Three kinds of grace, according to Gilbert Tennent

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What is grace? Archibald Alexander in his Pocket Dictionary (1829, 1831) defines it as “free favour, unmerited kindness.” Gilbert Tennent in his 1743 sermon on this attribute of God — from his series on the chief end of man, reprinted also in Archibald Alexander’s compilation of Sermons of the Log College, edited by Samuel Davies Alexander — also speaks of it as “undeserved kindness.” Tennent elaborates that grace is both a divine attribute of God, and the gift of God towards others — and that God’s grace extends to “ail Creatures, even to the noblest Angels.”

The fact that God’s grace — unmerited favor — extends to all creatures suggests that not all creatures are beneficiaries of what is known as “saving grace.” Thus, distinctions must be made in the types of grace that God extends to His creatures. These distinct types of the grace of God are discussed in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge, Robert L. Dabney, W.G.T. Shedd, Geerhardus Vos and many other notable American theologians, all of whom properly distinguish between saving and common grace.

But to return to Gilbert Tennent’s sermon on grace, let us hear what this son of the founder of the Log College taught in 1743.

…Grace is Three-fold, viz., Universal, common, and saving. And

1st. Universal Grace is that, whereby Jehovah dispenses natural Things upon all his Creatures, and hence he is call’d the Saviour of all Men. 1 Tim. iv.10. And is said to preserve Man and Beast. Psa. xxxvi.6. He causes his Sun to rise upon the Fields of the Evil and the Good, and sends his Rain upon the Just and the Unjust: He gives to Man Life, Health, Strength, and all the Supports he enjoys therein, all which being undeserv’d, may be call’d Grace; but according to the Usage of Scripture and Antiquity, they seldom and less properly bear that Name.

2dly. Common Grace consists in the Communication of moral good Things upon Men promiscuously, whether they be good or bad, elect or not elect, just as natural Wisdom and Prudence, and all the Train of moral Vertues, in which even some Pagans have excell’d. And to these we may add, all outward religious Priviledges and Means of Grace; together with those transient Effects which are sometimes produced, by them upon the Unregenerate, such as some of Illumination, and Stirrings of religious Affection. In a Word all those common operations of the Holy Spirit, which are not follow’d by a habitual and saving Change, must be ascrib’d hereto. Of these mention is made Heb. vi.4-6. and also in the Parable of the Sower, Mat. xiii.20-21. But he that received the Seed into Stony Places, the same is he that heareth the Word, and anon with Joy receiveth it, yet hath he not Root in himself, but dureth for a while, for when Tribulation or Persecution ariseth, because of the Word, by and by he is offended. But

3dly. Saving Grace is that undue or undeserved Love of God, whereby he confers upon the Elect only, saving Benefits, of his own meer good Pleasure.

Thus, according to Tennent, the disposition of God towards all of his creatures is gracious, leading him to extend unmerited favor in some measure unto all, although saving grace is reserved for the elect only. The knowledge of God’s grace — in all its manifestations — is a mighty incentive to humility:

…methinks the Doctrine of Free Grace should powerfully induce us to Humility, Seeing that it is God only, who has made us to differ from others, and that we have nothing but what we have receiv'd. We are his Debtors, for all we have in Hand or Hope. The Nature of Grace supposes the Object, upon whom it is vouchsafed, unworthy of it. A continued humbling Sense of this, would as much conduce to our Benefit, as Ornament.

The sovereign and free grace of God, which flows from His very nature, will naturally bring low the pride of man and exalt the goodness of God. Consider this word from Tennent — the whole sermon is found in his Twenty-Three Sermons on Man's Chief End (1744) and in Alexander’s Sermons of the Log College (1855) — and may we then praise Him as the Psalmist does who said: “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Ps. 103:8).

The Collateral Bible

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There is a 19th century Bible study resource of which many 21st century students of Scripture may not have heard. It is the three-volume The Collateral Bible; or, A Key to the Holy Scriptures: In Which All the Corresponding Texts are Brought Together Into One View, and Arranged in a Familiar and Easy Manner (1826-1828), produced by the combined labors of William McCorkle, Ezra Stiles Ely and Gregory T. Bedell. It was a monumental labor of love for God’s Word that attempted to collate Scripture texts in such a way as to show the harmony of the Old and New Testaments. It encompasses not only Genesis 1 through Malachi 4, but brings to bear New Testament verses suitably with those from the Old Testament. The introduction to the first volume explains further:

Such is the Bible. It is a sealed book to those who do not believe; but, [to] all those who believe, it is “able to make wise unto salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus.”

With this view of the subject, as Scripture is its own best expositor; harmonizing, explaining, and enforcing itself; THE COLLATERAL BIBLE was commenced fifteen years ago, but, owing to various causes, was delayed until this time, though its ultimate publication was never relinquished. The first Volume of it, is now, through the good providence of God, presented to the world. If it shall prove useful in his hands, as another means of explaining his word, so that it shall be plain to every capacity; of convincing and converting sinners; and of further instruction, edification, and consolation to his people; to Him be all the praise.

As in the present plan, verses from both the Old and New Testaments are brought together, which not only corroborate and support each other, but bring into view customs and uses of things; a number of Tables have been prefixed, which may sometimes prove necessary to the more complete understanding of particular phrases or passages of Scripture.

The work, it is trusted, will prove interesting and satisfactory. Although there are, of necessity, many repetitions, yet they will be found valuable and advantageous to the reader. It may appear to some, on a hasty perusal, that several of the collateral passages are not applicable; yet, on a closer and more critical inspection, it is believed they will be found not only strictly so, but of such a nature as to bring forward new views of the subject to the reflecting mind. Names are sometimes made collateral, as that is the only record we have or know of them. Frequently, in bringing together a number of verses from different parts of the Bible, they will be found to have various degrees of collateral affinity to the verse under which they are placed: some will be direct; others are by analogy, by implication, by inference, or by contrast; others are historical, prophetical, or monitorial. It has been therefore necessary, not only to avoid confusion where the affinities were diverse, but also to render this method of investigating and proving Scripture exceeding plain even to youthful readers, occasionally to substitute a name within brackets thus, [Abraham,] both to connect the sense, and to readily comprehend the original passage from which it was taken. The utility of this method, will be apparent at once.

Finally, should there be any who object to those passages of Scripture, which delineate either the crimes or frailties of fallen man, as has often been done without thought in some, and with malice in others, let them recollect what has previously been said; and, also, that there is nothing wrong in the BIBLE, but in themselves: that “to the pure, all things are pure,” and, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

One small example of these collated passages comes from Psalm 5:3:

3 (e) My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

(e) Ps. lv. 17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud; and he shall hear my voice.

