What's New at Log College Press? - December 20, 2022

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At the close of 2022, Log College Press is staying very active as we continue to expand the site and make accessible even more literature from early American Presbyterians.

Last month, in November 2022, we added 582 new works to the site. There are currently over 17,000 free works available at LCP. Today we are highlighting some of the new free PDFs available as found on our Recent Additions and Early Access pages, two features provided to members of the Dead Presbyterians Society.

Some highlights at the Early Access page:

  • Two works by Thomas Cleland, A Familiar Dialogue Between Calvinus and Arminius (1805, 1830); and The Socini-Arian Detected: A Series of Letters to Barton W. Stone, on Some Important Subjects of Theological Discussion, Referred to in His "Address" to the Christian Churches in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio (1815);

  • Abraham Brooks Van Zandt, God's Voice to the Nation: A Sermon Occasioned by the Death of Zachary Taylor, President of the United States (1850);

  • Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith (1955); and Christianity and Barthianism (1962);

  • John Murray, The Reformed Faith and Modern Substitutes (1935-1936); and The Application of Redemption (1952-1954) [a series of many articles which served as the basis for his 1955 book Redemption Accomplished and Applied];

  • Geerhardus Vos, A Song of the Nativity (1924, 1972) [a Christmas poem]; and

  • early sermons by Francis James Grimké, Our Duty to the Poor — How We Observed It on Christmas (1881); Wendell Phillips: A Sermon Delivered Sunday, Feb. 24, 1884, at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. (1884); Our Future as a People (1890), each of which was contributed by a reader.

Some highlights at the Recent Addtiions page:

Also, be sure also to check out the quotes we have been adding at our blog for DPS members: Though Dead They Still Speak, including John Holmes Agnew: The Lord Loves the Gates of Zion; B.B. Warfield on Theological Study as a Religious Exercise and on What it Means to Glorify and Enjoy God; William H. Green on How the Child of God May Rightly Undergo Frowning Providences; John Murray: To the Calvinist Who Once Struggled With the Arminian Idea of Free Will; E.C. Wines: Christ is the Fountain of the Promises; James Gallaher on the Difference Between Calvinism and Fatalism; William S. Plumer's Suggested Guidelines for Making Family Worship More Profitable; Elizabeth Prentiss on Dying Grace; and T. De Witt Talmage: The Sabbath a Taste of Heaven.

We appreciate hearing from our readers if they find matters needing correction, or if they have questions about authors or works on the site, or if they have suggestions for additions to the site. Your feedback helps the experience of other readers as well.

Meanwhile, please feel free to browse the many resources available to our readers in print and in digital format. There is a lot to explore, and many Presbyterian voices from the past to hear. We look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for Log College Press in 2023. Thank you, as always, for your interest and support, dear friends, and best wishes to you in the New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving From Log College Press!

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The history of Thanksgiving is always a fascinating (and sometimes, controversial) topic. The site of the first Protestant Thanksgiving in America is usually associated with the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, but Virginia also puts forth a claim to an earlier observance of Thanksgiving at Jamestown in 1610, and even prior to that, Thanksgiving, including the singing of a psalm, was observed by the French Huguenots at Fort Caroline, near modern-day Jacksonville, Florida in 1564.

Moving forward to the colonial and early American eras, magistrates began to follow these earlier examples of gathering to give thanks at appointed occasions and they issued Thanksgiving proclamations. Two notable Presbyterians who had a hand in this were John Witherspoon and Elias Boudinot IV.

Witherspoon served on a committee which drafted the Thanksgiving proclamations by the Confederation Congress for 1781 and 1782. Boudinot, who served as President of the Confederation Congress, and later, as a representative of New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives, signed the Congressional Thanksgiving Proclamation for 1783, and also proposed the resolution calling upon President George Washington to issue a Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789.

Witherspoon’s 1781 Thanksgiving proclamation called upon Americans to:

assemble on that day, with grateful hearts, to celebrate the praises of our gracious benefactor; to confess our manifold sins; to offer up our most fervent supplications to the God of all grace, that it may please Him to pardon our offences, and incline our hearts for the future to keep all his laws; to comfort and relieve all our brethren who are in distress or captivity; to prosper our husbandmen, and give success to all engaged in lawful commerce; to impart wisdom and integrity to our counsellors, judgment and fortitude to our officers and soldiers; to protect and prosper our illustrious ally, and favor our united exertions for the speedy establishment of a safe, honorable and lasting peace; to bless all seminaries of learning; and cause the knowledge of God to cover the earth, as the waters cover the seas.

