December 2017

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December 21: A Timely Warning

21 December, 2017 in December 2017 by archivist | No comments

Recently the PCA Historical Center acquired a sizable collection of an old Presbyterian newspaper, THE NEW YORK OBSERVER. Looking through the first issue in this group, the following brief article speaks from the vantage point of valuing honest labor, recognizing the sin of theft, and trusting the Lord for our daily bread. And given some recent hot topics in the news, on how to make lots of money, it seems all the more a needful word to those who will listen:

SPECULATION DANGEROUS TO THE SOUL.

I read a story, long since, of a good farmer who consulted his wife as to some plan for making money faster than it could grow out of the ground. It all looked fair, sure; it seemed as if there were hardly a possibility of failure; but it involved suspense, anxiety, disappointment in failure, or exultation in success, and she advised against it, adding, “I have always observed that speculation is dangerous to the soul.”

One needs but little observation to confirm this remark. Do you know a single, earnest, live, working Christian man with whom speculation is a habit or even a common thing?

The argument is ever ready, “If I don’t, somebody else will;” but that is stale and mean. It is a painful fact that all these things come so heavily upon the poor. Those who have money can buy a quantity of an article that is rising to speculative prices, but the poor must buy as they need, at whatever rate, and it is mostly their hard-earned wages which the successful man puts in his pocket.

The whole system is nearly allied to gambling, and all the customs of the world and all the examples of men who stand high in the world’s estimation cannot make it otherwise. Remember, too, the Bible declaration that there are things “highly esteemed” among men which are “abomination” in the sight of God.

No wonder. Look at recent examples we have seen. Young men swept off their feet and carried away by the tide beyond their depth, beyond mercy. It is cruel to expose them; yet example is stronger than warning, and where older men go the younger will follow.

Make haste slowly; let conscience speak now, for the time may come when its voice will have a sting. Let the Word of God speak against wealth hastily gotten. Let experience teach that “speculation is dangerous to the soul.”

—Earnest.

The New York Observer, 44.2 (11 January 1866): 15, column 6.

“He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.”—Ephesians 4:28, NASB.

…and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,”—1 Thessalonians 4:11 (NIV)

“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”—2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV)

 

December 20: Dr. M’Cosh at Princeton (1868)

20 December, 2017 in December 2017 by archivist | No comments

A glimpse of student life at Princeton University in the late 1860s, particularly in the last paragraph.

The New York Observer, 46.51 (Thursday, 17 December 1868), Religious Department, page 402, column 2b:
PRINCETON:

DEDICATION : DR. M’COSH : SABBATH EXERCISE.

Princeton, Dec. 11th, 1868.

Messrs. Editors,—The new Second Presbyterian Church was dedicated on the 3d inst. [i.e., Dec. 3d]

This edifice, constructed of brown stone, and located in the centre of the town, nearly opposite the Astronomical Observatory, is a massive structure of the Gothic style of architecture, of fair proportions, nearly finished, and furnished with taste and elegance, and would not fail to attract the attention of a stranger. The pews below and the galleries included will probably seat not far from a thousand.

The dedicatory services included a sermon in the morning from the venerable senior Professor, in the School of the Prophets, Dr. Charles Hodge, and one in the afternoon from Rev. Mr. M’Cosh. This was the first sermon of the new President to a popular audience since his arrival in the country. The discourse was worthy of one of the “kings of the realm of thought.”

Among the changes introduced into the College by the new President, may be mentioned the omission of the usual Sunday afternoon recitation of three chapters in the Bible, a custom which has been in vogue ever since the days of President Ashbel Green, who, tradition says, used to consider five chapters none too many in such a connection. In place of this, Dr. M’Cosh is giving a series of lectures on the Life of Christ, the students being required to take notes and submit to a subsequent examination. These lectures are quite popular, and are attended by the Seminary students also, who crowd the College Chapel every Sunday afternoon.

December 19: Dr. R.C. Sproul [1939 – 2017]

19 December, 2017 in December 2017 by archivist | No comments

“God buries His workers and carries on His work.”

As most know by now, Dr. R.C. Sproul passed away on December 14th. We have lost a great pastor and teacher. A memorial service will be held tomorrow, Wednesday Dec. 20th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, at the Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Florida. The entire service will be live-streamed at RCSproul.com. There will also be a public visitation, at the Saint Andrew’s Chapel, today, Tuesday December 19th, from 9 AM to 3 PM.

