Daniel Baker’s Prayer on the Eve of His Being Licensed to Preach the Gospel

Daniel Baker wrote this prayer in his journal on October 12, 1816, during the week preceding his licensure. He was twenty-five years old and had been studying for the ministry under William Hill of Winchester, Virginia, after graduating from Princeton College. These words ought to express the heart of every gospel minister:

“In the prospect of my being licensed in the coming week, I have set apart this day, by fasting and prayer, to draw near unto the Lord  I am now about to go forth to preach the everlasting gospel to poor, perishing sinners; to proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. O, may I go forth in the strength of the mighty One of Jacob, and lift my banner in the name of the Captain of my salvation! I know that my duties will be arduous, and I am sensible that I am not sufficient for these things; but I know in whom I trust; it is not in myself, it is not in any atm of flesh - it is in the living God, the merciful and covenant-keeping God, who has been pleased to say, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength shall be made perfect in weakness.’ To thee, O my God, do I commit myself, and again would I solemnly renew the dedication of myself and my all to thy service.  O condescend to accept the unworthy offering, and lay me out for thy glory. I ask not to be rich in silver and gold, and to be admired and caressed; I ask to be rich in faith and good works, and to be blessed and owned in my labors of love. I ask not to be exempted from grievous trials and persecutions, but I ask grace to glorify thee in the hour of trial; grace to be useful, grace to be triumphant in death, and grace to reach, at length, the Mount Zion above, where I may forever sing the triumphs of my dearest Lord. To thee, O my God, do I now commit my way; be pleased to direct my paths, for the Redeemer’s sake. Amen.” 

— Life and Labors of Daniel Baker, by William M. Baker, Pages 91-92

Three Important But Forgotten Works on Ecclesiology by Robert Jefferson Breckinridge

Three works by Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (The Christian Pastor; Presbyterian Government, Not a Hierarcy, but a Commonwealth; and Presbyterian Ordination, Not a Charm, but an Act of Government) have been all but forgotten by modern Presbyterians. And yet, thanks to the reviewing work of James Henley Thornwell in the Southern Presbyterian Review, and the Biblical power of Breckinridge's ideas, much (though certainly not all) of what he believed has found its way into the Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America, and perhaps other American Presbyterian denominations (for instance, the right of rulings elders to lay hands on teaching elders being ordained and the need for ruling elders to make up a quorum of a church court are practices the PCA takes for granted, yet Breckinridge had to contend strenuously for them). Written in the middle of the debate over the nature and function of the ruling elder in the Old School Presbyterian Church in the 1840s (other authors who contributed to this debate include Thornwell, Thomas Smyth, and Charles Hodge), these works are worthy of your time.  If you've never read these short treatises, you can find them here. 

The Sermons of Moses Hoge are on the Log College Press website

ne of the early preachers of the American Presbyterian church was Moses Hoge, a student under William Graham and later James Waddel. He became the President of Hampden-Sydney College in 1807, and helped lay the foundation for Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. His sermons were renowned for their eloquence and erudition. Here are the first ten sermons in this volume (there are twenty-two more!):

Ministerial Piety - 1 Corinthians 9:21. 
The Demonstration of the Spirit - 1 Corinthians 2:4
Mysteries of Redemption - 1 Peter 1:12. 
The Origin of Sin - Romans 5:19
The Carnal Mind - Romans 8:6
The Gospel Worthy of all Acceptation - 1 Timothy 1:15
Glorying in the Cross - Galatians 6:14
Cordial Faith - Romans 10:10
Purifying Hope - 1 John 3:3
The Excellence of things Unseen and Eternal - II Corinthians 4:18

The preaching of 19th century American Presbyterians was often more textual and topical than what we understand as expositional preaching today. They would take a verse or snippet of a verse, explain its meaning in its immediate context, and then unpack and apply that meaning to their people from many different angles. Each sermon is more of what we would think of as an in-depth theological study of a particular topic, but they were never merely for theology's sake. Rather, the goal was the conversion of the lost, and the transformation of the found, through the knowledge of the truth. Download this volume today to go back in time to the pews of an early 19th-century father of American Presbyterianism.

