Biblical Theology in America Before Vos

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Geerhardus Vos has often been referred to as “the father of Reformed Biblical theology.” Although his name is popularly associated in the minds of many with its origin, in fact, Biblical theology is a discipline of theological study that predates Vos, and his famous inaugural lecture as Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, titled The Idea of Biblical Theology as a Science and as a Theological Discipline, which was delivered in 1894. To provide a simple definition for purposes of this article given by Vos himself, “Biblical Theology is that branch of Exegetical Theology which deals with the process of the self-revelation of God deposited in the Bible” (Biblical Theology [1948], p. 13). John Murray added later: “There is no better definition of Biblical Theology known to the present writer than that given by Dr. Vos” (Biblical Theology: A Book Review [1948]).

A September 2021 article by J.V. Fesko titled “Who Lurks Behind Geerhardus Vos? Sources and Predecessors” delves into the question of which sources Vos drew upon and who might be considered forerunners of Biblical Theology as Vos understood it. Fesko references two sources cited by Vos himself: “Anglican theologian Thomas D. Bernard (1815-1904) and German New Testament scholar, Karl Friedrich Nösgen (1835-1913).” Fesko also highlights an important comment made by Francis L. Patton in his 1903 lecture on Theological Encyclopedia: “I think I do not err in saying that, at least so far as we in America are concerned, Jonathan Edwards is the father of Biblical Theology.” The reference that Patton had in mind is to Edwards’ famous treatise on A History of the Work of Redemption (1774).

Most scholars identify the origin of Biblical Theology as a distinct discipline with J.P. Gabler’s (1753–1826) inaugural lecture delivered at the University of Altdorf, An Oration on the Proper Distinction between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology and the Specific Objectives of Each (1787), although some acknowledge even earlier attempts to demonstrate the progress of God’s revelation historically considered in Scripture, such as John Owen’s Latin treatise Theologoumena Pantodapa (1661), translated into English as Biblical Theology: The History of Theology from Adam to Christ (1994), which J.I. Packer described as a “proto-Biblical Theology.”

Other European forerunners of Biblical Theology could be highlighted, but to narrow the focus of our interest to American forerunners, we return to Jonathan Edwards and his History of Redemption, noting that it was published by one of our Log College Press authors, David Austin, in 1793 (the copy found here was owned by Samuel Miller). It goes beyond the close of canon to encompass “post-Biblical” history, but it takes the approach that God revealed himself more and more historically in the development of Scripture. This is consistent with Edwards’ historicist postmillennial eschatology, although we understand the eschatology of Vos to be amillennial. Fesko: “Edwards’s plan was to trace the line of revelation through history, which is the essence of Vos’s method. In fact, one historian has described Edwards’s procedure as showing how revelation is progressive, organic, and finds its eschatological realization in Christ; themes that resonate in Vos’s own method.”

Prior to his death in 1863, Charles Colcock Jones, Sr. wrote The History of the Church of God During the Period of Revelation, which his son published in 1867. It covered the Old Testament period along a plan which showed the progression of God’s dealings with his people. A companion volume covering the New Testament period does not seem to have been published. Jones argued that the “Word of God [was] one harmonious whole: one continuous revelation and development of the covenant of grace” (p. 141), which Jones labored in this volume to “unfold.”

It was close to this same time that Stuart Robinson published Discourses of Redemption: As Revealed at “Sundry Times and in Divers Manners,” Designed Both as Biblical Expositions For the People and Hints to Theological Students of a Popular Method of Exhibiting the “Divers” Revelations Through Patriarchs, Prophets, Jesus and His Apostles (1866). Here he attempted “to follow the development of the one great central thought of the Book through the successive eras of revelation” (p. iv).

Before the establishment of a chair in Biblical Theology at Princeton, such a post was founded at Union Theological Seminary in New York which was filled by Charles A. Briggs in 1891. Previously, he had published an important essay on Biblical Theology (1882), in which he goes over the history of this branch of theology, focusing on its German development, and worked “for some years past” in developing a department dedicated to this field, according to Briggs in The Edward Robinson Chair of Biblical Theology in the Union Theological Seminary, New York (1891). In that inaugural address he acknowledges the precedence of American scholars Edward Robinson and Moses Stuart in this field: “Edward Robinson was the pupil of Moses Stuart, the father of Biblical learning in America.” His definition of the discipline is similar to that of Vos: “Biblical Theology is that Theological Discipline which presents the Theology of the Bible in its historical formation within the Canonical Writings” (Biblical Theology [1882]). Briggs, however, supported Old Testament Higher Criticism; while Vos argued that “Biblical Theology is suited to furnish a most effective antidote to the destructive critical views now prevailing” (The Idea of Biblical Theology).

