368                                         T H E   STAKDARD  B E A R E R  1
               ." ..- -.-_." .._ -.-____                .._... __I_.--                      ----..---                    l_ll .._....  -__
                 N O   G R A C E   B U T   W R A T H                         In general, it may be said that it is a psalm of praise
                                                                          and adoration of the Lord. The special object of praise,
                       Psalm Ninety-two                                   of which the song makes mention, is the `works of God
                                                                          as observed by the Church in the world. And again, the
       Who. was the human instrument, whose* heart the particular work of God which the song extols is God's
Holy Spirit attuned  to,compose  this precious gem among government over the world, more especially with refer-
the sacred psalms? We do not know, for the simple rea- ence to the wicked and the righteous respectively. In this
son that the psalm does not inform us. about its author respect' the psalm is related in thought and conception
and there is next to nothing particular in the psalm to                   ro psalm Seventy-three. The striking difference between
warrant any conjecture with regard to its authorship. the two songs is, that while the author of the latter psalm
The rabbis attribute it to Adam as its composer, but to                   first related a painful experience of his, when he failed to
merely mention this view is sufficient to condemn it as a enter into the sanctuary and to understand the deep ways
wild conjecture.  Spurgeon and others suggest that the of God, the psalmist of our present hymn is entirely free
language of the psalm warrants the conciusion that .David                 from such doubtsand painful soul-harassments, and he
is the author, but more than a mere and very question- realizes from the beginning that only a brute and a fool
able conjecture this cannot be regarded `to offer. The could possibly criticize the ways of the Lord or even fail
fact is, we do not know and very little it matters that we                to understand and extol them.
do not know. In general, it is.  CJUr  opinion that it matters               The subject of the psalm is introduced by the state-
comparatively little whether or not we are acquainted ment rhat it is good to thank and to give praise unto
with the human, so-called secondary authors of Holy Jehovah. Beautifully,  Spurgeon remarks on this point:
Writ.      After all they were but the instruments thru                   "It is good ethically, for-it is the Lord's right; it is good
whom the Holy Spirit took care that the Church received emotionally, for it is pleasant to the heart; it is good prac-
the living Word of God. And this living Word of God                       tically, for it leads others to render the same hom-
the Church must have. Far less importance than, under                     age. When duty and pleasure combine who will be back-
the influence of modern criticism, was of late attached to                ward?.... Our personal experience has confirmed us in
minute knowledge of the human form of the Divine Word                     the belief that it is good to sing unto the Lord; we have
even in orthodox circles, it actually possesses for the                   often felt like Luther when he said:  `Come let us sing a
Church of Christ in the world. And thus it is with psalm                  psalm, and drive away the devil'." Especially does the
Ninety-two. Rather than inquiring into curious things song invite us to sing -of God's lovingkindness and his
the Word does not reveal, we will be satisfied with the                   faithfulness. When the dawn of another day begins to
knowledge of faith, that the Spirit of Christ struck this                 drive away the darkness of the night and to flood the glad
song from the heart and lips of some saint in the old dis-                light of the sun upon us, our hearts ought  to. open up
pensation, in order that the Church of all ages might to be filled with glad praises and thangsgiving for the
frequently turn  ro it as a fountain of joy and consolation               lovingkindness of our  God: And each night, in grateful
in the midst of this world.                                               remembrance of rhe faithful care and guidance of iJehovah,
       The song, we are told, was designed to be sung espe-               and at  the same  time entrusting ourselves to His faith-
cially on the sabbath day in divine worship of the con-                   fulness in the lonely watches of the darkness, we ought
gregation. This, of course, does not at all imply that it to close our eyes with a song to His faithfulness in- our
cannot and may nor be sung on various occasions, and hearts and upon our lips.
that it is less adapted for the individual Christian to sing                 And we will, if we but know and observe the works of
in various circumstances of life. But it does imply that God. For this observance of the wonderful works of
it was more especially designed for the Church, when on God the poet adduces as the ground for his statement,
rhe day consecrated in a particular sense to the service that it is good to praise and thank the Lord. YFor thou,
and worship of Jehovah, it gathers in temple and church                   Lord, hast made me glad rhrough thy work ; I will tri-
to praise the Lord. And one cannot help but wonder umph in the works of thy hands," thus he sings in vs. 4.
how in our day the Church, that adopts as its official                    The psalmist observed the work of God. He contemplated
creed a theory of grace over the wicked, can in good faith                the divine purpose and design round about him, and his
congregate to sing  this song and similar psalms. Surely,                 heart overflowed with gladness and with. reasons for
whoever may find joy and comfort in the thought that                      thanksgiving. For he' clearly observed that his God so
God is gracious to the wicked, the conscious children of                  designed and so governed all things, rhat he, God's child,
God, living as they ought, do not". That thought is pain- would have the victory and might even now triumph in
ful to them. In it they find neither joy nor peace for their              those works of God.
souls. It does not harmonize with their. conception of                       But this general statement is not sufficient. True, all
God. And the fact is, that in the psalms, in which the                    the works of the Lord are great and the wonders of His
Holy Spirit instructs the Church to sing the praises of                   thoughts become manifest  in  all He performs. Scan the
Jehovah their God, the very opposite from a certain  com-                 heavens and the firmament declares His glory; let your
tnon grace is expressed thruout. Thus it is emphatically                  eyes roam over the earth, and day by day instructs you
in psalm Ninety-two.                                                      in the greatness of His power and goodness. Great in


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                                    - .._ -----_-  __.......- - ..." ..__ II____ ----...."          _ _ _                        369
                                                                                                                 -...- -_.-
       number, extent, wisdom and glory are indeed all the             is, indeed, the main subject, the chief theme of the whole
       works of the Most High. But the poet has in mind some- song. It opens before our eyes the depth of divine  wis-
       thing very specific when in this connection he speaks of dom and the greatness of His unsearchable riches  dis-
       the wonderful works of God. As Calvin well describes played in His government in the present world over the
       the thought: "The psalmist, having spoken of the works` righteous and wicked. And first of all he inserts the
       of God in general, proceeds to speak more particularly of statement, that the brutish, natural man and the wicked
       his justice in the government of the world.- Though  God        fool can never know and understand the deep wavs of
       may postpone the punishment of the wicked, he shdws in          God. The natural mind is blind and foolish. It cannot
       due time, that in conniving at their sins, he did not over-     understand spiritual things. One must be enlightened
       look or fail to perceive them ; and though he exorcises and instructed by the Spirit of God to comprehend  some-
       his own children with the cross, he proves in the issue, whar the wisdom of the  LMost High manifest in the gov-
       that he was not indifferent to their welfare. His reason ernment of the world. It does not lie on the natural and
       for touching upon this particular  point seems to be that       earthy surface of things. It is very deep. As Asaph ex-
       much darkness is thrown upon the scheme of Divine               perienced, one must enter into the sanctuary and look at
       Providence by the inequality and disorder which prevail         things in the lighr of eternity and with a mind instructed
       in human affairs. We see the wicked triumphing, and . by the Lord, to grasp the operations of God in their
       applauding their own good fortune, as if there was no glorious design.                  :
       judge above, and taking occasion from the divine for-
       bearance to run into additional excesses, under the im-.           The wicked, so the poet  .had observed, spring as the
       pression that they have escaped his hand. The tempta-          grass and all the workers of iniquity do flourish. Accord-
       tion is aggravated by that stupidity and blindness of heart     ing to Calvin the emphasis must be placed on the thought
       which leads us to imagine that God exerts no superin- that the growth of the wicked is compared to that of the
       tendence over the world; and sits idle in heaven. It is         grass. It  ,is transient and quickly passing. "In rhe
       known, too, how soon we are ready to sink under the            passage before us the psalmist satisfies himself with using
      troubles of the flesh. The psalmist, therefore, intention- simply the figure, that the,prosperity  of the wicked'draws
       ally selects this as a case in which he may show the after it the speedier destruction, as the grass when it is
       watchful care exerted by God over the human family.            full grown is ready for the scythe." It may be admitted
       He begins, by using the language of exclamation, for that this thought is actually implied in the figure.
      such is the dreadful distemper and disorder by which our IJsually,  when the Word of God compares human life  ro
       understa,ndings  are confounded, that we cannot com-           the grass of the field, it calls attention to the frailtv and
      prehend the method of God's works, even when it is most         fleeting character of human existence  in'this world.. But
      apparent. We are to notice, that the inspired penman is it seems to  us: that this thought does not receive the
      not speaking here of the work of God in the creation of         emphasis in the psalm. Rather does the poet in these
      the heavens and earth, nor of his providential govern-          words call our attention to the great prosperity of the
      ment of the world in general, but only of the judgments wicked in the present world and from an earthly point of
      which he executes amongst  men- He calls the works of view. Grass springs in abundance, so do the wicked in
      God great, and His thoughts deep, because he governs the world. They generally abound in the earth and spring
      the world in quite another manner than we are able to           up on every side. Grass grows and flourishes quickly and
      comprehend. Were things under our own management,               in apparent strength. So do the wicked. They prosper
      we would entirely invert the order which God observes;          in the world and there are no bands in their death. The
      and such not being the case, we perversely expostulate          poet beholds the wicked in their strength and wealth, in
      with God for not hastening sooner to the help of the their name  .and fame-and position in the world, in their
      righteous; and to the punishment of the wicked. It              pomp and pride and prosperity and in their overbearing
      strikes us as in the highest degree inconsistent with the       power. And he acknowledges that they do flourish under-
      perfections of God, that he should bear with the wicked         the all-overruling providence of God. The Most High it
`i    when they rage against him, when they. rush without             is, Who makes them spring as the grass on every side
      restraint into the most daring acts of iniquity, and when and develop in strength and prosperity. For he is speak-
      they persecute at will the good and the innocent; it seems,     ing of the works of God and the deep rhoughts of the
      I say. in our eyes to be intolerable, that God should sub-      Lord. Rut what is the greatness of all this, and in  what
      ject his own people to the injustice and violence of the        respect does the wonderful wisdom of his God shine forth
      wicked while he puts no check upon abounding falsehood,         in this prosperity of the wicked?  .Does he,  gerhaps, also
      deceit, rapine, bloodshed, and every species of enormity.       extol the alleged fact that in this worldly prosperity and
      Why does he suffer his truth to be obscured, and his holy       in these temporal goods the Lord bestows on the ungodly,
      name to be trampled under foot? This is that greatness          God reaveals an attitude of grace toward them? That is
      of the divine operation, that depth of the divine counsel,      the theory of the Church today. It glories in the thought
      into the admiration of which the psalmist breaks forth."        that the Most  .High is graciously inclined toward  the'rep-
                                                                      robate ungodly, when He makes them flourish. in the
         Calvin understood the meaning of the psalm correctly         world. And ir has elevated this theory to be its official
      and in the above quotation described it beautifully. Such doctrine and confession. "How great -is the Lord," so