19th Century Commentaries at Log College Press

If you're starting a new sermon series this fall, make sure to check out the Commentaries page on the Log College Press website to see if a 19th century American Presbyterian has written on the book through which you plan to preach. The Princeton theologians, Joseph Addison Alexander and Charles Hodge, have the most studies of Scripture on our site, but a total of twenty-one authors so far are listed - and surely we'll find more to add. 

The Type of Preacher Daniel Baker Desired to Be

“Dry, logical sermons, with rounded periods, delivered in a cold, formal, and heartless manner, I can never relish, however beautified by the superficial elegances of composition; and I question if the good effects which flow from such preaching will be sufficient to compensate the minister for all his care, labor, & refinement. I love warm, animating, lively, evanggelominos  Preaching, full of fire, breathing love and compassion. I may I never, become a cold, lifeless, sentimental preacher, but may I imitate the zeal of a Whitefield, the tenderness of a Hervey, the affection of a Baxter, and blend all with the pure, sound, evangelical principles of a Doddridge.”

— Daniel Baker, Life & Labors , p. 62

Ashbel Green's Commentary on the Westminster Shorter Catechism is on the LCP Website

If I asked you for a list of commentaries on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, chances are th two volume set by Ashbel Green wouldn't be on it. But you can find it here, written for the youth of his day. He also published a history of Presbyterian mission work during the 19th century, and a variety of sermons and addresses. These can be found on the Log College Press website, so spend some time browsing what we've collected.

William Swan Plumer on the Glory and Grace of the Incarnation

William Swan Plumer, the 19th century Southern Presbyterian pastor and theologian, wrote more than most of us have time to read. We've published his two inaugural addresses as Christ All in All: The Right Temper for a Theologian (you can purchase a copy of the booklet, or it's available as a free ebook in the month of August!). But you don't want to miss this excerpt from the 21st chapter of his book The Grace of Christ (available here!) on the glory and grace of the incarnation of the Son of God. The gospel is richly present, so soak in it today and lets its truths permeate your soul:

“Our Lord Jesus Christ became incarnate, was made under the law, lived, acted, obeyed, suffered died and rose again for his people.

He came down to earth that they might go up to heaven.

He suffered that they might reign.

He became a servant that they might become kings and priests unto God.

He died that they might live.

He bore the cross that their enmity might be slain, and their sins expiated.

He loved them that they might love God.

He was rich and became poor that they, who were poor, might be made rich.

He descended into the lower parts of the earth that they might sit in heavenly places. He emptied himself that they might be filled with all the fullness of God.

He took upon him human nature that they might be partakers of the divine nature.

He made flesh his dwelling place that they might be an habitation of God through the Spirit.

He made himself of no reputation, that they might wear his new name, and be counted an eternal excellency.

He became a worm, and no man, that they, who were sinful worms, might be made equal to the angels.

He bore the curse of a broken covenant that they might partake of all the blessings of the everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.

Though heir of all things, he was willingly despised of the people, that they, who were justly condemned, might obtain and inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.

His death was a satisfaction to divine justice, a ransom for many, a propitiation for sin, a sweet smelling savour to God, that we, who were an offense to God, might become his sons and daughters.

He was made sin for his people that they might be made the righteousness of God in him. 

Though Lord of all He took the form of a servant, that they, who were the servants of sin, might prevail like princes with God. 

He, who had made swaddling-clothes bands for the sea, was wrapped in swaddling-clothes that they, who were cast out in their blood, might be clothed in linen white and clean, which is the righteousness of the saints.

He had not where to lay His head that they who otherwise must have laid down in eternal sorrow, might read the mansions in His Father’s house. 

He was beset with lions and bulls of Bashan, that his chosen might be compassed about with an innumerable company of angels and of the spirits of just men made perfect.

He drank the cup of God’s indignation that they might for ever drink of the river of His pleasures.

He hungered that they might eat the bread of life.

He thirsted that they might drink the water of life.

He was numbered with the transgressors that they might stand among the justified, and be counted among the jewels.

He made His grave with the wicked that they might sleep in Jesus.

Though He was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was, yet He became a helpless infant, that creatures of yesterday, sentenced to death, might live for ever.

He wore a crown of thorns that all, who love His appearing, might wear a crown of life.

He wept tears of anguish that His elect might weep tears of repentance not to be repented of.

He bore the yoke of obedience unto death that they might find His yoke easy and His burden light.

