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 BX 8955 .A32 1895 copy 1 
 
 Addresses delivered at the 
 quarter-century anniversar 
 
^vi^fif w^ 
 
 JUL 21 1922 *■ 
 
 ADDRESSES,,—— ..v/ 
 
 ,/ f. "— "\ 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE 
 
 Quarter-Qentury/^nniversary 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REUNION 
 
 Old and New School Presbyterian 
 Churches 
 
 Held in the Third Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 May 23, 1895 
 
 WITH A PREFACE AND OTHER INTRODUCTORY MATTER 
 
 Published by Order of the General Assei 
 
 Philadelphia 
 
 Presbytekian Board of Publication 
 
 AND Sabbath-school Work 
 
 1895 
 
Copyright, 1895, by 
 THE TRUSTEES OF THE PRESBYTERIAN BOARD 
 OF PUBLICATION AND SABBATH- 
 SCHOOL WORK. 
 
Contents, 
 
 Preface 
 
 Basis of Reunion, 1869 
 
 The Reunion Convention, 1869 .... 
 
 Action of the General Assembly, 1895 . 
 
 The Fundamental Doctrines of the Presbyterian Church 
 by the Rev. Francis Landey Patton, D.D., LL.D. 
 President of Princeton University 
 
 The Influence of the Presbyterian Church upon other 
 Churches, by the Rev. Henry Matthias Booth, D.D 
 LL.D., President of Auburn Theological Seminary 
 
 rAGB 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 II 
 
 17 
 
 33 
 
 The Growth and Future of the Reunited Church, by the 
 Rev. Wm. Henry Roberts, D.D., LL.D., Stated 
 Clerk of the General Assembly . , 63 
 
Preface 
 
 The Quarter Century Anniversary of the 
 Reunion of the Old and New School Presby- 
 terian Churches was celebrated by order of 
 the General Assembly, in the Third Presbyte- 
 rian Church, Pittsburgh, Pa., Thursday, May 
 23, 1895, at 7.45 P.M. An Anniversary serv- 
 ice was also held in the First Presbyterian 
 Church at the same time. The arrangements 
 for these services were made by the Commit- 
 tee of Arrangements of the General Assem- 
 bly of 1895, the Rev. William L. McEwan, 
 D.D., Pastor of the Third Presbyterian 
 Church, Chairman. 
 
 All the living ex-Moderators were invited 
 to these services, of whom the following were 
 present: 
 
 5 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 Rev. Henry A. Nelson, D.D., 1867; 
 Rev. Francis L. Patton, D.D., LL.D., 1878; 
 Rev. Henry H. Jessup, D.D., LL.D., 1879; 
 Rev. William M. Paxton, D.D., LL.D., 1880; 
 Rev. E. R. Craven, D.D., LL.D., 1885; 
 Rev. Joseph T. Smith, D.D., LL.D., 1887; 
 Rev. Charles L. Thompson, D.D., 1888; 
 Rev. William C. Roberts, D.D., LL.D., 1889 ; 
 Rev. William E. Moore, D.D., LL.D., 1890; 
 Rev. Willis G. Craig, D.D., LL.D., 1893; 
 Rev. S. A. Mutchmore, D.D., LL.D., 1894. 
 
 The presiding officer at the Third Church, 
 in the absence of the Rev. John C. Lowrie, 
 D.D., of New York City, the senior living 
 Moderator, was the Moderator of the sitting 
 Assembly, the Rev. Robert Russell Booth, 
 D.D., LL.D. The presiding officer at the 
 First Church was the Rev. William M. Pax- 
 ton, D.D., LL.D., the Moderator of the Gen- 
 eral Assembly of 1880. At the Third Church 
 prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Henry 
 A. Nelson, the Scripture lesson was read by 
 the Rev. Dr. E. R. Craven, and the speak- 
 ers were introduced by the Rev. Dr. S. A. 
 Mutchmore. At the First Church the Scrip- 
 ture lesson was read by the Rev. Joseph T. 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 Smith, D.D., LL.D., and prayer was offered 
 by the Rev. David R. Breed, D.D. 
 
 The speakers were the Rev. Drs. Francis 
 L. Patton, Henry M. Booth, and William 
 Henry Roberts, and their Addresses were 
 delivered at both churches. To give to these 
 Addresses permanent form, the General As- 
 sembly ordered that they should be published 
 by the Presbyterian Board of Publication and 
 S. S. Work. This volume is the result of 
 that direction, and for purposes of Informa- 
 tion, the Basis of Reunion and the Minutes 
 of the Reunion Convention of 1869, have been 
 included as introductory to the Addresses. 
 
 w, H. R. 
 
The Basis of the Reunion of the Old and 
 
 New School Presbyterian Churches, 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pa., November 12, 1869. 
 
 1. The Presbyterian Churches in the Unit- 
 ed States of America, namely, that whose 
 General Assembly convened in the Brick 
 Church in the city of New York, on the 20th 
 dav of May, 1869, and that whose General 
 Assembly met in the Church of the Cove- 
 nant in the said city, on the same day, shall 
 be reunited as one Church, under the name 
 and style of the Presbyterian Church in the 
 United States of America, possessing all the 
 legal and corporate rights and powers per- 
 taining to the Church previous to the divi- 
 sion in 1838, and all the legal and corpor- 
 ate rights and powers which the separate 
 Churches now possess. 
 
 2. The Union shall be effected on the doc- 
 trinal and ecclesiastical basis of our common 
 Standards; the Scriptures of the Old and 
 
10 THE BASIS OF THE REUNION. 
 
 New Testaments shall be acknowledged to be 
 the Inspired Word of God, and the only in- 
 fallible rule of faith and practice ; the Confes- 
 sion of Faith shall continue to be sincerely 
 received and adopted as containing the sys- 
 tem of doctrine taught in the Holy Scrip- 
 tures; and the Government and Discipline of 
 the Presbyterian Church in the United States, 
 shall be approved as containing the princi- 
 ples and rules of our polity. \_MinuteSy Gen. 
 Assembly, O. S. and N. S., 1869.] 
 
The Reunion Convention. 
 
 The two General Assemblies of the Pres- 
 byterian Church, meeting respectively in the 
 First and Third Churches of Pittsburgh, Pa., 
 having both been in due form dissolved on 
 Friday, November 12, 1869, at 10 o'clock 
 A.M., a Joint Convention, in accordance with 
 previous mutual agreement, was held imme- 
 diately after in the Third Church. 
 
 The members of the late N. S. Assembly, 
 preceded by their Moderator, Clerks, and 
 Reunion Committee, formed in order, two by 
 two, and proceeded from the Third Church 
 down Sixth avenue to Wood street, and took 
 position on the west side of the street, oppo- 
 site the First Church. At the same time, the 
 members of the late O. S. Assembly, pre- 
 ceded in like manner by their Moderator, 
 Clerks, and Reunion Committee, came forth 
 from the First Church and took position on 
 the east side of the street, directly opposite 
 
12 THE REUNION CONVENTION. 
 
 the other column, the head of each line look- 
 ing south towards Fifth avenue. 
 
 The following gentlemen had been ap- 
 pointed and consented to serve as marshals 
 of the day: Gen. J. K. Morehead and Messrs. 
 John D. McCord, William Rea, and George 
 H. Stuart. 
 
 The signal for the march having been 
 given, the two Moderators met in the middle 
 of the street, shook hands, and joined arms; 
 as was done also by the Stated Clerks, the 
 Permanent and Temporary Clerks, the two 
 Reunion Committees, and the remainder of 
 the two columns — the joint procession mean- 
 while marching forward, two by two. Old and 
 New School interlocked along the whole line, 
 down Wood street and up Fifth avenue, 
 Smithheld street and Sixth avenue (the whole 
 distance attended by a rejoicing crowd of 
 people) to the Third Church. 
 
 As the procession entered by the right 
 middle aisle, Wesley's noble hymn, 
 
 "Blow ye the trumpet, blow," etc. 
 
 was sung by the choir and the ladies who 
 had been previously admitted to seats as- 
 signed them. The greater part of the pro- 
 
THE REUNION CONVENTIOtJ. 13 
 
 cession found seats on the immense platform 
 occupying the southern end of the great 
 church, the remainder occupying the pews in 
 front of the platform ; after which the doors 
 were opened, and the house was immediately 
 thronged to its utmost capacity. 
 
 The services commenced at 1 1 o'clock a.m., 
 and were continued with unwearied interest 
 for more than three hours. Addresses were 
 made by the Moderators and others, both 
 ministers and elders, previously designated, 
 intermingled with prayer and songs of de- 
 vout praise and thanksgiving. 
 
 The following preamble and resolutions, 
 reported in behalf of the Committee of Ar- 
 rangements, by the Rev. S. W. Fisher, D.D., 
 LL.D., were passed unanimously: 
 
 Preamble and Resolutions Adopted in Joint Con- 
 vention BY the Members of the Two As- 
 semblies, November 12, 1869. 
 
 In the Providence of God, the two Branches 
 of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
 States of America, after a separation of 
 more than thirty years, are again united. 
 This event, In its magnitude, is unparalleled 
 in the ecclesiastical history of this country 
 
14 THE REUNION CONVENTION. 
 
 and almost of the world. It evidences to all 
 men the presence and unifying power of the 
 Divine Spirit. A fact so remarkable and 
 significant attracts interest and creates expec- 
 tation among even worldly minds. It awak- 
 ens the sympathies and the hopes of all who 
 truly love Christ among other denominations. 
 It awakens hope, since it illustrates the evi- 
 dent purpose of God to bring all his follow- 
 ers Into closer union in spirit, combine them 
 In action for the overthrow of error and the 
 diffusion of his truth ; it awakens expectation, 
 since they justly anticipate, on our part, from 
 this union of resources, spirit, and action, a 
 far more vigorous assault upon the forces of 
 darkness and more decided efforts to spread 
 the Gospel among all classes in our own 
 and other lands. 
 