Boudinot’s 1789 Thanksgiving resolution called upon President Washington to

recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably a Constitution of government for their safety and happiness.

Corporate giving of thanks to God as Creator and Governor of the Nations, through Christ, King of the Church and the Nations, has been the practice of Christian families, churches and nations for centuries, but as the holiday of Thanksgiving is a peculiarly American institution, it is helpful to reflect on its early history in colonial times leading up to the foundation of our republic.

Theodore L. Cuyler once wrote:

Thanksgiving Day is a fitting time to inventory your mercies and blessings. Set all your family to the pitch of the one hundred and third Psalm; and hang on the wall over your Thanksgiving dinner these mottoes -- 'A merry heart is a good medicine' -- and 'He that is of a cheerful heart hath a continual feast' ["'A Merry Heart Doeth Good': A Talk For Thanksgiving Day" (1897)].

We at Log College Press are thankful for our readers and their support, and we wish each of you a very joyful and Happy Thanksgiving. May God bless you and yours richly!

Davidson's Desiderata

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Early on in its history, in May 1853, a discourse was delivered at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Robert B. Davidson: Presbyterianism: Its True Place and Value in History (1854). After an overview of the history of Presbyterianism in Scotland and in early America, Davidson left his hearers with a list of things things desired or wanted in connection with the goal of preserving the history of Presbyterianism - a desiderata. This list was an inspired effort to steer the work of the Presbyterian Historical Society as it began to put into practice the vision of its founder, Cortlandt Van Rensselaer.

  1. Collections of pamphlets, tractates, controversial and other essays, bearing on the history of the Presbyterian church in this country, especially touching the Schism of 1741. These should be bound in volumes, and arranged in chronological order, handy for reference. No time should be lost in this work, for pamphlets are very perishable commodities, and speedily vanish out of sight. A copy of Gilbert Tennent’s Remarks on the Protest cannot now be obtained. One was understood by Dr. Hodge, when he wrote his History, to be in the Antiquarian Library, in Worcester, Mass., but the work is reported by the librarian as missing. This shows us that we should hoard old pamphlets and papers with Mohammedan scrupulosity, especially when there are no duplicates.

  2. Collections, like Gillies’, of accounts of Revivals, and other memoranda of the progress of vital religion. Such collections would be supplementary to Gillies’ great work, which does not embrace the wonderful events of the present century in America.

  3. Collections of memoirs of particular congregations, of which quite a number have been at various times printed, and which ought to be brought together and preserved.

  4. Collections of occasional Sermons, both of deceased and living divines. As old productions are of interest to us, so such as are of recent publication may interest posterity. Such collections would furnish good specimens of the Presbyterian pulpit, and might be either chronologically or alphabetically arranged.

  5. Collections of discourses delivered about and after the era of the Revolution. They would exhibit in a striking and favorable light the patriotic sympathies of the clergy at that period, as also the popular sentiment on the independence of the States, and their subsequent union under the present constitution.

  6. A similar collection of Discourses preached on the day of Thanksgiving in the year 1851, would be very interesting; exhibiting the various views held on the Higher Law, and the preservation of the Union, and also the value of the Pulpit in pouring oil on the strong passions of mankind.

  7. Biographical sketches of leading Presbyterian divines and eminent laymen. It is understood that one of our most esteemed writers is engaged in the preparation of a work of this sort, embracing the different Christian denominations. Whatever emanates from his elegant pen will be sure to possess a standard value; but it is thought, from the very structure of his projected work, such a one as is now recommended will not interfere with it, nor its necessity be superseded. Mark the stirring catalogue that might be produced, names which, though they that bare them have been gathered to their fathers, still powerfully affect us by the recollection of what they once did, or said, or wrote, and by a multitude of interesting associations that rush into the memory: Makemie, the Tennents, Dickinson, Davies, Burr, Blair, the Finleys, Beattie, Brainerd, Witherspoon, Rodgers, Nisbet, Ewing, Sproat, the Caldwells, S. Stanhope Smith, John Blair Smith, McWhorter, Griffin, Green, Blythe, J.P. Campbell, Boudinot, J.P. Wilson, Joshua L. Wilson, Hoge, Speece, Graham, Mason, Alexander, Miller, John Holt Rice, John Breckinridge, Nevins, Wirt. Here is an array of names which we need not blush to see adorning a Biographia Presbyterianiana. And the materials for most of the sketches are prepared to our hand, and only require the touch of a skilful compiler.