When Vos was inaugurated as Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton in 1894, it was Abraham Gosman, who had studied under Archibald Alexander and Samuel Miller, who delivered the charge (James McCosh gave the benediction), and in his address he credited Joseph Addison Alexander and Caspar Wistar Hodge, Sr. as early precursors of this theological discipline. Gosman claimed that although Biblical Theology as a department was new, the path had been paved before by those men and others. And he spoke of the place of Biblical Theology within the scope of theological study as a whole:

Biblical Theology stands in close relations both to Exegetical and Systematic Theology, and yet has its own well-defined bounds. It presupposes Exegetical Theology; it furnishes the material for Systematic Theology. If Systematic Theology is, as we may conceive it to be, the finished building, harmonious in its proportions, symmetrical and beautiful; then Exegetical Theology may be regarded as the quarry from which the material is taken; and Biblical Theology, as putting the granite blocks into form, not polished and graven, but shaped and fitted for the place they are to fill, as the structure grows in its vastness and beauty. It seeks the saving facts and truths as they lie in the Word, and are embedded, and to some extent expressed, in the history of the people of God. God's methods are always historical and genetic, and it conforms to His methods. It views these words and facts in their historical relations and their progressive development. It aims not merely to arrive at the ideas and facts as they appear in particular authors and in the books justly ascribed to them, and as they may be modified in their form by time, culture, influences friendly or hostile; but to set forth these facts and truths thus ascertained in their relation to the other books in which they may appear in clearer light, — to trace their progress and unfolding from the germ to the ripened fruit. As the stream of sacred history runs parallel with that of revelation, it borders closely upon Historical Theology. But the two conceptions are distinct.

Gosman grasped the role of Biblical Theology within the various branches of theological study, and how it fits into the overall goal of making known and vindicating the truth, that is, through “the more complete and orderly unfolding of it, as it lies in the Word, and for the confirmation of the faith of God's people.”

In this brief look at earlier American forerunners of a discipline that is so closely associated in the minds of many today with Geerhardus Vos, we can see, as Fesko suggests, that there were currents of development both in Europe and America prior to his 1894 inauguration at Princeton. The idea of historical development in the field of Biblical Theology itself, of course, makes logical sense, but it is easy to overlook. The details of this historical development warrant much greater study and explanation — or unfolding — than is found here, but at the very least we can say that Biblical Theology did not spring fully formed from Vos’ mind like Athena from the mind of Zeus in Greek mythology. But — like B.B. Warfield, who said that “He was probably the best exegete Princeton ever had” [Letter, Louis Berkhof to Ned B. Stonehouse, December 21, 1954], and John Murray, who wrote that “Dr. Vos is, in my judgment, the most penetrating exegete it has been my privilege to know, and I believe, the most incisive exegete that has appeared in the English-speaking world in this century” [Eerdmans Quarterly Observer and inside jacket cover of original edition of Biblical Theology (1948)] — we do appreciate and recognize the influence of Vos on the method of Biblical Theology as he built on what preceded him and put his stamp on the discipline going forward.

American Presbyterians and Sunday Mail

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In recent news, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service who was forced to resign over his refusal to work (deliver mail) on the Lord’s Day and, subsequently, filed suit against the agency for its denial of an accommodation of his religious belief in keeping the Lord’s Day holy, and thereby violating his civil rights. Gerald Groff, the postal employee in question, had worked at the Post Office since 2012, but a 2013 arrangement between the U.S. Post Office and Amazon led to a requirement that mail be delivered on the Lord’s Day, a duty which Mr. Groff was initially able to avoid until the issue was pressed upon him, leading to his resignation for conscience’ sake. The Supreme Court’s ruling was welcomed by many who have been concerned about the encroachment of business on the Christian Sabbath, especially non-essential labor that is mandated by the federal government of its employees.

It should be noted, though, that the 2013 Post Office-Amazon arrangement which led to Mr. Groff’s trial of conscience is not the first time this particular issue has been confronted in American history. This very issue, in fact, was of immense concern to 19th century Presbyterians.

As far back as 1808, Postmaster General Gideon Granger directed that post offices be opened on the Lord’s Day for the sorting of mail. One particular local postmaster in Washington, Pennsylvania, Hugh Wylie — who was also a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church — began to open his post office on the Lord’s Day not only for sorting of mail, but also for the distribution of mail. Eventually, the distribution of the mail began encroached upon the time of worship services, and complaints were made about the propriety of this sort of work occurring on this day of the week. Although the Post Office supported Wylie in his efforts to maintain the flow of mail, the Synod of Pittsburgh condemned Wylie and barred him from communion, and suspended him from the eldership. He appealed unsuccessfully to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

Meanwhile, in 1810, the U.S. Congress passed a law requiring postmasters to open their offices on the Lord’s Day. In the context of the approaching War of 1812, the argument of necessity held sway in the public mind given that need for expedited communication during wartime carried plausible weight. But the opposing argument that the nation itself was involved in a sinful course of action by diverting federal employees and citizens from the duties of the Sabbath by maintaining a regular course of business on that day also began to carry weight in the minds of Christian citizens. Petitions were sent from the PCUSA General Assembly in 1812 and 1815 to Congress urging repeal of the 1810 legislation. Although these and other petitions went unheeded by Congress, the 1819 PCUSA General Assembly ruled concerning its members that engaging in business or commerce — in particular, in relation to Sabbath mail delivery — on the Lord’s Day was a bar to communion (Baird’s Digest [1856], p. 33).

In the mid-1820s and early 1830s, a renewed effort was made by Christians of various denominations to pressure Congress to repeal its legalization of mail delivery on the Lord’s Day. Lyman Beecher helped to found the General Union for the Promotion of the Christian Sabbath in 1828, and his 1829 sermon on the Pre-Eminent Importance of the Christian Sabbath zeroed in the Sabbath desecration caused by thousands of federal employees being pulled away from public worship to transport and deliver the mail, arguing at one point: “the petitions are, not that Congress will do any thing for religion, but, simply, that by legislation they will do nothing against religion - simply that they will not, with the people's money, hire their twenty-six thousand Mail-carriers, Post-masters and assistants, to unite with the wicked in prostrating the holy Sabbath! We ask for no union of church and state: but, simply, that the moral influence of the Sabbath may not be thus bartered away for secular gain.”

