USA > Virginia > City of Staunton > City of Staunton > The First Presbyterian Church, Staunton, Virginia > Part 15
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But perhaps I may point your attention to the adamantine industry with which it carried on its work through more than 1,200 sessions; to the unfailing courage with which it faced the threats of the King and of its ally, the Long Parliament-to the fidelity to God's Word with which it sought to base every principle of doctrine, government and worship upon its teachings-"to back every proposition with texts of Scripture " as was said of them; above all I may emphasize the breadth and catholicity of the Westminster Standards. There may be narrow Presbyterians; there can be no such thing as narrow Presbyterianism, if the Westminster symbols be an adequate expression of Presby- terian doctrine and polity. All who accept Calvanistic doctrine and Presbyterian order may accept its liberal and generous and yet care- fully drawn and scientific statements. Supra and Sub-lapsarians, Creationists and Traducianists, immediate and mediate Imputationists may all find ample room within its catholic embrace, which was widened of set purpose to enclose all these and many other parties, provided they only accept the historic Calvinism and a generous Pres- byterian polity. Nor is there wanting proof that the Westminster divines looked beyond the catholic Presbyterianism in which they believed with all their hearts to the wider interests of the Kingdom of God, of which they felt that all individual and national Churches were but fractional parts.
The address of Hon. Joseph Addison Waddell, of Staunton, Virginia, follows:
THE SHORTER CATECHISM
If the Legislature of Virginia or the Congress of the United States should pass an ordinance convening an ecclesiastical assembly to adopt a confession of faith and rules for church service, it would be considered a very strange proceeding. But that is what the
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Parliament of England did a little more than two hundred and fifty years ago, and it was generally regarded as entirely right and proper. It was not till the American Revolution that the Christian world began to understand that civil governments had nothing to do with church or religious affairs. It was almost universally considered the right and duty of the State to provide for the maintenance of religion, and that involved the necessity or expediency of prescribing the system of doctrine and the mode of worship to be supported.
Therefore, the Parliament and a majority of the people of England being dissatisfied with previous Church establishment, which had been abolished, the Westminster Assembly was convened, to recommend a Confession of Faith and Directory of Church Government.
It is not my appointed task, however, to speak of the members or the general work of the Assembly. One result of their labor has been assigned to me-the Shorter Catechism. A recent writer in a Quar- terly Review describes this Catechism as "the work of the greatest intellects in one of the most intellectual periods of Great Britain, and the fruit of the richest Christian experience of saints, at least as dis- tinguished as any that the Church of God has ever, at any one time, included in its membership."
The Larger Catechism was completed first, but the Shorter was first reported to the House of Commons. The framing of the Cate- chism appears to have been the work of a committee, and not of any one individual. It was brought to its present degree of excellence by the united deliberations of the whole Assembly; but its concise and logical answers are supposed to have been finally adjusted by Dr. Willis, a professor at Oxford, and one of the most distinguished mathe- maticians of his day.
The Catechism is not distinctively Presbyterian, as it is confined exclusively to doctrine and does not touch the subject of Church Government. It has been adopted, in whole or in part, by other churches besides the Presbyterian, and, with the exception of a few of the answers, is the creed of universal Protestantism.
It is divided into two parts. The first part, to the 36th question, inclusive, teaches what we are to believe concerning God, and the remainder what duties God requires of us. It embraces also analyses and expositions of the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer.
The title given by the Assembly was, "The Grounds and Principles of Religion, Contained in a Shorter Catechism." The Catechism is, therefore, a systematic statement of religious truths-a "body of divinity." Read the answers, omitting the questions, and observe the continuity. How grandly it begins: "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
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"The word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how to glorify, and enjoy him.
"The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe con- cerning God and what duty God requires of man.
"God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth."
Observe also the completeness and yet brevity of the answers. There is not a surplus or an unnecessary word, nor a word absent that ought to be there to bring out the meaning. In a literary point of view, and as specimens of the exact use of words, the answers are unsurpassed.
Examine the first answer for a moment. Ancient Stoics and Epicurians disputed as to the chief purpose of life-the object that should engage the attention and enlist the efforts of intelligent creatures; and some modern philosophers, so called, assign one object and some another. Here we are taught that we are created, first to glorify God. God made all things for His own glory, not as an arbi- trary and selfish tyrant, but as a beneficent being, for, secondly, He created man to "enjoy him forever," offering Himself with all the riches of the universe for the enjoyment of His creatures.
The second answer is full and complete. How shall we learn the way of duty and happiness? From our reason? Alas, no. The reason of the wisest of men often misleads them. From tradition, or the decrees of popes and councils? Far from it. But from the "Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- ments." "The Bible! the Bible! the religion of Protestants."
