Letters to a Very Young Lady
Collection of didactic letters to a young girl offering Christian guidance on play, book-care, filial duty, early rising, prayer, and proper habits.
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Archives
The Confessional Presbyterian Archive is a curated digital library dedicated to preserving and promoting the writings of 17th–20th century Presbyterian pastors, teachers, and leaders. Featuring thousands of searchable texts, biographies, and historical resources, the archive provides direct access to the primary-source materials of American Presbyterianism.
Letters to a Very Young Lady
The Evils of an Unsanctified Literature
An 1843 essay warns that much American literature and the periodical press lack Christian influence, corrupting public taste. It urges a sanctified national literature rooted in Scripture.
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John Foster
Review of 1844 Princeton Review pieces on education and literature, praising John Foster's essays and style, comparing him with Hall and Chalmers and noting his Christian seriousness.
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Review of Hengstenberg on the Psalms
Review of E.W. Hengstenberg’s commentary on the Psalms, praising his learned, Christ-centered exegesis and Messianic readings and urging a comprehensive, practical Psalms commentary.
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Scottish Mission to the Jews
Report of the 1839 Scottish Church deputation to inquire among Jews across Europe and Palestine, detailing Jewish conditions, obstacles to conversion, and missionary prospects.
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The Life of Absalom
A moral biography of Absalom, David’s son, recounting Amnon’s murder, Absalom’s exile, return, and treason—offering a warning about pride, vengeance, and ambition.
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Baird’s Religion in America
Reviews works on the Puritans, Milton, and American religion, focusing on church history, the voluntary principle, church–state relations, and evangelical influence.
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Connection Between Philosophy and Revelation
Essays and reviews exploring the relation of reason and revelation: philosophy aids scriptural interpretation but revelation remains primary; Bacon and hermeneutics are discussed.
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Kidder’s Brazil
Review of Daniel P. Kidder’s Brazil (1845): travel sketches covering Brazil’s geography, resources, commerce, ports, and cities, emphasizing Protestant missions, Jesuit history, and slavery.
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Popular Objections to Calvinism
A defense of Calvinism addressing common objections, arguing that doctrines of grace, predestination, and justification are biblical and upheld by Reformation confessions.
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Poverty and Crime in Cities
Review of studies on urban poverty and crime, focusing on M. Frégier’s analysis of Paris’s ‘dangerous classes.’ Examines causes—drunkenness, gambling, poor housing—and preventive remedies.
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Religious Instruction of the Negroes
Account of an 1845 Charleston meeting on religious instruction for enslaved Black people—surveys practices, denominational cooperation, and urges wider evangelism and schooling.
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The Life and Correspondence of Thomas Arnold
Reviews of biographies of Isaac Milner and Thomas Arnold, highlighting Christian conviction, rigorous scholarship, and the centrality of Christian education and preaching.
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Hopkins’s Evidences of Christianity
Review of Mark Hopkins’s Lectures defending Christianity by internal (moral) evidences, debating the evidential role of miracles, reason, testimony, and the will in belief.
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Introduction to Thoughts on Sacramental Occasions Extracted from the Diary of the Rev. Philip Doddridge, D.D. (1844)
Introduction to Philip Doddridge’s Sacramental Meditations: selected diary meditations preparing for communion, emphasizing atonement, pastoral duty, prayer, and Christian assurance.
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Parochial Schools
Report on the 1846 General Assembly: debate over replacing ‘Bishop’ with ‘minister’ and a major dispute about parochial schools versus secular common schools and church-led instruction.
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Report of Committee on Parochial Schools to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, May, 1846
1846 report urging Presbyterian parochial schools to provide daily, doctrinal Christian education, modeled on Scottish parish schools to train youth and future ministers.
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Review of Gardiner Spring, The Attraction of the Cross
Review of Gardiner Spring’s The Attraction of the Cross, defending penal substitutionary atonement and orthodox justification. Argues the cross is central to Christian theology.
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A Manual of Devotion for Soldiers and Sailors
A 19th-century manual of devotion for soldiers and sailors. Contains public and private prayers, funeral services, occasional prayers, a catechism, and a selection of psalms and hymns.
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