 222                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   ,BEAR.ER
 _.... ^_-"-..--- . -~ ".-                -".._ _-..._              - _..- I .-..- "--.-    .-...-____
 der verschijning  varr Woord  eka  GeesL niet overtuigd  Me-      en  verhcht,  achterlijken en vooruitstrevenden, confessio-
 ken te zijn." Onderscheidene Gereformeerde pers-orga-             neelen  en wetenschappelijken of intellectueelen,  farizezr
 nen merkten op, dat de  richting,  die  Woord  en  Geest in-      en waarheidlievenden  opgeld   doen,  doch nu met  toepas-
 sloeg, hun niet aanstond, dat de  toon  er van  bun  niet         sing op en ter kenschetsing van bepaalde groepen onder
 beviel, dat bet geluid hun niet.  als  echt voorkwam, enz.        de Gereformeerden.
 Sommige kerkelijke persorganen  waren bezwaard  over                   In een volgend artikel letten  we daar nader op.
 hetgeen geschreven werd over de  clcltzcurtaak  van  bet                                                            H. D.
 Calvinisme ; enz.
     Betreffende-  deze critiek merkt Dr. Geelkerken dan
 verder  nog op, dat het hem vooral trof, "dat de heeren,.
 die de redactie van al die kerkbode's en kerkbladen voe-                            WICKED OR UNCONVERTED?
 ren, over het algemeen zoo weinig op de hoogte schijnen
, te zijn van wat er om gaat in de breede  lagen  van ons               Many of our readers, who formerly read "The Wit-
 Gereformeerd volk." Deze  mannen zijn, naar zijn  zeg-            ness" before it was so strangely amalgamated with "The
 gen, niet met de kaart van het land op de hoogte. "Het Religion and Culture" and in its metamorphosed form
 is werkelijk  verbazend,"  zegt hij, "hoe ons van  alle  kan-     appeared under the title of "Reformed Herald." will recall
 ten medewerking en steun wordt toegezegd en hoe men               an article written by Professor L. Berkhof on the sub-
 tiadelijk is begonnen om voor  Woord en  Geest,  met-zoo- ject : "Gods  .Gunst  Over de Onbekeerden", (Gods Favor
 veel  blijdschap en waardeering begroet. te werken."              Toward the `Unconverted). The article was evidently de-
    "Men beweert  we1 eens, dat een klein groepje  intel-          signed to throw light upon the question  wherher  in any
 lectueelen  op het punt  staat, om uir de Gereformeerde           way God is gracious to the reprobate ungodly, and its
 Kerken te treden. Voor zoover ons bekend is, denkt men            positive purpose was to prove that we must, indeed, on
 er niet aan, dit te doen. Maar  we1 ontwaakt er bij intel-        the basis of Scripture hold, that there is such a thing as
 lectueelen  en eenvouclige vromen overai  een heilige geest-      grace of God over the ungodly.
 drift, ernstig en waardig, rustig en beslist, om met Gods             The title of that article, however, was ill-chosen,
 hulp  het kostelijk pand  aan onze Kerken toevertrouwd,           whether intentionally and consciously on the part of the
 te bewaren en vrijheid te winnen voor den wasdom van              author or from ignorance and lack of insight into the--real
 rrntluikend, geestelijk Ieven.    Dit openbaart  zich, Gode       issue. It was badly and erroneously worded and did not
 zij dank, in alle mogelijke kringen, overal.  En alleen wie       definitely esprcss what the writer intended to discuss
 zijn  oogen moedwillig gesloten houdt, en in voldaanheid          in the article. It did not concisely define the subject rhe
 met het bestaande doet,  alsof er geen vuiltje aan de lucht       author meant to treat, for the simple reason that it failed
 is, bespeurt er niets van. Voorwaar, er is reeds meer dan         to state what sort of unconverted people the professor
 `een wolkje als een mans hand,' voorbode, moge het zijn,          was referring to. At the time Rev. H. Danhof and the
 van een overvloedigen regen des Geestes, profetie van             undersigned called his attention to this error, and the
 betere tijden  voor het kerkelijke, het geestelijke, het  ge-     question was asked him whether he wrote so ambigu-
 loofsleven naar Gereformeerd belijden op ieder gebied."           ously from lack of clear insight into the matter, or with
     En daarom wil  GeeIkerken  dan  oak voortgaan, door a definite purpose. And when he assured us that it was
 goed gerucht en kwaad gerucht, gemoedigd en kalm, doch            done in good faith though from lack of understanding,
 beslist.    "Omdat  wij niet  anders   kunnen,  niet anders       we asked him whether he would be so fair and kind to
 moien,`, zegt hij. "De uitkomst, de toekomst  weten  wij          US  as .to remove in another article all possible misunder-
 veilig bij Hem, die ook onze tijden regeert."                     standing which he had thus created, which the professor
    Over de jhistheid van deze beschrijving van de kerke-          promised to do. He failed, however, to do so and in an
 lijke toestanden in Nederland durven  we vooralsnog niet article which appeared in the issue of "The Witness" that
 oordeelen ; maar uit zulk schrijven, dat van October, 1925,       followed he simply made matters worse and more confus-
 dateert, is  we1 duidelijk, dat conflict tusschen Geelkerken,,    ing still, from which we concluded that the professor
 - geheel afgedacht van eenige specifieke dwaling  zijner-         hopelessly misunderstood the matter.
 zijds,  - en de Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland  on-                Now, we are discussing the question at present,
 vermijdelijk was; alsmede, dat de toetsing van een  be-           whether in the things of this present time God is gracious
 paald punt de geschillen niet zal  doen  ophouden.  Er is         to the ungodly and whether He does, indeed, bless them
 bier verschil van beschouwing de gansche linie rakende.           in His lovingkindness by these natural things. And for
 Daarom kunnen o. i. ook thans, nu de Synode Dr.  Geel-            a correct understanding of this matter.  it is of extreme
 kerken gesuspendeerd heeft, verdere botsingen niet voor-          importance that we clearly see the error implied in the
 komen   worden, Er is voor de Gereformeerden in Necler-           professor's statement of his subject.
 land  storm  op  til. De Calvinisten gaan in hunne betrach-           The term: "Unconverted" was vague, ambiguous and
 ting van de universeeie cultuurroeping in  twee  groepen          m i s l e a d i n g .
 uiteen. / Dat brengt strijd mee. En in dien strijd zullen           Whom did the professor mean by that term? No one
 opnieuw   termen, als: orthodox en modern, bekrompen could exactly tell.


                                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                        223
         - ..." ._.. II^ .-................___-                                                                   -.--_..         __-
     It might refer to various people.'                                         And it is clear, that would we discuss the question
     First of  all, it might refer to the unconverted elect,                 whether God in the things of the present time is gracious
 to those children of God, that are as yet unconverted,                      toward the ungodly and sinners, we must definitely state
 but who will, according to God's gracious election in                       who are these ungodly of whom we speak.
 some future time surely come to conversion. And if by                          We do not refer to the unconverted elect. These are
 his title the professor referred to them, he could, indeed,                 the objects of the grace of God and there is no dispute
 speak of a grace of God over  `the unconverted, for  to                    about this fact. He has them before Him and with Him           ,
 these unconverted God is gracious in everlasting love and                  in His everlasting and unchangeable counsel as the ob-
 by this grace over them they shall surely be saved. For                    jects of His boundless love. In that everlasting and un-
 these ungodly He sent Christ into the world, in order
                                                   . . .                    changeable love He chose-them to be conformed accord-.
 that He might die for them while they were yet sinners,                    ing to the image of His Son. And from it follows their
 cleanse them from all their sins and make them children                    sure conversion.
 of the living God. For these ungodly all things work
 together for good. But if the professor had meant this                         Neither do we speak of the unconverted without fur-
he did not state in his subject correctly and concisely, for                ther definition. They may exist for us, but they do not
 all  the unconverted are not elect and will not be con-                    exist for God. And as already stated, God's attitude to-
 verted. Nor, if the professor had these unconverted elect                  ward them is determined by His own knowledge of them,
 in mind, did he write about the question concerning not by our conception. Would we answer the question:
 which there raged a controversy in the churches. We all                    is God gracious toward the ungodly? then we must ask:
 heartily agree that God is gracious toward the uncon-                      how does the Lord regard them'?
 verted elect. It was not necessary to write an article on                     And, therefore, it ,must be definitely understood that
 that subject.                                                              the subject of our discussion concerns the reprobate un-
    Secondly, there was the possibility, that the professor,                godly and them alone. The ungodly that will never be
 under the same title referred to the unconverted repro-                    converted, the vessels of wrath, fitted unto destruction
 bate, to those unconverted that will never be converted,                   according to God's sovereign counsel. The question is:
 to the wicked that will always be wicked, to the ungodly                   does God bestow the things of this present time in grace
 that will never come to repentance. Clearly, if the pro-                   upon those, who are before Him only as ungodly and
 fessor meant to write on that subject, he did again  f&ii                  wicked, who are and shall remain wicked and become
 to state his subject precisely, for the simple reason that                 ripe for destruction  ? Do not say that we cannot very
 not all the unconverted are reprobate but some are elect.                  well make them the object of our contemplation for the
 Lind in that case he could not very well have written on                   simple reason that we do not know who they are. For
 the subject of grace toward them, for how could God love                   although it may be true that to a certain extent.rhe  ques-
 whom He hates ?                                                            tion: who  are  the  reprobute   ungodly? may belong to the
    Or, thirdly, it is also conceivable that the professor realm of secret things; the fact: that  they  are belongs to
 chose this general title with a certain preference. He,                    the revealed things of God. God has before His eyes in
 then, intended to refer neither to the elect nor to the                    this world not simply a mass of unconverted and possible
 reprobate unconverted but to both of them, yet to neither                  candidates for conversion, but just simply righteous and
 of them. He conceived in his title of the unconverted, not                 unrighteous, godly and ungodly.
 as God knows and views them, but as he sees them, as                          Who are, in the language of Scripture, the ungodly?
 they are known to us in. the world. We do not know
 with absolute certainty whether a certain unconverted                         How does Scripture, how does God Himself speak
 man is elect or reprobate, will ever or never come to con-                 concerning them?
 version in some future time. And it deems more likely                         They are the sinners, the scornful, that mock at holy
 that the professor preferred his title with this in view.                  things and delight in profanities, the counseling'ungodly,
 But if so, he chose an impossible title, for he pretended                  Ps.  134-6.  The foolish are they, the workers of iniquity,
 to write on God's attitude toward the subjects of his dis-                 that speak leasing, bloody and deceitful men in whose
 cussion.   Kow, God's attitude toward the unconverted is                   mouth there is no faithfulness, whose inward part is very
 certainly not determined by our conception and knowl-                      wickedness, whose throat is an open sepulchre and who
 edge of them but by His own. Though we may not                             flatter with their tongue, Ps. V :5-9. They are the wicked
 be able to point out who are and who are not the ungodly                   and they that love violence, Ps.  X1:5. They are those
 and reprobate unconverted, before God they are manifest.                   that say in their heart that there is no God, that do
 And his knowledge of them determines Wis attitude to-                      abominable things, the `filthy, that eat up the people of
 ward them. So that it was quite impossible for the pro-                    God as if they eat bread, Ps. XIV :I-4. They are such as
 fessor to write on God's grace toward the unconverted, if oppress God's children, lurking in secret places and who
 he refused to view them from God's own point of view.                      speak proudly, Ps. XVII :9-U.. They are the froward and
    Small wonder, then, that the article we refer to, writ- the men of high looks, 3%. XVIII 26, 27. They are those
 ten under such an ambiguous title, was  misletiding  and                   who, while they are speaking peace with their neighbor
 confusing.                                                                 have their hearts full of mischief against him; they that


