A Discourse Delivered to the First Parish in Hingham, September 8, 1869, on Re-Opening Their Meeting-House (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from A Discourse Delivered to the First Parish in Hingham, September 8, 1869, on Re-Opening Their Meeting-HouseOnly twelve years are wanting to complete two centuries, since our fathers first assembled for Christian worship beneath this roof. Compared with this edifice, the house which they erected was of narrow dimensions, and of rude and inexpensive workmanship. Neither plastering nor paint was employed to exclude the freezing winds of winter, or to conceal the roughly hewn timbers by which it was supported. Cushioned pews in an atmosphere artificially softened, were unthought of and undesired by the earnest men and women of that generation. Seats Of oak covered the entire area, both of the floor and the galleries, and these were occupied on the one side by the male and on the other by the female portion of the congregation. Still, when we consider the numbers and the resources of the builders, their Offering for the worship of God, for the upbuilding of Christ's kingdom, and for the highest welfare Of our race, greatly exceeded in expensiveness, the more costly structure which we have now assembled to rededicate to the service Of our father's God. Place yourselves in imagination in the midst of these early inhabitants. Somewhat less than fifty years had elapsed since their homes were the homes of a savage race, since their cultivated fields were covered withprimeval forests the hunting ground and the hiding place of the bear and the panther. Our Ptiritan and Pilgrim ancestors did not generally belong to the wealthier classes in the country from which they emigrated. A portion of their estates, if no pecuniary sacrifice attended their sale, was necessarily expended in their passage across the Atlantic. Less than fifty years had been occupied in felling the woods, in reclaiming the soil and in build ing a shelter for themselves and their families. This was their second Meeting-house and when its cost is estimated by the population and the property of the settlement, how exceedingly is its value enhanced, how are its proportions magnified? It stands before us as a worthy monument of Christian faithfulness and heroic courage, of lofty aims and willing sacrifices in the cause Of Christ and for the extension of His kingdom in the world. As we go back in thought to that day in mid-winter, when for the first time within these walls, the incense Of praise and prayer arose from subdued but believing hearts to the throne of the Eternal, can we withhold our heartfelt reverence for the enduring faith, the dauntless courage, and the deep-toned piety of the worshippers? And as we remember how inwrought was their conviction Of God's immediate presence, how earnest their prayers, how real to their hearts were the verities of the spiritual world, what tender and awe-inspiring associations gather around the place it becomes to us more than ever before the House of God and the Gate Of Heaven.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.