November 2012

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November 5: Birth of Benjamin B. Warfield

5 November, 2012 in November 2012 by archivist | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:

Birth of Benjamin Warfield — November 5, 1851.

For God-fearing parents, every birth must bring some small trepidation, along with great hope and promise. We trust the Lord, we seek to live exemplary lives and strive to diligently do our part to raise our children, that they might never know a time when they did not trust in Christ Jesus for their salvation and rely upon Him completely. Child-rearing truly is a humbling thing, casting us upon the Lord, praying for His grace and mercy. 

At the same time, some children, even from a young age, show great maturity and promise.  You can see it in their face. Such a child, I think, was Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield.

All of the Warfield children were patiently led to memorize both the Shorter and Larger Catechisms, as well as the associated Scripture proof texts. In 1867, at the age of 16, he became a member of the Second Presbyterian church in Lexington, KY. It is tempting to think that the photo at the left, from that same year, might have been taken in conjunction with that event.

In 1868, he began the Sophomore year at Princeton College, graduating in 1871, with a strong interest in the sciences and a desire to pursue further studies in Scotland and Germany. But it was not until he returned home in 1872 that he announced his intention to explore a call to the ministry. That had long been his mother’s prayer for her sons, that they would become ministers of the Gospel. In 1873, he began his preparation for the ministry at the Princeton Theological Seminary.

Years later, Warfield wrote a brief article on the value of the Shorter Catechism. Warfield writes:

What is ‘the indelible mark of the Shorter Catechism’? We have the following bit of personal experience from a general officer of the United States army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd. One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanor inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: ‘What is the chief end of man?’ On receiving the countersign, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever’ — ‘Ah!’ said he, ‘I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!’ ‘Why, that was just what I was thinking of you,’ was the rejoinder.

It is worth while to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God. So apt, that we cannot afford to have them miss the chance of it. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.’

[B.B. Warfield, “Is the Shorter Catechism Worth While?” in The Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield, Vol. 1 (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed), 1970), pp. 381ff.]

[Note: my former impression that the officer in Warfield’s story was his own brother, is incorrect. But if Warfield came by this story through his own extended family, there were a number of men in the Breckinridge family who were military officers. Of these, Ethelbert Ludlow Dudley Breckinridge, an 1898 graduate of Princeton University and a lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1906, seems the most likely candidate to fit the details of the story. The San Francisco earthquake remains the most probable setting of the story.]

Words to live by: God bless faithful parents! May He equip, encourage, sustain, and support those loving parents who know that they must daily rely completely upon the Lord in the raising of their children. Child-rearing is entirely a matter of trusting prayerfully in the grace of God. Patiently love them, spend sacrificial time with them, live exemplary lives in front of them. But above all, pray daily for them, that God by His grace would save them to the uttermost. You never know when a child will grow up to be greatly used in the advance of the Lord’s kingdom.

Through the Scriptures: John 4 – 6

Through the Standards:  Proof Texts of the Creedal Treatment of the Sacraments

Genesis 17:7
“And I (God) will establish my covenant between me and you (Abraham) and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.”  (ESV)

Matthew 28:19
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (KJV)

1 Corinthians 11:23
“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you: do this in remembrance of me.’  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup if the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.'” (NIV)

Image sources : Original photographs preserved at the PCA Historical Center. Scans prepared by the Center’s staff. Photo 1, Benjamin B. Warfield, 1864, age 13. Photo 2, B.B. Warfield, 1867, age 16.

Proverbs 1:33 : “But he who listens to me shall live securely, and shall be at ease from the dread of evil.”

November 4: Rev. Myers & the first Bible Presbyterian church

4 November, 2012 in November 2012 by davidtmyers | 2 comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:

The first Bible Presbyterian Church in the Nation

The four-year old daughter of the church planter knew that her father was troubled over what to call the new church he was planting in that  farm town in Lemmon, South Dakota in 1936. So in her child-like sense of mind, she announced to him one day that he should call the new Presbyterian church, the Bible Presbyterian Church, since he only preached the Bible to the small group of people. So, the first Bible Presbyterian Church in the land was informally named by the Rev. David K. Myers. Later, this name would be appropriated by the small group which came out of the Presbyterian Church of America in 1938.

