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February 17: Honest John Hart

17 February, 2016 in February 2016 by davidtmyers | No comments

Honest John Hart — February ?, 1713
by Rev. David T. Myers

There is much which we don’t know about Honest John Hart, as he was known by all. For example, no one seems to know the date of his birth. We know that it was the second month of the year, but the exact day is unknown. So for the purposes of this web magazine, we have chosen this day. Some don’t even know the year of his birth, though we have placed down the generally accepted year of 1713. And as far as the place of his birth, that too is not known. Some say John Hart was born in Connecticut, and others say New Jersey. But what this humble man accomplished for his new country and especially for the Lord God is well known.

His chief accomplishment was that John Hart was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, representing the State of New Jersey. And like his fellow delegate John Witherspoon, who signed the Declaration, John Hart was also a Presbyterian. We know that he was baptized as a child in the Maidenhead Meetinghouse, which is currently the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, on December 31, 1713. Fellow signer, Benjamin Rush, also a Presbyterian, described him as “a plain, honest, well meaning Jersey farmer, with little education, but with good sense and virtue enough to pursue the true interests of his country.”

Married to Deborah Scudder in 1739, he settled down on 193 acres near what is presently Hopewell, New Jersey. Eventually, from this marital union, they would have 13 children. John Hart would serve in various offices of local and regional government, until his election to the Continental Congress as one of five delegates from New Jersey. In that office, he was the thirteenth member to put his signature on the bottom of the Declaration of Independence.

For that, his life incurred a great degree of personal and family suffering, as the British and Hessian forces destroyed all that he owned in Hopewell. During this time after his signing of that historic document, his wife was sick unto death. And even though there was a price on his head, John Hart would not leave his sick wife. Finally after her death, he sent the children to live with relatives and friends, while he became a fugitive, living in barns and caves, always one step ahead of the British authorities. There is online a sign which speaks of John Hart’s cave. With the end of that Revolutionary War, he was able to return to his farm.

Though he was Presbyterian, John Hart knew that the local Baptist church was looking for ground to build their church. He gave part of his land for the building of that church and cemetery. Today both John and his wife are buried in that Baptist church cemetery in Hopewell, New Jersey, with appropriate monuments indicating his place in the history of our republic.

Words to Live By:
Let us be known for our godly conversation and conduct before both believers and unbelievers alike. Let us remain faithful to Him, regardless of the opposition of the world, the flesh, and the devil have for us in the present, and whatever the future holds. Peter says in 2 Peter 3:17 “You therefore, beloved, . . . be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”(NASV)

January 27: The Paxtang Boys (1764)

27 January, 2016 in January 2016 by davidtmyers | No comments

The Fighting Parson and his Paxtang Boys
by Rev. David T. Myers

When calling a Presbyterian pastor, his qualifications are important. Does he preach the Word of God? Check! Does he evangelize the unconverted and make disciples? Check! Does he administer the sacraments? Check! Does he visit the people in their homes, especially the sick? Check! Does he lead military operations against marauding natives? Whoa! Wait a minute. What? That isn’t listed in the Book of Church Order! And yet, that was often the calling of the pastor in frontier churches. In this case, the Rev. John Elder was one of the Fighting Parsons of the Paxtang Boys in Pennsylvania.

John Elder was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on January 26, 1706. He attended the University of Edinburgh. In 1735, he traveled to America and into the Presbyterian church. Ordained on November 22, 1738, he was called to the Paxton Presbyterian Church, two miles north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Other than a brief separation from that congregation, he was to stay there as an under shepherd for 56 years.

Being a Presbyterian was no easy life in colonial America. Surrounded by hostile natives, each day was a challenge. Weapons were carried as they worked in the fields, or even as they gathered for worship. Pastor Elder himself would prop his rifle next to his pulpit! On the way home, members would scan the skies for any smoke, which would indicate a home burned by the natives. More than one member might be killed or captured during the week.

Finally, the men of the Presbyterian Church in Paxton realized that something more was needed. They were being picked off family by family. So Pastor Elder formed an association for defense which he named the Paxtang Boys. John Elder became the captain of the group. They were recognized by the provincial government and Captain Elder became Colonel Elder. As more and more members were killed, the fever for revenge broke out among the settlers.

