amused at the confidence with which the Episcopal divines sought to convert him to Prelacy. But that vigorous effort at conversion was an illustration of the recognized weight of the Presbyterians now in national affairs. And so in June, 1643, the Westminster Assembly of Divines met, convened by that great parliament which had arrested the tyranny of the Stuart Kings and restored and extended liberties of Britons. England was free and England was Presbyterian.

It was in the midst of the great struggle for liberty, and at the time when the authority of the Bible was supreme, and England and Scotland were one great Bible class, and the Puritan was seeking to realize on earth the Holy Kingdom of Heaven, and when man demanded a "thus saith the Lord" as a settlement of every question, that these men gathered at Westminster to draw forth from the Word of God the true doctrine and polity of the visible church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Maysville, Ky.

J. C. MALLOY.

V. SOME SALIENT FEATURES OF PRESBY

TERIAN DOCTRINE.

In like

We shall all agree that the great end to be aimed at by those connected with any branch of the church is to seek to be well instructed in the doctrines and practices of that branch of it with which they are identified. We may rightly assume that the church member who is most fully informed in regard to his own and other churches, is least likely to be bigoted and sectarian, and that he will be the readiest to acknowledge the good there is in other churches, and to rejoice at the same time in their prosperity. manner it may be safely said that he who is most intelligently devoted to his own church, and who does most for her best welfare will be found doing most in the long run to advance Christ's cause in the world. It is ignorance that begets sectarianianism, and we may be sure that loose church relations mean little work for the Master. This being the case, we may rightly rejoice in every opportunity given us to understand more fully the doctrines and practices of the church with which we are identified.

The Reformed churches holding the Presbyterian system have a communing membership of nearly 5,000,000 which represents a population of about 25,000,000, scattered throughout the whole world. The history of these bodies is an honorable one, and their influence for good has ever been potent. In the sphere of education, in the matter of civil and religious liberty, in the work of Foreign Missions, and in the production of religious literature, these churches have a record of which they need not be ashamed.

But our present theme limits us to the doctrinal contents of our own beloved Presbyterian system, and engages our attention with some of its outstanding features, so that many

inviting and more popular aspects of our noble system. must be passed by as we keep closely to our theme.

By Presbyterian doctrine is to be understood the general system of religious truth which is set forth in the Reformed or Calvinistic Creeds, as distinguished from the Romish, the Lutheran, and the Arminian schemes of doctrine. This general system is embodied, with more or less completeness, in many Confessions and Catechisms. It is represented by the Swiss, Dutch and French Reformed or Presbyterian systems. The Thirty-nine Articles of the Anglican Churches, with some slight exceptions, are Calvinistic. The Welsh Methodists are also Calvinistic, as their title, Calvinistic Methodists, indicates. The regular Baptists, especially in the South, are strongly Calvinistic in their views of Christian doctrine, and the Congregationalists, both in England and New England, were originally of the same well defined type of doctrine. But in none of the great creeds is this system so clearly and completely exhibited as in our own Confession of Faith and Catechisms, known as the Westminster Standards. It is the outline of this system, therefore, which we are now to have before us in our discussion.

The salient features of Presbyterian doctrine have often been identified with what are called the five points of Calvinism, which some people think are exceedingly sharp points. To refresh our memories, these five points may be briefly stated. The first is entire depravity, which means that man in his natural state is apostate, guilty, and wholly unable to save himself. The second is the unconditional election which teaches that God's choice of the heirs of life and salvation is not conditioned upon anything in them, but is of his good pleasure. The third is particular redemption, which implies that though certain general benefits come to all men through Christ, yet Christ obeyed and died specially to redeem particularly and completely all those given to him by the Father. The fourth is efficacious grace, which

holds that the special renewing grace of the Holy Spirit is operative in the regeneration of the elect. The fifth and last is final perseverance, which announces that all those who are elected, redeemed and regenerated, shall surely persevere unto life eternal.

It is admitted that this is a true delineation of the main features of the Calvinistic system, as they stand over against Arminianism, but the statement of the five points scarcely expresses the whole scope of the Calvinistic system, which is, as we hope to show in this address, exceedingly comprehensive. Moreover, these five points, on the negative side, ought rather to be called the five points of Arminianism, for they were really formulated by the Arminians of Holland, as a remonstrance against the doctrinal conclusions of the Synod of Dort, which were consistently Calvinistic. In addition, our Presbyterian Standards are not framed according to the plan of the five points, but are broader.

We have often thought, therefore, that it is a real pity that the debate between Calvinism and other systems has been cast along the lines marked out by these five points, for the reason mainly that the Calvinism of our Westminster Standard, in its maturity, symmetry and completeness is a distinct advance upon that of the Synod of Dort, in 1618-1619, A. D. This being the case, it may be better in this discussion not to follow the plan of the five points, though the doctrines implied in these points will at times be under consideration. We may gain in completeness of view and thoroughness of treatment if we mark out another line of discussion. In addition, if we were to follow the beaten track of the five points, we would almost surely project the discussion along the lines of burning controversy, which we do not think is desirable in an exposition such as we now desire to make. Hence, to secure completeness of treatment, and to avoid unnecessary controversy, we shall follow another plan in dealing with the

salient points of our Presbyterian doctrine. In following out this plan, we shall first call attention to some general aspects of our doctrinal system which are well defined; and secondly, we shall follow this up by a discussion of some special features of Presbyterian doctrine which are apt in some cases to be overlooked, but which constitute its peculiar excellency.

I. SOME GENERAL SALIENT ASPECTS OF PRESBYTERIAN

DOCTRINE.

1. The very first of these is the remarkable scripturalness of our doctrine.

This is a striking feature of our creed when compared with almost any other, for in so many cases these other creeds err either by excess or defect. But our Standards, above all others, honor the Word of God. This appears in the fact that both the Confession and the Catechisms give the Holy Scriptures a first place in their plan. The first chapter in the Confession and the opening questions of both Catechisms speak of the inspired Word of God. Then our whole system of doctrine is drawn from this divine treasury of religious truth and teachings. The great doctrines are often expressed in our Standards in the very language of the Holy Scriptures, and all through they breathe the true spirit of the Word of God.

It is well to keep this fact in mind, for it is sometimes asserted that Presbyterian doctrine is speculative rather than scriptural in its nature. Such a judgment is, to say the least, hasty, and betrays a painful lack of knowledge concerning the way in which our system of doctrine was formulated, as well as of the actual contents of the system itself. A moment's reflection will show this, and at the same time will reveal the wonderful scripturalness of our whole system. When we go back to the Reformation we find that there was in it a breaking away from scholasticism, with its speculative theology, and a return to the direct