  224         ^~ .._.__..___ __ _..___     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                                -l_l--.-.                                        _._.  - - - -

  regard not  the works of the Lord,  ilor  the operation of parents without understanding, covenant-breakers, with-
  His hands, Ps. XXVIII: 3,  5. They are men who regard out natural  affection; implacable, unmerciful. They are
  lying vanities, men with lying lips, that speak proudly           men who know the judgment of God that they who do
  and contemptuously against the righteous, Ps. XxX1.6, such things are worthy of death, yet commit them. They
  18. Men they are, before whose eyes there is no fear of           are men who so entirely  find their spherc`in darkness,
  God, that flatterthemselves in their own eyes, the words          that they not only commit these things themselves, but
  of whose mouth are iniquity and deceit, that devise mis-          have pleasure in seeing others do them, and hate those
  chief upon their bed at night, to commit it early                 that walk otherwise,  Rqm.  I%-23;  29-32.
  in the morning, that abhor not evil,  Ps. XXXVI:                     Thus Scripture speaks of the natural man, and we
  1-4.    They are the wicked that plot against the  quoted   but  a  few  expressions.
  just and gnash upon them with their teeth, that                      Such is the ungodly.
  cast down the poor and needy and slay such
  as are of an upright conversation, that borrow and pay               Thus we are all by nature. In such dark death we
  not again, Ps.  XXXVII   :12, 14, 21. Fools they are who          cast ourselves  t&u sin.
  have their part in this world and whose inward thought              -But  we are not now  speaking of all. God delivers His
  is that their houses are for aye, Ps. XLIX:ll; men that           people from this terrible death and washes them in the
  love evil more than good and lying more than righteous-           blood of their Redeemer from all this horrible filth and
  ness, Ps. LII  :3. Corrupt are they  and. doers of abomin-        iniquity. And according to His everlasting counsel, they
  able things, Ps. LIIf:l; They are those that are estranged are before Him as righteous in Christ. That is why He
  from the womb and go astray as soon as they are born,             loves them, ii gracious to them, causes all things to work
  speaking lies, Ps.  LVIII:S.      Evil they reward for good together for their good.
  and hatred for love, Ps,  CIX:S.  Enticing sinners they              NO,  we are speaking of the reprobate ungodly. Of
  are, ensnaring others in their net and laying wait for those we are speaking, who before God from eternity to
  blood, lurking privily in secret places against the  inno-        eternity appear no different than in their horrible iniquity.
  cent without a cause, Prov. I :lO. Their heart is wicked- And the question is : does Gqd love them? Is `He gracious
  ness and their feet run to evil and haste to shed blood,          over them? Does He bless them in His grace?
  Prov.  1:16.  They are people who have no rest and do
  not sleep lest they have done evil, that eat the bread of            What does the Bible say?
  wickedness and drink the wine of violence, Prov.  IV:l6,                                                                    I3  2-I:
  17; prating fools, perverters of their ways, winkers with                  d
their eyes, void of understanding, people that refuse re-
  proof, that `hide hatred with lying lips and utter slander,
  for whom it is sport to do mischief, Prov. X :8, 9, 10. 13.                                      ENOCH
  17, 18, 23. Men, void of wisdom, cruel men, talebearers,
  Prov.  X1:12, 13, 17. People that join house to house,                          Hast thou not seen at break of day
  lield  to field, that call evil good and good  .evil, that put                  One only star the east adorning,
  darkness for light and light for darkness, that are wise                        That never set or paled its ray,
  in their own conceit and prudent in their own eyes, that                        But seemed to sink at once Bway
                                                                                  .?
  justify the wi~cketl  for reward and take the righteousness                           Into the light of morning?
  of the righteous for him, Is. V :8, 20, 21, 23. Hypocrites _
  are they, that devour widows' houses and for a  pretence   -                    From it the sage no portent drew,
  make long prayers, blind guides, that omit the matters                          It,came  to light no meteor fires,
  of judgment and mercy, straining the gnat and swallow-                          But silver shone the whole night through,
  ing the camel, whited sepulchres, beautiful without but                         On hawthorn hedges steeped-in dew,
  within full of dead men's bones and uncleanness, killing                              And quiet village spires.
  the prophets and filling the measure of the iniquity of
  their fathers, serpents and vipers, Mt. Xx111:14,  23, 24,                      Like him of old who dwelt beneath
  27, 29-33. They are those who disobey the Son, John                             The tents of patriarchal story,
  III  :36. They are those who, knowing God refuse `to                            Who passed without the touch of death, _
  glorify Him as God, men with vain imaginations, profess-                        Without dim eye or failing breath,
  ing themselves to be wise but actually being fools, who                               ti once into God's glory.-
  change the glory of the incorruptible God into the image                              .
  of men and beasts  land creeping things ; men that are                          The patriarch of one simple spot,
  filled  with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness,                      The sire of sons and daughters lowly,
  covetness,  maliciousness ; and that are full of envy, mur-                     And this the record of his lot,
  der, debate and wrangling, deceit and malignity. They                           "He walked with God, and he was not,"
  are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful,                                For God He took him wholly.
  proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to                                                       -C.  F: Alexander.


                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                             227
                                                                           - .___                        -             -
         VAN  JEZUS LIJDEN                                        Loof, 0 Sion! Prijs uw Heere!
                                                                 De aarde luister, `t Lam ter eere,
 Voor de zonden der verkoornen,                                     Naar uw heilig psalmgeruisch!
 In hun strafschuld gansch verloornen,                           Looft Hem, die de he1 verplette !       L
   Levert God Zijn eigen  Zoo*n                                  Looft Hem, die Zijn volk ontzette !
 En, Hij stelt op d'eigen stonde,                                  Looft  uw Roning  aan het kruis !
 Al den gruwel van de zonde,
   Al Zijn zondaarsmin ten  toon  ! .

 `t  Recht van God, op `t felst geschonden                            BERKHOF  A EXEGETE
Eischt voldoening van de zonden,
   Maar Zijn bloed koopt zondaars vrij.                                              I
 Ziet ! Gerechtigheid en vrede
 Stemmen  hier tot vrijspraak mede                         In this article we continue our analysis of Berkhof's
   Naar de aloude profecij.                             exegesis of those Scriptures adduced by him to prove that
                                                        God  is  gracious to the reprobate+ Berkhof proceeded
                                                        from Pelagian premises in dealing with Scripture. He
 O,- hoe duister, hoe ontzettend,                       silenced God's Word, compelling that Word to speak
 Zieldoordav'rend,, hartverplett'rend                   Berkhof's language. The exegesis which he rendered
   Was dat  schrikverwekkend   uur?                     would do credit to Pelagius himself. These matters we
 Dat de Zoon van God Zijn leven                         wish to make clear.  -
Voor `t behoud zag overgeven
_  Der gevallen creatuur !                                 Rom. 2 :4 is a Scripture which Berkhof in conjunction
                                                        with Synod, quotes in support of his vicious theory.
                                                        Synod rendered no exegesis. Berkhof did. It reads as
 D e aardc siddert,  rotsen  kraken,                    follows : `*Er  is nog een plaats, die hier in aanmerking
 Dooden in het graf ontwaken!                           komt,  n.1. Rom. 2  :4, waar we lezen : `Of veracht gij den
   Jezus  Christus  geeft den Geest!                    rijkdom`zijner goedertierenheid, niet wetende, dat de  goe-
 En de voorhang van den tempel                          dertierenheid Gods u tot bekeering leidt?' De apostel
Scheurt in  tweei%  tot den drempel!                    richt   zich hier tot de goddelooze  Joden,  die een gansch
   De eerste schepping is geweest!                      verkeerde  conclusie  trokken uit de  goedertierenheid  die
                                                        God hun bewees.  Zij feliciteerden zichzelf, en  besIoten
C;olgotha  ! gij zaagt dat wonder,                      uit de zegeningen die zij dagelijks ontvingen, dat God
`t  Licht der heerlijkheid gaat onder;                  zeer   goed met hen ingenomen was als zonen Abrahams,
   En het daglicht keert tot  nacht   !                 zoo goed zelfs, dat Hij hunne goddeloosheid niet strafte,
Maar die nacht  weldra wordt klaarheid,                 doch hun voortdurend we1 deed. Zij vormden  eente lagc
,41 wat schaduw  was  wordt waarheid !                 gedachtevan de goedertierenheid Gods, en toonden  zich
  `t  Is vervuld,  bet is volbracht!                    onverschillig betreffende het heilig doel, dat God er mee
                                           P            had. En hoe corrigeert de apostel hun gedachte? Zegt
Ja ! volbracht zijn al de woorden,                      hij tot hen, gij vergist u geheel, want in de zoogenaamde
Die de Godsprofeten hooren !.                           zegeningen, die gij ontvangt, openbaart God niet zijn lief-
  Ja ! vervuld is `t recht der wet!                     de, maar zijn  haat jegens  u-; zij zijn wezenlijk vloeken,
Onze  wonden  zijn verbonden,                           die op uw hoofd nederdalen? Niets  van dat alles. Zijn
Onze zonden zijn verslonden,                           vraag houdt in, dat de Joden  .geheel  naar waarheid ver-
   En de slangenkop verplet.                            onderstelden,  dat God hen nog altijd zegende. Hij deed
                                                       hen waarlijk nog altijd deelen  in den rijkdom zijner goe-
In het kruis zal `k eeuwig  roemen  !           . .    dertierenheid en verdraagzaamheid en lankmoedigheid.
En geen wet zal mij verdoemen ;                         Maar zij  vergisten   zich geheel in de verklaring van dat
  Christus droeg den vloek voor mij!                   feit. Die verklaring moet gezocht  worden in het doel.
Christus  is voor mij gestorven,                       dat God met deze openbaringen zijner liefde beoogde.
Heeft gena voor mij verworven,                         En wat was dat doel? Om de gocldelooze  Joden  dieper
  `k Ben van dood en zonde vrij!                       in het verderf te storten? Neen, maar om hen tot  be-
                                                       keering te leiden. Het doe1 was, volgens Calvijn `to soften
Zalig, die in Hem gelooven.                            by his  kindness their perverseness,' of, zooals Hodge
0 1 bestraal ons hart van boven,                       zegt, `to lead them to forsake their sins.' God wil,  zegt
  Geest der waarheid ! God van heil!                   Van Andel. `door zijne vriendelijkheid het hart der men-
Dat mijn ziele  zich  verlieze,                        schen vermurwen, hen tot  zich lokken, en hen  bemoedi-
(Dit is `t deel dat ik verkieze !`                     gen in den weg der wederkeering tot Hem.' De Heere
  In die liefde zonder peil !                          hoopt kolen vuurs op het hoofd der goddeloozen. Doch


 ` 2 2 8                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                  i.
                                                                          -.._ ^_.-                                     -    -          -

  in het  gcval der  Joden  beantwoordde het resultaat  niet        Before we enlarge on this matter we wish to point out
  aan de bedoeling. Zij verhardden zichzelf tegen deze              the contemptible tactics of the professor as an exegcte.
  openbaring van Gods goedheid. Het gevolg was dat zij                 The professor must prove from Scripture that God is
  zich toorn vergaderen als een schat in den dag des toorns         gracious to the reprobate sinner. And he quotes Rom.
  en der openbaring van het rechtvaardig oordeel Gods,              2:4. But this particular Scripture in no wise asserts that
  cf. verse 5." So far-Berkhof. One finds this remarkable           the reprobate sinner is the recipient of God's grace. In
  material on page 27 and 25 of his brochure, bearingfhe            this passage it is stated that the ungodly despises God's
  title, "De Drie  Punten  in  Alle  Deelen  Gereformeerd."         grace, goodness, benevolence. May this text then be
     One who carefully reads the above deliverance cannot quoted?  Indeed,\it  may, reasons Berkhof, for the. pas-
  help but notice  tha&Berkhof  is using the Apostle Paul           sage implies that the reprobate sinner participates in the
  and hence God Himself as a mere puppet compelling the             benevolence of God.  Is Berkhof right? And the answer:
  apostle to say what Berkhof desires that he shall say.            no, indeed. We shall prove presently that Berkhof errs.
  Before making this plain may I ask my readers to bear in          Fact is, that the professor first deposited in the text that
  mind that Berkhof uses his particular Scripture as proof          which he extracted from it. Such tactics when applied
  for the proposition that God is gracious unto the repro-          enables one to make Scripture speak as many languages
  bate sinners. The professor is engaged in quoting Scrip- as there are `heresies.
  ture in defense of Synod's first point. Remember the title,          We shall now prove, by means of the syllogism, that
  "De Drie  Punten  in  Alle   Deeden  Gereformeerd." It is         Berkhof's proposition to the effect that the reprobate sin-
  Berkhof's view therefore, that Rom.  2:4 should be made           ner is a recipient of God's grace is not implied in Rom.
  to apply solely to the reprobate sinner. This. explains           2:4. Berkhof reasons thus: The reprobate wicked  de-.
  why the professor quotes the text in favor of his theory.         spise God's goodness. Conclusion  : The reprobate wicked
     Let us now attend to Berkhof's exposition of  Ram.             participate in God's goodness or grace. What have we
  2:4. The passage reads, "Or despisest thou the riches             here? The minor premise and the conclusion of a syl-
  of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not logism. The unexpressed major premise is: all despisers
  knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repent-          of God's goodness participate in God's grace. Stating the
  r ante ?" Relative to the apostle's question, Berkhof asks:       syllogism in its  completeness  we have: Major premise,
  "Zegt hij  (Paulus) tot hen: gij  (Joden)   vergist  u geheel,    All despisers of God's goodness (or grace) participate in
  want in de zoogenaamde zcgeningen, die gij ontvangt,              God's ,goodness  or grace. Minor premise, The reprobate
  openbaart God niet Zijne liefde, maar Zijn haat jkgens  u;        despises God's goodness (grace). Conclusion : The rep-
  zij zijn wezenlijk vloeken, die op uw hoofd nederdalen?"          robate sinner participates in God's goodness (grace). It
  And Berkhof's answer: "Niets van dit  alles.,  Zijn vraag         should be noticed that the minor premise is the text
  houdt in, dat de  Joden geheel naar waarheid  veronder-           ro  which the professor appeals. Observe, now, that what
  stelden, dat God hen nog altijd zegende. Hij deed hen             the conclusion applies to the reprobate sinner is not
. waarlijk nog altijd  deelen  in den rijkdom  Zijner.goeder-       present in the minor premise, the text, but in the major
  tierenheid en verdraagznamheid en langmoedigheid." premise which reads ;A11 despisers of God's grace partic-
  Let us attend to this. We are confronted here with a              ipate in God's grace. The professor, however, informed
  subtle piece of deception. Berkhof asserts, and correctly         his readers that what he applies to the~reprobate  sinner
  so, that the reprobate Jew, conscious of the fact that he         in his conclusion  is  present in the minor premise, the
  was Abraham's child, supposed himself to be for that very         text, which reads: The reprobate, Jew, despises God's
  reason the favorite of God and a participant of God's grace. Listen to Berkhof once more:  Y?+n  (Paulus)
  grace and benevolence. But Berkhof goes further. In etraag   houdt in, dat de  Joden  g&eel  naar waarheid  veron-
  the above quotation it is maintained that what the Jews           derstelden, dat God hen nog altijd zegende." The pro-
  supposed was actually true. According to the professor,           fessor's assertion is false, untrue. That which the con-
  r`veronderstelden   de  loden geheel  naar waarheid  dat Go'd     clusion applies to the subject, of the minor premise is not
  hen nog altijd zegende,  dat Hij hen nog altijd waarlijk          present in the minor, but in the major premise of the syl-
  deed  deelen  in den rijkdom Zijner  goedertierenheid."           logism. Let me quote from the work of Adam Leroy
 ,That the wicked Jew is a favorite of God and shares in Jones. Says Jones: "The major premise asserts rhat the
  ,His benevolence is- a truth implied in Rom. 2 :4. So the         whole of a certain class is included in another class or
  professor maintains. Says he, "zijn  (Paulus)  vraag              excluded from it, or it assigns a certain predicate to the
  houdt in dat God-hen nog altijd zegende," and this means          whole of a certain subject. The minor premise asserts
  that, according to the professor, the assertion of the            that certain things are included in the first class; and the
  apostle implies that he, too, is of the conviction that the       conclusion applies  ro  these things the assertion which
, Jews,  being children of Abraham, are blessed by God and          was made about the first class." Adam Leroy Jones' "Tn-
  participate in God's grace. We ask: Can it be true, that          ductive  and Deductive Logic,"  p. 126.
  the assertion of the apostle to the effect that the Jew de-          It is evident now, what the professor has been up' to.
  spises the riches of God's goodness implies a conviction          He needed a Scripture to substantiate the proposition
  on the part of Paul, that the reprobate Jew,`being  a child       that rhe reprobate sinner is the recipient of God's grace.
  of Abraham, is a recipient of God's grace? ,Prepostero!us  1      Rom.  214 is quoted. But this passage in no wise asserts