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

  the Church would sing, "in that He shows His  loving-            slain', (Zachary  Bogan). "When rhe wicked seems high
  kindness to all the workers of iniquity  !" But this thought     then they are on the verge of being cast down forever.
  is quite foreign to Scripture, in general. And it is cer-        The believer who can realize this will not despair at the
  tainly contrary to the central conception of psalm  Ninety-      time of his own depression and of the seeming exaltation
  two. Such a conception, according to the psalmist, may           of rhe wicked,, (Fausset). "Greatness and glory are to
  be that of the brute and foolish, of the natural man, who them but the prelude of their overthrow. Little does
  in his darkness and blindness does not perceive the real         their opposition matter, rhe Lord reigns on as if they had
  design of things, neither discern the true  wisdom  of rhe       never, blasphemed Him; as a mountain abides the  same
  `Most High. With all his show of wisdom and parade of though the meadows at its feet bloom or wither, even so
  intellect, the worldly wise does not understand the ways         the Most High is unaffected by the fleeting mortals who
  of God. But it is not the conception of Scripture and it dare to oppose him ; they shall soon vanish forever from
  is not the ground of the adoration with which the psalm- among the living" (Spurgeon). "It contributes in no
  ist meets his God gratefully in the midst of the congrega-       small degree to the comfort of God's people, to know that
tion on the sabbath day. On the contrary, the greatness            the reason why the wicked are destroyed is their being
  and wisdom of God's work in His government over the              necessarily the object of God's  hatred,`so  that he can no
  wicked appears in this, that He lets the wicked grow as more fail to punish them than deny himself" (Calvin).
  the grass and all the workers of iniquity to flourish, in The definite lesson, then, taught God's people for their
  order that they may be destroyed forever!                        comfort, of psalm Ninety-two, is that God in sending
         Notice especially, for this constitutes the very heart prosperity to the wicked aims at their everlasting woe
                                                                   and desolation. And this is no grace but wrath.
  of the whole psalm, that in the last clause of verse seven          The rest of the psalm shows us the other side of the
  there is an expression of purpose, of God's design. In same picture of God's righteous and faithful govern-
  lettingthe  wicked grow, in causing them to prosper and ment. He is good to Israel, to such as are of pure heart.
  flourish in the world,  the Most High has in mind a pur-         This is the positive reason for God's people  `to sing in
  pose,  ; firm and righteous determination. That  purpose
  is not to bless or to reveal grace, for God is not graciously    grateful adoration to their  God: They shall have the sure
                                                                   victory over all their enemies and the enemies of God
  inclined to the ungodly and wicked. They are His ene-            that now oppress and afflict them.
  mies and He is theirs.. No, that purpose is destruction.                                               And they shall grow
                                                                   as the stately  palm and the royal cedar of Lebanon.
  God causes the wicked to grow in order to destroy them.                                                                  For
                                                                   the Lord is their God. In His covenant-communion rhey
  Had they no existence they could not be destroyed. Did shall bear fruit and taste and declare rhat the Lord is
  they not receive their earthly prosperity, their gold and        good, a rock, and that there is no unrighteousness in Him.
  their silver, their gifts and their talents, their name and'
  their position in the world, they would have no means for                                                         II. H.
  rhe manifestation of and their development in their own
  wickedness. Rut now they exist and grow as wicked,                      DE JONGSTE KERKELIJKE STRIJD
  And God in His righteous wrath over the ungodly causes
  them to prosper, for the purpose of preparing them for                Classis Grand Rapids Oost, `Nov.-Dec. 1924
  great destruction and everlasting desolation. Such is
  the plain teaching of the psalm.  You may not like the              Zoo werd  dan de vergadering der  Classis, op verzoek
  thought, but if you do not, it is because there is some- van  erikele  leden   .der Eastern Ave. gemeente, die  zich de
  thing radically wrong with your spiritual attitude to God, eigenlijke  gemeente reeds noemden, en in weerwil van de
  His people and the world. For the psalmist opens before remonstrantie van den kerkeraad, door de Classicale Com-
  our eyes this depth of God's purpose with regard to the          missie tech belegd en kwam ze op 19 Nov. 1924 in de kerk
  prosperity of the wicked, in order that God's people aan Neland Ave.  samen.   Aan belangstellenden ontbrak
  should take courage and rejoice in the Lord their God. het niet en gelukkig vergaderde de Classis  niet in comitC,
  They are expected to sing of this in triumph. And surely, zoodat het kerkelijk publiek de gelegknheid had, om oog-
  by no stretch of the imagination could the notion be rec- en oorgetuige te zijn van alles wat er geschiedde en velen
  onciled with this central thought of the psalm, that God over de juistheid van hetgeen we in het vervolg  zul1e.n
  also assumes an attitude of grace and lovingkindness to- schrijven kunnen oordeelen. Ik zeg dit, omdat van  alles,
  ward these same ungodly, whom He causes to prosper in wat er in de zaak, die ons betrof, is voorgevallen, het
  order to destroy them. A brutish man may not under- doen dezer  classis, zoowel als dat der  Classis Grand Rap-
  stand this, and a fool may not see it, but the fact is, that ids  Wesr, die wat later vergaderde en de zaak van Dss.
  the present prosperity of the wicked is no manifestation Danhof en Ophoff,  zoowel  als die van candidaat B. J.
  of grace on the part of God. It is no blessing but a curse, Danhof behandelde, het ongelooflijkst is. Men moet er
  and this according to the expressed purpose of God. bepaald bij geweest zijn, om  zich te kunnen overtuigen,
  "Their felicity is that greatest infelicity"  (t2dam  Clarke).- dat deze dingen  werkelijk geschieden konden in een Gere-
  "Little do they think that they are suffered to prosper, formeerd kerkverband. Wij zijn daarom dan ook altijd
  that like beasts they may be fitter for the slaughter. The nog blij, dat de vergaderingen der classis in het openbaar
  fatter they are, the fitter for rhe slaughter and the sooner gehouden werden. Niet alleen, dat ze voor ons ten zcgen


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                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
 -_l___                                                                                                                        375
 mad  de censure  zou opheffen, hij  zich dan feitelijk  op        vengenoemde besluiten passeerde en veroordeelden  daar-
 hetzelfde standpunt der broeders plaatst, en dus den              mede feitelijk hun tegenwoordige actie.
 Leeraar zou dienen te behandelen. Dit is naar het  oor-              "V. Het schijnt, dat de kerkeraad  zich in  goed   ge-
 deel des kerkeraads dan ook de fout der `laatste  Classis,        zelschap bevindt in dezen, daar in `De Wachter' van een
 waar de Classis de broeders handhaafde in  Eiun beschuldi-        paar  weken  verleden, op een vraag niet onduidelijk werd
 ging en  tech er niet van  Wilde   weten, dat dit noodzakelij-    geantwoord, dat een actie als deze, die door de broeders
' kerwijze behandeling van den Leeraar vroeg.                      is gcvoerd, beslist wordt veroordeeld en niet onduidelijk
    "Verder is de zaak breed door den kerkeraad  toege-            wordt bestempeld met het woord zonde.
 licht en verdedigd op de laatste en voorlaatste  Classis-            "Djt is in het kort de houding van den kerkersad, en
 vergadering. Vooral de bewering, dat de Leeraar  schul-           de kerkeraad vraagt de  Classis om niet op deze zaak in
 dig staat  aan een zonde, die  dient  behandeld, volgens de       te gaan, daar het nog niet is bewezen, dat deze zaak  niet
 broeders, naar Art.  30 kan de kerkeraad niet erkennen.           door den kerkeraad  kan  worden  behandeId  en daarom
    "II. De gezamenlijke actie die de broeders  op touw            mist de Classis het  recht om deze zaak hier nu te  behan-
 zetten en die  ieidde  tot een verzoek en protest dat nu bij      delen.
 den kerkeraad aanhangig is, vraagt naar het  oordeel des                        "Heilbiddend namens den kerkeraad van
 kerkeraads niet veel toelichting.                                                  Eastern Ave.,
    YZooals  gezegd, de kerkeraad is gewillig en genegen                                (Was get.) H. Hoeksema, Pres.
 en is alreede begonnen met de behandeling van het  ver-                                             S. G. Schaafsma, Clerk."
 zock en protest der 47 protestanten.                                                                                 H. H.
    "Evenwel ook hier,  als in vroegere gevallen kan en wil
 de kerkeraad niet de zaak aanpakken, zooals hem die door
 de protestanten wordt opgedrongen en verlangt, dat die                             BERKHOF AS EXEGETE                   *
 zal  worden  behandeld.
    "Als gezegd, de kerkeraad is van oordeel  dat hij  deze                                 (Conclusion)
 organisatie niet kan en mag erkennen; dit zou  tech zeker
 de deur openzetten voor allerlei wanorde en  bandeloos-              Rev. H.  Danhof;  in his exposition of Luke  6:35, calls
 heid en zou alle  gezag, voorzoover wij daarvan  ,,kunnen         attention to the fact ("Standard Bearer," Aug. 1925, p.
 spreken in de kerk van Christus, eenvoudig onder de voe-          21) that the text makes mention  ofbut  one kind of divine
 ten vertreden. Dit laatste schijnt in deze geheele zaak love. And so it is. Says Jesus: "For  ,He, God, is kind
 eenvoudig niet te  worden  gevoeld en het schijnt maar            unto the unthankful and to the evil." Matthew has it:
 mode  te  zijn tegenwoordig.                                      "For He  maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the
    "De gronden waarop de kerkeraad weigert om dit good,, and  sehdeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
 protest te behandelen in den vorm, waarin het werd  *aan-         The rain which God sends and the sun which He causes
 geboden en waarin men het wenscht behandeld te zien,              to shine are tokens of  His'compassion  For Jesus con-
 zijn de volgende:                                                 cludes this part. of His sermon thus: "Be ye therefore
    "I. Zulk  een actie is  door den kerkeraad van Eastern         merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful." There
 Ave. vroeger genoemd  een  daad van oproer, en  iemand            are two distinct groups, therefore, upon whom the sun is
 werd op den kerkeraad ontboden om hiervan  schuldbelij-           caused to shine: the good and the evil. The good are the
 denis  te  doen en bij in gebreke blijven hiervan en  weige-      people of God. The exponents of the theory of common
                                                                   grace will grant this.
 ring om zulks te  doen onder censure geplaatst. Deze                                         They also hold that the other
actie van den kerkeraad werd door  Classis Grand Rapids            group, designated by the term evil, at least include the
 East gesteand.     De  persoon in kwestie had zijn zaak           elect. Berkhof expresses himself thus: "Het is niets dan,
 naar de  Classis gebracht en werd door de  Classis in het een  .uitvlucht, om te zeggen, dat deze plaatsen  slechts
                                                                   bedoelen 
 ongelijk gesteld en de kerkeraad gehandhaafd.                                  dat God zijn uitverkoren vijanden zegent. Er
                                                                   is in het  verband  geen enkel woord dat daarop  wijst,"
    "II. In een bij de Synode, vergaderd in Juni, 1924, te         Brochure, p. 27. The two words  slechts bedoelen  imply
 Kalamazoo,  Mich., ingediend rapport, bladzijde 91,  Acta         an admission on' his part that the group signified `by the
 Synodi 1924, leest men onder anderen:  `Actie van  ge-            term evil at least include the elect. Rev.  H. J. Kuiper's
 meenschappelijk opkomen  tegen  den kerkeraad is zeker views on this passage correspond with those of Berkhof.
 te veroordeelen. als in strijd met den aard van wat wij           Says Kuiper: "To whom does the Lord show this kind-
 noemen het  `recht van  controle  der mondige lidmaten.'          ness, this grace? Even to the unthankful and evil. Who
    "III, Er werd vroeger door den kerkeraad  aan een              are they? Not His unthankful children. The children
 broeder, die op soortgelijke wijze een petitie wenschte te        of God are often unthankful and they often do evil things.
 circuleeren en daarvoor de toestemming van den  kerke-            But this by no means identifies them with  Wie  unthankful
 raad vroeg, beslist ontkennend geantwoord en hem  ver- and evil.' Moreover the context plainly shows that they
 boden zulks te  doen. Notulen kerkeraadsvergadering 27 are the enemies, the haters of God. Observe also that
 Maart, 1919.                                                      Jesus speaks of the unthankful and evil without any
    "IV. Sommige der protestanten, die  nu protesteeren, restrictions  or qualifications. All the unthankful and evil
 war-en  kerkeraadsleden in den tijd  toen de kerkeraad  bo- are meant  - not only the elect among them, who are