  8. Lives of the Moderators. There have been sixty-four Moderators of the General Assembly; and as it is usual to call to the Chair of that venerable body men who enjoy some consideration among their brethren, it is fair to infer that a neat volume might be produced. Many were men of mark; and where this was not the case, materials could be gathered from the times in which they lived, or the doings of the Assembly over which they presided.

  9. A connected account or gazetteer of Presbyterian Missions, both Foreign and Domestic, with sketches of prominent missionaries, and topographical notices of the stations. Dr. Green prepared something of this sort, but it is meagre, and might be greatly enlarged and enriched.

  10. Reprints of scarce and valuable works. It may be objected that we have already a Board of Publication, who have this duty in charge; but it is not intended to do anything that would look like interference with that useful organ. The Board are expected to publish works of general utility, and likely to be popular, and so reimburse the outlay; this society would only undertake what would not fall strictly within the Board’s appropriate province, or would interest not the public generally, but the clerical profession.

  11. A continuation of the Constitutional History of the Presbyterian Church to the present time. The valuable work of Dr. Hodge is unfinished; and whether his engrossing professional duties will ever allow him sufficient leisure to complete it is, to say the least, doubtful.

  12. Should that not be done, then it will be desirable to have prepared an authentic narrative of the late Schism of 1838; or materials should be collected to facilitate its preparation hereafter, when it can be done more impartially than at present. Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge did a good service in this way, by publishing a series of Memoirs to serve for a future history, in the Baltimore Religious and Literary Magazine.

  13. It might be well to compile a cheap and portable manual for the use of the laity, containing a compact history of the Presbyterian Church in America.

Other proposals on Davidson’s list include a history of the rise and decline of English Presbyterianism; a history of the French Huguenots; and a history of the Reformation in Scotland as well as biographical sketches of Scottish divines.

It is a useful exercise for those who share Davidson’s interest in church history to pause and reflect on the extent to which the goals that he proposed have been met. The Presbyterian Historical Society itself — located in Philadelphia — has certainly done tremendous legwork in this regard as a repository of valuable historical materials which has allowed scholars the opportunity to study and learn from the past. We are extremely grateful for the efforts of the Presbyterian Historical Society. Samuel Mills Tenney’s similar vision led to the creation of the Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Montreat, North Carolina. The PCA Historical Center in St. Louis, Missouri is another such agency that has done great service to the church at large as a repository of Reformed literature and memorabilia.

We do have access today to Gilbert Tennent’s Remarks Upon a Protestation Presented to the Synod of Philadelphia, June 1, 1741. By 1861, we know that a copy was located and deposited, in fact, at Presbyterian Historical Society. Though not yet available in PDF form at Log College Press, it is available for all to read online in html through the Evans Early American Imprint Collection here.

The biographical sketches then in progress that Davidson referenced in point #7 were carried through to publication by William B. Sprague. His Annals of the American Pulpit remain to this day a tremendous resource for students of history, yet, as Davidson wisely noted, though many writers have followed in Sprague’s footsteps on a much more limited basis, there is always room for more to be done towards the creation of a Biographia Presbyterianiana.

Regarding the Lives of Moderators (point #8), we are grateful for the labors of Barry Waugh of Presbyterians of the Past to highlight the men that Davidson had in mind. The lists and biographical sketches that he has generated are a very useful starting point towards achieving the goal articulated by Davidson, and help to bring to mind the contributions of Moderators to the work of the church.

There are a number of organizations that have taken pains to reprint older Presbyterian works of interest. Too many to list here, the contributions of all those who share this vision to make literature from the past accessible to present-day readers is to be applauded, including the efforts of Internet Archive, Google Books and others who digitize such works. We at Log College Press also strive to do this both with respect to reprints and our library of primary sources. For us, the past is not dead, primary sources are not inaccessible, and the writings of 18th-19th century Presbyterians are not irrelevant. It is worth noting that there are topical pages with growing resources available on Log College Press that highlight material on biographies, church history, the 1837 Old School / New School division, sermons and much more.

Much more could be said in regards to the extent to which organizations, historians and others have carried forward the goals articulated by Davidson. But for now we leave it to our readers to consider Davidson’s Desiderata, articulated over 150 years ago, and its connection to our shared interest in preserving the history and literature of early American Presbyterianism.

