THE tribes of Israel, to whom the words just read were originally addressed, were assembled together, by the express command of GOD, to hear their prophet recapitulate the many and [Page 6] signal blessings, which a kind Providence had conferred upon them; that the recollection might warm their hearts with gratitude; and dispose them with the greater cheerfulness, and stricter sincerity, to devote themselves to the service of their divine Benefactor.

HE begins with the awful displays of divine power upon their oppres­sors, upon Pharaoh and his people; that all the nations around might be convinced, that GOD had a gracious care for his chosen people, and that his people might have their minds established in full confidence, in the power and good­ness of that Providence they had put themselves under.—He mentions the surprising manner in which they had been supported.—" Ye have not eaten Bread, nor drank Wine,"—" And your cloaths waxed not old upon you."

AND when the Kings of the country were so regardless of that divine prohibi­tion, [Page 7] which said, touch not my people, as to oppose them with their armies, they were destroyed, and their land divided among the conquerors for an inheritance.

THESE were Reasons calculated to impress their minds with a lasting sense of divine goodness, and that they might attend to them; they were called off from their secular employments, to stand, all of them, before the Lord.—

From which we may infer,

THAT there are certain occasions peculiarly proper for looking back upon the various dealings of providence towards a people. And that the most rational and scriptural way is, for a People to assemble themselves together, that they may jointly consider and improve the ways of providence.

THERE are certain occasions peculiarly proper for recollecting the dealings [Page 8] of providence towards a particular People.

WHEN the divine Being hath been pleased to display his wisdom, power and goodness, he expects to receive declarative glory from his rational offspring:— That mercies should be acknowledged and rejoiced in.—It was the aggravated sin of Israel, not to consider the dealings of GOD with them; and it is injoined with peculiar force—"That they remember the work of the Lord, that they meditate on all his works, and talk of his doings." And this was ever the practice of the most eminent characters mentioned in holy writ.—When Noah had experienced the signal care of Heaven, in the preservation of himself and family from the universal deluge, the first thought of his heart was gratitude; and the first work of his hand was, to erect a memorial of the divine favour.—When Abraham had [Page 9] given proof of his faith; and the life of his son was spared, he perpetuated his sense of the divine goodness, calling the name of that place Jehovah-jireh.— So, when the nation of Israel was rescued from the cruel bondage of Aegypt, they were expressly commanded to keep that day for a memorial of the goodness of GOD, forever. I might go on to mention the examples of David, of Joshua and of Solomon, in short, of religious persons in every age and nation.

BUT I must observe, that reason and the sacred Scriptures, teach us to acknowledge public favours, in a social and public way. Many individuals uniting together constitute a community; therefore expressions of gratitude for common blessings, must come from a collective body. And it was the manner in which the ancient church of GOD acknowledged the special favours of Heaven.—It was their method, to go up [Page 10] to the house of GOD, to declare that the Lord had done great things for them.— When they had been miraculously delivered from servitude, and in a wonderful manner led to the land of Canaan;—the language of every pious heart was, come let us go up to the house of the Lord, and acknowledge all his wonderful works, and shew forth his praise.

AND, when the nation of Israel was under the immediate government of GOD, he was pleased frequently to assemble them together, to acknowledge the mercies they received.

AND when Moses drew nigh the close of his life, still desirous of the good of the people over▪ whom he had so long presided, he calls the tribes of Israel together before the Lord, to hear him relate the remarkable providences of GOD in their favour; because this was the most [Page 11] probable method of fixing a grateful remembrance of divine favours upon their minds.

FROM such motives as these we are this day, all of us, assembled before the Lord our GOD, our captains of our tribes, our elders and our officers, with all the men of our community, that we may recapitulate the goodness of providence towards this church and town, by tracing the history of our first settlement, our growth and establishment of our present prosperity.

HERE it may be proper just to observe, that the noblest motives the human heart is capable of, influenced the first adventurers to America. "After the christian religion had flourished in simplicity and purity, for many ages; designing men marred its beauty with impure doctrines, turning aside after the visionary phantoms of enthusiasm and [Page 12] bigotry.—When by far, the greatest part of the christian world, lay under the delusion of popish errors, 'till the begin­ing of the 16th century, when the glorious reformation began in Germany, and soon extended its benign influences to the inhabitants of Great-Britain. But the great enemy of human happiness, stirred up a spirit of pride and ambition in the reformed church of England, so that men of tender consciences suffered grievous trials, 'till our ancestors, who for the strictness of their manners were called puritans;—unable, any longer, to submit to the unreasonable demands of the church of England, consulted together, and concluded to fly to some land of liberty and peace.

ANIMATED by such motives, they cheerfully relinquished their attachment to their native country, the sweets of tranquil life, and, with respect to many, they gave up affluent estates for the hope [Page 13] of enjoying the liberty of worshiping GOD in peace, in the manner their consciences approved.—Sweetned with the pleasing expectation of leaving the fair inheritance to their children and their children's children; and about one hundred and sixty years ago, first landed on this American shore.

