More by Samuel Miller on Creeds and Confessions

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It was earlier this year that Log College Press announced the publication of a new edition of Samuel Miller on The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions, a bicentennial tribute (originally published in 1824) to a classic work on an important topic. Meanwhile, we have been reviewing some recently digitized materials, which include The Watchman of the South (edited by William Swan Plumer and The Presbyterian (beginning in 1831, and edited by James Waddel Alexander in 1832-1833). Among the many interesting materials we have located in the pages of these journals is a 5-part series of articles by Samuel Miller titled “Creeds and Confessions” that appeared in first in The Watchman of the South (August-September 1838) and was republished in The Presbyterian (September-October 1838). Written in the midst of the church that split the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) between the Old School and the New School, Miller brings his earlier-published arguments in favor of the imperative both to have sound creeds and confessions, and to maintain an appropriate standard of subscription to the same to bear on the questions that were being discussed with great fervency at the time.

The third article in the series is of particular interest because it examines the question of departures from the orthodox creed in an ecclesiastical context. Appeals to higher judicatories, and review of lower court rulings by the supreme judicatory are addressed by Miller, along with — by way of example — the question of secession in the American political context. The fifth and final article Miller delves into the specifics of what sort of level of confessional subscription is required to achieve its desired purpose of maintaining a defense of the truth, as the church is called to do, while balancing the individual consciences of some who might have scruples about “lesser” points of doctrine addressed in the creed.

Throughout this series Miller writes as a “teacher and watchman on the walls of Zion” who is concerned to protect the body of Christ from dangerous error. He assures the reader that the points he is making in his case for creeds and standards of subscription are just what he has taught for two and a half decades prior at Princeton Theological Seminary — that is, they are no new teachings, but rather he is standing on solid precedent. The historical examples of prior ecclesiastical bodies such as the Council of Nicaea and the Westminster Assembly and their efforts to fence out Arianism and Arminianism are discussed in some measure and referenced to show why confessional boundaries are needed.

Both sets of articles are now available on Log College Press to members of the Dead Presbyterians Society and can be found on the Early Access page. They are presented to the reader in raw form, which means that the title page of each issue precedes the article in question, and there is much contemporary material around Miller’s articles that may also interest the reader who appreciates the historical context of the day (for example, there is discussion of a New School convention held in Farmville, Virginia, including a letter by George Addison Baxter regarding his assessment of that convention).

These articles have never been republished since 1838 to the best of our knowledge and therefore will be of interest both to readers who appreciate the careful and sound theological scholarship of Samuel Miller, and those who share his concern and passion for the church as the repository of Biblical truth. Tolle lege!

John Rodgers Davies: A "Wond'rous Miniature of Man"

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Be deeply affected with the corruption of nature in your children. For as no man will value a Savior for himself who is not convinced of the sin and misery which he must be saved from, so you must be sensible of your children’s sins, or else you cannot labor for their salvation. When your sweet babes are born, you rejoice to find that in God’s book all their members are written. But you should be sensible of that body of sin they are born with, and that by nature they are young atheists and infidels, haters of God, blasphemers, whoremongers, liars, thieves, and murderers. For they are naturally inclined to these and all other sins, and are by nature children of the wrath of the infinite God. And being convinced of us, you will find that your chief care of them should be to save them from this dreadful state of sin and misery. — Edward Lawrence, Parents’ Concerns For Their Unsaved Children (1681, 2003), p. 33

This little story may not have a happy ending; not all stories do. Only the Searcher of hearts knows the full story though. 

Samuel Davies, the great Presbyterian “Apostle of Virginia” and President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), who himself — like his Biblical namesake — was a "child of prayer," was married twice. His first wife, Sarah Kirkpatrick, died in childbirth in September 1747, along with their infant son, less than one year after the couple was married. Davies married Jane Holt of Williamsburg in October 1748, and they had a total of six children — three boys who survived to adulthood, two daughters likewise, and one daughter who died in infancy. 

On August 20, 1752, John Rodgers Davies, named for a dear friend of Samuel, John Rodgers (1727-1811), entered the world. His father wrote a poem upon the occasion: "On the Birth of John Rodgers Davies, the Author's Third Son." 

Thou little wond'rous miniature of man,
Form'd by unerring Wisdom's perfect plan;
Thou little stranger, from eternal night
Emerging into life's immortal light;
Thou heir of worlds unknown, thou candidate
For an important everlasting state,
Where this your embryo shall its pow'rs expand,
Enlarging, rip'ning still, and never stand.

...
Another birth awaits thee, when the hour
Arrives that lands thee on th'eternal shore;
(And O! 'tis near, with winged haste 'twill come,
Thy cradle rocks toward the neighb'ring tomb;)

...
 A being now begun, but ne'er to end,
What boding fears a father's heart torment,
Trembling and armons for the grand event,
Lest thy young soul so late by heav'n bestow'd
Forget her father, and forget her God!

...   
Maker of souls! Avert so dire a doom,
Or snatch her back to native nothing's gloom!

Davies treasured his children as gifts of God for which he and Jane were designated stewards, assigning great worth to their eternal souls, and thus took great pains in his household to lead family worship and to educate his children himself. 

"There is nothing," he writes to his friend, "that can wound a parent's heart so deeply, as the thought that he should bring up children to dishonor his God here, and be miserable hereafter. I beg your prayers for mine, and you may expect a return in the same kind." In another letter he says, "We have now three sons and two daughters, whose young minds, as they open, I am endeavoring to cultivate with my own hand, unwilling to trust them to a stranger; and I find the business of education much more difficult than 1 expected. My dear little creatures sob and drop a tear now and then under my instructions, but I am not so happy as to see them under deep and lasting impressions of religion; and this is the greatest grief they afford me. Grace cannot be communicated by natural descent; and if it could, they would receive but little from me." — John Rice Holt, Memoir of the Rev. Samuel Davies (1832), p. 106

One might think that the children of such a humble, godly minister of the gospel as Samuel Davies was known to be might excel in piety themselves. The picture we are given of their trajectories in life is not as inspiring as we would wish, however. 

Jane Holt Davies, known to Samuel affectionately as "Chara" (Greek for joy or happiness), is believed to have died in Virginia sometime after 1785. 

