Jane 15, 1956Vol. 25, No.6

% ~laL'aIL.

GUARDIAN

CONTENTS

"Set For The Defense Of The Gospel"

Twentieth Anniversary Address

BY ROBERT S. MARSDEN

Philadelphia Christian High School

Westminster Seminary Commencement

Charles Hodge at Seminary

Meditation

THE CHOICE OF FAITH"By faith Moses, when he was grown up,refused to be called the son of Pharaoh'sdaughter; choosing rather to share illtreatment with the people of God, thanto enjoy the pleasures of sin for a sea­son; accounting the reproach of Christgreater riches than the treasures ofEgypt: for he looked unto the recom­pense of the reward."-HEBREWS 11:24­26.

Many a man would call Moses a fool.'He was born with the shadow of deathover his head. When the sun brokethrough, he turned his back upon it andvoluntarily chose the stormy darkness.

According to the law of the land atthe time, he should have been drownedin the river Nile when he was born:he was born the son of Jewish parents.But by a marvelous turn of Providence,he not only was not drowned, but wasadopted by the king's daughter, andeventually became a great man in Egypt,mighty in word and deed.

But he turned his back upon all this,and chose the lot of the Jewish slaves.

Was he not defying Providence? Whatadvantage could there possibly be insuch a choice? What could he hope toaccomplish? What could he expect togain? Some would call him irresponsible.

But the leading of Providence maynever be detached from the guidance ofrevelation. Moses was not ignorant ofthis truth. It was just because he con­sidered the two together that he madehis choice. And this fact made him anexample to be followed.

Moses was learned in all the wisdomof the Egyptians. But he was undoubtedlyalso trained in the Covenant of the Godof Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His par­ents distinguished themselves for obedi­ence of faith when he was born. Andbeing given the opportunity of raisinghim in the first part of his life, we maybe sure they raised him according totheir deepest convictions. We may besure of this, particularly in view of thefavor God had shown them in connec­tion with this very child. And if Phar­aoh's daughter was willing to let themraise a boy she meant to adopt, shesurely would not keep him ever afterfrom visiting their home. He surely hadoccasion to see their example of faith

and hear their covenant hopes manytimes.

By the time he was forty years ofage,an~ had come to be mighty in Egypt,he decided to come to the aid of theIsraelites-to visit them. By so doing,he identified himself with them againstEgypt, refusing to be known as son ofPharaoh's daughter.

. He could have been content to stayIn the palace. There he might have longenjoyed riches, prestige, power for manyyears. With his abilities, he might havegotten his name on the pages of his­tory for all later generations to admire.Bnr'he-realized-tharhis dying day wouldhave terminated his glory, and he wouldhave entered into everlasting disgracebecause he would have died withoutGod and without hope.

Everlasting glory is for the people ofGod. There was no hope for one whocould boast nothing better than to beson of Pharaoh's daughter. The everlast­ing inheritance was for the seed ofJacob, for the covenant of God waswith Abraham and with his children.Moses had to choose his lineage, and sochoose his destiny.

His choice was the only sensiblechoice. But it was not an easy one.Israel was in great distress. They wereslaves under great oppression. To beidentified with them was to invite af­fliction. For Moses it involved forryyears of obscurity as a keeper of sheep,though he did not know it when hemade his decision. There was not muchthat could be seen to encourage thechoice he made.

The only encouragement lay in thepromises of God, and in the rewardthose promises held out to him. He hadto act by faith. Without a strong as­surance of things hoped for and a con­viction of things not seen, he would haveremained a prince in Egypt, enjoyingfor a time the pleasures of a sinfulchoice. But feeling that union with thepeople of God would give him a partin their hope, he chose their lot also intheir day of affliction.

A place for us in the Kingdom ofGod also involves the same choice, inprinciple. And we do well to considercarefully the danger of living alwayswith an eye on a residence on Easystreet. Ours is not a time when pro­fessing Christians are prepared to en­dure reproach with Christ. We live in

a day of great shallowness, and there­fore of great barrenness. The preachingof the word does not yield much fruitunto life eternal because men will notmake the choice of Moses. The waysof our times make him look foolish.But let us not forget that Moses hasentered into glory!

HENRY P. TAVARES

Duffs Arrivefor Furlough

TH E REV. AND MRS. CLARENCE W.DUFF, Orthodox Presbyterian Mis­

-sienaries {oEritrea, East Africa, arrivedin New York on Tuesday, May 29, andwill be home on furlough during thecurrent year.

Mr. and Mrs. Duff left Eritrea onApril 20, and spent about two weeksin Syria and Lebanon, looking over afield which had been recommended tothe Foreign Missions Committee as apossible location for a new foreignmission work.

Following this survey, they went toItaly and travelled overland throughEurope, stopping en route in Geneva,Stuttgart, Amsterdam and other places.They sailed from England on theQueen Elizabeth May 24, and reachedNew York on schedule.

The early date of their furlough ar­rival made it possible for them to bepresent for the graduation from highschool of their children, Donald andDorothy, who have been in this countryfor three years attending MoorestownFriends' School in Moorestown, N. J.

During their furlough the family willbe li"ing in the house they own at 2338Old Welsh Road, Willow Grove, Penn­sylvania. The medical work at the clinicin Ghinda, Eritrea, is being carried onfat the time being by a nurse, a MissThomas, of the Red Sea Mission Team.Evangelistic services are being conductedas opportunity offers by rhe other mis­sionaries on the field, Herbert Bird andFrancis Mahaffy.

Son to Edwards

A SON, Albert Gallatin IV, wa i

born on June 6 to the Rev. andMrs. Albert G. Edwards, III, of Cres­cent Park, N. J. Mr. Edwards is pastorof Immanuel Orthodox PresbyterianChurch of Crescent Park.

I•f,

I."

The Presbyterian GuardIan is published monthly by the Presbyterian Guardia' Publishing Corporation, 728 Schoff Building, 1505 Race Street, Philadelphia2, Po., at the following rates, payable in advance for either old or new subscrib....s in any part of the world, postage prepaid: $2.50 per year; $1.00 forfour months; 25¢ per single copy. Entered as second closs matter March 4,1937, at the Post Office at Philadelphia, under the Act of March 3, 1879.

82 The Presbyterian Guardian

An address by the Rev. Robert S. Marsden

Sel 10.. Ihe Delease ollhe Gospel

A NUMBER OF WEEKS AGO a professorin a church-related college asked his

class in religion the question, when wasthe Christian religion founded? A num­ber of answers were suggested in theclass, and finally, the story goes, an or­thodox Presbyterian youth supplied thereply, in the Garden of Eden.

With that proper concept of thechurch one might well hesitate to speakon an occasion which is supposed to bean anniversaryof the church. I am a littlebit timid about referring to this occasionas the two hundred fiftieth anniversaryof Presbyterianism, in this country even,and certainly as the twentieth anniversaryof the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

For the question, when did Presbyter­ianism begin, might very well be an­swered, in the Garden of Eden. For Adamand Eve were certainly consistent theists,and in that they were orthodox Presby­terians.

But we do have the significant datesof 1706 and 1936 to deal with to­night, and it is safe to say that if theevents which occurred on those dateshad not occurred, or events quite similarto them, we who are Orthodox Presby­terians in 1956 should hardly be here.

Now 1706 seems a long while ago.Actually it isn't so long ago. ,And 1936 Isuppose seems a long while ago tosome of you here who may not havebeen born then. But 250 years is a veryshort time in history. For instance it wasonly 250 years during the first eightgenerations of the kings of Englandafter William the Conqueror. Eight gen­erations doesn't sound very long. And250 years ago was only the very be­ginning of the Revolutionary period inthis country. For Benjamin Franklin wasborn, perhaps to the day, two monthsbefore the first Presbytery was foundedin Philadelphia, in 1706.

The history of Presbyterianism couldnot begin to be understood if we wereto suppose that Presbyterianism in thiscountry and Orthodox Presbyterianism,even, in this country were founded onthose dates. Rather we must think of thedates of 1706 and 1936 as milestones

June 15, 1956

along the way of Presbyterianism. Butif I may change the figure just a littlebit, I should rather think of them asmonuments in the battle of the Lord.I live not very far from Gettysburg,Pennsylvania and I have tramped overthat battlefield. And I have seen themarkers, granite many of them, standingmarking the positions of the battle dur­ing those three dreadful days. I shouldlike to think of 1936 and 1706 as monu­ments in the constant and never endingbattle for the gospel,

Now I realize that this is not sup­posed to be a sermon, but I suppose

TH E MONTH OF JUNE is thetwentieth anniversary of the

organization of the denominationnow known as The OrthodoxPresbyterian Church. On the eve­ning of May 23 members of Phila­delphia area congregations of thisdenomination gathered at CalvaryChurch, Glenside, for an anniver­sary service.

We are glad to be able to bringour readers the address deliveredon this occasion. As it appears inprint it is much longer than thearticles we usually carry. But inview of the special circumstances,we have decided to present theentire address in this issue.

The Rev. Robert S. Marsden,who delivered the address, is oneof the charter members of thedenomination. Following thechurch's organization in 1936 heserved as pastor of Calvary Ortho­dox Presbyterian Church, Middle­town, Penna., until called in 1938to be General Secretary of theCommittees on Home and ForeignMissions. He filled this positionfor about ten years, and since 1948has served as Executive Secretaryof Westminster Theological Sem­inary in Philadelphia.

The text of the address is basedon a tape recording, with slightmodification at points for thepurposes of publication.

the address should be based upon theWord of God, and it seemed to me thatthe most appropriate text to center ourthoughts about was those words of theApostle Paul recorded in the first chap­ter of his Epistle to the Philippians, the17th verse-"I am set for the defense ofthe gospel."

That word "set" is used in the senseof "appointed." It is the word that isused in the second chapter of Lukewhere we are told that Jesus Christ wasset for the falling and rising of manyin IsraeL He was appointed for that pur­pose. And my thesis is that the churchin every age is appointed for the defenseof the gospel and that every milestonein its history is a monument upon thebattle field, which is the entire courseof church history. The church's life isone long war from which there willbe no discharge until what the Apostlecalls "the day of Christ." And I insistthat you cannot understand the historyof the church unless you recognize that.