 To us, as a Church, it is an era in our 
 history most memorable and hopeful; memor- 
 able, as it signalizes the triumph of faith and 
 love over the strifes and jealousies of more 
 than a quarter of a century; hopeful, since it 
 is not the result of decadence and torpor, 
 but of progress and augmented strength. It 
 buries the suspicions and the rivalries of the 
 past, with the sad necessity of magnifying 
 
THE REUNION CONVENTION. 15 
 
 our differences in order to justify our separa- 
 tion. It banishes the spirit of division, the 
 natural foe of true progress. In this union 
 is seen the outflashing of a divine purpose 
 to lead us on to greater self-sacrifice and a 
 more entire consecration to the evangelization 
 of the world. God has elevated us to this 
 commanding position, that we may see his 
 glory, and in the strengthened faith it in- 
 spires devote our united resources more 
 directly and efficiently to the salvation of 
 men. New and grander responsibilities rest 
 upon us. Jesus summons us to a holler faith 
 and more perfect consecration. He summons 
 this Church to answer his loving-kindness by 
 deeds commensurate with our renewed re- 
 sources. The times are auspicious ; every- 
 where peace reigns ; the gates are open, and 
 the millions of our own and other lands wait 
 for the Gospel. Our position is command- 
 ing; our resources great; our methods of 
 action well settled, simple and efficient. The 
 Spirit of God that has united us will inspire, 
 direct, and bless our efforts. While we 
 maintain the faith which Paul so fully un- 
 folded, and our Church, in the centuries past, 
 has, through manifold persecution and mar- 
 
1 6 THE REUNION CONVENTION, 
 
 tyrdom, so gloriously upheld, we are sum- 
 moned, as by the will of God, to arise and 
 build, to form new, broader, and bolder plans 
 for the extension of Christ's kingdom, and to 
 enter upon and execute them with apostolic 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 Let us then, the ministers, elders, and 
 members of this Church here assembled, as, 
 in spirit, standing in the presence of and 
 representing the entire body of believers in 
 our connection, and the beloved missionaries 
 in foreign lands who now await, with tender 
 and prayerful interest, this consummation of 
 our union — ^let us, in humble dependence 
 upon our dear Redeemer, with deep humility 
 in view of our past inefficiency and present 
 unworthlness, and as an expression of our 
 devout gratitude to him who has brought this 
 once dissevered, now united Church up to 
 this Mount of Transfiguration, signalize this 
 most blessed and joyous union with an offer- 
 ing in some degree commensurate with the 
 abundant pecuniary gifts that he has bestowed 
 on us. And, to this end, be it 
 
 Resolved y That it is incumbent on the Pres- 
 byterian Church in the United States of 
 America, one in organization, one in faith, 
 
ACTION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF iSgs- 1 7 
 
 and one in effort, to make a special offering, 
 to the treasury of the Lord, of Jive 7nillions 
 of dollars: and we pledge ourselves, first of 
 all, to seek in our daily petitions the blessing 
 of God to make this resolution effectual; and 
 second, that we will, with untiring persever- 
 ance and personal effort, endeavor to animate 
 the whole Church with the purpose to secure 
 the accomplishment of this great work before 
 the third Thursday of May, 1871. 
 
 34. Resolved, furtJm^ That the Stated 
 Clerks of the Assembly of 1869 be request- 
 ed to publish this paper, with the names of 
 the Moderators, Clerks, and Joint Committee 
 on Reunion, and the Commissioners now in 
 attendance, appended thereto. 
 
 At 3.30 o'clock P.M., the Convention united 
 in the celebration of the Lord's Supper at 
 the First Presbyterian Church, which also 
 was thronged in every part. ^^Miimles, Gen. 
 Assembly, O. S. and N. S., 1869.] 
 
 Action of the General Assembly of 1S95. 
 
 Resolved, i. That we request of Rev. W. 
 H. Roberts, D.D., a copy of his admirable 
 
l8 ACTION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBL Y OF i8gs. 
 
 address on the ''Growth of Presbyterianism 
 During the Past Twenty-five Years," for pub- 
 lication. That the same be issued as a sup- 
 plement of the Assembly Herald for general 
 distribution throucrhout our entire Church. 
 
 Resolved, 2. That we heartily endorse the 
 suofeestion made in the address, that an im- 
 mediate effort be made to raise one milHon 
 dollars as an Anniversary Reunion Fund. 
 
 Resolved, 3. That as our Church has con- 
 tributed during these twenty-five years forty- 
 seven millions of dollars to the missionary 
 work of our Church, and at the present time 
 there remains an indebtedness on this work 
 of about six hundred thousand dollars, that 
 the first contributions that are made to this 
 fund shall go to Uquidate this debt, and shall 
 be divided pro rata among the Boards of our 
 Church accordino^ to their indebtedness. And 
 that whatever sum is raised over and above 
 this debt shall be divided among the various 
 Boards according to the established system 
 of apportionment. 
 
 Resolved, 4. That a Committee consisting 
 of eighteen ministers and twelve elders shall 
 be appointed by the Moderator to carry out 
 the provisions of the above resolution. 
 
ACTION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF iSgs- ^9 
 
 Resolved, 5. That the Rev. W. H. Roberts, 
 D.D., be requested to act as Treasurer of 
 the Fund, and be authorized to employ such 
 clerical help as may most efficiendy accom- 
 plish the desired purpose. And that any 
 expenses, either of the Committee or of Dr. 
 Roberts, shall be borne by the Fund. {Min- 
 utes, 1895, p. 97-] 
 
 Resolved, That the Board of Publication 
 and Sabbath-school Work be directed and 
 authorized to publish in volume form the ad- 
 dresses delivered on the Twenty-fifth Anni- 
 versary of Reunion. {Minutes, 1895, p. 133.] 
 
The 
 
 Fundamental Doctrines of the 
 
 Presbyterian Church 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Rev. FRANCIS LANDEY PATTON, D.D., LL.D., 
 
 President of Princeton University 
 
The Fundamental Doctrines of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. 
 
 Moderator, Fellow- Aloderators of past Assem- 
 blies, Fathers and BretJireu constitiitiiio- this 
 General Assembly, and Christian Friends : 
 
 I am asked to speak to-night on the funda- 
 mental doctrines of the Presbyterian Church. 
 We are a doctrinal Church. The division 
 between the Old and the New School was a 
 division based largely upon doctrinal differ- 
 ences. The Reunion of the Old and New 
 Schools was a reunion effected upon a doc- 
 trinal basis. 
 
 Some of us, perhaps, took part in the dis- 
 cussion that ended in the Reunion. Many 
 of us remember the discussion, the efforts* 
 that were made to secure some sort of 
 agreement which would make a Reunion safe. 
 Some of us remember the Smith-Gurley reso- 
 lution, to the effect that certain modes of 
 viewing, stating and explaining doctrines 
 
24 A NNI VERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 should be freely allowed in the united Church, 
 as they had been freely allowed in the sep- 
 arate Churches. It seemed fair, but it never- 
 theless failed to satisfy the negotiating par- 
 ties ; and at last the Churches came together 
 on the basis of the Standards pure and sim- 
 ple. There was no stipulation ; there was no 
 contract; but there was an understanding, 
 and where an understanding exists, creating 
 in the minds of either party a legitimate 
 expectation, there is a moral obligation. 
 
 I believe in theology, but I believe even 
 more in moral obligation. We came to- 
 gether, I say, on the basis of the Standards 
 pure and simple, and we have stood together 
 ever since ; and we mean to stay together on 
 this simple basis of the Westminster Confes- 
 sion of Faith and the Larger and Shorter 
 Catechisms. 
 
 There has never come to the bar of this 
 Assembly, to my knowledge ( and I think I 
 know something about the cases that have 
 occurred in these twenty-five years), there 
 has never come to the bar of this Assembly, 
 and so far as I know there has never come 
 to the bar of any Presbytery in the land, 
 any case Involving the differences which ex- 
 
A NNI VE RSARY ADDR ESSES. 2 5 
 
 isted between the Old and the New School ; 
 and if a case should ever come in the course 
 of appellate process to the notice of the 
 General Assembly, I know what the result 
 will be. 
 
 If any minister who formerly belonged to 
 the Old School and holds Old School ideas 
 should ever be brought to book for his 
 supralapsarianism or his belief in premil- 
 lenialism, I can safely say for you, Mr. Mod- 
 erator, that you will see that the Assembly 
 goes right upon the case. And, if any New 
 School man, holding New School ideas, 
 should ever be brought to the notice of the 
 General Assembly, on the question of the 
 distinction between moral and natural ina- 
 bility, or on the subject of a general as dis- 
 tinguished from a limited atonement, I hope 
 that I may have the privilege of being a 
 member of that Assembly, that I may vote 
 for his acquittal. These differences have ex- 
 isted all along ; they exist now. Princeton 
 is alive ; Union Is alive ; Auburn and Lane 
 are here ; and these differences will continue. 
 
 Seeing, then, that differences of opinions 
 on minor matters existed In our Church, the 
 question very naturally arose whether we 
 
26 A VA V VERSARY A DDR ESSES. 
 
 might not revise the Confession so that it 
 might be made more comprehensive. Men 
 wondered whether we could not frame our 
 confessional statements so that they would 
 include all these differences. Some thought 
 it was not a wise or a necessary thing to 
 do, but the majority thought it was best at 
 least to try. We did our best, and we pre- 
 sented the results to the General Assembly. 
 You know what became of our report. The 
 Church was not satisfied with our v/ork. 
 The simple fact was that there were just 
 three courses open. We had either to cut 
 the Confession down to a minimum and 
 make it very small, or else we had to write 
 it Lip to date and make it very large, or 
 else we had to let it stand as it was ; and I 
 take it that the last was the best disposition 
 to make of the matter. So it comes to pass 
 that after twenty-five years of reunited his- 
 tory, we find the same condition of things 
 that existed at the beginning. There is the 
 living, thinking Church on the one hand, and 
 here is the fixed creed on the other. 
 
 The real attitude of the Presbyterian 
 Church is the attitude of a Church that 
 holds creneric Calvinism, as distinguished 
 
A NNI VERSA R V A DDR ESSES. 2/ 
 
 from specific Calvinism. I think this generic 
 Calvinism is enough to include not only our 
 Church, but other Presbyterian Churches. 
 They talk about a Greater New York and a 
 Greater Pittsburgh, I think we can talk 
 about a Greater Presbyterianism. The time 
 for these other unions, I take it, is not yet, 
 but the basis of these unions, when the 
 time comes, is none other than the West- 
 minster Standards, pure and simple. 
 
 Sometimes we are told that we are orean- 
 ized theologically to perpetuate and keep 
 alive the peculiar doctrines of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church. There is a certain sense in 
 which that is true, and yet that is not a fair 
 way to state it. The best statement, we be- 
 lieve, of evangelical religion, is the Calvin- 
 istic statement, but for Calvinism without the 
 evangelistic elements that it holds in com- 
 mon with the creeds of other Churches, we 
 should not have much zeal. I am free to 
 say that it is pretty small business for a 
 great Church like ours to engage in, if she 
 has no other function, if she can render no 
 greater service, than that of keeping alive an 
 interest in the five points of Calvinism. 
 
 The reason why we are organized theo- 
 
28 A NNI VER SA R Y A DDR ESSES. 
 
 logically and on the basis of a long creed, 
 is because it is the belief of this Church that 
 our ministers should hold and should present 
 to the people a complete statement of the 
 great plan of salvation. It so happens that 
 when we do make a complete statement, we 
 find that we differ from our Arminian friends, 
 who are trying to do the same thing in re- 
 spect to their doctrines, and from our Luthe- 
 ran friends, who are trying to do the same 
 in respect to their doctrines, and from our 
 Episcopalian friends, who are trying to do 
 the same thing in respect to their doctrines. 
 We sometimes insist so much on the dif- 
 ferences that emerge when these denomina- 
 tions formulate their creed statements, that 
 we overlook the laro-e amount of common 
 ground they occupy. But it is well for us 
 to remember that the doctrines which we 
 hold in common with our Arminian and 
 Lutheran and Anglican friends are of far 
 more importance than the doctrines in which 
 we differ ; we are, therefore, doing them a 
 service, as well as ourselves, when. In de- 
 fending our specific doctrines, we also de- 
 fend the doctrines that we all hold In com- 
 mon. Our sister Churches do not accept 
 
ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 29 
 
 our creed so far as it is Calvinistic, but it is 
 a matter of great moment to other Churches 
 what the Presbyterian Church is doing for 
 generic Calvinism, for in doing service for 
 generic Calvinism, she is doing service for 
 the great cause of evangelical religion. 
 
 I believe that we are peculiarly fitted for 
 rendering this service, for our Church has 
 very special interest in systematic theology. 
 She is fond of presenting the doctrines of 
 her system in their relations to one an- 
 other, and in a way that reveals their inter- 
 dependence ; and this interdependence of 
 doctrines, when it is realized, is a very 
 strong argument in their support. 
 
