  VOLUME XXI                                        JUNE 1; 1945                                                    NUMBER 17

                                                              gelijkheid !dles zondigen vleeslches.             En Hij heeft onder
                                                              ons getabërnakeld, en sprak tot ons de woorden des
                                                              eeuwigen, levens. En Hij heeft onze ongerechtigbedr?n
                                                              gedragen, en ,den last des toorns Gods  tegen de zon.le
                                                              voor ons" gedragen ten einde toe, j-a, tot in de diepte
           Door l$n G& Géleid --.                             des doods en der hel, opdat Hij de kinderen Go& zou
                                                              rechtva.ardigen  en in ,de vrijheid huns kindschaps zou
              Want xoove&n  als ef~dotw  ,i?en Geest Gods     doen ingaan. :En God heeft `Hem uit :de dooden  op-
           gebeid worden, die zijn .k+ndercm  Gods.           gewekt, en Hem heerlijkheid, en aeer gegeven aan Zijne
                                           Rom. 8:16.         rechterhand in de hemelzpn,  en Hem de belofte des
                                                              Heiligen Geestes gegeven, opdat Hij dien Geest ZOL~ uit-
     Pinksterfeest ! -                                        storten in de gemeente, Hem van de:n i'adèr gegeven,
     Fee& der afsluiting; Ten toch ook van het begin!         en *door  dien Geest eeuwiglijk ZOLI wonen in de harten
     Der afsluiting, ja,. ook van het oude, want op den                                                                       : `,-
                                                              Zijner broederen.            En overmits wij kinderen zp.
 dag van Pinksteren is het oude voorbij gegaan, ziet,         .heeft God den Geest Zijns Zoons uitgezoaiden  in onze
het is alles; nieuw geworden !                                harten, die roept: Abba, Va.der!
     Voorbij gegaan zijn- ,de schaduwen, de aardsche              Van die geheel eenige periode is Pinkstertt  I -de af- -
 tempel, het aardsehe  altaar, het bloed van sti:eren en      sluiting, het einde, de vervulling.
 bokken, de aardsche beldeeling van het aardsche en               Want die Zoon, Die inhet vleesch kwam, moest de
 nationale Israel. De bijl, *die reeds in de dagen van        levendmakende  Ge,est  worden, om Zich alzoo aan de
 Johannes den .Dooper  aan ,den wortel !dNes  booms gelegd    Zijnen mede te deelen in al den rijkdo&es~heils.
 was, heeft den boom omgehakt. We staan niet meer                 En toch ook weer het begin, nog slechts een begin,
 bij iden tastelijken berg, en het brandende vuur, en de      is datzelfde Pinksterfeest, het feest dér !eerstelingen,
 donkerheid `m aduisternis, en in het onweder, en onder       het begin van :den nieuwen dag, van `den Dajg des
 `het geklank  der bazuin, en de stem ,des Wòords, ,dat-      Heeren, #die zijne afsluitmg  zal. vinden in de weder-
 niemaad  vermocht te hooren ; maar `wie zijn gekomen         komst op de wolken. van den Zaligmaker,  ,het begin van
 tot den ber,g Sion, en .de stad des levenden Gods,  tot      ,den vollen oogst, die `dan zal worden binnen gehaald
 het hemelsche Jeruzalem, en de vele duizenden der            in ide  o p s t a n d i n g   d e r  dooden. :
 engelen ; tot de algemeene vergadering. en de  gemeent,e         Op Pinksterfeest mag de gemeente zingen, of liever,
 der ;eerstgeboreneq  :die in de hemelen opgeschreven         beginnen te zingen, om het. heel de nieuwe bedeeling
 zijn, en tot God  den Rechter over allen, en de geesten      door uit te jubelen:
 der volmaakte rechtvaardigen ; en tot den J Middelaar
 des nieuwen testaments,  Jezus, en het bloed Ider be-                    Dit .is de dag, `de roem der dagen,
 sprenging, dat betere dingen spreekt dan Abel. . -. .                    Dien Israel's  God geheiligd heeft ;
    Afsluiting en be,gin !                                                ILaat ons verheugd, van zorg.ontslagen,
    Afsluiting ook van Idie geheel eenijge, die wonder-                  .Hem roemen, die ons blijdschap geeft.
 lijke periode der open,baring,  die begon met <de komst                  Och Heer, geef thans uw zegeningen;
 van den Zqon Gods  in `het vleesch.                                      Och Heer,-geef heil op <dezen Idfag ;
    Want als Ide volheid des tjids gekomen is, heeft God                  Och, dat men op deez' eerstelingen
 Zijnen Zoon geaonden,  geworden .uit eente vrouw, ge-                Een rijken oogst van voorspoed zag.
 worden onder de wet, opdat Hij  degenen, die onder de            Dag -der `vervulling, die ons naar de vervulling doet
 wet zijn, verlossen zou,     En Hij, die Zoon, kwam in de
                                               :              verlangen! ;


     382 .                                      T H E  S;TANDA,RD  BBARiE'R

               Ciag van blijdschap.,' die ons toch in onszelven doet           M&xr  de-leiding des ,Geestes  is geesteiijk,  t%-i  daarom
     zuchten !                                                        .      eene lei&g, die geheel en al ~&e%imo&t is döór waar-
               Dag &r eerstelingen, di@ ons doet uitzien náar oden           achtige vrij&+%
     vollen oogst! _                                                             Neen, versta  ,dit niet verkeerd, deze Kding is niet
               Naar de eindelijke aanne&ng tot kinderen.!                    vlij in dien valsch'en  zin des woords,  waarin de Pela-
     ._  W o n d e r l i j k e   P i n k s t e r d a g !                     gilaan spreekt van de vrijheid van de.s  menaahen wil,
                                                     a                       .tilsof het van de keuze des zondaar zöu afhangen of  hij'
               Geleid door de&  Geest!                                       al of niet door ,den Geest zou worden geleid.                   Dan toch
               Dat is het kenmerkende der kinderen Gods.                     ware er geen leiding des Geestes.                    Dan is het eig~nlij'k
_              Want zoovelen als ter door ,den Gods  gelei,d worden,         de zondaar, ,die zelf bepa& of en hoe hij zal worden
     die zijn kinderen Gods..                   -                            geleid.
               Van dezen Geest heeft het achtste hoofstuk  van- den
     brief aan de Romeinen veel te zeggen.                 Het is door de        .&&&r  wd ;@ &z@ l&&.&g  && ~@$t@,  vrij ifi &fi zin,
     wet ,des Geestes des levens, ,dat wij zijn vrijgemaakt                  d& Hij 6~ fikt dwin& &öcin  bewe.egt,  om in den weg
     vlaz de wet der zonde en des doodis.                 Het i8 naar den    van Colds  gebadén als vrije kinderen Gods  te wandelen.
     Geest, .dat de aldus vrijgemaa.kten  wandelen. En die                       Hij ook leidt-ons in eene bepaalde richting, en naar
     snaar ,den Geest zij4 bedenken, !dat des Geestes is, en                 eene bepaalde bestemmin'g, doch Zijne léiding  is; Tiet
     dat bedenken is het leven en vrede. Die Geest is de                     van buiten af, maar van binnen uit.                    In de richting van
     Geest van God, maar ook ,de Geest van Christ,us.              Wsant     Gc& geboden leidt Hij ons naar de eeuwige heerlijk-
.Hij is de derde Pe&oon in !de aanbiddelijke Drievuldig-                     heid. Van nature w-ndelen wij n&ar het &xsch, en: zoe-
     heid, de Geest des_Vaders  en de Geest des Zoons, Die                   ken de dingen der wereld, de .begeqlijkheid des vleeoch-
     van den Vader uitgaat tot den Zoon, om door den Zoon,                   es'en qer oogeq, en de grsok&U  Et&74  leví2-B.                fti vij&Xl-
als Geest des Zoons, van den Zoon ui.t te gaan tot den &chap  tegensvor Gad nt%än w.e met geheéi ónti bèstâan.
     Vader.         In dien Geest zegt de Vader eeuwiglijk tot den           Waat  het bedenken -de8 vïe&s~ches  is vijends&hsp  tegen
     Zoon: "Gij zijt Mijn Zoon." En in dienzelfiden Geest                    Gód, want het ondérwérpt zich &r wet Gade  ni&, want
     roept de Zoon in eeuwige en oneindige volmaakt-                         het kan ook niet.         Geheel onB leven, ofis  &&fi ~?kl wil-
     heid tot den Vader: Abba, Vader! En het is deze                         len en begeeYon,*Otize  F@&@?ti  gn härtB%Bch6eti  efl &
     Geest van God, Die bij Zijne verhooging  ook aan den                    diep&@  rt%?r&&B ~fiz@ti  zki,-äiies  beweegt zich in ver-
     Christus is gegeven, als Hoof,d  der g&neente,  en Die                  k@r&  !?iéh%g, wordt bewogen door h& beginsel der
     door Christus op dien eersten doorluchtigen Pinkster-                   vijandschap tegen God.            En in !dlig  richting bewegen we
     dlag i? de gemeente werd uitgestort.                                    ons'iatir  ,de; eeuwige verwoesting. Maar de leiding des
               Zop toch verkondi:gt het de ap8stel  aan de schare,           Geestes; voert 021s in tegenovergestelde  riohting. De
     die zich ,over het Pinksterwondcer ontzetten: "Dezen                    Geest Gods  lei'dt ons naar God in Christus. Hij ver-
     Jezus heeft ,God opgewekt, waarvan wij allen getuigen                   licht ons verstand, zoodlat we bed.enken de dingen des
      . . .
     ZlJn.        Hij ,dan, aan de rechterhand Gods   v e r h o o g d        Geestes ; Hij verandert  onzen wil, zoodat we ons  af-
     zijnde, en de b'elofte  des Heiligen Geestes ontvange1                  keeren van de zonde, en Gods  <gerechtigheid zoeken ;
     hebbende van [den Vader, heeft dit uitgeskort, dat gij                  .Bij reinigt al onze neigi,ngen  en begeerten, zoodat we
     n u  ziet  e n  $oort."                                                 behagen hebben in Gods  geboden, Hem welbehagelijk
               De Geest Gods  is de Geest van Christus, wonende              zoeken te z.iju, en zoeken de idingen, die boven zijn,
     in ,de gemeente.                                       i                waár   C h r i s t u s   i s  Etan   d e   r e c h t e r h a n d  Gods.  In d,en _
               En door dien' Geest-  worden alIe kinderen Gods  g+           weg van boete en beren@  lei&  Hij ons naar Christus
     1eid:Deze  leiding is dus geestelijk,  e,n clat wil zeggen, dnt         den G&ruisigde ; in den weg der gerechtigheid voert
     ze plaats heeft in de sfeer, der waar,achtige vrijheid.                 Hij ons naar !de eeuwilge heerlijkhe$d..  Hij geeft ons
     Want waar de Geest des. Heeren is, al&aar is vrijheid.                  de pelgrimsstaf in de izand,  en leidt ons door het mid-
               Leiding. toch houdt altij,d in, dat iemand1  richting         den der wereld, als vreemdelingen en bijwoners, naar
_ geeft aan .den gang van een ander, hem langs  eenen                        stad, die fundamenten heeft, welker kunstenaar en
     Ibepaalden  w e g ,   i n   e e n e  zekere ridhting,  naar teene       lbouw,meester  G o d   i s : !
     bepaalde bestemming voert. Doch zulke (eene l,eiding                        Hij leirdt van binnen uit.                 `-
     kan een verschillend karakter dragen. De ambtenaar                          In het hart, waar& de uitgangen des levens zijn,
     leidt den verooldeelde  naar de gevangenis. De zitende                  neemt Hij Z'ijn-`intrek. Daar vestigt Hij Zijn troon.,
`leidt den blinde. De gids leidt den reiziger  in het                        E n  vandaak  uit bebeerscht  Hij .geheel  het leven der
     dezeti onbekende bergland. Vrijheid is er  in deze                      kinderen Gods.
     leidingen niet. De veroordeelde- wordt ,geleid stegen                       ,Onwede&an'delijk is Zijne leiding.
     zijnen wil. De blinde volgt zijnen lei.dsm!an lijdelijk.,                   Met sbuvereine  vrijmacht maakt Hij Zijne woning
     De reiziger `volgt. den gids, zo&er zelf den weg `te                    in. ons -hart, verbreekt H,ij de macht `en de heerschappij
~ kennen,                                                                    ,des Satans en der zonde, en &q@  ons onder DDE macht


                                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                      383

           van de wet des Geestes  des levens.                                     leeren,  en zal u indachtig maken alles, wat Ik u gezegd
               En toch is Zijne leiding zoo,  dat we Hem gewillig-            heb." Joh. 14 :26.          En `nogmaals : "Maar wanneer de
           lijk voligen.                                                           Trooster zal gGkome&  zijn, Dien Ik u zenden zal van
               Wonderlijke'leiding des Geestes!                                    den Vad,&,  namelijk de Geest ,der  waarheid,. Die van

                                      -~                                           den Vader uitgaat, Die `zd van Mij getuigen. En gij
0              Gelei,fl  door den Geest!                                           zult ook getuigen, want :gij zijt van den beginne  ,met
               Door den Geest Go&, Die* ook de.Geest  van Chris-                   Mij geweest."  Joh. 15:26.
           t u s   i s .                                                              En die Ceest helft-getuigd!.
               Maar Wiens. leiding juist ,daarom zich altijd bindt                    Hij heeft het uit den Christus genomen ,en Hij
           aan het Woond  Gods in Christus Jezus, geop&pbaais  in                  heeft het ,den apostelen, die van den beginne met Hem.
          de Heilige Schrift.                                                      geweest wareq verkon@igd.
               Evenals er buiten d& Christus geen Ge&  dier  aan-                     En .ook  de apostelen hebben getuigd.
           neming tot kinderen is, die ons leidt, zöo is er buitem en                 Ze getuigden door tien  Geest van het Woord van
           los van het Woord geen leiding des Geestes.                             Christus:.     En dat Woord heeft Christus Zijne ge-
               Deze leiding is ,d,aarom ntmmer  zoo,  idtat we daar-               meente gelaten, eens en voor  &ijsd,  tot aan het einde
           door de Schrift zoudefi  minachten, of zouden qenen,                    `der wereld, in de Heilige Schriften.
           ,d,at  we het voorts zonder di,e  _S,chrif;t  wel kunnen stel-             En nog @tijd :getuigt  de Geest van Christus.
           len. Daar zij,n er, c$ie in dezer voege van ;de lei,ding                   Nog altij;dl leidt Hij in al'de waarheid.     En evenmin
           des Geestes  spreken. Ze' hebben direkt, onmiddelijk                    als het woord der Schrift een machtwoord tot zalig-
           contact met den Geest. Naar de influistering& des                       heid is zonder den Geest, ~evenmi~  heeft het getuigenis
           Geestes  luisteren ze. Ze leven en wandelen bij het                     des Geestes  inhoud-zonder d,at Woord.
           innerlijk licht, dat de Geest .im-hun  hart onmi~ddelijk                   Het is kdoor  ,dat  Woord, dat Hij de Kerk in de wereld
           ontsteekt.       De Geest getuigt, niet alleen met, maar ook            béya,art,  onderwijst, bevestigd, ,doet  opwassen in de
           onmiddelijk tot hunnen ge?&,  en- openbaart hun `de                     genade ën kennis van den Christus.
           dingen van Gods koninkrij.k,  ,den wille Gods, en d'en                     Het is door d,atzelfde  Woord, dat Hij ide kinderen
           weg, .di.en ze hebben te bewandelen. Aan de Schrift                     Gods,  in gemeenschap ook met de Kerk, in  dewelke  Hij
           hebben ze daarom geen behoefte. Deze is hun  eeqe                       immers woont, _leidt op den eeuwigen weg.
           doode  letter, en zich aan haar te onderwerpen is ten                      Leidt, in weerwil van Satan, wereld, en vleesch, in
           slotte  niets dan letterknechterij.      Op. de leiding des             <het  pad van Gods geboden.          .
           Geestes  alleen komt het a,an.    En in pl;a,ats van te luiste-            Tot ze straks aankomen in Sion, d$at boven is.
           ren naar d,e predikiag,des  Woor;de  uit & Schrift, wachte                 Om te zien aangezicht tot aangezicht.
           men liever, ook in de vergadering der geloovigen, tot                   _ Hleerlijke  gave ,des  Geestes!
           de Geest in ons begint te spreken, om in ,stilhei,d  naar
          Zijne sprake te luisteren, en straks daarvan te ge-                         Kinderen Gods  !
           tuigen.                                                    '               Z.ij alleen w,orden aldus gelei,d.
               Doch, meer dan ij&ele  itibeeldiing  is dit niet.`                     Daarom is het zeker waa.r,  dat zoovelen als er aldus
               Een hopvaardige waan is het, waardoor men zich                      door'dien  Geest Go:& geleid worclen,  kinderen Gods zijn.
           blooitstelt  aan het gevaar om de inspraak van eigen               _       SGod heeft #de  Fijnen tot Zijne kinderen aangenomen.
           zondig hart, straks ook van den Booze zelf, te houden                    Voor de ,grondlegging  der wereld heeft Hij, in.Zijn
           voor de stem des Geestes                                                vrijmachtig voornemen, hen tot Zijne kinderen gesteld,
                                           ; en waardoor men, inplaats
           van &n goeden en volmaakten en welbehagelijken wil                      en. hun alle Binderrechten  geschonken. En door het
           Gods  te leeren  kenneil,  en in Zijne wegen te wandelen,               kruis en ,de, volkomene gehoorzaamheid van onzen [Heer
           op allerlei ,d8001paden  wordt afgevoerd, en in de strikken             heeft Hij ,die aanneming tot kinderen verwerkelijkt,
           van .den  vo@ der duistmernis  verw,ard  raakt.                         het recht op hun kindschap Zelf voor hes verworven,
               Altijl  leidt de Geest van Christus Gods  kinderen                  hunne  zonden hun niet toerekenende, en hen bekleedend
           door het Woord.                                                         met eene  eeuwige gerechtigheid, -het recht hun schen-
              Hij spreekt yan Ziohzelven  niet.                                    kend om in Zijn Huis te wonen en de eeuwige zaligheid
                                                            I
               I;mmers is Hij de Geest der waarheid, Die  in alle                  te beërven.    En door de opstatiding  van Jezus Christus
           w%a.rheid  ons leidt, en van Wi&n  de H?ei!and  Zelf :ge-               uit de dooden  heeft Hij die aanneming tot kinderen voor
           tuigde : "Hij zal van Zichzelven  niet spreken, maar zoo                eeayig verzegeld. -
                                                                                      En door Iden Geest der aanneming maakt Hij Zijne
     .     wat Hij zal gehoord,hebben,  zal Hij spreken, en idle  toe-
           komende ,dingen zal Hij u verkondigen. Die zal Mij                      aangenomene kinderen tot levende kinderen  Gods !
           ver'heerlijken;  want Hij zal het uit het Mijne nemen,                     Hen, en hen alleen leidt Hij door dien Geest!
           en zal het u verkondigen." Joh.  16 :13, 14..  Eti wed,er-                 In die leiding hebben ze  een zeker onderpand, en
           om: "Maar de Trooster, die Heilige Ge&, Welken de                       ook kenmerk van hun kindseha@               ,
           Vader zenden zal in &ti@o  naam, Die zal u alles                           Door loutere  genade! -                        EL H.
                            _.                                   s


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384                                                                                                                          ,mE.imAN~utD  BEARER


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ~EQITORIA
                      Semi-Monthly, except Monthly & July and August

                                                                                        Published by _, ' .
                                The Reformed Free Publishing Association

                                                                  946 Sigsbee Street, S. E.                                                                                                                                             The Text of -a Complaint
                                                        EDITOR - Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                               - .

