A Forgotten Hymn Book

Introduction

A recent find by Haaswurth Books has shined the light on a relatively unknown hymnbook and its compiler. In 1851-52, H. A. Griggs compiled and edited the first hymnbook of the General Baptists in the Midwestern United States.

This body of General Baptists is theologically dependent but historically independent of the General Baptists in England and early America.  The separation of Benoni Stinson (1798-1869) from the United Baptists originated this distinct body. Stinson professed faith in 1820 and joined a United Baptist Church in Wayne County, Kentucky. He was ordained a minister in November 1821. He moved to Indiana around 1822, where he pastored and organized churches. He leaned toward an Arminian theology, holding “that Christ tasted death for every man.” In October 1824, Stinson led churches in Vanderburgh County, Indiana to organize the Liberty Association of General Baptists. Stinson held free or open communion in addition to free will, both of which put him at odds with the Baptists with whom he was previously connected. [i]

The First Hymnbook of the U.S. General Baptists

Cover page of Grigg’s hymnbook, from the collection of Alfred Merril Smoak, Jr., DWS
Used by permission of Haaswurth Books

At the 28th meeting of the Liberty Association of General Baptists in 1851, “Elder H. A. Greggs (sic) presented a plan for the compilation of a General Baptist Hymn Book, which was approved. This was the first Hymn Book published by the General Baptists in the United States.” [ii] The hymnbook itself, published in 1852, identifies the compiler as “Griggs” rather than “Greggs.” [iii] The Liberty Association approved the work, and Griggs’s effort became the first hymnbook among this body of General Baptists. Griggs probably bore the brunt and expense of the work, it being “Published by the Compiler.”[iv] Morton & Griswold on Main Street in Louisville, Kentucky set the type and printed the book, which was available in 1852.

The full title of Griggs’s book is The General Baptist Hymn Book: containing a Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Christian Worship, with several Original Pieces by the Compiler. According to Haaswurth Books, Griggs published The General Baptist Hymn Book in the common 3" x 5" hymnbook size of the day. It contained 651 words-only hymns on 550 pages, followed by an index on pages 551-565. It contained an endorsement by “the Committee appointed by Liberty, Union, and Cumberland Associations of General Baptists.” Having examined The General Baptist Hymn Book, the committee stated they “do hereby cheerfully recommend the Book to the public, and to our own denomination in particular.” [v]

The General Baptist History suggests Griggs’s hymnbook obtained a level of popularity such that it still remained a preference among older church members in 1882. However, another General Baptist hymnbook compiled by George P. Cavanah circa 1858-59 superseded it. In 1880, “Elder H. A. Gregg (sic), author of the first Hymn Book” served on the committee of the General Association of General Baptists that recommended J. E. Cox’s Manual of Praise as “a standard Hymn book for General Baptists...” [vi]

Griggs’s hymnbook seems to have soon passed out of the memory of the general public and General Baptists themselves. Henry Sweetser Burrage does not refer to it in Baptist Hymn Writers and Their Hymns. Starr’s 26-volume A Baptist Bibliography does not list it; neither does I Will Sing the Wondrous Story by Music and Richardson take notice of it.[vii]

A. D. Williams did not mention The General Baptist Hymn Book in 1892 when he wrote Benoni Stinson and the General Baptists (Owensville, IN: General Baptist Publishing House) – suggesting it had been largely forgotten by then. Laslie’s History of the General Baptists of 1938 mentions neither Griggs nor his hymnbook.[viii] History of Union Association of General Baptists does not mention it either (though it briefly mentions Griggs).[ix] The next year (1954) in History of the General Baptists, Ollie Latch mentioned a hymnbook authorized in 1851, but without any other mention of its author or other details.[x]

H. A. Griggs, the Hymnbook Compiler

The compiler of the hymnbook suffered much the same fate as the book itself. He has dropped out of the memory of both the general public and General Baptists. When Montgomery wrote in 1882, he described H. A. Griggs as “now very old and is well known by all the Associations in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. He now belongs to Union Association and was a delegate to the General Association in 1881.”[xi] By the time the history of the Union Association was written in 1953, he only received two passing mentions (pp. 128, 135). His name does not appear in the History of the General Baptists by Latch.

H. A. Griggs participated in the Liberty Association, the Cumberland Association, the Union Association, and the General Association of General Baptists. He was apparently in the Liberty Association in 1851 when they approved the hymnbook.[xii] Williams mentions Griggs (as “H. A. Gregg”) in a list of “several strong ministers” in the Cumberland Association circa 1856.[xiii] Griggs served on a General Association committee in 1880. “Little Zion church [in the Union Association] was organized May 1, 1884, by Elder A. Pearce, Eld. H. E. Todd, Eld. M. B. Covington and H. A. Griggs.”[xiv] At an unknown date, he pastored Mt. Gilead Church in Webster County, Kentucky, which was in the Union Association of General Baptists. [xv]

So, who was H. A. Griggs? What follows proposes his likely of identity, based on records accessible at Ancestry.com (U.S. and State Censuses, land records, etc.) – circumstantial evidence that corresponds to the scant biographical information in the General Baptist histories previously cited. Griggs may have been near Louisville, Kentucky in 1852, since he had his hymnbook printed there. He was at least in the same general area of the primary labors of Benoni Stinson and the General Baptists.

The H. A. Griggs who best suits the known information is Hubbard A. Griggs. He shows up in the censuses as follows: [xvi]

• Home in 1850: Curran, Saline County, Illinois; Hubbard A. Griggs, a shoemaker
• Home in 1855: Pope County, Illinois (state census, occupation not mentioned)
• Home in 1860: Luce, Spencer County, Indiana; Hubbard Gregg, teacher
• Home in 1870: Noble, Richland County, Illinois; H. A. Griggs, works in Shoe Shop
• Home in 1880: Dixon, Webster County, Kentucky; H. A. Griggs, Shoe and Boot Maker

These four counties are all in the Illinois–Indiana–Kentucky tri-state area where the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky intersect and thus reasonably coincides with where H. A. Griggs, the General Baptist minister, lived and labored.

