One can begin with the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” Some might wonder how memorization of such a short passage could be beneficial. Any passage memorized comes from a context and each text stored in the memory can be the key to remembering the content of its chapter. Why did Jesus weep? Because he was suffering emotionally for the loss of his friend Lazarus and mourning for his family. It is the verse that is soon followed by the eschatological miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. 

Bible memorization should be promoted within Presbyterian and Reformed Christianity in conjunction with the existing emphasis on catechesis. Catechisms are emphasized so that children and novices in the faith can learn the system of doctrine taught in the Bible. It is clearly advisable to catechize for grounding in the faith, but could it be that the Reformed shy from Bible memorization because it is often affiliated with the biblicism of some churches and other ministries within Evangelicalism? Given that the driving sola of the Reformation was Scriptura, it is appropriate to reconsider the association of catechesis with Bible memorization. Some direction is provided from the household of the Lion of Princeton, the Warfields of Grasmere, Kentucky.
Commenting in his brief biographical memorial for his brother Benjamin B. Warfield, Ethelbert D. Warfield said,
He was so certain that he was to follow a scientific career that he strenuously objected to studying Greek. But youthful objections had little effect in a household where the shorter catechism was ordinarily completed in the sixth year, followed at once by the proofs from the Scriptures, and then by the larger catechism, with an appropriate amount of Scripture memorized in regular course each Sabbath afternoon (Works, 1:vi)
The teaching tools used by William and Mary Warfield with their children were the Shorter and Larger Catechisms, along with the sometimes-tenuously related Scripture proofs found in the Shorter. Since Ethelbert specifically says he and his brother memorized Scripture, then it would appear catechesis involved the boys sitting in the parlor with a parent using the question-and-answer format to teach the boys. The question is, what does Ethelbert mean by “completed” with reference to the catechisms? If the Warfield children had memorized the catechisms, it would seem Ethelbert would have said so. Of course, as they were directed through the questions and answers with repetition, they became sufficiently familiar with them to remember their content. Memorizing the Bible was part of every catechetical session as both catechisms and proofs of the shorter were worked through. If this practice was used by two covenant sons that matured to become premier educators, scholars, and exemplars of the faith, then Bible memorization should be emphasized with catechesis to ground believers in the faith. Unfortunately, it would be interesting to have the list of verses memorized by the Warfield boys, but one could not be located (see Notes).
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the longest book of the Bible, with its topic being the Word of God. It just so happens that in the English Standard Version the psalm begins eight pages short of dead center of the whole Bible (not a study Bible). It is also organized by means of an acrostic that follows the Hebrew alphabet. The first section begins with aleph, the second section beth, and so on. Throughout the lengthy psalm are found mentions of meditation, the heart, and loving the Law of God. At the beginning of beth are these verses.
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. (KJV)
For one to walk uprightly and follow God’s revealed perfect written will, Scripture must be a part of life not only through personal, family, and church worship, but also stored within by memorization. Repetition is the mother of memory and sometimes by default verses are memorized through repeated use, such as the Aaronic blessing found in Numbers 6:24-26 that is often used for concluding worship services in churches that still have benedictions.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lifts up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
This wonderful passage stored in the memory by repetition or study prepares worshippers for the week as they hear of grace and peace.
Moving to Matthew 4:1-11 in the New Testament, the Scriptures were central to Jesus’ victory over temptation in the wilderness. For each of the three temptations presented by Satan, Jesus responded using passages from Deuteronomy each of which is prefaced by “It is written.”
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Loomis became an advocate for the Chinese with his language skill providing the means to alleviate prejudice. His primary ministry was as the pastor of the First Chinese Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, which had been organized during the ministry of William Speer. The church had been without a minister for about two years when Loomis began shepherding the Chinese flock and some rebuilding of the congregation was required. Loomis’s life in California had been a busy ministry with only two or three visits back East and one extended trip in Europe for rest and renewal. He was honored by his alma mater, Hamilton College, in 1873, with the Doctor of Divinity.

