A Lesson From the Apostles by R.E. Thompson

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No course of lectures which I have ever heard has been a greater source of guidance and strength than the Stone Lectures of 1891. The lecturer was Professor Robert Ellis Thompson, of the University of Pennsylvania, one of our ablest economists and the foremost advocate, among university teachers of his time, of the theory of protective tariffs. He was also a devoted Christian minister and we had few preachers in America who could equal him in the weight and originality of his sermons. He had one famous sermon on “The Sending of the Apostles Two by Two.” After preaching it in the Walnut Street Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia a friend urged him to repeat it. Dr. Thompson replied: “Why, Sparhawk, that is the one hundred and fifty-third time I have preached that sermon.” It was a sermon worthy of an even longer tenure. — Robert E. Speer, The Finality of Christ (1933), p. 11

It was indeed a notable sermon that Robert Ellis Thompson preached and a theme that he developed over the years regarding the Apostles. He published:

  • The Sending of the Apostles, Two by Two: A Sermon (1890)

  • What Became of the Apostles (1890)

  • The Sending of the Apostles (1894)

  • The Apostles as Everyday Men (1910)

In these works, Thompson spoke of the individuality of each Apostle, and their respective contributions to the church, but also how they meshed together to help the Church united. They were fishermen, weak, impetuous, full of character and foibles, essentially ordinary men like all of us. Distinctive in their character, but not spiritual supermen of faith, they needed the grace of God as much as we do.

Why, you find that these twelve apostles were just men like ourselves, men of our frailties, men of our weaknesses, our failures, our doubts. We can look upon the story and see how Christ chose just such men as we are to take part in His ministry and form His first church, and we can feel that there is a place for us in His church. We can feel that we were represented in that first little company, that our doubts were met and overcome — our questions were answered, and that such as we are still welcome to His company as He goes on to do and to teach what He "began to do and to teach" in the Church of the Apostles (The Sending of the Apostles Two by Two (1890), p. 3).

Each Apostle has a name, and the list of names makes up a company that “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). But in examining the names one by one, we find that each character, standing alone, has little to commend itself to the wisdom of God in calling such men to such an important task. Yet, “Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24) called these men and in doing so confounded the wise of this world, and brought remarkably unexpected unity to the early Church.

Who would have thought that Doubting Thomas and Matthew the Publican would have made good partners in the project to advance God’s kingdom in the earth? Or that zealous Peter and cautious Andrew would both as brothers have their particular contributions to make towards the Apostolic mission? But we see in the calling of particular men, somewhat unalike in comparison, but with traits and characteristics having much in common with the rest of humanity, that the Apostolic team has much to teach us about the nature of the Church and God’s wisdom in assembling such a diverse tapestry of men for one noble task.

So the Master made one whole man out of two halfmen. And so his chugch should go forth, two by two, each with the one most unlike himself, and therefore best able to help him. The sect spirit bids them separate on the ground of these innocent differences of temper and disposition. Christ bids them unite the closer through such differences, When we heed him, and become “rooted and grounded in love,” then shall we “be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge” (The Sending of the Apostles (1894)).

This is the great lesson for the Church taught by the calling of such unique, yet everyday, men. We are many, and we are not much to look at individually, but we are one in Christ, and Christ is “altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16) to behold. Our differences in personality and in gifts ought not to divide us, but rather to unite us in common cause as they did in the case of the Apostles. Having all been raised out of the same “miry clay” (Ps. 40:2), there is no room for pride, but there is plenty of work to be done in the Lord if we, by the grace of God, would once again “turn the world upside down.”

Introducing the Century Club at Log College Press

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Among the nearly 2,000 authors found at Log College Press there are at least three centenarians (Arthur Judson Brown [1856-1963, 106]; William Rankin III [1810-1912, 102]; and George Summey [1853-1954, 101]), as well as at least three authors who were 99 years old when they entered into their eternal rest (Littleton Purnell Bowen, David Caldwell, and Maria Fearing). But the Log College Press Century Club which we are introducing today has to do with something a little different.

