The Founders of New Haven and Their Spiritual Vision

All right.

All right.

Well, it was on the 25th of April, 1638, the Sabbath,

that a party of newly arrived pilgrims

gathered beneath the spreading boughs of a giant oak,

a spot which would later become the corner of College and George Street.

No doubt you know it here in New Haven.

Well, they blessed their God for his great mercies upon them hitherto

and entreated his sustaining aid in the realizing of their great errand,

as they called it.

There were two ministers on board in their company.

The first was John Davenport.

There he is, a fellow in the black with a collar.

However, he held forth in the morning upon the text,

Jesus was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness.

The second was Peter Pruden.

His charge was the afternoon charge.

And he held forth from the verse,

the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Clearly, they were in agreement as to where they were.

This was the wilderness for them.

So, who were these first pilgrim settlers to New Haven?

And what was their errand in the wilderness?

What dreams were in their breasts

which drove them to leave hearth and home,

kith and kin,

in their beloved old England,

and endure the perils of the sea,

the privations of a wilderness,

from bitter winters and wild beasts

to the potential hostility of the natives?

Well, our first forefathers and mothers,

for there were many brave women among them,

who gathered under the shelter of that oak

that Sabbath in 1638,

in the beginnings of New Haven,

were Puritans.

And to understand their passions and their hopes,

we must go back to old England

and the period of Reformation

in which they were bred.

So, who were the Puritans?

Well, in Europe,

at the time of the Reformation,

sovereigns of state

were profoundly involved

in the religions of their land.

Indeed, without exception,

religious beliefs and practice

were governed and established

by king, prince, and parliament.

So, the story of the Reformation in England

is not simply, what was that,

not simply a tale of the spread of gospel.

Would help me to have a little bit more...

Is that all right?

Just so I can see these notes.

It's completely...

But I could make this stuff up,

but it'll have a better ring

if I bother to read.

So, the story of the Reformation in England

is, thank you,

is not simply a tale of the spread

of gospel conviction

as the scriptures,

freshly translated by William Tyndale,

made its impact among the people.

It's also the story

of kings and queens

shaping creed and worship

by means of law

and edict

that were police-enforced,

in fact.

So, here we go.

Oh, there was John Davenport.

There's another picture of him.

Let me see if I...

Nah, here we go.

King Hal.

And really,

in that regard,

the story begins

with the much-married

Henry VIII

who first broke with Rome

rejecting leadership

of the Church of England,

rejecting Rome's leadership

of the Church of England,

and substituting

his own royal self

as head of the Church.

But in contrast to Luther,

King Henry VIII

had very little quibble

with the teachings

of Roman Catholicism.

Indeed, he was awarded

the title

from the Pope himself,

Fide Defensor,

or Defender of the Faith,

for his writings against Luther.

And indeed,

Fide Defensor

still remains

on the English coinage today.

So, under King Henry VIII,

the Church remained Catholic.

It simply ceased

to be Roman Catholic

in that sense,

as Thomas Hooker,

later that Puritan

of Connecticut,

would put it.

Henry's mistake

was that he cut off

the head of potpourri,

but he left the body of it

within his realm.

Okay.

So, during the brief reign

of Henry's son,

Edward VI,

England moved closer

to the Reformation churches

on the continent.

Archbishop of Canterbury,

Thomas Cramner,

established contacts

with John Calvin

and Luther's lieutenant,

Philip Melanchthon,

and brought over to England

two of the principal

Reformation leaders,

Peter Martyr Vermilli

and Martin Busser,

to assume chief teaching posts

at Oxford and Cambridge

universities

to train up

the next generation

of ministers

for the Church of England.

And their influence

was profound.

But,

alas,

short-lived

for their Protestant-leaning

royal patron,

died young,

and was succeeded

by his half-sister,

Mary.

There she is.

What an expression.

Now,

Mary was a vehement

Roman Catholic

and determined

to reverse

any Reformation gains

in England.

So,

history would add

to her name

the epithet

bloody,

for in her brief

reign of terror,

1553 to 1558,

she blackened

the skies

with the smoke

from the burning flesh

of unrecanting

Protestants.

There we go.

300

fed

the flames.

800

fled the country

to escape

that fiery fate

and to keep

the cause alive

in exile.