William (b. August 3, 1749) served in the American army in the War of Independence and rose to the rank of colonel. He was a man of gifted intellect, but of "loose and unsettled" religious opinions.

From this gentleman [Capt. William Craighead] the writer learned that Col. Davies always spoke with high respect of the character and talents of his father; but his own religious opinions seemed to be loose and unsettled. He expressed the opinion that the Presbyterian religion was not well adapted to the mass of mankind, as having too little ceremony and attractiveness; and, on this account, he thought the Romanists possessed a great advantage. He was never connected, so far as is known, with any religious denomination; and, it is probable, did not regularly attend public worship. His death must have occurred before the close of the last century, but in what particular year is not known. He died, however, in the meridian of life.*

Samuel (b. September 28, 1750), who in appearance resembled his father and namesake, was "indolent" in business and ultimately moved to Tennessee where he died in obscurity. 

The only child of Samuel Davies who made a public profession of faith was a daughter who lived in the Petersburg, Virginia area. 

Concerning John Rodgers Davies, the report we have is not encouraging. 

The third son, John R. Davies, was bred a lawyer, and practised law in the counties of Amelia, Dinwiddie, Prince George, &c. He was a man of good talents, and succeeded well in his profession; but he had some singularities of character, which rendered him unpopular. As to religion, there is reason to fear that he was sceptical, as he never attended public worship, and professed never to have read any of his father’s writings. An old lady of the Episcopal church, in Amelia, informed the writer, that he frequented her house, and was sociable, which he was not with many persons. As she had heard his father preach, had derived profit from his ministry, and was fond of his printed sermons, she took the liberty of asking Mr. Davies whether he had ever read these writings. He answered that he had not. At another time she told him that she had one request to make, with which he must not refuse compliance. He promised that he would be ready to perform any thing within his power to oblige her. Her request was that he would seriously peruse the poem which his father wrote on the occasion of his birth. “Madam,” said he, “you have imposed on me a hard service.” Whether he ever complied with the request is not known. About the year 1799 the writer was in Sussex county, and in the neighbourhood where this gentleman had a plantation, on which he had recently taken up his residence. Those of the vicinity, who professed any religion, were Methodists; their meetings however he never attended, always giving as a reason that he was a Presbyterian. But now a Presbyterian minister had come into the neighbourhood, and was invited to preach in a private house, almost within sight of Mr. Davies; he was informed of the fact, and was earnestly requested to attend. He declined on one pretext or another; but on being importuned to walk over and hear one of his own ministers, he said, “If my own father was to be the preacher, I would not go.” And again, “If Paul was to preach there, I would not attend.”*

John Rodgers Davies died unmarried in Virginia in 1832. There is no indication in the historical record that he ever embraced the faith of his father.

As Davies said, "Grace cannot be communicated by natural descent." It is undoubtedly a great blessing for children to be raised in a godly home. Although covenant promises give us great reason to hope, there is no guarantee that godly parents will necessarily have godly children. He died in 1761 so the oldest of his children, William, would have been but eleven years old, and the lack of fatherly guidance in their teenage years is factor not to be ignored when taking stock of the childrens’ spiritual state in adulthood. But however the state of affairs may fall out in God’s providence, we must always pray for our children, and never give up hope for them, but trust in God for the salvation of their souls. He alone can give the gift of faith, and that should bring us to our knees as we pray for the good of those souls to which parents are entrusted as stewards.

* Source: A Recovered Tract of President Davies (1837).

"The Cause of Liberty, United With That of Truth & Righteousness, is the Cause of God"

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Happy Independence Day to all from Log College Press! Today marks the 248th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, as well as seventh anniversary of the founding of Log College Press in 2017.

In the past we have highlighted various aspects of Presbyterian contributions to and appreciations of the great event commemorated on this day in history.

Arise, O God, plead thine own cause (Ps. 74:22).

I lay down this maxim of divinity: Tyranny being a work of Satan, is not from God, because sin, either habitual or actual, is not from God: the power that is, must be from God; the magistrate, as magistrate, is good in nature of office, and the intrinsic end of his office, (Rom. xiii. 4) for he is the minister of God for thy good; and, therefore, a power ethical, politic, or moral, to oppress, is not from God, and is not a power, but a licentious deviation of a power; and is no more from God, but from sinful nature and the old serpent, than a license to sin. — Samuel Rutherford, Lex Rex (1644)

Today we highlight a patriotic sermon by Abraham Keteltas, delivered on October 5, 1777, titled God Arising and Pleading His People’s Cause; or, The American War in Favor of Liberty, Against the Measures and Arms of Great Britain, Shewn to Be the Cause of God.

Keteltas (1732-1798) was born in New York City of Dutch descent and, raised by pious Protestants, lived among the French Huguenots in New York and New Rochelle. He studied theology at Yale University, graduating in 1752, and obtained a license to preach in 1756. He preached in Dutch, French and English at various places in the north Mid-Atlantic and New England, including Jamaica and Long Island, New York; Connecticut; and Massachusetts. He was deeply interested in the political and social welfare of those around him, as reflected in several sermons dealing with the military, and political matters; and in his role as a delegate to the New York Provincial Congress.

In his most famous 1777 sermon, Keteltas defined the cause of God of which he spoke as primarily the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ:

All the doctrines contained in the old and new Testament, from that system of truth, of which we are speaking, amongst these doctrines, those most essential to man, are his fall in Adam, and redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, the necessity of being regenerated and sanctified by the spirit of God, and being justified by the righteousness of his son imputed to them, and received by faith, the necessity of holiness in order to happiness, and of conformity in heart and life to the nature and will of God: These, and all the other doctrines of his word, are the cause of God.

He went on to elaborate that “By the cause of God, we are to understand, the cause of universal righteousness.” This encompasses a care and concern for the welfare of all men, but especially those of the household of faith. Liberty, in opposition to slavery and bondage, is one of the chiefs concerns that we should thus seek to promote for all mankind, and especially fellow believers.

Liberty is the grand fountain, under God, of every temporal blessing, and what is infinitely more important, it is favorable to the propagation of unadulterated Christianity. Liberty is the parent of truth, justice, virtue, patriotism, benevolence, and every generous and noble purpose of the soul. Under the influence of liberty, the arts and sciences, trade, commerce, and husbandry flourish, and the wilderness blossoms like the rose.

