The Importance Of Reading William Symington in Order

Around the years 2008-2010 Dr. Roy Blackwood began and completed teaching his final church history classes at Second RPC in Indianapolis, Indiana. I did not participate in all those final classes, but I did attend most of them and I had family members and friends who completed the entire course work.

Dr. Blackwood was/is a pastor who earned his Ph.D. by studying an important man in the history of the Reformed Presbyterian Church named William Symington (1795-1862). I have occasionally quoted Symington's works in older posts, and am working on some posts in the future that will be about bringing Dr. Symington's teachings in the 19th century into debates going on currently in the Reformed church in the 21st century.

Occasionally Dr. Blackwood would bring Symington's writings into his earlier lectures. Dr. Symington wrote two books: On the Atonement and Intercession of Jesus Christ (1834); and Messiah the Prince, or On the Mediatorial Dominion of Jesus Christ (1839). One of the observations that Dr. Blackwood would made during class was that if people had heard of William Symington and read anything by Symington it was typically Messiah the Prince and then they would not read anymore. The reason why they read Messiah the Prince is to understand the Mediatorial Kingship of Christ over Nations, which is still the teaching of the Reformed Presbyterian Church all over the world.

However, Dr. Blackwood made attempts in his class to help students understand that people should also read Symington's earlier work in order to understand Symington's later work. While Dr. Blackwood was teaching a book came out by him and Dr. Michael LeFebvre in 2009 titled William Symington: Penman of the Scottish Covenanters. This book is based on Dr. Blackwood's thesis paper for his Ph.D. One half of the book is a biography of Symington's life and ministry and the second half is a modern summary of Symington's two books.

On pages 153-156, an argument is presented for reading both works, which is what Dr. Blackwood would present in his classes.I would like to quote two sections of Drs. Blackwood and LeFebvre argument to help those who might try to read only Symington's second book consider reading Symington's first book. The first quote is from page 153:

    Jesus by His blood, resttores us to God's favor. He makes us "at one" again with the Father. He washes away the sins that placed us outside of divine blessing. In a sense, His atonement restores us to the status of Adam before his fall. The positive task incumbent upon us remains, nonetheless. We not only need Jesus to restore us to God's favor, but we also need Him (as the Second Adam) to lead us into fulfillment of all God's purposes for us. It is in Jesus' obedience to the law, as our new Head, that this further need is also accomplished.

    Why is this distinction important? Because it is central to granting Christ full esteem as both our Priest and our King. In making the distinction, Symington is preparing the way for his later work on the kingship of Christ. It is as our Priest that Jesus offered the atoning sacrifice that reconciles men to God. We rightly ascribe the atonement to His labors for us as our sacrificing Priest. It is as our King, moreover, that Jesus fulfills the righteousness of the law for us. When we fail to carefully ascribe the sufferings alone to Jesus' priestly atonement, and suppose that His obedience also belongs to this priestly work, we are in danger of diminishing the kingly work of Jesus.

As a concluding remark, on page 156, Drs. Blackwood and LeFebvre conclude by saying:

    It was in the so-called "Second Reformation" in Scotland that Christ's mediatorial reign came to be more fully explored .... In Symington's handling of the "Substance of Christ's Atonement," we find one of his particular contributions as penman of the Scottish Covenanters. By restricting the atonement to that which was accomplished by Christ's sufferings, Symington is opening the way for a full appreciation of His law-fulfilling, kingdom-building work as Messiah the Prince.

I have omitted the content in-between these two quotes, which shows that this distinction is from the Bible. I would recommend the book as a good companion guide to reading Symington's two works. My point, in this post, is to urge Christians who should be interested in William Symington to recognize that both of Symington's works were written to be read together.

If both books seem intimating I would suggest reading a chapter a week starting with the 1934 book and then moving on to the second volume. Depending on your reading speed, you will finish both books within a year.