                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R  -                                        229
_-^__-  .._._                                                                                                           __I
that the reprobate sinner is the recipient of God's grace.       geloovigc  `Noetica'  (kenleer), dat is in het punt van  ge-
The professor realizes this. Then he postulates what the         loofsintuitie, de oorzaak voor ons hebben van de  ver-
text is supposed to assert, but does not. The postulation        schillende beschouwingen betreffende de gemeene gratie
is added to the text as a major premise. What the pro-           in `t algemcen, en in `t bijzonder." And again : "Ons men-
fessor is obliged to prove and what the text is supposed         schelijk begrijpen is zoo beperkt, dat zij  slechts iets aan-
to assert the professor simply postulates. Tn this way           gaande de dingen   weten  in den weg van denkcnde erva-
he makes it possible for himself to draw the desired con-        ring, wat de dingen  wezenlijk zijn, wat zc voor God zijn
clusion., Hence, what the professor should prove and             en  - menschelijkerwijze gesproken  - in welke verhou-
what the text is supposed to assert, the professor               ding God  staat tot den mensch in betrekking tot de  be-
postulates and uses as a major premise. This premise is          ginselen van rccht, zonde en genade, enz., weten  we niet
added to the text and reproduced in the  .form  of a con-        volgens redeneering uit onze begrippen ;  weten  we dus
clusion. How scholarly ! Berkhof's sin is known in  logic        alleen in zoover ons God daarover  licht geeft door Zijn
as "begging the question." But this is  n&t all. The             Woord in  verband  met de algemeene openbaring." "De
professor makes no mention of his postulation, of his            Wachter," Vol. 58, No. 6, p. 87. .      .^
major premise. He informs his readers that his repro-             The  .professor  clearly indicates that our  "denk-meth-
duced postulation is present in the minor premise, i. e., ode" is that of the rationalist. We shall not answer this
Z+t  (Paulus)  vraag, so the professor asserted,  houdt  in, charge at this juncture. We have done so in the Stand-
dat de Joden  geheel naar waarheid veronderstelden, dat ard Bearer of March, 1925. WTe refer the readers to our
 God hen nog altijd zegende." How honest!  HOW refutation appearing in that number. Our aim in insert-
,honesf?  My, how amazingly wicked!                              ing in this article the above accusation, is to show how
     We are branded as rationalists because we react upon        that we are denominated rationalists by those who array
God's Word with our reason, because we insist that the           themselves against us; We are rationalists in that we
 Reformed exegete must also make use of the syllogism            apply the syllogism to Scripture, in that  WC approach
when dealing with Scripture, providing his premises. are         any one text with certain prepossessions, in that we draw
 not the product of his imagination  butt the product of         conclusions, in that we react upon the data of Scripture
Scripture. We have been severally taken to task for with our rational minds. But the question cannot be sup-
approaching Scripture with prepossessions, and for dram-         posed whether our opponents are not rationalists in this
 ing conclusions, Listen to Rev. D. H. Muyskens once sense. Indeed, they are. Prof. Berkhof uses the syllogism
 more. He expresses himself as follows: "The question .in dealing with Scripture.  ?Che professor is constantly
. inevitably arises: if the Scriptures speak so clearly of a speaking of his implications. Hence, the professor, too,
 common  grace(   ?), why is it that men brought up on           permits his mind to react upon the data of Scripture.
 these Scriptures, persist in denying it? There can be but       Why then, does the opponent single us out as rational-
. one answer to that question: It is because some prepos-        ists? Our answer: In order to draw the minds of the
session, some prejudicial notion has blinded them to this        people away from the real issue.              ,
 Scriptural truth. Nor is it difficult to discover what this
prepossession is. It crops. out at different places in their        Let me state the real points of difference between
works. It is an idea based on Rom.  9:13, `Jacob have I          Berkhof and us. _ When Berkhof uses the syllogism, he
 loved but Esau have I  hited'  This truth, says Rev.            defrauds his readers. His premise is not taken from
 Muyskens, which no one in our circles denies, has be- Scripture. It is a postulation,  the.  product of his own
 come the point of departure for the brethren. . . . . . , .     mind. This explains why  Berkhof fails to mention his
With this idea in. mind they approach the text which major premise when dealing with Rom. 2 :4. That prem-
 Synod has quoted to substantiate this doctrine. Natur-          ise is a mere postulation. And now, we know why the
 ally on a mind so. prepossessed they make no impression         professor informs his readers that his conclusion is pres-
at all." "The Banner," May 16, 1925. Rev. Zwier wrote ent in the text and not in his major premise. His con-
as follows : "Zegt ge, dat ge dit niet rijmen kunt met die clusion is a restatement of that premise and that premise
 andere  uitspraken  der  Schrift waar -van den  toorn Gods is not found in Scripture.
over alle goddeloosheid en ongerechtigheid der menschen             The exegesis, which Berkhof rendered on Rom.  2~4,
 en van zijn wraak over  alle goddeloozen gesproken substantiates our contention that the first point of Synod
`wordt ? Gelukkig dat behoeft ook niet. God  vraagt niet van     is indeed merely a reproduction of a postulation which
U,  dat gij Hem  kn zijn deugden en zijne  werken   zult  be-    Berkhof and the exponents of the theory of common
 grijpen.        In plaats van te trachten met uwe gebrekkige    grace in general use as a major premise to reason from
 logica te rijmen wat ge nimmer zult kunnen rijmen,  zult        when expositing those Scripture which they are-wont to
ge  beter   doen  met uw kortzichtigheid te erkennen en  te quote in favor of their theory. We invite Prof. Berkhof
komen tot de belijdenis: God is  groat en  wij  begrijpen        or anyone else to point us to a single Scripture whidh
 Hem niet. " "De Wachter," Jan. 1925, No. 1, p. 3.               unequivocally asserts that the reprobate sinner is the
     Concerning us, Prof Schoolland wrote: "Wij, voor recipient of grace. It cannot be done. And now,, the
 ons, zijn vast overtuigd, dat we in betrekking tot de           opponent may silently inquire whether we are able to
 moeilijkheden bij  g&oemde broeders in dat punt van             point to a Scripture which unequivocally asserts that the


  230                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
   reprobate sinner is  not  the recipient of  Go&s  love. We      that the reprobate Jew was participating in the benevo-
  can do so. Scripture abundantly asserts, that God hates          lence of God,  wo;ld  it not also be true that he was a
  the reprobate sinner, which is equal to asserting that God       favorite of God? Would not the conclusion of the  Jew
  does  not love him. I would say prove it, but prate no           be warranted if he were actually the recipient of God's
  more of implications. Prof. Berkhof has completely shat-         grace as Berkhof claims? Most assuredly. Not so,
  tered our faith in the  .implications  of the exponents of       according to the professor. He avers that the reprobate
  common grace.                             ,                      Jew is the recipient of  .God's favor, but that this same
      Are we guilty of the things of which we accused Eerk-        Jew is not God's favorite. In other words, the reprobate
  hof? We have reasons to believe we are not. Have we              Jew is favored by God, yet he is not God's favorite. This
  not implored the opponent repeatedly to point out to             bombast only goes to show, that Berkhof does not under-
                                                             US
  our error? And the best they can do is to prate of im-           stand the text. According to  Dr. Beets, however, the
                                                                   professor produced a grand piece of work, when he wrote
  plications, which prove to be postulations when sub-
 mitted to a logical test. Let me add that our premises            this brochure.
  are no postulations but general truths from God's Word.              Further, the professor instructs his readers that God
  Supplied with these truths we are wont to approach any           caused the reprobate Jew to participate in his goodness,
  one text of Scripture. Our conclusions are, therefore, benevolence or grace for the purpose of leading them to *
  no reproductions of certain postulations which we use as         repentance. Says the professor: "Hij (God) deed hen
  major premises to reason from when expositing God's              (the reprobate Jews) waarlijk nog altijd  deelen  in den
  Word. We are strictly adhering to Reformed exegetical            rijkdom zijner goedertierenheid.    Maar zij (the Jews)
  methods. "Schrift met Schrift verklaren" is our motto.           vergisten  zich geheel in de verklaring van dit feit.  Die
".. Hence, our conclusions are warranted. And because our          verklaring moet gezocht worden  in bet doel, dat God met
  premises ark taken from God's Word, we are not ashamed           deze openbaringen zijner liefde beoogde. En wat was
  of them. There is no need of our keeping silent concern-         dat doe1  ? Om de goddelooze Joden dieper  in het verderf
  ing them when expositing Scripture. There is no reason           te storten? Neen, maar om hen tot bekeering te leiden."'
  in the world why we should inform our readers that a             At the same time the professor maintains, that rhe Jews
certain conclusion is implied in a certain text when in            erred when they concluded that God would not punish
  reality it is present in a general principle of which we         them for their wickedness. Listen to Berkhof:  "Zij (the
  took account when expositing the text. Because, I repeat.        Jews) besloten uit de zegeningen, die zij dagelijks  om-
  our premises are taken from God's Word.                          vingen, dat God zeer  goed  met hen ingenomen was  ais
      I imagine that this bit of self-commendation will make       zonen Abrahams. Zoo  goed zelfs,  da  Hij  hunne  godde-
  the opponent smile to put it lightly. He may smile if he         loosheid   niet strafte. Zij vormden een te  lage gedachte
  likes, we have no objections. But let him get to work            van de goedertierenheid Gods." According to Berkhof
  and prove that we are misrepresenting ourselves.                 then, God was punishing the reprobate Jew for his sins.
                                                                   Indeed, being a reprobate God purposed to eternally
      The professor `not only makes use of the syllogism in        punish him. It is also asserted by the professor that
  the attempt to make it appear that his proposition has a         God purposed to lead  the reprobate Jew to repentance.
  Scriptural basis, he also presses into service the ludicrous     Now, a purpose on the part of God to lead to repentance
  and the nonsensical. To begin with, the professor mis-           must imply a purpose to forgive. Leading to'repentance
  represents Paul. According to the professor the apostle          implies Divine pardon. Hence,  ir is the purpose of God
i asserts that the reprobate Jews participate in the benevol-      to punish and to pardon that reprobate. In respect to
  ence, forebearance and longsuffering of God. Says  Berk-         him, God has a two-fold purpose. Only he who reasons
  hof: "De apostel  richt  zich hier tot de goddelooze  Joden,     from  Pelagian  tenets will say this. More of this pres- .
  die een gansch verkeerde conclusie  trokken uit de goeder-       ently.
  tierenheid, die God hen bewees." And again:  "Niets van
  dat  alles.    Zijn  (Paulus) vraag houdt  ,in, dat de  Joden       In the attempt to prove his point rhe professor not
  geheel voor waarheid veronderstelden, dat  C&d hen nog only presses into service the syllogism and the non-
  altijd zegende. Hij deed hen waarlijk nog altijd  deelen         sensical, he goes further and resorts to a distortion of
  in den rijkdom zijner goedertierenheid,  verdraagzaam-           Paul's words, making Paul say things which repudiated
  heid en lankmoedigheid." The above assertion on the              much, if not all, of what the apostle ever taught. Let us
  part of Berkhofipdicates that he does not begin to under-        show what we mean. Asks the professor: "En hoe  cor-
  stand the text. Having asserted that the reprobate Jews          rigeert de apostel  hunne  gedachte?" The professor
  were participating in the benevolence and forebearance           then will tell what the apostle has to say to the proud
  of God, the professor goes on to instruct his readers, that      Jew. What the professor gives is sheer nonsense. The
  the Jews erred when from the fact that they were partic-         professor has it rhat the Jews were actually participating
  iparing  in the benevolence of God they concluded that           in the lovingkindness of God. And then he finds fault
  they were God's favorites as sons of Abraham. Says the           with the Jews for concluding that God was `benefiting
  professor: `Zij vormden een lage gedachte van de  goe-           them. Their conclusion, the professor means to say, was
  dertierenheid Gods." But now we ask, if it were true             unwarranted.      God was not doing them well.  He was