To be a member of this club, there must be at least 100 works by (and sometimes about) the author on their particular pages. At this point in time, there are 27 such individuals in the LCP Century Club, as follows:

There are some other prolific writers who we anticipate may join this club at some point in the future, such as Isabella Macdonald Alden, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Finley Milligan Foster, Robert Jefferson Breckinridge and Cleland Boyd McAfee, to name a few. As the Lord gives us strength and ability, we continue to add works by these and many other writers. We still have our work cut out for us, especially, for example, with respect to T.L. Cuyler, who penned over 4,000 separate published articles. Meanwhile, if viewed as a snapshot of our most prolific authors, the LCP Century Club invites readers to explore a representative cross-section of early American Presbyterianism. We hope you will take this opportunity to see what’s available among these prolific writers’ pages (as well as those not-so-prolific), and to enjoy a visit to the past, which we trust will be a blessing to you in the present.

Machen on the Faith Intended For the Whole World

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For we are not trying to spread over the world any particular view of Christian truth or any particular form of Christian organisation. I belong to the Presbyterian Church, but I have not the slightest zeal in seeking to have the Presbyterian Church extended over the non-Christian world. — Robert E. Speer, Christianity and the Nations (1910), pp. 331-332

In a striking example of two radically opposite approaches to the missionary vision, Robert E. Speer, the ecumenical layman-theologian, above, spoke of his desire for cooperation between denominations without giving weight to the distinctive beliefs of the Presbyterian church. But some years later, J.G. Machen responded clearly and forcefully to Speer’s statement with his own conviction that those distinctive beliefs represent a full-orbed gospel message as opposed to a watered-down gospel (The Attack Upon Princeton Seminary: A Plea For Fair Play [1927], pp. 8-9).

As over against such a reduced Christianity, we at Princeton stand for the full, glorious gospel of divine grace that God has given us in His Word and that is summarized in the Confession of Faith of our Church. We cannot agree with those who say that although they are members of the Presbyterian Church, they “have not the slightest zeal to have the Presbyterian Church extended through the length and breadth of the world.” As for us, we hold the faith of the Presbyterian Church, the great Reformed Faith that is set forth in the Westminster Confession, to be true; and holding it to be true we hold that it is intended for the whole world.

We may agree very much with Samuel Davies, who once wrote: “I care but little whether men go to Heaven from the Church of England or Presbyterian, if they do but go there; but Oh! Multitudes of both denominations must experience a great change before they obtain it” (August 13, 1751 Letter to brother-in-law John Holt). But there is an important difference between acknowledgment that Christianity is not at all confined to one denomination, which is most certainly the case, as confessed in the Presbyterian creed — “The visible church, which is also catholic or universal under the gospel (not confined to one nation, as before under the law), consists of all those throughout the world that profess the true religion…This catholic church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less, visible. And particular churches, which are members thereof, are more or less pure, according as the doctrine of the gospel is taught and embraced, ordinances administered, and public worship performed more or less purely in them” (Westminster Confession of Faith 25.2, 4) — and a desire, such as that which Machen expressed, that the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) be preached to the nations rather than a watered-down, non-offensive message be delivered to the world that eviscerates the truth of the gospel.

An American Presbyterian Missionary Who Was Knighted by an English King

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It is not every day that one finds an American Presbyterian minister who was knighted by a British monarch. Billy Graham comes to mind — he was awarded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 2001. But the subject of today’s post was knighted by King George V on January 1, 1923.

The reason for such an honor in the case of Sir James Caruthers Rhea Ewing (1854-1923) was to acknowledge Ewing’s 43 years of service as a missionary in what was then British-controlled India. King George at that time was not only king of the United Kingdom and British dominions, but also Emperor of India.

Ewing had previously been titled Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1915, but in 1923, he gained the title of Honourary Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire and was henceforth known as “Sir James.”

A graduate of Washington & Jefferson College in Western Pennsylvania, Ewing went on to serve in the missionary field, but also as Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Punjab and as President of the Forman Christian College. An educator as well as a missionary, Ewing labored many decades for the cause of Christ to shine a bright light in a dark place.

