The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1888-05-22
CALVINS DISCIPLES.
The Southern Presbyterian Cen
eral Assembly in Session.
The Presbyterian Centenary - Important
Gatherings in Baltimore and Philadel-
phia-Some Church History.

The general assembly Of the Southern Pres
| byterian church in the United States is now
in session in Baltimore Twenty years ago the
| body met in Baltimore, in tho Franklin street
! church, where its session is now holding The
Rev. j. j. Bullock, then pastor of this church,
| is the moderator of the present general assem-
bly,. He is one Of the oldest and ablest men
in the ministry. lie is about sixty-eight years
! old and was born in kentucky. Now lives in
| Washington city.
DIR. u. j. Stricken, pastor of the Central
| Presbyterian church in Atlanta, is the retiring
moderator. He presided while the body was
organizing.
DIR. sTRICKLER's SERMON.
DIR. Strickler's opening sermon, preached to
| the general assembly day before yesterday, was
founded on the eighth chapter and fifth verse
| OF John: 81 am the vine ye are the branches"
| 1t was an admirable discourse on the unity of
| the Godhead, and the union between Christ
and believers Gan the great essentials Of the
doctrine of Gods work." he said, care won
derful. Tho doctrine Of the divine existence
is wonderful. How wonderful is an infinite
being who exists, yet whose existence is with
out beginning; infinite in knowledge, in
powerl The doctrine of the Trinity is won
derful. Thre3 persons, each equally God, yet
not three, but only one. The doctrine of the
incarnation is wonderful. How wonderful it
would be If the sun could be changed into one
OF the particles Of dust that float around it; if
the universe could he reduced to a clod, OF an
archangel TO worml Yet none of these
would be half as wonderful as God S becoming
man. one is fnate, the other infinite. The
condescenson, the humiliation is not half so
great as when God became man. What a
marvel it isl Christ God and man, finite and
infinite, mortal and mmovta. The union be-
tween Christ and believers is like the various
parts of a building. Christ is not only the cor
ner-stonc, but the living. cornerstone, and the
people are not the stones but the living
stones 1t is illustrated by the union between
the father and the son. The union is inscru-
table. 1t is illustrated by the marriage re-
lation, by the union of the human body
between the head and its members. How
close is the union between the
vine and its branchesl They are not
the same, but have the same life and
vegetable nature. Christ and believers are not
the same, but SO close that they are like the
vine and its branches. He engrafts US into
His own nature, dwels in our souls. If any
one of those doctrines is more wonderful than
this it would be hard to conceive which one it
is. From this point we can see more distinctly
what He means when He says: Without me
We can do nothing. What can the arm do
without the body? What is the branch
separated from the vine? What fruit can it
bear? SO we cannot bear any spiritual fruit
without God"
GREAT INTEREST IN THE MEETING.
With regard to this gathering Of the disci-
pies of Calvin, the American says:
For the first time in twenty years, and the
second time since its existence of the general
assembly of the Southern Presbyterian church
in the United States-the highest official body
of that organiZaton--is in session in Balt-
more. That period of two decades has seen it
grow from an organization of men Joined to-
gether for n common cause, with an untred
future before them into church strong and
full Of vigor. It's advance has been steadily
aTong the line of progress, until it is now a
power Tor good wherever its influence extends
When it met here last-in 186S-it was still
| in its swaddling clothes, an infant, an export
ment. Now it is strong, healthy youth,
clothed IN the garb OF manhood-a reality
| Then the issues of the civil war and mems pas
sions, that arrayed themselves against each
other, personally, politically and reigiously,
were burning hereely. Today these have
burned themselves out. A strong tendency
! among Protestant denominations TO work in
unison Is daily becoming more apparent, and
the southern branch and the parent tree, from
which it broke away in 1861 considering
the question of re-establishing their organic
union.
The meeting of the assembly here in 1868
was al the Franklin street church where it is
now in seSsic.. Pew Or. j. j. Bullock was
then its pastor, and DIR, Murkland, its present
pastor, was a student at Union Theological
seminary.
The meeting in Baltimore has been matter
of great interest here. People began going to
tine church sometime before eleven o'clock,
inc noun SOY ibI lilt opening services,
and the building filled up rapidly. The front
seats and those extending more than halfway
back were occupied by the commissioners, and
every remaining seat was taken up by specta-
tors. including great many ladies, most of
whom remained during the day. But few Of
the commissioners were absent when the roll
was called. and many of those who were came
in later in the day.
The Church in Colonial Times.
Many interesting facts. which aie worth re-
latng at this time, have been cullod from the
Church records touching the early prcSl yterian
movements in the colonies Ii is matter of
common knowledge that from It's fist organ
i2ati9n the Presbyterian church has had gov
eminent distinctly republican in form, and
that il has tlourished best where there has
been the least nonarchcal influence; to-wit:
in Scotland, the north of Ireland and the
United States. But it is not so well known,
perhaps, that the prosecutions to which tho
carly PrcsbytCrians were subjected were much
more political than religious. The Stuart kings,
stupid rs they were in many respects, were
smart enough to see that republican
church government must, whether its adher-
cntS so intended or not, weaken their devotion
to monarchy James IL. CURLY expressed
the truth i'll his famous phrase, "No bishop,
no king land his grandson, though a more stu
pid man, hit the truth squarely when he said
that rs long rs the Scotch We're allowed to he
Presbytorians they would he anti-monarchical
at heart. Indeed, there is no education in self
government equal to the practice of self govern
ment. SO the Stuart kings and the most big
oted among their successors drove out 700 600
Congregationalists, Baptis;s and Prcsbyteri-
ans C00, zoe of the latter from Ireland alone,)
and Great Britain loss became Americas glo-
rious gain.
THE FIRST CHURCH.
The Oldest Presbyterian church in the United
States with unbroken succession of records
and worship is that ut jamaica Long Island,
which took form between 1856 and 1862; but
of course this was not the first in the colonies.
Sometime between lG0S and 1914 Rev. Alex
ander Whitaker preached to a Presbyterian
congregation nj Bermuda Hundreds Vir-
ginia, and this was doubtless the
inst The puritans independents or Congre-
gationalists) aud Presbyterians merged with
ont difficulty in Virginia and Increased rapidly
until the complete separation of Sects in En-
gland then Sir William Berkeley, the royal
governor, determined TO establish the British
church absolutely, and about 1912 began to
prosecute and eXpel the Presbyterans. So
the majority of them moved TO Maryland,
when they eventually obtained political con-
trul but IN no long time there was liberation
in both colonies, and Virginia had many Pres
byterian Strongholds.
THE SPREAD OF CALVANiSM