The Southern Presbyterian Review at Log College Press

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As our friends at the PCA Historical Center, who have done much to aid students of history by indexing a valuable theological journal, have noted about The Southern Presbyterian Journal:

Published from June of 1847 through October of 1885, the Southern Presbyterian Review remains a significant publication for the study of the history, doctrine and polity of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S., a denomination more commonly known as the Southern Presbyterian Church. As one of its authors, John B. Adger noted, "Running from 1847 to 1885, its thirty-six volumes cover a very interesting term of years. Political, educational, moral, ecclesiastical, theological discussions were rife in those times. The war was coming on, and the ideas that led to it stirred men's minds and hearts."

At Log College Press, we have recently add all 36 volumes to the site for your reading pleasure. This journal included writings by Southern Presbyterian giants such as John B. Adger, Samuel J. Baird, Robert J. Breckinridge, Robert L. Dabney, John L. Girardeau, George Howe, Benjamin M. Palmer, Thomas E. Peck, William S. Plumer, Stuart Robinson, Benjamin M. Smith, Thomas Smyth, James H. Thornwell, B.B. Warfield, John L. Wilson, and others. Some additional contributors found within these pages include the Irish Presbyterian Thomas Witherow, the Scottish Presbyterian William Garden Blaikie and the German-born, New Orleans-based Jewish Rabbi Isaac L. Leucht. There is a wealth of discussion, and sometimes a diversity of views, on matters such as the office of the diaconate, church-state relations, baptism, Roman Catholicism, dancing, missions, church history, musical instruments in worship, poetry, preaching, the Christian Sabbath, evolution, eschatology, and much more.

Begin your reading here, and remember that some individual articles are found on the author pages at LCP, and some are not (or not yet). Thanks to Dr. Wayne Sparkman, author and subject indices are available at the PCA Historical Center. There is a veritable treasure trove of material here to download, digest and reference at your leisure. Enjoy!

S.J. Cassels: Our frail tabernacles should make us value that Good Land

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In the months before Presbyterian minister and poet Samuel Jones Cassels passed away in Savannah, Georgia at the age of 47, probably of tuberculosis, he was very busy with his pen, writing a number of articles for the Southern Presbyterian Review, including one which was published posthumously.

The editors of SPR published a bit of his correspondence after his death which tells us something of the sufferings of this saint, and his longing for heaven. In a letter dated April 20, 1853, Cassels wrote:

Rev. and Dear Brother, — I am gratified that there is prospect of having another article published. Not that I desire to appear so often before the public, but because I am so shut out of life by infirmity. Ah, my Brother, few know my daily sufferings. As the Apostle said, “I die daily." The pen is the almost only means of a little diversion from bodily pain. Whenever I can be so absorbed in thought as to forget the body, I have ease, sometimes exhilaration. But, for the most part, I only struggle and struggle with the decays of my frail tabernacle. But I should not thus speak, lest I seem to murmur, — for I can feebly testify, that in all my afflictions, no good word of God has failed. For the past week, I have been much afflicted; and yesterday, — fell sick, and is very sick to-day. Oh, how such things should make us value that good Land, where thorns and thistles grow not, tears are not shed, and sin has no existence!

You will find the article hastily written , and of course disfigured by bad-spelling , bad punctuation, and bad grammar, it may be. — Anything of this kind you may see, please correct, as if it were your own. I have had to erase much for the same reason. Please see that the proofs are correct.

Yours in the Gospel, and in the hope of a blessed immortality.

S.J. Cassels

On June 15, 1853, Cassels entered into that Good Land, and all his bodily sufferings came to an end. No more thorns and thistles! Only blessed peace and immortality in the presence of his beloved Savior.

Eyes open to the world around you: Julia McNair Wright

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He claimed that, while reading about nature was fine, “if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.” — Helga Schier, writing about George Washington Carver (George Washington Carver: Agricultural Innovator: Agricultural Innovator, p. 79)

If God is the author of two books, Nature and Scripture (Ps. 19), we do well to attend to both. It was said of the Presbyterian minister James L. Woods (1846-1918) that:

Mr. Woods loved God and all things that He made — the trees, the flowers and the grandeur of the mountains. To him they spoke a "various language" as he held "communion with her visible forms." It was his custom to take long walks among the mountains, sometimes spending days among their fastnesses. It was when returning to his home in Lakeport from one of these rambles that he succumbed.on the 13th of June, 1918, at the close of a beautiful day. A friend wrote: How fitting that he should fall asleep in the arms of nature (Harriet E. Jones in James L. Woods, California Pioneer Decade of 1849: The Presbyterian Church (1922)).

Maltbie D. Babcock loved to hike, especially along the Niagara Escarpment to enjoy the overlook's panoramic vista of upstate New York scenery and Lake Ontario, telling his wife he was "going out to see the Father's world". Such hikes inspired his famous poem, which later became the hymn “This is My Father’s World.”

This is my Father’s world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world;
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world;
the birds their carols raise;
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their Maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world;
he shines in all that’s fair.
In the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

Another Presbyterian writer who loved nature and aimed to instill that love in children was Julia McNair Wright (1840-1903). We have taken note before of her historical fiction and biographical sketches for children. Today we take note of her writings on science and nature; specifically, those focused on teaching children to open their eyes to the world around them to the glory of God.

Among the 90 or more published writings by Mrs. Wright (which we continue to upload to Log College Press as we are able) are a number of works for or about children and science or nature. She published a popular four-volume set of Nature Readers: Sea-Side and Way-Side in the late 1880s and early 1890s; and volumes for young people on astronomy and botany in 1898.

She also wrote short articles for periodicals such as Fiddler-Crabs (for The American Naturalist, May 1887); “Shall Our Children Study Natural Science?” (for the Nashville, Tennessee Southwestern Journal of Education, September 1887); The Cultivation in Young Children, of a Taste for the Literary and Scientific (for the Boston, Massachusetts American Teacher, January 1888); and Scientific Collections: How Made (also for the American Teacher, April 1888). Several nature “dispatches” written from her home in Fulton, Missouri were published in the weekly newspaper Science. Those “dispatches” consisted largely of personal, scientific observations pertaining to creatures which lived nearby.

So many of these sorts of writings by Mrs. Wright seem to have arisen because of a deeply personal appreciation for the world around her, and a desire to share that interest and passion with young people. A love of nature is apparently contagious, and for those who may be housebound, it is worth reading over some of these writings to be stirred up in the appreciation of the world outside. Even in isolation, through windows at least, one can still appreciate the beauty of the birds, the stars, the trees, and take note of many facets of God’s creation. Reading books is fine, as George Washington Carver has said, but few things can surpass a walk in the woods or through fields or at the beach, with friends or family, and with eyes open to the glory of God in his creation.

At the border of Immanuel's Land: Last words of John H. Rice

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The following instances, in which some of God's dear ministering servants, as representatives of many of 'like precious faith,' when they reached the borders of the river between them and Immanuel's land, glanced at the hills and heard something of the harmony and inhaled the fragrance blown across, are replete with interest, and should not fail to be read with profit. — Alfred Nevin, How They Died; or, Last Words of American Presbyterian Ministers (1883), pp. 11-12

Among the stories told by Nevin of faithful ministers whose last words still echo today is that of John Holt Rice (on p. 44). But for a fuller account of this particular story, we turn to the memoirs of Dr. Rice, first professor of Union Theological Seminary (then located at Hampden Sydney, Virginia), by William Maxwell and Philip Barbour Price.

As they describe “the last scene,” it was Saturday evening, September 3, 1831, and 53 year-old Rice was laying on his sick bed in agony. Many had visited him that day, and all knew that the end was near. A little bit of opium was administered to him to ease the pain. He spent time in silent prayer. Then, in Price’s words,

About 9 o'clock, rising suddenly, he threw his arms around the neck of Mrs. Rice, and with a clear, bright eye beaming with heavenly joy, exclaimed, "Mercy is — " The last word died upon his lips. "Was it ‘great’?" said Mrs. Goodrich. "No," replied Mrs. Rice, "it was a longer word." In the dim twilight of receding consciousness the dying Christian perceived that he was not understood; and, lest he should fail in the delivery of his last testimony, with great exertion, recovering his strength, he exclaimed, "Mercy is triumphant."

His head fell upon his bosom, and the words "he is gone" were uttered around the room.

Dr. Horton gently released his arms and laid him upon his pillow, and with a few more signs of breathing he expired.

Thus did he exchange “this mortal coil” for Paradise. And so entered into glory a man whose passion for spreading the gospel in Virginia and around the world was surpassed by none. Of him it might well be said, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?” (2 Sam. 3:38) While his earthly remains were laid to rest at the cemetery of his beloved seminary, his hope was in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, whose mercy indeed is triumphant over all.

