July 2012

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July 11: John Wanamaker, Merchant

11 July, 2012 in July 2012 by davidtmyers | 1 comment

This Day in Presbyterian History:  

Sharing  Faith by Word and Deed

Everyone has heard of the name John Wanamaker, especially those in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That is where this retail giant began his department stores at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861.  But everyone may not know that John Wanamaker was a devout Presbyterian who shared his wealth and his Christian faith by word and deed.

Born on this day July 11, 1838, he began to work as an errand boy and shopkeeper’s helper.  At age 18, he became a Christian and began to attend Sunday School and church.  His congregation was Bethany Presbyterian church in Philadelphia.  In fact, at twenty-five, he was ordained as a ruling elder in the church.

He had some ideas which were unorthodox in the retail marketing field.  Using four principles, which were honesty, a fixed price for goods, a money back guarantee, and happy contented employees, he thought (and thought rightly) that customers would come. Workers were given free medical care, free education, recreational facilities, pensions, and profit-sharing plans. No wonder that unions could not get a foothold in his stores.

As his businesses grew with more and more stores in more than one city, he began to give large portions of his wealth to religious and moral causes.  The Young Man’s Christian Association and the Sunday School movement were among those receiving large support. He said once “I cannot too greatly emphasize the important and value of Bible study — more important than ever before in these days of uncertainties, when men and women are apt to decide questions from the standpoint of expediency rather than the eternal principles laid down by God Himself.

Words to Live By: When you consider the last sentence about Bible study, we might think that he had made it in the current year in which we find ourselves instead of back in the late 1800’s.  But a faith and life lived in the light of God’s Word the Bible makes everything relevant to every age.  Bible study still has its place in every believer’s life walk.  Buy a faithful Bible study, like the Reformation Study Bible, with a good biblical commentary, like Matthew Henry, and (oh yes) a notebook to record what the Spirit reveals to you through His Word, follow everything up with prayers of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplications (A.C.T.S), and you will be able to decide questions from the standpoint of God Himself.

Through the Scriptures:  Isaiah 13 – 15

Through the Standards: The manner of sanctifying the Lord’s Day according to the Catechisms

WLC 117 — “How is the sabbath or the Lord’s day to be sanctified?
A.  The sabbath or Lord’s Day is to be sanctified by an holy resting all the day, not only from such works as are at all times sinful, but even from such worldly employments and recreations as are on other days lawful; and making it our delight to spend the whole time (except so much of it as is to be taken up in works of necessity and mercy) in the public and private exercises of God’s worship: and, to that end, we are to prepare our hearts, and with such foresight, diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that day.”

WSC 60 — “How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?
A.  The Sabbath is to be sanctified by a holy resting all that day, even from such worldly employments and recreations as are lawful on other days; and spending the whole time in the public and private exercises of God’s worship, except so much as is to be taken up in the works of necessity and mercy.”

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July 10: Birthday of John Calvin

10 July, 2012 in July 2012 by davidtmyers | 1 comment

This Day in Presbyterian History:  

The Virtual Founder of America

The German historian, Leopold von Ranke, was the one who declared that John Calvin was the virtual founder of America.

Today, July 10, 1504, is the birth of this Swiss Reformer, John Calvin.  And yes, this is the first time we honor one in these historical devotions who is not an American, or for that matter, a Presbyterian.  But his influence pervades all of our history and our culture, so we briefly look at the man and his message.

Do we have any idea of how many Calvinists there were in our country up to the time of the American Revolution in 1776?  Loraine Boettner states that out of the three million citizens of the colonies at this pivotal time in our history, 900,000 were Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, 600,600 were Puritan English, 400,000 were German or Dutch Reformed, and there were a lot of French Huguenots, who were Calvinists.  Two-thirds of our citizens had been trained in the school of Calvin.

Calvin was the first Reformer  to demand a complete separation between the church and the state. Note carefully what I  have just said.  It wasn’t a separation between God and the state, which is the commonly held interpretation today, but between the church and state. No one denomination was going to be the favored church of the government, as it was the case back in England. There would be freedom of religion. And that unique idea could be laid at the feet of John Calvin.

Next, our republic was to be looked upon as a representative republic.  In fact, if you look at the Presbyterian form of government, with its representative elders in the  congregation, we can see how our founding fathers simply took a leaf out of the Presbyterian form of government.

Let’s enter next,  what has been called the Protestant work-ethic in this whole discussion. Calvin held to the idea that every person’s calling can be characterized as a Christian calling, enabling them to serve God in every area of life. That has certainly helped  our people work hard in their respective jobs, knowing that they are serving God in those jobs as well as that one who has been called to the pulpit to serve God.