The opposite of liberty, conversely, is tyranny, which is something that God detests.

But if liberty is thus friendly to the happiness of mankind, and is the cause of the kind parent of the universe; certainly tyranny & oppression are the cause of the devil, the cause which God’s souls hates.

After giving examples of just causes from both Biblical and world history (Dutch and Swiss independence), Keteltas turns his attention to the conflict between Great Britain and the American colonies, highlighting the righteousness of the American cause in the face of British tyranny, and British refusals to hear many appeals to justice, even from members of Parliament. A nation that had warmly espoused the cause of liberty in the past (Great Britain) had itself become tyrannical, and it was the duty of America now to stand for that cause, which was in fact the cause of God.

From the preceding discourse, I think we have reason to conclude, that the cause of this American Continent, against the measures of a cruel, bloody, and vindictive ministry, is the cause of God. We are contending for the rights of mankind, for the welfare of millions now living, and for the happiness of millions yet unborn. If it is the indisputed duty of mankind, to do good to all as they have opportunity, especially to those who are of the household of faith, if they are bound by the commandments of the supreme lawgiver, to love their neighbor as themselves, and do to others as they would that others should do unto them; then the war carried on against us, is unjust and unwarrantable, and our cause is not only righteous, but most important: It is God’s own cause: It is the grand cause of the whole human race, and what can be more interesting and glorious. If the principles on which the present civil war is carried on by the American colonies, against the British arms, were universally adopted and practiced upon by mankind, they would turn a vale of tears, into a paradise of God: whereas opposite principles, and a conduct, founded upon them, has filled the world with blood and stupor, with rapine and violence, with cruelty and injustice, with wretchedness, poverty, horror, desolation, and despair; We cannot therefore doubt, that the cause of liberty, united with that of truth & righteousness, is the cause of God.

As Keteltas goes on to say, if Great Britain herself (when resisting the tyranny of Charles I or James II) had once been on the right side of the cause of liberty, America should not be censured for taking up the standard which had fallen. In looking back to the past as we do in celebrating American Independence, it is or ought to be for the purpose of keeping in sight of a landmark that is faithful and true lest we be shipwrecked. It has been said (not by Alexis De Tocqueville - see Ralph Keyes, The Quote Verifier [2006]) that “America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” If the cause of liberty was just in 1776, it is certainly just in 2024, but whether America is on the side of that cause in 2024 may rightly be questioned, but must certainly be prayed for.

Miller's Lecture on Creeds and Confessions: A Bicentennial Celebration

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The most ardent and noisy opponents of Creeds have been those who held corrupt opinions…and…the most consistent and zealous advocates of truth have been, every where and at all times, distinguished by their friendship to such formularies. — Samuel Miller, The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions ([1824], pp. 30-31; [2024], p. 22)

As the 1824 summer session began at Princeton Theological Seminary, Samuel Miller delivered a memorable lecture on The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions. That lecture took place 200 years ago on July 2, 1824. There have been notable reprints of this work in 1833 and 1989. Now, in 2024, believing that Miller’s teaching on this matter is in fact relevant more than ever, Log College Press has issued a new edition of this valuable work.

In both our day and in Miller’s there are and were those who argue against the use of ecclesiastical creeds and confessions out of fear that they were supersede Scripture or impose the opinions of men on the consciences of others. To such, Miller addresses those concerns as well as others, and shows that Scripture itself mandates appropriate tests of orthodoxy.

An inspired apostle directed them not to be contented with a general profession of belief in the religion of Christ on the part of those who came to them as Christian teachers; but to examine and try them, and to ascertain whether their teaching were agreeable to the “form of sound words” which they had been taught by him: and he adds with awful solemnity — “If any man bring any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be ACCURSED". Here was, in effect, an instance, and that by Divine warrant, of employing a CREED as a test of orthodoxy: that is, men making a general profession of Christianity, are expressly directed by an inspired apostle, to be BROUGHT TO THE TEST, in WHAT SENSE THEY UNDERSTOOD THE GOSPEL, of which in general terms, they declared their reception; and how they explained its leading doctrines ([1824], pp. 25-26; [2024], pp. 18-19).

But shouldn’t Protestants embrace the position of “No creed but Christ,” and doesn’t this idea carry weight against those who believe that a church ought to have a confession of faith? Does a high view of confessional subscription mean that a document of human composition outweighs the authority of Scripture? Do confessional churches elevate the word of man above the word of God? If we accept that confessions may articulate the principal things taught by Scripture that we are to believe, what is the extent to which fundamental doctrines ought to be addressed by said confessions? Miller treats of these and other relevant questions that may be raised in this lecture from 200 years ago. The same concerns and objections that he addressed back then recur today, and his wisdom navigates a careful, Scriptural path through the errors that abound in this matter on all sides.

The 2024 Log College Press edition contains a preface by Jonathan Master, President of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary; a foreword by Allan Stanton; and two appendices, including a letter by Joseph Bellamy, and Samuel Miller’s Introductory Essay to John Holmes Agnew, A Manual on the Christian Sabbath. Those who take up and read this special volume will find that the Biblical principle of confessional integrity is upheld in a manner that has stood the test of time.

Be forewarned: Miller’s passion for ministers and Christians who care about unity in the truth is contagious. His words are both sound and inspiring. His logic is Biblical and consistent. His message is as important today as it was two centuries ago. As Dr. Carl Trueman said about this edition, “this little work by Samuel Miller will repay careful reflection by church officers and laypeople alike.”

Log College Press is the Place to Find American Presbyterian Psalters and Hymnals

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Have you visited our Compilations page lately? It is the home for many interesting works by denominations or groups of authors, but today we are highlighting the assembled psalters and hymnals which represent the sacred song utilized in the praise of God by American Presbyterians. This project is ongoing, but we invite you to check out what is currently available.

