What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers? Does the Holy Spirit give gifts to unbelievers as well as to believers? These are among the important questions tackled by Clement Read Vaughan (1827-1911) in The Gifts of the Holy Spirit to Unbelievers and Believers (1894).
Famous for editing the Discussions of his life-long friend Robert Lewis Dabney, and noted for his biographical sketch of Thomas Ephraim Peck, Vaughan was also a beloved minister and theologian who was Dabney's successor at Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. According to Morton Smith, Studies in Southern Presbyterian Theology, p. 295, he was "an Old School Presbyterian." Thomas Cary Johnson wrote a very useful biographical of Vaughan in the Union Seminary Magazine (which uses the name 'Vaughn' throughout).
In this particular study of the Holy Spirit, Vaughan looks first at the ways in the Holy Spirit performs His work amongst unbelievers. These "common operations of the Spirit" (Westminster Confession of Faith 10.4 and Westminster Larger Catechism Q/A #68) include the restraint of depravity in man, and awakening and convicting influences that work in the conscience of men, even the reprobate.
Next, with a view towards helping saints better apprehend "the comfort of hope," Vaughan explores how the Spirit gives knowledge to believers, seals, witnesses, leads, intercedes, comforts, and gives graces to those who are thereby become the children of God.
The practical benefits of such a study of this cannot be understated. This is a valuable 19th century American Presbyterian contribution to our understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit both within and without the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Bookmark this volume for further prayerful study, and be comforted, dear saints.
On the Atonement
For those who study the doctrine of the atonement, and particularly its extent, Log College Press has some valuable resources for you.
In 1817, James Renwick Willson wrote A Historical Sketch of Opinions on the Atonement, which includes his own translation of Francis Turretin's Institutes on that subject (this was several decades before - at Charles Hodge's direction - George Musgrave Giger of Princeton translated the whole of Turretin's Institutes, an 8,000+ page handwritten manuscript). A posthumously-published edition of Willson's work came out in 1859.
A.A. Hodge wrote an important treatise on the atonement in 1867. His father, Charles, wrote On the Nature of the Atonement (1832) and a January 1845 article in the The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review, republished in 1846 under the title The Orthodox Doctrine Regarding the Extent of the Atonement Vindicated. This latter work was edited and prefaced by several leading Scottish Presbyterian divines, including Thomas M'Crie, William Cunningham, Robert Candlish and William Symington, who had, in 1834, published his own major work titled On the Atonement and Intercession of Jesus Christ. William Hetherington, another noted Scottish divine, in 1846, endorsed the work in the Free Church Magazine.
In 1803, William Gibson wrote A Dialogue Concerning the Doctrine of the Atonement, Between a Calvinist and a Hopkinsian. Jacob Jones Janeway's Letters on the Atonement were published in 1827.
These and other works on the atonement can be found here. Check out this page,these writers and these works to better understand this important doctrine.
The Gift of Men
"Among the great gifts that God has given to men is the gift of men; and among all the gifts with which God has enriched His church, one of the greatest has been the gift of consecrated men, for they are the instrumentalities by which the church has been moulded and prospered in all the generations of the world." -- Moses Drury Hoge, Memorial Sermon for John Albert Broadus
With this thought in mind, be sure to check out the Biographies and Autobiographies and Funeral Discourses pages at Log College Press to read the stories of some godly, amazing and inspiring men, women and children.
Christ is More Willing to Save
The Puritans used to say that Christ was more willing to save, than sinners are willing to be saved by Him. "I may say that Jesus Christ is more willing to save sinners, than sinners are to be saved by him!" (William Bridge, "Evangelical Repentance" in Works, Vol. 4, pp. 434-435). "We should trust our salvation on Jesus Christ, not only as on him only that can save, and that is able to save perfectly; but as on him that hath more good-will to save, than we can have willingness to be saved by him. None had ever been saved by him, none had ever been brought to heaven, unless Christ had had more willingness to bring them thither, than they had to be led thither by him" (Robert Traill, Sermon 3 in "Sixteen Sermons on the Lord's Prayers" in Works, Vol. 2, p. 46).
Southern Presbyterian "worthy" (see John M. Wells, Southern Presbyterian Worthies, for an excellent biographical sketch) Givens Brown Strickler concurs, as we can see in a powerful sermon titled "Christ's Willingness to Save." Taking John 6:37 for his text ("And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out"), expounds the Scriptural truth that men too often fail to appreciate the willingness of Christ to save sinners, and how a right understanding of this point is crucial to the invitations He gives to come unto Him and be saved, that is, what we call the free offer of the gospel.