  Contributing Editors: - Revs. J. Blankespolor,  A. Cammenga                                                                                                                                                                       The last point of the `~Complaint"  concerns the so-
  P. De Boer, J. D. De Jong, H. De Wolf, L. Doezema, M.                                                                                                                                                                         called sincere offer of salvation on the part of God to
Gritters, C. Banko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G.  M.. Ophoff,. A.                                                                                                                                                                     all men, :particularly  to the reprobate.
  Petter, M. Schipper,  J. Vanden  Breggen, H. Veldman,  R. Veld-
  man, L. Vermeer,  P. Vis, G. Vos,  W. Hofman, J. Heys.                                                                                                                                                                            Here the "Complaint" ,descends  from the &r&o-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                sphere of philosophical contemplation and theological .
 - Gommunicatioas  relative to contents should _ be addressed
  to. REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand                                                                                                                                                                         debate to the lower'spheres  of plain; even superficia.1
  Rapids, Mi,chigan.                                                                                                                                                                                                            reasoning, where even d6mmon  mortals that may have
        Qommunications  relative to subscription- should be addressed                                                                                                                                                           been present at the examination of Dr. Clark, and at
  to MR;  GERRIT PIPE, 946 Sigsbee St., S. E., Grand Rapids,                                                                                                                                                                    the subsequent debate about the questions involved,
 Michigan. All Announcements, and Obituaries must be sent                                                                                                                                                                       must have felt t,hat they were ablle to participate in the
  to the above address and will aot be placed unless tlm regular                                                                                                                                                                dis,cussion.
                                                                                                                                                                                         -0
  fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice.  `_                                                                                                                                                                                          Here, too, the. "Complaint" reveals, more clearly
                                          (.Subscription  price $2.50 per year)                                                                                                                                                 than anywhere else, its distinctly Christian Reformed
 , Entered as Second  _ Class mail at Grand Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                                                   tendency, particularlyits sympathy with the three well-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                known decrees of the Sy_nod  of Kalamazoo, 1924.                '
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    And because it is ,especially  on this point that the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                controversy of the- presbytery of Philadelphia, which,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                as it. noti appears, is to ,be continued in the General
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Assembly of the. Orthodox Presbyterian Church, is
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                identical with our own controversy with the Christian
i MEDITATION -                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Reformed~  Church in 1924, and it may not be superflu-
       D.OOR  .DE NiGEEST  GELE!ID                                                                                  *...* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  * . . . . *...*** . . . . . . . . . . . . 381                    ous to refresh our memory in this respect,  `we will try
                    Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                                            to analyze the argument of the "Complaint" somewhat
`EDITORIALS $ `_                                                                                                                                                                                                                in detail. .' 1
       THE TEXT OF A COMPLAINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384                                                                                                         If the standpoint of Dr. Cl.ark  with respect to the
       EXPOSITION OF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM . ...386                                                                                                                                                                          paradox of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility
                    Rev. H. HoeTisema                                                                                                                                                                                           was .deseri,be.d  as more. than amazing, his view in  re
       SAMSON AND DELILAH                                                                                                                                                                                                       the "well-meaning offer" is characterized as "surpass-
                                                                                                            ..: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
                ,s Rev.-G. M. Ophoff                                                                                                                                                                                            ing strange." p; 13.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The  complainants- put it this way,: "In.the  course
       T IME AN D CON T E NT OF BERESHITH  IN GEN.. 1:1.....,394
  :                                                                                                                                                                                                                             of Dr. Clark's examination by Presbytery it became
          R e v .   J .   A .  Heys
                                                                                                                                                I.                                                                              abundtantly  clear that his: rationalism keeps him from
       MATT. 22:31,  32 AS PROOF OF THE BODILY RESUR-                                                                                                                                                                           doing justice to-the  precious tea.,ching  of Scripture that
       RECTION . . . . . . . . . ;; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  j96                                         in the. gospel God sincerely offers salvation in Christ
                    Rev, H. Veldman :                                                                                                                                                                                           to all who hear, reprobate as well as elect, and that
       FRIEND8 OF MAMMON AND ETERNAL  HABITA-                                                                                                                                                                                   he has no pleasure inany  one's rejecting this offer but,
       TIONS                     . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . f; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               contrar:iwise,  would have all who hear accept it and be
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       398 -
                   R e v .   G .   L u b b e r s                                                                                                                                                                                saved." p. 13. _
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Let us try to define the ,difference  between the
       FAIRY TALES IN CHIILDRENS READERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
                                                                                                                                                          t                                                                     complainants and -Dr. Clark as sharply as we can.
                   Rev. M. Gritters                                                                                                                                                                                                 The ,difference  is not that the complainants insist
       THE BASIC P,RORLEM  OF THE CHURCH'S MULTI-                                                                                                                                                                               that the gospel must be preached to,all men promiscu-
       ,FORMITY                             . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . ****..*a  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                                                             - 402
                                                                                                                                 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              ously, while Dr. Clark claims that it must be preached
                   Rev. A. Petter                                                                                                                                                                                               only to the elect.            This would be quite "impossible,
       CONTRIBUTION . . . . . . . . . .                                                                                                                                                                               4
                                                                                                        ..*.......................................................... 0 4                                                       seeing that no preacher is ajble  to single out the elect
                   Mr. J. H. Hoekstra                                                                                                                                      .~                                                   and- separate them from the reprobate in this. world.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       L....
                                                                                _                                                                                                                                               They are agreed that the ggspel  must be greache.d  to'
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              r IL>! u
 -.I.__s .= _ ___u__m_ --y. _ ,.__ -L-                                                                                                                                                                                          all men.        _.-    .*:i._;=-., * _ ;..;z


                                             4


                                           THE S-!I!ANDAR.D  BEARER.                                                                885

    Nor is the difference &at  the complainants openly                   ihe  .gospel say of God's intention with respect to the

 deny the doctrine _of reprobation, while Dr. Clark pro-                 reprobate?       And these, too, may be aa.lled by dif`fereni
 f,a!zses  to believe this truth. We read in the "Com-                   names, such as: the impenitent; the wicked, the  u:i-
 plaint" :    "IJe lbelieves7as  do we  all--&he doctrine o'f            believers,  etc. etc.
reprobation." 3. 13,.                                                        The answer to this, question defines the difference

    Aglain, the {difference ,does  not consist in this that              between Dr. Clark and the complainants sharply and

the complainants characterize the gospel as an "offer"                   precisely. '
 of Christ or as salvation, while Dr. Clark objects to                       The complainants answer: the ire&her must sag
that term. If the term "offer" is  und,er&ood  in the                    that God sincerely seeks the salvation of the reprsbate

sense in which it occurs .in the confes&ons,  al1.d in which             throtigh  the preaching of the gospel..            '
also Oalvin  us&s  it (offere,  from &fero, meaning to                       Dr. Clark answers : -that is not true, the preacher .
present), there ea.n be no objection  to that term, though,              may never say that in the name of God.
to prevent misunderstandi?>%?  it would be better to. em-               `- AnId!, in the light of'  Scripture.  he should say: cS;od
ploy ,the wor,dis; to- ~r&$,t, and pesent&ioln.                          seeks IHis own glory and justification in preparing the
    iA.gain,  even though .Drl' Clark  objects! to the word              reprobat,e  for their just damnation even through the
"sincere" in the sense' in which `the complainants use                   preaching of the gmpel.
Ohat term, afraid to. leave tIie  impression that he                         That, in thu,s  formultiting  the difference, I am not
preaches Arminilanism,  even th&  does not touch the                     doing an injust&  to the complainants is very plain
real point of <difference betyeen  them. That God is.                    from their own-words.        `rhey  say that in the preaching
sincer'e  in the pr+ching of the gospel no ,one  -woul,&                 of the gospel God sincerely offers salvation in Ch$st
dare to deny.     As; the complainants  rightly a,ik  : "Would           to the reprobate, that He has no pleasure in their re-  _
it not be blasphemy  to deny this?" p. 13.                               jection  of the offer, that He would  have  them, the rep-

   But th'e d?fference  b,eitween  them does concern the                 robate, accept the gospel, and that He would have them  .
codents of the gospel that.,must be preached promiscn-                   be saved.    ,Besides, it is in this sense that they interpret
ously _to all me<                                                        Ezek. 33 :ll : Go;dl has no' pleasure in the death of f;he
    It is really not Q question tow;hiom  one must preach,               reprobate, He would have them live;  a.nd II Pet. 3:9:
or how he must prea,ch,  but what he must preach.                        God ,does  not will. thtit  ihe reprobate should perish,

    `According to the compIa&ntsthe  preacher is called                 but that they all come to repentance; and Matt. 23 :37 i
to prpclaiin'Lo^-all  his hearers thiit  6od sincerely seeks             Christ would have gathered the reprobate. under  His
the salwatiord of them all.        If this is not their meani.ng         wings ; and I Tim. 2 :3, 4 : God our Saviour will have
when they write: "in the gosp'el Gadi sincerely offers                  all the reprobate to be saved and come unto-the  know;
salvation in Christ to all who hear; reprobate as -well                  ledge of, the truth. pp. 13, 14.     And it is with the doe:
as elect," their words have no meaning at all.                          trine ,of universal salvation in mind that they write:
    According to Dr. Clark, however, the prea,cher                       "The sdpremti importance for_ evangelism of mainbin-
proclaims to all his hearers promiscudusly  thdt God                    ing the Reformed doctrine of_ the gospel as a universal
sitice?+ely  se,eks'the  salvation of all the elect.,    The__eliect     and sincere offer is self-evildent."-p.:14.  _
may be variously -named in the preaching: those who                         Now, you might object, .as also Dr. Clark does, that
repent, they that believe in Christ, that hunger for the                thijs  involv'es  a ,direct  contradiction : God sincerely seeks
b&d  of life; that thirst for the water of lif&; that seek,             the salvation ,of  those whom He has from eternity de- _
knock, ask, that come to Christ,  j&c.  etc.       But they are         termined not to save.       Or: God-would have that  sinner
always the elebt.             _                                         live whom .He  does not qujcken.        Or: Gold would have
    -We may define the issue still more-sharply, and limit              the sinnez,  whom He does .not  give the faith, to accept
-It to God's intention and-attitude  in the preaching of                the gospel.       Or: God would have t.hat.  sinner come to

the gospel .with regclrrcl  to the repro,bati.                           Christ whom He does not draw and who cannot come.

    l?or  it is. more especially about the reprobate and                _ `Xou might object that this is not rational.                 '
their salvation that the complainants are concerned.                        But this objection would be of no avail  to persuade
Strange though'it  miay;seemi  paradoxical though it may                the complainants of their error.        They admit thai this j
sound, they wafit to lleave  room `in the preaching for                 is irrational.      But they do not want to be rational on
the salvation of the rep&bate.- For the sake of clarity,                this `point.      In fact, if you shoulld  insist on being

therefore; we can safely leave the  elect.  out oif our dis-            * rational in this respect, they would call you a "rati.onal-
cussion.      That Go'd  sincerely  seeks  their sia.lvation  is        ist", and at once proceed to seek your aekpulsi&  `from
not a matter of controversy.           To -drag  them into the          the church__as  a ,dangerous  heretic. The whole "Corn-
discussion of, this question simply confuses: things.                   plaint" against Dr.- Clark is really concentrated ih and
The question yery really concerns the attitude of God                   based- OQ this one alleged error' of' his that he claims .
tiith respect to the reprobate.         We may liniit the con-          that the Word of God an@ the Christian faith are not
troversy to this question : what must the preacher oj `irrational.                        According to `the complainants; to be

                                                                            :


                 s
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 386                             `.          T H E - S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R


 reasonable is to be a rationalist.         They write that th?         complainants, as soon as you reject their claim to

 trouble with Dr. Clark iS that "his rationalism does not               irrationalism,  is purely Arminian.

 permit him to let the two stand  unreconcil~e8d  alongside                    And their irrational&n  is only an attempt to camou-

 each other. Rather than do ,that  he wou1.d  modify                    flage their real.position.
 the .gospel in the interest of repr,obation.  (This you                                                                        H. H.

 .understan$  is ia slanderous: rqnark,  H.H.) . Other-

 ,wise  expressed, he makes th`e  same error -as does the
 Arminiaq  although be moves in the opposite d>rect,ion.
 The Arminian  cannot harmonize ,divine r;e;pr,obation
 with the sincere d4vine  off& of salvation to all .:who                        The Triple: Knowledge
. hear; hence, he rejects. the former. . Neither can Dr.
 Clark harmo,nize  the two, and so he d&racts  from the
 latter. Rationalism accounts Ifor  both eriors." p. 13.                 An Expoqition Of The Heidelberg
        To accuse the complainants of irrationalism  is,

 therefore, of no avail as far as they al:e concerned.                                       Catechism 
 They openly admit, they are even  boasting of,. their                                                                             .
 irrational position. To be 4rrational  is, according to                                          Part Twq.
 them, the glory of a humble, Christian Faith.                                              Of Man's Redemption
        We shall, therefore, have to prove to them  th'at,
 in their claim thtat  Goid sincerely seeks the salvation of                                   Lord's Day- XV

 the reprobate in the prehching  of the gospel, they not                                              3.       * d
 only cbntr.adict  themselves, but they directly contradict                            The Death Of The Cross (cont.)
Scripture.
        knd this we hope to ,do, not because Dr. Clark is in                    Such ia the meaning of the cross.     '
 need of our defe&e,  but because we are interested in                         No other `death  tba.n that by crucifixion  might the
 the pure R,eformed  truth, and cannot aUow  it to be                   Lamb of God, that must take away the sin of the

 cla,moufBged  atid!  corrupteld   b y   s o m e  self-co;lifessed      world, die.
                                                       `.
 irrationalists.                                                                For Him it would not have been proper had He died

        But before we proceed to ,do so,.  we must prove                suddenly of heart fai!lure,  or of some common disease,
 two things: 1. That thk position o'f the complainants                  or of -the weakness of old' age.
 is not irrational as they claim, but involves an Armin-                 '      Nor might thhe  enemy stone Him tom8death,  as they
ian conception of reprobation.              2. That their argu-         sometimes sought to do even before His hour  ha8  come ;
 mentation on this; point in thle "`Complaint" is very                  or cast Hini down the precipice, as they meant to do
superficial, and characterized by many errors.                          at Nazareth ; or, with the help df the traitor, sneak
        In this is&e,  we will have rooh only to elu,cidate             upon. Him un;lwares,  and secretly put Him-out of the

 point 1.                                                               way, as must have been their intention when-  they
        After all, even though the complainants. the&                   covenanted with Judas for thirty pieces of silver.               All
 selves .insist  `cm being irrational, we will have to `deal            these ,attempts  were frustrated. The counsels of the
 with them according to the rules of lo.gic.                 If they    enemies weu'e  brought to nought, and by God's special
 refus,e `to -be tre&ed  fationally,  they really forfeit the           direction the events. of His:  `thour"  were so arranged
 right to -present  a complaint to any la.ssembly  of normal            that the ultimate outcome was the  &death  of the cross.
 Christians. And treating itherq  as rational human                      For .Chris$  .had  to bear Goss  curse against the
 beings, we must insist that they do not,  a&l cannot                   sinner.      And the death of the cross w.as  accursed
 possibly accept the proposition: God sincerely seeks the               of God. Thus it was written: `(Cursed  is every one'
4vation  of those whom He has sovereignly from                          that hangeth on a. tree."
 eternity determined to ebe ,damned.                                            This is not to be understood as if this is the only
        In ,other  words: I know that they claim to believe             meaning of the cyoss, .and as if it were the only reason
 this, but I dleny  thei.r  claim; 1, ido not accept it.                why our Lord must {die  the ideath  by crucifixion.
        Hence, I mu& try to rationalize their position for                      There are several other reasons.
 them.       How clan any man, w,ith  a show of yationalit.y,  _              For one thing, as has already been demonstrated,
 insist that God sincer6ly  seeks the salvation of the                  the ,Saviour  must be brought to. His death in the  ,way
 reprobate?           Only when they define repro:bation  as that       of legal proc;edure  and of a public  trial, and that, too,
 eternal act of God according to which He  det,ermined                  not only by' the J'ewish  authorities, but also by the

 to .damn all those whom He eternally `foresaw as re-                   %ribunal  of the world, repnesented by Pontius Pilate.
- jetting the.  gqspel.                                                         Furthermore, Jesus' death must be a sa.crifice for
        In other words, I insist that the position `of the              sin.                                                                    !
                                                                                                       _ -                 L _._           6


                                                               .


