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To mark the tercentenary of the Westminster Assembly, the Presbyterian Historical Societies of England and America joined together in 1943 to publish a study by Samuel W. Carruthers on The Everyday Work of the Westminster Assembly with a foreword by Thomas C. Pears, Jr. This valuable contribution to Westminster studies has recently been added to Log College Press.
Pears notes: “This is an important work; by all odds the most important on the Westminster Assembly since the publication of the Baird Lectures by Alexander F. Mitchell in 1882.” He adds: “The author, Dr. S.W. Carruthers, is eminently fitted for his task. He is the greatest living authority on the text of the Confession of Faith, having served his apprenticeship in this field under the direction of his father, the late Dr. William Carruthers. In 1937, he published an account of the preparation and printing of the seven leading editions of the Westminster Confession of Faith, together with a critical text of the Confession.”
This study focuses on:
Relations with Parliament
The Solemn League and Covenant
Relations with the Scottish General Assembly
Relations with Foreign Churches
Procedure
Payment of Members
Devotional Exercises
Fasts and Thanksgivings
Sectaries and Heretics
The Thirty-nine Articles
The Metrical Psalms
Supply of Ministers
Chaplains
Universities
Examination of Ministers
Personal Matters
Students of church history will appreciate this volume, which was republished in 1994 by Reformed Academic Press. Carruthers and Pears made a tremendous contribution to the knowledge that we have today concerning Westminster and its work. Take note of their labors, and consider the legacy of this synod of most excellent divines (Richard Baxter).