He poured out His soul unto death, lay three days in the heart of the earth, then burst the bars of death, and arose to God, that they, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage, might obtain the victory over the grave and become partakers of His resurrection.

He exhausted the penalty of the law that His redeemed might have access to the inexhaustible treasures of mercy, wisdom, faithfulness, truth and grace promised by the Lord.

He passed from humiliation to humiliation, till He reached the sepulcher of Joseph, that His people might be changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord.

He was matchless in grace that they might be matchless in gratitude.

Though a Son, He became a voluntary exile, that they, who had wickedly wandered afar off, might be brought nigh by His blood.

He was compassed about with all their innocent infirmities that He might perfect His strength in their weakness.

His visage was so marred more than any man, that His ransomed might be presented before God without spot, or blemish, or wrinkle, or any such thing.

For a time He was forsaken of His Father that they, whom He bought with His blood, might behold the light of God’s countenance forever.

He came and dwelt with them that they might be forever with the Lord.

He was hung up naked before His insulting foes that all, who believe on His name, might wear a glorious wedding garment, a spotless righteousness.

Though He was dead, He is the firstborn among many brethren.

Through His sorrow His people obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing flee away.

Though He endured the worst things, they do and shall forever enjoy the best things

Wonderful mystery! God was manifested in the flesh! Here is no absurdity, no contradiction, no fiction, and yet a mystery that baffles all attempts to solve it, and dazzles all human and angelic vision. Blessed is he, who is not offended in Jesus. Blessed is he, who loves the incarnate mystery, and rests upon it. It is a mystery of love, of power, of salvation. It is the mystery of Godliness. It is the great study of the inhabitants of heaven, and shall be while immortality endures.”

Samuel Miller on the High Calling of Parenting

Samuel Miller, in his discourses on the guilt, folly, and sources of suicide (a booklet we hope to reprint soon, Lord willing), has a marvelous paragraph about parenting. May the Lord enable every Christian parent to take these words to heart and live them out to some degree:

Parents! You see the numerous dangers to which the traveler through this vale of tears is exposed. How should your solicitude be excited, your zeal be roused, and all the tender anxieties of parental affection be called into exercise, in behalf of your Offspring, who are entering on the journey of life, and about to encounter all its perils! You are the guardians of their health and lives, you form their morals, you direct their pursuits, you are the depositories of their happiness in this world, and, in a degree, in that which is to come. With what unceasing care, then, should you imbue their minds with correct principles! With what sacred fidelity should you put them on their guard against the licentious opinions of the age, against the contagion of evil company, and against the destructive habits of intemperance and sloth! With what devout tenderness should you exhort them, warn them, pray over them, and endeavor to win them, both by precept and example, to the love and fear, as well as to the knowledge of God! O Parents! were these things duly considered, what a revolution should we witness in your mode of treating your children! We should see you more attentive to domestic instruction and discipline, than to the frivolities of a fashionable education. We should see you embracing every opportunity to inculcate on their minds, that virtue is superior to wealth; that holiness is a distinction infinitely more valuable than the magnificence and honors of this world. We should see you, in a word, making their moral and religious culture your chief concern, and studying daily to impress upon their hearts the conviction that, to fear God, and keep his commandments, is the whole duty and happiness of man.

Ebenezer Platt Rogers on Christianity and the Legal Profession

Like many Presbyterian pastors today, Ebenezer Platt Rogers, the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Augusta from 1847-1854, had many lawyers in his congregation. Having prepared a discourse for them, he subsequently preached it before the Governor and Legislature of Georgia, and it was so well received that many asked him to publish it for public consumption. It is now on the Log College Press website here. 

A snippet of his address will whet the reader's appetite for more:

But we think that the Bible is worthy of such respect and admiration, because of the special honor which it seems to do to the legal profession. The most superficial reader of
its pages cannot have failed to notice that frequent allusion is made to the forms and proceedings of legal tribunals, as well representing that most august and solemn transaction to which all human life is tending, and upon which all the events which are transpiring around us, are exerting a most important influence. There is a scene which is to be enacted before the moral universe, of which no type or representation could be found, save in the solemnities and forms of a court of justice. The Judge is to be seated on the Bench, arrayed in all the dignity and majesty of that position, and to conduct the trial of the world according to the principles and requirements of an infinite and eternal Law. The individuals to be tried are to appear before the tribunal. The law is there, the evidence is there, recorded in massive volumes then to be opened, for the acquittal or condemnation of those who are on trial. It is, to our mind, a circumstance worthy of notice, that the Holy Scriptures, when they would represent the most solemn and momentous transaction in which men can be engaged, and shadow it forth in a most
striking and impressive form, should have selected a scene with which the members of the legal profession are most familiar, and in which they are most frequently the actors.—
This could never have been the case were this profession an unnecessary and injurious one to the interests of human society, or the scenes of its practice other than solemn and impressive. It may indeed be the case that our courts are burdened with much unnecessary and frivolous litigation. But he who can be indifferent to the scenes which are sometimes enacted there, when man's dearest interests are involved in the issue, must have lost his sensibility to all that is solemn and overwhelming in interest and impressiveness. When we see an earthly tribunal sitting in judgment upon the case of an individual whose life is at stake, it is to us a fitting type of that tremendous scene which is to be presented at the last great day. The position and office of the Judge acquires additional solemnity and dignity in our estimation, as we remember that the Holy Scriptures make Him a type of that Great Being who shall sit upon " the great white throne," and "judge the world in righteousness." The office of the Advocate also gathers fresh claims to our consideration when we recall that language of the inspired Apostle which declares that " if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." The whole scene gathers force and impressiveness from the consideration that the Divine Spirit has used it in the sacred volume to describe and image forth that most stupendous transaction which the universe is to behold—the final judgment. 

And if this be so, if the Divine Spirit has singled out from among all the scenes which are enacted among men, those which lie in the daily path of the legal profession, and in which they are the principal actors, to represent that event to which all the providences of God, and all the actions of men, are tending, which is to be the winding up of the affairs of Time, and the opening of the unchanging destinies of Eternity—it is to us no slight tribute to the dignity and the majesty of earthly tribunals, and to those who are called to administer their lofty behests. Their character should ever be such as to make them worthy of the sublime association.

Every Christian lawyer would be encouraged if he read Rogers' writing, and every Christian would be instructed on how to think about the legal profession, so often villified and mocked in our age. 

A. A. Hodge's "The Day Changed and the Sabbath Preserved"

Archibald Alexander Hodge's pamphlet, "The Day Changed and the Sabbath Preserved," is a brief yet powerful argument for the permanence of the Sabbath commandment in both old and new covenant administrations of the covenant of grace. If you've never seen a copy of the original pamphlet, you can find it on the Log College Press website. 

In the space of 22 small pages, Hodge states the grounds on which the church has held that the fourth commandment is a part of the unending moral law, and that the first day of the week has been substituted for the seventh day by the authority of Christ's apostles (and therefore of Jesus Himself). Here are his points, which he unpacks in sufficient detail given the scope of his work:

1. The particular day of the week on which the Sabbath was to be kept never was, or could be, of the essence of the institution itself.

2. The introduction of a new dispensation, in which a preparatory and particularistic national system is to be replaced by a permanent and universal one, embracing all nations to the end of time, is a suitable occasion to switch the day.

3. The amazing fact of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus on the first day of the week constitutes an evidently adequate reason for appointing that in the stead of the seventh day to be the Christian Sabbath.

4. During his life Jesus had affirmed that he was "Lord also of the Sabbath day."

5. From the time of John, who first gave the institution its best and most sacred title, "Lord's day," there is an unbroken and unexceptional chain of testimonies that the "first day of the week" was observed as the Christian's day of worship and rest. 

6. With this view the testimony of all the great Reformers and all historical branches of the modern Christian Church agree.

7. The change of the day by the apostolic church has thus been proved by historical testimony, to which much might be added if space permitted, but against which no counter-evidence exists. 

The strength of Hodge's pamphlet lies in that inclusion of historical testimony, both from the early church fathers and the Reformers. Hodge is aware that the Reformers made statements contradicting the view he is arguing for, but he contends that these statements, unguarded and unadvised as they were, were uttered in the context of the Romanists reasoning from the early church's altering a command of the decalogue to the power of Rome to impose obligations on Christians, even to the altering of divine laws. Hodge draws from the writings of the Reformers themselves to show that the Reformers spoke in accord with a right view of the Lord's Day as the Christian Sabbath in several places. 

In an age in which Sabbath keeping is ignored or anathema even amongst Christians, Hodge's pamphlet is an important piece of writing we are glad to made accessible again to the church.