Rev David Myers, the father of this writer, was a graduate of both Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary. In fact, he graduated in 1929 from the former school.  Studying abroad in Edinburgh at New College, he  failed to get his doctorate due primarily to the unbelief of that Scottish school.  His thesis on the infallibility of the Scriptures did not sit well with the unbelieving professors. But it was not a wasted time, as Mr.  Myers brought back a Scottish wife!

Below, Rev. David K. Myers and his family, standing outside the church’s first building.

Moving to the Western parts of the United States, David Myers was ordained and  joined the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. through Yellowstone Presbytery. But his support of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions in 1933 caused his name to be on a watch list. However, it was after he joined the Presbyterian Church of America, that the Yellowstone Presbytery brought him to trial and suspended him from the gospel ministry.  Appeals all the way to General Assembly did not bring relief to his ordination.  Received as a minister in the PCA, he became a church planter in South Dakota, on November 4, 1936, with the center of his ministry in Lemmon, but serving little outposts of the gospel, which he covered by car and later by plane. The church in Lemmon, now part of the Presbyterian Church in America, recently in 2011 celebrated their seventy-fifth anniversary.

(Note: The late Dr. David K. Myers does not reveal the exact date of the start-up of the Lemmon Bible Presbyterian Church in his autobiography, which the PCA History Center helped to reproduce, but does state that it was in November of 1936. This exact date of November 4th  is an alleged date, chosen because this writer does remember South Dakota winters.)

Preaching on the Plains, by Rev. David K. Myers, can be ordered on this web page.
The table of contents is posted here.
To read a sample chapter, click here.

Words to live by:  Does not Scripture states that “a little child shall lead them?” When God calls someone to stand up in faith to do God’s work, He will use all sorts of individuals to encourage them in their work for Christ. Added on to his little daughter were all sorts of rugged individuals in an area hit hard by the Great Depression who dared to trust God in great difficulties. Our God continues to do the same feats of faith today.

Through the Scriptures:  John 1 – 3

Through the Standards:  The similarity of the sacraments in both testaments

WCF 27:5
“The sacraments of the old testament in regard to spiritual things thereby signified and exhibited, were, for substance, the same with those of the new.”

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November 3: Rev. Samuel Davies

3 November, 2012 in November 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:

The Prayers of a Pious Mother

If this devotional began with a simple question, namely, to identify the greatest preacher ever produced in this land of America,   this writer is sure that he would receive a bevy of names, both from colonial days as well as modern times. The reader might be quick to offer the name of  your particular pastor, the one you hear every Lord’s Day. Or maybe it would be some preacher from your past, whom you consider the greatest expositor of the Word to your heart.

As famous as the great English pastor, Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, was, he was convinced that we Americans did not even know that the most eloquent preacher the American continent ever produced was Samuel Davies.  Some of you might respond with a “Who is Samuel Davies” question. But for the regular readers of this historical devotional, having made reference to Samuel Davies on April 14, July 6, July 25, and October 3,  he was the Apostle of Virginia. And it was on this day of November 3, 1723 that he was born near New Castle, Delaware.

His parents were deeply religious, both of Welsh descent. They were members of the Pancader Presbyterian Church in Delaware. Especially his mother was to make a deep spiritual impression on young Samuel.  Afterward he commented that he was a son of prayer, just as the biblical Samuel was a son of prayer. Further, he acknowledged that everything he accomplished for the Savior in his life and ministry, he looked upon as immediate answers to the prayers of a pious mother.

It was in his early teens that Samuel had a clear assurance of justification by faith.  He then joined the Presbyterian Church.  Educated at the famous Faggs Manor Presbyterian classical and theological school in Cochrinville, Pennsylvania, he received his spiritual marching orders to become the Apostle of Virginia in bringing the gospel to this part of the new world.

