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TWO DISCOURSES 
 
 ON 
 
 THE DIVINE FAITHFULNESS, 
 
 AS ILLUSTRATED IN THE HISTORY OF THE uiSJ 
 
 FIRST CHURCH IN MIDDLEBOROUGH, MASS. 
 
 DURING THE PERIOD OF 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS. 
 
 .>-"' 
 
 By ISRAEL W. PUTNAM 
 
 KiaHIH PASTOR. 
 
 PREACHED JANUARY 5, 1845. 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 CHARLES C. P. MOODY. PRINTER, 52 WASHINGTON STREET. 
 1852. 
 
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 4 
 
 FIRST DISCOURSE. 
 
 Psalm CXIX, 90. Tut Faithfulness is unto all Generations. 
 
 This day, my hearers, completes the period of one hun- 
 dred and fifty years from the foundation of the First 
 Church in Middleborough, — the Church of Christ, which 
 was then gathered on this ground, and with which we 
 are variously connected. 
 
 When we reflect on the length of this period, on the 
 four or five generations which have passed away with it, 
 on the number of ministers who have here preached the 
 gospel of Jesus Christ, on the many hundreds of mem- 
 bers, of whom the church has at different times been 
 composed, and on the several sanctuaries, in which the 
 church and the people have w^orshiped : — when we 
 reflect that this beloved church still survives the period 
 of a century and half, and that it is looking forward with 
 the prospect of living for centuries yet to come : — and 
 when, moreover, we consider that all the blessings it has 
 experienced, and all it hopes for, are to be attributed to 
 the grace of its covenant-keeping God, we may w^ell 
 adopt the language of the text, and say unto Him, 
 '' Thy faithfulness is unto all generations." 
 
 From the records which have been preserved, it ap- 
 pears that this church was organized on the 26th day of 
 December, A. D. 1694, old style^ which corresponds with 
 the 6tli day of January, according to the present mode 
 of computing time ; so that the hundred and fiftieth 
 anniversary actually comes to-morrow j stilly this day 
 closes the period under consideration, and for all practi- 
 cal purposes may be regarded as the anniversary day. 
 
The general sentiment of the text appears to be ihc 
 faithfulness of God to his church on earth. But the subject 
 to which I shall specially call your attention to-day, is 
 
 The faithfulness of God to this particular Church 
 
 DURING its existence FOR ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS. 
 
 My plan is 
 
 I. To consider the attribute of the Divine Faithful- 
 ness ; and 
 
 II. To show how it has been illustrated in the his- 
 tory of this church. 
 
 Let us, then, in the first place, 
 
 I. Meditate on the glorious attribute of God's faith- 
 fulness. This divine attribute is intimately connected 
 with another, which is denominated Truth. They may, 
 however, be considered separately. By the truth of God 
 is intended that disposition in him, by which he always 
 speaks of things as they are in reality ; so that we know, 
 that whatever he speaks or in any way declares, is csscn- 
 tiallfj true. 
 
 The faithfidncss of God refers to his disposition and his 
 power always to perform his promises and fulfil his cov- 
 enant engagements. It assures all the subjects of his 
 moral kingdom, that they will never be disappointed in 
 any of the expectations, justly raised in their minds by the 
 declarations of his word, or the dealings of his hand. 
 
 This attribute of God has its foundation in the other 
 essential ])ropcrties of his nature ; — or, we may say, it 
 necessarily belongs to the character of Him, who in his 
 knowledge, power and goodness, is " infinite, eternal 
 and unchangeable " As the most perfect conception we 
 can have onridh/m that which we know essentially be- 
 
longs to the character of Gocl, so without the attribute of 
 fiiithfulness, that same character would appear essentially 
 defective. That Being who is absolutely infinite in his 
 knowledge, power and goodness, must necessarily be 
 true to all the engagements he enters into with his crea- 
 tures. He has no possible inducement to make promises 
 which he has not power to perform, or wdiose perform- 
 ance is not desirable in itself. He foresees wdth absolute 
 certainty, the circumstances in which his engagements 
 are to be fulfilled, and what also will be the consequence 
 of their fulfilment. His infinite goodness inclines him 
 to make promises to his creatures of all that his infinite 
 knowledge foresees will be desirable for them and that 
 his infinite power is capable of accomplishing. 
 
 Thus you see, my hearers, that the argument from the 
 other known and perfect attributes of God, for his faith- 
 fulness, is entirely conclusive ; and what our reason 
 teaches us on this subject, is confirmed by the plainest 
 declarations of scripture, and is illustrated by God's cov- 
 enant dealings with his people, in all ages. The lan- 
 guage of scripture is very explicit, — " The Lord thy 
 God, He is God, the flxithful God, which keepeth cove- 
 nant and mercy with them that love him and keep his 
 commandments, to a thousand generations." " Ye know 
 in all your hearts and in all your souls," said Joshua to 
 the people of Israel, " that not one thing hath failed, of 
 all the good things which the Lord your God spake con- 
 cerning you." " Thy faithfulness," says the Psalmist, 
 " shalt thou establish in the very heavens." And the 
 apostle says to the Thessalonians, " Faithful is he that 
 hath called you, who will also do it ; " and to the Hebrew 
 Christians, " Let us hold fast the profession of our faith 
 without wavering; for he is faithful that promised." 
 
But it is very important for us to consider that the 
 promises of good which God makes to his people, are con- 
 ditional. He stipulates what he will positively do for 
 them on the condition they will " love him and keep his 
 commandments." When, therefore, any of his true peo- 
 ple enter into covenant engagements with the Lord, 
 whether as individuals or in the capacity of a church, 
 if they fail of strictly performing the conditions made on 
 their part, they must consider that by thus breaking cov- 
 enant with God, they release him from doing what he 
 had conditionally promised, and that their appealcan then 
 be onli/ ^^ ^^^^ mcrcij. It is in the relation which his people 
 thus come to sustain toward him, that God manifests that 
 patience and forbearance toward them, which so effect- 
 ually illustrate hisfaithfidness. For although they are 
 guilty of a breach of covenant with him, yet so great is 
 his love for them, and so much does he desire to remind 
 them of the blessings which he was willing to bestow, 
 that, actuated by his long-suffering goodness, he actually 
 confers upon them many of those favors which w^ere 
 promised in his covenant, — not to their original extent, 
 but so far, and in so sovereign a manner, as to show that 
 he never ceases to remember the gracious provisions 
 and promises of that covenant. This is most expressly 
 and beautifully illustrated in what God says of the seed 
 of the righteous, in the 89th Psalm. "If his children 
 forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments ; if they 
 break my statutes and keep not my commandments ; 
 then will I visit their transgressions with tlie rod, and 
 their iniquity with stripes : neverthelCvSs, my loving kind- 
 ness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my 
 faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, 
 nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." 
 
This general principle of the divine faithfulness, this 
 constant regard for the provisions, perpetuity and honor 
 of the everlasting covenant, is seen to display itself in 
 the dealings of God with the whole body of his church 
 on earth, and with all the different portions of it. 
 
 It is by taking this view of the adorable attributes of 
 the Divine character, and of the covenant faithfulness 
 of God to his people, that we can come to a satisflictory 
 explanation of all his dealings with individual believers 
 or with any portion of his church. They are often guilty 
 of breaking covenant with him, and thus they forfeit all 
 claim to those blessings which had been promised them 
 on condition of strict obedience. Then they suffer for 
 their sins by God's withholding those tokens of his love, 
 which he would otherwise have manifested. 
 
 This accounts for what individual helievers often suffer. 
 They violate their covenant vows, and God does not 
 then bestow on them what they might otherwise have 
 enjoyed ; and he sometimes proceeds to chasten them 
 for their sins. He visits them with temporal trials, and 
 not unfrequently with spiritual afflictions. The light of 
 his countenance is withdrawn, and they walk in dark- 
 nesss ; and sometimes he judicially leaves them to great 
 coldness in his service, to much wandering from the path 
 of christian duty, and even to the commission of open 
 sin, which brings reproach upon their own characters, 
 and scandal upon the christian name. 
 
 But it is to be remembered that in thus chastening indi- 
 vidual believers for breaches of his covenant, and in after- 
 wards mercifully appearing for their relief, by bringing 
 them to repentance and recovery from their wandering 
 state, God acts entirely as a sovereign. He suffers some to go 
 on farther than others, in their backsliding course ; and 
 
the strokes of his chastenino; rod are heavier on some 
 than on others, even when their sins are no greater. 
 So also he appears for the restoration of some sooner 
 than for that of others ; and all this because he is a sov- 
 ereign and deals Avith his offending people, now in a 
 chastening and now in a pardoning way, for reasons 
 which he does not mean that either they or others shall 
 be able fully to comprehend. 
 
 So it is with his church on earth, considered collec- 
 tively. So it is with difterent portions of it, and with each 
 individual church. Believers, in their collective capacity, 
 from time to time fail more or less in strict obedience 
 to their covenant engagements with God. The sins of 
 individual believers become the sins of the church, espe- 
 cially if they are open sins and not protested against and 
 jH'operly censured. 
 
 The departure of a church from the strict terms of 
 their covenant with God, is generally much more grad- 
 ual than that of individuals. This is seen in their falling 
 away from sound christian doctrine. It has sometimes 
 taken not only years, but generations, for a church to 
 give up " the faith once delivered to the saints," and to 
 come fully to embrace an unscriptural one in its stead. 
 
 The same is true of the ordinances belonging to the 
 covenant of God, under the christian dispensation ; which 
 are. Public Worship, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper. 
 Loose and erroneous views of these ordinances are gen- 
 erally found to prevail in a church, if at all, in a very 
 gradual manner, till at length the departure is open to 
 the view of the world and offensive to God. 
 
 So also it is with the tone of moral conduct in a 
 church. Sometimes it is such as becomes the gospel of 
 Christ J at other times more or less of its members leave 
 
9 
 
 their first love ; tliey cast off fear and restrain prayer. 
 Like the heathen '• they become vain in theii- imag- 
 inations, and their foolish heart is darkened." They 
 yield to the " lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the 
 pride of life," till their sins of commission or of omission 
 are so open and reproachful as to call for the reprehen- 
 sion of the church. 
 
 But, as has been observed, such a downward course of 
 any considerable number of the members of a church is 
 generally very gradual ; and in this connection it may 
 be remarked, that very gradual also is the conduct of a 
 church incoming to neglect that discipline which Christ 
 has appointed, and which is so essential to its welfare. 
 If one public sin is tolerated in a church, and if, on ac- 
 count of fear or favor, or from any other cause, a flagrant 
 offender is suffered to go on unrebuked and uncensured, 
 others will yield to temptation, and fall into the same 
 or other sins, till at last there is left in the church scarcely 
 streno;th enouu:h to undertake and sustain the neces- 
 sary and saving work of scriptural discipline. 
 