American Independence and Presbyterians

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Log College Press began officially on July 4, 2017. We identify this date not only with the origin of LCP, but of course also with the founding of the United States of America, when the Declaration of Independence was promulgated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776.

In 2018, we wished our readers a Happy Independence Day; in 2019, we spoke of “Freedom’s Cost’; in 2020, the theme was “Presbyterians and the Revolution”; and today we highlight Fourth of July orations and sermons by some noted Presbyterians.

It was customary for many Presbyterians to commemorate American Independence with speeches and sermons. Here we bring to your attention a representative sample of some specimens of Presbyterian Independence oratory.

  • Samuel Clark Aiken (1827) - Speaking to the Sunday School Societies in Utica, New York, on the 51st anniversary of American Independence, Rev. Aiken of the need for nations who have been greatly blessed to maintain religion in its public and private spheres, and of the role that Sunday Schools play in this.

  • Diarca Howe Allen (1861) - Rev. Allen’s discourse, published in 1862, focused on the centennial of Lebanon, New Hampshire in the context of a celebration of national independence.

  • Nathan Sidney Smith Beman (1841) - Rev. Beman’s discourse was titled The Western Continent. Looking both the past and the future, he spoke of national blessings which should continue to expand westward.

  • Elias Boudinot IV (1793) - Speaking to the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of New Jersey on the 17th anniversary of American Independence, Rev. Boudinot called upon his hearers, with a direct preceding message to President George Washington, to strive to maintain the ideals for which American patriots had fought: “The obligations of mankind to these worthy characters increase in proportion to the importance of the blessings purchased by their labors.” He also advocated for increased rights for women.

  • Frederick Thomas Brown (1865) - Speaking on the first Fourth of July following the War Between the States, Rev. Brown argued that this was an important moment for the country in which he prayed that our nation would become stronger and more unified.

  • Hooper Cumming (1817, 1821, 1824) - Rev. Cumming, in his short life, delivered a number of Fourth of July orations, some of which are found on his page. In each, he stirs up his hearers to appreciate our national blessings, and to strive to maintain godly ideals.

  • Daniel Dana (1814) - Delivered in the midst of the War of 1812, Rev. Dana reminded his audience that God is concerned with national affairs. He highlighted God’s providence not only with respect to America but also with respect to the affairs of Europe.

  • Ezra Stiles Ely (1827) - Rev. Ely preached a Fourth of July sermon (published in 1828) — based on the concluding verses of Psalm 2 — on The Duty of Christian Freemen to Elect Christian Rulers. According to Ely, the Lord Jesus Christ is the rightful sovereign of all lands.

  • Timothy Flint (1815) - Speaking on the first Fourth of July after the War of 1812 ended, Rev. Flint called to mind the troubles that the nation had endured, but with thankfulness for the mercies of God in seeing the country through.

  • Ralph Randolph Gurley (1825) - Rev. Gurley spoke in Washington, D.C. of a religious celebration of national blessings; yet, he also addressed the fact that slavery continued to be a stain on our national honor, and of efforts to colonize Western Africa with freed slaves.

  • Symmes Cleves Henry (1824) - In this oration delivered before the Society of Cincinnati of the State of New Jersey, Rev. Henry spoke of the ideals represented by the historical events commemorated on the 48th anniversary of American Independence.

  • William Linn (1791) - Rev. Linn’s sermon, preached in New York, was based on Ps. 16:6: “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” He recounted many of the blessings that God’s favor had granted to a young nation.

  • John McKnight (1794) - Rev. McKnight’s Fourth of July sermon, preached in New York City, was titled God the Author of Promotion and based on Ps. 75:6-9. In the context of celebrating the birth of the American nation, he reminds his hearers that it is God who raises up and casts down.

  • Samuel Miller (1793, 1795) - Among the earliest published sermons of Rev. Miller were two Fourth of July messages preached in New York City. The first was titled Christianity the Grand Source and Surest Basis for Political Liberty.

  • Eliphalet Nott (1801) - On the 25th anniversary of American Independence, Rev. Nott spoke of The Providence of God towards American Israel.

  • George Potts (1826) - It was on the same day that both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died that Rev. Potts, speaking in Philadelphia, commemorated the 50th anniversary of American Independence.

  • Horace Southworth Pratt (1828) - Preaching in Fryeburg, Maine Rev. Pratt spoke of the nature of freedom and liberty Biblically understood.