Rice, John Holt gravestone photo.jpg

A Short Conversation with Archibald Alexander on Fasting and Prayer

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And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes (Daniel 9:3)

In his posthumous volume known as Practical Truths (1857), some of Archibald Alexander’s last writings were assembled together, including one piece titled A Short Conversation on Fasting and Prayer. As many are at this time called to particular seasons of fasting and prayer, it is thought that Alexander’s remarks on this subject might prove timely.

A Short Conversation on Fasting and Prayer

Yesterday a pious young minister of the Baptist denomination called upon me, and said he wished I would write a short article for the Messenger on the duty of fasting. He observed, that among Christians of our day he feared this duty was much neglected.

I referred him to a valuable discourse of the late venerable Doctor Miller on that subject, published some years since in the National Preacher, which he said he had not seen. I told him that I was not in favor of periodical fasts once a week or once a month; that there were times when we ought not to fast: as our blessed Saviour said to the disciples of John, in answer to their question, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not? Can the children of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the Bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then shall they fast.”

To this my young friend assented, and observed, that soon after his conversion he determined to fast one day in the week; but after practising this for some time, he found that it was degenerating into a formal observance, and he gave up the practice. He remarked that it was evident from one declaration of our Lord, that there were cases of obstinate evils from which deliverance was not obtained without adding fasting to our prayers. The reference was to Matt. 17 :21: "Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

Fasting has made a part of all religions, true and false, and is much practised among the heathen, the Jews, the Mohammedans, the Romanists, and the oriental Christians. And because the practice has been turned to superstition, Protestants have too much neglected this duty. But eminently devout men in all ages have found fasting an auxiliary to devotion and to the mortification of sin.

Some professors neglect it altogether, under the false notion that literal fasting is not enjoined, but only penitence and abstaining from sin. There are, however, degrees of fasting, both as to the time of abstinence from food, and whether the abstinence be total or partial. The Ninevites, when brought to repentance by the preaching of Jonah, tasted neither bread nor water for three whole days. This was a severe fast. Daniel fasted for three full weeks; but this was not a total abstinence, for he says, "I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth." And Peter's fast, when he saw the vision of the sheet let down, was only until the ninth hour, that is, three o'clock of our day.

External fasting, without corresponding internal penitence and humiliation, is hypocrisy, and such fasting is severely reproved by the prophet. See Isaiah 63. And God says, "Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart, and not your garments." And our Lord warns us against ostentation in our fasting: "Moreover, when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to. fast. Verily, I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

One special occasion on which the apostles and their companions were accustomed to fast, was when ministers were to be ordained and sent forth. Thus we read in Acts 13:2, "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." And again, chap. 14:23, "And when they had ordained elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord." Is this practice now followed by those who ordain? As fasting renders some persons sick, so that it hinders their devotion, such should adopt partial abstinence; for the Lord will have mercy, and not sacrifice. But its causing pain is one end of fasting, that we may "afflict our souls."

In this short conversation with Archibald Alexander, we are given some helpful principles regarding and insights into the nature and practice of fasting and prayer. For further study, be sure to check out the fuller work on the subject alluded to by Samuel Miller: The Duty, the Benefits, and the Proper Method of Religious Fasting (1831). The time is right for many to seek the Lord in this way, as saints of old have done, and as Alexander and Miller have counseled.

William Marshall on an age-old question: "Should I stay or should I go?"

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In recent weeks, we have written of pastoral responses to epidemics centuries ago, including examples by men such as Ashbel Green, George Dodd Armstrong, Benjamin Morgan Palmer, E.D. McMaster, and Francis J. Grimké. In today’s post, we look at William Marshall, an Associate Presbyterian minister, who, like Ashbel Green, faced the question of what to do in response to the yellow fever which raged in Philadelphia during the late 18th century.

James B. Scouller, in his Manual of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, p. 486, writes of Marshall:

When the yellow fever was in Philadelphia he wrote a “Theological Tract on the Propriety of removing from places where the yellow fever prevails.” As he was leaving the city at this time, because of the yellow fever, a friend on the other side of the street accosted him, saying: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” He immediately replied: “A prudent man foreseeth the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.”

The tract spoken of here is available to be read at Log College Press. In it, Marshall begins by stating what the question is not:

  • it is not “Whether we can fly from God?” - God is omnipresent;

  • it is not “Whether the pestilential fever be a judgment from God?” - Scripture declares large-scale pestilence to be a scourge or judgment of the Lord; and

  • it is not “What is the duty of every individual, where the pestilence rages?” - acknowledging the general normal duty to assemble for public worship, Marshall says, quoting Thomas Boston, “That what God forbids is at no time to be done; what he commands is always duty, and yet every particular duty is not to be done at all times.”

The question Marshall aims to answer is this: “What is the duty of those who live in a place where the pestilence is spreading? Should they not remove to a more healthy situation if it is in their power?” This Marshall answers in the affirmative, for several reasons, particularly on the basis of the Sixth Commandment, which requires that we engage in “all lawful endeavours to preserve our own life, and the life of others.”

After providing his reasons in favor of people “removing” from a city afflicted by the plague for safety reasons — the title page of Marshall’s treatise cites Jeremiah 38:2: “He that remaineth in the city shall die — by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth — shall live” — he responds to five objections to this position.

Marshall concludes his essay with an encouragement to trust in the Lord but not to run rashly with presumption into danger. Read the full work — titled A Theological Dissertation, on the Propriety of Removing From the Seat of the Pestilence: Presented to the Perusal of the Serious Inhabitants of Philadelphia and New-York (1799) — here and consider how one leading 18th century Presbyterian in response to a yellow fever epidemic answered the question, “Should I stay or should I go?”

The Sabbath at Home: Silas M. Andrews

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Are you at home on the Lord’s Day today? Silas M. Andrews has a book for you: The Sabbath at Home (1840)? It encourages those not able to attend on the public worship services to spend their time wisely in keeping with the purpose of the Lord’s Day.

In this short volume, Andrews encourages families and individuals at home to read the Scriptures, pray, sing praises to God, meditate, catechize, and read godly literature. All of these are involved in profitable Sabbath observance, he says, and help us to aim our thoughts heavenward on this holy day.

He also discourages “Sunday visiting,” which under today’s circumstances (vis-à-vis the coronavirus) might seem to make sense. But his aim was primarily to help Christians avoid vain and frivolous conversation on the Lord’s Day. He does encourage visiting the sick to offer spiritual and physical comfort. This encouragement can be followed in some cases these days, but in other cases, we may avail ourselves of electronic technology to commune with others at a distance and still adhere to the thrust of Andrews’ counsel.

Andrews also connects the importance of public worship to Sabbath observance at home. How those who are at home ought to long for the courts of the Lord! Thankfully, technology can be help today in this regard, but it can never be a substitute.

This little book offers people who are at home on the Lord’s Day some valuable encouragement to redeem the time wisely. Today might well be the day when a book from 1840 speaks to us most clearly in 2020. Check it out here, and may God bless you on this Lord’s Day (3 John 2).

What do the Scriptures teach about coming to Christ? Charles Hodge answers

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Among his Princeton Sermons (1879), we have the sketch of a sermon which Charles Hodge delivered on December 7, 1856 titled “Coming to Christ.” Here Hodge — a man who was not laconic, but rather a model of brevity — gives us an outline of what the Scripture teach. After discussing — from Matt. 11:28; John 5:40, 6:37, 44, 7:37; Heb. 7:25, 11:6; and Rev. 22:17 — the nature of what is meant by “coming,” as it includes a sense of one’s need for Christ, belief and trust in Him, drawing near to Him by faith, and spiritual union and communion with Him, then Hodge adds these simple remarks, which summarize what is involved.

Two additional truths are revealed by Scripture on this point.

  1. The unwillingness of men to come, and consequently the guilt of not coming. 2. The necessity of being drawn by the Spirit.

The Scriptures teach,

  1. That all are invited to come.

  2. That all the elect do come.

  3. That coming is essential.

  4. That it is the very thing to be done.

  5. That none who come shall be cast out.

  6. That the reason why men do not come is their unwillingness.

  7. That divine assistance is necessary.

A simple outline, but it is the simplicity of the Scriptures themselves. Read Hodge’s sermon sketch, and more by him, here.

250th Birthday of John M. Mason

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Perhaps no one person in the Associate Reformed Church of that era made a greater contribution of service, or caused a greater degree of controversy than John M. Mason. He had a brilliant mind, an eloquent manner of speech, and a boundless capacity to work. He was, some would say, a man ahead of his time, and impatient to wait on others to catch up with him. — Ray A. King, A History of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, p. 119

It was 250 years ago today, on March 19, 1770, that John Mitchell Mason was born. He was a major force in early 19th century American Presbyterianism, and most especially, within the Associate Reformed Church. His writings advocating more frequent observance of communion, and on occasional communion; on lotteries; concerning the election of Thomas Jefferson; and on religious controversy show his willingness to engage and challenge others on disputed matters. But while he challenged the church, and those outside the church, he loved and labored for God’s kingdom in America and around the world. He helped to establish and organize a theological seminary for the Associate Reformed Church in 1804, he founded The Christian’s Magazine in 1806, and he served as President of Dickinson College, in additional to his ministerial labors.