 These remarks on the religious declension of individ- 
 ual christians and churches^ I have made, my hearers, 
 to meet the difticulty which is sometimes felt in vindi- 
 cating the divine faithfulness, a difficulty which I do not 
 wish to avoid. For if the inquiry is made, how it comes 
 to pass that individual christians do sometimes so lament- 
 ably decline in their spiritual interests, conduct, and 
 Avhwle character, even after they have entered into cov- 
 enant with God, who has made such "exceeding great 
 and precious promises " to them, and who is a faithful 
 God ? — And if the further inquiry should be made, why 
 it is that churches, established at first in the true faith 
 of the gospel, and whose members are members of 
 2 
 
10 
 
 Christ^s own body, should after a while cease to hokl 
 fast that faith, and should become cold in their religious 
 affections, worldly in their conduct, and lax in their dis- 
 cipline, even w^hen they had the covenant promises and 
 faithfulness of God pledged to them ? The answer to 
 all this is easy. The faithfulness of God to his covenant 
 engagements does not obligate him to keep his people 
 in either their individual or their church capacity from 
 committing sin. They remain free moral agents, and 
 are put upon trial as such. All needed good, God prom- 
 ises them on condition of strict obedience to him. But 
 if they fail of this, if they break covenant with God, he 
 is released from all obligation to confer on them what 
 they might otherwise have received. And if the inquiry 
 is now made, whether they are not still his people ? 
 the answer is, yes ; and he will still deal with them as a 
 faithful God. His dispensations toward them will, in 
 one view, be in the nature of just punishment for their 
 sins, but in another they will be the fatherly corrections 
 of loving kindness and faithfulness. In the disciplinary 
 course which he pursues with them on account of the 
 violation of their own vows and engagements, he pro- 
 ceeds, as has already been remarked, in an entirely sov- 
 ereign manner. He has infinitely wise reasons for cor- 
 recting and restoring them at one time immediately, and 
 for suffering them at another to go great lengths in 
 disobedience, and even to accumulate a heavyweight of 
 guilt, before he corrects them, and causes them to return 
 from their evil ways, by repentance and vows of new 
 obedience. 
 
 But there is a very noticeable difference in the ulti-* 
 mate dealings of God with individual believers and with 
 churches respectively. Those who are his chosen peoplcji 
 
11 
 
 renewed by his spirit, and sanctified by his grace, will cer- 
 tainly, according to the gracious provisions of his cove- 
 nant, be finally saved. They may forsake his law, they 
 may break his statutes, so that God will visit their trans- 
 gressions with the rod ; nevertheless he will not utterly 
 take his loving-kindness from them, nor suffer his faithful- 
 ness to fail. Such is the teaching of the New Testament, 
 as well as of the Old. ' He who begins a good work in the 
 heart of any sinful child of Adam, will perform it until 
 the day of Jesus Christ.' Thus the tenor of God's gra- 
 cious covenant secures the final salvation of every true 
 believer, while none but God himself knows who are of 
 this character. 
 
 But such is not the tenor of God's covenant dealiugs 
 with any particular church. All true believers in such a 
 church, as I have already stated, will be finally saved, 
 because the promise of God secures their salvation. But 
 the church itself may so decline from its primitive purity 
 in doctrine, conduct and discipline, that God will finally 
 forsake it. Its individual members, if they are true mem- 
 bers of Christ's body, he will save, whether they live and 
 die in connection with such a church, or elsewhere. 
 But the church itself, if it persevere in its departure 
 from christian faith and christian obedience, beyond the 
 point of divine endurance, will inevitably come to nought. 
 Its light will be extinguished, its name will die. Such 
 we know is the history of some churches planted in apos- 
 tolic times, and in subsequent ages of the world. 
 
 But I would by no means be understood here to say 
 that everj^ local church which, after a lapse of time 
 ceases to exist, comes to its end in consequence of its 
 departure from the gospel ; for in many instances it is 
 for the welfare of the church at large, that individual 
 
12 
 
 portions of it should cease to have a separate existence, 
 and become nnited with some other portions. Thus 
 also, sometimes, are hirger portions of the church seen 
 gradually diminishing, till they become united with other 
 christian connections, and appear under a new name. 
 
 It requires, my hearers, much careful study of the 
 word of God, and much observation on his dealings with 
 his church on earth, duly to understand the import of 
 those promises, on whose due fuKilment rests his charac- 
 ter for covenant faithfulness. Against the church, consid- 
 ered in its largest sense, as the great body of believers 
 in all ages of the world, bought with Christ's own blood, 
 we know that the gates of hell wdll never prevail. And 
 in its most exact sense are the w^ords of my text true, 
 when applied to the church in this respect ; " The faith- 
 fulness of God is unto all generations " of his chosen, cov- 
 enant people, in every age, and in whatever part of 
 the world they dwell ; whatever name they bear, or 
 whatever be their rank or condition in life ; and by a 
 very observable analogy in the dealings of God with 
 his people, we may see that his faithftdness endures to 
 any large portion of his church or to any one particular 
 church, very much in proportion to its own faithfulness 
 in adhering to its covenant vows and engagements. If 
 it is at first established in the truth ; if it is " built upon 
 the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ 
 himself being the chief corner stone j " if it adheres to 
 the doctrines, if it shows forth the graces, if it practices 
 the virtues of the gospel, and if it seeks the glory of its 
 divine author, — we may observe, as a general thing, that 
 its divine head is pleased with its character, and that in 
 his covenant fiithfulness he wnll watch over its interests, 
 and continue its existence for a long period. True, per- 
 
13 
 
 sedition may arise against it, and other inscrutable dis- 
 pensations of providence may affect its prosperity and 
 even its existence. But so well defined in his word are 
 the principles on which God governs his church on 
 earth, and so uniform are his dealings with the various 
 portions of it, that his faithfulness is very gloriously 
 illustrated in the favor which he shows any individual 
 church that fears his name and w\alks in his statutes. 
 The word spoken by the prophet Azariah to God's an- 
 cient people, has a strict fulfilment in the history of his 
 dealings with his church in all ages. ^' The Lord is with 
 you, while ye be with him ; if you seek him, he will be 
 found of you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake 
 you." 
 
 Let us now, my hearers, as was proposed, proceed to 
 consider 
 
 II. How the divine faithfulness has been illustrated 
 in the history of this Church, during the period of one 
 hundred and fifty years. 
 
 You perceive, at once, that the field of inquiry and 
 remark on which I am now entering is very wide. I 
 shall be obliged, as I proceed, very much to limit myself 
 in selecting from the facts of our history, and in the rea- 
 soning which is founded on them. But it relieves my 
 mind on this point, to know that a committee of the 
 church are preparing for publication such a particular 
 account of its history, as I might otherwise deem it im- 
 portant to furnish on this occasion. Still, I trust that, 
 with divine aid, I shall be able to exhibit such brief views 
 of the subject, as may lead you, my friends, and all the 
 present generation of this people, to see that the God 
 of your fathers is " a faithful God, keeping covenant and 
 mercy with them that love him and keep his command- 
 ments, to a thousand generations." 
 
14 
 
 1. The first proof of God's faithfulness to this church 
 is found in the consideration that he has graciously sus- 
 tained it, in adhering to the great gospel principles on 
 which it was originally established. 
 
 That we may clearly see the truth of this remark, it will 
 be necessary to dwell somewhat particularly on the cir- 
 cumstances of the formation of the church. As I have 
 already remarked, it was organized in the w^inter of 
 1G94-5, bearing the date of December 26th, old style. 
 The present day, Jan. 5th, closes the hundred and fif- 
 tieth year of its existence. 
 
 The gathering of the church in Middleborough, at that 
 early period of the history of New England, was an in- 
 teresting event. The town was very large in its territo- 
 rial dimensions, and its population had even then 
 become very considerable -, for it is stated that at the 
 breaking out of king Philip's war, so called, in 1675, the 
 nmnber of English families that had settled here was 
 sixteen ; and although they were then driven from the 
 place, yet at the close of the war the population must 
 have rapidly mcreased, as Mr. Fuller, a deacon of the 
 church at Plymouth, and one of the proprietors in 1669 
 began early to preach here and continued his labors with 
 occasional intermissions till 1694, when, at the gathering 
 of the church, he was regularly ordained to the work 
 of the christian ministry. 
 
 All the original records of the church from its organ- 
 ization to the close of the ministry of Mr. Palmer, the 
 second pastor, are, no doubt, irrecoverably lost ; and, as 
 has generally been supposed, through his neglect, or his 
 other more censurable conduct. But recently an an- 
 cient manuscript has come to us from Halifax, which 
 proves to be a copy of an important part of those original 
 
15 
 
 records, made in March, 1734, by Ebenezer Fuller, a 
 grandson of the pastor. This copy of the records, togeth- 
 er with a pamphlet printed in 1722^ containing the 
 Confession of Faith and Covenant, and specific acknowl- 
 edgments of the obligations of the covenant, enable us 
 now very clearly to understand the interesting and sol- 
 emn character of the organization of the church. 
 
 Several members of the church of Plymouth, and 
 other neighboring churches were then residing here. 
 There were others also, who had become hopefully con- 
 verted under the preaching of Mr. Fuller. These per- 
 sons, being very distant from any churches with which 
 they could hold constant christian communion, naturally 
 had the desire and conceived the design of being them- 
 selves formed into a distinct church. In accordance, 
 therefore, with the usages of the pilgrim churches, they 
 sent letters for ministers and brethren in the colony, to 
 come and perform the requisite ecclesiastical services. 
 The Rev. Messrs. John Cotton, Roland Cotton, and Jona- 
 than Russel, with lay brethren, were sent from Plymouthj 
 Sandwich, and Barnstable, to assist on the occasion. 
 
 As it may be gratifying to this audience to hear the 
 names of those who at first composed the church of 
 Middleborough, I will here repeat them : — Rev. Samuel 
 Fuller, and Elisabeth his wife ; John Bennett, and Deb" 
 orah his wife ; Jonathan Morse, and Mary his wife ; 
 Abiel Wood, and Abigail his wife ; Jacob Thompson, 
 and Abigail his wife ; Ebenezer Tinkham, and Elisabeth 
 his wife ; Samuel "Wood, Isaac Billington, Samuel Eaton, 
 Samuel Cuthbert, John Cobb, Jr., "VVeibrah Bumpas, 
 Hester Tinkham, and widow Deborah Barden. 
 
 The services were of a very solemn character, as you 
 would readily see, my hearers, if there were time for me to 
 
16 
 
 I'ead to you the articles of faith which they adopted, the 
 covenant which they entered into, and the particular 
 obligations w^hich they considered to be imposed on 
 them by that covenant. 
 