Augustus W. Loomis included in his minstry writing books about and for the Chinese immigrants and American Indians. He also emphasized catechesis in his ministry as exemplified by The Profits of Godliness, 1859, which is a brief popular study of questions 36-38 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Loomis explains each of the three answers through exposition of their component concepts. Concerning the doctrine of justification by faith he said,
Joy flows from justification; for he that is pardoned will rejoice. There is ground for his rejoicing. He looks to Jesus as his Saviour, his Surety, who, by his blood, his obedience, his intercession, reconciled him to God. He believes on him, trusts in him, and believing, he rejoices with joy unspeakable, and full of glory (p. 35).
Loomis opens the concepts of increase of grace; perseverance to the end; immediately passing into glory; perfection in holiness; awaiting the resurrection; resurrection in glory; open acknowledgement on the day of judgment; enjoying perfect blessedness; and then concludes the little book with the observation “Surely godliness is profitable; it is a pearl of great price” (p. 120). When the book was published Loomis had just returned home from China for health reasons after a six-year ministry. He would spend the rest of his life working with Chinese immigrants living in California.
Augustus Ward Loomis was born September 4, 1816, in Andover, Connecticut, to Seba Loomis and his wife Jerusha (Brewster) Loomis. His mother was a descendant of Mayflower passengers William and Mary Brewster of Plymouth Colony. Seba had been commissioned an ensign in the Connecticut militia in 1808. When the boy was about eighteen months old the family moved to Cazenovia, New York where his father purchased a farm about a half mile south of the village. At the age of eleven Augustus began preparation for college in the Oneida Conference Seminary in Cazenovia which was associated with the Wesleyan Methodists. As a young man he was not interested in becoming a minister, so he begged his parents to leave school and go into business more than a hundred miles to the east in Albany. Despite Augustus’s interest in the business world, his parents prayed for his spiritual well being. The prayers were answered when he professed faith in Christ at the age of sixteen and united with the Second Presbyterian Church in Albany. The pastor at the time was William B. Sprague. Thus, having his plans changed, Augustus returned to Cazenovia to complete preparatory studies for entry into the sophomore class of Hamilton College graduating in 1841, and he moved to New Jersey to begin theological studies in Princeton Seminary that fall.
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Loy’s letter of April 2, 1935 to his cousin expressed his support for him in his testing times and his own personal outrage at the way the modernists had made their case against him. He described the action of the General Assembly as “an unqualified outrage—unconstitutional, ultra vires, un-Presbyterian, and altogether prompted by a spirit of narrow-mindedness and intolerance.” Loy believed the outcome of the case was assured from the beginning and “the cards were stacked against you.” But he also related the comments of Moderator of New York Presbytery Russell that the actions against Machen had backfired to a degree because the way he had been treated did not look good to the general public. Loy added that lots “of men who are not on your side will see that the boot has been shifted to the other foot, and that the very ones who have been raising the cry of intolerance have been guilty of that unpardonable sin themselves” to which he added that he could not “help feeling that this adverse decision is really in your favor and that it will lead to vindication in the end.”

