Samuel Davies Was Born 300 Years Ago

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"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.” — Samuel Davies, August 1751 Letter to John Holt

Samuel Davies was 300 years ago on this day in history, November 3, 1723, near Bear, Delaware. His parents were David and Martha Thomas Davies, and were of Welsh descent. He was a "son of prayer," and thus Samuel was named by his mother for Samuel the prophet. Originally, the Davies family was Baptist, but Martha came to embrace Presbyterian doctrine and her family was put out of the Baptist church. Samuel was educated first, it is believed, by William Robinson (who would later play such an influential role in Davies' pastoral career) at the English school at Hopewell (New Jersey) Presbyterian Church, and later at the Faggs Manor (Pennsylvania) academy run by Samuel Blair, who was not only a mentor, but a dear friend. 

Birthplace of Samuel Davies, near Bear, Delaware (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

In July 1743, William Robinson preached the first Presbyterian sermon ever delivered in Hanover County, Virginia. The people of Hanover were so thankful for his ministry that they took up a collection, which Robinson ensured was used to assist Samuel's theological education. Three years later, Davies was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Castle. He was ordained to the ministry in February 1747, and commissioned as an evangelist to minister to the congregation at Hanover, Virginia, and surrounding counties. He traveled south with John Rodgers, and became settled in his new Virginia home, accepting a call to serve as pastor of the Polegreen Church, beginning a very fruitful ministry. Davies earned the title "Apostle to Virginia" and "Apostle of the Great Awakening in Virginia." One particular focus of his ministry involved the spiritual care of slaves within his ecclesiastical bounds.

1862 sketch of Polegreen Church before it was destroyed in 1864.

Historic Polegreen Church in Mechanicsville, Virginia, as it appears today.

He was married to Sarah Kirkpatrick in 1746. She and her unborn son died the following year. In 1748, Davies married Jane Holt, whom he called "Chara," and with whom they had six children, one of whom died at birth. Jane was the muse who inspired several of Davies' poems. 

Davies and Gilbert Tennent traveled to the British Isles in 1753-1755 on a fundraising mission for the College of New Jersey, and the journal that Davies kept to record his experiences has been published. In 1759, he was called to serve as President of the College of New Jersey, replacing Jonathan Edwards. His departure from Hanover was painful for him because of the love he had towards his flock, but he answered what he believed was the call of duty. He set about cataloguing the library and his brief tenure at Princeton was very much appreciated by students and Trustees alike. 

He was the author of some treatises, as well as many letters, hymns (he is considered the first American-born hymn-writer), poems and sermons, some of which were published in his lifetime, and which were published in several volumes posthumously. His preaching helped to inspire frontier men who were fighting in the French and Indian War, and one person in particular who was deeply impressed with his homiletics was Patrick Henry, who a generation later became one of America's greatest orators. Davies was referred to by Martyn Lloyd-Jones as "the greatest preacher you have ever produced in this country."

On January 1, 1761, Davies delivered his Sermon on the New Year on the text Jer. 28:16, stating “it is not only possible — but highly probable, that death may meet some of us within the compass of this year.” Like previous Presidents of the College of New Jersey who had preached on this passage, such as Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Burr, Sr., Davies did indeed die in the selfsame year. He contracted a cold, and after bleeding by a physician, he got an infection and became mortally ill, breathing his last at home on February 4, 1761, at the age of 37. He was laid to rest at Princeton Cemetery, and his funeral sermon was preached by Samuel Finley. Thomas Gibbons, who preached a sermon commemorating Davies' life and death in England, published the first set of Davies' sermons in 1766. Notable biographies of Davies include George W. Pilcher, Samuel Davies: Apostle of Dissent in Colonial Virginia (1971); Dewey Roberts, Samuel Davies: Apostle to Virginia (2017); and Joseph C. Harrod, Theology and Spirituality in the Works of Samuel Davies (2019). 

Grave of Samuel Davies at Princeton Cemetery, Princeton, New Jersey (photo by R. Andrew Myers).

He once told his auditors: "Whatever, I say, be your Place, permit me, my dear Youth, to inculcate upon you this important instruction, IMBIBE AND CHERISH A PUBLIC SPIRIT. Serve your Generation. Live not for yourselves, but the Publick. Be the Servants of the Church; the servants of your Country; the Servants of all. Extend the Arms of your Benevolence to embrace your Friends, your Neighbors, your Country, your Nation, the whole Race of mankind, even your Enemies. Let it be the vigorous unremitted Effort of your whole Life, to leave the World wiser and better than you found it at your Entrance (Religion and Public Spirit: A Valedictory Address to the Senior Class, Delivered in Nassau-Hall, September 21, 1760 [1762])." It can certainly be said of Davies that he left the world wiser than he found it.

Presbyterians of South Carolina

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𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐛𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚

So long ago that all was wilderness
Where now our love has root,
There came from other lands in eagerness
For freedom, men of might, standing for right,
Who sowed the seed of faith. Then in the light
Of Christ there grew, in loving earnestness,
This Church, our home, their fruit.

Here persecution drove the steadfast Scot;
Men from North Ireland fled;
From England others sped;
Suffering, bereft, the high-souled Huguenot
Escaped to find a safer, happier lot,
Free heart and honest bread.

From these we spring in faith and in descent,
Their very names we bear.
The Christ for whom this blood, these lives were spent,
Shows us the world in anguish, sick with strife,
Wearily waiting rest, hoping to hear
Of God’s great peace! Oh! pray that we be lent
True wisdom, strength, the power to persevere,
To show God’s love, to tell of heavenly life,
Until our Lord appear.

— Louisa C. Smythe Stoney, in Margaret A. Gist, Presbyterian Women of South Carolina (1929), p. xiii

Balch on the Poetical Aspects of the Sabbath

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In Northern Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, T.B. Balch often wrote for Richmond-based periodicals from his manse at Ringwood Cottage. His prose literary productions were often poetical in nature and his knowledge of the poets, contemporary and classical, permeated his writing.

As an example of this, today we highlight his essay titled “The Sabbath in Its Poetical Aspects,” published in the April 1849 issue of The Southern Literary Messenger.

A spring morning had come. It ushered in the day of rest and Ringwood had never looked as quiet or as handsome before. The kirks round about were all closed, a thing which sometimes happens in the country when our pastors are away. As the hours into which day is divided were chasing each other off, the writer got to ruminating upon what the Sabbath had done for poetry and what poetry had done for the Sabbath. The Sabbath presents itself periodically to the poet, and invites his eye on a range among its tints, whilst some of the poets, grateful for the materials it gives, have sung its sweet repose.

Sketch of Ringwood manse.

After ruminating in this way, about twilight, my Ringwood grounds looked very sweet, dressed out in the bloom of apple and peach tree orchards. The sight recalled to mind the descriptive poetry of Mrs. [Felicia] Hemans and the fact that this noble woman always like the Sabbath. Among the bold mountains of Wales she sung the sacred day; and when dying among the shamrocks of the Emerald Isle, she indited to her amanuensis the lines with which we shall conclude —

How many groups this hour are bending
Through England’s primrose meadow-paths their way
Tow’rds spire and tower, midst shadowy elms ascending,
Whence the sweet chimes proclaim the hallowed day.

I may not tread

With them those pathways — to the feverish bed
Of sickness bound — yet O my God I bless
Thy mercy that with Sabbath peace hath filled
My chastened heart.

His essay expresses appreciation of the silence of the day as he experienced it in the rural Northern Virginia horse country when labor was reduced to a minimum, deplores the sound of war heard elsewhere around the world on the Lord’s Day, and yet wistfully longs for the sound of the chimes of church bells. It is a poetic rumination that wanders over the countryside and through the human heart with a spiritual gaze as immense as the view of the Virginia piedmont from Hazel Mountain.

If in search of inspiration from some thoughtful Sabbath reading, pause for a moment at Ringwood manse, read over his brief essay, and consider the blessed poetical aspects of the Lord’s Day.

What's New at Log College Press? - December 20, 2022

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At the close of 2022, Log College Press is staying very active as we continue to expand the site and make accessible even more literature from early American Presbyterians.