[Ps.] lxxxviii. 13. But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

[Ps.] cxix. 147. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.

Is. xxvi. 9. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

Mark i. 35. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

These volumes have recently been added to the Ezra Stiles Ely page, and it is thought that these Bible collations may be of interest and usefulness to modern students of Scripture.

Girardeau on "the queen of the sciences"

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In a tribute to John Lafayette Girardeau, Thorton C. Whaling once wrote:

Philosophy in this sense of the biblical ethics, psychology and ontology underlies the whole structure of the theology of redemption which is thus builded upon these philosophic presuppositions. Dr. Girardeau's profound interest in philosophy therefore rested upon the base of the inherently necessary service which as an ally and handmaid philosophy must render to the "queen of all the sciences."

Theology is known as “the queen of the sciences,” but there are those that have challenged that notion. Whaling continues (his tribute was published separately and in George A. Blackburn’s The Life Work of John L. Girardeau):

In selecting some specimens of Dr. Girardeau's theologizing, the first instance which falls to be mentioned is found in the field of Introductory Theology in his answer to the objection that theology cannot really be a science, because it involves an infinite and therefore an inconceivable and indefinable element, and since the thinking faculty which is the organ of science cannot handle an inconceivable element, there cannot therefore be a valid theological science.

Our theologian's reply is, that every science begins with an indemonstrable, inconceivable and indefinable element. Such is the Soul with which Metaphysics begins. Such is personality with which law begins, continues and ends. Such is life with which Medicine deals. Such is Substance, upon which all the physical sciences rest. The infinite is no more indefinable than is the Soul, Life, Substance. Further, the infinite is a datum furnished by Revelation. If the Scriptures are proven to be from God, theology may accept an infinite God as validly as the other sciences their principia.

Girardeau was elected as Professor of Didactic and Polemic Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary in 1875, and delivered his inaugural address the following year titled Theology as a Science, Involving an Infinite Element. Here he addresses the question squarely:

It is now so generally admitted that theology is a science, that any elaborate attempt to establish its claims to that denomination would seem to be superfluous. It has been said that the title of science is denied to theology, “partly on the ground that the habit corresponding to it is not natural, but supernatural; and partly on the ground that it does not spring from principles of reason, nor proceed by logical deductions. It does not, in other words, find a place under the Aristotelic definition of science.” Now, even were it conceded that it professes to be a subjective and not an objective science, the first of these objections would not necessarily be fatal. For if there may be a natural habit of natural knowledge, there is no just reason why there may not be a supernatural habit of supernatural knowledge: and if reason, in its natural condition, is adapted to the scientific treatment of the former, one fails to see why reason supernaturally enlightened may not be competent to deal with the latter. Theology, however, claims to be mainly a science in the objective sense, as concerned about the theory rather than the habit of religion, and the difficulty alleged is consequently deprived of force. To the other objection it may be answered that theology does in part spring from the indestructible principles of reason, endorsed and enforced by revelation; that in so far as it arises from the dicta of a supernatural revelation, it does no more than other sciences in accepting fundamental principles already furnished; that if that be granted, it grounds itself upon data which are at least of no lower original than those supplied by reason; and that if the facts and doctrines of a divine revelation be given so as to be apprehensible, our faculties, if supernaturally illuminated, not only may, but must, by a logical necessity, proceed to arrange and classify them — in other words, to reduce them to scientific form. It may surely be allowed to a theologian to do reflectively what every intelligent man of piety, to a certain extent, does spontaneously.

His argument that theology is indeed a science, “the science of sciences,” proceeds further:

But if we are made to know God, and not to know him as infinite is not properly to know him at all; if he has laid deep in the very ground-forms of the human soul a fundamental faith adapting us to that knowledge; if he has so constructed our powers as by the very virtue of their energies to conduct us to it, and if he has been pleased more fully and explicitly to reveal it to us in his written Word what hinders that, in the employment of our reasoning powers, which were made with an adaptation to order and system, we should attempt to arrange and digest that knowledge into a theoretical and practical science of religion? If the term infinite has no corresponding reality, it is of course admitted that there can be no science which involves an infinite element; but it also follows that there can be to us no God. But if the knowledge of the infinite Being and his infinite perfections be a real and not a delusive human knowledge, it may, under proper restrictions, be made the subject of scientific treatment, both inductive and deductive. Not only does the theologian act upon this assumption, but every preacher of the gospel proceeds upon it. He reasons concerning the Infinite inductively when, for example, by a collation of infinite titles and attributes and works, he establishes the divinity of Christ or the Holy Spirit. He reasons concerning it deductively, whenever, in reply to the difficulty of the sinner that his sins are infinitely great and deserve infinite reprobation, he infers the possibility of his pardon from the infinite mercy of God, from an infinite atonement, and from the infinite ability and willingness of Jesus Christ to save. It is obvious that there is a sense in which the Infinite not only may, but does and must enter into the reasoning processes of the human mind. That being conceded, the possibility of a science of theology is granted. Soberly and reverently to reason about God is not to dishonor him; not to do it is to degrade ourselves. This is the science of sciences which the theological instructor is called to teach.

Truly, if we are made know God, and He has revealed Himself to us in His Word, and by His creation, then, as Girardeau teaches, theology — the study of God — is the highest of all sciences, and the most noble of all pursuits.

William H. McMillan on The Idea of Worship

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Now what Saint Augustine says is true, that no one is able to sing things worthy of God unless he has received them from him. Wherefore, when we have looked thoroughly everywhere and searched high and low, we shall find no better songs nor more appropriate for the purpose than the Psalms of David, which the Holy Spirit made and spoke through him. And furthermore, when we sing them, we are certain that God puts the words in our mouths, as if he himself were singing in us to exalt his glory. — John Calvin, Preface to the 1542 Genevan Psalter, quoting Augustine on Psalm 35

If you are seeking a succinct, Biblical definition of worship, look no further. The first sentence of John McNaugher’s The Psalms in Worship (1907), which is a compilation of essays from the two 1905 United Presbyterian conferences on the place of Psalms in worship, is like a home run in the first at-bat.

It comes from William Harrison McMillan, who served as the 1883 moderator of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA). His essay was titled “The Idea of Worship,” and it was intended to present a general introduction to the principle of worship, as understood by Reformed Christians.

