Proof That the Church is Often Obscured: From the Condition of the Old Testament Church by Francis Turretin.
Our opinion is confirmed by various reasons.
The first is drawn from the condition of the church under the Old Testament, under which it is evident that she was not rarely obscured and destitute of all splendor (which can easily be demonstrated by her various intervals).
Who can deny that she was without splendor before the flood, when all flesh had corrupted its way (Gen. 6:12), and in the flood when reduced to eight souls, she was included in the ark?
In the time of Abraham before his call from Ur of the Chaldees, she lay concealed in a paternal family given to idolatry (Jos. 24:1, 2).
What was the splendor of the church in Egypt, where she was so long a captive without any form either of a state or of a sacred ministry?
What was her splendor under the judges, when after the death of Joshua the Israelites, having left the God of their fathers, went after other gods (Jdg. 2:7; 3:8, 12), concerning which times Azariah says, "Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law" (2 Ch. 15:3)?
What appearance and splendor did the church have in the time of Elijah, when he thought that he was left alone to worship God (1 K. 19:10); God in the meantime consoling him with this-that he had preserved seven thousand believers known to himself alone who had not bowed the knee to Baal?
What splendor had the Jewish church under Ahaz, Manasseh, Ammon and other wicked kings under whom the sacrifice was interrupted by law, the gates of the temple closed, an altar built after the form of those of Damascus by Uriah the high priest and idolatry introduced everywhere (as we read in 2 K. 16:11, 12, 14; 2 Ch. 28:3, 4, 24, 25)?
And if we come down to the Babylonian captivity, where was the splendor of the church after the city had been razed, the temple polluted, the sacred vessels taken away, sacrifice abolished, the worship of God interrupted (which could not be performed except at Jerusalem) and the people brought into the most direful servitude?
Hence the pious most mournfully lamented that the prophets and all the signs had been taken away (Ps. 74:9).
In fine, what appearance and prominence could the church have had under the most dreadful persecutions of Antiochus and his successors, mentioned in the book of Maccabees and by Josephus (JW 1.30-40 [Loeb, 2:16-23]). In that time, Paul says believers "were stoned...were slain with the sword...being destitute...tormented, they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; in deserts, and in mountains and in caves of the earth" (Heb. 11:37, 38).
- From: Institutes of Elenctic Theology, vol. 3, p. 49 (see pages 47-57 in this same volume for much more Scripture proof on this point).
- Presbyterian Worship: Old and New by Kevin Reed (A Review and Commentary upon Worship in Spirit and Truth, a book by John Frame [Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co.,1996; paper, 171 pages]. Reed shows how Frame has abandoned the Reformation, both scripturally and confessionally, in regard to worship. He also gives an excellent summary of historic Reformed views and then contrasts them with the novel ideas now being touted by Frame. In light of the fact that Frame teaches at a Presbyterian seminary and is also a Presbyterian pastor (in the P.C.A.), Reed notes the "distressing implications regarding the disingenuous nature of confessional subscription within both the churches and the seminaries." Moreover, Reed comments that "there are also troubling ramifications concerning the doctrine of scripture, since the regulative principle rests upon the foundation of the sufficiency of scripture, with respect to worship." He continues by concluding that "Frame's book furnishes patent evidence that ecclesiastical discipline is lacking in the churches, and that seminary professors can teach heterodox views with impunity. If Presbyterians took their creed seriously, Mr. Frame would be removed from both the seminary and the pastorate, and not allowed to teach. But in the current situation, the majority of pastors, seminarians, and the people are partners in the crimes of corrupt worship and confessional laxity. 'A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so.'")
Still Waters Revival Books Discount Puritan and Reformed Christian book distributors serving Christians worldwide (in over 100 countries) for 26+ years.
Apostolic Presbyterianism by William Cunningham and Dr. Reg Barrow (Shows from Scripture how the Apostles practiced the divine right of Presbyterianism)
Corporate Sanctification: Holding Fast the Attainments of Reformation by John Brown (of Wamphray; Samuel Rutherford's Disciple) (An overview of the Covenanter doctrine of reformation attainments by one of the great Covenanter theologians. Helpful in dispelling false charges of Anabaptism and perfectionism laid at the feet of faithful Covenanters.)
What Is A Moral Person? How God Views the Church and the Nations by David Scott, John Cunningham, and George Smeaton (A clear and concise summary of the biblical doctrine of the moral person; i.e. that God regards churches and nations as moral entities separate from the individual members of which they are composed. No Christian can afford not to understand this vital teaching! In many ways this is a crux of the Covenanter position, underlying as it does upon the issues of separation, civil government, the Covenants, eschatology, etc.)
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