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                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R  0  /                                        231
                                           -._-.- ..--                                                          -    -         -

not favoring them. But we ask, if these Jews were  the          professor cannot even do justice to Calvin and Hodge.
recipients of God's  goo'dness,  did it not follow that God     As if their exposition actually taught that God  mani-
was doing them well?                                            -fested  His  loving.kindness unto the reprobate sinner for
   According to the professor the premise from which             the purpose of leading him to repentance.
the Jew was reasoning is: "We are the recipients of               But most astonishing of all is, that the prbfessor
God's goodness. His conclusion: God is doing us well."          makes the apostle Paul speak like a full fledged Pelagian.
What nonsense. Let us permit Paul to state the premise          Read again Berkhof's exegesis on Rom. 2 :4, and be con-
from which the Jew was reasoning. It is this: "Behold           vinced how that, according to the professor, the apostle
thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest       Paul taught that God revealed His loving kindness unto
they boast of God," Rom.  2:16. What then, according to         the reprobate for the purpose of leading him unto repent-
Paul, was the boast of rhe Jews? It was this: We are            ance and then failed. Let me quote Berkhof once more:
Jews, we are sons of Abraham. What was the false prem-          "Zijn  (Paulus) vraag houdt in, dat de Joden  geheel naar
ise from which they were reasoning? It was this: All            waarheid veronderstelden, dat God hen nqg nltijd zegende.
sons of Abraham are blessed, are favored by God, are the        Maar zij (de  Joden)  vergisten  zich geheel in de  verkla-
recipients of  &d's goodness. What did they  concIu,de?         ring van dat feit. Die verklaring  meet  gezocht  worden
We, being sons of Abraham, are blessed. ,But their con-         in het doel, dat God met deze openbaring zijner liefde
clusion was false, as they were reasoning from  a false         beoogde. En wat was dat doel? Om hen (the reprobate
premise. And the apostle aims to disillusion the wicked         Jew) tot bekeering te leiden. De Heere hoopte kolen
Jews. He does so in no uncertain terms when he says:            vuurs op het hoofd der  goddeloozen. Doch in het geval
"But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest         der Joden  beantwoordde het resultaat niet aan de bedoe-
up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and rev-         ling. Zij verhardden zichzelf tegen deze openbaring van
elation of the righteous judgment of God; who will              Gods goedheid." By the way, does not God check sin?
render to every man according to his deeds," mm. 5 :6, 7.       "Het gevolg was, dat zij'zich  toorn vergaderden  als een
This utterance `of the apostle can be understood  onfy in       Schat in den dag des toorns, en dcr openbaring van het
the light of the false conclusion of the wicked Jews.           rechtvaardig obrdeel Gods." This, according to Berkhof,
   According to Rerkhof the wicked Jew correctly. con-          is the solution, the interpretation of Rom.  2:4.
cluded that he participated in God's benevolence,  long-            According to Paul, so Berkhof has it, God purposes
suffering, grace . According to Paul the reprobate Jew          to save the repr-obate,  yet He fails. Paul was a man who
was deceiving himself. According to Berkhof the apostle         loathed and fought Pelagianism with all the energy that
announces to the wicked Jew that he participates in             was his. What does the apostle actually assert in Rom,
God's benevolence, long-suffering, grace, love. In reality,     2:4? Or despiseth thou the riches of His goodness and
however, the apostle informs the Jew reprobate that he          forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing the goodness
is treasuring up unto himself wrath against the day of          of God leadeth thee to repentance? The text, it should
judgment. Berkhof made himself guilty of a miserable            be noticed, makes no mention of the purpose of God. The
and unexcusable distortion  of' Paul's words.       Further,    apostle states plain facts. They are : "Thou despiseth the
the professor, as I said, will tell us how Paul corrected       riches of His goodness," and "Thou dost not know that
the erring Jew. `<En hoe corrigeert de apostel hun  ge-         the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." I repeat. .
dachte nu?" asks Berkhof. Yet do we look in vain for            Paul makes no mention of God's purpose here. He is
Paul's correction or answer.  Instead,..of  keeping his         stating facts. But Berkhof for a `very definite reason
promise the professor asserts that the question of Paul         injected purpose in the text. And it is self-evident why
implies that the reprobate Jews were sharing in God's           he did so. He cannot use the text as it came from the
benevolence. That these same Jews were misconstruing            lips or pen of Paul. It states that the goodness of God
the benevolence of God. That God manifested his loving-         leads the despiser of that goodness to repentance.  Thjs,
kindness unto the reprobate Jews for the purpose of lead-       to be sure, does not apply  `to the reprobate. Berkhof
ing them to repentance. Thereupon he introduces Cal- ~ realizes this. Yet he is bent on making the entire text
vin and Hodge. And the professor virtually  let these apply. to. the reprobate. To make this possible he, the
expositors say, that God manifested His loving kindness         professor, must mutilate Paul's utterance. So he does.
unto the reprobate Jews for the purpose of softening by The professor inserts into the text the  false  proposition
His kindness their perverseness for the purpose of leading      that it is the purpose of God to lead the reprobate unto
them to forsake their sins. In vain do we look for Paul's       repentance and the postulation that the reprobate sinner
answer.                                                         participates in the goodness and the benevolence of God.
   What shall we say to these things? In the first place        And thus the professor &epared for himself a textwhich
this: The path of the professor's reasoning is about as         he could quote in defense of his lie, namely, the proposi-
straight as the ruts of a muddy country road in spring          tion that the reprobate wicked is the recipient of God's
time when the frost is drawing out of the ground. Only          grace. How horrible !
the rut leads to somewhere, the path of the professor's             Someone may ask whether I,  my@ am able to give
reasoning leads nowhere. In the second place this: The          a satisfactory explanation of the text . To this I reply
                                                                                                   r


 232                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                               ____-  _____--~  --.--.                                                                 ~-
                  .._
 that it makes no difference whether I can or not as far as       (Gods wil des bcsluits of des. welbehagens) en hiefden
 the matter at hand is concerned. The issue confronting          deze voor den eigenlijkcn, wezenlijken wil Gods; die wil
 us is whether God's Word may be mutilated and dis-              Gods gaat altijd door,  bereikt steeds  xijn  doel, (according
 torted and that in defense of a postulation. It is a hidious     to Berkhof, bereikt die wil Gods juist niet  zijn  doe&  see
 sin to  ldo so.  B&hoi,  impelled by a crave to save his        above) en is eeuwig en onvcranderlijk." Bavinck, Dog.
 theory, committed this sin.                                     Vol. II,  p0  248.      According to Bavinck, Berkhof is
    The exegesis which the professor rendered on Rom.            Roomsch, Luthersch, Remonstrantsch, etc.
 2:4, constitutes a paragraph loaded to its capacity with            And now a word to you, Rev. G. Hoeksema, Rev.  II.
 absurd, distorted and corrupt assertions. That paragraph        J. Kuiper, Dr.  C. Bouma, et al. Today you are posing as
 is like unto the whited sepulchres to which Christ com-         faithful watchers on Zion's walls, as champions of the
 pares the hypocrites. These sepulchres, says  .Christ, in-      truth entrusted unto the saints. It is well. Only show
 deed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of           now, by taking hold of Prof. Berkhof, that  .you  are sin-
 dead men's bones, and of  all~uncleamiess.  Even so that        cere. Berkhof is fructifying the souls of men with
 paragraph also outwardly appears righteous unto men,            poisonous ideas. Berkhof is a dangerous man. You men,
 (among others, to Dr. Beets and Rev. Zwier) but within          show that the interests of the church, of the school, which
 it is full of hypocrisy and iniquity. And this paragraph        you claim to love, lie close to your heart. Do so by at-
 is no worse than the composition from which this para- tending to your duty in respect to Berkhof. Dr. Beets,
graph was taken. I refer to the professor's brochure.            be sure and do all within your power to have the chair
 And what applies to the brochure applies to the articles        of dogmatics assigned to Prof. Berkhof. The chair  r-e-
 which appeared in the "Reformed Herald."                        quires a good man.
                                                                    But we know, you men will do nothing. For, if you
    Berkhof's exposition of  Ram.   2:4 contains clear-cut       should attack Berkhof, you must take hold of yourself.
statements of his views concerning God. According to             His views are your views. And now your motto happens
Berkhof God purposes to lead the reprobate unto repent-          to be, safety first.
ance. Says Berkhof : "Die verklaring moet gezocht wor-              In conclusion a word about the text.  Ram.   2:4 has
den in het doel, dat God met deze openbaring zijner lief-        baffled many a commentator. The text contains a prob-
de beoogde. En wat was dat doel? Om hen (de  Joden)              lem. It states that there are those who despise God's
tot bekeering  te  leiden."      The reprobate, however, says    goodness. Paul was also thinking of the reprobate when
..Berkhof, resists God and hardens his heart thereby up-         he wrote this. Now, the passage also asserts that the
setting God's plans and frustrating His designs. This            despisers of God's goodness arc led to. repentance." by
is Berkhof's view. Says Berklrof  : "De Heere hoopt kolen that goodness. How can the despiser of Gtid's goodness
vuurs op het hoofd der goddelozen. Doch in het  geval, be led to repentance if he be a reprobate. This cannot
der  Joden  beantwoordt het resultaat niet  aan de  bedoe-       be. Should the text then be made to apply to the elect?
ling." God, therefore, fails in His original purpose. Thus       But the surroundings of the text plainly show, that Paul
the reprobate is obstinate. God can do nothing with him.         is addressing the reprobate Jew. There is a problem
And the conduct of the reprobate wicked greatly exas-            here, you see. Synod did not see the problem. Berkhof
perates the defeated God. In his rage He, God, now de-           ignored the difficulty. This. is inexcusable in one who
cides to destroy that sinner: This is indeed the profes-         claims to be an exegete.
sor's view. Listen to him: "Het gevolg was dat zij  zich
toorn vergaderden als een schat in den dag des toorns en          Recently we happened upon a commentator whose
der openbaring van het rechtvaardig oordeel Gods.? Dr.           exposition of Rom.  2:4 is the only tenable one.  + That          I
Beets, Rev. Zwier, Rev. Hoeksema, Prof. Volbeda, et al.          commentator is Rev. H. Danhof, one of  the editors of
if that is not Pelagianism, please, what is it?                  The Standard Bearer. The exegesis, which he renders
                                                                 on this Scripture, reads as follows: "Het volk Israel is
   Let me quote Bavinck: "Het verschil komt hierop               geestelijk  tweezrlei.   Naar,  zijn geestelijke kern is het           t
neer, dat de Roomschen, Lutherschen,  Remonstranten- het uitverkoren volk Gods ; naar zijn uitwendige bolster
enz., uitgaan van de voluntas signi (Gods wil des bevels) :      is het verworpen. Nu richt zich de goedertierenheid. Gods
deze is de eigenlijke wil, daarin bestaande, dat God de          op dat trolk Israel in zijn historisch-concreet bestaan, .en
zonde niet wil, maar alleen wil toelaten, dat Hij aller          leidt het naar zijne geestelijke kern tot bekeering en vol-
zaligheid wil, aan allen de genade aanbiedt, enz.; (this is      komene saligheid; tcrwijl dat volk naar zijn verworpen
Berkhof's view also, see above) en als de  men&h  dan            bolster, uit het beginsel der zonde daartegen  reageeren-
beslist heeft,  schikt God  zich daarnaar, bepaalt Hij wat       de, zich eenen schat van toorn vergadert," The Standard
Hij wil, de zaligheid van wie gelooft, het verderf van wie       Bearer, p. 36, October 192.5. According to Danhof's  -'
niet gelooft (Berkhof's view also, see above). De voluntas       exposition the apostle is addressing the nation. This is
consequens  volgt op de beslissing van den mensch, en is         in harmony with the surroundings of the text. The term
niet de eigenlijke, wezenlijke wil Gods, maar de  hande-         Jew  of the second chapter must not be made to apply to
ling Gods naar aanleiding van het gedrag van den                 an individual but to the Jewish nation versus the gentile
mensch. (Be&h f'
                  o s view also, see above.) Daarentegen         world.
gingen  de Gereformeerden  uit van de voluntas beneplaciti                                                        G.  M.  0.


