276                                                                                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   3EARER

                               The Standard  Bearer
       Semi-Monthly, except Monthly in July and August                                                                                                                           EDITORIALS
       .A                                                  Published by                                                                                                                                                     -
                   The. Reformed Free Publishing  Associptien
                                           1101  Haaen   Street.  li. E.                                                                                                 As To The Salvation Of Infants
                                    EDITOR  - Rev. .H. Hoeksemr

  Contributing editors--Revs. J.  Blankebpoor,  A. Cammenga,                                                                                                             I received the following question:
  P. De Boer,  3. D. de Jong, H. De Wolf, L.  Doezema,
  M. Gritters, C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G. M. Opboff,                                                                                                               "What is the basis that godly parents may  EOC
  A. Petter,  M.  Schipper,  J.  Vanden  Breggen, H. Veldman,                                                                                                     doubt about the salvation of their children when they
  R. Veldman, L. Vermeer, P. Vis, G. Vos, Mr. S. De Vries.                                                                                                        die in infancy?
  Communications  relative to contents should be addressed                                                                                                                                                       w.  W."
  to REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand
  Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                                      The question is, of course, connected with I, 17 of
                                                                                                                                                                  the Canons of Dordrecht, which reads as follows:
  Communications relative to subscription should be ad-                                                                                                                  "Since we are to judge of the will of God from
  dressed to MR. R. SCHAAFSMA,  I101  Hazen  St., S. E.,
  Grand Rapids,  Mich.  All  Announcemerits  and Obituaries                                                                                                       his Word, which tes$ifies  that the children of believers
  must be sent to the above address and will not be placed                                                                                                        are holy, not by nature, but in virtue of the covenant
  unless the  regular  fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice.                                                                                                       of grace, in which they, together with the parents,
                                          Subscription $2.50 per year                                                                                             are comprehended', godly. parents have no reason to
             Entared  sa  s e c o n d   class  m a i l .   a t   G r a n d                                                                                        doubt of the election and salvat.ion of their children,
                                                                                                                Rapid&   Micldpsn                                 whom it pleaseth  God to call out of this life in their
                                                                                                                                                                  infancy."
                                                                                                                                                                         First of all, I may remark that "the above  ltransla-
                                                                                                                                                                  tiori is less correct than the Dutch rendering of the
                                                                                                                                                                  same article. The words "godly parents have no reas-
                                                                                                                                                                  on to doubt," etc. are translated in the Holland as
                                                             CONTENTS                                                                                             follows  : %oo  moeten  de  godzalige  odders niet  twij-
MEDITATIE                                                                                                                                          Page           felen," etc. And this is a more accurate rendering of
  ZONDE  GEMAAKT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  (...........  . . . . . . . . .
                                                                                                                                                       273        the original:  pG  pawntes.  . .  .&&tare  ,non debent.
             Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                     And there is a little difference, too, in the meaning of
EDITORIALS  -                                                                                                                                                     the two translations. To say that godly parents hazlr:
                                                                                                                                                                  no 
  AS TO THE SALVATION OF INFANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276                                                                             reason  to doubt introduces an objective element in
                                                                                                                                                                  the statement of Art. 17, which, as it appears to me,
  CONSCIENCE I............................................................................... 278                                                                 our fathers tried to avoid, and which  is not in the
             Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                     original : dubitare non debent.
THE TRIPLE KNdWLEDGE                                                                                                                                                     It is, I think, important to notice this fact. What-
  EXPOSITION OF THE HEIDELBERG. CATECHISM . .  ..2'i8                                                                                                             ever may have been the reason why the fathers of
             Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                     Dordrecht inserted  fan article of this nature in  `t;he
  THE  ,FIRST THREE JUDGES . *. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282                                          ,Canons (and, perhaps, it ivas occasioned by all sorti
              Rev, G.  M. Ophoff                                                                                                                                  df slanderous accusations by the enemies of  sovereign
  BET GEBED EENS BmJ.AARDEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28G                                                       predestination,  snch as, that those who maintained
                Rev. G. Vos.                                                                                                                                      the Reformed faith rejoiced in and gloated over a hell
                                                                                                                                                                  full of little infants), they certainly were careful not
  THE  STREN,GTH  OF THE YOUNG MAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288                                                                            to make any objective statement of doctrine regarding
              Rev. M. Gritters                                                                                                                                    the salvation of infants of believers $that die in their
  THE VALUE OF 0. T. REVELATION FOR THE N. T.                                                                                                                     infancy. ,Had they done this, or intended to do this,
  DISPENSATION * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .,.. . . . . . . . . . . .
                                                                                                                                                       290        the article would have read as follows: "all infants
              Rev. G. Lubbers                                                                                                                                     of godly parents that die in infancy are elect and
  OUR OWN SCHOOL MOVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292                                                          saved." Instead, our fathers here declared something
              Rev. C. Hanko                                                                                                                                       about the subjective attitude of godly parents with
                                                                                                                                                                  respect to their children that are taken  &way  in their
  TITHING AND CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294                                                                                           infancy.
              Rev. H. `De Wolf                                                                                                                                           Secondly, we may also note that the article does
                                                                                                    -                                                             not speak simply of  "parentR  in  the  coven&"  ox"


     ..-.                          TEEE  ~~!ANDA~xD   BEARER                                                     277

even of "believing parents," but of  pii  pumntes,           The statement of David: "I shall go to him, but he
godly payenta. There is a difference, of  course,.and        shall not return to me," (II Sam. 12  5%) which is
this  differentie  is quite intentionally maintained in sometimes appealed to in this connection, cannot serve
the article.  It. is hardly accidental that the fathers      this purpose, because, apart from all other  considera-
o.f Dordrecht chose this term.  @dly parents are in .tions, it most probably means no more than: "I shall
this case those parents who live a godly life particul-      follow the child in death."  An< the statement  of
arly with regard to thei?  children. They expec't them       Ahijah, the- prophet, concerning the child of Jeroboam :
in the fear of the.Lord,  they #dedicate  them to Him and    "because in him there is found some good thing to-
His covenant even before they-&e born, they receive          ward the  Lor,d  God of Israel in the house of  Jero-
thei'from Him in faith, and when they grow  up they boam," is  still less  #to the point. (I Kings  - 14  :18).
exert themselves to bring them up in  the'~fear  and For, in ,t.he `first &ace, the son of Jeroboam was not
admonition of the  L&d. Now, when  from.`such  par- likely an infant. And, secondly, he was surely not a
ents God takes away their children in infancy, they child of  "`godly  parents,"' for the very opposite was
"must not doubt their election and salvation."               true.
    The above remarks are necessary les,t we receive            Hence, the basis mentioned in Art. 1'7 af the
the impression that in our Canons we confess that all        Canons is no% a ground for a general, objective de-
children born within the scope of the visible line of        claration that all children of  ,the covenant that die
the  covenant  of God with  1His people in the  worK.        in infancy are surely saved, but for"a subjective at-
that die in infancy are surely  elect and saved. No titude of the parents, according to which they do not
such objective declaration of doctrine is made in this       doubt their salyation.
article.     Nor would such an objective statement be           But, you ask, if there is no Biblical ground fbr the
of much real doctrinal value. The term "infants" is          objective declaration that  all children of the covenant
a very relative one, and i,t is quite impossible to set are surely sat-ed if they die in their infancy, how
an age' limit to "infancy." The meaning of the term can it be a ground for the advice to godly parents that
in the article is, no doubt, that early period of life in    they must not doubt their election and salvation? My
which the child cannot be expected to reveal any signs answer is that this can only be considered as "a judg-
of grace or of being withont  grace. But how long does ment of love." According to this judgment. of love,
this period last? With some children it will last long- we hold and believe that all are true members of the
er than others, and in all cases the exact limit will        Church of Christ *hat do not in their position or in
be impossible to  dete,rmine.                                their walk and confession give reason to judge the
    Besides, there is no ground in Scripture to make         contrary. Now, a child of godly parents, born in
such a statement. The basis for the statement that           the covenant, is placed by God's own sovereign  de-
"godly parent must not  .doubt"  is, according  ,to the      ,termination  in the line of the holy seed.  Lf it dies
article in ,the Canons "that the children of believers       in infancy, this is all we know of it. It has no op-
are holy, not by nature, but in the virtue of the cove-      portunity to reveal anything to the contrary, becauy:c
nant of grace, in which they, together with the parents,     God takes it away. before it arrives to years of dis-
are- comprehended." Now, if the term "holy" is to be         cretion.    Hence,  ,the fathers meant to say, in my
understood  in the true, spiritual ethical sense of the      opinion, seeing that the parents know nothing else of
word, which is, no doubt, its meaning here, the  ,&ate-      ,the child, according to God's own sovereign determina-
ment is not applicable to  nI.Z  children of believers. If tion, than that it is born in the line of the holy seed,
we "are to judge of the will of God from his Word,"          they ought not to doubt their  saIvation,  according
we surely dare not say that all the children of be- to the judgment of love.
lievers are actually elect and holy. The Word of                 To this, however, I wish to add my per:+onal con-
God teaches us quite the opposite. Never yet were            viction, that parents that bring  infants  to  thz gyavc
211 those  true Israel that were of Israel. Only the         ocght not to seek their  grw;.nd of comfort in this
children of the promise are counted for the seed. And judment of love, but rather in the  absoIuteIy  cer-
not only Scripture, but  al,sjo all history  and. all ou: tain truth that God doeth  _a11  things  ~~11, and  :hat
experience  teaches us that within the  szo;e of the         He loves them, and causes all things to work  togethel
visible line of the covenant in the world there arc          unto their salvation. He surely saves His Church OU+
many carnal children. To make an objective state-            of ocr seed, and no one of that perfezt,  elect Church,
ment that all children of believers. z%at  &e in  infancy    shall  bc lost. That should  be suf&ient  for us as god-
are surely saved, would, therefore require a special         fearing parents. It is a sure consolation, not only
revelation in Scripture concerning  <those children. But     when our chilflren are taken from us in inf&y, but
also this is lacking. Nowhere  ,does the Bible give us a&o when they grow up and, in spite of all our in-
any' ground for the  dogma$c  assertion  that all the        struction and admonition, reveal themselves as pro-
children of the covenant that  `die in infancy are saved. fane and reprobate.                                H. H.


278                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                    . .."-.                                .
                                                                  judgment upon the ethi,cal worth of a certain action
                       Conscience                                 jollows the action itself. As soon as the moral agent
                                                                  performed a certain act, whether in his heart and
   I also received the following communication:                   mind only, or also in the outward deed, conscience  al:-
                                                                  pears as judge and expressed its verdict, whether  the
   "Dear Sir:                                                     action was good or evil. By "antecedent conscience"
       "The question `What is conscience?'  came up in            is meant that function of conscience  according to
one of our meetings. It was assigned as after-recess              which it declares which of two or more alternative
material. We had a spirited discussion on .the ques- courses of action is right, and commands the .moral
tion but could not reach much agreement on it, and                agent to choose and take it, before the action itself
the general feeling was that there was much more in               is performed.
`the question than we realized. Just before the meet-                But I shall have to continue my remarks next time.
ing adjourned a motion was made to ask the editor  of D. V.
the S'tarzdard  Becwer  some time at his convenience in                                                             H. H.
the not too distant future to answer the questions:
`What is conscience? Did Adam have a conscience in
the state of rectitude? Will we have a conscience in
that state of glory?'
       "Will you give this matter your attention?
       "We hope you  wiIl grant us this favor. In the
meantime u-e look with anticipation for something in                 The Triple Knowledge
print in the  S'taltdard  Bearer.                                                                                             -
                   Respectfully yours,
                   Creston Prot. Ref. Men's So:iety.
                   John Oosse, Sec'y."           ,                 An Exposition Of The Heidelberg
       I am not surprised that the Men's Society of  Cres-                            Catechism
ton as they were discussing this question developed                                     PART TWO
"the general feeling that there was much more in the
question than they realized." The question is a very                           OF MAN'S REDEMPTION
old  oae,  one that holds the interest of laymen and                                  Lord!s Day XII
philosophers alike, and volumes have been written on                          Q. 31. Why is he called Christ, that is anointed?
it and its related problems. For the same reason it
is quite  imposs.ible  to give a satisfactory and complete                    A. Because he is ordained of God the Father,
answer to the question in the brief space of an article                     and anointed with the Holy Ghost, to be our chief
                                                                            Prophet and teacher, who has fully revealed to us
in our paper. Perhaps, the various questions suggest-                       the secret counsel and will of God concerning our
ed by the Men's Society of  Creston, and others re-                         redemption; and to be our only High Priest, who
lated to the subject of conscience, might be assigned                       by  t,he one sacrifice of his body has redeemed us,
as subjects to some of our associate editors to be dis-                     and makes continual intercession with the Father
cussed in the next volume of the  Standard  Bearer.                         for us; and also to be our eternal King, who governs
                                                                            us by his word and Spirit, and who defends and
       In the meantime, I can probably make a few brief                     preserves us in (the enjoyment of) that salvation,
remarks and suggestions on the subject that may                             he has purchased for US.
serve to stimulate some more discussion in the meet-                          Q. 32. But why art thou called a Christian ?
ing of the  Creston  Society. In this way I can at                            A. Because I am a member of Christ by faith,
least indicate the direction which such a discussion                        and thus am partaker of his anointing; so that I
should follow.       For the Society of  Creston  this is,                  may confess his name, and present myself a living
perhaps, more profitable than if I should write lengthy                     sacrifice of thankfulness to him: and also that with
articles on the subject.                                                    a free and good conscience I may fight against sin
       First of all, then,  lext me say that a distinction has            - and Satan in this life: and afterwards reign with
been made between what is called "sequent conscience."                      him eternally over all creatures.
and "antecedent conscience." Whether or  no.t we agree                                         1
that both these forms of conscience exist, it is import.
ant to take' note of this distinction because this will                              Jesus is the Christ.
help US in understanding the meaning and function                    The above text of this twelfth Lord's Day does no!:
of conscience itself. By "sequent conscience" is, mes.nt          offer a very correct rendering of the original German.
that function. of' conscience according to which its              Instead of the perfect tense: has  f&y  mvealed the


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           279

secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemp- And the Lord replies that flesh and blood did not re-
tion," the German uses the present: "der uns den I-eal this  cnto Peter, but His Father who is in heaven.
heimlichen Rath und  Willen  Gottesl  von unseren And upon the rock of this truth Christ will build His
Erlijsung  vollkommen  offenbaret."  The words that          Church.    Matt..  16:16-18.  When the bread seeking
are placed in parentheses, "the enjoymen+  of," do not multitrde in Capernaum have become  offeaded  in Jesus,
occur in the original, and should be eliminated, es-         and He turns to His twelve disciple3 with the yues-
pecially because they certainly do  noct improve the tion.: "Will ye also go away?" .they answer, once more
sense.    And instead of "he has  purch.ased   for us," through Simon Peter: "Lord to whom shall we go?
it is more in harmony with the original to translate thou hast :&he words of eternal life. And we believe
"he has obtuined for us." In question and answer 32 and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of
the adjective  `Lgood"  should be eliminated before "con- the living God." John  6:67-69. The Samaritan wo-
science," for the German simply reads:  "mit freiem man reports to the men of Sychar <that she has met
Gewissen" ; and instead of "Satan" the original has          the Christ; and after Jesus had taught two days in
!t!kufel,  the devil.                                        that city the men of Sychar themselves believed  "thal
    In this Lord's Day the Catechism explains the this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world."
significance of  ,the name Christ, and treats of the         John  4:29,  42. Gradually, during Jesus' public min-
offices of the Saviour. We may notice that, quite in istry, as He taught and performed His marvellous
harmony with the general character of the  Heidel-           works, it became the urgent and pressing question
berger, and, more particularly, with this second part        whether He were indeed *he Christ. And there were
which treats of our redemption, our instructor con- many that believed He was. On the other hand, the
siders the aame Christ, and the offices of the Lord, more it became evident that Jesus of Nazareth claimed
only from the viewpoint of their significance for us to be the Christ, the more the carnal Jews and their
and our salvation.       The name Christ signifies that Ieaders hated, opposed, and persecuted Him. And it
cJ~~u~ is our chief Prophet, who reveals  to  us  the        was, no doubt, because, on the one hand, the Jews
secret counsel and will of God concerning our re- refused to acknowledge >Him as such, that they finally
demption;  that He is  our only High Priest, who  r+ conspired to kill Him. They looked for a Christ,
deemed  US and intercedes for us; and that He is our         but for one altogether different from this Jesus of
eternal King,  who  yovetms us,  and  defends  and pre- Nazareth. And it was ultimateIy  because of His con-
serves us to the end.        Yet, an exposition of the fession under oath that He was the Christ, the Son
soteriological aspect of the work of Christ as God's of the living  GOdi that the Sanhedrin declared Him
Anointed, as His officebearer in the world, hardly ex-       worthy of death. And when the apostles have been
hausts the meaning of the name Christ. For that              endowed with the power of the Spirit, they preach:
name has a far wider, a universal significance.  It          "Therefore Iet a11 ,the houn;e of Israel know assuredly,
signifies that Jesus is the Firstborn of every creature, that God hath made this same Jesus, whom ye have
by Whom and unto Whom all things in heaven and               crucified, both Lord and Christ."
o.n earth are created, Who is from all eternity  or-            In a sense, the whole epistle to the Hebrews may
?aine<d to be the Head over all things, God's  oficial be said to be a  treatice  on the theme that Jesus  Ls
Representative in all the visible universe  in t.he new      the Christ, the High Priest, to be sure, but then ac-
creation, the Heir of the world, and that, too, as the       rording to the order of Melchinedec, the  glorio!7s  rova.1
Firstborn of the dead, and  as the Head of the Church,       Priest. He is appointed heir of all things. 1:2: and He
the glorious Lord of lords and King of kings for has obtained a more excellent name than the angels,
ever ! Lt is only in the very last part of the thirty        1:4 ; to Him it was said: "Thy throne,  0  God is  `or
second  quenction  that the Catechism refers to this         e-;er and ever : a sceptre of righteousness is `he see:trc
eternal and universal aspect of Christ as God's  of- of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved  righteousners,   RT~(!
fi,cebearer  in the words: "and afterwards reign with hated iniquity; therefore God, ever: thy  God,  !ln%?~
Him eternally over all creatures."                           anointed thee with oil of gladness abo e t,hy fellows."
    Strongly the Scriptures emphasize the importan-e         1:8, 9. His excellency above the angels is evident
of  `the confession that Jesus is the  Chrisit.   "Whoso-    from the Word of God to Him: "Sit on my right ha&,
over believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God," until  I make thine enemies thy footstool,"  1:13; in
I John 5 :l. The faith that the historical Jesus, Who Him is fulfilled the testimony of  t.he eighth psalm:
was, born in Bethlehem, walked among us, suffered            "What  is man that thou art mindful of him? or the
and died on Calvary, is the Christ, is here presented son of man that thou  visiteslt him?               Thou  ma&St
as a sure proof that one is born of God. Without be- him a little lower than the angels; thou  crow::edst
ing reborn it is impossible to believe that Jesus is him with glory and honor, and didst set him o-:er  t'hs
the Christ. The disciples, by mouth of Peter, confess works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in sub-
:$hat Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. jection under his feet,"  2:6-8.  He it is that is set


280                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

over the whole house of God, and that was counted              co:lstantly  supplied with oil from the bowl through
worthy of more honor than Moses, as the builder is             the seven pipes1 that lead to each of the lamps. And
worthy of greater honor than the building,  3  $3-6.           the angel interprets the vision to the wondering  pro-
.And from God He received this honor, for h"e "glori-          phet in the words: *`This is the word of the Lord
fied not himself to be  mad& an high priest; but  119 unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power,
that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Without
begot~ten  thee.     As he saith also in another place,        entering into a detailed explanation of this vision, it
Thou art priest for ever after the order of Melchise-          will be evident that the oil in the bowl  co;lstantly
dec." 55, 6. All that was prefigured in Melchisedec,           flowing into the seven lamps is siymbol  of the `Holy
the priest of the most high God, king of righteousness,        Spirit by Whom alone the House of God, the true
king of peace, without beginning or end of days, a             spiritual temple of the Most tHigh  can be built and
priest continually and for ever, is fulfilled in Christ,       maintained. And the same applies to  t.he oil that  wax
chapter 7. And He is not  e;l.tered  into holy places          used for anointing. The holy ointment was fragrant
made with hands, but into heaven itself; now to ap-            and shining, a picture of life and light, and as such
pear in the presence of God for us, 9:24. And aftee            a symbol of the Holy Spirit. That this is, indeed,
He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever; He sat         the meaning which Scripture attributes to the holy
down at the right hand of God, Srom henceforth ex-             oil of anointing is plain  .from Isa. 61  :l, where the
pecting till his enemies be made his. footstool,  10:19.       gift of the Spirit is directly connected with the idea
13.     He is, indeed, the one that was promised  ai!          of anointing: "The Spirit of the  LoSd God is upon me;
thrpugh the old dispensation, the expected Oi?e,  the because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good
Messiah, and all the shadows are completely fulfilled          tiding unto the meek ; he hath sent me to bind up
in  <Him.  Jesus is the Christ.                                the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captires,
       The  name Christ is the same as the Old Testa- and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."
ment name Messiah even as  Jesus.is  the New Testa-               And even as the anointing oil was symbol of the
ment form of Jehoshua. It signifies the Anointed.              Holy Spirit, so the ceremony of anointing was design-
It is, therefore, a title rather than a name, indicative       ed to express that the anointed one received the Spirit
of His official dignity rather than of His person FXK!         of God to qualify him for a certain office. Two ideas,
nature.      Ii1 the old dispensation there were many          therefore, were expressed or implied in the act  OX
anointed ones, types and shadows of Him that was anointing, viz. those of ordination or appointment unto
to come. Those that were called to hold office in th:!         a certain office, and of qualification for that office.
kingdom of God as it existed in the old dispensation That Jesus is the Christ signifies, therefore, that He
among Israel were anointed.           Holy anointing oil,      is God's  offilebearer,  ordained and qualified by God
specially prepared for that purpose, was poured out            Himself to function in behalf of God's covenant and
over the head of the one that was called by God to             kingdom in the world. As the Catechism reminds us,
function officially in the kingdom of God,  a$ prophet:, .He is called Christ, that is anointed, "because he is
priest, or king. This ceremony of anointing had sym-           ordained of God the Father, and anointed with  the
!>olical meaning. The oil used for anointing, fragrant         Holy Ghost," to be our Prophet, Priest,  and King.
%nd glittering, was symbol of the aHoly Spirit. This           Jesus is the  Chri:.t, the Messiah, the Anointed, i.e.
is evident from several passages of Holy Writ. It is           He is officially ordained and qualified for the "things
the meaning of the oil in the seven lamps of the               pertainjz  g to God." And as all the officebearers cf
golden candlestick that stood in the holy place of the         the old dispensation were but types and shadows of
tabernacle and the temple. The seven armed lamp                Him that was to come and all  oficebearers  of the new
was, no doubt, a symbol of the people of God as the            dispensation are but reflections. of Him, and function
light of the world, shining before the  faze  of God,          t,hrough Him, He is the Anointed pnr excellence, the
called out of darkness into His marvellous light, to           Yen over his own house," the High Priest, the Pro-
declare His praises and reflect His glorious virtues.          phet of all prophets, the Lord of lords, the King of
But the lamps, were in themselves nothing. Without             kings.
the oil they could not burn, and had no light. An?.               Two questions arise here. First of all: what is
thus the people were reminded that without the  grace:         the idea of an office, and what is an officebearer? And,
of God's Spirit they were not, and could not be the            secondly: what  is the office unto which Christ was
people of God.                                                 ordained and qualified?                               "
       This is evident, too, from the wonderful vision  re-       As to the first questidhj ye may remark that the
corded in Zech. 4 :1-6. The prophet beholds a golden office is essentially one, not three. We may, indeed,
candlestick, with a bowl containing oil above it, ant1         distinguish the one office into the three aspects of it
pipes leading from the bowl to  the seven lamps of  the        that are denoted by the terms prophet, priest and king,
candlestick. The idea is, evidently, that the lamps  are but these may never be ,separated. They are not three


                                 `,THE  S T A N D A R D ,   B E A R E R                                          2x1.

separate offices, but rather three different aspects         work as God's Anointed.      He is, indeed, our chief
or functions of  lthe one office. There is one funda-        Prophet to make known unto us, who are by nature
mental thought in them all, one idea lies at the             in darkness, the whole secret counsel and will of God
basis of all three.       And this fundamental notion concerning our redemption. As our only !High Priest,
may briefly be expressed by saying that by office `He does intercede for us with the Father after He
is meant' the  posi'tion  of servant-king in relation        has obtained redemption for us by Ris perfect sacri-
to God. We might also express the same idea by `fice on the accursed tree. And as our eternal King,
describing an officebearer as the official represent-        He fought the battle for us against sin and death and
ative of the i,nvisible  God in the visible world. More      all the powers of darkness, and gained the complete
fully defined, by office is meant the position in *which     victory over them ; and He preserves us unto the
man is authorized and qualified to  fun&ion  in the ,salvation  He obtained for us. But this is not ,the whole
name of God and in His behalf in God's covenant              of His  w6rk as God's Officebearer. If this were true,
and kingdom, to serve Him and to rule under Him.             His work as God% Anointed would be finished, and
There are, therefore, two sides to the office. `With         He would cease to function in His office, as soon as
relation to God the officebearer is servant. He may the work of redemption were completed. But we know
not act upon his own authority, and according to the         that this is not the truth. The Word of God emphas-
imagination of his own heart. Nor does he function           izes everywhere that Christ's office is without end,
in his own behalf. On the contrary, he is a servant          that His dominion is an everlasting dominion, that
of the living God. In relation to God he is clothed          He must reign for ever, that He is Priest for  evei
with humility, prostrates himself in the dust, and           after the order of Meichisedec. The last Adam does
always asks : "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?"          not appear simply as a Restorer of what the  firal
It is his calling to know the will of God, to love tha!      Adam spoiled and destroyed by his disobedience. He
will, and to have his delight in performing it..  *He        is not ordained simpIy to repair the damage done by
must love the Lord his God with all his heart, and with      the powers of darkness.     Nor dare we present the
all his mind, and with all his soul, and with all his        matter as if Christ were so to speak an afterthought
strength. He is the servant of Jehovah. But, Oil the of God, occasioned  merely by the fact that sin came
other hand, with relation to the creaturely sphere in        into the world. It is to be feared that some such
which he functions, the kingdom of God in the visible        conception is in the minds of many. Adam is the
world, the officebearer is king.     He is clothed with      real and original officebearer of God, according to
authority and power to represent the sovereign God `this view. And God's original purpose surely was that
in the world. Al1 creatures must serve him, in order         he should be the head of all His works., and that under
that he may serve his God.                                   him creation should normally develop to its highest
   Thus the first man Adam was God's officebearer            possible state of glory. But sin entered. The first
in the earthly creation. In the covenant-relation he         officebearer became unfaithful. And now God ordains
was God's friend-servant, and as such dominion was           Christ, His Son in the flesh, to take the place `of. the
given `him over all the earthly creation. He was king first Adam, and to restore righteousness and peace
under God. For this position he was ordained and             and lead all things to that perfection which Adam
qualified.      For he was created after the image of        failed to attain.
God, in true knowledge of God, righteousness, and               In&ad of  al1 such erroneous notions, we must
holiness. He knew his Creator in love, had his delight       proceed from the correct and Scriptural viewpoint,
in doing the will of God, and consecrated himself and        that in His eternal counsel God decreed to unite a!1
all things to the Lord af all. And he was placed at          things in Christ, and to make Him  t,he Head over
the head of the earthly creation. All creatures served all things, not only in the earth, but also in heaven.
him, that he might serve his God.                            The last Adam in history is t.he first in God's counsel
   And in this he was the image of Him that was to           He is not an afterthought. He does not OCCUPY the
come. However, he was no more than His image.                second place. He is strictly  .first. . For God  PU~POS-
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so far         ed in His eternal good pleasure to reveal and glorify
is Christ, the last Adam, exalted above the first `Himself in the realization of  IHis everlasting kingdom
Adam.         We must not proceed from the idea that ,and covenant, not in the first Adam, but in Christ,
Christ's office consisted merely in this that, after the firstborn of every creature, and that, too, as the
Adam  is fallen into sin, and with him the whole firstbegottm  of the  de&, and, therefore, in the way
creation is made to bear the curse, He redeems His           of sin and grace.     In the new creation, the new
own, and delivers them from sin and death, in order heavens and the new earth, in which the tabernacle
to restore the original relationship and the first, state    of God shall be with men for ever and in heavenly
of rectitude in Paradise.' It is certainly true that this    beauty and glory, the covenant of God's friendship
work  of  redempion  and deliverance belongs to His          shall be perfected, God's House shall be finished, and


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1Iis kingdom shall be established, Christ shall ever-            But who were those servants of Baa1 that, as de-
lastingly be the Head over all, the visible representa-       livered, were Ioyal to God so long as the judge lived
tive of the  invisibl%e God, the glorious  Servant.King,      `but that returned and corrupted themselves anew
the Lord of lords, and the King of kings. King over when  th& judge was dead? They were not the true
all, He shall subject Himself unto the Father, that           Israel. We have God's own word for it that His be
God may be all in all. Even angels and principalities lieving  people did not serve Baa1 ever. There is this
shall for ever be subject unto Him. And in this< glor- word of God to Elijah. "Yet have I left me seven
ious reign the Church shall  partitipate.  Such is the thousand, all the knees of which have not bowed unto
gloriocs  office unto which Christ is anointed from be- Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him."
fore the  foundabtion  of the world.                          The seven thousand-there may have been` more or
                                                   H. H.      even less than indicated by this number, for the num-
                                                              ber is  symboli~cal-were  the remnant according to the
                                                              election, the true believers, always present in the na-
                                                              tion. They were not of those that bowed their knees
                                                              unto Baal. They served God in truth. Yet with the
                                                              judge through whom God had wrought deliverance in
            The First Three Judges                            his grave, arid with Baal's temple again crowded  with
                                                              apostate Israelites, they, too, would polute their way
       As was pointed out, the first two chapters of the      before the Lord. And it is not difficult to imagine i:l
book of t.he Judges are introduction. Before the au- what respect. They got along too well with their apos-
thor begins his narrative, he expalins why the Lord tate brethren. In their fear of the wicked, they were
did  not. expel all the heathen nations from the promis- too ready to accept the  baal-worship  in their midst
ed land. The Lord left these nations in punishment of as a thing to be deplored but about which nothing
Israel's sin. His people had entered into a forbidden much could be done; and too easily did they accustom
fellowship with the Canaanites and had tolerated  their themselves to the spectacle of Israelitish men offer-
pagan. worship. Still another reason is given. The ing God's gifts to Baal. Yet the law was most exact-
Lord left these nations to prove Israel and to teach          ing. It demanded that the worshippers of the idol be
the people war.                                               put to death. Thus it placed God's believing people
       The author also gives a bird's-eye view of the         under the necessity of slaying their own kin. That
history that he is about to relate, chaps.  %:ll-19. The they could not come to this is understandable. So
picture is that of an ever returning cycle of unfaith- the pagan worship continued to ,flourish  with God's
fulness on the part of the people, oppression by the people looking on, vexing their righteous souls from
adversary, deliverance wrought by the Lord,  and              day to day with the unlawful deeds of wicked men,
the return of the people to  their idols. The history yet taking no action against them beyond an occzsion-
of Israel under the judges is a history of sin, repeat- al  feebIe protest. This was their sin.
ing itself over and over, and of divine grace, `con-             Then the anger of the Lord woul waS hot against
stantly devising new means of deliverance.                    (His people not to consume them in His wrath but to
                                                              burn the dross out of them in His love.  Whitherso-
        "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight ever they turned, they  collid~ed with God's hand as
        of the Lord and served Baalim.                        against them for evil through the age;lcy  of the ad-
        "And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel     versaries of the nation.     Then, in their extremity,
        and he delivered them into the hands of  tine they would cry unto God. And He would save them
        spoilers that spoiled them. . .                       His believing people, by another wonder of His grace,
        "Nevertheless the Lord raised up Judges, which save the nation for His people's sake, so that the na-
        delivered  *them  out of the hands of the spoiIers    tion would again see His works, as had the generation
        that spoiled them. For it repented the Lord be- to which Moses and Joshua belonged. There woulcl
        cause of their groanings.                             again be peace  ia God's country for forty years or
        ".And it came to pass yhen the judge was dead, more with God's people, it may be assumed, once morP
        that they returned and corrupted themselves more in parer and with the Baal-a-orshippers more or Iesa
        than their fathers,, in following other gods to in hiding. During this time another generation would
        serve them."                                          arise that knew not the Lord neither t.he work-thP
       Such were the round of events that recurred regu- wonder of his grace- that he had wrought through
larly and in the same sequence, in the time of  the the reigning judge. So when the judge  died,,this other
Judges, in all the ages of the Old Dispensation, and generation would again deny God  and serve  Eaal.
in the centuries of the new. The whole history of But this carna1  seed would not even hearken unto their
the church is shut up in those four sentences.                judges, the deliverers raised up by the' Lord to  regat'v


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      283
                      ..--. .^^ . . .                                                                 .-:     .
the l.ost liberties of the nation. Even during the life- preting the history of the people of Israel.
time of these judges, "they went a whoring after                 Let us now turn to the narrative proper of our
other  guds, and bowed themselves unto them: they book, the commencement of which is  th,e statement to
turned quickly out of the way which their fathers the effect that "the children of Israel' (therefore)
walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord;              dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Aniorites,
but they-this other generation-did not so."                   and Perizites, and Hivites, and Jebusites" (chap. 3  :4).
   Before we turn to the narrative proper of our book, All that precedes this statement is introduction.
just one remark. The deliverance that Go*d  wrought              "The children of Israel," of whom  t.he author here
through the agency of the judges were very actually aays that they "dwelt among the Canaanites. . ." are
wonders-wonders of grace-as truly as were the ten still "that other generation"' of which Joshua and
plagues of E.gypt  and all the other mighty works of his contemporaries were the immediate antecedents.
Moses and of Joshua his successor. It was through             This is proven by the circumstance that the first
wonders that God brought, the people of Israel as R judge was  Ot.hniel;  the nephew of Caleb  and.' the
nation into being. And it was through a  seri,es  of          conqueror of Kirjath-sepher, Jos. 15  :16ff. When Josh-
wonders that the existence. of the nation in Canaan ua died, he was still in his prime. If at that time he
was continued. The history of Israel therefore is typi- was thirty years of age, he would be fifty three years
cal, which is but another way of saying that it is            of age when he assumed the judicial office, if, after the
prophecy,  sp,eciaI and progressive revelation of the         death of Joshua, a period of twenty years elapsed.
plan of salvation, a preindication of  t.he heavenly kfng-       The passage, -"And the children of Israel dwelt
dom of Christ and the appearance of this, kingdom in          among the Canaanites," is a significant citation. Deut.
glory. Herein lies the significance of Israel's history.      20 : 17 contains the following : "Thou shalt utterly des-
Herein does this history differ from the history of all       troy the Hittites, and the Amorites, t.he Canaanites,
other peoples. It is not sufficient to say that the de- and the Perizites, ithe Hivites, and the Jebusites as
liverance of the people of Israel from Egyptian bond-         Jehovah thy God hath  commanded  thee ; that they
age was a work of God. The rationalistic interpret- teach you not to do after all their abominations." But,
ers of the Old Testament Scripture have no quarrel            says ,the author, the reverse took place. The children
with us if we say no more than this. The rising and of Israel, that "other generation," "that knew not
setting of t.he sun are also God's works. He does all the Lord nor all the works that IHe had done for Is-
things. So, what must be added is that the deliver-           rael," having become weary of war, accepted the Ca-
ance of the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage            naanites as a  peopIe  fit to dwell among, and concluded
was a wo&er of God's grace. To rationalize the won- a peace with these pagan peoples, with the land still
ders of the Scriptures is an offence  of the first mag-       studded with pagan altars and temples. This, as has
nitude. For the wonder is the sign of the operation           a.lready been explained was their first great offense,
of God's grace. It is precisely through the wonder            after ,the death of th,eir  god fearing elders, who had
of grace that God saves His people. The incarnation           seen all the  great works of the Lord.' As was said,
of Christ was of ali the wonders, the greatest. And           their failure to cIeanse  the land of the apparatus of
the eventual passing away of heaven and earth and             pagan worship was indicative of a prong attitude to-
the appearance of the church with Christ in glory ward God and thus preindicative  of their openly choos-
will be the concluding wonder of history. If God per-         ing the idol in rejection of God. And so  t.hey did,
forms no wonders, Christ is still in the grave and the        shortly after the death of Joshua and of all the men
believers are still in their sins. Assuredly, God doeth       of the generation to which he'.. belonged. As  I!Zoses
all things. He saves IHis people by His outstretched had foretold, they were soon initiafed into the sins of
arm. But the token, the sign, the evidence of t.his is their pagan neighbors. In, violation of the command
precisely the arm of God as stretched out in the re-          of God, they first made marriages with the Canaanites.
demption of His people. The outstretched arm of God           "And they took their daughters to be their wives and
is thus the wonder. It was by His wonders, as per-            gave their daughters to their sons" (chap. 3 :6). The
formed in the sight of Pharaoh, that God drove home           consequence of this intermarriage was that they "serv-
to the consciousness of this tyrant, that He, the Je-         ed their gods," namely the Baalim and  t,he groves.
hovah of the Hebrews', is the Lord, the God of all the Doubtless these shameful doings were, in a measure,
earth. For the wonder is a new work of God, wrought representative of a' policy of appeasement dictated by
upon the earthy. As such it forms the compelling              a lack of trust in God, and in consequence thereof,
evidence of the Lordship of God over all the earth and by fear of the Canaanites. Dispossessed, as they were,
of the presence of His almighty power in the fulness          and shut up in their strongholds, the Canaanites, it
thereof.                                                      may be assumed, were in an evil mood; and the thought
   Herewith has been stated the fact and truth upon           of  revenge  was' always present to their minds. Since
which we must stand, as upon a foundation, in inter- the attempt to expell'them  from the soil of Canaan  had