                                          T H E  STAN'DAED  BEA-RER                                                            387


         This implied, first of all, the shedding of His blood.     shed His own blood.          Hence, the very form of His
In Christ the priest and the sacrificial victim werie one.          death must be suc,h tha.t  it gave Him the opportunity
He was both.         He must, therefore, shed His own blood,        to pour out His life in a voluntary sacrifice, to carry
and Himself carry it in the inner sanctuary, as  .did the           IHis own blood into. the heavenly sanctuary, sprinkle it.
high griest  among Israel ,on the Day of Atonement..                upon the horns of the altar, and on the mercy seat by
For "Christ being come an high priest of good things                an set of conscious obedience.'         Had our Lor,d  been
to come, by .a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not             stabbed to ,death,  so that He had died instantaneously,
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building ; this act of voluntary and loving obedience couPd not '
neither by, the blood of goats and calves, but by his               have been pferformed.        But now it was different. He
own blood he entered in once into the holy place, hlav-             died the death of the cross.       And this meant, not that
ing obtained eternal redemption for us.  . For if the               the enemies killed Him instantaneously, but that they
blood of bulls and goats, and the aches  of an heif,er              merely opened Ris body, broke'it,  that He might shed
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth .to the purifying               His blood.
of the flesh : how much more shall the'blood of Christ,                     For six long hours Christ poured out His life LI~~~.I
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself with-                ,death  !
out spot to God, purge your conscience from dead                            This was a completely voluntary act on His part.
works to serve the living God?,  IHeb.  9:11-14.  And               At any moment during those six hours He might have
Iagain : "And almost all things are .by the law purged              refused to remain suspended on the accursed tree, and
with blood: anld without shedding of blood there is no              have taken up the challenge of the enesiy  to come
remission."        If the death of Christ were to be an aton-       Idown from the cross. But He remained on the txree,
ing sacrifice, His blmood must -be shed.         And this `was      and continued to pour out, IIis life.         In every drop of
one ,of the reasons why He might not ,die some other                bloo,d  that slowly trickled from His hands and feet
death, but must suffer the death of the cross;                      there was an expression of perfect obedience, of the
         T.hat  the ideath of our Lord must be a sacrifice for      love of God, and the love of His own. Through the
sin implied, secoadly,  that He must lay down His life              death-of the cross, He the High Priest, poured out His
voluntarily, in willing and loving obedience to the                 own blood, sacrificed Himself as the Lamb of God
Father.        His death must jbe :a.n  act of the High Priest.     without spot, and carried the blood of atonement into
He must offer Himself. As He said wh.ile  He taber-                 the sanctuary of God.
nacled among us : "I -am the good shepherd: the good                        Anid, finally, through the death of the cross  .our
shepherd giveth his life `for. the sheep. . . . As the Lord co&l taste death, could experience the fulness of
Father kn.oweth'  me, even so know I the Father: and                horror there is in the reality of death as punishment for
I lay ,down  my life for the sheep. . . . Therefore                 sin.      This, too, was necessary in order to make of His
doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life                  death a sacrifice for s!in. He must not merely die,
that I might take it again.       No man taketh it from me,         as quickly as possible, but He must pass through the
but I lay it down of myself.          I have power to lay it        full experience of the agony of death. Every bitter 
down, and I have power to take it again. This com-                                                                                    -
                                                                    drop of death in .all its misery He must taste as IHe
mandment I received of my Father." John lO:l,l, 15,                 drinks His               And the death of the cross was
                                                                                     cup.
17, 18.      But if He were to lay down IBi,si  life, if He were    eminemly  adapted to this purpose.
to shed H*is  own blood, the very form of His death                                                                  '
must be such that it offere,d  Him an opportunity to do                     And  thus the death of the cross was the means  _
                                                                    through which. Christ took upon Himself and suffered
soI       To this end the death of the cross w.as `eminently
                                                                    the curse of God  that is upon the sinner.
adapted.
         In the. case of the  018  Testament sacrifices the                 ,God'si curse is the ,expression  of His holy wrath
priest and  the sacrificial victim were two. different              against the workers of iniquity. It is the opposite of
beings.       All that was required, therefore, was that the        His blessing. Both, blessing and- cursing, rare Words
priest shou1.d  stab the victim as quickly as possible,  anid       of God. The former is the Word of Hi,s favor, His
sprinkle the blood upon the horns of the altar, and                 grace and loving-kindness, drawing us into, His fellow-
upon the mercy seat, to realize  the idea of a sacrificial'         ship aind  causing-us to taste that the Lord is good.
offering. Precisely because the priest and the offering             The latter is the Word of His wrath  and hot anger,
were not identical this was sufficient. The victim did              expelling us from His house, causing us to experience
not have to be slowly tortured to ,death, in order to               Him as a consuming fire, casting               away from *Him,
                                                                                                            us

make its !death  a voluntary offering, for it was the               forsaking us in utter terror of darkness and desolation,
priest, not the victim itself, that brought -the sac+               making us unspeakably wretched. .
fice.                                                                   ThiE curse of God was upon Christ *as He `was made
       But with our Saviour  `this was zdifferent;                  sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of

       He was t,he priest,: but also the offering. He had to        Go:d in Him.


                                      I
            ,388                                       THE $T,ANDARD:BEPRER  '


             _~     And somehow, He experienced this awful curse                    Word of $he curse by the darkness: l&at spread its
            through the cro&s.                                                      horrible wings over the scene of that judgment of
                    The question may be asked  : what did the cross have            God on Calvary, and the Saviour  became compl&e-
           _ to dd with Christ's tasting the  horror of ,the  curse of              ly occupied  with the tremendous task of tasting the
           ., God against the sinner .7 IV&- it merely a syhbol, ex- horror of God's cursing wrath, and of responding
            pressive of the curse ? - Or .did it serve `as a means`                 to ilt i;yL1  the obedience of love through His dripping
          through which  tile bitter experience  of God's:  wrath                   blood. Before the darkness descend&  He could still
     '      in the curse was conveyed  to.t,he consciousness of the                 direct  His attention tp others, even while bearing the
            Sufserer   o n   C a l v a r y ?                  . ._                  curse.    But in the ithree  hours of `darkness;  He is silent.
                    The answer must be that it was both.                            His own suf&ring,  H& own work of, obedience, the
                    To us `t,he cross of, Christ is a symbol, a sign, --ex-         bringing of the perfect  sacrifice, the laying down of
          pressive of the fact that  l3e bore the curse &f God.                     His life liti .perfect  obedience,, the amazing expeiienca
_           that was .upqti us. For the victim of &u,cifixion  @as                  ,of  the fierce wrath of God against sin,  am3 the equ&lly,
            a. castaway.        T.here was no rooti for him in all Ga&`s.           amazing calling of meeting this expression of God's:
            wide creation. _ Su@pended  b&ween heaven, and earth,                   anger without rebellion, without complaint, without
            he was the embodiment ojf the judgment that there                       .drawing  back; in love `of God,-these require all His
            was no place for him`on the earth among men, and no                     attention, every ounce of strength th,at is in Him,
            room $or  him iri-heaven with God.             Men did `not want           And thus He de'scepds into the ,deepest  depths of
            h&n;  Go@di,d  not receive Him.            This is the' symbo.lsm       woe! And thus it is somewhat  underst+n!$able  t,h&t,
            of the  cross. of Christ. Suspehded on the accursed                     at the mo,ment when God's cursing wrath is most op-
            tree, He has no name left un6 Him. -He empt:ies                         pressive at, the sam'e  time that `His love and obedience
            Himself completely.            By the  isymbol  of t,he crdss,  con-    a?e most perfect, the question of amazement should
            ceived not merely as man's, but `as God's cross, we are                 be wrung from His Eorely  vexed soul: "My God, my
            assured that Christ bore the curse that was upon us.                    God, why hast thou for&ken me?"
                    But for Christ it <was:  also a means through whicJ1               This is the meaning pf the cross I
            He actually* tasted the horror of God's curse upon the                    Aid thus I know, through the logos of the cross,
            sinner.         For let u$ $t forget thlat  the cross was 1:            that my Savid,ur took upon Himself, .completely  bore,
            Woricl  of `God.      It .was  not &an,  but God-Himself that           and removed for ever, the curse that was upon  me!
            -had spoken the word: "Cursed is every o<e  that hang-                     ,Ch&t  h&h redeemed us from the curse of the
            eth`  oin & tree."      That the hqnged  one was- accursed,             law, having  become  No curse for us !
            therefoee,  was not due to an act or interpretation of

            man : it was God Himself Who .bjr His own, Wor,d p1Ace.d
            Him in the&tegory  of the accursed.                The category, 1                                m
                                                                                                              _ Lord's Day XVI.
            say for the wor,d of God in Deuteronomy  ,emphat,ically

            speaks of eveyy  one thlat hangeth on a tree.            There was                     Q. 40. Why was it necessary for Christ to humble

            no except&n to this rule.           In .that category, therefore,                   himself even unto death ?

            also beloi@d the cross; of Christ, and that, too, by the                               A. Because with respect to the justice and truth

            Word 6% God.          On Calvary, -through the means of the                         of God, satisfaction f.or our sin could be made no

            tree, God spoke His W0r.d  of wrath to the crucified                                otherwise, thar'by  the death of the Son of God.

            One : "Cursed is every one tha.rt hangeth on a tree ;                                 _@.  41. Why was it he also  bunied ?
            ctirsed~  art Thoti,  even %s Thou stan,dest  in the plaoe of                          A. Thereby to prove that he was really dead.

           - sinners !".                                                                           Q. 42. Sipnce  then Christ died for us, why  m&t a
                    Afid Christ heard that Wor,d of God, and tremble.+                          we also die ?

            and became unspeaiiablj  mistirable  !                                                 A. Our death is not a satisfaction for our sins,
                    The Worci of .Go#d',s  anger was in His cross, and He                       but only an abolishi,ng  of sin, and a passage into

            felt it!                                                                            e t e r n a l   l i f e .

                    He felt the oppressing har,;i of God's ,wrath  id an                           Q. 23.  What further benefit do we receive from

            increasing measure,.. as the slow moments `of His .dy-                              the sacrifice~,and  death of Christ on the cross ?
            ing hours were measured by the equally slow  trickle                                   A. That by virtue  thereof, our old man is crucified,

            of !I+is .blood  from hands and, feet.           : "j                               dead and buried with him; that so the corrupt in-           .
             `--. More heavily la.den  with the wrath and the curse of                          elinations  of the flesh may no more reign in us;  buC
            God became every succeeding moment. And to `every                                   that we may [offer ourselves unto him a  saerifiqe  of

            moment 6f Go!rYs  `fierc&  anger.  -the Saviour  `responded,.                       thanksgiving.. ._

            so. to speak, by every drop. of.. blood, sprinkled with                                S: 44. Why is there added,  "`he  descendkd  into

            fervent l&e and perfect obedience upon the mercy                                    h e l l ? "

            seat -before  the face of G&l. Accentuated .was  the                                   A. That in my-greatest temptations, I may be as-


               . .                                     T H E   S T A N D A - R D  B-KARER- `- `.                                         3 8 9
                                                                                                 . . .
                                                                   _

                      sured and wholly comfort myself in this, that my        or, ,a.t- least, hastily`p&&-  gver  it,%n oT%Jer  to elaborate
   _*         L o r d  _ Jesl7r :hrist, `by his Tintixpressible  angukh,      at onde  i.ipoii thk b~oadeli"%,ti&  de`e&$  ispect of death in
                      pains, terrors and hellish agonies, in'whieh  he was    genkral       and ofi `th@ d&K  ! ;oF :`C%u;ist  in paeticular.
                      plunged during all his sufferings, but especially on    Aft&-  all, physical detith;`th&`@%th-df%he  bo!dv,`thus  we
                      the'cross,  hath delivered me from the,&guish  and      are liable to ~&M%i;:is~:n6t  the &al;;  the 6nJy penzilty:  for

                      torments of: hell.                                      sin.      The' sep$ra&ibn-`6f  &_%_~i'~  itid*  b6dy,  the stat@ `bf
                                                                              sieool  or-hades is &~l$%%.$o~al.~~  `The  esse'nde  `?Z`death
                                       i.                                     is the wrath of God; the &r&e;  sBpa$atidn;  df oyr whole

                       The Dkath Of The S0.n Of God.                          being from the favor of God's presence, to be forsaken
                                                                        _     of Him.       If, therelfore,,we  are to sp&ak  of the death of
         The text od our %ranslation  of this sixteenth Lord's                the Son of God as: a satisfaction  for sin, we must not
 bay is substantially ,correct.  `However, in the answer                      c$attention  to th6 moment when Christ gave up the
 to the forty-third ,questiun,  the w,or,ds  "that .by virtue                 ghost. Then His suffering and death were finished.
 thereof," shoul,d  be `changed into "that by hi;s: power"                    It is true that He was buried, and that  His body re-
 (dass  durch seine Kraft).  And id the forty-fourth                          mained u&l the &irk1  day in the pl&ze  of corruption.
 answer, instead of &he words `%henein  he ivas plunged                       But His soul was in Paradise !ev&  then, and the suffer-
 during all his sufferings, but esp'ecially  on the cross,"                   ing of the w?ath  of -God had all been'born to the end.
~ we ;sh:ould read "which he -suffered a160 in his Soul on                    It is; therefore;to the deeper mea,nitig  of ~H.%si ,death  as
 *the  .cross and before'9  (die er such an seiiier Stiele~am                 thk ekpression  ,of the wrath tif God, `to His suffering of
 KrBuz un,d zuvor:  ,erlitten)  .                         -                   the punishment df` death befdre  "He di&+,".  that  otir
         This Lor;cYs  Day is intended as %an expbsiition  of, the            attennlt,ion must be .called,  when we explain:  `that death
 words o? the Apostolic Confession:. "dead &nd busied,                        as a `satisf aeticiti of ttie  justice of God for our sins.
descen,ded  into hell."              Aed ,while  &eating the subjects                 A n d   t h i s  is-true.            -_
 of the death,  burial, and ascension into hell of the                          It is perfectly correct to say that the  .essence  of
 Saviour,  the Catechism insepts  a question atid!  answer                    ,death  is-not to be foulid in the separation of soul and
 concerning the necessity and reason of our physical                          body, but in thtit  everlastilig  .dedolation  in hell that
 ,death  in th& light of `the fact thhat'Chri&  stuffered death               consists in the beifig  forsaken  of Goldl.. Physical death
 for us ; and another question ,and answer concerning is, as sepa.ration  of soul an,d body, only temporal. There
 the ppesetit,  spiritual fruits. for us of t,he death of                     is -<also  a resurrection of the wicked, a reunion oif soul
 Christ. '                                        -                           and body unto ,damnatlon.  And it is, therefore, also
         In the Apostolicwm  the wor.ds  "dead and .burie!cY'                 true that, if we woul'd speak 6f the death  of Christ
 -belong together.             And  what is more,  they belong to the         as a sa.tisfaction  for sin, as a beaping  of &he furl-putiish-
 series : "suffered undeir Pontius Pilate, was crucified,                     ment for our sins, we must speak of  *its deeper mean-
 de&d  and buri&."                 T&is. should n,ot  be overlooked in        ing. The mere dying atid &.&al  of Christ, His being
 our discussion of the necessity `and significance `of the                    in.hades, apart from the rest of Hi; suffering, especially
 ,dea,th  of Christ. For this_-means  that the Apostolic                      on the cross, cannot  be the satisfacti& for our iniqui-
 Confession. mentions the -vari_ou$  se18ements.  of the pas-                 ties.
 si.on of our Lord in their chronological; historical order  :                        And yet, it should bk.evident  that in this connectibn
 He suffered, tias  crucified, died, was buried. And                          we must speak particularly of that aspect of Christ's
 .again,  this implies that in the Con5ession  the woY,d de&,                 ,death that consistled  in the deparure of His spirit from
I strictly tipeaking, refers to the Ifact that Christ .di'ed,                 His earth@  house, and @at wtis,'  asf1a.r  as the body was
`to the moment %hen He tiave  up ihe gliost  and l&id                         concerned, finish&  in the burial.
 down His ea?thly`  life.                                                             This is plainly thedenotation of the %o?d."dead':  in
         We are apt to overlook this icn our dogmatical i&er-                 the seri'ec "suffered under Pontius l?ilat& was cruci-
 pretation  of the death. of' ChYist.                                         f i e d ,  sdea@,`a.n!d  bu$&.`?  _ '
         The Catechism ~cdnsiderti the d&th  of Christ from                       -This is also evident fr.om  the,  conn&t,ion'  between

d the viewpoint of its necessity as a sacrifice' for sin                      the forhieth  c&iestion  and answer of the CatecXsm  with
 -.&id satisfaction of the justice of God: "Why was it                        what precedes it.             That Christ sustained the wrath of
 neoessary  for ,Christ -to humble himself even  unto                         God against sin, and that thtis He offered the .only
 `death?"  And th'e answer-is:-"Because  with respect to                      propitiatory sacrifice whereby we are redeemed  from
the justice and truth of G6d,  satisfaction for our sins                      everlasting damnation, -was stated.  in the  answer to
could be made no .cLtherwise,  ihan-  by the Id'eath  of the                  question thirty-seven, as an expla&tion  of.  the words
 Son ,of God-"              And ;;ls we explain this Bnswer,  5bd  try        "He suffered."              That by His suffering as the innocent
 somewhat. to 9d!emonstrat6  this necessity and sigfiifi-                     -Ohe, He delivered`us  `from  tie severe jud,=ent of God
. cance  `of .the death of Christ,  we &r'e  inclined t&o  omit               to which we were  exposed, was;' expl!ajned  in the ans-
 the phyhical  and te&p.o,ral  --,death  of Christ alitogeth'er,              wer to question  thi,tiy-eight.  And th&  Hia suffering
I /. `1 _ <
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 of the [death  of the cross. signifies that IHe took upon                                 riage is not" stated.      Besides, honorable marriage be-
 Himself and bore the curse in our stead, was ment.ioned                                   tween a Hebr,ew  Iand a woman of her nationality, back-
 in question and answ&  thirty-nine.                                     It is evident,    ground and character was not well possible.         Be could
 therefore, that in question ,and' answer ftirty,  the Cate-                               not break ,away from the woman, for htis  heart clare
 chism, even as the ApostoEcum,  refers to the fact that                                   unto her. .. So' there he remained ,in the valley of Sorek,
      Christ died, that Be'.i@l  ,down His earthly life, and                               in the house of ihat pagan woman for a long time,
 that He.entered  into the itate$f sjeool.                                                 perhaps for w-eeks,  a slave of his lusts.     H.is .stay with