                                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   `BEAR'ER                                                                        233
_ -_-.__--  -.-.. - -."-_-."...".."  "-.             ------..."... ._...-. --" ..^._ _                   -..-----  ..--.... - 111111 -...... - _..... ".---__

                SNOW SOFT, BUT SOAKING                                                                         BOEK-RECENSIE

                           "Passionate outcries do only frighten easy                         Ons werd ter'recensie toegezonden een brochure van
                         and over-credulous souls, and that only for
                         the present; proofs and arguments do a                           de hand van  J.  J. Van der Schuit, Docent  aan de  Theo-
                         great deal more good.  Snow  that falleth                        logische School te Apeldoorn, Nederland, getiteld  : "Dr.
                         soft soaketh deep. In the tempest Christ
                         slept.    When passion is up, true zeal  is                      A. Kuyper en de Sluimerende Wedergeboorte."
                         usually asleep."                      Manton.                        In  zijn  Wowd Pooraf  zegt de schrijver,  dat deze bro-
                                                                                          chure haar  directe   aanleiding  had  "in het geschrijf van
    How gently fall the snowflakes,. but how surely they                                  Ds. Schilder in De Reform+& en in zijn brochure: "Dr. A.
penetrate into the ground; a driving rain hath not half                                   Kuyper en het Neo-Calvinisme te Apeldoorn  veroordeeld?
such efficacy ! The voice of the snowflakes is not heard,                                 (De rectorale rede van  Dot. Van der Schuit).'  "
but their influence is felt. Proofs from Scripture, win-
somely put, carry all before them, because Jesus loves                                        Docent Van der Schuit had in die rectorale  recle:  De
to reach men's minds by such means, and not by wrath                                      Religieure  Psycholo&e  en de  Bekeeritzg,   eenigen tijd  gele-
and fury.                                                                                 den uitgesproken en tevens gepubliceerd, Kuyper's leer
                                                                                          der dormante  of sluimerende wedergeboorte becritiseerd.
   This is a word  io hasty disputants. Violent words                                     Dit werd door  Ds.  K. Schilder in eene artikelenreeks in
appear to them to be forcible, but. they  -are not. Hard                                  De  Refwmatie,   waarvan hij mederedacteur is, en in eene
arguments are best couched in soft language; the force                                    afzonderlijke brochure aangemerkt  als  polemiek tegen de
of the lightning is not increased by the thunder. Wrath                                   Gercformee-rde   Kerken.  Door deze "Christelijke  Gerefor-
weakens reason, but' gentleness gives double force to                                     meerde stem" van Docent Van der Schuit, meent Schil-
arguments. Also, we too often forget this, and call in                                    der, werd er "van Christelijk-Gereformeerde zijde bij een
our evil passions to aid our holy principles. The Christ                                  zeer officieele gelegenheid een  kloof gegraven tusschen
within us sleeps, and the devil is wide awake. It is to                                   Gereformeerd (Kuyperiaansch, Neo-Calvinistisch) en
be feared that Protestantism has been rather hindered                                     Christelijk-Gereformeerd."
than furthered by the ferocity with which some have                                          Hiertegen verzet  zich Docent Van der Schuit  aller-
maintained it.                                                                            eerst in zijne jongste brochure. Zijne-rectoralerede was
                                                                                          geen strijdmiddel tegen de  Gereformeerde  Kerken. Het  I
   Our present controversies are some of them ,essential                                  gaat  in die rede, volgens Van der Schuit,  "niet over de
to fidelity ; but it will be well if we all remember to be                                veronderstelde wedergcboorte,`" en zelfs niet "over het
faithful to truth we need not be wrathful toward oppo-                                    zaa,d  der wedergeboorte in  abstracto";  maar  "alleen  en
nents. Truth and charity are of the same heavenly fam-                                    uitsluitend over Dr.  KuypeE's  leer der  dormante   weder-
ily, and. are the lovliest when they walk hand in hand.                                   geboorte, of gelijk Kuyper schrijft, E. Voto, III,  40.5,
It has happened that some have been so charitable that                                    `dat de nieuwe mensch den slaap der onbewusten slaapt.' "
they would not lift a finger to save truth's life lest they                               `Die leer nu, zoo betoogt Van der Schuit, is @et de offici-
should wound one of another opinion. This is a sad                                        eele leer der Gereformeerde Kerken; maar eene theorie
practical error. But we shall not mend matters if we                                      van Dr. A. Kuyper. Critiek op dit bepaalde punt van
fight truth's battles so savagely that we hurl shot and                                   Kuypcr  &at daarom dan ook geenszins gelijk met een
shell upon the abode of love.
                  i.                                                                      aanval   op de Gereformeerde Kerken.  "Dat  i'k deze leer
                                                    Spurgeon,                             van Dr. Kuyper ter sprake heb gebracht," zegt hij, "vindt
                           Illustrations and Meditations, 1883.                           zijn oorzaak hoegenaamd niet in onze verhouding tegen-
                                                                                          over de Geref. Kerken, maar  ligt  geheel in de lijn van
                                                                                          het onderwerp,  dat.  rnij  bezig  hield."  "De Religieusc
                                                                                          Psychologie"  werkt sterk met  dat  begrip  van het  "onbe-
                                                                                          wuste," en daarom  bracht  hij in dit  verband  ook de  op-
                                                                                          vatting van Kuyper ter sprake, "die in zijn leer van
                        ANNOUNCEMENT                                                      wedergeboorte en bekeering sterk werkt met het  p?lbe-
          The  Protesting Christian Reformed                                              cuuste  en het  bewuste."  Doch wie Kuyper becritiseert, en
           Church at Kalamazoo will dedicate                                              dan nog  welop een bepaald punt, voert nog geen  pole-
          its new Church Building on May 5,                                               miek  tegen de Gereformeerde Kerken. "Of men moet tot
           1926  D. V.                                                                    de  conclusie komen, dat al wat Dr. Kuyper betoogd en
                                                                                         geleerd  heeft, tevens de leer der Gereformeerde Kerken
          Meetings will be held at  2 and                                                is." Die  conclusie is tot  -nag toe  echter door niemand
          7: 30 P. M. A good program has                                                 aanvaard.
          been arranged. Good speaking and
          singing.                 Program Co mm ittee                              -        Vervolgens wijdt de schrijver een achttal bladzijden
                                                                                         aan "de Kuyperiaansche richting." Dr. Kuyper heeft, vol-
                                                                                         gens hem, "een  richting   in de theologische wetenschap
                                                                                         gebracht." En hij  acht het  we1 wat  naief,"  wanneer  be-


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                                                                                                 When high in the deep heavens glides the moon,
                      M E D I T A T I O N                                                    flooding the landscape with her kindly pale light,  dnub-
                                                                                             ing the woods with a thousand splotches of twinkling
                                                                                             silver, and splashing a xparkling  path across the rippled
                                  MOONLIGHT-REVERIES                                         lake. . . .                                         . . .
                                                                                                 When hll is at rest.. . .
                                        And God made  the two great lights . . . .
                                      and the lesser light to rule the night.                    And the creature just waits for the morning. . . .
                                                                        ----Gen.  1 : 16.        %I.orv  beautifu1  is then the night!
                                        And God said, . . . . . and let them be for
                                      signs.                            -&en. I : 14.
                             4




               llow marvelous  in  its beauty is the night!                                      Silent speech the queen of the night mingles with
               How full of speech and `utterance  of knowledge to                            the silvery beams she pours forth into the darkness:
       him who in God's light sees the light!                                                    For God said:  Let'them  be for signs.
               How comforting is its. instruction for the pilgrim                             . Not only `to rule the day is the sun'sei in the heavens,
       child of God, passing thru a night of sin and suffering                               and not only as queen .of the night rides- the moon along
       and death on to the eternal morning in God's everlasting                              her path in the firmament, and not simply to serve as
I.     tabernac1.e  ! .                                                                      lights in the darkness  dd the stars sparkle like angel's
               J do not mean the dark %xd wild and dreadful night,                           jewelry in the darkened sky.
            when the furious tempest rages and the wild-wind howls                               For God  sai$ that  they should also be for- signs.
            and the storm-swept waves. roar and the fiercely driven
       clouds,  -like panic-stricken demons chase one another                                    And as signs they speak. For "the  heaiens  declare
                                                                                             thk glory of God and the firmament sheweth His  handi-'
            thru the dark sky; when the floods rush  agitatedly  and                         work.
            the  sea groans mournfully and the woods moan plain-                                            Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto
                                                                                             night showeth knowledge.
       tively and all creation wails . . . .                                                                                               There is no speech nor  lan-
                                                                                             gutige   ,where  thei;.voice is not heard!"
               In such a night I fear.. . .                                                      They testify .in their own realm. of things earthly and
               It is the night of terror.
               It fills the heart with dreadful apprehension  of                             temporal. But they also witness of things heavenly and
                                                                                             eteinal. For the Lord God, whose counsel shall stand
            approaching judgment  f it speaks of creation's bondage                          and whp accompljshes  all His good pleasure, who knows
            iticorruption,  of evil and pain, of suffering and grief.  of                    and declares all things from the beginning, wrote as with
            the creature as it  tore itself loose from the  he'art of its                    His finger in all this symbol-language of creation not
            Creator and is now restlessly driven about, seeking peace                        only of  the glory of His name, the power of His might
            and  finding,none; terror-stricken and chased as by an .and the unsearchable riches of His wisdom, but also of
       overpowering fear; of wrath revealed from heaven  and                                 the wonder of T&s counsel and rhe glory of His Kingdom
            impending destruction. . . .                                                     and the beauty of His covenant.
               I mean the still and deep night. . . .
               The night of profound peace.                 I                                    And because of this, the  eafthlp  is the image of the
               When all creation slumbers.. . .                                              heavenly, in the temporal there is a picture of the eternal,
                When just'  a mere breath of  a breeze breathes thru                         the natural is symbol of the spiritual.
            the still woods. . . .                                                               True, a silent speech they utter.
               When only a slightly dimpling ripple runs playfully                               Their language will never be truly understood by the
      over  the surface of the lake. . . .
      ^_                                                                                     ntitural  man, whose sphere is the earthly in separation
                                                                                                                                     j.