Four volumes of his Works, and other writings, along with a volume (by his son-in-law) of his memoirs and correspondence, are available to peruse at Log College Press. Also, be sure to take note of Mason’s place in Robert R. Lathan’s History of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South, To Which is Prefixed a History of the Associate Presbyterian and Reformed Presbyterian Churches (1882). John M. Mason was a 19th century giant among other giants of early American Presbyterianism, and his 250th birthday is the perfect time to remember his contributions to the Church, which were extensive. To God be the glory for such a servant who labored diligently for his kingdom!

National judgments call for national repentance: E.D. McMaster

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Erasmus Darwin McMaster (sometimes spelled MacMaster) [1806-1866], son of Gilbert McMaster, was a notable leader in the Presbyterian Church In the United States of America (PCUSA). Raised in a Covenanter (Reformed Presbyterian) home, he had occasion once to speak of his thankfulness to God for such a heritage as a child of the covenant, along with his ecumenical (in the best sense of the word) desire to see all branches of the Church united as one:

God gave me my birth as a Presbyterian; and I am not ashamed of my ecclesiastical lineage. Without any invidious disparagement of other families of the great Christian commonwealth, I reckon the Presbyterian to be some of the best blood in Christendom. At any rate, the fact that I am born such, is in the predicable of inseperable accidents. I can’t help it. As I was born, so I expect to live and to die, a Presbyterian; - unless God should in mercy, before that event come to me, hasten the day, earnestly hoped for by all the good, when the watchmen upon the walls of Zion shall see eye to eye, and together lift up the voice; and when, as there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all, so there shall be visibly, as there is spiritually, but one body; and all these party names shall be sunk in the one catholic and glorious name, The church of the living God, the ground and pillar of the truth [Inaugural Address as President of Miami University, Ohio, 1845].

Born in Mercer, Pennsylvania, McMaster served the church in many ways - as pastor of the Ballston Centre Presbyterian Church in Ballston, New York (1831-1838); President of Hanover College, Indiana (1838-1845); President of Miami University, Ohio (1845-1849); Professor of Systematic Theology at the Presbyterian Seminary in New Albany, Indiana (later McCormick Theological Seminary) (1849-1858); and later, again, as Professor of Systematic Theology at the same seminary when located in Chicago (1866). More about his remarkable life can be found in L.J. Halsey’s A History of the McCormick Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church (1893); and in W.M. Glasgow’s History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America (1888), who wrote that “He was confessedly one of the great men of the Presbyterian Church in America….As a scholar, theologian and preacher, he was of the first rank.”

In 1849, a cholera epidemic was raging throughout the United States. Not long after former President James K. Polk died of the disease in June, President Zachary Taylor declared a national day of fasting and prayer to be observed on August 3, 1849. E.D. McMaster, in his final days as President of Miami University in Ohio, preached a sermon that day titled Impending Judgments Averted by Repentance. In that sermon — based on Jeremiah 18:1-10, 17 — he speaks not only of personal and family repentance needed, but also corporate and national repentance called for, before the Lord. And, further, McMaster argues that the Lord has promised in His Word mercy, rather than judgment, for those who do personally and corporately repent.

At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them (Jer. 18:7-8).

Because to the Lord Jesus Christ, as a reward for his faithfulness, is given, in his mediatorial office of King, authority over all things (Matt. 28:18), all families, all nations, all societal associations, which are created and established by God, are encompassed under that authority, and have a duty to “Kiss the Son” (Ps. 2:12), that is, to confess subjection and loyalty to Him. This is the argument made by McMaster.

Pre-eminently is it true, that when God establishes a people, either as a Church, or as a nation, or as an aggregation of individuals bound together in the various relations of the society of comity, and associations of business and of pleasure, under peculiar advantages, especially in respect to the knowledge and means of the true religion, he claims a peculiar property in and dominion over them, that they shall subserve the interests of his kingdom….

And is not this equally true of us as a people? Has not God established us under peculiar advantages? I cannot wait to recount all his gracious dealings toward us, in our origin, in all the circumstances connected with our planting as a people, the achievement of our independence as a nation, the establishment of our institutions, political, ecclesiastical, and social, and the manifold blessings which, with so bountiful a hand, he has poured upon us through our whole unexampled career of prosperity. It is not true that God has signally marked us out by the bestowment of peculiar advantages, physical, intellectual, moral, social, political, and religious; especially in the possession of Christianity in its truest and purest forms, untrammeled by the commandments and ordinances of men? Surely must we say, he hath not dealt so with any other people. And is not all this that he may claim a special and peculiar property in and dominion over us as a people, and as a Church in the nation, that in all the different characters, capacities, and relations which we sustain, we shall exist, shall live, shall spend our being and be spent, in carrying through our own land and over the earth the triumphs of that heavenly reign by which the world shall be reclaimed to God, and to true happiness, honour and glory? Confused and mistaken ideas about the peculiar nature of the Israelitish Theocracy, so common even among writers of reputation, may perplex the minds of the ill-instructed and undiscriminating, and strengthen the hands of the wicked in seeking to deny and cast off the dominion of God and his Anointed. Other men will do as they choose, will believe as they choose, about this. For one, I believe and assert, that God’s Christ is as truly this day king of Ohio as he was ever the king of Judea; as truly the king of this whole Confederacy of States as he was ever the king of the twelve tribes of Israel. Say who will, “Who is Jehovah, that we should serve him? who is lord over us?” — who will, “We will not have this man to reign over us:” Jehovah, he is God; and this is the will of the Father, that all men honour the Son even as they honour the Father.

III. When a people peculiarly favored of God, especially in respect to the knowledge and means of the true religion, by a departure from God into sin are failing to accomplish, in the promotion of his kingdom, the end for which he has raised them up, then the destroying judgments of God are impending over that people.

McMaster goes on to discuss distinctions between the chastening of the Lord intended to correct and destroying judgments.

It is of these calamities, which are the execution of Heaven’s vindicatory justice, God’s destroying judgments because of sin, that we here speak. These, we say, are impending over a people, who, peculiarly favoured of the Lord, turn away from him, transgress his law, refuse his dominion, and so are failing to accomplish, in the promotion of his kingdom, the end for which he has raised them up. Much more is this so, if such a people are, not failing merely to accomplish the end for which God has planted and built them up, — but acting in opposition to that end; setting themselves to counterwork, to thwart, as much as in them lies, to defeat that end….

The plan and obvious principle upon which God proceeds in this is, that Jehovah is God the Lord; he has made all things for his own glory; and he will have service of his creatures, or he will reject and cast them away; he will have fruit of the work of his hands, or he will destroy it. So we are taught in the parable of the fig-tree; If it bear fruit, well: if not, cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? Such is the method in which God deals with a sinful people.

After laying out the principles by which God deals with nations in particular, McMaster brings home the point that the people of Ohio, and the the people of the United States, who — having been established by God under peculiar advantages, especially in respect to the knowledge and means of the true religion,” and been the recipients of the gracious blessings of God in so many ways — were at that time experiencing the effects of the dreaded cholera, were called upon “as a people, in all relations, individual, domestic, social, political, ecclesiastical, explicitly, truly, and practically to recognize both God and his Christ, and to enter into and prosecute that which is the appointed end of our being as a people.”

McMaster highlights in this sermon the fact that the Constitution of the United States, by a great and grievous omission, neglects to honor God and, specifically, Jesus Christ, as King over this nation. He also highlights the prevailing (at that time) sin of slavery that both existed and was allowed by that same Constitution. He further raised the question of the morality of the Mexican-American War. But especially McMaster addressed the prevalence of idolatry and superstition across the land and in the churches of 19th century America. Taking no delight in pointing out the sins of his own people, McMaster nevertheless implored his hearers to consider how blessed they were, and how greatly they had, as a people, departed from the commandments of the Lord, and how great their need of repentance was that a great and weighty judgment, which was hanging over their heads at present, might yet be averted.

…the Rule according to which God deals with a people in such a case is; that Repentance shall avert his threatened judgments; perseverance in disobedience to his voice shall upon them his judgments in sure and terrible destruction….

This turning of a people to God must be by them in all the different characters, capacities, and relations which they sustain, and in which they have sinned in departing from him. Individuals in concerns private and personal, families in concerns domestic, churches in concerns ecclesiastical, states and nations in concerns political and national, — all, — all, in their several places, capacities and relations, must return unto Him whose they are, and who claims an absolute and unlimited property in and dominion over them, and yield themselves in their whole being to receive the law of God in Christ, and to promote the ends of his kingdom. In this course there is safety. It is no where else to be found. God is, indeed, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. But he is God, and his honour he will not suffer to be taken from him.