 Respecting the confession of faith, I would only say 
 now that it was very full and explicit on all those doctrines 
 which our pilgrim fathers considered as clearly revealed 
 in the scripture, viz : — the inspired authority of the Old 
 and New Testaments, as a sufficient and the only rule of 
 faith and practice, in opposition to all opinions of indi- 
 vidual men, and all decisions of ecclesiastical councils ; 
 a trinity of persons in the God-head ; the supreme divin- 
 iiy of the son Jesus Christ ; the personality and divinity 
 of the Holy Spirit ; the total depravity of the human 
 heart in its natural state, and its renewal by the sove- 
 reign operation of the Holy Spirit ; atonement for sin 
 by the blood of Christ, and justification by his righteous- 
 ness alone ; election and perseverance of the saints ; 
 resurrection of the dead and final judgment of the world, 
 when the righteous will be received into heaven and 
 the wicked be cast into hell. 
 
 As to Positive Institutions, they held to the com- 
 mon belief of the sacredness of the Sabbath, and the 
 sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; the for- 
 mer to be administered to believers and their infant off- 
 spring, and the latter to all who are regular members of 
 the church of Christ. On the subject of Church Consti- 
 tution and Government, they held that a Christian 
 church was a company of christian believers, voluntarily 
 associated for their own religious improvement, with 
 rules of conduct agreeing with the so'iptures, and them- 
 selves having authority to administer censures on mem- 
 bers who walk disorderly, and not being required to 
 
17 
 
 refer their decisions to any other earthly tribunal ; all 
 which, considered in connection with their views of the 
 two sacraments, and of the respective offices of pastor 
 and deacon, gave, as they believed, the true idea of a 
 congregational church. 
 
 The covenant which they entered into, and which is 
 very particular in its stipulations, bound them in the 
 most solemn manner to the love and service of God, to 
 great respect for and subjection to the christian ministry, 
 and to all true christian deportment and duty to one 
 another. 
 
 I regret that it is not practicable for me here to recite 
 to you the whole of the confession of faith and covenant 
 in the very words used on the occasion, as they were 
 very well selected and convey a very clear meaning to 
 every mind, while they show a spirit of deep and heav- 
 enly piety on the part of those, who adopted them. But 
 I trust you will yet have an opportunity to read it all 
 in another form, which shall be preserved for your chil- 
 dren and your children's children, as evidence of the 
 exalted christian character of their ancestors. 
 
 After the church was duly constituted, in accordance 
 with the confession and covenant already named, Mr. 
 Samuel Fuller, then at the advanced age of seventy years ^ 
 was duly ordained as its first pastor. 
 
 Such, my hearers, was the gathering, one hundred 
 and fifty years ago, of this beloved church, which yet 
 lives. Such were those christian men and women, who 
 at that time were here engaged in the solemn transac- 
 tions which so deeply concerned their own salvation 
 and that of their posterity for generations to come. I 
 shall, with divine leave, in the afternoon consider more 
 particularly than I have here done, how God, in his cov- 
 3 
 
18 
 
 enant faithfulness, has sustained this church during all its 
 generations, in adhering to the principles on which it was 
 originally founded. 
 
 And now I beg you to pause a little and reflect on 
 the scene exhibited here on this ground, in the winter 
 of that far distant year of the foundation of this church. 
 You will remember that Middleborough was not then 
 what it now is. These cultivated fields, these convenient 
 roads, these comfortable dwellings, this goodly sanctuary, 
 and these numerous conveniences for coming to it, w^ere 
 all unknown to your pilgrim fathers and mothers, who 
 assembled here on that cold day of January, 1695, and 
 stood up in simplicity and Godly sincerity, as well as 
 with holy reverence, to avouch the Lord Jehovah to be 
 their God, while He avouched them to be his people. 
 No, they knew nothing of the favored condition in 
 which we are. placed, for attending on the worship of 
 God ; nor did they need it ; for they were christians of 
 the generations that are gone. Theirs was the early 
 pilgrim character, strong in faith, devoted in purpose, 
 self-denying in practice, and fearless in conscientious 
 obedience. 
 
 From what particular parts of the Plymouth colony 
 most of them came, is now unknown. Some were from 
 the original place of landing, being children of the very 
 people who came over in the May-flower and first plant- 
 ed their feet on the Plymouth Kock. Others probably 
 came from England in subsequent years. But here they 
 sought a dwelling place, here they fixed their home ; 
 and although these grounds were not then so ^ waste 
 and howling' as were the shores of Plymouth in 1620, 
 yet they were little better than a " wilderness," compared 
 with what they now are. But such was the character 
 
19 
 
 of the early settlers of this town, so much were they like 
 the generation, who went before them, such lovers of 
 religious and civil liberty, that they little heeded the 
 humble circumstances in which they were necessitated 
 to worship that God, whom they loved and served. 
 
 They believed they were here founding a church, in 
 which they were to hold communion with their Saviour, 
 and which they were to leave to their children for gene- 
 rations to come. They rejoiced, therefore, to give them- 
 selves up first to the great Jehovah, Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghost, and then to one another in him. They were 
 heartily willing to bind themselves to his service by the 
 most solemn promises and vows. They believed that he 
 was a faithful God, and would fulfil all his covenant 
 engagements. They trembled only for themselves. 
 They knew their own weakness. They felt the danger 
 they were in, by reason of their sinfulness, of violating 
 their covenant vows. Could you hear the solemn pro- 
 testations which they made against the evil of departing 
 from God, by failing in any way to live a truly christian 
 life, you would be convinced how great was the tender- 
 ness of their conscience, and what abhorrence they felt 
 in view of all sin. 
 
 As you, my christian friends, who are their successors, 
 are now going to observe the same holy ordinance which 
 was administered to them upon their being constituted 
 a church of Christ, let me say to you, come with adoring 
 gratitude to a faithful and covenant-keeping God, to the 
 same table, which was spread here in 1695, for those 
 primitive christians of Middleborough ; and come too, 
 under the influence of the same holy dread of sinning 
 against God, and with the same entire consecration of 
 yourselves to the service of the Redeemer, which you 
 
20 
 
 have seen manifested in their example. They are gone, 
 long since, to sit down at the " marriage-supper of the 
 Lamb ; " and to that heavenly feast you also will finally 
 be admitted, if you are found clothed with the wedding 
 garment which the Saviour hath purchased for you, at 
 the price of his own blood. Amen. 
 
SECOND DISCOURSE. 
 
 Psalm CXIX, 90. Tht Faithfulness is unto all Generations. 
 
 A considerable part of my morning discourse was 
 occupied, as you will recollect, my hearers, in consider- 
 ing the general attribute of the Divine Faithfulness. I 
 proceeded, however, a little way, in showing what was 
 proposed in the second place : — 
 
 11. How the Faithfulness of God has been illustrated 
 in the history of this church. 
 
 1. The first consideration, which I presented to show 
 the truth of this sentiment, was, that God has graciously 
 sustained the church in adhering to the great gospel 
 principles on which it was originally established. 
 
 I have already stated, that these principles were a 
 belief in the doctrines commonly called The Doctrines 
 of the Reformation, an exercise of the Graces, and a 
 careful practice of the Virtues enjoined in the gospel, — 
 together with a due observance of its Positive Institutions, 
 — such as the Holy Sabbath, Baptism for penitent believ- 
 ers and their infant offspring, and the sacrament of the 
 Lord's Supper to be administered to all who make a 
 credible profession of the gospel, and maintain an orderly 
 walk as members of the church. 
 
 From what I have said respecting the formation of 
 this Church, at the distant period of one hundred and 
 fifty years, you have been able to see how strong was 
 the attachment of its original members to the great 
 christian principles here enumerated. We have the 
 most satisfactory reason to believe also, that God smiled 
 
22 
 
 upon the church at its organization. Then did the High 
 and Holy One here enter into solemn covenant with his 
 chosen, devoted people. He pledged his everlasting 
 faithfulness to them as a church ; nor has that faithful- 
 ness ever fiiiled. Trials he has, at different times, sent 
 upon them. Early afflictions, and severe ones they had, 
 soon after they were organized, as we shall presently see, 
 when we look at the sudden departure of their first pas- 
 tor, and the character of his successor. But at no period 
 of the history of the church has there been a professed, 
 or a real abandonment of any of the great principles, on 
 which it was at first established. 
 
 Other churches, formed at that time, and in this part 
 of New England, have forsaken '• the faith oiice deliv- 
 ered to the saints," the faith of their Pilgrim Fathers, 
 and have gone over to the side of religious error. But 
 it has been otherwise with this church. Durino; the 
 period of a century and half, it has steadily adhered to 
 a firm belief in the great Doctrines of the Cross. It has 
 been willing to settle no minister, who was known to 
 reject these doctrines. 
 
 It has, at different times, varied the form of its Religious 
 Creed ; but under no form, which it has ever adopted, 
 so far as I can discover, has it given up any one essential 
 christian truth, which was in its original confession of 
 faith ; and it may be well doubted, w^hether, with the 
 exception of some slight phraseology, it has ever had a 
 better one than it had at the beginning. 
 
 The same may be said, as a general truth, respecting 
 the prevailing sentiment of the church on the subject of 
 ^radical religion. It is very obvious, that our fathers of 
 the first generation of this church regarded a life of prac- 
 tical piety as an indispensable part of christian character, 
 
23 
 
 and as a uniform condition of church membership. Their 
 confession of faith, their covenant engagements, their sol- 
 emn protestations against sin in all its forms, show in a 
 most convincing manner, what stress they laid upon true 
 Holy Living. Nor has the church, at any time, varied its 
 belief, if it has, in any degree, its practice, on this subject : 
 and that would be a day of ill omen to its future prosper- 
 ity, that should show a willingness, on the part of its 
 members, to regard anything, short of a life of vital god- 
 liness, as evidence of real christian character, or that 
 would dispense with it as a necessary qualification for 
 admission to their communion. 
 
 As intimately connected with this subject may also be 
 considered that of Church Discipline. The original cove- 
 nant of the church fully provided for this ; and in accord- 
 ance with it, a strict discipline was maintained. But it 
 was a church discipline for the benefit of offenders, as 
 well as for the honor of the Saviour's name. It consisted 
 in a kind and faithful watch over one another for mutual 
 good ; and the measures adopted to reclaim any who 
 had gone astray, were those of gentleness and love, 
 remonstrating with an offender on the folly and ingrati- 
 tude, as well as wickedness of his conduct ; in a word, 
 it was to gain a wandering brother, and bring him back 
 to christian obedience, and not to denounce him as an 
 evil doer, or by any imposing measures of church author- 
 ity, to aim at holding him up before the world as a rep- 
 robate. Still, it was their practice to withdraw from an 
 oftending member who would not hear the voice of the 
 church, and henceforth to regard him according to the 
 Saviour's direction, " as an heathen man and a publican." 
 
 Such have been the views of this church on the sub- 
 ject of discipline. Not that we can say it has been as 
 
24 
 
 well understood, and as strictly and carefully enforced, at 
 all times, as it was with the first generations. But the 
 church has ever professed its belief that its prosperity 
 could never be hoped for, unless in the preservation of 
 the purity of its members. 
 