Have you lost a loved one? Few books address the topic of bereavement as beautifully as The Broken Home by B. M. Palmer

Benjamin Morgan Palmer's book The Broken Home: Lessons in Sorrow is a poignant, powerful journey through the deaths of Palmer's children, wife, and mother. He writes to bind up the broken-hearted by sharing the depth of his own feeling as he watched the Lord take his loved ones home to heaven. If you are grieving the loss of a family member, especially a child, this book will be a healing balm to the soul. 

And now, a book you didn't even know you've been waiting for...

This is a book I've been eagerly anticipating uploading to the Log College Press site, because it's never been reprinted, and because it can be hard to find an original copy of it. And because it's good, very good - for not only does John Lafayette Girardeau take on Jonathan Edwards toe to toe and win, but also he so helpfully expounds for us the will in its fourfold state. The Will in its Theological Relations is now available here online in PDF form! I must give credit to Travis Fentiman at Reformed Books Online, who originally scanned this book for his site. Thank you, Travis!

If you're interested, I've written an article examining Girardeau's critique of Edwards' view of Adam's will before the fall in Volume 11 of the Confessional Presbyterian, available for purchase here. 

Why should Christians care what the Bible says about the character and conduct of pastors? John Witherspoon answers.

"To understand what ought to be the character, and what principles should animate the conduct of a minister of the Gospel, cannot be without profit, even to a private Christian. It will teach him whom to prefer, when he is called, in providence, to make a choice. It will teach him to hold such in reputation for their office sake, and to improve the privilege of a regular gospel ministry, if he himself is favored with it. And I think it must incline him to make daily supplication to the Lord of the harvest, to send forth faithful laborers into his harvest." -- John Witherspoon, "Ministerial Character and Duty," in Works (Volume 2)

How did 19th century Presbyterians understand the history of the Presbyterian Church?

It's always interesting to see how a particular time period understood itself - where it was, how it got there, and where it was going. We've just uploaded two classic histories of the Presbyterian Church: Richard Webster wrote in the middle of the 19th century about the Presbyterian Church from its founding till 1760. George Hays wrote at the end of the 19th century about the entire history up to his day.  Hays' work is unique in that he asked authors from the respective Presbyterian denominations of that time to write the history of their particular church (i.e., Moses Drury Hoge writes the history of the Southern Presbyterian Church). 

A few biographies from which to select for your Lord's Day reading...

We have links to several 19th century biographies of 19th century men on the Log College Press website: among others, The Life and Letters of Moses Drury Hoge (by Peyton Harrison Hoge), The Life of Archibald Alexander (by James Waddell Alexander), The Life of Joseph Addison Alexander (by Henry Carrington Alexander), a biography of John Gloucester (by William Catto), The Memoirs of John Leighton Wilson (by Hampton Coit DuBose), and Southern Presbyterian Leaders (by Henry Alexander White). We'll be posting more in weeks to come, but these should keep you occupied till then! 

Did Joseph Addison Alexander Ever Sleep?

There are a few people in history, even in our own day, of whom the word "prolific" does not even begin to describe the amount of writing they have been able to produce and publish in a normal life span. Joseph Addison Alexander, the son of Archibald Alexander, was one of those men. He wrote commentaries on Isaiah, Acts, Mark, Matthew, the Psalms - and he had time to preach. But this doesn't even include everything he wrote that's available in digital form! It may take you a lifetime to read what he wrote in his 51 years of life. But here it is, available to you when you need it. Enjoy!

If You're Looking for Commentaries on the OT Prophets, Don't Miss These

The 19th century published its share of commentaries, and Presbyterians were at the forefront of that effort. Thomas Verner Moore wrote on the post-exilic prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, while Joseph Addison Alexander wrote on Isaiah (in two parts - the second part will be posted soon!). There are more commentaries that we need to find and make available, but hopefully soon all 19th-century Presbyterian commentaries will be accessible from this site. 

Does the 19th Century Have Anything to Teach Parents?

