What's New at Log College Press? - July 15, 2022

Receive our blog posts in your email by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.

As Log College Press continues to grow, we have much to report. The site has now reached over 15,000 works among over 1,900 authors. In June 2022, we added 341 new works.

One new book was published in June as well: Dylan Rowland, ed., Pandemic Pastoring. This is a collection of sermons, letters, and biographical notes from 19th-century American Presbyterians - offering helpful reflection for today's believers in walking through the wake of pandemic suffering.

We like to highlight 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.

Early Access:

  • Henry Kollock, Christ Must Increase: A Sermon, Preached Before the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (1803)

  • Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, Is the Shorter Catechism Worthwhile? (1909, 1979)

  • Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, John R. MacKay, Benjamin B. Warfield -- A Bibliography (1922)

  • Geerhardus Vos, Our Lord’s Doctrine of the Resurrection (1901)

Recent Addtiions:

  • Robert Aitken — Journals of the Proceedings of Congress (1776-1777)

  • Samuel Buell, The Excellence and Importance of the Saving Knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel-Preacher, Plainly and Seriously Represented and Enforced: and Christ Preached to the Gentiles in Obedience to the Call of God: A Sermon, Preached at East-Hampton, August 29, 1759; at the Ordination of Mr. Samson Occum (1761)

  • Compilations, Auburn Affirmation (1924)

  • Compilations, The New Psalms and Hymns [PCUS] (1901)

  • John Samuel MacIntosh (1839-1906),The Worthies of Westminster: A Contribution to the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Assembly of Divines at Westminster (1899)

  • James Calvin McFeeters, Sketches of the Covenanters (1913)

  • Alexander Taggart McGill, Life By Faith: A Sermon Preached Before the Synod of New-Jersey, at the Opening of Its Sessions, at Rahway, New-Jersey, Tuesday Evening, October 21st, 1862 (1862)

  • Thomas Verner Moore — Several poems and articles.

  • Absalom Peters, Life and Time: A Birth-Day Memorial of Seventy Years. With Memories and Reflections For the Aged and the Young (1866)

  • Robert Fleming Sample, I Hear a Voice, ‘Tis Soft and Sweet (1898) [hymn]

We have also created some new topical pages: 1837 Old School / New School Division, Anonymous Writings and Book Reviews. These are all works-in-progress so please check back as the content continues to grow.

Be sure also to check out the quotes we have been adding at our blog for DPS members: Though Dead They Still Speak.

B.B. Warfield - We decided to streamline Warfield’s author page by taking his book reviews, which are numerous, from his main author page and transferring them to a new B.B. Warfield Book Reviews page. Together the number of B.B. Warfield works at Log College Press now exceeds 500 and continues to grow. We also want to highlight a new resource that Warfield readers will appreciate. Our friend Barry Waugh (Presbyterians of the Past) has created a useful, annotated database showing 1,268 book reviews written by B.B. Warfield for Princeton journals. See that tremendous resource here.

Stay tuned as we continue to expand our digital bookshelves. It is our prayer at Log College Press that resources made available here will be an encouragement to our 21st century readers that the past has much to teach us in the present about the advancement of Christ’s kingdom in the earth. Blessings, and thank you, as always, for your support.

A Reformation Day Remembrance

(Receive our blog posts in your email by clicking here. If the author links in this post are broken, please visit our Free PDF Library and click on the author’s page directly.)

To commemorate what is arguably the greatest event in church history since Pentecost, Log College Press wishes to highlight select works by early American Presbyterians which relate to the 504th anniversary of the Reformation:

  • Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) — The Doctrine of Original Sin as Held by the Church, Both Before and After the Reformation (1830) and Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms (1836) — These articles speak to important issues and moments related to the Protestant Reformation.

  • James Waddel Alexander (1804-1859) — Martin Luther Incognito (1836) and The Reformation in Hungary and Transylvania (1837) — The second article covers an important but less well-known aspect of the Reformation; the first is a translation from Philip Konrad Marheineke’s History of the German Reformation dealing with the period between Luther’s appearance at the Diet of Worms and his return to the Castle Wartburg.

  • Henry Martyn Baird (1832-1906) — Theodore Beza: The Counsellor of the French Reformation, 1519-1605 (1899) – The classic biography of the French Reformer Theodore Beza, who became Geneva’s spiritual leader after the death of John Calvin.

  • William Maxwell Blackburn (1828-1898) — Aonio Paleario and His Friends, With a Revised Edition of "The Benefits of Christ's Death" (1866) — This is an interesting work which contains both a biography of the Italian Reformer, Paleario, and an edited version of the great Italian spiritual classic that was long attributed to him (modern scholarship now attributes authorship of “The Benefit of Christ” to Benedetto Fontanini, also known as Benedetto da Mantova (1495-1556)). — William Farel, and the Story of the Swiss Reform (1867) — A fascinating look at the life of the Swiss Reformer, William Farel, who with his friend John Calvin, so influenced Geneva and the world. —Ulrich Zwingli (1868) — The life of another great Swiss Reformer, Ulrich Zwingli.

  • Ezra Hall Gillett (1823-1875) —The Life and Times of John Huss (1864) — This is a good introduction to the Bohemian (Czech) proto-Reformer, John Huss.

  • Joel Tyler Headley (1813-1897) — Luther and Cromwell (1850) — Two famous Reformers and the parallels in their stories.

  • Thomas Cary Johnson (1859-1936) — John Calvin and the Genevan Reformation (1900) — An important biography of the great French Reformer and spiritual leader of Geneva, John Calvin. — Martin Luther: Who Was He, That the World Should Remember Him From Time to Time With Praise to God? (1909-1910) - A valuable sketch of the great Reformer.