Mary and John Jones Gresham had two children that survived to marry and have families, Mary Jones and Thomas Baxter. Mary Jones, who was also called Minnie, would live in Baltimore with her husband Arthur Webster Machen and they would enjoy the births of three sons, one of which was born in 1881 and named John Gresham Machen. At the time of his birth, Thomas and his wife Tallulah had been raising their son LeRoy in Madison, Georgia, since his birth September 21, 1871. When Thomas and Lula Gresham moved their family to Baltimore their residence was close to that of the Machens. Gresham and Loy, which was the name Machen most often used for his cousin, became more and more like brothers than just first cousins because of their many opportunities to socialize, share common interests, and experiences. The ten-year age difference between the boys put Loy in the position of being like an older brother to J. Gresham Machen.
The purpose of this article is to consider the relationship of J. Gresham Machen and LeRoy Gresham following their years growing up together in Baltimore. This will be accomplished using a selection of letters written between April 1921 and April 1935. The letters will show that the two cousins continued to be both friends and confidants regarding issues of common interest including the situation with the Presbyterians as it developed in the 1920s in both the PCUSA and the PCUS.
LeRoy Gresham
LeRoy Gresham’s education included study in Lawrenceville Academy in New Jersey before he travelled the few miles down the road to Princeton University to earn both a B.A. and a M.A. Returning to Baltimore, Loy studied for one year at Johns Hopkins University and then went to the University of Maryland for his legal studies earning the LL.D. Initially, he followed in his father’s footsteps by practicing law in Baltimore beginning in 1896 but then after six years of work he realized that God was calling him to the pastoral ministry. Loy was just over thirty years of age when he began seminary studies. Unlike Machen’s choice for seminary, Loy selected Union Theological Seminary, Virginia, where he earned the B.D. {4} in 1906. He was licensed that May by Potomac Presbytery of the PCUS, and then he was ordained by Orange Presbytery in November of the same year. Rev. Gresham’s first call was a brief one of three years to a church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His next call would be his last because he would serve the church in Salem, Virginia, beginning in 1909 and remain there until his retirement in 1946. LeRoy was honored with the DD by both King College in Bristol and Washington and Lee in Lexington, Virginia. Loy had married Jessie Rhett in 1903, and they had two sons, Francis, who was the youngest, and Thomas Baxter.
Machen Recommends LeRoy for a New Call and Preaches at Hollins College[2]
At one point in LeRoy Gresham’s ministry in Salem, Machen mentioned Loy in a letter to Rev. Stuart “Bill” Hutchison as a possible candidate for his soon to be vacant pulpit with the hopes that he would recommend Loy to the pulpit committee. The opportunity that Machen believed could be a suitable change for Loy was just across the state in the First Presbyterian Church of Norfolk. Bill Hutchison had been the minister of the PCUS church for about ten years, and his new call was to the East Liberty Church, PCUSA in Pittsburgh. If Loy was to move to Norfolk, the change would take him from a congregation of over three-hundred members to one of nearly a thousand. Dr. Machen believed that the Norfolk pulpit would be a good fit for Cousin Loy, so he presented his case to Bill regarding his qualifications.
I have come frequently into contact with his work at Salem, and every contact with it has been an inspiration and a benediction. Though on a smaller scale, it is more like your work at Norfolk than almost anything else I have seen. That is to say, it is the work of a genuine minister of the gospel, who is in full possession of the necessary intellectual and other gifts. I do not believe that a more absolutely unselfish, consecrated man ever entered the ministry than my cousin. To win one soul he will pour forth unstintedly all the treasures of mind and heart that God has given him. And that kind of painstaking work has produced a congregation which it is a joy to see.
Machen went on to comment to Bill that the Salem congregation believed Loy was content with his call and would not leave the church for any reason. He added that Loy believed “his great duty is to his own congregation, and that, especially since his work there is so highly blessed of God, he has absolutely no time to spend upon any attempt to seek a larger field.” Despite the confidence of the congregation regarding Loy’s happiness as their pastor, Machen thought there was a possibility his cousin would leave Salem for another call when he believed God was calling him to do so. He commented, “I am sure that Loy will not decline the real call when it comes.” The letter shows Machen’s exuberance as he spoke up for his cousin because he wanted the best for him, and it looked like First Presbyterian Church in Norfolk was a call suited for his gifts.
As the letter draws to its close, Machen mentioned that it was his hope to have a week of hiking in the Natural Bridge area of Virginia with Loy before he preached the baccalaureate sermon at Hollins College for Women in Roanoke the evening of Sunday, June 5. Though the {5} sermon is untitled, Machen’s text was 2 Corinthians 4:18, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” According to the summary by the writer for Hollins Magazine, Machen’s emphasis was on the need for a deep faith that provides a solid and long-lasting foundation for Christian living. Machen also referred to the familiar text from Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” He encouraged the new graduates to pursue the Kingdom first and establish a sure foundation for practical Christianity. Hollins Magazine commented further.
Mr. Machen’s words served as a reminder to us that although we may aspire to be of much practical service to the world, our deeds will be futile unless they have beneath them a deep spiritual raison d’ếtre. We need first of all to be sincere believers in Christianity, and “it will follow as the night follows day” that our words and actions will have an unfailing power for good in the world.[3]
The baccalaureate sermon presented the simple message that Machen so often emphasized—the practical aspects of Christianity must be built upon a solid foundation of doctrine, which in this case he corresponded with seeking first the Kingdom of God. If the practical is sought without first having a solid foundation, then only a superficial and self-serving obedience will follow.
Christianity and Liberalism, New Testament Greek for Beginners, and the PCUS[4]
The year 1923 was a particularly important one for Machen’s academic career because two of what would become best-selling books, Christianity and Liberalism, and shortly thereafter, New Testament Greek for Beginners were published.[5] In a letter of May 2, 1923, Loy thanked Gresham for the recently received copy of his just released Greek grammar about which he observed, “it looks like an excellent little book” and “the preface is most interesting,” but he did not think he could assess it thoroughly until he had the opportunity to use it, hopefully, with his youngest son, Francis. Little did Loy or Machen know that the Greek textbook would be long appreciated and esteemed after their time. It remained in print with Macmillan for years, after which it was published by other companies with an updated edition in 2003.
Loy mentioned that he had “one or two interesting side-lights” on Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism. The local newspaper, Roanoke World-News, had published in its literary column a review of the book written by a member of Loy’s congregation whom he identified as Dr. Painter. Loy said the man was a former Lutheran minister, who was a widely read man, had a keen sense of humor, and was “altogether a most agreeable man personally.” But Loy speculated that the reason Dr. Painter was no longer a minister was because he fell out with the Lutherans, which Loy believed was due to his being “the only man in the ministry that I ever heard of that was president of a cigarette-machine company; and I am inclined to think that his business had something to do with his not getting along with the Lutherans.”
Dr. Painter was retired Professor of Modern Languages and Literature F. V. N. Painter of Roanoke College.[6] He was an accomplished scholar having written a number of books including A History of English Literature, Introduction to English {6} Literature, Introduction to American Literature, and several others. He was ordained into the Lutheran ministry and began teaching in 1878. In order to have more time for writing, and apparently as Loy mentioned, to try his hand at manufacturing by becoming president of the Bonsack Company, he retired from the college in 1906. The Bonsack Company had been founded by James Bonsack to manufacture the cigarette-rolling machine he had patented.[7]
Painter’s two-book review is titled, “Orthodoxy and Modernism,” with Machen’s Christianity and Liberalism representing orthodoxy and Percy Stickney Grant’s The Religion of Main Street representing the modernist perspective.[8] The review provides a brief account of Machen’s chief points as contrasted with those of Grant’s book. Machen is described as one of the “stand-patters,” while Grant is presented as a member of the “radicals.” Machen’s teaching regarding the plenary inspiration of Scripture, doctrines such as original sin, the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, and substitutionary atonement were not in accord with the modern, progressive, and liberal needs of the era. Grant’s progressive and liberal views are said to fit the needs of the scientific age and he believed traditional, creedal doctrine to be “archaic if not false.” Grant commented further that “‘in Adam’s fall we sinned all’ was the old theology” and its associated emphasis on sin “crushed humanity.” Painter ended his nine-hundred-word review saying, “After carefully reading these two theological polemics, this reviewer turned with relief and refreshment to the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, in which Paul touched the stars, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
As a promoter of Machen’s work, Loy was crafty in his method. While a woman Bible teacher from Union Seminary Training School in Richmond was participating in the Presbyterial Auxiliary meeting, she visited the Greshams and found a copy of Christianity and Liberalism strategically placed in the house for her sure sighting. She picked up what Loy described as “bait” and commented that she was delighted with the book. Loy responded by giving her one of his extra copies, thanked her for her interest, and encouraged her to continue reading his cousin’s work.
Machen responded to Loy’s letter within a few days and after informing him that he would be too busy to visit Salem until the next year, he encouraged Loy regarding his selection to attend the PCUS General Assembly for his presbytery, but he also expressed concern about what he saw as troubling signs in the PCUS. Machen told his cousin that the “Southern Church puzzles and disturbs me.” In particular, he had noticed recently that Dr. Leighton Stewart, whom he described as “a liberal propagandist in China,” had recently been examined extensively and admitted into the Presbytery of East Hanover in Richmond. He also found unsettling the collective review of books in the spring issue of The Union Seminary Review that included Harry Emerson Fosdick’s, Christianity and Progress, 1922, and Charles A. Ellwood’s, The Reconstruction of Religion: A Sociological View, 1922.[9] The reviewer, John Calvin Siler, a Union alumnus and a pastor in Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia, concluded the review saying, “We must read these books not as theological treatises, but as books on practical religion. These books have no special message on doctrine, but they have a burning message on practice.” The separation of doctrine from practice was one of Machen’s chief concerns with the PCUSA, and seeing the same thinking in the denomination of his youth bothered him greatly. He added, “It looks to me sometimes as though the Southern Church were going to give Christianity up without even being conscious that anything particularly worth while is being lost.” However, he believed there were some “splendid men” who were concerned about the issues taking place in the PCUS such as R.C. Reed of Columbia Seminary.
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The first seven beatitudes are difficult enough to apply in life, but it may be that persecution is the toughest of all. Whether it is that colleague at work who always has an insulting comment about your Christianity, or a member of your family that never lets up—it is difficult to suffer persecution. However, verse 10 reminds us that as we suffer in this life, we can look forward to the ultimate glory of heaven.

