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

Jonathan Edwards Remembered

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You are pleased, dear Sir, very kindly to ask me, whether I could sign the Westminster Confession of Faith, and submit to the Presbyterian form of Church Government; and to offer to use your influence to procure a call for me, to some congregation in Scotland. I should be very ungrateful, if I were not thankful for such kindness and friendship. As to my subscribing to the substance of the Westminster Confession, there would be no difficulty; and as to the Presbyterian Government, I have long been perfectly out of conceit of our unsettled, independent, confused way of church government in this land; and the Presbyterian way has ever appeared to me most agreeable to the word of God, and the reason and nature of things; though I cannot say that I think, that the Presbyterian government of the Church of Scotland is so perfect, that it cannot, in some respects, be mended. — Jonathan Edwards, The Works of President Edwards: With a Memoir of His Life (1830), Vol. I, p. 412 (Letter from Jonathan Edwards to John Erskine dated July 5, 1750)

Jonathan Edwards was not a Presbyterian, but as a leader in the Great Awakening his sentiments were favorable to Presbyterianism, and his life touched the lives of many authors on Log College Press, including the missionary David Brainerd, and his son-in-law, Aaron Burr, Sr.

As President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), Edwards is closely associated with one of the great Presbyterian institutions in America and, in fact, was laid to rest at Princeton Cemetery. It was on this date in history, March 22, 1758, that Jonathan Edwards entered into glory. G.B. Strickler wrote (Jonathan Edwards [1903]):

…he was one of the most remarkable men the American church has produced, and as, although a Congregationalist, his history often touched and influenced that of the Presbyterian Church….

Historical marker located in South Windsor, Connecticut.

Edwards is widely thought of as America’s foremost theologian. John DeWitt spoke of him as “our greatest American Divine” (Jonathan Edwards: A Study [1904]). He was born on October 5, 1703, in East Windsor Connecticut. He had a spiritual awakening early in life, and after studying at Yale University, went on to serve as pastor of the church in Northampton, Massachusetts from 1727 to 1751. It was on July 8, 1741, that he preached one of the most famous sermons in American history: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University today holds many of Edwards' surviving manuscripts, including over one thousand sermons, and other materials, and his works — which currently total 26 volumes — continue to be published. Some of the most significant include A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton (1737); A History of the Work of Redemption (based on sermons preached in 1739, first published in 1774; see the 1793 edition published by David Austin here); The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God (1741); A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746); The Freedom of the Will (1754); and The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended (1758). The 70 personal resolutions he wrote in his diary from 1722 to 1723 (300 years ago) have often been republished and have inspired countless thousands, if not millions.

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriad’s of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

Following Burr’s death in 1757, Edwards assumed the presidency of the College of New Jersey on February 16, 1758, and immediate set an example to the students by getting a smallpox inoculation, as a result of which he died just over one month into his presidency. One month later, his daughter of Esther died, and later that same year, his wife Sarah also passed away.

Jonathan Edwards is buried at Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, New Jersey.

Henry C. McCook said this of one of his classic works (Jonathan Edwards as a Naturalist [1890]):

His work on “ The Will ” still keeps rank as one of the greatest books written by an American.

R.C. Reed once wrote of him (Jonathan Edwards [1904]):

He thought as we still think on the great doctrines of grace, being a zealous Calvinist, and was in accord with the Presbyterian Church in his views of government, though he lived and wrought and died in the Congregational Church. If, therefore, any class of persons should honor the name and cherish the memory of Edwards, those should do so who hold Calvinistic views of doctrine, and Presbyterian principles of polity.

Samuel Miller explains why we remember such a man as Jonathan Edwards (Lives of Jonathan Edwards and David Brainerd [1837]):

We owe to the dead themselves the duty of commemorating their actions, of cherishing their reputation, and of perpetuating, as far as possible, the benefits which they have conferred upon us.

As we likewise cherish the legacy of those great men and women who have gone before us and whose contributions to the kingdom of God on earth have left such an enduring mark, Jonathan Edwards stands out among the roll call of the saints, and it is with pleasure, and with thanks to God, that we take time today to honor his memory.

Davidson's Desiderata

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Early on in its history, in May 1853, a discourse was delivered at the Presbyterian Historical Society in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Robert B. Davidson: Presbyterianism: Its True Place and Value in History (1854). After an overview of the history of Presbyterianism in Scotland and in early America, Davidson left his hearers with a list of things things desired or wanted in connection with the goal of preserving the history of Presbyterianism - a desiderata. This list was an inspired effort to steer the work of the Presbyterian Historical Society as it began to put into practice the vision of its founder, Cortlandt Van Rensselaer.

1. Collections of pamphlets, tractates, controversial and other essays, bearing on the history of the Presbyterian church in this country, especially touching the Schism of 1741. These should be bound in volumes, and arranged in chronological order, handy for reference. No time should be lost in this work, for pamphlets are very perishable commodities, and speedily vanish out of sight. A copy of Gilbert Tennent’s Remarks on the Protest cannot now be obtained. One was understood by Dr. Hodge, when he wrote his History, to be in the Antiquarian Library, in Worcester, Mass., but the work is reported by the librarian as missing. This shows us that we should hoard old pamphlets and papers with Mohammedan scrupulosity, especially when there are no duplicates.

2. Collections, like Gillies’, of accounts of Revivals, and other memoranda of the progress of vital religion. Such collections would be supplementary to Gillies’ great work, which does not embrace the wonderful events of the present century in America.