 But I would remark once more under this head, that 
 the church has been sustained in adhering, to a com- 
 mendable extent, to a practical regard for the Positive 
 Institutions of the'gospel, as it found them acknowl- 
 edged and observed by those of the first generation. 
 The Sabbath was kept very strictly by the Puritans of 
 New England ; and this church has ever regarded it as 
 a day of holy rest. Our Fathers also attached great 
 importance to the ordinance of Christian Baptism. 
 They held, not only in common with all christian 
 denominations, that those, who had never been baptiz- 
 ed, should receive that ordinance on their admission to 
 the church ; but that it was also to be administered to 
 the infant children of God's covenant people. The 
 church was strictly a Pedobaptist church. All its 
 ministers have been of that sentiment, as were its other 
 officers, and its several members for many generations. 
 Great harmony has generally prevailed in the church 
 on this subject, and great spiritual blessings, it is believ- 
 ed, have come not only to the church, but to the souls 
 of this people in consequence of the early consecration 
 of the children of believers to God in the holy ordinance 
 of baptism. I am aware that, very recently, some change 
 of sentiment and practice has obtained in the church. 
 They have, in their charity, cordially admitted to their 
 communion some, who have difiered from them on this 
 pointy — nlwnys, however, I believe, with the understand- 
 ing, that such practice should not, in its idtimate influ- 
 
25 
 
 ence, have the effect of changing the character of the 
 church from what it had been from the beginning in a 
 Peclobaptist respect, or in any way prejudice the 
 rights and privileges of those, who hold that the bles- 
 sings of God's gracious covenant extends to the seed of 
 believers. This is not the time for discussing that 
 point ; if it were, much could I say in support of the 
 scriptural character of the practice in question. 
 
 The other ordinance, — that of the Lord's Supper, — -I 
 hardly need say has ever been sacredly observed by the 
 church ; andj as connected with it, I would add, that 
 it has been an invariable principle with the church to 
 receive none into their communion, who did not give 
 credible evidence of being subjects of a gracious re- 
 newal by the Holy Spirit, and of saving faith in the Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Invitations also for occasional commun- 
 ion they always cheerfully extend to " all members of 
 other churches, who are in regular standing in their own 
 connection." 
 
 But I am dwelling long upon the first topic : and, yet 
 I have not seen how I could say less than I have done. 
 "Will you now, my friends, turn your minds, and see how 
 God's faithfulness to this beloved church has been man^- 
 ifested in the gracious aid he has given them to adhere, 
 for so long a period, to the great gospel principles in 
 which it was established by the fathers of the first gen- 
 eration, — principles, which they had received as a spirit- 
 ual legacy from their fathers of many preceding gener- 
 ations. Long since have the pious founders of this 
 church gone to their heavenly rest,— while through the 
 cpvenant mercy and faithfulness of God, the church, 
 which they loved, has continued to walk in the faith 
 and order in which, with strong confidence in Him and 
 many pi-ayers, thev left it at their departure. 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 2. The faithfulness of God has been Illustrated in the 
 history of this church, in the enjoyment of an evangeli- 
 cal ministry which, from time to time, He has bestowed 
 upon it. 
 
 Many churches in the christian world, and some in 
 our beloved New England have declined from the 
 simplicity and truth of the gospel by reason of the 
 defective or erroneous teaching of those, who were 
 placed over them in the ministry. But so great has- 
 been the loving kindness and faithfulness of God to this 
 church from the beginning, that it has been saved from 
 such unhappy influences. 
 
 The whole number of ministers, settled over this 
 church is eight ; six of whom are deceased. 
 
 The first of these was the Rev. Samuel Fuller, who 
 was a son of Dr. Samuel Fuller, one of the first company 
 who landed upon the Plymouth Eock, A. D., 1620. The 
 distinguished talents, and eminent piety of the father 
 proved a rich blessing to the son. For several years 
 the latter was a deacon in the church at Plymouth ; and 
 tinder the advantages which he enjoyed in that place, 
 be made such progress in general knowledge, and par- 
 ticularly in Christian Theology, that he was licensed to 
 preach the gospel in the colony, and labored in that 
 employment in this town about sixteen years previously 
 to his ordination, which, as I have already stated, took 
 place immediately after the organization of the church. 
 
 It is impracticable now to come at much knowledge of 
 the peculiar character of his preaching. That he was 
 eminently pious, and devoted to the ministerial work, — 
 that he preached the plain great truths of the gospel, 
 and faithrully tlid the woi-k of an PJvnngelist, i.-< evident 
 from the success wlucli attended ]»is ministry, from the 
 
27 
 
 highly evangelical character of the confession of faith 
 and covenant, originally adopted by the chnrch, of 
 which he was undoubtedly the author, and from the 
 affectionate rememberance, with which his name has 
 ever been cherished by all succeeding generations. 
 
 But his ministry, after his ordination, was very brief, 
 lasting for only seven months and twenty-one days. He 
 died in the seventy-first year of his age, and was interred 
 in the first burying-place, commonly called the Hill. 
 
 The second pastor of this church was Rev. Thomas 
 Palmer, a man of memory unblessed in his connection 
 with the ministerial office here. Whence he came is not 
 known. I cannot find that he had ever received a public 
 education. Nor, in consequence of the loss of all the 
 records during his ministry, does it appear when he was 
 ordained. That the character of his preaching was de- 
 cidedly evangelical, we have strong reason to conclude 
 from the circumstance of his being settled over a church, 
 recently organized on such strictly evangelical princijDles, 
 and having long enjoyed the spiritual ministrations of 
 such a man as the lamented Mr. Fuller. 
 
 But the painful discovery was made, (how soon after 
 his settlement it does not appear,) that his moral charac- 
 ter was defective, — a discovery, which, as we might well 
 suppose, produced a strong sensation of dissatisfaction 
 and alienation in the church. In accordance, therefore, 
 with the advice of a Council of twelve churches, and 
 also of the anniversary convention of ministers in Bos- 
 ton, he was, by the Church here, on June 30, 1708, 
 deposed from the ministry, and excluded from their com- 
 munion at the sacramental table. There are some con- 
 soling reflections, however, which we are happy to make 
 on his subsequent history. He remained in the place, 
 
28 
 
 and so far retrieved his character, as to be employed for 
 many years as a practising physician among the people ; 
 and, near the close of his life, was restored to the com- 
 munion of the church. He was interred in the burying 
 ground on the Green. 
 
 But we are now coming to a better and brighter 
 period in the history of the christian ministr}^ in this 
 place. 
 
 The third pastor w\as the Rev. Peter Titaciier, whose 
 praise was in his own day, and long will be, in the 
 churches of this community. He was son of Eev. 
 Peter Thacher of Milton, and grandson of Rev. Thomas 
 Thacher of Wejmiouth, who was subsequently first min- 
 ister of the Old South Church, Boston. Mr. Thacher, 
 the pastor of this church, was graduated at Harvard 
 College in 1706, at the age of seventeen. In about a 
 year from that time, he began to preach to this church 
 and people, in circumstances of great difficulty, inas- 
 much as Mr. Palmer continued, for some time, to preach 
 in a private house to a portion of the people, who adher- 
 ed to him, notwithstanding the course which had been 
 pursued with him by the church.* But Mr. Thacher came 
 to this place in the spirit of his master. His aim was to 
 preach the gospel, and so highly did he commend himself 
 in that character that on June 30th 1708. he was chosen 
 by the church as their pastor, before he was twenty 
 years old. His ordination, however, did not take place 
 till Nov. 2, 1709. 
 
 Mr Thacher brought to the work of the ministry here 
 a mind of strong native powers and highly cultivated 
 by the uncommon advantages he enjoyed under the 
 instruction of his reverend father, whose library is said to 
 
 "Rev. Mr. Barker's Century Sermon. 
 
29 
 
 have been richly furnished with the works of the learned 
 and pious puritan authors, and whose house was a great re- 
 sort of the most eminent ministers of the day. But, beside 
 a mind thus well disciplined for his work, he had a heart 
 to love it. His soul was deeply imbued with the spirit 
 the gospel ; and from inclination, as well as from a sense 
 of duty, he gave himself wholly to his work ; and truly 
 may it be said of him, that " his profiting appeared to 
 all." His knowledge of the scriptures was deejD ; his 
 manner of presenting divine truth to the minds of his peo- 
 ple was clear, persuasive, and convincing ; his addresses 
 at the throne of grace were humble, solemn and ardent ; 
 his life was circumspect, and eminently christian. As we 
 might expect, God blessed the labors of such a man. 
 Under his ministry the church constantly increased for 
 many years in numbers and in strength. But toward 
 the close of his life he became much discouraged by 
 what he considered a growing indifference to spiritual 
 things in the church and among the people. He serious- 
 ly contemplated preaching a farewell sermon, and leaving 
 his charge ; and declared to his biographer that he 
 should have done it, had he not been embarrassed in 
 findino; a suitable text. 
 
 But this season of discouragement was not long ; for 
 in 1741 he saw among the j^eople of his own charge the 
 besrinnino-of that revivinoj work of God which continued 
 for more than two years. The out-pouring of the S|)irit 
 here was sudden, powerful, extensive, and long-contin- 
 ued. With all the powers of his body, mind and heart, 
 he engaged, at home and abroad, in the work of that 
 memorable revival of religion. He labored in gather- 
 ing in its glorious fruits, till his strength was finally 
 exhausted. His death occurred April 22, 1744, in the 
 
30 
 
 fifty-sixth year of his age, in the thirty-fifth of his minis- 
 try, and just before the expiration of the first half 
 century of the church's existence. He was interred in 
 his own tomb, then and till recently the only one in the 
 burying ground near this house. How great a loss was 
 such a man to the people of his charge, and how deeply 
 lamented by them was his death, I need not, my hearers 
 attempt to tell you. A very full account of this emi- 
 nent minister of Christ by his brother-in-law, the late 
 Eev. Thomas Prince of Boston, was given in the 
 pamphlet published and circulated among you two years 
 ao;o. But less than I have now said of him could not 
 be omitted, while I was endeavoring to show you, that 
 God had graciously bestowed on this church a truly evan- 
 gelical ministry. And now, my hearers, bear in mind, 
 that the gift of such a minister was continued evidence 
 of the faithfulness of God. 
 
 The death of Mr. Thacher was succeeded by some se- 
 vere trials for the church. A revival of religion like 
 that, which was experienced in the three last years of 
 his life, could hardly be expected to take place without 
 exciting some feelings of hostility on the part of those, 
 who did not sympathise with its character and spirit, 
 and who failed to come under its sanctifying and saving 
 influences. 
 
