What's New at Log College Press? - July 15, 2022

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As Log College Press continues to grow, we have much to report. The site has now reached over 15,000 works among over 1,900 authors. In June 2022, we added 341 new works.

One new book was published in June as well: Dylan Rowland, ed., Pandemic Pastoring. This is a collection of sermons, letters, and biographical notes from 19th-century American Presbyterians - offering helpful reflection for today's believers in walking through the wake of pandemic suffering.

We like to highlight some of the new free PDFs available as found on our Recent Additions and Early Access pages, two features provided to members of the Dead Presbyterians Society.

Early Access:

  • Henry Kollock, Christ Must Increase: A Sermon, Preached Before the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (1803)

  • Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, Is the Shorter Catechism Worthwhile? (1909, 1979)

  • Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, John R. MacKay, Benjamin B. Warfield -- A Bibliography (1922)

  • Geerhardus Vos, Our Lord’s Doctrine of the Resurrection (1901)

Recent Addtiions:

  • Robert AitkenJournals of the Proceedings of Congress (1776-1777)

  • Samuel Buell, The Excellence and Importance of the Saving Knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel-Preacher, Plainly and Seriously Represented and Enforced: and Christ Preached to the Gentiles in Obedience to the Call of God: A Sermon, Preached at East-Hampton, August 29, 1759; at the Ordination of Mr. Samson Occum (1761)

  • Compilations, Auburn Affirmation (1924)

  • Compilations, The New Psalms and Hymns [PCUS] (1901)

  • John Samuel MacIntosh (1839-1906),The Worthies of Westminster: A Contribution to the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster (1899)

  • James Calvin McFeeters, Sketches of the Covenanters (1913)

  • Alexander Taggart McGill, Life By Faith: A Sermon Preached Before the Synod of New-Jersey, at the Opening of Its Sessions, at Rahway, New-Jersey, Tuesday Evening, October 21st, 1862 (1862)

  • Thomas Verner Moore — Several poems and articles.

  • Absalom Peters, Life and Time: A Birth-Day Memorial of Seventy Years. With Memories and Reflections For the Aged and the Young (1866)

  • Robert Fleming Sample, I Hear a Voice, ‘Tis Soft and Sweet (1898) [hymn]

We have also created some new topical pages: 1837 Old School / New School Division, Anonymous Writings and Book Reviews. These are all works-in-progress so please check back as the content continues to grow.

Be sure also to check out the quotes we have been adding at our blog for DPS members: Though Dead They Still Speak.

B.B. Warfield - We decided to streamline Warfield’s author page by taking his book reviews, which are numerous, from his main author page and transferring them to a new B.B. Warfield Book Reviews page. Together the number of B.B. Warfield works at Log College Press now exceeds 500 and continues to grow. We also want to highlight a new resource that Warfield readers will appreciate. Our friend Barry Waugh (Presbyterians of the Past) has created a useful, annotated database showing 1,268 book reviews written by B.B. Warfield for Princeton journals. See that tremendous resource here.

Stay tuned as we continue to expand our digital bookshelves. It is our prayer at Log College Press that resources made available here will be an encouragement to our 21st century readers that the past has much to teach us in the present about the advancement of Christ’s kingdom in the earth. Blessings, and thank you, as always, for your support.

A Preface to the Bible by John Witherspoon

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The first complete English Bible published in America was by Robert Aitken in 1782. The first family Bible published in America (Trenton, New Jersey) was by Isaac Collins in 1791. The 1791 Collins Bible featured a preface to the reader that was written by John Witherspoon. This preface was reprinted in many other succeeding editions of the Holy Scriptures, including an 1801 edition of the King James Version which is available to read at Log College Press.

This preface is a memorable history and defense of translating the Word of God from Hebrew and Greek into the vernacular languages. Witherspoon highlights “the providence of God” made “manifest in” the “preservation and purity” of the Holy Scriptures as he describes the historical process by which the English Bible was translated for American readers. It is a brief but well-stated introduction to a translation beloved by many. Read it in full here.


Postscript on Witherspoon:

Last month we published a blog post on “John Witherspoon’s Letter From a Blacksmith.” An alert reader reached out to us to let us know that the attribution of Witherspoon as the author of this anonymously-published 1759 letter is disputed and far from clear. As a result of our friend’s helpful information, and following further research, we have removed that letter from Witherspoon’s page. It is unknown for certain who wrote it. But in the meantime, we have also added many more works by Witherspoon, including the preface to the Bible noted above. Thank you to our friend for reaching out to help us clarify this point.