation of actors dis
appears. Where now are those beloved men who greeted
and sustained me when I came, young and inexperienced,
to this field of conflict ? Where are such as Evarts,
and Hubbard, and Homes, and Homer, and Odiorne ?
Where, too, are such as Edwards, and Wisner, and
Greene, and Cornelius ? The vision of these and many
other honored names passes before me at this hour. But
they are not with us, nor shall they return. But we shall
go to them. Yea, all the pure and noble of every age,
from their various fields of conflict and of victory, shall be
gathered together in one. What a reunion will that be !
What a review of the past will it give ! What a sublime
vision of the future !
Let, then, the thought of these things elevate and inspire
us, as we separate and return to our various fields of labor.
We are still one. There is one God and Father of all,
who is above us all, and in and through us all. There
is one Lord, one faith, one baptism ; nor shall the all-
comprehending purposes of God fail of a glorious fullfil-
ment. When the fullness of times shall come, we shall
be gathered together in one, in a reorganized universe.
The reign of error, sin, and discord shall end, and truth,
holiness, and divine concord shall reign and triumph ever
more, — to the glory of the Triune God,

,gmtis.

HYMNS

I^N the worship of the day, two original hymns,
^ prepared for the occasion by Hodges Reed,
& Esq, of Taunton, Mass,, formerly a member of
^ the Park Street Choir, were sung, the whole
congregation uniting their voices in the service.
THE CLOUD OF WITNESSES.
Who are the viewless ones
That hover o'er us now.
Well pleased to see the wanderers come,
In their old home to bow ?
They are our fathers in the Lord,
Who went, long since, to their reward.
We seem to hear, once more.
Those startling trumpet calls, —
Again the sleeping echoes wake
Within these hallowed walls :
Blessing and honor, glory and power,
Unto the Lamh for evermore. *
*Dr, GKipyis, the flrst Pastor, often repeated, with great effect, Rev, v. 13,
" Blessing, and honor," &c.

88 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
Another man of God *
Points to the upward way.
Whose earnest voice, though hushed in death.
Rings in this house to-day.
His pleadings, once baptized with tears,
Still linger 'mid revolving years.
These servants of the Lord,
With Jesus at their side.
And many a trophy, gathered here.
Who in the faith has died, —
Are they not present with us now,
While we within this temple bow ?
Ye men who broke the bread
Of Heaven, and led the way.
And all ye children who return
To your old home to-day.
Sing of God's love and faithfulness.
Of which we all are witnesses,
* Eev. S. E. DwiOHT, D.D,, the second Pastor,

HYMNS, 89

THE LITTLE ONE A THOUSAND,
Came hither, fifty years ago,
A little praying band,
And built a house unto the Lord,
And viewed the promised land.
They went forth weeping, scattering seed.
But now again are come.
Bringing their garner full of sheaves,
To shout the harvest home.
Of all that praying band, who first
Went forth the fields to till.
The most are garnered in the skies, —
The few are with us still.
And while they linger on the verge,
To count their victories o'er,
Behold the signal — " God is true,"
Upon the further shore.
Yes, " God is true," The httle one
Has to a thousand grown ;
Then let us pray and labor on,
Till all our work is done.
The fields are white, and whiter now
Than fifty years ago ;
And still the promise of the Lord
Stands good for those that sow.

THE FESTIVAL.

T half past two o'clock on Monday after-
X noon, February 28, nearly one thousand per
sons assembled in the Boston Music Hall,
and were conducted to their seats at the
refreshment tables by E. W. Pike, Esq., Chief
Marshal of the day. The sketch of the proceed
ings through the afternoon and evening, is taken
from the full and excellent report of the Boston
Evening Traveler, in its issue of March 1.
The semi-centennial anniversary of the organization of
the Park Street Church was celebrated yesterday by a
festival at the Music Hall, The occasion was one which
will be long remembered by all who were present. There
were plates set for over nine hundred persons. The dinner
was provided by J, B, Smith, and we believe all were
amply supplied with every thing desirable to eat. The
tables occupied the entire body of the hall. Tables were
also set upon the platform, where clergymen and other
invited guests were seated.

94 semi-centennial celebration.
While the company were coming in, a voluntary was
played upon the organ, and afterwards a glee was sung
by the choir of the Park Street Church, under the direc
tion of Professor Frost. The singers were located in
the second balcony, opposite the platform, and performed
their part of the exercises in fine style,
photographic view of the hall.
As soon as the company were all seated at the table.
Rev, Mr, Stone, who presided on the occasion, announced
that there were artists present who desired to take photo
graphic views of the scene. He jocosely requested all to
take the best position they could, with their pleasantest
smiles ; and when all were still, he would give three raps
upon the table as a signal for the artists. This was done,
and the pictures were taken,
A blessing was then asked by Rev. Dr, Aiken, of Ver
mont, after which the edibles upon the tables were discussed
in right good earnest by the nine hundred hungry guests,
invited guests.
Rev, Mr, Stone sat in the center of the table upon
the platform. Upon either side of him were seated Mrs,
Crawford, the daughter of Rev, Dr. Griffin, the first
pastor of Park Street Church, her husband, Rev. Mr,
Crawford, Rev. Dr, Blagden, Rev, Dr, Linsley, Rev.
Dr, Aiken, and Rev, Dr, Edward Beecher, (the three
last the surviving ex -pastors of the church,) Rev, Mr,
Haskell, of the Maverick Church, East Boston, Rev, H,

the festival. 95
M, Dexter, of the Pine Street Church, Rev, Dr. Ander
son, and Rev, Dr, Treat, of the American Board, Rev,
Mr. Johnson, of the Bowdoin Street Church, W. T,
Eustis, Esq,, Hodges Reed, Esq, of Taunton, Rev, Mr,
Thwing, of Portland, Rev, W, T, Eustis, of New Haven,
Rev. Dr, Davidson, Rev, E, Aiken, returned missionary.
Deacons Henry Hill, Julius A, Palmer, John Proc
tor, N, Willis, Tylor Bacheller, E, Lamson, Henry
Hoyt, E. Farnsworth, J, Fullarton, C. C, Litchfield,
T, Thwing, Also, J, V, Bacon, Peter Harvey, Edmund
Munroe, E. W, Pike, Samuel Neale, T, W, Nicker
son, and a large number of ladies who were wives of the
gentlemen above named.

THE FEAST OF REASON.
At the conclusion of that part of the feast which per
tained to the wants of the inner man, Rev, Mr, Stone
addressed the guests as follows : —
speech of rev. a, l, stone,
" Fathers, Brethren, and Friends : It is a most
enviable privilege to stand here to-day and be the voice
of welcome from the old church to her returning and gather
ing sons and daughters. This privilege is accorded to me
not because that voice of welcome could not be more
felicitously uttered by some other son of our venerable

96 semi-centennial celebration.
parent, but because it was thought to belong to the place
which I fill and the relations which I sustain,
" I speak, then, the mother's greeting to her many chil
dren. She might almost ask, ' Who are these that fly as
a cloud, and as doves to their windows ? ' A proud and
joyful mother is she to-day. Not yet in her age, but in
her prime ; keeping her golden bridal, and yet counting
two thousand to-day that salute her with filial voices,
" You have come at her call from the Bast and the
West, — from the North and the South, — the adopted homes
sought far and near, — the fields of labor in which you
have found room to toil for the Master,
" The happy mother leans towards you with open arms.
Her heart is large enough to cherish you all. She takes
you to her bosom. She falls upon your neck and kisses
you. The whole home is moved at your coming. The
walls there greet you, and the stately spire, — and the
bell striking out joy-peals, — the pulpit and the pews, —
the aisles worn by the pacing of your feet in other days,
— the organ, with its choral pipes, — the room of social
prayer, most like heaven of any place this side the celestial
gate, — the table around which we have met for banquets
whose sweetness only the feasts of immortality can surpass,
— all that your eyes have looked upon long since, and
your hands have handled, and your hearts in absence
have remembered, pronounce to you, ' Welcome ! welcome
home ! '
" You know not how precious a legacy your memory is
to us. We do not forget that you have been ours. You

THE FESTIVAL. 97
are still and for ever ours. The children that go out from
their father's house, and wed, and light up hearthstones
of their own, are non" the less for that of the old home
stead still. You bear our name abroad. We quote you,
and rejoice in you. On our anniversaries, we commemorate
you. And blessed is this hour which brings you back
again. Our festival were most incomplete without you.
It were like a family thanksgiving with the elder children
absent. Nor does it grieve the good mother that some of
her children are not. She has no more illustrious names
graven on her heart than some that are spoken now in
heaven ; no sweeter joy than she feels as she bends above
their dust and whispers to herself, ' They rest from their
labors, and their works do follow them,'
" Among the living, we greet here to day, first of all,
those surviving successors in the ministry of that great
name under which this enterprise was first set forward. Nor
are we even without a representative of that name itself,
A daughter of the first pastor of this church, with her
partner, himself an honored and able minister of the gospel,
sits at our board to-day,
" Three of those who have broken here the bread of life
to this people, — filling together in their time of actual
service, seventeen years of the life of the church, — are
present on my right hand and my left in this scene ; and
yesterday we heard their voices again, waking the old echoes
amid the walls that witnessed their faithfulness of long ago.
Beloved and honored brethren, suffer me, in the name of
all to whom you have ministered here, whom you have led.