One evidence that they do not fully appreciate the willingness of Christ to save is found in the fact that they imagine that they are more willing in the great matter than He is. They imagine, many of them, that they are perfectly willing to be saved; to be delivered from the presence and the power and the guilt and all the consequences of their sins, and that the only reason why they have not already been thus delivered is that Christ has not been willing to interpose in their behalf. But if they saw His willingness as it is revealed in His word, they would see that they could hardly labour under a more unfortunate and mischievous misapprehension than when they imagine that their willingness here exceeds His.
Now, because men do not properly appreciate His willingness to save, and because it is not appreciated by Christians as it should be, your attention is called to this text. You observe that it not only asserts His willingness to save, but asserts it in the most emphatic way: "Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out."
Strickler also calls our attention to the invitations of Christ to sinners to come to Him and be saved.
Do you want an invitation so comprehensive that you may be sure that you are embraced in its wide compass? There are a number in the Scriptures, as for instance, "The Spirit and the Bride say come, and let him that heareth say come, and let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Can you conceive of an invitation that would more certainly include you than that invitation does, if you desire to be saved? Why, if you had an invitation addressed to your own name and to your present place of residence, you could not be so certain that it was intended for you as you may be that that invitation is intended for you, for while there may have been no one of your name in the past living just where you now do, there might be such a one in the future, and, therefore, you could not be sure but that the invitation might be intended for him instead of yourself; but when the invitation is to "whosoever is willing," and you are conscious that you are willing, you know that it is your privilege to accept it. Richard Baxter, it is said, thanked God that the invitations of the Scriptures were not addressed to Richard Baxter, for he did not know how many Richard Baxters there were in the world; and, therefore, they might be intended for some other Richard Baxter instead of for himself; but he rejoiced that they were addressed to "whosoever is willing," for he was conscious that he was willing, and therefore was sure that it was his privilege to embrace them. The invitations, then, are a strong proof of Christ's willingness to save.
Christ is indeed willing to save reluctant sinners. Strickler lays out many demonstrations of this fact. Let this be an encouragement to sinners, who typically over-estimate their own willingness to come to the Savior and under-estimate the Savior's willingness to embrace sinners. to avail themselves of the grace of God in Christ Jesus - there will never be a better, and a more sincere and willing, offer of salvation.
Thomas Dwight Witherspoon on the Importance of Building a Relationship with Your Children
Thomas Dwight Witherspoon was a 19th-century Presbyterian pastor who ministered in Oxford, MS, and Memphis, TN, among other places. We have published his summary of Presbyterian church government in the booklet The Five Points of Presbyterianism. But he also had much wisdom for Christian parents in his book Children of the Covenant. The following paragraphs come from a section in which he is unpacking several difficulties that he believes lie at the root of why we do not see more conversions among our covenant children:
But a third difficulty, and one far more subversive of the great end of the family relation, is found in the failure of Christian parents to cultivate perfect freedom of communication, and intimacy of relationship, with their children. Many parents never seem to win the confidence of their children at all. They never come into confidential relations with them. The most intimate thoughts of the child's mind, the most sacredly cherished emotions of its heart, are never communicated to the parent. Between father, or mother, and child, there is an unnatural barrier of reserve—a wall of mutual separation. The few communications as to its inner life, which the natural yearnings of the child lead it to make, are treated with indifference, or, perhaps, made the occasion of severe rebuke.
At all events, they do not meet with the proper encourageinent, and its timid nature recoils upon itself. Henceforth, these deep experiences are concealed from parental view. As the nature unfolds, and the confiding spirit of early childhood begins to give place to the reserve and coyness of youth, there comes a studied habit of concealment. The parent sees only the outer life of the child. Its inner nature is a hidden mystery. And there are now long constituted and strengthened barriers to intimate and confidential intercourse, which can never be overcome, however much the parent may strive to secure the end.
And yet, how miserably has that parent failed to secure the true end of the family relationship, whose child respects him, fears him, obeys him, and, it may be, loves him, with a kind of distant, reverential affection; but whose bosom has never become the repository of the joys and sorrows of his child; whose heart never beats in conscious accord with the deep and yearning sympathies of its nature; to whom the most tender and sacred experiences of its young life are all a sealed book! How can such a parent exert over his child the influence which God designed him to exert? How can such a house, (for home it does not deserve to be called,) witness anything else than the growth into manhood and womanhood, of children who are virtually orphans in the world, and who, like waifs of the sea, are liable to be "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine"—the easy sport of circumstances, the strong anchorage in the family circle being totally wanting?