Past Monuments in the Defenseof the Gospel

So let us see, in the first place, thepast monuments to the defense of thegospel. All the significant milestones inthe history of the church are markedby battles in the great war for thedefense of the gospeL

PENTECOSTLet's illustrate this point of view.

Last Sunday morning as I turned on theradio, I heard these words; "Today isPentecost Sunday and Christians areaware of this because they know thaton this day the church was born." This,to be sure is a false conception of Pente­cost but I wouldn't be suprised, if thatidea were promoted long enough, thatthe Christian church would begin tocelebrate the birth of the church insomething the same manner that it hascome in the past hundred years or soto celebrate the birth of Christ.

But if Pentecost was not the birth ofthe church-and it was not-it wascertainly a milestone in the great battlebetween the forces of God and theforces of Satan and it was a great VIC­

tory for the Lord.64 A.D.

Hwe accept the traditional figureof 64 A.D. as the time of the writingof the epistle to the Philippians wefind Paul in prison at that timefor the defense of the gospel. Nowhe didn't have to go to prison. Hecould, as a modern preacher might well

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have done, have preached "positively,"and then he would never have gotten inany trouble at all. But he used the mostamazing psychology. The poor fellow ap­parently didn't know any better. For heintroduced a most controversial subject,his appointment as a missionary to theGentiles, before an angry Jewish mob.And introducing such a controversialsubject assured his indictment and hisarraignment. And so 64 A.D. became ayear of crisis in the Christian church,with the incarceration of the great apos­tle and the leader of the church. And itwas a time in which the church andthe apostle could not but be set for thedefense of the gospel.

COUNCIL OF NICAEAThe year 325 was of course a mile­

stone in the history of the church for itwas the year in which the great Trini­tarian controversy was formally settledat the Council of Nicaea in favor ofAthanasius. It determined whether therewould be any real continuity betweenthe church preceding that date, and thechurch following that date. If the con­troversy had been settled in favor ofArius, to be sure a church of some sortmight formally have continued its life,but it would have been an entirely dif­ferent church and that date is certainly amonument in the defense of the gospel.

REFORMATIONIn 1517 we mark the beginning of

the Protestant Reformation. If the issuesof the Reformation had not beenbrought to the fore Christianity wouldhave perished from the earth althoughit church bearing the name of Christianmight have persisted and plagued theearth for centuries to come.

1706 AND 1936And as we shall see, if the issues of

1706 had not been met by the organ­ization of a presbytery religious free­dom might well have perished from thiscontinent for many years to come, as ithad well nigh perished from the con­tinent of Europe. And if the issues of1936 had not been brought to the fore,then the church calling itself Presbyter­ian might well have developed into aneven more powerful monopoly tooppress the people of God.

But whether the years 1706 and 1936rank with these greater dates cannotaccurately yet be determined. The move­ments begun in these years may yetprove to have been abortive. Who couldhave predicted that a little band of 7ministers gathered in Philadelphia inMarch 1706 (the precise date of theirgathering we do not know since thefirst leaf of the ledger has irreparablybeen lost), who could have imaginedthat that little band would be the mani­festation of a great movement thatwould exert powerful influence in thelife of the nation and in the life ofthe world.

Francis Makemie was the first mod­erator, and he, Samuel Davies, Jedi­diah Andrews-he was the pastor of thechurch in Philadelphia, a church whichI venture to guess was no larger thanthe Gethsemane Church, or the Media­tor Church or the Knox Church of ourday, he was one of the seven-JohnHampton, George McNish, John Wilsonand Nathaniel Taylor-they comprisedthe first meeting of the Presbytery.They were very much like the ministersof our own Presbytery. They were notexceptional men, and while their namesto be sure have a very distinctly Britishflavor, much more so than the namesof the present presbyters in the Presby­tery of Philadelphia, perhaps the onlyreal difference is that there were twoJohns among them, and I suppose thatif we picked any seven of the presentpresbyters in the Presbytery of Philadel­phia you would find two Roberts insteadof two Johns.

But the new organization was bornfor the defense of the gospel. It wasn'tjust that seven ministers decided, 'Well,

FRANCIS MAKEMIE-Statue onthe banks of Holden's Creek, Acco­mack County, Virginia, erected byPresbyterian Historical Society,unveiled in 1908 on 200th anniver­sary of Makemie's death.

wouldn't it be a nice thing if we couldhave a presbytery." That isn't what hap­pened at all. Their very life was threa­tened by the increasing zeal and activityof the Society for the Propagation ofthe Gospel which had been organized afew years before among the Anglicans.Its earliest missionaries had made a deter­mined effort to bring all the dissentersinto conformity with the Anglicanchurch, and they had begun a vigorouscampaign to secure the establishmentof Anglicanism in all the colonies as ithad been established already in thecolony of Virginia. In this they hadvery powerful suPPOrt, including theable Lord Cornbury, who was thengovernor of the province of New York.

Shortly after the presbytery meeting,Makemie and Hampton went to LongIsland to conduct a preaching mission.There they were arrested at the instanceof Cornbury very early in 1707, forpreaching the gospel without a license.They remained in prison two full months,Trinterud tells us, before they werereleased on a writ of habeas corpus justin time to come to the second meetingof Presbytery which was held on March22, 1707. Makemie was actually triedin June of that year, and - does thissound familiar?-though he was ac­quitted by the jury he was assessed thecost of the trial. The cost of the trialwas 83 pounds, seven shillings, six­pence, which at that time was just abouta year's salary of a minister of the gospel.He was acquitted all right, but LordCornbury saw that he was punished ina very effective way.

The Presbytery of Philadelphia wasborn in 1706. It was born for thedefense of the gospel, and immediatelyafter its inception it was called upon todefend the gospel, even by a prisonsentence.

Organization of the OrthodoxPresbyterian Church

But if we cannot yet determine thefull significance of 1706, how muchless can we assess the significance of1936 in the history of the Christianchurch. Will the little meeting of lessthan one hundred and fifty, elders andministers and laymen gathered that hotThursday afternoon in the New CenturyClub of Philadelphia on June II-willthat little meeting go down in historywith a permanent monument in thebattle for the defense of the gospel?

It was a dramatic moment that after­noon. The auditorium was not crowded.

The Presbyterian Guardian

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But when the chairman got up to readthe enabling act one could have hearda pin drop. As I look over the congre­gation tonight I see a number of youhere who were there at that time.

And we hear the chairman say, "Inorder to continue what we believe to bethe true spiritual succession of the Pres­byterian Church in the U. S. A. whichwe hold to have been abandoned by thepresent organization of that body, andto make clear to all the world that wehave no connection with the organiza­tion bearing that name, we a companyof ministers and ruling elders havingbeen removed from that organization incontravention as we believe of its con­stitution, or having severed our connec­tion with this organization or herebysolemnly declaring that we do sever ourconnection with it, or coming as min­isters or ruling elders of other eccles­iastical bodies holding the Reformedfaith, do hereby associate ourselves to­gether with all Christian people who doand will adhere to us, in a body to beknown and styled as The PresbyterianChurch of America." "We a companyof ministers and ruling elders do herebyin our own name, in the name of thosewho have adhered to us, and by thewarrant and authority of the Lord JesusChrist constitute ourselves a GeneralAssembly of the Presbyterian Churchof America."

And as Dr. Machen took the Modera­tor's chair, maintaining the dignity ofthat office even amidst the unpreten­tious surroundings, there was in his faceand in the hearts of us all a mark of thesolemnity of the occasion. We trustedthat in the power of God we were enter­ing upon a new phase of history, set forthe defense of the gospel. And wetrusted that a new monument was beingerected to mark a major battle in thewar-a war declared by God Himselfand recorded as early as the third chap­ter of the book of Genesis, a war to befought throughout the entire age, to asuccessful conclusion in the Day ofChrist. It was a Gideon's band indeed.Irs weapons were not carnal but spirit­ual to the pulling down of the strong­holds of Satan. Irs confidence was notin the arm of flesh, but in the arm ofJehovah of Hosts. The battle was notjust a battle to maintain the pride oftradition, or to establish a name foranyone, but to uphold the banner of theGospel of Christ before a lost and dyingworld which should be called upon toaccept that faith.

June 15, 1956

There were set in motion the immedi­ate events of history which bring us heretonight to celebrate the 20th anniversaryof this denomination. None could pre­dict what that history would be. Therewere all sorts of views, from the mostpessimistic to the most sanguine. Thelatter saw <churches established all overthe country, by the dozens and by thehundreds, with people coming out ofapostate organizations in large numbers.Our enemies saw the church dying be­fore it was born. A recent writer in thePresbyterian Church has told us thatwe had hut the zeal of despair. Ourenemies had much more reasonablenessfor their prediction if they looked onlyat the outward aspects of a movementwhich resulted in the feeble actions ofJune 11, 1936.

That movement had been begun someyears before. It had had a good deal ofpopular support within the PresbyterianChurch in the early days of its inception.I'm only guessing but I think that per­haps as many as a quarter of the peoplewithin that Church had at least sometacit interest in what we stood for. Butevery time anything decisive was done,the band was cut in half, until by thetime the enabling act was adopted thatThursday afternoon only a Gideon'sband was left. And then within sixmonths Dr. Machen was taken from us.And some of our enemies openly re­joiced and actually praised their godthat he who had troubled Israel had beensilenced. But whether there should comegreat and easy success or slow and pain­ful struggle, the important point forthe present consideration is that therecan be no denying that the new organ­ization was born of the need for an in­strument that would be set for the de­fense of the gospel.

The gospel was seriously and imme­diately threatened. The organizationwhich until that time had been the ve­hicle of grace for the proclamation ofthe gospel had grievously, deliberatelyand persistently departed from the truthwhich it was organized in 1706 to pro­claim and defend. In the minds of manyof us it had ceased to be a church, forit had ceased to possess at least two ofthe essential marks of the church - thegospel could no longer be preached in itin its purity, and government and wor­ship and discipline could no longer beexercised in accordance with the re­vealed will of God. The word of manWa3 placed on a par with the Word ofGod and the ordinances of man were

given precedence over the ordinances ofGod. But that the new organization wasformed for the defense of the gospelneeds no further elaboration. It wasmanifest at that time and it has beenmanifest since, to all.

