27 September 1852 A.D. Dr. George Tybout Purves, a Wanted Man—NT
Professor at Princeton Seminary
Archivist. “September 27: Dr. George
Tybout Purves.” This Day in Presbyterian History.
27 Sept 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/09/september-27/. Accessed 27 Sept 2014.
September 27: Dr. George Tybout Purves
He was a wanted man
The Presbyterian pastor
teacher was a wanted man, that is, wanted by theological seminaries to teach at
their school. Princeton Seminary wanted George T. Purves
to teach church history on their faculty. Western Seminary
wanted the scholar to teach theology. McCormick Seminary in Chicago
want the veteran pastor to teach theology on their faculty. But the heart
of this Princeton Seminary alumni was in New Testament, so when a vacancy
opened up with the death of Caspar Wistar Hodge, he came to Princeton Seminary.
George Tybout Purves was
born on September 27,
1852 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His
undergraduate studies were at the University of Pennsylvania, from which he
graduated in 1872. Immediately, he went to Princeton Seminary for the
years of 1873 to 1877. Becoming ordained by the Chester Presbytery, he
served three Presbyterian churches in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and back in
Pennsylvania at the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. With
pastoral experience behind him then, he went back to Princeton where for the
next eight years (1892 – 1900), he taught New Testament Literature and
Exegesis.
Not known for his authorship
of volumes (though he wrote about twenty books), his spiritual legacy was
found in the men who sat under him in classes and graduated to change the world
for Christ. That legacy continued in the pastoral field as during
his teaching duties at the seminary, he also supplied the pulpit of the First
Presbyterian Church of Princeton.
Leaving the seminary halls for
the pulpit once again, he accepted the call to become the pastor of the Fifth
Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City. After serving one year,
he answered his Savior’s summons and died in 1901.
Words to live by:
What spiritual gifts this man of God possessed! When
he was in the pastorate, the theological schools wanted him. When he was in the
sacred halls of seminaries, the churches wanted him. The point is this!
Everyone, every Christian, has been given at least one, and no doubt many more
Spirit-given abilities for service, or spiritual gifts. In one sense, it
doesn’t matter where you use them. The important thing is that you use
them somewhere. Do you know what your spiritual gift is? Ask your spouse,
or a close Christian friend, or your elder, or your pastor. Then finding it,
use it for God’s glory and the good of His church.
For further study : Dr.
Purves’s inaugural lecture at Princeton, “St. Paul and Inspiration,” can be
read on the web here.
The George Tybout Purves Manuscript Collection is preserved at the Department of Special Collections at the Princeton Theological Seminary, and described in a finding aid, here. [I note that this finding aid was written by PCA pastor Ray Cannata, back when he was a student at PTS.]
The George Tybout Purves Manuscript Collection is preserved at the Department of Special Collections at the Princeton Theological Seminary, and described in a finding aid, here. [I note that this finding aid was written by PCA pastor Ray Cannata, back when he was a student at PTS.]
No comments:
Post a Comment