When temporal responsibilities clash with those owed to Kirk and Sabbath

“For Christians to influence the world with the truth of God's Word requires the recovery of the great Reformation doctrine of vocation. Christians are called to God's service not only in church professions but also in every secular calling. The task of restoring truth to the culture depends largely on our laypeople.

To bring back truth, on a practical level, the church must encourage Christians to be not merely consumers of culture but makers of culture. The church needs to cultivate Christian artists, musicians, novelists, filmmakers, journalists, attorneys, teachers, scientists, business executives, and the like, teaching its laypeople the sense in which every secular vocation-including, above all, the callings of husband, wife, and parent--is a sphere of Christian ministry, a way of serving God and neighbor that is grounded in God's truth. Christian laypeople must be encouraged to be leaders in their fields, rather than eager-to-please followers, working from the assumptions of their biblical worldview, not the vapid clichés of pop culture.”  

Well said from the most relevant Calvinistic theologian of our age, Rev Dr J Gresham Machen.

A question has been entertained by many a potential detractor from without and pious steward from within our faith. How and why are at times the more prolific and steadfast in our faith become eviscerated by the very temporal and ecclesiastical  mechanisms they are inclined by God to uphold and protect? Indeed, we are covenantally bound to promulgate the true faith in every sphere of life; as Machen so eloquently said. We are commanded to this end; as evidenced in Paul's Second Epistle to Timothy the Fourth Chapter. Yet, at times, the best stewards (like Machen himself) have found themselves under the gun for doing precisely that!

It is an understatement that the role of the Presbyterian was jugular in the forging of American Independence. The function of Presbyterianism during those critical years went far beyond thirteen of us having signed the Declaration of Independence. Or, for that matter, Washington's close friend and personal physician, Presbyterian Dr James Craik, becoming the Physician General of the Army ( forerunner to US Surgeon General). The governmental construct itself was "grandfathered" by a sermon preached by the Puritan Rev Thomas Hooker on May 31, 1638. Presbyterianism was, in an incalculably pervasive way, the pulse of the young nation and Presbyterians themselves were the most convicted, steadfast and reverently militant of its stewards.


 So much so that, when asked what he would do should the war take a ghastfully dismal turn (paraphrase), Washington said "Should it come to the worst, I will fall back into the mountain region of Pennsylvania, and make my stand among the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians"

Revisionists hold Washington's statement to have been, at best, apocryphal.....I seriously doubt that!


That being said, there is another case that has made no less an indelible impression on me than the cavalier defrocking of Machen in 1936. This case carried far more reaching national implications than the politicized witch hunt that felled Machen ; as it proved the lynchpin of the national Sabbatarian movement. To my mind, it was a gross miscarriage of diaconal jurisprudence because it was meted out on one equally entrenched in the religious and temporal vein. To top it off, it took place where our faith tradition is most deeply rooted in this quarter of the earth! That's right.........Western Pennsylvania- the region regarded as a citadel by the Hero of the Monongahela, himself!!


Rev John McMillan

Rev Matthew Brown

The two men pictured above were at the forefront of evangelism and education in what was then the very edge of the western frontier. The Rev John McMillan was known as the "Apostle of Presbyterianism in the West". He founded the first school west of the Alleghenies and was one of the founders of Washington and Jefferson College. The Rev Matthew Brown was the first president of Washington College; which would later become Washington and Jefferson College. In addition, he was the first pastor of the Presbyterian Church there that was founded in 1793. They numbered among several divines and operated under the jurisdiction of the Redstone Presbytery; which began a couple months prior to the surrender of the redcoats at Yorktown! Yet, as the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, the struggle continued and Presbyterians continued to be at the forefront.


In the early 19th century, American independence from Mother England seemed more in theory than in fact.

• The British trade laws impeded the young republic's trade with France
• Young Americans citizens continued to be forced into the Royal Navy
• Indian raids were being instigated/ supported by the British
• ...and let's not forget about the Chesapeake Affair....

Hence, a second war with England was a foregone conclusion. Particularly after the Chesapeake Affair, it was looked upon as a question of "when" rather than "if" war would commence. Men remaining at their designated posts (governmental/administrative) came to be seen as jugular to our survival as a young nation.  Such was the case for Hugh Wylie; who became postmaster in Washington, Pennsylvania in 1803. Quite probably akin to Rev Andrew Wylie; who succeeded Matthew Brown as president of Washington College, he also was an ordained Presbyterian elder. He executed both offices with a most punctilious resolve. Is this not in accord with Scripture?

Matthew 22:20-22

²⁰ And he said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

²¹ They said unto him, Caesar’s. Then said he unto them, Give therefore to Caesar, the things which are Caesar’s, and give unto God, those things which are God’s.

²² And when they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.

 

Yet, we as Presbyterians have long been vigilant against the politically dangerous and Scripturally unsound practice of meshing temporal and ecclesiastical authority.

 

The elect are reminded in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646) in its 23rd Chapter, Article 3 

Civil magistrates may not assume to themselves the administration of the Word and sacraments; or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven; yet he has authority, and. it is his duty, to take order that unity and peace be. preserved in the Church, that the truth of God be kept pure. and entire, that all blasphemies and heresies be suppressed,. all corruptions and abuses in worship and discipline. prevented or reformed, and all the ordinances of God duly. settled, administrated, and observed. For the better. effecting whereof, he has power to call synods, to be present. at them and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them. be according to the mind of God. or, in the least, interfere in matters of faith. Yet, as nursing fathers, it is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the Church of our common Lord, without giving the preference to any denomination of Christians above the rest, in such a manner that all ecclesiastical persons whatever shall enjoy the full, free, and unquestioned liberty of discharging every part of their sacred functions, without violence or danger. And, as Jesus Christ has appointed a regular government and discipline in his Church, no law of any commonwealth should interfere with, let, or hinder, the due exercise thereof, among the voluntary members of any denomination of Christians, according to their own profession and belief. It is the duty of civil magistrates to protect the person and good name of all their people, in such an effectual manner as that no person be suffered, either upon pretense of religion or of infidelity, to offer any indignity, violence, abuse, or injury to any other person whatsoever: and to take order, that all religious and ecclesiastical assemblies be held without molestation or disturbance..