In the third answer we are taught that the Scriptures reveal to us all that is necessary for us to know concerning God, and fully informs us in regard to the duties God requires of us.
We are almost ready to believe that the fourth answer was given by inspiration. It is said that when the Assembly came to the ques- tion, "What is God?" they were overcome with awe-a finite crea- ture to give a definition of the infinite Creator ! Gillespie, of Scot- land, is said to have led the Assembly in prayer for divine guidance, and to have begun thus : "O God, thou art a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in thy being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth." "When he ceased," says Hetherington in his history of the Assembly, "the first sentence of the prayer was immediately written by one of the brethren, read and adopted as the most perfect answer that could be conceived-as indeed, in a very sacred sense, God's own answer, given to prayer and in prayer, descriptive of Himself."
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Recent investigations render it somewhat doubtful whether it was Gillespie who led the meeting in prayer, but the main features of the anecdote are probably true.
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All the cardinal doctrines of religion are declared and defined. The doctrine of the Trinity : "There are three persons in the God- head-the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory." The divinity and humanity of Christ are distinctly taught ; also the sover- eignty of God and the free agency of man; the doctrines of sin, of the atonement, of faith, repentance, justification, sanctification and adoption ; justification an act, santification a work-the former instantaneous, the latter progressive. Adoption is defined as "an act of God's free grace, whereby we were received into the number, and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God."
The Catechism is invaluable as giving definitions of Bible terms. We never have a clear-cut comprehension of any idea till we can express it in words. Till then our perception is more or less confused and unsatisfactory. We hear of repentance, faith, justification, sanctification. What do the words mean ? The answers are in the Catechism. "Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God, in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of and endeavor after new obedience." There is not a word about "penance," undergoing bodily or mental torture, which we are so apt to associate with the idea of repentance, as a preliminary, if not necessary, part of it.
Then as to faith, I have heard it said from the pulpit that faith may be described, but cannot be defined. To me, however, the definition of the Catechism is entirely satisfactory: "Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon Him alone for salva- tion, as he is offered to us in the gospel." And so of justification, sanctification, etc.
The definition of sin covers the whole ground. "Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God"-not only doing what is forbidden, but failing to do what is required.
Presbyterian doctrine is sometimes criticised as harsh and morose, giving an unattractive view of God. Let us see. We are taught in the Catechism that "Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies." And further: "The preface of the Lord's Prayer, which is 'Our
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Father which art in heaven,' teaches us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father, able and ready to help us; and that we should pray with and for others." Can any- thing be more winning than that? The Catechism does not ignore any of God's attributes. It declares His holiness and justice, but also sets forth His mercy to fallen and guilty man. Very different this from the short creed of a certain class of people who talk much about the "Fatherhood of God" and appear to credit the Divine Being with only one moral attribute, that of indiscriminate benevolence. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth"-whom ?- "them that fear Him"-who cherish.for Him filial reverence and love.
Let us look at a few other answers: "The souls of believers are, at their death, made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection." What comfort to the bereaved, at the open grave, is the fact thus declared, that the bodies of the dead, which they knew and loved, are not cast off by the Heavenly Father, but are "still united to Christ," who redeemed and cares for the body as well as the soul.
Take the 21st answer, "The only redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was and continueth to be, God and man, in two distinct natures and one person forever." Mark the word "continueth." He not only was man, but is man. We are disposed to dwell almost exclusively on the death of Christ, and sometimes forget that He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. We rejoice that He became man and suffered in our stead, and often overlook the fact that He is still man as well as God. This truth is beautifully expressed in the familiar hymn of the Scotch poet, Michael Bruce:
Where high the heavenly temple stands, The house of God not made with hands, A great High Priest our nature wears, The advocate of saints appears.
Though now ascended up on high He bends on earth a brother's eye, Partakes of the human name, He knows the frailty of our frame.
Shall the Catechism take the place of the Bible? By no means. As well take the dictionary in place of all works of literature. The Catechism is only a summary and orderly system of Bible truths, and definitions of Bible terms. We must read and meditate upon the Scriptures as the source of all religious knowledge, hope and comfort. But the Bible is not a system of theology. It is framed
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like God's works of nature. Flowers are scattered thoughout the world, and men are left to arrange and classify them and form a system of botany. Shall there be no science of botany because the flowers exist already? Shall there be no classification and definition of Bible terms and truth because the truths are already in the Bible? A chief object of the Catechism is to help us to understand the Bible.