284                                  TH'E  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

been but partially successful, the people of Israel were part at least, had shared the wars with Canaan. He
genuinely afraid of them.      Unbelief reasoned that it was the son-in-law of the famed Caleb, and hence a
was   the part of wisdom to solicit the friendship of       head of the tribe of Judah. After the  d'eath of Joshua,
these pagan peoples by intermarriages and by the Judah was the first to prosecute the war with the
acknowledgement of their religion. So they married          Canaanites.    The first judge whom God appointed,
with Amorites, Hivites, Perizzites, and placed their        must appear in Judah.
gifts on Baal's altars.      Peace came.    Comfort and        As to Othniel, we read of him that "the Spiril o!'
prosperity came. Their position was now safe, so they the Lord came upon him.. . ." exerted an extraordin-
thought.      For the Canaanites were no longer hostile.    ary influence over his spirit, thus raised him up in the (
The observance of frontiers had helped to make things interest' of the salvation of God's people, called him
smooth, and they could agree on boundery lines of           and qualified him for his task. "And he judged Is-
territory. But they would have lost their identity as       rael and went out to war. . ." The judging of Israel
a nation, had not the Lord intervened with His  judge-      by this man meant the, inquisition into the religious
ments.                                                      state, condemnation of the idolatry of the tribes and
       God sold them into  ,the hand of  Chushan-risha-     a restoration of the service of God. In this way aIso
thaim, king of Mesopotamia, a monarchy of Western the spirit.uaI  strength -of God's believing people was
Asia, that stretched along the Euphrates away to            revived by the Spirit so that, as once more united in
the highlands of Armenia. The question why this a common faith in God, they, too, were raised up to
king should come from a country so far away to fall         ,do battle with the adversary. The judge and the
upon the people of Israel, is best answered by saying people now went out to war: "and the Lord delivered
that God sent him to  chastize  His people. But this Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand
king, to be sure, meant it not so. Believing, as he         and his hand prevailed against Ghushan-rishataim."
must have, that the invading Israelites had scarcely           The sacred author, in narrating the history of the
gained a secure footing, he might ventuse  an inroad public career of this judge, is exceedingly concise.
upon Canaan just at this time and even bring it into        He thought it necessary to devote but one brief sen-
subjection  t.o himself for a short time-eight years        tence to his military  ,undertaking.  Yet the foe over-
according to the narrative-and thus profit by the           come was doubtless, in the point of view of nature,
confusion which he thought that Israel's seizure of powerful and formidable. The victory achieved must
Canaan had produced. An additional  motive would be therefore be contemplated as another wonder of grace.
that the nations on the nearer side of the Euphrates        It was so decisive that the enemy repulsed never for
had not been able to withstand the advance of Israel.       centuries again crossed the Euphrates; for the next
       Coming   from the north, the invader over-ran the    following judges have quite different enemies to con-
northern tribes and with little effort brought them tend with. So did the generation-God's believing
under his iron heel.       For the tribes had forsaken peopIe in this generation-that had not known all the
God and therefore had not the courage-the courage           wars of Canaan, now know war as taught by the
of  faith-to resist. They  xere now in an evil  cas?.       Lord. Assuredly, it was God who taught them war.
For eight years they had to suffer a sore oppression.       He did so by raising them up by His Spirit out of
There were soldiers quartered in their cities, exacting their spiritual lethargy, by restoring their soul by His
tribute at the point of the sword, and their harvests       promises and thus qualifying them to fight *His war-
were enjoyed by others. They learned that, having fare as inspired by His spirit, as impelled by a living
forsaken God, Canaan could be no peaceful habitation        faith that He gendered in them, and as suskained by
for them. Helpless in the grip of the invader-tyrant, the prospect of certain victory in the Lord. As has
they  cri'ed unto the Lord. And the Lord answered. already been explained, Israel's wars with the heathen
Help came from the south. The deliverer was Othnicl nations in and around about  ,Canaan, were at bottom,
of the tribe of Judah. It is remarkable that Judah  iq      spiritual conflicts, a choosing between Jehovah and the
seldom mentioned in connection with the 4trouble.s of idol, a being pitted against the flesh and the devil, and
the time. We can only conclude that, on a whole, the ,devil-gods  in loyalty to Jehovah under the impulse
this tribe, in obedience to the command of God, had of faith in God. Israel's victories over the heathen in
pretty well freed its territory of the altars and temp- battle were the achievements of faith. As such they
les of Baal, and was thus prosperous, strong, and unit- were prophetic of the victory of Christ over the world
ed in a common faith in God. It is this tribe that, through His atonement, Judges  3:lff. Thus, they, too,
in Othniel, now came to the rescue of *the hard pressed had now seen the wonder, the arm of God stretched
brethren in northern Canaan.  Ot,hniel  was a man out in the deliverance of His oppressed people. And
mindful of the law of God, a man who feared the             seeing they praised.     And the land had rest forty
Lord in truth. Evidently he was already in possession years, i.e., during the, rest of Othniel's. life.
of a certain authority. He was one of those who, in            Some interpreters claim that of all'the judges, with


                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             285

perhaps the exception  yf Samuel, Othniel, in a sense,      tribur;e  under which the tribes had been put.
was the greatest. They base their claim on the follow.-        Eglon's position in Canaan was truly precarious,
ing considerations. The spirit of Jehovah was upon          should the courage of the nation revive. With the
him.    The spirit of faith, of trust in God, of en-        fords of the Jordan  takenAnd `they were  taken-
thusiasm.    It is the same spirit which God bestows        Eglon and his army would faee certain annihilation.
upon the seventy also, who are to assist Moses (Num.        The doing of the enemy was of the Lord. " (And) the
1125). It was on that occasion &that Moses exclaimed,       children of Israel did evil again in the sight of  the
"Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets,        Lord: and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of
and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them."          Moab against Israel. . .  ." Eighteen long years did
Til this spirit Moses and Joshua performed  *their great    the children of Israel serve Eglon.  N,either in the
deeds. In this spirit Joshua and Caleb knew  no fear        land of Bsnjamin nor from the neighboring tribes of
when they explored the land. In this  spi.rit,  the spirit Judah and Ephraim, did the adversary meet with any
of obedience, which in faith performs the law, becomes      resistance.    Finally, in response to the cry of His
a spirit of power. Of these seventy we are told that        people, the Lord raised up a deliverer, Ehud, of the
when they received the spirit of God,  they prophesied.     tribe of Benjamin, a  ma;1 left-handed but not, as some
The Targum therefore translates both here Lvnd there suppose with lameness in the right. It seems to have
"the Spirit of Prophecy". It does this, however, in the     been a habit of this tribe  %o use the left hand.
case of no other judge but Othniel. For although the           Some interpreters think it strange that Moab ap-
"Spirit of Jehovah" is also spoken of in connection pears as a dangerous enemy, sirlce,  under Moses, the
with Gideon, Jephthah and Samson, it merely gives           conduct of Israel toward Moab had been friendly. Ar^
"spirit of heroism". The first ground of  Tthis dis-        immediate motive that incited the people to war
tinction conferred on Othniel, is the  irreproachabl,?      against Israel is sought. It is concluded that the tribes
character of his rule. No tragic shadow lies on his         of Israel east of the Jorda,z  had given occasion to many
life, as on the life of the other heroes. His sun rose      disputes with their neighbors, because otherwise a
when Joshua's went down in death.                           people so peaceably disposed ,as the Ammonites were  at.
   So runs the argument,-an argument with which first toward Israel, would not have taken part in the
we cannot agree. There is grounds for saying that, as war. But Balak, king of Moab, had viewed with
a godfearing man, Othniel was outstanding and that          alarm the people of Israel which was advancing to seek           .
his faith in God was implicit. But this was t-rue of all a settlement so near its territory. It was then that
.the judges, not one excepted. That Othniel receive3 he sent for Ealaam to curse Israel. Also there was
the spirit of prophecy and of heroism, of faith  an2        the command that  "nq Moabite or Ammonite shall
trust in God and that the others received only the          enter ,into the congregation of Israel" (Deut. 23 :4).
spirit of heroism, cannot be. What Othniel received         The  doing  of Balak and this command sufficiently
in the way of qualifications for his office,  was be-       marks the antagonism that. existed between them.
stowed upon them all. They all, without exception,          Why the invaders had resolved to attack the people
were heroes and judges before the Lord, who taught          of Israel just at that time, was of no moment to the
God's people and fought God's warfare under  ,th+           sacred author. What had weight with him  is. that
impulse of a living faith in God. What could the the Lord strengthened the king of Moab against
character of  <the heroism of the others be, if it did      Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the
not spring from faith? As to Gideon and Samson Lord." The invaders, certainly, were moved by hatred
and Jephthah, are  they not, included by the author of of God's people and were bent on conquest and plunder.
the epistle to the Hebrews in that "cloud of wftnesses,"       Ehud's deed is vividly narrated. He made him 9
by which we are  eilcompassed  about?                       dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and
   The second attack on Israel  came Iikewise from          which he concealed under his raiment upop his right
the east, beyond the Jordan. The children of Ammon thigh. And he brought the present unto the king `of
dwelt east of the Dead Sea. The hosts of  Amqelek           Moab, for t.o him was entrusted the office of bearing
roved lower down, to the southwest of Moab. With to the king the yearly tribute. The presentation of
these neighbors north and south of him, Eglon., king the gift was, according to ancient custom, a lengthy
of Moab, formed a league and warred against the             ceremqny. Several persons bore what one could carry.
Israelites west of the Jordan, after first having sub-      Ehud was not alone therefore. With him were his
jugated, it must be, either wholly or in part, the tribe companions, whom he dismissed when he had made an
of Reuben and also possibly t.he tribe of Dan. . West       end of offering the present, and accompanied them
of the Jordan it was Benjamin and Ephraim that suf- back to the borders. But he himself turns back from
fered most under this invasion. Crossing the Jordan,        the borders of Eglon's territory, -which  .he had seized
the invaders possessed the city of Jericho. Here Eglon from Israel. He must be alone with the Moabite, if
established his `headquarters for the reception of the      his plan is to succeed.    So his requ'est &s ,fo~~a .prfYate


286                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

interview, as if he had some secret message to com-                 liggen, te verkeeren. Ge  kamt  .dan in een  staat en
municate,-a message from God, which the king, when                  toestand  die te nauw is voor U. Dan worden  er zuch-
aIone  with him rises to receive. Then he plunges the ten en klacht.en  en tranen gevonden. Ga naar David.
sword into the corpulant  body of the king, that even               Hij zal U er van vertellen.
the hilt. enters  ,the flesh. Then he rushed into the                  Als  ,ge evenwel de diepte van die benauwdheid eenig-
gallery that ran around the roof,  locke3 the door,                 zins wilt benaderen, gaat .dan naar Qthsemane. Daar
escaped to the mountains, called and lead the men of wordt  bet zeer benauwd. Er heerscht een zwoele,
Ephraim to the place, where 10,000 Moabites fell, and               drukkende atmosfeer.       Messias kromt zich en alles
the land west of the Jordan was free and long remain-               perst in H'em. Daar komen  de bloeddroppels al, bloed,
ed free.                                                            bloed van een Lam.
                                                G. M. 0.                Straks, als Hij meer krachten krijgt urn te lijden,
                                                                    staat Hij op, spreekt een  klagend,  verwijtend  woord
                                                                    tot Zijn jongeren en dan? 0, geliefden, ik moet er
                                                                    &t inkomen!      En tech moeten we wat zeggen van de
                                                                    benauwdheid van den Christus  Gods. Alles in hemel
                                                                    en op aarde en vanuit de he1 werkte mede om Jezus
         Het Gebed Ee'ns Bejaarden                                  benauwd te maken. Gad zal benauw,dheden  doen  zien.
                                                                    Daar komt een menxh met een Iieve glimlach op `t ge-
                        (Psalm 71; Slot)                            zich. Hij is o zoo zacht en lief. 0. Rabbi ! Rabbi ! Hij
                                                                    valt Jezus om de hals en kust Hem! Past op! Er laaien
       Als er nog iemaild  geweest is, die eenigzins twij-          vlammen uit de hel, J,ezus! Het is een kus van den
feIde  of deze psalm we1 waarlijk Messiaansch is, die               duivel  !
zal bij het lezen en best.udeeren  van het slot zich geheel             En het  arme slachtoffer? Waarom sloeg  Jezu3
en  al gewonnen geven. In dat slot worden  er dingen                hem niet met Zijn heibge vuist ter aarde? Ik zal het
gezegd, die alleen ten volle van toepassing zijn op                 U  `zeggen.  Jezus zag dat God Hem benauwd  Wilde
Jezus. Luistert  maar naar vers 20 : "Gij, die Mij velo maken. Hij  heeft  nooit tegen God gerebelleerd. En
benauwdheden en  rampen  hebt  doen  zien,  zuit Mij                daarom komt het vreemde woord van Jezus er uit, ter-
weder ophalen uit de afgronden der aarde!"                          wijl het bloed nog druipt: Vriend, waartoe zijt gij
       Ziedaar een vers, gelief,de  lez,er,  .dat we1 kan dienen    hier? Is het niet angstig benauwd rdndom Jezus?
om een geheel boek te schrijven over de smarten van                     Zegt echter  maar niet : Arme Jezus ! Zegt het niet,
Jezus en Zijn verrijzenis uit den eeuwigen  afgrond                 want het is goddelijke wijshei.d. En wee& maar niet
des doods. Hoe zou men dit vers alleen maar op David                bevreesd, dat Judas zijn loon voor die kus ontliep.
kunnen toepassen? Ik weet er dan geen raad mee.                     Terwijl ik dit  schrijf, roept  m,en Judas in de  he1 al
God heeft David  ,vele benauwdheden  doen   zien:                   maar toe: Vriend, waartoe zijt gij hier? In de hel?
Dat zal waar zijn. Denkt maar  aan de benauwdheid                   Gij  waart   tech  ,de gelddrager en  vertrouweling van
die hij ervoer vanwege dien goddeloozen Saul. Of oak.               Jezus' volk? Waartoe  zijt gij hier, Judas? Met Nero
denkt  aan de vreeselijke benauwdheid die David moest               en Lucifer? Ach, weent over de verdoemden,  doch
ondervinden van een goddeloozen Absalom, een  be-                   niet over Jezus en de Davids.
nauwdheid die  zich uitstrekte over een  langen tijd.                   En God he&t Jezus ook rampen  doen  zien.
David moest het eerst aanzien, dat zijn eigen vleesch                   Wat is een ramp?
en bIoed, langzaam aan, sluiperig en e&t. scheinheilig,                 Een ramp is, als hetgeen dat staan moest om U
de  harten stal van Israel. Hebt ge we1 eens zulk glui-             steun te geven,  omver  valt. Het is een ramp als Uw
perig gedoe gezien?          Met een uitgestreken gezicht, huis boven Uw hoofd ineenstort, als de watervloeden
valsch, vleiende, met zachte lieflijk klinkende tong alles vernielen en meeslepen naar de oceaan, als de zon
paaiende, vellen zij het slachtoffer. Ik heb  liever  tu            en de maan U begeven  en niet meer wiIIen schijnen,
doen  met een ruw mensch dan met een vleierd. Hebt als het zeekasteel zoo angstig met een punt zijn boeg
ge  we1 eens een slang aangevat? Laat het ding  val-                omhoogsteekt, om voorts onder  de kokende golven te
len ; er is gif in ! Dat gluiperige volk broedt eieren uit.         verdwijnen.
Breekt ge hun met zorg vervaardigde werken te berste,                   Jezus zag rampen.  David ook. David zag de ramp
dan spring-t er een adder uit.                                      toen  zijn troon waggel,de  en hij vluchtte onder het vloe-
       Dat ervoer David. Sommige  psalmen die we  be-               ken van Simei. Het was ramp  toen zijn eigen  zoon
handeld hebben handelen geheel en al van dat slangen-               hem, vervloekte. En David vie1 omver.
venijn.                                                                 En Jezus?  MO& ik van de  rampen spreken die
       Dan wordt het benauwd.                                       Messias ervoer?
       Wat bet.eekent  dat ?                                            Komaan dan. De aarde weigerde om Hem langer
  Ii Dit: ge hebt dan geen plaats meer om te s&an,  te              te  dragen.    Hier is de ladder.. Vergeet de spijkers


      288                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

         Maar God vergeet niet om recht te doen.
         Messias en David: ze hebben hunne smarten gehad.              The Strength Of The Young Mm
     En het was wel. Het was noodig. David moest klagen
     en tranen in bittere smart:  hij+ moest Gods heiligheid             Samson was strong! It was he who slew a Iion sic-
     deelachtig  worden.  David moest in afschuw en  af-             gle-handed; it was he who carried the gates of Gaza to
     grijzen in aanraking komen met valsche  slangen,                the crest of its hill; it was he who pulled a beam from
     menschen die  `s  nachts wakker liggen en  denken:              out of the house by the very locks of his head and he
     Hoe zullen we het nu aanleggen? Voorzichtig nu, rent new ropes as if they had been schorched  jute. Tt
     past op ; doet de $deur dicht ; zacht gefluisterd ; nu dan :    was also Samson who pulled the pi.llars  from under the
     hoe zullen we het aanleggen? Niet al te gek, anders Dagon theatre, killing thousands of Philistines with one
     Ioopt het in de gaten.      En  zoo,  helsch voorzichtig, stroke.
     sloeg Absalom en zijn trawanten hun slag tegen den                  Samson was strong.
     gezalfde des Heeren. Van buiten, uitwendiglijk de                   Yet he was very weak. He fell an easy prey to
'    glimlach  en het gevleem om het volk te winnen, doch            the wiles of his ungodly wife, Delilah. Samson could
     inwendig het gif van Satan, het knersen der tanden.             slay a thousand Philistines,  bu.t when the peculiar temp-
         Er staat:  die mijn kwaad zoeken.                           tation struck, he fell as one who  ha.d no power at all.
         En wat was het einde van dit gebroed?                           For our strength lies not in muscles.
                                                                        The strength of the young man. Men wanted to
         Dit : "Zij zijn bescbaamd, want zij zijn  schaam-           know wherein Samson's great strength lay and his
     rood geworden  !"                                               history shows us plainly that it lay not in the build of
         David kwam terug op den troon.                              his body or the tension power of his muscles, nor 1:n
         Absalom hing  voor tijd en wijle aan zijn haar in his hair, but lay ia the faith of God. The moment he
     het woud doch daar komt een hard man met een speer.             betrayed his holy secret which he had with God, to
     Hij  bloedt en wordt begraven.                                  the buxom that tempted him with her wiles, his power
         En de verachtelijke Achitofel?                              was gone. Already in Samson's days we see the truth
         Hij hangt zich op. Zijn laatste wijze (?) daad.             of that word which says that our enemy is not one of
     Hij kon het van te voren  uitrekenm:   alles Iiep vast.         flesh and blood merely, for had the enemy been one of
     En geen wonder: God &reed voor David.                           flesh and blood, Samson could-have matched his power
         Doch er is een grootere diepte als ge Messias be-           easily ; but his enemy  wasthe Tempter and Samson fell
                                                                     before him.
     luistert.                                                          We all envy the young man who with his robust
         Men zocht en zoekt  het kwaad van Jezus en van              body and broad shoulders steps out before the crowds.
     Jezus' gemeente.                                                Strong, healthy and hale, with muscles fit for  almost
         Net schaamrood op de aangezichten der  verworpe-            any  ,task  and endurance that amazes. With ease he
     nen is de weerkaetsing van hellevuur.                           lifts heavy weights and with equal ease he carries them
         Vreeselijk zal het zijn te vallen in d'e handen van         wherever he will.' He can handle a day's work and
     den levenden God !                                              scarcely be tired when night falls. Give him the sledge
         Daarom, omdat de  dingen  zoo staan, geliefde  lezer,       and he will ring the bell every time. Fifty pound
     daarom  buigt het volk van God tot in het  stof.  Zij           dumbbells he lifts above his head with ease. The
     zijn zelf, van nature, niet vre%emd  aan alle valschheid young man is strong. It is a gift of God, peclxliar to
     en boosheid die Absalom en Achitofel kenmerkte. Ret the youn.g  man, for God has called him to work and
     Ii&t van Gods genade ontdekt ons aan onze zonden.               has given him the physique thereunto fitted. The Xr-
     Stil, ik hoor het bidden van een uit bet bundeltje dsr          my wants young men such as these and thouadnds  of
     levenden. De man is bang. "0 God! wees mij, den them pass thru the gates on their way to tnc iuduc-
     zondaar, genadig!"                                              tion camps.
      ,  -41s ge geleid wilt worden  in de ware gestalte der            But the young man must not deceive himself to
     ziel tot schulderkentenis, gaat dan ter school bij David. think that because he tips the scales for weigh:  aud can
     Hij is er geweest met tranen en met zucht,en.                   chin himself a hundred times, more or less, that he can
         En dan wordt het  licht in de  ziel. De  fluister-          rely upon this strength to see him through the spiritual
     stemmen van God die de ziel, die schreiend tot Hem warfare which every Covenant youth has to wage.
     vluchtte, van rondom vertroost.                                 The young woman often deceives  herse!f  ti) think that
         Weest  nu  maar  heel stil.  Vlak bij het oor: Zijt         her beauty lies in the comeliness of her face, the color
     welgemoed, mijn zoon, uwe zonden zijn u vergeven!               of her hair or in her general outward appearance.
                                                                     Likewise the young man is tempted to deceive him-
         Ik wi1 geen andese hemel!                                   self by thinking that his strength lies in the physi-
                                                                     WI things, We saw  in  &unson  that his  physica!


*        *                                    T,HE  ST,AN,D.ARD   B E A R E R ,                                           289'.     /

      strength availed nothing at all when he was put to the              When the movie industry entices you to enter its
      test, in fact his bodily strength was a liability rather doors and  eiljoy her silver screen, you are faced with
      than an asset, come the  ri:ght temptation. Many of a ,temptation  against which your muscle is of no avad.
      our young men go off to war concerning whom the whatever.- When the card table, pool-hall or gambling
      reports later indicate  ,that they were positively weak, den invites you in, you are at grips with a power
      not able to endure the slightest temptation.                     against which your robust body can do nothing.
 *            Let the young man cultivate a strong body and  de-       When your very energy induces you to  ,engage in
      velope his muscles, let him rejoice in the energy his            immoral relationships you are in grips with a power
      God has given him; abut let him remember that true               against which t.he sturdy muscles you possess are no
      strength does not lie in his muscular ability.                   match.
              Shall we ask  *then, what IS the strength of the            Hence the young man is strong if he have the
      young man?                                                       ability to `crown his "yes" of the confession of God
              In I Joh.  2:14 John writes, "I have written you         with the "no" of opposition to all that is  contrary
      youilg men, because ye are strong".          John writes a- t-hereto.      To  these believing young men the holy
      bout the young man who is really strong. In this apostle John says, "Ye are strong."
      same connection he writes, "Ye are strong. . . . and ye             Again, in I Joh. 2:14 John says "Ye are strong"
      have overcome the `wicked  one." Our strength there- and then ad'ds, "And the Word of God abideth in you."
      fore is determined by that question : Can you meet the Here we have the principle of the yqung man's strength `
      wicked one, and stand? The young men of whom the Word of God abiding in him:                         God Himself is the
      John writes, have come back from. the battle field,              eternal content of His own Word, for God speaks abdct
      they have overcome  the wicked one and therefore Himself and unto Himself. God says, I Am God.
      John says of  them,<"Ye  are strong". The enemy of us That is the Word of God. But God also speaks COIN-
      all and especially also of our young men, is the Wicked          cerning Himself unto us so that we hear Him speak.
      One the Evil One, the Devil, the murderer from the               God does this through Jesus Christ and His Spirit and
      beginning. God hath raised him up as the "no" of                 carries this Word unto us through  ,the divine and
      God's "yes" and bringeth us face to face with him in infallible revelation of. the Bible. That Word of Gall'
      order that as it pleased God to say "no" to all that de-         enters into our hearts, our wills and our desires, so
      nies Him, so we should do likewise. Our  "yes"  i.*, that even as God says I am God, we also begin to say:
      aild must invariably be "no", as w,e say yes to and in' God is God. We say, Thou art God. Then we have
      confession of God,  weesay  no to all that is of darkness the Word of  `God abiding in us. And even as God
      and sin. But this means spiritual warfare, battle,and            hath raised  up <the devil in order to destroy Him with
      struggle, in which warfare it is require.d  that we, be the infinite power of His Word, so likewise when
      strong, very strong.        Paul also assures us that our that Word by  gi-ace dwells in our hearts there can no
      warfare is not against flesh and blood,  butt against devil or  satan successfully stand before us.             But our
      powers and spiritual wickednesses. If -our warfare power .is ever and only the Word of God, as He Himself
      were against flesh and blood the young man's muscles speaks it, and as we by faith speak it in Him.
      would stand him in good stead, but now all the muscle               Our Saviour was strong. He said, "It is written"
      power in the world is of  .no avail. For the fight and He could say "get thou behind me Satan". Jesus
      is spiritual and- the enemy is spiritual, that is, he be- IS the Word of God, in -Him that strength was per-
      longs to another world than ours of flesh and blood, fect. Elsewhere we read, "Resist the devil and he will
      muscle and brawn cannot reach him or ward him off. flee from thee" and again, "And the God of peace, shall
      Our Belgic Confession, when speaking of the Church bruise Satan under your feet shortly." Not as If in
      and  God',s preservation of it, says that God preserves this life we shall realize the complete victory, het...  it
      that Church "against the rage of the  ,whoZe  zuorld."           will be endless combat, but, as Scripture says else:
      That is the position of the Church and that is the posi-         where, he shall not. overcome us. For the Word of
      ,tion also of you and me as young men in that Church God abideth in our hearts an,d that Word IS ,the vi&
      of God. Life is not a rendezvous, playground, or a tory.
      circus, but a battle-field where God has put us  in                -Let the Word of. God therefore abide in you, young
      order that we should confess His Name and partake men, and ye shall be strong. Grow up in Christ, say':
      of the victory which Christ Jesus has gained for us. Paul. You have the Word' among you, you carry it
      But all this only in the way of carnage and warfare.             with you to the battle-field perhaps.     Absorb that
              Our enemy is sin, the lust of sin and its temptation.    Word with an believing heart, have it in your mind,
      Sin is an awful power. Witness how even the holiest your memory, your wills. It is not enough to carry
      have fallen before its power, such men as Noah, that Word in your pocket, but in your head and heart
      Abraham. Jehoshaphat and Uzziah and countless and will. Read, it often, confess it., practice confessing
      others..        `.     ,a .      _                               it. With that `Word in your hearts you will know evil


290                                   T.HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

when you see it, you will begin to cry out your "no"          after we have a rather clear picture of this all in our
as soon as the tempter presents his wicked wiles. Not mind, will we be able to give an answer to the question
as if we abtain perfection in this either, nay, but this of `the "value" of the Old Testament revelation for us
also is a constant battle, it being much easier to yield who live in the new dispensation.
and oftentimes it seems more profitable to  chaage               We purpose to write two articl&  on this subject.
your yes to no and no to yes. But says Paul, "Be              In the first article  `we will attempt to gain `this  "clear
strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might".            picture", and in the second we purpose to discuss the
How? Put on the armour of faith and take that sword matter of the "value" tha!t Old Testament revelation
which is the Word of God. When the tempter hurls              has for us upon whom the end of the ages has come.
his words at you, rise up and say, "It is written."                                  -
Say with Joseph, "How can I do  this great wickedness
and sin against God?" Make use of the admonitio:lr               Let us consider these terms, which we just enumer-
your parents give you, the catechism you receive and          ated, one by one.
listen attentively to the Word of God as it is preached,         We begin with the term "reveIation". To asceptain
arm yourself with it. Then you shall be skrong.               an answer to the question what revelation is, we will
   But keep on saying "I am weak". Do not tempt               call attention to two matters. 1. To the usage of .the
the Lord and boast that you can overcome the enemies. term in Scripture.              2. To the conception which we
Nay, our strength is in the Lord and in His Christ, must form from this all.
through ,the Spirit. God give us that strezlgth  always.         The terms employed in  Script.ure  are in the  OId
                                                 M. G.        Tesitament  :  "Galah",  "Raah" and "Yadah".  "Galah"
                                                              means: to uncover. (Gen. 35:`7; I Sam. 2 :27; 3 :21 and
                                                              Hosea `7 :l. The second, "Raah" rn!eaJls : to see, and in
                                                              Niphal  : to be seen, to appear unto. Gen. 12 :7 ; 1'7 :l ;
                                                              18 :l. The third word "Yadah" means : to know, and
                                                              in the intensive forms of the verb: to make .known,
The Value Of 0. T. Revelation For to teach.
                                                                 In the New Testament there are, among other
          The !New Dispensation                               words employed, especially two that merit our atten-
                                                              tion. The first of these is  t.he verb  "apokaluptein",
               I. The Statement Of The Issue.                 with the corresponding substantive :  "apokalupsis".
                                                              ' (Cokpare our English : apocalypse)..       It means : to
   Whoever gives some serious and adequate thought            take the cover off, to remove that which hides an
to the question of the "value" of Old Testament Revela- object from the eyes. Thus we have some clear ex-
tion for the believer in the New Dispensation, will           amples of this usage of this verb in Rom. 1:17, 18 and
find that he will be necessitated to first give account       in 8 :18. The former refierring  to the ,taking  away of
to himself of many related problems. In so doing he that which covered'the  wrath of God and the latter
will discover that the question involves  ,the  conception    bringing into view the glory of the new heavens and
of all history. For it concerns the entire work of God earth. And this actual uncovering is referred  "0  b
from beginning to end ; ,the work of God in Jesus Ch+t the use of the substantive in I Peter 1:.13 wh.ich  SpdtS
in the unfolding of His council and the establishment of the revelation (apokalupseoos-uncovering) of Jesus
of His `tabernacle with man.                                  Christ in the day of His coming. However  "apokalup-
   And, most emphatically, a proper treatment of the tein" may also refer to the itaking away of the cover-
subject requires an  ,answer  to  t.he question of the        ing of our minds eye. Of this we have a striking ex-
proper, divinely arranged relationship between the ample in Eph. 1:18. Here it has the resultant mean-
Old and New Testametits  or Covenants.        To see this ing of illumination. There is also the word "phaner-
relationship one must see the genius of Old Testament oun".  ,It refers to the actual bringing into vtew,  the
revelation.                                                   manifestation of the thing itself. A clear case of this
   Various questions arise when we thus look at our we have in John 17  :6 and Col. 1:26.
subject under consideration. First of all there is the           In -a general way we see in these Scripture pas-
term Old T$estament  revelation". And again here we sages the following.
will needs have to define each term separately again.            1. That in all revelation  `there is a subject that re-
What is "revelation"? What is the Old  Testament              veals. Much of the modern  psytiblogy  to the con-
in distinction from the New Testament? And then trary is even the case among men. Bat it is always
again: Is "New Testament" identical with "new dis- the case with God's revelation. God is always in the
pensation"? V$at is t.he difference between "Dispen- nominative case.
sation" and "Covenant" if there be any? And only                 2. Closely Felated  to the former is that God always


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         291

reveals an obj,ect. One may say that God reveals Him- Gal. 4 :lO. Then there were the laws regarding cleanli-
self. Never in  *the sense of "seeing God immediately, ness, the stranger, the eunuch; ordjnances  of the priest-
but in and through all the works of His hands. Revela-      hood according to Aaron's house. The whole ritual of
tion is always Self-revelation.                             the ceremonial law!
   3. ,4nd also that revelation presupposes someone            In and through this ritual God revealed the Christ,
to whom ,God reveals. It also must have the dative          who had been promised to the fathers, to Abraham,
case. This is man and angels, created for the very          Isaac and Jacob. God came ,to Israel at Mt. Sinai and
purpose of receiving this ra-elation.                       uncovered b,efore  their eyes the CHRIST! He spoke
   The above does not purport to be an exhaustive           in it to Israel of  "betiter  things to come".
statement.       It only intends to be used as a working        We believe that what we have thus far written is
basis in our discussion.                                    sufficient to give us a  clcear picture of what we under-
   When we  ,turn, with what we have thus far ob-           stand, nay, what the Scriptures would have us under-
served,  <to the question of the "Old Testament revela-     stand with Old and New Testament.
tion" w,e find it quite relevant to the subject. Before        A few remarks may also be in order as'to the term
we ask' what must be understood by Old Testament            "dispensation" in our subjeot.
revelation we do well and ask just what is meant by             Although ,the terms "Old and New Testaments"  and
Old Testament. The term in our subject evidently "Old  and. New Dispensations" are closely and insepar-
does not refer to  ,the Covenant of friendship  with        ably connected, yet they must never be confused or
Adam. The Old Covenant would then be ,that with             identified. To do this would be disastrous for the cor-
the first Adam, while the New Testament would be            rect understansding  of our subject.
Qhat in the Second Adam. Applied to our subject we              Therefore just a word about the meaning of the
would have a discussion of the value of God's covenant term "dispensation" as employed in Scripture.
with Adam for us his posterity under the Protevangel.           The Greek term for dispensation is "oikonomia".
Gen. 3 :15. And then the discussion would needs center The word li.terally means: the governing of a house,
about Rom. 5:12-l&                                          that is, of its affairs. Thus it is employed of the
   Old Testament-refers to covenant of God during stewardship,  ,the administration amongst men. Con-
the time between the Protevangel and the coming of          cretely conceived it then refers to: a steward. Thus
Christ in the flesh and His meritorious labors and His it is used in Luke 16:% where the unjust steward is
exaltation on God's right hand after He had brought         told to render an account of his stewardship.
about the cleansing of the sins of His own.        Thus         In a figurative sense  i,t also is used in referring to
speaking of the Old Testament we must not be con-           the office of the apostles. They have received a dis-
fused, neither identify it with the "Law and the Pro-       pensation, an administration of the grace of the New
phets" the "Scriptures". In the Scriptures we never         Covenant in Christ Jesus. Through them the know-
read of. the Old Testament" in the sense of the Scrip- ledge of Christ and the blessings in Him must become
tures. To be sure they do reveal to us the Old Cove-        the conscious possession of the believers. Eph. 3 :2;
nant. But in our subject "Old Testament" is not at  all     Cal.  15X1; I Cor.  9:17.
the same as the "Scriptures". In fact Jesus speaking            But it also is used of God's management, arrange-
of the Scriptures has many names of  .them, but He          ment of, realization of the entire work of salvation,
never calls them the Old Testament. When He con- the establishmenit  of the covenants old and new. As
trasts the Old and New Covenants it touches the re-         such it is closely allied in meaning to the council and
lationship of guilty man to God. It becomes a question purpose of God. For it is really God's wise providence.
of His flesh and blood. Matt. 26 :28 ; I Cor. 11: 25 and    Possibly we may call it His special providence, al-
Heb. 9 :20ff.      Christ's blood is the basis of the New though I'm somewhat afraid of this latter  t.erm. But
Testament. And the Old Testament was also founded when I employ it I mean all God's providence which i3
on blood. Ex.  24:6-g.                                      really one causing all things to really and effectually
    Thus understanding the question our thoughts are work for the good and eternal salvation of the elect.
without doubt led to look for the differences of the            Thus the term is used in Eph. 1:lO. It here refers
"two covenants" Gal. 4%. Sinai, Jerusalem which is to that arrangement of the successive events of time,
earthly on the one hand. And Sarah, Jerusalem, the          all leading to the fulness of times, in which God will
heavenly city of the living God, t.he new covenant, in      reunite all things under one head, even Christ.
the Mediator, Jesus, whose blood speaketh better                There is thus understood really no "Old" dispensa-
things ,than Abel, (Heb. 12 :24) on the other.              tion! It is called old not because it is old in itself, but
    Around the "Old Covenant" are many laws and because of its  relatioil to the "covenant" that it super-
ordinances. Temple-ordinances they are. The ordin- vises and controls. And it is "new" because of its
ances governing the feast days, the Old Testament supervision, its arrangement of the "new" Covenant in
lunar calender. Of this calender Paul is speakin'g in       Christ Jesus.