The rod of his anger is a voice calling to America today, and it did in 1849. It calls us to repentance, corporate and personal, and such repentance is the only means by which we may find refuge from distress - in the ark of God, which is Jesus Christ. McMaster’s 1849 sermon is not a short read, but it is a valuable exposition of Biblical principles and analysis of a situation not unlike that which America faces in 2020. Take time to study this call to repentance on every level with prayerful consideration. God is indeed glorified in the repentance of his people, for true repentance on the part of his people, as a rule, leads to mercy on the part of our gracious God.

Edward O. Guerrant: The Gospel of the Lilies

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Flowers preach to us if we will hear. — Christina Rossetti, “Consider the Lilies of the Field”

Edward O. Gurreant’s devotional work The Gospel of the Lilies is a treasure of encouragement with much meat for meditation. We have extracted his first message for your consideration today. May his remarks concerning our Lord’s sermon on the Mount — a sermon derived from the very flowers planted by our Creator on that mountain — render a blessing to your soul as you read and, “consider the lilies.”

THE GOSPEL OF THE LILIES

Consider the lilies. Matthew vi, 28, 29.

The greatest preacher was the simplest. The “common people heard Him gladly,” and under stood Him easily.

This was His first sermon, His “inaugural address.” In it He states the character of His kingdom, and lays down the laws of its government, and the duties of its subjects. He shows its superiority over all that preceded it and the absolute security and happiness of all its inhabitants.

Multitudes waited on His teaching. He was the “desire of all the nations.” For four thousand years a guilty hopeless world has been expecting a deliverer. All other helps and hopes had failed. “In the fulness of time,” He came to save a lost world; to bring a race of immortals back to God; to restore order and peace to God’s kingdom on earth. It was a mission worthy of a God, and only a God could do it.

This great sermon on the mountain was His first utterance. He used plain language. He was speaking to plain people. Most of them were poor and unlearned. Their life was a hard one; a struggle for bread, long and sharp. He was speaking to multitudes who were accustomed to “walk by sight,” to depend upon their own arm for a living. The inquiry was “how shall we get bread and clothes for ourselves and children?” They saw nothing beyond the narrow horizon of a hard life, and nothing above the humble roof of their homes.

For years they had been ground beneath the heels of tyrants, and deluded by teachers who taught a false religion, without a Savior or a hope. They felt the need of something better. This was the occasion. The object was to teach them, and you, and me, a better way — the divine, the heavenly way. We need it: The old Galilean cry has come down to us — “What shall we eat?” It occupies most of our thoughts, and time, and energies. He came to show us a better way; to set the world right; to put God back in His place in our lives; to lift up the burdens which have crushed humanity for six thousand years. His great theme was to let God do our thinking, planning, and providing; to let God bear our burdens; to let Him be, what He ought to be, our Father, our Helper, our Redeemer, our “All in All.” He showed them the utter helplessness of man; the utter folly of thinking more of their clothes than of their bodies; more of their food than their souls.

Looking down into the valley where beautiful lilies were blooming, He called their attention to them, and says, “consider the lilies.”

Field of Lilies.jpg

What a scene! What a sermon! How simple, yet how sublime! He made those lilies. He painted their heavenly colors with His sunlight; He refreshed them with His dews and showers; He dressed them in colors more regal than “Solomon in all his glory.” “They neither toil nor spin.” No milliner could have made their wardrobe. God only could make it. Now let us consider:

I. God’s care of the lilies. — He made them, and planted them along the mountain, glen and stream, in field and meadow. He fed and clothed them. The wild lilies have no other provider. God alone cares for them. How well it is done. No human heart or hand can take His place. He planted them where they grow. He selected their home. They grew as He wisely ordered, by stem and leaf and flower. He watered them when thirsty, and fed them when hungry.

“They have no care;
They bend their heads before the storm,
And rise to meet the sunshine warm,
“God cares for them.
His love is over every one;
He wills their good, His will be done.
He does neglect no single flower;
He makes them rich with sun and shower,
Their song of trust is sweet and clear,
And he that hath an ear, may hear.”

You see the lesson. The maker of the lilies made you; the Lover of the lilies loves you. Will He not clothe and feed you? Are you not worth more than all the lilies? Why, then, be “anxious about the morrow?” Why, then, be afraid to trust God? How unnatural How unreasonable! How ungrateful!

This is the lesson. Trust God like the lilies, and He will take care of you. This is the life of faith, the lily life; the child life, the heavenly life.

II. Then consider God’s prodigality to the lilies. — Go into a beautiful garden and examine the flowers. What a wealth of color and shape and perfume. All colors, all shapes beautiful, all exquisite perfumes. The wealth of heaven poured out on earth. No wonder Jesus called heaven “Paradise,” the beautiful garden of God.

But that lily is only a poor soulless flower. It can never know who feeds it, or made it, or loves it. It can never see, or know, or enjoy Him. You can. This is your God, your Father. Consider what He does for the lilies, then doubt what He will do for you, His child, His image, His loved one. You can know Him, see Him, love Him and enjoy Him. How much more then will He do for you. What prodigality of love and grace and riches and honor He has for you.

See what He has already done for you. For whom did He make the lilies and the birds and the sunshine and the world? All for you. Whom did Jesus die for? Whom are angels ministering to? Whom is heaven waiting for? All for you.

“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”

III. Then consider God’s resurrection of the lilies. — They vanish with the summer, and the snow of winter covers the graves of the lilies, and we imagine they are dead. The wild bees seek them in vain, and the valley is desolate where they bloomed, and the children wonder where they went, but God smiles over the landscape with April sun and showers, and the lilies rise from the dead, and bloom again. This is the resurrection of the lilies. Does it teach us no lesson? Hear Him say, “Consider the lilies.”

Have we loved ones beneath the sod, and the snow, whom we call dead?

“An angel form walks o'er the earth,
With soft and silent tread,
And bears our best loved friends away,
And then we call them dead.”

And will not the God of the lilies smile on them again, and make them rise from the grave and bloom again? He says He will. “Awake and sing, ye that sleep in the dust.”

Hear Him say, “Thy brother shall rise again,” and thy mother and husband and child.

We will consider the lilies, and thank God for the beautiful lessons they teach us. The loving hand that heals the broken lily with divine surgery, will bind up the broken heart of His child.

The mighty voice that calls the sleeping lilies from beneath the snow and sod, will call our loved ones from their graves. Blessed resurrection! With beauty beyond all lilies, and life beyond all death, we will receive them again to our rejoicing hearts and homes.

When hard times come and our hearts fail, “Consider the lilies, how they grow,” and take courage. When death comes and takes our best loved ones away, then “consider the lilies,” how they rise, and rejoice that we shall meet them again

“In those everlasting gardens,
Where angels walk,
And Seraphs are the wardens.”

Reflections by Francis J. Grimké on the 1918 "Spanish Flu"

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Between October 1, 1918 and February 1, 1919, over 33,000 residents of Washington, D.C. contracted what was known as the “Spanish Flu” — 2,895 citizens of the city passed away during that time period. It was a devastating time for the city as well as the rest of the world, leading officials to ban, among other things, all church services in Washington, D.C. for the month of October 1918.

When the ban on such public gatherings was lifted, Francis J. Grimké, pastor of the Fifteenth Presbyterian Church, delivered a discourse on November 3, 1918 in which he offered his thoughts about the situation, which was published soon after under the title Some Reflections, Growing Out of the Recent Epidemic of Influenza That Afflicted Our City: A Discourse.

There were several takeaways for Grimké that may well serve Christians a century later to consider as well. To begin with, it is good to be reminded of the power of God.

I have been impressed with the ease with which large portions of the population may be wiped out in spite of the skill of man, of all the resources of science. Suddenly this epidemic came upon our city and country, and though every physician has been employed and every available nurse has been at work day and night, thousands have died, the awful death toll continued. Through all history we find populations thinned out in this way, not in ordinary, but in extraordinary ways. One night in Egypt death found its way into every Egyptian home. In Numbers 16:49, we read of a plague that broke out among the people in which 14,700 perished. In 2 Samuel 24:15, we also read of another plague that broke out in the reign of David in which, during three days, 70,000 perished. Thousands also have perished suddenly as the result of volcanic eruptions or earthquake shocks. How easy it would be for God to wipe out the whole human race, in this way, if he wanted to; for these terrible epidemics, plagues, the mighty forces of nature, all are at His command, are all His agents. At any moment, if He willed it, in this way, vast populations or portions of populations could be destroyed.

Grimké also wondered to himself, Why is it that the pestilence was fatal for some while others recovered?

The reason may be found, in one sense, in purely natural causes— some were physically better prepared to resist the disease, were stronger in vital power, and so pulled through. Others, not having sufficient vitality, went down under the strain; but I believe there is also another reason, and is to be found in the will of God. For some, the time of their departure had come, the limit of their earthly existence had been reached, and this was God's way of removing them out of this world into the next. Some day we have all got to go, but how, or when, or where, we do not know; that is with God alone.

In Grimké’s words, “We speak of accidental deaths, at times, but there are no accidents with God. All things are within the scope of His providence.” He continued to wonder, though, “Why are some taken with the disease and others not?” In meditating on the promise of preservation from illness in Psalm 91, Grimké acknowledged with humility that he didn’t know the secret will of God, but he did trust in the sovereign will of God.