How easy it is in early childhood to gain this intimacy and confidence to which I have referred. The little child naturally seeks to confide everything to its parent. Let but the slightest encouragement be given; let the little one only feel that there is a loving heart ready to sympathize with it; to rejoice with it; to solve patiently its difficulties; to bear forgiveingly with its wrongs, and to lead it kindly by the hand through all the perplexities of its path; and how naturally, how unreservedly does it cast itself upon the bosom that seeks its confidence, and pour out there the very deepest and most sacred thoughts and feelings of its heart.
And who shall say what advantage such a parent will have, in the training of his child! He is like the physician who has had the full diagnosis of the disease he is to treat. He Is like the lawyer to whom the client has fully unburdened his case. He knows how to direct the mind and mould the character of his child; and at the same time, as the result of this loving intimacy, he acquires an influence over it — the influence of mind over mind, and of heart over heart — the blessed results of which it is impossible to estimate.
-- Thomas Dwight Witherspoon, Children of the Covenant, 198ff.
Tribute to James McLeod Willson
James McLeod Willson, son of James Renwick Willson, both eminent Reformed Presbyterian pastors and theologians, entered into glory on this day, August 31, 1866.
Born in 1809, J.M. Willson was a very gifted pupil of his father, who went on to graduate from Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1829. After some years as an educator, he was licensed and ordained by the Southern Presbytery of the RPCNA in 1834. He served a pastorate in Philadelphia for many years, some of them in conjunction with duties as Professor of Theology at Allegheny Seminary of the RPCNA. He edited both The Covenanter, and its later title, the Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter, magazines. He also authored a number of important works, such as:
The Deacon;
Bible Magistracy;
Civil Government: An Exposition of Rom. 13.1-7 (reprinted by American Vision in 2009);and
The True Psalmody (as chairman of the joint RPCNA-UPCNA committee that published it).
He wrote other important works as well, and did much to serve the church as a writer and teacher, as well as a pastor. Many consider The True Psalmody to be the best defense of exclusive psalmody ever written.
David Smith, a ruling elder who served with Dr. Willson, wrote a tribute to him which has appeared in the December 1866 issue of The Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter, and in the 1867 volume of Joseph M. Wilson's The Presbyterian Almanac and Annual Remembrancer. Smith wrote:
"Prof. Willson was an 'Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile.' His whole life gave evidence of this....He took a deep interest in all the public schemes of the Church; he was eminently public-spirited. He took an active part in promoting the interests of our Foreign Mission, as well as the Domestic and Freedman's Missions. He early identified himself with the cause of abolition in Philadelphia in the days of its trial. The humble edifice in Cherry Street below Eleventh, in which he ministered, was for many years the only building that could be obtained in the city for abolition meetings...As an American, he loved his country, and was her earnest friend in her time of peril. As a Covenanter, he could not approve her relation to the name and Church of Christ, nor identify himself with her, yet when her very existence was endangered he separated between the national life which was at stake and the form of government which is subject to change. He died as he lived a firm dissenter from the present Constitution."
We remember this man today, an "Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile."
An Upcoming Publication of Log College Press!
Here's a sneak peek at the cover of one of our upcoming publications, Lord willing: Aging in Grace: Letters to Those in the Autumn of Life, by Archibald Alexander. It will consist of five letters (originally styled "Letters to the Aged" by Alexander) that appeared in the third edition of Thoughts on Religious Experiences. Anyone dealing with the infirmities of encroaching frailty and death (i.e., everyone) will be richly encouraged by Alexander's counsel. I hope that this booklet will be a blessing especially to the seniors in our congregations, who can sometimes be overlooked in pastoral ministry in favor of those younger. Alexander isn't afraid of speaking truth into difficult situations, so he names some of the sins peculiar to old age, and speaks frankly - yet hopefully - of death for the believer. We'll let you know once we've published it; and be on the lookout, it may even be a free ebook giveaway at some point!
The Monitory Letters
Although published anonymously, the author of Monitory Letters to Church Members (1855) was William Buell Sprague. These are the letters of a watchman for the souls of his flock, and they address challenging issues that were prevalent in the 19th century, and no less so today.
Contained in this volume are a series of 22 letters written to address subjects that reflect a declination in serious religion. Among those persons and topics addressed are:
- Those who undervalue divine truth;
- Those who willfully skip the second worship service on the Lord's Day;
- Those who would send their children to dancing school (Sprague does not argue that dancing is sinful);
- Those who neglect family worship;
- Those who travel excessively on the Lord's Day;
- Those who neglect mid-week services;
- Those who are stingy and censorious (overly-critical);
- Those who are impatient, complaining, fickle, bigoted, neglectful, and irreverent;
- Those who lack parental involvement and oversight; and
- Those who would send their children to a Roman Catholic school.