If this is the correct identification, we can extrapolate the following biographical information concerning H. A. Griggs the compiler of the General Baptist hymnbook. Hubbard A. Griggs was born circa 1813 in the state of New York.[xvii] By 1837, he had moved westward and married Elizabeth “Betsey” Beadle (or Bedell) on January 12, 1837 at Troy, Athens County, Ohio. They had at least six children: John, James, Alonzo, Lorenzo D., Margaret A., and Sarah M. Griggs.[xviii] They must have moved from Ohio to Virginia for a short season, since son Lorenzo was born there around 1843. They were in Illinois by 1848. Griggs served as a Private in the Illinois infantry during the Mexican-American War, circa 1846-1848.[xix] On March 6, 1862 he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a Private in the Indiana 53rd Infantry Company C.

Elizabeth died before 1865, when H. A. Griggs married Sarah Reed on October 8, 1865, in Spencer County, Indiana. This marriage was brief, probably ended by Sarah’s death. On February 21, 1866, Griggs married Jerusha Oliver in Richland County, Illinois. They were both still living in 1880, in Webster County, Kentucky.[xx]

Card showing headstone order

Hubbard A. Griggs died circa 1887 in Corydon, Henderson County, Kentucky.[xxi] He is buried in the Corydon Cemetery.

Conclusion

This brief article greatly suffers from not having access to The General Baptist Hymn Book by H. A. Griggs. No analysis of his poetry or editorial work is possible. Instead, H. A. Griggs and The General Baptist Hymn Book reminds us to reflect on the transience of life. Berryman Hicks (1778-1839), a Baptist preacher in South Carolina poetically sighed,

The time is swiftly rolling on,
When I must faint and die;
My body to the dust return,
And there forgotten lie.

Let the nearly-forgotten story of H. A. Griggs and the first General Baptist hymnbook remind us that the vicissitudes of life bring us all to one end. It is appointed unto men once to die, and “the memory of them is forgotten.” As historians we memorialize; as Christian chroniclers we also admonish. The “house of mourning...is the end of all men,” and surely the living should lay it to heart. The believer finds hope in the sure promise of God, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” The Lord knoweth them that are his.

---

[i] General Baptist History, D. B. Montgomery and Jefferson Holeman, editors. Evansville, IN: Courier Company, 1882, pp. 179-199, 209-213. At the time Liberty Association was organized, they held that “the saints will finally persevere through grace to glory.” This was modified at a later date to, “he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved” (pp. 210-211). According to Montgomery & Holeman, Stinson did not believe in perseverance at the time Liberty Association was organized, but other members did.
[ii] General Baptist History, Montgomery & Holeman, p. 258.
[iii] The book includes the spellings Gregg, Greggs, and Griggs.
[iv] Of three 19th century hymn books General Baptist History (p. 400) states, “The different enterprises on Hymn books proved successful, except that none of them was very renumerative (sic) to the publishers. Each one met the demand of the church at the time of publication.”
[v] https://www.haaswurth.com/products/griggs-the-general-baptist-hymn-book-1852-rare-kentucky-book
[vi] General Baptist History, pp. 398-400.
[vii] https://www.haaswurth.com/blogs/news/griggs-the-general-baptist-hymn-book-kentucky-1852; Baptist Hymn Writers and Their Hymns, Henry Sweetser Burrage. Brown Thurston and Company, 1888; A Baptist Bibliography: Being a Register of Printed Material By and About Baptists; Including Works Written Against the Baptists, Edward Caryl Starr. Volume 9, 1964; “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story”: A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America, David W. Music, Paul Akers Richardson. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2008.
[viii] Laslie’s History of the General Baptists, Theophilus Alexander Hall Laslie (Revised by L. O. Roberts and E. Y. Laslie). Poplar Bluff, MO: General Baptist Publishing House, 1938.
[ix] History of Union Association of General Baptists, Home Mission Board of the Union Association. Poplar Bluff, MO: General Baptist Press, 1953.
[x] “In 1851, Liberty delegates authorized the publication of a Hymnbook. This matter was agitated and kept alive until the book was finished. It was one of the more important factors of a growing interest in publications, as we shall see.” History of the General Baptists, Ollie Latch. Poplar Bluff, MO: General Baptist Press, 1954, p. 157.
[xi] General Baptist History, Montgomery & Holeman, p. 398.
[xii] American Baptist Register for 1852 does not list H. A. Griggs as a pastor in the Liberty General Baptist Association (John Lansing Burrows, editor. Philadelphia, PA: American Baptist Publication Society, 1853). The “returns” in the list are from the 1851 minutes.
[xiii] Benoni Stinson and the General Baptists, Alvin Dighton Williams. Owensville, IN: General Baptist Publishing House, 1892, p. 356. A mention in Minutes and Journal of the Southern Illinois Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (September 25-28, 1867, Alton, IL: N. V. Crossman Printer, 1867, p. 14; also mentioned on page 18) would seem to likely be this same person: “Rev. George Scawthon, of the Church of United Brethren in Christ, and Hubbard A. Griggs, of the Baptist Church, were recognized as Elders of the M. E. Church—they being required to take upon them the usual vows.”
[xiv] History of Union Association of General Baptists, p. 128.
[xv] History of Union Association of General Baptists, p. 135.
[xvi] Additionally, General Land Office records establish certain purchases or ownership of property, though they do not establish residency: Williamson County, Illinois (1851), Pope County, Illinois (1857).
[xvii] His recorded age in the 1850 census would put his birth in 1807. However, the other three censuses consistently suggest the 1813 birth.
[xviii] Ada V. Griggs is in the 1870 census, 8 years old. She probably was also the child of Hubbard and Elizabeth.
[xix] Illinois Database of Mexican-American War Veterans.
[xx] What happened to Jerusha Griggs after the death of Hubbard A. Griggs is unknown. The burial locations of Elizabeth, Sarah, and Jerusha are all unknown.
[xxi] Jerusha Griggs filed as a Civil War widow on December 19, 1887. A contract to supply a Union soldier headstone for H. A. Griggs was dated August 21, 1888. 

