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October 11: Robert Dick Wilson

11 October, 2014 in October 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

A Great Loss for Westminster Seminary

The new orthodox seminary, Westminster, had only been open for two weeks on October 11, 1930, when one of the premier faculty members of that theological institution, and before that, Princeton Theological Seminary,  Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, died suddenly. He had been blessed with excellent health for most of his teaching career. But after a brief week of illness, he went into the presence of the Lord.

This writer’s father, who studied under Dr. Wilson at Princeton from 1927 to 1929, told me that Robert Dick Wilson planned his life in three phases. Phase one was to learn all the extant languages of, or related to, the Scriptures. And he did have a working knowledge of somewhere between twenty-five and forty-five languages (accounts vary). The second phase was to study all the higher critical attacks upon the Bible. And the last phase was to publish in defending the Scriptures against all of those higher critical attacks upon the sacred Word. It was with regards to this last phase that he commented that he had come to the conviction that no man knows enough to attack the veracity of the Old Testament.

One humorous incident in his teaching career at Princeton was the time that a woman had enrolled in his class. One day, as was usually the case, he was disheveled in his attire when he came to class. Often the suspenders which held up his pants would be pinned by two safety pins. Teaching animatedly, the two pins became undone with the result that his pants slid to the floor. Embarrassed immensely, and sliding down to raise his pants again,  he could only cry out “Where is Mrs. Jennings? Where is she?,” fearing she was in class in the back row. When told that the lone woman in question had cut his class to study in the library, Dr. Wilson responded, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow.”

Words to live by:  Why would an accomplished scholar like Dr. Robert Dick Wilson leave his life’s calling at Princeton Seminary in 1929 to go to a brand new theological institution where there was no guarantee of funds for either teaching or retirement? The answer is that Dr. Wilson knew that a person cannot have God’s richest blessings, even in teaching the truth, when the opportunity to teach that truth is gained by corruption of principles. And the reorganization of Princeton’s Board of Trustees, with the resulting addition of two members who had signed the Auburn Affirmation, was just that—a corruption of principles.  May we take a similar stand for righteousness, regardless of the outcome to our lives. May we always stand for the infallible truth of God’s Word.

For further study: The PCA Historical Center, which hosts This Day in Presbyterian History, houses among its many collections the Papers of Dr. Robert Dick Wilson. As one means of promoting that collection, the Historical Center has posted a number of articles about Dr. Wilson on its web site, and these can be found here.

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October 10: Hanover Presbytery on the Field of Battle

10 October, 2014 in October 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

The First Battle of the American Revolution

There are two phases of the church which are understood in the Biblical record. One of them is the triumphant church, which are God’s people in heaven.  The other is the militant church, which are God’s people in constant combat with the forces of wickedness on this earth. Primarily, that militancy is a spiritual one, but occasionally the militant church has to do battle in the physical realm.  October 10, 1774 was one of those times.

We have already looked at the beginning stage of this great battle between the Virginia militia and the Indians of Point Pleasant. That occurred on September 11, 1774, just about one month prior to this event.  (See entry)  Here today is an account of the conclusion of their forced march through the wilderness.  Remember, most of the eleven hundred Virginia militia, led by General Andrew Lewis, were members of the Presbyterian churches of Hanover Presbytery.

Arriving near present day Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the battle began with an attack by the Shawnee chief Cornstalk, with three  hundred to five hundred and possibly even up to one thousand braves behind him.    In fact, there were a series of skirmishes in the all day battle, some of which were hand to hand in nature. It was one of the most vicious battles which the Virginia backwoodsmen up to that point of their existence had to wage.

About one fifth of General Lewis’s men were killed and wounded, which translated out to 75 soldiers killed and 140 wounded. Judging the Indians injuries is difficult, but estimates range from a handful all the way up to two hundred and thirty casualties. When militia reserves came in around midnight, the Indians fled across the Ohio River.  It was at a later date that the native Americans signed a treaty which opened up present day Kentucky and Tennessee. It also opened up both of those future states to the gospel in general, and in particular to the establishment of Presbyterian churches.

When they returned to Virginia, they discovered that the two battles of Lexington and Concord had already been fought up in Massachusetts. The American Revolution had started. Yet, because of all the future battles of that War of independence, this battle has been forgotten by historians. Yet this was the leading battle of the American War of Independence, and Presbyterian members had a pivotal part in it.