  • Nathaniel Scudder Prime (1825) - Rev. Prime’s sermon highlighted a critical defect in our national freedom from tyranny: The Year of Jubilee; But Not to Africans: A Discourse, Delivered July 4th, 1825, Being the 49th Anniversary of American Independence.

  • David Ramsay (1778) - Speaking to an audience in Charleston, South Carolina on the 2nd anniversary of American Independence, Dr. Ramsay encouraged his hearers to consider the advantages of liberty in the midst of a war that was far from over. He would go on to record the history of the American War of Independence.

  • Henry Ruffner (1856) - Addressing his fellow Virginians in 1856 (before West Virginia seceded), Rev. Ruffner spoke of the necessity of maintaining the Federal Union: “United we stand, divided we fall.”

  • William McKendree Scott (1851) - In time-honored fashion, Rev. Scott spoke to his fellow citizens at a “barbacue” held in Danville, Kentucky to commemorate our national independence.

  • Isaac Nathan Shannon (1852) - Rev. Shannon, preaching in New Brunswick, New Jersey, highlighted the providence of God in the history of the American nation.

  • William Buell Sprague (1827, 1830) - Rev. Sprague preached on the 51st and 54th anniversaries of American Independence, calling for religious celebration of this momentous event in our history, and reminding his congregation that “Happy is the people whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 144:15).

  • Joseph Sweetman (1810) - Rev. Sweetman preached on religion as the foundation for national prosperity at Charlton, New York.

  • Joseph Farrand Tuttle (1876) - Speaking on the centennial of American Independence, Rev. Tuttle recalled the efforts and sacrifices of the revolutionary forefathers of Morris County, New Jersey.

  • William Spotswood White (1840) - Rev. White preached on 4th of July Reminiscences and Reflections: A Sermon in Charlottesville, Virginia, also on Ps. 144:15. Acknowledging the political agitations that were convulsing the land at the time, he spoke of the providential guidance and blessing that America has received and for which we should give thanks.

It is worth taking time to brush off the dust, so to speak, on these historical orations and sermons and consider what our American Presbyterian forefathers had to say about independence, liberty, national blessings, and the need for further reformation, and freedom for all.

Happy Independence Day to our readers from Log College Press!

Addressed to a Student of Divinity: A Poem by Annis Stockton

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One of the first published female poets in America was Annis Boudinot Stockton, daughter of Elias Boudinot IV, wife of Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Her correspondence with and poetic tribute to George Washington is noteworthy, but she wrote poems on many subjects. Today’s post will highlight a poem she is thought to have sent to Princeton student and fellow poet Benjamin Young Prime (1733-1791) around 1757. It may be found, along with all of her known compositions, in Carla Mulford, ed., Only for the Eye of a Friend: The Poems of Annis Boudinot Stockton.

Addressed to a Student of Divinity

How blest the youth whom Genius deigns to guide,
Thro paths of Science to fair wisdoms Seat —
Where virtue and philosophy preside —
And trample error underneath their feet.
Whose Steady mind can from the croud retire —
In Search of truth to turn the historic page —
The rise and fall of empire to admire —
And mark the effect of vice on ev’ry age. —
Whose taste and fancy urge him to the groves —
O’er craggy rocks or mountain steep to climb
Or thro the secret haunts of nature roves —
And deeply meditates on themes sublime.
There taught by reason to controul the will —
And hush the Jarring passions into peace —
Their vast extent and influence to feel —
And how Combin’d with human happiness.
But happies he whom piety Controuls —
To shun a flattering worlds decietful way —
To break the bread of life to hungry souls —
And prompt the path of bliss to those that stray.

Genius and Science polish and refine —
Philosophy and virtue lend their aid —
While truth and wisdom mark the true divine —
Be this the path and this the pattern too —
Then follow on with all your noblest powers —
Nor let your Secret foes your mind subdue —
But to your Saviour dedicate your hours. —

The Ordination Sermon of John Huss

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To set the record straight at the beginning, this post is not about the Bohemian Reformer John Huss (1369-1415). Instead, this story is about a 19th century Native American Presbyterian minister who shares the name.

In 2012, a new addition was made to the Cherokee Trail of Tears Historic Trail - the Fort Payne, Alabama Cabin Historic Site was designated as a landmark. This site marks the spot where a log cabin once stood; the cabin (pictured in the historic marker sign) was destroyed in 1946 and all that remains now is the chimney. Both were built, adjacent to the Wills Town Mission, by a Cherokee Presbyterian leader who, facing federal troops who were present to enforce the 1830 Indian Removal Act, voluntarily led 74 members of the Cherokee Nation westward in November 1837. The following spring that cabin was absorbed into the newly constructed Fort Payne, and the forced march known as the Trail of Tears began in earnest.