Further, the Geneva Bible came to these shores by the pilgrim forefathers. This was the version whose footnotes were decidedly Calvinist.

For all these reasons, we honor John Calvin today.

Words to Live By: Today Calvinism is almost a dirty word. We need to reclaim its force in people’s lives and equally in our national life, if we desire to return to the greatness of our land. If you, reader, are largely ignorant of this Reformer and his place of influence in the early days of our people, make sure that you are not neglecting the Westminster Confession of Faith and catechism readings, which are a part of Calvin’s legacy. And delve into his Institutes of the Christian Religion, which will more than repay you in bringing Biblical theology into your faith and life.

Through the Scriptures: Isaiah 10 – 12

Through the Standards: The manner of sanctifying the Lord’s Day according to the Confession

WCF 21:8 — “This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe a holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.”

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July 9: Philip P. Bliss, Composer

9 July, 2012 in July 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:

Hymn Writer Par Excellent

The Union fort was surrounded on all sides by the forces of the Southern Confederacy in 1864. Wondering whether he should surrender or not, the  Union military commander looked to the north and saw the signal coming his way.  It read, “Hold the fort. I am coming. Sherman.” He did, and his command was rescued by the Union forces. The Christian hymn writer heard the story and turned it into a hymn for the visible church yet on the earth.  “Hold the fort, for I am coming,” he interpreted Christ saying. And the Christians in His church, replied “By thy grace we will.”

That hymn writer was Philip P.  Bliss, who was born in a log home on this day July 9, 1838 in Rome, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania to Christian parents.  For the first ten years of his life, he moved constantly to Ohio and to different places in northern Pennsylvania.  He received most of his early education from  his mother.  Early on, he developed a passion for music.  For the next eight years, he worked constantly for other people, on farms, as a cook, at lumber yards, in sawmills — anywhere he could get a job. Staying with various families, one such stay resulted in marriage with Lucy Young.

Lucy Young was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Rome, Pennsylvania,  having come to Christ when she was sixteen years of age. Philip Bliss joined the Presbyterian Church at well, becoming superintendent of the Sunday School. Two children would be born of this union with Lucy.

Moving to Chicago in 1864, he began to be involved with music within the context of evangelistic preachers, such as Dwight L Moody, Major Whittle, and others.  He also began to write music, and publish his own gospel song books.

It was for one of these evangelistic campaigns with D. L. Moody that he and his wife left their two small children with his mother in Rome, Pennsylvania to travel by train in 1876. The train in a blinding snow storm traveled on a bridge which was compromised. It caused the train to fall into the gorge.  Philip Bliss was able to extract himself through a window, but went back to help his wife Lucy, when the train was engulfed by fire. They never found any bodies after that storm of fire.

Hymns written by Philip Bliss are some of the most memorable in Christian music.  Some of them are: Almost Persuaded, Hallelujah What a Savior, Hold the Fort, Let the Lower Lights be Burning, The Light of the world is Jesus, Whosoever Will,  Wonderful Words of Life.  I am so Glad that Jesus Loved me,  Dare to be a Daniel, I will Sing of My Redeemer, Man of Sorrows, What a Name, More Holiness Give Me, and Jerusalem the Golden.

Words to Live By: The next time you sing in church one of Philip Bliss hymns, or around the piano in your home, reflect on the love Philip Bliss had for his Redeemer, the love of lost souls, and the self-sacrificing love he had for his wife, Lucy.  Indeed, “google” Philip P. Bliss and read more of his life. He used his God-given talents and gifts for the Savior in the Presbyterian Church, as well as for the church at large. So should we do the same.

Through the Scriptures:   Isaiah 7 – 9

Through the Standards: The fourth commandment: Duties required in the catechisms

WLC 115 and WSC 57 — “Which is the fourth commandment?
A.  The fourth commandment is, Remember the sabbath-day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.  For in six days the Lord made  heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them  is, and rested in the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath-day and  hallowed it.” 

WLC 116 — “What is required in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment requires of all men the sanctifying or keeping holy to God such set times as he has appointed in his word, expressly one whole day in seven; which was the seventh from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, and the first day of the week ever since, and so to continue to the end of the world; which is the Christian sabbath, and in the New Testament called the Lord’s day.”

WSC 58 — “What is required in the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment requires the keeping holy to God such set times as he has appointed in his Word, expressly one whole day in seven, to be  a holy Sabbath to himself.”