Last month, in November 2022, we added 582 new works to the site. There are currently over 17,000 free works available at LCP. Today we are highlighting some of the new free PDFs available as found on our Recent Additions and Early Access pages, two features provided to members of the Dead Presbyterians Society.

Some highlights at the Early Access page:

• Two works by Thomas Cleland, A Familiar Dialogue Between Calvinus and Arminius (1805, 1830); and The Socini-Arian Detected: A Series of Letters to Barton W. Stone, on Some Important Subjects of Theological Discussion, Referred to in His "Address" to the Christian Churches in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio (1815);

• Abraham Brooks Van Zandt, God's Voice to the Nation: A Sermon Occasioned by the Death of Zachary Taylor, President of the United States (1850);

• Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith (1955); and Christianity and Barthianism (1962);

• John Murray, The Reformed Faith and Modern Substitutes (1935-1936); and The Application of Redemption (1952-1954) [a series of many articles which served as the basis for his 1955 book Redemption Accomplished and Applied];

• Geerhardus Vos, A Song of the Nativity (1924, 1972) [a Christmas poem]; and

• early sermons by Francis James Grimké, Our Duty to the Poor — How We Observed It on Christmas (1881); Wendell Phillips: A Sermon Delivered Sunday, Feb. 24, 1884, at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. (1884); Our Future as a People (1890), each of which was contributed by a reader.

Some highlights at the Recent Addtiions page:

• Dozens of articles by John Murray and Cornelius Van Til;

• Many articles and sermons by Theodore Ledyard Cuyler and Thomas De Witt Talmage;

• Lots of books by Mary Virginia “Marion Harland” Terhune;

• The full run of Lyman Beecher, The Spirit of the Pilgrims (1828-1833); and the initial 1828 issues of Elias Boudinot, Cherokee Phoenix;

• David McAllister, The National Reform Movement: Its History and Principles: A Manual of Christian Civil Government (1890);

• Compilations, Testimony of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America on the Subject of Slavery (1858); Hymnal of the Presbyterian Church [PCUSA] (1867); and Centennial of Home Missions [PCUSA] (1902); and much, much more.

Also, be sure also to check out the quotes we have been adding at our blog for DPS members: Though Dead They Still Speak, including John Holmes Agnew: The Lord Loves the Gates of Zion; B.B. Warfield on Theological Study as a Religious Exercise and on What it Means to Glorify and Enjoy God; William H. Green on How the Child of God May Rightly Undergo Frowning Providences; John Murray: To the Calvinist Who Once Struggled With the Arminian Idea of Free Will; E.C. Wines: Christ is the Fountain of the Promises; James Gallaher on the Difference Between Calvinism and Fatalism; William S. Plumer's Suggested Guidelines for Making Family Worship More Profitable; Elizabeth Prentiss on Dying Grace; and T. De Witt Talmage: The Sabbath a Taste of Heaven.

We appreciate hearing from our readers if they find matters needing correction, or if they have questions about authors or works on the site, or if they have suggestions for additions to the site. Your feedback helps the experience of other readers as well.

Meanwhile, please feel free to browse the many resources available to our readers in print and in digital format. There is a lot to explore, and many Presbyterian voices from the past to hear. We look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for Log College Press in 2023. Thank you, as always, for your interest and support, dear friends, and best wishes to you in the New Year!

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R.L. Dabney: Poet

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When we think of Robert Lewis Dabney, most associate him with his systematic theology or the War Between the States. He was one of the most prominent American theologians of the 19th century, and notably served as chief of staff for Gen. Stonewall Jackson during the War. He wore many others hats as well as a farmer, an architect, a professor, a pastor, and a poet.

The last hat mentioned is one that — contrary to popular impressions of Presbyterian divines as disinclined to artistic interests — is shared by many authors on Log College Press: B.B. Warfield, Geerhardus Vos, J. Addison Alexander, Samuel Davies, Charles L. Thompson, Henry J. Van Dyke, Jr., and many more come to mind, who were all known for their poetry. Dabney is a name rarely included in such a list, but it should be.

In Dabney’s case, there are some remarkable and fascinating poetic compositions that are very much worth noting, which help us today to better understand the many facets of his character. Some of his poems were published — in periodicals and/or Thomas C. Johnson’s biography of Dabney — and some were instead shared privately. His biographer notes that his poetry was not of the highest quality, but often expressed his passion. Few would say that Dabney's poetry was his forte, but he certainly applied himself to verse in his "leisure hours."

If the art of poetry be the art of apprehending and interpreting ideas by the faculty of the imagination, the art of idealizing in thought and expression, then Dr. Dabney possessed the art. That he had the necessary constructive imagination, and the power of expressing himself in the concrete, simply and sensuously, there is no ground for doubt. He usually attempted poetical composition, too, only on subjects on which he felt very deeply. In consequence, most of his work of this sort had the ring of passion. (T.C. Johnson, The Life and Letters of Robert Lewis Dabney, p. 455)

Recently, we have made an effort to identify and compile many of his known, published poems to provide a glimpse into his powers of imagination. Today, we will look briefly at some of his poems as found on Log College Press.

• Tried, But Comforted — First published in The Central Presbyterian in 1863, this poem is also found in Johnson’s biography. It was written after the death of his five-year-old son, Tom, who died in 1862 and was buried in the same cemetery in which his father would later be laid to rest. Dabney’s heart was “bursting,” but he had hope that he would follow little Tom “to Christ, our Head.”

• The Christian Womans Drowning Hymn: A Monody — Written in 1886, this poem was published in his Discussions, Vol. 4 (1897). The story behind the poem is this: “(A Christian lady and organist, went July 1886, with, and at the request of her sister, for a few days" excursion to Indianola. They arrived the day before the great night storm and tidal wave, which submerged the town. Both the ladies and children, after hours of fearful suspense, were drowned, the house where they sought refuge being broken to pieces in the waves. A survivor stated that the organist spent much of the interval in most moving prayer. Their re- mains were recovered on the subsidence of the tempest, and interred at their homes., amidst universally solemn and tender sympathy. The following verses are imagined, as expressing the emotions of the Christian wife, sister and mother, during her long struggle with the waters.”

• Dream of a Soldier — This poem was written in 1886, but only referenced, not included, in Johnson’s biography, apparently because it was so dark and bitter (reflecting Dabney’s feelings about the War) that Dabney’s biographer thought it best to not publish it.

• General T.J. Jackson: An Elegy — Written in 1887 (over two decades after the death of his beloved general), this tribute appeared in Discussions, Vol. 4. (1897). It is a noble lament for his dear friend, highlighting the loss keenly felt by Robert E. Lee and the South.

• The Texas Brigade at the Wilderness — Written in May 1890, this poem also appeared in Discussions, Vol. 4 (1897). It memorializes the valor of the Texas Brigade at the Battle of the Wilderness, which took place in central Virginia in May 1864.

• The Death of Moses — This poem was published in the Jan.-Feb. 1891 issue of The Union Seminary Magazine. It is largely an imagined speech delivered by Moses before his entrance into the Heavenly Canaan.

• Annihilation — This eschatological defense of traditional views of heaven and hell as opposed to the idea of “soul sleep” (an idea refuted by John Calvin in his Psychopannychia, but which nevertheless lingers) appeared in the January 1893 issue of The Presbyterian Quarterly.

• The San Marcos River — Dabney’s time spent in central Texas inspired this poetic composition, which is found in Discussions, Vol. 4 (1897).

• A Sonnet to Lee — This tribute to General Robert E. Lee appeared in Discussions, Vol. 4 (1897).

• Lines Written on the Illness of His Granddaughter — Dictated in 1897 (he was blind by then), these verses were composed when his beloved granddaughter Marguerite lived with him for a time at Asheville, North Carolina. She died in 1899, a year after Dabney, at the age of 17.

• Conquest of the South — An extract from this poem is given in Johnson’s biography (1903) which expresses his his angst at “the present and impending degradation of his country.”

• Christology of the Angels — This epic poem, reminiscent of Milton’s Paradise Lost, remained unpublished in manuscript form until it was included in Discussions, Vol. 5 (1999). It is a 115-page long celestial discourse between Gabriel, Michael and other angels on the second night after Jesus’ crucifixion.