A. Merril Smoak Jr., and other music links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• A. Merril Smoak, Jr. Library Photo Gallery -- “The library features over 30,000 volumes, including a music collection with an early 1800s edition of ‘The Missouri Harmony.’”
• A. Merril Smoak, Jr., Baptist Hymnal Collection -- “This link contains a list of Pre-1850 hymnals in the Smoak collection.”
• A. Merril Smoak Jr. – Collecting Baptist Hymnals: Two New Early Nineteenth-Century Sources from Upstate New York (Video) -- “Baptist pastors such as Jason Lothrop and Jairus Handy published regional hymn collections for local conference meetings and private social gatherings. This paper will examine one of these newly discovered hymn collections; specifically the hymn collection compiled by Baptist pastor Jason Lothrop.”
• “Collecting Baptist Hymnals: Two ‘New” Early Nineteenth Century Sources from Upstate and Western New York” by A. Merril Smoak, Jr. (Paper) -- “Baptist pastors such as Jason Lothrop and Jairus Handy published regional hymn collections for local conference meetings and private social gatherings. This paper will examine one of these newly discovered hymn collections; specifically the hymn collection compiled by Baptist pastor Jason Lothrop.”
• Joe Bussard, the collector who preserved early American recordings, has died at 86 -- “He sought out obscure 78-rpm records that otherwise would have disappeared: jazz, blues, bluegrass, country and folk recordings from the early 20th century — the history of America, pressed to shellac.”
• Loretta Lynn, coal miner’s daughter and country queen, dies -- “She was the first woman ever named entertainer of the year at the genre's two major awards shows, first by the Country Music Association in 1972 and then by the Academy of Country Music three years later.”
• Ten Principles for Church Song -- “The main sound to be heard in the worship music is the sound of the congregation singing.”

A Kingdom’s currency

Every kingdom upon the Earth has a currency with which trade is carried out in it.  Our nation’s currency has a motto written on it saying “In GOD we trust.”  While we might wish that were true, the fact is that we (as a nation) are in absolute rebellion against the True and Living GOD. We despise HIS WAY and trample upon HIS precepts daily.  The currency of the Kingdom of GOD is FAITH, and the motto written upon it in bold letters is “CHRIST is ALL.”  One cannot do business in this Kingdom without that “money”, which a man cannot obtain through human effort but is only bestowed on its inhabitants by the GIFT of GOD.  This is a glorious “welfare state”, wherein the citizens of it have their every need supplied by HIM who is the KING.

Mike A. McInnis, Grace Gazette

Poor and Afflicted

Thomas Kelly captured a thought from Zephaniah 3:12 in his blessed hymn “Poor and Afflicted.” Kelly (1769–1855) was a Church of Ireland cleric from his ordination in 1792 to 1803, when he broke with this church. His evangelical views were influenced by Rowland Hill, William Romaine, John Walker, and the Haldane brothers. Kelly was a prolific hymnist, writing over 700 hymns. These were published in A Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1802), Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture (1804), Hymns of Thomas Kelly, Never Before Published (1815), and other places. “Look, ye saints, the sight is glorious” is possibly his best-known hymn.

Hymn CXVIII, p. 109. L. M.
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. Zeph. iii. 12.

1. “Poor and afflicted,” Lord, are thine,
Among the great unfit to shine;
But tho’ the world may think it strange,
They would not with the world exchange.

2. “Poor and afflicted,” Yes, they are;
They’re not exempt from grief and care;
But he who sav’d them by his blood,
Makes ev’ry sorrow yield them good.

3. “Poor and afflicted,” Tis their lot;
They know it, and they murmur not;
’Twould ill become them to refuse
The state their Master deign’d to choose.

4. “Poor and afflicted,” Yet they sing,
For Jesus is their glorious King;
“Through sufferings perfect,” now he reigns,
And shares in all their griefs and pains.

5. “Poor and afflicted,” But ere long,
They’ll join the bright, celestial throng;
Their sufferings then will reach a close,
And heav’n afford them sweet repose.

6. And while they walk the thorny way,
They’re often heard to sigh and say—
“Dear Saviour, come, O quickly come!
“And take thy mourning pilgrims home.”

From Hymns on Various Passages of Scripture, Fifth Edition, Thomas Kelly, Dublin: Martin Keene, 1820. I enjoy this hymn sung to the tune Devotion (as printed in The Sacred Harp, but especially in drawn out “old-time” church way of singing).

Other stanzas and variations that have been added to this hymn are:

Poor and afflicted, yet they trust
In God, the gracious, wise and just;
For them He deigns this lot to choose,
Nor would they dare His will refuse.

Poor and afflicted, oft they are
Sorely oppressed with want and care;
Yet He who saves them by His blood,
Makes every sorrow yield them good.

Poor and afflicted—yet they sing,
For Christ, their glorious, conquering King,
Through sufferings perfect, reigns on high,
And does their every need supply.

Poor and afflicted, filled with grief—
O Lord, afford us kind relief,
To cheer the heart that heaves a sigh,
And wipe the tears from every eye.