It is refreshing to see the measure ofhonesty in the spokesman for the Presby­terian Church in the U.S.A., Dr. LeffertsA. Loetscher, Professor of AmericanChurch History at the Theological Sem­inary of the Presbyterian Church inPrinceton, New Jersey, when he tells usin his recent book, The BroadeningChurch, that the church had opened itsdoors to a full recognition of moderateliberalism, which is simply another wayof saying that the church had opened itsdoors both to faith and to unbelief andhad put them upon a par.

What is the Gospel?But perhaps we put the cart before the

horse. We discussed the monuments inthe battlefield of the gospel, but we havenot yet defined what we mean eitherby defense or by gospel. What is thegospel, and against whom must it be de­fended. The gospel is certainly a state­ment of good news of salvation fromsin. It is likewise an interpretation of thegood news, and it is an application ofthat interpretation.

This is all implicit in the text ofScriprure where the apostle tells us,"Christ died for our sins." It's a story ­Christ died. It's an interpretation ­for our sins. It's an application - forour sins. And without all three elementsthat which might pass for preaching isnot the preaching of the gospel. It isJUSt not the gospel simply to state thefacts of gospel history. Nor is it thegospel simply to state an accurate inter­pretation of those facts. In other wordsit is not justa pious concatenation ofwords that comprises the gospel, no mat­ter how earnestly or how zealously theymay be proclaimed. If such were thecase it would be accurate to say that wecan preach the gospel in any church,and we should have been foolish togive up the great forum of the Pres­byterian Church and unite ourselvesin a little band like this for the pro­clamation of the gospel. But the gospelconsists in bhe application of that truthto the sins of a particular age, to thesins of a particular church, and to thesins of a particular individual. Thegospel is for people, and the sins fromwhich it delivers are the sins ofpeople.

And what are the sins of our age?

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To be sure we hear a very great dealabout juvenile delinquency, and sta­tistics are printed concerning majorcrimes, and certainly in our age as inevery age there are a great many vio­lations of the sixth and the seventhand the eighth commandments. But Isubmit to you that in our day the sinswhich need to be ferreted out and towhich the gospel must be applied aremore particularly the sins against thefirst table of the law. And almost all"gospel preaching" so-called ignoresthe first table of the law. Morality hasbecome moralism, and the most blatantviolations of the first and the secondand the third and the fourth com­mandments are tolerated and encour­aged in high places within the church.

A few weeks ago I attended thebanquet of the Military Chaplain's As­sociation of the U.S.A. and one of theprinciple speakers was a very promin­ent Presbyterian clergyman. He toldhow the Protestant and the RomanCatholic and the Jewish chaplainsworked together. And he told of alittle band of soldiers that he hadunder his care, of many and variousfaiths, and how they all prayed to­gether, and how, in his view, eachfound his own god in his own way,and then rose up to serve. Servewhom? Serve what? The answer ofcourse is that each served the god ofhis own imagination, but that he serv­ed that god by serving mankind. Andthat, my friends, is true humanism.And if that is not a violation of thefirst and the second and the third com­mandments of God then I haven't theslightest idea what those command­ments mean.

My friends, the gospel is good newsthat is given to sinners. It is givenfirst of all to those who equate theGod of the Bible with the god3 oftheir own sinful imaginations, whoworship God in ways that they devisethemselves, and which He has notprescribed, who preach the revelationof God as if it were the revelation ofman and not truly the Word of God,who trample His Sabbaths and turnthem into a holiday, after they havetipped their hat to some sort of god,in some sort of church. These are thesins of our age, and they are the sinsto which the gospel must be addressed.And these are the sins with whichindividual sinners and with which thechurches must be faced, in the lightof the law of God and of the gospel

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of Christ. Unless this is being donethe gospel is not being preached, nomatter in what pious terms the preach­ing may be cast.

In preparation for another occasionI took the trouble to look over anumber of volumes of sermons pub­lished by prominent evangelists ofpast days and of our day. Some ofthem were pretty good sermons, andI may say that the most prominentevangelist of our day, (who I under­stand may have cut into my crowdtonight), is about the best of them.But you know, hardly one of themreferred in any direct way to the pri­mary teachings of the first table ofthe law. Hardly one of them calledupon men to forsake gods of theirown imagination which they hadcreated, and not one of them calledupon apostate churches to repent, andupon members of such churches tosever their sinful ecclesiastical con­nections which were held in violationof the third commandment, and toforsake their loyalty to their leaderswho had torn asunder the Word ofGod and who had trampled underfoot the truth of God. And it is thegospel addressed to such churches andto such sinners that must be preachedin our day.

Against Whom Must theGospel be Defended?

But against whom must the gospelthen be defended? Set for the defenseof the gospel, yes, but defense againstwhom. The answer is very simple. Itmust be defended against the Devil,and all his agents. We in our sophis­ticated age have lost sight of the per­sonality of the Devil. He is treatedeven in orthodox circles as an idea,and not a person. He might be usefulto scare children, but hardly appro­priate to discuss with sophisticatedadults. Perhaps we have so emphasizedthe glorious truth of the power ofGod and the marvellous truth of thedirect access which we have to God,that we have forgotten the importanttruth of the personality and the powerof Satan. To be sure the manifesta­tions of his power in the time ofChrist were different than they arenow, but there is not the slighest evi­dence that he is less powerful nowthan he was at that time. His craftand power are still great, and hefights battles against the forces ofGod with great and powerful weaponsin every age. It is he who sets the

battle line and his battle line is dif­ferent in every age. He is a clevergeneral and he doesn't continue tofight battles which he has alreadywon. And he has pretty well won thebattle to make people think he doesn'texist. And the placing of the devilin the category of the boogey-man inour so-called enlightened age is oneof his greatest victories.

But if the power of the devil is notas easily seen in our day as it waswhen he possessed individuals and intheir form confronted the Lord JesusChrist, his power is still great, andhe now works subtly through agen­cies, frequently those agencies withthe greatest show of piety.

Present Battles in Defenseof the Gospel

Let us see in the second place thepresent battle in defense of the gospel.We've seen some past monuments,and incidentally what the gospel isand against whom it must be defend­ed, but what are the present battleswhich must be fought. Let us turnfrom the past to the future, for, asthe French statesman Mendes-France,who is in the news again today, re­minds.us, "nostalgia with the past is adrug that clouds the mind to the op­portunities of the future." How shallwe do battle in defense of the gospelin our day? Where shall the battles befought in that defense? It is possibleto discover hundreds of battle lines,but we shall confine ourselves to onlythree for we believe that under themare subsumed most of the activities ofSatan in our day. All of them could,of course, be subsumed under thetitle, unbelief. However in the battleagainst unbelief there are many majorskirmishes. There are to be sure othersectors in the barrie line in other parts ofthe world and the worldwide church.We must also fight at these points. Butif we confine ourselves tonight to thebattle right here in America, the battleto be fought within our own ranks andthe ranks of the society within whichwe move, we shall see the battle seemsto center at three points. None ofthese fronts has lately been opened,but they are all continuations of earlierbattle fields and battle fronts, and thelines have simply been shifted.

The names of the battles to befought, are the battle against religion­ism, the battle against externalism andthe battle against formalism.

(See "Marsden," page 92)

The Presbyterian Guardian

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'!he-;:~~GUARDIAN

1505 Race Street, Philadelphia 2, Pa.

Editorial Staff

EDITORSNed B. StonehouseLeslie W. Sloat

ASSOCIATE EDITORSJohn P. GalbraithRobley J. JohnstonRobert S. Marsden

QRCULATION MANAGERAlbert G. Edwards, III

CORRESPONNNTSCalvin A. BuschEdwards E. ElliottLawrence R. ByresEdward L. Kel10ggleRoy B. Oliver

All correspondenee should be ad­dressed to The Presbyterian Guardian,1505 Race Street, Philadelphia 2, Pa.

An Ecumenical ApproachTo Church Unity

~~W E EMBARRASS CHRIST with ourdisunity," was the declaration,

according to the Philadelphia news­papers, of James A. Pike, an EpiscopalDean, at an interdenominational servoice of the 168th General Assembly ofthe Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.held in Convention Hall on Sunday,May 27th. As a practical approach tochurch unity, according to the reports,he stressed that each group must re­tain the emphasis which has made itgreat. He was further quoted as say­ing: "This is the way we'll get to­gether, not by the denial of theseemphases, but by retaining the bestof what each has. We need all this ina great common faith." The specialemphases which were then listedwere the Presbyterian-Reformed em­phasis on the sovereignty of God,the Lutheran justification by gracethrough faith, the Congregationaliststress on the responsibility of the localchurch unit, the Baptist insistence ona separation of the church from theworld, the Episcopalian doctrine ofthe communion of saints and the Ro­man Catholic discipline and loyalty.

The position taken by Dean Pike isof significance, not so much as an

June 15, 1956

utterance of a particular individual,but because it rather effectively sumsup the point of view which appears tobe dominant in the ecumenical move­ment, especially in this country. Assuch, it underscores the observationthat the ultimate and basic goal ofthe ecumenical movement is widelyregarded as church union of thebroadest possible scope. This is a pointwhich must be kept in view wheneverthe claim is made that the WorldCouncil of Churches exists primarilyor solely to provide Christian churcheswith an effective agency for commun­ication with one another.

Of greater importance, however, isthe observation that the statement ofDean Pike confirms the view that thebasis of the modern program of churchunion is not obedience to Christ asthe Head of the Church who has setforth His will for the Church in theHoly Scriptures. On this basis theChurch itself is defined, not in termsof what Christ requires the Church tobe, but inclusively of whatever todayclaims for itself the name of church.Thus the historic doctrine that organ­izations or societies worthy of thename of churches of Christ must dis­play the marks of the Church fallsby the wayside. The WestminsterConfession of Faith, on the otherhand, while taking care not to insistthat the Church can attain perfectionin the world, does maintain that inchurches that are churches indeed thegospel is taught and embraced, ordin­ances are ministered, and public wor­ship performed more or less purely.Briefly stated, this position involvesthe judgment that we can speak ofa manifestation of the Church onlywhere there is a concern, in obedienceto Christ, to proclaim and to maintainHis Word faithfully. By the sametoken where there is a repudiation of,or a fundamental indifference to, theauthority of Christ as that is expressedin His Word, the Church no longerexists.

