PREFACE. In 1835 my father began to write a series of annual articles, in review of the action of each successive General Assembly, in which he furnished a brief narrative of the proceedings, and discussed the doctrinal and ecclesiastical principles involved. He contributed each of the articles of this series which appeared in the Princeton Review from 1835 to 1868, with the exception probably of that of 1841. They, therefore, contain an exposition of his views of the fundamental principles underlying the constitution of the Church and its administration, and of the practical application of these principles to the various historical conditions experienced by the American Presbyterian Church during that long period. In 1815 he began to lecture to his classes in the Seminary on the topics embraced under the general head of Ecclesiology, and eventually lectured over the whole ground embraced in this department. At that time it was apparently his purpose to prepare for publication an exhaustive treatise on the subject, defending Presbyterian Church order in view of the present attitude of its Prelatic and Independent opponents. His manuscripts disclose the fact that these lectures were more than once rewritten, and articles substantially identical with several of them were published in the Princeton Review in successive years from 1846 to 1857. After the publicatoin of his Systematic Theology, he often expressed the desire that he might be permitted to complete that work by the addition of a fourth volume embracing the department of Ecclesiology; but he was prevented by the infirmities incident to his advanced age. And it is with reluctance that his representatives now relinquish the hope of publishing these papers in a connected form, from the conviction that they have no right to publish in his name that which his own judgment regarded as too imperfectly elaborated. In the meantime, the Rev. William Durant, of Albany, N. Y., an intelligent and enthusiastic pupil of my father, was struck with the vast amount of valuable discussion of Church principles and their practical applications, contained in these articles. He believed that if selections from these discussions were judiciously made and systematically grouped, a work of great value might be offered to the ministry, and to those intelligent laymen who are interested in the administration. of ecclesiastical affairs. He consequently accomplished this work with the cordial approval of my father. After its completion, at the request of Mr. Durant, I subjected his work to a general review, and have now entire confidence in thus publicly testifying to my conviction that in the selection and arrangement of extracts, the reader of this work will have a fair, and, as far as the circumstances admit, an adequate exposition of my father's views, expressed in his own language, on all the subjects set forth in the table of contents. This table of contents itself discloses the wide range and the thorough analysis embraced in these discussions; and hence the very considerable contribution made in this volume to the elucidation of the subject set forth on its title page. PRINCETON, N. J., SEPT. 10TH, 1878. A. A. HODGE. |