Sprague means here to uphold the sanctity of the Lord's Day, the virtue and importance of family worship, the graces of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life, the appreciation of true religion, and the wholesomeness of the home. Not all in our day will agree with his position on all issues. But these letters remind us of the seriousness of the issues which are pastorally addressed. They are not to be lightly dismissed.
Three of the letters speak to the subject of family worship. The second letter, in particular, addresses the Scriptural warrant for its duty and practice. All of them are valuable incentives to experimental piety, which Sprague aimed at in all of his writings.
Take time to read over these monitory letters. You may not be the addressee, but they may still convict the 21st century reader and stir him or her unto a serious apprehension of our duties before God and man.
Grace Abounds
"It is as easy for him to save a great as a small sinner. No one was ever saved because his sins were small; no one was ever rejected on account of the greatness of his sins. Where sin abounded, grace shall much more abound. If your guilt is very enormous, the greater honour will redound to that Deliverer who plucks such a brand from the burning. 'Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.'" -- Archibald Alexander, "Sinners Welcome to Come to Jesus Christ" in Practical Truths, p. 164
Sermon Illustrations by an American 'Prince of the Pulpit'
Like Charles Spurgeon in his Lectures to My Students, Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832-1902), dubbed 'The American Spurgeon' by the newspapers, has left us a remarkable resource on the topic of sermon illustrations.
"Points;" or, Suggestive Passages, Incidents, and Illustrations, From the Writings of T. De Witt Talmage, D.D. was published in 1874 and its contents reveal the preacher's remarkable ability to paint a picture with words and give his hearers substance to ponder.
BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS. -- There is hardly a beast, or bird, or insect, which has not been called to illustrate divine truth. The ox's patience, the ant's industry, the spider's skill, the hind's sure-footedness, the eagle's speed, the dove's gentleness, and even the sparrow's meanness and insignificance.
PEARLS FROM GREAT DEPTHS. -- I have been told that the deeper the water the larger the pearl. I don't know how that is, but I do know that from the greatest depths of sin the Lord Jesus Christ sometimes gathers up His brightest jewels. Paul was a persecutor, Bunyan was a blasphemer, John Newton a libertine, the Earl of Rochester was an infidel; and yet the grace of God went plunging down through the fathoms of their abomination, until it found them and brought them up to the light.
JEWELS OF GOD'S GRACE. -- The geologist tells you that the brightest diamond is only crystallized carbon, or, as I might call it, charcoal glorified; and so it is with souls that were coal black in the defilements of sin - by the power of God's grace they are made God's jewels for ever.
DON'T WORRY. -- Don't worry because God made you different from others. Don't worry because you don't have the faith of that man, or the praying qualities of this, or the singing qualities of another. It were as unwise as for a carnelian to blush deeper because it is not a diamond, or a japonica to fret all the colour out of its cheek because it is not a rose. God intended you to be different.
THE BEAUTY OF GOD'S CARE FOR US. -- More beautiful than any flower I ever saw are the hues of a bird's plumage. Did you ever examine it? The blackbird, floating like a flake of darkness through the sunlight; the meadow-lark, with head of fawn, and throat of velvet, and breast of gold; the red flamingo flying over the Southern swamps, like sparks from the forge of the setting sun; the pelican white and black - morning and night tangled in its wings - give but a very faint idea of the beauty that comes down over the soul when on it drop the feathers of the Almighty.
There are many other "talking points" for ministers to be studied and considered. They may serve as inspiration for more. Rather utilizing a table of contents in the front of the book, look instead for the index of topics at the back of the book. It is a resource that can benefit 21st century pastors as it did their counterparts in the 19th century.
Daniel Baker’s Prayer on the Eve of His Being Licensed to Preach the Gospel
Daniel Baker wrote this prayer in his journal on October 12, 1816, during the week preceding his licensure. He was twenty-five years old and had been studying for the ministry under William Hill of Winchester, Virginia, after graduating from Princeton College. These words ought to express the heart of every gospel minister:
“In the prospect of my being licensed in the coming week, I have set apart this day, by fasting and prayer, to draw near unto the Lord I am now about to go forth to preach the everlasting gospel to poor, perishing sinners; to proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. O, may I go forth in the strength of the mighty One of Jacob, and lift my banner in the name of the Captain of my salvation! I know that my duties will be arduous, and I am sensible that I am not sufficient for these things; but I know in whom I trust; it is not in myself, it is not in any atm of flesh - it is in the living God, the merciful and covenant-keeping God, who has been pleased to say, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength shall be made perfect in weakness.’ To thee, O my God, do I commit myself, and again would I solemnly renew the dedication of myself and my all to thy service. O condescend to accept the unworthy offering, and lay me out for thy glory. I ask not to be rich in silver and gold, and to be admired and caressed; I ask to be rich in faith and good works, and to be blessed and owned in my labors of love. I ask not to be exempted from grievous trials and persecutions, but I ask grace to glorify thee in the hour of trial; grace to be useful, grace to be triumphant in death, and grace to reach, at length, the Mount Zion above, where I may forever sing the triumphs of my dearest Lord. To thee, O my God, do I now commit my way; be pleased to direct my paths, for the Redeemer’s sake. Amen.”
