Morning journal and courier., 1888-04-23

bne metnO0S or free dlscugslon mas tAAoA
 place. shall indicate only the main branch- ings of this vigorous root without attempting
 to describe it's full blosssmings and fruit
 age. The first growth to be observed is the
 progress of theology. Dr. Taylor 8 few days
 before his death remarked with something
 still of his old ardor "We need new edition
 of orthodoxy, revised and corrected by the
 word of God" The early orthodoxy of the
 founders of this church WAS & revised edi-
 tion of the thirty-nine articles of the Church
 of England, corrected according to the word
 of God, especially in the articles of church
 government. But they imposed no new
 tests of faith. Mr. Moves told MT. Whittel-
 sey that Che found no standing doctrine or
 faith; every communicant or company mak-
 ing one for himself or themselves at adnais-
 slon." Prescribed forms or set creeds were
 unknown, then, in this church for nearly
 century after it's founding. During the last
 century the theology of the church showed
 some tendencies to fall into semi-Arminian
 decline. have already spoken Of the new and thorough revision of the orthodoxy of the church which took place during the pastorates of Prof. Stuart and Dr. Taylor Dr. Bacon held himself in general sympa- thy with the movement which just before his day had carried the church away from the old, and over to the side of the new divinity; and twice during the raging con troversies of those times did he throw his whole influence against division and in favor of cenciliation and toleration. In his half century sermon" he remarked with ten der emphasis that during the course of his ministry he had gained ''a broader hberaIty of judgment in regard to the theological and ecclesiastical differences among Christians. and . corresponding enlargement of sympa- thy with all who follow Christi" The history of New England theology during the pact
 two hundred and fifty years illustrates that truth of the power of the Spirit which all at 0f ha afc of a nhnTAh Pnngf learn, and which has found brilliant expres- sion in this remark of one of the greatest of German theologians, Christianity has many resurreetions." Even within the limited period of our New England history Christian theology has had several resurrections, hay ing put off more than once some dead body of it's divinity, 50 assume some more spiritual and living form. And this law of progress in theology John Davenport seems to have realized to some extent, for early as in 1639 he wrote to 'fdiyers reverend and Cody ministers in England" these words which of the church which he founded: "Though l personal Christians may be eminent, yet churches have still need to grow from appar- ent defects to purity, and from reformation ! to reformation, from age to age."
 Whatever problems may challenge hereaf- | ter our faith, our past justifes the confidence that through our established method of free
 
 more and more from bitterness and all evil speaking-the interesting theological history of New England is to be continued through successive and fresh chapters of increasing knowledge until the Lord shall come, and | there shall be no more need of further revi- ! sion of our orthodoxy, when the teachings of I the Spirit in the churches shall be brought to | their full and final conclusion in that day.
 Another important line of growth to be | followed is the worship of church. I have \ searched the papers of this society for any ! traces of the course of it's sacred psalmody I think it altogether probable that we have wershipped God to-day in the use of the | same version of David's psalms which our | fathers brought with them bound up in their ! Geneva Bibles and from which they may ' have praised God when they sung upon that | Sabbath around that sheltering oak. Dayen- | port in his cateehism enjoined the duty oi singing psalms as gospel ordinance. It is | plain accordingly that the anti-Psalmodists found here no response to their scruples that \ singing in regular tunes might lead to popery, | The church doubtless shared in that general loss of musical knowledge which after two or three generations threatened to oyertakt New England with musical barbarian. A ! reformation in psalm singing began in 1720 | which, like all reformations, was only l wrought out by persistent efforts against mos | conscientious preiudices. At le3t in nest oi
 our churches the new or regular singer | Chose who sang by note) obtained the musi 1 cal mastery over the irregular singers, wht clung to what they called the "good old way l of singing without rule and in the spir ! it. It is clear that the worship of thl
 church must have kept timely pace with th
 improved new movement, for in 1772 find [
 vote of the church approving the use | Watts psalms instead of the old version O
 the psalms now in rse, and President Stle
 again kindly informs me in his Itinerary
 \ &S,akk Nf for 0ar
 Connecticut to use either Watts or Tate an'
 Brady's psalms. That this church did no
 lag behind in the new era of the advancement
 of church music appears also from vot
 passed in 17S7 to pay MT. Hitchcock, singin
 master, for his services; perhaps the sam
 | MT. Hitchcock whose name lind wr1tte
 upon the leaf of one of the first singinl
 books published in this country, which cor ! tained twenty-five tunes, with an introductio giving directions ''on the art of singing b
 note, suited to the meanest capacity" Tn , last effort which has fallen under nay notie
 for the improvement of the singing of thi | congregation WIS made at meeting of th ] society called for that purpose, at which ,hew ever, the truthful record states many motioE |. | were made but nothing was done. That ws ! in 1909. To sum up in a few words what his
 l tory of worship we have, the Congregations churches succeeded at f-st in gaining freedoI | Of worship; Q century later they succeeded ] gaining soms order of worship, and wheths } in order or confusion they have Alway , sought for spirituality in worship. It It mains for us to blend theee clements ( !: spirituality, order and freedom in furtht l liturgieal developments. We may claim |, 1 be in the spiiit of Conereeationalism, an following it's best instincts of worship SC fs as we may succeed in eur present devotionI ! service iR maintaining an order of worship which shall be both simple and beautiful az ' spiritual and tree.
 Another phase of historical developmer not to be passed over without a sketch of relates to manners and morals. The lives ( : oar fathers were not wAhout color and GU , ture. The minute inventories of the estate ,I of the first settlers, which may still be de , kciphered from the records of our Probat } court, permit us to 60 from room to room C the.- dwellings, to notice the furniture, som , chairs having cushions of Turkey work; } enter their chambers and to see our hangin ' beds of feathers, and in one instance of dow . curtains "fringed and lAced;" to examin
 their careful wardrobes-not all their appars F being gowns of Hnsey-woolsey, for one eS F timable widow left to her Pulitan maiden , waistcoats and bodice of red and green, an bonnets, seven in number; and another he 7 fan and huff; and still ansther matren c { those primitive times is careful to state | whom she would bequeath ''rny biggest dis , mend ring" and 'my little diamond ring wit } ! the two rubies in it' and "my plain zoI | ring; "snd gentleman of those days as he lie , on his deathbed thinks te whom he sha , will his two "searlet robes" After obsery ing then how our fathers managed to embe lish and enrich even their wilderness home we may open the tall case of drawers in th , parlor and take down the books whicl . they read that their souls might prosper an } their cattle increase. "Two Books of Maj i. tyrs," "The Saints' Cordial, i" "Perkins' He, to Live We'll, i" s'The Government of Cattle, ! "The Charitable Physician" "The Soul , Conflict, ," f'The Plain Mans Path ts Heay l | en-" and so on. There was human laughte
 and happiness in that primitive life thoue } | it was life in dead earnest, for the sake . building here on uneorrupted soil city . , God; and even the law, which the magil 3 trates had proclaimed against idle living , condemns simply 'immoderate playing c
 any sort of games or sperts," and after th , Lords day had closed with the setting SUI , there was to be found in the early evenin hours the warmth of the fresids, where ' simple and sincere sociability crowned th , worship of the day; and partly, perhaps, be , cause their religion and their social life wer ] thus brought within the compass of tn same day of rest, we read in the book c , their chronicles that early marriages wer customary among them. At these mal