Psalters

  • The Psalms of David in Meeter [Kirk of Scotland] (1650)

  • The Book of Psalms [UPCNA] (1871)

  • The Book of Psalms: The Scottish Version Revised, and the New Versions Adopted by the United Presbyterian Church of North America [UPCNA] (1871)

  • The Psalter of the United Presbyterian Church of North America [UPCNA] (1887)

  • The Psalms: A Revision of the Scottish Metrical Version With Additional Versions [RPCNA] (1888)

  • The Psalter: With Music [RPCNA] (1890)

  • The Psalter, or, Book of Psalms: A Revision of the Metrical Version of the Bible Psalms, With Additional Versions [RPCNA] (1893)

  • The Psalter With Music [UPCNA] (1900)

  • The Psalms in Meter [Joint Committee] (1905)

  • The Psalter, or, Book of Psalms: A Revision of the Metrical Version of the Bible Psalms, With Additional Versions [RPCNA] (1907)

  • The New Metrical Version of the Psalms [Joint Committee] (1909)

  • The Psalter With Responsive Readings [UPCNA] (1912)

  • Psalter Hymns: For Use in Families, Sabbath Schools and Bible Classes, Young People's Societies, Prayer Meetings, and Union Services [UPCNA] (1912)

  • The Book of Psalms: Rendered in Metre and Set to Music [RPCNA] (1912)

  • The Book of Psalms: Rendered in Metre and Set to Music [RPCNA] (1920)

Note that the first Psalter employed by the RPCNA (besides the 1650 Scottish Metrical Psalter which it inherited - which is true for all branches of American Presbyterianism as well) was produced by William Wallace Keys in 1863, and is known to history as the Keys Psalter.

Hymnals (including Psalter-Hymnals)

  • [Isaac Watts] Psalms, Carefully Suited to the Christian Worship in the United States of America: Being an Improvement of the Old Versions of the Psalms of David; Allowed, by the Reverend Synod of New York and Philadelphia, to be Used in Churches and Private Families [PCUSA] (1787)

  • [Isaac Watts] Psalms, Carefully Suited to the Christian Worship in the United States of America: Being an Improvement of the Old Versions of the Psalms of David; Allowed, by the Reverend Synod of New York and Philadelphia, to be Used in Churches and Private Families [PCUSA] (1787, 1794)

  • Psalms and Hymns Adapted to Public Worship, and Approved by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America [PCUSA] (1830)

  • [George Fleming] Psalms and Hymns, Adapted to Public Worship, and Approved by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America [PCUSA] (1834, 1835)

  • Sacred Harmony: A Selection of Plain Tunes Adapted to the Use of the Psalms of David [Associate Reformed Synod of New-York] (1834)

  • Devotional Hymns Adapted to Social, Private and Public Worship [Old School PCUSA] (1842)

  • Church Psalmist, or, Psalms and Hymns: For the Public, Social, and Private Use of Evangelical Christians [New School PCUSA] (1843)

  • Parish Psalmody: A Collection of Psalms and Hymns For Public Worship (1844)

  • The Presbyterian Psalmodist: A Collection of Tunes Adapted to the Psalms and Hymns of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America [PCUSA] (1852)

  • Hymnal of the Presbyterian Church [PCUSA] (1867)

  • Psalms and Hymns For the Worship of God: Approved by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, at Its Meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, November, 1866 [PCUS] (1867)

  • The Sacrifice of Praise: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs Designed For Public Worship and Private Devotion, With Notes on the Origin of Hymns (1869)

  • The Presbyterian Hymnal [PCUSA, music and words] (1874)

  • The Presbyterian Hymnal [PCUSA, words only] (1874)

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

  • Bible Songs: A Collection of Psalms Set to Music For Use in Church and Evangelistic Services, Prayer Meetings, Sabbath Schools, Young People’s Societies, and Family Worship [UPCNA] (1901)

  • The Book of Common Worship [PCUSA] (1906)

  • The Psalter Hymnal: The Psalms and Selected Hymns [UPCNA] (1927)

Note that other hymnals are available on individual pages, such as Archibald Alexander, A Selection of Hymns, Adapted to the Devotions of the Closet, the Family, and the Social Circle (1831); Leonard Woolsey Bacon, Congregational Church-Music; With 150 Psalms and Hymns (1854); Nathan Sidney Smith Beman, Sacred Lyrics: or, Select Hymns, Particularly Adapted to Revivals of Religion, and Intended as a Supplement to Watts (1832) and Sacred Lyrics, or Psalms and Hymns Adapted to Public Worship (1841); Louis FitzGerald Benson, The Hymnal (1895) and The Chapel Hymnal (1898, 1910), as well as others; Henry Augustus Boardman, A Selection of Hymns: Designed as a Supplement to the “Psalms and Hymns” of the Presbyterian Church (1861) and Hymns of Praise (1867); George Buist, A Collection of Hymns for Public and Private Worship, Approved by the Presbytery of Charleston (1796); Thomas Cleland, Evangelical Hymns, For Private, Family, Social, and Public Worship (1831); Henry Sloane Coffin, Hymns of the Kingdom of God: With Tunes (1910); William Coombs Dana, A Collection of Hymns: Supplementary to the Psalms and Hymns of Dr. Watts (1859); James Gallaher, New Select Hymns, Designed to Accompany Watts’ Psalms & Hymns (1835); Edwin Francis Hatfield, Freedom's Lyre: or, Psalms, Hymns, and Sacred Songs, For the Slave and His Friends (1840), The Church Hymn Book, With Tunes; For the Worship of God (1872), and The Chapel Hymn Book, With Tunes; For the Worship of God (1873); Robert Pollok Kerr, Hymns of the Ages For Public and Social Worship (1891); Willis Lord, Hymns of Worship: Designed For Use Especially in the Lecture-Room, the Prayer-Meeting and the Family (1858); James Lyon, Urania: A Collection of Psalm-Tunes, Anthems and Hymns (1761); Lowell Mason, Church Psalmody: A Collection of Psalms and Hymns, Adapted to Public Worship (1831), and more; James Ormsbee Murray, The Sacrifice of Praise: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs Designed For Public Worship and Private Devotion, With Notes on the Origin of Hymns (1869); Samson Occom, Hymns (1773 and A Choice Collection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1774, 1785); Charles Seymour Robinson, Songs of the Church: or, Hymns and Tunes For Christian Worship (1862, 1864), Songs For the Sanctuary: or, Hymns and Tunes For Christian Worship (1865, 1867), Psalms and Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: A Manual of Worship For the Church of Christ (1875); Philip Schaff, Hymns and Songs of Praise For Public and Social Worship (1874); Gardiner Spring, The Brick Church Hymns, Designed For the Use of Social Prayer Meetings and Families, Selected From the Most Approved Authors and Recommended by Gardiner Spring, D.D., Pastor of Said Church (1823); Nathan Strong, The Hartford Selection of Hymns From the Most Approved Authors (1799); Thomas DeWitt Talmage, Many Voices; or, Carmina Sanctorum (1891); Robert Ellis Thompson, The National Hymn-Book of the American Churches (1893); Henry Jackson Van Dyke, Jr., The Church Psalter: One Hundred and Four Psalms Arranged Under Subjects For Responsive Reading (1891); James Patriot Wilson, Sr., Hymns For Social Worship, Collected From Various Authors (1817); and Samuel Ramsey Wilson, Hymns of the Church, Ancient and Modern, For the Use of All Who Love to Sing the Praises of God in Christ, in the Family, the School, or the Church; With a Discourse on Music as a Divine Ordinance of Worship (1872); among many others.