   We now live in the New Covenant. We now live                             .
in `the arrangement of God's wise purpose according                Ok. Own School Movement
to which in His dispensation He works all things
according to the council of His will. Eph. 1 :ll.               It is quite significant that a meeting of this nature
   We now live in the new  dispensat.ion.  Christ has        can be planned and successfully carried out, especially
nailed the ordinances of the Old Covenant to the cross  1    in the ttimes  in which we are now living.
And that under the dispensation of God.                         It means that the present world-wide conflagration
   The issue before which we are now faced is:               which has made such inroads into ,our thoughts and
   1. Not what value do the Old Testament Scriptures         lives, has not destroyed your interest in your home
have for the church in the New Testament dispensa-           problems, particularly in ,the education of your co'le-
tion. That is certainly an allied question, but is really nant youth. It also means that as a Protestant Re-
not  4he question.                                           formed group you love and cherish your distinctive
   2. But what value do the Old Testament ordinances         principles to the  ext,ent   ,that you desire to apply them
.now have for us today.' Do the ordinances that were         to every sphere of life and feel the need of a thoroughly
nailed to the cross have any value for us, now that          Reformed training for your children,"so  <that you are
,they have been nailed to the cross? To sthis question       striving to have a school of your own.          And even
we hope to give some attention in the next article.          though the war efforts prevent you from erecting  a
                                             G. L.           school building to fully realize your purpose, you have
                                                             the courage to proceed with your plans and are even
                                                             laying post-war plans to be carried out in the future.
                                                                No doubt the audience this evening could be much
                                                             larger, and the interest shown thus far could be more
                                                             extensive. Yet the groundwork is laid so that  Ithe
                                                             movement is bound to gain momentum as the work is
               - Book Review -                               carried on.
                                                                You realize that I speak as'an  observer interestedly
  I  R                                                       viewing your efforts from a distance. This does pla-e
     EV.  HEWIAN  HOEKSEMA  - The Amazing Cross.             me at a disadvantage in making a speech, but does
          183 pp. Eerdmans Publ. Co.  $2.00.                 ,not prevent me from raising questions which you
                                                             either have met or are bound to meet repeatedly in  %
   So much that is being published  t.hese  days  on movement of this kind. I present these questions for
Lenten themes is superficial and misleading. TOO often your consideration.
the stress is laid on the external aspects of our Lord's        My first question may not seem to be logically the
passion, as if the things that matter most about ,the        first question that would be raised, but I consider it of
Christ on  <the cross are His "manliness", "heroism",        primary importance.
"pati&ce  under tremendous strain", etc.  Ia not a              It can be stated in this form: what name do vou
few Lenten books the cross of our Saviour is  ,presented     intend to place over the portals of your new instit3io-n  ?
as something to be described rather than expounded.             The name, if it is to have any signifirance  at all,
There is a lot of sentimentalism printed about Calvary must express the true essence of the institution in
that is thoroughly unbiblical.                               distinction from all others. It. must serve ar a seal of
    Here is a book that goes to the heart of the real the fundamental principles  und,erlying  the institution,
Lenten theme. Part I deals with  ,the relation between and' must carry those principIes  on into the genera-
our Lord's sufferings and such truths as God's judg- ,tions to come. As soon as a school does not live up to
ment of the world, His judgment of the Church and            its name it has. no right of further existence under that
the Political World-power. Part 1.1 is an excellent          name. We might ask: what do you mean when you
exposition of our Saviour's obedience. The chapter speak of "our own school"?
on Gethsemane, entitled "Before the Gates of Hell"              It is questionable whether this matter was always
is exceptionally good.                                       given its just consideration when our present Ctiis-
    The title of the book is exceedingly appropriate.        tian schools were  organized.  I recall seeing the in-
The author has exalted the  am&&g  grace of our              scription. over one of our present Christian schools
amiaxing  Redeemer who died an  amax&g  death, that which read: Christian and Grammar School. Pos-
by His amazing  reswrrectio.n  from the dead we might        sibly the founders of `that institution did not approve
preach an  awuzzing  Gospel.                                 of' calling it a Christian Grammar School because
                                Rev. Leonard Greenway.       they could not conceive of such a thing as "Christian
Christian High School                                        grammar?`.          Whatever the case may be, t.he name is
Grand Rapids, Michigan.                                          The name of your school must express what it is.


                                      :TI$E'  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           293

quite expressive of the character of much of the in-         tion. She cannot possibly teach Geography unless she
struct.ion in our present schools.                           is constantly aware that she is dealing with God's
   From our own experience we know that our ,present         earthly ,creation,  God's world. And she has no right to
Christian  schooIs  are frequently nothing more than a teach history unless she sees in all of history  ,the un-
school with the Bible. The sessions are opened and           folding of God's eternal thoughts and purposes, even
cIosed with prayer, a few hymns are sung, sometimes t.he development of His covenant.
even of a  questionabIe  nature, there is a Bible lesson,       In one word, also in the sphere of instruction, the
and as for ,the rest the school goes over to a general       question is always: ,Cod or Baal. We must absolutely
routine of the day. The text books, the lessons, and         maintain that God is God, the Sovereign and ever-
possibly even the atmosphere of .t.he schoolroom differs blessed Lord, besides Whom there is no other. To
in nothing from any public school.       In some cases the deny Him, to ignore Him, or eve3  to slight Him is to
teacher knows so little of sound Reformed doctrine           rear up an idol before His face. Serve Him we must,
that she could not possibly apply it in her instruction.     for ,we either love and serve Him with all that is in ,ust
Particularly such subjects as history and geography or we bend the knee to Baal. The choice is inevitable.
are taught from the same approach as in the public           But i't must always be for God and against Baal. There
schools, except that the theory of evolution is avoided.     is no alternative.
In our high school conditions are no different. There           The name of your school must express what it is.
entertainment and sports even play an important: role           My next question is this: Is it imperative to have
in the curriculum of the school.         The high school our own schools wherever possible?                      .
publications, such as their annuals", carry hardly a            I prefer to put the question in this form, rather
spark of Christianity in them.                               than to ask whether it is necessary.       Your presence
   In many ways our present schools give an academic here tonight seems to imply &hat you are convin&of
training, plus a certain amount of Christianity, such its necessity, or at least have a definite interest ,j.n the
as might be expected in a "Christian and Grammar matter. Besides, we might ask whether it is necessary
skhool".    The thory of "common grace" is the undcr-        when we really mean, is it worth the effort and the
Iying cause for this condition.                              sacrifice? We'may be counting the cost with the  sole
   The question may well be asked: what do you mean purpose of making that our main objection against it.
,when you speak of "our own schools"? You  certainiy         If it is imperative we also weigh the cost, but only
do not favor a church school. Your intention is not in with the purpose of finding ways and means to gain
the Ieast to take the responsibility of the instrucLion      our end.
away  ifrom  the parents by laying it at the door of the        Is it essential to the proper development of our
church. The training of the covenant  chiId belongs          children and to the future of our Protestant Reformed
with the office  ,of believers, and we have no intention     Churches? Does God demand it of us as  Chlistian
of destroying this principle. Nor is your  purpcse  to       parents who cherish the unadulterated milk of the
create a school which only carries the outward dis-          Word and desire to preserve it for ourselves  and  OUT
t,inction that it is open  onIy to Protestant Reformed children? We are aware of our responsibility toward
children and boasts a teacher's staff of persons who         ourselves as covenant parents, and toward our  <children
can prove their membership in some Prote&ant  Re- as the covenant seed, the church of tomorrow. We
formed Church. That mere outward distinction does `realize that our children spend twenty-five hours of
not make it a school of "our own'?.                          each week, for forty weeks of each year, for a period
   We want a Christian School, call it by whatever           of nine to twelve years under the dire&  influence of
name you deem proper, that is based on sound doz-            the instruction of their teachers. Estimated on the
trine, where the instruction is permeated with the           basis of twelve active hours per day, i;his amounts to
Truth of the Word of God. Basic Christian instruc- almost three years of their lives. We fully  rea.lize  the
tion is more than a daily Bible lesson, more than 5          import of e&rusting our children to the influence of
Christian atmosphere, and more than an occasional            others for such a long time, especially during their
application of some moral axioms.          A passing re- most impressionable years, which mean so much. to
mark or a story with a Christian moral applied to the their proper development. From tllat aspect we:aslr,
lesson of the day, does not make a school Christian.         is it imperative to have our own schooIs?
The instruction must be permeated with the Truth of             In this connection the question might be raised:
Scripture, or it fails to  meet,  its requirements. No But is it not our duty to exert our influecce,~.on:our
teacher is fit to teach Arit.hmetic unless she carries in present schools? A counter-quc?rition  could be .placed  :
her soul the conviction that one and one are two., not How much of this has been clone in the past?:, And in
simply by some natural law, but because God's ordin- how far has this succeeded? The questio:l-  may even
ances govern the whole universe. She must not merely be considered: In how far are v. e justified in urging
SW SO! but. ,@~a$ conviction must govern all her instrllcV our convictions  upon  children of  parents  v-hc  arg


294                                   .-`--`THE   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

definitely   opposed   to  those  cozvidions?
       Another question suggests itself: Is this a proper Tithing and Christian Stewardship
time for such an undertnkirg? It has been said: This
should have been done immediately after our churches                     The underlying basis of Christian stewardship is
came into existence. Yet rwardless  of anything else, the fact that all things belong to God in the absolute
you cannot turn back  -11~s  cl03 of history. Besides,                sense of the word. God ia the sole Possessor of the
there is a definite advantage to beginning now. WC whole universe and all that it contains. That this is
have had  amplge  time and opportunity to  beCrJme  more true follows from the fact that He is t.he Creator of all
thoroughly established in the truth of God's sovereign things. He conceived all His creatures in His eternal
grace and more mellowed  in  our convictions. From counsel and He brought them forth by the word of His
that aspect this seems to be the ideal time. ,4nd as                  power. All things, therefore, have their source in His.
for the war that'is being" waged, if ever we are called will and are made to exist by His almighty pow*er.  And
to labor and to watch in prayer, to hold that which we not only do all things have their origin in God's creative
have that no man take our crown, it is now.
       A final question, then, is this: What can be done? work but they also continue to exist because He upholds
       If you are at all convinced that it is imperative to           them by His omnipresent power. All things are absol-
                                                                      utely dependent upon God for their existence, so much
establish a school of our own, you must continue to
strive unwaveringly toward that goal. Much work so that, if He would but for an iminitesimal  moment.
                                                                      withdraw His sustaining  pow,er,  they would be ob-
must be done in many ways. Your conviction must be-
come the conviction of all. A solid foundation must                   literated. God's ownership is therefore an essential
be laid that your school may truly have a right of one because all things, which belong to Him, are
existence, that it may be worthy of its name, and that                wholly dependent upon Him for their existence. In
it may be able to withstand all the winds and storms                  this light we can understand that it is impossible for
that are sure to assail it in. the future.                            anything to exist if it does not belong to God. And
                                                                      thus we may also conclude that all things very really
       But above all, we must all be spiritually strong
enough to support such a gigantic, yet worthy under- belong to God since it is impossible for anything to
                                                                      exist  apart from Him.
taking. We must ever more determinedly apply our
principles to our whole lives, placing God first in                      Scripture teaches this absolute ownership of God on
ever.ything,  committing our way to Him, and serving almost every page. Not only is there the clear account
Him in all things unto the praise of His glory. If we of the origin of all things in the first part of Genesis
so strive we shall not strive in vain.                     C. H.      but there are also an almost innumerable number of
                                                                      texts that either state this truth in so many words or
*A talk given at the  Cbr.  School Aux. meeting, Jan. 6, 1944.        unmistakably imply the same. Notice, for example,
                                                                      the following: Neh. 9:6, "Thou, even thou, art Lord
                                                                      alone ; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens,
                                                                      with all their host., the earth, and all things that are
                                                                      therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou pre-
                        IN MEMORIAM                                   servest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth
                                                                      thee." Ps. 24:l "The earth is the Lord's, and the ful-
    Op Maandag,  21 Februari,  sbehaagde  het den Heere uit ons       ness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein".
middcn tot  Zich te nemen,  '                                         Ps.  50:10-X2  "For every beast of the forest is mine,
                                                                      and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the
                  MRS.  JACOBA  ZOETEWEY                              fowls of the mountains : and the wild beasts of t.he field
in den ouderdom van ruim 711 jaar.                                    are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for
    De zuster was een getrouw lid van onee Hollandsche                the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." Isa. 66:l
Vrouwen Vereeniging "Dient den Heere" en van onze gemeente            "The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my foot-
alhier.                                                               stool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and
    Wij mogen gelooven dat de Heere haar tot Zich nam in den          where is the place of my rest?"
ruste die er overblijft voor het volk van God, en dat zij nu             We consider this truth of God's absolute ownership
jubeIt voor den troon Gods en des  <Lams.                             as vital with a view to all true stewardship. It stands
    Moge de Heere de bedroefde kinderen  en verder familie, en        to reason .that only he who is willing to confess this
ons  allen,  trooste met Zijne genade in dit ons verlies dat haar     absolute ownership of God can be a steward in the true
gewin was,                                                            sense of the word. For stewardship most certainly
                       Namens de Vrouwen Vereeniging,                 precludes absolute ownership. There is indeed a rela-
                                       3)s. P. De Boer, Pres.         tive ownership among the stewards, and therefore the
                                        $Vrs,  P,  Koaimnn,  Sear,    Lord has given the  Fommandment,   "T&Xl  shalt  not


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           295

 steal", but absolute ownership is precluded. God is                 True stewardship is all comprehensive. It does
 not and can never be a steward because all things be- not begin with the material  <things which God has
 long to Him  ; He is the Lord and Master of all things,          given us but with one's self. It does not merely con-
 Who may do with all His possessions whatsoever He                fess that what we have, we have received from the
 pleases and is not accountable to anyone. And since Lord but it also confesses that we ourselves belong  t9
 God is *the absolute Owner of all things, it must follow         Him and that what we are, we are as the result of His
 that man is not and can never be an owner in that same will, power and grace. It is the Christian's comfort
 sense ; he is never more than a steward, who must give           that he is not his own but belongs to his faithful
 an account to the Owner for all that he has done with Saviour Jesus Christ. And Scripture tells us in I Cor.
 His nossessions. Now, the question is not whether 6 20 "For ye are bought wi,th a price: therefore glorify
 man is a steward. Scripture teaches very plainly that God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's".
 he is.    It doesn't essentially make any difference This fact must be acknowledged first; only tha can
 whether he will admit that or not; the fact remains              we assume the correct attitude in respect to the  ma+-
 that he is. Every man will some day have to give an erial things which' we possess.                  Then we will also
 account of his stewardship to God. The question for understand that we cannot actually <give the Lord any-
 us, however, is whether we actually assume  &at posi- thing. David confesses this in I Chron.  29:12, 14,
 tion of stewardship with a view to the things that God "Both riches and honor come to thee, and thou reignest
 has given us. And then we may say without fear of over all ; and in .thine  hand is power and might; and in
 contradiction that oniy the Christian can and will do ,thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength
 this. It is for that reason that we speak of christian           unto all. But who am I, and what is my people, that
 stewardshin. For true stewardship implies that we w.e should be able to offer so willingly after this sort?
 confess that we possess nothing and that all things be- for all things `come of thee, and of thine own have we
 long to God. And only the Christian will do that. The given thee."
 principle of the natural man is adverse to this true                Confessing therefore that what we have, we have
 stewardship because he always proceeds from the as- received of the Lord and that which we give to Him is
 sumption that he is lord and master of all that he PO+ <that which He has first given to us, we humbly
 sesses. He does not recognize the living God as the acknowledge our calling to be faithful stewards over
 Sovereign of heaven and earth nor will he acknowledge the gifts of God. And if we are truly faithful stewards,
 God's righteous demand. that he serve Him with a!1               we shall contribute liberally to the support of God's
 -that he has. The natural mind is enmity against God Kingdom, for that is a vital part of our stewardship.
 and is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed             We say  "a part", because there is far more to our
 can be. It is not difficult to understand that this prin-        stewardship of  materi,al things than that. We have
 ciple makes it wholly impossible for the natural man [the calling to use all that God has given us in such
 to assume the correct attitude with a view to his true a way that He may be glorifi,ed therein. And that
 posi,tion in respect to God, the world .in which he lives        is just as true of our buying and selling as it is of our
 and, more' particularly, the things which he calls his giving for charity and kingdom causes. That the
 own. As long as a man proceeds from the assumption Christian has a calling with a view to the support of
 that he himself is lord and master of his goods, he can- the Kingdom of God ought to be apparent to all of us.
 not perform his calling as steward in respect to God.            We do not  co,nsid%er it necessary to quote a number of
 No matter how honest and just he may be in the dis- texts to establish this fact. Should anyone be inclined
. position of his ,goods,  ,as long as, he does no't recognize    to doubt this fact, we may refer him to such chapters
 the absolute ownership of t,he living God, he cannot as II Cor. 9; Phil. 4:15-l& etc.
 be approved of God as a good steward and all his works
 are an abomination to the Lord. It is very well pos-                Now, the question often arises: how much should
 sible, for example, that, from the natural point of view, we set aside for the Lord? Is there a standard with
 an atheist is a much better manager and can do far               which we may or must comply? In the old dispensa-
 more with what he has than a Christian who has the tion the Lord required atithes.                  A tenth part of the
 very same amount of goods ; however, the fact remains fruit of the land, of the corn, wine and oil, as well as
 that in athe sight of God not the atheist but the chris-         a tenth part of all the flocks had to be given ,to the
 tian is truly a steward. For all true stewardship  is Lord, so much so that, if he would hold back any part,
 possible only upon the basis that God is the absolute thereof, he was robbing God. (Mal. 3 :8-10).
 Owner also of those  t.hings that we call our own, that             There are many today who are of the opinion that
 it is rightfully His because He made it and upholds              we  shoul'd  adhere to this system of tithing and accept
 it, that He has  ,the perfect right to (dispose of it as He it as a standard for our giving to the Lord. And
 Pl-ses and therefore `co demq-l  of us thgf we do with           there are many things that can be said in favor of
 it as He commands x3,                                            this, It has keen said, fm example, that i% everyoncl


  296                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

  would give a  ten.fh of his income, the church  wou!d                                 IN MEMORIAM
  have much more than it has at present. We are in-
  c-lined to believe that this is true.     NOW, everyone       Very  .unexpe&dly on February 28, 1944, the Lord in  `Hid
  knows his own business best, yet, if the many reports         infinite wisdom took unto Himself our beloved husband, fathe!
  which one hears so often are .true, th.ere is reason to       son and brother,
  believe  th& there are many people who do not nearly
  approximate a tenth of their income in their giving to                            NICK A. KIMM, age 49
  the Lord. We do not, doubt that in many cases peop!e             Though the suddenness of his departure was a great, shock
  give more than a tenth. However, we are also con-             and we do not understand God's ways, we desire to submit
  vinced  tha+vt there are even more that do not give any- humbly to His will. We are comforted to know that he kn?..v
  where near.a  tenth, although they are much better able "in whom he believed" and that our loss is his gain.
  to do so, than those that give more. One ofte? finds                                                 Mrs. Alice Kimm
  that those who can do the most actually do the least.                                           Willemina,
  .Ip the-second  place, the tithe is a much better standard                                           `Audrey"'
  than that which is adopted by many, namely, to give                                                  Winonti
  in the light of what others give. According to this                                                  E t h e l
  method one compares his possessions with the pos-
  sessions  .of another,  lets the other give first and then                                           Clarence
                                                                                                       Mrs. J. R. Kimm (mother)  ;
  determines accordingly what he shall give. In the                                                    Mr. and Mrs. H. Kimm
  third place, the standard of the tithe is much better                                                Mrs. K. Dykema,
  than that of many, namely, to give as little as neces-                                               Mr. and Mrs. H. Cok
  s a r y .                                                         Manhattan, Mont.                     (brothers and sisters).
      However there are also things to be said against
  tithing. Perhaps the  grea,test  objection is that it is
  not only required but also not even recommended for
  the church of the new dispensation. No one can deny              Woensdag, 13 Maart, heeft het den Heere behaagd uit 011s
  that the tithe is an old dispensational institution. The midden  te nemen onze geliefde echtgenoot, Vader en grootvader,
  apostle Paul gives us a new standard for our giving                                   MR. H. ZYLSTRA
  now. He says in I  Cor.16:2,  "Upon the final day of
  the week let everyone of you lay by him in store, as          in den ouderdom  van 70 `jaar. Schoon  wij hem  missen   mogen
  God has prospered him, that there be no gatherings we tech gehmven dat zijn stervemhem  tot gewin was, om ZOnde
  when I come".       And in II Cor.  9:`i he says, "Every en strijd zijn Heere te dienen. Mogen zijn geengaan ons  tat
  man according as he purposeth. in his heart, so let           een spoorslag zijn om ons huis te bereiden.
  him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for  God                                   Namens echtgenote en  kinderen   :
  .loveth a cheerful giver."                                                                           Mrs. H. Zylstra
      To give as the Lord has prospered us, that is the                                                Mr. en Mrs. N. Garter
  rule.                                                                                                Mrs. en Mrs. S. Aardema
                                                                                                       Mr. en Mrs. P. Zylstra
  .' This makes our giving a matter of conscience. The                                                 Mr. en Mrs. H. Zylstra .
  "ani6un;t that we give reflects our estimation of what                                               Mr. en Mrs. F; Zylstra
  G6d"has  given us. It might be well to remember this              Doon,  Iowa.                         en 12 kleinkinderen
  &$atise it means that if the Lord has prospered us
  and given us much and we give but very little for the
  cause of His Kingdom, we make Him a liar and find
  ourselves in the company of Ananias and Sapphira.                 The Consistory of the Creston Protestant Reformed Church
  We have become guilty of robbing God. We are un-              hereby wishes to express its sympathy to our fellow  eld?c,
`y'ifaithful  stewards.                                         Stephen Kuiper, in the loss of his wife
      Let our giving, therefore, be according as God has                                NELLIE KUIPER
  prospered us. And let us give freely and gladly, realiz-
  ing that what we give, we have first received from            who passed away on February 26, at the age of 44 years.
  God. Let us regard it as a high privilege that we                 May our covenant God comfort the bereaved family and
  may seek His Kingdom and that we may give for the may they richly experience that the Lord is a strong t.ower   i:l
  cause ,of that kingdom  of the Lhings  which He adds          t,he day of trouble.
  u.nto us. Thee we are faithful stewards.                                                             John D. de Song, Pres.
                                                                                                       P.  Vanden   EnFel,   Clerk,
                                              IS, a,  w,        (;raac.l  Itapids!  Mich, I&r& 1944


VOLUME-  X,y                              :  A P R I L  1.5,  `1944                                     ,NUMBER 14
 ..-                                                             `And we `dare not ignore it, ,lest in our zeal to en-
           MEDITATIQ]N   " shrine the wonder of His passion all by itself, wc
                                                               become disobedient to His good commandment.
                                                                  We will humbly take cognizance of it by faith, that
                                                               we, too, may be willing to suffer for well doing.
             The Just For The Unjust                              But having done so, we will, nevertheless, re-
                                                               member at once that in the same sense as He suffered
                                                               for sins, we can never suffer!
                                                                  His  suffering must needs stand alone.
                                                                  Amazing in its incomparableness  !


        Fw  Christ also hath once suffered for sins!             . Adorable mystery !
        0, there can be no doubt about it, even though we         Always becoming more profound as one attempts
repeat it with fear and trembling, our Lord is not the to fathom it; becoming more adorably mysterious, as
only one, though He be the Chief, that suffered for one gazes into its impenetrable depths  I
sii!s. He suffered for sins  c&o. . . .                           He suffered for sins !
        Our Lord may not be, He must not remain the sole          He, the Christ, the only begotten One, as He came
sufferer for sins. Or rather: because He suffered for into the world, and as He tabernacled in the midst-of
sins once, we,  ,too,  dare not hesitate to suffer likewise sinners, the Just among the unjust, was the object  of
for sins! For He suffered, hence, we must-also suffer. the hatred.of  all the children of darkness. It lies `quite
        And this is corroborated by the entire context.        within the scope of our comprehension that they con-
        We must suffer for sins, yet not as sinners. "Not tradicted Him in alI His work and speech, that they
rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but con- numbered Him with the transgressors, and treated
trariwise blessing," refraining our tongues from evil, Him as the lowest of criminals.. But that Gad t~70uitl
and our lips that they speak no guile, eschewing evi!. make Him sin who knew,  no ,sin, we believe, we. trust
and doing good, seeking peace, and ensuing it  ; and that, in it, but we will never fathom. And that He would
too, as just among the unjust, suffering for righteous- suffer for sins, the Just  for.the unjust, is but-the  cor-
ness' sake, without being afraid of the terror of the rolary of this same inscrutable, yet adorable mys-
wicked; having a good conscience, that whereas they, tery.
the unjust, speak evil of us as of evildoers, they may be         God made Him, Who knew `no sin, sin for US: this
ashamed that falsely accuse our good conversation  ia is the one side, God's side of this glorious, though in-
.Christ; for it is better, if the will of God be so, that      comprehensible truth.
we suffer for well doing, than for evi! doing. Suffer.            IH~ Himself, the Just, met God in this act whereby
therefore: we must, not on account of our own  evil #He ,made Him sin, in the most perfect obedience: He
doing, not for our own sins,, but for the sins of other,s:,    suffered for sins! That is the other aspect of this
on account of their hatred of the light, and to condemn        same wonder !
and reprove their evil doing.         For Christ also hath        The two dare not be separated.
once suffered for sins. . . .                                     God made `Him sin. . . . `He suffered for sins: the
        0, but indeed, there is a comparison, amazing latter were impossible without the former; the former
though  it be, between `His suffering and ours!                would be vain without the latter. Nor dare we repre-


298                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   ` B E A R E R                                .".
sent these two aspects as the result of co-operation be- sinner to know and experience that He alone is good.
tween God and  ma+ or even between God and Chris!.             by making Him unspeakably wretched.
For all things are of God, Who hath reconciled us unto            That is God's justice.
Himself through Jesus Christ.  God'  wn.s in  Christ              And because of this unchangeable justice of God,
reconciling the world unto Himself. 0, but indeed, it suffering is inseparable from sin.
is all of God ! The Christ. is of -God, and His being             Thus Christ suffered.
made sin is of IGod, and His suffering is of God: the             Ho suffered on account of sin. Sins were the legal
God of our salvation is the Reconciler. . . .                  ground of  ,His suffering. The reference in the text
       He suffered for sins!                                   is not. now to His sufferings as they were inflicted
       Not mere passivity,  ibut action of the highest kind, upon Him by  tthe wrath and wicked fury of men.
clear, perfectly conscious,  ,deli,berate,  purposeful action God caused Him to suffer. He poured IHis wrath upon
is expressed by the words. The apostle does not intend Him. He caused  <Him to experience to the full His
to say merely : He  .tclwlerwent  something, that  He was awful goodness by making Him feel the dreadful
the pitiable victim of a cruel  fat,e, that He was  the wretchedness of the sinner that would negate Him,
bearer of a load of suffering that was imposed upon until He, the  IChrist,  was utterly amazed and forsaken
Him: On the contrary, the meaning is that He deliber- of God, and cried out in the anguish of His soul: "0,
ately accomplished  ,something, and that something My  (God,  why? . . . . .
which He did, accomplishe+d,  pmfo.rmed,  ,is His suffer-         He suffered for sins. .
ing! That is evident from the  cantext.  But it is also           0, but this does not exhaust the meaning of this
implied in the original of the expression for sins. And, mysterious word.
finally, it follows inevitably from the fact that He was          That IHe suffered because of, on ac,count  of sin, is
the Just.                                                      not even emphasized here according to the original.
                                                               For literally translated; the original reads : He suffered
       He suffered f'or sins!                                  concernzing  sin. On account of sin, yes, for no man can
       0, to be sure, this implies that He suffered on ac-     suffer except on account of sin ; but also : cmcerning
co?.&  of sins, because of sins, so that His suffering had sin ! And that plainly expresses that He had an end
its explanation, its reason, its ground in sins. This in view, that He had a purpose in suffering: His suf-
is  aIways true of all suffering, no matter in what form fering was concerned with sin! Or rather: in His
it may present itself. All pain and agony, all sorrow suffering He was concerned with sin, so concerned
and grief, all the sufferings of this present time, and with it, that by His suffering He purposed to remove;
all the suffering in hell, of soui and body, have their to destroy it for ever; so concerned, that with that end
cause and legal ground in sin. There was no suffering in view He battled with sin to the bitter end before the
whatsoever in the original stats of rectitude in *para- face of God.
dise; there will be no death, neither sorrow nor crying,          And do you not see how this makes of His suffering
in t:he perfect state of glory when the tabernacle of God an act in the supreme sense of the word?
shall be with men. But in our present world suffering             He suffered  debiberafiely.   He had an end in view
is inseparable from existence itself, so that we cannot that must be attained. Rut that end could be attained
even conceive of existence without suffering.                  only in the way of suffering. 0.171~  through His suffer-
       For all  suffe$ring  is essentially -death.             ing could sin be destroyed, could eternal righteousness
       And death is the punishment of sin. And the be obtained. The sole way to perfect righteousness lay
punishment of sin is the expression of the justice of ,through  the depth of hell. So concerned He was with
God. And the justice of God is God's maintenance of sin, that  ,He deliberately chose and travelled that
Himself as the only Good, and the inevitable revelation dreadful way.
of  /His goodness to the sinner that attempts to ignore,          He suffered concerning sin.
to deny, to negate Him ! God is good. He is the sole              He suffered actively. Suffering was not imposed
Good.       He is  th,e implication of infinite perfection.    on Him. `For He was the just. No suffering could be
And He will reveal Himself as the Good. He  ,will have legally required of Him. Willingly, actively, He placed
Himself known, experienced, acknowledged by the Himself under the load of suffering, lifted it, assumed
moral creature as the Good, that He may be glorified in it, bore it even unto the bitter end.
the work of His hands. Hence, He :blesses  the right-             With all :His heart and soul and mind and strength
eous. rHe rewards the good with good. And He curses            He was actively engaged in suffering !
the wicked, He rewards the evil with evil, suffering,             As the sacrifice of perfect obedience He suffered!
wretchedness, death, hell. For the sinner is he, who              Concerning  sin !
proudly boasts that it is good to depart from the living
God, that apart ~from  Him and in opposition to Him he
will peek and find bliss, joy, peace. And God pauses  that        Finally,  He suffered.


