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2 (60) THE
Tha first preacher in the log church was a
young man by the Dame of James Power, a citizen
of Pennsylvania, who came to this part of
Virginia as a licentiate, and although he received
a call at Oxford, he remained there less than a
year. Then came in their turn the Revs. Daniel
Blaine, Andrew Davidson, Samuel Campbell,
William Trimble, William Pinkerton (teacher
and preacher), John Miller, Alexander Hoggsett,
Beverly Tucker Lacy, John A. Scott, William
McElwee, E. T. Hogue, J. L. Kirkpatrick
(Professor at Washington and Lpp. IlnivprsitvL
H. R. Smith, W. T. Dabney, Joseph Bailey,
Henry A. White (Professor at Washington and
Lee University), Thomas Mowbray, James Power
Smith, covering a period of time of more than
one hundred and forty years. 4'And they that
be teachers shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness
as the stars for ever and ever.'f
The present pastor, the Rev. A. W. Wood,
whose picture adorns this sketch is greatly interested
in his work, and it is the sincere wish of
the writer that he may have great success as
pastor of this historic church.
The community which surrounds Oxford
church has been noted from time immemorial for
its hospitality, and many of the most substantial
people 01 tne v aney 01 v lrginia nave Deen us
citizens; and when a stranger stands and contemplates
the lone church and cemetery which
have been in use for the past hundred and forty
years, it is the best evidence of God's power over
mankind in this world, and these silent witnesses
tell of the world to come with a greater accuracy
than any words from human lips can do.
Lexington, Virginia.
PREDESTINATION.
BY REV. J. W. MOSELEY, SR.
In the preceding articles we have shown that
this doctrine is continuously taught, from
Genesis to Revelation: "Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world." Rev. 13:8. There
are some, "Whose names were not written in
the Book of Life from the foundation of the
world." Rev. 17:8. There is a great law of
science called the "Law of Continuity," claiming
that the laws of nature on earth sweep
through the realm of infinite space. We cannot
suppose that the law of gravitation is confined
to the limits of our little earth. It pervades all
the suns and stars, comets and constellations,
because its presence and continuity are absolutely
necessary to the safety and perpetuity
of the demands of nature and eternal veracity
and uniformity in all her operations. The sun
to-day must shine as it did yesterday, to-morrow
and as it did six thousand years ago. The
highest and best interests of the state, society
and the Church, are dependent upon
this unbroken and inviolable regularity. When
wheat is planted we know wheat will be the
product; when cotton or corn is planted we are
absolutely certain of its growth and intrinsic
return. If we take for granted that there is in
the Heavens a great Governor of all things, this
essential law of continuity is nothing more than
a revelation of the Divine Will, that in man's
trust in nature he shall never be disappointed
nor confounded. "While the earth remaineth
seed-time, and harvest, cold and heat, and summer
and.'iViHtefc, And day and night, shall not
..cease." Gen. 8:22.:'A.."vjriter concerning the
. Yproof of the Law of Continuity, as furnished
*".* by grav'XatirJQ,''ppeaks thus: "If there were
no'bther'indieati'on *0f unity than this, it would
be almost enough;" that is, to establish the
law. Then he continues: "For the unity implied
in the mechanism of the Heavens is indeed
a unity all-embracing and complete."
We have a great depth of meaning in this
word "Unity." With him, and the scientific
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE S
men of to-day, there is a perfect and divine harmony
in nature, and the astronomical mechanism
of boundless space. That is, precisely the
same elements, such as carbon, oxygen, iron,
liydrodgen, and etc., are found playing their
part in creation, and under the same principle
of universal law, or rather laws. And the
spectrum analysis makes this as plain as the
law of gravitation, by the wonderful streams
of light proceeding from the stars and suns
most remote.
Now then, the question is, what bearing has
me great uaw ot continuity, or the whole system
of laws, upon the doctrine of Predestination
? Much every way: 1st. The Law of Continuity
reveals the divine will in the ordination
and control of the material universe; so the
doctrine of Predestination is a revelation of
the divine will in the ordination and control of
angels and men. It is an established fact in
science, that laws are not generative of force;
they are only methods of divine procedure.
Predestination ill itself has no generative force;
it only reveals the forces in which it is concerned.
Paul helps us to understand it. "There
is no condemnation to those who are in Christ
.Jesus"?but why and how is it? "Because the
law of the Spirit of Life by means of Christ
Jesus has set me free from the laws of sin
and death." Rom. 8:2. Here it is very singular
that Paul's language is strictly scientific.