98 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
and taught, and blest, and comforted, — on behalf of many
homes where your names are still the dearest household
words spoken, — in the names of those once baptized by you,
who have since shot up into the youthful strength of the
church, — in the names of those who have since your time
gathered to these portals and entered into your labors, —
to give you the truest welcome our hearts can bestow,
" Here before me, too, are church builders, — men and
women who went forth from the threshold of home to found
other Christian enterprises, to lift other walls and altars
for prayer and praise, and the utterance of the truth as it
is in Jesus, themselves built into the rising masonry as
living stones, — leaders of spiritual colonies, — self-sacri
ficing men, — laying themselves down out of sight as foun
dation stones for others to build upon. The mother that
parted with you cheerfully, though tearfully, welcomes you
back this day,
" Here are those whom the various providences of God
have led from post to post, from family to family of his
people, but never separate from the fellowship of the saints.
You are brothers and sisters here, as truly as you can be
any where, and as such we greet you,
" Here are the veterans who have stood the brunt of
many a spirited conflict on this field, — 'listed for life in
this regiment, — soldiers of the old wars here waged and
won, with battle-scars of their youth upon them, and ready
to do and dare yet for Christ, till he crown them in the day
of final triumph. We welcome you with your stars of
honor, set not on your breast, but in the diadem of Jesus,

THE FESTIVAL, 99
" Here linger yet the founders of the church. They
are few in number, and bowed with the weight of years.
But four of that original twenty-six survive in our ranks.
Two of them, the senior deacon and his wife, are living in
the midst of us, and are at our table to-day. The snows
of fifty years have sifted upon their locks, — or those wintry
frosts have thinned out those locks till but few remain.
What thoughts must be in your hearts, venerable friends,
as you recall the old times,
" How easily you look across the breadth of those fifty
years ! Their farther shore is nearer and clearer to you
than the morning of yesterday. How well you must remem
ber the early struggles, your comrades and fellows, the
hopes and fears, the fluctuations of advance and retrogres
sion, the meetings for prayer, the adventurous outset in the
great scheme, which is now historic. Behold your vine,
the vine God planted by your hand ; see whereto it has
grown. Ah, how many purple clusters have ripened upon
its boughs, — how many weary ones have sat in its hroad
shadow. How green and flourishing it is now. Say, has
not God been faithful ? Has he not heard your prayers,
and crowned your hopes ? More than the light of youth
beams in your eyes, as you survey this past. Ah, the
light of the eternal day, of the now setting sun is dancing
there. How many on earth bless your name and memory !
We bless you in the name of the Master Builder, The
ends of the earth, the islands of the sea, bless you. Bless
ings from hundreds and thousands of redeemed souls shall
be your welcome ei,t the portals of heaven.

100 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
" What changes have you seen, what changes has the
world seen, since fifty years ago ! Other voices here will
recall those changes more vividly than mine can do. What
changes we shall see, and the world shall see, before another
fifty years shall have elapsed, who can prophesy ?
" Our places will most of them be vacant. These little
ones of ours will stand up to recall the impressions of this
hour. The grand purposes of God will have rolled on, —
the deep, broad tide carried forward all its crested and
rejoicing waves. Then, as now, the unseen guests will not
fail the gathering,
" The unseen guests ! We have greeted and welcomed
the living. May we greet you from your heavenly man
sions ? Can ye hear mortal voices ? Welcome, thrice
welcome, to the scenes of your earthly labors and sacrifices.
Spirits of Griffin and Dwight, of Dennie, and Dana,
and Odiorne, of that other beloved and benignant Dwight,
of Homes and Homer, of Evarts, and Hubbard, and
Safford, -^ your names are a fragrant memorial from
generation to generation of those who have followed you.
Heaven's banquet can scarcely be sweeter to you than ours
to-day. You are over the river. Drop your mantles upon
us that follow you,
" But I occupy too much of the time of this assembly.
Other voices will better continue this strain, and in their
various addresses cover all the record of our past,"
At the conclusion of Mr, Stone's address, there was
applause from all parts of the house, after which the choir
struck up '• Auld Lang Syne,"

the festival. 101
relic of rev. dr. griffin.
Rev. Mr. Stone then held up to the audience what he
called a relic of Rev. Dr. Griffin. An arm-chair, in
which he (Mr. Stone) had sat at the communion-table
on the last Sabbath, and in which he had been permitted
to sit, thus far, during the festival.
the DAUGHTER OF REV. DR. GRIFFIN,
He then introduced the first baby that was baptized in
Park Street Church, fifty years ago, a daughter of Rev.
Dr, Griffin, — Mrs, Crawford, of Deerfield, She could
not, said Mr. Stone, speak for herself on that occasion, but
he thought her husband could speak for her.
This announcement produced great sensation in the hall,
during which Mrs. Crawford rose. She could not control
her emotions, remarks of rev, MR. CRAWFORD,
Rev, Mr, Crawford, of Deerfield, then rose, and after
much applause, said he could not express the gratification
which he felt in standing as the representative of Dr,
Griffin, He was gratified to receive an invitation to be
present, and had looked forward to the occasion with very
great interest and pleasure ; and this had increased every
moment since he had been in the city. In alluding to the
rise and progress of Park Street Church, he said that the
little one had, literally, become a thousand. Many had gone
up from the church to receive their reward, but what a
multitude remained.

102 semi-centennial celebration.
Job said, " I would not live alway," Dr. Griffin, when
at the meeting of the American Board in Newark, N, J,,
said that he thanked God that good men might die. The
church was the place where God trained up men for his
kingdom, and where he prepared them for the church tri
umphant above. If that object were attained here, then
the great object of life would be attained. While sitting
in his seat, he could not help thinking of those who had
gone up on high. His own church had its representatives
above. Many persons had been aided on their way to
heaven by the Park Street Church, Those good men who
knew that church from its commencement, might be then
looking down upon the scenes before them. If so, they
must regard them with the most intense interest.
He closed by expressing his cordial sympathy with the
church, and his earnest desires for its prosperity.
Mr, Stone then read the following letters,
from rev. N, MURRAY, D,D,, OP ELIZABETHTOWN, N, J.
" Elizabethtown, February 21, 1859.
" To Edwin Lamson, Esq,
" My DEAR Sir : Your very kind note, inviting me to
the semi-centennial celebration of Park Street Church, is
at hand. Most gladly would I accept the invitation, were
it in my power; but the services preparatory to our com
munion forbid me to do so, — and you will please convey
my regrets to your committee and people that I cannot
mingle with them on that joyous occasion,
" Some of my most pleasant associations are connected

THE FESTIVAL, 103
with the church of Park Street, Its building was amongst
the first fruits of the revival of the doctrines of the West
minster Symbols in your city. Its first pastor was subse
quently my venerated teacher in college, Dr, Griffin, — a
name dear to the American Church, In the seventh year of
my ministry, I was invited to be its pastor twice, and twice
I was compelled to decline the invitation, as much in view
of my own incompetency for the place, as for other causes.
Some of its men and members have made an impression
on my mind which can never be effaced. Among these
was Judge Hubbard, who yet stands out before me in all
his fine proportions, as a model man and Christian. And
I have truly rejoiced to hear of your prosperity ; and that
through the changes and chances of fifty years you have
been growing like the cedars of Lebanon, May old Park
Street remain what it has always been, — a fortress for the
defence of the truth in the midst of error, — a lighthouse
to direct many a weary pilgrim, toiling over the sea of life,
to a safe harbor and a quiet anchorage under the shelter
of the Rock of Ages,
" With the kindest regards to your pastor, committee,
and people, I am, my dear sir,
" Sincerely yours, N. Murray,"
FROM REV, DR, HAWES OF HARTFORD,
"Hartford, Feb. 23, 1859,
"Messrs, E, Lamson and T, W, Nickerson: —
" Gentlemen : I have received your kind note, inviting me
to be present at the semi-centennial celebration of the Park

104 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION.
Street Church, 1 should be exceedingly happy to comply
with your request, and participate in the services of that
interesting occasion, but the present state of my health
forbids the hope of enjoying that privilege,
" 1 trust the good Lord, who has so abundantly pros
pered your church from the first, will be present, and make
the occasion one of great interest and spiritual improvement
to all who shall assemble,
" I have some reason for feeling a peculiar interest in your
church, having been twice invited to become its pastor.
But the Lord provided better both for you and for me ; for
you in sending you a better minister, and for me in keeping
me in my place.
" But though I can not be present with you in person, I
shall be in spirit, and my heart prompts me to send a sen
timent, — not a toast, to be drank over the wine-cup, as of
old, — which you will dispose of as you think proper.
" Yours, in the bonds of Christian love,
" J, Hawes,
"Sentiment. — The Park Street Church, — a forlorn hope
in a dark and trying day ; victory perched on its standard,
established on truth, and borne aloft by faith and love;
there may it abide till all conflict with sin and error be over,
and the church itself be absorbed in the Church of the
First-born in heaven,"

THE festival. 105
FROM REV. DR, DWIGHT, OF PORTLAND,
" PoKTLAND, Feb, 23, 1859,
" Gentlemen : Permit me to express through yourselves
my thanks to the Park Street Church for their ' cordial
invitation ' to me to be present at the approaching celebra
tion of your fiftieth anniversary. The occasion will be one
of deep interest, not only to the multitude there assembled,
but also to its many absent friends who have been acquainted
with its history, and who have rejoiced in the prosperity
with which the Saviour has abundantly blessed it. As the
church of which my brother was the second pastor, and the
term of which connection was one of the happiest and most
useful portions of his ministerial life, I need not add that
the celebration would have a peculiar interest for myself,
were it in my power to be present,
" The circumstances of indisposition in my family, and
of a late absence from Portland, which renders it necessary
for me to be at home on the coming Sabbath, will preclude
my acceptance of the invitation which you so kindly tender.
Believe me, gentlemen, to be,
" Truly yours,
"W. T, Dwight,"
Mr, Stone then held up several antiquated papers, one
of which, he said, was the charge dehvered by Rev, Dr,
Codman of Dorchester, to Rev, Edward Beecher, the
third pastor of Park Street Church, He would not read
the charge, but he would charge Dr, Beecher to stand up
on his feet.

106 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBEATION.
REMARKS OF REV, EDWARD BEECHER, D,D,
Rev, Dr, Beecher said he must first present to the
church the message of his father. Had it not been for his
age and feeble health, he would have been present. He
sent his warmest expression of sympathy for the church, and
wished him to speak of his desire to be with them on the
anniversary occasion,
Dr, Beecher said that there had been one thought that
had occupied his mind since he had been present in Boston,
He had turned over the manual of the church, and had
looked back to its organization. The number that met in a
private house to join the church was small. The sermon
was preached by Rev, Dr, Morse, from the words in the
Psalms — "Save now, I beseech thee, 0 Lord; send now
prosperity." He thought of that in connection with the
gathering on the anniversary occasion, and he felt that the
prayers of that day had been answered. When the request
came to him to be present, he thought he could not leave
his work in the far West; but he remembered that fifty
years did not come round very often, and that it would be
fifty years before there would be another occasion like the
present, and so he concluded to come on.
In thinking of the older persons connected with the
earlier history of the church, he had been reminded of what
his father said when he went to see the people of his first
charge : " If I wish," said the old gentleman, " to see my
old people, I must go to the graveyard." In looking round
the church on the last Sabbath, he saw very few of the old
people ; the faces were nearly all new to him, and yet they