In 1829, Senator Richard M. Johnson, chairman of the Senate Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads and a devout Baptist, issued a report which shot down the petitions sitting before Congress to repeal the 1810 law, stating that “The transportation of the mails on the first day of the week, it is believed, does not interfere with rights of conscience” (Richard C. Wylie, Sabbath Laws in the United States [1905], p. 181). Stuart Robinson notes that “Colonel Johnson was by education and prejudice a Seventh Day Baptist, and the opinion gained general currency that his report was inspired, if not prepared, by a Seventh-Day Baptist preacher” (Sabbath Laws in the United States [1879]).

The controversy was not limited to the halls of Congress or the ecclesiastical courts, but spilled over into the press. Charles Hodge addressed the matter in The Biblical Repertory and Theological Review with his article The American Quarterly Review on Sunday Mails (1831). He objected to the manner in which this respectable journal portrayed the ongoing debate, and used the opportunity to articulate a clear understanding of the obligations of the Sabbath day for all Christians, and further argued that necessity was not at stake in the question of the propriety of mail delivery.

In his controversial 1832 discourse, Prince Messiah's Claims to Dominion Over All Governments; and the Disregard of His Authority by the United States, in the Federal Constitution, Reformed Presbyterian minister James R. Willson continued the argument against Sabbath mail delivery: “The Sabbath is very grossly and scandalously violated in all parts of the United States. It is true, the federal and state legislatures, and the courts of justice, do yet adjourn, on the Lord's holy day. But how do the officers of government spend their Sabbaths? Which of them reads the Holy Scriptures, ‘spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of religion?’ — The transportation of the mails — the opening of the post-offices, and the diffusion of political and other secular intelligence, profane the Sabbath, and corrupt the public mind.”

Stonewall Jackson is known to have been very particular about doing anything that would contribute to the delivery of mail on the Sabbath. Robert L. Dabney had this to say about it: “His convictions of the sin committed by the Government of the United States, in the unnecessary transmission of mails, and the consequent imposition of secular labor on the Sabbath day, upon a multitude of persons, were singularly strong. His position was, that if no one would avail himself of these Sunday mails, save in cases of true and unavoidable necessity, the letters carried would be so few that the sinful custom would speedily be arrested, and the guilt and mischief prevented. Hence, he argued, that as every man is bound to do whatever is practicable and lawful for him to do, to prevent the commission of sin, he who posted or received letters on the Sabbath day, or even sent a letter which would occupy that day in travelling, was responsible for a part of the guilt. It was of no avail to reply to him, that this self-denial on the part of one Christian would not close a single post-office, nor arrest a single mail-coach in the whole country. His answer was, that unless some Christians would begin singly to practise their exact duty, and thus set the proper example, the reform would never be begun; that his responsibility was to see to it that he, at least, was not particeps criminis; and that whether others would co-operate, was their concern, not his” (Life and Campaigns of Lieut.-Gen. Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall Jackson) [1866], p. 88).

As late as 1889, Thomas P. Stevenson testified on behalf of the National Reform Association before the U.S. Senate in favor of a Sunday Rest Bill, submitting on that occasion a report on The National Mail Service and the Sabbath. Towards the end of his report he made this striking claim: “The action of the Government in this matter involves the whole nation in guilt and exposes the whole people to the righteous judgments of God. No man can say, ‘I never used the mails on the Sabbath; I am therefore not responsible.’ When irreligion and vice unsettle the foundations of social welfare, no man can assure himself that his personal or domestic interests will not be imperiled. When Israel went into captivity ‘that this land might enjoy her Sabbaths,’ the whole people suffered. A nation is justly held responsible for the action of its Government, because the nation is greater than the Government, and can reform it at pleasure. The violation of the Sabbath by the mail service involves in guilt not merely the officials in charge of the Post-Office Department, but the American people. The people have direct, legitimate, and, in some sense, authoritative access to the Government. Those who desire or would insist on the continuance of the Sabbath mail service, in the face of such considerations as we have urged, are a small minority of the population. It is only necessary for the people to speak; the Government will obey their voice.”

Eventually, in 1912, Congress finally acted to bar mail delivery on the Lord’s Day. It was to the great relief and acclaim of many Christians, but the greatest impetus for this change of heart on the part of the federal government was not the petitions of Sabbath-keepers, but the arguments of organized labor who emphasized the need of workers for a day of temporal and secular rest. Thus matters stood until the 2013 Amazon deal, and now in 2023, the highest court in the land has taken the part of a federal worker with a conscience about keeping the Lord’s Day holy. America’s controversy with the Lord, however, is far from resolved. The obligation upon all to uphold the Christian Sabbath, as stated in the Fourth Commandment, endures. Those who seek to witness to this truth rejoice with Gerald Groff, having won his day in court, and yet, as has been said in another context, “The principle for which we contend is bound to reassert itself, though it may be at another time and in another form.”

For further reading on this topic, with additional details, see this 2020 article by Barry Waugh, “Mail Carrying on Sunday.”

What's New at Log College Press? - August 16, 2022

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There is always a lot going on at Log College Press. Here is a brief report to get you up to speed.