The Shorter Catechism was presented to the House of Commons on the 25th of November, 1647, and the Larger on the 14th of April, 1648. The Confession, Catechism and Form of Government were formally adopted by the Parliament, but were set aside in England in the political revolution which soon afterwards occurred. We are told, however, that in several country districts in England, where Presby- terians once abounded, schoolmasters still have a right to small salaries, on condition that they shall teach the children the Shorter Catechism.
Both Catechisms were transmitted to Scotland, and were approved by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in July, 1648. The Presbyterian Church of Scotland had been organized nearly a hundred years before that date. And at this day, Scottish Presbyterianism, split as it is into three great sections, yet all retain their hereditary regard for the Shorter Catechism, which has been long used as the basis of education.
Ask a genuine Scotchman-not a renegade-the first question of the Catechism, and he will promptly give the answer. Ask him further to repeat the 23d Psalm, and nine chances to one he will give it to you in Rouse's Version:
The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want; He makes me down to lie In pastures green: He leadeth me The quiet waters by.
It has passed into a proverb that Scotchmen subsist on oatmeal and the Shorter Catechism.
The great Scotch preacher, Dr. Guthrie, visited the Jerusalem Chamber in which the Westminster Assembly sat, and writing a few days afterwards says: "It contains the oldest picture of any English King; and, in the Westminster Assembly, held a convention of the best, greatest and wisest men that perhaps ever met on this earth. I felt there as if I stood at the well-head of our national religion, and of those moral and religious influences that have made Scotland and Scotchmen what they are."
The doctrines of the Catechism, ardently believed in by the Covenanters, nerved those sturdy men to endure the persecutions they suffered. They were driven to take refuge in caves, they were shot down on mountains and moors, tortued by the boot and thumb-screw,
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and put to death on the scaffold; but they would not, by word or act, tell a lie. Frail women were not spared, and two of them, tied to stakes in the water, preferred to be drowned by the rising tide rather than deny their faith.
"At all times a man who will do faithfully needs to believe firmly," says Thomas Carlyle.
The Confession and Catechism were also adopted by the Presby- terian Church of Ireland, and from that country, more directly than from Scotland, they were brought to America. Wherever the Scotch · and Scotch-Irish imigrants have gone, these standards have been carried. The early Scotch-Irish settlers of this Valley were a restless race, often breaking up and moving to other places; and whatever they left behind, the Confession of Faith and the Shorter Catechism were not. In October, 1783, a large party of Augusta County people assembled at Staunton-men, women and children-preparatory to starting to Kentucky in search of new homes. They had to travel on horse-back through the wilderness, by a circuitous route beset by hostile Indians and ravenous beasts, and it required a month's time to make the journey. They could not take many domestic comforts with them, but we have a list of the books they carried along. First there was the Bible, second the Confession of Faith and Shorter Catechism, and third Rouse's Version of the Psalms of David.
Objection is sometimes made to requiring children to commit the Catechism to memory, on the ground that they do not understand it. But are children to be taught nothing they do not understand? If so, they will make slow progress in education, and the mind will be kept in a state of perpetual immaturity. Many a school boy is made to commit to memory the rules of Latin Grammar, which he understands as little as he does the Shorter Catechism. But he will understand them. The Catechism is wholesome nourishment for young people, although they may not fully digest all of it immediately; and for grown men it is strong and savory food. Safely fixed in the memory, devout persons find the answers subjects for meditation and sources of help and com- fort throughout life. The Scotch writer, Barrie, in one of his recent works, speaks of the Shorter Catechism as "one of the noblest of books," which Scottish children were accustomed to learn by heart, "not understanding it at the time, but its meaning comes long after- wards and suddenly, when you have most need of it."
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A venerable elder of the Presbyterian Church told me that, when a boy, he was required to commit the Catechism at the "old field school" he attended. He learned it so thoroughly that he could answer the questions and recite the answers from the beginning to the end, and then ask and answer from the end to the beginning. He
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expressed no regret that be had been thus drilled, but spoke of it with a glowing face and as a source of satisfaction to himself. An aged lady living in this town, more than ninety years old, blind and deaf, can still repeat the whole Catechism which was laid up in her memory during childhood.
The celebrated scholar, Dr. Schaff, has said, "The Shorter Catechism is one of the three typical catechisms of Protestantism which is likely to last to the end of time." And Thomas Carlyle said, "The older I grow-and I now stand on the brink of eternity-the more comes back to me the first sentence of the Catechism, which I learned when a child, and the fuller and deeper its meaning becomes:
'What is the chief end of man?
'Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.'"