He went on to address the problem of restricted civil liberties during the ban.

Another thing that has impressed me, in connection with this epidemic, is the fact that conditions may arise in a community which justify the extraordinary exercise of powers that would not be tolerated under ordinary circumstances. This extraordinary exercise of power was resorted to by the Commissioners in closing up the theaters, schools, churches, in forbidding all gatherings of any considerable number of people indoors and outdoors, and in restricting the numbers who should be present even at funerals. The ground of the exercise of this extraordinary power was found in the imperative duty of the officials to safeguard, as far as possible, the health of the community by preventing the spread of the disease from which we were suffering. There has been considerable grumbling, I know, on the part of some, particularly in regard to the closing of the churches. It seems to me, however, in a matter like this it is always wise to submit to such restrictions for the time being. If, as a matter of fact, it was dangerous to meet in theaters and in the schools, it certainly was no less dangerous to meet in churches. The fact that the churches were places of religious gathering, and the others not, would not affect in the least the health question involved. If avoiding crowds lessens the danger of being infected, it was wise to take the precaution and not needlessly run in danger, and expect God to protect us. And so, anxious as I have been to resume work, I have waited patiently until the order was lifted. I started to worry at first, as it seemed to upset all of our plans for the fall work; but I soon recovered my composure. I said to myself, Why worry? God knows what He is doing. His work isn’t going to suffer. It will rather be a help to it in the end. Out of it, I believe, great good is coming. All the churches, as well as the community at large, are going to be the stronger and better for this season of distress through which we have been passing.

Grimké was also led to reflect on the color-blind nature of the illness which swept his city and the world. It made no difference to the “Spanish Flu” whether those afflicted were white, black or brown; rich or poor; or in what class of society or locale they resided. All residents of Washington, indeed all human beings, were equally at risk of this disease - a fact which Grimké hoped would help those in power to see the foolishness of racial prejudice, or “colorphobia.”

Under such circumstances of what avail is the color of a man's skin, or his race identity? What does the lightning, the thunderbolt, the burning lava, the sea, care about color or race? White and black alike are dealt with indiscriminately; the one is smitten as readily as the other; the one is swallowed up as readily as the other. And that is the lesson which God is teaching everywhere through the operation of natural laws. And it is the great lesson which He also teaches in His inspired word; and which Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the light of the world. He that followeth after Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life," sought constantly to emphasize both by [precept] and example.

Grimké reminds us that we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, no matter what may be a person’s skin color or background. Are we not all made in the image of God? This is the commandment of Christ, and we are to follow Christ’s own example.

Further, Grimké reflected on the importance of the church to the community at large. It was indeed a hardship for churches to be closed for a season.

The fact that for several weeks we have been shut out from the privileges of the sanctuary has brought home to us as never before what the church has really meant to us. We hadn't thought, perhaps, very much of the privilege while it lasted, but the moment it was taken away we saw at once how much it meant to us. One of the gratifying things to me, during this scourge, has been the sincere regrets that I have heard expressed all over the city by numbers of people at the closing of the churches. The theater goers, of course, have regretted the closing of the theaters. I do not know whether the children or the teachers have regretted the closing of the schools or not; I have heard no regrets expressed, but I do know that large numbers of people have regretted the closing of the churches. I hope that now that they are opened again, that we will all show our appreciation of their value by attending regularly upon their services. It would be a great calamity to any community to be without the public ministrations of the sanctuary. There is no single influence in a community that counts for more than the Christian church. It is one of the institutions, particularly, that ought to be strongly supported; that ought to be largely attended, and that ought to have the hearty endorsement and well-wishes of every right thinking man and woman within it. It is a great mistake for any one to stand aloof from the Christian church. Everybody in the community ought to have a church home, and ought to be found in that church home Sabbath after Sabbath.

Another profound consideration that Grimké raised is the importance of keeping eternal matters before our minds.

There is another thing connected with this epidemic that is also worthy of note. While it lasted, it kept the thought of death and of eternity constantly before the people. As the papers came out, day after day, among the first things that every one looked for, or asked about, was as to the number of deaths. And so the thought of death was never allowed to stay very long out of the consciousness of the living. And with the thought of death, the great thought also of eternity, for it is through death that the gates of eternity swing open. We don't as a general thing think very much about either death or eternity. They are not pleasant things to think about, and so we avoid thinking of them as much as possible. It is only when we are forced to that we give them any consideration, and even then only for the moment. They are both subjects of vital importance, however, involving the most momentous consequences. For after death is always the judgment. The grim messenger is God's summons to us to render up our account. That there is an account to be rendered up we are inclined to lose sight of, to forget; but it is to be rendered all the same. The books are to be opened, and we are to be judged out of the books. During the weeks of this epidemic — in the long list of deaths, in the large number of new-made graves, in the unusual number of funeral processions along our streets, God has been reminding us of this account which we must soon render up; He has been projecting before us in away to startle us, the thought of eternity.

Thus, Grimké implored all, especially those outside the household of faith, to weigh carefully the question of eternal life, and to seek the Lord while He may yet be found. In the midst of death, there is true and eternal life in Jesus Christ. And this true life gives great peace.

There is only one other thought that has come tome in connection with this epidemic; it is of the blessedness of religion, of the sense of security which a true, living, working faith in the Lord Jesus Christ gives one in the midst of life's perils. I felt, as doubtless you all felt, who are Christians, the blessedness of a firm grip upon Jesus Christ — the blessedness of a realizing sense of being anchored in God and in His precious promises. While the plague was raging, while thousands were dying, what a comfort it was to feel that we were in the hands of a loving Father who was looking out for us, who had given us the great assurance that all things should work together for our good. And, therefore, that come what would — whether we were smitten with the epidemic or not, or whether being smitten, we survived or perished, we knew it would be well with us, that there was no reason to be alarmed. Even if death came, we knew it was all right. The apostle says, "It is gain for me to die." Death had no terrors for him. He says, The hour of my departure is at hand: I .have fought the good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of glory which the Lord the righteous judge shall give at that day. And not to me only but to all them that love His appearing. And it was this same apostle who flung in the face of death the defiance, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?" The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be unto God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

In the presence of such a faith, in the realization of God's love, as revealed in Jesus Christ, in the consciousness of fellowship with him, what are epidemics, what are scourges, what are all of life's trials, sufferings, disappointments? They only tend to work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. But, of course, if faith is to help us; if it is to put its great strong arms under us; if we are to feel its sustaining power under such distressing circumstances, it must be a real, living faith in God — it must be the genuine article — a faith that works, that works by love, and that purifies the heart. Any other faith is of absolutely no value to us in the midst of the great crises of life. And I said to myself while the epidemic was on, and while I was examining my own heart to see how far my religion was helping me to be calm, self-possessed. It is a good time for those of us who are Christians to examine ourselves to see exactly how it is with us, whether the foundation upon which we are building is a rock foundation — whether our faith is really resting upon Christ, the solid Rock, or not. And I still feel that one important function of this epidemic will be lost if it fails to have that effect upon us, if it does not lead to careful heart-searching on our part.

These reflections by Francis J. Grimké may well speak to our hearts a century after they were delivered. Pestilence is not new, and every generation must confront challenges to their faith, as well as their very lives and well-being. But our God changes not, and the lessons shared by Grimké in the midst of one epidemic are lessons that we who are in the midst of another do well to prayerfully consider.

Presbyterians and the 1893 World's Fair

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The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition was a remarkable event for many reasons. It was designed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World, and additionally, to show how far the city of Chicago, Illinois had come since the 1871 Great Chicago Fire.

It was considered a success on many levels, but there was also great controversy on a religious level. The World’s Fair lasted from May to October, 1893. The organizers wanted to keep the exposition open on the Lord’s Day, but having sought federal support for the event, Congress - under pressure from Protestant denominations, including the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA), passed a resolution withholding financial support for Sunday events. After legal action was taken on the basis of the First Amendment, the fair was allowed to open on the Lord’s Day, although machines did not operate and most exhibits were closed.

The event served to inaugurate the World’s Parliament of Religions, known also at that time as the General Committee on the Congress of Religions, which was organized by the Presbyterian minister Dr. John Henry Barrows. This gathering of the world’s religious bodies - which clearly had ecumenical aims - did not receive full support from all Presbyterians, but some, including Dr. Philip Schaff, H.D. Jenkins and others gave addresses at the Parliament. Barrows chronicled the landmark event in two massive volumes.

The 1893 minutes of the PCUSA General Assembly record the following concerning the committee designated to represent the Presbyterian Church at the World’s Fair.

The Special Committee on the Columbian Exhibit presented its Report, which was adopted, and the Committee reappointed. The Report is as follows:

The Assembly’s Committee on the Presbyterian Exhibit at the World’s Columbian Exposition would respectfully report that, following the instructions of previous Assemblies, they have caused to be prepared an exhibit, now being installed in the space assigned for it by the Exposition authorities in the department of Liberal Arts, in the section occupied by the exhibits of other churches, and religious and reform societies.