In July 2022, we added 349 new works to the site. Today we aim 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:

  • In 1760, a letter authored by Gilbert Tennent and signed by seventeen other Presbyterian ministers was sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury concerning William McClanachan (1714-c. 1765), a sometime Anglican, Congregational and Presbyterian minister, which proved to be somewhat ecclesiastically messy for the writers. What is particularly interesting about the “eighteen Presbyterian ministers” who jointly signed the letter is that this is one occasion when Samuel Davies and the Tennent brother (Gilbert, Charles and William, Jr.) united in a literary production. Others who also signed include John Rodgers, Abraham Keteltas, Alexander MacWhorter, John Blair, Robert Smith, John Roan, Charles McKnight; all together at least seven alumni of the Log College signed this letter, which is now available to read on our Early Access page.

  • Speaking of the Tennents, we have added a volume by Mary A. Tennent titled Light in Darkness: The Story of William Tennent Sr. and the Log College (1971) to the William Tennent, Sr. page. It is a valuable study of the Tennent family and the Log College.

  • In the course of our research, we came across a volume of sermons once owned by Samuel Miller. Many of the individual sermons bear his handwritten signature on the title pages. Some of the sermons were delivered in connection with the May 9, 1798 fast day appointed by President John Adams (William Linn, Ashbel Green and Samuel Blair, Jr.). Also included was another separate fast day sermon preached by Nathan Strong and an 1815 thanksgiving sermon preached by James Muir (following the end of the War of the 1812).

  • We added some interesting works by John Tucker (1719-1792), including a noted 1771 election sermon and two editions (one published and one handwritten manuscript) of a 1778 sermon on the validity of Presbyterian ordination.

  • Robert R. Howison, author of a noted history of Virginia, wrote a history of the War Between the States in serial fashion which was published in the Southern Literary Messenger from 1862 to 1864. We have compiled each installment into one PDF file comprised of almost 400 pages.

  • Perhaps the most famous sermon delivered by Clarence E.N. Macartney was Come Before Winter, first preached in 1915 and then annually for many years after. We have added the 30th anniversary edition of that sermon to his page.

  • We have also recently added more sermons and letters by Samuel Davies, some of which are now at the Recent Additions page.

Recent Addtiions:

Be sure also to check out the quotes we have been adding at our blog for DPS members: Though Dead They Still Speak, including some by John Murray on the regulative principle of worship; David Rice on religious controversy; and Louis F. Benson on early Presbyterian psalmody.

As we continue to grow, please avail yourself of the many resources (both digital and in print) at Log College Press, and be sure to tell your friends about us. We hope that brushing off these old tomes will indeed enrich the 21st century church - that is our prayer. Thank you, as always, for your interest and support, dear friends.

An Honorable Princeton Roll Call

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Among the addresses delivered at the 1912 Centennial celebration for Princeton Theological Seminary was one given by William Lenoard McEwan titled “Princeton in the Work of the Pastorate.” In this message highlighting the contributions of Princeton-educated men to the work of the ministry, he includes a roll call of names that are also highlighted here at Log College Press. Today’s post is an extract from that address with links to pages for these men so that the 21st century reader may better acquaint themselves with their lives and labors. It is just a partial snapshot — Princeton has contributed much, much more — but it is a way to recognize some important but often-neglected names from American Presbyterian history.

Indeed if there were time to revive the memories of those who are familiar with the great movements that are written in our history, the reading of the names of the men whose influence has been great in the time of crisis or through long years of service would be sufficient— James W. Alexander, John C. Backus, for forty-eight years in Baltimore; J. Trumbull Backus, for forty-one years in Schenectady, N.Y.; George D. Baker, for a score of years in Philadelphia; Albert Barnes, forty years in Philadelphia; Charles C. Beatty, for sixty years in Steubenville, Ohio; William Blackburn; Henry A. Boardman, for forty-seven years in Philadelphia; Rob't J. Breckinridge of Kentucky; James H. Brookes of St. Louis; T. W. Chambers, nearly half a century in New York City; William C. Cattell, Joseph Christmas, founder of the American Church in Montreal; Bishop T. M. Clark; Richard F. Cleveland (father of a president of the United States); Theodore L. Cuyler, for thirty years in Brooklyn; Doak of Tennessee; J. T. Duryea, Philemon H. Fowler, Sam'l W. Fisher, P. D. Gurley of Washington, D.C; Leroy J. Halsey, A. A. Hodge, C. W. Hodge, E. B. Hodge, F. B. Hodge, William H. Hornblower, William Henry Green, Charles K. Imbrie, pastor, secretary and editor; Sheldon Jackson, Bishop John Johns, M. W. Jacobus, S. H. Kellogg, John M. Krebs, of New York; John C. Lowrie, Willis Lord, Bishop A. N. Littlejohn, J.M. Ludlow, Erskine Mason, Bishop C. B. Mcllvaine, David Magie, George W. Musgrave, Thomas Murphy, N.G. Parke, R. M. Patterson, W. S. Plumer, S. I. Prime, William M. Paxton, George T. Purves, Nathan L. Rice, Rendall of Lincoln, David H. Riddle, Stuart Robinson, Charles S. Robinson, W. D. Snodgrass, William A. Scott, W. B. Sprague, J. G. Symmes, E. P. Swift, H. J. Van Dyke, C. Van Rensselaer, Charles Wadsworth.

In this one packed paragraph, the names are easily passed over but each one represents a part of the story of the Lord’s kingdom work in this country and in the world by means of “an able and faithful ministry” (to use Samuel Miller’s words) as taught at Princeton. We are thankful for these men and take note of them here at Log College Press, also intending to add more as we are able. To God be the glory for these faithful witnesses.