3. Collections of memoirs of particular congregations, of which quite a number have been at various times printed, and which ought to be brought together and preserved.

4. Collections of occasional Sermons, both of deceased and living divines. As old productions are of interest to us, so such as are of recent publication may interest posterity. Such collections would furnish good specimens of the Presbyterian pulpit, and might be either chronologically or alphabetically arranged.

5. Collections of discourses delivered about and after the era of the Revolution. They would exhibit in a striking and favorable light the patriotic sympathies of the clergy at that period, as also the popular sentiment on the independence of the States, and their subsequent union under the present constitution.

6. A similar collection of Discourses preached on the day of Thanksgiving in the year 1851, would be very interesting; exhibiting the various views held on the Higher Law, and the preservation of the Union, and also the value of the Pulpit in pouring oil on the strong passions of mankind.

7. Biographical sketches of leading Presbyterian divines and eminent laymen. It is understood that one of our most esteemed writers is engaged in the preparation of a work of this sort, embracing the different Christian denominations. Whatever emanates from his elegant pen will be sure to possess a standard value; but it is thought, from the very structure of his projected work, such a one as is now recommended will not interfere with it, nor its necessity be superseded. Mark the stirring catalogue that might be produced, names which, though they that bare them have been gathered to their fathers, still powerfully affect us by the recollection of what they once did, or said, or wrote, and by a multitude of interesting associations that rush into the memory: Makemie, the Tennents, Dickinson, Davies, Burr, Blair, the Finleys, Beattie, Brainerd, Witherspoon, Rodgers, Nisbet, Ewing, Sproat, the Caldwells, S. Stanhope Smith, John Blair Smith, McWhorter, Griffin, Green, Blythe, J.P. Campbell, Boudinot, J.P. Wilson, Joshua L. Wilson, Hoge, Speece, Graham, Mason, Alexander, Miller, John Holt Rice, John Breckinridge, Nevins, Wirt. Here is an array of names which we need not blush to see adorning a Biographia Presbyterianiana. And the materials for most of the sketches are prepared to our hand, and only require the touch of a skilful compiler.

8. Lives of the Moderators. There have been sixty-four Moderators of the General Assembly; and as it is usual to call to the Chair of that venerable body men who enjoy some consideration among their brethren, it is fair to infer that a neat volume might be produced. Many were men of mark; and where this was not the case, materials could be gathered from the times in which they lived, or the doings of the Assembly over which they presided.

9. A connected account or gazetteer of Presbyterian Missions, both Foreign and Domestic, with sketches of prominent missionaries, and topographical notices of the stations. Dr. Green prepared something of this sort, but it is meagre, and might be greatly enlarged and enriched.

10. Reprints of scarce and valuable works. It may be objected that we have already a Board of Publication, who have this duty in charge; but it is not intended to do anything that would look like interference with that useful organ. The Board are expected to publish works of general utility, and likely to be popular, and so reimburse the outlay; this society would only undertake what would not fall strictly within the Board’s appropriate province, or would interest not the public generally, but the clerical profession.

11. A continuation of the Constitutional History of the Presbyterian Church to the present time. The valuable work of Dr. Hodge is unfinished; and whether his engrossing professional duties will ever allow him sufficient leisure to complete it is, to say the least, doubtful.

12. Should that not be done, then it will be desirable to have prepared an authentic narrative of the late Schism of 1838; or materials should be collected to facilitate its preparation hereafter, when it can be done more impartially than at present. Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge did a good service in this way, by publishing a series of Memoirs to serve for a future history, in the Baltimore Religious and Literary Magazine.

13. It might be well to compile a cheap and portable manual for the use of the laity, containing a compact history of the Presbyterian Church in America.

Other proposals on Davidson’s list include a history of the rise and decline of English Presbyterianism; a history of the French Huguenots; and a history of the Reformation in Scotland as well as biographical sketches of Scottish divines.

It is a useful exercise for those who share Davidson’s interest in church history to pause and reflect on the extent to which the goals that he proposed have been met. The Presbyterian Historical Society itself — located in Philadelphia — has certainly done tremendous legwork in this regard as a repository of valuable historical materials which has allowed scholars the opportunity to study and learn from the past. We are extremely grateful for the efforts of the Presbyterian Historical Society. Samuel Mills Tenney’s similar vision led to the creation of the Historical Foundation of the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Montreat, North Carolina. The PCA Historical Center in St. Louis, Missouri is another such agency that has done great service to the church at large as a repository of Reformed literature and memorabilia.

We do have access today to Gilbert Tennent’s Remarks Upon a Protestation Presented to the Synod of Philadelphia, June 1, 1741. By 1861, we know that a copy was located and deposited, in fact, at Presbyterian Historical Society. Though not yet available in PDF form at Log College Press, it is available for all to read online in html through the Evans Early American Imprint Collection here.

The biographical sketches then in progress that Davidson referenced in point #7 were carried through to publication by William B. Sprague. His Annals of the American Pulpit remain to this day a tremendous resource for students of history, yet, as Davidson wisely noted, though many writers have followed in Sprague’s footsteps on a much more limited basis, there is always room for more to be done towards the creation of a Biographia Presbyterianiana.

Regarding the Lives of Moderators (point #8), we are grateful for the labors of Barry Waugh of Presbyterians of the Past to highlight the men that Davidson had in mind. The lists and biographical sketches that he has generated are a very useful starting point towards achieving the goal articulated by Davidson, and help to bring to mind the contributions of Moderators to the work of the church.