 Such persons, therefore, a few of wdiom were mem- 
 bers of the church, became active in inducing the Par- 
 ish to take an unprecedented course in the choice and 
 settlement of another minister. This innovation the 
 church resisted, and as the event showed successfully _ 
 But the occurrence w^as a disastrous one for the time. 
 It occasioned a division in the Parish, a majorit}^ of 
 whom, with a small minority of the church, kept the 
 
31 
 
 control of the Meeting House, and procured preaching 
 for themselves. In the meantime the church with the 
 other part of the people, proceeded in the common 
 course for the settlement of the christian ministry. 
 Leaving, in a peaceable manner, the House where they 
 had long assembled, they withdrew and worshipped 
 for a time in a private dwelling. 
 
 The Rev. Sylvanus Conant, of Bridgewater, became 
 the fourth Pastor of the church, and was ordained over 
 it on March 28, 1745, less than one year after Mr. 
 Thacher's death. Mr. Conant was graduated at Harvard 
 College, in 1740. He was a man of good talents, of 
 deep piety, and of great circumspection in his personal 
 and official deportment. Being of an uncommonly 
 amiable temper of mind, he was well calculated to be a 
 peace-maker in the midst of a people, who had unhap- 
 pily fallen into much religious strife as well as actual 
 division. As a preacher, Mr. Conant was plain, evan- 
 gelical and forcible. Like his predecessor, his great aim 
 was to do good. He w^ell understood the design and 
 the spirit of the gospel, and he was faithful in feeding 
 the sheep and the lambs of his Master's flock in this 
 place. 
 
 As a proof of the truth of these statements, it may 
 be considered that the church under his care proceeded 
 to erect a new and separate Meeting House, leaving the 
 old one to the majority of the Parish, who, with the small 
 number of the church that adhered to them, in a few 
 months after Mr-. Conant's ordination, procured the settle- 
 ment over themselves of Rev. Thomas Weld ; who, in. 
 the lanffuao-e of Mr. Barker, " continued with them for a 
 ff>w years, liis party gradually leaving him, and going to 
 the other meeting, till, at length, he was dismissed; 
 
82 
 
 and then the church and society which had been rent 
 asunder were again happily united." 
 
 A very clear statement and able defence of the course 
 pursued b}'' the church at this critical period of their 
 liistor}^, was given in a printed pamphlet in 1746, by 
 Rev. John Cotton, pastor of the church in Halifax. 
 
 Mr. Conant's ministerial course was brou2;ht to a sud- 
 den close by the pestilence of the small j^ox, of which he 
 died, Dec. 8tli, 1777, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, 
 and the thirty-third of his ministry. " He was called 
 from his labors," Mr. Barker remarks, " in the midst of 
 his usefulness, and in the full possession of the love and 
 esteem of his large flock." He was interred in the 
 Eastern part of the parish, in a separate burying place, 
 with several other persons, who died at the same time 
 and of the same disease. Mr. Conant's memory has 
 been cherished with deep interest by the two genera^ 
 tions of this people, who have followed him. It is one 
 of the pleasant things of my own ministry, occasionally 
 to hear the few aged ones, who personally knew him, 
 and who are still surviving here, speak of the excellen- 
 cies of his character. I would only add that his whole 
 history, as a minister of the gospel, is one more evi- 
 dence of the faithfulness of God to this church. 
 
 The Fifth Pastor of the church was Rev. Joseph Bar- 
 ker of Branford, Conn. He was graduated at Yale 
 College in 1771, and was ordained to the pastoral ofTice 
 here Dec. 5, 1781. Four years had passed away from 
 the death of Mr. Conant, while the church and the peo- 
 ple were without the stated ministry of au}^ one man. 
 These were years of great trial to the church of Christ 
 in this land, occurring as thoy did in tlio midst of the 
 Revolutionary War. Mr. Barker, of course, entered 
 
33 
 
 upon his labors here at a very difficult period. He was a 
 man of acknowledged abilities, sound in the faith, clear, 
 forcible, and fearless in preaching the great doctrines of 
 the gospel. He was abundant in labors ; and his ministry 
 was attended with a good degree of success, especially in 
 the first part of it, when his mind and time were less 
 devoted to the public interests of the country than was the 
 case in subsequent years. His death occurred on July 
 25tli, 1815, at the age of sixty-three, and when he was 
 in the thirty-fourth year of his ministry. He was inter- 
 red in the burying ground at this place. Thus, in the 
 fifth pastor, the faithfulness of God secured to the church 
 an evangelical ministry. 
 
 The Rev. Emerson Paine, still living, was the Sixth 
 Pastor of the church. He was graduated at Brown Uni- 
 versity in 1813. His ordination . here took place Feb. 
 14, 1816. Mr. Paine was justly considered a man of 
 distinguished talents and piety. His preaching was of 
 the same character as that of his predecessor. It was 
 highly evangelical, and such as strongly commended it- 
 self to the church. He was settled here in peculiarly 
 trying circumstances, and with reluctance on his 
 own part. After repeated requests to the church to 
 unite with him in calling a council for his dismission, 
 they finally yielded, and it took place on the 4th of 
 June 1822, and in the seventh year of his ministry. 
 
 The Uev. William Eaton became the Seventh Pastor 
 of the church March 10, 1824. He was graduated at 
 Williams College in 1810, and settled in the ministry in 
 Fitchburg, previously to his installation here. His 
 ministry, whicli lasted ten years, maintained the same 
 evangelical character with that of his several predeces- 
 sors. At his own request he was dismissed, April 1, 
 5 
 
34 
 
 1834. He was afterwards settled, successively, in Char- 
 lotte, Vermont, and Hardwick in this State. His health 
 failing him at the latter place, he sought a dismission 
 from his charge, gave up the ministerial work, and died 
 soon afterwards at West Brookfield, in 1840, aged fifty- 
 six. 
 
 It is now only to be added that the present Pastor, 
 who is the Eighth, was installed here Oct. 28, 1835, after 
 a previous settlement of twenty years over the First 
 Church and Parish in Portsmouth, N. H. Of the char- 
 acter of his own ministry, he can of course, say nothing. 
 But he trusts that from the view he has given of the 
 character and labors of his predecessors, he has made it 
 appear, that in them, God gave to this church a truly 
 evangelical ministry in token of his faithfulness to the 
 covenant, which he entered into with its founders. 
 
 3. The third proof of the same truth, is found in the 
 consideration that God has in his Providence, from time 
 to time, given to the church, in connection with the 
 people, suitable places for his worship, for the preach- 
 ing of the gospel, and for the administration of its ordin- 
 ances. 
 
 The First Meeting House was situated near the 
 dwelling of the late Dr. Sturtevant. It was prob- 
 ably standing there at the organization of the church, 
 and was occupied during the ministry of Mr. Fuller, 
 and remained till the year 1700. 
 
 The Second House was erected on what is now called 
 the Green, and near the location of the present school 
 house. That house was occupied during the whole of the 
 ministry of Rev, Mr. Thacher, and was the scene of the 
 powerful work of the Holy Spirit on the minds of this 
 people in the years 1741, '42 and '43. 
 
35 
 
 The Third House was built on a site a few 'rods 
 north-east of that where we now worship ; and is recollec- 
 ted by many of the present generation. It was in that 
 house, that the Rev. Messrs. Conant, Barker and Paine 
 preached during the whole of their respective minis- 
 tries. 
 
 Our present House of worship was erected in the year 
 1829, and is by far, the largest, most costly, and most 
 convenient of the whole number. 
 
 Let no one say that Houses, well adapted to the public 
 worship of God and to the administration of the ordin- 
 ances of the gospel, are not proof of the divine favor. 
 We might well ask what was the first temple at Jerusa- 
 lem, built under the direction of Jehovah, with such 
 great preparation, and at such vast cost, during the 
 reigns of David and Solomon ? True, there is an impor- 
 tant sense, in which " The Most High dwelleth not in 
 temples made with hands." He is a spirit. His habi- 
 tation is in "the heavens." He is the omnipresent 
 Jehovah, not confined to space. But he condescends to 
 the children of men ; and, in .an important sense also, he 
 does dwell in these Houses, which he suffers us to build 
 for his worship. And of every such place, it may be 
 said now, as it was by the prophet Habakkuk, " The Lord 
 is in His holy temple." 
 
 The thought of the divine presence in our houses of wor- 
 ship ought to make every one of them a solemn place ; 
 and the goodness and faithfulness of God to this church 
 and people are to be acknowledged in all those earthly 
 temples, which they in their different generations, have 
 been permitted to erect for the honor of his name. 
 
 4. But I come in the fourth place to call your atten- 
 tion, my hearers, to a still more interesting consideration 
 
36 
 
 in proof of the faithfulness of God to this church. He 
 has attended the various means of salvation, which I 
 have enumerated, with the gracious operations of his 
 Spirit, on the hearts of the church and people during 
 these one hundred and fifty years. 
 
 The merciful design of the gospel is the conversion 
 and salvation of sinners; and the object of the outward 
 institution of the christian church is to receive convert- 
 ed sinners into a covenant relation to God and one 
 another, for their sanctification and growth in grace ; so 
 that the influence of the church, and especially the ordi- 
 nance of the ministry, may bring the power of the gos- 
 pel to bear on the minds and hearts of the unconverted 
 part of the world. 
 
 But the whole power of the gospel, through the min- 
 istry, which God has connected with the church for such 
 infinitely important ends, is to be traced to the effica- 
 cious workings of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 Here we see that all church organization, all creeds, 
 covenants, and ordinances, all houses of worship, all 
 preaching of the word, are nothing and accomplish noth- 
 ing in sanctifying and saving souls, without the accom- 
 panying energies of God's gracious Spirit; so that, after 
 all, the bestowment of this divine influence is the great- 
 est gift of God to man, and the crowning blessing of 
 the gospel of his grace to a dying world. 
 
 We are prepared then, my brethren, to see how great 
 has been the loving kindness and faithfulness of God to 
 this church in bestowing such measures of divine 
 influence upon their own minds, and upon the minds of 
 this people for these many generations. 
 
 The ministry of Mr. Fuller, after his ordination, was 
 very short ; and on account of the loss of the records 
 
37 
 
 which has -been mentioned, little can be known how 
 much it was instrumental of accomplishing. 
 
 The same may be said of the ministry of Mr. Palmer, 
 which lasted about ten years. Little, indeed, could be 
 hoped from the preaching of even evangelical truth, 
 where the life of the preacher was a contradiction to his 
 doctrine. Still, God as a sovereign, sometimes uses very 
 unworthy instruments to accomplish his holy purposes ; 
 and, as the records now show that some were members 
 of the church at the time when Mr. Palmer's ministry 
 closed and Mr. Thacher's began in 1709, who were not 
 among the original founders, we must conclude, that 
 there were some additions to the church during that 
 dark, short period of its history ; but how many, and 
 when made, and the names of them all, can probably 
 never be known. 
 
 After the settlement of *Mr. Thacher, the Holy Spirit 
 seemed to return, and his gracious influences were given 
 to attend the ministry of that faithful preacher and 
 godly pastor with very encouraging, though with differ- 
 ent degrees of success at different times, till the com- 
 mencement of the Great Revival, which was in 1741 ; a 
 period long to be remembered in the christian history of 
 this country, Scotland, and some other parts of Protest- 
 ant Europe. The number admitted to the church during 
 Mr. Thacher's ministry was ahoutfottr hundred and tliiiiy ; 
 of whom one hundred and twenty-five were received in the 
 year 1742, as the principal fruits of the revival. 
 