The man who built that cabin in 1825 was originally known as We-Cha-Lah-Nae-He, or “the Spirit” (or “Captain Spirit”). After his conversion to Christ that same year — a fruit of the labors of the Brainerd Mission, near Chattanooga, Tennessee — he took the name John Huss in honor of the aforementioned Reformer. It was in July 1833 that he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister. We have recently added his ordination sermon to the inventory of Log College Press, as well as additional writings by this remarkable man.

After leaving Alabama in 1837, he settled at Honey Creek, Oklahoma, where he helped to establish a Cherokee Bible Society and served as pastor — at the congregation newly-organized by Cephas Washburn and Samuel Austin Worcester in 1838 — until his death in 1858.

There is much that we wish we knew better about this intriguing man. This writer is grateful for the kindness of author James Barnes, who shared extracts from his forthcoming book Annie Spirit’s Cherokee History, 1826-1910, which marshals a great deal of the biographical facts known about Huss. A full-blooded Cherokee, he never learned English. The writings that we have were all translated by others. His portrait was painted 1844 by John Mix Stanley, the famous painter of Native Americans, but apparently the portrait was destroyed in the great fire at the Smithsonian in 1865.

The sermon prepared by John Huss for his ordination trial was based on Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” The translation of this sermon was prepared by Elias Boudinot (who also gave the charge at Huss’ ordination) and by Samuel Austin Worcester (Worcester, Boudinot, Stephen Foreman and Huss all performed a valuable service through their Bible translation labors). It remains today a remarkable example of early 19th century Native American Presbyterian preaching.

In this sermon, Huss exhorts his hearers to avoid the wide path that leads to destruction and to pursue the narrow path which leads to Jesus Christ and salvation. In doing so, he paints a picture of the contrasting works of the devil and those of Christ.

In the first place, I will describe the works of the devil. He teaches men to do only evil continually. He teaches them to sin against God, and to commit all manner of evil in his sight. He is led to teach men thus by his great desire that they may become like him, self-eternally accursed in the fire of hell. Thus he is employed in teaching all manner of wickedness. For wickedness fills the ranks and attends the march of those who do the will of Satan. And on this ac count, perhaps, this way is denominated a broad way —because of the variety of evils committed by those who follow it.
…
Now I will tell you something of the works of the Lord Jesus Christ. To this also listen attentively.

Great are the benefits he has confer red upon mankind. When he dwelt in his Father's house above, in boundless felicity, he left that felicity, and came to this earth to suffer for the sake of the happiness of sinful men. Of his own accord he endured the sufferings of the cross, to rescue sinful men from suffering. Of his own accord he suffered the nails to be driven through his hands and his feet. Of his own accord he suffered his side to be pierced with the spear. All this he suffered of his own accord; for the shedding of his blood was for the cleansing of mankind from their great transgressions. Of his own accord he died, to deliver sinful men from death, and to give them, in his own kingdom, an everlasting home.

After further description of the two paths that either lead to hell or heaven, Huss concludes his message showing that the question at hand is a matter of life or death.

Thus you have plainly exhibited be fore you the character of the places to which these two ways conduct. The one leads to a place of the greatest misery. The other leads to a place of the greatest glory. And now consider, each one of you, what path you are pursuing. If you are following the broad way, you are now called upon to enter the narrow way leading to eternal life, of which you have this day heard. And the case of every one of you is this; though you are travelling towards the termination of these paths, it is as if you were standing at the entrance of them, and it is now left to your choice into which you will enter. Now then, my friends, I ask you, what will you do? For if you refuse to enter the narrow way, you choose the broad way which leads to death. Will you also, as multitudes do, choose the road to death? Remember that if you die in pursuing this broad way, you will arrive at hell, where you will have no friends; for there all are enemies to each other. If you arrive at that place, you will dwell in great and endless misery. You will suffer extreme torment, and not a friend will be there. While you are yet on earth, whenever, you are in pain, you want friends; and friends come to your aid. But when you suffer pain in hell, not one will come to relieve you — all will be your enemies. Think, therefore, of our Savior, who is your friend indeed. For I have told you that he suffered much to relieve you from the miseries of hell. And I tell you that those who repent of their sins, and submit themselves to him, become his. And consider; if you do not repent of your sins against our God, and submit yourselves to our Savior, can you expect to escape the pains of hell? And who, do you flatter yourselves, is able to deliver you? If you are without this Savior, you are without a Savior indeed.