Gathering in a group of fifty, the Paxtang Boys headed for the Indian village to find the murderers of their families. There is evidence that Pastor Elder tried to stop them, but they were too delirious for revenge. They arrived at the village and in the end, all the natives, those who were guilty and those who were innocent in the raids, were slaughtered. A further raid into another town brought more killing by the Boys. They even marched to Philadelphia, but were stopped finally by the militia.

On this day, January 27, 1764, Pastor John Elder wrote the following communication to the Provincial Governor: “The storm which has been so long gathering has at length exploded. Had the Governor removed the Indians, which had been frequently, but without success, urged, this painful catastrophe might have been avoided. What could I do with men heated to madness? All that I could do was done. I expostulated but life and reason were set at defiance. Yet these men in their private lives are virtuous and respectable; not cruel, but mild and merciful. This deed, magnified into the blackest of crimes, shall come to be considered as wrath caused by momentary excitement, to which human infirmity is subjected.”

Words to Live By:
Paul in Ephesians 4:26, 27 commands “Be angry, and yet do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger. And do not give the devil an opportunity.” When the Paxtang Boys degenerated into savages themselves, killing both those guilty and innocent natives in villages, it continues to be condemned in writings even today in Pennsylvania. Being out of control is not an option for the believer, ever. One trait of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. See Galatians 5:22, 23.

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January 20: Charles Augustus Briggs [1841-1913]

20 January, 2016 in January 2016 by davidtmyers | No comments

How did it get so bad?

by Rev. David T. Myers

When I was a pastor, the question of our title was once asked of me by a couple of Christians who simply did not know how their local PCUSA church, which had been started by their Scottish and Irish ancestors, could have sunk so low in its adherence to the Bible. It was the beginning of a spiritual journey by them into the Presbyterian Church in America.

BriggsCharlesACertainly there were many instances of spiritual departure all through the early years of Presbyterianism in America, many of which have been discussed on this blog since we began in 2012. But the real and damaging departure into apostasy, which continues today, came with the introduction into theological liberalism by Charles Augustus Briggs. He was the first major advocate of Higher Criticism into the American Presbyterian scene.

As American theological students finished their training here and then went to Europe for advanced training, they were introduced there to liberal ideas regarding Holy Scripture. The question was simply stated: “Were the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments inspired of God, the only infallible rule of faith and life, without error in the original languages?” Higher Criticism concluded that the Bible was not inspired, inerrant, and infallible. And so Charles Briggs studied under their Bible-denying ideas in Germany, 1866-69, and returned to America, eventually taking a post teaching Hebrew at Union Theological Seminary in New York, 1874-91, and then becoming the school’s new Professor of Biblical Theology. He was inaugurated as Professor on this day, January 20, in 1891. In his opening address to the seminary, he boldly set forth his denial of the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments.

While this seminary of the Presbyterian Church was friendly to this new view, the denomination was not. Led by the conservative theologians of Princeton Theological Seminary, like A.A. Hodge, the General Assembly refused to accept that appointment. Twice he would be tried by the New York Presbytery of the denomination for heresy, and twice the regional body would declare him not guilty of errors. Soon the denomination entered by appeal into the issue, and two years later, deposed him, assessing him as a heretic with his denial of Scriptures. He joined the Episcopal church, and continued on at Union Seminary.

Union Seminary kept the polarizing figure by withdrawing from the Presbyterian denomination. However, the latter continued to receive into its ranks graduates of Union Theological Seminary. By 1924, the Auburn Affirmation was published, as has been described in other posts on this blog. The modern apostasy had begun in the church with this denial of Scripture. Once Scripture is denied, then other biblical truths fall by the wayside in both doctrine and practice.

Words to Live By:

The first ordination vow of the Presbyterian Church in America reads, “Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as originally given, to be the inerrant Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice? Every teaching and ruling elder, to say nothing of deacons in the church, must adhere to this vow. Our presbyteries and the General Assembly must seek to keep the church pure in doctrine. If we do not, then present and future members might be asking how our church has became so theological liberal in faith and life. Let us learn from the past and remain true to the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, the Bible.

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January 19: Rev. Daniel Baker [1791-1857]

19 January, 2016 in Uncategorized by davidtmyers | No comments

After Much Coldness and Insensibility of Heart
by Rev. David T. Myers

It was on Sunday evening, January 19, 1812, that Daniel Baker wrote in his diary the following words:

“This day, after much coldness and insensibility of heart, it pleased God to revive my spirits, and grant me sweet comfort and refreshment in attending upon our praying society. I would desire to return the Great Fountain of all mercies my humble and sincere thanks for the establishment of this society, inasmuch as he has made it so beneficial to my soul, and that of my fellow members, and has permitted sweet delight and comfort to flow from it, to water and refresh our thirst souls.”