There are a number of organizations that have taken pains to reprint older Presbyterian works of interest. Too many to list here, the contributions of all those who share this vision to make literature from the past accessible to present-day readers is to be applauded, including the efforts of Internet Archive, Google Books and others who digitize such works. We at Log College Press also strive to do this both with respect to reprints and our library of primary sources. For us, the past is not dead, primary sources are not inaccessible, and the writings of 18th-19th century Presbyterians are not irrelevant. It is worth noting that there are topical pages with growing resources available on Log College Press that highlight material on biographies, church history, the 1837 Old School / New School division, sermons and much more.

Much more could be said in regards to the extent to which organizations, historians and others have carried forward the goals articulated by Davidson. But for now we leave it to our readers to consider Davidson’s Desiderata, articulated over 150 years ago, and its connection to our shared interest in preserving the history and literature of early American Presbyterianism.

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Samuel Davies on 'the Venerable Dead'

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It was on this date in history — August 13, 1751 — that Samuel Davies (1723-1761) from Hanover County, Virginia wrote to his brother-in-law, John Holt, residing in Williamsburg, Virginia, a memorable summary of his feelings at that time.

Davies was then 27 years old. He had married his second wife Jane (his term of endearment for her was “Chara”) in 1748, and by this date they had two children, and another would be born the following year. A month before, in July 1751, Davies had lost his dear friend and mentor, Samuel Blair, of whom he wrote poetic tributes. In late June Davies had written a letter to Joseph Bellamy, a Congregational pastor residing in Bethlehem, Connecticut, which would later be published under the title The State of Religion Among the Protestant Dissenters in Virginia (1751) and then republished under a different title: An Account of a Remarkable Work of Grace, or, The Great Success of the Gospel in Virginia (1752). Though there were struggles and disappointments, yet, this was a period in Samuel Davies’ life that was filled with optimism and that is reflected in a poem he wrote, soon to be published in January 1752 within his collection of Miscellaneous Poems, titled Gratitude and Impotence, in which he pours out a desires to offer more praise to God than he thus does because he has so much for which to be thankful:

My Breast with warmer Zeal should burn,
With deeper tend’rer Sorrows mourn,
Than Gabriel that surrounds the Throne,
Than any Wretch beneath the Sun.

Imagine Davies, at home with his “Chara,” as well as with little William and Samuel, Jr., in his humble library, perhaps with Jonathan Edwards’ Life of David Brainerd (which he loaned to a friend in September 1751) on his desk; or the verse and prose of Joseph Addison, whom he described to John Holt in a letter a few days previously as “our favorite”; and perhaps extracts from Edward Young’s Night Thoughts, which he asked John to procure for him the following month, and of which he was to say, “of all the poetical Pieces I ever read, the Night thoughts, I think have been most serviceable to me; and I shall keep them as my companion, till I commence an Immortal.”

The memorable words which Davies wrote to Holt on August 13, 1751 are these:

I can tell you that I am as happy as perhaps Creation can make me: I enjoy all the Necessaries and most of the Conveniences of Life; I have a peaceful Study, as a Refuge from the Hurries and Noise of the World around me; the venerable Dead are waiting in my Library to entertain me, and relieve me from the Nonsense of surviving Mortals; I am peculiarly happy in my Relations, and Providence does not afflict me by afflicting them. In short, I have all a moderate Heart can wish; and I very much question if there be a more calm, placid and contented Mortal in Virginia.

Three years later, on July 21, 1754, while in England with Gilbert Tennent fundraising on behalf of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), that Davies wrote in his diary words that hearken back to that very special place and feeling described above: “How do I long for Retirement in my Study, and the Company of my Chara!”

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Forgotten Founding Fathers of the American Church and State

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There is a volume of biographical sketches that is well worth the read - William T. Hanzsche’s Forgotten Founding Fathers of the American Church and State (1954). It highlights some of the most significant colonial Presbyterians found on Log College Press. These include: Francis Makemie (“the Father of American Presbyterianism”); William Tennent, Sr. (founder of the Log College); Jonathan Dickinson (first President of the College of New Jersey in Princeton); David Brainerd (the “Apostle to the North American Indians”); Gilbert Tennent (“Son of Thunder”); Samuel Davies (the “Apostle to Virginia”); and John Witherspoon (the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation).

Hanzsche’s study is a great introduction to these men and their legacies. Their contributions to early American Presbyterianism, and indeed, to the history of the United States and the world, are worthy of notice and appreciation. This volume helps students of history to better understand the significance of each of these American Presbyterian worthies.

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Presbyterians Lost in the Woods

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To be lost in the woods at night is a fearful thing — much more so perhaps in the age before GPS and cell phones. Imagine what it was like for an 18th century Presbyterian missionary traveling on horseback through unfamiliar places in the dark without road signs. Then take note of not only the human fears that would be experienced, but also the spiritual lessons gleaned.

