The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1877-07-25

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the Free Church of Scotland, presided. Dl
Cairns delivered to the Assembly rapi
sketch of more elaborate paper he had pre-
pared, on the general principles of Presbyte
rianism as distinguished from Episcopacy o
Independency, and superior to both. Dr.
A. A. Hodge, Princeton, followed with
paper on the " Relation of Presbyterianisn
to the Wants and Tendencies of the Age,
which was taken up with discussion of them
teresting question of therelation of the Churcl
to the State, and by one from DR.. Stuart Rob
inson on the " Churchliness of Calvinism.
DR.. Robinson, by his quaint and bold illus
trations, kept his audience sufficiently wide
awake, and towards the close of his speecf
for the first time to-day aroused the audience
to a hearty pitch of merriment and enthuSl
ASIA, by a witty and daring exposition of
proposition that Presbyterianism had con-
tinued from the beginning to be the revealed
form of the Church of God.
The following abstract of his speech is
given in the Reuiew. DIR. Robinson said:
"The venerable DR.. Hodge, of Princeton,
once related to him how on certain occasion
pressing DR.. ]. A. Alexander to write brief
treatise on the Church, as he had some time
previous promised to do, under the title,
"Presbytery Tested by Scripture" that re-
markable man responded in his peculiar way,
e" If you will write the first chapter, and tell
me what the Church is, l will finish the work. "
(Laughter.) Such an answer, from so pro-
found scholar and thinker as DR.. Alexan-
der, was very significant, as indicating that
three centuries after the Protestant Refor-
nation the leaders of Professionalism had not
yet determined what the Church is, though
they had SO clearly determined three hun
dred years ago what it is not-in overthrow
ing the monstrous spiritual corporation which
Rome had set up, under so called vicar of
Christ, and declaring it to be no Church, but
the synagogue of Satan. The suggestion of
the Princeton Professor went to confirm the
observation of the philosophic German think.
er, who before had suggested, that of the four
great departments of revealed truth-theol-
ogy, anthropology, sOteriology, and ecclesi-
ology-the first three had been developed sue
the first by the laborS of Athanasi-
US, the second of Augustine, and the third
Of Luther and Calvin, leaving the fourth yet
to be developed. And it was a noteworthy
fact, in confirmation of both suggestions, that
while evangelical Professionalism, or what they
might call the original Professionalism, had,
since the Reformation period, been in the
main a unit in regard to theology, anthro-
pology, and soteriology, and unit also in
the protest against the ecclesiastical theory
Of Rome, there has been little unity in regard
10 the question of the visible Church nor,
indeed much toward settling the idea, nature,
functions, and relations of the Church of
Christ on earth. No broad platform of &C.
,lesiology had yet been found, upon which
sll Protestants may stand as substantially
agreed. The speaker then adverted at length
20 various theories of theology, and then con-
;inued-Not only is the creed and the sub.
ective faith of the Church for four thousand
years the same, evineing it to be one and the
same body under all dispensations, but the
principle of it's government is the same under
every variety of dispensation. The invisible
King carries on the government through WIS.,
BILE officers of His own appointment, whom
yet the people shall call to the exercise of
heir Office. The David formally appointed
BY Jehovah Himself must yet struggle on
through long years of toll and danger, until
he voice, first of Judah and then of all Israel,
,hall call him to the exercise of the Office, to
which Jehovah so long before appointed him.
And after the same manner all Church rulers
are appointed. Even the manner of admin
stration of this government in the visible
Church is seen to be the Same-even by tri-
ounals of elders alike in every era. So soon
IS, by the shortcomings of human life, the
Church could no longer be embosomed in the
family, and governed by her patriarchs or
elders, and it became needful to organize both
Church and State as institutions apart from,
and over the family institutions, it would seem
that, both in State and Church, elders chosen
10 the office took the place of the patriarch.
For before the national organization under
Moses, it appears there were elders in charge
Of the covenant people-and to the Presby-
tery Moses himself must needs exhibit the
evidences of his call to God-the God Of
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob-to the
work of executing the provisions of the an
cieut covenant by the deliverance of His
people from bondage. Moses did not 60 to
Pharaoh; but on his own hook, he went on
his own mission; he went to his Presbytery
lust as you and | do. Through the elders
the ordinance of the Passover was given to
the Church. Before the elders, as represen.
tatives of the Church, was the rock smitten.
To the Church through her elders, after SOL
emn preparation, were the revelations at
Sinai made, and there in form of solemn
covenant between Jehovah and His people.
The elders partook with Moses of the solemn
sacrifcial feast on the mount, preparatory to
the reception of the ritual and ecclesiastical
law. The elders, with the priests, ConSti-
tuted the ecclesiastical courts of appeal of
the nation. Even in Israel, under the spos-
tacy, this form of government remained un-
changed among the true people of God for
&" Elisha sat in his house, and his elders sat
with him." And after the fall of Israel as a
nation, the elders assembled with the prophet
Ezekiel in their captivity on the river Cheben.
So even in the wasted and corrupt Jerusalem
the form of this appointed court, the Presby-
terry, survived the apo8tacy; for we'learn
that corrupt court of priests and elders con-
demned Jeremiah to death for speaking the
warnings of Jehovah. When Messiah "Came
unto His own and His own received Him
not" even then, at the final apostacy of the
Church of the old covenant, the divinely ap-
pointed form of ecclesiastical government is
found still surviving, though men "made
void this law through their traditions" FL