First Presbyterian Church

“ Presbyterians are remarkable for their regard to each other, without respect to distinctions—it is a characteristic of God's people. In the case, then, of raising a colored church, the prevailing opinion seemed to be, an organization of colored people where church government could be committed to, and governed by them, and that without separating from Presbyterian bodies, or alienating themselves from their fellow Christians. ”

“ There were no other colored churches of other denominations. It can be seen at a glance that to raise up and establish a Presbyterian Church in the city was a movement as judicious as necessary, and wise as desirable; thus we may conceive them laboring to this end. In the brief notice I have taken of Mr. Gloucester and of his labors I called attention to the method at first adopted of gathering up the people, by preaching and holding prayer meetings in private houses, and often in the street. ”

“ Holding in common with all Presbyterian Churches their distinctive doctrines, which they are devotedly attached to from a conscientious belief of their Scriptural validity, as well also as Christ as its head, God blessed forevermore, and all his ministers as one in Him, and among whom none may claim any superiority over another, for all are brethren, Jesus himself the elder brother—the chief and only Bishop of the Church universal. ”

“ The Second Presbyterian, on Franklin then occupied the site of Randolph’s paper box factory; this congregation built a fine house at the corner of Fifth and Main Streets. The pastor of this was one of the most celebrated divines of his day; he was succeeded by the distinguished pulpit orator Doctor Moses Hoge. The First Presbyterian originally stood where the City Hall now rears its lofty towers, and a large and more modern church was erected at the corner of Grace and Madison Streets. Doctor Moore was for a long time the beloved pastor of this congregation. ”

“ They are anxious to form a Presbyterian congregation among themselves, and they ought to be assisted and encouraged (particularly by those who are connected with that denomination) , to carry their wishes into effect. And now a most favorable opportunity for accomplishing this object has occurred, which if suffered "to pass without improvement, may not soon return. There is at this time in Philadelphia, a man of color, who is a licensed preacher of the Presbyterian Church, and has been employed by the committee of missions, to labor for some time among the blacks of this place. ”

“ But the great accessions which in the first four years of the fourth decade of this century had increased the roll of the communicants of the Presbyterian Church by more than fifty per cent. had come in undue proportion from the New Englandized regions of western New York and Ohio. It was inevitable that the jealousy of hereditary Presbyterians, "whose were the fathers," should be aroused by the perfectly reasonable fear lest the traditional ways of the church which they felt to be in a peculiar sense their church might be affected by so large an element from without. ”

“ Whereas, From the communication of the Presbytery of Union, it appears that John Gloucester has been for some time under the care of the Presbytery of Union, that in the opinion of Presbytery he possesses promising talents and eminent piety ; that he has been for several years engaged in the study of literature and theology, but has not yet obtained all the literary qualifications required in candidates for licensure, and if he were licensed there is much reason to believe he might be highly useful in preaching the Gospel among his own people ”

“ There are already, it is true, several African churches occupied by different denominations; but these are by no means sufficient for the accommodation of the thousands of people of color who now inhabit this city. It is believed, after some examination of the subject, that more than one-half of them are in no connection with any religious society, and seldom attend any place of public worship.
Besides, there are many, who, from education or principle, are attached to the Presbyterian Church. ”

“ Against these irregularities the General Assemblies of 1639 and 1640 legislated, and yet in such terms as seem to indicate that already the mind of the Church at large was being prepared for change. It was ordained by the first of the Assemblies referred to that
"No novation in worship should be suddenly enacted, but that Synods, Presbyteries and Kirks should be advised with before the Assembly should authorize any change." ”

“ Jeremiah Gloucester, he being a son of their beloved and deceased pastor. However, to resume our narrative, the call was presented to Presbytery on the 15th October, 1822, sitting at Doylestown. Presbytery finding a warm opposition by a large minority:—
Resolved, That a committee of three ministers and two elders be appointed to visit the church, and inquire into the state of the congregation, and observe a season of fasting and prayer with them, and report at next meeting of Presbytery. ”

“ The Presbyterians of the United States are quite distinct from the Congregationalists of New England, the descendants of the English Puritans, although the two fraternize together to a great extent. The Presbyterian Church is the daughter of the Kirk of Scotland, having its home in the Middle States, whence it has spread through the country, especially toward the West. Its government is more vigorous than that of any other church except the Methodist, and its doctrinal strictness surpasses that of all other large societies. ”

“ It also has a gallery on each side and one on the end; these can accommodate 280 persons without discommoding each other. The ceiling is very high, which gives the audience-room a light and airy appearance. After the Church was finished and dedicated, the elders, trustees, and people, petitioned Presbytery to be taken under their care and inspection, to be considered in full standing as a Presbyterian congregation—"Whereupon, the Presbytery of Philadelphia did, on the 16th day of October, 1811, and sitting in Norristown, Pa., Dr. Janeway Moderator, and Dr. ”

“ The Presbyterian Church has a history which may with reason cause all her children to thank God and take courage as they look forward on greater works than those of past days yet to be accomplished. Her past is rich in noble deeds, valiant testimonies and stirring struggles for the truth, and through it all she pressed forward rejoicing in a liberty which is inseparable from the principles of Presbyterianism, and one product of which has ever been an unwillingness to be trammeled by forms in her approach to God. ”