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July 8: William Stuart Red

8 July, 2012 in July 2012 by davidtmyers | 2 comments

A Historian for a Historical Devotional

redWmStuartThe Presbyterian minister was convinced that when young men were called into the ministry, and then left the state of Texas for their religious training, most of them never returned to the Lone Star State.  So there was obviously one solution, namely, begin a theological seminary in Texas.  And he did, even giving the land for it, and today Austin Theological Seminary (a seminary of the PCUSA) is in existence today.

The Texas minister was William Stuart Red. Born in 1857, though some say 1860, in Washington County, Texas, he attended for a while a university in Tennessee before transferring to Austin College in Austin, Texas.  He then studied at Princeton Seminary for one year before transferring to Columbia Theological Seminary in 1884-85.  Finally, he returned back to the Lone Star State to Austin School of Theology and graduated from there in 1886.  After some further study in Germany and Scotland, he returned for licensure and ordination as a Presbyterian minister in the Presbyterian Church in the United States in 1887.

He was the pastor at six Presbyterian churches in Texas.  Beyond his care for the churches, he was also interested in a central depository for Presbyterian and Reformed history.  So, along with the Rev. Samuel Terry, Rev. Red gave funds for the creation of the Historical Foundation of Reformed and Presbyterian Churches at Montreat, North Carolina.

Before he died on July 8, 1933, his project after retirement from the ministry was the History of the Presbyterian Church in Texas.  His family finished up the 500 page book after his death from papers he had written.  Our PCA Historical Center has a copy of it in St. Louis, Missouri.

Words to Live By: He seemed to be larger than life, but then aren’t all Texans?  Yet it is important to remember that his love for the state of Texas was grounded in Christian Presbyterianism in Texas.  Paul’s haunting question in the New Testament was “How shall they hear without a preacher?”  Rev. Red wanted Presbyterian preachers to train and serve their Lord and God so that his fellow Texans could hear the unsearchable riches of God’s grace.  That is true for all of our states.  Pray for where God has placed you on this day that the everlasting good news of eternal life might impact your state.

Through the Scriptures: Isaiah 4 – 6

Through the Standards: The fourth commandment: Duties required according to the Confession

WCF 21:7
“As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set aside for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, He has particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him; which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.”

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July 7: Jedidiah Andrews [1674-1747]

7 July, 2012 in July 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:   

A Burden for the Care of the Churches

The assessment was made by a fellow minister that nothing would come from the beginning church, that it was not likely to increase in the city.  How that minister was wrong, for the Lord was behind this first church and He was also using the missions-pastor to grow the church.

Jedidiah Andrews was one of the seven Presbyterian ministers who began the first Presbytery in Philadelphia.  He was the only one who had been born in the future United States of America.  Born on July 7, 1674 in Higham, Massachusetts, Jedidiah went to Harvard College, and graduated in 1694.

Moving to Philadelphia three years later, and  already ordained in the gospel ministry, he began to preach in a building in cooperation with the Baptists in that city.  However, the arrangement did not last long, through an oversight of a meeting day by Mr. Andrews.  The Baptists were offended at that, with the result that the cooperation was hindered between the two churches.  That bought about the assessment by the Baptist minister which was found in the first sentence of this historical devotional.  But God was in the picture now, and the Presbyterians did grow after they built their own structure on Market Street between Second and Third Street in 1704. For years, in fact, it was the only Presbyterian church in Philadelphia.

In 1706, Jedidiah Andrews and six other ministers raised up the Presbytery of Philadelphia, the first such organization in the colonies.  From day one, Rev. Andrews was the recording clerk of the Presbytery, and later of the Synod, until his death in 1747.

Jedidiah Andrews had a missionary heart.  Frequently, he went on preaching tours in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  The nuclei of many a congregation was formed by him during those years.   He felt a burden for the care of the churches.

Words to Live By:  Pray this day for your pastor.  Having been one for 38 years, this contributor knows something of the cares of the church which press upon your shepherd of the sheep.  Go to him and ask him to give you in general, the duties of his work week.  Then tell him that you will remember him regularly in those duties.  That will greatly encourage him to keep on keeping on in the work of the gospel, and the growth of the congregation, both in spiritual and temporal growth.

Through the Scriptures: Isaiah 1 – 3

Through the Standards: Proof texts for the third commandment

Deuteronomy 5:11
“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes  his name in vain.” (ESV)

Matthew 6:9
“Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name.” (ESV)

1 Peter 3:15a
“But in  your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy . . .” (ESV)

Malachi 3:16
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another.  The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before  him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.” (ESV)

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