After Jesus called the twelve disciples they travelled together throughout Galilee while he taught the crowds and healed many suffering from a variety of diseases. Word of his miraculous ministry drew onlookers along with others seeking his healing power. He made paralytics walk. He loosed those shackled by the chains of demonic tyranny. He freed others enduring unpredictable bouts with seizures. The kingdom of God was coming in abundant glory as the gospel would be taken to the nations with freedom for evangelism enhanced by the binding of Satan. What an experience it was for the disciples to see the miraculous healing wrought by Jesus, but it was bewildering as well. Here were these twelve Jews whose vocations included everything from fishermen to a tax collector, none of which seems appropriate for apostleship, yet they were chosen for kingdom work by Jesus. They abandoned all to join this man they knew little about and whose many miracles were like nothing they had seen before. Thoughts raised by Jesus’ ministry anticipate the question asked later in Matthew, “What sort of man is this?” (8:27)

At this point in Jesus’ ministry his identity as the Son of God is yet to be disclosed, the demons knew it, but he instructed them to be silent. He ascended the mountain, sat down, was joined by the disciples, and he “opened his mouth” and taught. The term “opened his mouth” is indicative of the speaker’s authority and the solemnity of what is said. God had spoken to Moses on Mt. Sinai in an intimidating and fearful situation, but Jesus, the incarnate Word, sits with his disciples, speaks to them in a caring manner, and provides comfort and reassurance as he delivers the tough teaching of the kingdom of God.

Interpretations of the beatitudes follow.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (v. 3).

The “poor in spirit” are those who recognize their spiritual condition before God. Martin Luther was greatly distressed because he recognized the pervasiveness of sin in his life, and he came to poverty of spirit by realizing his impotence to remedy his sinful condition. Luther learned no one can be justified by the works of the Law. He knew he was a beggar before God and his only hope was justification through faith in Christ. Poverty of spirit should be a way of life for Christians because they recognize their dire condition apart from the grace of the gospel. One might think “the kingdom of heaven” is a reward for achieving poverty of spirit, but instead those who enter heaven recognize their inability to please God apart from the saving grace of Christ.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (4).