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? James 2:5

In other words, gessoes, lassoes, and lesoes

• apophenia, noun. The tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas).
• bespoke, adjective. (British) Made for a particular customer or user.
• doktorvater, noun. Supervisor, doctoral advisor (from the German).
• effete, adjective. No longer capable of effective action; (of a person) affected, over-refined, and ineffectual.
• eristic, adjective. Pertaining to an argument that aims to successfully dispute with another one, rather than explain or discover the truth.
• foist, verb. To force upon or impose fraudulently or unjustifiably; to bring, put, or introduce surreptitiously or fraudulently.
• FOMO, noun. (acronym) Fear Of Missing Out.
• gesso, noun. Gypsum or plaster of Paris prepared with glue for use as a surface for painting; any plaster-like preparation to prepare a surface (or the prepared surface) for painting, gilding, etc.
• inchoate, adjective. Just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary.
• inter se, adverb. Between or among themselves.
• lasso, noun. A long rope or line of hide or other material with a running noose at one end, used for roping horses, cattle, etc.
• leso, noun. (British or East African English) A type of cotton fabric printed with designs in bright colors, typically in squares or rectangles featuring a border on all four sides; a piece of this fabric, often worn as a shawl or wrap.
• nosey, verb. (intransitive) To search or enquire too inquisitively, to pry (frequently with around).
• nosy (or nosey), adjective. Showing too much curiosity about other people’s affairs.
• otiose, adjective. Being at leisure; idle; indolent; ineffective, or futile.
• pareidolia, noun. The tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern.
• per fas et nefas, adverb. By right or wrong; by fair or unfair means; by any means (Latin for, through right or wrong).
• requiescat, noun. A wish or prayer for the repose of the soul of a dead person (a borrowing from Latin; associated with RIP, requiescat in pace).
• transient, adjective. Not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory; lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary.
• vapid, adjective. Offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging.

5 things to teach your kids, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• 5 things to teach your kids about social media -- “Now is the time to consider giving your kids some security and privacy tips for all their social media needs.”
• A Narrative of Surprising Baptisms -- “Hubmeyer, himself, soon after baptized three-hundred upon profession of their faith. He was siezed and imprisoned at Zurich.”
• Bible Translations: The Three Major Textus Receptus Translations -- “Along with the numerous other English translations from the previous four centuries, the NKJV was based on the TR, but more strictly speaking the Byzantine-Majority text tradition.”
• Black Rock AME, Wilkes County, Georgia, Org. 1870 -- “The history of Black Rock is intertwined with the history of Independence Methodist whose roots go back to the late 1700s. The church was located in what is now known as the Village of Tignall, once a a crossroads known as Independence Campground.”
• Charles Spurgeon: My Conversion Testimony -- “I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, ‘Look!’ what a charming word it seemed to me!”
• Distinguished preaching professor says he was fired from Southwestern Seminary; administrators say he quit -- “David Allen, who served 18 years as distinguished professor of preaching at the Southern Baptist Convention seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, will leave seminary employment July 31.”
• New sources prove a Frenchman was one of the translators of the King James Bible -- “Bois’s correspondent was Isaac Casaubon, a renowned French scholar who was visiting London. Casaubon was not previously known to have been involved in the translation.”
• Pastor Dane Johannsson Addresses Spurious Claims About Doctrine Not Being Affected -- “Assuming that one could still argue that the eternal sonship of Jesus Christ can still be demonstrated with the NA28 reading, what happens when we add in the rest of the problematic readings in key Christological verses?”
• Remains of teen missing since 1969 identified almost a decade after they were found -- “Police are still looking for who was responsible for Dymond's death and are asking anyone with information to contact authorities.”
• Seguin police arrest raccoon as suspect in two power outages -- “Seguin’s power grid came under attack again on Monday, Oct. 3 after a power outage on Oct. 1 shut down electricity to nearly half of the city...the Seguin Police Department has announced that they have apprehended a very unique suspect.”
• September 24-30, 1950: The Great Smoke Pall -- “In the summer and early fall of 1950, a system of fires in northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia burned approximately 4 million acres becoming the single largest recorded fire in North America.”
• The Sinners Prayer: A Historical and Theological Analysis, by Paul Harrison Chitwood -- “While most contemporary Evangelicals would express our theological understanding of conversion as being more than a mere intellectual decision, our methods in evangelism may suggest otherwise.”
• The Word of God for All Nations, by Phil Stringer, in Forever Infallible and Inerrant, edited by Jeffrey Khoo, pp. 253-321 -- “The following is a current status report on Received Text Bibles around the world. We understand that this is a ‘starter report’ and that much work remains to be done.”
• What today’s Christian needs to know about the NIV -- “It should first be noted that, had Howard Long interpreted his colleague’s laughter in more Biblical terms, the NIV might never have come to be.”
• Why ‘Elites Are So Rightfully Hated In Our Society’: Comedian Sums Up Significance Of Migrants At Martha’s Vineyard In Viral Post -- “They are against building a wall but they live in gated communities. They are for gun control but they have armed security.”

The melody of the soul

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation!” Habakkuk 3:17-18.

“See, my soul, in the prophet’s example, the blessedness of living above creature enjoyments, by living upon Creator fulness. Here is a sun, which never goes down! Here is a fountain, whose streams can never dry up! He that lives upon creature excellency, will want both food and comfort when that excellency dies, for they must die with it, when the period of its flourishing is over. But the soul that draws all from Jesus, the God of his salvation, will have Jesus and leis salvation to live upon, and to be an everlasting source, when nature, in all its varieties, ceases to supply. My soul, what are thy resources for a day of famine? Canst thou join issue with the prophet? If blasting, or mildew, or frost, shall nip the fig-tree of its blossom; both the vine and the olive fail; yea, if the staff of life, as well as the sweets of life, should all be gone; hast thou Jesus to live upon; canst thou rejoice in him, when there is nothing else left to rejoice in; and call him thine, and the God of thy salvation, when none will own thee, and thou hast none beside him to own?