And Fox's

Book of Martyrs

gains much

of its material

from those

crying days.

If

Bloody Mary

was convincingly

cast as

Jezebel

by the godly,

her successor

and half-sister,

Queen Elizabeth

I,

was

hailed

in her

coronation

among the

Protestants

in exile

and in hiding

as the

new Deborah.

Very,

very hopeful.

She restored

the Reformed

faith to the

realm

and staffed

her church

with the

returning

exiles.

But these

returning

exiles

had tasted

the fruit

of the best

of the

Reformation

churches

on the

continent.

Geneva,

Zurich,

Strasbourg,

and Frankfurt.

As one

exile expressed

his enthusiasm

for the

church in

Geneva,

he called

it the

most perfect

school of

Christ since

the day of

the Apostles.

Thus,

the Reformed

churches on

the continent

shaped their

hopes for

the Church

of England.

But,

these bright

and blessed

hopes were

soon blighted.

For headstrong

Elizabeth,

did not

shy from

exercising

her role

as head

of the

church,

and determined

that a

via media,

a middle

way,

would be the

path the

Church of

England would

tread,

and tread

in lock

step,

in utter

and uncompromising

conformity.

Such was

the Elizabethan

settlement,

and it

proved exceedingly

unsettling to

many a

Protestant,

committed to

thorough

biblical

reformation of

the Church.

For Elizabeth's

efforts to

accommodate,

remember she

lived in a

realm in

which there

were many

Protestants

and many

Catholics,

it involved

a strange

hybrid

compromise

of

Protestant

doctrine.

That's what

the Protestants

are going to

really care about,

they're going to

really care about

doctrines,

let's give

them the

doctrine,

but we'll

give the

Catholics the

ritual,

needs to

appear like

it used to

be for

them,

so that's

how we'll

do this.

So you

combine in

the Church

of England

services,

Catholic

ritual with

Protestant

doctrine.

Well,

in the

minds of

many of

the

Reformation

folk,

this royally

sanctioned

Church of

England

represented a

very unhappy

compound,

a potpourri,

if you will,

of potpourri

and gospel.

Sorry.

And as

such,

woefully

inadequate for

their

consciences,

were very

ill-disposed

to half

measures in

God's

causes.

How can

we have

half measures

in God's

causes?

As one

wrote to

the Queen,

the spelling

is certainly

unorthodox

here, I'll

try to read

it well,

your majesty

hath so

insufficiently

heard,

believed,

and taken

to heart

what God

hath commanded

you,

and so

weakly and

coldly obeyed

and followed

the same,

that but

halfly by

your majesty

hath God

been honored,

his church

reformed and

established,

the people

taught and

comforted,

his enemies

rejected and

subdued,

and his

lawbreakers

punished.

So what

were some

of these,

what they

called

popish

remnants

that indeed

needed to be

purged in

the minds

of the

Puritans?

Well, they

did not

like the

vestments,

the clothing,

the apparel

that ministers

were required

to wear,

for these

carried over

from Roman

Catholic

conviction,

which modeled

the attire

of the

priests on

the Levitical

priesthood.

As appropriate,

it was thought

and it was

urged for a

priestly caste

as they

continued,

like their

Levitical

forebearers,

to offer

sacrifice,

that is,

the sacrifice

of the

body of

Christ in

the mass.

So you

see how

the apparel

matched this

doctrine that

they had of

the mass being

a sacrifice

of the body

of Christ.

And the

Puritans

thought,

why reinforce

in costume

a doctrine

we disbelieve?

Yea,

find abhorrent.

Why would

we do this?

Then there

were such

vestiges as

the observance

of saint

days,

so many

holidays or

holy days,

singing,

signing the

cross in

baptism and

addressing

questions to

the infant.

Well,

thought the

Puritans,

this was

simply

superstition

at best

and perhaps

incompatible

with scriptural

worship,

at least not

according to

scripture.

As John

Field wrote

of the

Book of

Common Prayer,

that was the

required text and

rubric for

worship,

it be an

imperfect book

called and

picked out of

the popish

dunghill,

the mass

book,

full of all

abominations,

for some of

the contents

therein be

such as are

against the

very word

of God.

puritan.