 2 4 2                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R '

, from the heavenly, who loves the darkness rather than           for Christ's sake and  persec_ution  is their lot in  the
 the light, who despises  Gvd's Word and never under-             world.. . .
 stood that also this light, shining from all the works of             And presently.. . .
 God's hands, is to be seen only in God's light.                       The night of death yawns threateningly from the dark
          But speech of God it is nevertheless, wonderful to      and dreary prison of the grave.. . .
 him who has eyes to see and ears to hear.. . .                        How dreadful would seem that night!
          For `signs they are.                                         Has rhe Sun of light.and life and joy disappeared for-
     The greater light by day and the lesser light by night.      ever when it sank from view in Paradise the First? Has
                                                                  its glory been extinguished never to appear again ?
     And every night the queen of the heavens pours  her               God forbid !
 silvery speech into  the silent darkness.                            The moon in the heavens whispers into the  silent night '
     Shewing knowledge!                                           of nature, that the sun is  Sri11  there though for the mo-
                                                                  ment you see it not.. . .                    .
          & sign in the  darkness is (the moon in the heavens.        The earthy is image of the heavenly.
     Smiling kindly she whispers: "Fear not, for the dark-             For the Sun of Life is  ,still there even though with
 ness of the night is but a passing shadow  !"                    sadness of heart you remember irs setting in Eden's
     For is not her mellow light a reflection of the glory        Garden.
 of the sun? What does the moon do but catch some of                  Pilgrim, your night of sin and guilt and sorrow and
 the sun's golden glory, change it into her own silver            grief, of reproach and shame and tribulation is but for a
 beauty, and pour it into the night? Does  she?  then, not        while. . . .     .-  -
 witness, that even though the sun sank into oblivion                 A passing shadow!              -.,
 below the western horizon, and though its glad rays do               Fear not!        0, pilgrim `of the night, for your light
 not for the moment brighten my path, yet its glory still         shines. There is a silvery path across your night,  re-
 exists and its brightness is not diminished?. . . .              elected  from the Sun of Righteousness.. . .
                                                                      Ir  shines still, though you see it not.
     When the sun does not shine on my earthly habita-                Ee not afraid!
 tion and the darkness of night is spread over my dwelling,
 from the high heavens the queen of the night pours forth
 the testimony: "The golden ruler of  the day still is and            How beautiful is the moonlit night!
 shines where I am !                                                  For a sign is the moon.
                                                                      Harbinger  .of the coming morning!
     And she thus witnesses that the night is but a                   Does not she witness that the sun, though disappeared
 shadow.. . .                                                     and hid from view in the present night, will rise again
     Not like that first horrible darkness is the night,          with new glory and brighter gold and break the morning
 when the earth was still waste and void and darkness             of a new day thru the darkness of the eastern sky pres-
 was upon the face of the deep. For, then there was no            ently?. . . .
 light in all the awful void of chaos.                                Does not her presence reconcile me with and comfort
     But a mere shadow of turning, a shadow in the  vex-?         me in the night, when she assures me of rhe coming
 midst of a flood of light poured into all the wide expanse       dawn?
 of the  uni.verse.                                                   Speech from the night for you, pilgrim to Zion !
     A beautiful picture this of the path of God's children           Oh,`surely,  the night in nature is  aiso  symbol of an-
 in the world:                                                    other night, where the light shall shine nevermore and
     For pilgrims thru the night are the children of God,         the sun shall never rise, the night of everlasting sorrow
 the sojourners to Zion, the seekers of the City of God.          and pain and darkness and moaning and wailing and
     And, how dark the night can seem thru which they             gnashing of teeth. The fierce night, full of tempest and
 pass on to the light eternal! How dark often the night           disturbincc, full of tnoaning and `groaning, the night
of sin,  when  floods of guilt and iniquity roll over our         when the sun itself is darkened and the moon appears
soul and it seems as if we could never be delivered from          as blood and the very stars drop out of the deep of
so great a death! What awful night of corruption there            heaven, that night is a sign and symbol of the everlasting
still seems to be in the dark recesses of our heart. when         night prepared for those that love the darkness rather
ever new and hitherto unknown darknesses and shadows              than light because their works are evil.. . .
of death and pollution seem to arise from that hidden                 Fierce and full of terror can be the night of nature. . . .
source! What night of pain and suffering and agony of                 Fiercer and more terrible will be that everlasting
body and soul is rhe lot of God's pilgrim-children when           night of the wrath of God!                                         -..
it is with them as with Asaph of old and their chastise-              But such is not the night of Zion's pilgrim.
ment is there every morning. What darkness of sorrow                  His is the moonlit night.
and grief often overwhelms the soul! What night of                    And that night speaks of the coming morning.
reproach and shame, of cruel mockery and enmity they                  For the queen of the night  witn'esses  of the approach
pass  thru when the enemy raves and furiously attacks             of the bridegroom of the, morning.


 .       .                                                                                          .          -.  q-y  I  ,vi-
                           _.     .          `.                                                                        ._-
         "i.
                                                                                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D .   BEARER                                                   -.                    243
                                                                                                                                                                                                     -I_

                                                   The Sun.of life and joy and righteousness set, indeed,                                        "X       CONFLICT ONVERMIJDELIJK
                                  in the garden of Eden. And darkness spread. Darkness
                                  of sin and guilt and sorrow and grief and pain and afXic-                                                       Uit ons vorig artikel: "Het standpunt van Dr.  J. G.
                                  tion.                                                                                                       Gielkerken," werd. ons duidelijk, dat, althans naar de
                                                   And for a time we wander thru the darkness,' longing .voorstelling van de Redactie van  roord  en  Geest,   de
                                  for the light-of day.                                                                                      "Gereformeerden in Nederland  zich op  tweesrlei  wijze
                                                   But the morning is approaching.                       ,.                                   trachten  te kwijten van hunne universeele  cultuur-task.
                                                   For  ,the Sun of righteousness is there.  ' He once                                        Daarom, zeiden we, ken het conflict tusschen Geelkerken
                                  appeared.  ;He was humiliated. He. suffered. He died.' en de Gereformeerde  Kerken van  ,Nederland  niet  uitblij-
*  -.                             He disappeared' from view in the awful darkness of His                                                      ven. De botsing'moest komen. Dit beloofden we  nag
                                  cross. But He appeared again, glorious, full of life and                                                    nader.  te  zullen  aantoonen.  Doen we  zulks thans door
                                  grace ; and again He left and disappeared from view. For                                                    aanhalingen  uit Dr. Geelkeiken's hoofdartikel :  "Confes-
                .                 a while we see Him not. But He left  `us His sure Word                                                      sionalisme," voorkomende in  Wood. en  Gent,  6  - 27
                                                                                                                                                                                                         i
                                  and promise, His light in the night. And-it assures us                                                      Nov, 192.5 :.                                   .
                                  in the midst of night that presently the Sun of righteous-                                                     "Het is naar aanleiding van de quaestie-Geelkerken,
                                  ness shall rise once more, in unknown glory and beauty;                                                     dat ik iets  zeggen   wil over het doodelijk kwaad, dat  als
                                  never to set again, to dissipate all the clouds and shadows                                                 opschrift boven deze verhandeling  staat: over  confes-
                                  of suffering and grief,  .of sin and corruption and death,                                                  sionalisme.
                                  and to lighten our day with `the light of God in His eternal                                                   "Naar mijne overtuiging tech, gaat  het in deze quaes-
                                  tabernacle. . . .                                                                                          tie niet, gelijk men wil  beweren,~eenerzijds  over de  aan-
                                                   Fear not, 0, pilgrim !                                                                     randing,   anderiijds over handhaving van  a het  Schrifr-
                                                   Yours is the beauty of the moonlit night!                                                 gezag, maar is hier in `t spel de stille vodrtwoekering van
                                                   The night of  `your affliction. is but for a moment, a                                    een kwaad, dat ik niet beter dan met den bovengenoem-
                                  passing shadow.                                                                                             den naam weet  aan  te duiden en  waartegen  ik mij  ge-
                                                   The morning comes! The day eternal, full of life and                                       drongen  gevoel een waarschuwend woord te spreken.
                                  light and joy and covenant-friendship.                                                                :        "Ik ben mij bewust, dat het een gewaagde  onderne-
                                                   For there shall  bs no night there.                                                        ming is.
                                                   Be of good cheer!          .  .-    -a                                                     1 "Vooreerst is her moeilijk 6m zulk een gecompliceerd
                                                   March on ! .                                                                              verschijnsel als het confessionalisme te ontleden. Ik.`weet
                                                                                                                    H .   H .                 vooruit dat ik daarin slechts gebrekkig slagen zal. Maar
                                                                                                                                             ten tweede wil ik over dit verschijnsel spreken niet in het
                                                                                                                                             afgetrokkene, maar in  verband  met  onzen   eigen tijd.
                                                                   DE ZWARTE PLEK-                             r                                 "Hoe  noodzakefjk   tech is het, om zijn eigen tijd te
                                                                                                                                             onder&heiden,  maar ook hoe moeilijk.                 Hoe moeilijk
                                                        En moet dat nu altoos zoo blijven, Heer,                                             reeds om critisch te staan tegenover zichzelf;  nag  moei-
                                                             tot  aan  mijner  dagen end,  -                                       A         lijker om critisch te staan tegenover zijn eigen tijd; het
                                                        die  ,zwarte   plek,  diep in mijn hart,                                             moeilijkst om critisch te staan tegenover zijn eigen kring.
                                                             die Gij, en  .Gij  alleen,  kent?                                                En  tech - hoe noodzakelijk.
                                                                                                                                                 "Wanr wat baat her ons, of wij al groote  figuren   uit*
                     .                                  Mijn leven lijkt zoo  vlekkelods                                                      de kerkgeschiedenis als  .Luther en Calvijn, die op een
                                                             n a a r   d'  uiterlijken.schijn;                                               grooten afstand van ons staan in het perspectief der his-
                                                        niaar  diep daarbinnen, daar is het boos  '                                          torie,   als waarheidsgetuigen  weten  te eeren, indien  wij
                                  .                          en van nature onrein.                             .                             den tijd waarin wij leven, niet  weten te onderscheiden?
                                                                                                                                             Ook wij, wij die thans  Ieven,   zullen   eenmaal  staan  VOO~
                                                        We1   gaf  .ik  `dat  heeIe harte  aan U                                             den rechterstoel van  Christus  en daarom is het noodig,
                                        1                    en keerdet Gij het om,                                                          dat wij nu,  nu in  qnzen  tijd, kunnen onderscheiden wat
                                                        maar diep daarbinnen  - die iwarte plek  -                                           uit den Geest van God is en wat uit den Vader  der leugen.
                                                           ' bezoedelt mijn heiligdom:  '                                                        "Gemakkelijk is het ennietszeggend, als eenmaal  onze
                                                                                                                                             gedachtenwereld gevormd is door de  overweldigende
                                                        Ik  wil het  we1 niet,  ik  wil  hc%t  we1 niet,  -                                  macht  der traditie,  in wier hand onze ziel is als het leem
                                                             en ik denk en ik doe het  tech !                                                in de hand van den  pottenbakker,  om dan bij het  licht
                                                        Was  mijne  bekeering tot U, o Heer,                                                 van de uitkomst der historie, b.v. te zeggen: de kerk van
                                                             slechts  ijdel  zelfbedrog.                                                     het einde der vijftiende eeuw dwaalde grootelijks.  -  -
                                                                                                                                                 "Zeker is het, dat de  Farize2rs  in Jezus dagen de
                                                        Maar ook anderen  klagen,  beet'ren dan  ik,.                                        groote profeten van vroeger eeuwen  als groote Godsman-
                                                            van. dat diep verholen zeer . . . .                                              nen hebben  gegerd; nochrans  waren ze blind en  konden
                     _)                                 0, die zw5rte   plek, o die zwarte  plek                                             *in hunne dagen  leugen  en waarheid niet  onderscheiden.
                                                             in Uw heiligste dienaren, Heer 1-i                                                  `+Hoe  moeilijk is het zijn  eigen tijd  te  onderscheiden,
                                                                                             _I


