Old School-New School Explained

Previously, we have highlighted several books which endeavor to explain and differentiate the 1837-1838 Old / New School divide within mainline American Presbyterianism:

• Samuel Baird, A History of the New School, and of the Questions Involved in the Disruption of the Presbyterian Church in 1838;
• Alexander Blaikie, The Schools;
• James Wood, Old and New Theology: Or an Exhibition of Those Differences with Regard to Scripture Doctrines, Which Have Recently Agitated and Now Divided the Presbyterian Church; 

And now we have another resource to offer for study on this subject: Lewis Cheeseman (1803-1861), Differences Between Old and New School Presbyterians (1848). 

Take time to look over these works and familiarize yourself with the issues and persons involved. The year 1837 was momentous in American Presbyterian church history (as was 1936, almost a century later). The authors above lived through this tumultuous time and, without claiming to be impartial, have left a record of the distinctions between these two schools which characterized the divide in American Presbyterianism. Add these volumes to your reading list, and learn what happened 180 years ago to split the old and new schools of American Presbyterianism. 

 

The Dissertations and Theses Page of Log College Press

Log College Press exists to collect and reprint the writings of and about American Presbyterians from the 18th and 19th centuries. That "about" aspect is found in our Bookstore (perhaps the largest curated list of books about Presbyterian history on the internet), and now on the newest page of the Log College Press website, the Dissertations and Theses page. On this page you will find an ever-increasing collection of the writings of PhD and ThM students who focused their studies on American Presbyterianism. As many of these dissertations and theses as we can get access to, we will make them available for you. We want to become the one-stop shop for all things American Presbyterianism, and this new page is a definite step in that direction. 

Currently, we have five papers posted:

1. A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, by Nancy Elizabeth Clark;
2. Benjamin Morgan Palmer: Southern Presbyterian Divine, by Christopher Duncan;
3. Gilbert Tennent: An Analysis of His Evangelistic Ministry, Methods, and Message During the Great Awakening, by Cheryl Ann Rickards;
4. The History of a Confessional Sentence, by Barry Waugh; and
5. Direct and Immediate? The 19th Century Southern Presbyterian Controversy Regarding God's Call to the Ministry, my just-completed ThM thesis.

A special request: if you have written a dissertation or thesis on American Presbyterianism, please contact us if you would like us to post it for all to read. We hope this page becomes a frequently accessed stop on the LCP website. Happy reading!

Caryl's Gems

Joseph Caryl (1602-1673) was a renowned English Independent Puritan and Westminster Divine whose exposition of the Book of Job is legendary for both its spiritual piety and exhaustive size (12 vols.), drawn from his sermons. Of this invaluable work, Charles Spurgeon once wrote: 

Caryl must have inherited the patience of Job to have completed his stupendous task. It would be a mistake to suppose that he is at all prolix or redundant; he is only full. In the course of his expounding he has illustrated a very large portion of the whole Bible with great clearness and power. He is deeply devotional and spiritual. He gives us much, but none too much.

Caryl's exposition was reprinted in full (facsimile) by Dust & Ashes Publications in 2001, and it remains the fullest exposition of Job ever produced. But it's very size can be daunting to the Bible students of any century. 

In the mid-19th century, the English Independent divine Ingram Cobbin (1777-1851) combed through Caryl's exposition and selected gems arranged in the order of the books of the Bible. His one-volume work was titled Caryl's Bible Thoughts, and this work was republished in 1995 by Soli Deo Gloria Publications under the title Bible Thoughts. 

On the other side of the pond, the American Presbyterian clergyman Joel Edson Rockwell (1816-1882) also produced a one-volume collection of gems from Caryl's exposition, along with a fine personal and biographical introduction. These quote-gems are arranged topically (not unlike I.D.E. Thomas' The Golden Treasury of Puritan Quotations), which is very helpful for the reader. The title of Rockwell's volume is Seed Thoughts, or, Selections From Caryl's Exposition of Job (1869). 

This work by Rockwell is little-known today, but very much worth the read. Caryl's gems provide seeds for further thoughts. Download this book and cultivate these seed thoughts that spiritual flowers may grow.  

Nothing Less Than Inspiring

In his senior year at Princeton, a student once wrote about a sermon by Geerhardus Vos: 

"We had this morning one of the finest expository sermons I ever heard. It was preached by Dr. Vos, professor of Biblical Theology in the Seminary and brother of the Hopkins Dr. Vos [Bert John Vos, 1867-1945], and rather surprised me. He is usually too severely theological for Sunday morning. Today he was nothing less than inspiring. His subject was Christ's appearance to Mary after the resurrection. Dr. Vos differs from some theological professors in having a better-developed bump of reverence." Source: Ned B. Stonehouse, J. Gresham Machen, A Biographical Memoir, p. 52.

The sermon in question is found in Vos' Grace and Glory, "Rabboni," pp. 89-104. Vos concluded his sermon with these words: 

"Let us then not linger at the tomb, but turn our faces and stretch our hands upwards into heaven, where our life is hid with Him in God, and whence He shall also come again to show Himself to us as He did to Mary, to make us speak the last great 'Rabboni,' which will spring to the lips of all the redeemed, when they meet their Savior in the early dawn of that eternal Sabbath that awaits the people of God." 