Worship is right conceptions of the character and works of God suitably expressed. It is seeing Him, and expressing our thoughts and feelings concerning Him. It is an act of the soul. There are forms of expression used in worship, but forms and words and attitudes are not in themselves worship. That is essentially an act of the soul. We are called upon to pour out our hearts to the Lord. God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. The most reverent genuflections, the divinest strains of music, and the most devotional words are nothing and worse than nothing unless the soul of the worshiper is going out to God in them.

After explaining that worship is only acceptable to God through our Mediator, Jesus Christ — “There is but one way, and Christ is that way. There is but one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. We must come by way of the Cross when we approach God to worship Him.” — McMillan continues:

Worship is an intelligent act. It is what we think about God that prompts it. Thought sweeps the whole field of knowledge concerning God, and from it all gathers material for worship. In Him are seen all power and majesty and dominion. Out into His infinite domain thought travels fast and far. Our solar system, with all its planets, and moons, and rings, we find, after all, to be but a mere speck in the immeasurable reaches of the kingdom of God. With souls awed and almost bewildered by the evidence of the infinite power and dominion of our King we bow and adore. We, in our conscious littleness, worship Him Who “hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.”

And how the mercy of God compels us to adore Him!

…we who are guilty by nature and lost under sin find reasons for adoring, eager, and soulful worship in contemplating the mercy of God in Christ. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Surely the Scriptures write the truth when they declare that the souls are dead which do not worship Him for that.

McMillan emphasizes the natural response of the worshiper to the awesome goodness and mercy of God is to sing His praises.

Hallelujah! praise Jehovah.
O my soul, Jehovah praise.
While I live I’ll praise Jehovah,
To my God sing all my days. [Ps. 146]

The Psalms indeed provide matter for praise. They are given for that very purpose.

Every true Christian is a seer. He has seen the invisible, and heard things not written down in any of the philosophies of men. He has become acquainted in some measure with God, and there are great thoughts surging through his mind, and tidal waves of religious emotion swelling within him. He must speak the praises of his Lord. But he is there met by a difficulty. His words fail him. His words cannot put into expression all, or the half, of what is in his heart to say to God. His thoughts are too big for utterance. He is conscious of the need of divine aid to speak in sufficient and right terms the great themes of his worship. It is then that he turns with deepest satisfaction to the songs which the Spirit of God has written for the people of God as the expression of their devotion to Him. There the great things of God are unfolded as only the divine penman can unfold them, and there the petitions which we need to offer, and are allowed to offer, to God with assurance of being heard are framed for us. We are told that the Spirit makes intercession for the saints with groanings which cannot be uttered. This is nowhere more true than when the believer attempts to tell God what is in his heart of love, adoration, and trust. We began with the thought that worship is right conceptions of the character and works of God suitably expressed. We find, do we not, that such conceptions are taught and adequately expressed in the Psalms of the Bible as they cannot be in any words which the pens of uninspired men have written.

These are remarks concerning the fundamental principles of worship worth contemplating. Read McMillan’s full essay here.

Those that love God will love His Church: William S. Plumer on the courts of God

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To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.…For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness (Ps. 84:1-4, 10).

The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people,  that  this man was born there. Selah. (Ps. 87:2-6).

These passages from the Psalms remind us that the Lord loves His Church — it is the dwelling place of His habitation and the focus of His blessing — and we ought to love and long for the Church too.

William Swan Plumer’s commentary on these Psalms gives helpful application on this point. Ps. 84:

The appointed worship of the true God has in all ages possessed great attractions for the regenerate….My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God, q. d., my whole nature is intensely wrought up to desire not only the privilege of worship, but actual communion with God. Without God all rites, though divinely appointed, profit not….The blessings connected with a regular and devout attendance at God’s house are so many and so great that the strongest terms may well be employed to describe them. Even the visitor of the sanctuary may be blessed, but those who dwell there are sure of great and numerous mercies….If we are not pleased with the solemn worship of God, it is because we lack the true spirit of devotion, and if we lack the spirit of devotion, we have no piety, vv. 1, 4….As true piety prevails, love for the worship of God increases….If our love to God and his house were as strong as it should be, as strong as it was in the bosom of the Psalmist, we should not find it necessary to spend so much time in seeking for evidences of a renewed state, and for marks of gracious affections, V. 10. Love is its own evidence. When it commands the soul, we cannot doubt its existence. When one desires God's word more than his necessary food, when he thinks it the highest privilege to be a worshipper of God, when he joyfully resigns his all to Jehovah, then his evidences are usually comfortable.

Plumer on Ps. 87:

God ought to be publicly worshipped. He is thereby honored. We should celebrate his works. Redemption is his chief work. As such worship is honorable, so it is pleasing to God….God's worship and presence dignify any place, thing or person pertaining to his service….To the end of the world they will be mentioned with respect by the best men of each succeeding generation….If we are truly pious, we will love all that God loves; and so we will love his church, v. 2….She is our mother. She is the spouse of Christ. She is the Lamb's wife. She is all glorious within. The glories of earthly kingdoms fade away before the glories of Zion, as the light of the stars is no longer visible when the sun rises.

Do you, Christian, like the Psalmist, long for the courts of God, that is, the Church? Do you know how much the Lord loves the gates of Zion, that is, the Church? If it is your heart’s desire to commune with God among His people, not merely in the outward observance of His ordinances of public worship, but with sincere inward devotion, that is evidence of a heart that loves what God Himself delights in. As the Christian Sabbath, or the Lord’s Day, approaches, may this heart be in each of us, and may we love the Lamb’s wife, the Spouse of Christ, as He indeed loves the Church.

"To learn something from everybody I speak to" - Rules of conduct by Ashbel Green

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In 1791, Ashbel Green went on a journey from Philadelphia to New England. The theological climate of New England at that time was such that he would be challenged by interactions from very different viewpoints than his own. His diary records that before embarking on this trip, he made a concerted effort to regulate his conduct to the glory of God.

“June 6, 1791. — To-morrow, God willing, I expect to set out on a journey into New England. I think it will be useful for me to lay down some rules for the government of my own conduct, and to read them over every morning and evening.

Rule 1. To endeavour to promote, by every means in my power, the glory of God. Hence I must preach as much and as often as I can; and endeavour to recommend religion to all whom I may have intercourse with, by my whole conversation and deportment, and I must endeavour constantly to have this rule in my memory and recollection.

2. Let me avoid talkativeness; and be as modest and unassuming as possible. Let no controversy on religious subjects make me lose my temper, or say any thing hastily, harshly, or severely.