It should be obvious that the effortto achieve church unity by way ofretaining certain historic emphases ofvarious denominations falls short la­mentably of fidelity to the Scripturalemphasis of unity in the truth as itis in Jesus Christ. It is folly to supposethat true unity can be achieved byblending together these various his­toric emphases. For, in the first place,

it is evident that the historic emphasisof a particular denomination may havelittle resemblance to its emphasis to­day. Has the Presbyterian Church inthe U.S.A., for example, been zealousto maintain the doctrine of the sover­eignty of God as that is set forth inthe Scriptures and expounded in theConfession of Faith? Moreover, in thesecond place, if the doctrine of thesovereignty of God or, as anotherexample, the doctrine of justificationby grace through faith, were retainedin any particular church in full earn­estness, it would become necessary toset these doctrines sharply over againstother historic views which minimizeor obscure the sovereignty of God andthe doctrines of grace. Calvinism andArminianism, for example, could notbe allowed simply to stand alongsideof one another. And finally, genuineunion can never be achieved by amechanical or artificial approachwhich does not have an eye for theorganic character of truth.

The Scriptures indeed recognizediversity in the body of Christ as wellas unity. The Apostle Paul emphasizesthat there are many members in theone body (I Cor. 12:12f.; Eph. 4:1£.)but the diversity which he had in viewwas not a diversity of doctrine. It isa diversity of gifts of the Spirit. AndPaul goes on to teach that these giftsare graciously granted with a view tothe building up of the church by wayof proclaiming and maintaining thetruth in love.

It is rather ironical indeed that themodern devotion to the ecumenicalideal of unity, while allowing for andeven insisting upon diversity and dis­unity regarding the very fundamentalsof the Christian faith, has not spelledan advance in the recognition of Chris­tian liberty. Its watchword in otherrespects has very largely been that ofconformity, conformity to the reign­ing point of view and especially tothe ecumenial goal and pattern. Ingeneral there is the utmost latitudewith respect to faith and practice; onthe other hand, the most basic testof loyalty is that of acceptance of thislatitude and cooperation with the pro­gram that is based upon it. Accord­ingly it is not so strange after all thata situation characterized by the appar­ent breadth of the ecumenical move­ment is also one that is marked by theascendancy of ecclesiastical domina-

87

Philadelphia Area

Christian Bigh School

N. B. S.

tion. This is bound to happen where­ever the church is not moved by aholy passion to recognize and acknowl-

A CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL is toopen in the area immediately

north of Philadelphia this September,according to the Rev. Robert L. Tho­burn, chairman of the Committee onPublic Relations of the Philadelphia­Montgomery Christian High SchoolAssociation, which will operate theschool. During the first year gradesnine and ten will be available, andgrades eleven and twelve are to beadded during the next two years.

The basis of the Association, thebasis on which it will operate theschool, is the "infallible and inerrantWord of God, the Bible, as inter­preted in the Reformed Standardswhich include the following truths:Belief in the Triune God, Father,Son and Holy Spirit; in the creationof all things out of nothing by a di­rect act of God; in the verbal inspira­tion of the Old and New Testamentsin the original manuscripts; in thevirgin birth and the Deity of the LordJesus Christ and His substitutionaryatonement for our sins; that salvationis by grace, through faith in Him whodied for our sins, and rose again forour justification; in the bodily resur­rection of the dead, both the just andthe unjust; in the eternal joy of thesaved and the eternal punishment ofthe lost; and in the personal returnon the Lord Jesus Christ."

The Association is governed bythese guiding principles: 1) that allthings have been created to the endthat the Triune God may be glorifiedin and through them. 2) That manwas created by a special creative actof God, not by evolutionary process,and that all other forms of life werecreated by God and ordained to re­produce each after its kind. 3) ThatGod by His wise covenant arrange­ment has obligated parents to educatetheir children to the end that God andHis glory shall be central and supreme

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edge in word and deed Christ's king­ship over His Church.

in life's total experience. 4) That theeducation of children shall be con­tinued under the parent's responsiblesupervision in a school that carries outthe basic God-honoring, God-centeredprogram begun in the home.

Academically the curriculum willbe at least equal to that required bythe Department of Public Instructionof the Commonwealth of Pennsyl­vania. Present plans call for a generalcourse, a college preparatory course,and a commercial course. The curri­culum will include courses in English,literature, history, social studies, math­ematics, science, Bible, church history,Latin, a modern language, music, art,health and physical education, andcommercial subjects.

The school board elected by theAssociation has employed three teach­ers. Miss Johanna Timmer, Principalof a Christian elementary school inRipon, California, has been securedto serve as principal. She is a graduateof Calvin College in Grand Rapids,Michigan, has a M.A. degree from theUniversity of Michigan, and has takenwork at the University of ChicagoDivinity School, at Calvin Seminary,and at the Presbyterian Seminary inChicago. Her previous teaching ex­perience includes the North FourthSt. Christian School of Paterson, N. J.,the Grand Rapids Christian HighSchool, Calvin College (where shealso served as Dean of Women), andthe Reformed Bible Institute of GrandRapids, where she was Dean of Wom­en and for a number of years actingpresident.

The two other members of thefaculty are Miss Margaret Brown ofWycombe, Penna., who this past yearhas been teaching in the Central BucksHigh School of Doylestown, Pa., andMr. Charles Freytag of West Orange,N. J., who has taught in the MontclairHigh School. He will teach mathe-

matics and science, and Miss Brownwill teach English. Part-time instruc­tors will conduct the work in art,music and physical education.

Preliminary indications are that theenrollment the first year will be about60 pupils. The high school will pro­vide a continuing Christian educationbeyond the level now given by Chris­tian elementary schools in the area.There are three of these schools, atWillow Grove, in Germantown, andin the Northeast. All are cooperatingin the high school endeavor. Togethertheir present enrollment is about 400.Students are also expected from theCamden County Christian school inNew Jersey.

The Board is endeavoring to se­cure proper facilities for holding theschool. Negotiations at present notentirely complete are being conductedin the hope of obtaining a formerpublic school building in Wyncote.Conveniently located, this buildingcontains five large rooms and somesmaller ones.

In accordance with the view thateducation of the children is the workof the parents, not of the church, thisschool is not "parochial" in character,but will be conducted by a Board ofDirectors elected from the member­ship of the Association. A number ofdifferent denominations are repre­sented in the Association and on theBoard.

The members of the Board are theRev. George Weeber, pastor of theFirst Reformed Church of America,Germantown, president; the Rev. Rob­ert L. Atwell, pastor of Calvary Orth­odox Presbyterian Church of Glenside,vice-president; James Warden, Ger­mantown, secretary; Walter H. Mar­chant, Hatboro, treasurer; and theRev. Robert L. Thoburn of Hatboro,Mr. Howard Weber of Southamp­ton, Mr. Thomas Irwin of German­town, the Rev. Richard W. Gray ofWillow Grove, Dr. R. Laird Harrisof Elkins Park, Mr. Robert Adcock ofFox Chase, and the Rev. Robert D.Crees of Philadelphia.

Information concerning admissionto the school may be obtained from theRev. Robert 1. Thoburn, 10 Hart Street,Hatboro, Pa. Persons who wouldlike to assist the school through finan­cial contributions should send them toMr. Walter H. Marchant, Treasurer,105 Newington Rd., Hatboro, Pa.

The Presbyterian Guardian

,/

Wesl..inisle..

Tbeological Se..ina.."

Co....ence..enl

T H E REGULAR Commencement Ex­ercises of Westminister Theolo­

gical Seminary, Philadelphia, wereheld as scheduled on Wednesday, May16, with the Baccalaureate Service thepreceding Sunday afternoon and theAlumni Banquet on Tuesday evening.

BaccalaureateThe Rev. Meredith Kline, Assis­

tant Professor of Old Testament,preached the Baccalaureate sermon.Referring in particular to the exile ofJudah, as recorded in the Old Testa­ment, he indicated that it presentedan illustration of the basic theme ofall human history, the theme of exileand restoration. Man because of sinwas exiled from the original paradiseof God, and through faith in the Re­deemer, Christ, finds restoration to theparadise of promise. On a smallerscale this pattern has been reproducedagain and again in the history ofGod's dealings with His people. It isthe glory of the ministry to proclaimthe work of the Redeemer, that thosenow exiled may be restored to theKingdom of God.

Annual BanquetNearly two hundred persons gather­

ed on Tuesday evening for the annualbanquet which, though originallychiefly an Alumni affair, has nowbeen opened to all friends of the Sem­inary as well. The Rev. William L.Hiemstra, President of the AlumniAssociation, presided over the gather­ing. Following the dinner, brief talkswere given by Professor Woolley, Deanof Students, by Dr. Stonehouse, Deanof the Faculty, and by the Rev. RobertMarsden, Executive Secretary of theSeminary. Members of the graduatingclass were introduced to the gathering.The address of the evening was givenby the Rev. Dr. Robert K. Rudolph,of the Reformed Episcopal Seminaryof Philadelphia. Dr. Rudolph spokeon the subject, "Self Conscious Ortho-

June 15, 1956

doxy and the Ecumenical Movement."He emphasized the fact that smallconservative denominations have a rea­son for existing, and that they shouldhold firm to their convictions, while atthe same time rejoicing in the fellow­ship they have with others sincere intheir faith in Jesus Christ, but notagreed on certain implications and ap­plications of that faith in ecclesiasti­cal life. Here an "ecumenical" fellow­ship can prevail and be a blessing, with­out an ecumenical organization whichwould necessitate the compromise ofconvictions.

Women's AuxiliaryNearly seventy five ladies were

present for the luncheon of theWomen's Auxiliary, held on Wednesday.Following the luncheon, the Seven­teenth Annual meeting of the Aux­iliary was held in the Seminary Chapel.The president, Mrs. Frank H. Steven­son, conducted the meeting. Mrs. Sam­uel McPheeters of Goldsboro, N. C,read the Scripture, and Mrs. RobertChurchill of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin,led in prayer. Special music was pro­vided by Mrs. Edmund P. ClowneyJr., and Mrs. Willets. Minutes of theprevious meeting were read by thesecretary, Mrs. LeRoy Oliver.