There is much matter here for those who wish to explore how early American Presbyterians offered “the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips” (Heb. 13:15) in the sanctuary. The questions raised by the regulative principle of worship about the content of song to be used (inspired psalms or uninspired hymns), as well as the propriety and practicality of instrumental accompaniment, are dealt with in a whole other body of literature to which we have alluded in the past. This collection on the pages of Log College Press is drawn to a great extent from the Louis FitzGerald Benson Collection of Hymnals and Hymnody at the library of Princeton Theological Seminary, as well as from a variety of other sources. We continue to add more literature related to psalmody and hymnody often so be sure to check back here periodically as our collection grows.

A Rare Treasure Located: A Bible Used by William Tennent at the Log College

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[William] Tennent, the lone teacher at the Log College, earnestly desired to educate men for the ministry. The intended design of the Log College's instruction was to prepare faithful ministers of the Gospel. Therefore, Tennent attempted to maintain a balanced emphasis between 'piety and learning' — complementary components of ministerial training. For Tennent, a theological education without a godly life was useless. — 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄. 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐣𝐞𝐫, 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑛𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑔 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑀𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑙 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑀𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 (1994)

𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑚 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑇𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑔 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑒 [Presbyterian Historical Society].

A recent trip to the William Smith Morton Library at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia led to the finding of a rare treasure held in the archives there: a copy of the Gospels and Acts in both Greek and Latin that was once owned and used by William Tennent for instruction at the original Log College. Director of Archives and Special Collections Ryan Douthat, in particular, was of invaluable assistance in locating this special volume.

A copy of the Gospels and Acts in Greek and Latin once owned by William Tennent, Sr. and utilized by him in his education program at the Log College. Union Presbyterian Seminary Library notes indicate that this volume was published in 1699 (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

This volume contains the inscriptions of William Tennent, Sr. (dated 1736) and John Charles Tennent (great-grandson of William Tennent, Sr., son of William Tennent III) (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

Matthew chapter 1 in Greek and Latin (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

Appended to the volume is a note describing its provenance (it was handed down from one generation of the Tennent family to the next and ultimately presented to the Union Seminary Library in 1907 by Anna M. Tennent, great-great-great-grand-daughter of William Tennent, Sr.) (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

It was a remarkable experience to hold in one’s hands a volume of Scripture that was employed by the founder of the Log College in the education of his students. The book serves as a tangible reminder of the linguistic skills of William Tennent as well as the wedding of piety to education which characterized his method of instruction.

The Planting of Presbyterianism in the Bluegrass State

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As the city of Harrodsburg, Kentucky this month celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding on June 16, 1774, we at Log College Press pause to remember the planting of Presbyterianism in the Bluegrass State.

It was in Harrodsburg on October 12, 1883, that Presbyterians came together to commemorate the centennial of that event, which has been recognized as a sermon preached by “Father” David Rice at Fort Harrod in October 1783. The addresses delivered on that occasion are notable and worthy of our attention today.

  • J.N. Saunders gave an Historical Address;

  • E.P. Humphrey gave a necrological report titled The Dead of the Presbyterian Church of Kentucky;

  • L.G. Barbour spoke on The Relation of the Presbyterian Church to Education in Kentucky;

  • T.D. Witherspoon related The Distinctive Doctrines and Polity of Presbyterianism (Log College Press has republished this address under the title The Five Points of Presbyterianism [2017]); and

  • Moses D. Hoge addressed The Planting of Presbyterianism in Kentucky One Hundred Years Ago.

“Father” David Rice is buried in Danville, Kentucky.

As recounted by Saunders and Hoge, David Rice is credited with delivering the first Presbyterian sermon in Kentucky just one month after the Treaty of Paris brought an end to hostilities between the American colonies and Great Britain, and officially granted independence to the United States of America. The text for that sermon (and for Hoge’s 1883 discourse) was: “The people which sat in darkness Saw great light; And to them which sat in the region and shadow of death Light is sprung up” (Matt. 4:16). This signified that the light of the gospel was dawning among a people who lived largely in spiritual darkness.

There is, however, an asterisk to be noted here. Many sources indicate that it was Terah Templin who preached the first Presbyterian sermon in Kentucky perhaps three years before Rice.

Terah Templin is buried in Bardstown, Kentucky.

The First Presbyterian Sermon in Kentucky was by the Rev. Terah Templin, probably in 1781; he was not ordained until 1785. In the spring of 1783, Rev. David Rice (“Father Rice” he was generally called, although only in his 50th year) visited, and in October following immigrated from Virginia to Danville, and became a power in the church and in furthering the cause of education. — Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky, Vol. 1 (1878), p. 515

Louis B. Weeks indicates that Templin was the first Presbyterian preacher in Kentucky and that he arrived in 1780, preaching “several times that summer as a licentiate of Hanover Presbytery” (Kentucky Presbyterians [1983], p. 13).

In 1784, the first Presbyterian Church in Kentucky was organized by Rice in Danville; the Transylvania Presbytery was established in 1786 with Rice serving as Moderator; and the rest, as they say, is history.

This is a replica of the original log cabin meetinghouse for the Concord Presbyterian Church in Danville, Kentucky which was organized by David Rice in 1784.