By means of maps, charts, photographs, books, papers, and a small collection of curios, an exhibit is made of the numerical strength, the distribution, and the work of Presbyterianism in the world, and in particular of our own branch of the Church. The work of the various Boards of the Church is also exhibited, together with photographs of many of our educational institutions and their faculties. A full list of our denominational periodicals is displayed, as are the important issues of our Board of Publication. A fine heraldry of the Church has been prepared for the exhibit.

A prominent feature of the exhibit is an historical pamphlet prepared for the Committee by the Rev. H.D. Jenkins, D.D., giving the distinctive features of our history and polity. This pamphlet of some eighty pages is to be distributed gratuitously at the exhibit. It is hoped to present copies to the Assembly before the close of its session.

The cost of the exhibit up to this time has been nearly $2500, of which about one-third has been expended in the preparation and issue of the first edition of 10,000 copies of the historical pamphlet. A full statement of the expenses, and acknowledgment of the generous assistance the Committee has received from many sources, will be made from many sources, will be made in a final Report to the next Assembly.

Owing to some uncertainty in regard to the opening of the Exposition on Sunday, and also the impracticability of securing a definite assignment of space until a comparatively recent date, the Committee delayed active work for a considerable time. When it appeared certain that the Exposition would be closed on Sunday, the work was pushed forward as rapidly as possible, in accordance with the instructions given by previous Assemblies. Recently the question of opening the Exposition on Sunday has again been agitated. It seems improbable that this will be done, but if it shall finally be decided, against the protest of our own Church and that of many of the Churches of the country, to open the Exposition on Sunday, our exhibit will be withdrawn, according to the directions of this Assembly.

The General Assembly minutes from 1894 indicate that when the decision was made to keep the Exposition open on the Lord’s Day, the PCUSA asked the organizers to remove their exhibit, but permission was denied. At various times, as legal wrangling over the Sunday openings was ongoing, the exhibit remained in boxes with a sign posted indicating the General Assembly’s requirement for the exhibit’s closure in protest, and yet the exhibit did provide a testimony not only to the PCUSA’s opposition to Sabbath-breaking, but also to the witness of the American Presbyterian church at large.

Jenkins, Hermon Dutilh, Presbyterianism Title Page.jpg

An important fruit of the World’s Fair Committee’s labors in this regard was the book by Jenkins, Presbyterianism: A Brief Review of the Doctrine, Polity and Life of Our Churches, which is available to read here. From the 10,000 copies prepared, many were delivered to the various presbyteries, and helped to articulate the witness of the American Presbyterian Church to the world. It remains a worthy read today, and provides us today with a snapshot of how the PCUSA viewed itself - and other branches of the Presbyterian Church - in 1893. It was the World’s Fair that brought forth this witness, and has left us with this legacy.

The Family Altar

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As chairman of the Executive Committee of Publication of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS), James Power Smith wrote the preface to a valuable work on family worship titled The Family Altar (1915). This has recently been added to Log College Press.

The Family Altar contains Scripture readings, hymn selections and suggested prayers for each day of the week, over a period of four weeks, as well as special occasional prayers from men such as Edward Reynolds of the Westminster Assembly, Henry Van Dyke, Jr., James Isaac Vance, Russell Cecil, Richard Clark Reed, William Marcellus McPheeters, and James Russell Miller.

Smith writes:

The daily worship of the household is of early origin. The Hebrew patriarchs builded their altars where they pitched their tents, and there called on the name of the Lord. The disciples of Jesus in earliest Christian times had "the church in the home." It has a natural foundation and reason, in the unity of the family, the close and tender relations of the household, and the sanctity and love of the Christian home; suggesting and inviting the family acknowledgment of mercies and petitions for Divine presence and blessing. Upon the family altar, continued through the ages, has rested the blessing of God.

It honors God, the giver of all our good, the source of all our happiness. It makes the home a sanctuary for God's dwelling. It binds the household together in a more hallowed love. It pleads the grace of Covenant promise. It instructs and unites all hearts in the truth and grace of Christ. It builds a wall of defense against the error and evil of the world around us. It bears witness for God, our Saviour, to the stranger within our gates. It devotes the day to the highest service and sweetens all the hours. It plants in every heart sacred memories to be profitable and happy in all the following years. It brings down from Heaven that blessing of God which maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.

Be encouraged to take up the duty and privilege of family worship by this valuable aid published over a century ago. Daily family mercies received should lead to daily family prayers and thanksgivings. To God be the glory!

Daniel Baker on what it means to be a Calvinist

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Daniel Baker was the author of a tract on God’s sovereignty which teaches that the dominion of God’s kingdom extends to all creation and that His omnipotent power governs all actions and events providentially. It is an excellent, brief argument for a Biblical doctrine which Calvinists are known to affirm. Baker also tackles the controversial word “Calvinist” head on:

3. The government of God extends^ not only to all things^ but to all events; not only to all creatures, hut to all their actions. I am aware that we are here launching into the deep ; but the Bible is our chart. It is a good chart, and we need fear nothing.

Reader, I am a Calvinist, so called; not that I embrace all the dogmas of the great Genevan divine, but certainly those that are embraced in the standards of our Church, and the longer I live, and the more carefully I examine the subject, the more thoroughly convinced am I, that the system, usually termed Calvinistic, is firmly based upon the Bible, and will stand the "test of scrutiny, of talents, and of time.” Nay, I will go further, and say that the system needs only to be correctly understood by all the true people of God to be received and loved. I repeat it, I am a Calvinist, but I am no fatalist!

He goes on to elaborate on what this means.

I hold to the sovereignty of God, and also to the free-agency of man, and whilst I believe that God worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, yet it is in such a way as "thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence done to the freedom of the creature; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established." It may not be possible for me to discriminate between the human and the divine agency; nor can I tell where one colour in the rainbow terminates, and where another begins; yet do I know that these colours are different, and both in the rainbow! I may not be able to reconcile the free-agency of man with the fixed purposes of God which I believe; nor can I reconcile the free-agency of man with the foreknowledge of God, which all must believe; suffice it to know that both doctrines are taught in the Bible, and I know that the Bible is true. Do I trample upon reason? I deny it — I have a syllogism. It is this. My heavenly Father says that these doctrines are all true. My heavenly Father never tells lies, and therefore these doctrines are all true! But can they ever be reconciled or explained? I believe they both can, and will be, when God gives the key! Suppose, for a moment, that you were utterly unacquainted with your twofold existence, as consisting of soul and body. Now, whilst believing yourself to be a simple, and not a compound being, suppose I should say: "You are a mortal man, and must soon die ;" and the next moment should pronounce you an immortal being, and affirm that you can never die, but must live for ever! Would you not say, that I spoke very absurdly, and used very contradictory language? But, should I add, wait a little, and you will have the key, and then all will be plain, and you will see that all is true, and there is no absurdity, no contradiction whatever; methinks you would reply, "No, sir, no key will answer, none can reconcile things so perfectly contradictory, 'mortal,’ and yet at the same time 'immortal!" must die! and yet, will not, cannot die! the thing Is absurd. It cannot be! But when you are let into the secret of your twofold nature — O, now! there is no difficulty at all! Even so, in relation to the sovereignty of God, and the free-agency of man, we find it difficult to reconcile these things now, because the key is wanting. In a future state the key will be given, and then there will be no difficulty at all. In the mean time let us remember, that the Bible is suited to our probationary state. We need our faith tried, as well as any other grace, or virtue. And now our grand inquiry is, What does the Bible teach? for

“This is the judge that ends the strife,
Where wit and reason fail;
My guide to everlasting life,
Through all this gloomy vale.”

That the government of God extends, not only to all things but to all events; not only to all creatures, but to all their actions. In other words, that the providence of God is, in some way or other, concerned with all that is done or transpires on earth, is manifest from very many passages of Scripture. The strongest, I think, are those which assert the providence of God in cases where, least of all, it might have been expected.