Words to live by: There is a general  promise in Proverbs 22:6 for parents to “train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (NIV)  Dads, Moms, are you praying for a son or a daughter who is now in the process of turning away from the faith of his or her parents?  Many are the sorrows of such an experience.  Our hearts grieve with you. We encourage you to continue to pray and by your example and exhortation (when the Lord presents an open door) to continue  to claim Proverbs 22:6.  Many have come back to Christ at a time of trouble or temptation. Be there when they do and give thanks to the God of providence at that time.

Through the Scriptures:   Luke 22 – 24

Through the Standards:  The number  of Christ-ordained sacraments

WCF 27:4
“There be only two sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord: neither of which may be dispensed by any, but by a minister of the Word lawfully ordained.”

WLC 164 — “How many sacraments has Christ instituted in his church under the New Testament?
A. Under the New Testament Christ has instituted in his church only two sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper.”

WSC 93 — “Which are the sacraments of the New Testament?
A. The sacraments of the New Testament are, Baptism, and the Lord’s supper.”

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November 2: James Knox Polk

2 November, 2012 in November 2012 by davidtmyers | No comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:

A Presbyterian in Name Only

James Knox Polk had all the influences one could wish, first from his mother, and later from his wife to be, that might have led him to become a devoted Presbyterian. But somehow he was a Methodist in heart. This is not necessarily bad, of course, because what was of first importance, more than any denomination, was his faith in Christ. And President James K. Polk had made a profession of faith as a result of a tent meeting experience.  So, he was a Christian, though not a Presbyterian Christian.

[Alfred Nevin, in his Presbyterian Encyclopedia (1884, p. 624), notes that “President Polk was a warm friend of the Presbyterian Church, of which his now aged and venerable widow long has been and still is an exemplary and useful member.”]

Born on November 2, 1795 to Scot-Irish parents in Mecklenburg, North Carolina, James had a mother who was a devout Presbyterian. One of her ancestors was a brother to the Scottish Protestant Reformer, John Knox. James Polk’s middle name was Knox.  She sought to instill within him the faith of her ancestors.  What made this difficult was the fact that her husband, and James’ father, was a deist.  When the parents brought the infant James before the Presbyterian minister to be baptized, his father refused to profess the principles of biblical Christianity.  As a result, the clergyman refused to baptize James.  He would not be baptized until about a week before his death when a Methodist pastor baptized him.

Moving from the 150 acre farm in North Carolina to Tennessee, James attended Presbyterian schools in his younger days and eventually enrolled in the University of North Carolina, which was Presbyterian in its earliest years.  Later on, he would meet Sarah, whom he married. This union would continue the emphasis of his mother, in that Sarah was also a devout Presbyterian. They remained childless in their marriage, but Sarah helped him in greatly in his political career, at both the state and national levels. Out of respect to his mother and wife, President Polk attended Presbyterian churches in Washington, D.C. all during his presidency.

James K. Polk was the eleventh president of the United States. A one term president, Polk set out a number of goals, and succeeded in all of them. The United States became a nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific under his presidency.  California, Oregon, and Texas were annexed to the United States. The War with Mexico was won during his presidency.  It should also be noted that he was the last pre-Civil War president.

Words to live by:  The Christian influence of a pious mother, or that of a devout wife, in the things of the Lord, even when their spouse is not particularly supportive, can be powerful beyond words.  If you, reader, find yourself in such a house and home, keep on praying for the salvation of your mate, keep on setting a Christian testimony, above all by your actions, if not also in loving words in your house and home. Then claim the promises of God’s Word with respect to those words and actions. By God’s blessing, you may find a future leader in church or nation rising from your home. Your example then can bring lasting results in the life of that future leader.

Through the Scriptures:  Luke 18 – 21

Through the Standards: The efficiency of the sacraments in the confession and catechisms.