Read more about his life story in the biography by Robert E. Speer: Sir James Ewing, For Forty-Three Years a Missionary in India: A Biography of Sir James C.R. Ewing, M.A., D.D., LL.D., Litt.D. C.I.E, K.C.I.E. (1928).

Sprunt Lectures at Log College Press

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THE JAMES SPRUNT LECTURES

In 1911 Mr. James Sprunt of Wilmington, North Carolina, gave to The Trustees of Union Theological Seminary in Virginia the sum of thirty thousand dollars, since increased by his generosity to fifty thousand dollars, for the purpose of establishing a perpetual lectureship , which would enable the institution to secure from time to time the services of distinguished ministers and authoritative scholars, outside the regular Faculty, as special lecturers on subjects connected with various departments of Christian thought and Christian work. The lecturers are chosen by the Faculty of the Seminary and a committee of the Board of Trustees, and the lectures are published after their delivery in accordance with a contract between the lecturer and these representatives of the institution. — W.W. Moore, in Francis L. Patton, Fundamental Christianity (1926, 1928)

An endowment that began 110 years ago, and continues today, for a lectureship at Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, has included — from a roster that is worldwide — some notable American Presbyterians. The early years encompass some authors found at Log College Press, as noted below.

These lectures contain rich material on a variety of topics. Machen’s lectures are particularly well-known even today, but all of these contributions to the church from a century ago are worthy of study by the current generation. (Interestingly, Kyle also delivered the 1919 Stone Lectures at Princeton.) Sprunt’s legacy consists not only in his own writings, which are fascinating — especially for those interested in eastern North Carolina history — but in the lectureship he established which lives on.

An American Presbyterian missionary martyr in Persia: B.W. Labaree

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On March 9, 1904, tragedy struck the Presbyterian Mission to Persia (Persia is now known as Iran). Rev. Benjamin Woods Labaree and his servant Israel were killed by a band of Kurds near Urmia. It was “the first murder in the mission’s seventy-year history. The motive was either religious or racial hatred, combined with robbery” (Susan M. Stein, On Distant Service: The Life of the First U.S. Foreign Service Officer to Be Assassinated, p. 218).

Labaree was the son of American Presbyterian missionary to Persia Benjamin Labaree. The account of his death (by repeated dagger blows) is given in a letter by the younger Labaree’s wife, Mary A. Schauffler Labaree Platt (she later remarried). He, his servant, and another male missionary set off from Urmia to escort two female missionaries to the city of Khoy. It was on the return trip that their journey left “this mortal coil.” The timeline of events relating to Labaree’s death is given by the editor of Woman’s Work for Woman.

March 4.—Mr. Labaree left Urumia in charge of a party of several persons bound for Khoi.

March 9.— Murder of Mr. Labaree and servant, by a Persian and three Kurds.

March 10 or 11. — Rev. Wm. Shedd with escort of soldiers went to Ula to bring the bodies of the dead to Urumia.

March 11. — The Governor of Urumia sent a long, sympathetic telegram from Tabriz, assuring Dr. Cochran that he would heartily do all in his power to find the murderers.

March 14. — Funeral at the College, one mile and a half outside the city, and burial at Seir, six miles farther out.

The return of the bodies of B.W. Labaree and his servant, Israel, after their murder by Kurds, on the road from Khoi to Urmia, March 1904.

The return of the bodies of B.W. Labaree and his servant, Israel, after their murder by Kurds, on the road from Khoi to Urmia, March 1904.

Accounts of this tragedy may be found in Robert Elliott Speer’s biography of Joseph Plumb Cochran, “The Hakim Sahib",” The Foreign Doctor: A Biography of Joseph Plumb Cochran, M.D., of Persia (1911); and Mary Lewis Shedd’s biography of her husband, The Measure of a Man: The Life of William Ambrose Shedd, Missionary to Persia (1922). William A. Shedd dedicated his book Islam and the Oriental Churches (1908) to the memory of B.W. Labaree, “who met a cruel death, Salmas, Persia, March Ninth, MCMIV - a true friend and devoted missionary.”

His widow wrote days after the sad event:

God is very close to us and His help is real and wonderful. As I realize more and more what He is to me, it makes my whole heart yearn to teach these people of this poor, wicked land to know Him. Do not grieve and mourn too much for us, dear ones, but pray that we may be able to bear it and that this overwhelming sorrow may be to the glory of God.