 I believe that this system of doctrine of 
 which I am speaking, which is implied in all 
 our preaching, and which pervades it all, 
 should be more particularly emphasized. It 
 ought to be preached, and not only preached 
 but defended. I doubt whether it is preach- 
 ed as much as it should be. Now the way 
 to preach doctrine, I think, is to preach it 
 in relation to the discussions of the present 
 time. It is a mistake to suppose that the 
 Church will not listen to doctrinal preach- 
 ing ; but doctrinal preaching, to be interest- 
 
30 A NA'I VERSA R Y A DDR ESSES. 
 
 ing, must relate Itself to living issues, to the 
 books men are reading and the questions 
 men are discussing to-day. I believe in Cal- 
 vinism, but I have no great respect for fos- 
 silized Calvinism. I believe in Aug^ustinian- 
 ism, but in an up-to-date Augustinianism. 
 This system of doctrine is not simply to be 
 preached ; but v^e are bound to defend it. 
 
 The debate of to-day is not a discussion 
 between Presbyterians of this school and 
 Presbyterians of that school ; it is not one 
 between Calvinism and Armlnlanism. You 
 see no articles In the reviews that are deal- 
 ing with supralapsarianism or infralapsarian- 
 ism. Men do not wax hot in controversy 
 over the distinction between mediate and im- 
 mediate imputation. One of the Interesting 
 features connected with the present discus- 
 sion is, that the great debate is between 
 those who believe In evangelical Christianity 
 — whether they be Calvlnlsts or Armlnlans, 
 whether they be Baptists, Presbyterians or 
 Episcopalians — and those who do not believe 
 in it. I believe that a large share of this 
 debate falls upon us. It Is not over, and it 
 will not be over for years to come. In this 
 great debate, unless the Presbyterian Church 
 
A NNI VERSA RY A DDRESSES. 3 1 
 
 shall be untrue to her past, false to just ex- 
 pectations and unworthy of her equipment, 
 our denomination must have a great place, 
 and render great service in support of evan- 
 gelical Christianity. 
 
 . Now, how does it happen that the necessity 
 is laid upon us of debating this issue be- 
 tween evanorelical and non-evanorelical Chris- 
 tianity ? It is because there are so many in 
 these days who do not believe that we have 
 any objective norm of truth. Nearly all of 
 the current heresies involve this question. 
 Look at it a moment. We are told that 
 doctrine is of no importance ; that we can 
 afford to dispense with dogmatic statements 
 or reduce them to a very few words. You 
 ask in reply : How can this be ? Do we not 
 find Paul insisting upon doctrine ? Are not 
 the Epistles to the Romans and the Ephe- 
 sians doctrinal epistles ? But if you had 
 come to regard Paul as a philosopher who 
 had added his metaphysical speculations to 
 the simple teachings of the Master, you 
 might feel as others do, who say, '' Back to 
 Christ," and who are ready to resolve Chris- 
 tianity into a morality based upon the Ser- 
 mon on the Mount. 
 
32 ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 
 
 There are men who tell us that the Chris- 
 tian consciousness must be reckoned with 
 when we are asking what we are to believe. 
 But you reply, How can that be if the Bible 
 is our rule of faith and practice ? If, how- 
 ever, you come to believe, as some have 
 come to believe, that the books of the New 
 Testament are the recorded experiences of 
 men, inspired it is true, but with an inspira- 
 tion in no way differing- in kind from the in- 
 spiration that the Church has always had, 
 you may come then to the conclusion above 
 stated in regard to the Christian conscious- 
 ness. 
 
 Some, again, tell us that emphasis has 
 been laid too much and too lonof on what 
 we know as dogmatic Christianity, and that 
 we must see more than we have hitherto 
 seen the ethical side of our relimon. You 
 naturally think, that we do not err in laying 
 emphasis on the dogmatic side of Christi- 
 anity, when you think of the way in which 
 Paul emphasized the fact that Christ is the 
 propitiation for our sins and that we have 
 redemption tlirough His blood. But if you 
 should ever be convinced that the Church 
 has altogether overestimated the value of the 
 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES, 33 
 
 Pauline literature, it mig-ht be very easy for 
 you to fall in with this desire for an ethical 
 Christianity. 
 
 The question of to-day is, therefore, the 
 old question concerning the sufficiency, the 
 authority and the inspiration of the Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 I have been asked to speak on the funda- 
 mental doctrines of the Presbyterian Church. 
 It is really very hard, as I go over these 
 doctrines — the Trinity, the person of Christ, 
 sin, atonement, the purpose of God, justifi- 
 cation, sanctlficatlon and the future state — 
 to say which are and which are not funda- 
 mental. They are all fundamental. Some of 
 them are of the very essence of Christianity, 
 and being fundamental to Christianity, are, 
 of course, fundamental to Calvinism. Some 
 of them, though not of the essence of Chris- 
 tianity, are nevertheless fundamental to Cal- 
 vinism, and therefore are fundamental in a 
 system of theology that is Calvlnlstlc. 
 
 There is, however, one doctrine that stands 
 apart from all others, for it is the doctrine 
 on which all others depend. I refer to the 
 doctrine concernlnor the Bible. We must 
 know what the Bible is in order that we 
 
34 ANNIVERSAR V A DDR ESSES. 
 
 may know how we are to esteem what the 
 Bible teaches. And the great question of 
 our time is simply this : What is the Bible ? 
 
 There are two ways of dealing with this 
 question : one is the ecclesiastical way, the 
 other is the way of scholarship. It is the 
 prerogative of the court of last resort to say 
 whether this or that utterance does or does 
 not contravene our confessional statements 
 regarding Inspiration. The Church, in her 
 judicial capacity, however, cannot settle the 
 great debate upon this question, neither can 
 she stop it. The debate is going on and 
 will go on, and it must be in the hands of 
 men who have special aptitude for the 
 work. 
 
 This quesdon that we are called to grap- 
 ple with in this age, is the greatest that has 
 ever come before the Church. It is not an 
 inquiry as to what the Bible says, but an 
 inquiry as to what the Bible is. If the 
 books of the Bible are simply the expres- 
 sions of the highest levels of thought that 
 men have reached In religious matters by a 
 naturalistic evolution of belief, they have no 
 authority. To us it is of no moment that 
 men believed in Christ's resurrection and 
 
ANNIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 35 
 
 had faith in his atonement, if, as a matter of 
 fact, he did not rise and made no atone- 
 ment. The record of Christianity, to be of 
 value, must contain satisfactory evidence of 
 the occurrence of certain great supernatural 
 events. For supernatural Christianity there 
 must be satisfactory evidence. I may say 
 that the New Testament record of certain 
 supernatural occurrences is true. But even 
 this would give us only a very meagre dog- 
 matic faith. For if we are to accept Paul's 
 commentary on the death of Christ and 
 Paul's exposition of Christ's atonement, we 
 must feel assured that he Is not simply ex- 
 pressing his private opinions. We must be 
 certain that his utterances are authoritative 
 utterances ; that we have in them not only 
 the record of supernatural events, but a 
 supernatural record of those events. We 
 need for the support of what we call evan- 
 gelical Christianity an inspired Bible. I will 
 not insist upon the word *' Inerrancy." It 
 Is enough when we are assured that the 
 Bible is the infallible rule of faith and prac- 
 tice, and that It is given by inspiration of 
 God. 
 
 This question cannot be adequately han- 
 
36 ANNIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 died by quoting proof texts out of the Bible 
 to prove its inspiration. It involves a great 
 deal more than some persons suppose. Men 
 are handling a very large topic when under 
 the conditions of modern thought they ask, 
 What is the Bible ? What does it mean ? 
 How did this great literature step into the 
 place it holds, and by what right does it 
 claim to rule the hearts and consciences of 
 men ? I have great faith in the outcome 
 of this discussion. I believe that we shall 
 know the Bible, and value it and reverence 
 it as we never did before. But I am not, I 
 cannot be, blind to the fact that the discus- 
 sion is a broad one and a deep one, that it 
 involv^es history and philosophy and literary 
 criticism ; that it was Inevitable ; that it is 
 irrepressible ; that it could not have come 
 earlier; that it could not be postponed, and 
 that the attitude which men are taking in 
 science, philosophy and criticism, make it a 
 foregone conclusion that the Bible must be 
 subjected to the critical handling that it is 
 the subject of to-day. 
 
 The effect of this will be to force men to 
 study the Bible more closely than they have 
 ever done before ; to neglect, if need be, all 
 
ANiWIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 2>7 
 
 Other forms of theological inquiry in order 
 that undivided attention may be given to the 
 Scriptures. The Bible will vindicate itself, I 
 do not doubt. 
 
 Nor do I doubt that the discussion that 
 is going on will give new interest to our 
 study of the Bible. The John Calvin of the 
 new theological era will believe, I doubt not, 
 in the same doctrines that the Calvin of 
 Geneva believed in ; but when he gathers 
 up the results of all this modern discussion, 
 he will present them not only as doctrines 
 that have a logical relation in a system, but 
 as divine ideas that have a chronolo^rical 
 sequence in the unfolding of a plan. The 
 historical method will leave its mark upon 
 theology we may be sure. And whether 
 that theology of the next era be called 
 Calvinism or Anselmianism or Augustinian- 
 ism, it will certainly be Paulinism. And as 
 evangelical Christianity is Paulinism, then if 
 Paulinism is true, we can say to-day, as 
 fearlessly as Paul said It to the Galatians : 
 " If any man preach any other Gospel, let 
 him be accursed." 
 
The 
 
 Influence of the Presbyterian Church 
 
 UPON other Churches 
 
 Rev. henry MATTHIAS BOOTH, D.D., LL.D., 
 President of Auburn Theological Seminary 
 
The Influence of the Presbyterian 
 Church Upon Other Churches. 
 
 Five and twenty years ago, the two 
 branches of the Presbyterian Church — the 
 Old School and the New School — were re- 
 united, after a separation of more than thirty 
 years. During the life-time of a generation, 
 these two branches of the one Church, hold- 
 ine the same standards of doctrine and ac- 
 cepting the same form of government, had 
 developed independendy. There was very 
 little contact of sympathy, and fellowship 
 was almost unknown. Old School ministers 
 were seldom seen in New School churches, 
 and New School ministers were" not often 
 heard in Old School pulpits. The benevo- 
 lent and missionary activities flowed in dis- 
 tinct channels. MIsunderstandinors were fre- 
 quent and misrepresentation was not un- 
 common. Charges of heresy were met by 
 accusadons of bigotry. Adjectives were 
 
 41 
 
42 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 cheap. Invective was the substitute of argu- 
 ment. The world looked on and wondered. 
 The angels must have wept. The blessed 
 Redeemer, who had suffered on the cross to 
 make men love one another, saw his own 
 disciples in this painful state of alienation, 
 suspicion and strife. 
 
 Then the gracious Spirit of concord and 
 of peace began to move, with Pentecostal 
 effectiveness, upon the minds and hearts of 
 Presbyterians ; and anxious questions were 
 heard, and noble resolutions were formed, 
 and prayerful conferences were held, and 
 sincere friendships were established, and 
 Christian character was appreciated. Soon 
 there was confession of sin, and renew^ed 
 consecration to service and devout gratitude 
 to God ; and the two branches of the one 
 Church were reunited upon the substantial 
 basis of mutual respect, confidence and affec- 
 tion. *'And what God hath joined together, 
 let not man put asunder." 
 