Let me zero in on the expression above “after much coldness and insensibility of heart.” Reader, if you attend a Bible-believing Presbyterian Church, please be aware that your pastors are men of like passions as you are. They are flesh and blood believers, albeit men trained by both life and education to handle the Word of God in pulpit and in homes. Sometimes, the people in the pew expect too much of them, demanding every moment of their time. This is seen in the pastoral schedules that the members of the church demand that they keep.

This author began his pastoral ministry in this country in a smaller congregation. It was expected of me to preach two sermons on the Lord’s day, besides teaching an adult Sunday School class and leading the youth group that Sunday evening. Once a quarter, the church had committed to a rest home service, where another sermon was expected. Then of course, the Wednesday night study and prayer time, a Bible study during the week in the home, visitation to hospitals and homes were regularly required. I can understand Daniel Baker’s acknowledgment of “much coldness and insensibility of heart” on occasions during that pastorate.

To our subscribers of This Day in Presbyterian History, understand that your pastor’s role in the church from both the pulpit and to the pew is for “the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” (See Ephesians 4:11 – 12) The more spiritual equipping which is done in the body of Christ will cause the congregation to join him in the great spiritual work of that local church to itself, to the community, to your state, and to the world.

Words to Live By:
Pray weekly for your pastor, his spiritual needs, for him in his responsibilities to his family, for him as he equips you for ministry to build up the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11 – 16)

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January 16: Our Covenant Heritage (2000)

16 January, 2016 in January 2016 by davidtmyers | No comments

A Review of a Book on the Scottish Covenanters
by Rev. David T. Myers

You take notice of a book when, on the covers are favorable reviews of the book by James Boice, D. James Kennedy, Morton Smith and J. Ligon Duncan. Even though two of the above Presbyterian ministers are now members of the triumphant church while two are still in the militant church on earth, their joint commendations should prompt each of our readers to buy and read this 432 page book. Written by a PCA ruling elder of Grace Presbyterian Church, Aiken, South Carolina, Edwin Nisbet Moore, it asks the soul searching question, “How much are you prepared to go through for the sake of the truth?”

In essence, Edwin Moore traces the religious heritage of his Scottish ancestor, John Nisbet and one John Nevay, who believed and lived in the late seventeenth century during the “Killing times” of the Covenanters in the land of Scotland. Episcopalian or Anglican clergy had replaced the faithful Presbyterian pastors in the land, sending their under shepherds away to the fields and mountains of the country to minister in difficult circumstances the truths of the Reformation in Scotland. When John Nisbet refused to baptize his child in the Anglican faith, all his worldly wealth was lost, his wife and daughter died, and ultimately he suffered execution for the faith of the Covenanters.

And yet what is remarkable about this book written in the year 2000, is not just the history of the life and times of these Scottish Presbyterian pastors and people who chose to preserve their God-given faith in difficult times. It is also the continuing challenge of living for Christ faithfully as we face increasing spiritual and physical difficulties as Christians, and Reformed Christians in our beloved land of America.

So for us today, author Moore spends the last half of the book of 190 pages in drawing lessons from the Covenanters. The six lessons which he amplifies, follows:

      1. All true Christians can be called Covenanters, for the central theme of the Bible is God’s Covenant of grace.

      2. The church must re-establish unity in truth as attained during the Second Reformation and the apostolic era.

      3. Christians must put their covenant obligations and duty to be God’s people first. This requires closing with Christ and improving the relationship daily.

      4. Christians must fulfill their biblical obligations to make disciples of all nations and to be the light and salt of the world.

      5. Christians must covenant with God and should covenant with one another to seek reformation of their lives, churches, and society in accordance with the Word of God.

This author believes that this book on “Our Covenant Heritage” would make an excellent group study for our Presbyterian Sessions, to say nothing of the members of our Presbyterian churches in church or home Bible studies.

After all, the haunting question remains, “How much are you prepared to go through for the sake of truth?”. And, we can add, how much is your church willing to go through for the sake of truth?

The book is entitled Our Covenant Heritage, written by Edwin Nisbet Moore, and published by Christian Focus Publications Ltd, Ross-shire, Scotland, published in the year 2000.

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