Words to live by: On occasion, there may be cause to actually take up arms and fight for your lives.  This was one such occasion.  With continual attacks upon settlements and meeting houses, it was either the Presbyterian inhabitants returning back to the sea-coast towns,  where there was more security, or staying put and fighting for their faith, their families, and their churches.   Certainly Samuel Davies, of the Hanover Presbytery, would preach many a war sermon to encourage the defense of both the faith and their lives from marauding Indians.  And Presbyterian settlers took their life in their hands along with their sacred honor, and stood their ground and rallied on this occasion.  Certainly the cultural mandate demands that we take our stand on biblical principles and against those who would seek to destroy that principles.  Are you praying, and working, in at least one area of this cultural mandate?

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October 9: Death of David Brainerd

9 October, 2014 in October 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

brainerd02We have more than once made reference to the diary of David Brainerd in this historical devotional guide. Often times these entries filled a date in which no other Presbyterian person, place, or event could readily be found, so this writer was thankful for that. But it also set forth the true example of an individual who by his own statement wanted to wear out his life in God’s service and for His glory. How scarce are they found today in Christ’s church!

Talk about a Christian who, by all reports, was skinny and sickly. No modern missionary agency, whether for overseas or in our own country, would even approve of one like this for missionary service. So the very fact that he was a missionary in the first place to native Americans had to be of God. There simply was no other reason for it. God was in the whole plan as well as the details of the plan.

From the time of his ordination until his death was but about three years. As the inscription on his tombstone reads, “Sacred to the memory of the Rev. David Brainerd, a faithful and laborious missionary to the Stockbridge, Delaware, and Susquehanna Tribes of Indians.” And yet his influence upon them doesn’t really tell the whole story. His diary has caused countless in every century since that time to open themselves up to the call of God upon their lives. His life and ministry have stood the test of time, and a stream of workers for the kingdom of God have been sent forth to the nations of the world with the gospel of Christ, at least in part because of his example.

His closing days were precious in more than one way. After discovering that he had tuberculosis, he spent his months in the home of America’s greatest philosopher, Dr. Jonathan Edwards, in Northampton, Connecticut. While there, Dr. Edwards youngest daughter, Jerusha, a mere teenager, took care for him in an atmosphere of spiritual love. Whether they were engaged has never been proved, but there was a loveliness in that relationship which brought words like “we will spend a happy eternity together,” on the day he died, which was October 9, 1747. That eternity came sooner than later, as Jerusha contracted the same dread disease, and died a year later. They are buried side by side in the cemetery in Northampton.

Words to live by: If you have never, dear reader, read the Diary of David Brainerd, it remains available in either book form or on  the web in digital format. Open your heart to the words of this young man who died at age 29. Not only will it convict you of your need for more holiness, but it will give you a sense of urgency to take the gospel to unsaved loved ones, to friends, and to strangers, as David Brainerd did in his day. And who knows? Maybe it will send you to far off shores as a missionary, as it has so many since that time now long ago in colonial America.

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October 7: The Battle of King’s Mountain

7 October, 2014 in October 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

The Tide of War Turned to Favor Independence of America

Americans were gathering to do battle that fall of 1780. The only problem was that those who were on the side of England and those who were in favor of independence were the forces who were gathering. It would be neighbor against neighbor, Patriots against Tories, Continental troops against British troops.

It would also be a “pay-back” battle. Colonials down in the southeastern parts of what later on would be called the United States had suffered at the hands of the British troops under Lord Cornwallis. In fact, if you were associated with the Scot-Irish Presbyterians in the south, you commonly had your pastor persecuted, their manses burned, their theological libraries destroyed, the congregation’s psalters thrown away, and wives and families left destitute. If you were on the other side of the skirmish with British troops, there would often be a “no quarter” order handed on, like at the Battle of Waxhaw.

So when the order came to gather, the patriots mounted their horses, said their farewells to their wives and children, and with their guns, rode to the designated spot. And who came but members from the Presbyterian congregations of the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia. Seven hundred and fifty Presbyterian patriots gathered at the designated spot.

Once there, William Campbell picked out the best of the men in a force of one thousand men.  These were individuals who had gained their prowess from fighting the Indians in their hamlets and towns.  Some were part of the regular Continental line.  They went in search of British commander Patrick Ferguson, who had settled down on King’s Mountain near the border of North and South Carolina.

Finding him camped there with eleven hundred loyalist troops on October 7, 1780, they surrounded the area and began to advance up the hill to begin the attack. Several times, the British loyalists would charge with the bayonet and push the patriots down the incline. But in the end of this short battle, the British could not defend their area, given the deadly sharpshooting of the riflemen. Commander Ferguson was killed and his entire force either killed or captured.