                                        -
                                                                                   .          ,.^  --                  .                        . `.
                                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B ' E A R E R
248
                                                                                                                                          T.
lijke hemclsche hcerlijkhcid.  Daarom  kon ook de psal-                                                        BERKHOF AS EXEGETE
mist zijnen mond open  doen met spreuken, en  overvloe-
diglijk verborgenheden uitstorten van oudsher  ; en kon                                            In our previous article- we analyzed Berkhof's exposi-
inzonderhcid  Christus  spreken door  gelijkenissen- en                                         tion of Rom.  2:4. His rendering appeared to be the
voortbrengen  dingen  die verborgen  waren  van  ,de  grond-                                    record of such mental  processes   as' greatly discredit the
legging der  wereld.                   Want Hij  Zelf lag in die zienlijke                      mind responsible for them.
scheppinga  afgebeeld  ;  nict slechts in de plantenwereld,                                        Tn this essay we purpose to attend to Berkhof's
maar ook in de wereld der dieren en die van allerlei mkn-                                       exegesis' of Matt. 5 $4 and of Luke 6:35.
schelijke verhoudingen. De gansche schepping vertoont                                              The professor's exegesis of these Scriptures is found on
ons Hem: de zon en het  licht, de morgepster, de  dage-                                         pages 25 and 26 of his brochure: It is this:  "Letten we
taad,  de sabbatdag, de, nieuwe maan  en het jubeljaar, de                                      aliereerst   o,p de parallelplaatsen uit de Bergrede. In
boom des levens en de Godsrivier, de leeuw en het lam,                                         Ma&   5 :44, 45 lezen we : `Maar  ik zeg  u heb uwe vijan-
de goede herder en de deur van den stal der schapen, het                                        den lief, zegent ze die u vervloeken, doet we1 degenen die
brood en de wijnstok, de regenboog en de  r;>tssteen, de                                        1.1  haten,  en bidt voor degenen, die  u geweld  doen  en die
mensch en de `man, de zoon  en de heer, de dienstknecht                                         u  vervolgen;   opdat  gij moogt zijn  kinderen   uws Vaders,
en de koning, enz., en zoo oak het tarwegraan. Stervend                                         die in de.hemelen  is : want Hij doet zijn zon opgaan over
verwierf Hij zaad.  - Lees I Cor. 15.                                                          boozen  en  goeden,  en regent over rechtvaardigen en  on-
                                                                               H. D.           rechtvaardigen.'    In Lukas. 6 :35, 36 luidt het Iaatste ge-
                                                         -                                     deelte een weinig anders : `En gij zult kinderen  des Allet-:
                                                                                               hoogsten zijn; want Hij is goedertieren over de  bndank-
           ALLE VOORDEEL IS  GEEN,  ZEGEN                                                      baren  en  boozen. Weest dan barmhartig, gelijk ook uw
                                                                                               Vader barmhartig is.'  " And then the professor con-
                          Alle voordeel is  geen zegen,                                         tinues as follows: "In  ,deze plaatsen  worden  wij  opge-
                            Alle nadeel is geen vloek ;              .                         wekt, om onze vijanden Iief te hebben, en lief te hebben
                          `t  Is  er  alles   aan gelegen,                                     ook dan zelfs wanneer zij  zich als vijanden Gods  open-
                            Of uw oog er God in zoekt.                                         baren. Wij moeten  hen liefhebben als beelddragers  Gods,
                                                                                               en met hen vereeniging zoeken in God. Deze liefde moet
                          Alle winst is nog geen  voordeel,                                    zich daarin openbaren, dat  wij,, hen zegenen, hen weldoen,
                            Elk verlies nog geen  gemis;                                       en voor hen bidden, zelfs als zij  bet' tegenovesgestelde
                          In de winst is vaak een oordeel,                                     doen. Wij  moeten  kolen  vuurs op hun hoofd  hoopen,  om
                            Waar  `t  v&lies een zegen is.                                     ze te behouden. En dat alles moeten  we doen, opdat wij
                                                                                               mogen zijn kinderen  van 2nzen Vader, die in de hemelen
                          Winst wordt door Gods Geest geboren,                                 is, d. i., opdat in ons Ieven  de weerglans van zijn zedelijke
                            Uit den bodem van verlies  ;                                       deugden moge uitblinken, want Hij is vervult  met teedere                ,
                          Maar de winst was steeds verloren,                                   ontferming en daarom ook weldadig jegens de  ondank-
                          Waar het kruid der zonde wies.                                       baren  en  boozen, en doet  boozen  en  goeden,   rechtvaardi-
                                                                                               gen en onrechtvaardigen,  gelijkelijk  deelen  in de zege-  _
                          ,Ren  den Heer' in al uw wegen;                                      ningen van regen en zonneschijn.       In het kort, is dit  bet'
                            Voor- en nadeel werken mee.                                        argument : Wij moeten  onze vijanden zegenen, opdat wij
                          Maar zoo niet, het werkt al tegen,                                   in  dezen  op God mogen gelijken.     Daaruit volgt dus, dat
                            Wat  u  wacht  van deze twee.
                     J                                                                         Hij zijne vijanden ook zegent. Het is  niets dan een  uit-
                .                      (Uit "De  K'andelaar"  per "Holland                     vlucht, om te zeggen, dat deze plaatsen slechts bedoelen,
                                       Home News")                                             dat God zijn uitverkoren vijanden zegent. Er is in het                   -
                                                                          1                    verband  geen enkel woord, dat daarop wijst.  Bo_vendien            _
                                                                                               berooft zulk een vtrklaring de woorden van den Heiland
                                   AAN   DR JEUGD                                              van hun eigenlijke kracht en praktische waarde door het
                                                                                               voor den mensch onmogelijk te maken,  om het Goddelijk
                            Besteed   de.  dieren(*) tijd                                .     *voorbeeld  ook maar van verre te doen  volgen. God weet            .
                          Bij. dagen en bij nachten,                                           wie de uitverkorenen zijn,  doch wij  weten het niet, en
                          TerwijI gij in uw krachten            '                              zouden dus altijd in gevaar  verkeeren,  dat wij den  ver-
                            En onversleten zijt.                '                              keerden persoon  zouden maken  tot het voorwerp van onze
                          Het schijnt, jong en ervaren                                         Iiefde." So far Berkhof.
                          En  zijn niet  we1 te  paren.                                            The proposition, which these Scriptures are supposed
                            Maar `t is een valsche schijn,                                     to substantiate, is the first point of Synod.  It is thus:
                          Men kan wel jong, van  jaren,                                        The reprobate-sinner participates in the love or favor of
                            En oud van uren zijn.                                              God. However the term reprobate does not  appear  in
           *                                     _-                                            these passages. Jesus asserts that God maketh his sun
                                                        C .   Hqgens.
       *) Dieren beteekent  hier &n-en.                                                        to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on


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                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D '   BEA-RER                                                          249
 __I_..-_-  .._                          _____.,......_-......_...  ---._
the jus't and on the unjust. Luke has it that God is kind                    out of the way, rhey are together become unprofitable;
to the unthankful and the evil. That these Scriptures                        there is none that doeth good, no, not one." It is plain,
were quoted in defense of the third point means that                         that the terms ungodly and unjust vary as to meaning.
those who did so regarded the terms unthankful, evil,                        According to Scripture, then, all men are unjust, but all
unjust and reprobate as  Q~nonynious.       But -may this be                 unjust men are not reprobates nor are all unjust men
done ? Do the terms unjust and reprobate signify the elect. It is thus: Some unjust men are elee?, so& unjust
same person? Are, in these  parecular passages, the two                      men are non-elect, hence reprobates. We are all agreed,
terms equal to each other? These are questions which                         therefore, that the exegete in every instance, must ap-
the esegete, worthy of the name, must face; And the                          proach these terms with a question in his mind as to
answer decides whether Berkhof did well in turning to                        whom  the terms should be made to apply. He who fails
these Scriptures for "support.  If the term unjust can be                    to do so gives evidence  of*absolute  incompetency as an
substituted by the term reprobate it follows that, accord-                   exegete. The exegeses rendered by such a one will  be
ing to Christ's own words, God is kind to the reprobate.                     unreliable, worthless.
In.this case the first point has a Scriptural basis. If  on                       And now the question. What is there'that tells the
the  other  hand rhese  terms are not equal to each other.                   expositor how a term or the terms of any one text should
these passages were quoted in vain. The esegete may be construed? And the answer: the surroundings of a
know  now--what  is expected of him. His task it is to                       text. Now, when the  RZformed  exegete speaks of the
determine who are, members of that class which. Jesus in surroundings of any one text he has in mind not only the
the sermon on the mount denominated unjust. In other near but the far surioundings  as well. To the Reformed
words, who are the unjust in this sermon of Jesus? .4re                      exegete the entire Scripture must be regarded as the
they also the reprobate?                                                     surroundings of any one text in virtue of the fact that the
    Let it be a settled thing in  our minds now that-the                     word of God in its entirety is one organical whole.%. The
question as to whether the term unjust of the sermon of expositor must  regard  his text as an integral part, not
the mount includes the reprobate is not out of place. The                    only of the chapter from which it is taken; not only of the
situation is this: There are texts where these terms de- book or epistle in which it appears, but of the sixty-six
nominate the elect only. Rom.  4:5 reads: "But -to him books comprising the Bible. The renderings of him
that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the                   whose method is not as that  described.,above,  are abso-
ungodly; his faith is counted. for righteousness." And lutely worthless.
again:  "For when we were without strength in due time                            Prof. Berkhof failed to explain Matt.  5:14,  45 in the
Christ died for the ungqdly," ,Rom. 5 :6. It is  plain.that                  light of the far surroundings of the  text: Consequently
in- these Scriptures the term ungodly must be made to                        his exposition of this Scripture is unreliable, altogether
apply to the elect only. For Christ did not die for the without value. The professor  refused to permit-scripture
reprobate. Neither does God justify the reprobate. to instrucphim how the term unjust should be construed.
Further, there are texts where such terms as unjust and                      It may appear that I am misrepresenting the pf-ofessor.
ungodly signify the reprobate only.  -Attend to the fol-                     For he informs his readers that there is nothing in the
lowing Scriptures: Ps.  1:5,  Therefor the  ungodIy   shal1                  context which indicates  rhat. the term  unjust  should be
not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congrega-                      made to apply exclusively to the reprobate. Says  Berk-
tion bf the righteous. Ps. 9:6, Upon the wicked He shall                     hof: "Het is niets dan een uitvlucht, om te zeggen, dat
rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest:                     deze plaatsen slechts bedoefen, dat God zijn uitverkoren
this shall be the portion of their cup. Ps. 28:3, Draw me                    vijanden  zegent. Er is in het verband  geen enkel woord
not away with the wicked, and with the workers of dat daarop  wijst.`? True, the professor did  take account
iniquity. Ps.  3790,  But the wicked shall perish, and the                   of the near surroundings of the text. However, he failed
enemies of the Lord shall be as the  fat of lambs: they                      to go -beyond  them, if he had he would nor have quoted
shall consume ; into smoke they shall consume away. Ps.                      this Scripture in defense of Synod's first point. And it
104:35,  Let the sinners by consumed out of the earth,                       is easy to see -why Berkhof confined himself to the near
arid let the wicked be no  inore.  Bless thou the Lord, 0                    surroundings of the text. For beyond this  te&itory one
my soul,     Praise  .ye the Lord. In these passages the                     happens upon Scriptures which emphatically assert that
`terms wicked and workers of iniquity must be made to                        God is not gracious to the reprobate sinner and that the
apply to the reprobate only. For the elect do stand in                       term unjust in Matt. 5 :44,45,  must9 therefore, be made  to
the judgment, upon them the Lord- does not rain snares                       apply ti, the reprobate unjust only. We shall quote a few
of fire and brimstone. They do not perish,  neither are                      of these Scriptures. Ps.  529, 5, Thou  lovest  all devour-
they consumed out of the earth.          Finally, there are ing words, 0 thou deceitful tongue. God shall likewise
passages where the terms unjust and  ungodIy   m&t be                        destroy thee forever, He shall take the,e away, and piuck
made to apply to the elect and the non-elect. Rom. 3 :9-- thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the
18 is such a passage. "What then?. Are we better than                        Iand of the living. Ps.  55:23, But, thou, 0 God, shalt
they. In no wise: for we have before proved both  Jtiws                      bring them down into the pit of destruction; bloociy and
and Gentiles that they are all under sin ; As is it written,                 deceitful men shall not live our half their days. Ps. 58:
there is not one righteous, no, not one. They are all-.gone                  7-fl,  Let them (the reprobate wicked) melt away as


250                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
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waters which run continually : when He'bendeth His bow          ular Scripture in which these terms appear in defense of
to shoot His arrow to them be cut in pieces. As a snail `his theory, he should have shown how that Holy Writ
which melteth, let every one of them pass amya>-: like the      demands that the terms be made to apply to the repro-
untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the            bate as well as to the elect. This the professor fails  to
sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take        do. Yet he concludes that the unjust of Matt.  .5  94,  45
them away as with a whirlwind, both living and in His           are the reprobate. And what are his premises? The far
wrath. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the            surroundingsof the text  I Nay. The professor's premise
vengeance : he shall wash his feet in the blood  of the         is silence. Ler me quote his premise:  "Het is niets dan
wicked. Ps.  37:12,  13, The wicked (here the reprobate         een uitvlucht, om te zeggen, dat deze plaatsen slechts be-
sinner) plotteth  against the just, and gnasheth upon him       doelen,  dat God zijn uitverkoren vijanden zegent. Er is
with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him for He seeth        in het  verband  geen enkel woord dat daarop wijst." Let
his day coming. Ps.  255, Because they regard not the           us now trace the path of rhe professor's reasoning. We
works of the Lord, nor the operations of his hands, He          reasons thus: There is nothing in the context which in-
shall destroy them (the reprobate wicked) and not build dicates that  the term unjust signifies the elect only. Con-
theni  up. Ps. 32 :lO, Many sorrows shall be to the wicked.     elusion: The term unjust signifies the reprobate as well.
PS. 21913,  Thou shalt make them (the reprobate                 Hence Matt.  5:44,   45 asserts that God is kind, gracious
wicked) as a fiery oven in the time of thy anger: the           unto the reprobate. Let me illustrate  Berkhof's  method
Lord shall  sw,allow them  up in his wrath, and the fire        in dealing with Scripture. I wish to know how old a cer-
shall devour them. Their'fruit shalt thou destroy from tain Mr. A. is. I go to him and remain with him for one
the earth, and their seed from among the children of            hour. We talk about many things. but I fail to ask him
men. For they intended evil against thee: they imagined         how  dd'he is. I leave finally. Upon, the way home I
a mischievous device, which they,are not able to perform.       ask myself how old Mr. A. might be. I conclude that
       The ungodly of the above passages are the reprobate      Mr.- A. is not forty but fifty years, old. 1 reason thus':
wicked as the persons signified shall be destrqyed  by the      Mr.  11. did not say he was forty years old. Conclusion:
Lord. And the Lord does not destroy the wicked elect.           Mr. A. is fifty  yea,_r_s old. I ask  whtit value would the
The above  Scriptqres  also make it plain that God's atti-      statist?cian  attach to my deduction  ? Zero. Because Mr.
tude toward the wicked is not that of love, grace and           A. did not say he was  forty years old gives me no right
benevolence.      The reprobate ungodly do not share in         to conclude rhat Mr.  rl. is fifty. The possibility remains
God's grace. There is a reason why Berkhof did not go           that Mr. A. is forty years old and not fifty, ,even  though
beyond the near surroundings of his text. If Jesus in the       he made no mention of his age. Qrhat I should have done
sermon on the mount declared that the reprobate sinner          is to'ask Mr. A. how old he. was. In  case Mr. A. was
participates in God's grace He, Jesus, is in flagrant con-      Irmwilling 0; unable to gi\-e me the desired informati0n.I
tradiction with Himself as the words of the psalmist were       should have consulted his birth record.
inspired by His spirit. Now, Christ c&not be in conflict           Prof. Berkhof must know the implications of the term
with Himself, hence the  ter*i unjust of Matr.  5:44 signi-     Iin just. He listens to what the near surroundings of the
fies the reprobate wicked only.                                 text have to say. He discobers  that the context has noth-
       Berkhof informs his readers that there is nothing in     ing to say as to how rhe termunjust  should be construed.
the context which suggests that the term  unjust'should         As the near surroundings of the test do not indicate that
be made to apply to the elect sinner only. .We grant this.      the term unjust designates the reprobate only, the profes-
It is for that reason that we went  beyot-1  the near sur-      sor concludes  that the term denotes the elect as well. His
roundings of the text to the Psalms. But now I ask in           premise is silence. His  concIusion  is worthless. We, on
turn: if there are such elements present in the texr  or in     the other hand. consulted the far surroundings of the
the context which indicate that the  terms  unjust  and         text. We happened upon statements which insist that
ulptgrutafui  should be made to apply to b&h  the reprobate     rhe term unjust in Matt. 594, 4.5 denote the elect only.
and~the elect sinner. What are these  eIements?  Berkhof        `Atid  because we refused to adopt Berkhof's worthless
failed to  point them out. He does assert how that we           conclusion and because we bow before the testimony of
are admonished by Christ to love our enemies, to bless          Scripture we were deposed. This is history.
them and to pray for them. Indeed, Berkhof also points             The  prof&or  chose as his premise  siZenc2  and then
out how that God is kind to the just and the unjust. TO         drew a conclusion favorable to his theory. The professor
be sure. He is. And finally, the professor points out how       seems not to realize that  ?he opponent may do likewise
that we must love our enemies since God lores his in            and that he has a perfect right to draw a conclusion con-
order  that it may appear that we are children of the most      trary to his. What is more, Berkhof uses an argument
High One. We agree, Christ instructs his followers to           from silence as material for the construction of the Scrip-
do these things.      But Berkhof merely repeats Christ's       tural foundation' upon which the  dogma(  ?)  of common
words. He gives no exegesis. He should have done so.            grace must rest. Was the Reformed theologian. ever
As an exegete the professor should have established on          known to do this? Further,  a  dogma is defined as a
the basis of Sdripture  the implications to the term unjurt     formulation  iif a Scriptural truth. That conclusion of
and  ungrateful.  And since the professor quotes the partic-    Berkhof is at once his dogma of common grace. t .1nd his