        376                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                                                  --_--__"  ..___ ----"..                        __^...  -__-_II_^   ..-_-_
       ,destined  to become believers some day, but even the live  i turn ye, turn ye from  `your evil ways  ; for why will
        reprobate among them. That this is so is very clear from ye die,  0 house of Israel  ?"
        the parallel passage in Matthew, where Christ says that              " These passages, everyone of them, make mention of
        `He causes His rain to fall and His sun to shine upon the          but one kind of love or grace. According to the common
        evil and the good. These are blessings given to all with- grace men, this one grace God bestows upon both the
        out distinction," "The Three Points of Common Grace,"              elect and the reprobate. They shall have  ro conclude
        p. 10.                                                             that these passages, everyone of them, prove neither
               It is also Kuiper's view that the evil group include the    common grace nor special grace but an  X grace. But
        elect. Kuiper and Berkhof will have to admit, therefore,           these men should remember that it was their task to
        that this group is the recipient of the same kind of love furnish proof, not for  X grace but for common grace.
        bestowed upon  the. group designated by the term  good. They should have done so before deposing us.
        In other words the compassion of which Christ speaks is                It may be that Kuiper and Berkhof will attempt, to
      bestowed upon both groups. And this means that it is                 defend themselves against the above- attack. They may
        one and the same compassion. Even according to the do so not, to be sure, in public but in private, in their
      I exponents of the theory of common  grace,,Rev. Danhof's study when alone with no one  -to contradict them, or in
        averment to the  ef?ect  that Christ speaks of but one kind the presence of those likewise engaged in silencing their
        of love or compassion is correct.                                  conscience. Berkhof may claim thar the above attack is
                                                                           due to my lack of understanding of the theory of com-
               Bear in mind, now, that the common grace people dis- mon grace. It may be. True, I take it that one of the
        tinguish between two kinds of divine love or grace or tenets of the theory of common grace is that the elect are
        compassion : special grace and common grace. Common                the recipients of special but not of common grace, that
        grace is bestowed upon the reprobate. The elect are the            common grace is reserved for the reprobate.             A m   I
        recipients of special grace.                                       right? If so, the above atrack is justified.
           What kind of love, grace or compassion was Jesus                   I may be wrong, however. It may be that one of
        speaking of when He said that God is kind to the good the tenets of the theory of common grace is that this
        and to the evil? Was it a common or a special compas- grace which is common is given to rhe elect as well as to
        sion? We should bear in mind now, that according  to the reprobate. We are well aware of the fact, that Dr.
       Kuiper and Berkhof the evil group include both elect and A. Kuyper. maintained that special and common grace
        reprobate. Hence, it cannot be a common compassion cannot be separated. Common grace, so Kuyper avers,
       of which Christ spoke, for it is bestowed upon the `elect. prolongated Adam's life. It was Kuyper's view that the
       Neither may it be maintained that Christ was speaking elect are the recipients of common grace as well as the
       of God's special compassion as, according to the expo-              reprobate.        Did Synod adopt this particular tenet of
       nents of the theory of common grace, it is bestowed upon Kuyper's theory? It is hard  ro say. Berkhof has this to
-.     the reprobate. The exponents of the theory of common say : "De Synode heeft volstrekt niet bedoeld, om in de
       grace shall have to conclude that the compassion which drie  punten  een formulatie'te geven van het leerstuk der
       has as its token, rain and sunshine, is neither common nor gemeene gratie. En hct is natuurlijk de dwaasheid  ge-
       special. For the want of a better name let us call it an kroond,  om te meenen, dat zij hiermede  heel de  theorie
        X compassion. It is plain, that he who takes a stand               van Dr. Kuyper rot  in  a&  bijzonderheden  heeft aanvaard.
       with the common grace men shall have to admit that Niets is verder van de waarheid. De drie  punten   spre-
       Matt. 5  :44; 45 and Luke 6  :35 are Scriptures which prove, ken zelfs niet-uitdrukkelijk  van de Gemeene Gratie. Maar
       neither common grace nor special grace, but  X grace. door ze  aan te nemen heeft de Synode  bet  we1  als haar
       Such a one shall have to eliminate from his list of Scrip- overtuiging uitgesproken, dat er zoo iets  als Gemeene
       tures, proving{  ?) the theory of common grace, these Gratie bestaat," Brochure, p. 5.
       passages. And not only these Scriptures but also the fol-              According'to  Berkhof, Synod did not adopt Kuyper's
       lowing: Rom. 2  :4, "Or despisest thou the riches of His entire theory in every detail. Synod merely meant to
       goodness and&forbearance and longsuffering: not know- assert that there actually is some such thing as common
       ing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" grace. The fact that Kuyper lets God bestow his  corn-
       They will have to.. take from their list Acts  14:16, 17            mon grave upon the elect, does'not mean that Synod lets
       which reads: "Who in times past suffered all nations to God do so. However, if the exponents of the theory of
       walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He left not Him- common grace refuse to adopt this particular tenet of
       self without witness. in that He did good, and gave us Kuyper's theory, they shall have to conclude, let me re-
       rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts peat, that the Scriptures which they  cluoted  prove an  ?;:
       with food and gladness." Ps. 145 :9 shall have to be passed         grace but no common grace. We feel sure, therefore,
       by. The passage reads: "The Lord is good to  all and that Berkhof, in order to help himself out of a difficulty
       His tenders mercies are over  all His works." Likewise will subscribe to this particular tenet of Kuyper's theory.
       Ezekiel 33  :lI. There we read: `Say unto them, As I Yet, all that Berkhof will accomplish is to help himself
       live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in. the death          out of one difficulty into another. This shall be made
       of the wicked; but rhat the wicked turn from his way and clear.


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   BE:%RER
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                      "l-.ll_--~l...                              ..-.^."ll_-_----  _..-                                     __
       Let us take for granted that it is also Berkhof's view         We now ask: What is that Scripture which Kuiper
   that common grace is the property of the elect as well as       and Berkhof regard as superior proof that God at once
   of the reprobate. In this case he will go on reasoning          loves the reprobate ? The answer: Luke  G:35  and Matt.
   thus : Whereas Jesus, in the sermon on the mount, makes         5:44,4.5: Says Kuiper: "Our text (Luke  6:35) is one of
   mention of. but one kind of compassion and whereas spe-         the most remarkable passages in the sermon on the
   cial grace is nor common property and whereas the rep-          mount.    First, because it sheds an exceptionally clear
   robate is also a member of the group designated by the          light on rhe important question whether God  .in any
   terms evil. and ungodly, it follows that the compassion         respect assumes an attitude of favor, of love, of goodness,
   bestowed upon this group is common compassion or of grace toward the wicked. You may be tempted to con-
   grace. And thus these sayings of Jesus unequivocally            clude from these that God does not in any degree or in
   prove that God bestows grace upon rhe reprobate.                any sense love the reprobate. Thar conclusion is wrong.
       What have I done? Have I made Berkhof prove the             It is forbidden by our text.. . . God is kind toward the
   theory of common grace? It may seem so. The above               unthankful and evil," Brochure, p. 5.
   line of reasoning is logical, is it not? The conclusion            Again we call attention to the fact that the term rep-
   which was drawn is therefore warranted, is it not? My robate does not occur in the text. However, Kuiper also
   answer is ready: The conclusion is warranted providing insists that rhe reprobate is included in the group denom-
   the premises are true and providing rhe reasoner is not         inated unthankful1 Says Kuiper : "Observe also that Jesus
   taking things for granted. Was this done? Indeed, it speaks of the unthankful and evil without any restrictions
   was. Hence, the conclusion is not warranted. True it is, or qualifications. All the unthankful and evil are meant
   that Jesus makes mention of but one kind of compassion; - not only the elect among them, who are destined to be-
  ' true  ir is that special grace is not common property. But come believers among them," Brochure, p. 10.
   it remains to be proven whether the-reprobate are mem-             Now we admit, that if this unthankful group include
   bers of the group signified by the term evil. It remains        the reprobate, the passage may be quoted in defense of
   to be proven whether common grace is bestowed upon              the,proposition  that God loves the reprobate even though
   the elect. This the reasoner takes for granted. We know         He hates them. Upon what grounds, now, does Kuiper
   Berkhof's reason for maintaining that the group unthank- insist that this unthankful group includes the  reprobate  ?
   ful and evil include the reprobate. It is this:  "Het is He, refers us to the parallel passage in Matthew, where
   niets dan een uitvlucht, om  re zeggen, dat God zijn  uit-      Christ says that He causes His rain to fall and His sun
. verkoren  ,vijanden zegent. Er is in het  verband geen to shine upon the evil and the good. These, says Kuiper,
   enkel woord dat daarop  wijst."                                 are blessings given  ro all without distinction.
       This particular assertion of the professor, so we              Kuipdr, as does Berkhof, takes for granted what he
   pointed out in our former essay, is untrue. The near and        should prove. The question is whether rain is actually
   Ear surroundings of the text plainly teach that the rep-        a blessing to the reprobate ; whether the rain which God
   robate is cursed by God. The exponents `of the theory causes to fall upon the reprobate signifies that. God loves
   of common grace are compelled to admit it and so they           them. And now it appears that Kuiper is less of an
   do. Says H. J. Kuiper: "The Bible abounds with texts            exegete than Berkhof. Berkhof searched at least the near
   in which the Lord is represented as being angry wirh the        surroundings of the text for data which might throw light
   wicked every day," Brochure, p. 4. And then this:  "DO          upon the matter. During the search,  ir is true, Berkhof
   nor rely (I am quoting  I-1. J. Kuiper) on the grace which      kept his eyes closed. Whether he did so out of rever-
   restrains the beast and the demon in you. Respectability        ence or for some other reason, is not for me to say. The
   will not save you. Do not rely on your own goodness, result was, that Berkhof found nothing. But the mere
   which like the morning dew, evaporates before the rays          facr, that he searched the near surroundings of the text
   of  ,the rising sun.                                            with eyes closed implies at least an admission that these
       "These are some of the things which common grace. surroundings should have been searched with eyes
   can never do : It cannot remove the curse of God," Brochure opened. It would seem that Berkhof is aware of the fact,
   p. 28.  We ask: If the curse of God is resting upon the that the exegete may nor neglect the context. Not so
   reprobate can it be true that they are at once members          Kuiper. He takes no account of the setting of the text.
   of that group blessed by God?  /ittend  to Kuiper's an-         This brother simply takes for granted that rain is a bless-
   swer : "You may be tempted to conclude from these ing to the reprobate. Kuiper simply postulates that the
   (from these texts) that God does not in any sense or rain which God causes to fall upon the reprobate signi-
   degree love the reprobate. That conclusion is wrong. fies, thar God loves them. Kuiper postulates the thing
   It is forbidden by our text and by not a few other which he should prove. This postulation he inserts into
   passages." And again : "You may ask: How can we in his text. Thereupon the text is quoted by him in support
   the face of all these texts say, that God loves the wicked?     of his postulation. Nay more, the brother even preached
   How can He hare them and love them at the same time?            a sermon on that postulation of his. And the profundity
   Even if we could not explain this (I am still quoting of that sermon greatly impressed the members of his
   Kuiper) we would believe it, because both thoughts are          tonsistory. So much so, that they begged their pastor to
   plainly taught in Scripture," Brochure, p. 11.                  publish it. The foreword of Kuiper's brochure begins