As you might imagine, there have been many, many tributes published in memory of Dr. Sproul, acknowledging the inestimable ways in which he was used so mightily in the Lord’s kingdom. In particular, I was quite taken with what my friend Tom Martin, a retired judge who lives near Philadelphia, wrote upon hearing of Dr. Sproul’s passing.

R.C. Sproul, A Tribute
by Tom Martin

When James Montgomery Boice died of liver cancer in June of 2000, one of the men asked to speak at his memorial service at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia was his close friend R. C. Sproul. As Sproul rose to the pulpit he reminded the crowd gathered (as he often did) of an historic parallel. He told of the words of Philip Melanchthon at the funeral held for Martin Luther in 1546, when Melanchthon compared the death of Luther to the removal from this world of the Jewish prophet Elijah, whose very name meant “Yahweh is God!” in defiance of idol worshipping king Ahab. 

Melanchthon used the words of Scripture in II Kings 2, which were Elisha’s lament at the loss of his dear friend and mentor, the prophet Elijah:

“And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

“And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

“He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

“And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.”

It has taken a few hours for the death of R.C.Sproul to sink in to my thinking, for Sproul was a giant I was honored to know. I remember the first time he spoke to me by my first name “Tom” and I thought how privileged I was to have been with him from time to time and to have gotten to know the man well. R.C. was a true Christian. Imperfect. At times more hesitant than he seemed in public. Yet, a man with a genuine heart and love for Jesus.

Now he is gone. Others must carry on his work, and shrink from the reality that we don’t have him any longer to rely upon in the work of the Kingdom of God. We want to cry out “My father! My father!” Yet we see him no more.

We must recall that even in the sorrows of the death of Elijah his follower Elisha “took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him,” smote the rivers of the Jordan River, and the waters parted. The power of God is not diminished by the loss of God’s saints. As John Wesley wrote: “God buries His workers and carries on His work.” May the God of Elijah, the God of James Montomery Boice, and the God of R.C. Sproul carry on His work until Jesus comes again.

Links to some of the other many tributes have been gathered here: 

Tributes to Dr. R.C. Sproul

Dr. Peter Lillback, president of Westminster Theological Seminary, has also shared two very memorable audio recordings of Dr. Sproul,
(1.) of his address at Westminster’s 83rd commencement ceremony, in 2012 and (2.) an interview with Dr. Sproul conducted earlier this year by Dr. Scott Oliphint.
Click here for the link to listen to either of these recordings.

Lastly, I would close with what Darrell B. Harrison and many others have pointed to as one of R.C.’s most important messages,
“The Curse Motif of the Atonement”

Pictured: Dr. R.C. Sproul speaking at a press briefing of the Congress on the Bible, March 1982.
Seated with him at the table are Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade and Dr. Jim Boice, pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA.
This photo is from the Presbyterian Journal collection at the PCA Historical Center.

 

 

December 18: Dr. C. John (Jack) Miller [1928-1996]

18 December, 2017 in December 2017 by archivist | No comments

Following the Lord Unto Death

This day, December 18th, in 1928, marks the birth of Cecil John Miller. Raised in California, he earned his BA at San Francisco State College in 1953 and a doctorate in English Literature at the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He graduated from Westminster Seminary in 1966, but by an uncommon arrangement had previously been ordained by the OPC some seven years earlier, in October of 1959, whereupon he was then engaged in church planting work in Stockton, California from 1959 to 1963. He later began serving as pastor of the Mechanicsville Chapel in Pennsylvania a year before graduating from Westminster, serving that pulpit from 1965 to 1972.

Jack Miller was my pastor when I was a student at Westminster Seminary in the late 1970’s. The church at that time was still meeting in the rented gymnasium of a local YMCA. Every Sunday we’d get there early to set up folding chairs, and then prepared for a time of worship, typically up to two hours in length and including a sermon from Dr. Miller which might easily run up to 60 minutes long. But we never noticed the clock. We simply went home for lunch and spent the afternoon dwelling on all we had heard. Then we’d go back at the end of the day for more. Dr. Miller was the pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church from 1973 to 1990, and a number of other New Life churches sprang from the model he established. But his greatest legacy came from his heart for missions, which led him on frequent trips to several countries, most notably Uganda, and from this work, World Harvest Mission began, and Dr. Miller served as director of WHM from 1991 until his death, April 8, 1996. World Harvest is now known as Serge, a name change which was put in place over the summer of 2014.

Without recounting here his many books, which have been a great blessing to so many, I will simply note today that a new work has recently been issued under the title Saving Grace. This new book consists of 366 excerpts drawn from Dr. Miller’s sermons, portioned out for daily devotional reading. 