                                                                            H. H.. ' that woman was soon noised about. When the Philis-
                                                                                           tine lords heard of it, t$hey  became thoughtful. The

                                                                                           weakness ,of the dreaded IHebrew,  his extravagant pas-
                     .             *                          .-
                                        e                                                  sian for that woman, must be put to use; it.must  be
      .- , __. _'
-.                                           _                      L          -2          taken' advantage of for drawring  out of him the secret

                                                                                           of his great strength and its limit. But the only one
                 -`San&on atid Delilah, -                                                  to do tha.t was the woman. 
                            c                                             i.. ,;                                           `Their  problem was how to
                                                                                           get her to betray her lover._ They must proceed with
         Samson had possessed the gates of &is. enemies.                                   great caution.     Having learned Samson'si  strength, they
 As. was said, this achievement of our hero forms the                                      aared  not threaten.the  woman, as they had threatened
 climax to his, whole career, which now `drew rapiydly  `to                                the wife of Samson's youth, in the matter of the riddle,
 a sad yet victorious close. In his carnality, he now                                      .and with what success we know.       This woman could be
 played into the hands of his enemies, who finally sue-                                    counted on ,to seek Samson's protection ; and then they
 ceeded  `in. getting him into their power/through the                                     all would be idead  men.     So they came not with threats
 treachery of a woman. The sacred writer  igoes on to'                                     but with a bribe. "And the l,ord,s  of the Philistines
 say, "And it came to ,pass  afterwards, that he loved                                     came'up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and
.a woman in the valley of Sorek, who;s;e  name was De-                                     see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means
_ Iilah from the Hebrew "dIalal'  m'eaning  "to be weaken--                                we may ,prevail  against him, that we may -bind him to
 ,&l or enfeebled". The name is thus expressive  ,of  the                                  afflict him (or humble) ; land we will give thee every
 injury `done by the woman to Samson She-debilitated                                       one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver."        According
.his strength,  Who was the woman.? Some interpre-                                         to Judges 3 :3,  the number of. pr.inces  m.ay be set down
 t,ers  assume that she was Ian Israelites, a idisreputable                                as five.    Since each  of the princes pledged 1100 shekels
 woman from Samson's own tribe.                                This is not a sug-          of silver, the. sum promised amounted to 5500 sheke1.s.
 gestion unworthy of consideration. It would explain                                       Thus it was an enormous bribe that was offered her,

 how he was .caught  in her snare.                          He could not imagine           and with reason. For all that these Philistine lords
 that la woman of hIrae  would b,etray him.                                   It would     knew, her attachment.  for ,Samson  might have ,been
 also explain why the Philistine lords had to buy her                                      as strong-as his attachment for her.* If so, she would
 services with a price. Not being- one ,of them, the                                       resent their suggestinlg  to her that she betray her lover
 woman was lacking in patriotism.                              Yet, in the light-of        and compiain  about them to him; he would then have
 the narrative, it is better to proceed on the assumption                                  a new occasion for another lassault.       But -she being a
 that she was,  a Philistine woman. This will beeome                                       poor weaver-woman, they knew how to deal with her.
 plain ae we. proceed. '                                                                   In the expectation that her love of money would prove
         The tiroman  lived in.Sorek.                      ,Of  the position of this       stronger than whatever love she might bear the Heb-
 place nothiang  is known.         T-hat  it was Philistine terri-                         rew, .they  came to her and told her that they would
tory is probable..        As was pointed out, never again did                              make .her' rich, would she turn against her- lover- and
 the Phil&tines  confront Samson in open combat after                                      cooperate.with  thejrn  in getting him into their power.
 the great victory at .Lehi.            B'ut their downfall was not                        The woman agreed without a moment's hesitation, it
 yet completed. and would not be until th,e judgeship of                                   eeems.      The prospect of coming into possession of that
 Samuel.        Samson only began to ,deliver  Israel.  (chap.                             much wealth wa.s  too good, and Samson. became to her
 13 :5).      Thus the war between Samson and the Philis-                                  but another man.         So, on a day in a playful- moment,
 tines continued. He thus gersisted  in throwing him-                                      she said to him, "Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy
 self in their. company' for the purpose of finding. oc-                                   great strength lieth and wherewith thou. mightest be
 casion against them. So, on a .djay,  he was again on                                     bound to afflict thee."      Samson shoul'd  have answered
 his way to slome Philistine city in pursuance of his call-                                the woman truthfully.       She might know-th'e  truth about
 ing. Piassmg  -through the valley of Sorek, he again                                      him-know that he was a  Nazar.ite  unto his God from
 fell a victim to his sensuality, though he had not meant                                  nismother's womb an:d that the.biadge  of his consecra-
 it so.     He saw there that woman-Delilah-and, in, the                                   tion was his unshaven locks of hair.          He should have
 language of ,the sacred narrator, he loved her, a daugh-                                  said  this -to the-woman ; he should have told her that
 ter of the Philistine+          That he sought honorable mar-                             the secret of his power was not hiis,  unshaven locks of

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  hair EIS -suich but his Nazarite'holiness  and his keeping          was not ,pretendingi    fiis words must be put to.a  t&t.
  faith &ith  the Lord through his not -defiling himself or           Accordingly,' she suddenly cried out,- in feigned con-

  his ahowing  himself to be ,defil,ed  through the sheering          sterna.ti,on,  "the Philistines be upon thee Samson." At.
  of hi,si  k&s.    He should have `acquainted the' woman             the hearing of this cry, he became' alert instantly.
  with the fact that God was l-&s strength and salvation              The- withs on his hands snapped "as a thread of tow
  With him steadfastly walking in the way of the pre-                 is broken when it toucheth the fire.`.     IHe was ready for
  cepts' of his v&-as-  the altar of' Go@  as the sign of the         action.' Feeling secure `in his strength, he knew' no fear.
  things of I&s kingdom. In. a `wor,d, `Samson should                 But where were the- Philistine& of. which she spake.
  havk divulged the -truth  about himself ' and spoken. of            He saw none. But they ?ere there nevertheless, con-
 the h&&that  wia$ in him, an,d as so witnessmg  and `con-            cealed in the woman'sV  chamber.  Frightened and dis-
  fessing, broken with that woman as his lover in order               appointed .by the outco,me  of-the trial they made their
  to avoid being destroyed by her. For the woman,                     escape, in a convenient moment, to report to theirlords
being wicked, was not to be trusted. She was an                       that his strength was not knotin.          .     `. "'
   enemy of the trutli and of' God's people.         And of this        . Samson  ceuld  not-help being strangely.impressed  by
  Samson was` well aware ; he knew that she might want                the idoi,ng of `the woman.    It occurred to him, doubtless,
  to. destroy him' as the wlalkiing  `altar of God.      That he      that she might have designs`upon  his life.         But he per-
  .mistrusted  his p&m&r  is vindicated  by. hii; evasive             s&ted in refusing to give credence to his ,mental  un-
  answers.    Thus his duty'tias'  clear.      He must Witness        easiness,    He loved her. Sheto  him was all that a man
  for t.he'truth,  confess the name of Jehovah and crown              of his stron  gpassions'could  ,desire`ip.a  woman;  effee-
  that.confe&on  with fruits worthy of repentance cbn-                tionabe,  responsive -and generous;. Certainly, she could
  si_sting  in his crucifying `his sensuality and forsaking'          have meant no harm. She was  mer,ely being playful
  the world as' he, at that `specific. moment, encountered            .with him. Cause for alarti there was not. Besides,
  it i4n- that .woman.  .But this' he did not.      He wou.ld  not    he felt secure in his strength which he now  elmployed
   give the woman'up.  ' So, in order-to enjoy-the pleasures          to secure hirms;elf  against ial godless f,emale;  thus em-
   of sin without being-idestroyed  `by I&,  `tihich  of course       ployed in the_ service of his lusts. Such must have
   was imp.ossi.ble,  in order' to remain safely under one            been the tiitness  ef his conscience.           But he had a
   yoke with the w.orld without perishing at the hands                ready answ.er.  He was again seeking occasion against
  of the %orl#d,  he kept silenlce  about the truth and placed        the _~$dversary.  Had the Philistines `actually. attacked
   in the roem  of the truth the lie.         His saying to that      him, it would have given ahim a new opportunity for                1
   goman-.f`that,  if they binded  him with seven green               another her.oic feat:' .
   Withs, that were never #dried, he would  be weak, and               Samson. in his foliy,.had  provided his charmer'with
  ,be as another man,-wars;  a plain  lie.     By this falsehood      a new weapon of attack, w'ith a neti  idevice. for en-
   he thought to put the woman off, in  ord,er  that he               snaring `her victim. She could now with impressive
   might continue in the possession of her as his lover.              vehemence tax him. with falsehood and thmi through
   Though he knew that her questionings proceeded from                                                                     .t. ,_
                                                                      feigning a righteous indignation, pose as a truthloving
   doubtful motives, he tried har,d  -Lo put his mind at ease         pIerson  to whom he could safely reveal the truth. about

  ' by ascribing her inquiries to feminine curiosiity,  which,        herself. So,__ with a great show- of moral` integrity
  he `hoped, had  now been satisfied `by the falsehood he             and as pretending that her feelings hlad  been severely
  : had tol,d  her. But he was deceiving himself;          It was     injured  and her person -humiliated by .his lies, `and .m:
  .inot  `Curiosity that was driving the woman ;. what was            sug~&sting  `that  the only way' he could make, amends
   ~dri'ving  her Was love of riches, and fundamentally,              was by telbng  her the truth. about himself, she, with
   hatred "of `Israel'sl God and of His servant;                      t~~~.~~~~  in her heart, said to him, "Behold, thou  .hast
  ' "$6 -ihe woman put the answer to a test.              She im-     mocked me, and told me lies : now `tell me, I pray thee,
   media@y  contacted the lords of the Philistines and                wherewith thou mightest  me bound:" Samon may
   com.municated  to them what he had toWher in a jest.               have been impressed.        A woman of such moral sensi-
   And the' Philistines "brought up to her seven green                tiveness ,must  ,be harmless. Thus she succeeded in
   withes  %hich had'.not been dried;" and then, la11 un-             drawing her lsnares  one stitch closer.         And though he
  `knotid  to Samson, they lied in wait, concealed  them-             still withheld from her the truth, yet she has made an
   selve&  in one of the compartments of theawoman's  house           laldvance.towards  her end, t.h'at end `being her gaining
   andanxiously  awaited.  the outcome of the test to which           his confi'dence;  As yet,. however, he was still suspect-,
  his'~ords  tikre  now-  to be subjected.        So, in a playful    ing. For he saiid- to her, "If they bind me fast with
   `mood, it` must &she  suggests that  he .allo,y  her to            new rope& wherewith work has never been <done, then
 $i $_`g ,&&, _op him.          She ,even  coaxed..him  and he        shall I be weak, and..be  as another man." .So he lied to
   s&v no harm:&  yielding..    So there he stood before her,         her again, `as sheidso half suspected.' His words did
   according to his.words,  imp,otent  in bonds. But how              not ring true.    Also this reply of his must be put, to
   $+a8 she'and  "t,he  men lyingin  wait" to know that he            a test. Again Samson allowed himself to be bound
                         _
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                         -.,:  .;r.            I
          with "the_mer;"..  once mdre $&g  in wait, i,n the cham-                   pray ! L.et me p0ss.e:~ thee, body and Soul !. The love
          ber. Again the koman cries, `!Th,e  Philistineibe  upon.                   tli& .I, bear thee can-be satisfied with  notking less.
          thee Samson." Anid the Philistines might again, report,                    Then.  yield  to me thy confidence ; show that thou
          that his strength was not known. For he broke  also                        dost  tr.tist;me.  Shouldest thou ha4ve ought~~to  conceal
          those cho,rds  from hi.s arms like thread.                                 from her who love&-thee  as her own-soul?'                             But Sam-
              But Delilah, though disappointed, -was not discour-                    s'o'n continued reticent sitill.  But Delilah persevered.
                                                                                     "She 
         ' aged.. For cshe was sure of. her .prey  and with reason.                             pressed  h,im idaily with her words and urged him,
          Though he had lied to her t,wi&,  his lcontinui,ng to abide                so that his soul was vexed, unto death."                       And there was
          with her against his better jadgment  indica&ed  only                      reason. _. Yl!he Phitlistines had become dubious of her
          too, plainly. that he .was in, her power, apd that  there-                 ,ability to deal with Samson.               No mention its: made-this
          fore she-would succeed in drawing out of him  t&e truth.                   third time of a spy awaiting the outcome of the trial.
          She w.as  patient therefore and as persistent as she                       Eve$  the second time it is not stated that the chords
          was patient.. The old complai@  was. repeated, "Hither-                    were supplied by the Philistines.                  Thus the woman saw
         to th,ou  hast mocked. me, and .told pe.,lies  : t@l me where-              heyseif  `-losing  her large gains.                  She therefore ,now
          with tlioU mightest be bound.`.'          Once  .more  an_d  ~for,  the    brought everything to bear to break  down htii resist-
          last. time he lied to her, "If thou.vpeavest  the seven locks              ance, all her arts.         And she could not again be put off
         .,. of. rni head with the web." ,- Inndeed, he conceals the                 with a lie.         But as soon as he told her the truth or let
          truth:; but also--yields a step. The untr.ut;h diminishes.                 her know that he pvas defer.mined  not to tell her, he
          Formerly  he thought only' of rbpes,  even of "new chords                  must part with he?.            But he could nqt separ&e  himself
          .whlich  h&d never .done  service."         That  already gave 9           frtim her and therefore must come to grief, whilch he
          reflectidn~of  the truih about, himself.           For a principle         dtd.        For she persisted in her  efiforts  until  he yielded.
          embe&3ed  in IsnaJel's,`law  was that strength and ,co,nse-                "He tol'd her all his, heart, a,nd  said t_o her, There hath
          cration  was characteristj!:  ,of the things not defil,ed  by              not come a razor' upon my  he&d ; %or I have been a
          the uses of 1if.e.      There was the  requirement that the                Nla.lzarite  unto God from my mother's womb: if I be
          red heifer of purifilcation  shouM  #be une upon. ,whom                    shaven, then my strength will- go from me, and I  ,shall

          yoke never' came (Numbers 19 :2) . But he now spake                        become weak and be Eke any man."
          :od the 1ockS  of :h.is h&r and of their, number as being                     .,.~A  no,rmal  conduct would consist in his now leaving
       s e v e n .    It ._~,&s .the  sacred'  number of-the" covenant of            her. Instead he remained. How is this  icloing of his
       God with His people. Slowly but certainly he was                              to be r&idnalized?           The sacred writer reports that his