Mourning is usually associated with sadness caused by the death of someone dear, but in this case, mourning is initial and continued repentance, sorrow for sin. As poverty of spirit brings recognition of the need for grace, so mourning for sin is sorrow for its continued presence. Paul’s exasperation expressed in “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24) as he bemoans the law of sin at war with the law of his mind illustrates mourning for sin. Mourning is comforted by the assurance of the gospel. It is knowing that the sheep of the Lord’s flock are securely in his hands that brings abiding comfort.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (5).

Meek is not a word often used today. To be meek is to be a wimp, and no one wants to be a wimp. The definition of meek is “having or showing a quiet and gentle nature: not wanting to fight or argue with other people.” But Scripture says of Moses that he “was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth” (Num 12:3). This is the same man who threw down the tablets of the Commandments in anger at the sight of Israel’s idolatrous golden calf.
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He had consecrated his life to the Master’s service; and often said if it were not for the great need in his own Territory, and his adaptability to that work, he would unhesitatingly go to the foreign field. His life was full of promise, and he looked forward with joy to winning many souls to the Savior. He had just completed a home, but the Lord called him to the place prepared for him in the Father’s house. Had he lived, no doubt but that he would have won many precious souls; but his death may be the means of leading many prodigals back to the Father’s house. “No man dieth unto himself.” “He rests from his labors and his works do follow him.”

From the very earliest days of Presbyterianism in Colonial America there were ministers involved in evangelism among their Indian neighbors. One missionary was Presbyterian minister David Brainerd who established a church for Indians near Freehold, New Jersey, but his ministry was short-lived because he died of tuberculosis when but twenty-nine years old. Jonathan Edwards’s family in Northampton cared for him during his last days and he was so impressed with Brainerd’s work that he published his journal in 1749. Brainerd’s influence on Edwards contributed to his decision to pastor the Congregational Church in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, while also serving as a missionary to the Mohican people.
Evangelism among the native nations by pastors continued but it was in 1803 that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) appointed its first minister responsible for Indian missions. He was Gideon Blackburn who was fittingly qualified for work among the Cherokees in rugged eastern Tennessee because his ministerial gifts were enhanced by frontiersman knowledge and skills. When he preached his Bible was in hand with a musket leaning against the pulpit. It had to be challenging to show compassionate gospel ministry to the Cherokees while keeping an eye out for one’s own safety. Blackburn not only provided pastoral ministry but also operated schools for the Cherokee children.
Following the Civil War both the PCUSA and the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS) operated missions in the Indian Territory in what became Oklahoma in 1907. The Territory was established in conjunction with the Indian Removal Act of May 28, 1830 that was enacted during the administration of President Andrew Jackson. Relocation between 1830 and 1850 included over a hundred thousand members of the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and Seminole nations forced from their homes to the Territory with many dying along the way. Given the history of the Territory and resentment of these nations toward the Federal Government, the Presbyterians were challenged gaining the trust of those gathered on reservations in Oklahoma.
The PCUS experienced difficulties and setbacks with its missions in Indian Territory from about 1865 into the 1880s. The denomination determined that the best solution for handling the problems was to train native men for ministry among their own people. E. T. Thompson notes that by 1889 the PCUS had ten Indian clergy working with three missionaries to serve twenty-two churches. The greatest challenge was educating Native Americans for ordination, however, candidates from the Indian Territory most often grew up in Presbyterian schools and were better prepared for further study. Added to the challenges for missionaries was prejudice because the Little Big Horn massacre of George A. Custer’s troops in 1876 was still on people’s minds, and United States troops would continue fighting native peoples as the nineteenth century ended. Missionaries had to gain the Indians’ trust while suffering rebuke by their own people for ministering to those viewed only as enemies by many Americans.
Now, the subject turns to Joshua Bohannon. Unfortunately, the information accessed regarding his life is limited, so there are few facts to provide and some of his story is guess work. He was born in 1864 in the Choctaw Nation (lower right corner in the map), but his parents’ identities remain a mystery. It is possible he was an orphan, and his Bohannon surname was assigned to him by the orphanage, or he may have been adopted or sponsored by Bohannons.
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Dr. Williamson walked every Saturday to Mankato to preach to four hundred Dakota men imprisoned by the government during a recent war. In February 1863, Williamson and Gideon Pond baptized three hundred of the prisoners that came to believe the gospel. Dr. Williamson presided at the organization of the first church in Minnesota, and when it came time to organize the Synod of Minnesota in 1858, he led the proceedings in St. Paul. His sermon was delivered from Deuteronomy 8:2, “And thou shalt remember all the ways which the Lord thy God led thee.” He remembered the many ways the Lord had blessed his ministry as he recounted the history of early missionary work among the Dakotas.