Take up, and read Vos' sermon. It will be a blessing to you, dear reader. 

William Henry Foote's Sketches of North Carolina and Virginia

You don't have to live in North Carolina or Virginia to be curious about the founding and progress of the Presbyterian churches in these states. To read accounts of God's work from the perspective of a pre-Civil War minister of the gospel, check out the writings of William Henry Foote (1794-1869). He was a native of Connecticut who pastored in North Carolina and Virginia. In the 1840s and 1850s he wrote historical sketches of the most significant events and personalities from those two states, and toward the end of his life he wrote a volume on the French Huguenots. Without his books, there is much we would not remember about early Presbyterian history.

[This post was originally published on July 5, 2017.]

Directions for Observance of the Lord's Day

In his Brief Compend of Bible Truth (1846), pp. 191-193, Archibald Alexander gives five directions to guide the Christian in the proper observance of the Lord's Day, or Christian Sabbath, which merit repeating today. 

"1. Let the whole day be consecrated to the service of God, especially in acts of worship, public and private. This weekly recess from worldly cares and avocations, affords a precious opportunity for the study of God's word, and for the examination of our own hearts. Rise early, and let your first thoughts and aspirations be directed to heaven. Meditate much and profoundly on divine things, and endeavour to acquire a degree of spirituality on this day which will abide with you through the whole week.

2. Consider the Lord's day an honour and delight. Let your heart be elevated in holy joy, and your lips be employed in the high praises of God. This day more resembles heaven, than any other portion of our time; and we should endeavour to imitate the worship of heaven, according to that petition of the Lord's prayer — 'Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' Never permit the idea to enter your mind, that the sabbath is a burden. It is a sad case, when professing Christians are weary of this sacred rest, and say, like some of old,  'When will the sabbath be gone, that we may sell corn, and set forth wheat?' As you improve this day, so probably will you be prospered all the week.

3. Avoid undue rigour, and Pharisaic scrupulosity; for nothing renders the Lord's day more odious. Still keep in view the great end of its institution; and remember that the sabbath was instituted for the benefit of man, and not to be a galling yoke. The cessation from worldly business and labour is not for its own sake, as if there was any thing morally good in inaction, but we are called off from secular pursuits on this day, that we may have a portion of our time to devote uninterruptedly to the worship of God. Let every thing then be so arranged in your household, beforehand, that there may be no interruption to religious duties, and to attendance on the means of grace. There was undoubtedly a rigour in the law of the sabbath, as given to the Jews, which did not exist before; and which does not apply to Christians. They were forbidden to kindle a fire, or to go out of their place on the sabbath; and for gathering a few sticks, a presumptuous transgressor was stoned to death. These regulations are not now in force.

As divine knowledge is the richest acquisition within our reach, and as this knowledge is to be found in the word of God, let us value this day, as affording all persons an opportunity of hearing and reading the word. And as the fourth commandment requires the heads of families to cause the sabbath to be observed by all under their control, or within their gates, it is very important that domestic and culinary arrangements should be so ordered, that servants and domestics should not be deprived of the opportunity of attending on the word and worship of God which this day affords, by being employed in preparing superfluous feasts, as is often the case. The sabbath is more valuable to the poor and unlearned than to others, because it is almost the only leisure which they have, and because means of public instruction are on that day afforded them by the preaching of the gospel. If we possess any measure of the true spirit of devotion, this sacred day will be most welcome to our hearts; and we will rejoice when they say, 'Let us go unto the house of the Lord.' To such a soul, the opportunity of enjoying spiritual communion with God will be valued above all price, and be esteemed as the richest privilege which creatures can enjoy upon earth.

4. Whilst you conscientiously follow your own sense of duty in the observance of the rest of the sabbath, be not ready to censure all who may differ from you in regard to minute particulars, which are not prescribed or commanded in the word of God. The Jews accused our Lord as a sabbath-breaker, on many occasions, and would have put him to death for a supposed violation of this law, had he not escaped out of their hands. Beware of indulging yourself in any practice which may have the effect of leading others to disregard the rest and sanctity of the sabbath. Let not your liberty in regard to what you think may be done, be a stumblingblock to cause weaker brethren to offend, or unnecessarily to give them pain, or to lead them to entertain an unfavourable opinion of your piety.

5. As, undoubtedly, the celebration of public worship and gaining divine instruction from the divine oracles, is the main object of the institution of the Christian sabbath, let all be careful to attend on the services of the sanctuary on this day. And let the heart be prepared by previous prayer and meditation for a participation in public worship, and while in the more immediate presence of the Divine Majesty, let all the people fear before him, and with reverence adore and praise his holy name. Let all vanity, and curious gazing, and slothfulness, be banished from the house of God. Let every heart be lifted up on entering the sanctuary, and let the thoughts be carefully restrained from wandering on foolish or worldly objects, and resolutely recalled when they have begun to go astray. Let brotherly love be cherished, when joining with others in the worship of God."