 Five and twenty years have passed, and 
 the reunited Presbyterian Church celebrates 
 a silver wedding, widi one million communi- 
 cants, w^ith splendid endowments of scholar- 
 ship, with enormous wealth and with repre- 
 
ANN I VE RSA R V A DDR ESSES. 43 
 
 sentatlves in all parts of the world. There 
 is no claim that this is the Church of Jesus 
 Christ, with the emphasis upon the article. 
 The Presbyterian Church recognizes other 
 Churches as true Churches of the one and 
 adorable ever-blessed Lord of all. The ac- 
 cepted notes of the Church are comprehen- 
 sive and catholic. Influence is possible, be- 
 cause there are Churches to be influenced. 
 Robinson Crusoe cannot be influential until 
 Friday appears. There must be at least two, 
 if influence is to be exerted. The Presbyte- 
 rian Church believes that there is a sister- 
 hood of Churches, whose relation is ex- 
 pressed by St. Paul, when he says that, "if 
 one member suffereth, all the members suffer 
 with it; or one member is honored, all the 
 members rejoice with it." This sacred rela- 
 tion of dependence and interdependence is 
 divinely ordained, as is evident in what the 
 Master said about the one vine and the 
 many branches, and in what his apostle said 
 of the one body and the many members. 
 There may be unity with diversity, or unity 
 without uniformity. 
 
 When then the question of the influence 
 of the Presbyterian Church upon other 
 
44 ANN I VERSA RY A DDRESSES. 
 
 Churches is to be considered, it Is proper, 
 first of all, to understand just what should 
 be the Influence of a Church of Jesus Christ. 
 Presbyterian Intiuence must be Christian In- 
 fluence. If It Is not, so much the worse for 
 Presbyterlanlsm. But Presbyterians wish to 
 know the mind of Christ ; and when that 
 mind Is known, Presbyterians are ready to 
 yield obedience to Its teaching. They cannot 
 fail, therefore, to be Interested In an Inquiry 
 that seeks to learn what Is the legitimate 
 influence of a Christian Church. 
 
 I. The influence must be favorable to the 
 truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
 truth. The Church is God's witness to the 
 truth, and the truth is the utterance of God. 
 It is written In the book of Genesis: ''And 
 God said." That Is the first hint that God 
 reveals. But when God speaks, the truth Is 
 made known In the works of nature. In the 
 divinely ordered progress of events, In the 
 Sacred Oracles, or In the presence of the 
 Incarnate Son. The truth Is one and harmo- 
 nious. Apparent discrepancies and contradic- 
 tions there may be, because the human per- 
 spective Is not complete and perfect. But 
 when we see as we are seen, and when we 
 
A NNI VER SA RY A DDR ESSES. 4 5 
 
 know as we are known, we shall accept the 
 word of that master mind, Baron von Hum- 
 boldt, and shall say of the entire economy, 
 " Cosmos." For back of the trudi is God, 
 who is always and forever truth. 
 
 The Church has received the truth as a 
 trust. This is especially so as to the truth 
 of Holy Scripture, which is " the only infal- 
 lible rule of faith and pracdce." Holy Scrip- 
 ture is "the divine library," because this 
 book of many books was given by God, 
 through the inspired activity of holy men, in 
 order that we may know authoritatively what 
 we are to believe concerning God, and what 
 duties God requires of us. The book finds 
 its excellence and glory in its reveladons of 
 him who was the wisest among the holy, 
 and the holiest among the wise. *' The tes- 
 timony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." 
 To know him Is life eternal. He is the ripe 
 fruit of this tree of life, whose leaves are for 
 the healing of the nations. 
 
 If the truth is a trust, the Church is a 
 steward. Stewardship has its own peculiar 
 responsibilides and duties. The property 
 entrusted must be inventoried, examined, 
 utilized, improved and transmitted. When 
 
46 ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES, 
 
 St. Paul said, "I have kept the faith," he 
 did not repeat the humiliating confession of 
 the wicked and slothful servant, who had hid 
 his talent in the earth, and who was able to 
 return to his lord just what he had received ; 
 only that and nothing more. The faith, as 
 the great apostle had kept it, had been care- 
 fully considered in the profound studies of 
 that imperial intelligence, and had been 
 applied to every form of sin and misery in 
 the active service of that prince of mission- 
 aries. One has only to read the Epistles to 
 the Romans and to the Corinthians to un- 
 derstand what St. Paul meant by keeping the 
 faith. When he wrote to Timothy from his 
 prison cell in Rome, the faith was better un- 
 derstood, was of more practical service to 
 the Church and the world, than it was when 
 he entered the synagogue of Damascus to 
 preach his first Christian sermon. 
 
 The truth is a seed, a living thing, to be 
 planted, and replanted, to be developed and 
 expanded under the blessed warmth and the 
 genial light of the Holy Spirit, who is to 
 make plain all truth, as the Church may be 
 able to receive it. The Church does not 
 hold the truth as the warden of the Tower 
 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES, 4/ 
 
 of London holds the crown jewels of Eng- 
 land, lo be kept safely, and to be handed 
 over to a successor. The truth is for use, 
 and use means study and work ; and with 
 both, new views of the truth. 
 
 Consequently the Church has a definite 
 mission. There must be constraint, inasmuch 
 as men everywhere must be told that they 
 must accept certain essential and necessary 
 portions of the truth in order to salvation. 
 But there should not be restraint inasmuch 
 as Pauline intellects must inquire, sweeping 
 the horizons and mountinof to the throne of 
 God. Mary of Bethany does well in insist- 
 ing that her neighbors and friends must be 
 meek disciples, sitting at the Saviour's feet. 
 But she would have erred sadly if she had 
 rebuked St. John, when he had returned 
 from his inspired flight into the heavens, to 
 write that sublime sentence, '' In the begin- 
 ning was the Word, and the Word was with 
 God, and the Word was God." Disciples 
 are a necessity. Theologians are God's 
 gifts. Let us constrain men to become disci- 
 ples. Let us not restrain our great thinkers, 
 who reverently search the heights and the 
 depths of the truth. 
 
48 ANNIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 The Church of Jesus Christ must prize the 
 truth. Nothing can take the place of the 
 truth. No voice of authority, no reverence 
 for tradition, no attachment to statements 
 should ever interfere with the study of the 
 truth. This has been the mistake of the 
 Church of Rome. Let it once be known 
 that the Church has eyes in the back of her 
 head only, that the door of inquiry has been 
 locked and the key thrown away, that any- 
 thing is to be believed if Pope or Council 
 says so, and the Middle Age will draw on 
 apace, and history will repeat itself in dec- 
 ades of bigotry, superstition and intolerance. 
 
 The truth first, last and always should be 
 the watchword of the Church, which is the 
 representative of one who calmly said. " I 
 am the truth." To him the Church cannot 
 be superior. The mission of the Church 
 must ever be the mission of the Lord him- 
 self. That was a supreme moment, when 
 the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, faced 
 Jesus of Nazareth in Herod the Great's 
 palace. Pilate was a typical Roman of the 
 empire — luxurious, politic, sceptical and un- 
 sympathetic. Jesus of Nazareth was his 
 prisoner. In yonder garden of Gethsemane 
 
ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 49 
 
 he had been arrested, and dirough die 
 streets of the city he had been rudely 
 draoraed. Now he stands alone, soiled and 
 worn and weary, before Caesar's representa- 
 tive. The contrast is impressive. With 
 many questions, Pilate inquires of Jesus, 
 coming at last to the crucial question : 
 '' Art thou a kinor- ?" Then was heard an 
 answer, whose meaning men are still pon- 
 dering ; for Jesus replied : " Thou sayest 
 that I am a king. To this end have I been 
 and to this end am I come into the world, 
 that I should bear witness to the truth. 
 Every one that is of the truth heareth my 
 voice." 
 
 Can we ask for more, we w^ho recognize, 
 in Pilate's prisoner, the Son of God, equal 
 with the Father, our incarnate Lord and 
 Saviour ? 
 
 2. The influence of the Church of Jesus 
 Christ should be promotive of holiness in^ 
 character and conduct. Holiness is by the 
 truth ; the answer to the Prayer of Inter- 
 cession, " Sanctify them in the truth, thy 
 word is truth." A Church that is indifferent 
 to holiness has become a synagogue of Sa- 
 tan. Stately cathedrals may shelter such a 
 
5 O ANNl VERSA R Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 Church, magnificent services may win to it 
 adherents, gold and silver may be freely 
 poured into its treasury, the great men of 
 the eardi may be enrolled in its member- 
 ship, but if holiness is the one thing lack- 
 ing, that Church is dead, even if it bears 
 an honored name. The glory of the Church 
 is the holy living of the membership. 
 " Herein is my Father glorified," said Jesus, 
 " that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be 
 my disciples." That branch of the holy 
 Church Catholic that can produce holy men 
 and women — and the most of them — is the 
 branch that Is drawing life from the living 
 vine. Surely we can agree as to this, and 
 so we are ready for a third statement. 
 
 3. The Influence of the Church of Jesus 
 Christ must be responsive to the great com- 
 mission. The truth, holiness, missionary zeal 
 — this is the trinity of the Church's graces. 
 Holiness through the truth and service 
 through holiness. The Church must be a 
 working Church. Our Lord has no visible 
 hands, feet or lips, save those of his Church. 
 Sin is to be overcome by the Church. The 
 army of the Lord must be In batde all of 
 the time. Recruits are to be enlisted, disci- 
 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 51 
 
 pllned and sent forward to the field, where 
 the cannonading is incessant. Oh for more 
 of the soldier's ardor! Oh for more of the 
 enthusiasm of warfare ! Ours is a holy war. 
 Immanuel is the Captain of our salvation. 
 Victory is assured. Oh for more faith, more 
 courage, more heroism ! It was on Lookout 
 Mountain, where the battle raged above the 
 clouds, that a surgeon bent over a young 
 soldier, who had been wounded in the 
 breast. There was much blood and dust 
 upon the coat, and the wound was not 
 readily detected. '' Where were you hit, 
 my boy," asked the surgeon, '' where were 
 you hit?" "Almost at the top, sir," was 
 the faint reply. "No, no," interrupted the 
 surgeon, " not that. Where did the ball 
 strike you ?" And again the heroic thought 
 found utterance, as . the dying soldier an- 
 swered, *' I was almost at the top, sir." 
 And with that he died. Patriotism will lead 
 men to count life cheap, if they can carry 
 the flag of their country into battle above 
 the clouds ; what will the love of Jesus do 
 for the Christian who is engaged in a holy 
 war ? Oh, friends, the Church has not met 
 duty and privilege. We have too much 
 
52 A NNI VERSA R Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 camp life. We are too fond of dress 
 parade. We are resting in the trenches. 
 Too few of us are on the battle line. Here, 
 however, we find the legitimate influence of 
 a Church of Jesus Christ. Witnessing, liv- 
 ing, working, that Jesus Christ may be 
 known, and honored, and served, and loved ; 
 that is the influence ; and God grant that 
 it may abound yet more and more. 
 