 Is it not always safe for us to estimate the faithfulness 
 of a minister, or any other servant of God, by the appar- 
 eiii success which attends his labors, at any given time : 
 and equally erroneous is it for us to calculate the 
 amount of good, of which any man is the instrument, by 
 
38 
 
 considering the results of his influence as they appear 
 during even his whole life ; for the works of every one 
 who has died in the Lord, do follow him ; and it is 
 sometimes the sovereign appointment of God, that his 
 servants should be instrumental in preventing sin rather 
 than in promoting holiness. These remarks apply with 
 much force to the ministry of Mr. Conant, who succeeded 
 Mr. Thacher. These two men died at nearly the same 
 age, and after a ministry of nearly the same length. 
 They pi cached the same great christian doctrines and 
 duties; they appeared to be influenced by the same 
 spirit ; they were alike laborious in their work ; they 
 seemed to aim equally at the glory of their divine mas- 
 ter. But very different were the apparent results of 
 the ministry of the latter from those of the former. Mr. 
 Thacher was permited to see during his ministry the 
 addition of about four hundred and thirty to the 
 church ; while Mr. Conant was allowed to see that of 
 about seventy only. 
 
 It is indeed true that God is a sovereign, and that he 
 has mercy where he will have mercy ; yet there is such a 
 general uniformity in his manner of accompanying the 
 right use of the means of salvation with the efficacious 
 influence of his grace, that wherever the results in one 
 case differ materially from what they are in another, we 
 may often discover some of the reasons of the diflerence. 
 And so it is, I apprehend, in the cases before us. There 
 are two important reasons, why the ministry of Mr. 
 Conant should be instrumental of accomplishing less 
 immediate or apparent good than that of Mr. Thacher. 
 One is, that the religious susceptibilities of the people 
 were greatly exhausted when his labors began. The 
 out-pouring of the Holy Spirit had been very copious. 
 
39 
 
 The revival had taken deep hold of the minds of chris- 
 tians, and taxed their spirtual energies to an uncommon 
 degree. Great numbers of sinners, old and youngs 
 had been converted. A sealing influence was set in 
 that revival upon the labors and prayers and covenant 
 faithfulness of the minister and the church for a long 
 antecedent period. Before the revival they had been 
 sowing in tears ; when it came, for three years they 
 reaped in joy. When Mr. Conant came among the peo- 
 ple, he found and had to administer upon just such a 
 state of things as we have often seen exist in New England, 
 after a powerful revival of religion. The human mind 
 is so constituted that intense religious excitement ex- 
 hausts its powers of feeling and acting. It is so with 
 individuals, it is so with churches and with larger commu- 
 nities. The Revival of a century ago was uncommon- 
 ly powerful, and it took -the minds of those, who came 
 under its greatest influence, as was the case here, many 
 years to come back to the same susceptibility which 
 existed at its commencement. 
 
 But there was another cause which operated power- 
 fully in preventing the success of Mr. Conant's ministry. 
 A few years after his settlement the public mind began 
 to be uncommonly occupied with political subjects. The 
 difficulties which the colonies had with the mother 
 country, were of a serious character. The excitement 
 soon became intense, and it continued and increased till 
 the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, in the third 
 year of which Mr. Conant died. It is easy to see that 
 political subjects must have greatly absorbed other 
 interests. The public mind was turned away from the 
 subject of religion, and even christians and chris- 
 tian churches suffered greatly in their spiritual interests. 
 
40 
 
 In the two considerations now mentioned, we may see 
 some obvious reasons, why Mr. Conant's ministry should 
 not have yielded as much apparent fruit as that of other 
 men, who preached the same truths, and labored in the 
 same spirit of evangelical fidelity. Indeed, it would 
 have been a great achievement of his ministry if it had 
 barely saved the church from going over to moral and 
 religious errors, in such a day of trial and darkness as 
 he lived in. But it accomplished more than this. It 
 kept the church and people on the Lord's side ; and his 
 labors were such as his successor might well rejoice to 
 enter into. 
 
 Mr. Barker commenced his ministry a little before the 
 close of the Revolutionary War. When that event took 
 place, the public mind soon sought and found the rest 
 it had been many years deprived of. True, the revolu- 
 tionary times had had the effect of corrupting the pub- 
 lic morals, as well as the public religious sentiment. But 
 when peace came, the people had time to rest, time 
 to think. It became more practicable to gain their 
 attention to religious truth. Ministers found more encour- 
 agement in preaching the gospel. Accordingly, in the 
 first thirteen years of Mr. Barker's ministry, there were 
 as many admitted to the church as in all the thirty-two 
 of that of Mr Conant. It was difierent, however, in the 
 years which followed, and which brought the history of 
 the church down to 1806: during those twelve years 
 there was an addition to it of only thirtf/'three. 
 
 But God was about to remember mercy again fur 
 this ancient church, and to show that he had not forgot- 
 ten his faithfulness to its many generations. In the 
 years 1 807 and '8, a new and powerful revival wns enjoyed. 
 As the fruits of it, there were gathered into the 
 
41 
 
 church in those two years, and in 1809 the number of 
 ninety -five. Tlie whole number admitted to the church 
 during Mr. Barker's ministry was^zw hundred and fort >/-f our. 
 
 The number admitted during the short ministry of 
 Mr. Paine, which was a Httle more than six years, was 
 twelve. 
 
 In 1823, while there was no settled minister, another 
 precious out-pouring of the Spirit was granted; and 
 seventy-tivo were added to the church in that year. 
 
 Mr. Eaton's ministry commenced in 1824, and ended 
 in 1834 ; during which time there were some seasons of 
 special revival In the three years of 1829, '30, and '31, 
 forty-one persons were added to, the church; and the 
 whole number admitted during his ministry was sixty- 
 one. 
 
 Some special effusions of the Holy Spirit were enjoy, 
 ed by us here in 1840 and '41 ; and there were added 
 to the church in those two years, the number ol fifty. 
 The whole number added duringt he present ministry, — 
 that is, from 1835 to 1845, — is one hundred and seven, nine 
 of whom were added the past year. 
 
 In consequence of the loss of the early records of the 
 church, it is impossible to state with accuracy the whole 
 number of admissions. The names of about ten hun- 
 dred and fifty, however, have been ascertained, which 
 would make the average of annual admission seven 
 members for the whole period. Such, my hearers, are 
 the general results experienced from the organization of 
 this church one hundred and fifty years ago, and from the 
 preaching of the gospel here during that period. More 
 than one thousand persons have, by these means of grace, 
 been brought to make a public profession of the name of 
 Christ, and to take the vows of God upon them. How 
 6 
 
42 
 
 many ot them will, in the great day appear to have been 
 real converts, the books then to be opened will show. 
 And those books will show also, how many other persons, 
 of the different generations here, during this century 
 and a half, who, although they never confessed Christ 
 before men, have actually accepted the salvation offered 
 them by his ministers. Nor can I fail here to add that 
 other reflection, still more affecting, — which is, that those 
 books will show how many of these generations, w^ho 
 had the offer of eternal life thus made to them, rejected 
 it and perished ! 
 
 If it should be asked where such of these church 
 members, as have departed this life, actually closed their 
 mortal course, — the answer would be that most of them 
 lived and died in this place. Their bodies have returned 
 to the dust, and are mouldering in the several burying 
 grounds of the parish. But some of them were dismiss- 
 ed at different times to aid in forming the churches in 
 the west and north precincts of the town, and in Halifax. 
 Others also have been dismissed to join other churches 
 in this and other States ; and others again have died in 
 near or distant places, while they retained their mem- 
 bership here. How many of the whole number are now 
 living it is impossible to say. Two hundred and fifty- 
 seven of them are still actual members of this church. 
 But you see what a great proportion have passed away 
 from all mortal scenes, and are " fixed in an eternal 
 state." 
 
 If time did not fail me, and if there were not, as I 
 have already mentioned, in a course of preparation, such 
 a historical notice as will give you the fullest details 
 concerning the church, its ministers, its deacons, its 
 bouses of worship, and other things of like interest, 
 
43 
 
 together with a complete list of its members, I should love 
 to dwell on such particulars, — as I am persuaded they 
 will go still further to illustrate the very precious truth, 
 which it has been my object this day to present to 
 your minds ; which is The faithfulness of God to this church 
 during the century and half which is noiv just expiring. But 
 I have already trespassed much on your patience, and 
 must hasten to a close with such reflections as the sub- 
 ject and occassion obviously suggest. Let me, however, 
 here remark; that in the statements already made, 
 especially as to dates and numbers, I have endeavored 
 to be exact ; but I cannot hope to have attained to per- 
 fect accuracy in this respect. That could hardly be 
 expected in consulting so many accounts, especially as 
 they are sometimes not a little contradictory. 
 
 REFLECTIONS. 
 
 1. Our first reflection is on the offering of gratitude , which 
 is due from us this day to God for his condescending, 
 patient and faithful care of our beloved church. 
 
 One hundred and fifty years have now passed away 
 since eleven men and nine ivomen, having hope in the Lord 
 Jesus, and dwelling in this town, stood up near this spot, 
 to engage in all those covenant transactions, by which 
 was laid the foundation of one of the many thousand 
 churches of Christ on earth. And oh, my christian 
 friends, what a Faithful God has this church found its 
 great covenant Head to be ! How condescending to it in 
 its low estate ; how patient and forgiving toward it in all 
 its backslidings ; how gracious in giving it such meas- 
 ures of the Holy Spirit ; how faithful in keeping it to 
 
44 
 
 this day, built, as we trust it is, on the sure foundation 
 which God hath hiid in Zion. 
 
 Let us, then, joyfully present the offering of thanks- 
 giving and praise to our adorable and " faithful God, 
 which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love 
 him and keep his commandments, to a thousand gener- 
 ations." Such a grateful tribute is his just due. Let it 
 be offered by every heart. 
 
 2. A second reflection is on the humiliation, which 
 becomes us, at this time, in view of any departures from 
 the purity and simplicity of our fathers, either in doctrine, 
 spirit, discipline, order or manner of living, of which we 
 are consciously guilty. 
 