Thomas Smith was born March 1800 in Union District, South Carolina, to Rev. William and Mary (Smith) Williamson. His father was pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Fair Forest. In 1805, the family moved to Adams County, Ohio, where Thomas studied in local schools to prepare for further work at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He began studying medicine in Cincinnati but transferred to Yale to complete the Doctor of Medicine graduating in 1824. Dr. Williamson returned to Ohio to intern with a local physician in West Union before moving to Ripley to set up his own practice. In 1827, he married Margaret Poage, the daughter of Col. James Poage. During the first six years of marriage the Williamsons had three children, but they died in their early years with two passing away within just a few months of each other. In the early 1830s cholera occurred several times in Ohio and young children were especially susceptible to the disease, so the Williamson children may have died of cholera. Thomas and Margaret were stunned by the three-fold tragedy. The deaths raised questions of their direction in life and what would God have them to do. Thomas had come to faith in Christ while in college and as he and Margaret discussed their options, they believed they would serve the Lord in missions to the American Indians.
In the spring of 1833 physician and ruling elder Williamson began the process for becoming a missionary. He was taken under care of the Presbytery of Chillicothe and spent a year at Lane Theological Seminary studying for the ministry. At a presbytery meeting held at Red Oak in 1834 he was examined for licensure with trials including reading an exegetical paper composed in Latin answering the question whether Christ’s death was vicarious; provided a written paper on Psalm 2:7-12; and then he delivered a sermon on Mark 16:16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Trials completed, he was licensed and then combined pulpit supply with scouting the region of what is currently Minnesota to determine the best place for missions to the Indians. Williamson determined the Dakota people provided the best opportunity. He reported to Chillicothe Presbytery his findings and on September 18, 1834 he was ordained an evangelist working with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM). Thomas, Margaret, and his wife’s sister, Mary Poage, joined Alexander G. Huggins, a school teacher, and his family for the journey. They departed Ripley April 1, 1835 and headed up the Mississippi on a steamboat arriving May 16 at Fort Snelling near Minneapolis.
During the weeks at Fort Snelling the Williamsons adjusted to frontier life and gathered goods to take with them to their place of ministry. In Fort Snelling June 11, 1835, Williamson organized the first Presbyterian congregation in the region that would become Minnesota with nineteen members and four ruling elders including U. S. Army Major G. A. Loomis. The church was named Presbyterian Church at St. Peters. Williamson later conducted the wedding ceremony for Loomis’s daughter, Eliza Edna, when she married Lt. Edward A. Ogden. It was the first marriage service by a clergyman in what would become Minnesota.
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Rev. Morrison was elected moderator of the Old School General Assembly during its meeting in Peoria, Illinois. He was a member of the Presbytery of Lodiana, one of three presbyteries of the Synod of Northern India. He encouraged the General Assembly to remember their mission work in India. It is often difficult for missionaries to be so far from home, family, and familiar culture, and the difficulty becomes deeply distressing if they feel forgotten.

John Hunter was born June 29, 1806 to James and Eleanor (Thompson) Morrison in Wallkill Township, New York. James’s grandfather Morrison had emigrated from Scotland. John’s early studies were accomplished in Bloomfield Academy, New Jersey. At twenty-two years of age he professed faith in Christ in the Presbyterian Church on Cedar Street in New York (currently, Fifth Avenue) during the ministry of Cyrus Mason. It was two more years before he attended the College of New Jersey (Princeton) graduating with the class of 1834. Called to the ministry, his theological studies were completed in Princeton at the seminary which granted his certificate of studies in 1837. The Presbytery of New York, Old School, licensed Morrison September 12, 1837, then the next day he married the daughter of E. D. Ward, Anna Maria, who was eight years younger.  Just a few weeks after licensure he was ordained on the first day of October. Events proceeded rapidly for the Morrisons because they were leaving for the foreign mission field in India, but first they joined other new missionaries for a public commissioning service in Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. Dr. William W. Phillips of First Church, New York, and Dr. Henry R. Wilson spoke to the appointees encouraging them as they prepared for voyages to distant lands.
On October 14, the Morrisons left Philadelphia on a steamboat to Newcastle, Delaware, to set sail for India once the stormy weather cleared. They were on board the Edward which was under the command of Capt. J. H. Cheyney. It was the Sabbath so Rev. Morrison held a service on the deck with passengers and crew in attendance as he preached from Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Anna Maria described their accommodations on the Edward.
The stateroom admits one chair, and a small table, which answers the purpose also of a wash-stand, having a bowl fastened to it. Our berths are large, and by far more comfortable than I supposed they would be. And if we could have a little more air, we should sleep charmingly.
When the ship sailed for India October 16, the anticipated charming trip ended up a horrendous journey for Anna Maria. The one-hundred-seventy-day voyage to Calcutta was a nightmare of reoccurring bouts with sea sickness—one of which lasted two weeks. She also suffered a mysterious malady with symptoms that included a splitting headache and convulsions. The unidentified disease was diagnosed by one passenger claiming to have some medical knowledge as “congestion of the liver.” Late in the voyage, Anna Maria developed stomach pain to add to her discomfort. When the Edward arrived in Calcutta April 6, 1838, things were looking better because the Morrisons were in the country where they would serve the Lord, but despite the relative calm of port, Anna Maria’s headaches continued to be troublesome. A physician treated her by putting leaches and ice on her head. Added to the Morrisons’ difficulties was the news that cholera was raging in Calcutta. The sequence of events is not clear at this point, but it appears the Morrisons remained on the Edward in the bay waiting for transport to Allahabad, which is nearly 500 miles northwest of Calcutta. Anna Maria developed symptoms indicative of cholera then died April 27. So, John and Anna Maria had been married about seven months, on the move the whole time, and they did not reach their field of ministry in Allahabad together. To say the least, this is a sad story but not an uncommon one for western missionaries working in Asian climates.
John continued his journey to his field of ministry and worked faithfully throughout the years. He came to be known among the missionaries as “The Lion of the Punjab,” because of his tenacity and faithful preaching of the Bible. Though tough, he was also congenial, well loved, and greatly respected by the people of India as well as his colleagues. It did not take Morrison long to remarry because less than a year after Anna Maria’s death on February 20, 1839 he married at Allahabad Isabella Hay of Perthshire, Scotland. They had likely met in the missionary community. But after only four years Isabella died at Calcutta February 14, 1843. Then during a visit to the United States he married on June 1, 1846 a woman from England named Anna Williams.
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Hopeful, dedicated, and spiritually zealous Rev. John R. Peale completed seminary, was licensed and ordained, married Rebecca, and with his bride they embarked on a lengthy journey to China only to be murdered in the streets of Lienchou by some of the residents they had hoped to serve.