 Now we may ask, and answer, a second 
 question, which is this : Why is the Presby- 
 terian Church able to exert the influence of 
 a Church of Jesus Christ ? We may reply, 
 at once, by pointing to the Standards of the 
 Church, especially to the first chapter of the 
 Confession of Faith, and to the definition of 
 the Church. That first chapter is a clear 
 statement of fundamental principles. No 
 Church with such principles can be true to 
 its Standards and be false to the truth. 
 God is distinctly recognized as the Author 
 and the Inspiration of Revelation, while the 
 supremacy of Holy Scripture, and the right 
 of private judgment under the enlightenment 
 of the Holy Spirit, are -as clearly stated. 
 That first chapter is a wonderful composi- 
 tion ; and the chapters that follow it have 
 
ANN I VERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 5 3 
 
 not, as yet, been surpassed as expressions 
 of the truth. That they may be surpassed, 
 and that they will be surpassed. Is certain. 
 For, as the years go on, the Holy Spirit 
 will lead Presbyterians of this, or of another, 
 generation, to state more simply and con- 
 cisely the essential and necessary truths of 
 the system, which we believe is the thought 
 of God. 
 
 Then the definition of the Church that rec- 
 ognizes the sovereign grace of God in the 
 call of the divine Spirit, and that finds the 
 Church visible '*in all those throughout the 
 world that profess the true religion, together 
 with their children," does not unchurch any 
 of the true followers of our Lord, is able 
 to accept as valid the orders that may still 
 be regarded as irregular, and enables the 
 Presbyterian Church to exert a powerful in- 
 fluence in the reunion of Christendom. We 
 prefer our own doctrine and polity, else we 
 should seek some other. But in so saying, 
 we can rejoice heartily in the prosperity of 
 the other branches oi the visible Church, 
 whose preferences, as to details of belief or 
 order, may not be ours. The Presbyterian 
 Church can acknowledge the ordinations and 
 
54 A NNI VERSA RY A DDR ESSES. 
 
 the baptisms of other Churches, even when 
 those Churches refuse to allow that our min- 
 isters have been ordained, or that our mem- 
 bers have been baptized. 
 
 Then the equipment of the Presbyterian 
 Church is favorable to holiness and to ser- 
 vice. Ours is a Biblical Church, and the 
 Bible makes holiness. In our sanctuaries 
 pictures and crucifixes are not commended ; 
 but the Holy Bible is. When in the city 
 of Edinburgh, I saw the Cameronian High- 
 landers marching from the Castle to St. 
 Giles Cathedral. They were in full uniform. 
 Yet not a weapon of war was visible, save 
 the side arms of the officers, and ''the sword 
 of the Spirit, which is the Word of God," 
 held firmly in the hand of every soldier. As 
 I saw them marching by, and recalled the 
 splendid achievements of the Cameronians 
 in many a struggle for liberty, I said: "The 
 Hiorhland blood is warlike. Blood tells. But 
 
 o 
 
 Bible and blood are invincible." 
 
 The organization of the Presbyterian 
 Church was eloquently presented in the ser- 
 mon of the retiring Moderator, Dr. Mutch- 
 more, whose earnest appeal for work should 
 stir the entire Church to renewed activity. 
 
ANNIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 55 
 
 The machinery is abundant. Now what of 
 the spirit? Children may play with cannon 
 balls and with gunpowder, and doves may 
 build their nests in cannons' mouths. But 
 when a spark touches the gunpowder back 
 of the cannon ball in the cannon, then look 
 out. Has the Presbyterian Church the true 
 spirit of service? I believe that she has. 
 Her membership are anxious to be led to 
 renewed activity. The appeal is for leader- 
 ship against every form of evil. We are a 
 prayerful people. The Holy Spirit is our 
 dependence. We want to go forward. Many 
 of us are eager for less debate and more 
 evangelization. The open doors of opportu- 
 nity make us impatient of delay. We cannot 
 bear to hear that the chariot wheels are 
 dragging heavily, that debts are paralyzing 
 our missionary agencies. We must go for- 
 ward. Our young men and maidens are 
 ready. The call is loud. Our ambition is 
 that this grand Church of our fathers shall 
 stand conspicuous as the greatest mission- 
 ary force in the world. 
 
 You may remember the song. The sing- 
 ing pilgrim — Philip Philips — used to sing it 
 during the sad, dark days of the war — 
 
56 ANNIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 " If you cannot cross the ocean 
 
 And the heathen lands explore. 
 You can find the heathen nearer, 
 
 You can help them at your door. 
 If you cannot speak like angels. 
 
 If you cannot preach like Paul, 
 You can tell the love of Jesus, 
 
 You can say he died for all." 
 
 That is Presbyterianism, as we would see the 
 Church, and as we are led by the Standards 
 to contemplate the proper activity of the 
 Church. This should be our influence. Is 
 it? Let the historian reply. Mine is not his 
 province. From the position of a pracdcal 
 consideraUon, let me tell you, as I close : 
 
 4. How the Presbyterian Church may 
 reach other Churches with the influence of a 
 Church of Jesus Christ. Surely you antici- 
 pate me. You already know that I shall 
 say, By being faithful. That is all. Fidelity 
 to the Standards of the Church, and fidelity 
 to the spirit of the Church will prove the 
 blessed influence. This fidelity will find the 
 Presbyterian Church in three places, where 
 many of us are glad to find her. 
 
 a. In the study, seeking to know the 
 truth. The Presbyterian Church is confess- 
 edly an intellectual power. What the Pres- 
 
A NNI VER SA R V A DDR ESSE S. S7 
 
 byterlan Church has to say commands atten- 
 tion everywhere. Our scholarship is honored. 
 Schools, colleges and seminaries are always 
 found alongside of our sanctuaries. The 
 three conspicuous theologians of the century, 
 here in the United States, have been Charles 
 Hodge, Henry B. Smith and William G. T. 
 Shedd, all Presbyterians. I knew them well, 
 and two of them were my instructors. They 
 were truth-loving men, and they labored, by 
 day and by night, to make the truth plain to 
 the Church and the world. They must have 
 successors. Our system of doctrine was 
 modified, in its interpretation and application, 
 by these great men, who brought the popular 
 interpretation to the test of the truth. And 
 the end is not yet. 
 
 Whatever interpretation cannot bear the 
 test of the truth must be modified or 
 dropped. We build the sepulchres of these 
 noble students, whose work is finished, and 
 we are apt to forget that the time was, when, 
 even they, were as a voice, crying in the 
 wilderness, with few to hear, and fewer still 
 to heed. Let us learn the lesson of the 
 past. Devout scholarship must be honored. 
 We must have more confidence in the truth. 
 
58 A NNI VER SA RY A DDR ESSES. 
 
 We must await with patience, until hypoth- 
 eses have become established or scattered to 
 the winds. Then may we expect that our 
 Church will influence other Churches in favor 
 of the truth, and will lead them to cast away 
 the accretions of venerable superstitions, that 
 together we may rejoice in the simplicity 
 that is in Christ. 
 
 b. Fidelity will find the Presbyterian 
 Church in the closet, kneeling in prayer to 
 God. If we are to be a holy Church, we 
 must be a praying Church. One of the 
 fathers, whose memory is still like spikenard, 
 was old Dr. Skinner, and we knew him as 
 a holy man of God. And he once told me 
 how much of his day was given to prayer. 
 We believe in prayer. The Holy Spirit is 
 given in answer to prayer. Let us match 
 our belief with our practice, and what re- 
 vivals will speedily be recorded in the his- 
 tory of our Church ! 
 
 c. If faithful, the Presbyterian Church will 
 be on the field, preaching the Gospel to 
 every creature. Our blue banner floats, to- 
 day, at Point Barrow on the Arctic Ocean ; 
 and there is no Christian flag floating nearer 
 to the North Pole. Thank God for that ! 
 
ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 59 
 
 Our Presbyterian women went as missiona- 
 ries to Alaska, when Mr. Seward's purchase 
 of that wealthy territory was still the ridicule 
 of the American people. Thank God for 
 that ! Our Presbyterian preachers penetra- 
 ted Utah, when Brigham Young was the- 
 despotic ruler of that fair portion of the 
 national domain, and when a Gentile preach- 
 er's head was not safe on his shoulders over 
 night. Thank God for that ! Presbyterian 
 scholars have made the slope of Lebanon 
 the beacon of all the Arabic-speaking world. 
 Thank God for that ! Presbyterian heroes 
 and heroines have gone, with the light of 
 life, into the darkness of Africa. Thank 
 God for that ! Presbyterian educators have 
 had their part In the awakening of Japan 
 and China and India. Thank God for that ! 
 Ours is a missionary Church. Remember 
 Henry Kendall, that grand statesman in 
 Home Missions, who has written his name 
 across this broad continent, and whose rec- 
 ompense in heaven has already been be- 
 stowed; and John C. Lowrie, who after years 
 of service abroad has given us years of wis- 
 dom at home, and who still abides with us 
 as a benediction upon our work. These men 
 
6o ANNI VERSA R V ADDRESSES. 
 
 and others like them are Presbyterianism In- 
 carnate, on the Home and the Foreign Field. 
 Their Presbyterianism Is grandly Intluentlal. 
 Let us have more of it. Let all the Churches 
 know that our young men and maidens are 
 recruits ; that our equipment Is complete and 
 effective ; that our treasury Is full, and over- 
 flowing ; that we are about the Master's busi- 
 ness. Let other Churches have a monopoly 
 of strife over questions of orders and succes- 
 sions, of baptisms and the laying on of hands, 
 of dogmatic subtleties about which one man 
 knows as much as another, and no man 
 knows anything at all. Let the Presbyterian 
 Church be content to exert an influence, 
 direct and positive, in favor of the truth, in 
 favor of holiness, and in favor of bringing 
 this world to the feet of Jesus Christ. To 
 make him known, to acquaint men with his 
 sympathy and love, to brighten life with his 
 presence, and to people heaven with the 
 willing captives of his redeeming grace — let 
 that be the ambition of this grand old 
 Church, whose history Is prophetic of the 
 triumph of our Lord and King. 
 
 That was a period of anxiety and of sore 
 distress, when the English garrison of Luck- 
 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 6l 
 
 now awaited the coming of Sir Henry Have- 
 lock. Men's hearts failed them, and women 
 died through fear and grief. Within the gar- 
 rison, starvation was a threatening presence ; 
 while without, the angry roaring of the blood- 
 thirsty Sepoys was incessant. Then one day, 
 through the camp, there ran a Scottish 
 maiden, with hair disheveled, and the wild 
 eyes of a hungry maniac, shrieking, as she 
 ran: " Dinna ye hear It? Dinna ye hear it? 
 'Tis the pibroch of the Highlanders." But 
 ears, grown dull after many disappointments, 
 could detect only the mad outcries of the 
 dreaded foe, and the command V\;"ent forth 
 that the Scottish maiden should be silenced. 
 Silence, however, could not be enforced, and, 
 ever and anon, the garrison rang with the 
 exclamation : '* Dinna ye hear it ? Dinna ye 
 hear it ? ' Fis the pibroch of the Highland- 
 ers." Soon there was borne upon the air, 
 those familiar strains that never fail to 
 quicken the heart-beats of Scodand's sons, 
 as the beleaguered, despairing garrison heard 
 the bagpipes playing, " The Campbells are 
 Coming." Then strong men bowed their 
 heads, and wept ; and women fell upon their 
 knees In prayer, and Havelock was at the 
 gates, and Lucknow was delivered. 
 