 It is a serious thing, my brethren, for us to belong to 
 a church, whose founders and members of former gener- 
 tions were such as we know ours to have been. The 
 guilt of any who have gone before us is not chargeable 
 upon ourselves. We have nothing to answer for except 
 our own defects and our own sins. But is there not 
 occaion for us to be humble, when we reflect how little 
 we love "the church of God which he hath purchased with 
 his own blood," and how few sacrifices we make for its 
 welfare? For the orthodoxy of its faith, for the purity 
 of its practice, for the faithfulness of its discipline, we 
 are responsible. Now are we not sensible, that we have- 
 some low views of christian truth, order, discipline, 
 and practical living ? Do we feel that, as a church, and 
 as individuals, all is right with us ? Are we what our 
 fathers were ? Have we the same zeal for the honor of our 
 Saviour, which they manifested ? Are we as conscien- 
 tious in " walking in the commandments and ordinances 
 of the Lord, blameless/' as llioy were? Surely we see 
 
45 
 
 great occasion to be linmble, when we address ourselves 
 with such questions as these. How strict v/ere they in 
 observino; the Sabbath ! How constant in their attend- 
 ance at the sanctuary ! How faithful in maintaining 
 family prayer, and in giving daily instruction from the 
 Scriptures to their households, as well as in all the other 
 duties of family religion ! What a high privilege did 
 they regard it to consecrate their children to God, in the 
 holy ordinance of baptism, therein following the exam-^ 
 pie of believers under the ancient dispensation, and 
 thereby binding themselves with the welcome obliga- 
 tions of bringing them up in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord ! The present generation may imagine, that 
 they have advantageously gotten rid of what they call 
 the austerity of their Pilgrim Fathers, and that they 
 better understand the philosophy of religion, and the 
 liberality as well as the liberty of the gospel. But the 
 signs of the times and the evils in the churches, give 
 strong intimation that their imaginations are vain. Let 
 us, who belong to this church, search our hearts, and 
 try our ways by that holy standard which God has ap- 
 pointed. Let us humble ourselves for all our backslid- 
 ings and failures of duty, penitently confessing them,, 
 and seeking forgiveness of Him " whose mercy endureth 
 forever." 
 
 3. We ought to listen to the call there is for more seal 
 and devotedness to the service of our covenant-keeping 
 God. When we first avouched the Lord to be our God, 
 my friends, we then entered into engagements, which 
 can never be broken -, we made vows, from which we 
 can never go back. When we finally entered this 
 church, whether it was at our first profession of the name 
 of Christ, or by the removal of our relation from some 
 
46 
 
 other church, we solemnly consecrated ourselves to t 
 service of Christ here. "We promised the brethren and 
 sisters who then consituted the church, that we would 
 walk with them in the truth of the gospel, that we 
 would labor with them in the spirit of Christ, and that 
 if it should be God's will, we would die with them in 
 the hope of a future eternal union in his kingdom. We 
 knew what this chui^ch was, and something of what it 
 had been ; certainly we knew for what purposes it pro- 
 fessed to live. Many of those w^ith whom we thus en- 
 tered into solemn covenant, are removed from the 
 church below, as are also the hundreds of those who 
 were members here before themselves. But the church 
 remains ; the confession of faith remains ; the covenant 
 remains ; the glorious objects for which it was instituted 
 remain; our own vows remain. Yes, my Christian 
 friends, we here came into one branch of the family of 
 Christ ; we deliberately chose this church as our earthly 
 home. We promised to serve Him who has made it, 
 hitherto, such a pleasant home for our weary souls ; a 
 home, which is a delightfid emblem of that eternal rest 
 where we hope to see his glory more, and love and serve 
 and enjoy him better. I come, then, my beloved breth^ 
 ren and sisters in the Lord, to call upon you this day, — as 
 I would call upon myself, — while the church is now enter- 
 ing on the second hundred and fifty years of its exist- 
 ence, to Avake up to the claims which the Saviour has 
 upon your love and your service. Those pious men and 
 women, who first started this church into existence, a 
 century and a half ago, then gave it a Christian charac- 
 ter, which a laithfiil God has enabled it ever since to 
 sustain ; and you, my friends, are now going to start 
 the church again on the course of another similar period. 
 
47 
 
 Oh, where will you be, when those Imndred and fifty 
 years are ended ? Where ? In glory, I hope and pray, 
 with all the members of the church, who in the whole 
 three hundred years, shall be found to have been " faith- 
 ful." But, be faithful yourselves, or that glory will not 
 be yours. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ ! Oh, 
 can there be a higher, nobler, holier object, for which to 
 live ; or any better service, in which to labor and even 
 to die ? 
 
 I appeal to you, all. Ye aged ones, your day is fast 
 declining. The shades of night will soon be upon you. 
 Yours is the privilege to see the church enter upon 
 another, and as we trust, long course of its existence. 
 Be thankful that you have lived to see this day, and now 
 whatever you would do to help in giving a right direc- 
 tion to its Christian energies, let me entreat you to do 
 quickly. If you have any more time, or prayer, or 
 property, or labor, or influence, to give to the church of 
 the Lord Jesus, give it notv ; for your day of giving and 
 of serving will soon be over. 
 
 I call upon the members of the church in middle life. 
 Your danger, my friends, is that you will be like one, 
 whom the Saviour rebuked for worldly-mindedness, 
 "careful about many things." Be exhorted to "seek 
 first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all 
 these things shall be added unto you." Be faithful to 
 your covenant vows and your Saviour. Love and serve 
 his church, and he will let your names appear at last, writ- 
 ten in brio;ht letters in the Book of Life. 
 
 My dear young friends, members of the church, I 
 delight to turn to you. Oh, what is there, that I may 
 not say to those whom I so tenderly love ? What word 
 of ministerial exhortation shall I keep back from those, 
 
48 
 
 whom it licis been my lot more particularly to be instru- 
 mental of bringing to the hope of the gospel, and even 
 into the bosom of the church of Christ. To you I 
 would affectionately appeal. Shall I not have your 
 youthful days, your j^outhful prayers, your youthful en- 
 ergies, for the service of Him, whose I am, and whom I 
 aim to serve ? Oh, will you not go with me to the la- 
 bors, and toils, and sacrifices, necessary'- to follow a self- 
 denying and crucified Saviour? Is there any mere 
 earthly pleasure or enjoyment or object, which you will 
 not freely give up, if necessary, that you may be found 
 among the holy, devoted disciples of Jesus ? Be faith- 
 ful, my dear young friends, to that sacred name which 
 you have taken upon you. Serve this church of Christ 
 with a pure mind, and with a holy zeal ; and in the 
 great day he will say of you, as he did of some in Sar- 
 dis, " these shall walk with me in white, for they are 
 worthy." Yes, through the golden streets of the New 
 Jerusalem, even you shall walk with that Saviour, being 
 made worthy through the infinite merit of his death. 
 
 Brethren and sisters of the church, of every age and 
 every condition, " Suffer the word of exhortation." So 
 far as you are concerned, let the church begin the second 
 era of a century and half, as it began the first, with an 
 entire consecration of all there is in its members to 
 Christ. Are you conscious of backslidings ? Then look 
 to Him, who alone can heal them. Is there less of 
 prayer in your closets and in your famiUes than there 
 should be? Then return to those neglected duties. 
 Resolve, as did Joshua, and as did the pious founders of 
 this church, and say, each one of you, " as for me and 
 my house, we will serve the Lord." Are there any of 
 you who feel that you have neglected a duty you owe to 
 
49 
 
 your beloved children, in consecrating them, as well as 
 yourselves, to the Lord ? Then bring them forth with- 
 out delay, and let the seal of the everlasting covenant 
 be set upon them. Let them be baptized in the name of 
 the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Let 
 this be done, on your part, with true faith in God, and 
 then you will have his promise that he will pour his 
 Spirit upon your seed, and his blessing upon your off- 
 spring. Do your consciences tell you that you neglect 
 the public and social means of grace? Then come to 
 the house of the Lord on his Holy Day, and be present 
 when his word is preached and his ordinances are admin- 
 istered. Attend the private meetings of prayer and 
 religious conference. Speak often to one another, as did 
 the pious Jews in the time of Malachi, and the Lord 
 will hearken and hear it, if you fear Him and think upon 
 his name ; and he will pronounce you His, in the day 
 when he makes up his jewels. Do you feel condemned 
 for not walking more worthily of your Christian voca- 
 tion ? Then think of him " who was holy, harmless, 
 undefiled, and separate from sinners." 
 
 You know, my Christian friends, what is needed to 
 make this generation among whom you dwell, a truly 
 Christian people, and to impart to their character a piety, 
 which shall send its influence down far into the era 
 which we are now commencing. You have feeling 
 enough to wish for the divine interposition ; and some- 
 times you exclaim, " Oh, that the work of the Lord were 
 revived ! " I have therefore but one more question to ask 
 you. Do you not know it is written, that your heavenly 
 Father is more willing to give his Holy Spirit to them 
 that ask him, than you yourselves are to give good gifts 
 to your children ? As you value your own hopes of 
 7 
 
50 
 
 eternal life, and your growth in grace ; as you wish to 
 see the Saviour honored, in the conversion and salvation 
 of the generation to which you belong ; as you desire to 
 be instrumental of accomplishing something that shall 
 tell upon all the generations of this people, down to the 
 end of another century and half, (A. D. 1995,) then 
 come to what you well know is your duty. That is all 
 that God requires of you, the rest is His. 
 
 And this brings me to my 
 
 4. Final reflection, which is, that all our hope for the 
 preservation of this church, and for the salvation of this 
 people in coming time, is in God alone. 
 
 His hand enabled the feeble band of twenty to estab- 
 lish it at first ; his hand has sustained it hitherto ; his 
 hand, and his alone, can keep it to the end. It consists 
 now, and as long as it has a being, will consist, of sinful 
 and erring mortals. If left to themselves, they will make 
 shipwreck of the faith, they will tread under foot the 
 Son of God, they will count the blood of the covenant 
 an unholy thing, and will do despite unto the Spirit of 
 grace. If forsaken of God, they will •' wax worse and 
 worse," and will be judicially given up, and their name 
 will be forever blotted out. Such, I say, will be the 
 course and end of the church, if it be not God's merci- 
 ful purpose to keep it and save it. We come, then to 
 give up an interest so dear to us into the hands of a 
 sovereign God, rejoicing in Him, and humbly believing 
 that, for his own name's sake, he will manifest his faith- 
 fulness unto all the coming generations of this beloved 
 church and people. 
 
 He can, with infinite ease, prepare for them those 
 future pastors and teachers, whom they will need. With 
 him is the residue of the Spirit, and he can, from time 
 
51 
 
 to time, add to the communion of the church glorious 
 numbers of such as shall be saved. His word is truth, 
 and through that word he can sanctify and fit them for 
 his heavenly kingdom. Here we leave the church, and 
 trust its keeping to its Almighty Saviour's care. 
 