The memoirs of David Rice, published by Robert Hamilton Bishop 200 years ago in 1824, tell us much about this gifted pioneer minister but only mention Terah Templin in passing. Certainly, it was Rice that left a tremendous legacy for which all Presbyterians are greatly indebted. But he was not alone in building the Presbyterian Church of Kentucky, and the names of many other illustrious men are worthy of note too, such as James Mitchel, Caleb Wallace, Adam Rankin, James Crawford, James Blythe, and James McGready, who played a prominent role in the Great Revival of 1800. Humphrey alludes to the roll call of faith found in Hebrews 11 as he recounts these and many other names.

The seeds planted in the 1780s have borne much fruit in the centuries since, and as Harrodsburg celebrates a very special anniversary, we praise God for his work and for the saints he has raised up in this part of the Lord’s vineyard.

A Relic of the Old Log College

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There is an intriguing reference in Archibald Alexander’s Biographical Sketches of the Founder, and Principal Alumni, of the Log College (1845), pp. 11-12, to what constitutes the sole surviving physical remnant of the original Log College founded by William Tennent.

Of late, considerable curiosity has ben manifested to ascertain the place where the first Presbyterian church, in this country, was formed; and the history of the first Presbyterian preacher who came to America, which had sunk into oblivion, has, of late., been brought prominently into view. Such researches, when unaccompanied with boasting and vainglory, are laudable. And to gratify a similar curiosity, in regard to the first literary institution, above common schools, in the bounds of the Presbyterian church, this small book has been compiled. That institution, we believe, was, what has received the name of, THE LOG COLLEGE. The reason of the epithet prefixed to the word “college,” might be obscure to an European; but in this country, where log-cabins are so numerous, will be intelligible to all classes of readers. This edifice, which was made of logs, cut out of the woods, probably, from the very spot where the house was erected, was situated in Bucks county, Pennsylvania, about twenty-eight miles north of Philadelphia. The Log College has long since disappeared; so that although the site on which it stood is well known to many in the vicinity there is not a vestige of it remaining on the ground; and no appearance which would indicate that a house ever stood there. The fact is, that some owner of the property, never dreaming that there was any thing sacred in the logs of this humble edifice, had them carried away and applied to some ignoble purpose on the farm, where they have rotted away like common timber, from which, if any of them remain, they can no longer be distinguished. But that some small relic of this venerable building might be preserved, the late Presbyterian minister of the place. Rev. Robert B. Belville, some years ago, rescued from the common ruin so much of one of these logs, as enabled him, by paring off the decayed parts, to reduce it to something of the form of a walking staff; which as a token of respect, and for safe keeping, he presented to one of the oldest Professors [Dr. Samuel Miller] of the Theological Seminary, at Princeton, N. J., in whose possession it now remains, and who will, it is hoped, before he leaves the world, deposit it in the cabinet of curiosities, which has been formed, in connexion with the Theological Seminary.

After a few turns of the spade, this is what we know: That walking staff has been, with the rare exception such as the 250th anniversary celebration at Neshaminy Presbyterian Church in 1976, out of public view for decades. It does still remain, however, at the Special Collections Department of the Princeton Theological Seminary Library, where it was donated by the family of Samuel Miller.

Photo courtesy of the Special Collections Department of the Princeton Theological Seminary Library.

Photo courtesy of the Special Collections Department of the Princeton Theological Seminary Library.

Sometime in the 20th century, for reasons unknown, part of the walking staff was sawed off so it is now too small to function as a proper walking stick. (It resembles a piece of lumber more than a polished walking stick to be sure.) There is obscure writing on the back of it which has not been transcribed. It can be viewed in person by appointment only. But — lovers of church history will be glad to know — a piece of the original Log College exists still!

John Martin: First Gospel Minister to Preach in Tennessee

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“Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.” — Attributed to Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf (18th century Moravian minister)

There are some figures in church history about whom we know very little, even though they accomplished very much. John Martin is one such person. It is believed that he was born in Virginia, in the early 18th century. He first appears in the records of the Hanover Presbytery for March 1756.

Mr. John Martin offered himself upon Tryals for the gospel Ministry, and delivered a Discourse upon Eph. 2.1 which was sustain’d as a Part of Tryal; & he was also examined as to religious Experiences, & the reasons of his designing the ministry; which was also sustain’d. He was likewise examined in the Latin and Greek languages, and briefly in Logick, ontology, Ethics, natural Philosophy, Rhetoric, geography and Astronomy; in all which his Answers in general were very satisfactory. And the Presbytery appoint him to prepare a Sermon on I Cor. 1.22-23, & an Exegesis [in Latin] on this Question, Num Revelatio Supernaturalis sit Necessarias? to be delivered at our next Committee.

At the following meeting he preached that sermon and presented his exegesis after which “The Committee proceeded to examine him upon ye Hebrew, and in sundry extempore Questions upon ye Doctrines of religions, and some Cases of Conscience.” Then he was required to deliver a sermon on Galatians 2:20 at the next meeting of presbytery and to give a lecture on Isaiah 61:1-3. Having done this successfully, he was then required to compose a sermon at the next presbytery meeting on I John 5:10, whereupon

The Presbytery farther examin’d Mr. Martin in sundry extempore Questions upon various Branches of Learning, and Divinity, and reheard his religious Experiences; and upon a review of ye sundry Trials he has passed thro’; they judge him qualified to preach ye Gospel; and he having declar’d his Assent to, and Approbation of ye Westminster Confession of Faith, Catechisms, and Directory…ye Presbytery do license and authorize him to preach as a Candidate for ye ministry of ye Gospel…and appoint ye moderator to give him some Solemn Instructions and Admonitions, with regard to ye Discharge of his office. [source: Ernest T. Thompson, Presbyterians in the South, Vol. 1 (1963), p. 69]