Thus, in the 127th Psalm, we find it thus written: "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." And again, "The lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof, is of the Lord." But there is another passage of Scripture, perhaps, yet more remarkable; inasmuch as it asserts the providence and purpose of God in a case involving sin, dreadtul sin! The passage referred to is found in Acts ii. 23: "Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." The crucifixion of Christ, by envious and wicked Jews, was certainly a crime of great magnitude; and yet the apostle Peter tells us expressly that it was " according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.” The explanation of the matter is simply this: God knowing all things, foreknew what evil passions would be waked up in the bosom of the Jews by the life, and doctrines, and reproofs of our Saviour, and he also knew full well to what a murderous deed those evil passions would lead, if not restrained. For wise and benevolent purposes towards our race, God determined, not to restrain those evil passions, but to leave the Jews, (as of course he justly might) to the freedom of their own will — leave them to act out their own depravity; purposing, as I have said, to overrule the whole matter to the accomplishment of great ends. God was certainly under no obligation to exercise a restraining influence upon those wicked Jews; and if He foreknew what crime they unrestrained would commit, his "foreknowledge had no influence on their fault, which had proved no less certain unforeknown;" hence the apostle Peter, at the very time that he speaks of the crucifixion of Christ as being according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, nevertheless, charges home all the guilt thereof, upon the wicked Jews. Observe his language! "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”

The case of Joseph also, is precisely in point. He was hated by his brethren, and by them sold into Egypt. This was a great sin; and afterwards, when in trouble, they freely confessed it. "And they said, one to another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear, therefore is this distress upon us. And Reuben answered, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child, and ye would not hear, therefore, behold also, his blood is required." Thus, all who had a hand in selling Joseph, acknowledged, and felt that they had acted freely, and they writhed under the stings of an accusing conscience. Yet, when Joseph made himself known unto them, and they were greatly troubled at his presence, what said Joseph unto them? "I am Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Now, therefore, be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life. Ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to save much people alive." There needs be no difficulty. The case is simply this. God being infinitely wise, knows how, in perfect consistency with the perfections of his character, to make use of all instrumentalities, good and bad, for the accomplishment of his wise and benevolent purposes. Certain things God brings to pass by a positive agency. Other things he simply permits to come to pass. And, let it be remarked, permission and approbation do not, by any means, mean the same thing. Napoleon Bonaparte, when a child, wished to go to a certain place, but was forbidden by his mother. Being headstrong, he persisted in going. "Well, my son," said his mother, "you may go, but remember! it is not with your mother's approbation." And thus God oftentimes permits things which, so far from commanding, he forbids, and highly disapproves. He permits sometimes because he would not interfere with the free-agency of the creature. He permits, sometimes, because he purposes (as in the cases already mentioned) to overrule the evil intended for good; and sometimes he permits, in a judicial way as a punishment for sins previously committed. Hence the language of Paul in reference to the heathen and their abominations: "Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them aver to do things which are not convenient."

And now let it not be forgotten, this is all that is meant by a certain passage in our Shorter Catechism, which has been much caviled at, viz. "The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass." In other words it may be stated thus: By the decrees of God, we mean no formal legislative enactment, (as, "Thus it shall be," and "thus it shall not be,") but, simply the calm and settled purpose of an infinitely wise and gracious God, to bring to pass; or permit to come to pass whatsoever does come to pass, for the glory of his name. Does any one ask, what is the difference between bringing to pass and permitting to come to pass? I answer, God brought to pass the incarnation of his Son; He permitted to come to pass his crucifixion. The difference is as wide as the east is from the west. Our doctrine, then, is simply this; By positive and permissive decrees, God, in wisdom and in love, manages the affairs of the universe, directs and controls all things, and all events, all creatures, and all their actions. It must be so, for suppose an event to take place without the divine permission; for example, then, it must be either because God is not aware of it, or cannot prevent it. If not aware of it. He cannot be omniscient; if He cannot prevent it, then he is not omnipotent; and then, of course, in the last case, "there must be a power behind the throne greater than the throne itself," which thought would be frightful! No, our doctrine is true, that the government of God extends not only to all things, but to all events, not only to all creatures, but to all their actions. In other words, that a Divine providence is concerned, in some way or other, concerned "in all the good and ill that checker human life."

Is further proof demanded? Permit me to quote a very remarkable passage found in Isaiah xlv. 7; "I form the light, and I create darkness; I make peace and create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things." What! the Lord create evil? Yes! but in such a way as casts no stain upon his moral perfections; but, on the contrary, will furnish new matter for admiration and praise. Hence, the language of joy and gratulation which immediately follows. "Drop down ye heavens from above! and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation. Let righteousness spring up together; I, the Lord, have created it." But how does God create evil. As he does darkness. The first sentence explains the last. Observe the language; I form the light, and I create darkness. How does God form the light? By a positive influence, pouring radiance around How does God create darkness? By withholding this radiance. Even so, by a positive influence, God makes peace, and by withholding that influence, creates evil, that is, permits it. In this, is God the author of sin? No more than the sun is the source of darkness, although its absence occasions that darkness.

Thus, as Baker explains, the Bible teaches — and so does Calvinism — that the sovereignty of God extends to all creatures and their actions in such a way that God is not the author of sin, but overrules all sinful actions to His glory and the good of His people. Read Baker’s full tract on The Sovereignty of God Explained and Vindicated here.

J.W. Alexander on the blessings of trial

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At the end of James Waddel Alexander’s Thoughts on Preaching, edited by Samuel Davies Alexander, one will find many gems extracted from J.W.’s private journal. This is one such meditation on the “Blessings of Trial.”

§ 15. Blessings of Trial. — The trials which befall us, are the very trials which we need. The little daily excoriations of temper speedily heal themselves, but when the pain lasts, they have an errand to accomplish, and they accomplish it. These, as well as greater sufferings are ordered. They must be submit ted to with patience, resignation, and meekness, and if they enable us to see ourselves, and gain a victory over our pride, they are of great value. Instead of vain and impotent wishes to fly from them, or the circumstances which occasion them, it is the part of manly virtue to fear and forbear, and by grace to wax stronger and stronger.

It is not easy to hear that the trials which befall us are the very trials which God, in His wisdom, has determined that we need, but may such considerations lead us to learn to, in the words of Charles H. Spurgeon, “kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages.”

John B. Reeve: A man of many books, and *the* Book

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Visit many good books, and live in the Bible. — Charles H. Spurgeon

Beloved to many, pastor and professor John Bunyan Reeve was especially dear to Francis James Grimké. It was Reeve who presented Grimké to the Presbytery of Philadelphia as a candidate for the ministry. The two remarkable ministries of these men were intertwined in God’s providence in many ways and over many decades. Three addresses by Grimké testify to the profound impact that Reeve had on his own life, and that of many others. These include: 1) “Remarks at the Semi-Centennial of the Ordination to the Ministry of the Reverend John B. Reeve, June 4, 1911;” 2) “Rev. John B. Reeve, January 20, 1916;” and 3) “A Short Address delivered at Howard University, November 11, 1930, in Connection with the Presentation of a Portrait of the Rev. John B. Reeve” [all found in Vol. 1 of Grimké’s Works].

Although Presbyterian by conviction, it is perhaps not surprising that a man named after John Bunyan, would take to Spurgeon’s maxim noted above. Reeve was an avid reader. Grimké describes him as '“an omnivorous reader.” A man knowledgeable in the Word, a man of prayer, a remarkable preacher - but a man who labored to bring that Word to the flock under his care.

As the under-shepherd of the flock, he realized that his great mission was to lead the flock into green pastures and by the side of still waters. And he knew that these green pastures and still waters were not stumbled upon, but had to be searched for, came as the result of careful, diligent, persistent effort. The scriptures must be searched; the truth must be digged for; waters out of the wells of salvation must be drawn out; there must be effort put forth, constant, persistent painstaking effort.

Reeve knew that after all the planting, watering and effort, “the increase comes from God.” But he did his job, searched the Scriptures, and studied to bring forth the Word faithfully. It is apt that such a man would help, along with Matthew Anderson and others, to establish the Berean School of Philadelphia (as well as the Department of Theology at Howard University).

The man that Grimké describes in his addresses is a man who loved God’s Word, and valued the study of good books to aid in the understanding and preaching of that Word.

He was a man of scholarly attainments. He never ceased to be a student; he never lost his taste for study; he never allowed himself by pressure from the outside to deprive him of his study hour. He was always delving; always seeking to enlarge the stores of his knowledge, to get a broader vision of things, and a greater store of information from which, not only to enrich his own intellectual and spiritual life, but also from which to draw supplies for his pulpit ministrations. He was an omnivorous reader. I don’t know any man among us who was as widely read as he was, who, during his lifetime, read as many books as he did. He was reading, always reading, and reading in many directions — history, poetry, philosophy, fiction, books of travel — books religious and books secular.

Very early in his college and seminary life he came to realize with Milton the value of good books. “As good almost kill a man as a good book;” you remember is what Milton said; “who kills a man kills a reasonable creature God’s image; but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye.” “A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond.” Yes, good books; and he knew what the friendship of good books was; and that friendship was sedulously cultivated — continued to the very end.

The last time I was with him, we talked about books; and when I was coming away, he spoke about the sermon he had heard me preach just the day before, and of the interest which he felt in the line of thought discussed in it, and handed me a package containing two books, which he said, he wanted me to accept, and which dealt with one aspect of the same subject which I had treated in my sermon. He was able to put his hand, at once, upon books bearing upon the subject discussed. I mentioned this incident to show how wide was his reading, how he kept in touch through the printed page, with almost every phase of thought. And here, too, the younger men who are coming up, and are just forming habits, and the older men also, in many instances, might learn an important lesson from him as to keeping up their habits of study, and of cultivating an ever-growing friendship for good books.

