This Day in Presbyterian History

A Young Pastor Caught in the Middle

The Old School/New School division of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.  officially took place in 1837. But the controversy had been roiling along for many years prior, and by the time that  Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia was organized, in 1829, the controversy was really coming to the fore. The first pastor of the church was Thomas A. McAuley, a New School man who managed to steer the new church into the only New School Presbytery within the Synod of Philadelphia, all to the dismay of the Rev. Ashbel Green and the other Old School men in Philadelphia, who had such hopes for the new church.

But Rev. McAuley only stayed for four years before leaving for greener fields (he went on to found Union Theological Seminary in New York). And in God’s providence, Henry Augustus Boardman was graduating from Princeton right about that same time. Boardman had been born in Troy, New York on January 9, 1808, graduated from Yale and then Princeton, but thought he would prefer being the pastor of a rural church. Instead, he was urged to supply the vacant pulpit at Tenth, and despite some misgivings on his part, finally accepted the call to serve there as pastor.

In a published history of Tenth Presbyterian Church, Allen Guelzo tells the story of the challenges that immediately confronted Boardman as he became the new pastor of the church :

—
Not that all the qualms in Boardman’s stomach were thereby stilled. There remained the unsettling business of Tenth’s attachment to the New School Second Presbytery. That business was made even more unsettling when on the eve of his ordination and installation the Synod of Philadelphia finally lost its patience with the New Schoolers and ordered the Second Presbytery dissolved. Since this drastic action could not be made final until the General Assembly met the following May, the New Schoolers held onto a brief stay of execution. But that left Boardman in the unhappy predicament of having to seek ordination at the hands of a presbytery that was virtually an outlaw organization; nor could he wait until the following May to see where the chips would fall, since his ordination and installation had been set for November 8, 1833.

Once again, he began to question whether he ought to join a presbytery under such suspicion and when he had such little sympathy with its tenets. “Unquestionably,” wrote Boardman, “it was a controversy which involved both the purity of our faith and the integrity of our ecclesiastical polity. Two incompatible systems of doctrine and two no less irreconcilable theories of ecclesiastical authority and policy” were at stake. In Boardman’s mind, there was no hope of compromise “between those who training had made them decided and earnest Presbyterians and others who had adopted our standards in a loose and general way.” Nor was it, he observed, “a mere war of words, It took hold upon the central truths of the Gospel, such as original sin, the atonement, regeneration and justification.”[1]  Nevertheless, Boardman decided to go ahead with the ordination, a move that was to set a precedent for later pastors of Tenth Church who found themselves with similarly difficult choices. In time, his decision proved wise. Boardman was able to sever Tenth’s connections with the New School Presbytery, and in 1837 the General Assembly removed the thorn of New School Presbyterianism from Boardman’s side by moving to lop all New School Presbyteries off its rolls. Not until 1869 were Old School and New School Presbyterians reunited.

[1] Boardman, Henry A., Two Sermons Preached on the Twenty-fifth and Fortieth Anniversaries of the Author’s Pastorate. Philadelphia: Inquirer Book and Job Print, 1873, p. 31.
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[Excerpted from Making God’s Word Plain: Tenth Presbyterian Church, 150 Years (1829-1979).   Philadelphia, PA: Tenth Presbyterian Church, 1979, pp. 45-46.]

Words to Live By: Scripture does not promise an easy path in life for the Christian. If anything, we are promised conflict (2 Tim. 3:12). But we also have clear promises of God’s wisdom, as well as the charge to be at peace with all men, so far as we are able. (Rom. 12:18). Through diligent study of the Bible, godly counsel, and prayerful trust in God, we can find our way through life’s challenges.

Note: Our Through the Scriptures and Through the Standards sections have now been replaced by RSS feeds which appear at the top of right-hand column, and also at the bottom of each blog age.

Prestigious Congregation Votes into the Presbyterian Church in America
by Rev. David T. Myers

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church has had a remarkable history.  The Fort Lauderdale, Florida congregation began in an elementary school cafeteria in 1959 with forty seven people under the ministry of D. James Kennedy. 

Graduating class at Columbia Theological Seminary, 1959.
From left to right Masaya Hibino, Seth Q. Shaver, Sam B. Laine,
David B. Pedersen, Clarence D. Weaver, Jr. and D. James Kennedy.