“They say that music upon the waters always sounds best. Be this so or not, yet the melody of the soul is certainly sweetest when nature is out of tune, if the believer can take his harp from the willow, and sing aloud on the tribulated waters of sorrow, to the God of salvation. And this is a song never out of season, but has peculiar joy in the note, when from a new strung heart, the believer sings it of the God of his salvation, and addresses it to the God of his salvation. Blessed Lord Jesus! Give me grace, like the prophet, so to sing and so to triumph, that since, lose what I may, I cannot lose thee, while thy creature comforts remain, I may enjoy them, from enjoying thee in them: and when all are taken away, still, having thee for my portion, may I sing aloud with the prophet, though all earthly enjoyments cease, ‘I will still rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’”

Robert Hawker (1753-1827)

God’s seminary

The church is God’s “seminary.” 

“upon this rock I will build my church … teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway …”

“Our hearers...think it enough for them, if at best they can hear with some profit to themselves. But this was not the state of things in primitive times. Every church was then a seminary, in which provision and preparation was made, not only for the continuation of the gospel in itself [Gospel preaching], but for the calling, gathering, and teaching of the churches also… And this course, namely, that teachers of the church should be educated thereunto in the church, continued inviolate until the public school at Alexandria, which became a precedent unto other places for a mixed learning of philosophy and religion, which after a while corrupted both, and at length the whole church itself.” 

(John Owen 1616-1683, An Exposition of the Epistle of Hebrews, Vol. III, London: Thomas Tegg, 1840, pp. 114-115)

“We are well aware that we shall be complained of when we say these things…Mere scholars, those who know more of books than of men, and more of theological halls than the pulpit, ought not be invested with the trust of educating a whole generation of young men for the Christian ministry. The fact may no longer be dissembled, that the tendency, if not the design of our theological seminaries themselves, is to fill the most important chairs with purely literary men; men who neither have, nor expect to have, any relation to the pastoral office; men ordained, not to the work of the ministry, but to their professorship. It is easy to see that such arrangements once entered upon, are apt to be progressive and to perpetuate themselves. Age and experience sleep in the tomb; and those only become the teachers of ministers, who have themselves never been teachers of the people, and never served the Church of God in the ministry of his Son.”

(Gardiner Spring 1785-1873, The Power of the Pulpit: Or, Thoughts Addressed to Christian Ministers, New York, NY: Baker and Scribner, 1848, pp. 382-383)

“Whether seminaries and theological schools are the proper places to educate the ministry, I know not. It is a matter of experiment in our day, and time alone can decide it. Their tendency is to raise intellectual above spiritual qualifications, and such it has thus far proven. Of old, they have I think proved to be, after a generation or two, schools of heresy.”

(Francis Wayland 1796-1865, a letter by Wayland, long-time president of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island to James Petigru Boyce, first president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, January 26, 1857)

“The local church is itself a school. If believers are also disciples, then they are students, and the local church is a place for the study of the Gospel. If these local churches under their constituted teachers are schools for the training of God’s people, why cannot these schools also train future ministers? Why must these schools be set aside and higher schools be established by men in their superior wisdom for the training of ministers? It is true that the local church has but one text book – the Bible – but what need do we have for schools where Barth and Bultmann are also studied? Do we need these higher schools for the clergy where men finish their education and have completion of their education certified? Can men ever finish their study of the Bible and receive their diploma of having mastered the Gospel? In this school called the local church we never finish our education and receive our degree. We are always learning and studying here, ever fascinated by the knowledge of God and His way of salvation.”

(Elmo Wayne Johnson 1914-2001, “Extra-Biblical Ecclesiastical Systems,” Baptist Reformation Review, Summer - 1978, Vol. 7:2, pp.15-16)

“In the early days of American Protestantism, the training of ministerial candidates was carried on by pastors of churches. A young man feeling a call of God to the ministry would associate himself with a church pastor, receive training from him, participate in the work of the parish, perhaps even live in the pastor’s home. I’m not sure why, but eventually this system was felt to be inadequate… Seminaries not only frequently ‘refuse to do the work of the church,’ they also tend to undo it.”

(John M. Frame, “A Proposal for a New Seminary,” The Journal of Pastoral Practice: Volume 2, Number 1, Winter 1978, pp. 10-11)

“The best structure for equipping every Christian is already in place. It predates the seminary and the weekend seminar and will outlast both. In the New Testament no other nurturing and equipping is offered than the local church. In the New Testament church, as in the ministry of Jesus, people learned in the furnace of life, in a relational living, working and ministering context.” 

(R. Paul Stevens, Liberating the Laity: Equipping All the Saints for Ministry, Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985, p.46).

“Modern training is primarily intellectual; New Testament training is primarily spiritual and practical. Modern training emphasizes the classroom; New Testament training emphasizes life and experience.”

(Clay Sterrett, Myths of the Ministry, Staunton, VA: CFC Literature, 1990, p. 18)

“Most church leaders would agree that developing new leaders is a critical responsibility of the local church, yet very few churches actually have an intentional leadership development process…During the Renaissance, also known as the Age of Enlightenment, great emphasis was placed on learning through the rise of universities. Any person who felt called to serve God was directed to attend a university…From the universities grew extended knowledge centers of specialization and thus was born the seminaries. Anyone who believed God was calling them to full time Christian service was directed to attend seminary for proper preparation. Churches, desiring to have the best educated ministers possible, have been outsourcing the responsibility for training church leadership ever since.” 

(Brian Keith Moss, “Leadership Development in the Local Church: A Seven Step Process for Developing Leaders at Every Level,” Doctor’s Thesis, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, Lynchburg, Virginia, 2014, pp. v, 116)

In 21st-century Western Christianity, folks who feel a calling for Christian ministry think (through years of teaching and tradition) that going to seminary is naturally the first step to take. Biblically, theological education is an aspect of discipleship. It is not (at least should not be) a pathway to a professional degree. Churches to the Front!

