Though he sincerely wishes that his private intercourse amonghis people may be agreeable to them, and minister to their profit; yet probably his occasional visits may not, in frequency, come up to their expectations, or his own inclination. Should this be the

case, their candor, and good sense will furnish sufficient apologies. They will do him the justice to acknowledge, that he hath not been a stranger in their families, in times of sickness and trouble. As he hath taken a tender and sympathetic part in their afflictions, it is his desire to do so still, to the extent of his strength and abilities. He feels great solicitude for the utility and success of his public labors and instructions. The small capacity he has, as a public religious teacher, he desires diligently and faithfully to improve. Still it lies very much with his hearers to determine, whether these endeavors shall be beneficial to them or not., Without a stated, serious, and prayerful attention, on their part, what profit can they expect to receive? He earnestly entreats them not to refuse such

an attention.

The remarks which have been made, at this time, he hopes will be received with the same candor and friendship, with which they have been prepared, and delivered. For a public speaker to say so much concerning himself, may be deemed rather indelicate. The subject and the occasion are his apology. He hath not been wont to trespass in this way. And this probably may be the last time, that any thing of this sort, will be delivered by him, in this place. Possibly some of the historical anecdotes, in the foregoing pages, may be thought too small and trifling to have a place there. It was the desire of the writer not to offend in this way. Little incidents generally interest the feelings of persons immediately concerned in them.

To conclude,

The pastor of this flock considers his time, all his little strength, whether of body or mind, and even his life, devoted to the honor of Christ, and the promotion of their spiritual good; and thinks he can sincerely adopt the language of the apostle, and say, that he "doth not account his life dear to him," if it may be thus faithfully, and usefully spent; and "his course, and ministry finished with joy."

The law of mortality, if nothing else, must ere long dissolve the relation of pastor and flock, which has now subsisted between him and them, through the term of forty years. God grant that he and they may so discharge the respective duties of the relation, as shall promote the joy and felicity of both, in the coming world. AMEN.

OUR FATHERS HONORABLE AND USEFUL TO THEIR POSTERITY.

A

CENTENNIAL DISCOURSE,

DELIVERED IN

THE NEW MEETING HOUSE

OF THE

FIRST CHURCH IN DEDHAM,

NOVEMBER 8, 1838,

TWO HUNDRED YEARS AFTER ITS ORGANIZATION.

62

BY EBENEZER BURGESS, D. D.,

Pastor of the First Church in Dedham.

BOSTON:

PRINTED BY PERKINS & MARVIN.

SERMO N.

ROMANS ix. 5.

"Whose are the Fathers."

THE Apostle enumerates some of the honorable distinctions and special advantages of the Jewish nation. These were the possession of the oracles of God, a spiritual adoption as his children, the visible symbols of his presence, the ordinances of his ..worship, his covenant of promise, and the Messiah's advent in his human nature as a descendant of Abraham. Among these he inserts, "Whose are the Fathers."

These fathers were the early patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the ancestors of the nation, with whom God condescended to enter into covenant, and to whom he made promises. In a more liberal sense, the fathers included Moses and the prophets, Samuel and the judges, David and the kings, and all the eminent personages, male and female, among that peculiar people. Such an ancestry was honorable and useful to their posterity to the latest age.

It will be my object on this Second Centennial Anniversary of the institution of this Church, to describe the character of the Fathers of New England, to enumerate some advantages which flow to us from such ancestors, to suggest reasons why they are entitled to remembrance, and to give a historical sketch of this Church from the time of its establishment.

I. Who were the Fathers of New England?

It is not necessary to say that the founders of these Eastern States came from the central and Southern Counties of England. Our history is not lost in extreme antiquity, nor enveloped in an absurd mythology, nor attended with the uncertainty and incidental mistakes of oral tradition. Our records are recent, minute, authentic and well preserved. We know by what European adventurers this continent was discovered, and by whom the several colonies were established: The names of the principal

individuals, the places whence they came, the dates of time, and the objects in view, are all on record.

The first European settlement in New England was made at Plymouth, so named from Plymouth in England, which was the place from which the Pilgrims last embarked. They were a part of the congregation of the Rev. John Robinson, an Orthodox Congregational minister, who fled from England to Holland in consequence of persecution, and thence removed to this land. They were actuated by religious motives, to escape the errors and superstitious customs of the church of Rome, to enjoy civil and religious liberty, to transmit a pure religion and a scriptural mode of worship to their children, and to spread Christianity among the aboriginal inhabitants of this country. The first settlers at Plymouth were not rich in the wealth of this world, or honored with literary and military titles; but they were a reading and thinking people, of pure and stable character, of rigid honesty, of industry and self-denial, of patience and courage, of faith and prayer, who made the Bible their counsellor, who sanctified the Sabbath, who prayed in their families and catechized their children, who established schools and churches, who were patriots as well as Christians,-men of such strong judgment, practical wisdom, enlarged philanthropy and sincere piety, that no generation of their descendants will ever have reason to be ashamed of their name and memory.

The Massachusetts Bay colonists were of the same stamp in their religion, and emigrated to this country for the same general reasons; but they were comparatively of superior rank in society, of greater wealth and more enlargement of mind. Many of them had enjoyed better advantages of education, and were more cultivated by intercourse with the world. There were among them some statesmen of distinction, and many clergymen of learning, who had been forbidden to preach at home. The fact that the hand of persecution rested more heavily on the clergy in England, explains the reason why so many of that profession sought an asylum in this wilderness,—not that they were idle gentlemen or busy office-seekers, but they were exiles for truth and conscience. Hence, perhaps, originated their patriotism and uniform love of liberty.*

* Let it not be esteemed ostentatious to refer to the clerical profession, as one of moral dignity and influence among the early colonists. The pastors of the churches were the bonds of social union, the teachers of useful knowledge, the guardians of the young, the founders of schools and colleges, the counsellors of the people. Civil magistrates often consulted them. Their decision and useful services in the Revolutionary struggle were acknowledged. All this influence or moral power can be explained, without ascribing it to superstition, when we consider the excellence of their personal character, their superior advantages of education and their professional employments, together with the trials which they and their predecessors had borne.