Following is the address of Rev. G. W. Finley, D. D., of Tinkling Spring Church :
THE DOCTRINES OF. CALVINISM IN NOTABLE REVIVALS OF RELIGION
The place given in the rich programme of this occasion to the subject about which I am to speak precludes any necessity for setting forth in detail what we call Calvinistic Doctrines.
We would have you, however, to observe and remember that they are so called not because they originated with John Calvin-great and good man as he was-or were first taught by him. For they can be clearly traced back through the centuries, as held and taught by Anselm (1033-1109) ; Augustine (353-430) ; by inspired Apostles Paul, Peter and John; by Prophets of the Old Testament, and by the Master himself when in the flesh he trod the hills of Judea and walked by the bank of Gennesaret. Calvin only stated them clearly and fully and defended them with most signal ability.
That doctrines thus found in both the Old and New Testaments have had necessarily a large place and mighty power in beginning, promoting and testing true revivals we might confidently expect and assert. For they are the very instrument the Holy Spirit is engaged to employ in awakening, regenerating and sanctifying sinners "lost and ruined in the fall." They constitute that incorruptible seed "the word of God which liveth and abideth forever," by which sinful men are born into the kingdom-that truth by which, as the Great Inter- cessor prayed, they are to be sanctified.
But this simple argument from cause to effect, however conclu- sive to us, is not so satisfactory to others. Happily, the records, both sacred and secular, enable us to employ also the argument from effect to cause.
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If we examine carefully and without prejudice the outline of Peter's Pentecostal sermon (Acts II) we can not fail to see how full it is of just the truths Calvinists teach. For example see in verse 23, God's sovereignty and man's free agency, "Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken and with wicked hands have crucified and slain." And again in verses 32 and 33 see God's sovereign grace bestowed upon man without man's meritorious co-operation : "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear."
The Apostle Paul assures us that the gospel which he received not after man, "but by the revelations of Jesus Christ," and which he delighted to preach throughout the wide regions traversed by him and his colleagues, and through God's blessing with such marvelous power, was the very same as that recorded in his Epistles; that gospel he so clearly and strikingly summed up in many passages, notably, such as Ephesions II chapter, 8-10 verses:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of your- selves, it is the gift of God! Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Is not that what we call Calvinistic doctrine, pure and simple?
The pages of history afford abundant proof that after the days of the Apostles the departure from or denial of such doctrines gradually but surely opened the way for and brought on the long dreary night that came upon the Church and the world-a night relieved from utter darkness only by some stars kindled here and there by God to shine with the light of His own truth. These pages further show that the Great Reformation of the sixteenth century had its birth and its marvellous progress in the return to those doctrines so long obscured by the errors and formalism of the Roman Catholic and the Greek Churches. Almost every great leader in that mighty movement- Wycliffe, of England; Huss, of Bohemia; Jerome, of Prague-the grand- fathers of the Reformation as they have been called-as well as the fathers, Luther, Melanchthon, Zwingle, Calvin, Knox and Ford were one in theology, staunch supporters and teachers of what is now called Calvinism. It was not until the Reformation had taken root and spread far and wide throughout Germany and other lands that the unfortunate divergence in views arose among the leaders, which along with political complications so marred and hindered that glorious work. In brief, as so well put by a recent writer (Dr. R. C. Reed) "during the most critical century of the world's history, Calvinism had the
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whole field to itself. There was absolutely no competing system * * The mightest influence for good that emanated from any one man during 'that period ' emanated from John Calvin. His thought was felt by Germany and Switzerland, it was dominant among the Hugenots of France, supreme in Holland, fruitful in England and, through Knox, moulded Scotland."
And we may add, however much the world of to-day may delight in misrepresenting and scoffing at Calvinistic doctrines, the brightest glory of her past, the choicest privileges of her present, the strongest and most inspiring hopes for her future have been and are inseparably bound up with the reception and teaching of those despised doctrines.
But, my friends, I suppose that the object in bringing our topic to the front at this time was to show something of the place and power of Calvinistic doctrines in more modern notable revivals. And here my most serious difficulty is found in the attempt to compress within reasonable limits the abundant material afforded by the history of revivals for the last 350 years.
In searching its pages, I have been led along paths which have grown more and more fascinating, crowded as they were with proofs of God's own seal upon the doctrines of our Standards as He so signally blessed them in awakening and saving such multitudes of individual souls and in arousing sleeping and reviving dying churches.
With almost the force of a mathematical demonstration these records compel the conclusion that no great and real revival of relig- ion has ever begun and been maintained without the preaching and teaching of the most, if not all, of the distinctive doctrines of Calvin- ism, and that, too, even by some who in theory denied and rejected them.
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