         _ being driven onward into the snares of J$.e trai.toress,                  1.~~1 had been vexed unto death by her teasing.                                  This
          thus driven on to destrujioli, apd this ynder  the jrn-                    explains his telling her ; but it does not explain why he
          pulse  of his_lusts . The Philistine spixes must for the                   chose to endure her teasing ; and it does not explain
          third time depart disappointed and glodpy.  "For als;o                     why he placed,,his  life in her-hands thereafter, which
          .thi's answer' was put to e test and found false.                 This     he ,did  1itenaJly when he we@. to sleep on her knees with
          time the snar,e  was  laid while'he was asleep.               Perhaps      her knowing all.            tS_Ie  was aware; certainly, that she
          he had,twice  been boued  while asleep, though the sacred                  could be counted on to test the truth also of what  he.
          text. makes no mention of this. 1% the house  of the                       had lastly  told her.          It must be that his crave for her
          woma,ti  sto'od a weaver's loom, at.  which- she,, worked.                 flesh was that  overpo.wering  an:d inconsequence thereof
          At her request, it must be, he had  layed  himself down                    her hold-  on him that strong,..that  he chose to perish
          near  the looam  and there had fallen asleep.                 Then she     at ,her hcnds  `Father  than forsacke  her.                  But it must not
          must have worked his hair into her welb as woof and                        be supposed `chat his: choice was ideliberate  and con-
          strtick  in the pin.     F.or  awlakening  .out  of his sleep he           scious.          In his tionscious.  soul, he must have succeeded
          "%ent  away with the p.in ,of the beam, an,d  with the                     in pursuading himself that the woman was iscapable
          web."                                                                      oftreacherous  .de&rig-had  she not been shocked and
               Delilah now &ok  recourse  &I a newlapproach.                She      grieved by his falsehoods ?-and that she actually loved
          pretended that she was  heart-bro'l;en  on a!ccount  of his                him arid  that therefore he had nothing to fear,  despite
         `apparent lack of love of her. .."How  can& thou say, I                     all the evidence to the cqntrary.                        That, eviden.ce,.  b,6.
          .love  thee," she said to him,  "yhen; $hiii% heart is not                 brushed aside;. he. would nolt; a@w it. ts speak, 1-t
          with tie? Thou .hast n?oc@d  me these- three  times,                       means that the WoIylan,  by her reproache,$  complain.t$.,.
          and ha& .n:ot  told me whereiii  thy grealt strength  E&h."                anld reproofs, by her declial~ations  a~d.`d~~or&~atious  :
         `-Her complaint was  significant. It was laden. with                        of love, and b'y her crocodile ~ears_,had..su@&$ly  &ob.,y
          mea+g.         There was this in it.. `0~ union is not.                    his confideGee.          And this had not pl_c$ed?.Qo_  d$@ul$.
          ,complete.  Wjhat  is &king  is the spiritual, bond. And                   For .wh,a$  She. had tried to make hti b&$,..he  ,a$$
          the fault is taJ1 thine..    Thou  tiit&hdldest  lfrdm me thy              wished $0 believe. -                                 _'
          Shea&; for .@s  &~++~a~$  not with'me.             It is more ,tban                The w_?1yla,n  ha;$
                                             1 _,_. <... ., ".. (_ .                                                 perceived $hat th&.. t&n&&.  `?$i$?
                                                                                     I,...,  _...^                    _.. ,~j__.  "_ .._. .-. `.-_-.  ,. _.,~._"  __..A -,r.i..
          I can endure, for I love thee, Give me thy heart,                           told her the truth. Hi+ words had rung true.                              She was
. .                                                                             P


  jubilant. The large gains were in her grasp  ; besides                                                  . .                   @mm7G  A_hjN~~Ekfdi~
  she.  hateId  the Hebrew, despised him in' her heart.: She                                id : ' `- _- : :                               .' +                1929'-   1 9 4 5
  lost no time in eonta~eting  the Philistine lords., "(&me  d. f
  up this once,`" such was her message to them," for he                                                 On June,`16,  the Lord willing, our dear. parents,
  hath showed me all his heart."                        And the lo&  of the
  Philistines came ; and thei.r money was in their hands.                                                                                            GEORGE' SPRUYT
                                                                                                                    I                 ._
  With the s,pies once more concealed in her chamber; she ~                                                                                                          and

                                                                                                                         - ANN M. SPRUYT. nee Bylsma
  betrayed the confidence that she, had. won. ]He be-
  trayed himself; ia.nd  fell.                     The woman's proceedings                       hope to celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary. We their
were  now satanical. She Icould have waited until he                                             children, are indeed grateful to Iour heavenly Father for sparing
  was; aslee,p  on his bed, and then called f,or the spy' to                                     them for each other and for us.
  shave off the seven locks of hi,s head; . But `she, had                                                                                   .'
  (another plan for working his ruin-a plan that, in its                                                                                                                  Mr. and Mrs. Morris Campbell
                                                                                                                                                                          Gwendolyn
  execution, w,oul,d afford her lust of revenge the greatest
                                                                                                                                                                          Jacqualyn  Ann
  measure of satisfaction an-d all,&  her to give the full-
                                                                                                        Grand Rapids; Michigan
  est expre&on of her hatred of him.                          She would `have
  the spy shave off the lotks  of his head%  ,vith him asleep                                    Open House afternoon and evening at  1340  Fuller Ave., S. E. -.

 on her very knees.  That would be C3ela.l. It would                                             oa this..date..

  allaw  her easily to take a hanId'  in the work, which `she 0                                                          `_
  must have, as it stated that, "she began to afflict, him,
  and hiis, strength went fro,m  him",:                      BesEdes, how it
  would-shock him to lea,rn that .it had been done with

  him asleep in her arms on her knees. At the. sight of
  his grief and amazement, she would laugh him to scorn.                                                                                                  IN MEMORIAM

  That would be for him the cruelest awakening. He
  would know that all the while she had feigned love.                                                   The Consistory of the First Protestant Reformed Church of

  So, when the hour for the betrayal was at hanid,  she.                                    Grand Rapids. Michigan, hereby wishes to  ~express  its heartfelt

  made him sleep upon her knees.                          She in:toxicated  ,h$             sympathy to our brother-deacon, Mr. Sidney Newhof in the loss

  soul not by str,ong  drink but. by soft words and tender                                  of his mother,
GIEooka~  and the close embrace of a feigned affection.                                                . .
                                                                                                                                                  M R S .   C E L I A   N E W H O F
  And his last,memory  of her, before he dropped off to
  sleep, was her smiling eyes looking  ,down into hiis,.                         He                     May the Lord comfort the brother in his bereavement by

 was fast asleep now; there was &, hard glint in her eye                                    the assurance that She has gone to the house of many mansions,

  as she beckoned the man in waiting,  ,"atid she caused                                         there to be with ,her Lord and Saviour.                                                 .
  him to shave off the seven lo&s  of his head; .and'she                                                                              .             1. First Protestant Reformed Church.
  began. to afflict him and his strength went from him."                                                                                                  The Consistoxy of the

  .But  the trial of the truth Of his :words `was still1 to be                                                                                                                H. Hoeksema, .zPres.  .

  made.                  But she nor the spies .doubted the issue, for they                       *                                                                           G. Stonehouse, Clerk.
                                                                                       0
  were confident th.at he had .told  her all that  was in
  h&z  heart.                    In this confidence she repeated in, his ears                                 ..
  the ol,d cry, "The Philistines be upon thee Samson."
                                                                                                                                                                                                            _ 1'
  "And he awoke  out of his sleep, and sai:d,  I will go out
                                                                                                                                                                                                            :i .
  as at other times befqre,  and shake myself. But he                                                                                                                                          _ . ./_ .
  wist  not that the Lord was departed. from, him." But                                                                                                   IN MEMORIAM                                 ,_:.-  I :
  it _re&ired  but an $&ant  for him...to  make the ,disl                                                                                                                                         `. .i ._t ! .-
                  ,..
  covery:                      H.is  strength was, :&one..  ;`.H&  `&&rage  was                         The Consistory of the Protestant <Reformed  Chur.ch'  `if
                          _
  go%                    F,or  `the first time-he was afrai'd.  of the Philis-              Kalamazoo, Michigan hereby express?  heartfelt sympathyw&~
                                                                                                                                                                                                              :::,$:  D
  t&e.  "And  for the `first time the ,Phi&t&es  were not                                   .de&on  C. Baas in the death ,of. his brother,                                                                          '
    .: i . . .                                                                                                                                                                                     . ._L
afra.id of .him: ,He. was like any man now.                                                                                                                                 " `::.
                                                                     &cl they                                                                                  T Y S   B A A S   .
  knew  and he knew. They therefore `dre",,Fe,ar  and
  t.o$khimand  he resisted them not.                       Thus was tl@Lord                             May the Lord give grace to ,believe  that He does all things.
  departed from him.                                               _ .`.
                                              '                                             well and that His `gxace  is sufficient unto those who trust in
                                                                                            Hi& 0 .~ .. `L . .                                                       _
                                                                 G.; M.;  0..

                                                                                                                               . .                              _           The Con&story,
                                                                                                                                                    .'                                H. Veldman, Pres.
                                                                                                                                                          ._ -.:                ._ I- -. __"_,  .
                                                                                                                                                          ~                           D. Langeland, Clerk.



                                                                                            -


           \.z :.. :      _..      ., ._L.       _             .2 7.. _,

The Tim&and  ConteStif  Bereshith `richness of the hfe of God;' .By God's eternal life we
                                                                                                       mean that in Him there ,is a ceaseless conscious `ex-.
                                                       I_
                                 in Genesis 1:l                                                        periencing of all CFIiS  thoughts, ,desires  and works.
                                                                                                        (Note that, being creatures of time, we st,ill  must re-
                        : I.-                 i y F,.,.,.      _                    ;         a        sort to such time-expressive words as "ceaseless" when
          Without a doubt the title of this essay assigned to                                          speaking.of -the eternity_ of God which is' devoid of all
us requires a word of explanation before we b,egi;n  to                                                iidea of time.)
discuss the ideas `expressed in it.                                 Many (of our rmders                    ,We know many things, but we cannot bring them
would .l.ike  to know, and properly so, what this; essay                                               all before `our consciousness at one  time ; jnor can we
is all about before they begin to'read  it;                                    _                       `experience them all at one moment.            We know .many
          From past experience undersigned &an.weli  imagine                                           passages from'Scri$ture  by heart, yet `we cannot recall.
that some of our readers will say to themselves, "Well,                                                them to remembrance all at one time. We are so
now. what does that Latin or Greek word  ",bereshith"                                                  bound by time. th(at we can recall them one by one and
mean anyway ?"                    many of. our younger generation are                                  that is, all. Similarly there is a time when we are
apt to ask what this. Dutch word means.                                             All who ask        babes and a time when we are grown.men  or women.
these questions are wrong.                             The wor,d  is neither Latin,                    The experiences of -a child are not those of `an adult,
Greek .:or Dutch.                  It is a,, Hebrew word, in fact it  .;a                              a.nd the adult ,experienees  things a- child.  can never ex-
the first word in the tiebrew  Bible.                                  It means, "In the               perience. So bound to time are we that we  can ex-
beginnitig," and is pronounced as though it were  writ-                                                perience the one or the other' but never `both at the
ten beh-ra.y-sheeth  with a short "e" on the first syllable                                            "same time. With God this is very  ,different.  He lives
and with the acoent  on the second syllable.                                             This essay    His whole-life consciously, uninterruptedly without any
then has to do with the beginning Slentioned  in_ Gene-                                                phase of %&`life having beginning or end.               All. that
sis 1:l.                                                                                               He knows, Be knows at once and without ceasing.              All
          As far as ihe time element is concerned,, this  ex-                                          that He wills !H,e wills at one time and wills unendingly.
pre&ion  cannot be considered as` referring to the be-                                                 All that He does Hge :does  `at once-as far as"Bis life
ginning of all things in as far as God is concerned.                                                   is' concerned-and without ceasing to perform it.
Although God guided Moses in  writiT@  about this be-                                                      When we read then in Gen. i :l : "In the beginning
ginning .of all things, `the viewpoint  in,.tihe  expression                                           God  created the heavens and the earth", this: beginning
is not God's. This could never be, for God  i;s infinite                                               refers to nothin.g  in God's life.`Eternally He :determined
and eternal knowing no beginnmg  nor end. Not only this beginning. Eternally-Hi  willed it. Eternally'He
is His Idivine  `essence eternal and infimte,  but His                                                 .made;it.    Strictly speaking we ought to -use the con-
thoughts. anid : will -likewise  are eternal and infinite.                                             tinuous present tense an,d say, eternally God is`willing,
We ought also to bear in minld  that eternity is not end-                                              is ,det&mining  `and &king  all -3hings.            Understand
less time.              In eternity ther.e  is ,absolutely  no time ele- thiat ,we are sipeaking of God's `life:` ,As' far as we are
ment at all.                                                                                           concerned; there is- a very definite moment-when' God
                          . This is hard for us to grasp and under-
stand >because  we are finite creatures of time.                                           In fact,    begins  to do things and when He tieas&`,  when He be-
when we speak' of eternity, we must use words that                                                     gan to create and when He-ceased creating.            As far as,.
:do have the.  time element in th.em.                                  Yet eternity has                IGod's  `Ii%%  is tioncerned,  Ee-.`s&d-  `eternally, "Let there
no time eI~eme$  in it,. and eternal isi not the same as ~ be 1ight"and  unto a11 eternity He will still say, "Let
everlasting, although we `do use these words inter-                                                    there be `light,,.     Let us'state  it thus : Creation with `all
changeably. at times when we are not careful.                                             The time     t&t it cc&tain~d  `at. the end &f 'the six&day was j&t
,element  in everlasting `is very plain.                                            Everlasting        as real to God before this mom&  .here  called berkshith
simply means "lasting for all time".                                        It implies a be-           .as it was on the seventh  day:'  `A house is much more
ginning to that thing or reality that we call-everlasting                                              ,real-to  us when it is all built than when it  ia still an
even though it @enSes  an ending. Eterr&y  however                                                     idea in ourinind  or a blueprint `and when the house is
knows neither beginning, nor end. For example,_ we
i.,.                                                                                                   burnt to the ground, its reality is gone, for us.        This is
can call the life. which we receive from Christ as_  ,eve.::.-                                         not so with God.        His life Idid  not become richer after
lasting life; for it does, not have an end. Yet there                                                  this moment of bereshith nor after the work of &&ion
very definitely is a.`beginnihg'to  that life as far as we                                             was all `fin~ished.     He experienced nothing after bere-

are concerned.                   There is a -time  when we do not have                                 shith `that !lSe had not &e&ally experienced. It $11

it, and. then. there is the moment of regeneration when                                                k-k just as real before His'&nsciousness  before &ea-
it `is first `experien_ced-  by us.                          When we speak of God's                    tion as it was aft:erward.  He indeed is the.$$-&ange-               .
life, however, we< must speak of an eternal life,  and                                                 able One,.the  Infinite  and Eternal One.
then we do not merely mean a life that ,has neither  be-                                                   As far &s God's life is lconcerned  then this beginnting  .y
ginning nor *end.'  There still is the idea of time in such                                            is an eternal reality, for He  h&l it etern'ally  with Him-
a life;;' and-this presentation does not do justice to the                                             self in His counsel.       If we may so state it, this begin-
        -. .a.. J ,[ -.`I.                                                                                                                                          .'


      _-           _.                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D  BEARRR  ..                                                         395.

       ning has neither. beginning nor end in `the. mind .and                        first century, the first deea.de  and-the first year.- If
       experience of -God.  He experienced.it"eternall~both  as                      marks the begin&g of the first month, the first week
       to planning it, .willing  it and creating it.                  The time       and the first id:ay.    It marks the beginning ,of the firsi.
       element in this expression is. to be applied  ,to man's:                      hour, the first minute and the first second.                    In, Sad,
       life. Zooking  at creation from man's viewpoint there                         its ts the beginning of all things( that. is, all things had
       is a moment which we ,can call-`!The.  Beginning".                   It is    their .beginning  there ..in ,bereshith;    We do not mean
       that split second when God  created both time and space.                      that the deeds performed to&y  were *already  begun
       This first verse of Genesis: is expressive of the fact                        to be performed in this beginning, in this split second
       that God created time and space here in the twmkling                          when time and space began.        We mean that these deeds
      _of an eye.              There was nothing before this,, no space,             performed today and all that God shall do unto all
       but also no time.            God existed by Himself as the Triune             eternity in the -new  heaven and #earth had their begin
       God.    Then accor.ding  to .His good pleasure He created                     ning here in the sense that without this beginning
       time and space.'                                                              these could never take place.       The acorn is the begin-
            There i,s as you perhaps know a dualistic theory                         ning of the Oak tree._  It is not the tree as ye:;  and still
       whi'ch  distorts Gen. 1 :l, 2 to read, "In the beginning                      the tree is in that acorn.                                 ,
       when God created the heavens an,d the earth,.the  earth                            Yea, then th&?coming  of Christ_ also is included io
       was without farm and void, and dar.kness  covered the                         this -beginning.    In John 1 :l we read of this s,ame be-
       face of the deep".              This heresy conceives  of a pre-              ginning; `There it is stated that, "In the beginning-was
       existent world which is! not God's creation, but upon                         the Word".     This does not mean merely that the Word
       which He begins to work in the beginnin.g,  and from                          was there before this bereshith.       It does not state that
       which He makes all the good creatures that appear.                            he was there before all things.      It is definitely declared
       (Hebrews 11:3  is sufficient to prove the  unbelief~  in this                 that He was in the beginning.      `The implication certain-
       nresent,ation.             There we read,            "Through. faith 1 we     ly is that He wlas.therebefore  as the, Son oh God Who
       understand that the worlds .were framed by .the word                          is infinite and eternal.    But it also means that He was
.     -of God, so that things which are*  seen were not made                         in principle an,d according to .God's  counsel here al-
      _of things which do appear". Rather should we con-                             ready as the Chri&, the Son of God in our flesh.                   His
       ceive  of it thus that bereshith refers to that indivisable                   coming was not yet for some four thousands' years.
       moment when time and  space were both created;                                But in principle H.e  .was in the. beginning.         Just turn
            Thus the beginning was not a period of longer or                         to Colossians 1:X,  there we read of Christ that He is
       shorter duration wherein this formless void world                             the first-born of every creature.      Now, fact is, that as
       existed.    The expression itself of course does allow the                    far as our viewpoint. is conzernecl  and the time element
                                                                                                                                          `.
       idea-of such a period of longer or shorter duration.                    A     in. all the history of this world, tha.t this 1s not so.
       beginning can `sometimes last for years.                       Speaking,      Many thousands, yea, millions were born before Christ.
       for example, of the history of our Protestant R,eformed                       In fa_ct  if Seth had not been born-first and Abraham,

       denomination, we can say, %n the beginning of our                             Isaac, Jacob, David a.nd  Mary .likew.ise,  Christ would
       movement we had only one. Cbssis!  and later on as we                         not have been born.. But here again the viewpoint is

       ,grew % decided to divide our church into  Classis East.                      God's, and in His counsel Christ is the first-born.                 He
       and Cbssis W'est".             That period here designsted  8s the            has the primary place in the counsel of God. He is
       beginning .o9 our movement did then cover a period of                         first and all -others stand in relation to -Him., Thus,
       quite a few years.             This is, not the case with the bere-           when God created time azd space simultaneously here
       shith.of  Gen. 1 :l.           It is the briefest part of a moment            in Bere.shith,  it was the beginning elf the coming of

       when time was created, for time too:  is a creature' of                       Christ into .our flesh,. and for this reason all the time
       God's handiwork.                                                              that follows after this initial moment  of time serves
            Let us not overlook the-fact that in this ber,eshith                     the purpose of the Son of God.                  _

       is not merely contained the idea of the beginning of this                     .    Thus a.lso the end of this present world is in here:
       earth3  but, that heaven also received its beginnig here;
                                                     . .                             shith.    Bereshith is the first movement that progresses.
     : Before this bereshith there w%s no heaven, there were                         toward the last.  moment of this world.      It is -the -Alpha
       no angels anymore than there was antsearth.,  In the                          but it points to the Omega, and the ,Omega  is then con-
       beginning God  created heaven  and earth. Heaven `is                          t&ccl  in the Alpha of the bereshith.        Time is move-
       a place and has a. history of its owln  and in it there is                    ment and is not a stationary reality, so- that the begin-

       also .time. .The  angels, for example, cannot be in  mor,e                    ning of any point of time.anticipates  its-end, -and the
       than one iplace- a.t one time anymore than we. can, for                       end is contained in the beginning. Every  divisiqn  of
       th,ey too are creatures and are not  #divine  although they                   time has its lend  toward whch the begianing pushes it.
       h a v e  sipiritual   b o d i e s .                     -.                    The minute ,hand and the second hand  `on the .clock
            Bereshith then marksthe beginning of the history                         returns back to the place where-it began,  and.thereby

       of heaven and earth. It marks the .beginning  of the                          it has reached its end.      So t,oo in this bereshith. It is
                         .%                     ?