Whether to the young or to the old, Grimké’s words — and Reeve’s example — ring as true today as they did over a century ago. The friendship of good books, in right proportion and for the right ends, is a valuable support to the study of the Good Book, the Holy Scriptures. That is the Berean way.

Dabney's 200th Birthday

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One of the giants of 19th century American Presbyterianism, Robert Lewis Dabney, was born 200 years ago on March 5, 1820 in Louisa County, Virginia. Farmer, minister, chaplain, professor, theologian, scholar, author, architect, and family man - Dabney was all of these and more. He was a friend and biographer to Stonewall Jackson, and served as his chief of staff. His Systematic Theology, treatise on preaching (Sacred Rhetoric or Evangelical Eloquence), five volumes of Discussions, study of the Five Points of Calvinism, and many other sermons and writings, constitute a body of profound and Biblical commentary on theology and other matters that remains highly regarded by many today. His views in opposition to racial equality were challenged by fellow Southern Presbyterian John L. Girardeau,* and have been repudiated by many today. Two hundred years after his birth, Dabney, who never shied from controversy during his lifetime, remains controversial, but his legacy endures and cannot be ignored. We remember his bicentennial birthday today because of the mark he made on American Presbyterianism. Read him for yourself here, and you will understand why he is worthy of remembrance.

* “He and Dr. R.L. Dabney did not agree on every point in theology, nevertheless they were warm personal friends.” — George A. Blackburn, The Life Work of John L. Girardeau, D.D., LL.D., p. 367

Samuel Davies on turning "Delight into a Sacrifice"

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A Verse may hit him whom a Sermon flies,
And turn Delight into a Sacrifice. - George Herbert, “The Temple”

These lines are quoted by Samuel Davies in the preface to his Miscellaneous Poems, Chiefly on Divine Subjects (1751) [not yet available on this site]. They indicate his strong conviction that poetry is a means to glorify God by the conveyance of truth. As Davies himself says: “On this Account I have frequently thought the Divine Art of Poetry might be made peculiarly subservient to the Interests of Religion and Virtue.” He clarifies his point with this caveat: “I do not mean that the Muse should be wholly confin'd to sacred Things. 'Tis only for a Proportion I plead. She might recreate herself in a thousand Excursions through the Credtions of Fancy; but let her seasonably return to the more important Themes she left.”

Davies was a prolific poet, as well as a dedicated preacher, and although the subjects of his poetry are diverse (and they include notably his beloved wife, “Chara”), it is worth noting how often he took pains to append poems to his sermons. At least 14 such compositions — “annext” to a sermon — appear in Book II of Miscellaneous Poems. They were meant to bring home the point of the preaching by aiming to reach him who — in Herbert’s words — “a sermon flies.” Davies writes: “It has been my usual Method for some Time, after studying a Sermon, to cast a few Thoughts into a poetical Form, either containing the Substance of the Sermon, or expressive of my Disposition in composing it.”

Many of the sermons referenced are “no longer extant” (Joseph C. Harrod, Theology and Spirituality in the Works of Samuel Davies, p. 83). But the verse he wrote may still “hit” a reader. Examples of this are given by Harrod (from Richard Beale Davies, ed., Collected Poems of Samuel Davies, 1721-1761) of poems appended to sermons he preached and published:

While Davies did not describe his methods of meditation, he recorded some [of] the fruits of his practice in his poems, and these poems illustrate the linkage between reflection on Scripture and personal piety. In a poem affixed to a sermon on Revelation 22:17 [titled “The Fountain”], Davies mused on the spiritual refreshment of the gospel: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (AV).

Today the living streams of grace
Flow to refresh the thirsty soul:
Pardon and life and boundless bliss
In plenteous rivers round us roll.

Ho! ye that pine away and die,
Come, and your raging thirst allay:
Come all that will, here’s rich supply;
A fountain that shall ne’er decay.

‘Come ALL,’ the blessed Jesus cries,
’Freely my blessings I will give.’
That spirit echoes back the voice,
And bids us freely drink and live.

The saints below, that do b'ut taste,
and saints above, who drink at will,
Cry jointly, ‘Thirsty sinners! haste,
and drink, the spring’s exhaustless still.’

Let all that hear the joyful sound,
To spread it thro’ the world unite;
From house to house proclaim it round,
Each man his fellow-man invite.

Like thirsty flocks, come let us go;
Come every colour, every age:
And while the living waters flow,
Let all their parching thirst assauge.

Here the “water of life” took on the character of “living streams,” “plenteous rivers,” and a lasting “fountain,” given to satisfy the spiritual thirst of sinners. This grace is offered without qualification for it is a “rich supply” that gives no hint of being exhausted and “all” may come to these waters. It is noteworthy that the “all” was truly inclusive of persons from every race. Davies used imagery drawn from the realm of nature to illustrate spiritual truths.

In another poetic meditation [titled “Love to God for His Holiness”], Davies contemplated God’s holiness as a motive for human affection.

Come, Holy Spirit! Come, enflame
Our lukewarm Hearts with Sacred Fire:
May all our Passions, to Thy name,
In Transports most refin’d aspire.

May Love sublime our Hearts posses,
From every selfish Mixture free,
Fir’d with the Charms of Holiness,
The Beauty of Divinity.

Thus in the glorious Worlds on high,
Where Holiness is most ador’d,
Th’ Angelic Choirs incessant cry,
’Thrice HOLY, HOLY, HOLY LORD!’

Refine our Hearts, inspire our Tongue,
And We in humble Notes below
Will imitate the heav’nly Song,
And eccho ‘HOLY, HOLY,’ too.

In this meditation, Davies invoked the Holy Spirit’s affective work, much as the classical poets might have invoked the muse. Yet the Spirit’s work here is to equip the saints for worship by giving them a pure vision of God’s total purity, a vision drawn from the biblical imagery of Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4-5 where heavenly worshippers behold God’s holiness and overflow with praise. In both examples of Davies’ meditation, biblical passages, theological doctrines, and natural observations join to create a powerful imagery to stir one’s heart for devotion.

In this way, Davies took to heart the words of Herbert, and whether by verse or by sermon, he continues to reach out to sinners and saints to put before them the Words of life. He employed the tools at his disposal to place before our minds and hearts even today the divine truth of the gospel, and by means of his poetry in particular, enables the reader to “turn Delight into a Sacrifice.”

Presbyterian Presidential Correspondence

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Did you ever write a letter to the White House? At Log College Press, we are developing a growing body of correspondence between American Presbyterian ministers and U.S. Presidents.

  • John Ewing, Ashbel Green and William Marshall to George Washington - These were among the signers of a 1797 joint letter of appreciation to Washington.

  • Samuel Miller to George Washington - We have letters from Miller to Washington from 1793 and 1795. Miller would later preach a 1799 sermon on the occasion of Washington’s death (not yet available at LCP).

  • Samuel Miller to Thomas Jefferson - We have seven letters from Miller to Jefferson from 1800 to 1808. Miller was once an enthusiastic supporter of Jefferson, but the two men experienced a breach in their relationship when Jefferson declined Miller’s request to recommend a national day of fasting and prayer. More can be read about this in Mark A. Beliles, The Selected Religious Letters and Papers of Thomas Jefferson (2014).

  • Samuel Miller to James Madison - We have two letters from Miller to Madison dated 1822 and 1835.

  • William McWhir to George Washington - McWhir was for ten years principal of an academy at Alexandria, Virginia, of which George Washington was a trustee, and whose step­children he taught. Two letters from McWhir to Washington are available to read here.

  • William Linn to Thomas Jefferson - William Linn, along with John Mitchell Mason, was deeply concerned about the prospect of Jefferson becoming President during the election of 1800. We have one 1798 letter from Linn to Jefferson.

  • Hugh Henry Brackenridge to Thomas Jefferson - Brackenridge was a Presbyterian jurist, novelist and scholar who corresponded with Jefferson. Two letters of his are included here from 1801 and 1813.

  • Ezra Stiles Ely to Andrew Jackson - Ely was an admirer and a confidant of the Presbyterian Jackson, and advised him during the Peggy Eaton affair. We have four letter from Ely to Jackson from 1825 to 1830.

  • Phineas Densmore Gurley to Abraham Lincoln - Gurley was pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, where Lincoln regularly attended (but was not a member). We have twelve letters from Gurley to Lincoln from 1861 to 1865. Gurley would later attend Lincoln’s deathbed and preach his funeral sermon.

  • Stuart Robinson to Abraham Lincoln - Robinson wrote to Lincoln twice in 1864 and 1865 concerning the suppression of his newspaper during wartime.

  • William Jennings Bryan, Sr. to Woodrow Wilson - Bryan served as Secretary of State under Wilson; both men were ordained Presbyterian ruling elders. We have his 1915 letter of resignation to Wilson.

We hope to continue to build on this material which provides a fascinating insight to our understanding of early American Presbyterian church-state relationships, not only in principle but in practice.