Preaching his first year of ministry in what he claimed were the fifty-two best sermons ever heard by an American congregation, the attendance dropped from forty seven to seventeen!  Upon receiving an invitation from a rural pastor in Georgia to come and preach a week of evangelistic meetings, he gladly accepted, anything  to get away from the fiasco then in the making in Florida.  Upon arriving in Georgia, the rural pastor, Kennedy Smartt, informed him that in addition to the public proclamation of the Word, Jim Kennedy would be going door to door in the area to personally present the gospel.  This badly scared Jim Kennedy. He used to tell people that he couldn’t do personal evangelism because of a “back problem.” If pressed, the “back problem” was a yellow streak down the back.

After a bungled attempt at the first “cold” door, the young minister then watched Pastor Smartt lead the person to a profession of faith.  In fact, over the next week, he watched Kennedy Smartt lead soul after soul to Christ.  What he didn’t know at the time was that the two rural congregations had prayed for the salvation of specific people for two years.  Further, just prior to the evangelistic meetings, a young banker has dropped dead.  That fact, plus the prayers, made the diagnostic question which began with “Suppose you were to die today,” suddenly real to every citizen in the area.  D. James Kennedy would return to his young dying congregation with a new emphasis in soul-winning.

Using the method and later making it his thesis for his Ph.D. degree from New York University, the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church became the fastest growing church in the Presbyterian Church in the United States, with 8000 in attendance at the dedication of their new building in 1973.

[» Construction of the stainless steel spire, with cross being hoisted in place »]

All was not well however with their membership in the Presbyterian Church, U.S. Theological liberalism was gaining ground, despite the best efforts of conservatives to win the battle for the Bible.  After years of seeking to reclaim the denomination back to its historic stance of biblical faithfulness, on January 8, 1978, the church voted to throw its support to the Presbyterian Church in America.

Words to Live By: “The visible church is a society made up of all such as . . . do profess the true religion, and of their children.”  (L.C. 62)  This answer centers around the phrase “the true religion.” Suppose a denomination with a great past of faithfulness to the true religion slowly but surely turns away from the faith of their spiritual fathers.  Suppose that any and all attempts to turn it back fails.  There is only one remedy, and that is to leave it for a denomination which still proclaims the whole counsel of God.  And that is what this congregation, and countless others, did back in 1973. Praise God for the Presbyterian Church in America.

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

Q. 45. Which is the first commandment?

A. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Q. 46. What is required in the first commandment?

A. The first commandment requireth us to know and acknowledge God to be the only true God, and our God, and to worship and glorify him accordingly.

Scripture References: Exod. 20:3; I Chron. 28:9; Deut. 26:7; Matt. 4:10; Ps. 95:6; Ps. 29:2

Questions:

1. What are the three duties chiefly required in the first commandment?

The three duties are: (1) To know God. (2) To acknowledge God. (3) To worship and glorify God.

2. What is it we are to know regarding God?

We are to know that God is, or that there is a God. In addition we are to know God by acknowledging Him as the only true God as He is presented in His Word.

3. How are we to worship God?

We are to worship God by making Him the object of our desire and our delight.

4. How are we to glorify God?

We are to glorify God by first recognizing, in our heart, Christ as our Saviour and Lord and then living so that every action is aimed at the advancement of His glory and honor here on earth.

5. What are some practical ways by which we worship and glorify God?

We glorify God by putting nothing before Him in our thoughts, words, actions. By loving anything more than God, whether it is pleasure, our bodies, our loved ones, we would not be glorifying God.

6. Can we glorify God both inwardly and outwardly?

Yes, we can glorify God inwardly by trusting, by hoping, by delighting in Him, by thinking and meditating upon Him, by being filled with grief when we sin against Him. We can glorify God outwardly by praying, by praising, by being zealous to walk in the Spirit, by showing forth humility, and by seeking to do His will as expressed in His word. The Bible says, “Delight thyself in the Lord.” (Ps. 37:4). “Trust ye in the Lord forever.” Isa. 26 :4). “This thlng commanded I them, Obey my voice, and walk ye in all the ways I have commanded.” (Jer. 7:23),

THE DEAREST IDOL I HAVE KNOWN

When the Christian reads the first commandment and meditates upon it, a good commentary on it to be noted is one verse of the hymn entitled, “O For a Closer Walk With God”. This particular verse reads:

“The dearest idol I have known,
Whate’er that idol be,
Help me to tear it from Thy throne,
And worship only Thee.”

