A SYNOD Committee was appointed in 1942 to ask some of the Ministers of our Church to prepare papers to be read at the Synod of 1943 in commemoration of the Westminster Assembly, of the Disruption, and of our rise as a Church. Two of the younger ministers were approached, two of those older, and the two oldest. We have these papers before us in this booklet. It is well got up and the print is excellent. A few misplacements of type or misspellings occur, but perhaps this is unavoidable in these days. The writers have been able to compact a great deal of relevant matter into their papers, considering the time allotted for delivery. They evidently read extensively and present what we earnestly hope will be useful for those who may not be able to study these subjects, to any great extent, at first-hand. The fifth paper is by one who is still spared in our midst. He was with Mr. Macfarlane, at the Assembly Hall, in these days of 1893, when he tabled his Protest to preserve, in fact his own constitutional position as an ordained minister of the pre-1893 Free Church, and, at the same time, to keep intact for those supporting him the constitutional position of the Church of 1843. We think that it is due to Rev. D. Beaton’s paper to remark that it stands apart by itself. Both for its matter and the notes and references, it should be most edifying, and, we believe, it is already so. We need in our day a return to the faith that the “lively oracles” are the Word of God. We need His gracious coming-forth to bless souls with spiritual discernment, which just means the new birth. What a dayspring from on high, what a resurrection, souls will enjoy when men to the ends of the earth will grasp, cherish, and glory in, the Person of Christ, His Kingship over Zion and over all in heaven and on earth, for the good of His Zion, and all to the glory of God the Father!—D. A. MacF.
* Commemoration Papers on Westminster Assembly: Disruption, Formation of Free Presbyterian Church; and Headships of Christ.—D.B.