David Brainerd, missionary to the Native Americans, wrote in his journal on November 22, 1744:

Thursday, Nov. 22. Came on my way from Rockciticus to Delaware River. Was very much disordered with a cold and pain in my head. About 6 at Night, I lost my way in the wilderness, and wandered over rocks and mountains, down hideous steeps, thro' swamps, and most dreadful and dangerous places; and the night being dark, so that few stars could be seen, I was greatly exposed; was much pinch’d with cold, and distressed with an extreme pain in my head, attended with sickness at my stomach; so that every step I took was distressing to me. I had little hope for several hours together, but that I must lie out in the woods all night, in this distressed case. But about 9 o'clock, I found a house, thro' the abundant goodness of God, and was kindly entertained. Thus I have frequently been exposed, & sometimes lain out the whole night: but God has hitherto preserved me; and blessed be his name. Such fatigues and hardships as these serve to wean me more from the earth; and, I trust, will make heaven the sweeter. Formerly, when I was thus exposed to cold, rain, &c. I was ready to please myself with the thoughts of enjoying a comfortable house, a warm fire, and other outward comforts; but now these have less place in my heart (thro' the Grace of God) and my eye is more to God for comfort. In this world I expect tribulation; and it does not now, as formerly, appear strange to me; I don't in such seasons of difficulty flatter myself that it will be better hereafter; but rather think, how much worse it might be; how much greater trials others of God's children have endured; and how much greater are yet perhaps reserved for me. Blessed be God, that he makes the thoughts of my journey's end and of my dissolution a great comfort to me, under my sharpest trial; & scarce ever lets these thoughts be attended with terror or melancholy; but they are attended frequently with great joy.

Another example comes from the pen of Samuel Davies, who ministered in Virginia. His poetic composition (published in 1750) is introduced thus:

The following verses were composed by a pious clergyman in Virginia, who preaches to seven congregations, the nearest of which meets at the distance of five miles from his house, as he was returning home in a very gloomy and rainy night.

The untitled poem follows:

Some, heavenly pensive contemplation, come,
Possess my soul, and solemn thoughts inspire.
The sacred hours, that with too swift a wing
Incessant hurry by, nor quite elapsed,
Demand a serious close. Then be my soul
Sedate and solemn, as this gloom of night,
That thickens round me. Free from care, composed
Be all my soul, as this dread solitude,
Through which with gloomy joy I make my way.
Above these clouds, above the spacious sky,
In whose vast arch these cloudy oceans roll,
Dispensing fatness to the world below;
There dwells THE MAJESTY whose single hand
Props universal nature, and who deals
His liberal blessings to this little globe,
The residence of worms; where Adam’s sons,
Thoughtless of him, who taught their souls to think,
Ramble in vain pursuits. The hosts of heaven,
Cherubs and Seraphs, potentates and thrones,
Arrayed in glorious light, hover on wing
Before his throne, and wait his sovereign nod:
With active zeal, with sacred rapture fired,
To his extensive empire’s utmost bound
They bear his orders, and his charge perform.
Yet He, even He, (ye ministers of flame,
Admire the condescension and the grace!)
Employs a mortal formed of meanest clay,
Debased by sin, whose best desert is hell;
Employs him to proclaim a SAVIOUR’S name,
And offer pardon to a rebel world.
Enjoyed the honour of his advocate:
Immortal souls, of more transcendent worth
Than ophir, or Peru’s exhaustless mines,
Are trusted to my care. Important trust!
What if some wretched soul, (tremendous thought!)
Once favoured with the gospel’s joyful sound,
Now lost, forever lost through my neglect,
In dire infernal glooms, with flaming tongue,
Be heaping execrations on my head,
Whilst here secure I dream my life away!
What if some ghost, cut off from life and hope,
With fierce despairing eyes up-turned to heaven,
That wildly stare, and witness horrors huge,
Be roaring horrid, “Lord, avenge my blood
On that unpitying wretch, who saw me run
With full career the dire enchanting road
To these devouring flames, yet warned me not,
Or faintly warned me; and with languid tone,
And cool harangue, denounced eternal fire,
And wrath divine?” At the dread shocking thought
My spirit shudders, all my inmost soul
Trembles and shrinks. Sure, if the plaintive cries
Of spirits reprobate can reach the ear
Of their great judge, they must be cries like these.
But if the meanest of the happy choir,
That with eternal symphonies surround
The heavenly throne, can stand, and thus declare,
”I owe it to his care that I am here,
Next to Almighty Grace: His faithful hand,
Regardless of the frowns he might incur,
Snatched me, reluctant, from approaching flames,
Ready to catch, and burn unquenchable:
May richest grace reward his pious zeal
With some bright mansion in this world of bliss.”
Transporting thought! Then blessed be the hand
That formed my elemental clay to man,
And still supports me. ‘Tis worthwhile to live,
If I may live to purposes so great.
Awake my dormant zeal! Forever flame
With generous ardors for immortal souls;
And may my head, and tongue, and heart and all,
Spend and be spent in service so divine.

Each made it home safely. And they re-learned reliance upon the God who cares for servants who are seeking to stay upon the right path. A lesson for us today - to be lost in the woods is not necessarily to stray from His path for us - we may still be guided to our blessed journey’s end (Ps. 48:14). As has been said beautifully before, not all who wander are lost.

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Sabbath Poems by David Brainerd

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April 25, 1742 - It was the Lord’s Day. David Brainerd wrote in his diary that he spent two hours early in the morning engaged in private worship. The spiritual blessings he experienced on that special Sabbath day he described in prose and in verse, and his words in turn have inspired many.