John Rogers Peale was born to Samuel Alexander and Elizabeth (McIntire) Peale September 17, 1879 northwest of Harrisburg in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. He prepared for college in a local academy and professed faith in Christ in the Presbyterian Church at the age of twelve. For college he attended Lafayette in Easton. John was involved in several extra-curricular activities including president of the campus YMCA chapter, membership in the Dramatic Association, a brother of Delta Upsilon fraternity, and editor of the college yearbook. He won the Coleman Biblical Prize his freshman year and graduated Lafayette with honors in 1902.
That fall John moved to New Jersey to study for the ministry at Princeton Theological Seminary. The president of Lafayette College at the time of Peale’s studies was Ethelbert D. Warfield who may have influenced him to go to Princeton given that he was on the board and his brother B. B. Warfield was a professor. Included among his extracurricular activities at the seminary were leading the student band and participating in just about anything related to missions. Demonstrating for all visitors to his dorm room his interest in foreign missions was a large map including annotations for the various fields. Seminary friends commented that when they dropped in to visit John they often found him with an open Bible and in prayer. He was quiet, reserved, and greatly admired by other students and the faculty. John looked out for opportunities to promote world missions by scheduling mission-minded students to fill pulpits in area churches. Before graduating Princeton Seminary in May 1905, he earned a Master of Arts from Princeton University.
Before he could leave for the mission field there were a few things to do. As a Presbyterian ministerial candidate it was necessary for him to be licensed and ordained by his presbytery. On April 11, 1905, just before he graduated seminary, the Presbytery of Carlisle of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) licensed him, then just a month later on May 15 he was ordained an evangelist to serve on the foreign field. With his education and ecclesiastical requirements completed before moving overseas, the next step for Peale was marrying Rebecca Gillespie June 29, 1905 in Maryland. Before leaving the port in San Francisco for Lienchou, Kwangtung Province, Rev. Peale expressed hope that he and Rebecca would be allowed to serve the Lord with the Chinese people for forty years.
At the time the Chinese were transitioning from the ways of the past into the modern world. China had lost the Sino-Japanese war (1894-1895) due to the superiority of Japanese weaponry manufactured with technological guidance from world powers such as Great Britain and the United States. In China, modernization lagged behind the Japanese because of greater resistance to modifying the ancient ways. The Presbyterians and other Western missionaries brought with them not only the gospel and the Bible but different clothing, foods, ways of and media for writing, recreation, and ways of thinking about life. Growing resentment towards foreigners among some Chinese had led to the Boxer Rebellion at the end of the nineteenth century. It is believed that most of the 200 to 250 foreign individuals killed by the Boxers were missionaries, however the greatest death toll was suffered by Chinese Christians with thousands murdered. Not long after the Boxer Rebellion ended, there was an uprising in Paotingfu resulting in the murders of sixteen missionaries and family members including eight from the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, PCUSA. It was the worst massacre of PCUSA missionaries since killings in India in 1857. The Presbyterians that died included Rev. and Mrs. Frank E. Simcox and their three children, Dr. George Yardley Taylor, and Elsie and Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Hodge, MD, who was the grandson of Charles Hodge’s brother, Hugh Lenox Hodge.
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The rainbow is much more than an inspiration for fables, an idiom inducer, or a lovely item to sing about, it is a sign of God’s covenant with Noah. The simple rainbow that is sometimes seen spanning the sky on a rainy day is a reminder, a covenant sign. God’s bow in the clouds brings comfort to Christians and non-Christians alike regarding the promise that the earth will not be destroyed by a flood again, but for the non-Christian the rainbow is also a reminder of the Creator of heaven and earth to whom worship is owed. 