A Morning Prayer for a Busy Day

In 1895, J.R. Miller (1840-1912), author of numerous devotional writings, published a short but sweet encouragement to begin the day with prayer, titled For a Busy Day: A Morning Prayer for a Busy or Troubled Week-Day.

He reminds us of the need to begin each day with prayer, especially week-days, which are sometimes a spiritual letdown, as when Christians may be facing the trials of a work-day, or a particular burden, without the sweet fellowship of the saints that one experiences on the Sabbath. It was Martin Luther to whom is often attributed the famous saying, "I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." (This writer has written elsewhere about the origin of that quote.) When we have much to do, our need to commence with prayer is greater, not less.

Using Psalm 143 as the basis for his guide, Miller outlines six principles of such a morning prayer: 

• Seek to hear God's voice first;

• Seek God's guidance to know the way wherein to walk;

• Seek to be kept from evil;

• Seek to be taught to do God's will;

• Seek God as the giver of life; and

• Seek God for deliverance from trouble. 

It is in the same chapter in which our Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray using the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6) that he adds: "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Every day we have need to pray, and to seek grace and help from above, especially on the hard days. 

Is this a hard day for you, dear reader? Might it become so unexpectedly? We hope not, but if so, this little book may be a helpful encouragement to you to begin your day with prayer unto Him who "is able to exceeding[ly] abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Eph. 3:20).

What Distinguishes Christians From the World?

Gardiner Spring (1785-1873) wrote a valuable treatise in 1813 titled Essays on the Distinguishing Traits of Christian Character that has stood the test of time (it was republished by Northampton Press in 2010). 

In this collection of essays, Spring examines in the light of God's Word certain crucial aspects of the life of a Christian: conviction of sin, repentance, assurance, love to God and the brethren, faith, humility, self-denial, non-conformity to the world, practical obedience, growth in grace, and prayer. These fruits of the Spirit are indeed the distinguishing characteristics of Christians in a world which runs in the opposite direction, and they are to be sought after and cultivated in every Christian's life.

May this little book be a blessing and an encouragement to your Christian walk. 

American Presbyterian Church History

The history of the American Presbyterian Churches has been told by many, and we have highlighted certain notable volumes previously at Log College Press. 

Some classic readings in this area include Charles Hodge's Constitutional History of the Presbyterian Church; Richard Webster's History of the Presbyterian Church in America; Ezra Hall Gillett's history of the PCUSA; Charles Augustus Brigg's history of colonial American Presbyterianism; Thomas Cary Johnson's history of the Southern Presbyterian Church; and Robert Ellis Thompson's history of the Northern Presbyterian Church. 

All of these and more were consulted by one of the newest historians of matters ecclesiastical and civil added to LCP - an minister and writer that you may have not have heard of before: Jacob Harris Patton (1812-1903), author of A Popular History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (1903) and The Triumph of the Presbytery of Hanover; or, Separation of Church and State in Virginia. With a Concise History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States from 1705 to 1888 (1887). 

Patton's histories are worthy of consultation. Also, be sure to check out our expanding Church History page for these and many other volumes for your reference. 

Duelling in America Comes to An End

On July 12, 1804, Alexander Hamilton, former U.S. Secretary of Treasury, died after a duel of honor with Aaron Burr, Jr. (the son of a President of the College of New Jersey), the sitting Vice-President of the United States. These were two notables, one of whom was reckoned among the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.  

Eliphalet Nott (1773-1866) preached a sermon occasioned by the death of Alexander Hamilton that is widely credited with bringing disrepute to the traditional practice of duelling to avenge one's honor. 

It is true that the last duel in the United States officially took place in 1859. But it is also true that the sermons of Nott, and Lyman Beecher, two highly respected Presbyterian ministers, significantly eroded support for the practice of duelling. 

Take a look at these sermons, as well as the articles written by Thomas Smyth (Works, Vol. 7), and consider how American Presbyterians opposed the practice, and how it came to an ignominious end. 

John Lafayette Girardeau's Short Address to the Inquirer

In the 1860 Catechism he wrote for the African-Americans seeking admission to the church he pastored in Charleston, South Carolina, John Lafayette Girardeau included a short address to the inquirer, "in the hope that the truths contained in the Catechism may be enforced in the form of direct exhortation." The beauty and power of these gospel words depict the heart of this evangelistic pastor, and challenge the modern church's lack of evangelistic zeal and its truncated gospel. Use these words in your preaching; include them in your personal evangelism; share them with the lost in as many forms as you can come up with.  

My Friend, are you inquiring about the salvation of your never-dying soul? You are right. You cannot live here very long. You must soon die, and pass into eternity; and if that one soul, which God has given you, be lost, your all is lost. Will you listen to some affectionate advice on this all-important subject?