As a sample of the entries in this book, the following is the entry for December 18:

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)–John 21:18-19.

How do we develop character in ourselves and others? We can’t teach character unless we have it, and that’s a problem because the church often lacks character. We can only get it as we learn about Jesus’s holy, powerful, transforming love. But we want so many other things besides the love of Christ : an easy life, popularity, acceptance, good principles, and even sound theology. But without love to Christ forming the character, all of it is only self-will. And without the love of Christ shaping our will and character, even good things become demonic, divisive, and cruel.

So Jesus ends his message to Peter by saying, “Follow me. Follow me to your death and you will glorify God. Follow me and I will make you great.” Peter desired to be great and God is going to do that through his death. The heart of love for God is surrendering our will to him. Peter surrendered to Christ and became great. As we surrender to God’s love, our character is formed like Christ, and we also become great in God’s kingdom.

To find out more about the book and how to order from the publisher, New Growth Press, click the title here: Saving Grace.

December 17: Van Horn on WSC Q. 41

17 December, 2017 in December 2017 by archivist | No comments

STUDIES IN THE WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM
by Rev. Leonard T. Van Horn

Q. 41. — Wherein is the moral law summarily comprehended?

A. — The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments.

Scripture References: Matt. 19:17-19; Deut. 10:4; Rom. 3:8.;Deut. 4:8.

Questions:

1. What do we mean by “summarily comprehended?”

We mean that the sum and the chief heads of the law are therein contained. The moral law is more fully set forth in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

2. When was the moral law first published?

The moral law was first published when God wrote it on the heart of Adam.

3. Where are the ten commandments found in Scripture?

The ten commandments are found in the twentieth chapter of Exodus and in slightly a different form in the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy. However, the differences are very minor and include nothing essential.

4. How are the commandments divided?

We divide them today as “ten commandments” as was done by the Greek Church in early days. There is also the division of the duties towards God and those duties towards our fellow-man.

5. Could we say that the ten commandments includes all of the moral law?

We could say that the ten commandments are an amazingly comprehensive summary of the moral law. They include both things required of the inward man and of the outward behavior. Within them there is an amazing teaching in that if a sin is forbidden, in the words of God there is a duty commanded.

6. How can we have a better understanding of the ten commandments?

Our Larger Catechism, in answer to Question 95 gives us certain :’;,,’::0 for a right understanding of the commandments. It would be good for all of us to memorize all eight of the rules given and the proof texts too. Too many of us are woefully ignorant of these eight rules, rules that, rightly applied, will indeed lead us to a closer walk with our God, all to His glory.

OBEDIENCE-AND LOVE

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto Him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy

heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” Thus our Lord Jesus Christ gives the first part of the summary of the law, agreeing perfectly with Deut. 6:5. And thus he ties up the matter of obedience to Him for the obeying of his commandments is the essence of obedience to Him—with the matter of our love for Him. The two are woven together throughout the Bible.

An excellent question is: How do we know we love God? Seven wonderful signs were given by Thomas Watson many years ago. He lists:
(1) Our desire will be after Him.
(2) We cannot find contentment in any thing without Him.
(3) We hate that which would separate us from God, namely sin.
(4) We have sympathy for one another.
(5) We labor to render Him lovely to others.
(6) We weep bitterly for His absence.
(7) We are willing to do and to suffer for Him.
All of these have to do with the matter of our obeying Him for unless these characteristics are part of us we will not obey Him.

The question was once asked by a student: “Why do we not obey Him as we should?” The answer that came to mind was simply. “We are not burning in holy love.” Paul’s prayer for the Christians at Ephesus was “That Christ may dwell.in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,” (Eph. 3:17), It would be well for us, if we are really serious about obeying Him, to engage in some real prayer regarding our love for Him—praying that the Holy Spirit will give us a love such as we have never had before, praying that we might show forth some real labors of love in the days ahead; heart-felt prayer that we might have a love for Him that will always be glowing; heart-felt prayer that it may never be said of us, “Thou hast left thy first love.”

A wise preacher once said that love is involved with delighting in an object. It is possible that our difficulty is in not delighting in Him enough, not delighting in his Word, in prayer, in telling others about Him! When was the last time we prayed, “Lord, I love Thee!” When was the last time we felt this? When was the last time we told Him that we love Him more than anyone or anything on this earth. If it has been some time this may well be the reason for our lack of obedience.

Published By: THE SHIELD and SWORD. {NC.
Vol. 3 No. 41 (May 1964)
Rev. Leonard T. Van Horn, Editor

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