So it was

this passion

to purify

the worship

of the

church that

gained the

reforming party,

the epithet,

for it was

originally spoken

in derision by

their opponents,

Puritan,

would roll off

the tongue in

contempt,

Puritan,

you're trying to

purify the

church.

And indeed

they were,

as Bishop

John Jewell

wrote,

Now that the

full light of

the gospel

has shone

upon us,

the very

vestiges of

error must,

as far as

possible,

be removed.

Now notice,

as far as

possible.

For the

sovereign still

dictated in

the matter,

as it was a

national church.

So appeal

had to be

directed to

the sovereign

her royal

self,

or efforts

made through

the parliament

to change

what you were

going to do

in the church.

And the

agonizing

question for

Protestants,

especially the

ministers in

the Church of

England at the

time,

was how much

compromise

they could

live with

in good

conscience.

And this

was very

agonizing for

them.

When their

pleas for

change were

unavailing,

what do

you do?

Must the,

as they

called the

popish dung,

be removed

completely,

as opposed to

according to

the sovereign's

good pleasure

and good

measure?

And must it

be removed

immediately,

and not simply

at the

sovereign's

leisure?

These were

the grand

issues.

This burning

question was

answered variously

among the

godly.

Some urged

reformation,

without

tarrying for

any,

without waiting

for anyone.

They gave

up on the

magistrate in

the state

church,

separating

themselves from

them.

These were

called the

separatists,

or Robert

Brown was of

this view,

so sometimes

the separatists

were called

Brownists.

The separatists

denied that the

Church of

England was a

true church

at all.

It was

apostate.

And they

gathered their

own congregations.

Among those

separatist

congregations would

be the first

Plymouth colony,

1620.

They were a

separatist

congregation.

So others,

while eye to

eye with the

separatists in

terms of virtually

all matters of

doctrine, they

agreed on all

of that, they

agreed that the

English church

was contaminated

and in need of

reform, but

thought, well,

it's still a

true church.

It's just a

corrupted one.

So that was the

difference between

the separatists.

No, no, no,

it's not even a

true church.

It's so

compromised.

Versus many of

the Puritans

that said, well,

it's corrupted,

but they still

count as the

people of God.

A church in

which one

could remain

laboring hopefully

for reform.

This boat might

be going down,

but let's still

try to bale

water and make

it as good as

possible.

And of this

latter persuasion

that the church

is just corrupted,

not hopeless,

of this latter

persuasion was a

gifted and rising

minister in

London.

There he is.

There he is.

John Davenport.

Church of St.

Stephen's there

in London.

1597 to 1670.

He was a

stirring and

scriptural preacher,

well beloved in

his growing

congregation to

whom he bravely

ministered through

the terrible plague

of 1625 when

35,000 in

London were

carried off by

the pestilence.

He stayed at

his post,

didn't head up

to Scotland

where it was

so cold that

not even insects

can live.

So his great

compassion also

came to the

fore in his

leadership in

raising a

collection for

the relief of

refugees.

This was very

close to his

heart.

The persecuted

Protestant

brethren of the

Palatinate who

were displaced and

distressed through

religious wars.

There.

His zeal for

further reform of

the English

church prompted

an effort to

raise funds also

to buy up

pulpits and

lectureships.

So what you

could do is you

could buy the

right from the

bishop to decide

who the minister

was going to be.

So you could buy

up the pulpit.

And they would

just raise money

to do this.

It was called

the Fia Feast.

So you could

fill the pulpits

with godly

reformed preaching.

Well both of

these enterprises

ran foul of

William Laud.

This is where

Raul you're

supposed to

hiss.

There we go.

Okay.

There we go.

The bane of

Puritans who

became Archbishop

of Canterbury in

an English church

which under

James I and

then Charles I

was self-consciously

moving farther and

farther from

Puritan hopes.

Indeed self-consciously

anti-reformation.

Now to this

point Davenport

was still able

to claim

conformity to

the Church of

England requirements

as distasteful as

they were to

him.

He still wore

the costume.

He still made

the sign of the

cross and

baptism.

He still knelt

at the communion

rail to the

host and these

things that he

disliked greatly.