THE FESTIVAL. 107
were not unknown to him in heart. In comparing the faith
of the projectors of Park Street Church, he was reminded
of the faith and enterprise of the men who went to the
West to found towns and cities. Little villages had grown
to be large cities since he had been there. The little band
that formed the church did not see the results that would
follow; but there were around them the unseen laws.
Angels saw the coming conflict, — that gathering of forces
which it was the privilege of the men of the present day to
appreciate. God had the whole enterprise marked out.
Dr. Beecher then spoke of the four years of his father's
ministry when the whole city was alive, — when it was as if
the very hills were ringing with the cry of flre, — when
there was one continued rush onward in the conflict. The
end had not yet been seen. The stopping-point had not yet
been reached. The men who formed the church stood as the
representatives of principles above them ; and so the church
to-day stood as the representatives of principles above it.
They were not half up to the thoughts of the great Word,
Great as the results had been, they were but the beginning.
The intensity of the conflict was to come. The church was
as much below what it would be at the end of the next fifty
years, as the little band was below the church of to-day.
He closed by invoking the blessing of heaven upon the
church, that they might apprehend, in some measure, the
purposes and plans of God, and co-operate with him in his
great work of saving men.
After a song by the choir, Mr, Stone presented another
yellow document, put into his hand by Judge Farrar,

108 semi-centennial celebration.
viz. a copy of the address delivered by Rev. Dr. Codman
on the occasion of the installation of Rev. Dr. Linsley,
He asked the audience whether they would have the doc
ument or the living voice,
REMARKS of REV. DR, LINSLEY.
After long applause, Rev. Dr. Linsley responded. He
had a heart to express what he desired, but no tongue. He
had had a hearty welcome, and he expected he would; but
he had found that the half had not been expected. He had
met friends from all parts of the land with warm and loving
hearts. He then indulged in some pleasing reminiscences
of persons connected with the church in olden times.
Their first struggle gave character to the work. He
always wondered where Park Street Church got her dispo
sition to give to benevolent objects; but he knew now that
the secret of it was to be seen in the very beginning. After
relating a number of facts in connection with Dr, Griffin,
he concluded by saying that those who first founded the
church had to endure an amount of obloquy unknown in
these later years. He would never forget the present occa
sion, and he said it seemed to him like the beginning of
heaven. Rev. Dr, Aiken was next introduced, as the pastor whose
labors the church had enjoyed the longest, and whose name
was like a household word.

THE FESTIVAL. 109
REMARKS OF REV, DR, AIKEN,
Dr, Aiken rose amid great applause, and expressed his
gratitude for the hearty welcome he had received. When
he came to Park Street Church he knew that, from the
beginning, it had been identified with Christ's kingdom. It
was perfectly clear that God meant that the church should
raise his standard. It was of little consequence what became
of individual members, — the church would live. Let that
church, said Dr, Aiken, in which I have spent the best part
of my life, continue to cherish an interest in the kingdom of
Christ and identify itself with all the benevolent enterprises
of the day, God had much for the church to do, and in
the great day it would be clearly seen for what it had been
organized. After indulging in some reminiscences, he closed
amid applause from all parts of the house.
The choir then sung another glee, after which Dr,
Blagden was introduced,
REMARKS OF REV, DR, BLAGDEN,
He spoke of the great doctrines of the church over which
he was placed, which were embodied in its creed, and said
those doctrines must not be forgotten. He rejoiced that
they had been ever taught in Park Street, Pine Street, and
other churches in the city. The young people wanted to
be indoctrinated, and he thought they should. As min
isters, never be ashamed of the name of John Calvin,
It had been said that the Old South Church was shivering
in the wind. He did not believe this ; and if persons would

110 semi-centennial CELEBRATION.
look up to the confession of faith of the church, they would
find there was no cause for such a remark.
That confession was so strong, it sometimes made him
shiver to read it. The Old South had its advantages
and disadvantages. It was a rich church, and had been
called an aristocratic church ; and this was one of its dis
advantages. He appealed with great earnestness to all the
members of the churches to go on in their mission, and
do more good in the future.
Mr. Stone then said, that having heard from their rich
and aristocratic mother, it would be pleasant to have a little
filial greeting from the Union, or Essex Street Church, one
of the daughters of Park Street. He regretted, however,
that the pastor was not present. The second daughter was
the Hanover Street, now the Bowdoin Street Church, first
built in 1825, and rebuilt, in 1882, in Bowdoin Street,
He wished the old man eloquent [applause] could be
there to greet them ; but there was one who could speak
for the church, viz : Rev, Mr, Johnson, the present supply,
remarks of REV. MR. JOHNSON.
Mr, Johnson's remarks were very brief. He spoke of
Bowdoin Street Church as yet alive, with good stanch
timbers in her ship. If it had gone, sometimes, almost
under the waves, it had gathered strength to breast and
surmount them again. He invoked God's blessing upon
the Park Street pastor, about to launch upon the wave, and
hoped he would come back invigorated and strengthened
in body and mind.

THE festival. Ill
Dr, Beecher then delivered a message of friendship and
good-will from his brother, Henry Ward, and said that
his father was the author of the words, " shivering in the
wind," as applied to the Old South Church,
Dr, Blagden replied pleasantly that it sounded like his
father ; and he remembered of hearing him say, " When
you express a truth, light it up with a metaphor ; " and he
supposed that this was the way he used the words " shiver
ing in the wind,"
Mr, Stone then said, after we had two daughters, we
then had twins, — referring to the organization of Salem
and Pine Street churches, in September, 1827, They sent
ten members to Pine Street, and thirteen to Salem Street,
Mr, Dexter was then introduced,
REMARKS OF REV, MR, DEXTER,
Mr, Dexter said that he believed it was a fact in natural
history, that, in a double birth, one had an unequal share
of strength. The history of the last thirty years proved
that Pine Street was the weaker of the twins. He believed
that the church had been rightly named, for it had pined
from its beginning, and had been in the woods ever since it
was born. It had never been troubled with the disadvan
tages of the Old South Church.
Mr. Dexter then spoke of the prospects of his church,
and alluded to their intention to build, and hoped, when
the time came, the help that was needed would come. He
was repeatedly applauded during his remarks, especially in
those which alluded to Mr. Stone in his "anticipated voyage.

112 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
He closed with a beautiful sentiment to the Park Street
pastor. Other remarks were made by Deacon Palmer, Deacon
Hill, Rev. Dr. Anderson, and William T. Eustis, Esq,
We have only room for the remarks of the latter, which
contain much valuable information relating to Park Street
Church, REMARKS OF WILLIAM T, EUSTIS, ESQ,
Mr, Eustis commenced his speech by alluding to the
generations of men which rapidly succeeded each other,
and quoted the following passages of Scripture,
" One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare
thy mighty acts."
" They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and
shall sing of thy righteousness,"
He then stated that Park Street Church was organized
February 27, 1809, The church edifice was dedicated Jan
uary 10, 1810; sermon by Dr. Edward Griffin, the
officiating clergyman, who at that time was Professor at the
Theological Seminary at Andover, but was regularly installed
as pastor of Park Street Church and Society July 81, 1811,
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis
sions was established by the General Association of Congre
gational Ministers, June, 1810. About five months after
the dedication of the Park Street Church, on the sixth of
February, 1811, the first missionaries of the American
Board were ordained at the Tabernacle Church, Salem. Dr.
Griffin took part in the services on that occasion.

the festival. 113
The church has furnished eight missionaries for the
foreign mission field, viz : four males, and four females.
Males, — Chamberlain, Winn, H. A. Honey, and Ed
ward Aiken, Females, — Ellen Stetson, Mary Winn,
Maria Grozier, E, Edwards. Also, two Secretaries of
the Board, — one, who sustained the duties of the office
nearly ten years, has entered into his rest, — the other,
after having filled the office of Assistant Secretary for eight
years, in 1882 was appointed Secretary in full, the duties
of which office he still discharges with distinguished ability,
having labored faithfully for thirty-five years. May he
long be continued to witness the success of the work in
which he has been so diligently engaged.
Two Treasurers, — one of whom discharged the duties
of the office about ten years, the other, after having given
thirty-two years of the most active portion of his life to
the service of the Board as Treasurer, voluntarily resigned
his office four years since, but the Board have still the
benefit of his valuable services as a member of the Pruden
tial Committee. One Secular Agent, — for many years
engaged at the Missionary House, in contributing to the
temporal comfort of the missionaries by attending to their
outfits and their secular wants, as indicated from time to
time by orders sent from their several fields of labor.
In the latter part of the year 1811, the Foreign Mission
ary Society of Boston and vicinity originated in Park Street
Church, and was formed in the house of one of its mem
bers. -The object of this Society was to raise funds for

114 semi-centennial celebration.
the foreign mission cause. This was the leading society
in the United States for this object.
The monthly concert was first commenced by members
of the Park Street Church, early in the fall of 1817. It
was soon followed by the Old South. In June, 1818, by
vote of the two churches, a union was agreed to be held
in Park Street, which was established July 6, 1818. In
January, 1820, Essex Street united with us by invitation,
and since then other churches have been connected with
us. The contributions of Park Street Church to the foreign
missionary cause have been as follows : —
Monthy concert . . . . $27,586 38
Individual contributions . , , 74,950 81

$102,537 19

After making allowance for the amount contributed by
other churches at the monthly concert, it is fair to calculate
that nearly $100,000 has been contributed by this church
and society for this object.
Press, For thirteen years this church furnished an effi
cient and accomplished editor of the Panophst and Mis
sionary Herald, the latter devoted to the cause of Missions.
The foreign mission press was first suggested and started,
it is believed, by a member of this church; for this object
the sum of $13,400 was raised, of which $3,350, or one
quarter of the amount, was contributed by a few individuals
of this church.

the festival. 115
The Boston Recorder — believed to be among the first
religious newspapers — was published by our highly re
spected and venerable brother. Deacon Nathaniel Willis,
on the fifth day of January, 1816, and has been continued
to the present time, exerting an unabated influence in favor
of Christian Missions,
On the flfteenth of October, 1819, an event occurred, and
a scene was exhibited in Park Street Church, which has
not been surpassed for interest or importance in the history
of missions. The Sandwich Island church, consisting of
seventeen members, viz : Rev. Hiram Bingham, Rev.
Asa Thurston, Daniel Chamberlain, Dr. Thomas
Holman, Samuel Whitney, Samuel Ruggles, Elisha
LooMis, and their wives, John Honoobe, Thomas Hop-
poo, W. Tennore, natives of the Sandwich Islands, was
duly constituted, with religious services in the vestry, by
Drs. Morse and Worcester, and Rev. Mr. Dwight, our
pastor. In the evening, a sermon was preached by Rev.
Mr. Bingham ; and on the next day another sermon was
delivered, by the Rev. Mr. Thurston.
The present number of members in regular standing
in the church at the Sandwich Islands is twenty-two thou
sand five hundred and thirty -five, contributing annually
more than twenty-three thousand dollars for the support of
the gospel and religious institutions.
The whole number that have been connected with the
church since it was organized is not less than thirty-five
thousand. Thus, a "little one" has become literally more

116 semi-centennial CEiLEBRATION.
than a thousand. Truly, " this is the Lord's doing, and
it is marvelous in our eyes,"
Since that time various bands of missionaries have re
ceived their instructions in this house, numbering in the
whole nearly two hundred persons. We may truly say
this is a missionary house, and the ground on which we
stand is holy.
In the summer of 1815, the American Educational So
ciety was formed in Park Street Vestry, and a committee
appointed to draft a constitution.
In the early part of the year 1826, the idea of a national
society for home missions was suggested at a meeting of
friends at the house of a member of this church, which
led to the formation of the American Home Missionary
Society of New York, May, 1826,
January, 1826. At the urgent request of that apostle
of temperance, the Rev. Dr. Edwards, the first meeting
for conference on the subject of temperance reformation,
in Park Street Vestry, resulted in the formation of the
American Temperance Society, and associate societies.
In October, 1824, a movement made by a member of
Park Street Church (Rev, Lewis Dwight), resulted in
the formation of the Prison Discipline Society, in which
Howardian work he labored with untiring zeal and success,
as agent and secretary, until his death, three years since,
having accomplished the great work of reform in the
prisons of our own country, and also exerted an influence
over the Christian world.