If then, you would enter this narrow way, you are to repent of your sins; you are to forsake all those actions which are displeasing to our God. None can pass through the gate of that narrow way, unless he repent of his transgressions, and forsake sin; for it is a very narrow gate. You must therefore forsake every thing which is evil in the sight of our God. Then you will pass the narrow way, arriving at the dwelling place of your true friend, our Savior, and dwell there without end.

And now, I exhort you, turn your course from the kingdom of Satan, and set your face toward the kingdom of our Savior. I hope, my friends, that God will enable you to find that kingdom.

This sermon is a simple presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it provides a window into the beliefs of a remarkable man not entirely forgotten to history, but less well-known than he should be: John Huss - an advocate for the Cherokee Nation in troublous times, but above all, a faithful minister of Christ.

Whatever happened to William Tennent, Jr.?

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Few figures in Reformed and Presbyterian history have had a greater cloud of mystery shrouding them than William Tennent, Jr. His first biographer, Elias Boudinot IV, wrote of him: We have never known a man in modern times concerning whom so many extraordinary things are related.” Frank R. Symmes adds: “His biography is of surpassing interest, a fascinating story of the unusual and extraordinary in spiritual life.” The son of the founder of the original Log College of Neshaminy, Pennsylvania, which was the seed that grew into the College of New Jersey (Princeton), he was trained for the ministry and then sent to New Brunswick, New Jersey for further training and theological exams under his brother Gilbert, who was already serving as a minister of the gospel.

While there, the toll of his intense studies affected his physical and emotional health greatly, so much so that his body wasted away and doubts of his salvation assailed him. In that condition, and he fainted. To all appearances he was in fact dead, and Gilbert with great sadness began the process of arranging for his funeral. A doctor arrived and thought he detected a slight tremor in one arm, but even a day later, no further sign of life was detected. Yet the doctor continued with efforts to revive him, delaying the scheduled funeral, until while Gilbert and the assembly who had gathered had grown impatient thinking the doctor’s efforts were useless, suddenly, William with a groan opened his eyes, and then relapsed into unconsciousness. This happened again and again until after a time he revived fully, though was bedridden for a year following. He experienced almost complete amnesia, which was discovered when his sister Eleanor found that he did not know what the Bible was. He had to be re-taught everything, although after more time, as he regained strength, the memory of his past life eventually returned to him.

Something else was learned of his experience. As he related it to both Elias Boudinot and separately to Dr. John Woodhull, while he was unconscious, he experienced a trance.

This was the substance of his recital: suddenly he found himself in another state of existence, with an innumerable throng of heavenly beings surrounding him, singing hallelujahs with unspeakable rapture. He was unable to define any shapes to these celestial beings, aware only of their adoration and the aura of glory enfolding them. His entire being was so pervaded with their rapture that he longed to join them, comforted by the thought that he had been redeemed and permitted to enter heaven. But at this point the guide who had led him thither told him that he must return to earth. The thought pierced his soul like a sword and at that instant he awoke to hear the doctor and Gilbert arguing above him. The three days had seemed but a few moments in length, but for three years afterward the echoes of that celestial music rang ceaselessly in his ears (Mary A. Tennent, Light in Darkness: The Life of William Tennent, Sr. and The Log College, pp. 104-105).

So William thus narrowly escaped being buried alive, and eventually was ordained to the ministry, and lived a full life until sickness and death overtook him in 1777. The story of his trance was widely discussed, with some understanding it in natural and others in supernatural terms.

Boudinot wrote: “The pious and candid reader is left to his own reflection on the very extraordinary occurrence. The facts have been stated and they are unquestionable. The writer will only ask whether it is contrary to the revealed truth or to reason to believe that in every age of the world, instances like that here recorded have occurred to furnish living testimony to the reality of the invisible world, and the infinite importance of eternal concerns” (Life of the Rev. William Tennent, p. 24).