The highlight of the meeting wasthe report of the treasurer, Mrs. Ar­thur Kuschke of Dallas, Pa. The Aux­iliary has an annual quota of $25,000.This year gifts totalling $31,049.07were reported as coming from mem­bers of the Auxiliary. This was thelargest amount ever credited to theAuxiliary.

The roll of Auxiliary units inchurches was called by Miss RuthStahl, and the number present fromeach church was noted. Members werepresent from Wisconsin, North Caro­lina, Virginia, New York, Maryland,Delaware, Ohio, and from New Jer­sey and Pennsylvania.

There are five vice-presidents of theAuxiliary-Mrs. Arthur W. Machenof Baltimore, Miss Marguerite Mont­gomery of Rochester, Mrs. Leslie W.Sloat of Eayrestown, N. J., Mrs. R. R.Stuart of Pittsburgh, and Mrs. HarryA. Worcester of Cincinnati.

Following the business session, thegathering heard a brief address by theRev. Professor Edward J. Young ofthe Seminary, on the subject of therecently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls.

CommencementIn spite of some clouds and oc­

casional wind gusts which caused morethan one uneasy glance at the sky, theformal commencement exercises wereheld in the Seminary garden. Follow­ing the awarding of the degrees, itwas announced that an Eldridge A.Stuart Scholarship in the amount of$150 for the year 1956-7, from theCarnation Company ScholarshipFoundation, had been awarded to Mr.Harvie M. Conn.

The address of the afternoon wasgiven by the Rev. William J. Jones,Editor of the American Sunday SchoolUnion, whose subject was "The Holyand the Common."

A brief address to the graduatingclass was given by Professor Ci VanTil, Presiding Fellow of the Faculty.Dr. Van Til told the graduates thatthey had been trained for the task ofbringing to men dwelling in darknessthe Light of the World. This Lightthey did not have of themselves, buthad been given it by Christ in theScriptures. But he warned them that asthey proclaimed this Light they wouldoften find people who seemed to bereceiving it gladly, but who, on care­ful investigation, actually did not un­derstand at all what the message real­ly was. So he encouraged them tomake their message clear and specific,in the assurance that Christ who hadcalled them to the work would in Hisown way and time make the messageeffective to accomplishing His pur­pose of grace.

Trustees MeetingThe Board of Trustees of the Semi­

nary held its meeting on Tuesday, May15, with sixteen members in attend­ance. Reports were received from theFaculty and from the Executive Secre­tary. The latter reported that contribu­tions during the fiscal year endingMarch 31 were the highest in the Sem­inary's history, and had enabled the

89

institution to meet current expensesfrom current revenue without legaciesor large special gifts. On the otherhand, the institution ended the fiscalyear with a precariously low cash bal­ance, and the contributions during thefirst five months of 1956 had shownno appreciable gain over the previousyear, which suggested the urgent needof substantial support in the immedi­ate future.

In other matters, the Board ap­proved a plan of the Faculty wherebythe school year will be lengthenedby two weeks beginning with theacademic year 1957-8. A Facultyrecommendation that Mr. GeorgeKnight III, a graduate, be appointedTeaching Fellow in Greek for thecoming year was approved. The Rev.William L. Hiemstra will again begiving a lecture course in Poimenicsthis fall. A letter from the Middle

Charles BodgeAI Seminary

I N OUR PREVIOUS ARTICLE it wassuggested that there was an early

intimacy between Charles Hodge andthe first seminary professor, ArchibaldAlexander. They had encounteredeach other shortly after Charles cameto Princeton with his mother in 1812.Charles watched the installation of Dr.Alexander as the first professor ofthe Seminary, and was deeply appre­ciative of the sermons and lecturesDr. Alexander delivered in the uni­versity chapel while Charles was astudent there.

In a letter to his mother under dateof September 21,1816, Charles writes:"I had the pleasure of spending nearlyan hour this morning with Dr. Alex­ander; he did not say much aboutthe seminary, but told me he did notthink I should find the studies oppres­sive, as I might avoid the disagreeabletask of transcribing their historicalcompends either by getting someoneto do it for me, or by obtaining themfrom some of the preceding classes;and that the students might have aday or a week at any time to rideabout should they find the duties tooburdensome." The good Doctor didnot want prospective students over-

90

States Association of Colleges and Sec­ondary Schools, commending theSeminary for a "Progress Report" whichhad been submitted to the Association,was read. It was learned that the Sem­inary has been served with condemna­tion proceedings by the State of Penn­sylvania, which intends to take over aportion of the campus at the rear ofthe seminary property, for a highwaywhich is to be constructed through thearea. The Executive Secretary reportedthat certain preliminary steps havebeen taken to revive the project ofbuilding an apartment house on thecampus, to house married students.Further plans on this subject are to bepresented at the fall meeting of theBoard.

The 1956-7 Academic Year will be­gin on September 26, with the matri­culation of students and the formalopening exercises.

By LESLIE W. SLOAT

whelmed by the thought of their ardu­ous labors.

In October of the same year Charleswent as a companion with Dr. Alex­ander on a tour through the state ofVirginia, where the professor visitedscenes of his youth, education andearly ministry. It was a memorable tripfor the nineteen year old Charles, andhe often recounted in later years thecharm he experienced in being presentas Dr. Alexander renewed acquaint­ance with people and places familiarfrom previous years. Alexander wasfrequently asked to preach, often onthe spur of the moment, and two ofhis sermons made a lasting impressionon Charles. Of one of these, concern­ing the judgment, Charles writes:"Again, when he preached on thejudgment of the quick and the dead bythe Son of Man, he so keenly appre­hended the event as real, and so graph­ically described it, that at the crisis,when the trumpet sounded, and thegreat white throne began to descend,the entire congregation, by one im­pulse, rose and bent to the windows,that they might see Him and take theirplaces among the multitudes throng­ing to meet Him." This was preach­ing ...

The whole trip was made on horse­back or by stage, and frequently thetwo companions would get started atthree in the morning, and not reachtheir destination until the dark of theevening. But apparently it did notharm the relatively frail youth, for hefelt better near the end of the tripthan when he started.

The seminary year began on No­vember 9, 1816, and Charles was oneof 26 students enrolled. The seminarybuilding was not yet completed. Char­les resided at the home of Mrs. Bachefor this year, and this arrangement didnothing to dim the romance betweenhimself and Sarah Bache. Seminaryclasses were conducted either in thecollege building-Nassau Hall-or inthe homes of the two professors.

What was the teaching like in thisnew Theological Seminary of thePresbyterian Church? And what werethe professors like, as professors? Dr.Alexander was the primary teacher inthe fields of theology. He had alwaysbeen interested in theology, had gath­ered a small library of the masters ofLatin theology of the sixteenth andseventeenth centuries. He had alsosecured a number of writings of emin­ent Dutch theologians whom he re­garded "as having pushed theologicalinvestigation to its greatest length,and compacted its conclusions into themost symmetrical method." He pre­ferred reading his theology in Latinrather than English, because the term­inology was more precise, and becausethe effort of reading the Latin kepthis attention from wandering.

Alexander felt it necessary to givefirst attention to the critical interpreta­tion of the original Scriptures. He wascompetent in Greek, but the study ofHebrew was not yet too developed.In the fields of criticism and inter­pretation he finally worked out asystem of instruction which he de­livered in the form of lectures, re­peated from year to year. He alsostudied and taught in the field ofBiblical archeology. He tried to keepin touch with current developments intheology and philosophy both inAmerica and on the continent. Heheld that "theology was best taughtby a wise union of the text book withthe free lecture. Finding no work inEnglish which entirely met his de­mands, he placed in the hands of hispupils the Institutions of Francis Tur-

The Presbyterian Guardian

rettin.... He often dissented fromthe learned Genevan, and always en­deavored to cultivate in his studentsthe spirit and habits of original in­vestigation. He very laboriously en­gaged in making such brief aids, in theway of syllabus and compendium," aswould be helpful to the student. Hedeveloped extensive series of questionson the subject of theology. He as­signed topics for thesis papers, andthese were publicly read and com­mented on by both professors andstudents. He also devoted time to thosewho opposed the positions of Reform­ed theology.· "What might be con­sidered by some an inordinate lengthof time was devoted to the cardinaldifferences, such as the controversywith Deists, Arians, Socinians, Pela­gians, Arminans, Papists and Univer­salists; all being made to revolvearound the Calvinistic system, which,upon sincere conviction, he hadadopted." Under this man CharlesHodge studied theology.

The other professor, Dr. SamuelMiller, dealt with the field of practicaltheology and church government, andecclesiastical history. Here Hodgelearned of the development of thechurch, and of such problems as thoserelating to Presbyterian governmentagainst episcopacy, the papacy, con­gregationalism and the like. Charlesapparently soaked up the learning thatwas offered, and proved himself agood student.

In 1817 the Seminary building wascompleted and occupied. Charles leftthe home of Mrs. Bache (there weresome hard feelings on her part overthis change) and took up residence inthe new building named, appropri­ately, Alexander Hall. Concerning thenew arrangement he wrote his mother:"Being immediately over the kitchenwe were afraid we would be incom­moded by the noise, but in this wehave been agreeably disappointed. Wehave the southwest corner of thebuilding. The room is light andcheerful, far pleasanter than any inthe college. The sun at this season(November) rises immediately in ourwindows, and as we are obliged to riseat half past six for the winter, we wiIloften have the pleasure of hailing thefirst beams of the morning. We break­fast at ?, dine at 1 and sup at 6. Ourfare as yet has been much better thanwe expected and everything perfectly

June 15, 1956

neat. Politeness, too, springing I hopefrom brotherly affection, is as mani­fest as even you could wish. Indeed,Mama, we live as one family, and thatnot of anchorites or monks, but ofbrothers united in pursiuts, in feeling,and in intent. Johns (a fellow studentwith whom Charles formed a life-longfriendship) now says he would notlive out on any consideration, and thesame feeling of satisfaction and plea­sure appears to pervade us all. . ." Therewas of course no electricity. Study waswith the help of candlelight.