He considered

these matters

relatively

unimportant,

relatively minor,

irksome

gravamina they

called it,

at least relative

to the preaching

of the gospel

that we can do

which conformity

allowed them to

continue to do

and from in his

case a prominent

London hope.

So that was a

paradox.

Can you feel this?

If we just conform

on some of these

things we'll still

be able to keep

preaching and people

are coming to

Christ.

So how much can

we bend our

consciences on this?

And this is where

we're going to

do it.

But all the

while Davenport

is turning these

matters over in

his mind and

keeping hundreds

of pages of

notes which

reflect the

evolution of

his convictions

under the

heading,

the grounds

whereupon the

safety of

conformity is

built together

with the

sandiness of

them.

The sandiness

of them.

His conviction

about conformity

was slowly

shifting.

But the

decisive turning

point for

Davenport came

in a crucial

meeting.

Two of the

great lights

among the

Puritan party

were John

Cotton,

the first,

John Cotton,

and Thomas

Hooker.

They had

weighed up

matters and

concluded that

the state and

prospects of the

church in England

were too dire

and resolved to

start afresh in

New England.

Well, before

they embarked,

Hooker and

Cotton,

Davenport,

distraught that

such champions

of the truth be

lost to the

gospel cause in

England, he

hoped to

reclaim these

esteemed

brethren, so

met for them to

plead with them

to stay.

But by their

conference, he

did not persuade

Cotton and

Hooker to

remain, it

rather shook

Davenport's

conviction about

conforming, and

soon he would

follow them into

their errand

across the sea.

So what was it

that Cotton told

Davenport that

persuaded him to

follow in this

pilgrimage?

Well, we have a

letter of John

Cotton in which he

gives the reasons

for his and Mr.

Hooker's removal

to New England.

And he writes,

this is Cotton,

John Cotton,

it hath been no

small inducement

to us to

choose rather to

remove hither,

this to New

England, rather

than to stay

there, Old

England, that we

might enjoy the

liberty not of

some ordinances

of God, but of

all, and all

in purity.

Sure, in

England,

congregations enjoy

the means of

salvation, and

may it be

continued and

enlarged to

you, yet, I

go on quoting

Cotton, seeing

Christ hath

instituted no

ordinance in

vain, but all

to the offering

of the body of

Christ, the

people of God,

and we know

that our souls

stand in need

of all of

these ordinances

to the utmost.

We durst not so

far be lacking

to the grace of

Christ as to

the necessity of

our own, and to

the necessity of

our own souls as

to set down

somewhere else,

New England,

under the shadow

of some ordinances

in Old England,

when by two

months travail,

we might come to

enjoy liberty of

all.

Okay.

Did you catch

that?

For here is the

essence of the

matter.

He was saying,

it's not enough,

Davenport would

agree, it is not

enough that we

enjoy the blessing

of God merely in

some of what God

has given us in

his directives for

our worship.

He has given

us, God has

given us no

directives pointlessly.

We have to

follow all of

them, and

follow all of

them very

carefully.

Our souls

stand in need

of, and

you remember,

you heard the

phrase, all to

the utmost.

All to the

utmost.

This is

Puritanism.

All that God

has given us is

our obligation and

our blessing.

Let us not let

one of his

commandments, even

the supposed

least, fall to

the ground.

Let us give all

diligence to

follow fully, all

to the utmost.

All to the

utmost.

Well, this was the

vision that made

the pilgrims, or

Puritans, pilgrims,

go on pilgrimage,

go on pilgrim

wayfair, that

burned in the

breast of John

Davenport and his

little band of

settlers who

gathered under

that oak, that

first Sabbath in

1638.

The first letter

we have from

Davenport's pen

perfectly echoes

the language of

cotton and

hooker.

Davenport writes,

the Lord our God

hath here bestowed

upon us the

greatest outward

privilege under

the sun, to

have and enjoy

all his

ordinances

purely dispensed

in a church

gathered and

constituted according

to God's own

mind in all

things.

So that was

their ambition.

But their ambition

was not merely to

gather and to

constitute a church

according to God's

mind in all

things.

Every aspect of

society was to

reflect the mind

of God as

revealed in

scriptures.

The design of

this plantation

is religion,

openly proclaimed

Davenport as he

arrived.