 But shall I close without adding a word to those who 
 are not members of the church ? No ; I would not, — 
 for surely they have a deep interest in all I have said 
 this day. There are two classes of this description 
 among my hearers. Some of you, my friends, are 
 hoping that although you are not members of the visi- 
 ble church, you are yet real Christians, and in the way 
 of being saved. It may be so ; but if it is, there is one 
 serious and difficult question for you to answer at the 
 beginning of this year. It is this : Why, with such a 
 hope, however feeble and trembling it may be, you can 
 go on in disobedience to the will of Him who requires 
 you to confess him before men, and in remembrance of 
 his dying love, to sit with his followers at his table ? I 
 do not put this question to reproach you, but to bring 
 you to the performance of a neglected duty. Under 
 the covenant protection of God, there is not only safety 
 for your souls, but comfort and strength also. Seek 
 those spiritual blessings, then, which you need, in the 
 covenant favor of Him who is willing to avouch himself 
 to be your God, if you will avouch yourselves to be his 
 people. 
 
 But I would speak also to those of you, my friends, 
 who have not this Christian hope. You have this day 
 heard me say much concerning the favor of God toward 
 those who become his true people ; and I think you will 
 admit that their hopes and prospects are of infinitely 
 greater value than all that the world can bestow upon 
 
52 
 
 them. You are now, in common with all here, who are 
 real Christians, beginning that period which I have often 
 named. You do not expect to see its end. Your reason 
 tells you that with the first of the generations of that 
 time, you will pass away from the scenes of this proba- 
 tionary state, and will dwell in eternity. And where, 
 let me ask you, will you be, at the end of one hundred 
 and fifty years from this day ? Where will your immor- 
 tal spirits then dwell ? Will it be in the world of glory, 
 or in the world of woe ? If you become the people of 
 God, you will dwell in his kingdom. If you fail of that, 
 you will " be cast into outer darkness." You will allow 
 me, my friends, to speak thus plainly to you, for I am 
 seeking your good. I beg you to give these thoughts a 
 place in your minds. Let them sink deep within you. 
 Think how quickly one generation, the average term of 
 your life, passes away. Fifty years ago, Rev. Mr. Barker 
 stood almost on this very spot, and preached a century 
 sermon, on an occasion similar to the present. Even that 
 appears to be a long period. But those fifty years are 
 gone, and with them are gone the preacher and almost 
 the whole of that assembly who heard him. How few 
 are in this house to-day, who were present then ! An- 
 other fifty years, and yet another will pass equally soon. 
 One generation of this people will follow another. 
 These older burying grounds will be filled with the dead, 
 and the living will seek new places where to lay their 
 own bodies when they shall follow in their turn. Thus 
 will come round the year 1995, which will show a gene- 
 ration here, who will know little or nothing of us, and 
 who will walk unconsciously over our graves. But where 
 then shall ive be? AVhcre the immortal spirits of this 
 issembly? To have been in heaven, during what we 
 
53 
 
 here call a hundred and fifty years, will be but the begin, 
 ning of bliss. To have been in hell, that same duration 
 will be but the beginning of wo ! 
 
 But I must cease : Let me, then, only add that now 
 the church on earth is open, and all may enter, who will 
 seek admission through the door which the Saviour has 
 appointed. Open also is the entrance to the church 
 above : will you, my hearers, seek admission there ? 
 You have your free choice. You can take your lot 
 either with the people of God, or with those who slight 
 the promised rest. Oh, make the wise choice. Secure 
 the favor of your final Judge ; and then, when centuries 
 and ages shall have rolled away, your happiness will be 
 secure, and you will look forward to scenes of increas- 
 ing bliss and glory throughout an unending eternity. 
 
 Amen. 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL NOTICES. 
 
 1694, 0. S., Dec. 26. The First Church of Mlddleborough, was or- 
 ganized, and Rev. Samuel Fuller ordained. 
 
 1695, Aug. 17. Mr. Fuller died, aged 70. 
 1700, May 29. Second Meeting House erected. 
 1702, May 2. Rev. Thomas Palmer ordained. 
 
 1708, June 30. Mr. Palmer deposed. 
 
 1709, Nov. 2. Rev. Peter Thacher ordained. 
 1725, Oct. 12. West Precinct Church organized. 
 
 1734, Oct. 13. Nineteen members dismissed to form a church in 
 Halifax. 
 
 1737, Nov. 13. Dr. Thomas Palmer, formerly Pastor, restored to the 
 fellowship of the church. 
 
 1742, The great Revival ; 148 added to the church. 
 
 1744, April 22. Mr. Thacher died, aged 55. 
 
 1745, Mar. 7. Rev. Sylvanus Conant ordained. 
 1745, • Third Meeting House erected. 
 
 1748, Feb. 4. Church in North Middleborough organized. 
 
 1777, Dec 8. Mr. Conant died, aged 55. 
 
 1781, Dec. 5. Rev. Joseph Barker ordained. 
 
 1807 & 1808, Revival ; 95 added to the church. 
 
 1815, July 25. Mr. Barker died, aged 64. 
 
 1816, Feb. 14. Rev. Emerson Paine ordained. 
 1822, June 4. Mr. Paine dismissed. 
 
 1823, Revival; 72 added to the church. 
 
 1824, Mar. 10. Rev. William Eaton installed. 
 
 1828, The present Meeting House erected. 
 
 1829 & 1831, Revival ; 36 added to the church. 
 
 1834, Mar. 5. Mr. Eaton dismissed. 
 
 1835, Oct. 28. Rev. Israel W. Putnam installed. 
 
 1840, '41, & '42, Revival ; 68 added to the church. 
 
 1843, The Chapel at Four Corners Village erected. 
 
 1847, Mar. 12. Thirty-three members dismissed and organized as the 
 Central Congregational Church. 
 
 1849, Aug. IG. The Meeting House of the Central Ciiurch dedicated, 
 Rev. Isaiah C. Thacher installed. 
 
A TABLE, 
 
 Showing the annual admission of Members, the number Baptized when admitted 
 and the total Baptisms, in the First Church of Middleboro', Mass. 
 
 
 
 ^j-al ll 1 
 
 
 — j 
 
 3 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 • [•3 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 S '■ 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 iS IS 
 
 
 
 
 Or 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t.1 
 
 a 
 
 3 a 
 
 o o. 
 
 S 
 
 a 
 1 
 
 a 
 1 
 
 B 
 
 P. 
 
 
 I-> 
 
 S 'C 
 
 % 
 
 PASTORS. 
 
 :4 
 
 ■3 
 
 1 « PASTORS. 
 
 2 
 
 •a 
 
 
 n 
 
 PASTORS. 
 
 >< 1-3 1 j= 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 ■3 1 rt 
 
 
 
 ■3 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 %. "^ 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 S 1 o 
 
 
 .« 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .S 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 S H 
 
 
 a 
 
 ^ 
 
 c^ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 rl 
 
 
 
 ■a 
 
 C 
 
 
 •3 
 
 0. 
 
 
 
 
 c. 
 
 
 
 
 -«! 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 ca 
 
 
 
 
 < 1 
 
 
 Rev. S. Fuller. 
 
 1694 
 
 20 
 
 3 7 Rev. S. Conant. 
 
 1773 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 Rev. J. Barker. 
 
 1814 
 
 ~9|5 
 
 13 
 
 Kev. T Palmer. 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 1774 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 1815 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 Kecords lost to 
 
 1708 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 1775 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 1776 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 Rev. E. Paine. 
 
 1816 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Rev. P. Thacher. 
 
 1709 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1777 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 1817 
 
 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 1710 
 
 11 
 
 119: 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 1818 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 1711 
 
 
 
 5 Vacancy. 
 
 1778 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1819 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 
 1712 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 1779 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1820 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1713 
 
 9 
 
 613 
 
 1780 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 1821 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1714 
 
 1 
 
 1 8 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 1822 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1715 
 
 13 
 
 323 Rev. J. Barker. 
 
 1781 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 
 1716 
 
 9 
 
 2 25 
 
 1782 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 34 
 
 Vacancy. 
 
 1823 
 
 72 44 
 
 44 
 
 
 1717 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 1783 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 
 1718 
 
 7 
 
 128 
 
 1784 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 Rev. A\ni. Eaton. 
 
 1824 
 
 11 2 
 
 9 
 
 
 1719 
 
 3 
 
 113 
 
 1785 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 1825 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 1720 
 
 2 
 
 Oil 
 
 1786 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 25 
 
 
 1826 
 
 3 2 
 
 8 
 
 
 1721 
 
 7 
 
 235 
 
 1787 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 
 1827 
 
 1| 
 
 4 
 
 
 1722 
 
 9 
 
 2 20 
 
 1788 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 
 1828 
 
 ol 
 
 1 
 
 
 1723 
 
 8 
 
 118 
 
 1789 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 
 1829 
 
 1512 
 
 18 
 
 
 1724 
 
 7 
 
 119 
 
 1790 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 1830 
 
 512 
 
 4 
 
 
 1725 
 
 8 
 
 125 
 
 1791 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 
 1831 
 
 2117 
 
 17 
 
 
 1726 
 
 4 
 
 126 
 
 1792 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 
 1832 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1727 
 
 8 
 
 114 
 
 1793 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 1833 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 1728 
 
 18 
 
 130 
 
 1794 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 
 1834 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1729 
 
 22 
 
 7 70 
 
 1795 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 
 1730 
 
 7 
 
 34 
 
 1796 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Rev. I. W. Putnam. 
 
 1835 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1731 
 
 10 
 
 025 
 
 1797 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 1836 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1732 
 
 3 
 
 136 
 
 1798 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 
 
 1837 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 
 1733 
 
 22 
 
 433 
 
 1799 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1838 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 15 
 
 
 1734 
 
 15 
 
 539 
 
 1800 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 
 1839 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 1735 
 
 5 
 
 128 
 
 1801 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 1840 
 
 2315 
 
 17 
 
 
 1736 
 
 15 
 
 546 
 
 1802 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 
 1841 
 
 2615 
 
 18 
 
 
 1737 
 
 4 
 
 41 
 
 1803 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 1842 
 
 1911 
 
 11 
 
 
 1738 
 
 2 
 
 27 
 
 1804 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1843 
 
 41 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1739 
 
 12 
 
 2 37 
 
 1805 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 1844 
 
 9' 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 1740 
 
 3 
 
 132 
 
 1806 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 1845 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 1741 
 
 14 
 
 134 
 
 1807 
 
 54 
 
 33 
 
 51 
 
 
 1846 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 1742 
 
 148 
 
 34 95 
 
 1808 2913 
 
 35 
 
 
 1847 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 1743 
 
 17 
 
 137 
 
 18(9 12 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 
 1848 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1744 
 
 4 
 
 20 
 
 1810 6 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 
 1849 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 — — 
 
 ■ 
 
 1811 1 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 1850 
 
 9 5 
 
 6 
 
 Rev. S. Conant. 
 
 1745 
 
 1 
 
 036 
 
 1812 1 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 
 1861 
 
 11 7 
 
 7 
 
 
 1746 
 
 3 
 
 31 
 
 1813 17 
 
 617 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1747 
 
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 1748 
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 MR. PUTNAM'S 
 
 Centiirir aitlr Inlf listourses, 
 
 MIDDLEBOROUGH. MASS. 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 IS^^iS. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE CHURCn, 
 
 
I 
 
 LEJa13 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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