3. Let me not deny any sentiments that I really hold, be the consequences what they may.

4. Let me, in answering questions or in giving relations, and in every thing else, keep vigorously and entirely to the simple truth; neither adding nor admitting any circumstance, so as to convey an idea of things in any degree different from what they really are.

5. Let me endeavour to suppress pride and vanity; and not endeavour to shine by an affectation of knowledge, or qualities which I do not possess. It is dangerous; it may bring me into absolute disgrace; it is very wicked.

6. Let me observe characters with all attention. This is a principal object of my journey. Let me try to learn something from every body I speak to.

7. Especially let me observe the state of society, and the peculiarities of manners in the places where I go.

8. Let me recollect in remarkable places the distinguished events that have taken place in them, and see all the vestiges and remains of them. Let me inquire the state and history of colleges; and endeavour to see their professors, masters, libraries and philosophical apparatus. Let me, where I can, ask who are the leading men and principal characters in any town. Let me observe the general face of the country — its soil, productions, &c., &c.

9. Let me pay a particular attention to the state of religious opinions, and see if I can trace the cause of them.

10. Let me not be disconcerted with difficulties in my journey. Let me endeavour to keep up my spirits, and resolutely set about my business, in each particular place.

11. Let me not suffer the importunities of friends, or others, to break in on my own plans of travelling; but vigorously and constantly pursue them; denying with modesty, but at the same time with firmness.

12. Let me pay a personal and particular attention to my horse. It seems proper that I should mention that I travelled in a sulkey, without a servant or a companion.

13. Let me endeavour to travel in the morning, and lie by in the heat of the day.

14. I am at a loss, whether to rebuke profaneness in watermen, servants, &c.; in general it is, I believe, best to give them some check.

15. Let me not neglect secret prayer; and always remember my family and congregation in it.

16. Let me try in every way to get improvement; by getting men to talk on their favourite topics; by making deductions from their opinions; by comparing them together; by pursuing hints which I may take from what they say; by retaining and remembering all the information they convey.

17. Let me not neglect to write to my wife as often as possible.

18. Let me not find fault with the peculiarities of places to their inhabitants. Let me not make comparisons to their disadvantage, and tell them things are much better in the place I came from. People will not bear this.

A number of these rules contain things which I ought to be incapable of forgetting or neglecting; but I know for myself that the most obvious duties sometimes escape my attention. By examining myself on these rules, I shall be likely to remember, discover, correct, and avoid any errors and omissions; and I shall have my memory refreshed with a view of my business and duty."

The above rules, and the remark with which they are concluded, appear to have been very hastily written; and some of them are very incorrect in expression; but the intention of each of them is, I think, palpable; and I thought it would be best to give them verbatim as they were originally penned.

Allan Stanton wrote this brief summary of that trip:

During his journey, Green kept a brief journal with reflection upon every person that he met with especial consideration upon the piety and theological persuasions of pastors. The two most common observations of his journal are in reference to Anti-Trinitarian and Hopkinsian persuasions of these pastors. Green consistently concluded that the men he met were pious and that he avoided controversy with them while gaining invaluable insight into the ecclesiastical circumstances in which he found himself.

Stanton goes on to say that the religious pluralism which Green encountered in New England was a factor in his later push to establish what became Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey (Allan Stanton, “The Theological Climate of the Early Nineteenth Century and the Founding of a Polemical Seminary at Princeton,” in The Confessional Presbyterian (2010) 6:24).

Times have changed in some respects, but in other respects we can learn from Green’s rules of conduct and make useful application in the even more religiously pluralistic 21st century. There is great value in healthy and wholesome conversation, in striving to listen and learn from those with whom we engage, and doing what we can to avoid unnecessary controversy and rather build bridges that can be employed for the glory of God. Do you aim to learn something from everyone that you speak to? Green found this to be good advice to himself, and there is much to commend this advice in our present-day interactions, whether they be in our neighborhood, on public transit or online. Green’s rules (which can be read in The Life of Ashbel Green, pp. 204-207) helped him to redeem the time and to have a profitable trip, and there is profit in these rules for us today.

"A rarer air / Where all is fair": L.T. Newland on "A Christian's Death"

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LeRoy Tate Newland (1885-1969) was a graduate of Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina; a long-time missionary to Korea; and he served at least two pastorates in the United States as well. He was also a prolific poet. A small number of his poems are available at Log College Press. His major work of poetry is not yet available here: So Rich a Crown: Poems of Faith (1963). One particular poem by Newland has been selected for today’s post. It appears to have been prompted by the 1953 death of L.D. Tester in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, while Newland was serving as pastor of Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church (source: Donald B. Saunders, For His Cause A Little House: A Hundred Year History of Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church (1988), p. 114). This poem was also reprinted in the Christian Observer with notice of Newland’s own death in 1969.

A Christian’s Death

And what is death?
A sudden stopping of the breath
That one may breathe a rarer air
Where all is fair.

You say he died.
Can life be greater glorified
Than to unclose pain-wearied eyes
In Paradise?

Is this the end?
He has but gone to meet a Friend
And, dying, found a way
To endless day.

Christian, consider this sweet meditation on the precious death of a saint (Ps. 116:15), and may it help to bring an eternal perspective to the painful event which caused even our Lord Jesus to weep (John 11:35).

Samuel Miller on Presbyterianism - A 19th century classic that you can now pre-order

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If one was to look for the premier study of Presbyterianism by an American author in the 19th century, one would be hard-pressed to find a work superior to that by Samuel Miller. First published in 1835, Miller’s Presbyterianism the Truly Primitive and Apostolical Constitution of the Church of Christ has been republished by Log College Press under the title Presbyterianism: Its History, Doctrine, Government and Worship. With modernized spelling, and scholarly editing by Dr. Harrison Perkins, including detailed footnotes, this edition of Miller’s classic work offers Biblical wisdom on the church to 21st century readers.

This is an historical study of Presbyterian polity, including the doctrine, discipline, government and worship of the Presbyterian church. As valuable as it was when first published almost 200 years ago, it has a special benefit for modern readers, as Rev. Allan Stanton tells us in his introduction. He offers three reasons why this is so.

  • To affirm the importance of ecclesiastical polity.

  • To reconsider the range of the word of God.

  • To evaluate modern doctrine and worship. 

In sum, Presbyterianism is far more than the five points of Calvinism (as important as they are). Miller sets forth the full scope of “the whole counsel of God” as it pertains to the church, and that is the beauty of this book. This important volume lays down the Scriptural, theological, historical, and practical foundations of our Presbyterian faith and practice.