Thomas Dwight Witherspoon, a 19th century Presbyterian pastor who ministered in Oxford, MS, and Memphis, TN, among other places, had much to say to Christian parents in his book Children of the Covenant. The following paragraphs come from a section in which he is unpacking several difficulties that he believes lie at the root of why we do not see more conversions among our covenant children:

But a third difficulty, and one far more subversive of the great end of the family relation, is found in the failure of Christian parents to cultivate perfect freedom of communication, and intimacy of relationship, with their children. Many parents never seem to win the confidence of their children at all. They never come into confidential relations with them. The most intimate thoughts of the child's mind, the most sacredly cherished emotions of its heart, are never communicated to the parent. Between father, or mother, and child, there is an unnatural barrier of reserve—a wall of mutual separation. The few communications as to its inner life, which the natural yearnings of the child lead it to make, are treated with indifference, or, perhaps, made the occasion of severe rebuke.

At all events, they do not meet with the proper encourageinent, and its timid nature recoils upon itself. Henceforth, these deep experiences are concealed from parental view. As the nature unfolds, and the confiding spirit of early childhood begins to give place to the reserve and coyness of youth, there comes a studied habit of concealment. The parent sees only the outer life of the child. Its inner nature is a hidden mystery. And there are now long constituted and strengthened barriers to intimate and confidential intercourse, which can never be overcome, however much the parent may strive to secure the end.

And yet, how miserably has that parent failed to secure the true end of the family relationship, whose child respects him, fears him, obeys him, and, it may be, loves him, with a kind of distant, reverential affection; but whose bosom has never become the repository of the joys and sorrows of his child; whose  heart never beats in conscious accord with the deep and yearning sympathies of its nature; to whom the most tender and sacred experiences of its young life are all a sealed book! How can such a parent exert over his child the influence which God designed him to exert? How can such a house, (for home it does not deserve to be called,) witness anything else than the growth into manhood and womanhood, of children who are virtually orphans in the world, and who, like waifs of the sea, are liable to be "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine"—the easy sport of circumstances, the strong anchorage in the family circle being totally wanting? 

How easy it is in early childhood to gain this intimacy and confidence to which I have referred. The little child naturally seeks to confide everything to its parent. Let but the slightest encouragement be given; let the little one only feel that there is a loving heart ready to sympathize with it; to rejoice with it; to solve patiently its difficulties; to bear forgiveingly with its wrongs, and to lead it kindly by the hand through all the perplexities of its path; and how naturally, how unreservedly does it cast itself upon the bosom that seeks its confidence, and pour out there the very deepest and most sacred thoughts and feelings of its heart.

And who shall say what advantage such a parent will have, in the training of his child! He is like the physician who has had the full diagnosis of the disease he is to treat. He Is like the lawyer to whom the client has fully unburdened his case. He knows how to direct the mind and mould the character of his child; and at the same time, as the result of this loving intimacy, he acquires an influence over it — the influence of mind over mind, and of heart over heart — the blessed results of which it is impossible to estimate.

-- Thomas Dwight Witherspoon, Children of the Covenant, 198ff.

The Works of Robert J. Breckinridge are Nearly Unknown But Still Affect Presbyterians Today

Three works by Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (The Christian Pastor; Presbyterian Government, Not a Hierarcy, but a Commonwealth; and Presbyterian Ordination, Not a Charm, but an Act of Government) have been forgotten by modern Presbyterians. And yet, thanks to the reviewing work of James Henley Thornwell in the Southern Presbyterian Review, and the power of Breckinridge's ideas, much (though certainly not all) of what he believed has found its way into the Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America, and perhaps other American Presbyterian denominations. For instance, the right of rulings elders to lay hands on teaching elders being ordained is powerfully argued for by Breckinridge, as is the need for ruling elders to make up a quorum of a church court. If you've never read these short treatises, you can find them here. 

The Sermons of Moses Hoge are Worth 15 Minutes of Your Day

The preaching of 19th century American Presbyterians was more textual and topical than what we understand as expositional preaching today. They would take a verse or snippet of a verse, explain its meaning in its immediate context, and then unpack and apply that meaning to their people from many different angles. Each sermon is more of what we would think of as an in-depth theological study of a particular topic, but they were never merely for theology's sake. Rather, the goal was conversion of the lost, and transformation of the found, through the knowledge of the truth. 

One of the early preachers of the American Presbyterian church was Moses Hoge, a student under William Graham and later James Waddel. He became the President of Hampden-Sydney College in 1807, and helped lay the foundation for Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. His sermons were renowned for their eloquence and erudition, and are found here.