Later, when some came to offer her condolences and in so doing cursed the murderers of her husband, “She cried out, ‘O how your words hurt ! Every one is a dagger to my broken heart. My children and I are praying that God may revenge us by changing the hearts of those men and saving them from eternal death. We are praying as our Master did for His enemies, 'Forgive them,' for they knew not what they did. It is my comfort to believe that out of this great sorrow shall come that great blessing’" (Elwood Morris Wherry, Methods of Mission Work Among Moslems, p. 112).

B.W. Labaree’s younger brother, Robert McEwan Labaree, after learning of the tragedy, volunteered to serve as a missionary to Persia in his place. After many years of service in that mission field, he went on to become a highly respected professor at Lincoln University near Oxford, Pennsylvania.

In July 1904, Seyid Ghaffar, the accused murderer, was captured and incarcerated. He claimed a lineal descent from the Prophet Muhammad, and so the local authorities were unwilling to execute him for his crime (he was also accused of killing another British citizen on a separate occasion), but he died in prison several years later. Other members of his band were captured but did not stay in prison long.

The Labaree Memorial Church in Urmia was erected in 1906 in memory of the martyred missionary. B.W. Labaree’s legacy has inspired many over the years to pray and labor for the cause of Christianity in the Middle East. The example of forgiveness by his widow is a powerful witness to the grace of God toward sinners. May we continue to honor the legacy of the missionary martyr and his widow with our prayers and labors today.

The Father of the Presbyterian Church in Chile: David Trumbull

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It was on December 25, 1845 that David Trumbull, serving as a missionary under the auspices of the Foreign Evangelical Society and the American Seamen's Friend Society, landed at Valparaiso, Chile to begin the work of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to a largely Roman Catholic country. Trumbull officiated at a Protestant worship service held on board his ship, the “Mississippi,” in the harbor on January 4, 1846, another landmark date in the history of Protestantism in Chile. He organized the Protestant non-denominational (later Presbyterian) Union Church in Valparaiso in 1847.

Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1819, Trumbull was raised in a Presbyterian home, studied at Yale University and at Princeton Theological Seminary (known then as the College of New Jersey), and was as a young believer united to the Congregational church. His scholarly attainments are evident in the poetic and literary fragments which he copiously wrote down in his journal. His handwritten notes as a student in Samuel Miller’s class on church history, while not always easy to decipher, are also both a further witness to his learning and to his teacher’s gifts as well. In 1845, he published The Death of Capt. Nathan Hall: A Drama in Five Acts. In all, at Log College Press, we have, courtesy of Princeton Theological Seminary, some 26 volumes of Trumbull’s handwritten journals, along with another five volumes of his wife’s handwritten diary, constituting over 10,000 pages, spanning roughly 50 years, of personal notes, sermons, newspaper clippings, and more that provide fascinating insights into the American missionary who would contribute so much to Chile.

When he arrived in Valpariso, Trumbull was single, but during a return trip to the United States in 1849-1850, he married Jane W. Fitch, who accompanied him back to Chile a month after their wedding. Trumbull never again returned to the U.S., but instead embraced his adopted country Chile. Although the Chilean Constitution at the time enshrined Roman Catholicism as the state religion and forbade any other form of worship, Trumbull had a heart for the Chilean people that led to him caring for their temporal as well as spiritual needs.

Robert Elliott Speer has a chapter about Trumbull in his 1914 volume, Studies of Missionary Leadership: The Smyth Lectures for 1913, Delivered at Columbia Theological Seminary, in which he notes Trumbull’s compassion on those in Chile afflicted by a cholera outbreak. After touching on Trumbull’s strict adherence for the Lord’s Day, Speer writes (p. 205):

But hard fighter as he was for what he believed to be truth, his boundless neighborliness made it hard for anyone to cherish anger against him. A cholera plague broke out. He at once gathered all the contributions he could and gave them to the curé of San Felipe, who sent him the grateful reply: “That God, who has promised to reward the cup of cold water given in his name, may crown you with all good, is my desire.”