Click here to order Samuel Miller’s Presbyterianism: Its Historical, Doctrine, Government and Worship.

Click here to order Samuel Miller’s Presbyterianism: Its Historical, Doctrine, Government and Worship.

Miller’s Presbyterianism is now available at a special pre-order rate of $10 through the month of February, 2020. There is good news for customers in the UK/Europe - Log College Press titles, including this one, can now be purchased at the Evangelical Bookshop in Belfast/Edinburgh.

Click here to order Samuel Miller’s Presbyterianism: Its Historical, Doctrine, Government and Worship.

Click here to order Samuel Miller’s Presbyterianism: Its Historical, Doctrine, Government and Worship.

Pre-order your copy today and see what Samuel Miller has to say about the Biblical basis for Presbyterianism for yourself.

Who were "the sons of God and the daughters of men"? A 19th century Presbyterian answers

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A verse of Scripture that many have wrestled with over the years is that from Genesis 6:1-4:

And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

So, who are “the sons of God” and “the daughters of men”? Are angels or demigods meant by “sons of God”? Was there some sort of superior race of beings that was the fruit of the union between the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men”?

There have been many fanciful ideas put forth regarding these matters, dating back to, perhaps, the non-canonical Book of Enoch. The idea of angels marrying human females and producing a race of Nephilim has an appeal to many. But this idea is examined by Professor William Henry Green of Princeton in The Presbyterian and Reformed Review (Oct. 1894) and is thoroughly refuted.

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one. As Green explains, Nephilim were clearly present before and after the intermarrying that took place, so they could not be the fruit of the union that is described. And the context of this passage in connection with the description of the flood which follows (and the reasons given for the flood), show that the text under consideration is meant to provide a reason for the punishment of the wicked. Although “sons of God” does mean angels in a few places in Scripture, it is also more broadly a term for God’s chosen people, that is, the godly on earth. Elsewhere, we are explicitly told that angels do not and cannot marry. Green: “There is no suggestion that angels are married or are given in marriage; the contrary is expressly declared (Matt. xxii. 30).” Our author, after analyzing these points, and in consideration of the context, shows that it is the intermarrying of the godly with the wicked that brings on the flood later in the chapter.

Green also tackles another idea that some have put forth suggesting that “sons of God” means persons of high rank, while “daughters of men” are those of inferior rank. Green: “But no such contrast is suggested here; and the intermarriage of different classes in society is nowhere represented as displeasing to God or provoking the divine judgment.”

The mythological and other erroneous ideas about this passage have led many astray, but the simple explanation, which is consistent with rest of Scripture, is that the godly intermarried with the wicked and, as a result, brought about a punishment “of Biblical proportions.”

Take time to read Green for yourself and work through the arguments presented. It is short (7 pages) but filled with solid exegesis. It will help to anchor your understanding of this passage to the rest of Scripture.

How to Form a Minister's Library by J.O. Murray and Others

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The first dean of the faculty at Princeton was James Ormsbee Murray (1827-1899), who served as such from 1883 until his death. Dean Murray, in January/June 1890, authored a 2-part article for The Homiletic Review titled How to Form a Minister’s Library. In addition to his own recommendations for useful books, he included further lists of recommended titles by Caspar Wistar Hodge, Sr. on New Testament exegesis, William Henry Green in Old Testament, James McCosh (former President of Princeton) in philosophy, Francis Landey Patton (then-current President of Princeton) in ethics, George Park Fisher in history, and B.B. Warfield in Dogmatic Theology.

Although in the 21st century, many theological students and ministers have found digital books the economical way to build a library, and Log College Press is doing its best to assist with thousands of worthy titles available on this site, there is still wisdom to be gained from reviewing the recommendations and suggestions of notable late 19th century ministers, theologians and scholars, although the counsel found herein as to how to purchase quality books.

For one thing, the recommendations go beyond theology to the realm of general history (as well as ecclesiastical), science, poetry and even novels - Murray writes: “Is fiction to have any place in the minister's library? How can he have it, if he is going to preach against novel-reading? If he is to preach indiscriminately against all use of fiction, he by no means should use it himself. But he had better refrain from all such folly, and set an example of using the novel as not abusing it.” This wisdom could be applied to other genres of art and aspects of culture as well.

Moreover, many classic titles in theology and Biblical studies that were utilized by Princeton theologians in the 19th century have stood the test of time, if not the test of popularity, even though the century of more of scholarship that has been performed since this article was published should also not be neglected. Patrick Fairbairn on the Typology of Scripture, Alfred Edersheim’s The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, George Smeaton on the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit - these are some of specific titles mentioned which have stood the test of time. Some of the titles given are by American authors, some by European; some are available today in digital format, others require a trip to a seminary library. But the modern minister or student of the ministry today can gain from a review of this 1890 article by Murray and the listed recommendations. Bookmark this article and take a few minutes to see what men like Warfield and other Princeton divines thought was important to have in a minister’s library.

John W. Pritchard's Covenanter Bookshelf

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In 1921, John Wagner Pritchard, author of Soldiers of the Church: The Story of What the Reformed Presbyterians (Covenanters) of North America, Canada, and the British Isles, Did to Win the World War of 1914-1918 (1919), and the editor of The Christian Nation, a weekly publication associated with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America and the National Reform Association, which is published in New York City, conceived the idea of creating a catalog of Covenanter literature. He wrote on March 2: “We are going to try to compile a complete list of all the books written by Covenanters or written about Covenanters.”

Over the next several months, with suggestions contributed by readers in America and overseas, his ambitious goal resulted in a list that exceeded 250 titles. He wrote on June 8: “Columbus thought he had found a group of islands, and did not live long enough to learn that he had discovered a new continent. W'e started in search of sufficient books written by or about Covenanters to fill a shelf, and did not need to live but a few months to learn that there were enough of such books to fill a good sized room.”

Among the sources utilized in this research was James Calvin McFeeteter’s address at the First International Convention of Reformed Presbyterian Churches held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1896 titled Reformed Presbyterian Literature (American) [available to read here]; and John C. Johnston’s marvelous compendium titled Treasury of the Scottish Covenant (1887), of such usefulness that it is listed twice (#195 and #259), which was unknown to Pritchard at the beginning of this endeavor.

Pritchard’s catalogue met with such success that the 1921 RP Synod ruled that “Authority was conferred to collect as far as possible one copy each of books, catalogued in the Covenanter Book Shelf, for College and Seminary.” The library at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to this day is the great repository of Covenanter literature in America.

Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary.jpg

We have recently added Pritchard’s “Covenanter Book Shelf” to his page recently, and it is truly a valuable resources for Covenanters and students of the Covenanters on both sides of the Atlantic. One will find the names of Scottish Covenanters such as Cameron, Cargill, Gillespie, Guthrie, Knox, Melville, Rutherford, Peden, Symington and many others highlighted; as well as American Covenanters Dodds, George, Glasgow, Kennedy, McAllister, McFeeters, McLeod, McMaster, Scott, Sommerville, Sproull, Willson, Wylie and more. As we work our way through this catalogue, we hope to add more and more of the American titles listed to Log College Press. If you have an interest in Covenanter literature, be sure to check out Pritchard and McFeeters and you will benefit from their research.

What does God ask of us? Daniel Dana answers

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From Prov. 23:26, Daniel Dana has given us an important lesson about what God asks of his children. “Give Me Thy Heart” is a tract which has great value today. As Christians, we are not called to half-hearted obedience but rather to “love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut. 6:5).

Hear what Dana says because his message is timeless one:

Solomon speaks, not so much in his own name, as in the name of the King of kings — the glorious JEHOVAH. It is He, the king and venerable Father of the great family of man, who here addresses every individual of his rational human offspring, in language such as this: "Ye creatures of my power; ye children of my family; objects of my constant care and compassion; remember your Creator, your Father, and your God. Expand your souls to the Supreme Good. Let your best and purest affections be mine. Choose me as your portion. Love me as your Friend. Delight in me as your happiness. Reverence my authority; adore my wisdom; trust my grace; lean upon my arm; resign yourselves, your all, to my service and disposal. And you especially, the younger members of my family, just rising into existence, give me your hearts. To your kind Parent, and your guardian God, devote the flower and prime of your affections, and your earliest obedience. In the fair morning of life choose my service as your business, and the enjoyment of me as your bliss." Such is the tender and gracious exhortation of the blessed God: an exhortation which most powerfully addresses the reason, the conscience, and the sensibilities of every human being.

This is an exhortation from a 19th century minister that speaks to what God asks of all believers in all times. Click here to read the full tract by Dana.

An American Andrew Melville

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Presbyterians who know their Covenanter history will remember what Andrew Melville once told King James I in 1596. His “Two-Kingdoms” speech was one for the ages, and it has resonated not only on the European side of the Atlantic, but also in America as well.

American Presbyterian Stuart Robinson had occasion once to utter Melville’s words to the chief magistrate in America, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, after Lincoln’s military issued an order in 1864 to suppress Robinson’s magazine, the True Presbyterian, under charges inciting rebellion. He wrote a letter to President Lincoln in December 1864 from Toronto, Canada, where he was living in exile, requesting a reversal of “the monstrous order of General Burbidge, of November 19, 1864, for the suppression of the True Presbyterian, a purely ecclesiastical journal, published at Louisville, Kentucky.”

With no response, Stuart followed up with an open letter to the President dated January 26, 1865, in which he elaborated at great length upon the argument that his concern was not political rebellion to the present U.S. administration, but rather the cause of Christ. And in this letter he quoted Andrew Melville to make his point.

The civil government, represented to us, primarily, by the constitution and laws, and secondarily by your administration, so long as its acts in accord with the constitution and laws, is undoubtedly an ordinance of God. And therefore by Divine authority you wield the power of the sword to coerce obedience. But another government, in itself distinct and complete, to which government has been committed the “power of the keys,” as to the “power of the sword.” As Andrew Melville had occasion to remind a tyrant Stuart — “God’s two kingdoms, one the Kingdom of Jesus Christ whose subject James is, and of whose kingdom he is neither a king nor a lord but only a member and they whom Christ hath called to govern his spiritual kingdom have a sufficient authority which no Christian king should control or discharge;” so I may remind you that, there are two Presidents and Commonwealths in these United States; the one President Lincoln and the other President Jesus Christ, in whose Commonwealth President Lincoln hath no sort of official function. And I may say this with still more force than Andrew Melville, seeing that beside the Ordinance of Christ in his revealed statute book, the founders of the American civil Commonwealth have, for the first time in history, acknowledged by civil enactments, the independence of the Church, which King James denied. And therefore all utterances and acts, either on the civil or ecclesiastical side, by which the secular intrudes into the spiritual, or the spiritual into the secular sphere are violations of the civil constitution of the country as well as of the statutes of Christ.

Only three months later President Lincoln was laid to rest after being struck down by an assassin’s bullet, and Robinson was able to return to his beloved Louisville a year after that momentous event, in April 1866. For a minister known for his staunch advocacy of the spirituality of the church, it is remarkable how much trouble Robinson got into with civil authority. His conflict with the civil magistrate echoes not only the conflict which led Andrew Melville to speak as he did to King James, but also led Peter to say “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). For a much more detailed account of this story, see Preston D. Graham, Jr., A Kingdom Not of This World: Stuart Robinson’s Struggle to Distinguish the Sacred From the Secular During the Civil War (2002).

Ten-Year-Old A.A. Hodge's Letter to the Unsaved

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On June 23, 1833, as Princeton Seminary graduate James R. Eckard prepared to leave for a mission trip to Ceylon (Sri Lanka), he was handed a letter written by ten-year-old Archibald Alexander Hodge and his sister Mary Elizabeth to take to his destination. This letter has recently been added to Log College Press. It is important for 21st century readers to grasp the meaning of the word “heathen” as used in this letter. Easton’s Bible Dictionary says it well: “strangers to revealed religion.”

Dear Heathen: The Lord Jesus Christ hath promised that the time shall come when all the ends of the earth shall be His Kingdom. And God is not a man that He should lie nor the son of man that He should repent. And if this was promised by a Being who cannot lie, why do you not help it to come sooner by reading the Bible, and attending to the words of your teachers, and loving God, and, renouncing your idols, take Christianity into your temples? And soon there will not be a Nation, no, not a space of ground as large as a footstep, that will want a missionary. My sister and myself have, by small self-denials, procured two dollars which are enclosed in this letter to buy tracts and Bibles to teach you.

Archibald Alexander Hodge
Mary Eliz. Hodge,
Friends of the Heathen

The same boy who wrote this letter would go on to serve in Allahabad, India from 1847-1850 before illness forced him to return to the States, where A.A. Hodge served as pastor, professor and author, always seeking in his various capacities to serve the kingdom of God.

For more on the subject of raising children who love and support missions, see Thomas Smyth’s The Mission of Parenting: Raising Children Who Love the Mission of God at the link below.

"A Christless cross no refuge is for me" - Who said it?