WCF 27:3
“The grace, which is exhibited in or by the sacraments rightly used, is not conferred by any power in them; neither does the efficacy of a sacrament depend upon the piety or intention of him that does administer it: but upon the work of the Spirit, and the word of institution, which contains, together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers.”

WLC 161 — “How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation?
A. The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not by any power in themselves, or any virtue derived from the piety or intention of him by whom they are administered, but only by the working of the Holy Ghost, and the blessing of Christ, by whom they are instituted.”

WSC 91 — “How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation?
A.  The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them, or in  him that does administer them; but only by the blessing of Christ, and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them.”

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November 1: Dr. George Junkin

1 November, 2012 in November 2012 by davidtmyers | 4 comments

This Day in Presbyterian History:

An Educator and Minister to the Souls of Young and Old

Arriving at the Mason-Dixion line dividing Virginia from Pennsylvania in 1861, Dr. George Junkin and his family stopped their carriage carrying all their worldly possessions.  In an act of more than a symbolism, Dr. Junkin cleaned off of his boots and the horses hoof’s all  the Southern mud, wanting to make sure that none of the Rebel dirt would be carried into the  Union North.

The Rev. Dr. George Junkin was born on November 1, 1790 outside the small village of New Kingstown, Pennsylvania. The sixth son of Joseph Junkin, who was a ruling elder in the Junkin Tent congregation of the Covenanters in central Pennsylvania, remained on the farm of his parents at first.  Educated in private schools in Cumberland County, he was sent first to Jefferson College in western Pennsylvania, graduating from there in 1813.  He then attended the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in New York and became a Covenanter minister.  For eleven years, he was the pastor of two Pennsylvania churches of that denomination.  In 1822, he transferred into the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and became a leader in the Old School Presbyterian Church. He was accorded the honor of being Moderator of the 1844 General Assembly of the PCUSA.

The education phase of his ministry started in a small Manual Labor Academy in Germantown, Pennsylvania.  He then became the first president of the brand new Lafayette College, building up that Presbyterian school into a fine educational facility.  After a brief stint at Miami at Ohio College, he went down to Washington College in Lexington, Virginia from 1848 – 1861, resigning at  71 years of age.

Two of his daughters married Confederate officers.  Elinor was the first wife of Thomas Jonathan Jackson, later Stonewall Jackson. She did not survive the birth of their first child, who also died.  Another daughter married Confederate and later General  D. Harvey Hill.  A son, named after him, became a staff member of Gen Jackson’s headquarters, and was captured at Kernstown, Virginia, by Union forces.   So, as it was in so many families of the War Between the States, their allegiances were in two different nations.

Returning to the North, Dr. Junkin in the last seven years of his life preached seven hundred sermons, many of them to Union soldiers in their camps.  He visited wounded Union soldiers in hospitals.  He went to be with the Lord in May of 1868 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It was unique that near the end of the century, his coffin was dug up and sent south for re-burial in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery outside Lexington, Virginia.

Also this day:
The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church was formed by union of the Associate Presbyterians and the Reformed Presbyterians of America, meeting in Philadelphia on November 1, 1782.  

Words to live by:  Conviction, both religious and national, was part and parcel of George Junkin’s life.  He knew what he believed and his actions reflected that to both friend and enemy.  Of all the Junkin family, he was the most celebrated not only in that family, but in his generation.  It is great to have a good name.  Solomon wrote in Proverbs 15:1 “A good  name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (NIV) He is remembered, not only by the Junkin ancestors, but by Presbyterians everywhere.  Let us seek to be known by our biblical convictions and have a good name.

Through the Scriptures:  Luke 14 – 17

Through the Standards:  Parts of a sacrament

WCF 27:2
“There is, in every sacrament, a spiritual relation, or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified: whence it comes to pass, that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other.”

WLC 163 — “What are the parts of the sacrament?
A.  The parts of the sacrament are two: the one an outward and sensible sign, used according to Christ’s own appointment; the other an inward and spiritual grace thereby signified.”

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