Charles' own devotional life devel­oped and deepened during his seminarycourse. Near the close of his first yearthere he had written home: "And now,my dear Mama, as this is perhaps thelast letter I shall be able to write thissession, I wish respectfully and affec­tionately to say that I have for sometime thought it a duty that we shouldhave in our family the usual religiousservices at the table and in the evening,if perfectly agreeable to us all. Thissubject has given me much pain in ex­citing a struggle between a sinful dif­fidence, almost, and a sense of duty. Ionly want you to know I am willing todo whatever you wish."

As the three years of his Seminarytraining drew toward a close in thespring of 1819, Charles naturallycame to think more and more of whathe would do after he finished. Oneof his classmates, Samuel Davis, madeplans to travel as a missionary over thestates, and wanted Charles to go withhim. He mentioned the idea to Dr.Alexander, who indicated he thoughtit would be good if Charles' healthpermitted. However Charles apparentlydid not give such a program seriousthought. To some extent the church'sGeneral Assembly tried to take careof the seminary graduates, and Charleswondered whether the Assemblymight think it expedient for him toundertake a mission through theSouthern or Western states. In facthe did not feel it necesary to makea decision until the Assembly shouldgive advice.

But in all of this he felt somewhatcommitted to accepting whatever Dr.Alexander might decide for him. Earlyin the year he had written his mother,"Under Him whose I am by particularobligations, I feel at the disposal ofyou and Dr. Alexander; and shouldyou agree in marking out the same

course, I trust I should tread it withcheerful feet."

They agreed. On May 6, 1819Charles happened to have some busi­ness which led him to visit the emin­ent professor. After the business wasconcluded, Dr. Alexander suddenlylooked at Charles and bluntly asked,"How would you like to be a pro­fessor in the Seminary?" The youngman was overwhelmed with surpriseand confusion. He had apparently neverdreamed of such a thing, though ithad been evident for some time thatan additional teacher was needed torelieve the burdens being carried bythe two professors. Dr. Alexander toldhim simply to think about it, and towait and see what the Assembly mightdetermine. And with true fatherly in­terest he added, "My plan for you atpresent, is simply that you spend thenext winter in Philadelphia learning toread the Hebrew language with pointswith some competent instructor."

The graduation was held Septem­ber 28, 1819. Seven young men re­ceived the certificate of having passedthrough the entire Seminary course.They were George S. Boardman, Re­membrance Chamberlain, Samuel S.Davis, John Goldsmith, CharlesHodge, William Nevins, and AaronD. Lane.

H may be of interest to note herethat a little over a year before thisCharles' brother Hugh had graduatedwith highest honors from the medicaldepartment of the University of Penn­sylvania. In order to gain additionalexperience and as a sort of interneship,Hugh sailed on a merchant ship forCalcutta, India. He returned in 1820and opened an office in central Phila­delphia. His work received notice, andhe was called to lecture on surgeryin a young medical institute. Circum­stances however, chiefly poor eye­sight, compelled him to change fromanatomy and surgery, and he was pres­ently elected to the chair of obstetricsat the University of Pennsylvania,which position he occupied with dis­tinction for the rest of his life.

We may note also that during theseyears the attachment of Charles toSarah Bache was deepening. Charles'biographer quotes from some lettersexchanged between them in 1817 and1818. Charles laments that their cor­respondence has been irregular, buteven more that when it has existed

91

it has lacked religious content. Evi­dently Sarah had raised questions thatCharles found it hard to answer. Per­haps she had found it difficult tolive in obedience to God's commands.Charles reminds her, "that faith it­self is the very first duty God re­quires us to perform, without which itis impossible to please Him in any­thing. All attempts, therefore, whichmen so frequently make to obey be­fore they believe, is proceeding ina way directly the reverse of what Godhas prescribed."

In another letter to her he refersto some points made by Dr. Alexan­der in one of the classes, to help herin her difficulties. "In speaking ofthe justice of God in the punishmentof sin, he observed that it was thefoundation of the whole plan of re­demption; for had there not been someabsolute necessity, arising from thenature of God, that sin should bepunished, how can we suppose that Hewould make the infinite sacrifice ofHis Son, rather than permit it to passwith impunity..."

In August of 1820 she wrote him,"I love to feel myself bound to you byindissoluble ties that not even thegrave can change - to feel that afterbeing cherished and guided by youthrough time I shall, through your in­strumentality, stand by you purifiedbefore the throne of our HeavenlyFather when time shall be nomore..." Nearly two years would passyet before their marriage.

Marsden(Continued from page 86)

RELIGIONISMThe first, religionism, used to go

simply by the title of unbelief. Andthen it became agnosticism, and now ithas become Christianity. And the lattertwo used to be subsumed under theBiblical title, "the leaven of the Phar­isees," and Pharisaism may be definedfor our purposes as the doctrine thatthe chief end of the church is to pro­pagate itself.

Let us look a little more closely atthe manifestations of these doctrinesand I think we shall see that we mustbe set in defense of the gospel againstthem. The first major battle whichmust be fought is the battle againstreligionism. Its theory is that religionis good, and that all religions are amanifestation of the true religion, and

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a difference of approach to God. Themanifestations of religionism in ourday are legion and we can mention afew.

Some time ago I was driving alongin a strange area, behind a bus. Andon the back of the bus there was a signwhich many of you have seen, I amsure, "Go to the church or synagogueof your choice." And right over thatwas another advertisement, "Eat icecream every day. It is good for you."Religion, and ice cream. Religion isgood for you, no matter where youbuy it and ice cream is good for you,no mattter where you buy it. Oh, tobe sure, some religion may be betterfor you than others, just as someice cream may be better than others.But they are all good for you, so havesome. It will do you good. That is thedoctrine of religion ism.

I am told that there is a room in theUnited Nations building in New YorkCity that is the meditation room. It issupposed to be symbolic of all relig­ion, supposed to inspire reverence by aclever arrangement of lights and furni­ture. And I am told that the room isabout as close to being without formand void as anything can be and stillbe a room. And yet I suppose that ifwe were to go there, we should al­most instinctively tip-toe in with ourhats off because anything that has hadthat much planning and that mucharrangement must contain some sortof god.

It is only comparatively recentlythat a prayer room has been furnishedin the Capitol of the United States,for obviously if the legislators are go­ing to pray they have to have the rightsurroundings to inspire prayer. Andit is only recently that the words,"Under God" were put in the pledgeof allegiance for the United States,and that was supposed to be a greatvictory for religion; and only recentlyIn God we trust has been ordered tobe placed upon the money of theUnited States. Now these things arenot bad in themselves. They may as amatter of fact be good, but they are asign of the religionism in our day.And the lie that Satan has promotedin all places that religion is good, is alie as great as any that he has everpropagated. For false religion is anabomination before God. And thosewho join in it and unite themselvesto it are condemmed of God in thestrongest terms.

EXTERNALISMThe second manifestation of the

power of the devil in our day,against which we must be set for thedefense of the gospel, is externalism.When the Scribes and the Phariseescalled attention to the temple, andwhen they called attention to them­selves as the direct descendants ofAbraham, they were engaging in ex­ternalism and thus were manifestingone of the chief characteristics ofPharisaism. We can see its extensiona very great deal in the last 25 years.Dr. Loetscher, whom I mentioned amoment ago, in that same book admitsthat during our time administrativecentralization and theological decen­tralization have taken place. And agreat deal of the energy of many ofthe churches, and certainly of the Pres­byterian Church in the U.S.A. hasbeen taken up with the making ofrules to tighten the hold of the de­nomination upon the individualchurches, and of the churches upontheir people, and to weaken the mes­sage that is to be preached. The Pres­byterian Church, for instance, hassecured for itself a title to all theproperty which is owned by the sev­eral congregations. And as one recentauthor has put it, a chain of hardcash binds the individual church to thedenomination. The same author tellsus that the general assemblies of thatchurch have become gigantic sales­men's conventions, in which a success­ful promotion of the external producthas become the chief end, and fromwhich the individual salesman havingbeen talked to and having been soldanew goes home to sell his productand to build the church.

Well, you remember that we'vesaid that the chief end of man is tobuild the church, according to thePharisees. The curse of externalismhas certainly come into every denomin­ation. And which minister of thegospel has not been tempted to mea­sure his success by the size of his con­gregation or by the size of his salary.Or which minister has not beentempted to measure his success com­paring it with his fellow minister'salong those lines. I trust this exter­nalism has not gained ground in theOrthodox Presbyterian Church.

I shall never forget how in the earlydays of the church whole familiesmade almost unbelievable sacrifices tobe in the Orthodox Presbyterian

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Church. I remember how I was calledto become secretary of the missionscommittees in 1938, in July of thatyear. And the first month as I signedthe warrants for the checks that wentout I discovered that we had enoughmoney on hand to pay all the mission­aries in full. It was obvious the churchhad made a very wise choice! And thesecond month we had enough on handto pay the missionaries 50 per cent oftheir salaries. And the most that anymissionary was supposed to get was ahundred dollars a month. And so themost that anyone actually got paid was$50 a month. Well, that was thesecond month. And then the thirdmonth of September, when it cametime to sign warrants for the checks,I discovered that when we dividedwhat we had on hand, we had enoughto pay each missionary thirty-one percent of his salary. And the most thatanyone was supposed to get paid wasa hundred dollars a month and themost anyone received was thirty-onedollars.

So I decided I would set out andsee if I could find some money orsee if I could find some way by whichthe work could be curtailed. And Iremember being entertained verygraciously in the home of a culturedolder couple. He had been a successfulminister in the Presbyterian Church.A day or so before I arrived he hadreceived his check for thirty-one dol­lars for his month's salary. And as Iwas received so graciously, the hostessproceeded to set the table as she hadbeen accustomed for a long while onthe average rate of about ten centsper day per person. And we hadpotatoes for breakfast. And wehad potatoes for lunch and we hadpotatoes for dinner. Each in a dif­ferent form, more or less, but potatoesjust the same. And they thoughtnothing of the externals for they werehappy in being a part of a church thatwas set for the defense of the gospel.