                396                                     TH=@ STANDAR-D   B E A R E R

          the beginning of `the history of the heavens. and the                    23 we read that they also rejected the existence of
                earth a,nd  is. the stint  to the end of all gresent  things,     `angels and of the spirits.       Their attempt in' Matt. 22
                Bereshith anticipates all' that has ever happened in this -to ~kstablish  the absurdity of the resurrectmn  is we11
           world and all that .will hapljen  until the ,dly  of Christ,            known. We need' not quote it in `idetail.          It is evident
           and again, since He is in the beginning, Bereshith is                   that their'reasoning  is wholly carnal, earthly, and that
          &so  `the beginning of His return in glory upon the                      they consider not the power .of God. They conceive
          % ,clouds  of heaven to bring this present world to its telos,           of the life, of the hereafter as beinp`identical with the
          ' `its end.                                                              life of the *resent.      And they know not the pow,er  of
           I                                                   J:A. H.             `God Who will change and transform all things so that

                                                                                   we, in. the -hereafter, shall be ais; the -angels  of God in

                                                                                   heaven.    O.f'course,  we shall be. as the angels of God
                                                                                   in the setie that, be&u&  of the heavenly life; we shall
                                                                                  `neither marry nor be given in marriage.             Thereupon
                                                                                   our Lord quotes to these unbelieving  Sadducees  from

                                                                                   that very Scripture, the book of Moses, to which also
                                                                                   they had referred, declaring' unto  thlem  that the w&d

                                                                                  ' `of E.x. 3.~6' is a co,nclusive  .proof  of t,he bo'dily  resur-
                                                                                  i` rectio&  , -                                0
                                           i"
     -:            In Matt. 22 :31,`.32  we're&: "Butt-as  touchisng  the         `I' At first gla?ce  this reference of' Christ to Ex; 3 :6
          iesurrection  of tie dead, have -ye not read  -that  which               in :Matt. 22 might appear s;tra.nge.       ,One might almost
          "was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of                     be led to ask the questi,on  whether this is the strongest

           Abrahdm,  and the Go,d  of ~Isaac,  and the God of Jacob?              -proof  whilch could be quoted from the Old Testament in
                God is not the God of the  d,esd  but of the living."     This     support of the bodily resurrection.        We merely reaJd in
           word of Jesus also a.ppears  in the twelfth chapter of                  Ex. 3 :6 that the Lord speaks of Himself as the God
           `.Mark.       And in' the gospel .according  to Luke, who also          of Abraham,: the Go,d of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
     records this incident, we read in chapter 2'0 :37,,  38:                     -The'words  in Matt.  22 :32, "God is not the God of the
           "Now  that`the desd  are raised, even. Moses shewed  at                 dead, but of the living", are not 8 quotation from the
     ,     ihe bush when he calleth the Lord the God of  Abraha.m,                 Old Testament, but Christ's own exegesis of this quota-
-          the God of Isaac,. and the God of Jacob.           For He is not        tion from the second book of' Moses. The quotation
           a God of the dad, but of the livmg : for all live. unto                 proper merely declares that the ,Lord is the God 09
           Him." Thes,e words of Jesus, appearing in all the                       Abraham, `of Isaac, and of Jticob.        One might perhaps
           above-n,a.med  gospels, are a quotation from the  ,Old                 `call attention to _the distinction between the Old and
           Testament, Ex. 3 :6, where we read                                      the New Dispensations, that the light of the  resurrec-
                                                       : "Moreover he said,
          . I am the *God  of thy father, the God of Abraham, the                  tiz ,did not-shine a.s clearly then as it ,doe$`now,  and
                God of Isaac, an.d the -God of Jacob. And Moses hid               -that therefore the proof of Ex. 3 :6 rntiy  be considered
           hiis.  face'; for he was afraid to look upon Gold."                    the best proof under the circumstsnces.  It is, of course,
                   We need not doubt the `fact that the  woads `of Jesus          ;true  tha.t the light of revelation shi.nes more clearly
           which constitute the' subject of this essay are a proof                 now than in the Old Testament.          It is a fact I!%&, his-
          *of the bodily r'esurrection.          Our, Saviour  speaks these        torically, the nesurrec$ion  of the dead into. heavenly
           words to refute the,unbelieving  Sadducees who ,denied                  glory .di.d not become a fact until the resurrection of
           th,e  resurrection of t.he #de&.  Besides, in `the"`im-                 JesuS  Christ our Lord.      We should bear in mind, how-
           mediate context of these words (and this is true. of all                `ever, that the multitude, according to Matt. 22:33  was
          three gospels) ) C!hrist speaks of the resurrection of the               astonished at Christ's doctrine.          Jesus' selection of
           d'ead.      In fact,, the words of Ex. 3 :6 are actually.quoted         Ex. 3 :6 must therefore undoubtedly be rega+ded  as a
           as a proof of our bodily resurrection.         We read in Luke          cho.ice  selection by- the preeminent Exegete of all  Zme,
           20 :37 :      "Now that the dea;ldl are `raised, even Mo:s_es           Jesus Christ, OUT  -Lord  and Chief IProphet.
     shewed  at' the bush."                It is therefore an established              Some would_ merely iuterpret,  this passage ifrom
           fact that Matt. 22 $1, 43 is a proof of the  bo.dily  resur-            Ex. 3 in a figurative sense. of the `word.           The Lo&d
           rection. .                                                              would then `merely declare `unto Moses, His `servant'
                   T1he  context of Matt: 22:31,  32, -verses' 23-33 is            that He is the ~same  `God that He was to Abraha.m,
           well kno'wn.        We read of the coming of the Sadducees              Isaac and Jacob.        As the God of Abraham; Isaac and
           to Jesus.' .-They-quote from Mosogto  prove the absurd-                 ,Jacob,  He will reveal `Himself unto, Moses. and unto
           ity of the resurrection.        Concerning.the  Sa'dducees  we,         Israel in the same ma.nner  that .He' revealed OHimself
          because of the nature of thesubject of this essay,.must                  unto the three-patriarchs; God was  merciful;;faiailthful,
           be brief.        They were the 6`moderns"  -of _ Jesus' 1da.y.          and mighty in His ,dealings  with them. " M&s:`m.a~`be
                They ,denied  the resurrection~of  the dead, And in Acts          ,assured  of the same faithfulness now. : -This' is, of
                                                                                                                           . . _._.  ;_
                                                 .             .r .       '                                                                       .,


  course, in itself' true. However, if this be the sole             of.`God.  The fact that God is their God,             God, does
                                                                                                                     OLW                  .
  .interpr,etation  of Ex. 3 :6, one may well _ask himself          not `merely-prove their present exist,ence  at the time
  the question, "But how, then, ,does  this passage prove           of the `burning bush, but also their ultimate *entrance
  the resurrection of the -dead?"     Iif Moses' receives from      i.ntq &&an, not the earthly Canaaln  (for Abraham
  the Lord the assurance that He will deal with him and             sought a heavenly country), but the heavenly Canaan,
  with Israel as He did with Abraham; Isaac and Jacob,              the city. that has foundations.
  why can he be hopeful with respect, to the future?                    *Jehovah,  the unchangeable and  living God,, is the
  Abraham, Isaac' and Jacob are dead. And "they died                God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, yea, of all His
  .as strangers, without having received the promise!               people-therein lies the `certainty of their hope -of the
  Why then, should this be particularly assuring?`. We              resurrection into everlasting life.            T.he  rektionship
  must certainly have something more here than merely               between God and His people necessarily demands this
  a, figurative aexpression.                                        resurrection into eternal glory. That God is  `our  God
      Others would lay the emphasis upon the little word            surely means that w.e are His people, that we ar?e of
  "am" in the expression: "I ccm the God of Abraham,                Him. And even as there is la.ffinity  between a child
  the God of Isaac, and the God of Jiacob."     The very-fact,      and his father, so also. there is an affinity between
  tath He'  is their God must imply that they exist.       God      Israel and the God of their salvation. This same
cannot be the God of someone that is not. If it be,                 t,hought  is beautifully expressed by the prophet, Ha.bak-
  therefore, true at the burmng  bush that the Lord is              kuk, i$n Hab. 1:12  : "Art Thou not from everlasting,
  the Gold of Abraham, Isalac,  and Jacob, the wholly               ,O Lord my God, `mine Holy One? we shall not die,

 .warranted  conclusion must be that they  are alive.       Be-     80 Lord, Thou hast ordained them for judgment; and,
  sides, is it not true that  Jesus' own interpretation of          0 mighty Gozd;  Thou hast established them for cor-
  these words leads us int,o this direction?      Hisexegesis       rection."    God Himself is the living God.         As such IHe
  of the passadge is' that God is not a God of the #dead  but       knows Himself and has fellowship with Himself from
  of the living.. Hence,_  Abra,ham,  Isaac, and Jacob must         everlasting to everlasting.        At His right hand are
  be alive. According to this int,erpretation  of the text,         pleasures seven  forevermore. . He knows and fathoms
  then, all emphasis must be laid upon the little word              and loves His ,own.  infinite being as. the Triune God and
  %m". How could the Lord at this moment be  :their                 exercises the most blessed fellowship with Himself
  God were it not for the fact that they were living.               eternally. This must also determine the relationship

  However, how can this text, `when understood in this              wherein God's peop1.e  stand ,to the hvmg-  God.. Even
  hght,,  serve as a proof of -their and our boidriZ~  resurrec-    as the Lord eternally'knows  and loves Himself so He
  tion? -We grant that they are not  deardt  but alive.             also has known and loved a people, who eternally will
  Yet, this does not altar the fact that their bodies are           live unto Him .and the glory of His name.               To be .His
  in the grave . They are alive, therefore, only ins prin- people siignifies  that we are of Him, born of Him, re_-
  ciple.    Does this passage merely refer to this?    But o,ur     :ceive  life ,of  His life, have been willed and  `created and             .
  Lord quotes these words to prove that the dead shall              receivkj  by Him that we may share and taste the bless-
  be raised.       We read in Luke 20 :38, do we not, "Now          edness of His fellowship even forever.             His love and
  that the idea.d are raised, even Moses shewed  at the             His promises and his life are eternal ,even  as He {Him-
  Ibush, etc."?     Why .is Exodus 3 :6 a proof. of our bodily      self is eternal.    T:he very .essence  of the living God, -our
  resurrection?                                                     Maker, requires therefore -that the -people  of His
      Exodus 3 :6' is a proof o,f our bodil'y  resurrection,        choice and grace shall receive eternal glory and be
  not belcause  of the emph.asis  upon the word "am", but           raised out of this death into the unspeakably blessed
  .becaus.e of the fact that the Lord is our God; and there-        life of His eternal covenant.
  fore be&use  of the relationship w.herein  God's people               This receives further emphasis in the passage from
  strandto  the Lord.     Jesus does not say that God is the        Exodus 3 if we bear in mind that it is the Lord, Je-

  God of the living, but that,  He is the God, not of dead          hovah, Who reveals Himself to Moses as the God of
- but of living. Let us look at this- text again in the             Abraham, Isaac and of Jacob. This God, Who  pro-
  light of its historical context. The Lord is about to             cla.ims  Himself to be our God, Who has formed us to
  call Moses to lead :His  people, Israel, out of the Egyp-         be His people that we may live to the praise of His
  tian, bondage into the ,Canaan which- He had promised             Name, is Jehovah, the I AM that I Am, the unchange-
  them. He introduces Himself to Moses as the. God                  `able, faithful God of His covenant. With Him is no
  of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham, Isaa,c, and                 change or shaidow  (of turning. If /He  therefore pro-

. Jacob must be regarded here .as also representing the             claims Himself to be our God He is everlastingly our
  Israel of all ages, so that the promise given them is             God. If He loves us He loves                with  an everlasting
                                                                                                         us
meant for all the people of God. They are called in                 love. His promises are eternal and therefore sure. He
  this passage  the father (the singular ."fathert')  of            can t,herefore  groelaim  unto Moses that He is still
  Moses, and stand therefore at the head of  all the people         the .God  of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that they live
                                                                                                                                          _


                                          s.
       398                                             TrJr%   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

       even now, and that they shall live and receive the                      in the idea which rendering one chooses to follow in

,      inheritance which the Lord Jehovah promised them.                       his' interpretation of this passage.     Se'condly  we learn,
              In this light we also understand the terrible char-              that there is quite a likelihood, that the title .of this

       a,cter  of the Sadducees!s  denial of the resurrection, and             article isconfusing. It is confusing as the rendering

       the reason why the Saviour,  quoting this passage as                    of the King James Version, which to my minid is more
       proof of the. bodily resurrection, silences them by ex-                 interpetat4on tlian translation.        The Holland. trans`-
       posing. their wickedness.                To. deny the resurre'ction     lation "vrienden wit den Mannnon"  is an exact render-
       of the dead is equivalent to a:denial  of the living Go-d.              ing of the Greek, and therefore $elps  us to ascertain
       Denying the resurrection we ,deny  His promises, the                    the sense of the text. We therefore will follow the
       eternal character of His love `and grace, the fact that.                rendering as given in the Revised Version., which trans-
       He has a people .who  will live to the eternal praise                   lation is the better rendering of the original into
       of His.name.            It is the denial of the living God `Him-        English.
       self. Then surely the Lord would :be iashamed  to be                        If this mattelr of translation were the only difficulty
       called their' God, if in this 1Ke  we are the most miser-               in the text, we might consider our task as herewith
       able and without the hope of the resurrection.                  our     finished.
       relation to God is a living relation, a relation of eternal                 H:owever,  such is not at all the case.    The idifficulty
       life.          He is not the Go,d of the dead, but of the living,       of this text is only reflected in the various translations,
       inasmuch  as He Himself is the living God.                And they      and' particularly in that of the King James' Version,
     shall live forevermore.                                                   which we .&aracterized  as "interpretation".
                                                                H .   V .          The study of this parable, we believe, involves two
                                                                               matters.     In the first place it necessitates an under-'
                                                                               standing of the proper relationship between the things
                                        -                                      of this present world, in its sinful aspect, and the future
                                                                               world in its penfected  state, the eternal tabernacles.