In order for the Christian to know, acknowledge, worship and glorify God it is certainly of foremost importance that the Christian know Christ as Saviour. This is indeed the foundation stone. But upon that rock-like foundation there must be added the gold, silver and precious stones of good works. This means a self discipline on the part of the Christian and has a lot to do with the Christian not putting other gods before the Almighty, Sovereign God.

Paul uses an interesting approach to this in 2 Cor. 5:9. “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” Or, as one translator puts it, “. . . we may be well pleasing to Him.” But it is so easy to put other things before this living solely to the glory of God, even things that seem, in themselves, right and proper. For example, the winning of souls or the leading in great revivals or the establishment of church or so many other things that could be mentioned. But our aim in life as born again believers is to do things purely to the glory of God. If we do otherwise we can be guilty of having little idols built up that become other gods. And such things trespass the first commandment.

Paul approaches the same question in another way: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (disapproved).” Not that he is in danger of losing his salvation, but that he is in danger of losing approval by God, of not living to the glory of God. This means approaching our daily life with an attitude of disciplining ourselves, the disciplining of our thoughts. words, deeds. This means that we must, moment by moment, “mortify” (make dead) those things of the flesh that would not please God. This means that daily we must die to these things and never let them become idols to us. It does not take much for them to reach that state. Satan will see to that if we relax our discipline. May God help us to tear such from ourselves that we have no other gods before Him!

Published By: The SHIELD and SWORD, INC.
Vol. 4 No. 44 (August 1964)
Rev. Leonard T. Van Horn, Editor

Perhaps it should not be so surprising, that a man would in many respects mirror the man he esteemed. Just a few days ago we had a post which related the report that the Rev. Moses Drury Hoge gave when he had opportunity to visit the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London and hear Charles Haddon Spurgeon preaching. Now, we see that Rev. Hoge was himself compared with the great English pastor:—

An American Spurgeon
by Rev. David T. Myers

Born into a family of ministers in 1818, Moses Drury Hoge was reared in the doctrines of the Christian faith.  Twenty years later, Moses made a profession of faith. Entering Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, he graduated as valedictorian of the class.  His theological studies took place at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond where he was to study under the finest theologians of the South.  Licensed into the Presbyterian ministry, he began to preach the Word to a large congregation at the Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond,  Virginia.  His time there as pastor would stretch for nearly fifty years.

When the War between the States broke out in 1861, at first he was not in favor of secession.  He had offered freedom to all of his slaves which had accompanied his  wife’s estate, but only one was willing to accept the gift of liberty.  But when Virginia left the Union, he went with her decision with his whole heart and soul.  With thousands of Confederate soldiers gathering in Richmond, the capitol of this new nation, they were added to his congregation.  It is estimated that as many as one hundred thousand soldiers of the Confederacy heard the gospel from his lips.  Often he would travel to the actual battlefield, while the battle was ongoing, to minister to the spiritual needs of the men.  Once he even sailed through the naval blockade to England to bring back Bibles to the men and women of the southern confederacy.  When defeat came four years later, he was overcome with grief at the dark providence of God, but rallied his people with sermons from the Bible.

After the war, Moses Hoge traveled to every part of the nation, including trips to Europe, to deliver  hundreds of biblical sermons with power.  One wrote of him, “He preached with power, pathos, pleading, and spirituality.  No notes either, but all free, direct, and natural.  He is our Spurgeon.”  Moses Drury Hoge would depart this earth on January 6, 1899.

[Below, a letter, now preserved at the PCA Historical Center, which
Dr. Hoge enclosed with a book sent to a close friend]

Words to Live By:
“We are to pray for  . . . ministers.” (Larger Catechism, #183)
In fact, know their weekly schedule, by simply asking them for it.  Any minister will be glad to give it to you.  I know of one congregation whose pastor has given his week in general to specific members of the congregation, who then have his ministerial labors on which to pray for a special day of that week.  In that way, the work of the Lord is brought before the Lord on an every day every hour span of time.  What a great example for all of our congregations to follow.