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thus: "The sermons contained in this little volume were ers that the wicked plunge from the slippery ways of
published at the request of the consistory of the Broad- prosperity into destruction.
way Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids,  Mich."             There is a reason why Kuiper struck out the name of
  : But supposing' now that Kuiper should have at-              God'from the text. The fact that  Godlplaces thewicked on
tempted to prove his postulation, would he have suc- slippery ways of prosperity, the fact that He casts them
ceeded? In other words, does Scripture anywhere teach           headlong into destruction means, that God sends the
that rain is a blessing to the reprobate. Does Holy Writ wicked prosperity that He may cast them into destruc-
anywhere tell us that the reprobate are beloved by' God tion. Ps,.  !%:7 asserts this very thing. There I read:
because they receive from Him rain? No, indeed. The "When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the
very opposite is true. It is the plain teachings of Scrip- workers of iniquity do flourish ;  that  they shall be de-
ture that rain is a curse to the reprobate, not a blessing.     stroyed forever." These two psalms literally state that
The Bible teaches me that the rain, which the reprobate         rain is  meant  as a curse, that rain does not signify that
receive from God, is not a token of His (God's) love but God loves the reprobate whom He sends this rain.
is meant as a curse. Ps. 73 :18 reads : "Surety thou didst         I repeat, there is a reason why Kuiper cancelled the
set them in slippery places; thou casteth them down into        name of God. He could then say without shocking his
destruction.`*                                                  audience that Scripture does &t teach that these blessings
   Is not H.  J. Kuiper aware of this Scripture? Indeed,        are meant for evil, and that they flow from God's wrath.
he is. What does he do with it? He simply  ehminates            The  ehmination of this truth from Scripture made it
the passage from God's word.- Let me prove it. We safe(  ?) for  K&per to declare that rain and sunshine are
find this in his brochure: "The first question is not even      indications of God's love for the reprobate.
,what God does in the heart of the unregenerate, whether           Well does  K&per and the exponents of the theory of
He restrains sin within him and whether He enables  him cotnmon grace in general realize that the admission to the
by the general operation of His spirit to perform outward,      effect that rain and sunshine are indications not of God's
moral good. The fundamental question in this discus- love  bur of  His,wrath, I say, well do these men realize
sion-as both sides agree-is: What is God's attitude that an admission of this kind is equal to the admission
toward the wicked, more particularly the reprobate that common grace is the product of the mind of man.
among the wicked? Does God show any favor toward                   Here follows a resume of Kuipecs  sins :
the reprobate? Is He in any way or measure graciously              a) Kuiper postulated what he should have proven.
inclined toward them? Those who deny common grace               His postulation he inserts in rhe text, which he then
say, that He is not. God's attitude toward them is solely quotes in support of his postulation.  In  doing  SQ  K&per
one of wrath and hatred. He does not love them. He is became guilty of  %legku&&'  of "begging the question."
not kindly disposed toward them. Therefore, when He                b) Kuiper's postulation finds no support in Scripture.
sends them blessings, these do not flow from His good- Nay, more, Scripture teaches the very opposrte  from what
ness, but rather from His wrath. Their purpose is simply Kuiper's postulation asserts. Yet this unscriptural postu-
to render them without excuse in the day of judgment; lation was inserted into the text. (Matt.  5%' 45; Luke
to fatten them in the day of slaughter.. . . .    This view 4:35.) And thus it happened that Kuiper became guilty
(I am still quoting Kuiper) is in  conflict with Scripture. of mutilating Jesus' sayings.
It is true, that, according to Scripture, the ways of pros-        c) Kuiper virtually eliminated from God's word
perity are slippery places for the wicked  from which they      those Scriptures which militate  against  his postulation.
pitch forward headlong  into destruction.  It is true, that .(Ps.  92:7; Ps. 73  :18.) He informs his audience that
they turn the blessings of God into  a< curse for them- God's word teaches the very opposite from what these
selves, because they despise these riches of His goodness. texts assert. How horrible !
But Scripture doer not teach that these blessings are meaant       The closing sentence of  &riper's foreword reads
for evil, and that they flow from God's wrath." So far thus: "May  ir please the God of truth to use this little
Kuiper.                                                         book for the advancement of His cause." How .&range,
   Compare once more Ps.  73:18 with Kuiper's version some people pray! What odd desires arise out of the
of  it.. Surely  Thou  d&t  sd them in slippery places:         hearts of some people.
Thou  casteth them down into destruction. Kuiper's ver-            Yet it is a fact, that God is using Kuiper's little book
sion of the text reads thus:. . . . ways of prosperity are      for the advancement of His cause. God sees to it that
slippery places for the wicked from which they pitch for- all things advance His cause. Even the lie of the heretic.
ward headlong into destruction. is Kuiper telling an               Thus it appeared that Scripture  itself'excludes  from
untruth? What he says is true. The wicked do plunge the evil and unthankful group the reprobate. God's word
from the slippery ways of prosperity headlong into de- literally states that rain and sunshine are  meant  as a
struction. The point is, however, that Kuiper fails to curse. The love, the grace, the compassion of God  must
reproduce Scripture. The question is who places them on be confined to the elect. The theory of common grace in-
slippery places, who casts them into destruction. The volves a mutilation and a denial of Scripture.
Psalmist says  ir is God who does so. Kuiper eliminates            Further, it is a commo1z practice with Berkhof to ignore
the  name  of God  from the passage and informs his  read-      the setting of the text. We shall furnish a few more


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           379
I__-                                                                     --.____--_______~_ ~-...__l ----T---
 examples. Ezekiel 33 :1 1. The passage reads thus : "Say onomy (verse 63) which reads thus: "And it shall come
 unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no, to,pass that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good,
 pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked       and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to
 turn from his way and live." Concerning this passage,          destroy you, and to bring you to naught; and ye shall be
 Berkhof has this to say: "Deze plaatsen zeggen ons zoo plucked from the land whether thou goest to possess
 duidelijk, dat God geen lust heeft in den dood des  zon-       it." This passage plainly teaches that the Lord rejoices
 daars." We shall stop here for a moment. We ask: Is over the (reprobate) wicked to destroy them. Someone
 Berkhof correct? My answer: Indeed, he is. It is a fact,       may reply that this declaration of Jehovah implies that
that the prophet states as plainly and as forcibly as can be    in the beginning God did rejoice over the reprobate ro do
 that God has no pleasure in the death of the  Gked.  I         him good. My reply is ready. The context plainly in-
 ask: Is there anyone of us who denies that God has no          dicates that such is not the case. The very first verse of
 delight in the death of the  wicked?  Berkhof'is playing       the chapter reads : "And it shall come to pass if thou shalt
with words.     What the professor actually meant to say        harken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God to
 is this: "Deze plaatsen zeggen ons zoo duidelijk  als observe and to do all His commandments which I com-
 woorden dit vermogen, dat God geen lust heeft in den           mand thee this day. . .  .," I ask: Who are they which
 dood van den  verworpene  zondaar." Berkhof has it that hearken diligently unto the Lord to do all His command-
 the prophet unequivocally states that God has no pleasure      ments? Those in whose hearts these laws are written,
 in the death of the reprobate ungodly. Is this true?  I..et    the people of God, the elect of God. These the Lord shall
the reader judge. It is an astonishing untruth. And bless. Them the Lord shall establish an holy people
 what is Berkhof's ground for asserting that God has no unto Himself as He hath sworn unto them, over them
 pleasure in the death of the reprobate wicked? This:           rhe Lord shall rejoice to do them good, For I read: "And
 "Let er  we1 op dat hij (the prophet) niet zegt: `des  uit-    all these blessings shall come on thee (verse  2), the Lord
verkorenen zondaars,' maar: `des zondaars,' geheel in het shall establish. thee an holy people unto Himself, as he
., algemeen." Because the text as such (so reasons  Berk-       hath sworn unto thee," (verse 9).
hof) does not specifically state that the elect sinner is          But the chapter also has this verse: (verse 58) "If
 meant, the words of the prophet must be made to apply thou wilt not observe ro do all the words of this law that
 to the reprobate sinner as well.                               are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glori-
    Let us apply this rule to such passages as Rom.  4:s  ;     ous and fearful1 name, THE LORD THY GOD..  " Who
 I Cor.  1.5:22; II Cor.  5  :15; I Tim.  2:6 and notice the re- are those unwilling to fear this glorious and fearful name?
 sults. Rom. 4  :5 contains this clause :  "But believeth on They are the wicked, yea the reprobate wicked, according
 Wim that justifieth the ungodly." The clause does not to the context. For they are cursed by God. These the
 state that the elect ungodly are meant, hence, these words     Lord rejoices over to destroy.
 of the apostle must be made  ro apply to the reprobate            Let us now turn to Psalm 145  :9, 1.5, 16. These texts
 ungodly as well. Conclusion  : God justifies the reprobate read as follows: "The Lord is good to all, and His tender
 ungodly. I Cor. 15  :22 reads: "For as in Adam all die, mercies are over all His works. The eyes of all wait
 even so in Christ shall all be made alive." The text as        upon thee ; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
 such does not state that the group denoted by the term alI Thou openest thy hand, and satisfieth the desire of every
 include only the elect.    Hence, the group includes the living thing."
 reprobate also. Conclusion: the reprobate shall live in           The expressions : "all, all His works, the eyes of all,
 Christ. II Cor. 1.5 contains this clause: "And that He         every living thing" must be made to apply to creation,
 died for all." Applying Berkhof's rule we must con- i.e., man, animal and every living thing. The question
 clude that Christ died for the reprobate. I Tim. 2 :6 reads': is whether this psalm teaches that God's tender and
 "Who gave himself a ransom for  all to be testified in due     loving care is upon every single creature or upon every
 time." Apply Berkhof's method of exegeting a text and kind of creature. The context  shaIl have to decide. We
 you shall have to conclude that according to the Aposrle shall confine  ourself to the creature  mcMt.
 Paul, Christ gave himself a ransom for the reprobate.             Let us now hear Berkhof on the matter. Berkhof
    It is fact, however, that the surroundings of these sev-    says this: "Zij (these texts) toonen zeer duidelijk, dat
 eral Scriptures plainly teach that God justifies the elect     er,  behalve de zaligmakende genade Gods die Hij alleen
 ungodly only,  that only the elect shall live in Christ, that aan de uitverkorenen schenkt, ook een zekere gunst of
 Christ gave himself a ransom for the elect only. Ezekiel       genade  is,-die Hij betoont  aan de menschheid in het  alge-
 33  :11 contains a clause which asserts that God has no meen,  uitverkorenen en verworpenen. Deze woorden zijn
 pleasure in rhe death of the wicked. The clause as such        op zichzelf duidelijk genoeg, en behoeven  dus. nauwelijks
 does not state that the elect wicked are meant. May we         eenige  verklaring. God verzorgt al zijne  schepselen  mil-
 now conclude that the reprobate wicked are meant as            delijk, en geeft hun daarin het bewijs van zijne rijke
 well? Berkhof does so. It is plain, that Berkhof  .erred.      gunst. De  dichter argumenteert hier van het mindere
 He should have examined rhe surroundings of the ciause.        tot het meerdere. De Heere zorgt voor al zijne  schepse-
The context the professor ignored. The exegesis which ien, hoeveel  te meer dan voor degenen, die gelooven.`"
 he renders is in flagrant contradiction with God's word.          Let us attend to this last statement. According to
 There is a verse in the twenty-eighth chapter of  Deuter-      Berkhof the Psalmist divides God's creatures into  two