                                    T H E   S T A N D ' A R D   B E A R E R                                            299
                                                                             _
   That is, He suffered in such a way, that the end load of debt that oppressed them? And, what is more,
He had in view .was actually attained.                        does not their being ,unjust  also imply that they are
   Sin was removed, blotted out, destroyed for ever.          corrupt, dead through trespasses and sins, darkened in
   Righteousness, perfect righteousness, eternal right- their understanding, perverse of will, obdurate in
eousness was obtained.                                        heart, impure in all their desires? How, then, could
   For, He suffered for sin once!                             they possibly suffer conce?tiy?g sin?  iHow could they
   And, 0, this does not refer merely to the "`hour"          even be willing to bring to ,God  the perfect sacrifice
of His cross, or to the moment of His deepest agony for their sins? . . . .
on that cross, or to the fact of His death on. Calvary,          On account of sin they must, concerning sin they
His giving up the ghost. ,To be sure, that "hour" was could not suffer!
the climax of His suffering  coi?:cerning  sin. There,           Hence, their case was hopeless !
on Calvary, He drank His bitterest cup. But the fact             But He came, the Just!
remains that all His life in the world is. covered by this       And He had neither guilt nor pollution. The Lamb
"once" of His suffering. He suffered once, thafis, all without spot was He. For, though in our flesh, He was
His life. He was concerned with sin when He came' the Person of the Son of `God: personally free from the
into the world, assuming the form of a servant, the  like.    sin of our race. And, though,He came in the likeness
ness of sinful flesh. He was concerned with sin when of sinful flesh, yet He did not assume sinful flesh, for
He preached and labored, witnessed and performed by His Spirit He prepared His own nature in the womb
miracles, and was contradicted by evil men. He was and from the flesh and blood of the virgin.
concerned with sin when He endured it all, the shame             In His deepest suffering  <H,e could be concerned with
and reproach that was heaped upon Him, the buffet- sin !
ing and spitting in  IHis face, the scourging and the            And He might suffer in behalf of the unjust, and,
crown  of thorns, the cruel agony of the accursed therefore, in their stead. For  He was the Christ,
tree.                                                         God's Anointed, placed at the head of the unjust,
    But, nevertheless, He suffered only once!                 His own unjust, from before the foundation of the
    That one act of suffering fqr sins was sufficient,        world !
final.                                                           In their behalf He suffered concerning their sins:
    By it all was finished.                                       And,  (0 wonder of mysterious love! He never
    He does not have to suffer again. Nor do they, in ceased being concerned with their sin, though i,n the
whase  behalf He suffered, with whose sins He was so hour of His greatest suffering they revealed most hor-
deeply concerned, ever have to suffer for sins.               ribly the corruption of their sinful heart., nailing Him
    Sins, the sins that were upon Him, are blotted out 1      to the accursed tree! While we were yet enemies. . . .
    Eternal righteousness has been obtained !                     And He prayed for the transgressors!
    His one act of suffering is perfect!                          Father, for,give  them! . . . .
    It is finished!                                               The Just for the unjust!
                                               :

    Vicariously He suffered!                                    It is finished!
    For it was not His own sin concerning which Hr:               The Just has once suffered for the unjust, con-
suffered.                                                     cerned with their sins,  blott.ing  them out for ever,  ob-
    Christ hath once suffered concerning sin, the Just taming for them eternal righteousness.
for the unjust!                                                   To God He may now bring them !
    They, the unjust, could never have so suffered for            For, indeed, these unjust may not remain unjust.
sins. 0, they could suffer on  cwcourU of s&s.  And on To God they must be brought. For to be with God is
account of sins they would have had to suffer, tempor- eterna1  life. . 0, the sense is not, that they must be
ally, eternally, in everlasting desolation. But it could with God in the providential sense.                 In that  isense
on4y be a suffering in  utter'passivity,  the terrible pas- God is everywhere, and even in hell one cannot hirie
sivity of eternal death  !  Gmcerning   sin they never himself from His presence. But to be with IHim in His
suffer. Or, how could they? Were they not the un- tabernacle, in His blessed fellowship, to  know  H%.
just? And what else does this mean than that they to taste that He is good in His everlasting favor, to
were guilty and'damnable  ,before  God, objects of the walk with Him and to talk with Him, and to see  Efim
wrath of God, worthy of being utterly forsaken of God,         face to face,-that is life eternal !
delivered unto chains of death? And how could they,               To God He may now bring them. And He does
whose constant obligation it was to love and to serve             By the power of His marvellous grace!
the living <God, and who, for that very reason, could             0, blessed Redeemer !
never work "w&time"  with the Most High, pdy the                                                                 !H. H.
                                                                                                       .A


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                                           EDITOR  - Rev.  ,i. Hoekaema                                                                                                                                                                 C o n s c i e n c e
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      i"%.
     Contributing editors-Revs. J.  Blankeepoor,  A.  Cammenga,
     I-`. De Boer, J.  D. de Jong,  H.  De Wolf, L. Doezema,                                                                                                                                                       `:" Personally,  I am  inc%led  to take the  position  that
     M. Gritters, C. Hanlco, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G. M. Ophoff,                                                                                                                                                     tl'ie distinction between "sequent conscience" and "anic-
     A. Petter, M.  Schipper,  J.  Vanden   Breggen,  H. Veldman,                                                                                                                                                  cedent  conscience" is erroneous, ,that is, I am of the
     R.  Veldmzn.  L.  Vermeer,  P.  Vis,  G. Vos, Mr. S. De  Vries.                                                                                                                                               qpinion that one cannot properly speak of  "antecedeut
     Communications  relative to contents should be addressed                                                                                                                                                      conscience," and that, therefore, conscience is always
     to REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand                                                                                                                                                          sequent.
     Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                                                                                 It is true, of course,' that man is a rational, moral
     Communications relative to subscription should be ad-                                                                                                                                                         being, and that he has the power to distinguish between
     dressed to MR. R. SCHAAFSMA, 1101 Haxen St., S. E.,
     Grand Rapids,  Mich.   .A11  Announcements and Obituaries                                                                                                                                                     good and  evil, so that he can make, and actually does
     must be sent to the above address and will not be placed                                                                                                                                                      make this distinction whenever he is confronted with
     unless the regular fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice.                                                                                                                                                       alternative courses of action, alternative that is from
                                                 Subscription $2.50 per year                                                                                                                                       a moral viewpoint, and that, too, antecedent to the
           E n t e r e d   aus   s e c o n d   clam  mail   a t   G r a n d   R a p i d s .   Michigan                                                                                                             actual choice and performance of the action. This is
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   true, not only of Adam in the state of rectitude before
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   the fall, nor only of the regenerated child of God, but
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   also of man in his fallen state of total depravity. Total
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   depravity does not imply that man has ceased to be a
                                                                                               *                                                                                                                   moral being, that can no longer distinguish between
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   right and wrong. The sinnet has remnants of natural
                                                                          CoNTlIcNTS                                                                                                                               light, by which he retains some knowledge of God, aad
  MEDITATIE                                                                                                                                                                              P a g e                   of the difference between good and `evil. Canons III,
    C.ONSCIENCE . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . * . . . ..*.............................. * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300                                                                    IV; 4. Besirdes, he has a sense of moral obljpation,  I.?.
           Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                                        of his obligation to do that which is good.
  EDITORIALS  -                                                                                                                                                                                                       But this is not what is usually understood by the
     THE JUST FOR THE UNJUST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  297 word conscience.
           Rev.  H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                                          The term denotes something more specific.
  THE TRIPLE KNOWLEDGE                                                                                                                                                                                                It  cdenotes moral judgment.
     EXPOSITION OF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM . ...302                                                                                                                                                                  And as such it is always  se;sent, that is, it is a
           Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                                        judgment upon actions already performed. This does
    ASCECTICISM IN TfiE EARLY CHURCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306                                                                                                                               not necessariiy  mean, of course, that the a&u&l  out-
            Rev. G. M. Ophoff                                                                                                                                                                                      ward deed must be accomplished before conscience
    DE KONING VAN `T  HEELAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309                                                                                           passes its judgment upbn it. `It may be done only in
              Rev. G. Vos.                                                                                                                                                                                         thought, or in the desires of  the heart. But this dbes
    THE HALF-WAY COVENANT OF NEW ENGLAND . . . ...312                                                                                                                                                              not alter the fact that conscience acts only subsequent
           Rev. H. Veldman                                                                                                                                                                                         to the act, and that it is never antecedent.
    THE MINISTER AND HIMSELF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...*.. 314                                                                                                           This moral judgment which is  pass,zzd by conscience
           Rev. J. Blankespoor                                                                                                                                                                                     upon the accomplished act is either positive or nega-
,.*  + .THE COMING AND  .INFLUENCE  OF BUDDHISM IN                                                                                                                                                                 tive, excusing or accusing, justifying or condemning,
    `J                                                                                                                                                                                                             approving or reproving.       The notion has been ex-
          A P A N       . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
     '  '  ,Rev. P. De ,Boer                                                                                                                                                                                       pressed sometimes that conscience is only. negative,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   accusing, condemning. But this is an error. Scrip-
   EXCOMMUNICATION OF RAPTIZED MEMBERS . . . . . . . :317                                                                                                                                                          ture teaches rather plainly that  conscience.aiso  passes
           Rev.  L.  Doezema                                                                                                                                                                                       its approving and justifying judgment upon deeds
    GOD'S WAYS.  MYSTER'IOUS.  WITH HIS CHtiRCH  . . . . . ...319
                                                                                     ,                                                                                                                             that are good ia the sight of God.
           Holland   &nsistory  '  .                                                                                                                                  :
                                                                                                    "                                                                                                                Perhaps, this consideration will help Creston's  Men's
                                                                                                                               -                                                                                   Society to reach a satisfactory conclusion  Mth respect


                                       T H E ' .   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        301

t.o the q.uestion  whether Adam also had conscience.          as awareness of a judgment of God, which has  its pur-
                                                              pose  and  ,end  in the  theodicy,  the justification of  God,
                                                              in  tie consciousness of the sinner. See also the vivid
   Further, it will undoubtedly be helpful to turn to         description in Ps.  38:1-8.
Scripture and investigate briefly what it has to say             The expression of what might be called a seared:
about conscience.                                             cozcience may be found in Prov. 30 :20: "Such is the
   It is rather striking that the word for conscience way of an adulterous woman; she eateth and wipet?!
does not occur in the ,Hebrew,  and is not found in tile her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness." Ar>'
Old Testament.                                                interesting question in connection with this passage is  :"
   This does not mean that the idea is not found there. has this woman actually gotten rid of her  conscience:'
   Fact is, that we often find mention of the function Is what she says concerning her wicked deed, jus'ify-
of conscience in this part of Scripture.        It  i.s pre- ing it, actually the jud*gment  of her conscience'? I'i.
supposed in the name of the tree of whose fruit Adam not, to what extent does she succeed in making herself
and Eve were forbidden to eat: the tree of the know- believe what she declares to ,be her judgment of her
ledge of good and evil. The function of conscience iA evil act? How does this compare with the declaration
plainly manifest in the attitude. and all the actions         of the fool, that there is no God? Is there re:ail!r an
of Adam and Eve immediately after they had eaten Atheist? And is there really a human being that suc-
of the forbidden fruit: their consciousness of being ceeds in calling evil good? Or is there, underlying this
naked, their preparing for themselves  aprons  of fig jndgment  of the adulterous woman still  anot!rer   judg-.'
leaves, their hiding themselves amongst. the trees of nient condemning her wicked life?
the garden.                                                      Compare in the same connection  Prov.,  21:2  : "Every
   The function of conscience is revealed in Jacob's way of man is right in his own eyes: but the? Lord
address to  Laban,  his father in law, Gen. 31:36-42;  in     pondereth the hearts." When a man judges his own
the attitude of the sons of Jacob as they deliberate to ways right, does he listen to the voice of his con-
sell their brother Joseph to the Midianites, Gen. 3'7:        science or attempt to overrule and contradict it. And
18ff.; in Joseph's answer to the tempting wife of is he,. in spite of all his efforts, still deeply aware of
Potiphar, Geil. 39 :7-9, etc.                                 the fact that the Lord pondereth his heart? Questions
   Moreover, several passages of the Old Testamen:            like these the Men's Society of Creston ought to disr
directly speak of this function of conscience, even cuss. They are extremely interesting. They are close-
though the term itself is not used.                           ly connected with this fundamental question: Is con-
    Thus we read in Job  2'7:6: "My righteousness I science as such, apart from the efforts of man to silence
hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not or corrupt it, infallible? And what does our Nethcr-
reproach me so long as I live." It is evident that in land `Confession mean, when it declares that the books
these  woyds the function of what we call conscience is that are to be opened in the day. of judgment are the
ascribed to the heart, whence are also the issues of life.. consciences ?
    I.1 Ps. 32:3-5  we read: When I kept silence, my              However, as was said, the word conscience does.not
bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. occur in the Old Testament. And although this doe?
For day and night thy ,hand was heavy upon me: my not imply that the icle,a is not found there, the absence
moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I of the term does ,probably  teach us something with re-
acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have gard to conscience itself:  men the Old  Tes!ament:.
I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions ascribes the function of conscience to the mind, or to
unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my the heart, we may conclude that conscience must not:
sin." Here it is the sanctified conscience of the re- be regarded as a separate faculty of the soul, next to i
generated child of God that is referred to. But the the  ?aculties of intellect and will. It is a function':
passage is interesting, because what we call conscience rather than a faculty. It is that function according to
is here evidently described as awareness of the heavy which the  rationa1'  creature passes  moral  jud,gment,.
hand of God. Then, too, the poet, upon confession of upon his+otin actions, either approving or reproving
his sins, becomes.aware of the justifying judgment of them.                                                                     *
God overcoming his accusing conscience in the forgive.            `In the New Testament, however, the word o~u.rs~
ness of sins.                                                 thirty times.
    The same sanctified conscience speaks in Ps.  51:3,           The word that is used in the original is significant.
4 : "For I acknowledge my transgressions : and my sin It is the word  surz&e&,  which is the same as our
is ever before me. Against thee,  thee. only have I word conscience. Conscience comes from the Latin .
sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou  might-    cons&da,  and is composed `of the preposition, ~a-++~
est be justified  wh,en thou  speak&t,  and be clear wher and th'e noun scientia. The preposition means  with, ire
thou judge&." CConsciousness  of sin  is'here- presented conjunction ,m'th, joint; and the noun means knowledge.


302                                          T H E   STANDARD.B.EARER                                                   - .-
                           ..-....           -       -                              .                ,I  "-I.
ConscGntia,  or conscience, therefore, means joint~ktmw
lr?u$e,  knowledgge  in conjunction with someone  01
something  else. This is precisely also the meaning
that is used in the Greek of the New Testament. Th?                 The Triple Knowledge
word .wn-&de& means the same as con-s&e&a. Con-
science, therefore, according to the meaning of the
word denotes  joimf  knoutledge.             And the question     An Exposition Of The Heidelberg
arises: joint-knowledge. of what, and in conjunction
with what or whom? In general I would answer  this                                       Catechism
question thus: conscience is awareness of a judgment                                      PART TWO
which God passes upon all our works, good or evil,
and which He inscribes into the heart and conscious-,                            OF MAN'S  REDEMPTTOX
ness of every man. It is, therefore, joint  knowledge                                    Lord's Day XII
with the  Judlge  of heaven and earth of  t.he  etliical
value of our works.                                                                            2.
 j The Men's Society of  Creston better study this                        The Prophet.ic  Office Aud The Fall.
further.
       But let us consider some of the passages in the              The central idea of an officebearer is that he  is
New Testament in which the word conscience occurs.               God's friend-servant, authorized to function as God's
       In John 8 :9 we read: "And they which heard it, representative, as His vice-regent, in the visible  workl.
being convicted by their own con.science,  went out o?e             In this general sense of' the word Adam in  the
by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last." state of rectitude was very really an officebearer, for
They were the Jews that brought the woman to Jesus in virtue of the covenant relation in which he was
that was taken in adultery, and to whom the Lord re-             placed ,by his Creator, he was ,God's friend-servant.
plied : "He that is without sin among you, let him first         For, as we have seen before, the covenant of God with
cast a stone at her." By this word suddenly  thei?*              Adam in Paradise was not a sort of  pact or  agrec-
consciences began to condemn them, and they sneaked ment, did not consist in "condition, a promise, and a
a w a y .                                                        penalty," but was a living relationship and  fellowship
       In Acts 33 :l we find Paul addressing the Jewish          between God and him. Adam was t&he friend of God.
council : "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good And since Adam, even in that relation of friendship
conscience before God until this day." And in Acts with God, remained, nevertheless, a creature, in sub-
24:16,  addressing the governor, he says: "And herein jection to his Creator as the Sovereign of heaven and
do 1 exercise myself, to have always a  conscience.void          earth, he was also servant of the Lord. Friend-servant
of offense towand God and toward men." 1;  "good"                he was. He was not a slave in the house of God. Nor
conscience is here probably the same as a comcience              was he a wage-earner who served God for the re-
"void of offense". Paul, therefore, strives  sq to walk muneration connected with such service. He was frez,
that his conscience does not accuse him of offending anid served his God in voluntary  frie;?dship.  It was
God or man.                                                      .his delight to do God's will. And as God's  friend-
                                                                 servant he stood at the head of all the earthy creation,
  More important is the passage in Rom. 2 :12-16 : "For authorized and empowered to have dominion over  ell
as many as have sinned without law shall also perish             creatures, and in the midst of them all to represent his
without law: and as many as have sixmed  in the lau              God. True, he was not the head and king of the entire
shall be judged by the law; For not  thz hearers of the          creation. He was made a little,lower  than the angels.
law are  just before God, but the doers of the law shall         But all earthly creatures fouad their focus, their cli-
be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not max, their head anjd represent%tive  in him, and he was
the law, do by nature the things (contained in) of the their lord. For he was created after the very image
laws, these, having not the law, are a law unto them- of God, in true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness,
selves: Which shew the work of the law written in                and in his heart the whole creation was united with
their hearts, their conscience also.bearing  witness, and thE heart of God.  .Hence, Adam, the friend of God,
their thoughts meanwhile accusing or else excusing one
another; In the day when God shall judge the secrets was servant of the Lord, not only in as far as he him-
                                                                 self was concerned, but as the head of the visible world.
of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."                  He was chief steward in the house of God's.  creation,
       But it is probably better to stop here for the time with the calling to keep and tend to that house before
being, and save a little more `detailed examination of the face of God, cultivate it, and bring the glory of it
this passage for out* next number, the Lord willing,             all in loving service to his Creator.
                                      . .           H. H..          Such was Adam's office.


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         303

   And this office, although essentially one, was three- very first moment of his existence he was filled with
fold, presented  t,hree aspects. For man was God's the light of this knowledge. It is true that this know-
friend-serv_nt  with his whole being, with all his heart, ledge of God in the first man Adam functioned on $1
and mind, and soul, and strength. He was God's lower plane than that which is in Christ Jesus our
officebearer in his entire life and with relation to the Lord, and is not to be compared to the glorious know-
whole creation. He was God's friend-servant with the ledge that is the heritage of the (elect in the final realiz-
intellectual side of his nature, to know His God and ation of God's covenant, when His tabernacle shall
[declare  His  praises;  with the volitional side of his life, be with men in heavenly perfect.ion.    For Adam was
to will the will of God and consecrate himself and all of the earth earthy, and his knowledge of God was
things to Him; and  wit,h all his power and might over the reflection of God's glory in his consciousness
all the earthly creation, to subject himself and  al'       through the mirror of the earthly creation. He did
things to the living God and to rule over the visible not as yet see face to face. But the fact remains  that
world in the name of God. His one office of servant of Adam possessed the true knowledge of God as soon
the Lord was differentiated according to these tiree as he opened his eyes upon the wonder of God's crea-
aspects as the prophetic, t.he priestly, and the royal tion round about him. ,God  revealed Himself to him.
office. He was prophet, priest, and king.                   And Adam's receptivity was perfect. There was a
   In the light of these general  ,observationa  we must perfect contact between the Word of God that spoke
try to understand the significance of the prophetic to him through the things that were made, an3 his
office. In the popular mind, a prophet is one that is own consciousness. For all things were made through
capable of foretelling future events. The idea of pre- the Word of God, and as such it was God's revelation
dicting the future is regarded as essential to the pro- of Himself.         Creation was God's speech concerning
phetic office. However, this is hardly correct. It is Himself. Every creature  had.  its own name. That
true that it belongs to the work of a prophet to speak name was its essence. And that essence of every crca-
of things to come with relation to the  kin&om of God, ture was the Word of God. And all these creatures
but this is quite different from saying that foretelling together spelled the Name, the glorious Name of Him
the future is the main and one calling and task of a that had called the things that were not as if they
prophet.    In general, a prophet is one that has the       were. And in the midst of this speech of God, addrcss-
knowledge of God, speaks in His name, and thus de- ing him on every side, day and night, stood Adam,
clares  ,His praises. The Hebrew word for prophet is hearing this Word of God, and receiving it in his pure
picturesque, and rich in meaning. It is derived from consciousness, and through his consciousness into his
a word meaning to overflow, to boil over. The idea heart filled and moved by the love of God. Besides,
seems to be that a prophet is one that is so filled with God revealed  SHimself  to  4dam in the garden, and
the true knowledge of God that his mouth overflows, spoke to him as a friend with his friend.                 And as
that he is impelled to speak of Him, and to show forth Adam was the recipient of this true knowledge of God,
His glorious praises.  #God reveals Himself to him. hearing and interpreting the speech of God through all
He puts His mighty Word in the prophet's heart, and creation, he would prostrate himself in the dust before
this Word of God becomes a fire in his bones, urging his Creator, anld in loving adoration declare His won-
him to speak of that God Who revealed Himself to him. ,derful virtues.         Adam was in the true sense God's
Thus the matter is presented repeatedly in the pro- prophet.
phetical books of the Old Testament. The Word of God            The fall of man caused a radical change. The knom-
overpowers the prophets. They eat His Word and fill ledge of *God was completely lost not only, but was
their whole being with it. They are wholly in sub- subvert.ed  into its very opposite: darkness, the love
jection to that Word, so that they cannot keep silent, of the lie. Man became by nature the false prophet,
but must speak of Him, His covenant, His will, whether a prophet in the service of the devil.
the revelation they thus received had reference to the          For, on the one hand, we must certainly maintain,
past, the present, or the future. A prophet is one who that in a certain sense man remained a prophet. His
knows God, and speaks in His name and of .Him, as light was not changed into darkness in the sense that,
the friend-servant of the Most High.                        he ceased to be an intellectual and volitional, a rational
   In this general sense, Adam was prophet of God in and moral being. Even  t'hough. also from a natural
the original state of rectitude. He was created after view-point the light of his knowledge does not shine
the image of God.  This implies that also in his in- any more in its.%original  brilliancy, he does retain some
tellectual life he stood entirely in the service of God. remnants of natural light, by which he has some know-
He was capable of knowing God with a true knowledge, ledge of Gad and of the difference between good and
that is, with the knowledge of love, and thus to enter in- evil, remnants of light that are sufficient to leave him
to His intimate fellowship. And not only was he capable without excuse. Even though he does no longer clear-
of receiving this true knowledge of God; but from the ly discern the Word of God in creation, by the bght


                                                STANDARD   %EARER

of the remnants of his natural knowledge, he. knows            are a kind of seed of religion, which, even though in
that God is, and that He must be thanked and glorified,        itself not pure, are capable of leading him on to th<:
and that man is called to declare the praises- of the          true and spiritual knowledge of Gad if they are OE~Y
Most High. For, on the other hand, creation remained used  aright,  is  being revived by those that  are,  nup-
a medium of revelation of the glorious. power and              posed to be Reformed in their thinking and  convlc-
wisdom of God. The invisible things of God are clear- tions. On this basis one dare no longer evaluate the
ly  seen. being  undelrstood through. the things that are, philosophy of the world for what it truly is: foolish-
made.    The light shines in the darkness, even though ness with God. On the contrary, it is presented as
the darkness comprehendeth it not. ,Ca;X does not leave true wisdom, and regarded with profound respect
Himself without witness, even in the conscience of the and admiration. And this lack of proper distinction
natural man. Because of this continued speech of and discernment, this confusion of darknessand light,
God concerning Himself in the works .of His hands, more and more threatens with destruction the whole
and this work of the law written in man's, hfsrt; and system of what is supposedly Christian  edu:ation,
the remnants of natural light, man is still  a. prophet, higher and lower. It is this fundamental error, this
even though through sin he became a false prophct.             pernicious fallacy of presenting as true wisdom what
   But it may not be forgotten, that with all his is essentially nothing but foolishness, that makes many
natural light fallen man has become a servant of sin.          in our  .day loudly proclaim and enthusiastically worship
From a spiritual-et.hicaI  viewpoint all the light that i:;    as Calvinism what is principally nothing but modern-
in him is very really darkness. He is no longer a pro- ism. That all philosophy is false prophecy is no longer
phet of the living God in the true sense of the word.          understood. That all the wisdom of the v;orld is fool-
He has forfeited the privilege, he has neither the ishness with God is often laughed to -scorn, even by
ability nor the will and desire, he is no longer author- those that present. themselves as advocates. of  Chris--
ized to appear as the representative of God  iii the           tion education. That Christ is the only true prophet,
visible world, to know Him and to speak in  <His name and that all that is not of Him is only *darkness,  is no
and in `His behalf. For he is guilty before God,  t& longer recognized.              And, therefore, the theory that
object of His wrath and condemnation, an exile from through a certain operation of common grace manis
the house and fellowship of God. `He is darkened iu            natural light represents a remnant of his original wis-
his understanding, so that he loves the lie, and prefers dom and. knowledge, is not only a theoretical error,
the word of the devil to the knowledge of God. And but from a. practical viewpoint a damnable heresy and
he is perverse of will and obdurate in heart, so that pernicious fallacy. Over against this error one cannot
he stands in enmity against God, and always holds the stress too strongly that through sin man is become a
truth under in unrighteousness. In as fax as he still liar, a false prophet, that holds the truth in unright-
has knowledge of God through the remnants of natural eousness. He is not a fool in a natural sense. He has
light, and the speech of God through the things that           the light of reason. He is often possessed of a keen.
are made, he does not know God in love, but hate Him, mind. But in a spiritual ethica sense he is a fool. $Ie
oppose Him, contradict Him, and make  god% after his is an enemy of God. And he presses the remnants of
own imagination.      For the carnal mind is enmity natural light into the service of sin.., Man, having re-
against God.     Tt is not subject to the  law of God, jected the Word of God, is become a prophet.. of the
neither indeed can be. Rom. 8:5-`7. God is not in  all devil.
his thoughts, and being foolish in the spiritual-ethical          If' we bear this in mind, we can also understand
sense of the word, he always says.withia  his heart that that in the world, and throughout history, there is a
there is no God. Although, therefore, he is  .&ill  a development of  ,the lie in the direction of, and culminat-
prophet, he is in no sense of the word a prophet of ing in the false prophet that is pictured to us in the
God. Through sin he has  become a false prophet, vc-ho         book of Revelation. For the natural man that stands
lies about the living God.                                     in enmity against God Korks out his own philosophy,
   This cannot be too strongly.emphasized,  lest, as is the wisdom of the world, which, according to James,
frequently done in our day, we  ascriba the. remnant.3 is from below, is natural, earthly, devilish, and is fool-
of' natural light to the operation of a certain. common        ishness with God. This philosophy of the  .world, al-
grace of God, even as did the oid Remonstrants, They though in the. wisdom of God it does not know God,
that thus philosophize about fallen man's natural  knox- and does-not. want. to know Him, develops its own con-
ledge enlarge upon these remnants until they are pre- ception of God, of man, of the worW and its origin, of
sented as possessing true spiritual &l-&al  value,. .;:o religion and ethics, of society and the State; and it is
that the natural man in virtue of these "sparks" from always chiefly characterized by the fact that  it. rejects
the' hearth of his original righteousness, does actually and opposes God's revelation. It speaks of itself and
seek after God. Even the old and well-known here:y             closes its ears to the speech of God. The line of this
of the Arminians that these remnants of natural light
         ::.                                                   philosophy in. the pagan yorld of the old dispensation,


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              305

is clearly traced in the first chapter of the epistle to precepts, kills the prophets  anid, stones them that are
the Romans. For there we are taught that  *the  in- sent to them by God. It is  IsraeI that finally develops
visible things of God are, indeed, clearly seen from the a false .conception  of the Messiah that was to come,
beginning of the world, being understood from the and that rejects and  drucifies the Christ of God. it is
4hings  It.hat are made; and that what is known of' God `among the people in  ,whose true  prop&&,  the  Spirit
is manifest in the natural man. But man deliberately `of Christ dwells and operates, that the false prophets
o'pposes this revelation of God. +He holds the truth appear in their most determined and wicked  opposition
of God's eternal power and divinity in  unrighteous-             to  >the Word of God.
ness. Knowing God, he does not want to acknowledge                  Thus it was in the old dispensation.
Him as God, neither glorify Him. He revealed that he                And in the new dispensation it is  uo different.
loved the darkness rather than the light: `Rejecting Even today there still is the pagan world, whose  mil-
the Word of God, ,he followed his OWII philosophy 01 lions upon millions prefer the darkness of their own
the Most High, and changed the glory of the  `incor-             philosophy and false prophecy to the Iight of the  gos-
ruptible One into the image of a corruptible creature; pel, and who fast become prepared to play their own
and bowed himself before man and beast and creeping apart in the final scene of the,drama  of God's program
things. Thus man's philosophy gave birth, first of all,          for the world's history. But also in the days of the new
to the pagan religion and its polytheism. And, second-  .,' dispensation it is true that the false prophet must not
ly, this false philosophy and pagan religion, operating ,be .sought primarily in the heathen world, but rather
under the wrath of God that was revealed from hea-               within the scope of what is known as Christendom.
ven, proved its destructive character .in the demoral-           There he reveals and expresses himseif  in the more
ization and degradation of all life in the pagan world,          refined forms of culture and civilization, of science
its corruption and bestiality. , For God gave them up and philosophy, of religion and philanthropy; there he
throu'gh the lust of their own wicked  heart unto, un-           appears as an angel of tlight, as the true Christ Him-
cleanness and vile affections, unto a reprobate mind, <self; but there he' exerts his most profound and per-
to do those things which are  .not convenient. It is  nicious influence. It is within the scope of Christen-
true, of course, that this faIse  prophecy in the pagan          dom that the antichrist is developing, and that the false
world appeared in' different forms, according as the prophet, the combination  anlcl culmination of all false
nations moved ou different Ievels of culture an3 civii-          religion and false science and false philosophy. must
ization.    But even in its most polished. and cultural          be. expected to appear. Let no one be deceived by his
form, as in that of Greek philosophy at the time cf              marvellous  display of intelllect  and power, nor by  hi4
Plato and Aristotle, it was false prophecy  neverthe-            deceitful appearance of religiousness and piety. For
less, the wisdom of the world that is foolishness with he already  adoes great things, and will do greater and
God. There is none that seeketh after God, no not                mightier works in the future.. And, no doubt, he will
one !                                                            deceive many. But it should not be difficult to know
    lt stands to reason that this spirit of false prophecy and distinguish him as ,the false prophet in spite of
reveals itself, not only in the `pagan world, but also in        his glittering display of  cuIture  and power. For he
the line of the generations of the people of God,..with          lies about God, and about His Anointed. He opposes
whom God establishes His covenant, and to whom He the word of the true Prophet of God. He denies that
reveals His  counse1  of redemption. In fact, within Jesus Christ is come into the flesh. And "hereby know
the scope of the historical realization of' God's cove- ye the Spirit of God : Every spirit that confesseth that
nant in the world, the false prophet expresses himself Jesus Christ is come into the flesh is of God :  aml every
much more boldly and directly. For there the Word                spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come into
of God is heard much more distinctly, and; accordingly, the flesh is not of God : and his is that spirit of anti-
is contradicted by the flesh much `more sharply and              Christ,  whereof ye have heard that it should come;
vehemenctly. There shines, not only the Iight of revela-         and even now is already in the world." And  ithe spirit
tion as it radiates through the things that are made, gof antichrist is the false prophet, that will speak great
but as it shines in the face of Christ Jesus. In the             things snd blasphemies, and perform si,gns and won-
pagan world the lightt  of the Logos shines in the dark- ders, but whom Christ will cast alive into the lake of
ness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not; in the . fire burning with brimstone. Rev. 19  :%O.
sphere of the covenant the judgment applies that He ,!,.' !           f                                         H. H.
came unto His own, and His own received Him not.r
It is Israel that gives rise to  the false  prophets in their
worst form, in their most hateful opposition, of #the                      Our help is in the glorious Name,
truth of God. It is Israel that, accordingly, commits                        The Name of matchless worth;
more idolatry than any nation under the sun, that                          Of Him to Whom all power belongs,
tramples God's covenant  under  .foot,  despises His                       The Lord of heaven and earth.


306                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

  Asceticism In The Earlv `Church                                known from an examination of the thoroughIy  pagan
                                           . .                   type of asceticism as practiced by the Gnostic and
                                                                 Maniehaean  sects. The primary principles of thought
       Asceticism is from the Greek  askeoo,  to exercise, to    of these se&s has alrady been set forth in another
strengthen through exercise. By `the heathen the word article. In ,their system God even in and for Himself
was used by gymnastic exercises but by the fathers is a wholly  uninteIligibIe, super-rational entity, an in-
of the early church of moral self-discipline. Yet it finite blank, before whom all thought is powerless, d
would be a serious mistake to define asceticism simply primeval  be,ing,  an infinite bockground, without attri-
as moral  self-discipbne.      For moral  self-discipline- butes, life and thought, yet an active force produc-
Ithe mortification of members which are upon the                 ing, through an efflux of His essence, a series of
earth, the  crucifixion  of the works of the flesh-is a spiritual forces to which are given names: mind,
Christian duty enjoined~  by the Scriptures. It forms a reason, wisdom, power, truth, life : goodness. Through
part of the true conversion of man, the &her part of these effluxes God passes into life and is known.
which is the quickening of the new man, the sincere In this system also appears the idea of matter as
joy of heart in God through Christ, and a living ac- untreated  and thus eternal and as in itself evil and
cording to the will of God in `all good works with love the principle of evil in our world, a kind of second
and delighit.  Every true Christian, certainly, engages deity in everIasting  opposiit;ion  to the spirit of man and
in moral self-discipline. He must, for the life in Christ to God and incapable of being overcome by God. This
that was implanted in his soul will assert  itseIf. But world is therefore the handiwork of a fallen aeon-the
the normal Christian. is not an ascetic.                         demiurge-who  wrongIy  imagines  seIf to be the sup-
       It woulld likewise be a mistake to maintain that the reme and only God. His throne is in the heavens of
ascetic tendency is fully exposed as to its true char- the planets, and he rules over this visible world, the
acter by the enumeration of its performances such as raging kingdom of the devil  Andy resists the purpose of
renouncing marriage, abstaining from wine and animal God. Now in man exists spirit, which, according to
food. selling whatsoever is had and giving to the poor. the conception of the  Gnostics, animates from the
The Nazarite  of the Old Dispensation abstained from divine essence, and is thus consubstantial with God.
wine during the performance of his vow.              But the In man exists also ;th,e body, with its various desires
Nazarite was not an as.cetic. Paul does not forbid mar- and passions, which is of the nature of matter and
riage, but with a view to the "present distress" (I Cor. therefore in its self, substantially evil. True life con-
726) he does say, "For I would that all men tt-ere  even sists in  ContempIation  of God, absortion into his es-
as I myself. . . . I say therefore. to the unmarried sence.               This vision can only be attained  posi'tively
and widows, It is good for them to abide even as I." by the cultivation of the spirit, i.e. of the spiritual life
"I would have you without carefulness," he goes on to and negatively by. the mortification of the body-the
say, "He that is unmarried careth for the things that evil prison-house of man's spiriGand  by the uproot-
belongeth to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:               ing of the desires and passions of the body. The means
but he that is married carreth for the things that are recommended are solitude, poverty, renunciation of
of the worId, how he may please his wife." And finally, marriage or celibacy, fasting and penance. The Mani-
"Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast  in his heart, chaean, `too, had to refrain from all sensual enjoyment,
having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, shutting himself up against it by the three seals. The
and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his first forbids all eating of unclean  foo,d  which in-
virgin,  fdoet.h  well. So then he that giveth (himself)         cluded  all  #bodies of animals and wine. The second
in marriage doeth well ; but he that giveth (himself)            forbids  all content with  thin.gs  generally (world-flight)
not in marriage doeth better" (I Cor. 7). Yet, Paul, in so far as they carry in `them elements of darkness.
certainly, despite this teaching from his pen, was not By the third seal marriage `was forbidden.
an ascetic. Then there is Christ's counsel to the rich              Now this is `asceticism proper. Asceticism, it is
young ruler "If tlnou wilt *be perfect, go and se11 that plain, is a pagan invention. It is based on pagan
cthou hast, and ,give  to `the poor, and thou shalt have a       views of God, man and the u-orld. Asceticism, espec-
treasure in heaven: and come and follow me" (Matt.               ially this `pagan type, is of the evil one. This comes
19 21). Yet Christ was not an escetic. And the doing out in its striving which was to attain not a greater
of the Christians in Jerusalem-their  seIling their pos- measure of holiness but' absorption into the divine es-
sessions and goods, and parting them to all men, as sence; thus the realization of the lie of Satan, "Thou
every man had need, was not a species of asceticism.             shatl,`be  as God." It comes out in the methods em-
       If asceticism is to be known as in its true character, ployed by many `of these ascetics' in the attempt to
its roots must be laid bare. The roots of asceticism achieve this objective. ' `Sidding defiance to all moral
are  i!t.s motives, purpose, aims, and strivings, its dual- laws, they abandoned themselves to the most shameless
ism and view of life and the world. These can be                 Iicentiousness. Here the principle' of action was that