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There is a verse of poetry that is often shared on social media and attributed to B.B. Warfield. It comes from “The Dogmatic Spirit,” an article which first appeared in The Presbyterian Journal, October 11, 1894, and was reprinted in Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield, Vol. 2, p. 667.

A Christless cross no refuge is for me;
A Crossless Christ my Savior may not be;
But, O Christ crucified! I rest in thee.

Apart from the center alignment, perhaps, Warfield did not indicate whether this was his poetry or that of another, but this poem had in fact been published before 1894 under a different name. In this writer’s attempt to trace the poem’s origins, it appears to have been attributed to two poets before Warfield.

In He Giveth Songs: A Collection of Religious Lyrics (1881) by W.M.L Jay (pseud.), A.E. Hamilton and Others, this verse appears under the title “The Cross.” It is attributed to A.E. Hamilton, who is Anna Elizabeth Hamilton, Irish poet (1843-1875 or 1876). The second edition of this work — under the title At the Evening Time and Other Poems (1892) — also credits A.E. Hamilton for this poem. Likewise, it is attributed to Hamilton in Edward D. Boylston’s The Cross of Christ: A Poem (1882). In The Pilgrim’s Staff or Daily Steps Heavenward by The Pathway of Faith (1897) by Rose Porter, the same poem is attributed to C.M. Noel, who is Caroline Maria Noel, English poet (1817-1877). Noel was one of the poets included in He Giveth Songs. Therefore, the likely author of these verses appears to be Anna Elizabeth Hamilton.

The words as she appears to have written them are:

A CHRISTLESS cross no refuge were for me;
A crossless Christ my Saviour might not be;
But, O Christ crucified, I rest in Thee!

These beautiful lines fit Warfield’s Christocentric thought perfectly, and they are worthy to be remembered. It is clear, though, that this poem predates Warfield’s use of it in “The Dogmatic Spirit.” Warfield himself was an accomplished poet, as we have seen before. Many of his poems are available to read at Log College Press. So it is worth remembering who actually wrote these verses, and the poet appears to be Anna Elizabeth Hamilton. If further research leads to a different assessment, please feel free to comment and share any additional information. In the meantime, let us meditate on the message of the poem: rest in Christ alone!

The first book published in West Virginia

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It is remarkable how many books by Presbyterians were among the first to the published in this or that early American locale. We have shared some examples of this previously. Today’s query: what was the first book published in West Virginia?

Answer: The first book published in what is now West Virginia (which seceded from Virginia in 1863) is Moses Hoge’s Christian Panoply; Containing an Apology for the Bible in a Series of Letters Addressed to Thomas Paine (1797), and it was published in Shepherdstown. A tiny handful of pamphlets and broadsides were printed in 1791 and 1796, but Christian Panoply was the first book published in the territory of West Virginia.

Hoge, Moses, Christian Panoply Title Page.jpg

Christian Panoply is a response to Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason. The work essentially consists of three parts: 1) Richard Watson’s letters titled Apology for the Bible and his Address to Scoffers at Religion; 2) William Paley’s The Authenticity of the Books of the New Testament (extracted from his A View of the Evidences of Christianity); and 3) Hoge’s The Sophist Unmasked (under Hoge’s pseudonym, Philobiblius).

We added this work to Log College Press last year, and it represents another Presbyterian landmark in the history of American literature. Students of church history can bookmark this West Virginia milestone for further study here.

A word of consolation from Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen

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Almost 300 years ago, a collection of sermons by the Dutch-American Reformed minister Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen was published. The timing of this publication (1721) predates the First Great Awakening, yet reflects very much its spirit and emphasis on experimental piety.

Frelinghuysen, Theodorus Jacobus photo.jpg

Today’s post extracts an encouraging word from one those sermons: The Christian’s Encouragement in the Spiritual Conflict. Frelinghuysen took as his text Luke 22:31-32: “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

Remakkable and full of consolation for the children of God are the words of David: “Though the righteous fall he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.” (Ps. 37 : 24.) A righteous or just person is not one who is perfect, for such an one is not to be found among the children of Adam, and perfection is the prerogative of the second Adam alone; but he is one who has fled for refuge to the grace of God, and is justified by the faith of Christ. All men still sin, even the righteous; "We all offend in many things,” is the inspired observation of James; "A just man falleth seven times," that is, frequently, is that of Solomon, Prov. 21 : 16; falleth into miseries and difficulties, or (as the pious also do) into sins and imperfections, 1 Cor. 10:11, 12: "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." When the righteous falls either into misery or sin, he is not utterly cast down: "He riseth up again," said Solomon; by a new repentance he is raised up and helped out of his situation, "for the Lord upholdeth his hand;" he raises him up, and strengthens him after the inward man; so that he falls indeed, but does not fall away. Of this we have many instances, as that of David ; he fell and was not cast away, but arose again, Ps. 51, and of Peter, who fell grievously, but was not cast away; for the Lord upheld him, or which is the same, prayed for him, as is taught in the words of our text.

Do you struggle and fall, dear Christian? Then you are in good company with all of your fellow-believers and indeed the best known of all saints. Praise God that Christ is your refuge, and that, indeed, he prays for you, that your strength fail not. When we fall, Christ is He who lifts us up. Be encouraged then, dear saint, for He has promised never to leave or forsake you who put your trust in Him (Deut. 31:6).

Read the full sermon, and others, by Frelinghuysen here, or pick up a copy edited by Joel R. Beeke, titled Forerunner of the Great Awakening: Sermons by Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1691-1747) here. There is great encouragement to be found today in this message from a sermon that was preached three centuries ago.

Stuart Robinson on the 'Churchliness of Calvinism'

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Stuart Robinson is known for his position, characteristic of the Southern Presbyterian Church, that — as John Muether has written in reviewing The Church of God as an Essential Element of the Gospel — “‘divine right’ Presbyterianism sees the church as a spiritual institution with spiritual means to accomplish spiritual ends.” The place of the church in relation to the gospel is front and center in Robinson’s thinking as is shown also by an extract from an address which he gave to the First General Presbyterian Council at Edinburgh, Scotland in July 1877 titled The Churchliness of Calvinism: Presbytery Jure Divino Its Logical Outcome (1877).