— Life and Labors of Daniel Baker, by William M. Baker, Pages 91-92
Friday Funny
Eleanor Butler Roosevelt (née Alexander) (1888-1960) was the wife of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. (1887-1944) and the great-grandchild of Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) and Janetta Alexander (née Waddel) (1782-1852). Janetta's father was the famed Blind Preacher of Virginia, James Waddel (1739-1805).
Eleanor Roosevelt wrote a 1959 book titled Day Before Yesterday: The Reminiscences of Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. in which she recounted an anecdote from the courtship of Archibald Alexander and Janetta Waddel.
"When he asked for her hand in marriage her father said, 'There is something I think I should tell you about Janetta's suitability as the wife of a clergyman. While her Latin is excellent and her Greek good, her Hebrew leaves much to be desired."
Cane of Orthodoxy
Missionaries from Princeton were actively working in Hawaii in the early 19th century. A chief of the Sandwich Islands (as Hawaii was then known) sent a gift to Princeton, a cane or walking-stick carved from whalebone, by way of one of those missionaries in the 1820's with instructions to "present it to your chief," that is, Dr. Archibald Alexander.
It was a treasured memento, which Alexander, on his death bed, bequeathed to Dr. Charles Hodge, who recorded the event afterwards thus: "He then, with a smile, handed me a white bone walking-stick, carved and presented to him by one of the chiefs of the Sandwich islands, and said, 'You must leave this to your successor in office, that it may be handed down as a kind of symbol of orthodoxy'" (J.W. Alexander, Life of Archibald Alexander, pp. 605-606).
The cane was passed "metaphorically" to A.A. Hodge by Charles and the Princeton trustees in 1878 when A.A. Hodge was appointed as his father's successor. It was again "symbolically" passed on to B.B. Warfield upon the death of A.A. Hodge in 1886 (Paul C. Gutjahr, Charles Hodge: Guardian of American Orthodoxy, pp. 378-380).
Today the cane resides in the Special Collections Department of the Princeton Theological Seminary library as a "kind of symbol of orthodoxy."
For the Children: Two Valuable Books that Parents Should Read
Log College Press has recently added two books to the site which will be of interest especially to parents.
The first is The Children of the Church, and Sealing Ordinances by Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater (1813-1883). First published in the Jan. 1857 issue of The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review, then reprinted in 1858, slightly expanded and revised, as a separate volume by the Presbyterian Board of Publication, this work examines the place of children in the church and their relationship to the two sacraments which Christ has instituted for church. This is an excellent little study for parents of children of the covenant.
"It is in Zion that the children of the Church are born to newness of life. Since He has promised to be their God, it is in training them as if they were his; as if it were alone congruous with their position to walk as his children in faith, love, hope, and all holy obedience, that we are to look for that inworking Spirit, and out-working holiness, commensurate with their years, which shall seal them as sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. This is what we believe to be the blessed significance and intent of infant baptism. This is what we have at heart in writing these pages..."
The author is described by Paul C. Gutjahr thus: "Lyman Atwater enjoyed a long career at Princeton College, serving on its faculty from 1854 until his death in 1883. Although his students fondly lampooned his pear-like shape, they considered him an outstanding teacher in his courses on logic and moral philosophy. He co-edited the Repertory in its various forms from 1869 to 1878 and contributed more than 110 articles to its pages, making him one of the most prolific defenders of Old School Calvinism in the nineteenth century" (Charles Hodge: Guardian of American Orthodoxy, p. 348).
The next book contains an introduction by Atwater, but is primarily the work of William Scribner (1820-1884) (Scribner was the brother of Charles Scribner (1821-1871), who became head of the publishing firm eventually known as Charles Scribner's Sons). It is titled Pray For Your Children; or, An Appeal to Parents to Pray Continually for the Welfare and Salvation of Their Children (1873). Divided into two parts, eight reasons are given to motivate parents to desire and pray for the salvation of their children, and a further eight reasons are given to stir up parents to further pray for God's blessings upon their young ones.