Joseph Wilson's Presbyterian Historical Almanac now at Log College Press

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In 1859, one of the great historical and biographical contributions to the American Presbyterian Church was first published in Philadelphia by a young man named Joseph M. Wilson. Over the next decade, The Presbyterian Historical Almanac, and Annual Remembrancer of the Church became a very well-respected and indeed invaluable resource for the church of his day and for future historians.

There is some irony in the fact that this publisher of Presbyterian literature who did so much to memorialize the lives and contributions of others is shrouded in biographical mystery himself. In fact, some of his publications have been attributed erroneously to another Joseph M. Wilson who lived from 1838 to 1902. We believe that Wilson was born in Philadelphia in 1822. We are not sure when he died, but it does not appear that he published anything after 1868.

Operating from his place of business in downtown Philadelphia, during a very active span during the 1850s and 1860s, among the titles that Wilson published were:

  • Alfred Nevin, Churches of the Valley: or, An Historical Sketch of the Old Presbyterian Congregations of Cumberland and Franklin Counties, in Pennsylvania (1852);

  • Joseph H. Jones, The Attainments of Men in Secular and Religious Knowledge, Contrasted: A Sermon (1854);

  • Richard Webster, A History of the Presbyterian Church in America (1857);

  • Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, A Discussion on Slaveholding with George Armstrong (1858);

  • Stuart Robinson, The Church of God as an Essential Element of the Gospel (1858); and

  • Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, God Glorified by Africa: An Address Delivered on December 31, 1856 (1859).

Source: S. Austin Allibone, A Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors (1908), Vol. 3, p. 2781.

Source: S. Austin Allibone, A Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors (1908), Vol. 3, p. 2781.

At Log College Press, we are delighted to report that Wilson’s magnum opus, The Presbyterian Historical Almanac, and Annual Remembrancer of the Church, in ten volumes, has been uploaded here and is available for your perusal. We have often consulted these volumes as a valuable source of historical and biographical information. Wilson aimed at unity of the church, and his almanac spans all the main branches of American Presbyterianism. Not only ecclesiastical reports and updates — rendered during a critical period of time — and biographical sketches are found therein, but also portraits and illustrations of great interest.

What Wilson wrote in 1868 (the year of reunion) is a fitting summary of his goal in producing this Almanac and Remembrancer:

The main object of the work from its commencement has been to place upon permanent record the current history of every branch of the Presbyterian Church. To show that these Annual Chronicles meet the wants of those who are intelligently active in advancing the interests of Presbyterianism, I refer to what has already been accomplished:

I. Over five hundred and fifty Acts and Deliverances have been fully recorded, also —

II. Many judicial cases involving questions coming within the purview of Ecclesiastical Law.

III. Full accounts of various organizations, whereby the Church carries on its benevolent operations.

IV. Histories of Churches and Theological Seminaries,

V. Statistics of Churches, Boards and Committees.

VI. Lists of Ministers, giving the names and post-office of every Presbyterian minister in the world.

VII. Biographies of Presbyterian ministers who have died during the period covered by the publication of the Almanac, numbering between twelve and thirteen hundred.

VIII. Manses, being comfortable homes for Presbyterian ministers, free of rent, have been constantly urged upon the Church, and this subject is pre-eminently worthy of serious and active consideration.

IX. Libraries for Manses and Periodical Associations have been pleaded for and their importance demonstrated.

X. Statistical Tables, valuable as well as interesting.

The Almanac has also labored for the reunion of the Church; which, owing partly to the strong protesting element among Presbyterians, was divided into at least thirty branches, ranging in numbers from fourteen ministers up to twenty-eight hundred; and, though belonging to the same household of faith, the thin partitions thus erected tended to keep them apart.

In the Almanac these branches were brought together, and as the members thereof examined the "Records" — it was a bond of mutual sympathy to know that they all contended for the truth with the same zeal — were as keenly alive to the necessity resting upon them to extend the blessings of Christianity in our own and in foreign lands — to provide for the religious instruction of the children — to educate the rising ministry — to guard the declining years of the aged and infirm ministers, and tenderly care for the widows and orphans; and though thus engaged in advancing the interests of our common Christianity, and though one in spirit and believing in one Lord, one Faith and one Baptism, they were not organically one.

The influence exerted by the Almanac, however, in thus placing Presbyterians together in the same volume, naturally leads earnest and thoughtful members of the Church to the consideration of the question. Shall these divisions continue? — to which there is but one reply, viz.. Reunion. That work has begun. In the Almanac will be found the union of the Associate and Associate Reformed, forming The United Presbyterian Church of North America; The Presbyterian and the United Presbyterian, forming the Canada Presbyterian Church; The Synod and the Free Church of Nova Scotia, forming the Presbyterian Church of the Lower Provinces of British North America; and this latter body with the Synod of New Brunswick; the Presbyterian bodies in Australasia; The Presbyterian Church in the United States with the United Synod. In all these cases the "Basis" of "Union" is fully recorded, and in this volume will be found reunion indications distinct and significant; and so the work goes on; and will not every one join in the prayer of our Saviour, as given in the seventeenth chapter of the Evangelist John, and earnestly strive for the time when UNITY shall be the blessed condition of The Presbyterian Church throughout the world?