The Inspiration of the Holy Writings of the Old and New Testament

’Tis no Dishonour at all to the Spirit of God to compare all that pretends to come from him with the Scriptures; and reject all that is disagreeable thereto: For the Holy Spirit is entirely like himself, and all his Operations necessarily agree with his written Rule, unless he’s inconsistent with himself…Let us therefore ever cherish a mighty Veneration for our New Testament Writers as Divinely inspir’d. Let no Insinuations lessen our Esteem of them. Let us converse with them daily. Let us prize them as a Treasure and govern our Faith and our Life by their Direction: And we shall find they will make us Wise unto Salvation: and be profitable for Doctrine, for Reproof, for Correction , for Instruction in Righteousness: And that by their Means we may be perfect and throughly furnished unto all Good Works. Edmund Calamy, pp. 85-86

I. If the Old Testament was inspir’d as well as the New, we ought to be afraid of slighting it, which is the manner of some, who yet profess a great Veneration for the New Testament Writings. ’Tis true there is a peculiar Veneration due to the latter, which peculiarly contain the Religion we profess, and hope to be sav’d by: but we should have been at a woeful Loss, had the Writings of the Old Testament been either lost or kept from us. Had they been wanting, we should not have known what to have made of a great part of the New Testament which refers to the Old: We should not have been able to have understood a great many Doctrines, or to have taken in the Enforcements of many Duties that are prescrib’d. Edmund Calamy, p. 107

How comes it then about that the Holy Scriptures, some Books of which are of greater Antiquity than any other Writings, and against all of which there has been of great a Spite in the World, should be preferv’d, but thro’ the special Providence of God! The Philosophical Writings of King Solomon, against which the World had no Spleen, are long since lost and gone, whereas his Canonical Writings are still extant, and in our hands. Many other Tracts, which it was for the Civil Interest of Mankind to have had perpetuated, are perish’d with Time, while these Sacred Records, that have all along had the most Enemies of any Writings under Heaven, are yet preserv’d. If we consider this well, it will appear surprizing. How often hath Persecution open’d her Mouth from Age to Age, and swallow’d up Millions of Men and Books, while the Bible by the over-ruling Hand of Heaven has been still continu’d. Antiochus gave strict Orders that all the Bibles that could be met with should be burnt, as we have an Account in the History of the Maccabees. We are told, that when they had rent in pieces the Books of the Law which they found, they burnt them with Fire. And whosoever was found with any the Book of the Testament, or if any consented to the Law, the King’s Commandment was that they should put him to Death. And the Roman Emperors Diocletian and Julian afterwards did the like with respect to the New Testament also. Eusebius the Ecclesiastical Historian tells us, that he saw the Sacred Scriptures burning in the Market-place with his own Eyes, according to the Imperial Edict, which order’d all the Christians to deliver their Bibles to the publick Officers that they might be consum’d to Ashes. Could they have had their Will, there would not have been so much as a Bible left. And had all been of the Mind that some then were, who call’d themselves Christians, who deliver’d their Bibles up to be burnt, who are by the Antients call’d Traditores, they had reach’d their Design. But God would not suffer it. The Bible outliv’d their Malice, and they had the Vexation to live to see themselves disappointed. Nay ’tis observable that an infinitely Wise God hath in this respect so befool’d the Devil, as to preserve some Parts of Scripture even by the Means of those who prov’d Enemies to him and that. Thus the Jews preserv’d the Old Testament, for the Benefit of us Christians, tho’ they were bitterly against that Perfection of it, which we have under the New Testament. And as to one Book of the New Testament, which is the Revelation of St. John, it deserves a special Remark, that when it was heretofore question’d whether or no it was a genuine Apostolical Remain, the Church of Rome by her Testimony help’d to keep it in the Sacred Canon, and so contributed to the preserving and perpetuating of a Testimony against her self in the Days of her Apostacy.

It hath been a mighty Controversy with some, whether or no any Writings that were truly Divinely inspir’d, have been ever lost; and it hath been Warmly debated: But the best of it is, it is a Controversy that is not very material: For what tho’ some inspir’d Writings may have been lost, yet as long as we have all those remaining, that God design’d for the Use of his Church in all succeeding Ages, that is enough for us, and ought to satisfy us. As much is preserv’d as God thought sufficient. And that our Bible is preserv’d so entire, is one of the most amazing Providences, all things consider’d, that we can well pitch upon. The more valuable these Sacred Writings are, (and what can make Writings valuable if their having been given by the Inspiration of God will not do it?) the greater is the Mercy that they are preserv’d. ’Twere better a thousand times that we had lost all the Books there are in the World besides, than that those Sacred Volumes should be missing, which were given of God to make us wise unto Salvation, and to guide us in the Way to Heaven. We ought to bless God for this, as one of the greatest Mercies imaginable. Edmund Calamy, pp 354-357

The Inspiration of the Holy Writings of the Old and New Testament Consider’d and Improv’d: In fourteen sermons preach’d at the Merchants lecture at Salters Hall. Edmund Calamy, 1671-1732, London: Printed for T. Parkhurst, 1710

Defending Chris Myers’ point

...without agreeing with everything he wrote.

Why I Preach from the Received Text, a book I recently reviewed quite positively, has come under specific attack for its Chapter 19 – “The Invincible Word” – by Christopher Myers.

First, a few general observations on Christopher Myers’ chapter. It struck me as different from most of the previous essays I had read in the book. Many of those were much more personal and testimonial. After extolling the word of God as invincible and indestructible, Myers quickly transitioned to a history of the transmission of God’s word, with the transmission of Satan’s work along with and against it. In this relation of the history, the writer affirmed Satan’s various attacks on the word of God, through uninspired writings competing with those of the apostles, hindering the laity’s access to the word of God, variations that diminished the deity of Christ, and so forth (pp. 187-191). Ultimately, the Christian reader must choose between the faulty text disrupted by the work of Satan and the reliable one that has stood the test of time.