The first eight reasons are listed here to whet the appetite of parents who love the souls of their children. (Read the rest of this book here.)
- Pray for the salvation of your children, because their salvation is so great a prize that it is worth all the pains which your prayers to secure it for them may cost you.
- Pray for the salvation of your children, because few will pray for it if you do not.
- Pray for the salvation of your children, because none others can pray for it as you can.
- Pray for the salvation of your children, because your omitting to do so will be perilous to them and to you.
- Pray for the salvation of your children, because you will then find it easier to perform other parental duties on the performance of which God has conditioned their salvation.
- Pray for the renewing of the souls of your children, because prayer alone can call into exercise that divine power in their behalf which is absolutely necessary in order that the means which you may employ for their salvation may not be used in vain.
- Pray for the salvation of your children, because by their salvation, granted in answer to your prayers, the divine Saviour will be glorified.
- Pray for the salvation of your children because you have a strong encouragement and incentive to do so in the express promise of God that, if you are faithful to your trust, he will be their God, and will save them.
Three Important But Forgotten Works on Ecclesiology by Robert Jefferson Breckinridge
Three works by Robert Jefferson Breckinridge (The Christian Pastor; Presbyterian Government, Not a Hierarcy, but a Commonwealth; and Presbyterian Ordination, Not a Charm, but an Act of Government) have been all but forgotten by modern Presbyterians. And yet, thanks to the reviewing work of James Henley Thornwell in the Southern Presbyterian Review, and the Biblical power of Breckinridge's ideas, much (though certainly not all) of what he believed has found its way into the Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church in America, and perhaps other American Presbyterian denominations (for instance, the right of rulings elders to lay hands on teaching elders being ordained and the need for ruling elders to make up a quorum of a church court are practices the PCA takes for granted, yet Breckinridge had to contend strenuously for them). Written in the middle of the debate over the nature and function of the ruling elder in the Old School Presbyterian Church in the 1840s (other authors who contributed to this debate include Thornwell, Thomas Smyth, and Charles Hodge), these works are worthy of your time. If you've never read these short treatises, you can find them here.
Learning to Be Thoughtful
In his 1898 volume titled Young People's Problems, J.R. Miller addresses the need for Christians to be thoughtful, gentle people. This is certainly as true today, in the age of social media, as it was over a century ago. Let us consider then what Miller has to say to young persons, and indeed all Christians in these extracts:
One of the finest things in a complete Christian character is thoughtfulness. It gives a wondrous charm to a life. It makes one a benediction wherever he goes. It tempers all his conduct, softening all natural harshness into gentleness, and giving to his every word and act, and to all his bearing, a spirit of kindliness.
A thoughtful person does not have to be asked to help others — he helps, as it were, instinctively. He is ever ready to do the obliging thing, to say the encouraging word, to show an interest in the life of others, to perform those countless little kindnesses which so brighten the common pathway. He does not make his life an offence to others, a constant irritating influence. He never meddles with other persons' affairs, but respects the individuality and the rights of every one. He curbs his curiosity, and does not pry into matters of which he has no right to know. He is most careful not to touch others at sensitive points. If any one has a physical deformity or any feature which is marred, he is careful in conversation never to refer to it, and seems never to notice it, or to be conscious of it.
Thoughtfulness reveals itself quite as much in what it does not do as in the things it does. Many people make their very goodness so obtrusive as to do harm, and give pain to those they would help. They are too anxious to be helpful. They intrude upon others, pressing their offers of kindness upon them in ways which become, if not offensive and impertinent, at least burdensome. When their friends are in sorrow, they are sincerely eager to give comfort; but they fail to understand the sacredness of grief, or to respect the craving of sad hearts for quiet, and allow their eagerness to become intrusiveness. There is no more delicate test of thoughtfulness than that which sorrow furnishes. Usually love's sweetest and best service then is rendered in the quietest expression of sympathy, certainly with no undue pressing of one's self into the presence of the friends who are in trouble, and with no over-eager offer to help. Then, unless from personal experience of grief one has been prepared for giving effective sympathy, one would better not seek to be a privileged comforter.