Now 21st century readers at Log College Press can take advantage of this invaluable ecclesiastical resource. Read Wilson’s Historical Almanac and Annual Remembrancer as a labor of love for the unity of the church, and these volumes will reward you well.

Pre-Eminent American Presbyterians of the 18th and 19th Centuries: A List

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The question is sometimes asked, “Who are the important or significant early American Presbyterians to know historically?” Another question that is often posed to Log College Press is ”Where should someone unfamiliar with this time period start?” These are difficult question to answer because the period of which we are speaking — primarily the 18th and 19th centuries — was so diverse and there are so many representative authors. But in an attempt to respond helpfully, as well as to introduce readers of Log College Press to some of the pre-eminent authors on our site, we have developed a list - or actually a set of lists. Lists are both subject to scrutiny and often have a subjective element, and this one can certainly be modified or adjusted as needed. But lists provide a starting point for discussion. Consider the following as our contribution in response to some excellent questions that challenge with their simplicity.

17th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • Francis Makemie (1658-1708) - Although Makemie was not the first Presbyterian minister to serve in the American colonies, because of his pioneering labors along the Eastern Seaboard, particularly in the establishment of the first Presbytery in America, he is often credited as “the Father of American Presbyterianism.”

18th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • David Brainerd (1718-1747) - A pioneer Presbyterian missionary who died young, his diary was reprinted by Jonathan Edwards and remains a spiritual classic.

  • Samuel Davies (1723-1761) - Davies accomplished much in a short life, contributing significantly to the Great Awakening as a pioneer minister in Virginia and as President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton).

  • Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747) - Dickinson was the first President of the College of New Jersey and an important voice in American colonial Presbyterianism.

  • John Mitchell Mason (1770-1829) - Mason was a leading figure in the Associate Reformed Church.

  • David Rice (1733-1816) - An early Presbyterian opponent of slavery, “Father Rice” helped to build the Presbyterian Church in Virginia and Kentucky.

  • John Rodgers (1727-1811) - An early colleague of Samuel Davies, Rodgers went on to play a very influential role in the establishment of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

  • Archibald Stobo (c. 1670-1741) - Stobo helped to found the first Presbytery in the New World (Panama) and the first Presbytery in the Southern United States (South Carolina).

  • Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764) - The son of the founder of the original Log College, Gilbert Tennent was also known as the “Son of Thunder.” A New-Side adherent, he was involved in both the 1741 split of the Presbyterian church and the 1758 reunion.

  • William Tennent, Sr. (1673-1746) - The Founder of the original Log College seminary was a major force in the early American Presbyterian Church who left a legacy of well-educated ministers and many academies and schools which trace their roots to his labors.

  • John Thomson (1690-1753) - The architect of the Adopting Act of 1729, which influenced the course of the American Presbyterian Church tremendously, Thomson was an Old Side minister who served different pastorates throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

  • John Knox Witherspoon (1723-1794) - President of the College of New Jersey, Witherspoon was also the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, and he signed the Articles of Confederation as well.

19th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • John Bailey Adger (1810-1899) - Adger served the church as a widely-respected and influential pastor, missionary, seminary professor and author.

  • Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) - Pastor, author and first professor of the Princeton Theological Seminary, Alexander was a major force in American Presbyterianism in the first half of the 19th century. He also served as President of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia for 9 years.

  • James Waddel Alexander, Sr. (1804-1859) - Son of Archibald Alexander, J.W. was, like his father, an eminent pastor, professor and author.

  • Daniel Baker (1791-1857) - The founder of Austin College was a pioneer missionary and noted preacher who did much to bring Presbyterianism to the Western United States.

  • Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898) - A leading voice of Southern Presbyterianism, Dabney was a noted preacher, seminary professor, author and architect. His 5 volumes of Discussions remain in print today.

  • John Lafayette Girardeau (1825-1898) - A pastor with a heart for ministering to former slaves, as well as author and seminary professor, Girardeau became one of America’s greatest theologians.

  • Ashbel Green (1762-1848) - President of the College of New Jersey, Green authored lectures on the Westminster Shorter Catechism and was an influential voice within the Presbyterian Church in the first half of the 19th century.

  • Francis James Grimké (1850-1937) - A former slave of French Huguenot descent, Grimké was a leading African-American Presbyterian during his lengthy ministry, mostly based in Washington, D.C.

  • Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823-1886) - Son of Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge was the author of a well-respected commentary on the Westminister Confession of Faith, and followed in his father’s footsteps as a leader at Princeton.

  • Charles Hodge (1797-1878) - One of the most important leaders of the Presbyterian Church in the 19th century, Hodge authored a 3-volume Systematic Theology, served as principal of Princeton Theological Seminary, and wrote numerous articles as editor various theological journals.

  • Moses Drury Hoge (1818-1899) - Hoge served as a minister of the Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond, Virginia for almost 54 years, during which time he was a widely-respected leader throughout the Presbyterian Church.

  • Jacob Jones Janeway (1774-1858) - Janeway served the Second Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1828, and also authored sermons, articles and other works for the advancement of missions, both foreign and domestic.

  • Alexander McLeod (1774-1833) - McLeod was an important leader both in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, influencing its institutional opposition to slavery, and within the broader Presbyterian Church, by means of his evangelistic efforts and concerns for the welfare of society.

  • Samuel Miller (1769-1850) - The second professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, Miller was a prolific writer, and diligent minster of the gospel, who was widely recognized as a leader in 19th century American Presbyterianism. Many of his works remain in print today.