What does he mean by "Law?" Certainly not
a generative force, but God's method of procedure
in the salvation of men. The divine
forces are revealed, indeed, for it is the power
of the Holy Spirit, and the blood of Christ,
which, beyond all doubt, are the generative
forces, and this Paul wished us to understand.
2nd. If we could prove that the Law of Continuity
is made manifest in the Scriptures by
the doctrine of Predestination, as we believe
we have shown, then Predestination becomes a
far greater and more splendid law in God's
Scriptural domain than the Law of Continuity
in the material universe. For the best reason
in the world, that the interests of redemption
are infinite in their value and eternal in their
duration, which is not at all true of the ma
terial uuiverse. "I saw a great white throne
and Him that sat uj on it, from whose face the
earth and the heavens fled away, and "there
was found no place for them." Rev. 20:11. i
But the continuity of this doctrine is not con-'
fined to the Bible. It has a boundless sweep
both backwards and forwards. Far down into
the illimitable depths before the creation of
the world, God established the law. When He
created the millions of heavenly intelligences,
He looked toward the day when Satan should
rebel and be dismissed from the happiness of
Heaven, with his countless followers and supporters.
Please observe what Paradise Lost tells us of
these things:
"The infernal Serpent, stirred up with envy,
Deceived the mother of mankind;
God cast hitn out of TIeaven
With aJI his host of rebel angels
Again, in describing the place of his fall:
"Mine times the space that measures
Day and night to mortal men, he tvith
His horrid crew lay vanquished."
Again, Beelzebub addresses Satan thus:
"0 Prince, 0 chief of many throned powers,
That led the embattled seraphims to war, etc."
Milton represents the fallen angels (some the
highest in Heaven, eherubim and seraphim-), as
O U T H [ January 17, 1912.
an army of millions. Thus we see that th? doe
trine of Predestination reveals itself to be a
great law of Heaven. Were all the Powers
and Principalities sinless and happy? Only
the elect. "1 charge thee before God and the
Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that
thou observe these things." "And the angels
which kept not their first estate, but left their
own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness unto the judgment of
the great day;" Jude. The two great classes
always revealed by Predestination are evident,
the good and the bad, the elect and the nonelect.
It may be objected that we cannot appeal to
the physical laws of nature to solve the difficult
problems of the spiritual world. We ask why
not? Did not the spirit which made the great
laws of the material universe also make the Bible?
Is God ashamed of one half of his great
work? Has He spoken divine truth in His
Word, and deception and disappointment in the
Great Book of Nature? Nay, God is always
and everywhere the same, Isaiah tells us God
swore that day and night and the seasons should
be inviolable and indestructible forever. Is.
54:9. And Jeremiah that man cannot "break
his covenant of the day and his covenant of the
night.*' Jer. 33:20-25, "Have I not appointed
the ordinances of Heaven and earth." The
telescope and other scientific apparatus have
given a iremenaous depth of meaning to this
declaration. We are commanded to search the
Scriptures and the same tongue has commanded
us to search the Book of Nature. "Consider
the lilies how they grow." Botany is one of
the splendid departments of science. The undevout
astromomer or botanist is mad. Consider,
consider the lillies how they grow!" "Solomon's
wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the
children of the east country, and all the wisdom
of Egypt."
Again Paul. "Because that which may be
known of God is manifest in them; for God
hath shewed it unto them."
'' For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead; so that they are
without excuse."
"And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree
v that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that
springeth out of the wall; he spake also of
beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and
Ap O V* AO ' '
v/1 UOUCO.
Solomon had more wisdom than the Wise
Men of Babylon, or the priests and erudite
of Egypt. But what made him wiser than the
philosophers of his day, or any previous age ? It
was his splendid attainments in the subtilties
and erudition of the great Book of Nature.
Are we to suppose that Paul as a special pleader
laid hold of any little refinement to aid him in
his discussions 1 By no means; he was the great
legislator of the New Testament and his epistles
are teeming with the fundamental principles of
the Divine Government. According to the Syriac
version the word "knowledge" is used. Ours
is what "may be known of God." Webster defines
knowledge to be "A clear and certain perception
of that which exists, i. e., of fact or
truth."
Hence Paul tells us that great fafets and truths
mav be clear!v nnrl certainlv npppoivod fm-m tho
works of creation. And these are so binding
upon the intellect and conscience (intellect is the
word in the Syriac), that God in his justice
grounds upon it the condemnation of the heathen.
To see "invisible" things may look like a contradiction,
but we imagine Paul means: (a) The
"invisible God" is clearly seen from his wondrous
works, (b) His invisible power is clearly
. *