First, then, consider how great a sinner you are in God’s sight. You have broken His Law, that holy, just and righteous Law which angels and all good beings reverence and obey. You have wickedly trampled under foot all the commands of God’s Law, and you know full well that you have not had the shadow of an excuse for so doing. That Law says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” You have sinned, and you, therefore, deserve to die. Consider, too, how you have abused God’s great goodness and mercy to you. Ever since you were born God has been blessing you. He has given you clothing, food and shelter, and has mercifully provided for all your wants. Above all, He so loved sinners that He gave His only-begotten Son to die for them; and you have also despised this His amazing mercy, and refused to take God’s crucified Son as your Savior and your Lord. Think, too, how far short you have come of God’s glory in all things. You have not loved Him nor obeyed Him in any degree as He requires. You are a great sinner in God’s sight. Your sins are exceedingly offensive and abominable to Him, your Maker and your Judge. If He should cut you down and send you to hell, there to suffer forever and ever, He would treat you just as you deserve. O my friend, pray earnestly to God that He would convince you of your sins, by His Holy Spirit. Pray to Him to open your eyes that you may see your awful danger. Pray to Him to show you your great and manifold sins. Pray to Him to make you deeply feel your need of Jesus Christ as your Savior from sin and hell.

You cannot save yourself. You have no goodness to recommend you to God’s favor. You are vile and wicked in the sight of a holy God. You have no righteousness. “All your righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” They cannot cover you in the day of God’s wrath. You cannot obey the Law in your own strength, for you have broken it already and its awful curse is now resting on your soul. Nothing that you can do can lift that curse from your soul. It threatens to sink you down into the bottomless pit. No works that you can do can save you. “By the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified.” If you pray in your own strength, that will not save you. If you try to serve God, in your own strength, that will not save you. Pray that God would show you that you are “miserable and poor and blind and naked;” that you are “dead in trespasses and sins;” and that unless He have mercy upon you, and save you, you must be lost and undone forever and ever.

Are you, then, shut up to final despair? Is there no hope for you? Hear, O sinner, what God has done to save us. He is full of pity, love and mercy, to poor, guilty, wretched sinners. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” Yes, Jesus Christ, God’s well-beloved Son, saw us in our sinfulness and misery, and touched with heavenly pity for us, He came down to this world to save us. Jesus took the place of sinners. Jesus suffered, and bled, and died for sinners, that He might deliver them from the dreadful curse of the Law. He died and rose again from the dead, and now ever liveth in heaven to intercede for sinners.

Do you ask, now, what you must do to be saved? This blessed Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for sinners, graciously invites you to come to Him, that you may have everlasting life. Listen to His sweet invitation to sinners! “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Do you want rest from the burden of your sins? Go to Jesus and He will give you rest. Do you want to be happy? Hear what He says: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” Be not afraid to venture your soul upon Him. “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 of the water of life freely.” Think not, because you are a great sinner, that He will not receive you. Hear what Jesus says: “Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.” The first thing, then, for you to do, is to go to the Lord Jesus, and believe in Him. When the Jews asked Christ what they must do, He answered, “This is the work of God, that ye believe in Him whom He hath sent.” When the jailor asked Paul and Silas when he must do to be saved, the Apostle told him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”

Go, then, O sinner, to Jesus Christ the Savior, and go just as you are. Stay not in the vain hope that you can make yourself any better than you now are. You cannot prepare yourself to go to Christ. The greater your sins are, the greater is your need of Christ. He “came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” Carry all your sins to Him. Lay them all on Him. “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” You have nothing but sins to give to Him, and He is willing to take them, and, in exchange, to give you His finished righteousness. What you want is mercy. Plead with God, for Christ’s sake, to have mercy upon you, to wash you in the atoning blood of Jesus, and to pardon all your sins. Trust alone in the righteousness of Christ. You have none of your own. Beseech God to accept you as righteous in His sight for the sake of His dear Son Jesus Christ. Do this, and being justified by faith, you shall have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And, sinner, go to Jesus at once. Do not suppose that it is your duty to spend a long time in seeking pardoning mercy, before you ought to expect to find it. God has made it your duty to believe in Christ now. And suppose you die before you find Christ as your Savior, of what good will your seeking be to you? Your life is uncertain. Tomorrow you may die; and if you die out of Christ, you will be lost forever. Be in earnest. Press your case in prayer before God. Plead as for your life that He would not enable you to believe in Christ, and to lay hold upon Him as He is freely offered in the Gospel. If God should please to keep you waiting some time before He gives you an answer of peace, be not discouraged. Draw nearer to Christ, and cry, “Lord, help me;” and never cease to cry for mercy, until God, for Jesus’ sake, pardons your sins and converts your soul.

And should God in infinite mercy be pleased to hear your prayer, and speak pardon to your soul, oh think of your crucified Savior, and think of your sins that nailed Him to the tree, until your heart melts into penitence at His feet. Plead with Him for strength to enable you to give up all your sins, and to do all His commands. And as you went to Jesus, at first, a poor, worthless, helpless sinner, so continue to go to Him every day and hour of your life. Trust in Christ, love Christ, live for Christ; and when you come to die, Christ will be with you, and give you the victory over death. Your body will sleep in Jesus till the glorious resurrection morning; and your happy, ransomed soul will go at once to be with Jesus, and to sing His praise forever and ever. Thus, to you, to live will be Christ, and to die will be gain.

The World Was His Audience

Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832-1902), the son of a missionary to China, began his pastoral career in (what is currently) the Reformed Church of America before joining the Presbyterian Church. He went on to become world-famous as a preacher, with newspapers reprinting his sermons and numerous volumes published all of which were read by an estimated 30 million readers in his day. His sermons were commended by Charles Spurgeon, and his ministry was compared to that of both Spurgeon and George Whitefield. 

