THE SCHOOL & FAMILY CATECHIST by Rev. William Smith

The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 51-52.

Q.51.What is forbidden in the second commandment?

A. The second commandment forbiddeth the worshipping of God by images, or any other way not appointed in his word.

EXPLICATION.

The worshipping...

Yes, it’s a long post, but hey, it’s Saturday—what better way to spend a part of the day? (key points are in bold print, if you want to skim this)

“The Distinctive Doctrines and Polity of Presbyterianism,” is the title of an address delivered by the Rev. Thomas Dwight...

Dr. Robert Dick Wilson

We have written before how one of the great Princeton professors and a founding professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, died on this day, October 11, at the start of the second academic year at Westminster. Today, we present a different insight...

An Injustice Which Found No Excuse

Related here is a brief account of Presbyterian missions among the Cherokee and Choctaw Indians, just prior to and immediately following the grave injustice of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Removal Act resulted in what is now known to history as “The...

Truly there is nothing new under the sun. This from THE CHARLESTON OBSERVER, October 8, 1836:

MORALS! KNIVES!!

The practice of carrying knives and Pistols in our peaceable community prevails to an alarming extent, and should be expressly prohibited by an act of the Legislature as...

The Tide of War Turned to Favor Independence of America by Rev. David T. Myers

Americans were gathering to do battle that fall of 1780.  The only problem was that those who were on the side of England and those who were in favor of independence were the forces who were gathering.  It...

THE SCHOOL & FAMILY CATECHISTby Rev. William Smith

The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 49-50.Q.49.Which is the second commandment?

A. The second commandment is, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is...

I continue to gather primary source materials on the events leading up to the momentous 1837 split of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The following article appears to have been written by the Rev. Benjamin Gildersleeve, editor of The Charleston Observer, a man who showed some sympathies for...

This is a portion of an interesting review of the 1914 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, U.S. (aka, Southern), written by Columbia Theological Seminary professor, R.C. Reed [1851-1925].

The moderator of the first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America was a ruling elder–the Hon. W. Jack Williamson. Since that time, the PCA has established a tradition of alternating between ruling elders and teaching elders in its nomination and election of moderators for the...

The Personal Testimony of A.A. Hodge

“He Did Not Die Too Soon; No Christian Ever Does.”

I remember what a shock it was, back in 1993, to hear of Ray’s death. A beloved friend and professor was seemingly snatched away in the prime of life. It is almost as jarring to realize that twenty-six years have now passed. The...

Let This Be Our Reminder to Pray for the Church in China!

In his History of Columbia Theological Seminary, William Childs Robinson wrote:

Among the sons of Columbia sent out by the Southern Presbyterian Church, perhaps none has a...

THE SCHOOL & FAMILY CATECHIST by Rev. William Smith

The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 47-48

Q. 47.What is forbidden in the first commandment?

A. The first commandment forbiddeth the denying or not worshipping and glorifying the true God as God, and our God ; and the giving of that...

Our post today consists of an excerpt from an address delivered on this day, September 27, in 1874, by the Rev. Dr. Charles Hodge, on the occasion of the re-opening of the chapel at the Princeton Theological Seminary. This discourse was delivered in the same year that saw the publication...

God Will Surely Provide

It was on this day, September 26th, in 1759, that the Rev. Samuel Davies was installed as President of the College of New Jersey. [It was upon the occasion of its sesquicentennial celebrations in 1896, that the school’s name was changed to Princeton...

The Assembly Subscribes the Solemn League & Covenant [1643]

Dr. Will Barker, former president of Covenant Theological Seminary and professor of church history at the Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, has written of “The Men and the Parties” that comprised the...

It was on September 24th, in 1757, that Jonathan Edwards made his decision to accept the offer to become the third president of the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University). While the school was decidedly Presbyterian in its affiliation, Edwards was commonly known as a...

Yet another form of a children’s catechism. This version was published in THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY’S SHORTER CATECHISM, WITH SCRIPTURE PROOFS.  [Portland : Hyde, Lord and Duren. New-York City : Eli French. 1847.] 

A CATECHISM IN RHYME.

1. Who made you, child, and bade you live?...

THE SCHOOL & FAMILY CATECHISTby Rev. William Smith

The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 45 and 46

Q.45.Which is the first commandment?

A. The first commandment is, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” Exod. xx. 3.

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

Today we present the Inaugural Address of the Rev. Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, delivered upon his installation as profoessor at the Princeton Theological Seminary on this day, September 21, 1900. Dr. Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield was a close friend of Dr. Wilson’s, and he composed a hymn for the...

William Hugh Chisholm was born February 1, 1894 in Emerson, Michigan to Godly parents, Hugh and Mary MacLennan Chisholm, who had immigrated here to the United States from Scotland, bringing with them their Scottish Presbyterian background. Hugh Chisholm was a man of considerable initiative. He and...

How can we find benefit in times of affliction, frailty and illness? For one, the Lord can use such times to “teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Ps. 90:12). There is the means—affliction, but note also the purpose—to...