THE FESTIVAL. 117
There might be many other incidents of interest referred
to in connection with Park Street Church and Society, but
I have, in these remarks, purposed mainly to confine myself
to Park Street Church as connected with the missionary
cause, and thus being truly a missionary church ; and I
can not better conclude what I have said on this subject,
than to use the words of one to whom I am principally
indebted for the facts I have stated, which were embodied
iu a manuscript report made by him to Park Street Church,
in 1843. I allude to the late Judge Samuel Hubbard,
for many years a dearly beloved and highly esteemed and
revered member of this church, till his death, in Decem
ber, 1847.
" The venerable fathers of Park Street Church, of
whom we may be permitted to name Bumstead, and
Homes, and Homer, and J. W. Jenkins, had it in their
hearts, when they agreed to erect this beautiful house of
worship, to. pray that it should be the way of holiness; a
place in which the ransomed of the Lord should return and
come to Zion with songs ; a place in which the precious
messages of salvation should be freely communicated to
thousands ; that it might become a church whose spirit
should be the spirit of missions ; and though the eye of
faith was not then opened to embrace within its vision the
foreign fields in Asia, Africa, and the Islands of the Sea,
nor the mind to contemplate that ' the wilderness and the
solitary place should be glad for " them, and the desert
should rejoice and blossom as the rose,' yet, as the fair
flower is wrapped within the swelling bud, and the limbs

118 SEMI-CENTENNLIL CELEBRATION.
of the mighty tree lie folded in the parent nut, so the
germ of the missionary spirit existed in the hearts of the
founders of this church ; and when the Lord of Missions
cast a ray of heavenly light upon the first missionaries,
and the founders of the American Board, and opened to
their admiring view the prospect of Christian enterprise
in heathen lands, and turned their pitying gaze upon the
dark places of the earth which are full of the habitations
of cruelty, then the Lord also moved the spirit of these
brethren, and they and their associates became a missionary
church." We may, then, ask if the supply of missionaries, of offi
cers, of counsellors, and agents for the Board, — if the
establishment and maintenance of the united monthly con--
cert, — if the collective monthly, annual, and individual
contributions, — if the consecration of the house to the
reception and ordination of missionaries, — if family hos
pitality and personal kindness to those servants of Christ,
— if perseverance in these things from year to year, — if
the combinations of these constituents are the elements
of the missionary enterprise, — if these are the measures
the Lord of Missions points out and approves, — then the
church in Park Street, with humility, but with consistency,
may claim the name and honor of a missionary church.
And let us animate our hearts with the hope that in
days to come, when the Sandwich Island churches shall
teach their children the names of Bingham, and Thurs
ton, and Chamberlain, and Coan, and Worcester,
and Evarts, and shall tune their voices to sing the praises

the festival. 119
of him who redeemed them, in that noble anthem, " Head
of the Church Triumphant," — when, from age to age,
they shall trace their origin as a Christian people to the
far distant shore of America, — that then also shall the
church in Park Street, — the place of their birth, — be
sounded out in harmonious numbers, and its hallowed walls
be held in everlasting remembrance.
The exercises of the afternoon were closed at half past
five o'clock.

THE EVENING,
The company reassembled at half past seven o'clock, in
Music Hall, After some time spent in social conversation
and promenade. Rev, Mr, Stone called the audience to
order. Deacon Lamson read some extracts from the diaries of
members of Park Street Church, which we should be
glad to publish, if we could find room.
After a few remarks by Rev. Mr. Eustis, of New Haven,
letters were read from different persons, some of which we
give. LETTER prom PROF. SHEDD.
"Andovek, February 24, 1859.
" Gentlemen : I have received your note of February
16, conveying the vote of the Park Street Church, inviting

120 semi-centennial celebration.
me to be present at the coming celebration of the fiftieth
anniversary of their foundation, I regret extremely that
my engagements will prevent me from accepting this invi
tation. Please to express my sincere thanks for this
courtesy, and my hearty wishes for a happy and profitable
reunion of the widely scattered membership of a church,
so closely identified as that of Park Street, with the inter
ests of evangelical Christianity in both the past and the
present, " With high respect, I am
" Yours very truly,
"W. G. T. Shedd."
LETTER FROM PROF. STOWE,
" Theologicai. Seminary, Andover, Feb, 26, 1859,
" Dear Brethren : I am very much obliged to you for
your kind invitation extended to me to be present at the
semi-centennial anniversary of the formation of the Park
Street Church in Boston,
" Though I was very young fifty years ago, I well remem
ber the simplicity of faith and the warmth of love which
characterized those who took the lead in that great effort,
and I well remember, too, the bitter hostility and crushing
obloquy against which they had to struggle. All the world
was against them, but God was with them ; they fought
a good fight, and Christ gave them the victory,
" I very much fear that a violent cold, under which I
am now laboring, will deprive me of the pleasure and
privilege of being with you in bodily presence; but my

the festival. 121
spirit surely will sympathize and rejoice with yours on
that occasion, "Very truly yours,
"C. E, Stowe,"
LETTER FROM REV. DR, JENKS,
" Ckescent Place, Feb, 26, 1859.
" My dear Sir : I have received from you the committee's
kind invitation of the 16th inst,, to attend the semi-centen
nial celebration of Park Street Church and Society, and
am very grateful for it.
" But, with much regret, I am obliged to state that it will
be out of my power, however strong my desire, to attend it ;
my painful lameness still continuing, and disabling me from
being abroad.
" I am sorry for this disappointment, especially, because,
although I was never a regular member of Park Street
Church, having gone down to Maine in 1805, and not
returning till the close of 1817, I was yet acquainted with
most of the founders, only a few of whom, comparatively,
are now living; and have ever felt a deep interest in the
success of their very important, highly consequential, and
signally blest enterprise. In this spiritual and temporal
prosperity I sincerely rejoice, and pray that the whole body
may ever enjoy the good will of ' Him who dwelt in the
bush,' and the continual presence and blessing of the
Holy Spirit,
" Though not myself a personal member of the church,
as I have said, yet my family was permitted the privilege

122 semi-centennial celebration.
of attending on its services while I was engaged in officiating
at the Seamen's Meeting, fi-om its commencement in 1818,
to the formation of the church under my care in Green
Street, and the erection of its house of worship, — a priv
ilege for which I have ever been grateful.
" Repeating my earnest desire and prayer, that the meet
ing and all its accompaniments may receive the approbation
and blessing of ' Him who is over all things to his church,'
and author of all its vitality, I remain, dear sir, with affec
tionate respect, and in the best bonds,
" Your, and his people's servant in the gospel,
"Wm. Jenks."
remarks of rev. dr. adams.
Dr. Adams, of Essex Street Church, was then called
out. He said he should have been present in the after
noon, had not parochial duties absolutely prevented. He
made a neat allusion to Park Street steeple, as ten feet
higher than the State House, as illustrating a beautiful
truth. It was the Aaron of the commonwealth standing
beside the Moses of the state. The significant truth was
that the gospel soared over the law. He hoped it might
be always so.
After music by the choir. Rev. Mr. Kellogg, of the
Seamen's Bethel, made some capital remarks, which brought
down the house. He hoped Mr. Stone would come home
copper-fastened, and coppered up to the bends, ready for
his work again,
A part of Mr, Frost's choir then came down to the

THE festival, 123
platform, and sung, with great effect, a piece entitled
" Speed Away," designed especially for Mr, Stone's bene
fit. It was loudly applauded,
presentation to MR. STONE.
After a little respite for promenading, Benjamin Cal
lender, Esq. stepped forward upon the platform, and
presented Rev. Mr. Stone with a draft on Baring
Brothers & Co., London, for two thousand dollars, and
a policy of life insurance for which seventy-two dollars
and fifty-two cents had been paid. This was contributed
by the pew-holders of the parish, and was given with the
greatest cheerfulness, and with scarcely any trouble of
collecting. The presentation was accompanied by the fol
lowing speech. REMARKS OF MR. CALLENDER.
" Mr. Stone : It was my pleasure to be on the com
mittee to communicate to you the unanimous vote of the
proprietors of Park Street Church, tendering to you a vaca
tion of six months, at such time during the present year
as may be agreeable and convenient to yourself.
" It is now very generally known that you have accepted
that offer; also that you intend visiting the old world, and
to leave New York, in the steamship Africa, on the second
proximo, for Liverpool,
" Again the pleasant duty devolves on me of presenting
to you, in the names of those attached to the paper I hold
in my hand, the necessary funds to defray the expense of
10

124 semi-centennial celebration.
your intended tour, as a slight token of their regard and
affection ; and I know it will be as gratifying to you in
receiving it, as it is to me to be the medium through
which it is offered, to know it comes from cheerful givers,
— it is a voluntary freewill offering from the heart,
" Allow me to express the hope that your journey may
be pleasant and prosperous, that your fondest anticipations
may be fully realized, and that in due time you may return,
with renewed health and strength, to resume the important
duties of your profession as an ambassador of God."
RET. MR. stone's REMARKS.
Mr. Stone replied in his happiest manner, taking occa
sion to remark that he was not surprised at the gift, for
it was just like his people. No such act of theirs could
take him by surprise. He also said that he did not go
abroad because he was in ill health. He had no complaint,
chronic or otherwise. He was somewhat weary and wanted
rest. It had been a desire and dream of his life to visit
the old world, and he had always said that, if he went,
he should go when he was buoyant and vigorous. He
would not say parting words. He could never part from
his people, — no, not for a day, nor an hour. He would
carry them with him, and keep the hope, in peril and in
calm, that they would dwell together for ever.
We had full notes of Mr, Stone's remarks, but we are
obliged to make only the above meager abstract.
There was a general shaking of hands with Mr. Stone
after this, and at ten o'clock the company dispersed, all

THE FESTIVAL. 125
feeling that the day had been one of unusual enjoyment,
without any thing to mar the pleasure from beginning
to end.