At several points, atrocities took place, committed by small groups of the patriot soldiers. But when patriot officers, many of whom were Presbyterian elders, arrived on the scene, such practices were halted. It was a complete victory over the forces of Britain, and a turning point in the Revolution. Cornwallis began to retreat, with the patriots of Mecklenburg with their long rifles, hitting the flanks of the army.

The tide of the American revolution was changed to the favor of the American cause.

Words to live by:  It is amazing how the Lord works through His spirit in the actions of His church.  At times all can be dark and dreary. It may seem as if His church is hanging on by the fingers in the great battles of righteousness. Then His people can gather, sometimes in desperation, and seek to be faithful to the cause and kingdom of Christ. And God will bring out a great victory to the glory of His name and the good of His people. We must simply be faithful to our God at all times. Faithful to His Word and will, is the condition of God’s blessings.

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October 1: Parliament evicts 400 Presbyterian pastors from Scotland (1662)

1 October, 2014 in October 2014 by davidtmyers | No comments

Suppose . . . just suppose now  . . . the government, whether national, regional, or local, would arrive one Sunday to your congregational worship, your Presbyterian church, to check  up on the church attendance that morning, or evening  After the sermon, an individual would have a listing of all the members of your  church, and proceed to read the names of the family members. Those missing from the attendance that day would be marked at absent. The absentees would then have a fine given to the head of the home to pay within a certain time. If any were not able to pay that fine, then a company of  soldiers would take up their quarters at that home, proceeding to devastate the food supplies, clothes supplies, and anything else of value in the home. After a time, what they had not used in their possession time in the home, they would leave, but not before they destroyed all that which was left. Surely, such a practice would not be tolerated in any civilized nation, but this is exactly what was the case in the land of Scotland in 1662. It began with the great ejection of Presbyterian ministers, some 400 pastors in all, from their pulpits and manses and parishes.
It was called the Act of Glasgow on October 1, 1662. The Privy Council met to deal with what they believed was a gross disrespect of Anglicanism. No funds were being collected and given for the upkeep of the Anglican bishops. So this proclamation was passed to banish from their churches and parishes all Presbyterian ministers who had been ordained since 1649. The Act was published on October 4, 1662, ordering all Presbyterian ministers to withdraw themselves and their families from their manses and parishes by November 1, forbidding them to reside within the bounds of their respective presbyteries. Part of  their reasoning  came because they were incapable of reasoning rightly in their minds. Why? Because there was only one sober delegate at the meeting. All the rest were drunk. For this reason, it was known in history as the Drunken Act of Glasgow.
The Anglican authorities were astonished at their commitment to their faith. I mean, it was right before the onset of winter. Surely, there would be an immediate support of the Anglican order in the cities and towns and country. But four hundred clergy immediately left their pulpits, manses, parishes, and went out into the wilderness . . . despite the winter upon them. Two hundred churches immediately closed their doors for lack of both preachers and people.
There was unmitigated shock in the established Anglican church. To attempt to keep open the doors, hundreds of what was called “raw untaught young men” were brought in to succeed the ejected clergy. Even a bishop complained that “they were ignorant to a reproach, with many of them as incapable as they were welcome.” In some cases, their arrival were met by a shower of stones, and with the church door being barricaded on the Lord’s Day.
At first, the masses of Scottish Presbyterians left their parishes to attend the older pastors who were ordained before 1649. But love for their own pastors who were forced to preach in the fields and the moors began to garner their presence in worship. Fines, imprisonment, and even death did not prevent their attendance. Some were branded on the cheek and sent as slaves to . . . the American colonies. It was a terrible time to be a Scottish Presbyterian.
Words to Live By:
John M’Main best summarizes our feelings in relations to the Covenanters.  How can we read such a post like this,  “without blushing for our low attainments and small proficiency in the school of Christ!  How unlike we are to them!  How zealous were they for the honor of Christ! How lukewarm are we, of whatever profession or denomination! How burning were their love to Him, His truths, ordinances, and people! How cold is ours! How selfish and worldly are we!”  May a post from church history, from This Day in Presbyterian History, be used by the Holy Spirit to cause us to examine ourselves, to confess our sins of commission and omission, to seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit once again, to rededicate our lives to King Jesus again, to be the salt and light of the world once again, in that place where we are, by God’s grace.

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