  • Benjamin Morgan Palmer (1818-1902) - Palmer was a leader in the Southern Presbyterian Church because of his pastoral ministry, and his role as a seminary professor and author.

  • Thomas Ephraim Peck (1822-1893) - Peck was an important Southern Presbyterian minister, author and seminary professor whose 3 volumes of Miscellanies remain in print today.

  • William Swan Plumer (1802-1880) - Plumer was an Old School minister, seminary professor and prolific writer with a heart for teaching God’s Word to as many as possible, young and old.

  • John Holt Rice (1777-1831) - Rice did much to preach the gospel and promote education in the South as a minister, seminary professor and editor.

  • Stuart Robinson (1814-1881) - Robinson’s advocacy of the spiritual independence of the church during a time of civil conflict made him a controversial but respected figure in the Presbyterian Church.

  • Thomas Smyth (1808-1873) - Minister, scholar, seminary professor, author - Smyth’s 10 volumes of Works reveal his prolific output and influential voice within the 19th century Presbyterian Church.

  • William Buell Sprague (1795-1876) - A prolific preacher and author, Sprague is also known as the “Patriarch of American Collectors,” for his collection of autographs, including those of every signer of the Declaration of Independence, pamphlets and other materials. He authored the Annals of the American Pulpit, an important collection of biographical sketches.

  • James Henley Thornwell (1812-1862) - Thornwell wrote and accomplished much in a short lifetime, helping to found The Southern Presbyterian Review, and representing the Southern Presbyterian perspective on matters of ecclesiology in debates with Charles Hodge.

  • Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, Sr. (1808-1860) - Van Rensselaer served the church as a pastor, missionary, editor and as the first President of the Presbyterian Historical Society.

  • Moses Waddel (1770-1840) - Founder of the “American Eton,” Waddel pioneered education in the South.

  • Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851-1921) - An eminent Biblical scholar and seminary professor, Warfield was a prolific author. His Works were collected into 10 volumes.

  • James Renwick Willson (1780-1853) - A leader in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Willson was known as an opponent of slavery, and for his call to reform the United States Constitution.

  • John Leighton Wilson (1809-1886) - Wilson was a pioneer Southern Presbyterian missionary to West Africa, and the first to bring a skeleton of a gorilla back to the United States.

Early 20th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

  • John Gresham Machen (1881-1937) - A conservative minister and Princeton professor, Machen led a split from the increasingly liberal mainline Presbyterian Church to help form what became known as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

  • John McNaugher (1857-1847) - "Mister United Presbyterian," McNaugher served the United Presbyterian Church of North America as a pastor, professor of New Testament literature, seminary president and as a writer and teacher.

  • Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949) - A Dutch-American minister and seminary professor, Vos is known as a pioneer of Biblical Theology, and as an eminent expositor of Scripture. He was a also a poet.

Other Early American Presbyterian Worthies to Know

  • John Boyd (1679-1708) - Boyd was the first Presbyterian minister ordained in America (1706).

  • David Stewart Caldwell, Sr. (1725-1824) - Caldwell is known for many contributions to church and society, but especially as the founder of the “Southern Log College,” near Greensboro, North Carolina.

  • James Caldwell (1734-1781) - “The Fighting Parson” was a noted supporter of the colonists in the civil conflict with Great Britain.

  • John Chavis (1763-1838) - Chavis was the first African-American Presbyterian to be ordained as a minister (in 1801).

  • Alexander Craighead (1707-1766) - Craighead was the first Reformed Presbyterian minister in America, a member of Hanover Presbytery, and the Mecklenburg Declaration of Indpendence, although written after his death, may be his greatest legacy.

  • John Cuthbertson (1718-1791) - Cuthbertson was a pioneer Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter) missionary in America, and helped to found the first RP Presbytery in America, and the Associate Reformed Church as well. He estimated that during his missionary labors he rode over 70,000 miles on horseback.

  • Theodore Ledyard Cuyler (1822-1909) - Pastor of the largest Presbyterian congregation in the United States in New York City, Cuyler was a leading minister and prolific writer, as well as a friend to many American Presidents.

  • Henry Highland Garnet (1815-1882) - Garnet was the first African-American to address Congress (in 1865), and later served as a diplomat to Liberia, where he died, as well as a minister of the gospel.

  • John Gloucester, Sr. (1776-1822) - An early African-American Presbyterian minister (ordained in 1811), he was a former slave who helped to found the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

  • William Graham (1745-1799) - As principal of Liberty Hall Academy in Lexington, Virginia, Graham trained Archibald Alexander and John Chavis, among others.

  • Jacob Green (1722-1790) - Father of Ashbel Green, Jacob was a chaplain in the American War of Independence, and an early opponent of slavery.

  • John McMillan (1752-1833) - “The Apostle of Presbyterianism to the West,” McMillan’s great legacy was the pioneering educational institutions which he founded.

  • Samson Occom (1723-1792) - Occom was one of first Native American Presbyterian ministers whose writings were published in English.

  • James W.C. Pennington (1807-1870) - The former “Fugitive Slave”-turned-Presbyterian minister and author became the first African-American to receive a doctorate of divinity at a European university.

  • Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832-1902) - “The Spurgeon of America” was one of the most popular ministers in America during the last half of the 19th century with an estimated 30 million readers of his sermons in the newspapers, and elsewhere.

  • Marcus Whitman (1802-1847) - Whitman was a pioneer ruling elder and medical missionary whose tragic death in Oregon inspired others to travel westward and continue to spread the gospel.