  • Frederick William Loetscher, Sr. (1875-1966) — Luther and the Problem of Authority in Religion Parts 1-2 (1917) — Loetscher addresses (on the 400th anniversary of the Reformation) a fundamental issue with which the Reformers wrestled.

  • William Carlos Martyn (1841-1917) — The Life and Times of Martin Luther (1866) — A great 19th century biography of the German Reformer. —The Dutch Reformation (1868) – A good overview of the Reformation in the Netherlands.

  • John William Mears (1825-1881) — The Beggars of Holland and the Grandees of Spain: A History of the Reformation in the Netherlands, From A.D. 1200 to 1578 (1867) — This is another comprehensive look at the Dutch Reformation, and in particular, what lead up to it.

  • Samuel Miller (1769-1850) — Introductory Essay to Charles de Viller's An Essay on the Spirit and Influence of the Reformation (1833) — As Miller writes, “The Reformation from Popery is a theme which can never grow old.”

  • Thomas Ephraim Peck (1822-1893) — Martin Luther (1895) — This biographical lecture about the great Reformer was originally delivered in 1872, and is here found in Vol. 1 of Peck’s Miscellanies.

  • Richard Clark Reed (1851-1925) — Calvin’s Contribution to the Reformation (1909) — This was Reed’s part in the Southern Presbyterian Church’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth.

  • William Childs Robinson (1897-1982) — The Reformation: A Rediscovery of Grace (1962) — Valuable alumni lectures delivered at Columbia Theological Seminary on various aspects of the Reformation.

  • Robert Fleming Sample (1829-1905) — Beacon-Lights of the Reformation; or, Romanism and the Reformers (1889) — The story of the long combat against Romanism.

  • David Schley Schaff (1852-1941) — Martin Luther and John Calvin, Church Reformers (1917) — Written for the 400th anniversary of the Reformation, the younger Schaff highlights the two great Reformers.

  • Philip Schaff (1819-1893) — Calvin’s Life and Labors (1875) — The elder Schaff looks at the life and legacy of the French Reformer. — History of the Christian Church, Vol. 6 (1888, 1904) and History of the Christian Church, Vol. 7 (1892) — These volumes cover the history of the German and Swiss Reformation.

  • Thomas Smyth (1808-1873) - Calvin and His Enemies: A Memoir of the Life, Character, and Principles of Calvin (1856) — An important memoir of one the greatest Reformers, which covers challenging aspects of his life and career, including the case of Servetus.

  • Joseph Ross Stevenson (1866-1939) — The Reformation: A Revival of Religion (1917) — A reminder of what reformation means.

  • Cornelius Van Til (1895-1987) — Review of Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will (1931) — A fresh look at a classic of Christian literature.

  • B.B. Warfield (1851-1921) — John Calvin: The Man and His Work (1909) — Warfield’s homage to the French Reformer on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Calvin’s birth. — The Ninety-Five Theses in Their Theological Significance  (1917) — Originally published in The Princeton Theological Review in honor of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation, this is a fascinating study of the document by Martin Luther that launched the Reformation on October 31, 1517. — The Theology of the Reformation (1917) — Warfield looks at the key doctrines that figured in the thinking of Martin Luther. — Review of four works by D. Hay Fleming: The Story of the Scottish Covenants (1905); The Scottish Reformation (1905); The Reformation in Scotland (1910); and The Last Days of John Knox (1914) — An appreciation of the writings of a great Reformation scholar.

  • Robert Alexander Webb (1856-1919) — The Reformation and the Lord’s Supper (1917) — Webb looks at a crucial aspect of worship that was important to the Reformation.

  • Julia McNair Wright (1840-1903) — Her series of biographies for young people published in 1870 includes sketches of George Wishart, John Knox, Martin Luther, Queen Margaret, John Calvin, Renée, William Tyndale, Richard Baxter, John Huss and Gaspard de Coligni.

We have much reason to be thankful for the men and women both of the 16th centuries and those more recent who all contributed to the cause of Reformation in their own ways. From Log College Press, we wish you a Happy Reformation Day, and happy reading!

Note: This blog post was originally published on October 31, 2017, and has been edited and expanded.

Life's Golden Lamp: A Devotional

(Receive our blog posts in your email by clicking here. If the author links in this post are broken, please visit our Free PDF Library and click on the author’s page directly.)

A devotional prepared by Robert M. Offord (a minister in the Reformed Church in America and the editor of the New York Observer) in 1888 and published in 1889 is a remarkable resource. This writer was combing the bibliography of B.B. Warfield some time ago when it first came to his notice. A daily devotional by Warfield based on Hebrews 2:13 for January 13 — How Shall We Escape, If We Neglect So Great Salvation? — is included. The volume is titled Life’s Golden Lamp For Daily Devotional Use: A Treasury of Texts From the Very Words of Christ. 365 ministers contributed devotional meditations for every day of the year, and many of them were American Presbyterians who are found on Log College Press. Some ministers outside America were included, such as Charles Spurgeon and Adolph Saphir, both of London. Some were at the time serving as American missionaries in foreign lands. All of the contributors were generally Reformed and Calvinistic. Life’s Golden Lamp represents an anthology of Scriptural passages and devotional literature from around the world by men who were actively serving the kingdom on earth in 1888-1889.

In recent days, we have circled back to this particular devotional, and thus, many other extracts from this volume have been added to the site. The number of LCP author contributors is remarkable. Work is ongoing to identify all the Presbyterian ministers whose devotionals are included, but here is a partial list so far:

Each daily devotional includes a poetic composition, and the signature of the author of the devotional meditation. The whole volume is worth consulting, but we draw your attention to the fact that this 1889 yearly devotional contains at least 50 contributions by Log College Press authors, many of whom are luminaries of church history. It is a work that is filled with the sweet savor of Biblical piety, and we highly commend it to your consideration.