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            507

voluptiousness must be conquered by unrestrained in- thanksgiving" (I Tim. 4 : lff.) .
dulgence in it. The gnostic ascetic was much concern-               Now besides this gnostic asceticism, there was  sti!l
e,cl about evil as it rioted, so he willed to imagine, solely    another kind, which, for the want of a name, we call
in his body; but he waslittle concerned about sin as orthodox, and with which we meet in the religious  prac-,
guilt before God, thus little concerned about the God tices and habits of thought of the Christians, practices
whose eyes are too pure to behold sin. His conflict and habits set forth and Idefended in the writings of
was no;t between sin and grace, to be sure, but betweeti         the  ' church-fathers, who themselves, with few excep-
a carnal will striving in a colossal pride to attain tions, were asceticalIy  inclined. The fathers, needless
ditini'ty  and the sensuous  Idesires of the lower nature. to say, rejected with horror the heretical ideas of the
Thus at bottom it was a clash of merely carnal inter- Gnostics and  Manichaeans,  the idea that. all nature is
ests.    Idenitifying  sin with the created body, this the work of a devil-God an$d the notion of ,conflict be-
ascetic made of sin a created substance. . Limiting tweeh matter substantially corrupt and  ~sinless spirit.
sin to the sensuo'us  desires of the low.er  nature, anl         They condemn those "who abhor things in themselves
identifying these desires with the body, and thus                innocent, as marriage, or flesh, or wine, and blas-
refusing to perceive that these desires and the pleasure phemously slander God's works, forgetting that a.11
resulting from their gratification are, in the final in- thin!gs  are very good, and that God made male and fe-
stance, not physical but psychical, he taught an in-             male" (The 51st Apostolic Canon). In the room of the
herently sinless soul or spirit. Thus the conflict, as pagan dualism between spirit and ma'tter they placed
he imagined, was between body and spirit, corrupt the ethical conflict between spirit and flesh, held to the
material  an.d sinless spiritual substance as a means of divine institution of marriage and vindicated its sanc-
self-redemption.    This was the thoroughly heretical tity against the heretics of their time who, on the
asceticism in the early church. In process of time it ground of their idea of the substantial corruption of
was at least theoretically exterminated.                         matter and thus of the body, condemned conjugal
    Yet at first glance it might seem that the dualism cohabitation as a fellowship of corruption. "For He
of this asceticism meets us in the Scriptures; in parti- bestowed His blessing on matrimony also; as on an
cular in those Scriptures that treat of the conflict be- honorable estate, for the increase of the human race"
tween the  old and the new man or creature. But ths              (Tertullian) . "Wherefore, if God still forms man,
flesh, the old man, in the thought-structure of Scrip- shall we not be guilty of audacity if we think of the
ture is not solely the body ,but substaatially  the who!e        generation of children as something offensive, which
man as corrupted in his nature by the principle of sin the Almighty Himself is not ashamed to make us of
operative in the essence of his being, of his mind and in working with His undefiled hands?. . . .Would  it
will and heart. And the new man or creature is not not,  t,hen, be absurd to forbid marriage unions, seeing
ethically but substantially this same man-1 speak now thart we expect after us there will be martyrs, an5
of Yhe believer-as subject to the principle of  graEe            those who shall oppose the evil one. . . ." (Methodius) .
operative in the essence of these very members. Hence Such were the views on marriage current among the
the conflict, according to Scripture, is not between a majority of fathers and `the Christian laity of the
material and a  spiri:tual substance, but between sin and early church.
grace as both of these take on' flesh and blood, so to              But, though the church fathers declared marriage
speak, in and through  the one rational-moral organism, holy, they declared virginity, the unmarried's'tate,  more
man. And the mortification of the flesh consists not in holy, and so exalted the higher holiness of virginity as
excessive afflict.ions  of the body but, under the imspulse to come dangerously close to destroying the thrust and
of true love,  iu properly controlling and sanctifying it force of their assertions of "the holiness of marriage.
and in laying off ull sin, the sins of the whole man, of In the following excerpt the word virgin  is'used  as  the
the one organism man, constituted, as he is of body and          signification of both the sexes.    "The virgins are a
soul. The seat of sin is not the body but #the  soul ; but beautiful pattern %Q believers and to `those who sha!l
whereas the soul or spirit cannot function otherwise believe. . . . The womb of a holy virgin c&rricd  our
than through the body the moral corruption that riots Lord Jesus C?hrist,  the Son of God ; and the body which
in the essence of the soul involves also the body.               our Lord wore. From this therefore understand  the
    It was this gnogtic  asceticism at which Paul was greatness and dignity of virginity. Dost thou wtih to
striking, when he wrote to Timothy, "Now the Spirit .be a Christian? Imitate Christ in everything. . . .
speaketh expressly, that in the latter `times some shall And those who are virgins rejoice at all times in be-
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,          coming like God and His Christ, and are imitators of
and doctrines of devils ; speaking lies in hypocrisy ; them. For in ;those  that zire such, there is not the mind
having their conscience seared wi$h a hot iron ; for- of the flesh. . . . For in `the man' who is of God',
bidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from with him, I say, th&re is nothing `of the mind of the
meats, which God hath created to be received with flesh ; and especially in virgins of either. sex; but' the


 m-3                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

fruits of all of them are the fruits of the spirit" me&s better than those set forth by the excerpts last
(Clement, Epistle `concerning Virginsty).      Tertullian    quoted. "Riches, then, which benefit also our neigh-
went so far as to say that, "If we look deeply into his bors, are not t`o ,be thrown away. For they are pos-
meaning and interpret them, second marriage will have sessions, inasmuch as they are possessed, and goods,
to be termed no other than a species of fornication."        inasmuch as they are useful and provided by God TOI
Patristic expressions  occur even such as these: "A the use of men. . . . Are you then able to make right
woman is an evil." "A rich woman is a double evil."' use of  i,t.? It is subservient to righteousness. Does
"A beautiful woman is  a whited sepulchre." "Better one make a wrong use of it? It is, on the other hand,
is a man's wickedness than a  wornan'S goodness."            a minister of wrong. That then which of itself has
Athenagoris wrote in his -4pology: "Many may  br neither good nor evil, being blameless, ought not to
found among us; of bath sexes, who grow old un- be blamed ; but that which has the power of using it
married, full of hope that t,hey  are in this way more' well or ill, byreason of its possessing voluntary choice"
closely united to God.."                                     (Clement  of. Alexandria). The spirit that animates
    These conceptions attached themselves to four pas- from the following language from this same writer's
sages in Scripture, viz. Matt. 19 :12 ; 22 :89 ; I Cor.      pen is thoroughly protestant, "The perfect Cristian,
7 :7 sqq.; and Rev. 14 :4. But, as proof-text for the who has the apostles for. his pat.tern,  proves himse!f
above-cited ideas, they  are useless. The implication of truly a man in this, that he chooses not a solitary life,
Paul's counsel at I Cor.  7:7 sqq. is not that of the two but marries, begets children, cares for the household,
states-the married and the unmarried-the latter is yet under all the temptations which his care for his
the holier, nor that virginity is the proper and normal life and children domestics and property, presents,
condition for ,either the clergy or the 1ai:ty. This coun- swerves not from his love to God, and as a Christian
sel of the apostle is counsel indeed not a command.          householder exhibit a  miniat.ure  of the  aI1 -ruling
And `this counsel is to the effect that if a man have        providence."
the gift of continence-a gift that few men have-It                  Endugh has been quoted from the writings of the
is well that he marry not, as the married, beiilg free       fathers to bring out `that the i,deas that formed the
from the cares of wedded and family life, are at liberty basis of their asceticism are the following:
to devote themselves exclusively to the things of the               1. There' is  inature,  th'fs earthy, man, the  earth?
Lord. This is simply a fact.                                 appetites and desires of his soul and the iife of nature,
    The writings of the fathers contain also' strong eating and drinking,  .marrying  and begetting children
recommendations of voluntary poverty and of contempt' and attending to the earthy affairs of this earthy.
of worldly possessions based on the advice of Christ                2. There is the s,pirit  or grace and the life of the
to the young ruler, xho claimed to have kept all the spirit, fellowship with God through prayer.
commandments from his youth  up. "And this is the
import of 23ell what thou hast, and give to the poor,               3. Life according to spirit or grace far excells in
                                                              l 


and come, follows  me'-that is, folloff'  what is said by holiness the life of nature. The former must be culti-
`the Lord . . .  .Despising,  therefore, the possessions vated. The latter  is flesh and must be crucified. Thus
which God apportions to thee in thy magnifcance,             the conflict is between nature and, grace and not ex-
comply with wliat is  spok& by me; haste to tlie ascent clusively between grace and sin.
of the Spirit" (Clement  of Rome). "A blind love of                 The similarity  between these notions and the ideas
cjne's' own property has deceived many. . . . And there-     upon  which  the  Gnostics  based their asceticism is
fore the Lord says, `If thou wilt be perfect, go sell all    strong. .The distinction between nature and grace,
that thou hast. . . .' If ric'h men did this they would higher,,@d   lower morality, corresponds to the Gnostic
not perish by  the&  Yiches.  . . . . But how can  ,tliey    distinctbp between matter or body and spirit, between
follow Christ who are held back by the chains  OF the life. according to the body or nature and the life
                                                                       ,.  .;.
wealkh"  (Cyprian)  . In these excerpts we meet `with' above  ,na@re  and contrary to it. The influence of
the view that, if these  chains are to be broken, a man paga@sm  is plainly discernable.
must literally dispose of all .hi$ property. . This cer-            The'-Pabhers,  of course, did not give expression to
tainly is not'the thrust of Christ's counsel to the young these pagari elements in ,their  reasonings in clearcut
ruler. The aim of this counsel `was purely ped,agoiical.     language.            These elements of thought are implicit
The man' made a god `of his gold and yet claimed that in their distinction between higher and lower morality
he kept all the  comm&Klments of God.  He must be            and, in their depreciation- of marriage and of things
made to perceive  %hat his' claim is -false in order  that earthy in                 generai.     .
he might repent and be saved. Therefore,' laying  His               But ..here, too, as ever, practice preceded theory.
finger on the chief sin in the man's heart, Christ said to Already in the beginning of the second century, many
him,  "Sell'all  that thou hast. . .  ."                     Christians had `the `custom of setting aside certain
   But the writings of the fathers'contain  also seti% days for s3fzexatiination  and devotion and for dedicat-


                                      T H E   S.TAND:A.RD'   BEARE.R'                                                   309.
                                                                                                                 .  -.  -  -  .
ing their lives to God anew. On such days they were face the temptations of life. He would secure himself. .^'
also wont to fast and to appropriate the food that was against,`temptation  by separation from the world. He-
saved by their abstinence to the maintenance of thp lacks the courage $0 fight the good fight.
poor brethren. If they were person or material means,                                -                     G. M. 0.  :'
they gave, immediately after being baptized, a large
portion of their earthly gods, or all they had, to the
church treasury or to the poor, and thereupon would
provide in their necessities by the labor of their hands,
and all that remained of their earnings, after barely
satisfying their most elementary wants of life, they                    De Koniig Van `t Hee4al
bestowed to feed the poor. They also remained un-
married, lived in seclusion, and spent  th,eir leisure in
!prayer,  in the study of God's Word, and, in religious                                   (Psalm 72)
contemplation.     This is orthodox asceticism in its             Bier hebben we we&  een der klassieke  psalmen uit.
earliest stages. Is it to be approved or frowned upon? den  bundel,. een psalm ,die de heerlijkheid van den
The latter, of course. Asceticism, of whatever brand           Messias bezingt.
or type, is always to be denounced. But it would be a
cruel mistake, certainly, to maintain that the above-             Hij is:  2:oor   Salomo!
cited habits of these early Christians-their prayers,             Klassiek, zeiden we. `En dat is duidelijk. Hij'bo-
almsgiving and serf-denial-were solely the issues of hoort bij die reeks van  psalmen  die men veel  zingt,,
the flesh and must therefore be relegated to the realm aanhaalt, overdenkt. Van  alle' tijden en  on&r alle
of darkness. Many of these Christians were `pillars volkeren waar des Heerein' Gee& ,t.roonde, heeft `men er
of strength not because of but in spite of their ascetic Eden verheerlijkten  Christus in gezien. Zelfs .de Joden,`;
`tendencies. Their practices are to be frowned upon voor en na de geboorte.van  Jezus,  hebben er den Mes-
only in so far as they were ascetic and the expression sias in ge,zien.
of ascetic motives and aims.         What must be dis-            Voor Salomo.
approved of in these early Christians is not their good           Van alle eeuwen heeft men gestreden over de&
habits but their  inclinat.ion  toward asceticism.             titel. De meesten, waaronder ook Calvijn,..zijn  tot de
    The asceticism of these early Christians was a bad slotsom gekomen, dat we hier een psalm hebben die
tree, as the fruit that this tree bore, in process of          door Salomo  zelf gedicht is. Anderen zeggen, ,det de,
time, plainly indicates.     The  old, Catholic Church, inhoud  van David was, doch dat zijn zoon die inhoucI--~.
in its ascetic practices went from bad to worse. To            gedizht  heeft voor den zwakken en stervenden vader,
the fatheys  voluntary poverty and celibacy were ex-              Het is onze overtuiging, dat we  moeten,gdlooven  ,,
ceptionally good works. To these others were add,ed in dat de psalm van David is ; dst hij hem dichtte'  &a&:
after years, such as all kinds of penances and mortifi- zijn zoon; Bdoch, daar hij een  profeet  was,  he&t,   hij  ,,
cations of the body?  abstinance  from wine and animal gedacht  aan zijn heerlijken Zoon,  Jeius  Christu$
food.    As could be expected, pride also entered in.          Volgens bet. getuigen van Petrus op den Pinl&erdag,  `*
Those who walked in these aforesaid works claimed. to "wist David dat God hem met eede gezworen had; dat
be a spiritual aristocracy above the common Christian hij uit de vrucht zijner lendenen, zooveel het vIeesch
people, who contented themselves with an inferior aangaat, den Christus verwekken  zoude, en Hem op
type of virtue, consisting in their living a normal            zijn troon zetten.`" Hand. 2:30.
Christian life. Eventually the thought took root in the           We hebben dus hier een gedicht van een koning
bosom of the church that this higher morality merited          aarrgaande   een Koning. David bezingt den  Chris&
with God; and asceticism became a means of self.-              Gods.
redemption, as with the heathen.        It also developed'        0 God!
itself into anchorism (renunciation of the world to               Heerlijk, verheven begin !
live in seclusion) and monkery  and celibacy on  .the             Als God ons begin is, dan zal het einde vrede  ,zijn.
part of the clergy.                                            Het klinkt dan straks zoo rustig als we  lezen,:' "De ge-
   A word of criticism.  i4scetism,  this'betaking one- beden  van  i David, des zoons van Isai, hebben een
self out of the stream of life, from under the yoke of einde?" Gelukkig einde.
life's responsibilities to live in monastic seclusion, is         Een heerlijk begin en een vredig einde.' Ret .einde,
not indicat~ive  of strength but of weakness.' hnd it is van dien man zal  vrede zijn. De vrede die er is, voor
contrary to God's will.  "I pray not," said Christ, het  aangezicht.  Gods; vrede daar, want alle werkelijke
petitioning His Father, "that thou  shouldest.take  them nooden zijn vervuld.
OU.S   of the  world+, but that thou shouldest  Beep   them       0 God!                                  ,.
from evil"  (St. John  17:15). The ascetic dare not               Begint ge  alzoo,  vanuit de diepte Uws  harten;   her;.


  ,312                                 T.HE  S T A N D A R D  BEAkEiX

  ..      The Half-Way Covenant of                              and Edwards was ejected in 1750 from the pastorate
                                                                which he had adorned for more than twenty three
                 N e w   E n g l a n d                          years. In 1751 he was installed pastor of the small
                                                                Congregational church in Stockbridge, Mass., and mis-
        The "Half-Way Covenant" was an  expedie;lt  adopt- sionary of the  Housalonic  Indians at that place whom
  ed by New England churches in the seventeenth cen- he served with fidelity.               On  Se&  26,1757,  he was
  tu1'y to allow baptized persons of moral conduct  and         elected president of the college at Princeton, New Jer-
  orthodox  belief to have their children baptized but sey, but was not inaugurated until Feb. 16, 1758. One
  `forbidding them  tlie right  .to partake, of the Lord's      week after his inauguration he was inoculated for the
Supper. It has  -been the rule to baptize those infants small-pox. A secondary fever intervened, and he died
 : one' of whose parents was a church member. When five weeks after his inauguratign.
. such baptized persons  `grew  .up and married but  f&led'        Jonathan Edwards was  eje'cted  from his pastorate
  to join .t-he Church, the question arose whether their at, Northampton partly because of his opposition to
  children should be baptized. This question  wh&he?            the "Half-Way Covenant" as prevalent in his day. In
  such as were church members by birth only were en- its beginning this practice gave "non-regenerate" mem-
  `titled to have their `cliildren baptized was a matter of bers who owned the covenant the right to present
 .`cotitroversy  for nearly thirty years. At a <synod called children for baptism, but withheld from them the
  by the General Court of Massachusetts in 1662  th.e           r3ght to  partake:  of the Lord's Supper.     ,However,
  colitroversy  came to an end. This synod confirmed Solomon Stoddard  initiat.ed a  fum?ther modification
  the decision of  a ministerial body appointed by the          which was widely adopted  as early as 1700. Stoddard
.- "`same  Co& `in 1657, namely, *that non-%egen&-a:e  merh- had been a very practical man. Accordingly, when in
  hers, who  "owned  the covenant", publicly  appr'oved         1700 he put his ear to the ground and heard ominous
."' the principles of the Gospel, lived upright lives, and      whispers -of discontent from the Half-Way members
 "promised to  prom'ote  the welfare  of and submit to the <who were shut out from <the Lord's table, he recognized
  discipline of the church, might present. their children that the Half-Way Covenant was in'need of modifica-
  to baptism, but they themselves might not come'to the tion and improvement. He therefore decided to take
 Lord's table,  nor' take part in  ecclesiastical  affairs.     his courage in hand, go one step further than the de-
  Notwithstanding much opposition, this became the              cision of 1662, and throw the doors wide open to Cove-
  .general  practice of  ,the New England churches.  `Ac-       nant and non4ovenant members alike. He did so in
 cordingly many persons of "reputable" life, especially the  beIief  that such a step might turn Half-Way mem-
  intimes of re!ilgious  interest, who couId not make a fui!    bers into better Christians. The Lord's Supper  he*
  profession of religion, were admitted to' Half-Way regarded as a converting ordinance, a means to induce
 Covenant relations in the church and their children Half-Way members to repent.
  were' baptized. Solomon Stoddard, pastor at North-               Moreover, to understand Jonathan Edwards's ejec-
 : ,ampto&  Mass., 1669-1'729,  initiated a further modifi- tion from his pastorate because of his opposition to the
  cation which was widely adopted :,-the Lord's Supper, conception and practice of the Half-Way Covenant,
  in his view `a converting ordinance, was to be partici- we must bear in mind the historical event, known as
  pated in by "all adult memlbers  of the church who were "The+ Great Awakening", which immediately preceded
  not  scandaIous."    The Half-Way Covenant received his dismissal.            The "Great Awakening" was a tre-
  it.4 death-blow from Jonathan Edwards, Stoddard's mendous revival particularly throughout New England
  successor, although it survived for many years.               under the magnetic and dynamic leadership of a cer-
        The name of Jonathan Edwards receives prominent tain English preacher, George Whitefield. Whitefi,eld
  mention in connection with the "Half-Way Covenant." literally turned the spiritual world of his day in the
  Considered by many to be America's greatest theo- colonies upside down. Whitefield, in contrast with
  logian, Jonathan Edwards was born at Windsor Farms, the Calvinistic Jonathan Edwards, was a thorough
  Corm., Oct. 5, 1'703, and died at Princeton, New Jersey,      Arminian. Emphasizing the arminian "whosoever
 i March 22, 1758. *He graduated in 1720 from Yale will" dodrine, this young English preacher was strict-
  College, then a school chiefly for the traininS, of minis-    ly a "revivalist." In a week he had changed the whole
ters, with the highest lionors of his class, In 1727, definition of preaching  and, pulpit behaviour. Instead
  when in his twenty fourth year, he was ordained as            of doctrine logically stated; proved, applied, according
  colleague with his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, and to a carefully prepared plan of argument, he drama-
  pastor of the Congregational Church at Northampton, t.ized both the biblical narrative and the application,
  Mass. In process of time hebecame  convinced that his spoke entirely without notes, made violent gestures,
  grandfather was wrong in permitting unconverted per- laughed, sang, shed public tears, and literally took
  sons  to partake of the Lord's Supper. A prolonged New England by storm. Hitherto preaching had been
  controversy with the  .Northampton  church followed, a solemn exercise; Sermon8  had beeq  made according


                                    T.IZE:  S'T'AN.D'ARD   BE,ARER                                               813

to the pattern.    But here was a preacher who sub- And, of course, only believers in Christ.  .Jesus are
.:tituted  human interest stories for sober logic, turned spiritually able to partake of this sacrament. Only
his pulpit into a stage, and gave church-going.America      then will the table of the `Lord not be abused and
its first taste of theatre under the flag of salvation.     profaned.
Conversions became common. The people were liter-              Although the Half-Way Covenant was a theory and,
ally swept off their feet. .Heaven's  doors were opened practice. in New England more than two hundred and
to all and the masses crowded one another to  enter.        fifty years ago, its error is still prevalent today. `In
   Consequently, Jonathan Edwards, in his struggle the first place I would call attention to the teachings
against, the Half-Way Covenant and- its practices, was of the Netherlands Free Reformed, or "Oud-Gerefor-
engaged in a hopeless struggle already from the very meerden" of our present day. We grant that they are
beginning.    It was impossible for him to maintain very strict. in.. their teachings with respect to Holy
the Scriptural principle of limiting baptism as well as     Communion.     In these circles onIy a  f,ew partake of
communion to the confessing people of God: It was this sacrament. Nevertheless, they adhere to the prac-
impo&ble  for him to shut the door of the Kingdom tices of the Half-Way Covenant as far as the sacrament
of Heaven to some at a time when the door had been of Baptism is concerned. Not all who present their
thrown wide open. He  was.ejected  from  his pastorate children for baptism are permitted to partake of Com-
by a vote of more than three hundred to  t.wenty  three.    munion. The fact remains that attendance ,at Com-
   In our appraisal.of.  the `Half-Way Covenant, as also munion is restricted to a very few and that members
including Solomon Stoddard's modification in 1'700 to are discouraged from partaking of this sacrament.
permit non-regeaerate members to partake of the Conversely, those who cannot partake of Communion
Lord's Supper, we need not prove in detail the error are permitted to present their children for baptism.
of this conception.    It is surely.  ScripturaI  that, al-, It is true that only those.who  make profession of faith
though all the children of confessing. believers must be are permitted to present their children for baptism.
baptized, only believers may and  .can present  t.heir      This, however, only implies that "non-regenerated"
children for baptism. Only they may.  * We read in persons are allowed to make ,confession  of faith, that.,
Acts  2:35, 39: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, their confession of faith is nothing else than "owning,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus the covenant",, a mere intellectual agreement with the
,Christ for the remission of sins, .and ye shall receive doctrine and principles of the church. This constitutes
the gift of the Holy Ghost. Forthe. promise is unto a clear violation of the principles of the Word of Go3
you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, with  respect  to the sacrament of Baptism... Also in
even as many as the Lord our God shall call.." Notice these circles Baptism is viewed as an expediency
here that Peter exhorts the people to repent and  then- measure.         The children must be baptized. On the
be baptized. Baptism therefore follows upon repent- other hand, they fail to see the Scriptural principle
ance. Then he proceeds to declare in verse. 39 that         that God develops His covenant organically in the line
unto  them is the promise and unto, their ,childre`l  and of succeeding generations.        Hence, they also have
to all ?chat afar off, e*ueE* as muny as t&e Lo,& th& God adopted. the practice of "owning the covenant" as an
shall call. The implication is that God's promises are. expediency measure, in order that their children may
to these. who repent and their children, and .to. those be baptizeld. ,This we would say on the one hand.
who are afar off with their chilrdren,  as many as the         On- the other hand, the Half-Way Covenant,  ,with
Lord shall call by His Spirit and Word. And this is all its implications, particularly. in the light of "The
taught throughout Scripture.. Besides, only these. can Great Awakening" should teach us that we must not
present their children for baptism. To present one's be wiser than God. Jonathan Edwards, in his struggle
child for baptism implies that we spi.ritually  and con against the errors of his day, was engaged in a hope-
sciously embrace the significance and practical impli- less,  &ruggle;  Solomon Stoddard viewed Communion
cation of this sacrament, and t:his is possisble  only when as a "conversion ordinance." George Whitefield had
we `ourselves have a spiritual understanding of being proceeded one step farther and thrown wide open the
baptized and risen with Christ.                  *          doors of the Kingdom of Heaven. The people rejected
   Secondly, it is also Scriptural that only  .confessing any teaching or preaching which would shut the doors
believers may and can partake  .of the  Lord?s.  Supper. of the Kingdom. Arminianism today believes in, a
We need but read our beautiful Communion Form to *church with an open door. They have no place in
be convinced of this. The apostle Paul expressly com- their system  of. thought for a rigid enforcement of the
mands "non regenerate members who merely own the two holy sacraments. Their conception allows no.,place
covenant" to abstain from the supper. of the Lord. We for the doors of the Kingdom of God being ;shut: Storl-
are admonished to  "e?ramine  ourselves and so partake dard  and:Whitefield  were  o,pening  doors, not shutting
of the Lord's Supper lest we; eating and drinking un- them ; Jonathan Edwards was shutting doors, not open-
worthily, should eat and  ,drink damnation to ourselves." ing them. Rence, his cause was'doomed to failure.


31`4                                   T H E   STANDA'RD'   B E A R E R
                                                               . . . . . -- _.-. __ _.
However, we may not be wiser than God. The Lord                 an erroneous connotation in our day. Is he not the
has indeed restricted the operations of His grace and           "reverend" or `Mominee"? He is considered  as the
Spirit to means. Only, He has restricted His salvation head of the congregation, the leader and commander.
to His own means, which He has sovereignly instituted.          He is the one who rules, who has power and is con-
But one course is left open to us, and that is that we          sidered as a superior. However, the word minister
use and enforce the means which He has given us.                really means the very opposite, namely, to serve. In
Doing this, whatever the outcome may be, we shall               reality he is one who must administer, be at the service
experience the blessing of the Lord. Expediency meas- of others and dispense to them. This he must do in
ures must never substitute the Divine means of grace.           respect to the Word and the Sacraments.       He is an
Let us preach the Word, enforce discipline, preserve am.bassador  to serve the king of the church. There-
the sanctity of  the sacraments---the rest we may safely fore he must speak nofhing but the word of the king,
leave to God.                                                  must at all times be ready to serve the congregation
                                                 H. v.         of our Lord Jesus Christ in obedience to her king, an,d
                                                               may nor can do anything else than he is commanded
                                                               to do. In respect to the Word he may speak nothing
                           -                                   but the Word of the king, just like an earthy ambassa-
                                                                dor must speak and act exactly according to dictates
                                                               of his superior. In all things the minister is servant
        The Minister And Himself                               of our Lord Jesus Christ. Never may he speak his own
                                                               word, do what he pleases or command and hold power
   Perhaps some of our readers consider this a some- in his own name. The one who realizes the import of
what peculiar subject. The very title may create some this work immediately realizes that his is the  highe.?&
inquisitiveness as to the contents of the article. The calling upon this earth. How blessed to be a servant
Minister and Himself. The reader must, however, not of the Lord who has redeemed him through His own
read this subject in the wrong light or from a wrong           blood ! The very life of the Christian is to be in the
viewpoinf.    This article is not a report of the  self-       service of the king, our Lord Jesus Christ, how much
examination of a minister, nor a minister's confession more then the work of the minister. [Christ's love,
of his many weaknesses and sins.          Such an article devotion, zeal, complete sacrifice and self-surrender
would not only be out of pIace but would also fail to          out of sovereign grace is the means but also the in.
present the peculiar distinctiveness  <between  a minister centive of our serving  Him. Be it therefore on the
and  e+he common Christian. From that viewpoint the pulpit or in the study, be it wi,t,h house-visitation or
minister is no different than any christian. We are all sick visitation or even with a funeral the minister is a
aware of the fact that the mini&er is really no better servant of the king of Che church. At ALL times in
than another Christian and that he too has but a small         ALL his work he is servant.
beginning of new obedience. Who does not know that                  However, when we now speak about the minister
the minister often is not what he should be, that his          and himself we must readily admit that this is the one
eye of faiath is often beclouded as well as that  of every thing he so easily and often forgets. The biggest dan-
Christian, that he time and again lacks the meekness; ger with a minister is ihat he forge&s  all about being a
humility and patience necessary for his task, and is minister. This danger exists not because of some pe-
unwilling to suffer shame and sacrifice for t.he cause culiar weaknesses of this or that minister but because
of God? These things we all know only too well.                of the common strife with the old man of sin. Our
Therefore this article is not a report of hou:ge-visitation    nature is not to be servant but lord. Man wants to
done at the pastor's home, even though there are al-           rule, sway his own sceptre and  have  dominion and
ways some people who seem t-o delight in detecting,            power even though his inherent nature according to
seeing, and describing the sliver in the minister's eye.       creat.ion is that of a servant, Consequently there is
Neither is it our intention to write about the requisites always the danger of coming with his own word, act-
of a true minister, that he  must be sincere, sure of his ing according to the dictates of his own conscience, of
calling, walk in the way of sanctification, be a living uttering things pleasing to the flesh, of not rebuking
witness of God's Word and the truth, etc. All these and reprimanding too sharply for fear of unfavorable
are naturally presupposed in an article of this nature.        reaction from his already small flock and of becoming
After all if the minister does not have these he really weak in discipline. Only too often does he on Monday
is not worthy of his name. From the above it therefore morning line up his work for the coming week and
has become evident that this article is not about the consider it as his particular 3:ob. His job is to make
personal being of a minister but about his work.               two sermons, teach severa catechism classes, lead a
   About this much  can be said. In the first place he `few societies, etc. 0 yes, he really ahouti  make a few
is a minister. Now the word "minister" has received             personal calls too. (Such is his occupation. And for


                                    T H E   S T A N - D A R K .   B E A R E R                                            31s

this particular vocation he get so much pay. And when paid for our sins, washing us in His own innocent
Sunday evening ha-, come he Igives a sigh of relief be- Iblood. He washed the feet of all His own. But second-
cause he has again acquitted himself of his particular ly through His  Spiri,t. and this His humble service
j,ob for the past week. Now it is' very well possible         we receive the power and the incentive to wash one
that the above-mentioned things can. be found with a another's feet.            Therefore the way and the  tru,th and
minister who is a true christian, preaches the truth of       the, life for We minister as well as every Christian  is
God's Word, and gives very good satisfaction in the `Christ  Jesus, God's own Son. But the flesh remains
congregation in all his work. But in all this the r;ini.s-    with us in this life, and therefore even the holiest and
tcpr forgets that he is a mkister. He forgets to bear in most conscientious of God's ministers are always and
mind that he at all times is serving the sheep of Christ again amazed at God's grace whereby He furthers His
as a servant of Christ Himself. In all things he must cause through human instruments often so fleshly,
be serving, be it on the pulpit or at the sick-bed of a       proud and earthy.                                 J. B.
saint. To really be a minister he must be conscious of
this very t.hing.  Neither must he consider his salary
as so much pay for his job, but as a means to free him                                  -
from earthy avocations and cares in respect to the
sustenance of himself and his-family.
   The minister is also apt to forget himself in con-                   The Coming And Influence
nection with the expounding of God's Word. He is
always confronted with problems.         IHOW must this                   of Buddhism in Japan
Lord's Day be explained and what about this parti-
cular text or phrase? Sometimes he exegetes when                  Japan and its horde of eighty million people con-
awaking in the morning or going to sleep at night.            fined $0 a space not larger than the state of California,
Explain it he must, naturally with the guidance of the is in no sense of the word a Christian nation. The
Holy Spirit through prayer with the light of God's            number of nominal Christians, prior to the present
Word. But by next Sunday he must have a solution              war, was approximately half a million, which is only a
and be able to present this particular portion of God's       fraction of the total  population.    If it is borne in mind
Word in a comprehensive way. Hence in all this the that this small ,fraction includes Catholics, modernists,
personal element is apt to go lost. We don't mean that etc., it 3s quite evident that the actual number of true
he must be subjective or practical, as some call it, as       Christians is indeed small in comparison to the mil-
well as objective, neither that exegesis itself must be lions of people that inhabit the islands of Japan.
sacrificed for the subjective, but that with all the em-          Man who was made tin the image of God is not,
phasis on the exegesis and the proper explanation of and cannot be without religion. Forsaking God he wil!
this particular portion the riches of the Word go lost. hew himself out cist.erns, broken cisterns that can ho111
for the ministers own soul. A pure mechanical study no water. Thus  <Jeremiah  testifies in Jer.  2:13 of
of God's Word certainly deprives the student of a Israel that turned from God to the idols of the other
spiritual blessing in respect to that particular portion.     nations, and it is true of every man that lives on the
   Closely related to this is the fact that the minister earth that forsakes God.
is inclined to have one member less in his audience thau          As we stated in a previous article  01 the religious
there really is. Again he is so apt to forget himself.        situation in Japan, the native belief of Japan is Shin.to.
He preaches for everybody and tries to break the bread        Shinto is simply a collective term to denote the re-
of life for all except himself. To be sure he knows           ligious concepts and practices native to Japan. It con-
better. But only too often does he consider his preach..      sists in brief of the deification,  ,either with or without
ing like the work of a waiter in a restaurant. He is          personification, of all natural objects, forces and pheno-
serving others and bringing them the Word. He is so mena, animate and inanimate, living or dead. The
taken up in the contents of his sermon, the language,         worship of the sun and of the Emperor are only phases
delivery, etc, that he forgets all about himself. And         of it.
his own soul leaves church hungry and empty.                      But Shinto is not the dominating religion of Japan
   In view of all this we can see the perfection of our       today, nor has it  ,been  for many centuries. Buddhism,
Lord Jesus Christ. He was the perfect servant, it al- an imported religion, claims the allegiance of the great
ways being His meat to do the will of the Father, to be       masses today and has done so for many years gone by.
nothing else but servant, and never thought it robbery Japan is a stronghold of Buddhism. This does not
to be equal with God. He is the king that always mean ,that Shinto has disappeared. Not at all, Shinto
.serves,  He is host and never the guest,, He is the ser- still has its adherents, even among the thousands that
vant of all His own. Because of this His attitude and profess Buddhism. As a matter of fact Buddhism has
action two things are made possible. In first place He accomodated  itself so much to Shinto that the Shinto


  ::16                                  T H E   STANDARD'.BEABER

  (gods have been turned into Buddhist saints, and Shinto volted against this ritualism,  ?nd became the founder
  virtu'e into Buddhist virtues. Being also itself the lie, of Buddhism, which historically is only an off-shoot
  it naturally could  accomodate  itself and absorb the lie of Brahmanism. He rejected the writings of  Brahman-
  of Shinto. For the rest it exists  peacably  side by side    ism and the entire system of caste, and talked of the
  with Shinto.                                                 Great Renunciation. Buddhism centralizes in Renun-
          Shinto is an imported religion. It came to Japan ciation. Buddha himself one night arose from his bed
  about the fifth century after Christ, that is about the      and left his wife and child, renounced his kingdom,
  time that Christianity first came to England. It came rode into the forest  td become  ati ascetic and  never
  `from  t.he Asiatic mainland through China and Korea.        returned. This disrespect to the duties and obligations
  The Emperor for political reasons, it seems, allowed         of daily  ,life is characteristic of all Buddhism. In
  the Chinese and Korean Buddhist monks and priests            course of  time,he  set forth the doctrine of "the im-
  admission to Japan to propogate the new "faith"              permanence of all individual existence, the universality
  ("error" it really was, of course). As a matter of fact of suffering inherent in individuality, ,the non-reality
  the Emperor whom Japan hails as a god even appointed         of the  ego-principle".1  This was gradually expanded
  a minister of the new religion,  whose duty was to into the so-called Four Noble Truths, which are briefly :
  father the new ideas and propogate them. The Em-             1. The truth of suffering-all  ,$einig is suffering. 2.
  peror undoubtedly sought contact with the mainland           The truth of the cause of suffering-being is the result
  in the interest of trade and political influence. How- of desire, particularly the desire to be, operating
  ever that be, the priests of Buddhism energetically through what is called Karma. 3. The truth of the
  propogated their ideas, accomodated  themselves to cessation of suffering-suffering  ceases  when Karma
  Shinto, brought a new culture and in the course of a ceases, and Karma ceases when desire ceases, and de-
  few centuries established elaborate monasteries, tem- sire ceases through enlightenment.  4. The  tru*th.  to
  ples and built huge Buddhist idols. The monasteries the*.way of the cessation of suffering-enlightenment
  became strongholds for power upon which later Em-            is attained by the noble eightfold way of correct be-
  perors  ,relied  for protection. Gradually the millions      lief, correct resolve, correct speech, correct behaviour,
  of Japan became Buddhists rather than Shintoists.            correct occupation, correct effort, correct contempla-
                                                               tion, correct *concentration.
                      What Is Buddhism ?                          "The key-note of Buddhism is the  transitorines?
     Just what is Buddhism? Of course, fundamentally aud vanity of life, which is conditioned by Karma, the
  it is the lie as much as Shinto is. However, in contrast fruit of deeds done in countless ,previous  lives; nor can
  to Shinto, Buddhism is very definitely a philosophy existence be ended before the expiration of many re-
  rather than a religion. It compares in more than one incarnations devoted to works of holiness and spent
  sense with what is known in our nation today as              in unceasing efforts to gain Nirvana. . . . Nirvana
  Christian Science, which is neither Christian nor seems to imply the annihilation of the soul. . . . It is
  Science. Christian Science teaches the non-reality. of noteworthy, furthermore, that the word Nirvana  ety-
  evil; if only you can make yourself believe evil does mologically denotes "a blowing out", the extinguishing
  not exist, you have overcome it. Surely, it is true, if of the fires of hatred, infatuation, and all passions.
  you can reason yourself into believing that you have Nirvana seems to have been twofold, a secondary con-
  no trouble and pain, you've overcome it. But it is dition ,which may b< reached by the righteous in this
  folly nonetheless, for it is deceit pure and simple.         life, and the blessed state of freedom from rebirth."2
  Buddhism also, especially in its beginnings, is exactly
 such a deceit as Christian Science. It is the philosophy                 Buddhism That Came To Japan.
  of self-annihilation and nihilism, and roots in utter           But it was not this original  ,Buddhistic philosophy,
  ,passivity  and pessimism.                                   pure and simple, that came to Japan. In the course of -
     Buddhism did not originate in Japan, nor even in the years Buddhism had been modified, for  ;Buddhism
  China. It began in India, where today it has largely was a thousand years old when it came to Japan.
  been supplanted by still another lie-that of Moham-          Buddha himself had not believed in gods :at all, he had
  medanism. About a th0usan.d years before Buddhism            not been interested in after life. In his philosophy
  came to Japan, in the 6th century B. C. to be exact,         there were no gods, no soul, no sacrifice, no prayer,
1 there lived an Indian prince, Siddharta by name (also no help-by mediation and concentration man  .must
  known as Shaka, Gautama, and usually as Buddha). attain self-annihilation. Through the passing of the
  While Isaiah as the prophet of the Lord prophesied of centuries this original.philosophy  was modified. Buddha
  the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should fol- himself became a god. The Buddhist built large and
  low after, the:darkne,s,s  of Brahmanism had reached a ornate temples with elaborate ritual, immense idols
  pi&h of ritualism such as the world had never seen.          ,that sat with folded hands staring into nothingness as
  That brought a great reaction. Prince  Siddbarta   re- symbols of the state of perfect calm that Buddhism