                                                                               This is evident from the text itself (vs. 9), as well as
          Friends Of Mammon and Eternal"                                       from the sequence. Notice the contrast  throug.hout
                a,                                                             (between, the "present" and the "future".      Secondly, and
                                  Habitations                                  this is a very important point in the parable, attention

                                                                               must be called to the moral agency of man in this pre-
              The title of this article is taken from the parable,             sent world with a view to his- place and position in the

       that is most commonly known, as the parable of the                      world to come, that is, in the eternal  ta,bernacles.
       Unjust Steward.            To be exact it is found in Luke 16  :9.          Thus sta.ted,  the difficulty of interpreting the par-
              There are; some pas,sages  in Holy Writ which are                able is not so mu&h a question of grammar, sequence of
       difficult to interpret. For instance, such a passage as                 clauses, but it is rather of a conceptual nature.      As far
       Galatians 3 :20 is purported to have around four' hund-                 as the relationship` is concerned of the present things,
       red interpretations.          The parable recorded in Luke 16 :         "Mammon", "the lesser", "that which is of another",
       1-13 is also considered very difficult to interpret. It                 to the future world it is. a problem of a dogmatic
       is in verse 9, in the very passage in which Jesus applies               .nature ; w.hile the question of the value and moral
       the parable to the life of the church, that the difficulty              agency of the Christian is a matter of Et,hics,  the law
       arises. Tthe  passage reads in full as follows: "And I                  of God.
       say unto you, make yourselves  friends of the Mummorz                      To come to a clear understanding of this passage
       of unrighteousness ; that, when ye- fad, they may re-                   and of the teaching ,of  Jesus in this parable, we must
       ceive you inO0 everlasting habitations," (A.V.). This                   first of all understand the idea of Mammon in the
                                                                               Scriptures.
     _ translation follows the reading that .has the second                                   That the crux of the question lies in the
       person plural.           The Revised Version translates "And I          correct understanding of the term "Mammon" is clear.
       say unto you, make to yourselves  friends  by rn&xvz  of                Firstly, becausie  in the parable itself, an unscrupulous
       the' Mammon of unrighteousness                                          man is introduced who wastes his master's goods, and
                                                      ; that, when it shall
     fail, they may receive you into eternal tabernacles."                     Gyho  is an exemplification of the Mammon-worshippers..
       The Staten Vertaling follows .more  closely to the ren-                 Secondly,  this is `clear  from the predominant place that
       dering of the Revised Version. It reads as follows:                     this concept has in Christ's interpretation and applica-
       "En Ik `zeg ulieden: Miaakt  u zelven vrieniden  wit den                tion of the  parable itself.
       onrechtvaardigen Mammon, opdat, wanneer  u ont-                             Let us investigate what `the Scriptures teach us
       breken zal,  zij u mogen ontvangen in de eeuwige taber-                 concerning Mammon.
       nakelen."                                                                   Although the etymology of this term does nut teach
                Out of these various renderin.gs  we learn two mat-            us a.great.,deal,  it is nonetheless not without profit for
       ters.          In the first place, that it makes some difference        our `discussion to take notice of it. According to


                                                                                                                         -


Thayer E. Rob&on, the term "ma.mmon"  is derived                             And again we ask :. Why out of "Mamm,on"  and not
in th.e  Greek from the Chaldean "Mamona"  which in                  -out of "the good creature"?

turn is a derivative of' the Hebrew "man", meaning :                         We are of the opinion that two reasons should be
to put trust in. Compare our "A.men".  Interesting is                cited.

#the observation by Thayer in his Lexicon that the                           The first is, that Jesus, in this particular  passage
Hebrew "Amuna.h"  a kindred form from the root                       ia contrasting the disciples, calling them "sons of light",

"amen", in Is. 33 :6 is translated in the S,eptuagint  by            with the world, whom He calls the "sons of this age".
"treasures" and in `Ps. 37 by "riches".          From this we        T(his is quite isignificant.  When Christ calls the un-
learn that "Mann-non" is etymologiially  associated with             believers "sons of this age" he  ,does  not merely describe
treasures land riches and that in which men place their              them as belonging to the present time, the emphasis
confidence.                                                          does not fall on the time element only; by so describing
         Turning to the New Testament- we,&nd  that, only            `these worshippera.  of Mammon He refers to the  spirit-
Jesus employs the term.        It is used in the passage under       usl-ethical character of the life of these  soils.    This is
consideration, ,and  in Matt. 6 :24.                                 evident from the fact that they are contrasted with
         Concerning  the term "Mammon" `as employed by               the church, the sons of light.      These sons of this "age"
Jesus we wish to make. the followin.@  observations :                are therefore those whose life is characterized by the
         First of all, th1a.t  the term "Mammon" as employed         darkness of sin and  of hatred for God and their
by Christ always refers to treasures, "riches, material              neighbor. Indeed in their generation, in their sinful
resources of. the earth.       It belongs to the sphere of the       works they show a certain prudence, know how to gain
present, where we are in need of clothing and shelter,               tlheir end, but in all this it is evident that the light that
food, and drink.       Thus it is employed. in Matt. 6  :24,  25.    is in them is darkness. Matt. 6 :22, 23. Yet, withal
And that it has the same denotation in our passage is                this, they are sons of this age.     They have certain self-
quite ,eviident.                                                     claimed an,d self-maintained rights.          They ,enjoy  a
    However, and this is our'seCond  observation, the                name, position, power and control in the  world.       They

term Mann-non refers to the riches of the earth only                 set the pace, determine the standards' Eph. 2 :2,, but,
from a certain viewpoint. It should not <escape our                  by the very nature of their life  !and endeavors, the
attention that the treasures of the earth, the oattle                world that they thus create Bs, an evil one., Gal. 1:4.
upon a thousand hills are not CGS suoh Mammon. As                    Everything is by them monopolized in the service of
creatures, pure and simple, they are the good creatures              man and Mammon. Estranged from the life of God
of God. This is the`c1ea.r  teaching of Scripture. Com-              their vision is limited to the earthly, and their prudence
pare Genesis 1:31;  I Tim. 4 :4, 5; James 1:17.         As such      must b,e characterized Ias being natural, earthly, devil-

 they are not Mammon, but they are the creatures that                ish.
must be received  with thanksgiving and which is sanc-                       But this is not all. They so have control of all

tified by the Word of Gocl and prayer.         But, from what        things that God's children come in contact with the
viewpoint ia.re th.ese  creatures Mammon?          They are in-      "good creature of God" as; it is in the` service of  Mam-
,deed Mammon, the direct antithesis of God,`when  they               rno,iT.    God's chil,d is himself only liberated from this

are `employed by the "sons, of this age", who, thinking              Mammon-life .in principle.        Hence he has B light-life,

to be wise and not willing to keep God in remembrance'               Ibut  this light-life he must live in this "world" created

<divorce  this good creature ifrom  -the  worship and                by the "sons of this age"!        God's sons do not receive
service of the Creator, Who is most blessed forever!                 thesle  {gifts of God "as such" but tlhey receive them
When the creature ordained by God to serve as a means                concretely in this present, Mammon-stamped world ;
to worship and trust Him, ia made an end in itself, this             not abstractly from the business world of today, apart
apostate world, the Steward in the parable  is' a most               from the sinful world-standards and practices, but as
fittingly id,escribed  exe.mple.                                     God's good creature is pressed into the ervice  of a
         Having established the f,oregoing,  we are in a posi-       world oif greed and covetousness, in Ian "age" that is
tion to explain so,me  of the features of the parable that,          sold under sin ! Oh, indeed, the -gifts *of God are good
have given -rise to certain difficultties.                           in themselves, but the chilidren  of light having all
         In passing, let it be observed, that. Jesus does not        things in common with the sons of  thh "age" except
sla,y                                                                light and grace, oa.nnot  receive them, except in the
          : Make Mammon your friend ; befriend Mammon.
This would militate against the axiom: "Ye.. cannot                  present world, where the black horse of Revelation
serve God an.d Mammon".             vs. 13. Neither does Jesus       6.~5, 6 races, upon whi,ch the rider is seated with the
say: "Make yourselves friends out of the go,od creatz&re             bal,ance  in his hand, and  wher~e  the order of the day is:
of God." ,-                                                          "A measure of wheat for ia shilling, and three measures
         But what does He say?      He instructs His disciples,      of barley for ashilling; and the oil and the wine hurt
and thiat most emphati,cally,  "Make yourselves `friends             not."                                                  ~_
out of the Mcmvrnon  of unrighteousness."~                                   Thus the Saviour places the (disciples in the world,


       yet so that they are not of her. .And in this world-the             .gard  to this matter, because it is the point, emphasized
     disciples exercise the wisdom which is "from  .above".                by Christ to His disciples, and follows from the lanalogy
       They employ the earth's treasures, ,disengage  it from              of the prudence [displayed by the unjust Steward.         And
      the trammels of Mammon, and place it in the service of               lastly, but not. least, from what Jesus teaches.concern-
       God, visiting'the  poor and, the wi,dows  in their afflic-          ing what wiB be ,entrusted  to those who are faithful.             m
     tion, working with their hands that they may have to                          Secondly, we wish to observe ,that the-  foregoing,
     . Igive  to those who lack.     And thus they "makes to them-         contains these elements : 1. That a place in heaven is
       selves friends out of the Mammon of unrighteousness.,'              t,he  &zuard  of faithfzdmess.  2. That the present w,o7Jcl
               But the reader will ask: w.hat about the "et,ernal          is the proving ground of the saints, God placing them
      habitations" of which the text speaks.          Concerning this      here in the tension of the Antithesis between Himself
       we would. briefly call attention to three matters:                  and Mammon.              That the mo& agemcy  of man standing
               In the first .pl;ace,  that the phrase. "when it shall      thus, between these two worlds is very really the cle-
       fail" must. refer to the hour of death in which all ties            &cling  f a c t o r .
      with the earthly are severed:                                                (Just a remark about the last of these three elements.
               Secondly that the "eternal tabernacles" are the own         Thi,s  does not at all. mean to. imply that salvation is
      and fitting .dwelling  places for the sons of light, who             by works, and &hat Jesus woul,d  place His disciples
       had the heavenly wisdom to make `ffriends  out of.                  under the rule: he that doeth these thinlgs  shall live
      Mannnon".                                                            -by them. Gal. 3 :12.  `-W&en  we bear in mind that Jesus
                       -
               Thirdly, that there is not uniformity among' inter-         is addressing IHis,  disciples,- the sons of light, and that
      preters as to who must be understood by  "they,,  in                 he wished to bestir in them the conscious desire to live
      the purpose :clause,  "that they may receive you` into               out this light-life it will be very evident that He, does
       eternal tabernacles".        There is first of all the interpre-    not teach salvation.by  works.
      tation which would have "they" refer to the poor and                    -What does He .teach.  He teaches that in Gpd'ai
     needed children of God that were. befriended in this                  kingdom of grace, where works of grace are perform-
      world.        These are then thought. of, at least in part,          ed, the moral life is not at all trammeled, We-perform
     ' as havin:g preceded in ideath,  ,and consequently when good works by grace and reoeive the reward of grace,
      their benefactors die to receive them in heaven; wel-                yet so, that the moral-spiritual battle is real, and the
       coming them home.         It may be Iargued  in. favor of this entering into the eternal habitations is the goal of OLW
       interpretation that formally it adheres most closely to             entire life's endeavors !         Yea, even so that much of
      the correlate situation in the parable. But while this               Christ& teaching' is aimed at Ivnaking  this moral life
       is granted, we feel that it is, equally true that the re-           acute !
      ,deemed  will not be a,bIe  to assume that position in the                                                                G* z.
      eternal tabernacles.          See Matt. 7:2X The second
       interpretation refers these "they" to the angel world.
      This interpretation rests upon the consideration of such
                                                                              :
      scriptures as-Luke 15 :lO; Matt. 18 :lO; 24 :31;  25 :3X.                                       __
       It can hardly  be denied that  this ba.s more in its favor.
     However, we feel that the element  of, Matt. 7 :23 must                 Fairy Tales in Childrens' Readers
      not be `excluded.       If the angels welcome us home, carry
               home, they do it upon God's bidding and that oI the.                I suppose that the reader will say: has it come to
       LIS
       Lamb.                                                               this ntow that the Standard Bearer busies itself with
               This makes the matter of being "received into eter-         ,sech  things as .fairies  and fairy tales?     If the Standard
       nal tabernacles, more than a question of more or lest               Blearer `loses~l  some of its prestige, 1, beg to be. held
       welcome, it .becomes  a question of entering of  not,               excusable.       We rare obedient sons of the igooid  brother

      .e.&erifig!  ' `.                                                    who has the-  Idictatorial  ,powers  of assiigning  articles
               T:here  is one more  important .matter  to -n;hich XV       for the.year,  and we write about anything that is com-
       must -call attention.        It is the factor which we have         manded us; even ,about  fairy tales, ,and even when we
       designated as the moral agency.          The following seems        happen to know very little ,about  it.         I had hoped that
       to be the clear land implicit teaohing  ,of Christ in this          my library would yield me something on this mysterious
       parable:                                                            subject but I was sadly ;disappointed.          This may how-
               Firstly, .that  there is a reward connected with the        ever develop to my advantage since maybe we will
       befriending of'the poor out of the Mammcn of the sons               hav,e to be original. Considering that the Standard
       of this age.      And it is quite evident that t?h reward is        Bearer likes original materilal, perhaps, by foroe of
       not something plus a place in the eternal  ta.bernacles,            necessity, the prestige of this paper can .still be pre-
       But that is consists of our own fit dwelling place and              served and I `get this article out.
       glory.in  the eternal city. We take this position in re&                    If you have children going to `school. you have  per;

L


                     -_                                T H E   S T A N D A R D  BEiREB                                                     401


        haps  had oCcBSi6fi  to isok through their  rea,ding  books.             story or cubj.ect  may intend to convey some important
      YOU may h@e foutid fairy taies  in them.                        If yoiw thought or iteach some worthwhile  lesson. Some other
        chibdren gb to a pul& school, very_  likely you wili.  find             tieaIding  lesson mja.y-have  little content  value, it merely
        a reader with several fairy *a&es  in them. I have see:1                 presents some interesting event,  fact or fiction, the
        them too in books which our Christian  sohools  use.                     purpose of ,which is! to acquaint the youths with some
        YOU may have discovered that the  children read them                     new words, longer sentences, plot development,, etc.

       with: a peculi%r  de.light.           The question may hja<ve  arisen     It teaches them to read and acquire  ,eEiciency  in read-
        with                                                                     ing. . 
                YOU 'as  parents  whether such  .fairy  tales -make                           '
        good reading for our boys iand girls.  That iisi the                           Looked at from that viewpoint, the fact, namely,
        question which I am attemptinlg  to answer in this                       thlat we must learn to read, we believe that there is
       a&i&.                                                                     room  for reading which  has training value evefi ihough
         - R~eading, .we may  say, is the art of ab,soFbing  any-                it have little content value._ We all' recall stories  we
       thing written.                  .                                         read when" we wene children, which `were indeed DID
           The primary purp&e  in teaching OLW dMdren  to                       more thail  "stories, but their very int,ere@  and fancy
       read is acbove  all that we -may absorb the .writteti  Word               urged us to get -the thought, and  thus  we les.rned to
       of ,God.      The verysfact  that God has revealed Himself                retid.  When we grow up we  leave  behind the childish

       to US in writing places upon-us the necessity o:f .$eading               ;thi:ngs,  but we carry wit&  us into life the ability to
       anrd  learning to read.              G&d  has limited us tw and con-     read.     ,And'what  is the.import@t  thing. Human nature
       fined USI  to ,riading  and *he:aring  iyhat  is read, for God           being `what it is and the' child's mind developing as it
       has -expressed  Himself in writing. There is nbthing                      does, we oa.n see There  a certain amount  of stories,
       expressed .in the Holy Script&es.                       How important    tales,, etc. in our reading bodks  serves a worthehile
       reading is one can gather from Paul's letter to Timothy,                 educative purpose.
       I Tim. 4 :13;  where `he says to him: "Till I ,come,  give                      A&,  the child ,grows  up, the home first, but also the
       attendance to readipg. . .' ." Apart from the cyuestion                  school, must teabh the child to make  good  use of .$is
       whether Paul means to exhort him to reading for him-                     reading  ability.         There  are many young men  and,
       self ,or practise  intelligent readinlg  from the pulpit                 women who seem to have  les.rned to read, only to be
        (I think it is th'e  ltitter)  it is evident that reading is            able to abso-l;b  the trash which the mOdern  news:-stand
       very important. `Hence our childDen must learn  .to                      has to offer.        In thii branch, as in every other  in our
      read intelligently and efficiently. If `our instruction                   curricula, we have man's sinfulness and totdl  depmvity
       in reading. sails to equip our child&n  to Fe&d  Scripture,              with.`whieh  to reckon, to crucify'the  ,desire  for lust and
       retarding h@ certainly failed of i.ts  high purpose.              To-    learn `to desire that %hich  is whol,esoFe,  also in our
_      gether  with the reading of the.Divine Thought  revealed'                reading habits.
       in Scripture, they `should be able also to read ,other
       spiritual literature whfch  tiay help them. to under-                    . .    Do.not  misunderstand me now to have-said that the
                                                                                end j&tifies  the means.' I cerkainly  do not m&an  to say
       stand Scripture better. .I do not mean to infter that a
                                                                                that we can ;give our children any;thing  to rea;d,  as
       course in Peading  oan enable anyone to r&e&and the
                                                                                long ati it`.helps  them to acquire  reading ability. The
     - Sacred Word, for without the Spirit even the wisest                      Scripture exlhort,s,si  us: ye that love the Lor,d,  hate evil.
       cannot comprehend the things .of  God, and if you                        That antithesis m%ust be maintai,?ed  also in the matter
       give them $he  Book they shall have to say:  give it to
                                                                                of reading.
       someone else, I ,&annot read it.            But reading does surely
                                                                                       And on the basis of that, %ct I believe &hat the
     _ .-:help  tl>e man of God to become thoroughly furnished.                 fairy%ale  stands condemned,  as something which is .evil
           j&si,des  that, reading serves to educate. LIS in many
       other thinigs  which it is well .and  necessary to know.                 and thould  not ;therefore  have a place in- our schodis'
       All manne.r o:f khoughts  are communicated to us by                      reading books.         A-fairy tale is not quite the s2rne  as
                                                                                tales, a&cdotes,  fiction etc. A fairy-t,ale  is more than
'      reading. It helps to ediuoate  us, keep us well informed
       concerning the things of this life which are necessary                   that.     I will try.  to make this @&in.

       to know, helps us to attain.a  well-orbed world and life                        Fairies, according to the .best laut$ority  I can  get
       view, etc.          IRezding  serves also as a pleasure, an enjoy-       _on this matter, "are imaginary creatures,  coming from
       ment ,an,d  a ,pastime,  etc.                                            antother  worl,d,  who come out and play  With delighted
           This primary purpose reading  must serve.                            chibdren"  . They `g;re, "alw~aJys found assisting good
           In view bf tha,t leading purpose  we m&y  speak of                   pe,ople  and no one'w.ho  is cruel and croisrs  need look for           .
       reading. as h3vin.g  a cont,en;t-v&lue  and' a training-value.           any help from them";          Farther, we tire informed con-
       That is, in the  readiilg  courses in our schools.the  6nly              cerning fairies @at they "reward the good and punish
       or first `question is not necessarily: what ~d'o  they &sd,              the evil."         All BiFds of supernatural_ powers are as-
       but                                                                      cribed fo them. If the housewife's cream turped  sud-
            : are they learning..to  Fead. Some st,ories  in the
       re$Jing.  books may be of contetit  val.ue,  that i8, the                denly,  sour,  if butter would not come,  if i&e  apples fell      _
                                                        _ .