The poetic side of Dabney is not well-known, but is worth exploring. Take time to peruse his poetry at Log College Press here, and to look at more Presbyterian poetry here.

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Behold the Bridegroom Cometh: Tracking Down a Poet

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Near the end of William S. Plumer’s classic 1869 work Earnest Hours, the reader will take note of a poem titled “Behold the Bridegroom Cometh.” Plumer indicates that he does not know who wrote it but commends its “sweet spirit” to all. The first stanza runs thus:

Behold, a royal bridegroom
Hath called me for his bride!
I joyfully make ready and hasten to his side.
He is a royal bridegroom,
But I am very poor!
Of low estate he chose me
To show his love the more;
For he hath purchased for me
Such goodly rich array —
Oh! surely never Bridegroom
Gave gifts like these away.

The poem does indeed have a “sweet spirit” and the composition became a popular hymn. It was often published in the second half of the nineteenth century and has been republished even to the present day. [This poem was brought to the present writer’s remembrance while reading the 2021 reprint of Thomas Houston’s The Adoption of Sons, which includes the poem as an appendix, ascribing it, as Plumer did, to “the pen of an unknown author.”]

In many places, the author’s name is left out altogether or one might see it ascribed to “anonymous” or “unidentified.” But there are some 19th century publications (journals and books) which ascribe it to “A.S.” or “Anna Shipley” or “Mrs. S.R. Shipley.” And, although information about the author is sparse, we are able to confirm that the poet who composed “Behold the Bridegroom Cometh” is indeed one Anna Shinn Shipley (1826-1828), who was the first wife of noted Philadelphia businessman Samuel Richards Shipley (1828-1908). The Shipleys were Quakers, and Anna’s famous poem did appear in an 1861 issue of Friends’ Review, a Quaker periodical, although the first appearance that this writer has located of the poem was ten years earlier in an 1851 book of Religious Poems published in Philadelphia which ascribes authorship of the poem to “unidentified.” Anna would have been around 25 years old at that time, and it was in 1851 that the Shipleys were married, which gives some added significance to the focus on the “bridegroom.”

Not everyone goes to bed at night wondering about the identity of an “anonymous” writer of a particular poem or hymn, but if you are among those who do, we hope that this research will provide some measure of solace, and perhaps also some encouragement to read (or re-read) Plumer’s Earnest Hours and Mrs. Shipley’s poetic contribution thereto.

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

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

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

We like to highlight some of the new free PDFs available as found on our Recent Additions and Early Access pages, two features provided to members of the Dead Presbyterians Society.

Early Access:

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

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

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

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

Recent Addtiions:

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

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

• Compilations, Auburn Affirmation (1924)

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

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

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

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

• Thomas Verner Moore — Several poems and articles.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Samuel Davies' Communion Tokens

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The practice of employing communion tokens represents a chapter of church history well worth studying. Their use predates the Reformation by many centuries, but it was in the Protestant Reformation that usage of communion tokens really became part of Reformed church history. Walter L. Lingle, in his introduction to Mary McWhorter Tenney’s classic study of Communion Tokens (1936) [not yet available on Log College Press], writes of the significance of communion tokens.

The Communion token stood for something. It was usually a small piece of metal which served as a ticket of admission to the Communion table. As the Communion season approached preparatory services were held. The people were examined by the ministers and elders as to their knowledge of the way of life and as to their way of living. Only those who were approved receive the tokens and only those who had tokens could approach the Communion table. People took their religion seriously in those days.

Mrs. Tenney writes of the origin of this practice in the early church and traces its reappearance in the Reformation to Geneva, Switzerland in 1560 where John Calvin and Pierre Viret helped to bring back the custom as a way of keeping the Lord’s Supper from being profaned by the scandalous and the profane (p. 17).

Used throughout Europe, especially in Scotland, the custom of employing communion tokens was transplanted to America as Protestants migrated there, particularly in the 18th century. In 1747, Presbyterians in Virginia were small in numbers but scattered throughout the center of the British and Anglican colony. The labors of Francis Makemie on the Eastern Shore a half century previously had born fruit, but when Samuel Davies was sent by the Presbytery of New Castle (Delaware) that year as a missionary to Virginia, at that time very spiritually dry, he was used by the Lord as part of a Great Awakening which was then spreading over the land. Davies would ultimately help to organize seven churches in five counties with very little in the way of additional manpower. (We have written previously of how Davies had to ride on horseback over a wide parish and once got lost in the woods.)

George Pilcher writes that “a prominent facet of Davies’ pastoral work [was] his use of tokens….Virginia Presbyterians adhered to this [Protestant] practice closely, identifying it with the process of catechetical instruction.” He goes on to say (Samuel Davies: Apostle of Dissent in Colonial Virginia, p. 93) that

In using tokens, Davies was following the established customs of Scottish Presbyterianism and apparently was trying to make his practice conform to this claim of being a member of the Church of Scotland. But instead of using the Presbyterians’ traditional small stamped metal disks, the New Light minister distributed engraved cards that allowed him to present longer inscriptions or passages of his own poetry pertinent to the event, such as:

Do this says Christ ‘till Time shall end,
In Memory of your dying Friend.
Meet at my Table and Record
The Love of Your departed Lord.

The cards also were probably less expensive than metal disks, although they were made from steel engravings, which no doubt had to come from England. Davies placed a high value on these cards and exercised painstaking care in their preparation.

Samuel Davies’ paper communion token used at the Polegreen Church, Hanover, Virginia. Source: Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Union Seminary, Richmond, Virginia.

The story is told in James W. Alexander, The Life of Archibald Alexander, pp. 180-181, of how Mr. and Mrs. John Morton, members of the Anglican Church, were moved to attend an “action sermon” preached by Davies, whereupon, in the middle of the service, Mr. Morton called on Rev. Davies to admit him to the sacrament, and after further examination by the minister, Mr. Morton was given a communion token and allowed to participate.

The communion tokens employed by Davies were part of an historic tradition that was in widespread use in his day among Presbyterians, but they were remarkable in that they were made of paper rather than metal and also in their use of sacramental poetry by Davies himself.*

They represent a special facet of a bygone Protestant and Presbyterian tradition which illustrates how seriously the duty of fencing the table was taken and what a privilege it is to being admitted to the table of the Lord. As we look back on this bit of church history, consider how important these little paper tokens were to Davies and his flock of Virginia Presbyterians as emblems of Christ’s love to them, which made them precious indeed.

* “A Token For the Sacrament” appears in Richard Beale Davis, ed., Collected Poems of Samuel Davies, 1723-1761 (1968), p. 157.

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Sabbath Night by J.H. Bocock

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On the Lord’s Day, or Christian Sabbath, it is good to contemplate the comforts that are given to us by our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. After the day’s devotions, which are a taste of heaven, with cognizance of our failures to keep the day holy as we ought, we may nevertheless take refuge in Him who gives rest and peace, not as the world gives, but from above. Consider a poem by John Holmes Bocock (1813-1872) as found in Selections From the Religious and Literary Writings of John H. Bocock, D.D. (1891), pp. 546-547, which highlights such an appreciation of Sabbath blessings and comforts.

Sabbath Night

Rest, weary spirit, rest,
From toil and trouble free;
Lean on the Saviour’s breast
Who giveth rest to thee!

Lie there, ye cares and fears,
I cast you at his feet;
From all my fears and cares
I take this sure retreat.

Beneath his wings I crowd,
Close to his side I press:
None such was e’er allowed
To perish without grace.

O sprinkle me with blood!
My heart would feel the stream
From out thy side that flowed,
Us, sinners, to redeem!

Yet closer still I come!
Reveal thyself to me:
O let me feel that home
Is at thy feet to be.

I calmly seek repose;
Pardon my Sabbath sin,
And to my dreams disclose
That heaven thou dwellest in.