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             317

has as its goal. For Buddhism life is sorrow,  only Of course not.               Another solution must be sought.
sorrow, and man must attain to perfect calm and utter Renaissance and reformation in Europe differ in
self-resignation.                                            every respect; the former is  ilot a common grace pro-
   Buddhism as it exists today, while still true to its duct of the latter.
original passivity, has many variations.        There are      2. Buddhism with its intellectualism is only another
hundreds of sects in Japan, existing side by side, be it form of the lie. Man that departs from God must re-
peacably.      In the main there are two distinct schools peatedly make himself new idols and fashion them
of Buddhism. The first is called Hinayana ; the second, after his image. Buddhism is not as rudimentary as
Mahayana. The former, Hinayana, is the more like Shinto, but it is fundamentally the lie. as much  as
original Buddhism. It holds forth as the onIy way to Shinto. Japan still gropes in the darkness of heathen-
escape life (which is suffering) by one's own efforts,       dam. Will the light of the Gospel ever be dissemated
by progress in the steps that lead to Nirvana. It is there and make an impact upon the Japanese nation as
called the "self-help" school. There is no room for heIp     it has done in the European nations? I do not know
from the outside--one's own .efforts  alone can lead to how to answer this question, .but one thing is plain
the goal of perfect  calm.'  The latter, Mahayana, is there are yet hordes of men both in Japan and in the
known as the "other-help" school. This group, which other Asiatic nations that have never yet come into
counts by far the larger number of adherents, teaches contact with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ the
that there was once a Buddha saint,  Amida by name, Lord. They are still nations that in every sense grope
who attained Nirvana for others. As a result, with- in darkness. `Having forsaken God they wander about
out any effort, simply by faith in him, the average          in sin, believing the lie.                       P. D. B.
man may have this Nirvana. This group, strange as it
may seem, speaks of a blessed heaven after this life.        J  EL  Gwen,  An Outline History of Japan, p. 79.  2  Schaaf-
                                                             Herzog, Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. II,  p. 298.
It has departed far from the original, in every sense
atheistic, Buddhism. This Mahayana is an adaptation
of  origina Buddhism to the general average mind, to                             -         -          -
the desires latent in man, and with its Amida  evidently
even a wicked attempt to adapt itself to Christiany.
`However, though as far as its Amida is concerned,
similar in a sense to Christianity, in no sense of the
word identical as modernists have asserted.
                     Buddhist's Influence.
   The coming of Buddhism to Japan in the 6th cen-              That the heading of this article is put in question
tury brought a great change, to Japan. For, first of form means to indicate that as far as our Church
all, it meant, through the Buddhist priests, contact Order is concerned there is no answer to this question.
with the Asiatic mainland and its civilization. Seiond- If there were an answer in the Church Order we would
ly, it brought learning and  i`culture" to Japan. The not at  a11 be so presumptuous as to place the heading
Buddhist priests introduced writing, and Japan has in question form.
since then always used the Chinese character writing.            It is immediately obvious to us that this question
Also art came to Japan via China and Korea through           pertains to the very important matter of Christian
Buddhism. The Buddhists built large, ornate temples  ;       discipline. Such a question naturally is vital to every
immense Buddhist idols. Also painting as an art was believer who seeks the welfare of God's kingdom here
introduced.                                                  on earth Very important ought it to be to us as
   As the coming of Christianity brought with it a churches and consistories who are called upon to dire.ct
tremendous cultural change to the British isles in the all disciplinary action. The matter of treatment of
West, the coming of Buddhism brought with it a baptized members comes to us in question form when
similar change to the Japanese islands in the East.          we  find no direction given in the Church Order of
                        Two Remarks.                         Dordrecht. And especially does it leave us with a ques-
                                                             tion when we search in vain for unanimity in actions
   Two remarks are in place in conclusion: 1. The of the synods of our Reformed Churches.
first regards the so-called "cultural question". In re-         Because this is the nature. of the subject  i want to
cent years the theory of "common~grace"  has .always         place  al1 the historical data I can before your attention.
urged that Christianity brings with it learning and art To submit such historical data I consider of prime im-
as a by-product, and that this is due to common-grace. portance to the readers and the main objective of my
The situation in *Japan to our mind disproves this at article. If there is  ,space  I shall also indicate some-of
once. Buddhism brought a similar cultural change the principles involved. and  will venture my opinion
into Japan. Or is this also  sumehow  "common-grace"?            If we turn to the very first  Synod of Reformed


318                                 T H E   STAND.ARD   B E A R E R

Churches, the Synod of  Emden,  1571, at which Synod special testimony in the Church of God, to which com-
the first rules and regulations of Church Order were munion those who have sinned against the covenant
laid down, we do not find any distinction made as to of God are readmitted upon confession as the  apostate
disciplinary action with those baptized members who Israelites were not re-admitted through another cir-
failed to make confession of their faith and who had cumcision but through the Passover to the true Church
also become objects of discipline because of their doc- of Israel) so therefore one shall not use excommunica-
trine or walk. It only makes the general proposition tion except overagainst the one upon whom the cove-
that it believes that Church discipline or Christian nant, of God has been sealed through the participation
chastisement  (Christelijke straffe) ought to be main- in the Lord's Supper."
tained in every congregation. (Article 25) of the              This question about discipline of adult baptized
"Acta der Emdensche Synode van 1517).                       members received, as is evident, from the quotation,
   This silence about disciplinary action with those the definite answer, "no excommunication". The mat-
who are only baptized members is kept by the following :.er, however, came up again much later. This answer
five Synods even including the famous Synod of Dort, of the Synod of 1578 did not prove satisfactory to all
1618-19, from which we have our official Church Order.      for a question was raised about the same matter in the
You will find. the expression of the Synod of Dordrecht Netherland Reformed Churches in 1896. To the Synod
about censure and ecclesiastical admonition in articles of Middelburg 1896 the two men, Bavinck and Rutgers.
71 to 80.                                                   (gave the following advice: "It is evident that it is sim-
   Although there is no official reguiation about such ply impossible, without ignoring the Word of God, to
disciplinary action, there can be no doubt in the mind classify such baptized members as members of the
of anyone who has faced the matter in consistory meet- church. Because they have not made confession and
ings, that there is a problem. The problem is not also have not bound themselves, they stand outside the
whether discipline should be exercised over against Church institute, which particularly depends upon con-
baptized members. Such is plainly the duty of Chris- fession and su,bjection;  membership for them in that
tians. It is first of all the duty of covenant parents, sense cannot be recognized." (For this statement see,
and, should they become lax, it is the duty of the          Kerkelijlce  HaMboek, by 1 Van Dellen and H. Keegstra
Church to point this out to the parents and children.       p. 85). From this quotation in the above Church
The apostle Paul admonishes children to be obedient Manual it is not very clear as to the stand of Bavinck
to parents and also that the fathers should not provoke and Rutgers take about excommunication. The authors,
their children to wrath. (Eph.  6  :I, 4). The problem Van DeIIen  and Keegstra, explain that the stan.d favors
however arises with baptized members who have come excommunication.              This appears to be correct from
to the years of discretion and do not confess their Bavinck's Dogmatics (Vol. IV, p. 502). Bavinck gives
faith, and with those baptized member,s who walk in the general practice in Reformed Churches as follows :
gross sins. The problem is how shall these be treated. children of believer,s are baptized as believers, instruct-
   And from the questions that have arisen in the ed in the truth, with satisfactory examination and pub-
history of Reformed Churches about disciplinary action lic confession are admitted to the Lord's table, or upon
of adult baptized members it is also evident that it was    unchristian teaching or loose walk after repeated ad-
a problem from the beginning of Reformed Churches. monition are separated from the Church (uit de ge-
   Among the "Particular Questions" that were raised meente verwijderd)  ."
at the National Synod of Dordrecht in 1573, there ap-           Although this is the general conception of Reform-
pears a question about this very matter,  (,ques. 47).      ed Churches since that advice was given, there ap-
The question translated is, "Whether children in Re- peared a difference in practice. One direction followed
formed Churches who have become of age should be            John  Lasco and favored excommunication. Another
subject to Chri,stian chastisement (straffe), and who group followed Voetius and simply considered such
after being admonished remain hardened, whether objectionable adult baptized members as separated
they  shoul,d  be cut off (afsnijden zal)  although  they without even a formal announcement. The advice of
have not made confession of their faith and approach- Bavinck and Rutgers was adopted by the Synod of
ed the table of the Lord?" The answer given reads as Gronnilgen  in 1899.
follows : "Because baptism is a  rgeneral   tes%nony  of       `Considering the difference of opinion, we see how
the covenant of God, which belongs to children of be-       it is surprising that the question came up again in the
lievers as long as they do not reject it through mani- history of the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands.
fest apostacy,  therefore the revealed and general ad- At the Synod of 1923 of the Reformed Churches in the
monitions which were used by the prophets to Israel Netherlands it was expressed that there was a need for
shall be sufficient in the public and free  gatherings      unity of action and that there was not unity of opinion
(openbare en de vrije gemeenten) . However, because to  est,ablish  such unity of action. In 1936 the Synod
confession of faith and partaking of communion is a appointed a committee of three to give advice. And at


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          319

the last interrupted. Synod of 1939 this committee came Upon the `Synod of 1914 @f the Christian Reformed
with th.eir  advice.                                         ,Church it was decided (art. 64, 10) `to investigate the
    Examining the report of the committee of 1939 we entire question of baptized members and to have a re-
tind that it differs from a statement of the Synod of port upon the following Synod, and to correspond with
1920. And reading the comments made <by different the Churches in the Netherlands in this matter'."
ministers in the year 1939 in Netherlands it is evident         For the present I have no more space. If the
that all d.o not agree with the report of the last com-      editor desires I am #willing  to submit more material
mittee. For our consideration of the matter it is worth and suggest action upon the basis of principles. I do
our while to examine the statements of 1920 made by not have any material of further decisions of the
the Synod and the report of the committee of 1939.           Christian Reformed Church nor of any conception of
    Here is my translation of the expression of the our Protestant Reformed Churches. At least this
Synod of 1920: "Synod expresses itself that excom- material is interesting and. *serves  to cause us to re-
munication cannot be applied to baptized members, but flect and at least to direct such disciplinary action
the con&tory can very well explain that with refer- more consciously.                                     L. D.
ence to certain baptized members who in confession
and walk have revealed themselves as  unbeIievers and
ungodly that they have thereby withdrawn themselves
from the Reformed Church."
    In the religious press in Netherlands this stand was
characterized  as no official exclusion from the church        God's .Ways Mysterious With His
of baptized members with the key power which was
intrusted to the Church by Christ, but only a proof or                             Church
announcement  (constateeren) that someone had left
the church. Overagainst this stand of the Synod of              The Lord moves in mysterious ways, His will and
1920 we have a different idea expressed in the report counsel to perform; and separates us from our earthly
of the committee of three who drew up a "Concept relationships, as with a silent voice. And in a fleeting
Announcement. . (Concept-afkondiging) . The follow- moment, the past becomes but history, and all the
ing is my translation: "The consistory is compelled by future plans undone. For the Lord is calling! And
sad necessity to announce that the incomplete member, His faithful servants respond in the words of childlike
N.N., has stubbornly denied fellowship with Christ Samuel: "Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth"! The
and His church, which was signified and sealed in his work of thy kingdom must carry on. The bonds of
holy baptism, notwithstanding many earnest admoni- faithful labor, in love, communion of saints, and friend-
tions. Therefore the consistory is compelled, since the ships, through tangible relationship, must wait; til!
public trial period of admonition has been given, at the realized in its fullest perfection, in that glorious king-
present time to proceed in the name of the Lord to dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; Who is our
excommunicate (uit te sluiten)  N.N., and to declare faithful covenant God.
that he has no part in the kingdom of Christ, as long           Thus also the consistory of Holland, was suddenly
as he remains impenitent."                                   confronted with the question by their former pastor,
    This report was approved by some in the Nether-          Rev. P. De Boer: Will you kindly grant me a six-weeks
Iands as is evident from a comment  af Ds. Van Strien        leave of absence to labor in the Redlands  California
who wrote in effect, `Here is not simply announcement congregation? That was the beginning of a series of
(constateeren) , but here is moving action, excommuni- events that brought Rev. De Boer to the Redlands  con-
cation.'                                                     gregation as its pastor, and the former candidate  noN
    It is interesting to notice that the same difficulty Rev. W. Hofman to the Holland congregation as pastor.
appeared in our country in the history of the Christian         These events as they are briefly enumerated below
Reformed Church. In their Chumh Manual, Van Del- took place in rapid succession :
len and Keegstra write after a brief mention of the
difference of opinion in the  Netherl,ands,  "Also our Oct. 14.-The consistory of Holland confirmed its in-
Synods have made various expressions with reference formal action previously taken, to  Igrant  the request of
to  ba,ptized  adults. In a certain way we are ahead of Rev. De Boer to labor for six  week,s in the Redland
the Churches in the Netherlands, (This manual was congregation. And to ask Candidate W. Hofman to
published in 1915) in this that the so-called "royeeren", conduct our services and teach our catechism classes,
erasure of baptized members must be made with con- ,during  Rev. De Boer's absence.
sent of Classis and the approval of the congregation.        Oct. 26.-Rev. De Boer received the call from the  Red-
For the rest our d.ecisions do not testify to a clear in-    lands congregation to become its pastor and shepherd.
sight in this matter."    (p. 86 Kerkelijke FTandbaek)  .    Nov. 2X-Rev. De Boer previous to this  date  informed


          ;;2&9                               ` T H E   `STANDA'RD   " B E A R E R

          the Holland congregation that he had accepted the out rebuke, in the midst `of a crooked and* perverse na-
          call to Redlands. A special consistory meting was  heId       tion, among whom ye shine as lights in the world ;
          on this evening in which the following trio was nomin-        Holding forth the word of life."           I
          ated: Rev. C. Hanko, Candidate W. Hofman, and Rev. Jan. 27.-The Holland congregation' gave a rxcption
          ,C.  L u b b e r s .                                          to Rev. and Mrs. Hofman, and welcomed the `Brother
          Dec. 12.-Rev. P. De Boer delivered his farewell ser- and Sister into their midst;
          mons to the Holland congregation. Choosing the  fo!-              And in as much as it pleased God, to, take from us
          lowing portions of Scripture: Matt. 28':%0, "Teaching our beloved former Pastor and Brother, Rev. P. De
          them to observe all things whatsoever I have eommand-         Boer, He again made our hearts glad with rejoicing in
          ed you: and, lo, 1 am with you alway,  even unt? the giving us another Servant, to go before us, and break
          end of the world. Amen." And Philip.  1:27, "Only the Bread of Life. And it is indeed a blessing that
          let your conversation be as it bedometh  the gospel of
     i                                                                  through the mouthpiece of this youthful servant, we
          Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be           may again hear the Word of God proclaimed to us from
          absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast        Sabbath to Sabbath. That Word pure and unadulter-
          in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the        ated feeding us unto the way yof Life. That Word
          faith of the gospei."                                         feeding the youth of God's covenant in catechism,, and
          Dec.  13.-The Holland congregation gave a  ,farewell          other midweek activities. Our hearts  .are filled, with
          social to Rev. and Mrs. De Boer and family, and wish- gratitude and thanksgiving to God, that He again gave
          ed them Godspeed and God's blessing. ,                        us His Servant, our beloved `Pastor and Brother, Rev.
          Dec. 14.-Rev. and Mrs. De Boer and family left Hol- W. Hofman.,,
          land, Michigan, and began their trip to Redlands, Calif.                            The Consistory
          Dec. 15.-A congregational meeting is held at Hollanrl,                                  Protestant Reformed Church
          at which time Candidate W. Hofman is called to become                                   Holland, Michigan.
          pastor and shepherd of the Holland congregation.
          Dec. 31.-During the Old Year's evening ser-vice,  a let-
          ter is read from Candidate Hofman, in which he in-
          forms the congregation at Holland that by God's Grace                                I N   MEMORIAM
          he accepts the call, to come over and help them, and             The  Metis Society of the Manhattan Protestant Reformed
          become their pastor and shepherd                              Church mourns the loss of one of its faithful members,
          Jan.  1 .-During the New Year's morning service, a                                    NICK A.. KIMM
          letter is read from Rev. De Boer, that he and his fam-           The Society extends it's heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved
          ily had arrived safely in Redlands,  Calif.                   family and relatives. May the Lord comfort them in the know-
          Jan. 14.--During  this week Candidate and Mrs. Hof-           ledge that He doeth all things well.
          man moved to Holland, Michigan.                                                                       Rev. H. De Wolf, Pres.
          Jan. 20.~-Installation  services and ordination of pastor                                             H. P. Van Dyken, Sec'y.
          elect, Candidate W. Hofman took place, in the follow-
.                                                                                                -
          ing order; Sermon delivered by Rev. B. Kok; Prayer                 .
          offered by Rev. G. M. Ophoff; Form of Ordination                 In the afternoon of March 24, 1944, the Lord in His infinite
          read by Rev. M. Schipper  ; Ordination ceremony, laying wisdom took out of our family circle, our beloved husband,
          on of hands, by all the ministers present including Rev. father and grandfather,
          A. Petter. Rev. H.  Hoeksema charged both Rev. W.                                      JOHN VOSS
          Hofman and the congregation, using the following at the age of 64 years.
          Scripture, Cal. 3 : J.7 : "And say to  Archippu.s,  Take         We mourn the loss of a devoted husband and father and his
          heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the presence will be .greatly  missed in our family circle. But we
          Lord, that thou fulfil it." The Rev. A. Petter closed mourn not as those who have no,hope,  but are greatly comforted
          the service with prayer and thanksgiving after which by the thought that he has gone to be with his Lord Whom he
          our newly ordained pastor pronounced the benediction. so humbly served, in Father's house with its many mansions.
          Jan.  23.--Rev.  W. Hofman delivered his  inaugural  ser-               ,,                    Mrs. John Yoss
          mons  toTthe .:Holland  congregation, choosing the follow-                                    I'. F. C. John Voss  Jr.
          ing  portionsof Scripture, Titus  2:15: "These  t.hings                                       Mr. and Mrs. Richard Landstra
          speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let                      :'                 Mr. and  Mrs.  Geo.  Holden
          no man  de,spise  thee." Phil. 2  :14, 15,  16s:  "Do all                                     Mr. and Mrs. Charles Booth
          things without murmurings and disputings: That ye                                             Chaplain and Mrs. Simon `Vroon
          may  be blameless and harmless, the Sons of God, with-                                           snd  9  g~~ar&children,


VOLUME XX                                            MAY 1, 1944                                          NUMBER 15
--                                                             eyes, they had not remembered. For they had been
        Meditations                                            in Jerusalem in "the hour." They had been witnesses
                                                               of His suffering. They had followed Him to the Hill
                                                               of the Skull, and had watched Him as He had appeared
                                                               a helpless victim in the hands of His enemies,  afhxed
              Not Here, But Risen                              to the terrible cross. They had listened to the jibes
                                                               and sneers of spectators and passers-by, of chief
                                                               priests and soldiers.    They had stood by when His
              And  as they were afraid, and boxed down emancipated body was delivered into the loving hands
            their faces to the earth,  t&y  said unto them:    of Joseph and Nicodemus, and they had followed in the
            Why seek ye the living among the dead? He sad and silent funeral procession on that late Friday
            is not here, but he! is risen: remember ho,w h.e afternoon. And, as inside the sepulchre in Joseph's
            spake unto  yo.u  whein he was yet in  GaMee.      garden the body had been prepared for the burial, they
            Saying, The Son of  ,man must be delivered had watched outside, until all was finished, and the
            inZo the  hano%  ,of  sir#uI  men,  a.nd be cruci- large stone had been rolled before the entrance of the
            fied, and the third day rise again. And they grave.
            remembered his words.                                 And still they had not remembered!
                                         Luke 2-5 S-8.            The thing that had come to pass had been too dread-
      They remembered !                                        ful. They were  overwhehned  with a stupefying sor-
      Somehow, deeply buried in their subconsciousness, row. And when they had returned from the sepulchre,
these words of their Lord had been hid.                        to rest on the sabbath according to the commandment,
      Yes, indeed, they had heard His words, spoken it seemed to them as if all their hope had been buried
to them and to His disciples, while He was still in            with His body in Joseph's tomb !
Galilee. Definitely He had told them, not simply that             And so, they commit the error of preparing their
somehow He would have to suffer and die, but that He spices and, early in the morning of the first day of the
must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, that week, making their way once more to the garden of
their leaders, the chief priests and scribes and phari- Joseph to perform a last service of love upon the dead
sees would lay wicked hands on Him, maltreat and kill body of their Lord.
Him, and that He would r,ise again on the third day.              For, in the light of the words He had spoken to
      And He had enjoined them to go to Galilee, for He them concerning His death and concerning  .this third
would go there before them!                                    day, their returning to the grave on this early morn-
      But, although they had heard, His words at the ing was a mistake.
time had not been received.                                       Had they remembered His words they would  nor(T
      The message they conveyed was too strange, too have been on their way to Galilee, with. ,the glad ex-
remote from their conception and understanding, +.o pectation in their hearts to meet the risen Lord. In-
register in their consciousness.     It was so directly in stead, with a crushing sorrow oppressing their SOLID
conflict with their apperception of the Christ, that they go to find the dead body of their beloved Master,
failed to receive it.                                          to finish the preparations for the burial, which, as the:?
      And they had paid no more attention. to it!              imagined, had been all too hasty and imperfect, as they
      Even when the dark and terrible part of this nc- had been performed by Joseph and Nicodemus in the
nounced   program had been enacted. before their very hour before the sabbath.


%22                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

       And yet even their error was committed in God's living One, no one ever lived before Him in this world,
allwise providence, and under His direction.                 not even in the first paradise, and in the original state
       For these women  .must become witnesses of the        of rectitude. And, moreover, as the living Lord He  is
resurrection of their Lord! They must become re- the firstfruits of them that slept, and He will become
cipients of the revelation of the risen Lord ! And how the center of glorious  Jife for all whom the Father
could they receive the revelation of that resurrection,      gave Him. Because He lives, they all shall live also.
of that altogether marvellous resurrection on the third          As the risen Lord  iEIe is the living One !
day, unless they first witnessed the empty Igrave and            Why, then, seek ye Him among the dead?
its wonders? 0, if that resurrection of their Lord had           And yet, He is the living One in still another sense.
been like that of Lazarus, they might simply have met The words of the angel convey a deeper meaning. He
`Him, have fellowship with Him once more according is not. only the living One now, in and after His resur-
to the former fashion, have served Him again, pre-           rection, but He is the living One in Himself eternally.
pared His lodging and His food, spread His bed for ,Is He not the Son of God, the only begotten of the
,Him. But now it was different. He had risen, yes,           Father, Who is eternally in His bosom? And is He, as
but not to return to them, and to resume the old mode such, not the living One, in an altogether unique,
of fellowship with them; and of their service He would transcendent sense of the word? Does He not, in dis-
be in need no more. And hence, the empty grave was tinction from all creatures, have life in Himself? Yea,
an essential part of the medium through which the            did He not declare Himself to be the life? He is the
revelation of their risen Lord must come to them.            living One in the manger of Bethlehem, though He ap-
       Even before they can begin to undemtand  what it      pears there in the likeness of sinful flesh. He is the
meant that He is risen, they must become witnesses of living One when He walks among us in the form of a
the fact that He is not here !                               servant. He is the living One when He reaches down
       They must see the grave, the place where He lay,      into the depth of our (death  on the accursed tree. . . .
the wonder of the linen clothes.
       They must hear the gospel of the risen Lord, pro-         How, then, could they now seek Him among the
claimed to them by a messenger from heaven in the dead ?
empty tomb.                                                      0, to be sure, until this moment there had seemed
       Then they may be reminded of the words which He nothing absurd in their going to the grave on that
*spoke  unto them, while He was still in Galilee.            third day of the week, taking their spices with them.
       And then they remember!                               `For, as far as their consciousness was concerned, He
                                                             was not the living One. He was dead, they thought.
                                                             Death had swallowed Him up, they felt. They had not
                                                             <been mindful of His word, And so, they came to the
       The Living One!                                       grave, not, indeed, to seek the living One, but to  seeii
       Why, pray, do ye seek Him among the dead!             the dead body of their beloved Lord. They sought one
       The words could only serve to increase the amaze- that had been overcome by death, as their spices plain-
ment of the already perplexed women, as they stood           ly testified !
in the empty tomb awkwardly holding in their hands
the spices they had  <brought.                                   Yet, they had known, and now they were reminded
       The Living One !                                      of the truth, that  IHe is, indeed, the living One.
       For this is what is emphasized by the words of the        How absurd, then, to seek Him here among the
angel, as is clear from the original: Christ, whom ye        dead and that, too, as one that would be  holden of
seek among the dead, is the living One!                      death !
                                                He is not
merely alive, but He is the living One ! How, then,              For, how could He be overcome of death?
could death ever overpower Him? How could ye seek                When He, Who  has.life  in Himself, Who is the life;
Him among the dead?                                          He, Who had power to lay down His life, and power
       0, to be sure, there is a reference here to His resur- to take it again; He, Who is the living One, the Lord
rection. For as the risen Lord He is the living One of life;-when He enters into death, how can He ever
in an altogether wonderful and unique sense of the be overcome by the power of death? How could  `He
tword. He is not simply one of the living ones; He is ever be permanently shackled, or even for a moment
not merely alive as these women were alive; He does be fettered by the chains of death? How could the re-
not simply live again as once He was alive before the        sult of the Life entering into death ever be anything
terrible crucifixion : He is now the Lord of life ! Death else than that death would be swallowed up in victory'!
has no more dominion over Him. He has life indeed,               Why seek ye the living One among the dead?
glorious, eternal life, in perfect  fehowship with the           Is He not the Iife, and, therefore, also the Resur-
Father, and on the high plane of the resurrection. In rection?
the sense in which He, as the risen Lord, is now the             He died, yes, but as the living One!


_      _                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               823

      He broke the bands of death!                              The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is not
      The  mighty  Lord !                                    a dream, nor an invention, nor a mere idea but a fact:
                                                                But it is more t,han that: though a fact, it also lies
                                                             beyond. the mere realm of facts. It belongs to those
      He is not here !                                       Ithings  which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard,
      But He is risen !                                      and have never arisen in the heart of man. It  is  a
      Marvellous fact !                                      wonder ?
      For, a fact the resurrection of the Lord is indeed.       He is not here, but He is risen!
And the fact of the resurrection is plainly expressed           Is there not a more comprehensive, a far deeper
in the words of the angel: He is not here, but He is         significance in these words of the angel than simply
risen !                                                      that He is no more in the grave, and that He departed
      No, the resurrection of the Lord on the third day from the grave  by way of returning to life? Or else,
does not mean that somehow His Spirit still lives, that why does not the angel tell these women at once where
He lived again in the minds of the disciples, that they VHe is, that they may go and find Him?
were mindful of His wonderful instruction and of His            Ah, but He is not here!
marvellous  life and work, and that as the living Lord          And does not that mean more than that He is not
in that sense they carried Him into the world on the         in the grave? Or is not the grave the ultimate, silent,
wings of the gospel they preached. . . .                     but most powerless witness of what we are, and of the
      For had that been the meaning of the resurrection, sphere of our present existence? Does not Hades en-
He would have been still there, in the grave of Joseph       compass our present life on all sides? Does it not
on that early morning cd the third day.                      testify to the fact that we are in the midst of death,
      Yet,Heisnothere! . . . .                               and that our life is "nothing but a continual death?"
      The resurrection of the Christ of God does not Does not the grave represent the corruption, the mar.
mean that He Himself lives in His spirit, which He tality, the weakness, the dishonour, the earthiness, the
commended to the Father in His dying moments on              inevitable  d.eath  of our life in this present death?. . . .
the cross, and that now He lives a life of glory in para-
dise. For had that been the idea of the resurrection,           He is not here !
the body of the Lord must needs still have been there           He was here ! For did He not come in the likeness
in Joseph's tomb so few hours after His death or. ihe        of sinful flesh, even though He was without sin? And
accursed tree.                                               in that likeness was He not with us in the midst of
      Yet, IHe is not here. . . .                            death, mortality, weakness, corruptibility, shame? And
      The resurrection on the third day does not even did He not assume the image of the earthy, He, the
mean that another, a new and essentially different Lord of heaven ?
body was created for Him: the resurrection is no new            But He is here no more !
creation, for .then  He must needs have been there on           :He is risen !
that early morning of the first day of the week.                Nay, do not inquire where He is. Do not go forth
      However, He is not here!                               to seek Him. For the inquiry would. be foolish, and
      Yes, indeed, He had been there in Hades, in the        the effort would be vain. He is here no more. He i4
sepulchre of Joseph, He, the living' One, the Lord of risen. He did not return to our sphere of corruption,
life. He had been there in the body that had been and mortality, and weakness, and shame, and earthi-
nailed to the cross. But He was there no more. The ness : He went on ! He went into the sphere of im-
place His body had occupied was empty. And the ex- mortality and incorruption, of strength and honor
planation of His absence from the grave must surely and glory, of the heavenly. With Him mortality has
not be found in the absurd story the soldiers had been put on immortality, corruption incorruption, and the
bribed to spread that they, Roman soldiers, had slept image of the earthy was replaced by the image of the
while on guard, and that while they slept they had been heavenly !
witnesses that the  discipl& had stolen the body oi              Death is swallowed up in victory!
Jesus ! Nor is the explanation of His being in the               Do not try to find Him, He will come to you !
grave no more that' His body had already returned                Come to the women, indeed, when He appears to
to the dust, for it was only the third day after His them, to assure them that  *He lives !
death, and God's holy one would not be permitted to see         ,Come to us in the Spirit, that we may live through
corruption. But He is risen !                                Him !
      Risen indeed !                                             Come to us in the final resurrection, that we may
      Risen in the same body in which He had descended be where He is !
into. the depth of death.                                        0, blessed resurrection !
      He is not here. but He is risen!                                                             '  I        IT. IT.
                                                                                                "  l...


324                                                                                                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                    The Standard Bearer
         Semi-Monthly,  except  Monthly in July and August                                                                                                                                                              EDITQRIALS
                                                                     Published by
                      The Reformed Free Publishing Assoeiatien                                                                                                                                                                                                     -
                                                  1101  Hazen   Street,  5. E.                                                                                                                                                Conscience
                                           EDITOR  - Rev.  .HB;   Hoeksemz

  Contributing editors-Revs. J.  Blankespoor,  A.  Cammenga,
   P. De Boer, J. D. de Jong, H. De Wolf, L.  Doezema,                                                                                                                                                        The passage we last quoted from Romans is inter-
   M. Gritters, C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G. M. Ophoff,                                                                                                                                            esting with respect to our subject for several reasons,
  A. Petter, M.  Schipper,  J.  Vanden  Breggen, H. Veldman,                                                                                                                                           which we do not intend to discuss here, but which may
  R. Veldman, L. Vermeer, P. Vis, G. Vos, Mr. S. De Vries.                                                                                                                                             be briefly mentioned.
   Communieations relative to contents should be addressed                                                                                                                                                    1. The conscience of the Gentiles is meationed here
   to REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand                                                                                                                                                in close connection with "Qhe day of wrath and revela-
   Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                                                                   tion of the righteous judgment of God." 2:5. Of this
   Communications relative to subscription should be  sd-                                                                                                                                              revelation of righteous judgment the entire context,
   dressed to MR. R.  SCHAAFSMA,  1101  Hazen  St., S. E.,                                                                                                                                             speaks. God will render every man according to his
   Grand Rapids, Mich.                                                All Announcements and Obituaries                                                                                                 deeds: tribulation and anguish upon every soul that
   must be sent to the above address and will not be placed                                                                                                                                            doeth evil, glory, honor and peace to all that do good,
   unless the regular fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice.                                                                                                                                             Jews or Gentiles. Those that have sinned in the law
                                                 Subscription $2.50 per year                                                                                                                           shall be judged by the law, and those that have sinned
         E n t e r e d   zu  s e c o n d   claaa  m a i l   at  G r a n d   R a p i d s .   Michinsn                                                                                                   without the law shall perish without the law. It is
                                                                                                                                                                                                       with a view to this judgment of God "in the day when
                                                                                                                                                                                                       God shall judge the secrets of men," vs. 16, that refer-
                                                                                                                                                                                                       ence is here made to the "conscience" of the Gentiles.
                                                                                                                                                                                                              2. It is also of interest that there is, according to
                                                                                                                                                                                                       this passage, a close relation between "conscience" and
                                                                      CONTENTS                                                                                                                         "the work of the law written in their hearts." The
MEDITATION                                                                                                                                                                             Page            Gentiles have not the law, i.e. they do not have a special
   NOT HERE, BUT RISEN . . . . 1...................................................  321                                                                                                               revelation of a code of laws, they live without  thz
          Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                             scope of the revelation God gave to His people Israel.
EDITORIALS  -                                                                                                                                                                                          But they do "by nature" the things  of the Jaw,  and they
   CONSCIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 are a law unto themselves. This d.oes not mean that
   SEPARATION OF CHRIST'S TWO NATURES e...............  325                                                                                                                                            they do good and keep the law of God, but that they
   BENEDEN ALLE CRITIEK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326                                                                    distinguish between good and evil, and in a formal
          Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                             sense arrange their lives according to the broad lines
THE TRIPLE KNOWLEDGE                                                                                                                                                                                   of the law of God. And the apostle explains this from
   EXPOSITION OF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM . ...327                                                                                                                                                     the fact that they have "the work of the law written
          Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                             in their hearts." They do not have the law in their
   ISRAEL'S DEJJIVERANCE UNDER DEBORAH AND                                                                                                                                                             hearts, for that would mean that they love the law of
   lBARAK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 God. But its ground work is  engraven  in their ethical
            Rev. G. M. Ophoff                                                                                                                                                                          makeup, so that they know what is good and evil in
                                                                                                                                                                                                       a moral sense. If the question is asked: how is this
   DE KONING VAN `T HEELAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..a................... 333                                                                                                      "work of the law" written in man's heart, the answer
                Rev. G. Vos.
   REGARDING THE UNIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . ..I......................... ,.336                                                                                                   must, no doubt, be: a. By God's revelation in  creation
            Consistory of Holland, Michigan                                                                                                                                                            and  provid.ence.      b. By  8 general testimony of the
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Holy Spirit in connection with and through this revela-
   GEEN PLAATS  DES BEROUWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..-............... 338 tion. And "conscience" is connected wLh this "wor!~
             Rev.  P.  Vis                                                                                                                                                                             of the law."
   KERKNIEUWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
             Mr. S. De Vries                                                                                                                                                                                  3. However, it is also evident from the passage
                                                                                                                                                                                                       that "conscience" is not the same as this consciousness
   DID GOD SUFFER IN THE SACRIFICE OF HIS                                                                                                                                                              and knowledge of good and evil in  t.he Gentiles. It
   SON 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
                                                                                          * . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342    coul,d  not exist without it, but it is not identical 
             Rev. C. Hanko                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       ,with
                                                                                                                                                                                                       it.     It is an additional testimony, a witness that is
  i..                                                                                                                                                                                                  b a s e d   u p o n   t h
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             "work of  i s
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        the law" written  ia their
                                                        -                "             --~                                                         .I_                                 .,.  ;_-               1.  ,.