MANY and great embarrassments attended the first settlement of Plymouth colony, so as to prevent the planting of Massachusetts for about half a score years.

BUT the noble motives which enabled them to undertake, still animated them to go through the labours and dangers they met with, and must needs expect to meet, in so great an undertaking;— they overcame difficulties, by daring to encounter them, so that the settlement spread to Charlestown, Salem, Boston, and other places. Large tracts of [Page 14] inteterval and medow, promised a more immediate support, and invited our ancestors to inland places, that within twenty years after the first planting this colony, the towns immediately around us, were taken up; and about one hundred and thirty years ago, two adventurers from Charlestown—Messi'rs Kettle and Boon with their families, settled upon lands they had purchased of the natives, which land is known by their names to this day; but in the year 1675, the tribes of Pawkamauket, Uncompan, Wotolaom and Samkana, with Phillip at their head, were defeated by governor Winslow, and obliged to leave their country, scattered among the Monhegins, Pequods, Nipnetts and Nashawas, whom they persuaded to join with them in assaulting Lancaster, Sudbury and Medfield, leaving the vestiges of their cruelty behind them: This so alarmed our two defenceless settlers, as to induce them to remove [Page 15] with their families; but unhappy Boon, in attempting to remove his houshold goods, was ambushed and murdered, by the Indians.

THE affairs of this village, as it was then called, were managed by a committee under the appointment of the general court until their incorporation; when the inhabitants of Pompsiticutt elected their first town officers, in the month of April, 1683, Sergeant Benjamin Bozworth, Thomas Stevens, Stephen Hall, Boaz Brown and Joseph Free­man, select-men;—Thomas Gates, constable.

BUT the spring following, 12 adven­turers from Boston, Watertown and Concord, as proprietors of Pompsiticutt, petitioned the general court, to be incorporated into a town by the name of STOW, which petition was granted on the 16th of May, 1683.

[Page 16]SOME of these original proprietors have numerous descendants, who support their names with reputation to this day, though many of them have not even their names remaining with us.

AGREEABLE to the principles of their ancestors, their first concern was to enjoy the public worship of GOD. In 1686, they consisted of 37 rateable polls, to support the expence of building a meeting-house for divine worship, and a mansion-house for a minister.—They had a considerable number who preached with them for short terms. In 1682, one Mr. Green, and in 1685, Mr. Harris, then Mr. James Minot from Concord, whom they about two years after invited to settle in the ministry with them, but succeeded not.—But in 1686, the records mention the great affection of the town towards one Mr. William Woodroffe, in choosing a committee to give Mr. Woodroffe, a solemen invitation to come [Page 17] preach and settle with them in the work of the gospel, but succeeded not.—Mr. Overton, in 1689, then Mr. Jonathan Winborn, ministered to them six years. After him Mr. Morse and Mr. Wood­ward from Dedham, supplied them for two or three years—'till the year 1699, when the Rev. Mr. John Eveleth, recieved an invitation, and the next year was ordained the first minister of the church of Christ in Stow, who continued seventeen years.—The church then applyed to Mr. Sparhawk and Mr. John Gardner, the last of whom received an invitation from the church and town in the month of April, and on the 18th of November following, was ordained to the work of the gospel ministry, and continued his labour with great faithful­ness, for above half a century, died on the 10th of January, 1774; and on the 11th of October, 1775, the preacher was ordained in colleagueship with the Rev. Mr. Gardner.

[Page 18]BUT to return to the civil affairs of the town; the first meeting-house being decayed in June, 1713, they built their second house for divine worship, about a quarter of a mile east from the present house.—But in about 40 years, the number of inhabitants was so increased, and the situation of the meeting not convenient, they erected their third house on the 27th of August, 1752; at which time the town consisted of 118 families, i. e. 260 souls, which was an increase of 88 families in about half a century; and in 1776, which is 24 years, there was an increase of 220 souls.—And in the year 1783, the number of inhabitants had increased to 935, which is 95 in 7 years, besides about one hundred that have been taken away by death in that time.— And on the 25th of February last, 154 from us were incorporated into the district of Boxborough.

DURING the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Gardner, 209 communicants were [Page 19] admitted to the Lord's Table.—Our present communion consists of 108.— 1346 received the ordinance of baptism, from January, 1719, until October, 1774; and from 1774, to this time, 260, which amounts to 1606 that have been baptized in this church.

THESE are the most material facts that respect the settlement and prosperity of this town—unless it is the very distin­guishing care of providence for its inhabitants.—For while the inhabitants of other towns have been carried into the most cruel captivity, or slain in the field of battle, we have been protected in the midst of equal dangers, both in the for­mer and in the late bloody wars, that not an individual has fallen by the enemy.