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An "Exile Song" by an Eastern Shoreman: L.P. Bowen

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If you have visited, or lived on, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia before, you may relate to the song of an “exile” who wrote Makemieland Memorials (1910). L.P. Bowen, who was born in Berlin, Maryland (1833), and ministered in Lewes, Delaware and Pocomoke City, Maryland, was noted for his biographical study of Francis Makemie, widely credited as the “Father of American Presbyterianism,” and who did much to confirm where Makemie was buried, and who discovered Makemie’s desk, which now resides at Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, was also a poet, as well as a homesick Eastern Shoreman. Bowen’s writings very often reflected his historical interests in early American Presbyterianism and its growth on the Eastern Shore, as well as his love for the land itself. He entered his eternal rest just shy of reaching the 100 years old mark, and his body was laid to rest in Marshall, Missouri, but a commemorative tablet in his hometown reads: “In memory of Rev. L.P. Bowen, D.D., June 5, 1833 - Apr. 8, 1933. A loyal son of Berlin, author, Poet, Historian, Preacher, Finder of Makemie’s grave.”

This statue marks the spot on Holdens Creek, Temperanceville, Virginia where Francis Makemie is buried.

Written in landlocked Missouri, this song resonates with all other “exiles” from the Eastern Shore. Here is “The Exile’s Song” by L.P Bowen.

Old Eastern Shore, dear Eastern Shore,
An exiled son of thine
Sends loyal greetings from afar
And loves to call thee mine
Land of the laurels and the pine,
Land of the spicy fox-grape vine,
Land where the water-lilies twine,
‘Mid maiden’s heart as pure
Fair Eastern Shore, rare Eastern Shore,
My fatherland, my Maryland,
My dreamland and my fairyland,
Delightsome Eastern Shore!

Old Eastern Shore, dear Eastern Shore,
The heart is sometimes sad,
And oft leans back to days of yore
A little barefoot lad;
Land of the oyster-banks and shad,
Land of the terrapin and crab,
Land where the welcomes make all glad—
With larders brimming o’er;
Fair Eastern Shore, rare Eastern Shore,
My fatherland, my Maryland,
My dreamland and my fairyland,
Delightsome Eastern Shore

Old Eastern Shore, dear Eastern Shore,
Thy glories I will speak
The Ocean’s sweetheart evermore
The bride of Chesapeake
The beaches and the smiling creek,
The curlew’s song, the osprey’s shriek,
I listen—teardrops course my cheek,
And recollections soar
Fair Eastern Shore, rare Eastern Shore,
My fatherland, my Maryland,
My dreamland and my fairyland,
Delightsome Eastern Shore!

Old Eastern Shore, dear Eastern Shore,
Loved by no feeble race
Ancestral blood distilling pure
From far Colonial days
Old Churches where our kinsmen praise,
Old graveyards where tradition strays,
Old homes where in life’s twilight haze
Skies smile with open door;
Fair Eastern Shore, rare Eastern Shore,
My fatherland, my Maryland,
My dreamland and my fairyland,
Delightsome Eastern Shore

Holdens Creek on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

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J.A. Alexander: Be Still and Know That I am God

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Joseph Addison Alexander, the remarkable Biblical scholar who was skilled in 25 languages, was also a prolific poet. In 1833, while on travel in Europe, he wrote what his biographer, H.C. Alexander, called “one of his noblest productions.”

Be Still and Know That I am God

I.

When fortune smiles and friends abound;
When all thy fondest hopes are crowned;
When earth with her exhaustless store,
Seems still intent to give thee more:
When every wind and every tide
Contribute to exalt thy pride;
When all the elements conspire
To feed thy covetous desire;
When foes submit and envy stands
Pale and abashed with folded hands;
While fame’s unnumbered tongues prolong
The swell of thy triumphal song;
When crowds admire and worlds applaud
”Be still and know that I am God.”

II.

When crowns are sported with and thrones
Are rocked to their foundation stones;
When nations tremble and the earth
Seems big with some portentous birth;
When all the ties of social life
Are severed by intestine strife;
When human blood begins to drip
From tyranny’s accursed whip;
When peace and order find their graves
In anarchy’s tempestuous waves;
When every individual hand
Is steeped in crime, and every land
Is full of violence and fraud;
”Be still and know that I am God.”

III.

When to the havoc man has made
The elements afford their aid;
When nature sickens, and disease
Rides on the wing of every breeze;
When the tornado in its flight
Blows the alarm and calls to fight;
When raging Fever leads the van,
In the fierce onset upon man;
When livid Plague and pale Decline
And bloated Dropsy, form the line;
While hideous Madness, shivering Fear
And grim Despair, bring up the rear;
When these thy judgments are abroad:
”Be still and know that I am God.”

IV.

When messages of grace are sent,
And mercy calls thee to repent;
When through a cloud of doubts and fears
The Sun of Righteousness appears;
When thy reluctant heart delays
To leave it’s old accustomed ways;
When pride excites a storm within,
And pleads and fights for every sin;
Be still, and and let this tumult cease;
Say to thy raging passions, “Peace!”
By love subdued, by judgment awed:
”Be still and know that I am God.”

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Cleland B. McAfee: Where He Is

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Cleland Boyd McAfee (1866-1944) was a Presbyterian minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, was known for his famous hymn “Near to the Heart of God,” and has left his mark on history as the originator of the acrostic “TULIP.”

In the biographical sketch of him, written by his daughter, Katherine McAfee Parker, Near to the Heart of God (1954), she made reference to the first book which he ever published, Where He Is (1899), a book about “immortality,” and its connection to her mother, Harriet, a Canadian-born fellow-graduate of Chicago’s Park College. They were married in 1892. It was a deep and abiding love that they shared, as evidenced by a poem that he wrote to her.

For more than sixty years since my mother took my father for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, she has held to the conviction that he was one of the best things the Lord ever made. He felt exactly the same way about her. He gave her the first copy of his first book and wrote on the flyleaf:

Harriet:

E’en heaven of Christ would lose
for me its joy,
Did I not know that “Where He Is”
there thou shalt be;
And this I know since where
thou art here in the earth
I catch the clearest vision
of the Christ of Galilee.

C.B.M.
5 Nov. 1899

They spent fifty-two years together on earth, companions of each other’s hearts and minds.

This poignant love poem is a reminder that a godly man’s greatest support, apart from Christ himself, is his wife. And that husband and wife ought to point each other to Christ, that they may both be where He is.

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Some Pastors' Wives who were Prolific Writers

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The Child’s Story Bible [by Catherine Vos] was such a success that it sold more copies than all Geerhardus’s books combined. — Danny E. Olinger, Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian, p. 273

When we think of the most prolific or best-selling writers on Log College Press, names like B.B. Warfield, Archibald Alexander and Samuel Miller may come to mind. But some of the most prolific writers were often pastors’ wives, and, in some cases, as writers, out-sold their husbands. It is worth taking notes of some of their names and stories.

• Isabella Macdonald Alden — The wife of Rev. Gustavus Rosenberg Alden, Mrs. Alden was the author of over 200 books, most written under the pen name “Pansy” (a childhood nickname), and contributed as a journalist and editor as well. Her literary fame was world-wide and she received much fan mail, responding to each letter individually. Rev. Francis E. Clark once said, “Probably no writer of stories for young people has been so popular or had so wide an audience as Mrs. G. R. Alden, whose pen-name, ‘Pansy,’ is known wherever English books are read.”

• Charlotte Forten Grimké — Both before and after her 1878 marriage to Rev. Francis James Grimké, Charlotte was a poet, diarist and author of articles and essays. Her contribution to African-American literature is still greatly appreciated today.

• Elizabeth Payson Prentiss — Mrs. Prentiss, author of Stepping Heavenward, was the wife of Rev. George Lewis Prentiss, author of her biography. Elizabeth wrote dozens of books, as well as poetry and hymns. Stepping Heavenward sold over 200,000 copies in the 19th century, and since a 1992 reprint was issued, at least another 100,000 copies have been sold.

• Harriet Beecher Stowe — The wife of Rev. Calvin Ellis Stowe, Harriet is best known as the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. But she also wrote around 30 novels, plus articles and letters. She was a celebrity to many, infamous to others, but her writings were an important factor in the momentous events of 1861. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold over 2 million copies worldwide by 1857 (5 years after its publication) and to date it has been translated into 70 languages.

• Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune — Mrs. Terhune, wife of Rev. Edward Payson Terhune, was known by her pen name, Marion Harland. She was the author of many novels, short stories, cookbooks, books on etiquette and more. She gave birth to six children, three of whom survived into adulthood - all three became successful writers as well. Her autobiography contains many fascinating insights into the Presbyterian circles in which she participated in Virginia, such as her remarks on the anti-slavery convictions of Mrs. Anne Rice, wife of Rev. John Holt Rice.

Other prolific female Presbyterian writers, married (whose spouses were not ministers) or unmarried, include:

• Pearl Sydenstricker Buck — Mrs. Buck, daughter of a missionary, Rev. Absalom Sydenstricker, and the wife of agricultural missionary John Lossing Buck (until they divorced) and Richard J. Walsh, is well-known for her liberal convictions and for her role in the upheaval that led to Rev. J. Gresham Machen’s departure from the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Her 1931 novel The Good Earth won her a Pulitzer Prize, and in 1938 she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in recognition of her writings on China.

• Martha Farquaharson Finley — The author of the Elsie Dinsmore series and many more novels, Ms. Finley was a descendant of Samuel Finley and of Scottish Covenanters. Of the Elsie Dinsmore series, it has been said that it was “‘The most popular and longest running girl’s series of the 19th century,’ with the first volume selling nearly 300,000 copies in its first decade, going on to ‘sell more than 5 million copies in the 20th century.’”

• Grace Livingston Hill — Niece of Isabella M. Alden, and daughter of Rev. Charles Montgomery Livingston and Mrs. Marcia B. Macdonald Livingston, she was a popular writer of over 100 books on her own, but also compiled the Pansies for Thoughts of her aunt, and they collaborated on other works as well.

• Julia Lake Skinner Kellersberger — The wife of medical missionary Eugene Roland Kellersberger, both served the Presbyterian mission to the Belgian Congo. Mrs. Kellersberger wrote many books based on her experience, including a noted biography of Althea Maria Brown Edmiston.

• Margaret Junkin Preston — Known as the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy,” Mrs. Preston was the wife of Major John Thomas Lewis Preston, a professor of Latin at the Virginia Military Institute; the daughter of Rev. George Junkin; and the brother-in-law of Stonewall Jackson. Her literary productions were many, and she was a beloved poet of the South.

• Julia McNair Wright — A very popular writer of books for children, including historical novels and introductions to science, and more, Mrs. Wright (wife of mathematician William James Wright), was a remarkable author, whose works were translated into many languages. Her The Complete Home: An Encyclopedia of Domestic Life and Affairs, Embracing all the Interests of the Household sold over 100,000 copies.

These brief notices show that there are a number of popular women Presbyterian writers from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their bibliographies are lengthy, their legacies in some cases enduring to the present day, and their impact has been culturally significant. The work of adding all of their published writings is ongoing and in some cases far from complete at the present. We hope to make much more progress with each of these writers. The corpus of their literary productions is a real treasure.

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A Tribute to the Puritans by John H. Bocock

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Following up on a recent tribute to John Flavel’s influence upon American Presbyterians, today we highlight John Holmes Bocock’s poem The Old Non-Conformists. It is a reminder of how the 17th century Puritan divines of England left their mark on 19th century American Presbyterians.

Busy from house to house, with constant toil,
Those reverend shepherds of our mother isle
Are feeding hungry souls with bread of life,
And speaking words of peace in days of strife.

In England’s ancient ministers they are preaching
The gospel pure as pearly dew from heaven;
The law of love to men of hatred teaching,
Whose perfect pattern by the Lord was given.

Young [Joseph] ALLEINE, with his Master’s spirit warm,
In Taunton sounds his earnest, king “Alarm:”
St. Dunstan hears the silver-tongued “[William] BATES,”
While the great “Harmony” of heaven he states.

Bold [Richard] BAXTER lifts his voice in Cromwell’s host;
To men of England, although now distrest
By din of war, in civil tempest toss’d,
He shows in heaven an “Everlasting Rest.”

Lo! where, in Bedford jail, in lofty dream,
Genius on [John] BUNYAN pours her brightest beam;
And learned [Stephen] CHARNOCK, with a sage’s ken,
The “Attributes” of God displays to men.

Good [John] FLAVEL, with a spirit rich in “grace,”
Stands by the “fountain” of man’s “life” eterne;
While [John] HOWE, with thoughts magnificent, does trace
Splendors that in the “Living Temple” burn.

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W.S. Rentoul's "The Bible"

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Described as “an odd-looking character, a Scotchman by birth,” William Skinner Rentoul (1812-1898) was a Philadelphia bookseller, publisher, writer and poet of the old school Presbyterian variety. He is best known for publishing both the Keys Psalter and Rentoul’s Library of Standard Bible Expositions, which includes some notable commentaries: 1. Ralph Wardlaw, Lectures: Expository and Practical, on the Book of Ecclesiastes (1868); 2. Alexander Moody Stuart, The Song of Songs: An Exposition of the Song of Solomon (1869); and 3. George Lawson, Practical Expositions of the Whole Books of Ruth and Esther (1870). He was also the author of a metrical version of the Song of Solomon, appended to Stuart’s commentary on the same.

Today we highlight a poetic composition he published in 1862. It is a sweet meditation on the Word of Life, and a reminder of what a precious gift the Lord has given unto us.

The Bible

O, rarest gift to mortals given!
Blest book! thou point’st the path to heaven.
The sinner, lost in darkness drear,
Heart-sick thro’ sin, whose eye the tear
Of anguish scalds, thro’ griefs and woes
That fill the poisoned cup of those
On whose soul rests, with weighty load,
The wrath of an offended God,
That takes thy sweet and kindly light
For guide, shall still be led aright;
Shall find Jehovah’s angry face
To favour changed. His smiles shall grace
His earthly labours: and at last, —
Eternal life, eternal rest —
Purchased by Jesus for his own;
For all who love that Holy One,
And wait His glorious coming - his cup of bliss shall crown.

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Remarks on the Providence of God by Alexander McLeod

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…what in me is dark
Illumine, what is low raise and support;
That, to the height of this great argument,
I may assert Eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men. — John Milton, Paradise Lost, Bk. 1, Lines 22-26

These lines are quoted by Alexander McLeod in a 2-part essay which appeared in the November and December 1822 issues of The Evangelical Witness. The essay, Remarks on the Providence of God, is based on the words of the Psalmist:

The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all (Ps. 103:193).

In defense of what McLeod calls a “mysterious” but “undeniable” doctrine from Scripture — “divine overruling providence” — our author demonstrates that it is reasonable to acknowledge God’s providence over all, that it is a doctrine derived and proved from Scripture, and that objections to the doctrine may be satisfactorily answered.

Looking to the heavens, the seat of God’s throne, one cannot rationally see chaos as the overriding principle of the universe. McLeod points out that all nations acknowledge a God of some sort. Instead, the systemic harmony and connections found in nature speak to the creation of a wise and omnipotent Creator who reigns supreme over all. In concurrence with Romans 1, McLeod argues that all of nature is witness to this truth, that there is, and must be, a God who rules from above.

The “most conclusive” evidence for the doctrine of providence comes from Scripture. From the story of Joseph and his brothers, McLeod shows that God, without being the author of sin, was sovereign over all that happened in Joseph’s life and wrought good out of evil. From the prophecies of Scripture, fulfilled in history, he shows that God’s purposes must of necessity be accomplished though their outworking may outspan the lives of men and the duration of kingdoms, which is only possible for One who rules over time and space. He further elaborates on this by discussing the meaning of Eph. 1:11; Prov. 26:33; Luke 12:6-7; and Ps. 147:4, 17; all of which affirm that God governs the world even in the minutest of details.

After addressing several objections to the doctrine of providence, in particular the usual claim that it makes God the author of sin, McLeod goes on to leave his readers on a great practical encouraging note.