Through the Scriptures: Genesis 16 – 19

Through the Standards: God is the Divine Author of Scripture

WCF 1:4
“The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly unto God (who is truth itself) the author thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.”

Dr. Hoge’s first published work was Honorable Old Age: A Sermon preached at the funeral of Capt. Benjamin Sheppard (1855). His last published work, gathered under his own hand, was Cause and Cure of Despondency (1898). Posthumously, there was published a collection of his sermons under the title The Perfection of Beauty (1904). Ironically, in one of those sermons, Dr. Hoge himself paid tribute to Spurgeon :

“…I do not know of any history more instructive in another aspect than his. It shows how a man with the courage of his convictions, how a man who is intensely loyal to the truth, and fears nothing but what is wrong, will at last triumph over all opposition. Very few men have lived in England that were subjected to the ridicule and misrepresentation Mr. Spurgeon was during the early years of his ministry. Hundreds of stories were invented reflecting upon his manners, reflecting upon him in every way, and yet he pursued the even tenor of his way without even a murmur, with his bright, genial spirit unchilled by the abuse that was heaped upon him. He went on quietly, with the pluck and perseverance that characterized him, until the time came that he won over to himself all the parties in England, and not only all the parties, but all the different classes of society.”
[“Liddon, Bersier, Spurgeon,” The Perfection of Beauty, p. 149.]

Image sources:
1. Frontispiece portrait from Fifty Years a Pastor. An Account of the Observance of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Installation of Rev. Moses Drury Hoge, D.D., LL.D. in the Pastorate of the Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, Virginia. Richmond, VA: [The Church], 1895.
2. Letter from Dr. Moses D. Hoge to John J. Jamieson, Esq., dated 3 December 1895, found enclosed with the above mentioned volume. Scanned by the staff of the PCA Historical Center.

In most of the older editions of the Westminster Standards, particularly those printed in Scotland, there are several additional documents bound in the volume with the Standards. It might be safe to say that chief among these is the brief treatise titled “The Sum of Saving Knowledge. If you are not familiar with it, let me urge you to locate a copy in print or on the Internet. It will make for good and profitable reading.

The week-day catechising that at one period formed so important a part of pastoral work in the Church of Scotland, were not restricted to children.[1] What the object of these catechisings was may be inferred from the tenor of an act of Assembly passed in 1639, which ordained that every minister, besides his pains on the Lord’s day, should have weekly catechising of some part of the parish,[2] and not altogether put off the examination of the people till a little before the communion. Ten years later this act was specially renewed, and a clause was added to it directing “every minister so to order his catechetic questions as thereby the people who do not convene all at one time but by turns unto that exercise, may at every diet [i.e., meeting] have the chief heads of saving knowledge in a short view presented unto them.[3] The carrying out of the Act of 1639 was in some places thought at first rather grievous. At a Presbyterial visitation of the old town kirk of Aberdeen in 1642, it was ordained in terms of the Act of Assembly, says

[1] In 1570 the General Assembly ordained that “ministers and elders of kirks shall universally within this realm take trial and examine all young children within their Parochines that are come to nine years, and that for the first time, thereafter when they are come to twelve years for the second time, the third time to be examined when they are of fourteen years, wherethrough it may be known what they have profited in the school of Christ from time to time.”

[2] The Kirk Session of Galston lost no time in putting that Act into execution. In 1639 they “concludit that there be examination throw the Paroche ane day in ye weik quhilk is to be keipit on Fryday.”

[3] “The chief heads of saving knowledge.” Along with the Confession of Faith, Catechisms, &c., there is generally bound up a small treatise called “the sum of saving knowledge.” How that treatise should have found its way into what may be termed a collection of the Church’s standards in doctrine, worship, and government, is a mystery. The extraordinary estimation in which it was long held is probably the only explanation. It was the joint production of Mr. David Dickson and Mr. James Durham, and, says Wodrow, it was by them “dictated to a reverend minister [who informed me] about the year 1650. It was the deed of these two great men, and though never judicially approved by this Church, deserves to be much more read and considered than I fear it is.”
Preface to Truth’s Victory Over Error, signed by R.W., in Eastwood, January 5, 1726.

[excerpted from Old Church Life in Scotland : Lectures on Kirk-Session and Presbytery Records , by Andrew Edgar (1885), page 93.]