Speers tells another story (pp. 203-204) of Trumbull’s battle to give God the glory for sending rain in the midst of drought.

In 1863 there took place the celebrated public discussion between Dr. Trumbull and Mariano Casanova - a discussion deserving notice not so much for itself as for the results it produced. In Chile there is a Saint of Agriculture who guards the fortunes of farmers, giving them rich harvests and sending rain at the appointed times. Since the seasons are fairly regular the good offices of San Isidro are seldom required. Occasionally, however, the rains are delayed, much to the loss of the sower and the distress of the eater. At such times mild measures are used to begin with, and the saint is reminded of his duty by processions and prayers, and placated by offerings. If he still refuses to listen, his statue is banished from his church, even manacled and beaten through the streets. Such scenes take place in Santiago even in our day. In 1863 San Isidro answered the prayers of his devotees with commendable promptitude. Eighteen hours after supplication had been made at his altar rain fell in copious showers. In view of this signal blessing the archbishop called upon the faithful for contributions to repair St. Isidro’s shabby church. It was at this juncture that Dr. Trumbull entered the lists; and in an article entitled “Who gives the rain?” which was published in “La Voz de Chile,” he attacked the practice of saint worship. Casanova replied in “El Ferrocarril,” and the battle was on. Charge and countercharge followed in rapid succession. The affair got into the provincial papers and was discussed all over the country. San Isidro and rain became the question of the day; and at last Casanova withdrew from the field, routed foot and horse.

As a result of this discussion Dr. Trumbull became the acknowledged champion of Protestantism in Chile. The progressive party at once recognized in him a powerful ally; while the ultramontanes saw in him a dangerous foe. His sphere of influence now extended beyond the local church of which he was pastor to the country at large, and he took his place among the leaders of national reform.

Among his many and varied labors to contribute to the advancement of Christ’s kingdom and the good of Chile was the establishment of a Spanish-language Bible society, the founding of several schools, and newspapers which he edited and to which he contributed. In the political arena, he persuaded the government to amend the Constitution to allow at first for privately-held Protestant worship, as well as civil marriage and burial for Protestant dissenters (previously Protestants were buried at a dumping ground outside of Valparaiso, for example, or sometimes at sea). Such reforms reflected not only a desire to bring about freedom for Protestants, but also a spirit that sought to lift up all Chileans. Trumbull recounts some of these civil advances in his 1883 lecture on The Constitutional History of Chile. In 1886, he was granted citizenship by the government of Chile. He united officially with the Presbyterian Church in the early 1870s.

After his death on February 1, 1889, he was honored within Chile as a leading reformer of society, and a good and honorable man. He is buried in the Dissenters’ Cemetery in Valparaiso, where a monument marks the spot and tells of his status as both a missionary and hero of Chilean society. His legacy is remembered by the people of Chile, and especially by the Protestants who are able to assemble for public worship in part because of his efforts over a missionary ministry of forty-four years.

In a sermon preached on March 16, 1884 from Rom. 1:1 (“A servant of Jesus Christ”) titled “How to Spend Life Looking Unto Christ” (available to read on his page from the 1884 volume of his newspaper The Record), Trumbull told his hearers: “Serve Christ and your life cannot prove useless. Many feel they are doing no good in the world for themselves, nor for any one else, and it may be so; but it will not be so for any who will give their hand to Jesus to serve him.” The challenges and discouragements that he faced in a missionary field in which public Protestant worship was initially illegal and excited intense opposition must have weighed on him greatly. Change did not happen quickly, but over time, the Lord blessed his labors, and made him a useful, indeed eminent, servant of Jesus Christ. By the time he laid aside his earthly ministry, Protestants could finally worship freely, get married and be buried with respect. The Spirit of God, and His Word, working through a humble servant, and his family, and co-laborers, accomplished much in a country that was in great need.

While not all of his writings are yet available to read at Log College Press, we do have much both in his own hand and among his published works, to read. His life and career as a pioneer missionary is a testimony to service to God and to the country of Chile. We are glad to honor David Trumbull at Log College Press, and to make him more accessible to 21st century readers. To God be the glory!