Then I moved on to another family.And that was a family with a numberof children. And someone had donatedto them a bushel of apples, and wehad apples for breakfast, and we hadapples for lunch, and we had applesfor dinner. And the externals of thechurch meant little to them, for theywere in a church that was set for thedefense of the gospel. And they werehappy.

Then I suppose we might speak of

June 15, 1956

externalism in connection with themodern celebration of religious holi­days. A case in point is our tremen­dous preoccupation with things likeChristmas and Easter and Good Fri­day and now I suppose we'll havePentecost. It is rather interesting thatthe second meeting of the Presbyteryof Philadelphia was held on Friday,the 27th of December, 1706, for theexamination of a man to be ordainedto the ministry. I wonder how manyPresbyterian Churches could manageto get a Presbytery together two daysafter Christmas when all the ministerswere worn out with their celebration.It is rather interesting also that in thelittle book, The Day Lincoln WasShot, the author who is a RomanCatholic makes a point of it that itseemed to some of the Roman Cath­olics improper that President Lincolnshould be attending the theater on theFriday before Easter. But you know,I don't find the slightest bit of evi­dence that Mr. Lincoln thought it theleast bit odd that he should have atheater party and invite General Grantto be the guest of honor (GeneralGrant of course didn't go) on thatday. I wonder whether a modern presi­dent would dare to attend the theateron such a day, or whether the exter­nalism which is so characteristic ofour age has gone so far as that itwould judge a man in such a matter.

Then I suppose also that a case inpoint might be the use of the word"church" in our day. It is rather sig­nificant that the minutes of our firstpresbyrery ( the second sitting ofwhich occurred in December of thatyear) contains the statement that anordination was to be held "in thepublic meeting house." The use of theword "church" to mean a building iscomparatively new, and I believe thatone of the symbols of externalism inour day is the fact that we oftentimesin the Orthodox Presbyterian Churchare told that people won't attend ourchurches because we don't have a"church."

Winston Churchill in his first vol­ume of his History of the English Speak­ing Peoples, with characteristic Britishhumor, says, that if a native of RomanBritain were to wake up today, hewould find in every village templesand priests of the new creed, and thefacilities for Christian worship wouldappear to him to be far in excess ofthe number of devotees. I wonder if

that isn't often true in this countrytoo.

And then certainly the externalismcernes to the fore in the glorificationof men and the tying of movementsto men. I remember so well the Gen­eral Assembly of 1933 which met inColumbus, Ohio, where is was freelysaid that at that time there was to bea contest between Robert E. Speer andJ. Gresham Machen. And you wereto vote for the one that you thoughtwas better of the two, presum­ably. I remember hearing an erstwhilefriend of Dr. Machen tell him to hisface that if it were a question betweenhimself and Dr. Speer this man wouldhave to choose Dr. Speer because hewas convinced he was the greater man.

I'll never forget the scene in thatGeneral Assembly. A minority reporton the matter of foreign missions hadbeen presented. I as the junior mem­ber of a two man minority had beengiven five minutes of the Assembly'sprecious time to defend the report.It was during the depression. The As­sembly could meet only for aboutfive days, and of course you couldn'texpect to give more than a total offifteen minutes to the unfortunatesubject of whether Biblical foreignmissions should be carried on or not.I finished my little speech and as Iwalked down the aisle the spotlightflooded the platform and the Moder­ator announced the next speaker insomething of these terms-"As hasbeen said of one of old, in him wasthe life, and the life was the lightof men, so it can be said of our be­loved Robert E. Speer...."

There is a rather interesting side­light upon that. One of the players inthat little drama was Dr. Harrison RayAnderson, now pastor of the FourthPresbyterian Church of Chicago. Writ­ing in Presbyterian Life for April 14of this year, in review of a recentbook, a biography of Robert E. Speerby Reginald Wheeler, he says-andI'm quoting Dr. Anderson - "His(that is, Dr. Speer's) is the only pic­ture on my study desk save Christ's.It is easy for me to think of the twoin close association. When I ask my­self facing a decision, what wouldDr. Speer do or say, it seems to me,what Jesus says or does. If this behero worship make the most of it . . .I was a member of the 1933 Assemblyin Columbus and remember how theAssembly weighed the charges against

93

Dr. Speer and then rose in apprecia­tion for him." That, my friends, thatis hero worship. And much more.But it is certainly an evidence of theexternalism which has gripped somuch of the Christian church andwhich threatens every church underheaven.

FORMALISMAnd the third area of battle is the

battle against formalism. Now formal­ism is simply maintaining the form,regardless of what the substance maybe. And there is nothing new aboutthis, for it is as old as sin itself. ThePharisees of Jesus' day scrupulouslybrought tithes of the least of theirsubstance and substituted that religionfor obedience to God. It has alwaysbeen easier to do than to be. And ex­ternalism and formalism have alwaysbeen the plague of orthodoxy. EmilOberholzer in a book which has rheamusing title, Delinquent Saints,quotes a seventeenth century writerwho says of the puritans "All theirreligion consists in observing Sundayby not working or going into tavernson that day." And formalism is cer­tainly not confined to modern Chris­tianity. Some of you remember theserio-comic scene in rhe novel MarjorieMorningstar, where the Passover isbeing celebrated-being celebrated bypeople who hadn't the slightest notionthere was anything objectively trueabout it but who thought that it wasa good thing to bind the family to­gether and to keep the traditions. Andthat is formalism.

There are many evidences of it inour day. The mere celebration of thebeginnings of Presbyterianism in thiscountry, which will be held in thePresbyterian Church and are beingheld all over the country are an evi­dence of it. Great rallies are beingheld and are being announced. To besure the organization of PhiladelphiaPresbytery in March, 1706 was a di­rect ancestor of the PresbyterianGeneral Assembly which will be heldin this ciry beginning tomorrow.In form they are the same organiza­tion but in substance they are totallydifferent organizations. We said alittle while ago that if it had not beenfor the decision of the Council ofNicaea in favor of Athanasius, thechurch would have been a totally dif­ferent church after that date than be­fore it, even though it might have keptthe same name and many of the same

94

words and forms. It would still havebeen a totally different church.

And I submit to you that while inform the church is the same, in sub­stance the little presbytery in 1706 andits spiritual ancestry is totally differentthan the organization which will meetdown town this week. Creeds are nolonger used to define truth but toconceal it. And everyone in the Pres­byterian Church has freely agreed thatcreeds can be interpreted to meanalmost anything.

Another evidence of formalism isthe use of "shibboleths." There areall sorts of shibboleths which are likelyto gain ground, particularly in ortho­dox churches. I could mention dozensof them, and I shan't take your timetonight. But you know something ofwhat they are. Orthodoxy is definedby whether you accept this or that orthe other shibboleth. In the Presbyter­ian Church it was, will you supportthe boards and agencies of the church?If you will, you are orthodox. Amongsome of our Fundamentalist brethrenit is, will you refrain from smokingand other worldly amusements? Andif you do, you are orthodox.

But formalism in our day is alsomanifested in the preparation for theministry. Prior to 1929 if a man hadbeen graduated from a respectableseminary, with a high academic stand­ing, he could be admitted into thepulpit of almost any Presbyterian andReformed church with little difficulty.But gradually the ministry has beenformalized and the first and foremostelement to be measured in the recep­tion of a minister is, where did yougo to Seminary? I am not in anysense detracting from the importanceof the decision as to where a manshould go to seminary, for the decisionto go to this or that seminary is one ofthe most important decisions that aman makes in his life. But I submit toyou that the first question with whichthe presbyteries should concern them­selves is, does the man know the gos­pel? Is he on fire with a desire topreach it? And is he competent topreach it? And when the-e thingshave been determined then the sub­ordinate shibboleths or something ofthe sort might fit themselves into theirright place. Churches have oftentimesbecome clubs or labor unions whichmust protect their members againstthe intrusions of outsiders. There arejust so many bricks to be laid and if

you have too many bricklayers youdepress the market. Such an attitudetoward the ministry, unfortunately, isthe attitude even in some goodchurches. But it is formalism, Phari­saism, just the same.

All these things are evidences ofPharisaism and the Pharisees are thosewho were most roundly condemnedby the Lord Jesus Christ. Their sinswere not considered to be trifles. Theirsins were the sins which compelledChrist to condemn them in the mostdreadful terms.

And so the battle must be foughtagainst religionism, against external­ism, and against formalism if we areto be really set for the defense of thegospel.

Assured Success in the Defenseof the Gospel

Now in the last place, rather briefly,let us look at the assured success inthe defense of the gospel. Can we beassured that we'll be a success? Can itbe that some crisis may actually bringfailure? More than once our futureshave turned on balances so delicateand precarious that even the slightestaddition to our burdens must havebeen fatal. But will success come?

May I suggest briefly four ways.First of all, it will come by our keep­ing our mind on the perpetual char­acter of the war. This is not the agefor ease in Zion. This is not the ageof the church triumphant. This is theage of the church militant. The Pres­byterian Church in the U.S.A. haslived since 1936 as if it were thechurch triumphant. Loetscher freelyadmits that the church since 1936 hasenjoyed the longest period of theolog­ical peace since the reunion of 1869.There has been no room in that churchfor thoughtful discussion of theolog­ical issues, for they might rock theecclesiastical boat which is sailing sosmoothly and so triumphantly.

Let it be constantly kept in mindthat there is no preaching of the gOJ­pel unless there is a continuous andrelevant setting forth of the gospelagainst the errors of the day. And thatsort of controversy, my friends, willnot hurt the gospel cause. As in theworld, life is a constant struggleagainst the cause of death, so therecan be no maintenance of life in thechurch without constant struggleagainst the causes of death in thechurch. And death in the church iscaused by the power of sin and Satan

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triumphing. More often it is forgot­ten, as Charles Hodge reminds us, inthe index volume of the PrincetonTheological Review-"Liberty is main­tained only by unsleeping vigilanceagainst aggressions of power; virtueis of necessity constant antagonism tovice and truth to error."

Winston Churchill, who certainlyshould know, reminds us that you can­not preserve a bastion without des­troying the enemy without, which isbut another way' of saying that youcan't maintain the status quo in achurch, but you must always be at­tacking the enemy lines.