To the correspondence already introduced, as read
in connection witli the history of the successive
pastorates of the church, is added this greeting of
one of her sons, now exercising the ministry of the
word. LETTER FROM DR, RAY PALMER,
" Albaht, February 22, 1859,
" My dear Sir : I greatly regret that my engagements
will not allow me to unite with the members of Park
Street Church, the present and the past, in the celebration
of its fiftieth anniversary. Your kind letter inviting me
to this, affected me not a little by its personal allusions,
and awakened many recollections. It was in the autumn
of 1821, — eight-and-thirty years ago, — that I became a
regular attendant at Park Street, The interior of that
noble sanctuary as it then was, and the audience as it then
appeared, are completely daguerreotyped upon my memory.
The beloved and honored Dwight, in the freshness of his
manly person, and the vigor of his powers, spoke words
of earnestness and unction from the pulpit. Before him
sat an audience, which, by its size and character, might
well inspire the preacher, so far as any human inspiration

126 semi-centennial celebration.
could avail, EvARTS, Hubbard, Homer, Homes, Bum-
stead, Willis, Odiorne, Proctor, Hill, and others,
a long array of faces, I see as then they looked, A few
still linger with us, but far the greater number of the
prominent men in that assembly, including the gifted
pastor, are now, it is not to be doubted, in the general
assembly and church of the first-born in heaven,
" For about two years I sat in those heavenly places ;
and those years covered the period of that remarkable
revival by which such an impulse was given to evangelical '
religion in the midst of prevailing error. Of that Zion
it shall eternally be said, that this and that man were born
there. There, I trust, the divine life was begun within
my soul. There I entered into the bonds of the covenant,
giving myself publicly to Christ ; and as I recall now some
of those first seasons of the communion of saints around
the Saviour's table, they seem to have been earnests of
the fellowship of the perfect church above. I was but a
child in years, — literally the least of all the saints, — when
I united with the church ; and I have never ceased to
remember gratefully the condescension of the pastor, and
the kindness of all towards me, by which I was upheld
amidst many temptations. In a word, that I am a Chris
tian and a minister, I owe, under God, in no small measure,
to influences connected with the Park Street Church. She
is, indeed, the mother of us all. As such, she is worthy
of all love and honor. May she still bring forth fruit in
old age, and be rich in blessings for generations yet to
come !

THE festival, 127
" Be pleased, my dear sir, to convey my sincere regret
that I must deny myself the pleasure of being with you,
and the assurance of my enduring interest in the church.
May God's abundant blessing rest on its present honored
pastor, and on all its present members !
" I am, my dear sir, with Christian affection,
" Very truly yours,
" Ray Palmer,
"To Petee Hobakt, Jk, Esq,"

idnrir mth\.

ml

HISTORIC SKETCH

OF THE

PARK STREET CHURCH.

CniEFLY FKOM COPIOUS STATEMENTS PREPARED BY DEACON
NATHANIEL WILLIS, THE LATE JUDGE SAMUEL
HUBBARD, AND PETEK HOBAET, JK,

^/ij'^HE commencement of the present century
^9^ found the congregational churches of this
city in a state of deep spiritual declension.
The piety, fidelity, and spirituality of the
mass of their members were flickering like the light
of a dying lamp. The Christianity of the day re
tained in its external forms and aspect much that
was venerable and conservative, but its life and
power were gone ; the real, throbbing, earnest soul
of it was stifled and palsied. The voice of the
pulpit enforced, not without strength and cogency,
the decencies, charities, and virtues of a high-toned
morality, but seldom echoed the thunders of a vio-

132 semi-centennial celebration.
lated law, or the melting accents of Calvary. There
were no revivals quickening the people of God,
awakening and converting the impenitent. There
were no associations in the midst of us to print and
scatter tracts, to distribute Bibles, to undertake the
conquest of the heathen world for Christ. The
only religious meetings of the week were on the
Sabbath. There was no evening lecture, no altar
of social prayer, no intercessions in concert for the
coming of the kingdom, no schools for the religious
education of the young, no weekly religious peri
odicals, discussing earnestly the signs of the times,
the demands of the age, great questions of faith and
practice, or giving tidings of refreshing visits of the
Spirit abroad, and thus quickening the sympathies
and animating the activities of Christians at home.
Something of this dullness and deadness in the
churches was doubtless a legacy from the war of
the Eevolution. The heroic part which this young
metropolis acted in that great struggle, the sieges
and distresses she endured, the sacrifices she made
in the common cause are matters of history, familiar
to every American school-boy. Her walls and strands
battered now by friendly, now by hostile cannon, —
the British army quartered for months upon ber
citizens, — the bights around her crowned by en
trenchments and blazing with watch-fires and artil-

HISTORIC SKETCH, 133
lery, opposed and insulted by an insolent and
dissolute enemy in her own streets, one of her
sanctuaries desecrated to serve the purpose of a
riding-school and pistol-gallery for cavalry officers, —
another demolished and burned for firewood, the
arts of peace interrupted ; the rule of magistracies
and civil tribunals set aside for the stern arbitra
ments of martial law, — such a history left not only
physical but moral effects behind, from which it
took long to recover. In the demoralizing influences
of this, so recent scourge, the secret of the • low
estate of the churches is partially disclosed.
But there was yet another cause, not then so
clearly defined, but, in the light of subsequent his
tories, more distinctly discerned, that contributed
powerfully to the disastrous result. A wide doc
trinal defection had extended from pulpit to pulpit,
and from mind to mind, till, with a large majority
of the worshipers in churches of our order, some of
the prime articles in their formulas of faith, first,
that grand central doctrine of a divine and atoning
Saviour, and the other and dependent doctrines
were discarded and outlawed. The substituted
gospel, earnest enough in the cause of human
amelioration, philanthropic and outspoken on the
subject of social and personal wrongs and great
public evils, broke no spiritual slumbers, rolled no

134 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
shocks of alarm against the careless, unrenewed
heart ; did not feed the soul of the humble believer,
and healed slightly the hurt of man's mortal dis
ease. Thus every church of the connection, of
which we speak, with but a solitary exception, still
keeping its time-honored name of " Old South,"
" faithful found among the faithless," had tacitly or
avowedly fallen away from " the purity of the faith
once delivered," as hitherto held in their " con
fessions." It was time for Providence to work. The hearts
of a little band of brethren, in the church just
named, were burdened with the desolations of Zion.
The visit of God's Spirit to some of the Baptist
churches of the city, farther quickened and encour
aged them. They desired to unite with these more .
revived brethren and churches in a weekly evening
lecture. A vote of the church was obtained in favor
of the measure. But it was not to be carried into
effect. A powerful opposition arose on the part of
the Society, with which a few members of the
church also made common cause, and the hopeful
movement was crushed in the bud. Defeated and
disappointed in this direction, but with no thought
of giving way to the prevalent influences, eight
of the brethren struggling thus for a higher type
of piety, and one more soon after added to their

HISTORIC SKETCH. 135
ranks, formed themselves into a society for mutual
religious improvement. This society held its weekly
meetings, frequently enjoying the ministrations of
the Rev. Dr. Eckly, the pastor of the Old South,
and kept the evangelic flame alive in their own
hearts and in the community. Such, however, was
the lack of courage and confidence with private
Christians of the time, and such the meager growth
of Christian graces and accomplishments, that for
several weeks no member of this little association
could lead the devotions of his brethren in audible
prayer in their meetings.
Parallel with this movement there was also a
little circle of pious ladies, who held stated meet
ings for prayer, to lament over the degeneracy of
God's covenanted ones, and beseech the return of
his gracious presence.
In these days, the idea of building a new house
of worship, and forming a new organization in sym
pathy with their views, was frequently in the thought
of these brethren, though rather as a thing fervently
desired than an enterprise actually embarked in. It
was a good seed, germinating and nurtured under
the genial influences of praying and believing hearts,
till the fullness of time should come. Thus passed
the first eight years of the century. In the sum
mer of the year 1808 the evangelic element received

136 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION,
a new impulse and fresh vigor from the visit and
labors of a southern clergyman, Rev. Dr. Kollock,
of Savannah, Georgia. He came in the fullness
of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. " He
spoke," says one who heard him, " with irresistible
energy and power. Unaccustomed as we were to
hear any thing moving, his appeals came upon us
like thunder. Crowds hung upon his lips, and
confessed the power of earnest truth, earnestly
preached." Aud now the ripened thought of the little praying
band was ready for utterance, — the conception for
execution. Had we such a man, they said in their
communing together, to go in and out before us,
to deliver the messages of the gospel, drooping
Zion should be revived and the city shaken from
its trance.
Conference was had with the southern Doctor,
and the hearts of those who waited for the conso
lation of Israel were cheered by the assurance he
gave, that if they would build a house for God and
form a church, he would become their pastor. By
such histories and agencies did the great Head of
the church prepare the way for the rearing of
another fortress in Zion, that should stand for the
defence of evangelic truth, and be a rallying-point
in the groat strife against sin and error, till, in all

HISTORIC SKETCH. 137
this holy war, there shall be left unsubdued no
enemy of the cross of Christ.
As to the steps, by which the enterprise was
commenced, a brief record must suffice. The few
whose hearts were enlisted in it felt the magnitude
and difficulty of the undertaking. The churches,
from which they might have expected the most as
sistance, were most opposed to their object. Their
own numbers were small. Large expenditures were
required at the very outset. Whither to turn for
help or even sympathy they knew not. But they
had settled it in their souls and before God that
the thing should be done. From the commence
ment, amid all their embarrassments and disappoint
ments they never despaired of success, — thej' never
grew faint of heart.
In a short time they had forty thousand dollars
pledged for their work, a lot of land purchased
for half that sum, and felt that they were war
ranted in proceeding to organize themselves into
a church of Christ. A confession of faith was
reported and adopted, the identical confession to
which we now subscribe, and five churches of
the city and vicinity were invited to meet in coun
cil and assist in the organization. These were
the Old South and Federal Street, in Boston, the
church in Charlestown, the church in Cambridge,

138 SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.
and the church in Dorchester. The two churches
in the city declined the invitation to act on the
organizing council. The others met by their pas
tors and delegates, Rev. Dr. Morse, of Charles
town, Rev. Dr. Holmes, of Cambridge, and Rev. Mr.
CoBMAN, of Dorchester, with lay brethren of good
repute, at the house of Wm. Thurston, on Beacon
Hill, on the 27th of February, 1809, and came to
the following result: —
The council, after having deliberately weighed
this important subject, and seeing no reason why
the request in the letter missive should not be
granted, — Voted, unanimously, that we are satisfied
with the proceedings of the brethren about to be
formed into a Congregational Church, in the town
of Boston, and are ready cheerfully to assist in this
organization. The exercises of the occasion were
introduced with prayer by Rev. Dr. Morse. The
fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles was
then read, and, after singing, an appropriate dis
course was delivered by Rev. Dr. Morse, from
Psalm cxvra. verse 25, " Save now, I beseech thee,
0 Lord, 0 Lord I beseech thee send prosperity."
The articles of faith and government were then
read by the scribe, and signed in the presence of
the council, by nine brethren and twelve sisters.
They were then declared duly organized, and Rev.