Lord’s-Day, April 25. This morning spent about two hours Hours in secret duties, and was enabled more than ordinarily to agonize for immortal souls; though it was early in the morning, and the sun scarcely shined at all, yet my body was quite wet with sweat. Felt much pressed now, as frequently of late, to plead for the meekness and calmness of the Lamb of God in my soul: through divine goodness felt much of it this morning. O ‘tis a sweet disposition, heartily to forgive all injuries done us; to wish our greatest enemies as well as we do our own souls! Blessed Jesus, may I daily be more and more conformed to Thee. At night was exceedingly melted with divine love, and had some feeling sense of the blessedness of the upper world. Those words hung upon me, with much divine sweetness, Ps. lxxxiv.7. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God. O the near access, that God sometimes gives us in our addresses to him! This may well be termed appearing before God: ‘Tis so indeed, in the true spiritual sense, and in the sweetest sense. — I think I have not had such power of intercession, these many months, as I have had this evening. I wished and longed for the coming of my dear Lord: I longed to join the angelic hoses in praises, wholly free from imperfection. O the blessed moment hastens! All I want is to be more holy, more like my dear Lord. O for sanctification! My very soul pants for the complete restoration of the blessed image of my sweet Saviour; that I may be fit for the blessed enjoyments and employments of the heavenly world.

Brainerd then found his muse.

Farewell, vain World; my Soul can bid Adieu:
My Saviour’s taught me to abandon you.
Your Charms may gratify a sensual Mind;
Not please a Soul wholly for God design’d.
Forbear t’entice, cease then my Soul to call:
’Tis fix’d, through Grace; my God shall be my All.
While he thus lets me heavenly Glories view,
Your Beauties fade, my Heart’s no Room for you.

Returning to prose, Brainerd goes on:

The Lord refreshed my soul with many sweet passages of his Word. O the New Jerusalem! My soul longed for it. O the Song of Moses and the Lamb! And that blessed song, that no man can learn, but they that are redeemed from the earth! And the glorious white robes, that were given to the souls under the altar!

And then in one final poetic effusion, Brainerd expresses his burning desire for sweet communion with his Lord.

Lord, I’m a Stranger here alone;
Earth no true Comforts can afford:
Yet, absent from my dearest One,
My Soul delights to cry, My Lord!
Jesus, my Lord, my only Love,
Possess my Soul, nor thence depart:
Grant me kind Visits, heavenly Dove;
My God shall then have all my Heart.

May these Sabbath meditations from almost 300 years ago by a Presbyterian missionary richly bless your Sabbath day today.

HT: Tom Sullivan

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A 1903 recommended pastoral library

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We have examined previously what constitutes a solid, recommended pastoral library as described by Thomas Murphy; and J.O. Murray, B.B. Warfield, and others. In today’s post, we take a look at recommendations from George Summey of The Presbyterian Quarterly and R.A. Lapsley, Sr. in the Union Seminary Magazine of 1903.

In Vol. 16 of The Presbyterian Quarterly, pp. 407-409, we find a list of 100 recommended titles compiled from the suggestions of many pastors and professors as to what should constitute the basic inventory of a young pastor’s library.

Beginning with the King James Version and Revised Version of the Bible, and Greek and Hebrew lexicons, the list continues with Bible dictionaries and concordances, and Bible commentaries (Matthew Henry and J-F-B on the whole Bible, and select commentators on individual books, such as William Henry Green on Job and Joseph Addison Alexander on Isaiah), before proceeding to classics of Christian literature such as John Calvin’s Institutes, Charles Hodge’s Systematic Theology, Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Christ, Thomas Murphy’s Pastoral Theology, Fisher’s Catechism, B.M. Palmer’s Theology of Prayer, and D'Aubigné’s History of the Reformation; and classics of literature in general, including Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson and Dickens.

It is a full list with a sufficiently broad scope to encompass many areas of study with which each pastor ought to be acquainted. But no list of this nature is going to be complete. R.A. Lapsley wrote his own article to supplement that of the Presbyterian Quarterly by proposing several additional fields of literature of great value to the young minister.

• Experimental religion - Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ; Archibald Alexander, Thoughts on Religious Experience; William S. Plumer, Vital Godliness; Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections; and the practical works of John Owen;

• Revivals of religion - G.W. Hervey’s Manual of Revivals, with particular reference to the bibliography at p. 143-144, and the outlines of George Whitefield’s sermons, and others;

• Sermons — The sermons of Charles Spurgeon are recommended, as well as Stuart Robinson’s Discourses of Redemption; and those found in the 1896 Southern Presbyterian Pulpit;

• Hymnology — S.W. Duffield, English Hymns: Their Authors and History; and

• Christian biographies — Memoirs of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, Edward Payson, William C. Burns, and David Brainerd are among those recommended.

Lapsley concludes thus:

These, then, are some of the lines along which a preacher's library ought to grow, building upon the solid foundation laid down in the Quarterly’s list of one hundred books. If a man is to be a preacher and pastor, as well as a theologian and exegete, he wants to have and “inwardly digest” some books on religious experience and revivals of religion, some volumes of sermons, something on religious poetry, especially hymnology, and a number of the choicest religious biographies. These, along with text-books on Pastoral Theology and hand-books of missions, furnish the material for that great department of Practical Theology which is a vital point in ministerial equipment, coördinate with dogmatics and hermeneutics.

In short, the well-read and well-rounded minister is one who begins with the study of the Bible and proceeds to consult spiritual classics from the spectrum of history. Lapsley is not averse to recommending (for occasional perusal) the autobiography of Charles Finney (with a caution about his Pelagianism), but offers his highest praise of the practical works of John Owen. Read Summey’s list here, and Lapsley’s article here, for the combined pastoral library recommendations from the 1903 Presbyterian Quarterly and Union Seminary Magazine.