       380                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
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       sub-groups. Berkhof is right. The poet does  SO.  Berk-                      Before leaving this psalm the professor deems  ir ad-
       hof has it that the one sub-group comprises the believers             visable to refute the opponent.       Let us hear Berkhof:
I      or the elect. The other sub-group comprises the repro- "Maar, zegt men, die plaatsen bewijzen het punt in kwes-
       bate and the non-ethical creatures. According to  Berk- tie niet,  n.l.,  dat God  zelfs  den  niet-uitverkorenen   pnrt  of
     I hof, both groups are blessed. Is it true, that-the one genade   bechjst,"   Brochure, p. 26. The objection of the
       group  coinprises the elect and that the other sub-group opponent must be sustained. True, these passages do not
       comprises the reprobate and the non-ethical creatures?                teach- that God bestows His  lbve upon the reprobate.
       Is it true, that both these sub-groups are blessed and This psalm teaches the very opposite as we have seen.
       loved by God? No, indeed. One simply stands aghast                           Berkhof informs his readers that it is the contention
       at these bold untruths. What are the two sub-groups? of the deniers of common grace that sunshine, rain, etc.,
       We shall have to consult the psalm. The poet speaks of                do not indicate  that: the reprobate wicked are the objects
       those who`love and fear God and call  upon His name, of of God's favor. The professor further informs his readers
       those who are bowed down. The poet makes mention                      that the opponents do concede, that, according to this                           1 . . . .
       of the saints  who extol and bless God's name, and declare            psalm, the reprobate wicked receive many good gifts from
       His mighty acts, Mention is made of God's works which God, but rhat the opponent also maintains that these good
       praise Him. And finally the poet makes mention of the                 gifts, such as rain and sunshine; are no tokens of God's
       wicked. These various members form one group which                    love for the {reprobate) wicked. Berkhof comes very
       we may call the creature. This one group the psalmist near the truth. We insist upon this very thing,  ,namely,
       diaides into two sub-groups. What is his basis of divi- that rain and sunshine are no indications of God's love
       sion? Fearing God and not fearing God.                                for the (reprobate) wicked. This very psalm asserts  ,that
              According to this basis of `division the following such is the case. Let me repeat the verse, "The Lord
       members must be brought together into one group: "The                 breserveth  all that love Him, but the wicked will He  de-
       all, all his works, the saints, those that are. bowed down,           Stray."
       those that fear Him." According to the poet these vari-                       We will now notice how Berkhof attempts  ro remove
       ous members have this in common rhat they fear and                    the objection of the opponent. Says Berkhof :  "De  overi-
       praise God. Again, according to this basis of division ge Schriftuurplaatsen waarnaar de Synode  ,verwijst,  zijn
       the wicked, and the wicked only, comprise the other echter voldoende, om dit bezwaar te  ontzenuwe'n,"  Bro-
       sub-group.      Now the question  whither both of these chure,  pl 26. Think of it, rhe poet states, that God de-
       sub-groups are loved by God? What does the psalmist stroys the (reprobate) ungodly. Hence, the objection
       say? This: "The Lord is nigh unto all rhat call upon                   which `we raise is the objection of the poet. This objec-
       Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fill the              tion Berkhof will now remove. How? By referring his
       desire of them that fear Him : He also will hear .their  cry, readers. to the sermon on the mount  (Mat?.  5  :44, 45).
       and save them. The. Lord preserveth all them that love                 Berkhof is not setting us aside, but the divinely inspired
       Him:  bur all the wicked will He destroy." Hence, the                  poet. He uses the words of Jesus to silence the poet. In
       sub-group wicked are not loved by God. They are de-                    other words, he  makes  Christ silence Christ. This, to
       stroyed. Professor Berkhof is simply playing with  God's be sure, cannot be done. Berkhof refers us to those say-
       word. According to the poet the wicked (the reprobate}                 ings of Jesus which assert that God causes rain to fall
       must not be classified with the non-ethical creatures.                 on the good and on the evil. But here again it is the
       They are not members of that group beloved and blessed question whether the group denoted by the term evil
       by God. The Psalmist plainly states that the (repro- include the reprobate; whether rain and sunshine indicate
       bate). wicked must be placed in a, class by themselves. that God loves the (reprobate) wicked. Berkhof asserts
        According to the poet they  are hated by God, not loved.              that such is the case. He does so on the ground that
       The Lord destroys rhem. I wish to repeat that Berkhof the surroundings of the text do not indicate that such is
        makes sport of God's word.                                            not the case. This, we pointed  .out, is a bold untruth.
              Tt is not true, that the poet is reasoning from' the But notice Berkhof's tactics. `He ignores the surround-
        lesser (the non-ethical creation plus the reprobate) to the           ings of the ninth verse of psalm one hundred forty-five.
        greater (the elect). The poet places over against each                It is plain why he does, so. The surroundings of this
        other two groups: the group that fears God, and rhe passage deny his theory. Ignoring the plain teachings of
        group that fears God not. The former is blessed, the                  the poet, Berkhof appeals to the sayings of Jesus. The
        latter is cursed and destroyed. Such are the plain teach- surroundings of these Scriptures also militate  agabst the
        ings of this psalm.                                                    professor's theory. Berkhof, nevertheless, asserts that
              We do not understand how Berkhof dare mulitate and               such is by no means the case. He informs his readers
        distort this beautiful psalm as he does. Has he no con-                that the  conrext of these particular sayings of Christ do
        science? This psalm teaches the very opposite from                     not indicate that God bestows His love upon His elect
        what Berkhof claims that it teaches. The poet declares                 only. In this manner Berkhof plays with and makes
        that the wicked shall be destroyed. Berkhof asserts that sport of God's word.
        the poet teaches that the (reprobate) wicked are beloved                      One more  S+ipture  remains, namely, the parable of
        and blessed by God.                                                    the feast. Berkhof regards this parable as a proof for the


                                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                 381
     - -                     ___--II   "..    .__.- - ""          --II  -........ -__- ..." -.......           -..       -__~.-.."--  _-...... l_l
     proposition that God loves the reprobate. This parable                          b                  VRAGEN
     we desire to. treat in a separate article.
            Thus it appears that the theory of common grace has                 :De tweede van de vragen ons toegezonden door Br. W.
     no basis in Scripture. Scripture denounces the theory.                 G., te G. RP., M., in  verband met de mogelijkheid van
            It also appears that, in the fast few years, a new school       Christus'  val, betreft de verheerlijking' van  Christus op
     of exegetes arose. Let me again, in closing, place before den berg.  Eigen  leeraar en een theologische professor
,    our readers the code of this school.                                   hadden   onlangs van die verheerlijking de verklaring  ge-
            a) Postulate what should be proven.                             geven, dat het op den berg  aan Jezus' keuze  stand,  &?
            b) Insert your postulation into the text.                       vandaar ten  hemei  in te gaan, maar dan  zonder  zijn volk,
            c) Thereupon quote the text in favor of the postula- of, indien Hij zaad  Wilde,  opnieuw af te  dalen, am Zijn
     tion.                                                                  uitgang te volbrengen  te  jeruialem, De vrager was met
            cl) Sermonize on the postulation, not on the text.              deze verklaring niet voldaan, omdat, volgens hem, Jezus
            e) Publish these sermons. The common people are                 in de wereld kwam, om den wil Zijns Vaders te  doen, en .
     not able to detect what is happening. Hence, the  Ser- daartoe behoorde stellig ook het volbrengen van dezen
     monizer is safe( ?).                                                   uitgang te Jeruzalem, m. a.  w., het gehoorzaam  bewan-
            f) Beg the question whenever necessary.                         delen van den weg des Iijdens en des doods. Alles is ook
            g> Reason in a circle, but know enough to stop be-              hem  echter niet duidelijk, en daarom komt hij thans met
     fore you become dizzy, and fall into. a semi-conscious deze vraag tot ons.
     state. A short ride in the merry-go-round will do.                         Wij zijn het met den vrager eens. In de  verheerlij-
     h) Eliminate from Scripture troublesome passages, king van Jezus op den berg was het niet de  vraag, of
     or simply ignore them.                                                 Christus den lijdensweg zou  willen; maar Mozes en
            i) Ignore the contexts of any one passage when nec-             Elias, gezien zijnde in heerlijkheid,  zeiden zijnen uitgang,
     essary.            -                                                   dat is, spraken met Hem van Zijn lijden en sterven, en
            j) Do not recoil from mutilating and distorting opstanding. Zij handelden van zijnen uitgang des levens,
     Scripture as often as the occasion demands it.                         dien Hij zou volbrengen  te  jeruzalem.  Zij stelden Hem
            k) Whenever necessary place God's word in contra- niet voor een vraag, maar zij wezen Hem op iets, dat  fcit
     diction with itself, but do not fail to inform the sheep stond te  worden.
     that it is intensely pious to believe in contradictions.                   De verklaring gegeven door bedoelden  leeraar en door
            1) In fine, do all within your power to make it appear den professor in de heilige Godgeleerdheid is die van Dr.
     that the theory of common grace is a Scriptural doctrine, Kuyper. Men kan  daarvan  lezen in: "Uit. het Woord,"
     for Herman Hoeksema must be kept out of the church,                    deel I, bl.  223-259.  Kuyper zelf beroept  zich voor  zijne
     for he is a dangerous man ; he rails so against the world              verklaring op Calvijn.  "Niet," zegt hij,  "alsof reeds  eik
     and the devil. This cannot be tolerated, for the world onderdeel van deze zienswijs den Geneefschen  Schrift-
     might get mad, besides we love the world, he is such a verklaarder  helder  voor den geest zou  gestaan hebben.
     fine fellow. But Rev.  Ophoff is a "kwajongen" (Beets), maar  in dien zin, dat de beteekenis, die we in Thabor von-
     he is sorely lacking in culture and refinement  (Vanden                den, met innerlijke noodwendigheid uit Calvijn's  hoofd-
     Bosch), and so be it.                                                  opvatting  voortvloeit,"
                                                       l     G. M. 0.           En  vraagt men dan, zegt hij, "welke die opvatting, die
                                                                            dusver nog zoo weinig opgemerkte meesterblik was?  Zie-
                    GIST OF THE FOUR GOSPELS                                hier zijn woorden: `In de eerste  plaats moet de vraag  be-
                                                                            antwoord,  met welk  duel  Christus voor zoo kort tijdstip
     Matthew, Messiah, Israel King sets forth, by Israel zich met hemelsche heerlijkheid bekleed mag hebben.
               slain :                                                      Wat nu mij iangaat, is dit niet moeilijk in te zien. De
     But God decreed that Israel's loss should be the Gentile's             Christus heeft  willen toonen, dat Hij niet gedwongen ten
               gain.                                                        doode  gesleurd werd, maar uit eigen aandrift vrijwillig in
     Mark tells us  how,  in patient love, this earth has once              den dood  ging, om  als het offer der gehoorzaamheid zich
               been trod                                                     den Vader voor te stellen. . . . . We  leeren op Thabor dus,
     By One who, in a S~~VQTU'S  form, was yet the San of God.               dat Hij een-prooi des doods werd, wijl Hij  Wilde, en dat
     Luke, the physician, tells of a more skilled Physician still.           Wij stierf  aan het kruis, wijl Hij  zich zelf daartoe  aan-
     Who  gave His life as Son of Man, to heal us from  all  ill.            bood, want datzelfde vleesch dat nu geofferd is op het
     John, the beloved of Jesus, sees in Him the  Fa&~`s  Son;               hout en in de grafspelonk gerust heeft, en  roch reeds
     The Everlasting Word made flesh, yet  with   t&  Father
               One.                                                         vooraf in bovenaardsche heerlijkheid geblonken had.  ZOLI
                                                                            beide  en  `dood  en graf hebben kunnen ontgaan  !' Let nu
                                                              -Anon.        op  die beide uitspraken, zegt Kuyper, die  &et  zoovele
                                               -                            woorden reeds drie eeuwen terug door Calvijns eigen hand
            "The  love of God finds nothing in man, but creates geschreven zijn: `We  leeren op Thabor dat Hij een prooi
     in him what He loves. Man's love is the gift of his des doods werd, wijl Hij dit  Wilde,!  en. die andere: `Hij
     well beloved."-Luther.                                                  zou beide en dood Pn graf hebben kunnen ontgaan,' en we


      EDITORIAL STAFF                      Reformed Semi - Monthlv                                          Subscription     communications
                                                                                                            should be addressed to J. H.
  H. Danhof                                                                                                 Vander   Vennen,  1061 Dunham
      H.  Hoekseka                       P U B L I S H E D   B Y   T H E   R E F O R M E D   F R E E        St., S.E., Grand Rapids,  Mich.
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               6. M. Ophoff                        PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION,                                  tents of Magazine should be
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                                           Entered  8s second class  mail matter at Grand Rapids,  Yich.


