23 June 1833 A.D. Charles Hodge’s children as
children write a letter.
Dr. Rusten tells the story.
Rusten, E.
Michael and Rusten, Sharon. The One Year
Christian History. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003.
Available at: http://www.amazon.com/The-Year-Christian-History-Books/dp/0842355073/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393302630&sr=8-1&keywords=rusten+church+history
Charles Hodge’s 3000 students
were important to him and he to them.
But, Prof. Hodge’s children were important to him.
On 23 June 1823, two of Hodge’s children, Archibald Alexander and Mary
Elizabeth Hodge, wrote a letter to Mr. (Rev.) James Eckard.
The backstory.
Prof. Hodge’s children were
important to him. He read the Scriptures
covenantally. His children were active
and busy. They played in, around and on
the grounds of the large house at PTS and around the seminary grounds. When not
in class, the old Prof. was at home in his study.
In the summer of 1833 to winter
of 1836, Prof. Hodge taught courses in his home. In the back parlor or study, faculty meetings
were often held. Often, seminary
professors, college faculty, or students met with the Professor. Almost every night, a colleague, pastor, or
scholar stopped by. The children learned
much by watching and listening.
There were two doors to Prof.
Hodge’s study, one to the outside and another to the main hallway. The study was always available to the
children. There, the family held morning
worship and he rehearsed a written prayer, consecrating himself and family
anew.
Many students were familiar to
the family. One such man was Rev. James
Eckhard.
The two children, Archibald
Alexander Hodge and Mary Elizabeth Hodge, heard that Rev. Eckhard was going to
Ceylon as a missionary.
The two children wrote the
prospective missionary a letter on 23
June 1833:
“Dear Heathen:
The Lord Jesus Christ hath
promised that the time shall come when all the ends of the earth shall be His
kingdom. And God is not a man that He
should lie nor the son of man that He should repent. And if this is promised by a Being who cannot
lie, why do you not help it come sooner by reading the Bible, and attending the
words of your teachers, and loving God, and renouncing your idols, take
Christianity into your temples? And soon there will not be a Nation, no, not a
space of ground as large as a footstep, that will not want a missionary. My sister and myself have, by small
self-denials, procured two dollars which are enclosed in this letter to buy
tracts and Bibles to teach you.
Archibald Alexander Hodge and
Mary Elizabeth Hodge
Friends of the Heathen”
Archibald Alexander Hodge would
go on to succeed his father as a Professor of Systematic Theology at PTS.
Sources
Calhoun. Princeton Seminary. 1: 192-193.
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