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

          prematurely from'the trees, it waqlikely the work of
          offended fairies, taking vengeance.                                        The Bzkc.Problem  of the Church's
                  Fr,om  these few, scattered notices it is evident that                               Multiformity
          the fairy-tale is really a type of religion which mixes

          into itself superstition and cursed idolatry. Heathens

          looked upon their .gods,`as  beings who controlled mens'                       In one of `our recent Ministerial Conferences a
          ,destinies,  blessed or cursed at will, smiled upon you or                 paper was given on the "Biblical Conception of the
          .took  vengeance quite as .the circumstances might de-                     Multiformity of the Church" and  sin the- discussion

          mand. This is idolatry. But the fairy-tale presents                        of the paper that followjed  it became apparent that the

          US;  that same idolatry, only it  is `written to amuse child-              grea.test  difficulty of, the problem lay in factors: of a
          _ren.     The fairies are virtually the gods, at least the                 naturally multiform race in a growing and developing
          messengers of the gods. Fairy-tales play with spirit-                      ;dispensation,  and the following is an attempt .to en-

          ualism, with dualism and end in superstition.                              iarge somewhat on this phase of the problem.
                  Therefore I would condemn the fairy tale.         It dis-              The so-called Multiformity question is n,ot  d ques-
.         torts the truth that "in Him we live and move and                          tion of merely academic interest but is a question of
          have our being" and "that He is not fma,r  from each of                    tremendous importance because it concerns the will
     ,    us".      God &es and ,controls the world, not by fairies,                 and the `command of Christ to His Church, that they
          ,but by&e Spoken ,Word  of His power.            T.he fairy-tale           shall  be one as He and the Father are one.

          teaches a religion, but one that is false.        It ascribes~to               This command of the Saviour may undoubtedly be
          beings the power, will and justice which  ms,y  be as-                     regarded as aiming at a twofold purpose, namely, first.

          cribed only to God.                                                        the oa.lling  of Christians to seek,  the closest bond of
              `Besides that, as we said before, it createsin  child-                 fellow,ship  for the purpose of mutual edification and.

          ren a certain brand of superstition.  "Every flower-                       submission to one another's exhortation and discipline,

                   may be a fairies' bed-room, every mushroom  a                     -and secondly; in order that the world may see in the
          c~tp

          fairies' dining table" etc. Sheer superstition. God is                     midst of a race torn by hatred and strife in its various
          finally Ieliminated  from (His  creation, and instesid  of                 spher,e  of life, a people. of every tailing and social

          seeing .the Name of God written across. the works of                       station boun'd together by the tr,emendous  power of
          creation we see fairies and a mixture of gnomes,                           th,e ,invisible life of the Son in the Flesh who is the
          trolls., and nixies.    We.  conf ess ,( in Belg.  Conf .) saying          mystery of gold&mss,  and thus seeing, the world may
          that we know `God,  first -by the creation, preservation                   acknowledge His mission from the Father.
          and government of the universe,, which is before our                           Now 8s obstacles to ,that  unity we saw in the paper
          eyes as a most elegant book; in whic,h all creatures,                      above mentioned several other impediments, sech  as
          great an,d small are asi so many characters, leading us to                 sinful self-will, ancestry an,d antecedents, geography,

          contemplate the invisible things of God, namely, His                       language and culture.
          power and divinity.  The fairy-talle  reduces the great                        And yet more basic and appa*rently  insurmountable
          God to nothing and puts the control of the_ world,                         than all t,hese  there appears to be that of racial  multi-
          punishments and jadgments,  etc. in the hands- of                          formity  and development.
          imagias..ry  .creatures.  And if. we .would  talk about                        The question arises whether we dare in the face
          agencies which execute the will of  Go,d in this world,                    of these stubborn factors persist and take the absolute
          then  let us speak scripturally and speak of angels.                       standpoint that it is the will of God. that the Church
          Not the fairies, but the angels are the messengers                         shall become externally, institutionally' one  ih this
          sent of God to labor in behalf of the heirs of  salvs-                     sinful dispensation?. And it would seem that; unless. we
          tion.                                                                      can .adopt  and maintain tan  absolute standpoint here we
                  One might interrupt and say that when the children                 are given over to a hogeless  relativism all along the
          .grow up they will put away also these childish things.                    line.
          But, .if you see how full of superstition the worldly                          In answer to this we may begin with a rather par-
          people are, you ,feel that idolatry is not so easily put                   enthical  observation that even if we could not theor-
          Iaway.       And besides, it would be tempting God to                      etically set an absolute standard that this  ;woulld  not

          nourish our children on things that in themselves. are                     at dl deliver us to relativism along the line as our

          wrong, thinking that any good could come out of it.                        sinful hearts might secretly-hope, for certainly the

                  For all these reasons our children in their training               standards which the Christian Church as "a whole has
          to read, ought not to use means which  ar.e harmful to                     adopted is much more absolute than our  ecclesiastioa.~lly
          the truth.       Instead of that, we m4usk bring them up                   superficial age wonld  suggest. ' Unquestionably we
          in the m&lure.  of the Lord, also when we-train them to                    have hardly begun to approximate those standards, if
          read,.                                                                     indeed we have  even begun them seriously. A serious

                                                               M. G; _               confession of, for example, the Reformed and Pres-


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R  '                                            403


  byterian btandards  by .di the" Sufbsci3ber~  would be a thlat.it is erroneous and coedemnable.  There is a great.
  tremendous step towand  the realization of that  prsy&           diffe=nce  between an immatured and a faulty con-

  of Christ.                                                       fession. The Abrahamic  revelation and confession is
     But apart from this parenthical  observation, it              ,not  out-moded,  relegated, and contradicted by the
  must secondly be quit,e obvious that a certain variety           Mosta,&  nor the Mosaic by the PYQphetic,  nor, again the

  of cdnfession\s;  arising out of the psychological  land in-     Prophetic, by the Incarnate&  nor again, the latter by

  tellectual multiformi+y  6f the race does not  & all imply:      the Apostolic, and yet there is throughout a *constant.
  a contradiction  or conflict between the various ex-             :growth  and enriclunent.  Just,  as one  person -cannot

  pressions. Let             note that all these races have one    alone,.express  the fulness of the life of Christ, so can
                      us
  anid the oame  word bf revelation, which .has,  one central      no one generation or race express the ful-oes,s:  of the
  me&age  ;- th&  811 &v:e  one and the same life @f Christ        Divine revelat.ion  and grace.
  iii theln  t;hrsiigh  r;@gg9neration  w,hich seeks the same      But this principle of supplementation is also im-

  U&g;  that di arti id by the saw Spirit Who g_&des plicit in our own Reformed_ confessional ,standarlds.
  into all the truth.       Because of this oneness of prescrip- , The three  supplementing .one  another are of greatly
  tion and oneness of impulse the truth that ,develops  in         idiffering  emphasis and ba&grour:d.  The one was  '
  the ages of the Church is one.                                   written by a Frenchman in the solitude of imprison-
     And let us notice that the Holy ,Spirit  has a way            ment and Yacing death, the other by two_  German pro-
  of vindicating through the course of history this: one--         fessors in the aca,demic  atmosphere of the university,
  ness.. The various shadies  unite more and more  intq a          the third by a variagated assembly of theologians in
  hal;mony  and the departures become more  aa& more               the tense atmosphere of heresy trial, where life an3

  repea.led  as heresies by their gradual reduction to  in-        death, honor .and disgrace ,hung  in the balance.           The

  consist&cy  and absurdity, and their practical fruit,-           Presbyt,erians  have their great We&m.  Conf. built
  fillnes&  So, e.g., the Arian theory of -Christ's person.        phrase by phrase by-a great and leafned  assembly, but
  is not a variation of the A'chanasian formulation, but           labo  a Catechism, the "Larger" form for the congrega-
  is la denial of the latter; the question of the single or        tional pr'eaching,  and. the "Shorter" for the children,
. ,double  procession (filioque) of the Holy Spirit is not rt      each written by one man. No-w  no one would maintain                .
  matter `of Oriental and Occildental  emphasis, but a             that .by discarding onle of these we would gain in ld~oc-
  question  of truth and error.       And so Further the Supper    trinal richness and purity, but ,211  readily see that the
  and the Mass, Arminianiism and Calvinism, P?e-  land             one supplements and enriches the whole confession of

  A-millenialism, Common or Particul$r  grace ar,e  all            the Christian hope and rule of life.       An,d even by,using
  a matter not of emphasis but of truth and error.                 th,e standards, be it ,as secondary, of the presbyterians,
     But there is another. strong point that we must               whose racial but cultuml  background is: other than
  make, namely, that the confessions of the various'               ours, we do not thereby impoverish the beguty  and
 peoples are not necessarily nearly as ,divergent  as the          purity of our faith but positively enrich and purify
  ohgmpions  of ;doctrirr'al  independence would like to           it.
  suppose.      _In the first place the thoughts and expres-              A musical khorus  does not impoverish'itself by add-
  sions of peoples are usually guided, moulded and                 ing more voices of various quality, if  onljT they are true
 articulated by men of cosmopolitan, u&versa1  thought             to the music.      Anid no iridivildual  wi13 conten,d  that all
  and vision which far traescenld  their 1day la,nd their          ,must  perform as he'himself does to make the rendi-
  raciai  bounds . A great  man belongs to every race              tion of the theme successful.
 and nation and his thoughts qa;lld  expressions are *hose                That same multiformity of raze  and age and talent
I of every .nation,  kspecially  when he thinks and speaks,        and character will be found in the.heavenly  perfected
 as guided of course by the spirit of Christ, concerning           Jerusalem .and  through it all the glorious life of the.
 the things of God's revelation. This principte  we see            Son of God as the Mediator qf the glory of the Triune
  operating at the great  Synods of the early  Church and          shall be refracted into a ma&fold  eplendor.  Oae revela-
 again at the Synod of Dordt where five or six  d$ffere&           tion and one. li5e yet a multitude of cresturely  reflec-
 liationalii?ies  were engaged in the formulatioh of doc-          tion.

 trines, a'nd on the other hand the differences yere                      :And so also in this dispensation we may set as otir
 those within the household of the ,Dutch  churches.        _      God-appointed goal of one CkPrch  in the urlity of faith
     But now with reference to the other  n&n  point we            and knowledge and manifes$ation,  that .is wholly in
 may als:o  observe that `a stablIe point of reference for a       accord with and fully honors t,he glorious multiformity
 criterion need not at all be as  absdlutistic  as it. might at    of nature also in the human race, in which  Golds  spreads
 first ia,ppear  necessary.         There is indeed room for       forth and reveals His divine virt,ues  tand grace.
 growth and for supplementation, and ,the growth that                     A beautiful idealism, you say.. And yet, if it is
 is characteristic of the age of imperfection does n&              God's will then it continues to confront us as calling

 at all imply that an earlier .is imperfect in the sense           indeed, but also as a lasting rebuke,         .     - A .  I?.


                                                                                -___~---~~  - --
                                             :
4 0 4                                              $I@3  ti'- STiND_ARD  `-B:EAR  E-R                                    -

                                       _.                                                        .
                                              c
                                                                                tive of the human race*  fell into death, being  con&-
                                Contribution. : " quently `totally depraved. .' n .
          -                                                                         The fal1  of Aidam  did not stop his; nor our responsi-
                               ,RESPON~SIBI!LITY
                                                                                bility as they'wduld say.                     But, we rather would say:
                                                           /
     The word-Responsilbility-since 192.4 has become                            The fall of Adam did not stop his. nor our oalling  and
one of the three words today used, also in                         religious    -our duty.            IHle, an,d we must yet obey God's command-
                                                           OLW
vocabubary.  .It fits neatly .in ,our  language, vividly ,ex-                   merits...  Adam could not nor wo,ul:d he, and we neither
pressingideas and thoughts pertai,ning to our activities                        can nor will obey the commandments of God.
in life.            As was said, the word is especially used denot-                 When Christ, from eternity knew that Adam could
ing reli,gious  icleas  and sentiment, depicting a kind of                      not nor ever would`obey  the law,of  `God, then, in due
religions exaltation, exhilbiting  some kind of pious: s&is-                    Iueason  He appea.sed  upon the scene, saying : Lo, I come,
facti,on.            In this capacity it is ,much used in connection            in the volume of the  Book.it  is written of Me, I delight
wth the Sovereignty of God, in combination with the-by                          to do Thy .will o my Gold j yea Thy law is written in                        c
God declared Total Depravity of men.  '                                         my heart. Psalm 40.:7, 8.
     The word applied in this sense, is theologically used                       %hrist  J,esus,  coming in *the place of Adam, obeyed
to convey-  the i'dea and to uphold the. thought, -that                         God, and in Him as Mediator and  Saviour,  the elect
a mere human being accomplishing- a pious considered                            la,lone find reasons a plenty to glorify'God,  for in Christ.
act, iis; able to establish a God- approved harmony and                         are they enabled-to .obey  God in principle, comprehend-
attitude ,between  the Sovereign God and Totally. De-                           ing their calling and their duty  ,performing  both, so
praved man. -                                                                   to,.speak,  in-a measure.                Those without Christ cannot
     The word also means to place man over against                              in the least attain- in doing their :duty  and fulfilling
man, the church over' against the world.                      Cain over         their -calling to obey-land love God, and their neighbors.
against Abel. It intends to arrange a spiritual. life                               It seems that the theologians, for reasons perhaps
over against carnal life, morality over against immoral-                        known or unknow.n  to them, did-away with the Biblical
ity, etc.                                                                       terms of calling and duty, instituting for these plain
-s. As we planned to describe briefly the use. of the                           words; the more- elegant and higher sounding  phnaseo-
word"ReslJonsibility  ae: applied to its' religious use; we                     logical term of Responsibility.
will pass by the othaer uses of the word and center- our                          But, is it -not always true that the sweet speech of
th,oughts  and remarks upoil  the line `of` its religious                       philosophical inventions of mere men, as exhibited in
reasonling.  Regarding the sovereignty of God and man's                         some synodical declaratinns  rather obscure the Word of
total depravity, we find thiaf laymen as; well as ecclesi-                      God instead of spreading light upon it?
astics `use the word-responsibi,lity-as a CRUTCH,                                 This simple truth is literal and spiritual shown in
synodically delivered as a :means  to lean on upon the                          the theolo,gical  terms of Responsibility, Common Grace
troubled journey through Mesech towar,d  New Jeru-                              and Inviltation,  today honorably used in our religious
s    a         l     e    m     .                                               vocabdary.                The words, respohsibjlity  and common
     T,ha.t,.of  course, conveys the hidden: thought and the                    .gna.ce.are  not used,in  the Holy Scriptures, and the word
imagined idiom; that ma&  `although unable, depraved,                           invitatifo,n!  is.found  three times in the Word  of God, but
is still capable, more or less, to accomplish something,                        never meaning what ,theology  accords' to it. T,hese`3
somewhat and somewh~ere  to his own salma.tion.                                 words belong to our present pulpit oracle oratioli;
     Surely, we know that this hidden thought and idiom  L Yet,. and after all, and notwithstanding these three
is openly denied when confronted .wiith  I the bold -and                        words or terms, seem to be the fonndation upon which
bald `question: Is man able to to something toward his                          our present Cqhristian  Reformed Theology is erected.
owp.salvation?  Yet iand notwithstanding, that deftly                               Why not use the pltain. Biblical words?                         .' ,
deni3  ,does-  not remove the crutch,  nor doesi it [dissolve                                                                   - J. H. Hoekstra
the hi@en  thought, the imagined_ idiom, and neither                                                              <.               South Holland, Ill.
does it* rescind the (doctrinal- dsclarati'on  of the Three
Points of Synod of 1924, which openly announce and                                         L'
confess the ableness of (even theunregenerate Q ples.se                             _.i                                                                     .-
                                                                                                 _i . 
God in #civic  .life bolldly  ignorin gand la.nnulling  Rom. 3.                                           `.    ._  N O T I C E .  :,
     The word, Resp.onsibility;  bids; LX to ,look  into the                       The Consistory of the First Protestant Reformed
past. It brings us in ,Eden.  We find'that God Cam-                             Church .of Grand  Rapids,-Michigan .hereby  wishes to
manded AXdam  and Eve in Paradise to abstain from                               notifythe  churches that Synod will meet D. V., on Wed-
eating of a certain tree: IOur parents-did not listen                           nesday, June 6, 1945. The pre-synodical sermon will
to the commandment of God, but paid olose  attention                            be_ prea&hed  on the previous evening at  7:45 by the
to the lie of ILucifer.              .They did eat of that tree, and- fell      president of the Synod of 1944, Rev. A. Cammenga.

into sin, being disobedient. Adam, as the  representa-                                                                          (2, Stonehouse?  Clerk,
                                                                  ,.