Martin was licensed to preach the gospel on August 25, 1756, and received a call to serve in Albemarle County, Virginia in April 1758. He was ordained to the ministry in June 1758 (various sources record the date as June 5, 7, or 9, 1758) at which time Samuel Davies preached the ordination sermon in Hanover, Virginia: The Office of a Bishop a Good Work. Thus, Martin was the first man ordained as a Presbyterian minister in Virginia. However, Martin declined the call to Albemarle, and instead was commissioned by an organization founded by Davies known as the Society For Managing the Mission and School Society For the Propagation of the Gospel to serve as a missionary to the Overhill Cherokee Indians in Tennessee. Later that year, he traveled as far as the Little Tennessee River and preached to the Cherokees there; however, without any significant success to report. However, in so doing, Martin became the first Protestant minister to preach the Gospel in the bounds of the state of Tennessee. His ministry there was supplemented by William Richardson (whose missionary journal still exists today in the archives of the New York Public Library). The efforts of both men were thwarted by language and culture challenges, but especially the commencement of hostilities in the French and Indian War. Also, when Davies left Virginia and took up his post as President of the College of New Jersey at Princeton in 1759, the missionary society that he had founded in Virginia fizzled out as well. Both Martin and Richardson departed from Tennessee and went on to settle in South Carolina. It is not known precisely where he lived, when he died or where he was buried. (See Richard Webster, A History of the Presbyterian Church in America From Its Origin Until the Year 1760 (1858), p. 674; George Howe, History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, Vol. 1 (1870), p. 267; Alfred Nevin, Encyclopedia of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (1884), p. 472; Samuel C. Williams, An Account of the Presbyterian Mission to the Cherokees, 1757-1759, Tennessee Historical Magazine (Jan. 1931); William W. Crouch, Missionary Activities Among the Cherokee Indians, 1757-1838 (1932); and A. Mark Conard, The Cherokee Mission of Virginia Presbyterians, Journal of Presbyterian History (Spring 1980).)

From the little that we know about Martin, we can ascertain that he was well-educated for the ministry, had a heart for missions, and was willing forgo a stable pastoral call in order to go where he believed he was most needed to preach the gospel. His pastoral career is a but a blip on the historical radar, but as the first Presbyterian minister ordained in Virginia, and the first to preach the gospel in Tennessee, he is worthy of remembrance.

Communion Seasons and Tokens in Early American Presbyterianism

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What has been like a revelation to me in my research was, finding out the extensive use of Tokens in the United States. All the early Presbyterian churches appear to have used them. — Robert Shiells, The Story of the Token as Belonging to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (1891), p. 150

Colonial American Presbyterianism, utilizing the Westminster Directory of Presbyterian Worship until 1788, relied much on Scottish Presbyterian traditions which included both communion seasons and tokens. These important features of simple Presbyterian worship were also associated with notable revivals, including both the Great Awakening and the Second Great Awakening. “The communion seasons in Virginia, as wherever the Presbyterian Church was planted, were seasons of revival.” (Mary McWhorter Tenney, Communion Tokens: Their Origin, History, and Use (1936), p. 87). Leigh Eric Schmidt writes:

With the transplantation of Presbyterianism to the American colonies came Old World ways of organizing worship and devotion. The sacramental occasion, as one of the most prominent features of the evangelical Presbyterian tradition, was soon re-created in America. In New England, for example, enclaves of Presbyterian immigrants almost immediately staged sacramental occasions fully reminiscent of Scotland and Ulster….

In the middle colonies, where Presbyterian immigration was much heavier than in New England, sacramental occasions were proportionally larger and more pronounced. The communion seasons — prevalent, powerful, and well attended — figured prominently in the religious life of the Presbyterian immigrants throughout the region [Schmidt, Holy Fairs: Scottish Communions and American Revivals in the Early Modern Period (1989), pp. 53-54].

Julius Melton also notes this important feature of early American Presbyterian worship as well as its transatlantic nature:

One especially prominent aspect of the Presbyterian’s worship experience in the colonies was the “sacramental season.” This was the practice, inherited from Scotland, of placing the infrequent celebrations of the Lord’s Supper within a series of services — days of fasting, sermons, examination of communicants and singing for which crowds would gather from an entire region. After dwelling at length on their sins and Christ’s work of salvation, Presbyterian drew near to receive the sacrament with great awe [Melton, Presbyterian Worship in America: Changing Patterns Since 1787 (1967, 2001), p. 16].

The Great Awakening was at least in part built on the foundation of sacramental seasons of revival. This was true for the Tennents (William, Sr., William Jr., Gilbert, and John included), some of whom contributed to a famous collection of Sermons on Sacramental Occasions by Divers Ministers (1739).

Gilbert Tennent was born into a family of Scots living in Ulster, in the northeast of Ireland. By the close of the seventeenth century, Ulster had become an enclave of dissenting Presbyterians, rebels against both the English crown and the Anglican Church, who were forced by the government to settle there. These dissenters kept alive the Scottish Presbyterian tradition of field communion, or sacramental occasions, a distinctive practice that helped to maintain ties to their heritage [Kimberly Bracken Long, The Eucharistic Theology of the American Holy Fairs (2011), pp. 83-84].

Gilbert Tennent wrote in 1744 of revival that took place in his congregation at New Brunswick, New Jersey:

I may further observe, that frequently at Sacramental Seasons in New-Brunswick, there have been signal Displays of the divine Power and Presence: divers have been convinced of Sin by the Sermons then preached, some converted, and many much affected with the Love of God in JESUS CHRIST. O the sweet Meltings that I have often seen on such Occasions among many! New-Brunswick did then look like a Field the Lord had blessed: It was like a little Jerusalem, to which the scattered Tribes with eager haste repaired at Sacramental Solemnities; and there they fed on the Fatness of God’s House, and drunk of the River of his Pleasures [Thomas Prince, ed., The Christian History (1745), p. 294].

Neshaminy, Pennsylvania was the site of a sacramental occasion in June 1745 where David Brainerd assisted Charles Beatty administer the bread and the wine to “three or four thousand” in attendance which Brainerd described as a “sweet melting season.” Brainerd went on during the following year to build on this experience, along with counsel from those who commissioned his missionary labors — the Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge — to host his own sacramental seasons among the Native Americans to whom he ministered.

Brainerd followed the Scottish pattern basically to the letter: Friday was “set apart for solemn Fasting and Prayer”; Saturday was given over to further preparations and exhortations; Sunday brought the Lord’s Supper and more sermons; Monday concluded “the Sacramental Solemnity” with praise, thanksgiving, and calls for sustained moral discipline….This sacramental season proved to be among the most satisfying events in Brainerd’s life; indeed, the “sweet Union, Harmony and endearing Love” he experienced there was “the most lively Emblem of the heavenly World, I had ever seen” [Schmidt, Holy Fairs, p. 55].