62 ANNl VERSAR V ADDRESSES. 
 
 We observe, and we listen to the sounds 
 around us ; and it sometimes seems as if 
 Satan had been let loose to turn this fair 
 earth into hell itself Poverty, misery, shame, 
 violence, oppression, war, are so evident, and 
 so alarming. And the Churches appear to 
 be so indifferent, so much occupied with 
 themselves, so eager for strife, that in our 
 grief of heart we cry, " How long, oh Lord, 
 how long ?" Then, in our extremity, when 
 almost ready to despair, we realize that de- 
 liverance is at hand, for above the tumult 
 and the strife we hear the notes of that glo- 
 rious Christian song, which was heard five 
 and twenty years ago, within these sacred 
 walls, when the reunion was accomplished, 
 and which expresses the faith, the purpose 
 and the hope of every Church of Jesus 
 Christ ; for the holy ones, who love the 
 Lord, and who are waiting and working for 
 his appearing, are singing sweetly : 
 
 "All hail the power of Jesus' name. 
 Let angels prostrate fall ; 
 Bring forth the royal diadem, 
 And crown him Lord of all." 
 
 It is enough. Deliverance is at hand. 
 The influence of the Church is evident. 
 Jesus is crowned. 
 
The 
 
 Growth and Future of the 
 
 Reunited Church 
 
 BV THE 
 
 Rev. \VM. HENRY ROBERTS, D.D., LL.U., 
 Stated Clerk of the General Assembly 
 
The Growth and Future of the 
 Reunited Church, 
 
 The reunion of the Old and New School 
 Churches in the historic Third and First 
 Churches of Pittsburgh, a quarter of a cen- 
 tury ago, was an event which in its magni- 
 tude, its significance and its possibihties was 
 unparalleled in the ecclesiastical history of 
 the United States of America. Two great 
 Churches combined to usher in a new era for 
 the common Presbyterianism, the era of unity, 
 missionary activity and the concentration of 
 magnificent resources, both in means and 
 men, for the spiritual conquest of the world. 
 
 In dealing with the subject, " The Growth 
 and Future of the Reunited Church," consider 
 first and concisely, the facts connected with 
 Reunion. 
 
 The Presbyterian Church in the United 
 States of America was divided into two 
 bodies in 1838, in part by theological differ- 
 
 ^5 
 
66 ANNI VERSAK Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 ences, but mainly upon issues of policy and 
 administration. The Presbyterian churches, 
 ordinarily, when divided, have never been 
 parted by doctrinal questions solely; the 
 wedge of division has always had as its 
 keen and separating edge some practical 
 question which all persons could understand, 
 and with which all were in some manner 
 connected. In 1838, chief among practical 
 divisive questions was the conduct by the 
 Presbyterian Church of its missionary work, 
 through agencies under its own control. 
 That question was settled for the Old School 
 Church by the creation of the Presbyterian 
 Board of Foreign Missions in 1838, and by 
 the New School Church in 1861, by the es- 
 tablishment, in response to the demands of 
 its ministers and members, of the Permanent 
 Committee of Home Missions. The latter 
 action was the initial step in Reunion, for it 
 was the full and final acceptance, on the part 
 of the New School, of the principle, that the 
 Church must control its own missionary agen- 
 cies. 
 
 This decisive act was followed four years 
 later by proposals for Reunion, made by 
 both Assemblies at nearly the same time. 
 
ANNl VERSA R Y ADDRESSES. 6/ 
 
 The negotiations were carried forward by 
 committees, composed of ministers and el- 
 ders, of both Churches, until May, 1869, 
 when the two Assemblies, convened in the 
 city of New York, sent down what is called 
 the " Basis of Union " to the Presbyteries 
 for their consideration.*^ The answers to 
 this overture were reported at Pittsburgh, 
 Pa., at adjourned meetings held by the Old 
 School in the First Church, and by the New- 
 School in the Third Church, in November, 
 1869. The vote of the Presbyteries upon 
 the overture was 239 in the affirmative to 
 three in the negative; all the New School 
 Presbyteries voting in favor of the Reunion. 
 On November 1 2, the two Assemblies, led 
 by those saintly and now sainted men, Rev. 
 Melancthon W. Jacobus, D.D., and Rev. Phil- 
 emon Halstead Fowler, D.D., entered arm in 
 arm into the Third Church, and, followed by 
 all the commissioners and officers of the two 
 Assemblies, organized what was known as 
 the Reunion Convention. 
 
 In the historic paper adopted by that con- 
 vention are found the folio wine words, which 
 evidence clearly the spirit of the Presbyte- 
 *See p. 9. 
 
68 ANN I VERSA K V ADD R ESSES. 
 
 rians of that day. They said: "In this union 
 are seen the outflashing of a divine purpose 
 to lead us on to greater self sacrifice, and a 
 more entire consecration to the evangeliza- 
 tion of the world. New and grander respon- 
 sibilities rest upon us. Jesus summons us to 
 a holier faith and more perfect consecration. 
 He summons this Church to answer his lov- 
 ing kindness by deeds commensurate with 
 our renewed resources. The times are aus- 
 picious ; everywhere peace reigns ; the gates 
 are open, and the millions of our own and 
 other lands wait for the Gospel. Our posi- 
 tion is commanding, our resources great, our 
 methods of action well setded, simple and 
 efficient. The Spirit of God that has united 
 us will Inspire, direct and bless our efforts. 
 While we maintain the faith which Paul so 
 fully unfolded, and our Church in the centu- 
 ries past has, through manifold persecution 
 and martyrdom, so gloriously upheld, we are 
 summoned, as by the will of God, to arise 
 and build, to form new, broader and bolder 
 plans for the extension of Christ's kingdom, 
 and enter upon and execute them with apos- 
 tolic enthusiasm." 
 
 Such was the spirit which controlled the 
 
ANNIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 69 
 
 Presbyterians of a generation ago, and such 
 the hopes which animated them as they 
 looked forward to the future. Have their 
 expectations been reahzed ? Has God ap- 
 proved their faith and spirit by the work 
 which he has wrought in and through the 
 reunited Church? 
 
 Statistics at times are inspiring as well as 
 instructive. The figures presented in this 
 address are for the period from 1870-94, for 
 the quarter century following upon Reunion, 
 ended with November 12, in the latter year. 
 
 The blessing of God upon the Church 
 during this period is marked in nearly all 
 the departments of church activity. 
 
 Take first the statistics of organizations 
 and persons. The local churches, instead 
 of being diminished by the union of the 
 two bodies, steadily increased from 4526 in 
 1870, to 7387 in 1894. Ordained ministers, 
 who numbered in 1870, 4238, were in 1894, 
 6641. The communicants in 1870, 446,561, 
 increased in the quarter century to 895,997, 
 an increase of more than one hundred per 
 cent. And the members, teachers and offi- 
 cers of the Sabbath-schools, during the same 
 period, advanced numerically from 448,857 
 
70 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 to 951,199, an increase of one hundred and 
 twelve per cent. There is no fact connected 
 with the statistics of persons for the period 
 more inspiring for the future, than the ad- 
 vance just noted in the number of children 
 under Christian instruction within the 
 Church. That Church is a living Church in 
 more senses than one, whose children in- 
 crease, comparatively speaking, at a more 
 rapid ratio than the adults. 
 
 Take next the statistics of contributions. 
 Here also decided and auspicious progress 
 is manifest. The contributions for congrega- 
 tional purposes were in 1870, $6,416,165, and 
 in 1894, $10,300,761 ; the contributions for 
 miscellaneous benevolent work, in 1870, 
 $690,636, rose in 1894 to $1,025,695; and 
 those to the Boards of the General Assem- 
 bly, in the former year, $1,300,686, were in 
 the latter year, $2,600,931."^ 
 
 The total contributions to the benevolent 
 agencies of the Church for the period, as 
 
 *It is to be noted in connection with the contributions to 
 the Boards, that there was no per capita advance in iheir 
 amount in 1894 as over against 1870, the communicants and 
 the contributions having both doubled during the quarter 
 century. The gifts to the Boards have not kept pace with 
 the increase of the Church in wealth. 
 
ANNIVEKSAR Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 7^ 
 
 reported ia the Minutes of the General As- 
 sembly, were as follows : 
 
 Home Missions, 
 
 . $15,320,520 
 
 Foreign Missions, 
 
 13.526,844 
 
 Education, 
 
 4,424,054 
 
 Publication and S. S. Work, 
 
 1.538,836 
 
 Church Erection, 
 
 2,618,723 
 
 Relief. 
 
 5.207,155 
 
 Freed men. 
 
 1,953.960 
 
 Aid for Colleges, 
 
 1.813.558 
 
 Sustentation, 
 
 902.776 
 
 Total. 
 
 $47,306,426 
 
 In addition to the contributions to the 
 Boards, the churches gave the sum of 
 ^24,280,002 to miscellaneous benevolence, 
 and $192,044,780 to congregational support, 
 or a grand total for all contributions of 
 $263,631,208, or an average of $10,500,000 
 per annum. 
 
 This is a financial record which cannot be 
 equaled in any other American Protestant 
 Church. In its sum total it is lar^fer than 
 the gifts for the same period by any other 
 denoniination on this continent, and as com- 
 pared with the ordinary condition of affairs 
 in European Churches, it emphasizes in a 
 marked manner the value of that voluntary 
 system under which our American Churches 
 
72 ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 
 
 thrive. A free Church in a free State comes 
 increasingly under the influence of the Savi- 
 our's command, ''Freely ye have received, 
 freely give." 
 
 But it is not alone by such statistics as 
 have been presented, that the advance of 
 the Church under the blessing of God is to 
 be estimated for the quarter century period. 
 There have been notable events as well as 
 notable gifts. To indicate a few out of 
 many. 
 
 That efficient agency of the Church, the 
 Board of Aid for Colleges and Academies, 
 was established in 1883, and in the work 
 it has achieved has renewed in the present 
 the glorious record of our Church in the 
 past, in connection with education. During 
 the quarter-century the Church aided through 
 it in the establishment of more than forty 
 institutions. 
 
 In 1886, the Sabbath-school department of 
 the Board of Publication v/as reoreanized. 
 and became an agency in full harmony 
 with the spirit of the Christian Church and 
 the demands of the times, rendering admir- 
 able service in a department of religious 
 work, which, prior to this nineteenth cen- 
 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 73 
 
 tury, had received but litde attendon. The 
 Sabbadi-school work of diis Board in 1870 
 consisted simply, of the publication of books, 
 tracts, and periodicals, but during- the year 
 ending April, 1894, the Sabbath-school mis- 
 sionaries employed numbered 157, the num- 
 ber of schools organized was Z^o, the ex- 
 penditures were ^135,041, and the Board 
 distributed free of charge, 17,344,938 pages 
 of tracts and periodicals. 
 
 The Board of Relief expended during the 
 year 1894, i^ behalf of the many endtled, 
 for Christ's dear sake, to an adequate sup- 
 port after long years of service, the sum of 
 $159,576.27, nearly two and a half times the 
 amount distributed in 1870; and its Perma- 
 ment Fund was enlarged during the quar- 
 ter century from $41,441 to $1,386,776. 
 
 The Board of Educadon had under its 
 care in 1870, 391 candidates for the minis- 
 try, and in 1894, 1032, a remarkable in- 
 crease; while the total number of such can- 
 didates for the quarter century was 4484, 
 as against 3715 for the period from 181 9 to 
 1869. Evidently the Church will not suffer 
 from a lack of ministers. 
 
 The Board of Freedmen has conducted its 
 
74 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 work among our colored population in the 
 South with great success, and having scarcely 
 anything in the way of resources in 1870, 
 has now in its service 200 colored minis- 
 ters, instructs in its agencies more than 
 10,000 pupils, and has under its care ^^ 
 schools and 306 churches. 
 