Mark Ward and Matthew Everhard have both charged Chris Myers of accusing folks who use certain modern translations of using Satan’s Bible. In his blog review of the book, Ward writes:

“Myers makes it clear that when he refers to Satan’s Bible, he is not speaking of the sectarian New World Translation or the Book of Mormon, but to the Bible that I carried to church this very day as I write (the ESV), and to the one my pastor preached from (the NASB), and, by a small extension, to the Bible I preached from in our Spanish ministry (the NVI, related to the NIV).” (Review: Why I Preach from the Received Text)

In a YouTube video, Everhard states:

“One of the authors calls some of the modern translations, including the NIV and the ESV, Satan’s Bible.” (Sparring TR & KJV Advocates! Interview with Dane Johannsson and Brett Mahlen, @ 49:10)

Myers wrote:

“Modern translations based on Satan’s Bible, that omit some of the Word of God, include the New American Standard Bible, New International Version, English Standard Version, and many others.” (Why I Preach, p. 192)

I understand that those who use the ESV, NASB, NIV, et al., will take offense at Myers above expression. However, I do not believe the quotes from Ward and Everhard exactly or accurately portray Myers’ statement, in its context. While one might extrapolate that from what Myers wrote, it is not what he wrote. There is a fine line. He did not say they are using Satan’s Bible, but that these Bibles are “based on” it (“based on,” an adjective that in context seems to mean that they have attachment to or reliance on it as a source item for their translations). The attempts Satan has made against God’s word affect all these Bibles.[i] The more I look at “Chapter 19,” the more I think people have misunderstood and misapplied what Myers wrote. Is it just vacant talk that provides some sort of “moral high ground” when we say we are seeking to understand and fairly represent our opponents? If not, then we must all try to understand and then fairly represent our opponents, including Chris Myers and what he wrote. He wrote strong words. Very strong words. These words cannot help but sound inflammatory to modern Bible proponents. He is calling them out. The point he is making is that the modern translations founded on the NU Greek text are heirs to the defects (especially deletions) that have entered into the texts through the leavening work of Satan.

Possibly many TR and KJV proponents failed the Dale Carnegie “How to Win Friends and Influence People” course, while most CT and modern Bible proponents passed with flying colors! Myers sharply spells out the consequences of what he understands as an assault against the word of God, whereas the other side simply says we are adding verses instead of their removing verses, usually leaving us to intuit the rest that goes with that accusation.[i] Who is nicer? Regardless, pleasing demeanor and affable tone are not the arbiters of truth.

Satan has an interest in opposing, questioning, and confusing God’s word. This is not some KJVO or TRO conspiratorial viewpoint. The text and teaching of the Bible itself verifies this.[ii] From the beginning the serpent questioned the word of God. A wicked king tried to burn it. False apostles mimicked letters in the name of Paul. The multiplication of Bible translations, the words written about textual variants, and so on, can work to his advantage. There are textual variants (and translations thereof) that do matter. George Vance Smith, an Unitarian, served on the English Bible Revision Committee created in 1870 that produced the English Revised Version. He believed the variants had theological impact, and he wrote with some pleasure that he thought the new revision muted the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and the atonement (see Texts and Margins of the Revised New Testament Affecting Theological Doctrine Briefly Reviewed). You do not have to be a TR or KJV advocate to recognize this. James Snapp, Jr., an advocate of “Equitable Eclecticism,” exhibits this when he writes, “But we should not let ourselves pretend that some textual variants cannot be used against orthodox doctrines...There was, and is, a spiritual battle going on” (see Abner Kneeland, Forgotten American Translator (and Apostate)). A spiritual battle!

In “Mark of the beast, is it 666 or 616?” our friend Dwayne Green discusses text criticism, the mark of the beast, and the variant number 616 instead of 666. He says:

“It makes senses that the Devil would want to confuse you about what that number is.” (Mark of the beast, is it 666 or 616? @ 0:43)

Dwayne is neither KJVO nor TRO. Yet he recognizes that Satan has an interest in confusing us about God’s word. Is it only okay for those who are not KJVO or TRO or Confessional Bibliologists to point this out? No, it is truth, regardless of who says it, and regardless of who objects.

Wilbur Pickering, like Dwayne Green, is neither KJVO nor TRO. He is a modern textual critic advocating what is called the Family 35 Majority Text. He has strong words about Satan’s influence on the text of the Bible.[iii]

“Since eclectic textual criticism is based on falsehoods, it belongs to Satan. Since most theological seminaries and Bible schools teach eclectic textual criticism, even the most conservative ones, and since that is the only option that they teach, most students graduate thinking that is all there is. The graduate may believe the NT to be inspired and inerrant in the autographs, but he uses and teaches from an eclectic Greek text and modern versions based on an eclectic text. He embraced a lie because he trusted the teachers who assured him it was the truth. But that lie has become a stronghold of Satan in his mind, which is why so many evangelicals seem to be unable to reconsider what they were taught.” (Textual criticism and the spiritual factor)

The above examples demonstrate that speaking of Satan working against the word of God is not a feature of any one brand of “Bible Onlyism,” neither is it a relic of the past. Others believe and say that there is Satanic influence in textual transmission and Bible translation.

That agreement with Myers laid out, I also diverge somewhat with his approach. We should exercise caution not to cause sincere believers (even sincerely wrong ones) to doubt God’s word. For those who completely exclude any part of critical texts and modern translations from being God’s word, my point will fall flat. However, (the rest of you) consider that in many places the critical text and traditional text have the same readings. Some translations of verses have the same words as those same verses in the King James translation. In good conscience and the spirit of truth, we cannot deny those portions are the word of God, regardless of where they appear.