Vol. II, No. 15                                            AUGUST 16, 1926                                      Subscription Price, $2.50


                                                                              And righteousness the righteous Lord loveth  I
         M E D I T A T I O N                                                  His eyes are assuredly over the righteous in tender
                                                                          care and His ears are on the alert for their every prayer,
                                                                          while His face is against them that do evil.
                T E N D E R   W A T C H F U L N E S S                         Now, always, constantly, everywhere . . . .
                                                                              At every step, at every twist and turn of the road . . .
                         For the eyes of the Lord  a& over the               Blessed kxiowledge of faith !
                       righteous, and his ears are open unto their
                       prayers but the face of-the  Lord is against
                       them that do evil.  - I Peter  3:X                     Did you never marvel at the courage of the saints?
                                                                              Did you never feel astonished at their boast, weak-
   What comforting assurance for the righteous!                           ness and helplessness though there appear in their every.
   What cheering encouragement for them, inciting them                    feature, as they are encompassed by enemies  st?onger
to persevere in well-doing in the midst of a world full and mightier than they?
of darkness and evil !                                                        Does it not sound like sheer vanity to stand alone in
   The eyes of the Lord are upon, are over them  ; His                    the midst of thousands and shout:  "I will not be afraid of
ears are always open unto their petitions and cries ; His                 ten thousands of people that have set themselves against
face is against them that do evil! With such  & attitude                  me round about?' Or is it not madness to ring forth the
of the Lord of heaven toward them and against their challenge : "Though an host should encamp against me,
enemies, they are perfectly safe and the way of right-                    my heart shall not fear?'
eousness is assuredly a  ble&ed and sure way.                                 Where is the secret of his power?  Vyhat  is the explan-
   Contrary to all appearances and to what appears to                     ation of this superhuman courage that will never be
be everyday experience the statement may be; in con-                      d a u n t e d ?
flict with all that eye doth see in this world it may seem.                   It is right here: "The eyes of the Lord are over him
For  the way of the wicked is  ,broad and even, the path                  and he knows it; the ears of the Lord are inclined  to his
of the righteous  rugged and narrow. Prosperity is the                    faintest groan and he is assured of it; the face of the
seeming good-fortune of them that do evil  ; adversity is                 Lord always spells destruction to them that do evil and
the  lot of the righteous. They wallow in wealth often                    in this hc  is  confident." But for this assurance his valor
that care neither for God nor His people ; while their                   would be vanity, his daring recklessness, his courage in
affliction is present with the rising of the sun every morn- the midst of overwhelming enemies something akin to
ing who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.                    insanity.
Those feast these starve; those sing these groan. And                         But he is strong in  ttie Lord . . . .
in the light of actual facts in life one would seem con-                      The picture of his life you possess in Israel plunging
strained to contradict the apostle and to maintain that through the Red Sea.
the face of the Lord is against them that do  well,  while                    Madness it seemed for Moses to lead that helpless
His eyes and ears are with favor over the  wicked*  . . . . multitude of men, women and children into that threat-
   And how paralyzing, how discouraging, how spirit- ening deep. And madness, too, it  wo;ld appear for that
ually enervating is the very thought for the righteous in                 persecuted crowd to, follow their leader and deliverer
the world !                                                              from bondage into the sea before them. For dark was
   But no! . . . . .                                                     the night and they knew not how far the path, struck
   God forbid !                                                          through the surging billows, would extend before their
   This can never be !                                                   feet; the fierce wind howled and  the waves foamed and
   For the Lord is righteousness!                                        roared, spitting their spray upon the poor refugees and


386                                     nm  STANDARD   B E A R E R
                                                                .."                                                           -
eager to  sprin`g upon them and swallow them up into the righteous, because He loves their appearance and
death. And close upon their heels pursued the revenge- their cries strike the love-cord of His heart divine.
ful Egyptian, raving with fury still because of the death              They are the righteous.
of his firstborn. A last act of despair it seemed to plunge            Righteous are they  ,before Him judicially, for Hc
into that yawhing deep . . . .                                  declared them free from sin and guilt and clothed  them
   .-Yes, but from the light-side  df the pillar of fire the    with a righteousness not their own but His; and they
eyes of Jehovah kindly  and. encouraging smiled upon            `wished  their garments by faith in the blood of their'
His people, lightening their path through the  dark  night      Redeemer. But righteous they are also actually,  spirit-
and assuring their hearts of victory; and from the dark         ualiy,  with regard to the inmost spiritual principle  of
side  of the cloud pillar God's face frowned a terrible         their life. They are not only redeemed but also deliv-
threat of destruction into the pursuing- host of the ered by the wondrous power of His grace. The bonds
enemy . . . .                                                   of sin and death were broken and they have been set
   The eyes of the Lord were in watchful care over the          free` unto righteousness. The love of God has been spread
righteous.                                                      abroad in their hearts, and. partakers they became of a
   His face was in threatening indignation against the          new life, the life of God, through the resurrection of the
wicked.,                                                        Lord Jesus. Risen with Him they are righteous in their
   And thus it ever is. Do you still marvel at the  boltl-      inmost life. And, though oft they may stumble, they
ness of the righteous? Though weak and alone, he can            walk as righteous, as children of light, eschewing that
well afford to be bold as a lion.                               which is evil and rejoicing in welldoing, manifesting in
   For God is with him.                                         their own life the  v&y life of God . . . .
                                                                       And that is why the world hates them. Because  the?-
   Blessed assurance !                                          are righteous and walk as such.
   Thk Lord's eyes upon us!                                            That is why the world reviles  and persecutes them.
   And His ears open unto our prayers!                          For righteousness' sake.
   There  is. in the words the alert vigilance of a divine             That is why they suffer. For well-doing.
                                                           ,
heartful of tenderest love and care.                                   Their prayers are often  g>oans . . . .
   Did you never see a mother watching by the bedside                  But that is why the Lord loves them. And this  love
of her sick darling ? Sleep could not touch those eyes, of the righteous  L&-d for His righteous children keeps
constantly fixed in anxious  watdhfulness upon the face         `His eyes open over them and His ears keen and quick
of her babe; the  slumbe;  of weariness could not dull the      to catch every sound from their lips . . . .
keen alertness of that mother's ear, quick to perceive the             And never He slumbers or sleeps.
merest groan from that sickbed. The faintest whisper                   Fdr no wink escape they His attention. Their every
she is prompt to hear; the slightest stir she is on the         step He watches with tenderest care. Their every sigh
alert to notice. Nothing concerning the child of her love       He hears with keenest desire to do help and to save.
escapes her attention, upon it all her attention is con-               The righteous walk their way under the loving vigil-
centrated. Why  ihis quick and keen perception of eye ance of the Lord their God..
and ear? Whence springs this anxious  watchfulkess   antI              He is their Almighty Aid.
tender care? . , . .                                                   Faithful and True !
   Behind those wakeful eyes and  keen-e&ed,   high-
strung ears there beats a heart of tenderest love!                     And why should they not boast?
                                                                       Why should they not triumph even though an host
   It is love that keeps open those eyes and holds them         should encamp against them?
riveted upon its object. It is love that causes those ears             Is not the face of the Lord, beaming with tender love
to be keen to notice the faintest cry from its darling.         upon them that walk in the tiay of righteousness, against
   Strange how in common everyday life and circum-              them that do evil, threatening constant destruction upon
stances many an object may pass within  thC range  ol           the enemies of the righteous?
our vision without drawing the slightest attention on                  They need fear but one thing : to set their feet in ways
our part ; how many a sound beats upon our ears without of wickedness. Even when the enemy-raves and does
being even as much as noticed by us. We see yet we do           wickedly  ;`even when  t_he wicked foams in fury against
not perceive ; we hear yet we do not notice; `all because       them, reviles and speaks all manner of evil against them,
there is little or no interest in the objects of our vision     they must not, revile again, they must fear to meet  evil
and hearing. They leave us cold: We are not concerned           with evil. Dread it they  m,ust and do to be seduced into
about them. They cross `our way and are forgotten with- ways of darkness and evil. For against them that walk
out leaving an impression. But let the object have the in these ways is the face of the Lord.
love of our heart and let the sound heard strike the  love-            And this is comfort to the righteous . . . .
cord in  ou; soul, and how keen is the eye  td see, how                For the wicked are their enemies. Primarily they are
alert the ear to hear!                                          wicked with relation to the Lord. He is not in all their
   So the eyes of the Lord are `open upon the righteous         thoughts. His ways are not in their hearts. Their medi-
and His ears are ever on the alert to hear the prayers of       tation is enmity against Him. Children of darkness are


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                387
                                                                            - - -

they who sleep not lest they have done evil.                They               NIET DISPUTABEL STELLEN
increase their guilt  and+ heap up treasures of wrath. And
they abhor the ways of the righteous. As they hate Him,                De "Buitengewone Generale Synode, te Assen"  -be-
the righteous  G&i, so they hate them, His righteous chil- sliste,  "dat  de boom der kennis des goeds en des kwaads,
dren. They despise their profession and will not hear it.           de slang en haar spreken en de boom des levens naar de
They detest their ways and will not suffer them to walk klaarblijkelijke  bedoeling van het Schriftverhaal van Gen.
in them. They hate their light, their Christ, their cause. 2 en 3 in eigenlijken of letterlijken zin zijn op te  vatten,
They make them suffer and fill them with reproach and en dus zintuigelijk-waarneembare werkelijkheden  waren;
shame. They would lead the righteous as sheep to the                en dat derhalve de meening van Dr. Geelkerken, als  zou
slaughter. .                                                        men disputabel  kunnen   stellen;of  deze zaken  werkelijk-
   God's face is against them . . . .                               heden   waren,  zonder met `t in artt. 4 en 5 der Nederland-
   His face is the reflection of His heart. And there is            sche Geloofsbelijdenis beleden gezag der Heilige  Schrift
nothing in the heart of the righteous Lord that favors in strijd te komen moet  worden  afgewezen."
them that  dd evil. He is a light and there is no darkness             Hiertegen heeft Dr. Geelkerken dit bezwaar, "dat  aan
in Him. He is a consuming fire to them that hate Him hem en anderen de traditioneeIe  opvatting omtrent Gen. l-3
and His children. And this terrible divine displeasure als de eenig  mogeiijke  en uitsluitend ware met ambtelijk  go-
and opposition is perfectly reflected in His face.                  zag  opgebgd   wordt."
   And His face is His presence . . .  .,                              En  voor dat bezwaar, zeiden we in een vorig  artikel,
   His omnipresent Presence !                                       gevoelen we we1 iets.
   His ever active Presence!                                           Geven we thans nader rekenschap van dat  gevielen.
   When God is against us it implies that His omnipres-                Allereerst zijn we van oordeel, dat de "Buitengewone
ent Presence turns against us, acts against us, threaten-
ing, discomfiting, destroying . . . . .                             Generaie Synude te Assen" het eigenlijke punt in de
   Here, there, yonder, everywhere . . .                            kwestie-Geelkerkeen niet zuiver daarstelt. Naar de  let-
                                                                    terlijke bewoording van de  Synodale uitspraken stelt Dr.
   Now, then, always, every moment, eternally . . . . .
   Frowning us into outer darkness  !~                              Geelkerken de werkelijkheid  van dk beide bijzondere Para-
                                                                    dijsboomen en van de slang en haar spreken in twijfel, en
   Things may not appear so in the present world and
the wicked may  cot notice this reality of the  Lord's.atti-        tast hij  daarmede,  naar het gevoelen der Synode, het
                                                                    gezag  der Heilige  Schrift  aan.  Doch Dr. Geelkerken
tude, so full of woe to them and of gladdest comfort to,
the righteous. Reality is such nonetheless. For the eyes            heeft herhaaldelijk  onomwond&  verklaard het gezag der
                                                                    Heilige  Schrift  tt  *,erkennen.   VoIgens  zijn eigen  schrij-
of the  Lord are  ,over the righteous in tenderest watch-
fulness and His ears+are  open upon their prayers in keen-          ven gaat het tusschen de Synode en hem niet over de
est alertness and His heart is filled with love to them.            vraag, "of ik als feit aanvaard, wat de  Schrift als  feit
But His face frowns upon them that do-evil .  .I . .                mededeelt. Neen het  @at over de geheel andere vraag:
                                                                    hoe de mededeelingen van Genesis l-3 in hun zin zijn te
   And yet a little while and the full reality  of this will
be manifest.                                                        verstaan." Tusschen de Synode en Geelkerken gaat het
   `When the end of the way shall be reached.                       niet over een kwestie-van Schriftbeschouwing, maar  om
   And all the wgary  night of life's journey shall be past.        de exegese van enkele passages in de eerste hoofdstukken
   When the present joy `of the wicked shall be turned              van Genesis, waarover de Belijdenis  zich niet uitdrukt,  cn
into everlasting weeping and gnashing of teeth; and the waarover geleerden verschillend  denken.   "Het gaat niet
present grief of the righteous into eternal gladness. Then          over den oorsprong der zonde,  o$ de plaats van `den  eer-
it shall be manifest to all . . . .                                 sten mensch, of de beteekenis van den val,  punten,   waar-
    Not only that it will be true then, .but that it was            over de Belijdenis  zich  we1 uitspreekt; maar over de  exe-
always true, even in the righteous" darkest hours:                  gese van het  sprek,en  der slang.* En daar heeft men zich
                                                                    ten  allen  tijde verschillend over uitgelaten. En nu moge
   Against the wicked is the face of the Lord!                      het  gewenscht  zijn, dat een prediker  zijn eigen exegese
   And over the righteous are His  eyes:        .                   op dat punt niet dan zeer voorzichtig mededeele, zijn
   To their prayers His ears are open!                              particuliere exegese als zoodanig stelt hem niet tot  voor-
   To save them to the full.                                        werp van de  kerkelijke  tucht. Zij kan `in  directen zin
   Hallelujah !                                                     slechts aanleiding geven tot  eeq exegetisch  geschil. En
                                                      1-I.  I-T.    dat heeft Geelkerken's bezwaar  tegen de  gangbare  tradi-
                                                                    tioneele opvatting  a& de  &wig  mogelijke  e'f~  uitsluitend
      *`And if the wanderer's feet be soiled and sore,              `Lctare metterdaad gedaan. De  Classis heeft instemming
           So much the more                                         gevraagd voor een  gangbare  exegese. De Synode heeft
       He needs a tender hand to cleanse and heal,                  dat verzoek bekrachtigd. En Geelkerken heeft  gewei-
           And make him feel                                        ge_rd,  om zich de gangbare  exegese als de eznig mogelijke  en
       There is no task that  love will shrink to do                uitsluirend  *zwe  meti ambtelijk  gezcllg  te laten opleggen.
           Life to renew."                                          Zoo staat feitelijk de zaak.
                              -Walter  C. Smith,  b. D.                 De Synode van Assen heeft  echter.   .haar  geschil met