SO have we been exempted from the special calamities of the present war. If we turn our eyes to the field, where the barbarous Britons spread their encamp­ments, [Page 20] rioting in the spoils of the industrious, indiscriminately plundering the rich and the poor, the widow and the orphan; there we shall behold most sorrowful families, bereaved parents, disconsolate widows, and weeping orphans. How many bleeding bosoms call for our compassion!—What afflicted multitudes, deprived of their once pleasant dwellings and the means of subsistence—the ruins of beautiful houses in their speechless but flaming oratory, implore the sympa­thetic tear from every eye!—How many virtuous and respectable families, spoiled of their substance and driven from their once peaceful abodes, to seek a refuge among strangers—and in many places the temples of the holy GOD, where the glad tidings of the gospel of Christ, had been statedly dispensed to serious and dovout worshippers, have been sacrificed to the wantonness of barbarity, or made receptacles of idle and profane sports; while we have dwelt in safety, and [Page 21] enjoyed our sabbaths in peace, have had the advantage of that religion, which is best calculated to make its professors rationally and substantially good—where wisdom and beauty display their charms in the devotion of sincere worshippers.

AND it is with heart-felt joy, I can this day congratulate you, not only that your persons and property are secure from the desolations of war; but that peace is restored to our bleeding land. Tidings grateful to our ears, as cooling waters to the thirsty soul.—Let us then consecrate the gladness of our hearts to GOD, who has graciously heard our prayers, and granted our desires—given us in security to enjoy the rewards of industry—" terque quaterque foelices;" happy people if we are but sensible of our privileges. The present state of this town is an evidence of the care of a good providence over the virtuous.

[Page 22]THESE places, which one century ago, were the dark and inhospitable abodes of beasts of prey or more cruel savages, now present to the eye beautiful landskips of extensive and well cultivated fields; which with smiling and exuberant eloquence praise the industrious labourer, and give glory to the great Lord of all.

HAPPY in the regularity of our internal police for many years past, gratitude obliges us to acknowledge the prudent and benevolent services of a GARDNER ^*; whose clear head and honest heart, were ever devoted to the interest and prosperity of his native town. We may well regret our own with the publick's loss.

THIS, with the many sorrows of a more private nature, will swell our bosoms with a sigh, and strongly mingle tears with the joys of this day.

[Page 23]BUT let not such reflections prevail, to hinder that harmonious service of praise, which the mercies we have received, as a particular town, and part of America, justly demand.

I CONGRATULATE you, my people, and this whole assembly, on the very acceptable tidings of peace.—What scenes of happiness now open upon us— the hope of securing the increase of our settlements—converting the nothern wilderness into fruitful fields!—We may rationally anticipate the happiness of posterity, to whom we hope to transmit the fair inheritance, with improvements and security unknown to our fathers.

I CONGRATULATE you, my friends! who appear in all the glittering pomp of war, to grace this memorable day, that hence forth our ears shall no more hear the thunders of war, or anxiety swell our [Page 24] bosoms for the safety of our brethren and friends.—But your weapons of defence, shall remain useless in your houses or be converted to the more grateful purposes of cultivation.—The alarms of war, scenes of inhuman carnage, garments rolled in blood, shall wound the feelings of humanity no more.

I CONGRATULATE you, gentlemen, the civil fathers of this town, on the arrival of a day so interesting to the community at large; and to you in particular, as the guardians of the peace and prosperity of this society, and that so many of the cares and burdens of your office are alleviated, at the same time the benevolent wishes of your hearts are so largely gratified.

I CONGRATULATE you my fathers and brethren of the church of Christ here, on the revolution of an aera so [Page 25] interesting to you, as the descendants of those worthies the first settlers of this town, and the founders of this church; great were their trials—arduous their labours—and painful the sufferings they cheerfully underwent, that they might transmit so rich an inheritance to us, and to generations yet unborn, the peaceable possession of their lands, and the more important blessings of the best religion.

WELL may gratitude warm every heart and fill every mouth with praise on the arrival of an aera so important to America, and so memorable to this town.

LET us take occasion, from the glad­ness of our hearts, to bind our souls anew to the service of GOD, our com­mon and bountiful benefactor—Let us endeavour that a sense of our obliga­tions [Page 26] express itself in every duty our holy religion enjoins—that we do not turn the kindness of Heaven into re­proach; by indulging that impiety, sen­suality and licentiousness which too often marrs the beauty of publick rejoicings.

OH! that a sense of religion might dwell in every heart, and preside over the rejoicings of this signal day.

THERE may be decent expressions of publick gladness; such an occasion de­mands them—But let your joy be too sacred to suffer profaneness upon your tongues, or sensuality to unman your hearts.

MAY the smiles of Heaven, like this day's sun, shed their richest blessings on this town—and the following century [Page 27] be remarkable for still greater displays of divine goodness.

MAY the cause of civil liberty and of pure religion be safely established.

MAY America be a land of Peace, an asylum for the oppressed, and a praise through all the kingdoms of the world.