In the second place you must re­member that the battles must con­stantly be fought at the very point ofcontact. Just about the finest piece ofwriting I have ever seen is that ofMartin Luther at this point. I'm quot­ing: "If I profess with the loudestvoice and clearest exposition everyportion of the truth of God exceptprecisely that little point which theworld and the devil are at that mo­ment attacking, I am not confessingChrist however boldly I may be pro­fessing Him. Where the battle rages,there the loyalty of the soldier isproved, and to be steady on all thebattle fields besides is merely flightand disgrace, if he flinches at thatpoint." The most subtle temptationthat comes to the people of God isto continue to give the appearance offighting battles, but not to be fightingthem at the point where the enemy isattacking. That is the failure of a greatdeal of evangelism in our day. Theevangelist talks of sin, but not thesins of the individuals he is addressingnor the church in which he is preach­ing.

And then the battle implies suffer­ing for Christ. Remember that whenthe apostle wrote this-set for the de­fense of the gospel-he was in prison.He tells us that the actions of hisenemies in imprisoning him have fal­len out to the furtherance of the gos­pel. Do we actually believe that willhappen? Do we actually believe thatif we suffer for Christ's sake it willbe for the good of the gospel?

An almost perfect illustration isavailable in our day. Certainly thepersecution which came upon Dr.Machen and his associates in 1936was a grievous experience. It was anexperience that almost crushed the sen­sitive saint. But when 18 years later

June 15, 1956

an all-out attempt was made by thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A. toswallow up the Presbyterian Church inthe U.S.-that is the Southern Pres­byterian Church-it is very likely thatthe expose of the persecution whichhad been visited upon Machen was thething which actually defeated thatunion. To be sure there were verymany elements in the Southern Pres­byterian Church responsible for de­feating union with the Northernchurch, a union which would havebeen a tragedy for our Bible-believingbrethren in the South. But I believethat the one element that tipped thescales was the effective use that theleaders in the Southern PresbyterianChurch among the conservatives inthat church made of the treatmentwhich was afforded Dr. Machen andhis associates in 1936. The experienceof persecution at that moment wasnot joyful, but that it worked outnearly a generation later for the furth­erance of the gospel in this countrycan hardly be denied. And we can beassured that that sort of persecution,when it is persecution of the cause ofrighteousness will always produce ef­fects which will strengthen the gospelin later days. The old truth that theblood of the martyrs is the seed of thechurch may sometimes be difficult tosee at a particular point, but it is atruth just the same and is that truthwhich the apostle enunciated when hesays that his imprisonment had turnedout to the furtherance of the gospel.It is sinful either to desire or to seekmartyrdom, but if it comes to maintainthe cause of the truth of God, it willsurely work out to the furtherance ofthe gospel.

And all this adds up to simply say­ing that success is assured if ourmessage and our ministry as a churchis relevant. And this is simply anotherway of saying that we shall succeedif we really preach the gospel. Thereis no preaching of the gospel that isn'trelevant. I can't say with too muchemphasis that the mouthing of piouswords is not preaching the gospelunless those words are relevant to thelives of the people to whom the gospelis addressed. The gospel is a messageof God to sinners and is the messageof God to sinners whom He earnestlycalls upon to repent and be savedfrom their sins. If it is not the mes­sage of God to sinners, if it isn'trelevant in the lives of the sinners to

whom it is preached, it isn't thepreaching of the gospel.

My friends, 1706 and 1936 are butmonuments on the perpetual battle­field of the war in which the churchmust constantly be engaged. If achurch forsakes that battle it may buildgreat cathedrals, it may attract vastmultitudes to religious meetings, itmay dictate the policies of govern­ments, it may rule the world, but itwill not be a church of Christ. It willbe a synagogue of Satan, an instru­ment in the hands of the god of thisworld who blindeth the eyes of thosewho will not see the truth.

And my friends, our church will re­main a church just so long as it isdoing battle with the full armor ofGod and with the Sword of the Spiritwhich is the Word of God. Ourchurch will remain a church just solong as it is a church which is setfor the defense of the gospel. Thenit will be a church in spite of itssmallness, in spite of its failures, inspite of the weaknesses and sins ofits ministers, of its elders, of its mem­bers. Then it will be a church in spiteof any persecution, in spite of thesneers and the jeers of its enemies, inother words it will be a church inspite of all the powers of hell. It willbe a church that succeeds as God countssuccess.

Fear not, 0 little flock, the foeWho madly seeks your overthrow;

Dread not his wrath and power.What though your courage sometimes

faints,His seeming triumph o'er God's saints

lasts but a little hour.

Be of good cheer; your cause belongsTo Him who can avenge your wrongs,

Leave it to Him, our Lord.Though hidden yet from all our eyes,

He sees the Gideon who shall riseTo save us and his Word.

As true as God's own word is true,Nor earth nor hell with all their crew

Against us shall prevail.A jest, and byword are they grown,

God is with us, we are His own;Our victory cannot fail.

Amen, Lord Jesus, grant our prayer!Great Captain, now Thine arm make

bare,Fight for us once again!

So shall thy saints and martyrs raiseA mighty chorus to thy praise,

World without end, Amen.

95

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The Presbyterian Guardian is a monthly magazine committed to stating, defending, andpromoting orthodox Presbyterianism Of - J~ forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Friends and others will wel­come them and in tu rn usethem to help others. Theymeet common problems:"Why I Go to Church," "Howto Pray," "One Church, Whymany Denominations?""Somethin9 for Nothing,""Are You Movie Minded?"IIAn Alarming X-Ray," .tc.lead naturally to the Biblefor further 9uidance.

When trouble, sorrow,need Or any other adver­sity afflicts your friends,be ready with a tractequal to the occasion.Many keep a variety onhand for sowing as seedin harrowed hearts.

Beautilul-in Colors!

Will lRAElS HELP?

BACK TO GOD TRACT COMMITTEE47 JEFFERSON AVENUE

Grand Rapids 2 Michigan

Send $1 lor a largesupply 01 many linetracts and booklets.

FORM

The morning discussion topic was"Prayer," with Mrs. Vera Jerrell andMrs. Carl Reitsma speaking on theObligation and the Privilege ofPrayer. This was followed by a dis­cussion period.

The Rev. Robley J. Johnston, Gen­eral Secretary of the Committee onChristian Education gave the afternoonaddress, on the subject: "ChristianEducation-Opportunity Unlimited."

The offering of $61.00 was dividedbetween the Christian Education Com­mittee and the Revolving BuildingFund of the Home Missions Com­mittee.

ORDERTHE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN1505 Race Street, Philadelphia 2, Pa.

Dear sirs:

Enclosed find $2.50 for which please send The PresbyterianGuardian for one year to:

ross will bring the addresses in theevening. The Rev. Robert L. Atwellis director of this Conference.

The total registration fee for eachConference is $16. Registration shouldbe made before August l.

The camp is located in FrenchCreek State Park 14 miles southeastof Reading, Penna.

Presbyterial of New Jersey

THE SPRING MEETING of the Wom­en's Presbyterial of the Presbytery

of New Jersey was held at FaithChurch, Pittsgrove, New Jersey. About53 delegates were present.

Mrs. LeRoy Oliver presided at thesessions. At the business meeting newofficers were elected. The new Presi­dent is Mrs. Hopwood Mullen ofWildwood; Vice-President is Mrs.Carl Reitsma of West Collingswood;Secretar- is Mrs. Robert Garrison ofBridgeton; Treasurer is Mrs. CharlesMullen of Crescent Park; and Secre­tary-Treasurer is Mrs. Edna Hartsellof Vineland.

Bible Conference atNational City

THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIANCHURCHES of National City and

Santee, California, enjoyed a BibleConference May 11-12. The Pine Val­ley Conference Ground was rented forthe two-day gathering. The Rev.Dwight Poundstone was guest speaker,and Chaplain Lynne Wade broughtthe concluding message on Saturday.The program included devotional serv­ices, study classes and discussiongroups. One hundred persons enrolledfor the conference.

G 0 W N 5

~: ~ • Pulpit and Choir'

. Headquarters for_.ti.- RELIGIOUS SUPPLIES

i;;"~_-J\ rri~ ...,.;........' E:<3'~rill: ',... - __ - .'

~'.' P< I "woe ON HOU'" 1c1~•. ;\. I. ~. ' +- )...:;,:~'anena CHURCH GOOO\ "'"'----~. \.' SUPPlY COMPMiY ~

'8]1 ]l .&.R(H s t e es t . PH'LAOfl~,",I" 7, PA,

Fikkert Ordained, Installed

A N ADJOURNED MEETING of thePresbytery of Philadelphia was

scheduled for Tuesday evening, June19, at Community Church of CenterSquare, Pa., for the purpose of ordain­ing Mr. Henry Fikkert, and of install­ing him as pastor of CommunityChurch. During the past year Mr.Fikkert has served as a teacher in theCamden County Christian Day School.He is a graduate of Westminster Sem­inary, is married and has one son,Stephen. Community Church has beenwithout a pastor for several years, andhas been under the direction of thesession, with Mr. Thomas Kay doingpastoral work, and several men including Mr. Kay alternating in conduct in.:;worship services. The Rev. Arthur W.Kuschke has been Moderator of thesession.

Two French CreekConferences Planned

Two FRENCH CREEK Bible Con­ferences are scheduled for the

summer. The first will be held theweek of August 20-27, and will bea junior conference, designed foryoung people who expect to be ingrades 6-9 in school this fall. Thetheme of this Conference is JesusChrist, the Same yesterday, today andforever. Courses will be taught by theRev. Elmer Dortzbach and the Rev.Leslie A. Dunn. The Rev. EdmundP. Clowney will address the group ontwo evenings of the week, and onthe other evenings there will be eithera campfire or a missionary speaker.The Rev. Lewis J. Grotenhuis is Di­rector of this Conference.

TJ->" Senior Conference will be heldAugust 27-September 3. Courses willbe taught by the Rev. Messrs. RobertS. Marsden, John P. Clelland, andHenry Fikkert. Dr. Lawrence N. Man-

96 The Presbyterian Guardian