 The Board of Church Erection has aided 
 in the building of 3778 church edifices, 
 whose total value is in the neighborhood of 
 J 1 2,000,000. 
 
 The work of Home Missions also made 
 decided advance. In 1870, the Woman's 
 Executive Committee was not in existence. 
 There were three missionaries in Colorado, 
 and a half-dozen scattered over the re- 
 mainder of the farther West. The whole 
 country beyond Iowa was virtually unoccu- 
 pied. But during the quarter century, the 
 Home Board has spent at least $7,000,000 
 west of the Missouri, and, as a result of its 
 magnificent work, the whole region is dotted 
 to-day with Presbyterian churches. 
 
 In Foreign Mission work likewise, prosper- 
 ity has crowned the Church's efforts. The 
 total number of communicants in our Foreign 
 Mission churches in 1870 was less than 3000, 
 
A JVAV P^ERSARY A DDRESSES. 7 5 
 
 while III the single year 1894, there were 
 added to the mission churches 3141 converts; 
 and in addition, through medical missions and 
 2,T^ hospitals, the Church cared for the bodies 
 as well as the souls of men, thus following- 
 closely in the Master's footsteps while on 
 earth. 
 
 It can be truly said of all the missionary 
 and benevolent Boards, that they have been 
 greatly prospered in their work for Christ. 
 
 The theological seminaries of the Church 
 have also shared in the prosperity with 
 which God has blessed his people. They 
 have more than doubled the number of stu- 
 dents within their halls, quadrupled their 
 financial resources, and Increased their num- 
 ber by three institutions — the seminaries at 
 San Francisco, Biddle University and Omaha. 
 
 Chief, however, among the progressive 
 events signalizing this period of our history, 
 is the opening wide of the door of activity 
 to Christian women. This nineteenth cen- 
 tury is, like the first century, peculiarly mis- 
 sionary and evangelistic In lis temper ; and 
 as of old in New Testament times, so now, 
 woman has been summoned, In the provi- 
 dence of God, to prayer and to active work 
 
76 A NNI VERSA RY A DDR ESSES. 
 
 for the salvation of souls and the advance- 
 ment of Christ's kingdom. 
 
 The first orcranization of Christian women 
 for Christ's work within our denomination 
 was formed in the city of Philadelphia, in 
 1870. The establishment of the Woman's 
 Foreign Missionary Society was followed in 
 due time by the organization of five other 
 similar societies in different portions of the 
 Church. In 1878, the Woman's Executive 
 Committee of Home Missions was organized 
 in New York city, and in 1885 the work of 
 missions among the Freedmen was also as- 
 signed to the fosterlnof care of this latter 
 organization. The success which has attend- 
 ed the work of these societies, in many lines, 
 is evidenced by the fact that during the last 
 year of the quarter century, their organized 
 agencies contributed to the missionary work 
 of the Church at home and abroad the sum 
 of $631,000. 
 
 More and more may the Church give 
 these workers for Christ opportunity for 
 service. There is a demand in these closlno- 
 years of t*he nineteenth century, for gifts 
 and work and workers, above all preceding 
 years, and grandly have the Churches of 
 
ANNI VERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 77 
 
 Christ responded to his summons. Women^s 
 societies, Young People^s socieUes, Brother- 
 hoods of men, and other similar organiza- 
 tions, are the natural outcome of the in- 
 tense Christian life now everywhere mani- 
 fest. The century which opened with the 
 organization of Bible societies, Sabbath- 
 schools and missionary organizations, has at 
 last culminated in the divine summons to 
 labor given to all Christ's disciples, without 
 distinction of age or sex. The signs indi- 
 cate that another Pentecost is nigh at hand. 
 That a Pentecostal baptism of power is 
 among the possibilities of the near future, is 
 suggested by the statement of the totals of 
 the statistics of persons for the quarter cen- 
 tury. The Church of Christ exists solely 
 for the salvation of mankind, both for time 
 and eternity. Dollars are the signs of the 
 interest of the Church in Christ's work ; 
 converts are the proof of the divine bless- 
 ing upon that work. The fact is, therefore, 
 greatly significant, that from 1870 to 1894 
 there were added to this Church, on profes- 
 sion of their faith, 1,040,949 persons, a vast 
 multitude of disciples, both men and women. 
 Of these converts 362,344 were adults, who 
 
78 A NNI VERSAK Y A DDR ESSES, 
 
 were baptized into the name of the Triune 
 God ; their baptism the proof that the 
 Church has still power not only with young 
 but likewise with mature persons. The in- 
 fant baptisms during- the period were 515,559, 
 rising from 16,746 in 1870, to 28,051 in 
 1894, giving the Church to be in truth a 
 divine earthly family, the home for the little 
 child as well as for the parent. 
 
 While, however, the record of the quarter 
 century in itself, is a record which glorifies 
 the grace of God in its power over human 
 hearts, yet the blessings which accompany 
 that grace are the more emphasized when 
 we compare, in the history of the Church, 
 the period after 1870 with the period prior 
 to that year, both as to growth in member- 
 ship and in beneficence. The converts added 
 to the Church from 1789, the date of the 
 first General Assembly, until 1869, a period 
 of eighty years, numbered about 830,000, as 
 against 1,040,000 persons added on profession 
 during the past twenty-five years ; and the 
 total benevolent gifts of the period first 
 named were not in excess of ^19,000,000, as 
 against ^71,000,000 for the second period. 
 
 Is Church union a blessing? The record 
 
A NNI VERSA R Y ADDRE SSE .9. 79 
 
 of the prosperity with which God has blessed 
 this Church since Reunion answers, Yes! 
 Some appreciate the blessing, it may be, 
 more in dollars than in aught else, but its 
 real value can be estimated solely by the 
 standard of Christ, the souls saved from sin 
 and death through his people's prayers and 
 labors. That 1,000,000 converts were gath- 
 ered into the kingdom during the quarter 
 century is the supreme blessing of Reunion, 
 and God has emphasized the fact by adding 
 to the denomination, in the closing year of 
 the period, 75,000 persons, the largest num- 
 ber in any one year in the history of the 
 Church. 
 
 May the prayers of God's people ascend 
 earnestly to the throne of grace for a new 
 baptism from on high, which shall add daily 
 and yet more largely to the Church through 
 the coming years, of such as shall be saved. 
 "Not by might, nor by power, but by my 
 Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." 
 
 Having thus considered the past, what of 
 the future? 
 
 First, let me draw attention to an obstacle 
 — temporary, it is true, but still an obstacle 
 — which lies in the way of the true progress 
 
So ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 
 
 of the Church. This obstacle is the financial 
 indebtedness of the missionary and benevo- 
 lent Boards amounting to about $600,000. 
 No better way can be found to dispose of 
 this liability than to gather an Anniversary 
 Reunion Fund which shall bring at least 
 $1,000,000 into the treasuries of the Boards.* 
 This Church of ours is the wealthiest Protes- 
 tant Church in the country. Surely the 
 Church that raised $7,883,000 as a Reunion 
 Memorial Offering from 1870 to 1872, and 
 in 1888 contributed for the strengthening of 
 a single Board, that of Ministerial Relief, the 
 sum of $600,000, can raise the sum sug- 
 gested, as a thank offering for God's blessing 
 upon Reunion. Sound forth the word of the 
 Lord to his people, ''Bring ye all the tithes 
 into the storehouse, that there may be meat 
 in mine house, and prove me now herewith, 
 saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open 
 you the windows of heaven, and pour you 
 out a blessing, that there shall not be room 
 enough to receive it." 
 
 As we think further of the future, it is 
 well to remember that the sun smiles on no 
 land so fair, so bounteous in all natural pro- 
 
 * See Resolutions on p. 17. 
 
A NiVI VERSA R Y A DDR ESSES. 8 1 
 
 ducts, SO privileg-ed of God, politically and 
 religiously, as these United States of Amer- 
 ica. If the past, In the matter of population, 
 furnishes any ground for the future, there 
 will be within our borders during the closing- 
 years of the twentieth century, at least four 
 hundred millions of persons, for a large part 
 of whom this Church Is to-day responsible. 
 " In the to-day, walks the to-morrow." Upon 
 the performance of present duty by the min- 
 isters and members of this Church depends 
 the welfare of coming generations. Would 
 we meet responsibility, we must perform duty 
 resolutely, courageously, perslstendy, along 
 several lines. 
 
 I. There must be, for one thing, concerted 
 effort for the systematic employment of the 
 ministers of the Church, with a view to the 
 welfare of vacant and enfeebled congreo-a- 
 tlons. A chain is no stronger than its weak- 
 est link, and the weak links in the Presbyte- 
 rian chain of administration are two — vacant' 
 churches and unemployed ministers. Our 
 missionary Boards are admirably organized 
 and managed; but the weak, feeble and 
 vacant congregations, of which there are 
 over one thousand on the roll of the General 
 
82 ANNIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 Assembly, are left to the tender mercies of 
 the itinerant stranger, or to the negligence 
 which works ever loss. *' Every minister 
 employed, and every church with a minister," 
 should be one of the administrative watch- 
 words of the Church. 
 
 2. For another thing, there must be con- 
 certed effort for the systematic use of the 
 ministry of gifts as distinct from the ministry 
 of office. The New Testament clearly teaches 
 that the possession of talents by disciples of 
 Christ implies necessarily, not official relation 
 to the Church, but the use of such talents in 
 the Lord's work according to opportunity. 
 God has blessed many ruling elders and 
 other members of the laity, both men and 
 women, with abilities for service in various 
 lines in his kingdom. 
 
 The amount of latent power in the Church 
 is enormous, and the feeling of responsibility 
 to God for the use of the orlfts he has be- 
 stowed, is made largely and widely evident 
 in the church in these days, by a fact already 
 referred to, the formation of organizations of 
 young people, and of men and women, in 
 all portions of the land. These movements 
 are not to be patronized nor to be tempo- 
 
ANNIVF.RSAR V ADDRESSES. 83 
 
 rlzed with, but should be recognized as the 
 hand of God, pointing his Church towards 
 the need under which It rests for a proper 
 control and use of all its officers and mem- 
 bers in his service. All opposition to these 
 movements should cease, and in place of 
 debate concerning their value, the Church 
 should give itself to regulation and adminis- 
 tration. Let the Church make another of its 
 watchwords this, " Work for all, and all at 
 work." 
 
 3. Further, the Church should stand reso- 
 lutely against every attempt to create within 
 its borders an independent authority of any 
 kind. All the agencies of the Church, what- 
 ever their character, should be in some man- 
 ner subject to the control of the Church 
 through one of her judicatories, either Pres- 
 bytery, Synod or General Assembly. De- 
 tails of control are things unimportant ; the 
 great matter is somewhere to have vest- 
 ed over agencies, that power of review and 
 control, and the additional power of regula- 
 ting public religious teaching, which are fun- 
 damental to the Presbyterian system wher- 
 ever found. There cannot be a full devel- 
 opment of great resources, preservation from 
 
84 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 undue friction and schismatic strife, any- 
 thing like true unity and abiding prosperity, 
 unless authority be vested in some judica- 
 tory, over every agency of the Church. 
 Though divided like the billows we must 
 be one like the sea. 
 
 4. Emphasis must also be laid upon the 
 value to the Church of the missionary and 
 evangelistic spirit. As a denomination we 
 have been in the van in this land in the 
 carrying forward of the work both of Home 
 and Foreign Missions. We have increased 
 greatly the contributions from our churches 
 to these important causes. Would we have 
 yet greater success as a Church, would we 
 make the future bright with the triumphs of 
 the Gospel, there must be yet more zealous 
 cultivation of the missionary spirit both 
 among our ministers and members. 
 