And none of

his followers,

fellow settlers,

dissented on this

matter.

There was utter

agreement.

At the close of

the first day,

a day of fasting

and prayer,

they all solemnly

subscribed to a

plantation covenant.

So this is the

beginning of New

Haven,

plantation covenant.

Quote,

that in matters

that concern the

gathering and

ordering of a

church,

so likewise in

all public

offices which

concern the

civic order,

we would all

of us be

ordered by those

rules which the

scriptures hold

forth to us.

It's incredibly

comprehensive.

Indeed, none

but what the

scriptures directed.

Quote,

the word of God

shall be the

only rule to

be attended

unto in the

ordering of the

affairs of the

government of this

plantation.

So we don't want

to just look

through a book of

aphorisms or

Bartlett's quotes

of wisdom.

No, just the

Bible.

That's it.

That's all we're

going to look on.

We'll do this.

Davenport was

convinced that

what they

established right

at the beginning

would be critical.

For in his sad

experience in

England and from

wider observations,

he maintained that

once Reformation

is brought about,

it is rarely

afterwards carried

on even one

step further

than the first

Reformers achieved

in their first

endeavors.

As he put it,

quote,

as easily might

the Ark,

Noah's Ark,

as easily might

the Ark have

been removed from

the mountain of

Ararat,

where it first

grounded as a

people get any

ground in

Reformation after

and beyond the

first remove of

the Reformers.

So, if their

first shot had to

count, they

would make it

count.

And accordingly,

and again in

Davenport's word,

we must drive

things in their

first essay, or

first attempt, as

near to the

precept and

pattern of

Scripture as

they can be

driven.

That's what we

want to do.

They would

endeavor in the

words of Cotton

Mather, quote,

a yet stricter

conformity to

the word of

God in

settling of

all matters,

both civil and

sacred, than

had yet been

seen exemplified

in any other

part of the

world.

It's remarkable,

remarkable

distinctive here

of New Haven,

New Haven

Colony.

Even the

layout, the

nine squares,

you'll kind of

recognize that.

This is the

original, even

the layout of

the town,

drew upon

scriptural

models.

How do we

plan this

thing?

Well, what

sort of

biblical

directives do

we have?

Well, how

about the

way the

tribes of

Israel went

through the

wilderness,

gathered around

the central

tabernacle?

So the

meeting house

will be right

in the center,

and we'll put

everything around

that.

Oh, good.

Well, where

will we put

Theophilus

Eaton's house?

Where will we

build his

house?

Well, where

was Moses'

tent in

relation to

the tabernacle?

Well, it was

on the east

side of the

tabernacle.

We'll build

Theophilus Eaton

the governor's

house there.

How about

John Davenport,

the minister?

Well, where

did Aaron

have his

tent?

We'll build

Davenport's

house there.

You see?

I mean, they're

really working

this thing.

They are really

working it.

The meeting

house, of

course, in

the center.

What was

it like?

Well, for

one thing, it

was cold.

They spent a

lot of time in

that meeting

house.

Church was

the people,

as you know,

the meeting

house.

Really cold.

The women

would bring

no heating

at all.

The women

would bring

in warming

pans.

It was kind

of like an

old-fashioned

iron where

you put

coals in

it and you

slip it

under your

feet.

The men

thought this

was beneath

them.

We don't

need warming

pans.

So what

they would

do so

their feet

wouldn't

freeze is

they would

bring in

their hunting

dogs and

they would

train them

to sit

down at

their feet

to just

warm them

with all

the fluff.

In

consequence,

it's

hilarious,

do you

realize one

of the

actual

official

diaconal

posts in

the first

church there

in New

Haven was

called the

dog whipper.

They actually

had a deacon

devoted to

taking care of

all the

dogs that

were in

the

sanctuary

because dogs

were welcome

in the

church,

in the

meeting

house.

How else

were you

going to

warm your

feet if

you were

a man

other than

hunting dogs?

So,

yeah,

the dog

whipper.

Though my

favorite

diaconal

post was

one was

designated

the wielder

of the

tickle

wand.

A tickle

wand?

Just to

make sure

that no

one missed

a potential

edification if

they started

to doze

off.

There was

someone that

had basically

a long

pool cue.