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

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

17th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

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

18th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

19th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Early 20th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

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

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

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

Other Early American Presbyterian Worthies to Know

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How a conversation in Latin led Charles Beatty into the ministry

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Samuel Miller tells the tale of how Charles Beatty, as a teenager, having emigrated from his native Northern Ireland and arrived in America with a measure of classical education already under his belt, in the providence of God, met William Tennent, Sr., the founder of the Log College. Their encounter was a memorable one, which led to a great chapter in the history of God’s kingdom on earth.

The Rev. Charles Beatty was a native of Ireland. He obtained a pretty accurate classical education in his own country; but his circumstances being narrow, he migrated to America, and employed several of the first years of his residence on this side of the Atlantic in the business of a pedlar. In the pursuit of this vocation, he halted, one day, at the “Log College,” on the Neshaminy, then under care of the Reverend William Tennent the elder. The pedlar, to Mr. Tennent’s surprise, addressed him in correct Latin, and appeared to be familiar with that language. After much conversation, in which Mr. Beatty manifested fervent piety, and considerable religious knowledge, as well as a good education in other respects, Mr. Tennent addressed him thus — “You must quit your present employment. Go and sell the contents of your pack, and return immediately, and study with me. It will be a sin for you to continue a pedlar, when you may be so much more useful in another profession.” He accepted Mr. Tennent’s offer; returned to Neshaminy; completed there his academical and theological studies; and in due time became an eminent minister. He died in Barbadoes, wither he had gone to solicit benefactions for the college of New-Jersey [Princeton], about the time of Mr. Rodgers’ removal to New-York (Memoirs of the Rev. John Rodgers, D.D., p. 109).

Beatty went on to serve as the pastor of Tennent’s church at Neshaminy, and as a missionary on the western frontier. He was a close friend and companion of David Brainerd. Although born in Ulster and buried on the Caribbean island of Barbados, his name is remembered as an American Presbyterian pastor and pioneer missionary of great eminence. And in the providence of God, it was his knowledge of Latin that led him to a life of service to Christ and his kingdom.

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How we may imitate Christ in His universal charity to all men - Ebenezer Pemberton

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Ebenezer Pemberton, Jr. (1705-1777) was a leading American Puritan of the colonial era. His father preached at the Old South Church (Congregational) in Boston, Massachusetts. Our Ebenezer was affiliated with the Presbyterian Church for the first half of his ministerial career and then returned to his father’s church in 1753. He served as chair of the New York Board of the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, preached the ordination sermons for both David and John Brainerd. Recently, we have added over 90 autograph manuscript sermons by him to Log College Press. Many of these, but not all, were written in shorthand. They cover the time period between the 1740s and 1770s. With remarkable penmanship, we can get a glimpse of the ministerial labors of a remarkable preacher.

From another source (not found on Log College Press at present) we take note of a passage from a sermon he preached from Philippians 2:5 titled “The Duty of Imitating the Example of Christ” (The Puritan Pulpit: Ebenezer Pemberton, Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 2006, pp. 103-105). In the tradition of Thomas à Kempis and The Imitation of Christ, and John Calvin, who sought to guide Christians in the right manner of imitating our Saviour while avoiding superstitious abuses of the principle, Pemberton’s sermon covers various aspects of how Christians ought to follow Christ’s example. One of these consists in how we ought to imitate Christ in regards to his relationship to all men.

We must imitate the example of Christ in His universal charity and kindness to men. This is indeed beyond a parallel, and what can never be fully imitated by any of the children of men. His whole life upon earth was one continued act of the most generous and disinterested love to the most base and unworthy objects. The gospel history everywhere abounds with astonishing instances of His grace and benignity to mankind.

It was love that brought him down from the bright realms of eternal day and fixed His abode for a time in this miserable and benighted world. This animated Him continually to go about doing good to the souls and bodies of men, instructing the ignorant, comforting the sorrowful, healing the sick, and supplying the wants of the poor and needy. This carried Him through a scene of the most distressing sorrows and afflictions in His life, and at last humbled Him to the dust of death and nailed Him to the cursed tree as an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of the world. This is such an instance of love as exceeds the power of love to describe, and the utmost stretch of our imagination to conceive of the height and depth, the length and breadth. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). “But herein God commended His love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It is the manner of men to place their affections upon those they apprehend to be the most agreeable and deserving objects; and it is the highest instance of human love to die for a friend. But this is the transcendent excellency of the love of Christ, that it was placed upon the most base and unlovely part of the creation. He laid down His life for His very enemies, who had renounced His sacred authority and were in open rebellion against His laws.

This is certainly a most surprising and unusual pattern of love, and should powerfully dispose us to the most extensive charity and benevolence to our fellow creatures. This is the inference made by St. John, the beloved disciple: “If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” For this end the example of Christ is frequently proposed for our imitation, and we are solemnly enjoined to copy it. “This is My commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). Nay, He makes it the distinguishing badge of His followers, and the necessary character of His genuine disciples: “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye love one another.” And what stronger obligations can we be under to this excellent duty, what more powerful motives can be set before us to engage us to the practice of it, than the positive command of our Master and Lord, and the noble example of Him who has given us so many expensive evidences of His wonderful kindness and love.