But his first sermon almost didn't happen after the manuscript he had written for it slipped under a sofa just at the appointed time for him to deliver it. He recounts the story in his autobiography T. De Witt Talmage As I Knew Him (this volume was edited with concluding chapters and published posthumously by his third wife), pp. 19-21:

But the first sermon with any considerable responsibility resting upon it was the sermon preached as a candidate for a pastoral call in the Reformed Church at Belleville, N.J. I was about to graduate from the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and wanted a Gospel field in which to work. I had already written to my brother John, a missionary at Amoy, China, telling him that I expected to come out there.

I was met by Dr. Ward at Newark, New Jersey, and taken to his house. Sabbath morning came. With one of my two sermons, which made up my entire stock of pulpit resources, I tremblingly entered the pulpit of that brown stone village church, which stands in my memory as one of the most sacred places of all the earth, where I formed associations which I expect to resume in Heaven.

The sermon was fully written, and was on the weird battle between the Gideonites and Midianites, my text being in Judges vii. 20, 21: 'The three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal; and they cried. The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.' A brave text, but a very timid man to handle it. I did not feel at all that hour either like blowing Gideon's trumpet, or holding up the Gospel lamp; but if I had, like any of the Gideonites, held a pitcher, I think I would have dropped it and broken that lamp. I felt as the moment approached for delivering my sermon more like the Midianites, who, according to my text, 'ran, and cried, and fled.' I had placed the manuscript of my sermon on the pulpit sofa beside where I sat. Looking around to put my hand on the manuscript, lo! it was gone. But where had it gone? My excitement knew no bound. Within three minutes of the greatest ordeal of my life, and the sermon on which so much depended mysteriously vanished! How much disquietude and catastrophe were crowded into those three minutes it would be impossible to depict. Then I noticed for the first time that between the upper and lower parts of the sofa there was an opening about the width of three finger-breadths, and I immediately suspected that through that opening the manuscript of my sermon had disappeared. But how could I recover it, and in so short a time? I bent over and reached under as far as I could. But the sofa was low, and I could not touch the lost discourse. The congregation were singing the last verse of the hymn, and I was reduced to a desperate effort. I got down on my hands and knees, and then down flat, and crawled under the sofa and clutched the prize. Fortunately, the pulpit front was wide, and hid the sprawling attitude I was compelled to take. When I arose to preach a moment after, the fugitive manuscript before me on the Bible, it is easy to understand why I felt more like the Midianites than I did like Gideon.

Besides an exercise in humility, what lesson did Talmage learn? 

"This and other mishaps with manuscripts helped me after a while to strike for entire  emancipation from such bondage, and for about a quarter of a century I have preached without notes—only a sketch of the sermon pinned in my Bible, and that sketch seldom referred to." 

A taste of his eloquence is found in the story above. Among his numerous published sermons, many can now be found on his author page and our Sermons page at Log College Press. Of Talmage, Spurgeon said: "His sermons take hold of my inmost soul. The Lord is with the mighty man. I am astonished when God blesses me but not surprised when He blesses him."

McGill's Church Government and Peck's Notes on Ecclesiology

Log College Press exists in part to preserve a digital archive of American Presbyterian works from the 18th and 19th century, and to propagate the knowledge of these works to the general public. These works have generally been forgotten by 21st century Presbyterians, and it is our hope that just as Puritan literature has enjoyed a revival over the past sixty years through Banner of Truth and other publishers, so Log College Press might serve to restore knowledge of the Presbyterian fathers from America.

To that end, if you are interested in studying the topic of Ecclesiology, I commend to you two works written toward the end of the 19th century, one by a Northerner, and one by a Southerner. A book we have highlighted previously, Alexander Taggert McGill's Church Government (written in 1888), compiled the lectures on the topic he gave at Princeton Theological Seminary. McGill had been called in 1854 to become the Professor of Pastoral Theology, Church Government, and Homiletics, and held this position for over forty years. Soon after McGill's book was published, Thomas Ephraim Peck wrote Notes on Ecclesiology (1892). McGill's book is much longer than Peck's (560 pages as compared to 212), and while both traverse similar terrain in the topic, Peck includes sections on church power and the relationship between the church and the state (specifically, church power as contrasted with civil power) that make his volume unique in its presentation. Both books are worth the time and effort spent to work through them. 

The Masters Painted for Joy

After the death of William Rogers Richards, in 1910, a volume of extracts from his sermons was compiled by Abraham Van Doren Honeyman, with the assistance of Mrs. Richards, titled The Truth in Love: From the Sermons of William R. Richards (1912). It is a daily devotional that spans a whole year. 

The devotional reading for today (April 27) includes a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

That which costs is also that which well repays the cost. So it is doubtless true, as a distinguished writer of our day has said, that 'the old masters painted for joy and knew not that joy had gone out of them;' while, on the other hand, the first great master of Christian song also said truly of his greatest poem, that it had 'made him lean for many years' [Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Canto XXV].