The mission of Messiah to execute the covenant of eternity was not simply to be a teaching Prophet and an atoning Priest, but a ruling King as well. His work, beside making an atonement, was not, as a Socrates, merely to enunciate certain truths and found a school, but likewise, as the result of all and the reward of all, to be a Solon, founding a community, organising a government, and administering therein as a perpetual King. Hence, therefore, the Church of God, as organised and visible, is but the actual outworking of the purpose to redeem an organised body of sinners out of the fallen race. It is therefore an essential element of the gospel theology. The foundations of the structure are laid in the very depths of the scheme of redemption; and the development, in time, of that scheme to redeem not merely individual souls, but a body of sinners organised under the Mediator, as Head and King, must of necessity develop a Church, visible and organised, as a part of the revelation to man of the counsels of eternity.

See the rest of Robinson’s address here, along with many other works by him, including newly-added issues of the newspaper he edited in Louisville, Kentucky, the Free Christian Commonwealth. He is a Presbyterian worth getting to know, and this address is representative of his passionate conviction in the important place of the Church in relation to the redemptive purpose and work of Messiah.

Restoration of the William Tennent House

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Today’s post contains a message from Wendy Wirsch, President of the William Tennant House Association. Previously, we have written about the efforts of this organization to preserve and restore the home of the Founder of the original Log College. She has an update to report that we wanted to pass along to our readers.

Wendy Wirsch portrays Mrs. Catherine Tennent at the Log College Monument (courtesy of Wendy Wirsch).

Wendy Wirsch portrays Mrs. Catherine Tennent at the Log College Monument (courtesy of Wendy Wirsch).

The Rev. William Tennent, Sr. helped light the fires for revival at the beginning of the First Great Awakening. He lived on a hundred-acre plantation in Warminster, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Today what was once William Tennent’s property is now the children’s campus for Christ’s Home. Near his house he built a log cabin school for the training of Presbyterian ministers. This school became known as the Log College. All of his known graduates became revivalist preachers except for one who became a medical doctor. After William Tennent’s death on May 6, 1746, the Log College closed its doors. John 12:24 says, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies. It remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” The death of this “grain of wheat” produced sixty-three colleges and universities. The first offshoot was Princeton University.

In 2011 the William Tennent House Association (WTHA) became a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 formed to restore the home commonly known as the William Tennent House. This house stands diagonally behind the Log College Monument which lists the sixty-three colleges and universities. The WTHA began working with the historic preservation department of AECOM. Currently the Association is working with Michael Cuba and Dale Emde, timber framers, and Jeffrey Marshall, President of the Heritage Conservancy.

Here’s an update on the efforts to restore the house.  The Historic Resource Survey Report compiled by AECOM’s historic preservation department was submitted to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for their review in order to get eligibility for the National Registry.  Unfortunately, the PHMC turned down our submission, but we’re not giving up.

During the summer of 2019 we began working with Michael Cuba and Dale Emde, timber framers along with advice from Jeffrey Marshall of the Heritage Conservancy in Doylestown, PA.  After thorough examination of the structure, Michael and Jeffrey tell us that this is a totally rebuilt house with materials from other structures.  The two stone ends where the fireplaces are located are probably original.  Also, the original house was a one or one-and-a-half story log home.  We don’t know why William Tennent advertised it as a two-story dwelling in the Pennsylvania Gazette.  We know from our research that this is the location of his house. 

Michael Cuba and Dale Emde took core samples of wood from the interior of the home for dendrochronology and sent them to the Oxford Dendrochronology Lab in Oxford, England.  Dendrochronology will help us date the structure.  The results should be in by March.

In the ceiling of the basement there are logs that look like they came from a log cabin structure.  I often wondered if they came from the Log College.  Unfortunately, we may never know.   When Michael took a core sample from one of the logs, he discovered the logs were chestnut.  In the 18th century a blight wiped out all of the chestnut trees so there is no sample we can compare it to. 

Currently the WTHA is raising money to stabilize the north wall and put a temporary roof over the existing roof.  We also need to raise money for ground penetrating radar to check the foundation and conduct an archaeological dig on the property.  Archaeology will tell the story of this house and who lived there. When we raise even more money, we will have Jeffrey Marshall resubmit a revised HRSF to the PHMC. 

This house has always been known as the William Tennent House. Inspired by William Tennent and the impact of the Log College our mission is to raise awareness of his lasting contributions to higher education in the American middle colonies, as well as Tennent’s spiritual influence on the founding of our nation. We envision the William Tennent House as a place where the community and school students will learn about the life of William Tennent and his important contribution to American history and spiritual renewal. The home will be open for tours to the public, and a library will be opened for anyone who wants to do research.

Any reader of this blog who wants to make a donation or become a member of the William Tennent House Association can visit our website at www.williamtennenthouse.org. We are also on Facebook at William Tennent House. I believe this house holds a secret, and I’m determined to find out what it is.

The William Tennent House (courtesy of Wendy Wirsch).

The William Tennent House (courtesy of Wendy Wirsch).

If you are interested in the mission of the William Tennent House Association, please visit their website to learn more. The former home of the founder of the Log College is an historical treasure. The preservation and restoration of the landmark of American Presbyterian history is a worthy aim, and if there are secrets to be unlocked, we hope that these efforts will be successful.

Schaff's Creeds of Christendom

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Honest and earnest controversy, conducted in a Christian and catholic spirit, promotes true and lasting union. Polemics looks to Irenics — the aim of war is peace. — Philip Schaff, Preface to The Creeds of Christendom, Vol. 1

Among the many invaluable resources available at Log College Press is the three-volume ‘symbolical library’ known as the The Creeds of Christendom (1877) by Philip Schaff. If this set is not on a shelf in your library, it can nevertheless easily be a useful part of your digital library (you can download it here).

The First Volume is “a doctrinal history of the Church, so far as it is embodied in public standards of faith.”

The Second Volume contains the Scripture Confessions, the ante-Nicene Rules of Faith, the Ecumenical, the Greek, and the Latin Creeds, from the Confession of Peter down to the Vatican Decrees. It includes also the best Russian Catechism and the recent Old Catholic Union Propositions of the Bonn Conferences.

The Third Volume is devoted to the Lutheran, Anglican, Calvinistic, and the later Protestant Confessions of Faith. The documents of the Third Part (pp. 707–876) have never been collected before.

The creeds and confessions are given in the original languages from the best editions, and are accompanied by translations for the convenience of the English reader.

The Reformation-era creeds and confessions are found in Volume 3. One might well compare this volume to the excellent four-volume set of Reformed Confessions of the 16th and 17th Centuries in Translation (2008-2014), edited by James T. Dennison, Jr. There is a great deal of overlap and yet there are differences in the scope of both works. Schaff’s historical study and collection of confessional documents throughout the centuries was ground-breaking in its day, and still worthy of study in the 21st century.