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            326
 hearts, but which is not the same as the latter. It is cate the direction a discussion on this matter by the
 plainly a judgment that is passed upon one's acts after Men's Society of Creston ought to follow.
they have been committed ("sequent" conscience), a               And I hope that in this one respect I have been of
judgment that is in agreement with, that joins itself service to them.
to the "work of the law" written in his heart. The                                                          H. H.'
Revised Version brinlgs  this out a little more clearly
than the Authorized Version: "in that they shew the
work of the law written in their hearts, their con-                                   -
science bearing witness  therewith,  and their thoughts
o"ne  with another  accusing or else excusing  them."
    It seems then that, according to this passage, con- Sqmratim of Christ's Two Natures?
science is awareness of and agreement with a judg-
ment which God passes upon every act of man, and                 I was surprised to find, in The Banner  of March 24,
which He inscribes in his heart in connection with the       1944, a statement jby Prof. D. IH. Kromminga to the
"work of the law" written in his heart.                      effect that Christ could. sin. The statement is made
    Of course, with  ,believers  this judgment of God        in answer to a question sent to him, and we quote  it
upon their acts after they are performed, is a judg- here in full :
ment in the sphere of Christ, and they are aware of
this judgment and appropriate it through faith. Hence,              In the discussion of which our brother
it happens that viewing and knowing themselves in                 makes mention opinion was divided. He was
the light of the fuller revelation of God through Christ,         perfectly correct in taking the position that
and by the grace of His Spirit, they not only see much            Christ could sin according to His human na-
more sin in themselves than the natural man, but they             ture.    If we view the human nature apart
also willinlgly  take God's side in judgment, condemn             from His divine nature or Person it certainly
themselves, hate themselves, repent in dust and ashes.            can fall into sin, as our own case in Adam
But hence, it also happens, that, though their own                plainly shows. Moreover, we soreIy need this
"conscience" accuses them and condemns them,  a?                  human peccability of Christ in order to give
they are outside of Christ, their conscience in Chris'            real meaning to His temptation.         In that
through faith justifies them. Moreover, they are in-              temptation, for instance, by the devil in the
grafted into Christ, sanctified unto good works, and              ,wilderness  at the beginning of His public
Christ bears fruit in and through them. And their                 ministry during and at the end of those forty
"conscience" bears witness with the gospel and the                days of fasting, He had to make good what
Spirit of Christ of their joy in God, and their earnest           Adam spoiled when he yielded to the tempta-
desire to walk in all good works.                                 tion by the devil which came to him through
    And thus the apostle speaks of his conscience as              Eve. And that was by no means the only
bearing him witness in the Holy Ghost, Rom.  9:l.                 temptation to which our Saviour was sub-
And he writes that "the end of the commandment is                 jected in the days of His flesh, for we read
love out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and           that at its end the devil departed from Him
of faith unfeigned, I Tim.  1:5. Love out of a good               "for a season" (Luke 4  :13). This great
conscience is, in this case, love that carries away the           temptation and  a11 the others, recorded or not,
approval of the gospel and of the Spirit of Christ, and          seem to lose their meaning and reality if we
a "good conscience" with respect to love is awareness             assume that there was not a possibility of sin
of this approval.     To hold the faith in a good con-            involved. And if those temptations were not
science is, therefore, the Christian's calling, I Tim.            fully real and very really withstood and over-
1:19. And a pure conscience, in which the mystery of             come by our Saviour, how, then, can He have
faith must be held, is a conscience that is not defiled           made good what our first father spoiled, and
by strange doctrines, but listens to the testimony of             how can He have satisfied the demands of
the gospel through the Spirit of Christ. I Tim. 3 :9.            divine justice and the claims of God upon
   There are a good many more questions that might               our human nature in our stead? So it would
be discussed.     Is conscience infallible? What is  a           seem that the real reality of our redemption
"weak conscience?" Why may something be sin for                  and of His substitution for us hinges upon
a man with a "weak conscience" though objectively                this question.
it is not sin? etc. etc.                                        Let me add at once that Prof. Kromminga in the
   But I have  aIready written more on this  subjeci         next paragraph repudiates the position taken in the
than I originally intended.                                  above quotation, and states the very opposite, and
   I merely meant to make a few suggestions to  indi-        again I quote him:


326                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                       _--
          `:However, not less can and must be said           the ,divine  Person, and the Person of the Son of God
        on the other side. Our brother was also per-         could not sin in human nature. But in the first para.
        fectly correct when he  l&&cd the possibility        graph Prof. Kromminga  pIainly conceives of the hu-.
        of Christ's sinning strictly to His human            man nature of Christ as separated from the divine
        nature. And we must not overlook the fact            Person. This he may not do.
        that in His Person He was and is divine, God                He should recant that first paragraph..
        Himself, the second Person in the Holy Trin-                                                           H. H.
        ity. It is utterly inconceivable, how our hu-
        man nature in personal union with the divine
        could have fallen". . . .

       And he concludes his answer to this particular
question with the following statement :
          "It will be best to recognize the fact frank-             Dat is mijn oordeel over de jongste tirade van  de-1
        ly that thus the arguments counterbalance          . heer Van Halsema :tegen mij in De Wachter van April
        each other, and that we have to leave the            11, 1944. Enkele vrienden vestigden mijn aandacht
        question just what it is: a question on which        op het artikel, en van een dier vrienden ontving ik het
        it is profitable to meditate, provided we honor      nummer van De Wachter, waarin het voorkwam.
        and respect the mystery in which the answer                 :Het was natuurlijk mijne bedoeling om er op  ts
        lies hidden away from us."                           antwoorden. Doch toen  ik het dtuk zelf gelezen had,
                                                             zag ik er van af om te repliceeren. Mijne  reclenen
       Now, with all respect for the position that the       hiervoor zijn de volgende:
union of the two natures in Christ is a profound                    1. Het stuk heeft hoegenaamd geen positieven  in-
mystery, which we shall never be able to fathom, it houd. Het zegt aboluut niets.
is nevertheless my conviction that the first paragraph
we quoted from Prof.  Kromminga'.s  answer should                   2. rHet is eene aaneenrijging van persoonlijke  aan-
never have been written, and that we must hold' thai         tijgingen en hatelijkheden, een vischwijf waardig.
it was absolutely impossible in the ethical sense that              3. Zou ik er op antwoorden,  dan zou ik van de
Christ should sin. To ,take the opposite position sim- Standard Bearer  en vuilnisbak  moeten   maken.   Dc
ply presupposes the separation of the humaa nature in Wac'htsr  moge zich voor dat doe1 laten gebruiken, hef,
Christ from the divine, and from the Person of the           is beneden  de waardigheid van ons blad.
Son of God. Prof. Kromminga knows as well as I do                   4. De heer Van Halsema openbaart zoo groote  on-
that the Church from a very early date expressed the kunde aangaande onze bed.oeliag  en ons streven, dat
mystery of the relation between the two natures of           ik het eene hopelooze zaak acht om hem de oogen te
Christ in the formula: "without change, without mix- openen.
ture, without division, without separation." This                   5. Geen weldenkend mensch zal zijne goedkeuring
formula does not, and did  not intend to, solve the hechten  aan het schrijven van den heer Van Halsema.
mystery of the two natures, but it, nevertheless, de- Wie `t  we1 doet is mij geen antwoord waard.
lineated the proper limits within which believers may               `t Stuk is bened.en  alle critiek.
properly speak of and meditate on this mystery. But                 `k Wil er zelfs niet eens mee spotten.
the first paragraph of Prof. Kromminga's  answer                                                               H. H.
moves beyond the boundaries fixed by  Chalcedon,  and
postulates the separation of the two natures. The firs:;
part of Prof. Kromminga's answer implies the error                                    -  NOTIfCE   -
that is known in Dogmengeschkhte  as Nesforianism,
"which so emphasized the duality of the natures, and                Young men desiring to prepare for the ministry
the continued distinction between the human and the of the Word in our Churches, and therefore seeking
divine in Christ, as to lose sight of the unity of per-      admittance into our Theological School are requested
son,". . . . Schaff,  Creeds  of Christendom, II, 65.        to appear at the next meeting of the Theological School
       Aud thus the professor needlessly involves himself Committee on the evening of May 22, at 8 o'clock on
in contradictions. For when, in the next paragraph,          the First Protestant Reformed Churches of Grand
he states "it is utterly inconceivable, how our human         Rapids, Michigan.         Applicants must present a cer-
nature in personal union with the divine could have tificate of membership and recommen.dation  from their
fallen," he flatly contradicts ,the first statement "that    own consistory and a certificate of health from a re-
Christ could sin according to His human nature." FOY          puted physician.
the human nature of Christ was never separated from           `.                  The Theological School Committee.


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           327

                                                              and reveal His glory, in such fulness  and beauty as the
                                                              first Adam would never have been able to conceive.
    The Triple Knowledge He was anointed to do this antithetically, over against
                                                              a world  Qhat loves the lie and walks in darkness, .~av-
                                                              ing out of that ,world a people that in eternal glory
                                                              would with Him and through Him declare the work of
  An Exposition Of The Heidelberg IHim that called them out of darkness into His marvel-
                    Catechism                                 lous light. The work of the devil and the rebellion of
                                                              the first man do not frustrate the purpose of God, but
                      PART TWO                                must serve His igood pleasure to make room for the
                                                              coming of the Messiah, the anointed of God, as the
                 OF MAN'S REDEMPTION                          chief Prophet,
                    Lord's Day XII                               The confession of the Church, as expressed in the
                            3.                                twelfth Lord's Day of our Heidelberger, that Christ is
                Christ Our Chief Prophet                      "ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the
                                                              Holy Ghost, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher," is
    Thus far we saw that the Lord God had formed the based on Holy Writ. As such He was announced in
 first man Adam in such a way, and placed him in such         the old dispensation by Moses in Deut. 18 :15-22 : "The
 a relation to Himself, that he could function as God's Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from
 officebearer, as His friend-servant in the midst of  `the the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto
 earthly creation. We called attention, too, to the three- him shall ye hearken; according to all that thou de-
 fold implication of this office of man: he was prophet siredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the
 .to know his God rightly, and to glorify Him in all assembly, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord
 things and before all creation ; he was priest, in order my God, neither let me see this great fire any more,
 that he might consecrate himself and all things in love that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, They have
 to *the Most High ; and he was king, in order that al! well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raisct
 things might serve him, and he might serve his God. them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like
 God's Name must be glorified, God's will must be done, unto thee, and will put my ,words in his mouth; and he
 God's kingdom must be established on earth, and His shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
 sovereignty must be acknowledged, also through, the And it shall come to pass that whosoever will  no';
 first Adam. Finally, we paid more particular attention hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my
 to man's calling as God's prophet, noticed that through name, I will require it of him. But the prophet which
 his disobedience and fall he became nothing but a pro-       shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I
 phet of the devil, loving the darkness and hating the have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak
 light, and demonstrated that a continuous line of false I. in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.
 prophets developed from fallen man, a line that will And if `thou shalt say in thine heart, How shall we
s culminate in the false prophet pictured in the book of know the  ,word  which the Lord hath not spoken ? When
 Revelation.                                                  , a prophet speaketh in fhe name of the Lord, if the
    .However,  all this does not destroy or frustrate the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is Kthe thing
 counsel of the Most High, but must serve its realiza- which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath
 tion. It is true, by willful disobedience man violated spoken it presumptuously: ,thou  shalt not be afraid of
 God's covenant, and fell away from his high estate of him."
 rectitude, so that he, and not God, is the author of sin.        It was necessary to quote the  emire  passage from
 But this must not tempt us to deny *that God is the          Deuteronomy, in order to make plain that this passage
 Most High, and that He does whatsoever  IHe pleases, does not speak of Christ as the chief prophet exclusive-
 even when the first man falls, violates `the covenant,       ly, but rather refers to the entire line of prophets that,
 and becomes a servant of Satan. For even though it in the old dispensation, declared the Word of God unto
 was, no doubt, the purpose of the devil to silence for ;`the people of Israel. This is evident, first of all from
 ever the voice of true prophecy, to change `the truth        the context of this passage. The people are warn&
 into the lie, and the praise of God from man's mouth         that, when ,they have come into the land of promise,
 into blasphemy, yet God's purpose was the revelation they shall not do after the abominations of  `the heathen,
 o`f His greater glory, and His counsel must stand. He with their divinations, observers of times, enchanters,
 had anointed His own prophet from before the foundn- witches, charmers, consulters of familiar spirits, wiz-
 tion of the world. The Son was ordained from eternity ards and necromancers. They shall not turn to these
 to become flesh, that He might stand at the head of a in order curiously to inquire into secret things. For
 great congregation, and declare unto us the Father, the secret things are for the Lord their God, but the


     323                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

     revealed things are for them and for their children.         hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my
     And these the Lord will declare unto them through His mother hath he made mention of my name. And he
     prophet. And although it is true that the  :text speaks hath made my mouth like a sharp sword ; in the shadow
     in the singular of the Prophet, and that, therefore,         of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished
     ultimately the reference is to the Christ, we would shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; And said unto me.
     make a mistake if we would apply it exclusively to           Thou art mv servant, 0 Israel, in whom I ,will be glori-
     Him, and failed to include the entire succession of fied. Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent
     prophets that preceded Him. This is evident, too, my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my
     from the last part of this passage, in which  .the people judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.
     ,are taught to distinguish between the true and the          And now,  saiith   the Lord that formed me from the
     false prophet. For  faIse  prophets will arise among         womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him,
3    #them, men that pretend to speak in the name of the          Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious
     Lord, but who have not been anointed *by the Most            in the eyes of the Lord, and my God  shah be my
     High, and in whose mouth the word of the Lord is not strength. And he said, Is it a light thing that thou
     found; and they shall speak the lie, and tempt the           shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
     people  fo apostatize from the living God. They must, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also  <give
     therefore, distinguish between the true and the false thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my
     prophet. And they may do this by applying this test, salvation unto the ends of the earth. Thus saith the
     that <the word of the Lord, spoken through His prophet,      Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and His (Holy One, to
     will surely come to pass, while the word of the false him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation
     prophet shall fail. The latter they must not heed, nei- abhorreth,  Ito a servant of rulers, Kings shall see  thes
     ther need they be afraid of him.                             and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the
            Yet, on the other hand, there can be no doubt that    Lord that is faithful and the Holy One of Israel, ancl
     these words of Moses refer also, have reference chief- he shall choose thee." Isa. 49 :l-7.
     ly and centrally to Christ. For Christ is not only the          Or attend to the  fol!owing  passage: "The Lord God
     culmination of the whole line of Old Testament pro- hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should
     phets, the One ,to Whom they all point, but He it is         know how to speak a word in season to him that is
     also that spoke the Word of God in them and through          weary: he wakeneth me morning by morning,  hn
     them to the people of God of the old dispensation.           wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord
     Without Him they could not have been prophets. They          God hath opened mine ears, and I was not rebellious,
     spoke because His Spirit was in them. I `Pet.  1:12.         neither  %urned away back. I gave my back to the
     All through the old dispensation, from Abel to the last smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the
     of the prophets, it was He who "fully revealed unto  us hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For
     the secret counsel and will of God concerning our rc- the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be
     demption."      True, the Word had as yet not become confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint,
     flesh, and did not yet speak to us of heavenly things in     and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near
     personal union with our nature. This had to wait untrl that justifieth me; who wil1 contend with me? let us
     `the fulness of time. But He was anointed to b.e our stand together: who is mine `adversary? let him come
     chief Prophet from before the foundation of the world,       near to me. Behold, the Lord God will help me ; who  is
     and He began to function in that capacity from the he that shall condemn me?" Isa. 50:5-g.
     beginning of history.                                           Evidently. passages like the above are not appliz-
            He functioned as such through visions and dreams. able in all their implication to the prophet. He speaks
     through types and shadows, through Moses and all as he does, only because it is Christ speaking in and
     the prophets, as well as directly in the revelation of       through Him.
     the Angel of the Lord. In all the prophets He was               Nor need there be any doubt about this frequent
     the speaking Subject, the faithful Witness in all the        identification of Christ with the subject of the Old
     witnesses, the Servant of Jehovah in  al1 the servants.      Testament prophet.  That it is the Christ that speaks
     Always He is our chief Prophet. This is the reason in Isa. 61 :l-3, for instance, is directly proved in the
     why Deut. 18, though having reference also to all the        New Testament. We read there: "The Spirit of the
     prophets of the old dispensation, nevertheless speaks Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed
     of Him. This is the reason, too, why the prophets of me to preach good tidings to the meek ; he hath sent
     the Old Testament frequently sp.eak as if they identify me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim Iiberty
     themselves with the person of the Christ. This is true, Ito the captives, and the opening of the prison to them
     no doubt, of many of the psalms. It is  emphaticallv         that are bound: to proclaim the acceptable year of  the
     true of Isaiah. Note the following: "Listen, 0 Isle.;,       Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
     unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord all that mourn; To appoint to them that mourn in Zion,


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to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for all things. " John  4:25. The carnal Jews of Galilee,
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of ,when they had seen the miracle of the feeding of the
heaviness ; +hat they might be called ,trees  of right-       five thousand, want to take Jesus by force to make
eousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be          Him a king, saying: "This is of a truth that prophet
glorified." To be sure these words also refer to the that should come into the world." John 6  :14. The
prophet himself. But they were not fulfilled in him.          sojourners to  Emmaus speak "concerning  aesus  of
Their fulfillment  mu& be found in Christ. And in             Nazareth, ,which was a prophet mighty in deed and
Luke 4 : 16-21 we find the direct proof of this statement.    word before God and all the people." Luke 24  :.19. And
For there we read that the Lord Jesus in the syna- when the Lord would  expIain to them the necessity of
gogue of Nazareth read this passage from  lthe book of the suffering of this Christ concerning whom they
Isaiah, or part of it, "and closed the book, and he gave were having their discourse, He begins "at Moses and
it again unto the minister, and sat down. And the             all the prophets," and expounds unto ithem in all the
eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fast- *scriptures the things concerning himself.
ened on him. And he began to say unto them, This                 But the words of Deut. 18 are also directly quoted
day is this scripture  fulfiIIed in your ears." When ,and applied to the Lord as the chief Prophet. Thus En
the Lord had read these words, they were fulfilled, nof       Acts 3 :22, 23 : "For Moses truly said unto the fathers,
before. For He, and not Isaiah, was the real Subject {A prophet shal1 the Lord your God raise up unto you
that spoke in them.                                           of your brethren, like unto me ; him shall ye hear in
   The same is evident from a comparison of Isa. 8 : 3 8 `all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it
and Heb. 2: 13. In the former passage the prophet lshall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear
is speaking concerning himself. He appears in the `that prophet, shall  $e destroyed from among the
midst of wicked Jerusalem together with his family (people." And Stephen, too, quotes this passage before
and a few disciples, and declares: "Behold, I and the $he Jewish counsel: "This is that Moses which sai J
children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs            unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord
and for wonders in Israel from the Lord  .of hosts iyour God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto
which dwelleth in mount Zion." But from Heb. 2 :13 jme ; him shall ye hear." Acts 7 :37.
we learn that it was not Isaiah, but the Lord Himself            #Christ, therefore, according to the testimony of all
to Whom these words of the prophet have reference in \Scripture, is, indeed, our chief Prophet and Teacher,
their final meaning. ,He it is that is represented as lthe true Subject in all the prophets, the One that de-
having spoken them.                                           lclares the name of God unto His brethren, and reveals
    In the same chapter of the Hebrews, as a  pro2 /unto us the full counsel of redemption. He is the
that Christ is not ashamed to call His people brethren, isame as that Wisdom that is speaking in Prov. 8, Who
the words of Ps. 22 :22 are quoted as being spoken dir- fWii.S "set up from everlasting, `from the beginning,
ectly by the Lord: "Saying, I will declare thy name lor ever the earth was." He is identical with that Wis-
unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will  I idom  who "hath builded her house, she bath hewn out
sing praise unto thee." Heb. 2 :12. Many  .more  quota- iher seven pillars : she hath killed her beasts ; she hath
tions might be offered to show that the real Subject imingled  her wine ; she also furnished her table. She
in all the prophets of the old dispensation was the !hath sent forth her maidens : she crieth upon the -high
Christ, the chief Prophet of God. All this corroborates iplaces of the city,  Whoso  is simple, let him turn in
the atatement that the Prophet referred to in Deut. 18 /hither: as for him that wanteth  understandinlg,  she
is centrally none other than the promised Messiah.            jsaith to him, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the
    And the New Testament clearly proves that this [wine which I have mingled. Forsake the foolish and
position is correct. For, first of all, we read several       live; and go in the way of understanding." Prov. 9 :l-6.
times in the gospel narratives that Moses spoke of the i And as He functioned in the old dispensation  speak-
Christ. And this was  genertilly known and admitted. iing through and in the prophets, so He came personally
When  Phillip informs  Nathanael  about the Christ, {in the fulness of time, to dwell among us, and speak to
he says: "We have found him of whom Moses in the ;us face to face and mouth to mouth. For "the Word
`law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, twas made flesh, and dwelt among us  ( and we beheld
the son of Joseph." John  1:46. To the unbelieving *his glory, the glory as of the only `begotten of the
Jews the Lord says: "Do not think that I will accuse .;Father,) fuI1 of grace and truth." John 1:14. And "no
you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even .`man bath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son,
Moses,, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ;which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me." John ihim." John 1:18. IHe speaks, and is able to speak, of
5 :45,46. Hence, the Jews  expeated  the great Prophet,. <$heavenly things, for he is the one "that came down
The Samaritan woman knew "that Messias  cometh ,from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven."
which is called Christ; when he is  come,  he will tell  u:; `He is the light of the world, that shines in the dark-


330                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

ness, and they that follow him shall not walk in dark- chariots very many." "The Lord delivered them into
ness, but shall have the light of life. John 3 :19 ; 8 :12 ;    the hand of Israel." The enemy was smitten until not
12 :35, 36, 46. He is the true and faithful witness, who        one of them remained, so. it is related. The entire
receives not. testimony from men, but whom the Father league of powers was broken up at *that time. Hazer,
Himself bears witness as being sent from Him. John its capital, was destroyed as were also the other cities
.5:32ff.    He speaks the words of eternal life, and His of the confederacy.
words  are spirit and life. John 6 :63, 68. His doctrine           And yet some hundred fifty years later  "Jabin.
is not His own, but the Father's Who sent Him, and if king of Hazor" again stands before us on the page of
any man.will  do the will of God, he will surely acknow- Holy Writ, a foe mightily oppressing the children of
ledge that Christ's doctrine is of God. For "he that Israel  (Jud.  4:3). Thus Hazor had  ,been  rebuilt and
speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory, but he that had again become a strong kingly capital, the seat of
seeketh his glory  t.hat sent him, the same is true, and a military power with a standing army quiped with
no unrighteousness is in him." John 7:16-l&  And He nine hundred chariots of iron (vs. 4). And the official
speaks  t.he things which He has seen with the Father. title of ttie chief ruler of this re-estalished  pabgan king-
John 8 :33. And He always glorifies, not  IHimself, but dom was Jabin. The captain of his host was Siaeria,
the Father. John 17:4. Indeed, "God, who at sundry "which dwelt in Harosheth of the gentiles, "Harosheth
times and in diverse manners spake in times  past from the Hebrew root  chc~~~h, the smith. `Thus the
unto the ,fathers by the prophets, hath in these last name suggests its connection with iron chariots. It
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath ap- was the place where iron was worked. Doubtless it
pointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the            had its site west of the Jordan near.the  foot of Carmel,
worlds." Heb. 1~2.                               H. H.          while Hazor was situated on the road that led from
                                                                Lake Merom to Zidon. From neither of these cities,
                                                                it must be, could .the movements of Israel toward Tabor
                                                                be easily observed.
                                                                    That the Canaanites, in process of time, found
                                                                opportunity to re-establish themselves as a military
Israel's Deliverance Under Deborah power in northern Canaan finds its explanation only
                      and Barak                                 in Israel's disloyalty to God. In violation of the com-
                                                                mand of God, the people of Israel had concluded a cove-
                                                                nant with the heathen and, according to the articles of
       Moab was subdued under the hand of Israel. The this covenant, accepted them as their co-habiters in
deliverer through whom the Lord had wrought was God's country. They reasoned that it was the part
Ehud. The victorious achievement of Israel's faith of wisdom to solicit the friendship of the heathen by
`was followed by a rest that lasted eighty years. "And intermarriages and by the acknowledgement of their
the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the religion. So they married with Amorites and Hivites.
Lord, when (and) Ehud was dead." It seems to be Peace came. Their position in Canaan was  now  safe,
indicated in this verse that the eighty years of rest so they imagined. But little by little the old inhabit-
were the years of Ehud's government or nearly so. ants of the land r-e-built and re-fortified the cities that.
There was rest in the land only as long as the people Joshua1 had destroyed. It was plain that they might
obeyed God. Obedience was maintained through the be preparing for war,-plain to all but to the Hebrews.
effort of the judge. The passing of the judge was  fol' They could see no cause to be alarmed. They even re-
lowed by open apostacy and thus also by new oppres- mained confident when, at Harosheth of the gentiles,
sion. It is not likely that, after apostacy had set in, smiths were industriously building chariots of iron.
the periods of rest for  lon,g continued undisturbed.           Perhaps their worldly affairs had so engrossed their
The language of the above-cited verse must thus be attention that they did not even know what was going
understood to connect the cessation of rest with Ehud's on their at Harosheth or, knowing, thought it bad
death.                                                          policy even to  investi1gat.e.    Why do a thing suggestive
       The adversary whom God now stirred up against to the heathen that they were not be ing trusted and
Israel was not a foreigner but a native; he was  "Jabin         so disturb the peace. Then it came to pass-the rush
king of Canaan, that reigned in  Hazer." We meet of the chariots and the onslaught of Canaanite forces,
with this same pagan power in  the eleventh chapter             fierce and irresistible. "And the Lord sold them into
of the book of Joshua. Joshua had waged war with the hand of  Jaban, king of Hazor." At least in the
a  Jabin, king of Hazor and his confederates, all the north, Israel groaned under the heal of the cruel op-
heathen kings of northern Palestine. They had form- pressor.                The. servitude "chat followed lasted  twent.y
ed a formidable combination, a vast multitude, even years. The state of  aftfairs  in the north country  is
as t.he sand -that is upon the seashore with horses and vividly described in the song of Deborah, "In the
                                               . .


                                     T H E   ST~ANDARD  B E A R E R                                            331

days of Shamgar the son of Anoth, in the days of Jae!,        Another hero of faith, whose name appears in the
the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers  walk- "song" is Jael, not to be identified with the l ael, wife
ed  #through  crooked ways. The villages ceased. . . . of Heber the Kenite, and the slayer of Sisera. The
then was war in the gates" (Jud. 5 36-8).                  man Jael, too, seems to have been a hero without a
   The picture is that of a land enfeebled by hostile following.
oppression. At least in the north the Hebrews were             Finally, there is the reserve of Barak. Though
compelled to pay heavy tribute. Crops were assessed he readily answered Deborah's call to arms, he refused
Ibefore they were harvested. The entire north country ,to set out -upon the venture, unless she go with him.
was overrun by thieving and murderous Canaanite He said to her, "If thou wilt ,go with me, than I will go,
spoilers and tax-gatherers. They roamed the high- but if thou wilt not go with me, than I will not go"
ways, crowded the villages, and stormed *the gates of      (chap. 4 :8).    His faith was equal to the proposed
the walled towns, so that the villages were deserted       undertaking but only as supported by the inspiration
and those who must travel chose the tortuous bypaths of the one woman upon whom he must so heavily lean.
of the mountains and the dales in order to elude the The best of men in Israel, in this critical period, were
tyrant and his henchmen. There was safety only with- low in spiritual vitality. And this time *the Lord chose
in the gates. Water had to be procured outside the to revive their drooping spirits by His word as public-
city. With the enemy in the land, this water-drawing ly proclaimed by a woman, despite the fact that, ac-
was a dangerous task. As the crowd was great and  as cording to His own ordinance,  ,the man is the head of
every one wanted to get away first, there was no lack the woman'; the sphere of influence of the woman is
of contention among the Hebrews in the places of draw- the domestic circle, where all her energies are needed;
ing water, chap.  5:ll.                                    and despite the fact that, in the New Testament Scrip-
   The misery of the people was indeed great what ,tures,  His command is to the efect  that in public, on
with their fields and rural districts devastated and the meetings for public worship, the woman shall be
rendered unsafe. What is more, there was not a shield seen but not heard. Why then, in the case of Deborah,
or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel, 5  23. The this radical departure from the norm if not to cover
will to resist, a military virtue, born of a common faith with reproach the spiritual lethargy, the state of
in Jehovah, was completely lacking among the male shameful inaction, of the men?
population. There was no spirit left in them. Resist-          Deborah was a prophetess-Hebrew  nabia from
ance in the open field there was none anywhere. At nava to overflow- thus a fountain of praise and as
the mere sight of a Canaanite, the Hebrew, on the          such a spokesman of EGod and for Him, the inspired
highway, in the field-the men as well as the  women- agent of the Spirit, who proclaimed God's Word and
would scamper, like a frightened doe,..to the nearest declared His greatness, glory and marvelous works
place of concealment. Doutless, during no other. op- of the past, present and future. It may be doubted
pression was the lack of manly daring so amazingly         whether the rendering, "wife of  Lapidot.h," can be
conspicuous. The truth of these statements is born received as a proper translation of the original.  Lapi-
out by the following consideration. There is the case d)oth  is from the Hebrew latid meaning Earn;n, fEa?T,?.
of Shamgar. His- struggles were with the Philistines,      Perhaps we therefore should interpret, "Deborah, a
who, in the period of Canaanitish oppression, harass- woman of a fiery spirit," considering that she was like
ed Israel in the south. "He also delivered Israel," but a spiritual flame for Israel, instrumentally kindling,
as unassisted. No man came to his  aid.*-  .He stood through her prophetic utterances, the flagging spirits
quite alone. The one deed record+ of him-his.slay-         of God's people. Of all the judges with the exception
ing of the Philistines six hundred men wisth an ox-goad of Samuel, she alone was  aIso endowed with the
-anticipates the exploits of Samson; .That was a re- prophetic spirit. It was as prophetess that she was
markable demonstration of faith. But it was the faith judging Israel at that time.
of a solitary figure. Who knows but what his breth-            In vain do we look for a definite statement of the
ren, in their cowardice, may have frowned upon his tribe to which she belonged. That she dwelt in Mount
doing. Such, at least, was to be the experience of Ephraim, under a palm tree *that was called by her
Samson. Deborah uses the achievement of Shamgar name; would seem to indicate that she was a daughter
to enhance  by,contrast  the glory of the divine deliver- of Ephraim. Yet some have ventured the view that
ance from the Canaanite oppression.          She says in she belonged to the tribe of  Issachar,  spent her youth
effect, "Such was your thraldom when Shamgar lived,        in some village of this tribe, but, as her purpose ma-
*but now consider what the Lord hath done!" (It can- tured, was compelled to seek a place of safety among
not be, as some interpreters insist, that  Shangar         the hills between Bethel and  Rama, and that here
wrought during the eighty years rest procured  bg           under a palm  rtree she continued to prophesy and judge.
Ehud. For during Ehud's days, such misery cannot This is certain that, at the time she sent and called
have been visited upon Israel). ,                          Barak, she had already been active as prophet and


332                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

judge for several years. Her song furnishes us with That he went only after she promised to go with him,
a clue to the content of her discourse. "Lord, when does not bespeak a lack of trust in God or inordinate
thou mwentest  out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of (fear of the adversary. Rut it may betoken a wavering
the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens faith in need of support. He had need of her presence
dropped, the clouds also dropped water. The moun-             at the scene of action to stamp the undertaking  9s
tains melted from before the Lord, even that Sinai            divine for the sake of the tribes he must summon.
from before the Lord, the God of Israel." Like every He feared that they would readily respond only if they
btrue prophet of God from Moses on she founded her perceived that it was truly the prophetess of God who
admonition on Israel's history.       And with reason.        called them. As a matter of information, she also told
This history is a record of those marvelous doings of him that the undertaking would not be for his honor
God-of the wonders of His grace-through which in ,that the Lord should sell Sisera into the hand of a
he brought Israel into being as a nation.                     woman, doubtless Jael the wife of Heber. Her telling
  It manifests most wonderfully, does this history, him this does not betoken certainly that in Barak one
that Jehovah constitutes the sole foundation of Israel's had to do with a self-seeking Hebrew who wanted the
national existence, and that therefore, in choosing undertaking to succeed to his own  gIory.  Were this
"new gods", Israel rejects his very Maker and Sustain-        true, it would be hard to account for the reference to
er, the God of his salvation, which had brought him out his faith in the epistle to the Hebrews.
of Egypt, out of the house of bondage to Mount Sinai             So Barak called the two tribes specified: "and he
and led him from there on into the promised land of went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and De-
his abode. Where was there another nation to which borah ,went up with him". The drawing toward mount
this occurred? "Hear 0 ye kings," cried the prophet- Taber must be gradual, in small squads, for the tyrant
ess, "give ear, 0 ye princes: I  wiIl sing unto the Lord ;    must know nothing of the rising until the hosts were
I will sing to the Lord  ,God of Israel." For Israel's assembled. Though the Israelitish  forces were to col-
sake, God came down from-on high: And the creature, lect in the mountain, the. battle had to be fought in the
knowing its Lord, *trembled, not only the earth but plain ; for there only could the chariots of the enemy
even Sinai, the firm. And the brazen heavens of the maneuver.
desert, losing their dryness, dropped water for His              It was after all only a remnant that had heeded the
people.                                                       call to arms-ten thousand footmen armed with sword
   Pet, despite his indebtedness to Jehovah, Israel and spear. Mention is made of this in the song. "Then
chose new gods, and in this vile doing laid the founda- rushed down the remnant of Israel  against the princes
tion of all his woes and also of his present misery.. of Bma,k  and the people of Jehovah rushed down from
"Then was war in the gates. . . ." For Him they had the mounta&  with -me, Deborah, against the mighty
forsaken. Let Israel return to the Lord, and purge his of the adversary" (chap. .5 :13).         (This rendering is
land from every heathen taint. Then will he be free strongly preferable when compared with the five verses'
once more. So did she plead for a return to the Lord that follow).           It was truly a remnant that fought
and raise her voice in passionate threateing against against Sisera, a mere ten thousand, collected from
idolatry. Gradually her pIace  of residence became a two tries. The prophetess complains about this in her
seat of justice and the center of reviving hope. Thos:? song. Reuben had been called but instead of respond-
who longed for righteous administration came to her; ing he prefered to sit among the sheepfolds, to hear
and the true fearers of Jehovah gathered about her. the bleatings of the flock (or, listen to the shepherd's
"And she judged Israel at ethat time." Finally, at the flute).        They thought upon the necessity of acting
opportune time. when the dark spell that held the faith-- until the time for it was past. Gilead-the half tribe
ful had been broken, she sent and called Barak out of' of Manasseh-tarried beyond Jordan, his excuse being
Kadesh-naphtali and thus turned to  bthe tribes--Zebu- that, because of distance, the plight of his brethren in
lun and Naphtali-in the heart of whose territory the the north country did not concern him.                Dan and
tyrant had entrenched himself. God had spoken to Ashur remained in ships, continued on the seashore
her and she now imparts to Barak the divine com- and abode in their harbors, thus pretended to be er-
munication, the Lord% plan  of action. "Hath not the gaged in maritime commerce, (chap. 5 :15-17).
Lord God of Israel commanded saying,. Go and draw,               Deborah does not accuse the distant tribes, as
toward Mount  Tabor,  and take with thee ten thousand Judah, Simeon, Ephraim, Benjamin, Gad, but extols
men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of their ancient glory. "Out of Ephraim was there a root
Zebulun? And I-the Lord-will draw unto thee tn of them against Amelek. . . ." This may have refer-
the river Kishon,  Sisera, the captain of Jabin's  army, ence to Joshua the conqueror of Amelek. "After thee,"
with his chariots and multitude; and  I will deliver him says the prophetess  ,to Ephraim, "Benjamin advanced
into thy hand." "Arise Barak, and lead  ,thy captivity against his enemies," in the person of Ehud, the second
captive," she said to him, seeing that he wavered. judge. Out of Miehar-the half tribe of  Manasseh