  • Julia McNair Wright (1840-1903) - An important Presbyterian author, she wrote widely on various topics, but is known especially for her Christian biographies for young readers.

  • Theodore Sedgwick Wright (1797-1847) - Wright was the first African-American to attend a theological seminary in the United States (Princeton). He was a leader in the Underground Railroad, as well as a well-respected minister of the gospel.

This list, it is hoped, will help to introduce readers to important figures in early American Presbyterianism. While not definitive or all-encompassing (it was difficult to leave off certain names from the approximately 900 authors that we have on Log College Press alone), it highlights some people very much worth getting to know. Their contributions to the Presbyterian Church, America and the world endure, and their memory is cherished.

The Southern Presbyterian Review at Log College Press

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

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

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

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

Presbyterian Presidential Correspondence

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An American Andrew Melville

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Presbyterians who know their Covenanter history will remember what Andrew Melville once told King James I in 1596. His “Two-Kingdoms” speech was one for the ages, and it has resonated not only on the European side of the Atlantic, but also in America as well.

American Presbyterian Stuart Robinson had occasion once to utter Melville’s words to the chief magistrate in America, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, after Lincoln’s military issued an order in 1864 to suppress Robinson’s magazine, the True Presbyterian, under charges inciting rebellion. He wrote a letter to President Lincoln in December 1864 from Toronto, Canada, where he was living in exile, requesting a reversal of “the monstrous order of General Burbidge, of November 19, 1864, for the suppression of the True Presbyterian, a purely ecclesiastical journal, published at Louisville, Kentucky.”

With no response, Stuart followed up with an open letter to the President dated January 26, 1865, in which he elaborated at great length upon the argument that his concern was not political rebellion to the present U.S. administration, but rather the cause of Christ. And in this letter he quoted Andrew Melville to make his point.

The civil government, represented to us, primarily, by the constitution and laws, and secondarily by your administration, so long as its acts in accord with the constitution and laws, is undoubtedly an ordinance of God. And therefore by Divine authority you wield the power of the sword to coerce obedience. But another government, in itself distinct and complete, to which government has been committed the “power of the keys,” as to the “power of the sword.” As Andrew Melville had occasion to remind a tyrant Stuart — “God’s two kingdoms, one the Kingdom of Jesus Christ whose subject James is, and of whose kingdom he is neither a king nor a lord but only a member and they whom Christ hath called to govern his spiritual kingdom have a sufficient authority which no Christian king should control or discharge;” so I may remind you that, there are two Presidents and Commonwealths in these United States; the one President Lincoln and the other President Jesus Christ, in whose Commonwealth President Lincoln hath no sort of official function. And I may say this with still more force than Andrew Melville, seeing that beside the Ordinance of Christ in his revealed statute book, the founders of the American civil Commonwealth have, for the first time in history, acknowledged by civil enactments, the independence of the Church, which King James denied. And therefore all utterances and acts, either on the civil or ecclesiastical side, by which the secular intrudes into the spiritual, or the spiritual into the secular sphere are violations of the civil constitution of the country as well as of the statutes of Christ.

Only three months later President Lincoln was laid to rest after being struck down by an assassin’s bullet, and Robinson was able to return to his beloved Louisville a year after that momentous event, in April 1866. For a minister known for his staunch advocacy of the spirituality of the church, it is remarkable how much trouble Robinson got into with civil authority. His conflict with the civil magistrate echoes not only the conflict which led Andrew Melville to speak as he did to King James, but also led Peter to say “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). For a much more detailed account of this story, see Preston D. Graham, Jr., A Kingdom Not of This World: Stuart Robinson’s Struggle to Distinguish the Sacred From the Secular During the Civil War (2002).

Stuart Robinson on the 'Churchliness of Calvinism'

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Stuart Robinson is known for his position, characteristic of the Southern Presbyterian Church, that — as John Muether has written in reviewing The Church of God as an Essential Element of the Gospel — “‘divine right’ Presbyterianism sees the church as a spiritual institution with spiritual means to accomplish spiritual ends.” The place of the church in relation to the gospel is front and center in Robinson’s thinking as is shown also by an extract from an address which he gave to the First General Presbyterian Council at Edinburgh, Scotland in July 1877 titled The Churchliness of Calvinism: Presbytery Jure Divino Its Logical Outcome (1877).

The mission of Messiah to execute the covenant of eternity was not simply to be a teaching Prophet and an atoning Priest, but a ruling King as well. His work, beside making an atonement, was not, as a Socrates, merely to enunciate certain truths and found a school, but likewise, as the result of all and the reward of all, to be a Solon, founding a community, organising a government, and administering therein as a perpetual King. Hence, therefore, the Church of God, as organised and visible, is but the actual outworking of the purpose to redeem an organised body of sinners out of the fallen race. It is therefore an essential element of the gospel theology. The foundations of the structure are laid in the very depths of the scheme of redemption; and the development, in time, of that scheme to redeem not merely individual souls, but a body of sinners organised under the Mediator, as Head and King, must of necessity develop a Church, visible and organised, as a part of the revelation to man of the counsels of eternity.

See the rest of Robinson’s address here, along with many other works by him, including newly-added issues of the newspaper he edited in Louisville, Kentucky, the Free Christian Commonwealth. He is a Presbyterian worth getting to know, and this address is representative of his passionate conviction in the important place of the Church in relation to the redemptive purpose and work of Messiah.