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Ebenezer Pemberton on Divine Meditation

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Ebenezer Pemberton, Jr. (1705-1777) was one of the founders of the College of New Jersey (Princeton). His father, Ebenezer Pemberton, Sr., served as pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts; the younger Pemberton served as the pastor of the First (Wall Street) Presbyterian Church of New York City for 26 years.

He preached the ordination sermon for David Brainerd, as well as a notable sermon on the death of George Whitefield (published with Phillis Wheatley’s poem on Whitefield). These and other works by Pemberton (Jr.) have been recently added to Log College Press.

Another publication of note by Pemberton is the preface which he authored to Samuel Willard’s Some Brief Sacramental Meditations Preparatory for Communion at the Great Ordinance of the Supper (1743). Before praising the Puritan Willard, whose Sacramental Meditations were published posthumously, Pemberton highlighted the importance of Divine Meditation.

Divine Meditation is a religious exercise of great account in the School of Christ; and will be the employment of serious souls, that value their proficiency in Christianity. The very power and capacity for it argues the dignity of human nature; and the right exercise; and the right exercise of it will advance the soul to a divine and angelic perfection. This duty will afford the most agreeable employment, and pleasing entertainment to our thoughts, in their largest compass, and closest collection: it will exalt the most noble powers of the soul to satisfying converse with God the first Truth, and the supreme Good: And hence must be perspective of the soul in knowledge and holiness.

By meditation the mind comes to take a steady view of divine truths in their reality, excellency, and important aspect upon the soul. It chases away those clouds that veil the face of divine objects, that they may appear in their native beauty. There are indeed any times sudden flashes of light breaking into the soul by transient thoughts; which may afford hints, which, if improved and followed, would lead to many surprising and profitable discoveries of truth: yet this sudden blaze of thought, though never so bright, will not lay open the hidden mysteries of divine things to our view, unless the mind be brought by mediation to a holy praise upon them. These beams of truth may with their superficial touches for a moment lightly gild the mind; but not afford a steady light, or lasting impression; unless by deep and close musing, thoughts be fired and inflamed; which will not barely amuse but better the mind. For hereby the soul will be led to new discoveries of spiritual things, to a more full apprehension of truths already known, and known truths will leave more more of a transforming power upon all the faculties of the soul.

Meditation is there a duty of vast consequence to the Christian, in that it tends to advance his improvement in the graces of the divine nature, and in the duties of the divine life. This gives life and strength to faith: for herein the devout believer takes a view of the fullness and stability of the promises, and the unalterable fidelity of the Promiser; and can triumph in this, that he knows in whom he has believed. Hereby Hope is made more sure and steady; and its purifying and refreshing virtue strengthened. It brings food to gratify and nourish the most raised Hope: for in devout meditation the soul stands with Moses on Mount Pisgah, and surveys the good land of Promise; herein it is taken as the three favorite disciples into the Mount of Transfiguration, where it is encircled with some beams of heavenly glory; herein it receives some fore-tastes of the joys of the coming world, some pledges and earnests of the expected inheritance in light: whereby the Christian comes to know by happy experience, in some good measure, what is the hope of the calling of God, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Hereby divine love in the soul is maintained and cherished: it blows up the heavenly spark into an holy flame; and brings new fuel to preserve, and increase its power and brightness. Hereby the spirit of true devotion is warmed and raised. It disengages the mind from those things below that do dampen the force and heat of the Spirit in its holy aspirations, and ascents to God. It gives both fixation and flame to the soul in its divine musings. While the Psalmist was musing, the fire burned, and his heart was hot within him.

Again, meditation tends to make Providences more instructive in duty, and impressive of the obligations to it on the heart. Hereby divine ordinances will be made more mighty through God, to turn the sinner from the error of his ways to the wisdom of the just; and to make the man of God more perfect in grace, rich in comfort, and ripe for glory.

Sure I am, holy meditation can never be more seasonable, than when we make our solemn approaches to the table of the Lord. Meditation should be our preparation for it, our entertainment at it, and the conclusion of this spiritual banquet. And were this duty more exercised, we should attend this ordinance with greater awe and solemnity of spirit, with keener appetites after those spiritual dainties there set before us; and go away from it more strengthened with the Bread of Life, and more refreshed with the Wine of Consolation. And have the evidence of it by being less slothful in business, and more fervent in Spirit serving the Lord.

In the language of a colonial American (nevertheless, which has been slightly modernized), Ebenezer Pemberton here describes meditation as the spark that fuels a fire in the soul. It is the “musing,” or careful pondering, consideration and deliberation of select edifying thoughts which constitutes the divine meditation here in view. These may be Scripture verses, or themes, or occasional matters which furnish deeper thoughts on divine principles. The employment of this duty is especially of use, Pemberton argues, in preparation for the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, wherein we are to examine ourselves and to discern the Lord’s body. Its neglect has a detrimental effect on spiritual life, and that is true whether we are speaking of the 18th century or the 21st.

The extract above from Pemberton’s Preface, along with Willard’s Sacramental Meditations, may be of use to stir us up in this often-neglected duty. Take time to consider the value of divine meditation, and then, with this encouragement, put it into practice, and it will be a blessing to you, dear reader.