God, indeed, is king over all the earth . His power and his sovereignty are pledged in covenant by his word and his oath, in defence of the redeemed. His all-pervading providence is especially employed in their interest; and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Murmur not at his dispensations; for the most painful afflictions act, at his command, to promote your everlasting welfare. Droop not at the remembrance of your own unworthiness; for the Lord hath not forgotten you. He that spareth not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things.

Christians! your Redeemer reigneth. He directs in providence over all the earth. While natural causes proceed to their effects in their natural course, while the moral world proceeds in its successive generations, with an agency that is voluntary. He by a supernatural power controls all causes and results, and gives to them a direction subservient to the interests of his church. The building is safe upon the rock: and the living stones of the temple shall live forevermore. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their king. God in your own nature, your husband, and your high priest, rules upon his throne. Touched with a sense of your infirmities, he will not leave you comfortless. He will guide you with his counsel and afterwards receive you to glory. Praise the Lord, O! Jerusalem; praise thy God, O! Zion, who hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all.

Read the full essay here, and consider his helpful exposition of a verse and a principle that is of the highest importance and the greatest comfort to every believer. Hallelujah, the Lord reigns over all!

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The Natural Bridge of Virginia: An American Wonder

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Visitors to the Natural Bridge of Rockbridge County, Virginia have been awestruck for centuries of recorded history. With ties to many American Presidents — such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Calvin Coolidge, and others — and references in American literature, including Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick — it is clear that the Natural Bridge has left a deep impression on the minds and hearts of many. American Presbyterian writers have also left a record of their impressions.

Benjamin Mosby Smith became engaged to Mary Moore Morrison (grand-daughter of the famous Mary Moore Brown, “the Captive of Abb’s Valley”), while on a picnic under the Natural Bridge in 1838, according to Francis R. Flournoy, Benjamin Mosby Smith, 1811-1893 (1947), p. 44.

Joseph Caldwell, who served as the first President of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, wrote about his 1808 tour of Virginia the following year, in which he described the Natural Bridge.

My Dear Friend — I write this from Douthit's tavern, one mile and a half from the Natural Bridge, and thirteen miles from Lexington; having just now returned from the bridge, I had determined on giving you a concise description of this sublime object, but fearing to fall short of the truth, I have turned to Mr. Jefferson's notes on Virginia, from whence I copy the following extract. "It is on the ascent of a hill which seems to have been cloven through its length by some great convulsiun. The fissure just at the bridge is by some admeasurement, 270 feet deep, by others only 205, it is about 45 feet wide at the bottom, and 90 feet at the top, this of course determines the length of the bridge, and its height from the water. Its breadth at the middle is about 60 feet, but more at the ends, and the thickness of the mass at the summit of the arch about 40 feet; a part of this thickness is. constituted by a coat of earth, which gives growth to many large trees ; the residue, with the hill on both sides, is one solid rock of limestone. The arch approaches the semi-elliptical form, but the larger axis of the ellipsis, which would be the chord of the arch, is many times longer than the transverse. Though the sides of this bridge are provided in some parts with a parapet of fixed rocks, yet few men have the resolution to walk to them, and look over into the abyss; you involuntarily fall upon your hands and feet, creep to the parapet, and peep over it, looking down from this height about a minute, gave me a violent head ache. If the view from the top be painful and intolerable, that from below is delightful in an equal extreme. It is impossible for the emotions arising from the sublime, to be felt beyond what they are here: so beautiful an arch, so elevated, so light, and springing, as it were up to heaven! the rapture of the spectator is really indiscribable. The fissure continuing narrow, deep and strait for a considerable distance both above and below the bridge, opens to a short, but very pleasing view of the north mountains on one side, and the blue ridge on the other, at the distance, each of them, of about five miles. This bridge is in the county of Rockbridge, to which it has given name; it affords a public and commodious passage over a valley, which cannot be crossed elsewhere for a considerable distance. The stream passing under it is called Cedar creek; it is a water of James' river, and sufficient in the driest season to turn a grist mill, though its fountain is not more than two miles above." I felt so strongly "the emotions arising from the sublime" that I could not in plain rational language convey to you my ideas of what I had seen, so you may be well pleased that I thought of the extract. I am here informed that Mr. Jefferson, since the publication of his Notes on Virginia, which first gave celebrity to this wonder of nature, has purchased from the United States fifteen acres of land, in the midst of which stands the bridge, and perhaps no private estate in the world can produce a grander or a more surprising subject of admiration — Adieu.

William Maxwell, in his 1816 Poems, includes a tribute to this very special place.

THE NATURAL BRIDGE

Hail! to thy Bridge, romantic Nature, hail!
O! more than true what I esteem’d a tale.
How light the wonder of that magic arch,
From cloud to cloud for angel bands to march;
So lightly pois’d upon the downy air,
For Art to view with rapture and despair!
But lost in wonder, I can only gaze,
While Silence owns the impotence of Praise.

And was it then the Spirit of the Storm,
Hiding in clouds his miscreated form,
With meteor apear, that smote the rocks aside,
And bade their frighten’d pediments divide,
For yonder Naiad with her tuneful stream,
To murmur thro’? O! this is Faney’s dream.
’Twas Heav’nly Nature made the magic pile,
And own’d the wonder with a mother’s smile.

I see her now. An angel sketch’d the view,
And bade her follow as his pencil drew.
Then smiling, conscious of celestial pow’r,
She took the rock, like some wild little flow’r,
And threw it lightly o’er the craggy ridge,
And gaily said, ‘Thus Nature makes a Bridge.’

Let pensive Beauty rove beside the stream,
To sooth her fancy with a tender dream;
While the sweet Naiad, as she trips along,
Beguiles her love with sympathetic song.
Let Genius gaze from yonder dizzy steep;
Whence Horror shrinks, yet madly longs to leap;
Then spread his wings triumphantly to soar,
And bless the world with one true poet more.
Here let Religion fondly love to stray,
A virgin pilgrim, at the close of day;
And sweetly conscious of her sins forgiv’n,
Exhale her soul in gratitude to Heav’n.
For me, fair Nature, far from War’s alarms,
Stealing thro’ shades to gaze upon thy charms,
The while yon Moon slow rises o’er the hill,
And Silence listening feels that all is still;
I gaze in wonder at the view sublime,
And own the charm that holds the breath of Time.
But hark! the voice of Rapture in my ears!
An angel sings! The music of the spheres!
A present God! — I feel myself no more, —
But lost in him — I tremble — I adore!

September 13th, 1813.

David Johnson, The Natural Bridge (1860)

The testimony of Archibald Alexander appears in J.W. Alexander’s biography, The Life of Archibald Alexander, D.D. (1854), in which Archibald writes of “the sublime”:

But in this same [Shenandoah] valley, and not very remote from the objects of which I have spoken, there is one which, I think, produces the feeling which is denominated the sublime, more definitely and sensibly than any that I have ever seen. I refer to the Natural Bridge, from which the county takes its name. It is not my object to describe this extraordinary lusus naturae, as it may be called. In fact, no representation which can be given by the pen or pencil can convey any adequate idea of the object, or one that will have the least tendency to produce the emotion excited by a view of the object itself. There are some things, then, which the traveller, however eloquent, cannot communicate to his readers. All I intend is, to mention the effect produced by a sight of the Natural Bridge on my own mind. When a boy of fourteen or fifteen, I first visited this curiosity. Having stood on the top, and looked down into the deep chasm above and below the bridge, without any new or very strong emotions, as the scene bore a resemblance to many which are common to that country, I descended by the usual circuitous path to the bottom, and came upon the stream or brook some distance below the bridge. The first view which I obtained of the beautiful and elevated blue limestone arch, springing up to the clouds, produced an emotion entirely new; the feeling was as though something within sprung up to a great height by a kind of sudden impulse. That was the animal sensation which accompanied the genuine emotion of the sublime. Many years afterwards, I again visited the bridge. I entertained the belief, that I had preserved in my mind, all along, the idea of the object; and that now I should see it without emotion. But the fact was not so. The view, at this time, produced a revival of the original emotion, with the conscious feeling that the idea of the object had faded away, and become both obscure and diminutive, but was now restored, in an instant, to its original vividness, and magnitude. The emotion produced by an object of true sublimity, as it is very vivid, so it is very short in its continuance. It seems, then, that novelty must be added to other qualities in the object, to produce this emotion distinctly. A person living near the bridge, who should see it every day, might be pleased with the object, but would experience, after a while, nothing of the vivid emotion of the sublime. Thus, I think, it must be accounted for, that the starry heavens, or the sun shining in his strength, are viewed with little emotion of this kind, although much the sublimest objects in our view; we have been accustomed to view them daily, from our infancy. But a bright-coloured rainbow, spanning a large arch in the heavens, strikes all classes of persons with a mingled emotion of the sublime and beautiful; to which a sufficient degree of novelty is added, to render the impression vivid, as often as it occurs. I have reflected on the reason why the Natural Bridge produces the emotion of the sublime, so well defined and so vivid; but I have arrived at nothing satisfactory. It must be resolved into an ultimate law of our nature, that a novel object of that elevation and form will produce such an effect. Any attempt at analyzing objects of beauty and sublimity only tends to produce confusion in our ideas. To artists, such analysis may be useful; not to increase the emotion, but to enable them to imitate more effectually the objects of nature by which it is produced. Although I have conversed with many thousands who had seen the Natural Bridge; and although the liveliness of the emotion is very different in different persons; yet I never saw one, of any class, who did not view the object with considerable emotion. And none have ever expressed disappointment from having had their expectations raised too high, by the description previously received. Indeed, no previous description communicates any just conception of the object as it appears; and the attempts to represent it by the pencil, as far as I have seen them, are pitiful. Painters would show their wisdom by omitting to represent some of the objects of nature, such as a volcano in actual ebullition, the sea in a storm, the conflagration of a great city, or the scene of a battle-field. The imitation must be so faint and feeble, that the attempt, however skilfully executed, is apt to produce disgust, instead of admiration.

In a letter from Charles Hodge to his wife Sarah dated May 28, 1828, written during his trip to Europe, which appears in A.A. Hodge’s biography The Life of Charles Hodge D.D. LL.D. Professor in the Theological Seminary Princeton N.J. (1880), Charles refers to the Natural Bridge (which he had visited during his 1816 tour of Virginia):

My Beloved Sarah: -- I have seen the Alps! If now I never see any thing great or beautiful in nature, I am content. I felt that as soon as I saw you, I could fall at your feet and beg you to forgive my beholding such a spectacle without you, my love. You were dearer to me in that moment than ever. I left Basel about one o'clock with a young English gentleman for Lucerne. We rode about fifteen miles and arrived at the foot of a mountain. As the road was steep and difficult, we commenced walking up the mountain in company with two Swiss gentlemen. We ascended leisurely for about two hours before we reached the top. I was walking slowly with my hands behind me, and my eyes on the ground, expecting nothing, when one of the Swiss gentlemen said with infinite indifference -- "Voila les Alpes." I raised my eyes -- and around me in a grand amphitheatre, high up against the heavens, were the Alps! It was some moments before the false and indefinite conceptions of my life were overcome by the glorious reality. The declining sun shed on the immense mass of mingled snow and forests the brightness of the evening clouds. This was the first moment of my life in which I felt overwhelmed. Every thing I had ever previously seen seemed absolutely nothing. The natural bridge in Virginia had surprised me -- the Rhine had delighted me -- but the first sudden view of the Alps was overwhelming. This was a moment that can never return; the Alps can never be seen again by surprise, and in ignorance of their real appearance.

In the 20th century, inspired by this American wonder, Robert Alberti Lapsley, Jr. wrote The Bridge of God: A Spiritual Interpretation of the Natural Bridge of Virginia (1951) [not yet available on Log College Press].

A visit to Natural Bridge may be just another American Natural Wonder seen and checked off the list, or it may be a real spiritual experience. All depends on the visitor himself, and the spirit in which he approaches the Bridge. For here is something man with all his vaunted skill could never have made. Here is something straight from the hand of the Creator.
…
That God is recognized as the workman is shown by the comments of visitors to the Bridge. An employee found a German refugee kneeling under the Bridge just at twilight in the attitude of prayer. As he approached she rose and said, “I have been thanking God that there are place like this left in the world.” Two women stood under the Bridge for a long time in silence. Finally one said, “It gives me a feeling of mightiness.” But the other replied, “It gives me a feeling of smallness.” A mother, showing the Bridge to her child, said, “See, dear, the Bridge was made by God. Man did not build it.” Said a couple from York, Pennsylvania, “Often when we visit places and see things of which we have been told, we are disappointed. But Natural Bridge surpassed all our expectations.”

That God is recognized as the workman is shown by the comments in the Visitors’ Book at the entrance. In the Gatehouse there is a large volume where visitors are invited to write their names as they leave, with any comments they wish. Most of the comments are trite and commonplace, such as “Beautiful,” “Wonderful,” “Stupendous,” “Awe-inspiring,” “Grand,” etc. But every once in a while some visitor will take the time to record in this book a profound religious experience. Here are a few examples:

A lady from Pittsburgh: “It brought me as near to Heaven as I will probably get.”

A man from Indiana: “It would be hard to find something more God-like.”

A lady from Portsmouth, Virginia: “We left in a mood of reverence.”

A mother and son from Texas: “It brought us a new realization of God’s creation, beautiful and breath-taking.”

A couple from Massachusetts: “We found it a beautiful way to worship.”

A young lady from Kentucky: “It has the atmosphere of a Cathedral, and it drew me closer to my Maker.”

A girl from Elkton, Virginia: “It lifted me into the Seventh Heaven.”

A couple from Oak Ridge, Tennessee: “It brought us in touch with the Infinite.”

A professor from Yale University: “It is religiously inspiring.”

That God is recognized as the workman is shown by the tributes of famous men and women who have visited the Bridge. Samuel Kercheval, in his History of the Valley of Virginia, speaks of it as “the most grand, sublime, and awful sight I ever looked upon.” Arno B. Cammerer, Director of United States Parks, who is familiar with all the natural beauties of America, in a personal letter to a friend says that the Bridge impressed him as “one of the most wonderful and lovely examples of Nature’s Architecture” he had ever seen. Mildred Seydell, internationally known author and writer, put her feeling in these words: “Man expresses the beauty of his thoughts by making songs and poems and pictures and sculpture, but God has expressed the beauty of His thoughts by creating Natural Bridge of Virginia.” It was Henry Clay, the great Kentucky statesman, who coined this expressive phrase, “The Bridge not made with hands,” while John Marshall described it as “God’s greatest miracle in stone.”

Over and over, we see among these extracts references to the sublime. Truly, that word perhaps best captures the elevated impression that this remarkable natural wonder of God’s handiwork in creation. The tributes to this special found in the writings of many, including these American Presbyterians, testify to beauty, power and wisdom of God.

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John Moorhead: Pastor of Boston's Church of the Presbyterian Strangers

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In the midst of the great Puritan Migration to New England (1620-1640), some Scotch-Irish assembled a congregation in Boston, Massachusetts which was known as the ‘Church of the Presbyterian Strangers.’ Its first pastor was the Rev. John Moorhead (1703-1773). He was born in Newton, near Belfast, in County Down, Ireland (Ulster), and educated in Edinburgh, before arriving in Massachusetts.

All accounts indicate that he was a very pious minister, who engaged in family visitation, catechism, and a faithful ministry of the Word. He left a deep impression among his flock and others, and has been noted in various studies of New England Presbyterianism.

It was not until 1730 that a Presbyterian Church was organized in Boston. Under the leadership of the Reverend John Moorhead a congregation known as “The Church of the Presbyterian Strangers” was organized and met in a “converted barn” owned by John Little on Long Lane. In 1735 title to the property was conveyed to the congregation for use by the Presbyterian Society forever “and for no other use, intention, or purpose whatever.” This “converted barn” served the congregation until 1744 when a new edifice was erected. It was in this building in 1788 that action was taken to make Massachusetts a state, in commemoration of which the name Long Lane was changed to Federal Street and the meeting house came to be known as Federal Street Church.

