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Hugh Black
Hugh Black (March 26, 1868 – April 6, 1953) was a Scottish-American theologian and author. Black was born on March 26, 1868, in Rothesay, Scotland. He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Glasgow in 1887, and studied divinity at Free Church College Glasgow from 1887 until 1891. Black was ordained in 1891 and became associate pastor at St George's Free Church in Edinburgh in 1896, where he worked with Alexander Whyte.Hugh Black (March 26, 1868 – April 6, 1953) was a Scottish-American preacher, theologian, and author whose ministry bridged pastoral service and academic theology, impacting congregations across Scotland and the United States for over five decades. Born in Rothesay, Scotland, to parents whose details are not widely documented—likely a modest Presbyterian family—he grew up immersed in the Free Church tradition. He graduated with a Master of Arts from the University of Glasgow in 1887 and studied divinity at Free Church College Glasgow (1887–1891), ordained in 1891 without further formal degrees, though he later received honorary Doctor of Divinity titles from Yale (1908), Princeton, and Glasgow (both 1911). Black’s preaching career began as assistant pastor at Sherwood Church in Paisley, Scotland, followed by a decade as associate pastor at St. George’s Free Church in Edinburgh (1896–1906) under Alexander Whyte, where his eloquent sermons earned him renown as a “whitener” to Whyte’s “blackening” style. Emigrating to the United States in 1906, he became Professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1906–1937), preaching at college chapels and guest pulpits like Central Congregational Church in Providence, Rhode Island, with a focus on practical faith and evangelism. He pastored First Congregational Church in Montclair, New Jersey, from 1930 to 1937, retiring to write and lecture. Author of works like The Art of Being a Good Friend (1899) and Christ’s Service of Love (1907), he married with family details unrecorded and passed away at age 85 in Montclair, New Jersey.
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Hugh Black preaches on the transformation that occurs when God's statutes are turned into songs in the house of our pilgrimage, signifying a deep love and joy for the Law of God. This process represents a shift from viewing the law as a set of rules to be feared to embracing it as a source of delight and inner harmony, leading to perfect freedom in obedience. The Psalter serves as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments, showcasing the progression from mere obedience to a passionate love for God's commands.
Statutes Into Songs
"Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage" (Ps. 119:54). Statutes need to be turned into songs before their work can be completed. The note is struck in the very first Psalm, which speaks of the blessedness of loving the Law and the curse of hating it. The Psalter is the blossom of the Law, preparing for its perfect fruit in obedient and joyful hearts. When the law of God is turned into songs in this the house of our pilgrimage, it has reached its destined end. Thus this verse is really typical of the whole Psalter. Our text, then, is spiritually set in the very center of the Psalter, and in the very center of the Old Testament. The law is really obeyed, when it is no longer mere rule and precept, and no longer something to be feared as when it flashed out its solemn warnings from Sinai, but when it becomes a delight, as music to the soul, changed into inner harmony, when it is a flooding passion of love for the Law of God, when the statutes are turned into songs in the house of man's pilgrimage. It ceases to be law in the rigid legal sense, and becomes perfect freedom.
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Hugh Black (March 26, 1868 – April 6, 1953) was a Scottish-American theologian and author. Black was born on March 26, 1868, in Rothesay, Scotland. He received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Glasgow in 1887, and studied divinity at Free Church College Glasgow from 1887 until 1891. Black was ordained in 1891 and became associate pastor at St George's Free Church in Edinburgh in 1896, where he worked with Alexander Whyte.Hugh Black (March 26, 1868 – April 6, 1953) was a Scottish-American preacher, theologian, and author whose ministry bridged pastoral service and academic theology, impacting congregations across Scotland and the United States for over five decades. Born in Rothesay, Scotland, to parents whose details are not widely documented—likely a modest Presbyterian family—he grew up immersed in the Free Church tradition. He graduated with a Master of Arts from the University of Glasgow in 1887 and studied divinity at Free Church College Glasgow (1887–1891), ordained in 1891 without further formal degrees, though he later received honorary Doctor of Divinity titles from Yale (1908), Princeton, and Glasgow (both 1911). Black’s preaching career began as assistant pastor at Sherwood Church in Paisley, Scotland, followed by a decade as associate pastor at St. George’s Free Church in Edinburgh (1896–1906) under Alexander Whyte, where his eloquent sermons earned him renown as a “whitener” to Whyte’s “blackening” style. Emigrating to the United States in 1906, he became Professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1906–1937), preaching at college chapels and guest pulpits like Central Congregational Church in Providence, Rhode Island, with a focus on practical faith and evangelism. He pastored First Congregational Church in Montclair, New Jersey, from 1930 to 1937, retiring to write and lecture. Author of works like The Art of Being a Good Friend (1899) and Christ’s Service of Love (1907), he married with family details unrecorded and passed away at age 85 in Montclair, New Jersey.