HISTORIC SKETCH. 139
Mr. Codman expressed to them the fellowship of the
churches. The same evening, before the council dis
solved, five members were added, by profession, to
the newly formed fraternity.
Immediately upon its organization, the church
voted to extend a unanimous call to Rev. Dr. Kol
lock, to become their pastor; also to invite Dr.
Griffin, of Newark, professor elect at Andover, to
officiate once on each Sabbath in connection with
the former. Dr. Griffin at once signified his willing
ness to conclude such an arrangement. Meanwhile
the matter of building was pushed diligently for
ward. On the 1st of May, 1809, the corner-stone of
this house was laid, with appropriate ceremonies, in
which Rev. Drs. Holmes and Morse again assisted.
In June, the church were cheered by the arrival of
Dr. Griffin, and aided by his counsel, and heard his
voice occasionally in the ministration of the gospel,
though they had not yet set up for themselves the
ordinances of public worship. But now their faith
and constancy were to be severely tried. In Sep
tember, a communication was received from Dr.
Kollock, declining their call. The Presbytery would
not dismiss him. A remonstrance signed by three
thousand persons was presented " against his leaving
his post at Savannah. Neighboring ministers and
laymen, including those of other denominations.

140 semi-centennial celebration.
threw their arms around him and would not suffer
him to depart. This was a terrible shock to the
high hopes of the little church in Boston, It
almost threatened their very existence. Many of
the subscribers to the enterprise withdrew their
names, so great was the disappointment and loss
of interest. Still, the brethren could not go back.
Their bark was on the sea, the voyage was before
them ; come storm or calm, fair winds or foul, they
must keep their course, A unanimous call was
extended to Dr. Griffin, to become the pastor. It
was declined. Calls were subsequently presented
to Rev. Dr. Nott, President of Union College, Rev.
Dr. RoMEYN, of New York, and Rev. Gardner
Spring, of Andover, aud a second time to Dr. Nott,
but all without success.
Meantime, the house of worship was completed,
at a cost altogether of over seventy thousand dol
lars ; and on the tenth of January, 1810, the dedi
cation sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Griffin.
The summer and autumn following were occupied
in urging and reurging the fruitless calls just men
tioned. Another year passed away, and still the
little flock were shepherdless. February 1, 1811,
the church again tendered the pastoral office over
them to Dr. Griffin, after much conference, and
another determined and self-denying effort of " the

HISTORIC sketch. 141
subscribers," in which thirty thousand dollars were
raised to pay their debt, and place their enterprise
on a safe pecuniary footing.
On the first of May, 1811, Dr. Griffin accepted
the call, and on the thirty-first of July he was duly
installed. The installing council met in the land
office, in the new State House. The public exer
cises at the church were as follows : —
Introductory Prayer, by Kev, Dr, Morse, of Charlestown,
Sermon, by Rev. Mr, Wokcester, of Salem.
Consecrating Prayer, by Rev, Dr. Holmes, of Cambridge.
Charge, by Rev. Mr. Greenough, of Newton.
Right Hand of FeUowship, by Rev. Mr, Homer, also of
Newton,
Concluding Prayer, by Rev. Mr. Huntington, of Old South.
Thus, at length, after a weary interval of two
years and five months, after many disheartening
failures and reverses, the long sickness of hope
deferred was relieved, the little band was equipped
and officered for service, and good auguries and
favoring providences seemed to cheer them on their
way. We pass now to note the later progress and
fruits of the enterprise of which we have thus seen
the beginnings.
And, first, the changes in the pastoral office.

142 semi-centennial celebration.
These have been frequent. The ministry of Dr.
Griffin continued three years and nine months.
He was succeeded by Rev. Seeeno E. Dwight, who
was ordained September 3, 1817, and dismissed
April 10, 1826, after a ministry of eight years and
five months. Rev. Edwaed Beecher was ordained
as pastor in December of the same year, and exer
cised his ministry for three years and ten months-
After an interval of two years, Rev. J. H. Linsley
was installed, December 5, 1832, and continued in
office two years and ten months. After another
interval of eighteen months, Rev. Silas Aiken was
installed on the twenty-second of March, 1837, and
dismissed the twelfth of July, 1848, having held office
eleven and a quarter years, longer by some years
than any of his predecessors. The present pastor
was installed January 25, 1849.
2. The accessions to the church since its organ
ization to the present time, have been as follows : —
Five on the day of organization, making, with the
original members , , , , , 26
Before the installation of Dr, Gkiffin , , 18
During his ministry , . , 93
In the interval previous to the settlement of Mr,
Dwight ,  44
During Mr, Dwight's ministry , , 321
In the interval following his dismission , , , 20

historic sketch, 143

During Mr, Beboher's ministry
In the interval following
During Mr, Linsley's ministry
In the interval
During Mr, Aiken's ministry
In the interval subsequent

173 39 99 10
425 3

Since the settlement of the present pastor , 681
In aU, counting the original members, . , 1,952
3. The views of this church in respect to the
policy of church extension in the city, have always
been of a liberal and generous tone.
In 1819, the Essex Street Church was formed ;
and after their division, in 1822, Park Street sent
eight members to strengthen the hands of a feeble
minority. In 1825, the Hanover Street Church, now the
Bowdoin Street, was formed, and Park Street sent
twenty- two members to their help. Pine Street
and Salem churches were organized in 1827, and
Park Street offered another contribution of twenty-
one members. At the original organization of the
Central Church, in 1835, twelve more were cordially
dismissed from our ranks. In 1842, the Mount
Vernon Church was organized, and again the vital
strength of this church was drawn upon. Park
Street stands in the midst of these churches, like
a venerable mother surrounded by her foster chil-

144 semi-centennial celebration.
dren, looking around upon them with a maternal
affection and pride, and cherished in their hearts,
as we rejoice to know, with all the ardor and
strength of filial love.
4. Revivals. The first general and powerful re
vival of religion in the history of the church, oc
curred in the city in 1823, commencing in Park
Street; and, as the fruits of it, three hundred and
forty-eight converts were added to the churches in
the city and vicinity, and Hanover Street Church
was built as an expression of gratitude to God.
Another outpouring of the Spirit followed, in
1826 and 1827, which resulted in the establishment
of two new evangelical churches, Pine Street and
Salem, and the addition to this church of one hun
dred members.
In 1831 and 1832, the Spirit returned again with
power, and the new song was loud in the midst of
the churches.
In the three years commencing with 1840, a
blessed and powerful work of grace was carried
forward in this church, during which time two hun
dred and fifty converts were received to our com
munion. Another season of refreshing was enjoyed in 1849
and 1850.
In the years 1857 and 1858, under the labors of

historic sketch. 145
Rev. Charles G, Finney and Mrs. Finney, a deep
and searching work of the Spirit was witnessed, in
which many professors of religion renewed their
experience and their hope, and probably not less
than six hundred souls were converted, of whom
about two hundred united with this church.
The connection of this church with the movements
of modern Christian benevolence, and especially with
the cause of foreign missions, has already been
clearly set forth in another page of this volume.
To this statement it may be added, that the annual
meeting of prayer for the descent of the Holy Spirit
upon the colleges of the land, was at first and for
some time a private meeting with this church, till
it was proposed by a member that the effort should
be made to commend the day to more general ob
servance, and the concert of prayer for this object
now kept in both hemispheres is the issue of that
obscure beginning.
In all this history, we find a pledge of God's
faithfulness for the days to come !

146 semi-centennial celebration.

PARK STREET MEETING-HOUSE.

.-r'HE following facts relating to the Park Street

Meeting-house were furnished, at the request
^¦^ of one of the deacons of the church, by Dr.
N. B. Shurtleff, and published in the Bos
ton Journal.
For some time previous to the fall of the year 1808,
the religious sentiment having been somewhat extraordi
narily aroused in Boston by the eloquent and impassioned
preaching of Rev, Henry Kollock, of Savannah, a dis
tinguished Doctor in Divinity, it was considered expedient
and practicable that there should be gathered in the town
another church, which should be established especially with
a view of promoting the system of theology generally denom
inated " Evangelical " by its adherents, in order to dis
tinguish it from others which had of late become very
fascinating and popular, and which had grievously fallen
off in strictness as to the observance of the precepts and
practices of the early New England Christians. Twelve
congregational churches only had been formed previous to
this time ; and of these, two had been united together soon
after the close of the war of the Revolution, under the late
Dr, Lathrop, — the place of worship of the Second Church

historic sketch. 147
having been demolished by the British during the siege
of Boston, and the Rev, Ebenezer Pemberton, pastor
of the Fourth Church, having died not long after the evac
uation of the town took place ; two others, which had
severally been under the charge of Rev, Samuel Mather
and Rev, Andrew Croswell, had altogether decayed,
and their houses of worship fallen to another sect, the
Universalists, The youngest of the nine remaining churches
had been gathered about seventy-four years, and with all
of the other eight, excepting the Old South, which even
wavered, had passed to Unitarianism, While Congregation
alism exhibited such a state of things, the Baptists stood
firm, and kept alive the evangelical faith, and through
the instrumentality of such shining lights as Stillman and
Baldwin, with the occasional assistance of such preachers
as Kollock, brought about the sentiment which exhibited
itself so strongly among a few at that time.
On account of this state of religious matters, and because
of the influx into Boston of many pious people from the
neighboring counties and States, the measure of establishing
a new church became not only necessary but imperative ;
and near the close of the year 1808, active exertions were
commenced by a few enterprising and religious persons for
gathering a new church and for obtaining subscriptions,
and making collections of money in order to defray the
expenses of erecting a new building for a place of worship
on the Lord's day, and for such other religious meetings
as might be convened upon the secular days of the week.
More than usual interest was taken in the undertaking, from