 Especially must heed be given to the 
 peculiar condition of affairs in this land, in 
 connection wath the religious attitude of our 
 adult male population. There are to-day in 
 the United States 11,000,000 of adult males, 
 nearly two-thirds of the whole number, who 
 are not in direct connection with any Church 
 bearing the name of Christian, either Prot- 
 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 85 
 
 estant or Catholic. The masses of uncon- 
 verted men, in our cities, in country districts, 
 at the polls, are walls against which moral 
 reforms and religious forces beat often in 
 vain. By its history, by its character, our 
 Church is a Church for men as well as for 
 women, and must arouse to systematic effort 
 for the evangelization of men, would it in 
 any degree meet responsibility, and make 
 sure the moral future of this great nation. 
 
 5. The unity of the Church must also be 
 conserved, by continuous effort for the union 
 with this Church of other Churches holdinof 
 to the same doctrinal standards. This is 
 the age, not of division, but of unity, and 
 Presbyterians no more than others are ex- 
 empt from the attractive influences which are 
 abroad, and which tend to the consolidation 
 of like relieious interests. All but one of 
 the Presbyterian Churches in t'lis land, hold 
 in common the Westminster Standards, 
 altered in no essential particular. Patiently, 
 under the guidance of the Spirit, should we 
 seek the furthering of every influence, which 
 shall give promise of the establishment with- 
 in our common country of a National Pres- 
 byterian Church. This Church, through the 
 
86 AANIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 
 
 venerable and distinguished Dr. James 
 McCosh, instituted the movement which re- 
 sulted in the world wide Presbyterian Alli- 
 ance. The movement for Federation was 
 likewise initiated by this denomination. Well 
 may we ask, Why should a halt be called 
 now in the work of bringing- closer together, 
 brethren of like faith ? There are 1,800,000 
 communicants in the ten Presbyterian and 
 Reformed Churches in this country. These 
 Churches should unite, not for pride of num- 
 bers, but for the added power which union 
 ever brings. God will bless the National 
 Presbyterian Church of the future whenever 
 it shall appear, even as he has blessed the 
 Church which was reunited in 1869. In 
 Union there is not only strength, but also 
 divine power and the divine blessing. 
 
 6. Further, and above all other things, 
 there must be unceasing and undivided loy- 
 alty to the Holy Scriptures as being the 
 Word of God. That Word has been given 
 to mankind by inspiration of God as the 
 only infallible rule of faith and practice. 
 The Presbyterian Churches have emphasized 
 its value both doctrinally and practically, by 
 placing first in their Confession of Faith, the 
 
A Ni\I VERSA R V A DDR ESSES. 8/ 
 
 chapter entitled, '' Of the Holy Scriptures." 
 Belief in the plenary inspiration of that 
 Word, and in its supremacy over thought 
 and conduct, was the first and fundamental 
 condition of Reunion in 1869. The Basis of 
 Reunion contains this sentence, "The Scrip- 
 tures of the Old and New Testaments shall 
 be acknowledged to be the inspired Word of 
 God, and the only infallible rule of faith and 
 practice." 
 
 The Bible, further, is the basis of our na- 
 tional as well as of our Christian hopes and 
 privileges. This nation w^as founded upon 
 the Bible, has been developed upon Biblical 
 principles, can be maintained in a true pros- 
 perity tliroughout the future alone by adher- 
 ence to the same hiirh standard. Church 
 and State are independent each of the other 
 in this land, but both are dependent for all 
 that they are and have and hope to be, upon 
 the Word of the ever-llvinof God. Without 
 that Word there is no sure basis for ria-ht- 
 
 o 
 
 eous law, no open pathway for individual 
 advancement, no permanent safeguard for 
 either civil or religious liberty, no abiding 
 inspiration for the future, no true salvation 
 from either temporal or eternal ills. The 
 
55 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. 
 
 Holy Scriptures, as the Word of God and 
 the infallible and undebatable rule of faith 
 and practice, are fundamental to human wel- 
 fare. 
 
 Let then no Influence, inward or outward, 
 lead the Church to forcretfulness of its re- 
 sponsibility in this matter to the Lord 
 Christ. Devout inquiry as to the nature 
 and contents of the Scriptures is always to 
 be commended. Men, further, are every- 
 where free to think and say what they 
 please concerning God's Word. But neither 
 scholars as a class, nor any other order 
 among men, have received as a specific 
 trust the Word of God, or have been em- 
 powered in its light to determine what is, 
 or is not sound doctrine. Not in the gath- 
 erings of the learned, nor in the conclaves 
 of the Philistines, has Christ vested this 
 trust, but in his true Church. Fidelity to 
 the trust committed to the Church by the 
 Church's Head, resolute maintenance of the 
 Infallibility and authority of the Word of 
 God, the great source and sanction of sound 
 doctrine and of sound morals, of life and of 
 salvation, is the duty of the hour, the open 
 door to true progress, the assurance of 
 
ANNl VE RSA RY A DDR ESSES. 89 
 
 future prosperity both for the nation and 
 the Church. 
 
 7. Loyalty to the Word of God involves 
 also loyalty to sound doctrine as contained 
 in the Standards of this Church. Sound doc- 
 trine is of value in many ways, but in none 
 more so practically, than in its attractive and 
 cohesive energy. There is no unifying power 
 like that of a distinctive creed. The things 
 which bring and bind men together are not 
 formal agreements, but ideas. The West- 
 minster Standards, in their clear statement 
 of fundamental doctrines, In their sharp defi- 
 nition of ethical principles. In their Insistence 
 upon the crown rights of Christ, in their 
 maintenance of popular government, in their 
 careful subordination to and dependence upon 
 the Word of God, have been of value to this 
 Church in the past not only as ''forms of 
 sound words," but as a bond of union, 
 mightier than all differences, and victorious 
 time and again over the spirit of strife, alien- 
 ation and separation. 
 
 The adopting act by which In 1729 the 
 Westminster Standards became the creed of 
 this Church, was but the outward expression 
 of an inward and dominant life. It was an 
 
90 ANNIVERSAR Y ADDRESSES. 
 
 act whose beneficent influence has been 
 manifested on a majestic scale on two mem- 
 orable occasions. Twice this Church of ours 
 was divided, and twice reunited. Whatever 
 the causes of division, they are not important 
 to the matter in hand. The important thing 
 is that the centrifugal forces of differences in 
 policy were less powerful than the centrip- 
 etal forces of sound doctrine. The West- 
 minster interpretation of Holy Scripture was 
 the power above all others which in 1758 
 and 1869 drew together the branches of the 
 divided Church, and made of twain again one 
 flesh. There is no unity so mighty as that 
 of faith. Jealously then let us guard, zeal- 
 ously let us teach, resolutely let us maintain, 
 those Standards which express our denom- 
 inational life, unite us in the bonds of a 
 true fellowship, and bind us with indissoluble 
 ties to the Word of God. If ever in the 
 future division should threaten, these ties will 
 hold us together long; and if separation 
 should come unfortunately at any time, they 
 will bring back our children to the common 
 fold, even as they brought back the fathers. 
 O ! theology of Paul, of Augustine and of 
 Calvin, well did the men of the Reunion 
 
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESSES. QI 
 
 magnify thee ; may thy unifying power abide 
 ever with this beloved Church, at once its 
 bond, its inspiration and its glory. 
 
 8. Last, but not least, there must be in- 
 creasing loyalty to the Presbyterian Church 
 as a Church. There is no Church more^ 
 catholic than the Presbyterian, but catholicity 
 does not imply, as some imagine, that the in- 
 terests of other denominations are to be first 
 considered, and one's own Church given a 
 secondary place. 
 
 In the order of divine Providence, denomi- 
 nations have a lawful existence within the 
 Church universal. There is a distinction in 
 the Christian Church, not often thought of, 
 fundamental in Its nature. There, on the 
 one hand, are the Churches of the prayer 
 book, and here, on the other, the Churches 
 of the prayer meeting; and v^here the prayer 
 book is in use, the prayer meedng does not 
 flourish. 
 
 This Church of ours believes in the prayer 
 meeting, in direct participation in worship 
 by the laity, in personal religion, in high 
 spirituality, in a Scriptural and represen- 
 tative government, in the maintenance of 
 sound doctrine, and in the sole supremacy 
 
92 ANNI VERSAR V ADDRESSES. 
 
 over mind and heart of the Divine Word. 
 Let us emphasize our denominational char- 
 acter and mission. Let it not be said of our 
 Church that it is, in any sense, even in 
 Its benevolence, an ''atomic Presbyterian 
 Church." During the next twenty-five years 
 that should not be true, which has been true 
 during the past twenty-five years, that for 
 every two dollars given to our own Boards, 
 one dollar has been given to outside socie- 
 ties. 
 
 Loyalty must approve itself by deeds, must 
 concern itself not only with doctrine but 
 likewise with practice, must realize responsi- 
 bility for works as well as for faith. As a 
 denomination we are greatly privileged of 
 God in many ways. We have established 
 numerous agencies for the maintenance and 
 extension of our branch of Christ's kinedom. 
 We are strong in our Scriptural creed and 
 our popular sympathies; strong also in our 
 relation to the history and development of 
 the land in which God has placed us; strong, 
 in addition, in our hold upon the influential 
 elements in the diverse population of this 
 Republic; strong, further, in the material, in- 
 tellectual and moral resources under our 
 
ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 93 
 
 control. Ours are kingly principles, historic 
 prestige, far-reaching influence, multiplied re- 
 sources. Thus equipped of God, we find 
 before us, as a Church, work of imperial 
 proportions ; work not only in foreign lands, 
 but more especially in this land. America, 
 for this Church, is but another name for 
 opportunity; and if we would rise to the 
 level of our providential privileges and ad- 
 vantages, then with all charity towards other 
 denominations of Christians, we should devote 
 our resources, both of men and means, in 
 the wide disseminadon of the truths in which 
 we believe, for the largest possible develop- 
 ment of our own institutions. 
 
 As a rule, it is true that he is the best 
 Christian, the truest to Christ, who is most 
 loyal to the Church in which he finds him- 
 self, by choice and by the operation of divine 
 Providence. What is true of the individual 
 Is peculiarly true of the Christian Churches. 
 That denomination is truest to its God-given 
 mission, to the great Christian brotherhood, 
 to the supreme Head of the Church, which 
 is true to its own nature, true to its peculiar 
 principles, and which refuses, with David, to 
 do God's work clad in Saul's armor. The 
 
94 ANNIVERSAR V ADDRESSES. 
 
 Presbyterian Church, by being true to itself, 
 will be true to Christ, will thus make sur^ a 
 future, which will as far exceed in results the 
 immediate past, as that past in its achieve- 
 ments exceeded under God's blessing the 
 conditions of the early period of the Church's 
 history. 
 
 Let the Church move forward then, faithful 
 to every responsibility, looking unto him for 
 strength and guidance who has promised, 
 saying, "For as the rain cometh down, and 
 the snow from heaven, and returneth not 
 thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh 
 it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed 
 to the sower, and bread to the eater: So 
 shall my word be that goeth forth out of my 
 mouth ; it shall not return unto me void, but 
 it shall accomplish that which I please, and 
 it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent 
 it." 
 
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