Archibald Alexander did not view the trance as anything more than what could be “accounted for on natural principles.” Although there was other event in William’s life that led Alexander to conclude that God does still interpose in human affairs by means of dreams - a man and his wife who came from Maryland to Trenton, New Jersey after having both experienced the same dream whereby they were called to come to the aid of a Mr. Tennent who was in great distress. In fact, at the time they found him in Trenton he was facing a false charge of perjury for having served as a witness for the defense of a fellow minister accused of robbery under a case of mistaken identity. The arrival of the man and his wife from Maryland, who had previous contact with him, was helpful in establishing an alibi for William during his trial, and led to a verdict on “not guilty” on William’s behalf. It was a remarkable end to a troublesome situation (Biographical Sketches of the Founder, and Principal Alumni of the Log College, pp. 192-200, 222-231).

Back to William’s trace, Mary Tennent, writing in 1971, says: “Of course the simple explanation is that after a long and devastating illness, in a state of exhaustion and weakness, he sank into a coma from which he was at length aroused by the continuous efforts of his friend, the doctor. The vivid dream occurring during the few moments of returning consciousness was the natural result of his last conscious anxiety concerning his soul, while the tremendous surge of happiness at seeing and hearing the angelic choir was but a subconscious wish fulfillment” (Light in the Darkness: The Story of William Tennent, Sr. and The Log College, p. 105).

Many other fascinating anecdotes are recorded about William by Boudinot and Alexander. One that is mentioned by the latter, but not the former. One night he awoke from his sleep with intense pain in one foot. It seems that several of his toes had been cleanly amputated, although the toes were not to be found, nor was there any bloody trail or blade was found. There was simply no explanation for the event, which left him minus several toes. Whether he was a sleepwalker who had an accident or whether something else natural or supernatural occurred, we have no way of knowing.

This is just one of many extraordinary events in the life of an extraordinary man. The biographies consulted above are worth perusing to learn more about this remarkable figure and his place in church history.

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That a New Generation May Read the Old Stories

Mary A. Tennent (1890-1971) was a descendant of William Tennent, Sr., founder of the original Log College in Neshaminy, Pennsylvania. In the introduction to her valuable work Light in Darkness: The Story of William Tennent, Sr. and the Log College (1971), she speaks of reading Elias Boudinot IV’s biography of William Tennent, Jr., and how his words impacted her.

Boudinot began his memoir with these words: “Among the duties every generation owes to those whose example deserves and may invite imitation…and when such men have been remarkably favored of God with an unusual degree of light and knowledge…it becomes the duty of more than ordinary obligation to hand down to posterity the principal events of their lives which if known might edify and benefit the world.” While his words referred to William Tennent, Jr., they were even more applicable to his father William Tennent, Sr., for he not only possessed an unusual degree of light and knowledge but faithfully handed it on to his sons and students in the small but significant school he founded and presided over for nineteen years.
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On re-reading Boudinot’s memoir of William Tennent, Jr., I was struck with these words: “A neglect of this duty (that of handing down to posterity the events of the lives of those deserving commemoration) even by persons who may be conscious of the want of abilities necessary for the complete biographer, is greatly culpable and no excuse for burying in oblivion that conduct which if known might edify and benefit the world.” Thus encouraged, this work was begun not with any idea of edifying the world, but with the small hope that one or more of his descendants may be inspired to emulate him.

The story of America’s first Log College involves remarkable people who did remarkable things. Many writers at our site and elsewhere have undertaken to tell that story. One such writer was Archibald Alexander, who authored Biographical Sketches of the Founder, and Principal Alumni of the Log College (1845), in which he stated:

If I were fond of projects, I would propose that a monument be erected to the founder of the Log College on the very site where the building stood, if the land could be purchased; but at any rate a stone with an inscription might be permanently fixed on or near the ground. The tradition respecting this humble institution of learning exists, not only in the neighbourhood, but has been extended far to the south and west.

A bicentennial stone monument was indeed established at the appropriate site in Warminster, Pennsylvania in 1927, which tells of the legacy of the Log College. The Log College story is not just about the Tennent family, or even the College of New Jersey (Princeton) - the original Log College is the birthplace of something and represents, in the words of Thomas Murphy, “the cradle of the Presbyterian Church in America.” Now here in 2019, by republishing early American Presbyterian literature, and by making known the stories of early America’s Presbyterian leaders in the digital age, Log College Press is working to ensure that a new generation can learn about the hand of God at work in the history of his church. The Log College story has extended far and wide, beyond boundaries imagined by Archibald Alexander, and we are pleased to be a part of those who make it known today.

Read our authors and our biographies and autobigraphies, study church history, and peruse our other topical pages, as well as the new Log College Review. And be sure to explore our bookstore and secondary sources page for many more resources. The story of the cradle of the American Presbyterian Church is a story for the ages, including our own.