148 semi-centennial celebration.
the belief that Dr. Kollock, to whose ministrations they
had listened with so much profit and pleasure, would be
able to relinquish his pastoral charge in Savannah, and
remove to Boston. But these hopes were never realized,
the society in Savannah being unwilling to part with their
much esteemed pastor, and there being prevalent fears that
the severe and rigorous winters of the North would not agree
with his constitution, which had already been impaired,
notwithstanding residence in the genial and more temperate
climate of the South.
On Monday, the twenty-seventh of February, 1809, the
church was regularly formed by an ecclesiastical council,
held at the house of William Thurston, Esq., an attor
ney of considerable note, and there the first religious exer
cises of the new church were held. Not a few of the older
inhabitants of the city remember well the lofty mansion of
this gentleman, as it presented itself to the sight of all, in
the days of its magnificence, from its towering eminence
upon the summit of the once high hill of Bowdoin Street,
— for even in those days the southerly slope of the street
which now entirely bears that name was so called, although
the northerly portion, falling off towards Cambridge Street,
still retained the name of Middlecot, in honor of the
ancient possessor of the land out of which it was laid, —
and many undoubtedly will never forget the same building,
shorn of its pristine glory, standing upon the high preci
pice formed by the removal of the greater part of the soil
of the same hill, overtopping the chimneys of the neigh
boring houses.

historic sketch. 149
As might naturally be supposed, a central position was
sought for, the population of the more southerly and west
erly portions of the town being at that time largely on the
increase. The old building, which had been erected in
the town's necessity for a granary, was rapidly falling into
decay and disuse, and thus a spot was opportunely offered .
which, of all others, seemed most desirable on account of
its eligible situation, being on one of the principal avenues
of the town, and having an uninterrupted chance of light
on three of its sides. This site, which was readily selected
and soon purchased, presented a southeasterly front of
eighty feet upon the main street, then known as Common
Street, and now as Tremont Street ; on the southwest, it
faced the Common, and the new mall, one hundred and
eighteen feet ; and on the northeast it overlooked the middle
' burying-ground, often spoken of as the Common Burying-
Ground in the olden times, but now known familiarly to all
as the Granary Burial-Ground, and in which rest the ashes
of many of the honored fathers of the town. What better
position could be had for the new meeting-house ? It was
exactly in the centre of the peninsula ; its front would be
accessible from a street of the most ample dimensions; on
one side there would be a view of the most agreeable
character ; and on the other, constant monitors of the
short duration of earthly life, and the surety of an eternal
departure from the endearments of this world. In the
language of the day, " for salubrity of air, beauties of pros
pect, and general accommodations, there was no situation
of equal extent in the capital that exceeded the premises,"

150 semi-centennial celebration.
The place itself was not entirely destitute of historical
interest. In the earlier days of the town, it was part of
the now contiguous burial-ground, and was nearly at the
extreme limits of the settlements, joining upon the Common,
As time wore on, a street was laid out on the southwesterly
side of the lot, extending to the Beacon or Sentry Hill,
which took the name of Centry (or Sentry) Street. Then,
when the need came, a building eighty feet by thirty feet,
for a public granary, was erected on the end fronting on the
principal street. This was constructed of wood, with oaken
timbers, and was intended to hold about twelve thousand
bushels of grain, annually purchased and stored by the
agents of the town, and sold at a small advance to those
whose exigencies required such a consideration. The old
and gloomy looking building, used in its latter days as an
inspection office for pot and pearl ashes, and also for nails,
and finally as a mart for second-hand furniture, has not
entirely passed from remembrance. It stood in its lot until
the year 1809, when it was taken down to give place
to the meeting-house.
Further up on the street were large brick buildings,
called the Almshouse and the Workhouse, and a smaller
one, of the same material, called the Bridewell, for disor
derly and insane persons. The Almshouse, which stood
on the corner of Beacon Street, was erected in the year
1686, and was two-storied, with a gambrel roof and pro
jecting gable ; to this, in a subsequent year, was added
a wing. Its use was confined to the aged and infirm poor.
The Workhouse, a somewhat larger structure, about one

historic sketch, 151
hundred and twelve feet in length, with gables, and also
two-storied, was built in the year 1738, and was exclusively
appropriated to the vagrant, idle, and dissolute of the town.
The Almshouse and Bridewell were both standing when
Bonner published his plan of the town, in 1722, and, to
gether with the Workhouse, were in use until the comple
tion of the Almshouse that was erected at Barton's Point,
on Leverett Street, and which was opened for occupancy
at the close of the year 1800, Of course, the buildings
for the poor and dissolute were not on the site selected
for the meeting-house, but on the adjoining lot of land,
which extended to the corner of Beacon Street, near the
New State House, as the capitol was then generally styled.
A little more than sixty years ago, the Sentry Street of
our fathers did not present so inviting an appearance as
does the Park Street of our own day. The old dingy
buildings and the broken fences have disappeared, and
stately houses have succeeded in their places. No more
will the staid townsman nor the jocund youth, proceeding
to the Common in wonted manner on Election and Inde
pendence days, be interrupted by the diminutive hands
thrust through the holes in the old Almshouse fences, or
stretched from beneath the decaying gates, and by the small
and forlorn voices of the children of the destitute inmates,
entreating for money ; nor will the cries of the wretched poor
in those miserable habitations be heard calling for bread,
which oftentimes the town had not to give. Those days
are passed, and one would almost desire, when reading the
record of those times, that the remembrance of them was

152 semi-centennial celebration.
gone also. But a great lesson of charity has gone with
them ; for how many of the benefactors of the town made
their first essay in almsgiving when they unconsciously
dropped their little coin into those outstretched hands ?
In the year 1795, the fathers of the town rightfully
determined that such things as the then existing poor-
houses should no longer be a reproach to them. They
resolved to sell those estates which were in such pitiful con
dition and to purchase a more commodious place near Bar
ton's Point, where more comfortable and capacious buildings
should be erected for their destitute and sick. The deter
mination was accomplished very soon after the resolve, and
Col, Thomas Dawes, an honored and enterprising citizen,
who had sustained in an eminently successful manner all the
offices which his fellow-townsmen could give him, Samuel
Brown, a merchant of much wealth and note, and pos
sessed of great public spirit, and Judge George Richards
Minot, one of the distinguished historians of Massachusetts,
had full powers granted them by the town to carry out
these intentions, and well they performed their duty.
On the ninth day of November, of the year 1795, the
Granary lot was sold at public auction to the highest bidder,
a noted person of that day ; and it may appear to some
a curious fact that, on that occasion, about nine thousand
four hundred and forty square feet of land, situated in the
center of the town, brought only the sum of eight thousand
three hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-six cents,
a small fraction over eighty-eight cents a foot. From
General Henry Jackson, the title of the land passed into

historic sketch. 153
the hands of feoffees of the wife of the late Jajies Swan ;
from them to the daughters of the same lady and their
husbands ; and from them, on the thirteenth of April, 1809,
to Caleb Bingham, bookseller, Andrew Calhoun, mer
chant, and William Thurston, Esq,, Trustees of Park
Street Church, in consideration of the payment of twenty
thousand dollars. The removal of the public buildings, and
the erection of good houses on Park Street, had thus more
than doubled the value of the neighboring estate in about
fourteen years.
The committee for purchasing the lot of land, and super
intending the erection of the meeting-house, was chosen
at a business meeting held on the evening of the twenty-
seventh day of February, 1809, the day on which the
church was formed. It consisted of seven persons, four
of whom were members of the church, and three were from
among the subscribers, who were not communicants ; and
of these, John E, Tyler, Esq, was selected to act as
chairman. At the same time. Deacon Elisha Ticknor,
formerly a schoolmaster, but at that time doing business
as a grocer at the well-remembered sign of the Beehive,
in that portion of Washington Street that was formerly
known as Marlboro' Street, was chosen treasurer to the
subscribers. In this capacity Deacon Ticknor served one
year, and then, on the twenty-seventh of February, 1810,
Ebenezer Parker, a noted shoe-dealer, was elected in
his place, and continued in that service more than twenty
years. More than forty thousand dollars having been subscribed,

154 semi-centennial celebration,
the building committee commenced operations, and on the
first day of May, 1809, the corner-stone was laid at the
southeast corner of the foundation, with appropriate re
ligious exercises, the prayer and address on the occasion
being by Rev, Drs, Holmes and Morse. Beneath the
stone was deposited a plate, upon which was engraved the
following inscription : —
" Jesus Christ, the chief corner-stone, in whom all the building
fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord,
This church formed February 27, and this foundation laid May
I, 1809,"
Peter Banner, an ingenious architect, was selected to
do the carpenter's work, and Bbnajah Brigham the mason
work. The first intention was to have a plain building, two
stories in bight, to be constructed of common bricks, with
a tower and belfry; but the good sense of the building
committee changed the material, and, at an extra expense
of about one thousand one hundred and fifty dollars, face
bricks were substituted for those of a more ordinary quality.
The building as erected covers nearly the whole lot. Its
large tower supports a capacious belfry. This last contains
a bell, which, as the following document shows, was pre
sented to the church. " Boston, July 21, 1810.
" To the Church of Christ worshiping in Park Street.
" Sirs : We, the undersigned, present what we have subscribed
for a Bell for the church on Park Street, to you for your accept
ance towards paying for said Bell. That you may grow in

historic sketch. 155
grace, increase in holiness, be cemented in love, and abound
with the meekness and humility of Him whose Blood was spilt
on Calvary's cross, are the ardent wishes of us, your friends."
The document was signed by Benjamin Shurtleff, and
twenty-two of the principal members of the congregation.
Over the belfry are two octagonal rooms, and above these
a base for the spire. Surmounting these stands the spire,
fifty feet in bight, crowned with a ball and vane. The
extreme bight of the vane from the street below it is, by
actual measurement, two hundred and seventeen feet and
nine inches.
It was not originally intended that the meeting-house
should have a steeple ; but the desire of the public was so
great that a building occupying a position so conspicuous
and imposing as this, and commanding such an extensive
view in all directions, and itself so prominent a mark of
observation from all parts of the town and surrounding
country, should be thus ornamented, it was determined that
one of extraordinary proportions, extending much farther
into the skies than was elsewhere to be seen on the penin
sula, should be placed upon the meeting-house, as it were
to serve as an index for all wayfaring pilgrims, pointing
to that heavenly home to which the lessons and ministra
tions in the tabernacle below so distinctly directed. Indeed,
there is a tradition now extant, and reasonably well authen
ticated, that one of the most wealthy and liberal of the
subscribers made it a condition of his gift that the amount
of his subscription should be thus expended. Be this as

