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DECEMBER

22, 1843 --Scotland. Andrew Bonar finishes his Memoir of Robert Murray M'Cheyne this morning.

22, 1872 -- New York. The "Tabernacle" where Thomas De Witt Talmadge preaches burns today. In 1874, it will be rebuilt and dedicated, and will burn a second time on October 13, 1889. A new structure will be erected on Green Avenue in 1891, and will burn once again on May 13, 1894.

22, 1899 -- Massachusetts. Dwight Lyman Moody will die exclaiming, "This is my triumph! This is my coronation day! I have been looking forward to it for years!" He has been a member of the Independent Chicago Avenue Church.

23, 1559 -- France. In April Anne Dubourg fearlessly argued in the French Parliament with Henry II. The king has reproached the legal body for its lukewarmness in extirpating the Protestant majority for heresy. Mr. Dubourg boldly asserts that while the most grievous infractions of Divine law went unpunished, Parliament was wrong in persecuting Christians who amidst the flames called upon the name of Christ. Since Parliament can only judge a member of that body, Henry did wrong in ordering the arrest of Mr. Dubourg.
     On July 10th, the king will die. Today Mr. Dubourg is strangled and then burned.

23, 1652 --Massachusetts. At Boston, John Cotton dies. He has been a prime agent in the publication of the Bay Psalm Book. He did not attend the Westminster Assembly though he was invited, but has instead condemned the Presbyterian form of government it advocated. He has instead promoted congregationalism in Massachusetts. He has participated in the drawing up of the "Cambridge Platform" which forms the basic plan of government for Congregational churches.

24, 1541 --Switzerland. At Basel, Andreas Rudolf Bodenstein Von Carlstadt dies.

24, 1661 --England. The Cavalier Parliament has passed the "Clarendon Code" in an attempt to break systematically the influence of Puritanism on national life in England. This "Code" involves a series of Acts, the first of which, "The Corporation Act" will be passed today. It states all members of municipal corporations are obliged to receive the Lord's Supper according to the forms of the Church of England. It will be followed up by other such acts as "The Act of Uniformity" in 1662; "The First Conventicle Act" in 1664; "The Five Mile Act" in 1665; and "The Second Conventicle Act" in 1670.

24, 1784 --Virginia. James Madison issues his "Remonstrance against Religious Assessments" and stops passage of a bill in the Virginia House of Delegates that would have supported all churches equally through taxation.

24, 1784 --United States. At a conference conducted by Mr. Thomas Coke, sixty preachers agree to organize themselves into the Methodist Episcopal Church “in which the liturgy (as presented by the Rev. John Wesley) should be read, and the sacraments administered by a superintendent, elders, and deacons, who shall be ordained by a presbytery using the Episcopal form as prescribed in the Rev. Mr. Wesley's Prayerbook."

24, 1818 --Austria. In the city of Oberndorf in the Austrian Alps, Joseph Mohr pens the carol "Silent Night." His organist will inform him the organ is irreparable and will compose the tune on a guitar. It will be sung for the first time at midnight tonight.
     On this day in the year 1832, it will be introduced into the Royal Saxon Court Chapel in Pleissenburg Castle for the king and queen of Saxony.

24, 1870 --Pennsylvania. At West Philadelphia, Albert Barnes dies. He leaves behind his Notes on the Bible.

24, 1912 --China. Lottie Moon, a Southern Baptist missionary to China for the past forty years, lapses into unconsciousness. On account of the severe famine here she has been profoundly moved to regularly contribute a large portion of her salary to relieve the starving. When this failed, she vowed she would not eat so long as her Chinese friends were starving. Today she will die.


 

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