The Christian rule for us all in our daily occupation is to do every piece of work not merely so that it will look well done, but so that it will be well done. For we are God's servants, and God sees things, not as they seem to be, but as they are.

A Daughter of the Covenant

If you have read James McDonald Chaney's William the Baptist and its sequel, Agnes, the Daughter of William the Baptist, consider in a similar vein a novel by Littleton Purnell Bowen: A Daughter of the Covenant: A Tale of Louisiana (1901). This is a story that is largely about the covenant blessings of baptism. Though like Chaney's works, it is a didactic narrative that instructs, Bowen's novel is told as a tale that stands on its own merits. Set in bayou country, the reader will follow the La Fontaine and D'Arbonne families as their Huguenot history sets the stage for all that follows in the life of Mary La Fontaine, daughter of the covenant. There is romance, adventure, and poetry in this tale as the blessings of the covenant are unfolded. 

Take time to look over our Fiction page as well to find other novels written by American Presbyterian ministers. 

Hazael the Syrian

John Calvin once wrote that "Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves" (Institutes 1.1.1). 

Hazael the Syrian is an example of someone who seems to have lacked both knowledge of God and of self. When Elisha described to him what he would do in the future, Hazael did not recognize himself in the horrific deeds outlined by the weeping prophet (2 Kings 8). Yet, Elisha's words were true. 

Andrew Flinn Dickson (1825-1879) has taken the life of Hazael for a lesson to us all in a volume titled Hazael the Syrian; or, Know Thyself (1857). We ought to know the God whom we serve, and we ought to know who we are in His service. Elijah warned the people of God, "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that "No man can serve two masters" (Matt. 6:24). Dickson reminds us that there is no place for a "half-way Christian." 

It is a sobering read, but how important it is, Christian, to know thyself, and to God be true. 

Ruth the Moabitess

The life of Ruth the Moabitess, the great-grandmother of King David, has lessons that are instructive for us today. Archibald Alexander once wrote a tract that is little-known today titled Ruth the Moabitess, or The Power of True Religion, in which he sets forth some of those lessons for our consideration. 

"1. The power of true religion appears in making persons willing to abandon all idolatry, and all false notions and corrupt institutions of religion, in which they have been educated, or to which by inclination they may have been attached....Ruth the Moabitess was brought up an idolater, no doubt, but sovereign grace had touched her heart. By hearing she had been brought to believe, and under the influence of this new principle she turns her back on all the false deities which she had been accustomed to revere, and says to a pious Israelite, 'Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.'...

2. The power of religion is manifest in making persons willing to forsake their nearest and dearest earthly relatives, when their duty to their God and Saviour requires it. Those ties which bind men together are often so strong that they will lay down their lives for the preservation of those who are nearly related to them. But the love of Christ is stronger than all natural affections—stronger than the love of life itself. If our Lord had not known the power of his religion, he would never had laid down such terms of discipleship, as to forsake father and mother, wife and children, houses and land, yea our own life for his sake....

3. The power of true religion is again manifest in leading its votaries to choose the service of God, and the people of God, although the choice is in direct opposition to natural inclinations and worldly interests, and even though poverty and affliction should be the inevitable consequence. This is a good description of true religion. It consists in the deliberate choice of God as our God, and of his people as our people. They who make this choice have been divinely illuminated. Of all such it may truly be said, 'flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto them, but their Father who is in heaven.'...

4. The power of true religion is remarkably manifest in this, that it enables its possessor to stand firm when others turn back. When religion flourishes, there will be some who profess to follow Christ, and yet have no root in them. The blessed Saviour most strikingly characterizes them by the seed sown on a rock, which, though it quickly sprung up, soon withered away. During Christ's ministry, many followed him for a season,—but they were led on by low and selfish motives. And when their carnal expectations were disappointed, they would proceed no further, but 'went back from him.' Thus it was in the apostolic churches; some of high professions and high standing fell away. But the foundation of God is immovable, for the 'Lord knoweth them that are his.' 'They went out from us because they were not of us.' These are sifting times. Satan is ready to suggest to the sincere disciple, 'you may as well follow the example,' and for a moment the pious soul may be ready to slide, while he sees those apostatising of whose piety he had entertained a much more exalted opinion than of his own. But there is in him an imperishable seed, and he cannot sin deliberately. No, his heart is fixed, and however many may draw back unto perdition, his resolution becomes stronger; like the oak shaken by the storm he takes firmer root....

5. The power of religion appears, not only in resolving and choosing, but more especially in acting and enduring. Ruth goes to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law. The whole town is moved on their arrival, 'And they said, Is this Naomi?' And she said, 'Call me not Naomi, (which signifies pleasant) but call me Mara, (which signifies bitter) for the Almighty hath dealt bitterly with me.' Ruth is now in a strange land, and her mother-in-law being old, the burden of labour falls on her. The poor in Israel had a right by the law to the scattered stalks which the reapers left, and to every handful which they dropped, and to any sheaf which they forgot, and to what grew in the corners of the field. The poverty of these two widows is further evident, from the circumstance of Ruth's going out to glean after the reapers, from day to day. But she made no complaint. She cheerfully performed her duty, and patiently submitted to these humiliating circumstances."