The congregation flourished and by the time their new building was erected numbered more than 250. Mr. Moorhead served the group until his death in December, 1773, following which the church was supplied by itinerant ministers [including David McClure] until 1783 when the Reverend Robert Annan was called to be pastor. Internal strife and opposition from the Puritan oligarchy finally led Mr. Annan to resign in 1786 after which the group voted themselves into a Congregational Society and after 1803 when William Ellery Channing became pastor, they joined the Unitarian fold. Relocating and erecting a new building in 1860 this group became the Arlington Street Church. In similar fashion one by one most of the seventy fairly well established Presbyterian churches of eighteenth century New England went over to other denominations. — Charles N. Pickell, Presbyterianism in New England: The Story of a Mission, pp. 6-7

A memoir of Moorhead written in 1807 says this of the early days of that congregation:

This little colony of Christians, for some time, carried on the public worship of God in a barn, which stood on the lot which they had purchased. In this humble temple, with uplifted hearts and voices, they worshipped and honoured Him, who, for our salvation, condescended to be born in a stable.

This same biographer highlights an important aspect of Moorhead’s ministry - family visitation.

Once or twice in the year, Mr. Moorhead visited all the families of his congregation, in town and country; (one of the Elders, in rotation, accompanying him,) for the purpose of religious instruction. On these occasions, he addressed the heads of families with freedom and affection, and inquired into their spiritual state, catechised and exhorted the children and servants, and concluded his visit with prayer. In this last solemn act, (which he always performed on his knees, at home and in the houses of his people), he used earnestly to pray for the family, and the spiritual circumstances of each member, as they respectively needed.

In addition to this labour of family visitations, he also convened, twice in the year, the families, according to the districts, at the meeting-house, when he conversed with the heads of families, asking them questions, on some of the most important doctrines of the gospel, agreeably to the Westminster confession of faith; and catechised the children and youth.

A young parishioner of Rev. Moorhead, David McClure, who briefly ministered to the flock in Boston after Moorhead’s death, wrote in his journal about this feature of the ministry at the Church of the Presbyterian Strangers.

We had the special advantage of a religious education & government in early life. Our parents gave us the best school education that their circumstances would allow. The children who could walk were obliged to attend public worship on the Sabbath, & spend the interval in learning the Shorter & the Larger Westminster Catechisms, & committing to memory some portion of the Scriptures. My mother commonly heard us repeat the catechisms on Sunday evenings. My parents departed with the supporting hope of salvation through the glorious Redeemer. In her expiring moments my mother gave her blessing & her prayers to each of her children, in order. She had many friends who mourned her death. She was favored with a good degree of health & was very cheerful, active & laborious, in the arduous task of raising, with slender means, a large family. To the labours of our worthy minister the Rev. Mr. Moorhead, we were much indebted for early impressions of religious sentiments. His practice was frequently to catechize the Children & youth at the meeting House & at their homes & converse & pray with them. He also visited & catechized the heads of all the families in his congregation, statedly.

Moorhead is mentioned often in Alexander Blaikie’s History of Presbyterianism in New England (although under the spelling of “Moorehead”). Blaikie writes that Moorhead was ordained on March 30, 1730, and adds that

"This religious society was established by his pious zeal and assiduity."…He was the forty-sixth minister settled in Boston, and "soon after his induction he married Miss Sarah Parsons, an English lady, who survived him about one year."

André Le Mercier, the 37th minister settled in Boston, a French Huguenot Presbyterian, was a colleague of Moorhead’s at this time and is mentioned by Blaikie in this connection.

A letter from Rev. Moorhead [not yet available on Log College Press] was published in Glasgow, Scotland in 1741, which gives an account of conversions associated with the Great Awakening ministries of George Whitefield and Gilbert Tennent.

Portrait of Phillis Wheatley by Scipio Moorhead (1773). It is said to be “the first frontispiece depicting a woman writer in American history, and possibly the first ever portrait of an American woman in the act of writing.”

Moorhead was a slave owner. His slave, Scipio Moorhead, is famous in history for his artistic skill. His portrait of Phillis Wheatley appeared in her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773). Wheatley wrote An Elegy to Miss Mary Moorhead, on the Death of Her Father, the Rev. Mr. John Moorhead in December 1773. Of him she wrote:

With humble Gratitude he render'd Praise,
To Him whose Spirit had inspir'd his Lays;
To Him whose Guidance gave his Words to flow,
Divine Instruction, and the Balm of Wo:
To you his Offspring, and his Church, be given,
A triple Portion of his Thirst for Heaven;
Such was the Prophet; we the Stroke deplore,
Which let's us hear his warning Voice no more.
But cease complaining, hush each murm'ring Tongue,
Pursue the Example which inspires my Song.
Let his Example in your Conduct shine;
Own the afflicting Providence, divine;
So shall bright Periods grace your joyful Days,
And heavenly Anthems swell your Songs of Praise.

The “Presbyterian Strangers” of Boston thought very highly of their pastor. In his funeral sermon [not yet available on Log College Press], by David McGregore, he was described as “an Israelite indeed.” He left an enduring legacy that is reflected in the lives of David McClure and others. Boston is not the city set upon a hill that it once was, although pockets of piety endure. But Moorhead is worthy of remembrance today as a pioneer of New England Presbyterianism.

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How They Kept the Faith: A Huguenot Tale by Annie R. Stillman

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A descendant of French Huguenots herself, Annie Raymond Stillman (1855-1922), niece of Charles A. Stillman (see below), and parishioner of Thomas Smyth (also see below), was the author of a noted work of historical fiction titled How They Kept the Faith: A Tale of the Huguenots of Languedoc (1889, 1899), a book which was republished by Inheritance Publications in the 1990s as part of their Huguenot Inheritance Series.

Biographical sketches of Miss Annie (she never married, and wrote under the pseudonym “Grace Raymond”) appear in Mary D. Irvine and Alice L. Eastwood, Pioneer Women of the Presbyterian Church, United States (1923) and Margaret A. Gist, Presbyterian Women of South Carolina (1929). The latter work is not yet available at Log College Press, but we can quote a portion concerning Miss Annie.

ANNIE RAYMOND STILLMAN OR “GRACE RAYMOND”

Any history of the outstanding women of Charleston Presbyterial is incomplete without some mention, however brief, of the author of “How They Kept the Faith.” The daughter of Alfred Raymond Stillman and Amelia H. Badeau, Anne Raymond Stillman was born on January 25, 1855, in Charleston and in the congregation of the Second Presbyterian Church, of which her father was an elder. During the latter part of the Confederate War the family refugeed in Summerville, but Miss Stillman received her education at the Memminger Normal School of Charleston, from which she was graduated in 1870.

Miss Stillman had begun to write before that time, but her first published work was a memorial poem to her pastor, Dr. Thomas Smyth, in 1873. After that many of her poems and children’s stories were written for the “Southern Presbyterian", always under the name “Grace Raymond”, while she wrote the Charleston “News and Courier” a story of the Confederate War called “Palm and Pine.” Her mother, through whom came Miss Stillman’s Huguenot blood and spirit, suggested the book which brought her into prominence as an author. “How They Kept the Faith” is an important contribution to the history of the martyred Huguenots and of Christianity. Mrs. Stillman also instilled in her daughter an enthusiasm for Foreign Missions.

The gradual failure of Miss Stillman’s sight delayed the completion of her book and prevented all reading, but it never was allowed to cloud her cheerful spirit or her heavenly vision. No photograph of her is available, but none who knew her in youth may forget that exquisite regular profile, the blond hair brought down, madonna-wise, on each side of the delicate face, the eyes veiled against the light, and the intent interest in sermon or talk.

Miss Stillman later resided in Tuscaloosa, near the institute founded by her distinguished uncle, Dr. Charles Stillman, but as with all good Charlestonians, her heart lived in Charleston and Charleston was the better for it. She lies with her people in the old burying-ground in the shadow of Second Church.

If you are seeking edifying and inspirational historical fiction to read, which begins with a poetic tribute to the author’s mother and the heroic Christians from whom she was descended, the story of two Huguenot families in 17th century France, is a good choice for readers young and old and can be read online here.

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