Newspaper Page Text
March 3, 1909. T!
"THE CONFESSION OF FAITH."
Some time ago a Baptist minister
asked the writer to send him a copy of
The Confession of Faith. The request
was complied with, and the following
letter was received, "Dear Brother B.,
The book received and I am delighted
with its form and contents. I do not
see how it can be so good without being
a little hotter. I shall ereatlv eniov
reading and studying it. It is a good and
great Confession. Those who have it in
their minds and hearts are' great?a
great people. Thank you so much for
sending me the book, and for such a
small consideration. God bless you!
"Sincerely, R. E. P."
The writer knows this good brother
to be a man who has read almost every
book, worth reading, that he could lay
hands on. He is a man, figuratively
speaking, who reads on his knees. He
mingles with the common people and.
lives in the woods, but for all this he
is a great man, broad minded and
Christ-spirited. We are not surprised
that a Baptist minister should be
delighted with The Confession, and less
surprised that this man should be. The
thing that surprises us is that some socalled
Presbyterians advocate changing
this Confession; as wo go about, surprised
that so many Presbyterians have
never read it.
Observe, he says that he is "delighted
with its form and contents." There is
a suggestion and hint to us in this
statement; viz, we Presbyterians will
experience the same pleasure, if we
secure a copy and use it. It is simply
an "eye opener." The Confession of
Faith will never cease to be interesting
uo avsii^ ao i cau tut; diuic. as
we read the compliment he pays us we
experience a deep sense of humility and
a deeper sense of shame.
He says, "It is a great Confession, and.
the people that believe it are a great
people." When we think of the greatness
of the Confession we ought to bo
greater than we are. The fault is not
in the book, but lies in Ignorance
respecting the book. He regards
rightly the cost of the bock a "small
consideration," and yet there are people
who are so inconsiderate of their soul's
interest as not to even own a copy of
the finest commentary ever made on the
Bible. Many think, and think foolishly,
that this book is out of date, but it Is
not so, for multitudes are reading it.
Any Presbyterian who has to confess
that he, or she has never read this book
ought to hang his head in shame; for
all the Presbyteria^ism in the world,
worth the name, is ombodied in it. We
believe there are, at least three books
that will be in use when the last day
conies; namely, the Bible, Confession
of Faith and Immortal Pilgrims' Progress.
Many may remidiate The Con
fession of Faith while the heathen rage
against creeds, but the time will come
wnen men will, in their religious confusion
confounded, ask, "To whom shall
we go?" Then they will be only too
glad to lay hands upon an almost inspired
exposition of the Scriptures.
The writer never saw the Confession,
he regrets to say, until he was a man,
HE PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOU
I LUZIANNI
High Quality, Low Price?I
SK
^ ||^1ANN( , believe 1
fee on ^
? / I
H THE REILY-TAYLOR C
never saw a Shorter Catechism until he
was nearly grown, but since that time
they have been a constant companion.
It was the beautiful consistency that a
rank infidel saw in it that wrung from
his lips the reluctant confession that
it was the only thing that moved him
God-ward.
It does not require a very strong
intellect to see the wisdom of God
displayed in the silence both in the
Bible and Confession upon the subject
of the universal salvation of all infants.
Alas! some people try to be wiser Than
God. The poorest business a man ever
eugugea in is an attempt to derenil
God's character?to justify him. President
McKinley was true to his convictions
when he said that the Presbyterians
ought not to change that book,
which in his judgment was the clearest
exposition of divine truth.
We would kindly suggest that those
who want a change in the Confession
withdraw from the orthodox body, and
fix up one to suit themselves, but just
let us alone; for in the end they will
have to do It. The Confession will have
a multitude of friends, and if needs be
lYifll'tvrO ha Inner oo *V*rv Olivia t- *",AU ? ?
u?.v.u, >.a iuiid u J Hie U1UIC IS Willi US.
"The word of the Lord abldeth forever."
E. C. B.
UP THIS WAY.By
Dr. L. P. Bowen.
An exile loves to be in touch with
kindred souls through the columns of
the delightful Presbyterian of the South.
The other day we shook hands with a
fellow-wanderer, our nearest ministerial
neighbor. Rev. S. R. Wasson, of Princess '
Ann, Md., pastor of another of the original
Makemie churches, and I noticed in
his other hand a copy of aforesaid Presbyterian.
Both of us were breathing the
Southern breezes.
Will the solid array of editors let the
writer say that he has never read a more
admirable salutatory than that which illuminated
these pages at the start?clear
cut, conservative, wholesome? We have
been curious to locate the draftsman,
worthy of either one or of all. Some of
us were somewhat loath to see the good
'Southwestern printed In smaller type,
hut we felt the merger safe. What a
power the united papers ought to be
'TH. 25
SB
L COFFEE I
)ouble Strength, Fine Flavor *
VIRGINIA TESTIMONY Ml
io not hesitate to say that we M
Luzianne to be the best cof- %
he market, and we doubt if M
equal." W
ff, Andrews 6c Thomas, ^
Wholesale Grpcers, Roanoke, Va. ^
b. can ' ' 25 cts.
O., New Orleans, U. S. A.
?and an anchor. If your Confession of
Faith is to be tampered with?any mutilations
or addenda contemplated?suppose
you get that Salutatory inserted! ^
We are expecting happily to have your
Dr. Hillhouse, of Vicksburg, visit us
and occupy the old reliable pulpit, the
mother-church of both Assemblies, on
the last Sabbath of this month. Another
Southern zephyr. We will also stand
together by the imposing Makemie Monument
on Holden's Creek, Va. There In
its picturesque solitude, dressed in
Genevan gown, the Bible in one hand and
the other raised in benediction, the
statue faces his first and favorite charge
at Rehoboth, ten miles away, the spot
w litre ne landed on the Pocomoke in
1683?the entire monument very handsome
and very impressive.
Last year this, my native county, was
carried for local option by over 2,000
majority?the most decisive vote we have
heard of anywhere?and the law is well
enforced. One of Mr. Wright's effective
climaxes was his declaration that since
prohibition went into operation, eighteen
months ago, "the scream of a woman
from the black fiends bad not been heard
in Georgia."
Our only criticism upon the worthy
crusades in these latitudes was of a
little too much enthusiasm and activity
on the part of good ministers in manipulating
the campaigns?nolitienitv ov?iinii
leading processions, etc., and thereby
alienating parishioners and dividing congregations.
A minister in Missouri who
had failed for awhile to distinguish between
Gospel temperance and ballot'box
' temperance, said to me afterwards?"i
lost more influence for Christ than I
gained for temperance." There It is In a
nutshell, and there your Salutatory
comes in.
It is puzzling how excellent clearheaded
people fail to differentiate be
iwtu'n me puipit and the huskings?between
what is to be rendered to Caesar
and to God?between the commissioned'
Gospeler and the politician. Even the
Southern Presbyterian church, built
squarely upon these logical distinctions,
finds some of her disciples now and then
a little muddled. The long-time concubinage
of church and state dies bard.
May your flag never be furled!