Take up this short tract which has blessed others (as mentioned by J.W. Alexander in the biography he wrote of his father) and may its lessons and applications be a blessing to you, dear reader. 

B.B. Warfield and the Revision of 1903

The American edition of the Westminster Confession of Faith was revised in 1903. It was a time of great controversy, and there were those who were opposed to the suggested changes. One of them was B.B. Warfield. We have recently compiled his writings on the subject, written before and after the revisions were approved, which includes literature from others on both sides of the question. 

Warfield, whose "trilogy" on the Westminster Standards we have previously highlighted, began writing about the proposals to amend the Confession as early as 1889. The following is a list of his works on this particular topic: 

• "The Presbyterian Churches and the Westminster Confession" (The Presbyterian Review, October 1889);

• On the Revision of the Confession of Faith (1890);

• Ought the Confession of Faith to be Revised? (1890, edited by Warfield, including contributions by John DeWitt, Henry J. Van Dyke, Jr., and W.G.T. Shedd);

• Proposed Reply to "The Final Report of the Committee on the Revision of the Confession" (The Presbyterian and Reformed Review, 1892); and

• The Confession of Faith as Revised in 1903 (1904). 

What were the revisions that were adopted in 1903 by the Presbyterian Church (USA)? Two new chapters were added - "Of the Holy Spirit" and "Of the Love of God, and Missions" - as well as a "Declaratory Statement" dealing with God's eternal decree of election and the question of those who die in infancy. Additionally, a sentence was deleted in section 2 of chapter 22 ("Of Lawful Oaths and Vows"); and chapter 25:6 (on "The Church") was revised to remove the assertion that the Pope is Antichrist. When the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) separated from the PCUSA and created its own edition of the Westminster Standards in 1936 (which was later adopted by the Presbyterian Church in American (PCA)), the two new chapters and declaratory statement were removed, but the latter two changes were retained. 

Donald John Maclean writes in James Durham (1622–1658): And the Gospel Offer in its Seventeenth-Century Context (2015) that "Although an opponent of confessional revision, B.B. Warfield, long-time professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, regarded the changes in a surprisingly positive light. In the end, he believed that the changes finally adopted in no way altered the system of doctrine contained in the Westminster Standards. Thus, he was able to give them his support" (p. 273). J.G. Machen, writing in 1936, was not as favorable, describing the 1903 revisions as "compromising amendments," "highly objectionable," a "calamity," and "a very serious lowering of the flag" (Presbyterian Guardian, Nov. 28, 1936, pp. 69-70).

For a recent discussion of the two chapters that were added to the Confession in 1903, see J.V. Fesko, The Spirit of the Age: The 19th-Century Debate Over the Holy Spirit and the Westminster Confession (2017). It is fascinating, nevertheless, to review Warfield's body of literature on the 1903 revisions both before and after they took place. In doing so, this great expert on the Westminster Standards reveals both his confessional fortitude and his willingness to bend for the sake of peace in the church, though not, as he viewed it, at the expense of the truth. 

All the Earth Shall Be Filled With the Glory of the Lord

In 1835, Samuel Miller (1769-1850) preached a sermon before the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in Baltimore, Maryland. His text was that from Numbers 14:21: "...all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." It is a great promise that gives hope to Christians concerning the expansion of Christ's kingdom on earth. But it does not stand alone in God's Word. A significant portion of his sermon involves the assembling together of other Scriptures which only serve to undergird this promise. 

"1. First of all, and above all, our hope is founded on JEHOVAH'S FAITHFUL AND UNERRING PROMISE. This is, undoubtedly, the chief ground of confidence. For that a religion which has been preached for eighteen, centuries, and which has been as yet received, even nominally, by less than a fourth part of mankind, will one day, and, at most, in a century or two from this hour, pervade and govern the world, we can expect with confidence only on the promise of Him who is Almighty, and who cannot lie. But this promise is surely enough for the most unwavering confidence. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Jehovah is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but one jot or tittle of all that has gone out of the mouth of Jehovah shall not pass away, until all be fulfilled. 

Let us attend, then, to some of the promises on this subject with which the word of God abounds. Take the following as a small specimen of the 'exceeding great and precious'  catalogue found in the inspired volume.

• The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, Rev. 11:15.
• Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession, Ps. 2:8.
• All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him, Ps. 22.27.
• From the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place shall incense be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts, Mal. 1.11.
• And I will gather all nations, and tongues, and cause them to come and see my glory, Isa. 56.18.
• And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it, Isa. 2:2.
• His name shall be continued as long as the sun; men shall be blessed in him, and all nations shall call him blessed, Ps. 72:17.
• The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, and the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God, Isa. 35:1-2.
• And the kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; and all dominions shall serve and obey him, Dan. 7:27.
• He shall say to the North, Give up; and to the South, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, Isa. 43:6.
• His way shall be known upon earth, and his saving health among all nations, Ps. 67:2.
• And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, Isa. 40:5.
• Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto God, Ps. 68:31.
• The isles shall wait for his law, Isa. 13:4.
• He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth, Zech. 9:10.
• All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God, Isa. 52:10.
• We see not yet all things put under Him, Heb. 2:8.
• But he must reign, until all enemies shall be put under his feet, 1 Cor. 15:25.
• At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that he is Christ to the glory of God the Father, Phil. 1:10-11.
• For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, Hab. 2:14.