156 semi-centennial celebration.
it may, few if any have ever regretted the determination,
and none, it is hoped, would wish to 'remove from the
building the interesting structure so long the delight and
pride of Bostonians, and for many years the wonder of
visiting strangers. May it remain for ages to come a relic
of the past and a pleasant remembrance of our fathers. For
nearly half a century this majestic spire has withstood the
burning heats of summer's sultry sun, and the freezing
cold of inclement winters. The storms have raged, and
northwest winds have roared around it ; gales which have
uprooted the massive elms of our magnificent Common,
have passed it unheeded ; even the earthquake's shock, and
the lightning's fiery blast, have shaken yet spared it ; and
Time, old Time, which subdues all things, has laid a gentle
hand upon its head, and its pride has not yet been bowed.
What time and the elements have suffered to endure, let
man preserve.
From the time of laying the corner-stone, the building
proceeded rapidly ; and on the tenth day of the succeeding
January, in the year 1810, the meeting-house was dedicated
with becoming services. The sermon — and one of the
highest order it was — was preached by Rev. Edward
Dorr Griffin, then stated preacher to the Society, and at
the same time Bartlett professor of pulpit eloquence in the
Andover Theological Seminary. Dr. Griffin selected for
his text the following words of King Solomon, being the
eighteenth verse of the sixth chapter of the Second Book
of Chronicles : —

historic sketch. 157
' But wUl God in very deed dwell with men ou earth ?
Behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee ;
how much less this house which I have built."
The following are among the closing paragraphs of this
remarkable discourse : —
" In this house the gospel will be to some the savor of
life unto life, and to others the savor of death unto death.
Should this church stand a century and a half, and its seats
be generally filled, how many thousands will hear the gospel
within these walls ! Millions of times will all those thou
sands look back from eternity to this house, with inconceiv
able pleasure or pain. By all those thousands the effect of
its erection and dedication will be felt, millions of ages after
this world is no more. These measures, then, I consider
as the antecedents of happiness and misery greater than
the mind of man can now conceive. The time will come
when not a tongue in the universe will make these measures
the subject of a jest. I am prompted," said he, " not less
by justice than by feeling, to commend, in terms the most
respectful, the exertions which have been made by the
proprietors of this house. That so small a number of men
should complete so spacious and beautiful an edifice in the
course of eight months, is a wonder which has no parallel
in the history of American churches. May this structure
long stand a monument of their liberality and zeal for the
worship of God ; and may they, and their children, and
their children's children, find within these walls the means
and earnest of eternal life ! We have abundant reason to

158 semi-centennial celebration.
acknowledge the goodness of God in bringing this important
enterprise to so happy an issue, without the sacrifice of any
lives, or material injury to any person. I tender you my
hearty congratulations on the occasion, and invite you, my
dear brethren, to join in thanksgiving and praise to him
who has graciously prospered our humble endeavors. On
every wall and door let your faith read this inscription :
' Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain
that build it.' "
No material changes took place in the meeting-house for
many years, until about the year 1824, when, for the sake
of improving the financial condition of the Society, thirty
vaulted crypts, valued at about twelve thousand dollars, were
built beneath the northern side of the house. Since that
time, and quite recently, the building has been remodeled,
its roof raised, a good basement story constructed, and the
pews and pulpit renewed, and made to conform to the
improvements of the times. The steeple also has under
gone a most thorough repair, and bids fair to stand many
years, an ornament to the city, and the first endeared object
to present itself to the eye and gladden the heart, not only
of the home-bound mariner, but the weary traveler from
any region or direction whatever.

historic sketch. 159

MEMBERSHIP.

Original members, with those professing
at the organization, ,
Added by letter . , . 811
Added by profession 1,115

9P

Total , , . 1,952
Of these, 675 were males, and 1,277 females.
Dismissed to other churches 811
Died , , , 255
Excommunicated , , 37
Connection dissolved . 2

Total removals ,

, 1,105

present number.

Males
Females

283 564
Total , , , 847
Of the children of the church, the number of those
who have become ministers of the gospel, is 13
160 semi-centennial celebration.
Of the entire membership of the church, the num
ber of those who have exercised the Christian
ministry, is , , , , , , .23
Of those who have been dismissed to other
churches, there have been elected to the office
of deacons in those churches, so far as known, 33

DEACONS.
John E, Tyler, chosen December 8, 1809, died January
26, 1821,
Josiah Bumstead, chosen December 8, 1809, died- Sep
tember, 1859,
Jeremiah Evarts, chosen May 4, 1819, died May 10,
1831,
John C, Proctor, chosen May 4, 1819, resigned August
24, 1827,
Henry Hill, chosen March 2, 1825, resigned April 21,
1837,
Nathaniel Willis, chosen September 19, 1827, resigned
September 3, 1847,
Nathaniel Dana, chosen May 14, 1835, resigned Feb
ruary 5, 1847.
Daniel Safford, chosen June 14, 1837, resigned May
27, 1842,
Edwin Lamson, chosen July 12, 1842,
George Russell, chosen March 10, 1847, died March
1857,

historic sketch, I 6
Henry Hoyt, chosen April 28, 1847,
Ezra Farnsworth, chosen December 14, 1853,
Tyler Batcheler, chosen September 17, 1857.
Jacob Fullarton, Jr., chosen October 13, 1857.
Charles C. Litchfield, chosen October 13, 1857,

COMMUNION FURNITURE.
Large Table Cloth, presented by Andrew Calhoun, 1809,
SmaU Table Cloth, presented by Asa Ward, 1809,
Baptismal Fount, presented by Ebenezer Parker, 1809,
flagons.
First, Presented to the church by Aaron Hardy, 1809,
Second, Presented to the church by Henry Homes, 1809,
Third, Presented to the church by Thomas M'Clure
and Zacharias Thayer, 1819,
Fourth, Purchased by the church, 1822,
donors of goblets and spoon,
George J. Homer, Nathaniel Willis,
John E. Tyler, Haskell & Hale,
William Thurston, John C, Proctor,
Josiah Bumstead, David Chamberlain and others,
William Ladd, Maynard Ellison and others,
David Baxter, Hannah Haskins,
Mary Mason,
13

162 semi-centennial celebration.

BAPTISMS DURING FIFTY YEARS.
Infants and young children 591
Adults .... 174

Total . 765

THE SABBATH SCHOOL.
Sabbath Schools, in the Orthodox churches in
Boston, it is supposed, originated in a meeting of
members of Park Street Church, in the year 1817.
Rev. Dr. Griffin was present, and took a deep
interest in the subject.
A free conversation was held, in which objections
were raised, viz : that it might be a desecration of
the Sabbath ; that children ought to be instructed
at home by their parents ; and that professing Chris
tians ought to be at home, engaged in reading, medi
tation, and prayer, instead of going abroad to teach
the children of other families, on the Sabbath.
To this it was answered, that Sabbath-school teach
ing was a missionary work, designed to gather, from
the streets and wharves, children who were neg
lected by their parents, and suffered to go abroad

historic sketch. 163
on the Sabbath, when they were generally engaged
in play or mischief. It was for this purpose that
they were established in England, by Robert Raikes,
and they had there been the means of doing great
good. It was finally determined, at that meeting, that a
school of that description should be commenced ;
and William Thurston, Esq., (the first name at
tached to the covenant of Park Street Church,) who
had no children of his own, was requested to act
as superintendent of the school. This school was
established in the Town Schoolhouse, on Mason
Street. Schools similar to this were afterwards established
in other sections .of the town. The " Society for the
Moral and Religious Instruction of the Poor," being-
organized about that time, took the general superin
tendence of all the schools, appointed the superin
tendents when vacancies occurred, visited and ex
amined the schools, by committees, quarterly, and
contributed to their pecuniary wants.
Some years after this, the " Boston Sabbath School
Union " was formed, which took the care of the
schools into its own hands ; but they were not con
nected with any particular church until some years
after the Society's supervision commenced.
In the fall of 1829, two members of the Park Street

164 semi-centennial celebration.
Church, — a lady and a gentleman, — after conversa
tion on the subject, determined to attempt the estab
lishment of a Sabbath school in Park Street Lower
Vestry, to be gathered principally from the congre
gation. Notice was given from the pulpit of this
intention ; parents were requested to send their chih
dren ; and youth, under age, were invited to meet
and form a Bible class.
The first meeting of the school was held " Sun
day, December 13, 1829." There were present
three male and three female teachers ; ten male
and eleven female scholars. Joseph Jenkins was
superintendent, Horatio M. Willis was secretary,
Nathaniel Willis took charge of the female Bible-
class, A. Ellison, B. Bennet, Mrs. Eustis, Mrs,
Beecher, and Miss Barker, were teachers of other
classes. At the second meeting, December 20, two dollars
were received from Mr, H, H. Barton, father of two
female scholars, in aid of the formation of a library.
On the next Sabbath, one dollar was received from
a teacher, and twenty-five cents from a scholar, for
the same object. December 20, the first address
was made to the school by Rev. Louis Dwight.
At the time that Park Street School was estab
lished, many teachers and scholars belonging to Park
Street congregation were engaged in other schools,

HISTORIC sketch. 165
from which they were not disposed to withdraw. It
was stated at the time, that about one hundred mem
bers of Park Street Church, of both sexes, were thus
engaged. I, superintendents of the sabbath SCHOOL in
park street vestry,
Joseph W, Jenkins, from December 13, 1829, to June
1, 1834,
William T. Eustis, from June, 1834, to October, 1837,
Daniel Safford, from October, 1837, to June, 1839,
William T, Eustis, from June, 1839, to October, 1845,
Henry Hoyt, from October, 1845, to October, 1847,
S, Ingersoll Lovett, from January, 1850, to January,
1852,
B, S, Chesbrough, from January, 1852, to January,
1854,
Samuel Gregory, m,d,, from January, 1854, to January,
1856.
Thomas N. Nickerson, from January, 1856, to January,
1859. II, mission school in mason street.
Established by two young ladies of the church, in 1855,
Erastus Smith has been superintendent from 1855 to the
present time. The whole number of teachers and scholars
is two hundred.

166 semi-centennial celebration.

Ill, mission school in revere street (colored).
This school was first established in 1829, It was taken
under the care of Park Street Church in 1859, since
which time J, Green Jones has been superintendent.
The whole number of teachers and scholars is one hun
dred and thirty-five.

Ei