Brainerd spoke similarly of a sacramental occasion that he participated in at Freehold, New Jersey just a couple of months later (June 1746) which was hosted by William Tennent, Jr., describing it as “a season of comfort to the godly, and of awakening to some souls” (ibid., p. 56). These sacramental seasons are a running theme throughout his ministry, especially to the Native Americans. Yet, as Schmidt notes, “No one, as far as I know, has ever taken stock of Brainerd’s sacramental revivals and seen just how thoroughly Presbyterian in this matter he had become” (ibid., p. 235).

The first Covenanter communion in America took place at the “Junkin Tent” in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, on August 23, 1752, and was administered by John Cuthbertson. This was also the first instance of the use of communion tokens in America. It bore the simple abbreviation “L.S.” for “Lord’s Supper” on one side only. These tokens were used to signify admittance to the Lord’s Table.

Commemorative 1752 communion token (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

In colonial Virginia, even before the arrival of Samuel Davies, a sacramental occasion was held by William Tennent, Jr. and Samuel Blair, where it was reported that “The Assembly was large, and the Novelty of the Mode of Administration did peculiarly engage their Attention….It appeared as one of the Days of Heaven to some of us; and we could hardly help wishing we could with Joshua have delayed the Revolutions of the Heavens to prolong it” [Samuel Davies, The State of Religion Among the Protestant Dissenters in Virginia (1751), p. 17]. A few years later, a paper communion token was used by Samuel Davies in Hanover County, Virginia. Note the sacramental poem written by Davies himself.

Samuel Davies’ communion token held at the William Smith Morton Library, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond Virginia (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

John Todd, John Wright, Robert Henry, John Brown and John Craig were among other Virginia Presbyterian evangelists who observed sacramental occasions and found them to be “special outpourings of the spirit” (John Wright, January 20, 1757 Letter found in John Gillies, Historical Collections (1845 ed.), p. 520). David Rice, who grew up under the ministry of Samuel Davies and John Todd, also helped to bring the practice of sacramental seasons to Kentucky.

The importance of communion gatherings in Davies's practice and Rice's conversion reveals that both men stood in the long tradition of Presbyterian sacramental seasons dating back to seventeenth-century Scotland. From the beginning, these "holy fairs" were protracted religious celebrations, sometimes attracting thousands of participants, which included not only the celebration of the sacrament but also fervent preaching. Such seasons were centers of religious renewal and revival, and the practice was continued by many Presbyterians in North America. In particular, this tradition can be traced through the family history of the Tennents, the Log College and its offshoots, the work of Samuel Davies, and Rice himself, who conducted similar communion seasons throughout his ministry. These gatherings would continue to be central to religious life on the frontier, though they would also become centers of controversy as the frontier context and new religious trends took the communion seasons in new directions [Andrew M. McGinnis, “Between Enthusiasm and Stoicism: David Rice and Moderate Revivalism in Virginia and Kentucky,” The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Vol. 106, No. 2 (Spring 2008), pp. 172-173].

Robert B. Davidson notes that communion seasons and tokens were part of the Kentucky Revival:

The sacramental meetings, or sacraments, as they were called, were held at long intervals, when several ministers attended and took part; tokens were distributed; a long Action Sermon preached; the tables duly fenced; a succession of tables served; a fresh minister assigned to each table, and a fresh exhortation to each company; and when the communicants were numerous, (many coming from a distance,) the services were protracted till sunset, and became extremely tedious and fatiguing [Davidson, History of the Presbyterian Church in the State of Kentucky (1847), pp. 103-104].

James McGready was a pioneer Kentucky evangelist who seemed to be most in heaven while on earth at the communion table. Hear how he speaks in “The Believer Embracing Christ”:

The believer sometimes meets with Christ and embraces him in the arms of faith when he is seated at a communion table, then by faith, he sees a mangled, bleeding, dying, rising, triumphant Jesus, heading his own table, and feasting his blood-bought children with the bread of life and the milk and honey of Canaan [McGready, The Posthumous Works of the Reverend and Pious James M’Gready (1831), pp. 134-135].

As colonial Presbyterianism became less oriented towards traditional Scottish worship and more distinctly American, communion seasons and communion tokens began to fade away from the 19th century mainline American Presbyterian experience, and even, more slowly so, from the experience of Reformed (Covenanter) and Associate Reformed Presbyterians. John M. Mason was among those who argued for more frequent communion, and in this he was followed by James W. Alexander (see The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper [1840]), and others, until the communion season was no longer found to be the norm in the American Presbyterian experience.

THE LORD’S SUPPER. This sacrament, although celebrated infrequently, was still probably the high point in the worship experience of an Old School Presbyterian, as diaries and autobiographies of the period indicate. The high value placed upon the Communion is seen also in the effort that was made to bring about more frequency in its celebration and to separate it from the cumbersome appendages of the sacramental season. This idea had been advanced by the revisers of the Directory [of Public Worship] in 1787, but was overruled by the 1788 synod. A harbinger of change was the decision by a New York congregation of the Associate Reformed Presbytery to “discontinue the custom of observing a fast day before, and thanksgiving day after, the administration of the Lord’s Supper.” This change, which prompted much discussion in that Presbyterian denomination, had been promoted by the New York pastor John Mitchell Mason, author in 1798 of the book Letters on Frequent Communion [Melton, Presbyterian Worship in America: Changing Patterns Since 1787, pp. 39-40].

Nevertheless, to hold a communion token in one’s hands is to hearken back to that bygone era when sacramental seasons marked perhaps the pinnacle of an Old School American Presbyterian’s spiritual pilgrimage on earth. If one listens closely, one might almost hear the faint sounds of a psalm sung, “Perhaps Dundee’s wild-warbling measures rise, / Or plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name; / Or noble Elgin beets the heavenward flame” (Robert Burns, A Cotters’ Saturday Night).

Planted on the hillside here the ‘Banner of Blue,’
And worshipped God in simple form as Presbyterians do.
Upon this very ground was heard the voice of prayer,
And ancient Psalm to solemn tune they sang. —
’Do good in thy good pleasure, Lord, unto our Zion here;
The walls of our Jerusalem establish Thou and rear.’
Thus prayer and praise were made to God,
Nor dread of any foe
Dismayed our fathers in their work
So many years ago.
— Paraphrase of William McCombs, Two Hundred Years Ago (1842) in Mary McWhorter Tenney, Communion Tokens: Their Origin, History, and Use (1936), p. 59

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.