Established in 1812 by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Princeton Theological Seminary was founded as ‘a nursery of vital piety as well as of sound theological learning … to train up persons for the ministry who shall be lovers as well as defenders of the truth as it is in Jesus, friends of revivals of religion, and a blessing to the church of God.’ Committed to the cultivation of ‘vital piety’ and ‘sound theological learning’, the seminary’s founders intended to graduate pious and learned men equally committed to biblical principles of pastoral leadership, preaching, and the confessional convictions of Presbyterian church polity. Providing a cross-section of sermons, articles, and essays Princeton and the Work of the Christian Ministry brings together for the first time in a single collection a number of valuable out-of-print pieces which highlight the doctrinal convictions that informed and shaped the seminary’s training of men in preparation for Christian service in ministry and mission.
Rooted in the rich confessional heritage that emerged out of the Reformed and Calvinistic branch of the Protestant Reformation, the Princetonians’ profound grasp of Scripture, understanding of the human heart, and devout churchmanship remain of continuing value in providing a biblically-grounded theology of ministry for pastors, teachers, and missionary leaders in today’s churches.
Volume 1 contains thirty-five pieces from two of the most influential teachers at Princeton, Archibald Alexander and Samuel Miller, who together for almost forty years established the reputation of the seminary as a place of both piety and learning. Preceding these is a history of the early days of the seminary, delivered on the occasion of its Golden Anniversary in 1862 by W. B. Sprague, one of its early students, and also the inaugural addresses delivered when the seminary was opened in August, 1812. A valuable feature of this volume is the inclusion of short biographical sketches of those whose writings appear within these pages.
Volume 2 contains thirty-nine pieces from a wide range of faculty and friends of Princeton Theological Seminary, some of whom are well known names, such as Gardiner Spring, James W. Alexander, Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, B. B. Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, and Geerhardus Vos. But the reader is also introduced to less well known but nevertheless remarkable men who served the Lord well in their generation, and whose lives and teaching continue to provide the church with vital lessons for Christian ministry today. A valuable feature of this volume is the inclusion of short biographical sketches of those whose writings appear within these pages.