Here is Romans 1:1 from four different Greek texts. Which one is the word of God?

• παυλος δουλος ιησου χριστου κλητος αποστολος αφωρισμενος εις ευαγγελιον θεου
• παυλος δουλος ιησου χριστου κλητος αποστολος αφωρισμενος εις ευαγγελιον θεου
• παυλος δουλος ιησου χριστου κλητος αποστολος αφωρισμενος εις ευαγγελιον θεου
• Παῦλος δοῦλος Ἰησοῦ χριστοῦ κλητὸς ἀπόστολος ἀφωρισμένος εἰς εὐαγγέλιον θεοῦ

Here is Romans 1:1 from three different English translations. Which one is the word of God?

• Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
• Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
• Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

These examples are all the same (with the exception of the capitalization and pointing in the fourth Greek example, and, of course, the difference between Greek and English). Either every one is the word of God or none is the word of God. We cannot keep a consistent (or biblical) textual view if the same word of God ceases to be the word of God when sewn under the wrong two leather covers. SO, in my opinion, we need to respect the word of God that is the word of God, whether it is printed under the covers of a Bible text or translation we do not like, quoted in a book we would not read, printed on a banner, posted on Facebook, or spoken from the mouth of either the godly or godless. This position does not mean we cannot or should not oppose what is wrong in the the ESV, NASB, NIV, and other modern translations, as defective and deficient. It means that we carefully choose to apply or not apply certain terminology to books that contain some of God’s word, mistranslate some of it, and/or leave out some of it. It may be that we need to use that book, and the words of God contained within it, to convince some sincere believer concerning his or her views. For example, say there is a sincere believer who thinks the NIV is the word of God. Adamantly I say, “No, it is Satan’s book.” Then that person may begin to question God’s word (in other words, question God’s word in principle, not just the NIV, because he or she thinks it is God’s word). Later they may not accept any Bible as authoritative! A speaker may intend for a person to question the NIV and/or critical text and accept the KJV and/or traditional text. However, there is no guarantee that will be the results.

It is not necessary to believe that evangelical text critics and modern Bible translators are Satanists in order to believe they have been led astray in creating, adopting, and/or translating a certain defective text.[iv] Some of us believe that the Westcott-Hort/NU text tradition leaves out and changes some of God’s words. If we are correct, then the basic point Christopher Myers makes is correct. Some of us might make the point in different language than Myers, but the general point is true nevertheless.

It will be interesting to hear whether and how Myers himself responds to these criticisms.

Greater is he that is in his word (God) than he who opposes it (Satan). The word of God is not bound. It is not broken. The Devil cannot defeat it.

---

[i] In fact, if our opponents are correct, then the attempts that Satan has made against God’s word affects MY Bible. They may not wish to say that plainly, but they are saying it when they say that the Textus Receptus adds to the word of God. “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Proverbs 30:5-6). Biblically speaking, if we add to the word of God, we are liars, following the father of lies (John 8:44), and our Bible, at least in its additions, is “based on” Satan’s Bible. Refusing to state the conclusion that follows your position may seem nice, but those are the consequences nevertheless. “Translations based on Satan’s Bible, that add to the Word of God, include the Geneva Bible, King James Bible, Modern English Version, New King James Version, 21st Century King James Version, and several others.” If you think I am wrong, tell me precisely, instead of beating around the proverbial bush.
[ii] See, for example, Genesis 3:1; Luke 4:9-10; 8:11-12; John 8:44; 1 Corinthians 14:33; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Ephesians 6:10-18; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Revelation 12:9.
[iii] Pickering is more emphatic in this interview, Transcript of TF Radio Episode 12- Dr. Wilbur N. Pickering.
[iv] Humility and honesty makes the “traditional-text Christians” admit that we have been and can be led astray in many areas of life.

Two quotes

Followers of Christ are simul iustis et peccator, simultaneously a saint and a sinner. -- Martin Luther 

“Rather stand by the tree of life than wander in a forest of trees of lies.” -- Copied

God does all things well

“It is not necessary we should know every thing. There are mysteries in nature as well as in providence and grace. We should beware of picking the lock, as one expresses it, of which the key is not in our keeping. It becomes us rather humbly to adore that God, who does all things well, Mark vii. 37; but gives account of his matters to none, Job xxxiii. 13; and be thankful for that wonderful and all-sufficient discovery of divine truth, that has been made. Let us use diligence in improving those discoveries to the glory of God, and our own advancement in grace, that we may be built up in faith and holiness. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory, for ever and ever. Amen”

Samuel Jones, Circular Letter of the Philadelphia Baptist Association, 1783

All Glory Be Thine

Frances Jane “Fanny” Crosby wrote All Glory Be Thine, glorifying God for his holiness, truth, mercy, judgment, sovereignty, love, and salvation. May we all, with Fanny Crosby, desire that all glory be to the Lord who sits on his throne eternal (Matthew 6:13b).

1. Thou only art holy,
Thou only the Lord;
Truth, mercy, and judgment
Shine forth in thy word.
Thou rulest and reignest
All others above;
Thy throne is eternal,
Thy sceptre is love.

2. Thou only art holy;
In thee is our trust;
Thy laws are unchanging,
Thy statutes are just.
All nations and people
Before thee shall fall,
The Father, Redeemer,
And Savior of all.

3. Thou only art holy;
The angels in light
With prophets and martyrs
Their anthems unite.
Thou only art holy,
O Ancient of days;
The boundless creation
Is filled with Thy praise.

Refrain:

Thy throne is eternal,

Thy kingdom divine,

Henceforth and forever

All glory be Thine.

The tune is by John Robson Sweney (1837-1899). A version of this song can be heard HERE.