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E ` R                                          333. .
                                                                    r
 west of the Jordan-came down governors, orderers                Some of the enemy had escaped, because Meroz, an
 of the law, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen Israelitish community of the country surrounding the.
 of  *the writer. Formerly famed for his  exerpts.with        theatre of battle, had not done its duty. Against its
 the  pens Zebulun has now become a people that jeopar- inhabitants, the prophetess utters a sentence of cou-
 dized their lives unto death. The territory of Napthali demnation.         "Curse ye Meroz. . .  .curse ye bitterly
 was the theatre of war ,with  Sisera. Though this tribe the inhabitants *thereof; because they came not to the
 took no active part in the confliot,  its princes "were help of the Lord." They left the cause of God to itself,
 with Deborah." She makes no mention of Judah and when it was endangered in battle.
  Simeon, as these tribes lay outside of her range of            "But blessed among women be Jael." Whoever
 vision.                                                      is against God is cursed ; but whoever is for Him is
     Sisera was told of the presence of Israelitish troops blessed. The irony of the closing part of her song-the
 in Mount  Tabor.       Without delay, he mobilized hia       part in which the mother of Sisera is mocked-springs
I troops quartered round about-the nine hundred char- from her consciousness of the greatness of God and
 iots and all the people that  were.with  him, from Hero the nothingness of His enemies.
 sheth to the river of Kishon.     He led his army to the                                                  G. M. 0.
 plain of Jezreel on the southwest side of  Tabor. Evi-
 dently he would surround the mountain;thinking that
 he must compel tthe Hebrews to ascend into the valley.
 Deborah observed and understood that *the moment
 for action had arrived. "Up," `she cried to Barak,
 "Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath de-                     `De Koning Van `t Heelal
 livered Sisera into thine hand : is not the Lord gone out
 before thee?" The Israelites rush down on the enemy                           (Psalm 72 ; Tweede Deel)
 and his ranks were broken. "The Lord discomfited
 Sisera. Everything turns to flight. All is lost. The            De vorige maal zagen we Jezus, met eere en heer-
 whole army perished by the sword of God. Sisera.             lijkheid gekroond. We zagen  den Zoon des Konings.
 taking to  his feet, fled in a northern direction toward De psalm is voor Salomo!
 Hazor to *the tent of Jaer and perished by her hand.            Het hoofdthema is : 0 God ! Geef den Koning Uwo
So had God again saved  <His people by another wonder rechten, en Uwe gerechtigheid den Zoon des Konings!
 of His grace.                                                De  Driegenige  God geeft Zijn rechten en gerechtigheid
     Then  sari... Deborah her song and Barak sang with aan Jezus Christus, opdat Hij alles mag  doen  om Zijn
 her-saying, Praise ye the Lord for the evanging of Koninkrijk te verwerkelijken :  schoone,  lieflijke onder-
 Israel. . . .    The kings came and  fought,.then  fought danen  werven, de vijanden vernielen, een nieuwe aarde
 the  king< of Canaan in Taanach, by the waters of en hemel  te voorschijn brengen. '
 Megido ; they took no gain of money. They. fought               Voorts  zagen we het begin van zulk een zaligheid.
 from.heaven;  the stars in their courses fought against         Nu verder.
 Sisera. The river of Kishon swept them away, that               In'de dagen van Jezus zal de rechtvaardige bloeien,
 ancient river, the river Kishon. 0 my soul, thou hast en de veelheid van vrede, totdat de maan niet meer zij.
 trodden down strength. There were the horses hoofs              Dit is poetische taal. Teruggebracht tot de proza
 broken by means of the prancings, the prancings of van ons alledaagsche leven beteekent het: In de bedee-
 the mighty ones."                                            ling van Jezus Christus zal de vrede Gods gesmaakt
     This part of the song forms a vivid description of worden  ah vrucht van het werk des rechtvaardigen I
 the battle crisis. Kings came, heathen military lead-        en die bedeeling heeft geen einde.
 ers, powerful and eminent. A band of footmen, a                 Ik  dacht  aan Jesaja bij het  bestudeeren.  van dit
 handful of mountaineers, against a host  ,of iron char-      vers. Daar staat: "Om den arbeid Zijner ziel zal Hij
 iots. They came, did ,these kings; but they obtained het zien, en verzadigd worden;  door Zijne kennis zal
 no (booty. They were destroyed. From heaven fought Mijn knecht, de Rechtvaardige,  veIen   rechtvaardlg
 the stars against Sisera. The Kishon was an instru- maken,  want Hij zal hunne ongerechtilgheden dragen."
 ment of help against the foe. In its swollen condition Jes. 53 :ll.
 it swept them away. The great truth that underlies              Zoo  loopt  de  lijn. Jezus is de  knecht  vau God en
 these statements is that the whole irrational and in-        Zijn naam is: De Rechtvaardige. Die knecht gaat
 animate creation was-and ever is-in league with onder in den eeuwigen dood, dragende de  ongerechtig-
 God% people and fought for them, because Jehovah, the heden  van Gods volk. Die dood heeft een vrucht.
 Lord of creation, was for them.  "0 my soul, thou Door Zijn verzoenend sterven ontvangt Hij kracht en
 hast trodden down strength." The victory over the            genade om Gods volk rechtvaardig te maken.  En de
 adversary was her faith.                                     vrucht is vrede.


 336                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                                            to join shall not be  permibted   <to work in the shop.
                                                            Also the Constitution of the United Furniture Workers
                                                            of America (CIO) has this as its object. We  quote
    We are all aware that in ,this present day unionism     Article II, Objects, Section 1 under d, "To reach and
 is on the increase, and growing even during the war. maintain agreements with employers as to wages,
 In our own city this is the -case also. Although we        hours of labor and working conditions, and to  see!<
 believe that in more than one respect labor has just       through such agreements ,to establish closed shops and
`complaints against capital, we also believe that the preference of employment for members of the United
 organizations are such that it is impossible for  fhe Furniture Workers of America". This is equally true
 Christian to afliliate,  with them and to do so out of ,of all the existing organizations of the CIO, AFL and
 faith. The latter is quite necessary for God's Word the Brotherhood of Railways. Their ideal is that un-
teaches that what it not of faith is sin.                   less he is a member of one of these unions, and that no
    Since practically the very beginning of the separate one shall be able to buy or sell except it bear the union
.existence  of our Protestant Reformed Churches, we as label. This is literally predicted of the power of the
I Churches have taken the definite stand that member- Anti-Christ in Revelation 13. We ask, how can a mem-
 ship in worldly organizations of all kinds is incompat-    ber of the church subscribe to such practices, and ex-
 ible  ,with  the Christian faith and with membership in clude from employment a fellow-brother who for con-
the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Very definitely science' sake will not join and sit down at the Table
our churches have expressed themselves in regard to of the Lord with him and promise that he will love the
membership in the ungodly unions. Difficult as that brother and not only show this in words, but in very
 stand may `be for the flesh we believe it is the only deed ?
 possible one in the light of the Word of God and ithat        2. It is also evident that these organizations are
it must therefore be maintained. We realize that this committed to the principles of force and coercion, not
 stand has pract.ical  consequences for our daily lives, only in gaining members but also in -forcing their will
that it will be increasingly difficult to secure employ-    upon the employer. All of <them stand committed to
 ment if the present wave of Lmionism  continues un-        the principle of the strike. It is true that they are
 abated, but we also believe that we may not. because .willing  to use the method of arbitration if this accom-
 of practical difficulties close our eyes to  4he character plishes their purpose, but it is equally true that all of
 of such organizations and for bread's sake affiliate with them will take recourse to &he strike if other procedures
them. Man does not live by bread alone but. by every fail. And the strike is a method of force which cannot
 word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. We be approved in the light of Scripture. A strike is not
 shall not labor for the meat that perisheth but for the the. same as freely  quiting one's job. When a man
bread that cometh  down from heaven. And the Lord rvuits his job, he thereby asserts that he gives up his
 God- Almighty who has all things in His hand will claim to the job, that the boss may hire another. The
 certainly supply us with daily bread as  lontg as we need strike on the contrary is an organized effort to, force
 it. He has said, Seek first the kingdom of heaven and the employer to accede to the will of the union-the
 its righteousness, and all other things shall be added members maintain their right to the job and will not
 unto you. We shall not be anxious  abont our daily allow  the employer to hire others in their stead. `This
bread-for all these things the Gentiles seek, but your      in an organized method of taking the law into one's
heavenly Father knoweth *that ye have need of them.         own hands, as much as lynching is, and stands con-
    We wish to set forth briefly the more serious oh-       demned for the very same reasan. We are all more or
jections  to affiliation in these organizations, and why less acquainted with the "sit-down" strikes that swept
 we earnestly believe that it is impossible to maintam      our nation a few years back. Some of the men of our
membership in one of these worldly unions and at the ,own church -were called out as National Guards to
 same time in the Church of Jesus Christ. We believe Flint to help preserve law and order. This principle
 that membership in the lodge is  incompatble  with of strike the unions still maintain. Also the Consti-
membership in Christ's Church and may not be con- tution of the United Furniture Workers of America,
 doned, and some of the reasons that obtain in regard Article  XLIX, Section 2, "In. the event of trouble
 to the lodge also obtain in regard to the nnions, al- arising in any of the shops  which wouId  necessitate s
though in other respects there is a difference.             strike, or lockout be declared. . . .  ." We ask, May
    The following are some of the more serious  ob-         the Christian commit himself to  snch a principle? On
jeotions we have to membership in the existing worldly the contrary members of Christ's Church have  qthe
 unions of our day:                                         injunction of II Cor.  6:14-18,  "Be ye not unequally
    1. These organizations stand committed to the prin- yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowshin
ciple of the closed shop, according to which only union hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
members shall be employed and every one that refuses communion  h&h light with darkness? And what csr,-


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D ' B E A R E R                                             337

cord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he which I may belong; that I will at all times support
that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement the laws, regulations and decisions of the International
hath the  temple of God with idols? for ye are the Typographical Union in preference to others ; that my
temple of the living God ; as God hsth said, I will dwe!l     fidelity to the union and my duty to the members there-
in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, of shall in no sense be interfered with by any allegiance
and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from that I may now or hereafter owe to any other organi-
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and zation, social, political, or religious, secret or other-
itouch  not the unclean thing: and I will receive you. wise ; that I will belong to no society or combination
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons composed wholly or partly of printers, with the intent
and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."                      or purpose to interfere with the trade regulations OT
   3. But is it not possible in order to keep or to           influence or control the legislation of the union; that
secure a' job that one merely affiliate with one of those I will not wrong a member, or see him or her wronged,
organizations and pay the dues, yet refuse to attend           if in my power to prevent. To all of which I pledge my
the meetings or otherwise take an active part? We most sacred honor." Notice: that by this oath one
should remember that the unions themselves demand pledges himself : (1) To carry out the de:isions of the
the signing of a card, requesting memership, which union at all times, (2) To seek the wellbeing of a
card is a signed pledge to uphold  .the union' in question. fellow'member  in preference to a brother in Christ
How can a Christian then sign such a card and intend if the latter is not a member of the union, (3) And in
not to support the union? The union itself will not case of conflict, swears to remain loyal to the union
allow a memer to agitate against his union. Besides, rather than to Christ and the Church. How dare the
a yea must according to the Word of God be a yea. Christian Reformed Churches take the stand that  thtf
No more than one may affiliate with a church without AFL and the CIO are neutral organizations, and that
sincerely doing so, no more may one affiliate with one can belong to them. How can any living member
any organization without doing so in sincerity. The of Christ's Church possibly take such an oath !
fact simply remains, then, that membership in a union             Not all the organizations demand a formal oath.
remains our ad, a free act, for which we are respon-          Some of them contain a pledge in the Constitution
si.ble before God and before  the law. Everyone that to which one consents by simply signing the pledge-
joins thereby assumes a place in the organization, and card. Such seems to be the case also with the Unite,!
becomes responsible for its official position and official Furniture Works of America  (CIO). The Preamble
acts. In many instances one signs the pledge card of this Constitution says among other things, "We
and submits to the yoke of the union, in some instances pledge ourselves to labor unitedly for the principles
new members even take a formal oath. But even if herein set forth to perpetuate our union and work in
one does not sign an oath, or even a pledge card,, but concert and solidarity  with other labor organizations."
yet joins, the mere fact that he does not attend the Each new member is required to take the following
meetings, ,that he prefers not to be held responsible, pledge, or obligation, "I most soIemnly pledge on my
does not relieve him of his responsibility. The fact word of honor to abide by the constitution and by-laws
still remains Qhat he *is a member, that he expressed of the United Furniture Workers of America and of
agreement with its principles by joining, and that he this local Union N . . . . . . . . to the full extent of my ability ;
is committed as long as he remains a member to abide at all times to regard the affiliation I hereby make,
by the principle of the union and by its officia1  de- with pride, and will endeavor to aid in the success of
cisions.                                                      my Union; I will never defraud or misrepresent the
   4. The oath or pledge which many organizations International Union and this Local Union, and will
require is such <that a Christian who by the grace of bear true and faithful allegiance to the officers and
,God has sworn allegiance to Christ and His cause and members. I will conduct myself at all times so as
the principles of God's Word cannot possijbly take in never to bring reproach upon myself, or any member
honesty. We here literally quote one of those oaths or upon the United Furnitnre  Workers of America and
from the Book of  Laws  of the International Typo- this local Union." Notice that by taking this pledge
graphical Union (A.F.L.) pages 15, 16, "I hereby one: (1) promises to abide by the constitution and
solemnly and sincerely swear (affirm) that I will not by-laws of the union, which includes the principles
reveal any business or proceedings of any meeting of of the closed shop and of Ithe st.rike.              (2) Pledges  to
this or any subordinate union to which I may here- regard his atllliation  at all times with pride and will
after be attached, unless by order of  &the union, except endeavor to aid in the success of the Union, which
to those whom I know to  #be in good standing thereof; means active aid toward the closed shop, even if a
that I will, without evasion or equivocation, and to brother Christian must be excluded from  #the shop be-
Ithe best of my ability abide by the Constitution, By- cause he refuses to affiliate, and even if a strike is
Laws and the adopted scale of prices of any union to called-  ,One.pledges  to give preference of employment


333                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

for members of the Union (Art. II) by consenting to
the constitution. This pledge is not as definite as that                  Geen Plaats Des Berouws
of the Typographical Union quoted above, but prim-
arily the same pledge is made.                                        De woorden die hier boven verschijnen als het
           Brothers and sisters in Christ, is it not  our          onderwerp van dit artikel, komen voor in  Hebreen
,Christian duty to keep ourselves unspotted from the ,twaalf,  waar melding gemaakt wordt van het booze
world? Should we not, as Daniel of old, purpose in                 doen  Ezaus en van zijn vruchteloos  geween. Wij lezen
our hearts that we will not defile ourselves. The high- in dat hoofdstuk, dat Ezau geen plaats des berouws
er wages and better living conditions that the Union vond hoewel hij dezelve met tranen zoeht.
promises ought not to confuse us as to the issue. Let                 Deze woorden staan daar in nauw verband  met een
us stand fast in the Lord,  &id put on the whole armor voorafgaande vermaning. Wij  worden daar in de
of faith that we may be able to stand in the evil day.             vorige verzen vermaand om den vrede na te jagen met
        Surely there are many evils in the social-economic allen, en om te wandelen in de heiligmaking, zonder
conditions of  the world. Surely we may labor toward welke niemand den Heere zien zal. Daarom wijst de
removal of injustices, but we must do so in a manner apostel ons er verder op, dat wij op elkander moeten
compatible with our faith. Otherwise we are no long- toezien en dat we1 met een drievoudig doel. Eerstens,
er the salt in the earth, and if the salt have lost its opdat niemand verachtere van de genade Gods;  twee-
savor wherewith shall it be  sah%d. We may not be dens, opdat niet eenige wortel van bitterheid, opwaarts
unequally yoked with the unbelievers.             Let us be spruitende, beroerte make en door dezelve velen  ont-
patient unto the coming of the Lord, and count all                 reinigd worden;  en eindeIijks, opdat niet iemand een
things but dung for the excellency of Christ. Let us               hoereerder of onheilige zij gelijk Ezau, die om een?
testify against wickedness everywhere, and be faithful spijze het  recht van zijne eerstgeboorte weggaf, en
unto the end. He that shall endure unto the end shall daarna toen hij de zegening Wilde beerven,  verworpen
be saved.                                                          werd, en geen plaats des berouws vond,  hoewe hij
        We might mention other things that clearly show dezelve met tranen zocht. Wij  moeten  dus, jagende
that the ungodly labor organizations as <they exist to- na den vrede en wandelende in de heiligmaking, op
day are such that a Christian may not affiliate with elkander toezien, opdat niet iemand een onheilige zij
them. But we think sufficient has been said, and th-e gelijk Ezau, die in weerwil van zijne bittere tranen
light Scripture sheds on our path is plain.                        geen plaats des berouws vond.
        Stand fast in the Lord.                                       Wij zijn met deze geschiedenis van Ezau waarvan
                        The Consistory of                          de apostel hier melding maakt.  allen welbekend. Ezau
                        the Protestant Reformed Church             zijnde de eerstgeborene had  recht op  ,de zegening van
                        Holland, Michigan.                         het eerstgeboorterecht, iets dat in die dagen van groote
Done in Consistory Dec. 8,1943.                                    beteekenis was. Het bevatte het  recht  van hoof&chap
                                                                   over de broederen en hunne  ,geslachten,  een dubbel
                                                                   deel van de erfenis des vaders, het  recht  van priester-
                                                                   schap, de belofte om te leven  in het land KanaHn, en
                                                                   het voorrecht om straks het groote zaad voort te  bren-
                                                                   gen, dat de kop der slang vermorzelen zou. Maar dit
                        IN MEMORIAM                                alles had voor Ezau geen beteekenis. Vooral niet  toen
                                                                   `hem hongerde en hij zoo moede was dat hij  dacht dat
   It having pleased our Heavenly Father to take unto Him-         hij op het punt was om te sterven. Want hij leefdc
self                                                               alleen voor het aardsche en had voor het hiernamaals
                      MRS. R. NEWHOUSE                             geen oog  noch hope. Vandaar dat hij om BQne spijze,
                                                                   al was het dan ook slechts een aardsche en daarom een
who  passed  away on April 5, `at the age of 56 years, the         voorbijgaande, zijn eerstgeboorterecht weggaf. Daar-
Cons&tory of the Hope Protestant Reformed Church hereby            om draagt hij de naam van onheilig en profaan.
wishes to express its sympathy to our brother and former              Maar Ezau kreeg later berouw. Vooral  toen  hij
elder, Mr. R. Mewhouse.                                            vernam dat Jakob hem de zegening ontnomen had.
   May the God of all grace and comfort sustain him in his         Want  wij lezen in Genesis dat hij voor het aangezicht
bereavement and  sorrcw,  and may he say with the psalmist,        zijns vaders schreeuwde met eenen ,grooten  en bitteren
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the dead oE His saints",     schreeuw en dat hij zijne stem ophief en weende.
and experience through it all that all things work together for    Hetgeen hij eerst voor eene aardsche spijze verkocht,
good to them that love God.                                        zocht hij nu te beerven.    Maar de apostel  zegt in den
                                   Rev. J. A. Heys, Pres.          brief aan de Hebren, dat hij geen plaats des berouws
                                   Mr. D. Kooienga, Sec'y.         vond hoewel hij dezelve met tranen zocht.


342                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                 .".-.

vrouw en kinderen en ze ontkomen nog. Hij moet nu onze beginaelen. De fGweede  broeder wil onze begin-
een andere woning opzoeken.                                selen  l,aten  werken in de beataande scholen waarin
   Uit een puur aardsch oogpunt is het natuurlijk          men van onze beginselen niet veel moet hebben. Ds.
zeer onverantwoordelijk om in een huis te wonen w,aar      De Jong aarzelt om die stap zoo maar te doen.           Zijn
men altijd ziek is en dat in brand komt vanwege            denkbeeldig  huisje is nog niet zoo  slecht.  `t Behoeft
ouderdom.                                                  nog niet onbewoonbaar verklaard  worden  vanwege
   Dit beeld nu  etoegepast  op de bestaande Chr. scholen zijn ouderdom. (Hij is zeer bang, dat we ons doe1 niet
meent Ds. De Jong, dunkt me, te moeten  constateeren  :    zullen bereiken op den ingeslagen weg.  `t. Is  onver-
zoo  ,ver is het nog niet gekomen. Wanneer het zoo-        antwoordelijk. Hij ziet allerlei struikblokken.
ver komt dat wij met onze kinderen  schipbreuk moeten         Ds. De Jong vergeet m.i. dat wij Protestantsch
lijden, dan kunnen we  we1  ee;l aanvang nemen om Gereformeerd zijn en niet Christelijk Gereformeerd.
scholen te hebben alwaar onze beginselen worden  ge-       Het eene sluit het andere uit. En wanneer onze be-
leerd en op hooge prijs gesteld.                           ginselen gebaseerd zijn op Gods Woord (en dat zijn
   Ik ben echter.van  gedachte Ds. dat het dan te laat ze) dan  moeten  we ook de moed hebben om eigen
is. Dan staat het huisje in brand en er is geen spuit scholen te bouwen waarin we onze kinderen  kunnen
om het te blusschen.                                       onderwijzen en waarin we thuis gevoelen.
   De Ds. gaat verder met te' zeggen dat we een plicht        Zeg de  kinderen  Israels dat ze voorttrekken!
hebben te vervullen  in de bestaande scholen, want onze                                               S. D.  V;  I
kinderen  zijn daar, we stemmen in met hare principels,
ze zijn gefondeerd op den Woorde Gods. En dan zegt                              --
de Ds. om nu deze scholen te verlaten en andere te
bouwen, die we onze eigen scholen .noemen, dat gelijkt
te veel op wegloopende broeders.                             Did God Suffer In The Sacrifice
   Ds. De Jong vergeet  echter, dunkt me, dit eene
alles in de war brengende feit, dat we in 1924 met                              Of His Son?
onze kinderen  zijn uitgeworpen. Tot onze schaamte
meet  het worden  gezegd: we bleven toen  wonen in bet        The question whether God suffered in the sacrifice
minder nette huisje, en m.i. is het in een periode van of His Son is as important as it is interesting. True
twintig  jaren onbewoonbaar, en we  moeten  er uit;        it is, that a question of this kind leads us into the
en ik zeg met Ds. Veldman, wie zal het ons euvel  dui-     profound mysteries of God where we can only tread
den, dat we eigen scholen verlan,gen  voor onze kinde-     with fear and reverence, yet this need not deter us
ren. Scholen van vreemde smetten vrij.                     from listening to the testimony of Scripture on this
   Ik ben blij dat Ds. De Jong zegt dat er velen zijn subject. Whenever God speaks concerning Himself
in  de-Chr. Geref. Kerk die ons  goed gezind zijn. Ver-    in His Self-revelation in the Scriptures, we do well to
geet het niet. echter, breeder:  Ze blijven waar ze zijn, listen.
en zullen  het u nooit toestemmen dat we onze begin-          We are interested just now in the question whether
selen moeten  en willen toepassen ook in de hedendaag-     the sacrifice of the only  begotben  Son of God  oil the
sche  Christelijke  scholen. En wanneer het ooit zoo       cross involved suffering for God. The question does
ver komt dat we eigen scholen mogen bezitten, dan ziet ,not particularly concern itself with the relation  be-
men er niet van hnnne kinderen. Zoo werkn de dingen        *tween  the human and the divine natures of Christ.
niet. Als men zoo met ons meeleeft waarom dan zich Nor is it merely a question of whether  the Person of
niet bij ons aangesloten, dan kunnen we zamen werken the Son of God tasted the suffering which He had to
aan de beginselen die ons dierbaar zijn.                   un,dergo in His human nature, although this question
   Het is m-i. ook we1 een beetje ver gezocht, als ds naturally enters in. But the subject is broader, includ..
Ds. denkt, dat het schrikbe&d  hen altijd zal  achter-     ing all three persons of the divine Trinity. Even as
volgen, zij die hebben gestreden voor de beginselen van the sacrifice for sin on the cross was a divine act in
eigen scholten, en hun best niet hebben gedaan om de which the Father, ,the Son and the Holy Ghost partici-
bestaande scholen te reformeeren.  `t Is dunkt mij ,pated,  so the question arises, Did the triune God
we1 gebleken dat we in deze twintig jaren van eigen suffer in the sacrifice for sin that was brought in the
bestaan verder van elkander zijn verwijderd als ooit       Son on the cross?
te voren. Beginselen w,erken  door, ook in verband  met       We may  ,well ask, Can God suffer? Does the
de school.                                                 eternally perfect and infinitely blessed God suffer even
   We mogen dan aannemen, dat beide Dss.  gerefor-         whole He reveals <Himself in glorious majesty during
meerd zijn. De eerste blijft dit dan ook handhaven in the history of this present time; yet so, that His
zijn geheele pleidooi voor het bezitten van eigen scholen suffering in no way detracts from  iEIis glory? Did-it
waarin we onze kinderen  mogen onderwijzen vo'lgens        actually cost God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost,


                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           343

suffering to give His Son as a ransom for our sins?         grieving, but this time the word is even more expres-
   Turning to Scripture we find a number of very sive, since it carries the significance of toiling in pain,
significant passages that spelak  of the, sufferings, of suffering, being afflicted. This same word is used
God.                                                        in Gen. 6 ~6, "And it repented the Lord that He had
   The first of these is in Isaiah 63:7-g, "I will men- made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His
tion the loving kindnesses of the Lord, and *the praises heart."
of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath be-           The objection may be raised that  thee are all
stowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house anthropomorphisms, or  rather, anthropopathism, that
of Israel, which He  bath bestowed on them according is, the ascribing of human emotions, passions and
to His mercies, and according to the multitude of His       suflfering  to God. Just as the Lord cannot repent
loving kindnesses. For He said, Surely they are My from a certain action in the sense that man repents
people, children  that will not lie; so He was their        from having taken a certain course so human weak-
Saviour. In al,? their  aff&ctiom  He was afflicted, and ness as displayed in  suff&ng is strange to God,
the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and particularly since our suffering is the result of sin.
in His pity IIe redeemed them ; and He bare them,           Yet althou,gh we grant that there is nothing weak or
and carried them all the days of old."                      human in the sufferings of God, nothing that in any
   The prophet is singing of the unchanging mercies way deprives Him of His glory, that still does not
of Jehovah toward Israel, His chosen.        The Lord eliminate the possibility of divine suffering.              And
chose them unto Himself as His peculiar people, made even though it is true that God speaks  to us in a
them His children by the adoption to sons, delivered human language, since God must necessarily reveal
them from the house of bondage, led them through Himself to us creatures through the channel of the
a waste an,d howling wilderness and took them unto          human word, the fact remains that there must be
himself in the land of promise. Underneath them certain divine emotions and experiences in the  "soul-
were the everlasting arms. He Ioved them, He pitied life" and "heart" of God which.correspond to human
them, He .bestowed  on them His mercies, His loving-        sufferings as we know them. Although we can never
kindnesses and all His great goodness as their Father fathom the mystery before us, Scripture tells us that
and Saviour. Even in  all their affliction He was #God is afflicted in the affliction `of His people, His
afflicted. Israel's affliction did not leave God cold soul is grieved in their misery, and God can be grieved
and feelingless, but was intensely felt by God Him-         at His heart. Even such attributes of God as mercy,
zzlf. Though He sent them these distresses, He was          compassion, longsuffering and pity, which we are ac-
distressed with them.                                       customed to classify under the communicable attri-
    A similar idea we find in Judges 10:16,  "And they butes, each express a certain element of divine suffer.
put away the strange gods from among them, and ,ing.
served the Lord ; and His soul was grieved for the             This suffering of God becomes still more evident
misery of Israel." When Israel forsook the Lord He when we turn to such passages of Scripture as deal
onpressed them by giving them over into the hands           with the sacrifice of Iche Son on the cross.
of His enemies, and when they repented and returned            We are reminded at once of the familiar passage,
to the Lord His soul was grieved for their misery.          John  3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave
,There  can be no doubt but  that these passages have  a (His only begotten Son, that whosoever  believeth in
direct. reference to the suffering of God in His love       Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
toward His people.
    Which throws a very peculiar light on a passage             Emphasis necessarily falls on the fact that it was
like Psalm  103:13, "Like as a father pitieth his child-    God's Son, the only begotten Son, Whom God gave.
ren, so the Lord  pitiefh  them that fear Him.              In distinction from us, who are children by adoption,
    On the other hand, there are also a number of pas-      He i.s the eternal, natural Son of God. He is not born,
sages in Scripture that speak of the Lord being but begotten. In distinction from the Father He is
grieved with this generation, and said, It is a peopln the Son, ,the express image of the Father's likeness,
*hat do err in their heart, and they have not known `yet  co-etern'al  with Him, God of God. He is God's
 My ways." The word that is used here for being very own, the only One. The onIy begotten Son, re-
grieved means literally  *to loathe, to be weary of. cipient of all God's love, the central object of all His
 Thus again the fact that God was weary of that good pleasure. He is God Himself.
generation .that always erred in their heart does ex-          ,God  gave Bim, for such was His love for the world.
press a certain suffering on the part of God.               Love,  aacording  to sovereign good pleasure, motivated
    In Psalm  78:40 the  Psalmist says, "How oft did        God in giving the greatest of all gifts, the gift of His
they provoke  {Him in the wilderness, and grieve Him Son, the gift of Himself. It demanded divine suffer-
in the desert !' ' .f&re again Scripture speaks of God's ing on the part of God to give Himself in His Son,


                                                                                                                                             ,-
       544                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

      in order  that we sliould  not &rish,  kit  have  ederlast-    love, that. would not even spare the sa&ifice"for  sin
      itig life:           "                                         on the cross. Behold, what manner of love the Father
          This is even more emphatically stated in Bomans            hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the
      8  32, "He `that spared'not His own Son but delivered          Sons of God. Now we are sons, and it doth -not *yet
      Him up for us all." Here the emphasis falls -once              appear what. we shall be, but `we know `that when it
      more on the fact that the only-begotten Son is `God's          shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see
 very own; *He spared -not His own Son, but delivered                Him as He is.                            :                        `.
      Him up' for us al11                                                                                                       C:H.
                                                                                                                    ,.
          The .giving of the Son is called here a delivering
      up. And this act is axribed' to `the Triune Gob: The
      living God, the Triune God' delivered up His Son.
      The Father -delivered up {His only begotten One, the
      Son delivered Himself up, and  the Spirit delivered                                   IN MEMORIAM
      up the `Son, Whose Spirit He is. God in the Son
      delivered Himself up to His own divine wrath as a                 Na eene lichamelijke ongesteldheid,  door een ongeluk ver-
      sacrifice for sin.                                             oorzaakt, van eenige jaren  is op Zondagavond, Maart 19, stil
          True,, we are deahng  with' a mystery that `is as in den Heere ontslapen,
      profound as it is amazing, yet Scripture is very defi-
      nite, God spared not, butt delivered up His Son for us                          `SANDER VAN  DALeSEN
      all. God delivered Him up  .to come into this world i.n den ouderdom van 66 jaren.
      in the likeness of sinful flesh in order that He might            De Iaatste jaren  waren voor den broeder, in meer  den een
      become sin and a curse for us. He delivered Him                zin, een gestadige dood. De Heere leidde hem en de zijnen in
      up to" a life of suffering in our flesh, that He might         moeilijke wegen.
      walk the way of humiliation in perfect obedience.
,.                                                                      De Hollandsche Vreuwen  Vereeniging, "Dient den Heere",
      God delivered ,fHim up to the agony of Gethsemane              wenscht hiermede onze innerlijke deelneming in dit verlies aan
      and to the accursed death of the cross. Even while             de weduwe en de *kinder& te betuigen.
      God poured out the vials of His wrath upon His Son                Wij mogen gelooven dat hij van alle lijden verIost is en in-
      on the cross, He was still His Son, the obedient Ser-          gegaan  is  iu de eeuwige rust. Moge de Heere- de weduwe en
      "vant,  in Whom God was well-pleased..-                        hare kinderen  troosten met djne genade.
          The person of the Son of God suffered when He                                     Namens de Vrouwen Vereeniging,
      brought the sacrifice for sin. But no less was this 3                                               Ds. P. De Boer, Pres. I
      suffering of the Father and of the Holy Spirit. *The              Redlands, Calif.                  Mrs. P. Kooiman, Seer.
      text even suggests an alternative in the fact that
                     --                                       God
      spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us
      all. It places God, as it were, before the alternative,
      spare His Son and give us over to eternal wrath, or                                                                 .;
      deliver His own Son up to divine wrath and bring us                       What does the worldling gain
      into glory. In that alternative God did not hesitate                         By all his vain pursuits?
      to give up His Son. He chose the way of divine suf-                       His very pleasure gives him pain,
      fering. And what a suffering it demanded of Him.                             And  misery are its fruits.
      God Himself delivered up His own Son to the vials of
      His wrath to deliver us from them and bring us into                       What  anxiqus cares  corrodle
      glory. Such was His love whereby He loved us, that                           The  minds intent on  tiealth!
      He was willing to suffer intensely in sparing not His                     His mammon oft becomes' a I'oad,
      Son  from the agonies of death, that we may have life                        Which robs him of his health.                 `"
      in His name.
          1t certainly must be granted that this divine suf-                    Does he his end attain,
      fering detracts in no way from, but rather serves to                         And in full affluence roll?                         '
      intensify the glorious blessedness of the ever-blessed                    What does the sordid creature gain,                                1
       God, He is not a cold, abstract Being, but is  t.he                         When God  demands his soul?
      living God,  ,Who lives  .His own divine life perfectly
      and completeIy  throughout all eternity. He loves His                     My  heart  to heaven aspire,
      people, though unworthy in themselves, since He has                          And seek thine  all in God:
       chosen them as- objects of His love -in Christ Jesus.                    Nor e'er pollute thy pure desire,
       He loves  them  intenseIT,   gloriously divine? with  q                     By trifles on the road,