It had

mercifully a

feather at

one end,

but less

so a

thorn at

the other

end.

So you

would first

try to

tickle them

in the

earlobe,

and if

they

couldn't

wake

them up,

you'd

pick that

and get

them.

Make sure

they didn't

miss

edification.

It seemed

that they

liked

edification.

I remember

reading through

these

manuscripts of

some of

the first

sermons

that were

preached

there,

and I

see this

little

notation.

At the

end of

the thing,

someone

had written

it and

said,

they begged

for another

glass.

I thought,

what does

that mean?

Just really

good refreshments?

Is it good

ale?

I need

another glass

of ale?

And then I

went to

this old

Puritan

meeting house,

and at the

lectern,

there was a

big iron

arm,

and I

discovered

it had

held

originally,

they would

have hour

glasses.

So when

the preacher

would come,

Davenport

would turn

over the

hour glass,

and he

would preach

to them

for an

hour.

And if

particularly

the spirit

was moving

and people

were feeling

that the

gospel was

evangelizing

their hearts

and changing

them,

they would

beg for

another glass.

In other

words,

turn that

thing over

and keep

preaching to

us.

The spirit

is afoot

here.

That's

mixing

metaphors.

The spirit

is at work

here.

So they

would beg

for another

glass.

So that's

the church.

Civil

code.

Oh,

another

fun thing.

all the

children

had to

sit in

the back

row

interleaved

with the

young men

in full

arms.

They thought

in case

there would

be a

Native

American

raid,

so you

would always

attend,

if you

were a

young man,

you would

have to

attend

church

in your

full

arms,

sword and

everything.

And they

thought,

oh,

this is

handy.

We'll

have the

little

uproarious

kids sit

between

fully

armed

people to

make sure

that they

stayed

quiet.

So,

there's

another

provision

that they

had.

The

civil

code.

Well,

they

determined

that they

would adopt

the laws

of Moses.

Despite

the fact

that they

were

English,

they did

not bring

over English

common

law.

Sometimes

when I

mention this

to groups

a little bit

less sympathetic

perhaps than

this one,

I hear this

audible shriek,

how barbaric,

the laws

of the

Bible.

And so

I quickly

then ask,

remind them

that the

period

alternative

would have

been English

common

law.

And English

common

law prescribed

over 150

offenses that

were capital

offenses.

You pick up

sticks on the

Lord's land

and they'll

kill you.

And then I

say,

well,

how many

capital

offenses do

you think

the Mosaic

law has?

Thousands!

No,

11.

11.

So really

this was the

height of

legal progressivism

to take over

the Old

Testament

laws.

Well,

how did

this practically

work out?

Well,

when someone

did something

wrong,

the appointed

governor,

in the first

instance it was

Theophilus

Eaton,

he'd call

him over

and they

would open

their Bibles

together

and look

in the Bible

and he

would admonish

the offender

from the

scriptures

and then

if there

needed to

be a

repentance

or if there

was a

punishment,

he would

prescribe that

from the

scriptures.

And if he,

the governor,

Theophilus Eaton,

had any hesitation,

he would

consult

Greg,

Matt,

or Nick.

Well,

in this case,

Davenport,

consult Davenport

as to how to

read the scriptures

on these matters

and then they

would settle

the matter.

Modern studies

have been

extremely

impressed

at how

hospitable

this court

was,

particularly

to women.

Their

testimony

was credited

in

sexual abuse

charges

every time.

Very

impressive,

very impressive.

The image

that we

often have

of

over-criminalizing,

an over-criminalizing

law,

images of

stalks or

whippings or

that sort of

thing,

it just doesn't

bear out.

In the

first decade,

and we have

complete records,

in the first

decade,

there were

six cases

of fornication.

Then

seven

in the

second

decade,

three of

bestiality

in the second

decade,

only two

convictions,

three cases,

no cases

of adultery.

That was

criminal.

No cases

of adultery.

Very little

crime.

Very little

crime.

That's

right.

Who

was

entrusted

with running

of the

state?

Well,

only the

members of

the church

in good

standing

could hold

official

state

offices.

churches.

It was

thought

that only

they

would have

the

certain

assured

integrity

to perform

that role

blamelessly.

Indeed,

only church

members were

given voting