“ That history is such as need cause no Presbyterian to blush when it is related side by aide with that of any other Church; surely they must be bold souls who would propose to introduce a radical change into the genius of Presbyterianism, or to relinquish principles which have led to such success, for others that have yet to show an equal vitality and vigor.
Our free and untrammeled worship demands from the worshipper his best; it brings him face to face with his God, and forbids him to rest in any mere repetition of a familiar form ”

“ He still retains, apparently, the vigor of a strong man, and although in the 73d year of his age, his voice is still clear and strong. In intellect and energy there is no marked difference to what it was years long past.
But to proceed with this narrative, I must remark, that after the pulpit was declared vacant, the church was once more thrown under the fostering care of Presbytery, and they supplied the pulpit, as they had ever done when the wants of the church required it. The church remained without a pastor for about seven years, during which time Rev. ”

“ James Prosser, Cato Freeman, Quammany Clarkson, Peter McNeal, Jacob Craig, and Francis Webb. Of this band of faithful men, every one of them have passed away—for God took them—only one remains, and that one is Mr. James Prosser, the first acting elder appointed by the people and pastor at the rise of the Church; and, is it not also a singular fact that of the ministers of the Presbytery who took an interest in the rise and organization of the Church, consisting of Rev'ds Ashbel Green, Archibald Alexander, J, Janeway, and George C. Potts, not one remain until this day except Dr. ”

“ The leaders in that day also, such men as Henderson, Gillespie, Rutherford and Baillie, understood the spirit of Presbyterianism and the need of the Church quite as fully as did any leaders of either an earlier or a later day. It is not to be forgotten that, in an age that produced men whose names must never be omitted when the roll of Scotland's greatest sons is called, the Presbyterian Church stood firmly for absolute liberty in worship from prescribed forms. ”

“ But the Presbyterian Church has always proved to be not easily destroyed. At the very time when Prelacy and king-craft were uniting for its destruction, its Divine Head was graciously supporting it under its trials, giving it life to endure them, and preparing for its deliverance. The sufferings endured by the faithful ministers in many parts of the country, tended to make them objects of admiration, love, and respect to the people, who could not but draw a very striking contrast between their conduct, and that of the haughty and irreligious prelates. ”

“ One can be just a Christian and still believe and practice what the Bible teaches in reference to the presbytery. One does not have 109 to be a member of the Presbyterian Church to obey God concerning the presbytery.
One can believe in the universality of the Gospel without being a Catholic or Universalist. One can believe in the second coming of Christ without belonging to the Adventist denomination. One can teach and practice holy living without belonging to the Holiness Church. ”

“ As discussion goes on, it can scarcely fail to become increasingly plain to all, not only that the Presbyterian Church is satisfied with her Standards, but that she loves them and finds in them the best statement—most moderate and most inclusive as well as most logical and most complete—of the truth of God as she apprehends it, that has ever been framed. ”

“ To Presbyterians, therefore, thankful as they are for an historic past that has in it so much to arouse gratitude to God and loyalty to the Church they love, the citing of the practice of their forefathers in Reformation times, or even that of the early fathers of the Church, can never be a final argument for the acceptance of any particular method in worship. ”

“ The authority of a Presbyterian church is limited to the bounds of its own denomination. It cannot ordain ministers for Baptist churches, any more than it can ordain them for Methodist churches or for Episcopal churches. When a Presbyterian minister becomes a Baptist, his motives for making the change and the conformity of his views to the New Testament standard need to be scrutinized by Baptists, before they can admit him to their Christian and church fellowship ”

“ They cannot boast, therefore, that Presbytery was established for its own sake; but they must admit that William would have sanctioned Episcopacy in the Church, if the Bishops and Clergy could have sanctioned the change in the government of the State. Such was the origin of the Presbyterian establishment in 1689, though its advocates affect to believe, that it was owing to the express voice and wish of the nation. ”

“ Wonderful to relate, the alphabetical symbols of the title-page of her Confession of Faith and Directory seem to be dancing in the eye, and menaced with some new combination; and the original imprint is already gone. The body of the Presbyterian Church of the United States is transformed into another body. The tide of innovation rolls onward irresistibly. ”

“ The United Presbyterian Church in America, the result of so many happy unions, has always regarded simplicity in worship as an end earnestly to be desired, and worthy of all serious effort to secure. Its influence has, therefore, been uniformly in favor of that avoidance of forms against which the Seceders of Scotland, whom it represents on this continent, so often protested. ”

“ He had wide experience, a comprehensive grasp of facts, abundant sympathy, an extensive knowledge of men, and a great capacity for teaching. In 1870 he was one of two representatives chosen from the Free Church of Scotland to attend the united general assembly of the Presbyterian churches of the United States. He prolonged his visit to make a thorough acquaintance with American Presbyterianism, and this, followed by a similar tour in Europe, fitted him to become the real founder of the Presbyterian Alliance. ”

“ For while the extravagances into which the sects fell, appearing in various forms one after the other, necessarily offended those who did not belong to them, the Presbyterian preachers, after it came to an open breach in the Assembly, distinctly attacked the Independents from the pulpit; and they were still by far the more powerful. The common people, sure of their faith, desired the Presbyterian forms, stringent church discipline, even excommunication, and rejected toleration. ”

“ The mass of the people in our cities are excluded from our churches. The Presbyterian Church is practically, in such places, the church for the upper classes (we do not mean the worldly and the fashionable) of society. ”