The photograph of a rainbow was taken two Saturdays ago. It is unfortunate that the aperture of the lens was inadequate to show the entire arch which curved high in the sky and appeared to touch the earth at both ends. It was a perfect, but short lived, rainbow.
Rainbows are not miracles. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a rainbow as “An arch of colors visible in the sky, caused by the refraction and dispersion of the sun’s light by rain or other water droplets in the atmosphere.” When described scientifically the colorful bow loses some of its Judy Garland Somewhere Over the Rainbow appeal. Because rainbows tend to be large, colorful, and attention grabbing, their appearances over the years have induced onlookers all over the world to create fables and sayings such as the supposed pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, or the term “always chasing rainbows” which is used to describe individuals pursuing goals doomed to disaster. But there is more to rainbows than just science and sayings because God has given them theological significance.
The historical account of Noah, his family, the ark, and the preservation of animals to repopulate the world after the flood is common knowledge even among those who are unacquainted with the Bible. The word “antediluvian” means before the flood, as in Noah’s deluge, and it is used to describe someone who is old fashioned or behind the times. Common knowledge of the Noahic flood does not necessarily result in common acceptance of its historicity. Responses to the deluge fall within the spectrum of denying it ever happened at one end to accepting it for what it was at the other—a catastrophic event involving a household of God’s image bearers, a massive wooden ark, and animal life from all species. The purpose of the rains feeding the flood was to cleanse and renew the world because “the wickedness of man was great in the earth and every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). As the water increased in depth it brought death and destruction to the wicked, but it also meant life for Noah’s household and the animals as they drifted afloat in the ark; the flood was the means of death for the evil, but the same flood was the means of life for Noah and the creation. When it was all said and done and the flood water receded, the Lord made a covenant with Noah, all mankind, and the creation.
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Neander refused to adopt the order of the Reformed Church and he would not subscribe to the Heidelberg Catechism. He was censured by the Presbyterium (similar to a presbytery) in October, 1676, and added to the charges concerning his church ministry were accusations regarding his operation of the school. At the school he had developed curriculum and did not seek its approval by the Presbyterium; he rescheduled examinations without approval; and he made repairs on the property without approval. These were the main points against him. So, the Presbyterium presented a declaration to Neander, February 3, 1677, suspending him from directing the school and forbidding him from preaching in the church.

Joachim Neander was born at Bremen, Germany, 1650. His father was a teacher in the local Latin school until he died when Joachim was sixteen years old. After his father’s death, he entered the Reformed University at Bremen to study theology in order to become a minister. At the time, he viewed the ministry as nothing more than a profession that would provide for a good future and job security. However, growing in influence at the time was a movement in Germany called pietism which believed the existing Protestant churches in the land, both Lutheran and Reformed, over emphasized doctrine at the expense of personal experience and practical Christian living.
James I. Good expressed the situation as follows:
Two causes led to the development of Pietism in the Reformed Church in the close of the seventeenth century. The first was a reaction against the dead orthodoxy and formalism that had crept into the Church. The second was the rise of the Cocceianism, or the Federal School of Theology. The two really were one, Cocceianism a reaction against deadness of doctrine, and Pietism a reaction against deadness of life. Through the theological controversies religion had become a matter of the head, rather than of the heart and life (314-315).
Pietism first began among the Lutherans then spread to the Reformed Church. One Sunday in the fall of 1670, Neander went to hear Theodor Untereyck (1635-1693) preach with the intention of making fun of his teaching, however, he instead found himself convicted of his hardness and folly as he came to faith in Christ. After the service he left the church and mentioned to the two friends with him that he had decided to follow Christ. From then on, Neander attended Untereyck’s services and became a follower of his teaching. Neander’s ideas concerning life and the ministry had changed entirely.
The spring of 1671, Neander accepted an offer from some French Reformed (Huguenot) families in Frankfurt to take their five sons about sixty miles south in Germany to the University of Heidelberg. It was not unusual for parents with means to hire someone to oversee their boys and keep them out of trouble while away at college. It was a good opportunity for Neander because he could study according to his own interests as he tutored and chaperoned the boys until they returned to Frankfort in 1673.
Continuing with his pietist interest, the next year Neander participated in private Bible study and prayer meetings in Frankfurt led by Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705). Spener opposed what he believed were the rigid organization and doctrinal inflexibility of Lutheranism while he also condemned the lax morality of many clergy. Neander became more deeply associated with the pietist movement and found in Spener the teaching that continued Untereyck’s influences from his past. Joachim Neander’s most significant work during these years in Frankfort was writing hymns. As the pietist movement grew it increasingly included Reformed as well as Lutheran Germans. The Lutherans sang Neander’s hymns in prayer meetings and as pietism came to influence the Reformed they too sang his hymns as they became less committed to Psalmody.
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