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          399
-.._.-
              PROSPERITY AND THE WICKED                            as such are good work together for good to those that love
                                                                   God, to them who are the called according to His pur-
     The wicked do prosper. In. the words of the Psalmist          pose, and that these same things work together for evil
there are no bands in their death. Their strength is firm.         to them that hate God, to them that are not the  .called
They are not in trouble like other men; neither are they           according to His purpose. The theory of common grace
plagued with other men. The (reprobate) wicked  do is a denial of this truth.
receive rain and sunshine. And the ground of the ungodly              Now when we maintain that the things which as such.
brings forth bountifully. The storehouses of  .the rich are good are nevertheless a curse unto the (reprobate)
fool in the parable were unable to accommodate the                 wicked, we do not mean to deny that these things as such
harvest. The fool was compelled to enlarge his barns. are good.
There is a prosperity of the wicked. We see it before                 Neither do we aver that these things fail to promote
our eyes. %hey  dwell in mansions. Their servants are              to a degree and in a sense and for a time the prosperity
numerous, their clothes costly, their fortunes huge. To            of the (reprobate) wicked. They do. The wicked prosper.
deny that the ungodly flourish means to set aside facts.           The rain refreshes them also and causes their crops to
     However, in respect to the prosperity of the wicked a         grow. The wicked, too, are invigorated by the sunshine.
question arises. This: Must that rain which God sends              It is these effects which constitute the prosperity of the
the reprobate and that sun which He causes to rise over wicked.
them-must that rain and that sunshine be regarded as                  Nor is it our view, finally, `that the curse is inherent
a curse or a blessing-? Our answer: It is the plain teach-         in things as such. Neither can this be said of grace. If
ings of Scripture that rain and sunshine, that prosperity          this were true the people of God would be cursed as well
in general must be regarded as a curse when bestowed               as blessed and the wicked would be receiving grace.
upon the' (reprobate) wicked. This truth we wish to This, nevertheless, is the view of our opponents. Let me
elucidate.                                                         prove it. On page 144 of "Van  Zonde  en Genade" (by
          The above assertion does not mean that rain and sun-     Danhof and Hoeksema) one happens upon this state-
shine are in themselves evil. They refresh, fertilize and          ment : "Genade zit niet in de  dingen,  maar louter in de
invigorate. To be sure, there is a rain which deluges              goede gunst Gods. En evenmin zijn  goud, en  zilver,
and destroys. There is a sunshine which.consumes. But regen. en zonneschijn, gave en talent, op  zichzelf genade.
in this essay we wish to attend to the rain and the sun-           Genade kan  weI in al die  dingen  werken,  doch zij blijft
shine which brings prosperity. This rain as such is good. altijd particulier en wordt alleen  aan zijn volk geschon-
We do not mean to say, however, that  the inherent value. ken." This statement Dr. Bouma and Prof Berkhof de-
worth or quality of a thing is determined by its effect nounced.  ' Their report reads thus:  "Deze uitspraken
upon some other thing. The food upon which an adult                acht uwe commissie in strijd te zijn met de Heiligc
thrives will prove fatal to aninfant. Even so, that food as Schrift  en met de belijdenisschriften . . .  ,"  Acta 1924, p.
such is good. In deciding whether  a  thing  as  such is           128. According to these men curse and grace exist in
good or whether a thing as such is evil, ethically, we             things. This view is identical to the view of the Roman
should take as our standard God. God is a being of in- Catholic Church relative the sacraments. Berkhof and
finite perfection. The things unlike God, morally, are             Bouma's criticism clearly indicate that they were alto-
as such evil. This class includes the Devil and all his            gether incapable of dealing with the matter entrusted
hosts, the wicked, all the things which are out of the             to them. Danhof and Hoeksema were deposed because
world and not out of God. The things which are like                they teach that grace is not inherent in things as such.
unto God morally are as  such.good.        To this class belong        What does it mean that rain and sunshine are a curse
 the angels, those born out of God, namely, the children of to the reprobate wicked? To understand the matter we .
 God, all the things which are out of and not out of the           must first of all attend to the effect of rain and sunshine
world.                                                             `with all the attending prosperity upon the soul of the
          In the sphere of the non-ethical world it is God's wicked.         Let us quote Scripture. Says the Psalmist:
curse'which  determines whether a thing as such is good            "For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the pros-
 or evil. The things the presence of which is due to God's perity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their
 curse are as such evil. And now we are thinking of the death.. . . Therefore  pride compasseth them about as a
 destructive elements of nature such as the flood and the          chain; violence covereth them about as a garment,"  Ps.
 storm, the rays of the sun which consume, we are think- 73. The prophet Isaiah declares: "Hear, 0 heavens, and
 ing of thorns and of thistles and of poisonous vegetation,        give ear, 0 earth: For the Lord hath spoken,  1  hnve
 of wars, pestilence and of the famine, of disease and of nourished nnd brought up children and they have rebelled
 sickness. There are those things the presence of which against Me.              The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his
 cannot be ascribed to God's curse. IMembers  of this class master's crib: but Israel doth not know, My people doth
 are the things which promote life such as rain and sun- not consider. X seed of evil-doers, children that are cor-
 shine.                                                            rupters : they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked
          One of the foundation truths of Scripture is that the     the Holy one of Israel unto anger, they are gone away
 things which as such are evil as well as the things which          backward." Isaiah 1 :l-4.


       401)                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                         __          _-"-                                                                            __.-_-  ___ ~
               The prophet asserts  &at the Lord nourishes the sons judgeth according to every man's works, pass'the time
        wicked  and  they rebel. How hideous. God nourishes of your sojourning here in fear."
       and the wicked respond with rebellion. And the Psalmist                When will this judgment take place? The Scriptures
       even avers that there is a causal relation between the            speak of a judgment day at the end of time. 2 Cur.  5  :I0
       rebellion of the wicked and the prosperity which God              reads : "For we must all appear before the judgment seat
       sends them. Says he: "For there are no bands in their of Christ; that every one may receive the things done
       death. . . . Therefore  pride compasseth them about as a in his body, according to that he hath  done;whether  it
       chain. Hence,  becazrse  the Lord prospers and nourishes be good or bad. Matthew 2.5: When the son of man
       them are they  .proud and do they rebel.                          shall come in his glory, and`all the holy angels with Him,
           And now the question arises: "What is the conduct of          then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: And
       the righteous and holy God toward these (reprobate}               before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall
       rebellious ones, and what attitude does God assume                separate them from one another, as a shepherd  divide&
       toward  them?" According to the exponents of the theory           his sheep from the goats."
       of common grace God hates their rebellion but loves and               The Scripture also teach us that God is judging, pro-
                                                                                .
       blesses the rebellers.                                            nouncmg guilty, imputing sin and inflicting punishment
           Let us attend to the answer of Scripture. Psalm 121           TZOW,  in this life. The (reprobate) rebellious ones are
       asserts that God neither slumbers nor sleeps. The pass-           being judged, pronounced guilty and punished even
       age reads thus: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,         before they are transported into eternity, in this life
       from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from                   therefore and every day of their life. Says the apostle
       the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not Paul : "For the wrath of God is  reveled from heaven
       suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will            against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who
       not slumber.            Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which
       neither slumber nor sleep;" It is the plain teachings of          may be known of God is manifest in them. For the invis-
       this Psalm that the Lord is aware of what is happening.           ible things of Him from the, creation of the world are
       Nothing escapes His all seeing eye. Scripture specifically        clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
       states that God marks sin. Psalm 14 asserts the follow- made, even His eternal power and Godhead ; so that they
       ing: "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the chil- are without excuse." Rom. 1  :18-20.
       dren of men to see if there were any that did understand              Paul asserts that the wrath of God was revealed
       and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are alto-             against all unrighteousness of  inen. It is plain from the
       gether become filthy; there  is, none that doeth good, no, following verses that the revelation of wrath occurs while
       not one." Further, Scripture asserts that  God is King men are in this life. For we read: "Wherefore God also
       who judges  in the earth. Psalm 58 :12 : "Verily He is gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their
       God that judgeth in the earth." Psalm  96:lO: "Say own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between them-
II.    among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world               selves," \.erse 24. Now  the'wicked  dishonor their own
       also shall bc established that it shall ndt be  moved: He bodies in this life. Further, the fact that the ungodly
       shall judge the people righteously." Isaiah 3  :13: "The change the natural use into that  which.is  against nature
       I.,ord standeth up to  plead, and standeth to judge the           is necessitated by the fact that God reveals His wrath.
       people. The Lord will enter into judgment with the                    Again, the  revelaiion of wrath is or  worketh the pun-
       ancients of His people, and the people thereof.`" Ezekiel ishment. When God reveals His wrath the almighty is
       33  ~20:   "0, ye house of Israel, I will  iudge you every one    engaged in inflicting punishment upon the ungodly. And
       after his ways."                                                  finally. the infliction of  iunishment'or  the revelation of
          Scripture also teaches further, that God judges  right- wrath is at once the curse. To curse means to speak evil
       eozrsly. Psalm 9:  "0, thou enemy, destructions are come of, to utter a wish of  evil against one, to imprecate evil
       to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their against  one; God speaks evil of the wicked, and right-
       memorial is perished: with them. But the Lord shall fully so because they are wicked. He announces that
       endure forever: He hath prepared His throne for judg- they are filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wick-
       ment. And He shall judge the world in  righteousness,   He        edness, covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy, murder.
       shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness."            Rom. 1  :18. The curse of God implies more. It means
       Psalm  96:      "Say among the heathen that the Lord              thar  God wills evil against the {reprobate) ungodly.
       reigneth: that the world also shall be established that it            In respect to the curse of God we should distinguish
       shall not be moved : He shall judge the people righteously.       between the revealed and the concealed curse. The
       Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the       revealed curse is equal to the revealed wrath. This wrath
       sea `roar and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, or curse necessitates the misery, the woe, the suffering
       and all that is therein: then let all the trees of the wood       and the unrest which is the portion of the ungodly in
       rejoice, before the Lord: for He cometh, for He cometh            this life.
       to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with right-             This curse. wrath or punishment must be preceded
       &ou.rness, and the people with His truth." I  Peter 1: "And by judgment. God is ever engaged in judging the repro-
       if you call upon the Father who without respect of  per-          bate ungodly. pronouncing them guilty and imputing