Such is a specimen of Jehovah's promises respecting the future prevalence and power of the gospel. Read them, Christians, with joy and confidence. Ponder them daily and well in your hearts, as a source of continual encouragement. And remember that they shall all, without failure, be gloriously accomplished. I cannot tell you precisely when this happy period shall arrive; but I can tell you, on authority not to be questioned, that, at the appointed time, this earth, so long the abode of sin and sorrow, shall be restored from its desolations, and made to bloom like 'the garden of the Lord.' I can tell you, that her Almighty King will yet, notwithstanding every unfavorable appearance, make Zion beautiful through his own comeliness put upon her; that he will yet cause her righteousness to go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth, Isa. lxii. 1. These promises may not, indeed, be all fully accomplished, until we, who now listen to their recital, shall be all sleeping in the dust; or, rather, if by the grace of God, we be made meet for it, -- rejoicing before the throne, in possession of still brighter glory. But, 'though we die, God shall surely visit his people' in mercy. Though neither we, nor even the next generation shall be permitted to witness on earth the complete development of 'the latter day glory;' yet let us rejoice in the assurance that it will come in due time, and in all its promised blessedness. The vision is yet for an appointed time; but in the end it shall speak and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry, Hab. ii. 3."

This powerful sermon has inspired many over the years to pray and labor for the pouring out of God's Spirit upon the nations, as should we all. There is a similar text in Psalm 72, to which Samuel Miller also refers in his Thoughts on Public Prayer: 

"I once heard of a minister who, in a time of revival, when his own heart, as well as the hearts of his hearers were unusually warmed with the power of the Holy Spirit, closed a prayer in the midst of the revival, with great acceptance, in the words of the Psalmist (72:18-19): 'Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things; and blessed be his glorious name forever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen! The effect was electric in suddenness, and most happy." 

Thomas Smyth's Charge to the People at the Installation of Pastors Thornwell and Mullally

In 1860, James Henley Thornwell and Francis P. Mullally were installed as co-pastors of the First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC. John Lafayette Girardeau preached the sermon and Thomas Smyth gave the charges to the pastors and to the people. You can find these addresses in Volume 6 of Smyth's Complete Works here. The following is Smyth's charge to the congregation:

The very first thing I would impress upon you is, that in this eventful scene you are not spectators merely, but participants — not merely eye-witnesses to an interesting pageant, but partners to a solemn compact. The relations and responsibilities now constituted are mutual, and cannot be separated. Have these Brethren now become your pastors? — you have become their people. Are they under obligation to preach, to reprove, to rebuke, to make known God's will and your duty? — you are bound to hear, to obey, and to perform. Are they, in conscious impotence, to undertake a work

Which well might fill an angel’s heart,
And filled a Saviour's hands? —

they are to be strengthened with all might, obtained through your prayers on their behalf. Are they to give themselves wholly to the things which pertain to your spiritual welfare? — you are to provide all things needful for their temporal comforts; to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake; to count them worthy of an adequate and honorable maintenance; and to consider it a small thing to impart freely of your carnal things in return for their spiritual gifts.

You perceive, therefore, Brethren, that the solemnities of this occasion involve you not less than those who are set over you in the Lord. For weal or for woe you are now joined together. The relations and the responsibilities are mutual. You must be helpers or hinderers of each other’s prosperity and progress. Like priest like people, is not more true than like people like priest. It is in the power of any people to paralyze or to put life and energy into their pastor, and to make him not only a lovely song and as one that playeth well on an instrument, but the power of God and the wisdom of God, to the salvation of souls. And for all that they might do and ought to do, they must give account when they shall stand confronted at the bar of Him who judgeth righteous judgment.

May you so live and labour together as that this account shall be given with joy, and not with grief. Yours, I have said, is a model pulpit. May you be a model people. Model preaching will demand model practice, model piety, liberality and zealous devotion to every good cause. I congratulate you. Brethren, upon the present occasion and your future prospects. I rejoice with you in your joy. I remember your kindness to my youth, and your appreciation of my early ministrations, when you so cordially invited me to live and labour among you. Allow me, with all my heart, to pray that peace may be within your walls, and prosperity within your borders. May you go forward prospering and to prosper — a city set on a hill, a burning and a shining light, provoking all around you to love and liberality. May strength go out of this Zion, and may you arise and shine the glory of the Lord having arisen upon you.

This occasion must now close, but we who are now assembled must meet in review all the issues of this rehearsal. Oh, my friends, realize and lay to heart that hastening hour. Pray, oh, pray earnestly, that when pastors and people shall meet face to face, at that awful tribunal, instead of mutual upbraidings and reproaches — you accusing them of unfaithfulness or negligence, and they accusing you of coldness, formality, and refusal to come up to the help of the Lord against the mighty — you may be able to congratulate each other; you blessing God for them as helpers of your faith, and they presenting you to God as their joy and crown of rejoicing.