Thoughtfulness has a wide field for its ministry in the family circle and in the daily household life. Perhaps few young people come by this grace naturally, are born with it. Usually it has to be learned. Most of us think first of ourselves and our own comfort and convenience, and are not apt to think how our words, acts, and dispositions will affect others. We say what at the moment we feel like saying, not stopping to ask whether it will give pleasure or pain to those who must hear it. We like to say, saying it too with some pride, that we are plain, frank people, honest and out-spoken, not indulging in courtly phrases, but sincere though brusque, not realizing that our brusqueness and plainness ofttimes hurt gentle hearts. We do the thing we feel inclined to do, because it pleases us, not remembering that true love seeks not its own, but thinks first of the comfort and pleasure of others. Without being aware of it, many of us are miserably selfish in our life among others. We practically forget that there are any other people, or that we ought to make any sacrifices, or practise any self-denials, for their sake. Young people at home, for example, will indulge themselves in sleep in the mornings, coming down late to breakfast, not thinking of the trouble they cause to those who have to do the work, nor how they interfere with the order of the household. Thoughtfulness seeks never to add to another's burdens, never to make extra work or care, but always to lighten loads.
In much home conversation, too, there is a lack of thoughtfulness shown. Not always is the speech gentle — sometimes it is sharp and bitter, even rude. Playfulness is to be allowed, and in every family there should be a readiness to take a jest without being hurt by it. Over-sensitiveness is a serious fault. Some persons are so touchy as to demand an excessive thoughtfulness —a watchfulness in all our relations with these over-gentle souls which is unreasonable, which makes friendship with them a burden. Life is too short, and has too many real duties and cares, for us to be held to such exactions of attention and kindness as these good people would demand. Yet always in our relations with others there should be that refined courtesy which is part of the lesson of love that we learn from our Master — "As I have loved you." Rude words never should be spoken, even in jest.
Thoughtfulness will seek always to say kindly words, never words that will give pain, but ever those that will give pleasure. We have no right, for the sake of saying a bright thing, to let loose a shaft, however polished, that will make a loving heart bleed.
These are fragments of a lesson which might be indefinitely extended. Are you thoughtful? — that is the question. Answer it for yourself. Some one has said, "Unless our religion has sweetened us to a very considerable extent — giving us the control of our temper, checked us in our moments of irritation and weakness, enabled us to meet misfortune and, in a measure, overcome it, developed within us the virtues of patience and long-suffering, making us tender and charitable in our judgments of others, and generally diffusing about us an atmosphere that is genial and winsome, — whatever else we may have gained, one thing is sure, religion is not having its perfect work in us; and, even though our Christian life is clear and positive, it is only as a gnarled and twisted apple-tree that bears no fruit, only as a prickly bush that bears no roses, and the very thing which of all others we should have is the very thing in which we are most deficient. A Christian life without sweetness is a lamp without light, salt without savor."
We all know in our own experience the value of sincere and Christly thoughtfulness. We do not like to come in contact with thoughtlessness. We know well how it hurts and how unbeautiful, how unchristian, it seems when we see it in another, and when our heart is the one that suffers from its harsh, rude impact. We all long for thoughtfulness; our hearts hunger and thirst for it. It is bread and wine to us.
We all know in our own experience the value of sincere and Christly thoughtfulness. We do not like to come in contact with thoughtlessness. We know well how it hurts and how unbeautiful, how unchristian, it seems when we see it in another, and when our heart is the one that suffers from its harsh, rude impact. We all long for thoughtfulness ; our hearts hunger and thirst for it. It is bread and wine to us.
What we long for in others, in their relation to us, we should be ready to give to them. What in others hurts us, gives us pain, we ought to avoid in our contact with others. Thoughtfulness is one of the finest, ripest fruits of love, and all who would be like the Master must seek to learn this lesson and wear this grace.
At the Feet of Christ and His Church
In an earlier blog post, James Madison McDonald's histories of the First Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, Long Island, New York were highlighted. That church was founded in 1662, and was represented as the first Presbyterian Church in America. The story of that church is a fascinating one, well worth reading, but further digging has identified (what is not news to scholars, but may be of interest to amateur church historians such as this writer) an additional eight Presbyterian congregations in America, which preceded the 1662 Jamaica congregation.
The earlier Presbyterian congregations, almost all of which were planted on Long Island, include those founded in Southampton (1640); Southold (1640); Hempstead (1643); East Hampton (1648); New Castle, Delaware (1651); Newtown (1652); Huntington (1658); and Setauket (1660).
Interestingly, in the early days of these Long Island congregations, the first pastors and members were of British, not Scotch-Irish, heritage. In the case of Southampton, it was a Puritan group of settlers who left Lynn, Massachusetts in the spring of 1640 to settle Long Island. Before their departure, colonists prepared a "Declaration of the Company" (a little-known document, which merits comparison with the Mayflower Compact) in which the signers stated that "Our true interest and meaning is that when our Plantation is laid out by those appointed that there shall be a Church gathered and constituted according to the mind of Christ, that there we do freely lay down our power of ordering and disposing of the Plantation and of receiving inhabitants thereof or any other thing that may tend to the good and welfare of the inhabitants at the feet of Christ and His Church."