Christian, do you experience depression? You are not alone - read this from the journal of David Brainerd

It was a Sabbath evening nearly 300 years ago when young David Brainerd wrote this in his journal:

Lord’s day, Dec, 16. [1744]

Was so overwhelmed with dejection, that I knew not how to live. I longed for death exceedingly: my soul was sunk into deep waters, and floods were ready to drown me. I was so much oppressed, that my soul was in a kind of horror; could not keep my thoughts fixed in prayer, for the space of one minute, without fluttering and distraction; and was exceedingly ashamed, that I did not live to God. I had no distressing doubt about my own state; but would have cheerfully ventured (as far as I could possibly know) into eternity.

While I was going to preach to the Indians, my soul was in anguish; I was so overborne with discouragement that I despaired of doing any good, and was driven to my wit’s-end; I knew nothing what to say, nor what course to take. But at last I insisted on the evidence we have of the truth of Christianity form the miracles of Christ; many of which I set before them: and God helped me to make a close application to those who refused to believe the truth of what I taught them. Indeed I was enabled to speak to the consciences of all, in some measure, and was somewhat encouraged to find that God enabled me to be faithful once more.

Them came and preached to another company of them; but was very weary and faint. In the evening, I was refreshed and enabled to pray and praise God with composure and affection; had some enlargement and courage with respect to my work; was willing to live, and longed to do more for God than my weak state of body would admit of.

I can do all things through Christ that strengtheth me; and by his grace, I am willing to spend and be spent in his Service, when l am not thus sunk in dejection and a kind of despair.

This great saint, the minister and missionary who spent himself in service to God and Native Americans, also struggled with bouts of depression, which is evident in reading his journal. If you are reading this, dear Christian, and you can relate, be encouraged, as Brainered was, by the promises of God for the support of his precious saints. And know that you are not alone. (HT: Victor McKinnon)

David Brainerd's Preface to Thomas Shepard's Diary

In August of 1747, two months before his death, David Brainerd (1718-1747) wrote a preface to Thomas Shepard’s (1605-1649) diary, published that year under the title Meditations and Spiritual Experiences. A portion of Brainerd’s preface was later extracted and included in the “Reflections and Observations” of Jonathan Edward’s (1703-1758) edition of Brainerd’s own journal.

The intersection of Brainerd and Shepard and Edwards — three of the brightest luminaries of American colonial experimental piety who each wrote diaries that they never envisioned would be published — is a remarkable window into the souls of the godly.

Recently added to the inventory of Log College Press, Brainerd’s preface to Shepard’s diary stands as a remarkable essay on the importance of true religion, exemplified in the life of a New England Puritan.

It was Brainerd’s hope that the publication of Shepard’s diary would serve to better illustrate the yearnings of a godly soul, and that Shepard’s example would stir up men, and especially ministers of the gospel, to greater holiness.

Now, as all proper means are to be used to cure the errors of men's minds, especially in things of religion, and as something of this nature may, therefore, seem peculiarly needful, especially in some places, so 'tis hopeful that the publication of the following small piece of the Rev. Mr Shepard's will be made, in some measure, serviceable in that respect. For, as it is a journal of the private experiences of that excellent and holy man, designed for his own use, so it contains, as it were, this true religion for a course of time delineated to us in a very exact manner; whence we have opportunity to see, with utmost plainness, what passed with him for religion, what he laboured after under that notion, and what were the exercises and difficulties he met with in pursuance of a religious life: And those who have any favour for the name and piety of that venerable man, 'tis hoped, will read his experiences with care and attention, and, as they read, consider whether there be any manner of agreement be tween his and theirs; and whoever reads attentively, I'm persuaded must own that he finds a greater appearance of true humility, self-emptiness, self loathing, sense of great unfruitfulness, selfishness, exceeding vileness of heart, smallness of attainments in grace; I say he must needs own that he finds more expressions of deep unfeigned self-abasement in these experiences of Mr Shepard's than some are willing to admit of And 'tis hopeful, the reader will further observe, that, when Mr Shepard speaks of his comforts in religion, as he frequently does of his satisfaction, sweetness, and desire to die and to be with Christ, he always gives a solid account of the foundation of these comforts, and mentions some exercises of grace from which they proceeded; so that they are wholly different from those groundless joys that arise in the minds of poor deluded souls from a sudden suggestion made to them — that Christ is theirs, that God loves them, and the like. The reader will further observe, that he valued nothing in religion that was not done with a view to the glory of God, as appears by many of his expressions, especially that under April 15, where he says, “When I looked over the day, I saw how I fell short of God and Christ, and how I had spent one hour unprofitably: and why? because though the thing I did was good, yet because I in tended not God in it, as my last end, and did not set my rule before me, and so set myself to please God, therefore I was unprofitable. O that others, from this example, would learn to lay the stress of religion here, and labour that whether they live, they might live to the Lord, or whether they die, they might die to the Lord!

There is something in these papers of the Rev. Mr Shepard's that seems excellently calculated to be of service to those who are in the ministry in particular. His method of examining his aims and ends, and the temper of his mind, both before and after preaching, whether he had met with enlargement or straitening, is an excellent example for those that bear the sacred character. By these means they are like to gain a large acquaintance with their own hearts, as 'tis evident he had with his.

May the blessing of heaven attend the following pages, that he who has long been dead may yet speak by them to the instruction, conviction, and saving benefit of many souls!

With an introduction such as this, be encouraged dear reader to read the whole of Brainerd’s short essay, and to peruse Shepard’s diary. Also on David Brainerd’s page is his own journal edited and reflected upon by Jonathan Edwards. These are two volumes which constitute a storehouse of spiritual treasures.