can he expect to fulfill his duty, if he does not pray for and with them, and instruct them from the word of God? If he does not honor God, it cannot be expected his family will. And a Christian family living without family religion, is a contradiction. It argues, on the part of such professors, an awful declension and a criminal dereliction of duty.-1808, p. 402, and Minutes, passim.

2. The Evening of the Lord's Day Especially set apart for Family Training. The Standards need no Change to fit them to the Present Times.

The Committee on the Polity of the Church have had under consideration the following overture from the Presbytery of Genesee:

Overture of the Presbytery of Genesee to the General Assembly meeting at Philadelphia, May 21, 1863.

We petition for a revision of the Directory for Worship, with a view to the following points:

1. To reclaim the Sabbath afternoon, or evening, expressly for family instruction, and to enforce the duty of parents.

2. To give a constitutional recognition to the Sabbath-school, as a cherished instrumentality of the Church for the nurture of her own youth, and the evangelization of others; and to provide that the time appropriated be ample, as esteeming this to be a cardinal means of grace.

3. To restrict its assemblies, in all ordinary cases, to one part of the day, so as to avoid trenching upon the time appropriated to the paramount duties of parents.

4. To secure to the pastor, unequivocally, as the divinely-appointed teacher of the lambs of the flock, the prerogative, and hold him to the responsibility, of presidency over the school, with provision for a vicepresident or superintendent, to serve in the absence of the pastor.

5. To recognize the church session as invested with authority, and responsible for the details of the organization, the appointment and removal of teachers, and the whole government of the school.

6. To provide for such a system of distinctive instruction as will secure to our youth a thorough training, not only in the doctrines of grace, but in the principles of order which the Scriptures set forth, and keep continually before their minds the burden of baptismal obligations, and the value of covenant privileges, as sealed to the children of God's people.

The Committee recommend, that the Assembly reply to the above overture as follows:

The matters, in view of which the Presbytery of Genesee ask a revision of the Directory for Worship, are mainly such that, according to our Constitution, it is already competent to every church to regulate them for itself, agreeably to its own views of what will best promote its growth and spiritual welfare.

The Directory for Worship expresses the opinion of the Church, that the evenings of the Lord's day, after public worship, should be sacredly reserved for the religious instruction of children by their parents. (See chap. xv., sec. v.)

The Sunday-school, like all the religious institutions and agencies of each individual church, is, and ought to be, under the watch and care of the session; and should be regarded, not as superseding, but as co-operating with, the entire system of pastoral instruction, the responsibilities of which it should not in any manner diminish.

There is nothing in our Constitution which prescribes the number of public services to be held on the Lord's day, or which restrains any church

from appropriating to the Sunday-school such a portion of the day as may seem to them desirable.

The peculiar position of baptized children as members of the church, to be, as members, trained in all Christian virtues and duties, is so expressly set forth in our standards, that no revision of them could present it with greater clearness, or in a more authoritative form. (See Confession, chap. xxv., sec. ii.; Larger Catechism, ques. 166; Form of Government, chap. ii., secs. ii., iv.; Book of Discipline, chap. i., sec. vi.; Directory for Worship, chap. ix., secs. i.-iii.)

The Assembly, therefore, judge that no necessity demands the revision which is asked for, and simply recommend to the churches to conform their ideas and usages to our own standards.-1863, pp. 240, 241, N. S.

3. Catechetical Instruction Enjoined on Parents.

It was unanimously

Resolved, That the Assembly hereby most earnestly remind parents and others of the duty of catechising children and youth, and enjoin this duty upon them, as one whose performance no instruction that children receive in the Sabbath-school or elsewhere, outside the family, can supersede or supply.-1870, p. 123.

89

INDEX.

Board of Publication, 433, 441.

Charter of, 441.

Lowrey, Samuel, 123, 533, 554, 560, 570. Board of Church Erection, 442-448.

Lockwood, L. R., 554, 565.

McCalla, Wm. L., 522.

McQueen, Archibald, 688.

Martin, John W., 558.

Mifflinsburg, Church of, 565, 600.

Miller, Silas, 552, 567.

Rice, Matt. H., 555.

Plan of, 443-447.

Charters, 447, 448.

BOOK OF DISCIPLINE, 475-629.

Chap. I., Sec. I., II., III., 475–495.

Price, David, 127, 496.

Rockafeller, et al., 552.
Rollins, John, 581.
Sheldon, George, 685.
Skinner, John, 574.
Snodgrass, James, 585.

Spillman, J. H., 502.

Taylor, James, 585.

Todd, John, 576.

Turbitt, John, 556, 560.

Wilson, Joshua L., et al., 592.
Worrell, T. F., 533, 568, 580.

Yale, Charles, 553, 556.

Ardent Spirits, Abstinence from, 484, 485.
Manufacture of, 487, 495.

Traffic in, 487, 490-495, 675.

Arianism, 308.

Arminianism, 308.

ASSEMBLY, GENERAL, OF THE, 200-336.

Mode of Dissolving, 332.

Atonement of Christ, 227, 230.

Austin, David, 160.

Authority of Confession, 54.

of Notes on, 52.

66

IV., 495.

V., 495-496.

VI., VII., 497.

IV., V., 498.

I.-IV., 500.
V., 501.

Chap. III., Sec. I.-VI., 499.

Chap. IV., Sec.

VI., VII., 502.
VIII., 502, 503.
IX., X., 503, 504.
XI., XII., 505, 506.
XIII., 506-510.

XIV., XV., 510, 511.
XVI., 511, 512.
XVII., 512, 513.
XVIII., 513.

V., VI., 521.

XIX., XX., 513.
XXI., XXII., 513, 514.

XXIII., 515-517.

I., II., 517–519.

III., 519, 520.

IV., 520, 521.

VII., 522-524.

VIII, IX., 524, 525.

X.-XIV., 525.

"XV., XVI., 526–528.

66

66

XVII., 528.

I., II., 528.

III.-VI., 529.
VII.-IX., 530.
X.-XV., 531.

XVI., XVII., 532.

Chap. VII., Sec. I., II.,

66

532-534.

Sub-Sec. I., 534–536.

II., 537.

III., 537-540.

" IV., V., 540.

66

66

Sec. II., Sub-Sec.

VI., 541, 542.

I., 542, 543.

II., 543, 544.
III., IV., 544, 545.
V., VI., 545, 546.
" VII., VIII., 546.

IX., 547.

"Sec.III., Sub-Sec.I., II., 548.

III., 548-552.
IV., V., 552-554.

44

665, 671.

66

66

Beecher, Wm. H., 576, 606.

Bell, Benjamin, 553, 557.

Bell, Joseph E., 566, 570.

Benevolence and Finance, 455.

Betting, 301, 480.

Bigamy, 682, 683.

Bills and Overtures, Com. of, 213.

Birch, Thomas L., 151, 549, 550.

BISHOPS OR PASTORS, 112-114.

Board of Education, 353–364.

66

XII., 586-588.

Charters of, 354, 355, 359, 360.
Constitution, 356-358.

XIII., 588, 589.

XIV.,XV., 589, 590.

Rules of, 361–363.

Board of Missions, 423, 424.

XVI., 590, 591.

XVII., 592, 593.

"Sec. IV., Sub-Sec. I., 593, 594.

of Home Missions, 426-430.

Charters of, 425, 427-430.

Board of Foreign Missions, 430–433.
Constitution of, 430.

Charters of, 432, 433.

VI., 555-557.
VII., 557-560.
VIII., 560-565.

IX., 566, 567.

X., 567-583.

66

II., 594-602.

III., 602-605.

IV., 605, 606.

V., 606, 607.