After the Dutch pushed this group out of the west side of the island, they landed at Conscience Point, on the east side, where they founded the first English settlement in the state of New York, in June 1640. Although the founding of the church dates to that event, its first pastor, Abraham Pierson, Sr. (c. 1611-1678), did not arrive until November 1640. The story of this church is told by Randall Lee Saxon, At the Ffeete of Christe and His Church: An Historical Sketch of the First Presbyterian Church in America.
Meanwhile, Founders Landing in Southold commemorates the October 1640 landing of a group of Puritans from New Haven, Connecticut, led by the British-born Rev. John Youngs. The timing of these two events has led to a dispute over which church is properly considered to be "the first Presbyterian church in America."
Regardless, the Puritan origins of Long Island Presbyterianism (the first American presbytery was the Presbytery of Philadelphia, but the Long Island Presbytery was constituted as part of the Synod of Philadelphia by 1717) is an important aspect of early American Presbyterianism that is worthy of our study.
The Sermons of Moses Hoge are on the Log College Press website
ne of the early preachers of the American Presbyterian church was Moses Hoge, a student under William Graham and later James Waddel. He became the President of Hampden-Sydney College in 1807, and helped lay the foundation for Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. His sermons were renowned for their eloquence and erudition. Here are the first ten sermons in this volume (there are twenty-two more!):
Ministerial Piety - 1 Corinthians 9:21.
The Demonstration of the Spirit - 1 Corinthians 2:4
Mysteries of Redemption - 1 Peter 1:12.
The Origin of Sin - Romans 5:19
The Carnal Mind - Romans 8:6
The Gospel Worthy of all Acceptation - 1 Timothy 1:15
Glorying in the Cross - Galatians 6:14
Cordial Faith - Romans 10:10
Purifying Hope - 1 John 3:3
The Excellence of things Unseen and Eternal - II Corinthians 4:18
The preaching of 19th century American Presbyterians was often more textual and topical than what we understand as expositional preaching today. They would take a verse or snippet of a verse, explain its meaning in its immediate context, and then unpack and apply that meaning to their people from many different angles. Each sermon is more of what we would think of as an in-depth theological study of a particular topic, but they were never merely for theology's sake. Rather, the goal was the conversion of the lost, and the transformation of the found, through the knowledge of the truth. Download this volume today to go back in time to the pews of an early 19th-century father of American Presbyterianism.
19th Century Commentaries at Log College Press
If you're starting a new sermon series this fall, make sure to check out the Commentaries page on the Log College Press website to see if a 19th century American Presbyterian has written on the book through which you plan to preach. The Princeton theologians, Joseph Addison Alexander and Charles Hodge, have the most studies of Scripture on our site, but a total of twenty-one authors so far are listed - and surely we'll find more to add.
The Happy Man's Pedigree
William Mills (1739-1774) was a graduate of Princeton, who became pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, Long Island, New York, one of the first Presbyterian churches in America. As part of his ministry, he wrote tracts, such as the Bunyan-like one below, which can be found in James Madison McDonald, Two Centuries in the History of the Presbyterian Church, Jamaica, L.I.; The Oldest Existing Church, of the Presbyterian Name, in America (1862), pp. 182-183.
The Happy Man's Pedigree
The HAPPY MAN, was born in the City of Regeneration — in the parish of Repentance unto Life: he was educated at the School of Obedience, and lives now in Perseverance: he works at the trade of Diligence, notwithstanding he has a large estate in the county of Christian Contentment; and many times does jobs of Self-Denial; he wears the plain garment of Humility, and has a better suit to put on when he goes to Court, called the Robe of Christ’s Righteousness; he often walks in the valley of Self-Abasement, and sometimes climbs the mountain of Spiritual-Mindedness; he breakfasts every morning upon Spiritual Prayer, and sups every evening on the same; he has Meat to eat that the world knows not of, and his Drink is the sincere Milk of the Word: — Thus, happy he lives, and happy he dies. Happy is he who has Gospel Submission in his will — due order in his affection — sound peace in his conscience — Sanctifying Grace in his soul-real Divinity in his breast — true Humility in his heart — the Redeemer’s yoke on his neck — a vain world under his feet — and a crown of Glory over his head. Happy is the life of such an one: — In order to attain which — Pray frequently — Believe firmly wait patiently — work abundantly — live Holily — die daily — watch your hearts — guide your senses — redeem your time — love Christ — and long for Glory.