 

 

Historically, Presbyterians have maintained a credible fear of a "democratization" of liturgy and worship for the aforementioned reasons and a slew of others; as it would certainly threaten the single emphasis on Christ and His glory. That being said, a neighbor of Wylie's complained; as did several members of the church in Washington, Pennsylvania. They determined that sorting the mail on the Sabbath amounts to a desecration of the Lord's Day. This was even if it was only for a few hours prior to the services-which, by the way, he never missed. It was around that time, in a totally unrelated case, that an overture was made to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church which reiterated the question:

 

"May a man hold the office of the Gospel Ministry and the office of an Associate Judge at the same time? , or Is it expedient for Presbytery to continue a person in the office of Gospel Ministry in such circumstances?"

 

Bear in mind, Washington, Pa was the link  between the east and the very edge of the frontier in those days. To heighten matters, the Postmaster General of the United States, Gideon Granger, maintained "it becomes the duty of all of us to rally and stand at our posts". This again was because a second conflict with Mother England was imminent!

Finally, the matter was brought to the attention of the Synod of Pittsburgh and he was barred from the Table of the Lord's Supper in October of 1809. Wylie would appeal to the General Assembly. The GA not only upheld the synodical verdict but saw fit to expel him from the Presbyterian Church altogether. His religious life having sustained a most ignominious portion, he remained undaunted to the civil end of the Great Commission and continued on as a merchant and postmaster of Washington, Pennsylvania. In 1812, the citizens sent a petition to the GA urging them to reevaluate their decision against Wylie. it was quickly dismissed and his expulsion stood.

These events triggered a huge Sabbatarian push in this nation. Members of clerical and laical vein alike rallied, petitioned and championed for the preservation of the integrity of the Lord's Day in matters of government and commerce. The impact of this movement was so far reaching that it wasn't until 1949 that Sunday games were officially recognized by the NFL, for instance.

Scarred, besmirched but at least afforded the solace of a grateful nation, Hugh Wylie went home to be with his Lord during the wee hours of Sunday February 24th 1828. He sleeps in an unmarked grave at the center of town near a school. His bones were never moved to Washington Cemetery. A rather ignominious portion, indeed, for such a stalwart servant leader.

Revelation 2:10

Fear none of those things, which thou shalt suffer: behold, it shall come to pass, that the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto the death, and I will give thee the crown of life.

I feel in no way conflicted with the umbrage I take with the GA's handling of the Wylie matter in 1809. My epistemological convictions have come, through the mercy of God alone, to singularly dictate the cadence of my political and historical assessments. The American nation was clearly approaching a second conflict with the mightiest military power on Earth and the civil and religious independence afforded to us by the merciful hand of God Himself would doubtlessly have been impressed had England prevailed!

        This is a case of extreme temporal duress-not some moral lapse on Wylie's part.


Not only the livelihoods but the very lives of thousands were threatened. Hugh Wylie's post was jugular in the defense of the young republic begat by the Presbyterian governmental construct (yet-lots of luck finding a public school administrator to relate that truth). He endeavored, with God's help to serve as a Divinely appointed steward of Presbyterianism in his role as a ruling elder in God's garden of the Kirk militant and as postmaster in Washington, Pennsylvania. The measure of his resolve is, in the view of this bearer of a title that supported  Knox, reminiscent to that of the Thundering Scot, himself:

                                              Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God

Should Wylie be issued a posthumous apology or restoration?

Such redress for ecclesiastical breaches enjoys no precedent in the Presbyterian church. The aggrieved are satisfied or made whole, by the power of God, at the hour of death, regardless of the severity of the afforded injustice. Man does not have the power to either indict or vindicate the dead. Such parliamentary overtures would threaten to elevate the government of the Kirk militant to levels periculously idolatrous. It wreaks of the very Romish tendencies that flag everything from sacerdotalism to ad hoc theology and worship!

When a man reaches the end of his life's journey, all matters of ecclesiastical jurisprudence become subject to the authority of the Kirk Triumphant with Christ as the SOLE advocate for the elect.



...................it's as simple as that.............................



However, there is a more practical way to exonerate Wylie and countless others who suffered for their moral convictions. Our civil and religious freedoms are under attack like never before. The expositors of liberalism have a hatred for our Christian faith, heritage and history which is no less visceral than any current or former stowaway in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan. It is waged with a banality and intrusiveness exponentially greater than that which compelled the patriots to rally against Mother England in 1776 or 1812. If you think this to be an exaggeration, consider the following:

Could you possibly imagine a case presided over by this Commander-in Chief of the Continental Army involving a military chaplain brought up on charges for merely extolling the virtues of the faith!!??

The attacks are systemic, indeed pervasive! Indeed, the goal of the godless left in the United States is to see our way of life go the way of the Passenger Pigeon! Call upon God to embolden us in this silent- but deadly war! If it is His will, he will give us the bravery of John Knox, the academic clarity of Machen, the pious resolve of Stonewall Jackson and the militant aggressiveness of Lazarus Stewart from the Paxton Boys! That's what it will take if we have any hope of turning the tide!!


            In the meantime.............Honor the Sabbath!!