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                                    -.                                                                               401     *'

unto them their sins. If not  it.could not be said of the in detail upon the matters presented in outline form in
almighty that He ministers judgment unto the people in this article.
uprightness, that He is a God who without respect of  per-                                                               G. M. 0.
sons judgeth according to every man's works. Finally             -
the  rightkous God,  having judged and  imguted unto  the                           " S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R "
(reprobate) wicked their sins, is ever engaged in punish-
ing, cursing the wicked even in this life. To deny that                                   "En hij" (de koning van  AssyriC, de  vij-
punishment follows `the judgment and the imputation  of                                 and Gods en van het Israel  Gods)  "nal van
guilt means to make an attack upon the justice and the                                  vreeze doorgaan naar zijnen rotssteen."
                                                                                        (zijne  vaste(?!) stad, Nineve)  "en'zijne  vor-
holiness of God.                                                                        sten  zullen voor de Banier verschrikken,
   And it is the plain teachings of Scripture that curse                                spreekt de HEERE, die te Sion vuur  en te
                                                                                        Jeruzalem eenen oven heeft." -- Jes. 31:9.
and punishment do follow the judgment and the impu-
tation of guilt. For we read: "Wherefore God alsd gave "STANDARD BEARER,"  -  Ieest en  hoort men,  - hier
them up to all uncleanness through the lusts of their own             en gindsch, en  overal.
hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between them "Standard-Bearer-Lezers"  telt men reeds een niet-gering
selves; . . . . . For this cause God gave them up to vile             getal.
affections: . . . . . Even as they did not like to retain Met zijn inhoud zijn de  &ezers  (met exceptie's) `t  "roe-
God in their knowledge God gave them over to a repro-                 rend,' eens,
bate mind,. . . .  " Rom. 1.    The phrase: "God gave Want: die heeft met de "Drie  Punten" der Synode niets
them over" must be made to apply to the curse  .of God                gemeens.
at work, necessitating the foolishness, the beastliness and
the misery of the reprobate wicked.
   Let us now attend more closely to the punishment as Daarin  zijn zij dus "eensgeestes." Maar  - het Opschrift
such. Let us see wherein the punishment consists. Many           * van  dat Blad:
sorrows are to the wicked. Ps.  32:lO. The face of the "STANDARD BEARER," te  verklaren, lukt  aan velen
                                                                      minder glad.
Lord is against them that do evil, to cut  tiff the remem-
brance of them from the earth. Ps.  34:17.  The wicked          Met de leesstof  (als we  schreven).  zijn  schier  allen  best
plotteth against the just, gnasheth upon him with his                 content,
teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him for He seeth that his        Maar dat "vreemde woord,' er boven geven ze  je graag
day is coming. Ps.  37:12, 13. Jehovah is far from the                present.
wicked but  the prayer of the wicked He heareth.                                             "
Proverbs 15  :29.- But the wicked are like the troubled sea,    Dat is  echter niet in orde, wijl de naam te kennen geeft
when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. Uit wat oorzaak `t werd geboren, en mitsdien: wat  Doe1
There is no peace, sayeth my God to the wicked. Isaiah                het heeft.                     .
5720,  21. And their foolish heart was darkened. For Laat ons daarom eens bekijken  - eer we `n'stapje verder
this cause God gave them up to vile affections . . . . . .            gaan  -
And even as they did not like to fetain God in their Wat de Lezer onder `t woordje "Standard"  zooals kan
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to                 verstaan.
do things-which are not convenient; Being filled with all
unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness ; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, mal- "Standard-maten en  gewichten,"  zijn en  waren   we1  be-
                                                                      kend  ;
ignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, . . Rom. 1.
   These passages tell us that the punishment of the - Niet pas korts,  maar door al d' eeuwen ; reeds in  `t
                                                                      Oude Testament.
wicked which they experience in this life consists in this
that they have many sorrows, that God does not know             Zulke  "Standards": "Vaste  Regels,"'   zij, vanwege d'
                                                                      Overheid
them, that He, God, is far from them and that they are
mocked by the Almighty. The `wicked, have no peace, Ons gesteld, en  "Echt"~  gewaarmerkt, `t  zij voor  Maat,
they are like a trpubled sea. Their mind is darkened,                 Gewicht of Geld.  '
they are foolish, they are vain in their imaginations.
Their  nft`ections  are vile, they are of a reprobate mind,     Bijaldien  aan  zulk een "Maatstaf" ieder in het land  zich
they are beastly. And of all this misery the curse of God             houdt,
is the nccessitp. It is their punishment.                       Heerscht  daar Orde; Regel ; Eenheid ; wijl men dien  als
   And all this woe is intimately related to the prosper-             "Echt,  beschouwt:
ity, to the rain and the sunshine which God gave them.          Waar nu gansch een  volk, eendrachtig, niet van zulk een
The prosperity worketh rebellion and vanity which in                  "Standaard" wijkt,
turn work judgment, and punishment, curse.  ;\nd the Toont het  "Sa&tie,,;  blijft het Eerlijk;  - `t geen dan uit
purse of God necessitates all manner of woe in this life.             zijn handel  blijkt.  -
   In our next article we shall retrace our steps and enter               (Sancfie geven: zijn'goedkeuring er  aan hechten).


402                                                 T H E   S T ' A N D A R D   B E A R E R
              _I- .._... --l-"_"__-                                                            -.............-  ".__  _                    ____-_
"BEARER":~"Drager,'  van dien Standaard ,is dus elk die                                            THE BEGINNING OF SIN
        `t Recht betracht,                                                         "The beginning of sin is like the letting out of water.
En waar .velen  samen-dragen,  geldt de spreuk:  "Een- The aperture is small at first, but the force of the current
        dracht maakt  Macht."                        I  t                      increases the size of the outlet, and that in its turn makes
Echter  - onze "Standaard" is van  onuitspreek'lijk-meer                       the stream larger and stronger; or, to put it in language
        gewicht  :                                                             without any figure, one sin begets another, so that what
`t Is Het Vaandel dat  door'KONING JEZUS Zelf is  op-                          began in envy leads to murder, and that again gives birth
        gericht !                                                              to falsehood. Sin thus multiplies as rapidly as the  &lo-
                                                                               rado beetle, and no matter what-may be the first one, you
                                                                               may always call its name Gad, for you may surely say
`t Is DE STANDAARD: (Stok met Vaandel) "Strijd- `a troop  cometh.' Therefore, if we would successfully
        banier," met dit Devies:                                               resist it, we must `withstand its beginnings. This is true
"VOOR DEN KONING!"  - in Wiens Leger nimmer of every sin, but is more especially so of envy, which, as
        spraak' is *van "verlies" !                                            Tayler Lewis has remarked-has in it something very
Onder dezen `STANDAARD Strijden wij'  "VOOR                                    peculiar, fully justifying the calling of it diabolical. For
        WAARHEID EN VOOR RECHT,"                                               it is a purely soul sin, not traceable at. all to the body,
Tot de laatste Rechtsverkrachter in Gods Kracht is  neer-                      or in any way connected with it; not having in it any-
        gelegd !                                                               thing that has any resemblance to good, but being only
                                                                               unmingled evil.-`It is the breath of the old serpent.' I t
Dat de vorsten Assurs  schrikken voor JEHOVA'S Strijd- is pure devil, as it is also purely spiritual. It needs no
        banier                                                                 body, no concupiscent organization, no appetites or
Kan ons dus niet zeer verwond'ren; immers zien wij  `t                         Aeshy motions, no nerves even, for the exercise of its
        zelfde liier ! !                                                       devilish energies. It is `rottenness in the bones.' Be on
Toen "The Standard Bearer" uitkwam, deed de  tegen- your guard, then, against yielding `to any one sin, for
        weer haar best                                                         it will speedily open the door of your heart to many'
`t Blad  "ondeugd'lijk" te verachten.  Doch  i het blijkt others; and be specally on your guard against the satanic
        "Probatum  est" !                                                      m o t h e r - s i n   o f   e n v y . "
                                                                                  - W.M. Taylor, Joseph the Prime Minister, pp.  29'30.
En dat kan ook niet-we1 anders.  Tmmers  -  `t  zoo-ge-
        w r a a k t e   B l a d                                                       I "Ashamed of Jesus ! sooner far
Heeft als Opschrift: "Vaandeldrager"; `t geen  - in kort                                  May evening blush to own a star;
  -         wil zeggen: dat                                   I(                          Ashamed of Jesus! just as soon
Het den Strijd wenscht voort te  zetten voor het Heilig                                    May midnight blush to think of noon;
        Recht van God,                 .                                                  Ashamed of Jesus, that dear Friend
Tegen al wat met GODS VRIJMACHT en GODS                                                    On whom my hopes of heaven depend!
        WELBEHAGEN spot!                                                                   No! when I blush be this my shame,
                                                                                          That I no more revere His name.
Dit wil echter niet bedoelen dat bet, Blad dezulken  haat !                                Ashamed of Jesus, yes, I may,
`t  Tracht  veeleer, hen te vermanen en te wijzen op  bet                                  When I've no crimes to wash away,
        kwaad,                                                                             No' tears to wipe, no joys to crave,
En het  hoopt, door Gods Genade, daarin te volharden!                                      No tears to quell, no soul to save :
        Wis !                                                                           . Till then-nor is the boasting vain-  *
Tot zij zien: dat BUITEN  CHRISTUS   G o d   g e e n '                                     Till then I boast a Saviour slain.
        mensch  Genadig is!  -                                                             And oh, may this my glory be,
                                                                                          That Christ is not ashamed of me !"
Alle Standaard ; Vlag of Wimpel ;  - Vaandel ;  Ken-                                                                           -W. Burrows.
        spreuk : Leus, Devies
Waar `k vrijwillig m' onder  schare, openbaart  "VOOR                                        OUD EN NIEUW TESTAMENT
        WIEN" ik kies!                                                             Eene eigenaardige ontmoeting vond eens  plaats  tus-
En (als boven reeds gezegd werd)  `t Blad "The Stand-                          schen den Amsterdamschen predikant Petrus Chevallier
        ard Bearer" Vecht                                                      en een Rabbijn. Beiden gingen bij  -Koning  Lodewijk
In de Mogendheid des HEEREN "VOOR DE  WAAR-                                    Napoleon op audientie. De reeds hoogbejaarde Rabbijn
        HEID  EN HET RECHT!  !"                                                kon  echter niet zoo gemakkelijk de  trappen  van het
                                                                               paleis bestijgen. Ds. Chevallier zag dit, vatte den Rab-              ,
       (Men  leze, in betrekking tot "Standaard" of "Banier":  Ex.             bijn onder den arm en sprak:  ,,Het Oude en het Nieuwe
 17:15;  Num.  1:52;  2%  3 , 10, 18, 25, 31, 43;  10:14, 18,  22, 25;         Testament behooren bij elkander en zonder het  .Nieuwe
-Ps.  60:6; Hoogl.  2:4;  6:4; Jes. 17, >:26; ll:lO, 12; 13:s; 18:3; 30:17;
319;  49:22;  62:lO;  Jer.  4:6, 21;  50:2;  51:12,  27.)                      komt het Oude er  niet!"
                                            13. A. HENDRIKSEN.                                                             (Uit  ,,De Wekker.")