                                              T H E   STANDA.RD  B E A R E R                                                    251
                              -.^"-.                                               l___l-_                           --_"-

_ dogma  of common grace turns out to be a formulated                 bate wicked are hated by God.  Ram.  9:11-13,  For the
 conclusion drawn from silence. `But a formulated con-                children being not yet-born, neither having  d,one any
 clusion drawn from silence is no dogma.  A4 formulation              good or evil, that the purpose of God according to  elec-
 of this kind does. not even deserve to be called a theory.           tidn might stand, not of ,works but of Him that calleth  ;
 For even the theory.is made of sterner stuff. Finally,  is           it was said of her, the elder shall serve the younger. As
 the  c,hurch called upon to depose office-bearers for re-            it is written, Jacob  liave  I loved but Esau have  I hated.
 fusing to subscribe to formulated conclusions drawn f,rom            Malachi 1 52-3, I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye
 silence? Berkhof and his fellows did so: The Lord lay                say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's
 not this sin to their charge.                                        brother? saith  t&e Lord: yet I loved Jacob, and I  bated
     Berkhof has one more reason why the term unjust of               &au, and laid his mountain and his heritage waste for
 Matt. 5 :44,45  should not be made to apply exclusively to           the drahons .of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, we
 the elect.. Says Berkhof : "Bovendien berooft zulk een               are impbverished,  but we will return and build the deso-
 verklaring de woorden van den Heiland van hun  eigen-                late places  ; thus saith the Lord of Hosts, they shall
 lijke kracht en praktische  waarde  door het  voor den' build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them,
 mensch onmogelijk te maken, om het goddelijk voorbeeld               the border of wickedness, and, the people against whom
 ook maar van verre te volgen. God weet wie de uitver-                the Lord hath indignation for ever.
 korenen zijn,  doch  wij  weten   bet niet,' en zouden dus              Consulting Scripture it appears that election and rep-
 altijd in gevaar verkeeren, dat wij  d& verkeerden  per-             robation is regulativeof God's love and of His hatred.
 soon zouden  maken  tot het voorwerp van  onie liefde."'                The question arises whether election and repro&&ion
 An `argument of this kind plainly shows,, that there is .is  intend&d to be regulative of my love and my hatred.
 much in God's word which still lies beyond the range of              And my answer : Indeed but only insofar as election and
 the professor's spiritual grasp. I shall remove the objec-           reprobation 1% within the range of my pbservation.      The
 tion and disclose the absurdity of Berkhof's reastining.             moment God  Tegenerates  the elect child of disobedience
     Let me begin `by saying that mankind may be broken               that child begins to radiate the fire, the light which God
 up into  <groups. When the fundamentum divisionis is                 kindled in his, soul. When this happens I recognize him
 the elect, humanity falls apart into two groups, the elect           as a child of light, as an elect and I love him. However,
 and the  foot-elect   or  ,reprobate.    Taking as my basis of I am not always able to subtract from the group ctWdren
  division  the  wickedd,   mankind again separates into two of disobedience  the reprobate sinner, as the  eIect sinner
 groups, namely,  t&  wicked and the  not-&cked  or  the just.        apd the reprobate sinner are both serving  the'devil  and
 Yet another division is possible i.e. my friends and not-my          the flesh. Hence I am'unable to single out the reprobate
 f&ends or my  ~nem2s.  Here the basis of division is  .rny           to focus upon him my hatred. Nor am I able to single
 Jriends. Which of these  thrqe  divisions is regulative of out the elect children of disobedience for the purpose of
  Gbd's love and of His hatred, of my  Iove and of my focusing upon them my love. Berkhof is constantly tell-
  hatred?`. It  is  the plain teachings of Scripture that the         ing the public that we attempt to do this very thing. It
 first division is regulative of God's love and of His hatred.        is a lie. Berkhof knows better. By means of this lie the
 God loves the elect sinner even before his regeneration.             professor attempts to draw the minds of the people away
 Even though he be a child of  c:Iisobediencei-,Goct  loves           from the real issues. He dare not face the real issue.
 him nevertheless, loves him-in spite of what that sinner is.         He knows right well that if he does, he is lost.
 John 3 :16; For God so loved the world that He gave His
 only begotten son  rhat whosoever-should believe in Him              As for the reprobate sinner, we recognize him upon
 should not perish but have eternal life. Rom. 5 is, 10, But          his deathbed when, in the anguish of his soul he cries
  God commendeth His love toward  us: in that, while we               out: "For me no hope, I am lost."
' were  pe`t sinners, Christ died for                                   In fine, election and reprobation determine the course
                                            us.    For if, when we
 were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of              of God's hatred and love but not the course of man's. It
 His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved              is not God's will- that it should be thus. If so, the Lord
 by His life. I John  3:1,  Behold what  manni'r'   of love  the      would have pointed out to LIS who rhe elect and who the
 %ath-er   bath bestowed upon us, that u-e should be called the       reprobate are. In certain periods He did this. The Lord
  sons of God. The ,question  cannot be suppressed how God            revealed unto Moses that Pharaoh and his subjects were
  can Iove the elect child of darkness being altogether un-           reprobates.  Erodes  T:3, 4, reads:  ".4nd I will harden
  lovely. And the answer: God does not love him because               Pharaoh's heart, and multipIy  my signs and my wonders
  he  is  sinful but he is loved by God in spite of his sins.         in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall  not hearken
  Further, God's love for the elect wicked is pity, mercy,            unto, you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring
  barmhartigheid, onferming. Therefore  bath He mercy forth my armies, and  my people the children of Israel,
  on whom He will have mercy, Rom.  9:lS. Pity, mercy                 out of the land of Egypt by great wonders."
  presupposes misery, the misery of sin,. In fine, it is the             Let us now pass on to the second division of which
  plain teachings of Scripture that God loves the  eIect              the fundamentum divisionis is t& wicked. Here the two
  wicked.                                                             groups are the wicked and the not-wicked i. e. the just. Is
     On the other hand, Scripture asserts that the  repro-            this division regulative of God's love and oft His hatred-2


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Scripture informs us that it is not. The Scriptures quoted        itations be desolate; and let none dwell  in their tents.
above assert that God loves  yome wicked, namely,' the            The exponents of the theory of common grace cannot
elect wicked. The reprobate wicked God  lox-es  nqt but           regard such prayers as normative. Doing  SO,  would com-
hates. Hence,' not this division but the former division          pel them to reject the theory of common grace. Rev.
controls  .the  co&-se of God's love and the course of His        W. Stuart confided to me that he did not regard prayers
hatred.                                                           of this kind as being inspired. When I pointed our to the
                                                                  reverent what this statement implied he retracted. 
        ,4nd now the question, is this division regulative of                                                               HOW-
                                                                  ever, brother Stuart refused to concede that these prayers
our love and of our hatred? Our answer : indeed, and this         are normative. He admitted that David might pray as
division only. And that for no other reason than that the         he did being a prophet. But the believer, said Stuart,
wicked and the just lie within the range of  our observa-         may not pray for the destruction of the wicked as the be-
tion. We know the wicked by their fruit, likewise the             liever is not David. What nonsense! The rnodernist
just. Let us corroborate these statements with Scripture.         refuses to regard pray'ers  as the above as normative. That
Ps. 1, l3lessed  is the man that walketh not in the counsel       they arose from the soul of the Psalmist was due to the
of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor           fact that he was livink  on a low moral plain, was due to
sitteth in the seat of the scornful. The prophet loves this       the fact that his conceptions of God were primitive. This
man, for he pronounces him blessed. Ps.  84:10,  I had            is, indeed, the view of the exponents of the theory of
better be a doorkeeper in the house of my  Gad,  than to          common grace. Would they not have us pray for the
dwell. in the tents of wickedness.  .Ps.  265,  I have hated      salvation of the reprobate wicked? Is it not rhe purpose
the congregation of evil doers ; and will not sit with the        of God to lead all to repentance? (Berkhof.) Does not
wicked. The believer hates the elect wicked as a historical       God come with a well-meaning offer of salvation to all.
vanities. Ps.  119:115,  Depart from me ye evil doers: for including the reprobate ? (Berkhof and his fellows.)  IXd
I will keep the commandments of my God.  Ps.:  101:3-S,           not Dr. Beets accuse us of reducing God ro a cruel mon-
I will set no wicked thing before my eyes: I hate the             ster?  ,4nd that because we insist that prayers as above
work of the,m that turn aside ; it shall not cleave to me.        are normative.
A froward heart shall depart from me. I will not know                Having  heai;d God's word it doth appear that, in a
a wicked person.  WhosQ  privily  sIandereth  his neighbor,       sense, election and reprobatidn do control rhe course of
him will I cut off: him that hath a high look and a proud         the believer's love and the course  `of his hatred. And  1
heart will I not suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the              now the exponent of common grace must not reply that
faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He that        our doctrine involves us in a contradiction as well as
walketh in a perfect. way, he shall serve me. He that             their theory of  common grace does him. Let me point
worketh deceit shall not dwell in my house; he that               out the difference. We hate the historical phenomena                       +
telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early de-        reveling in sin. We pray for the elect. The  e.uporients
stroy all  the wicked of the land ; that I may cut  oft-'  all    of the theory of common grace hate and at once love the
wicked doers from the city of the Lord. It is evident             historical phenomena, namely, the wicked onk (including
that the prophet loves the just and hates the wicked,`in-         rhe reprobate as wicked). But these men feel that this
eluding the' elect wicked.                                        may not and cannot be done. This accounts  (for  th&  .
        The last statement demands a word of explanation.         notorious divisions. Such  ditisons as the person of the
Namely,  ,.-the statement that the prophet hates the elect        wicked and his sin (H.  J.  Kuiper) ; the image of  the
wicked. Te believer hates the elect wicked as a historical        wicked one and his sin. Divisions of this kind, however,
phenomena whose election is unknown to him, the be-               are impossible  -and decidedly unscriptural as we  shill
liever.  The child of God hates this wicked one i. e. the         make plain at sonie future date.                                    "..
historical phenomena engaged in serving the devil and                In fine, the second division which has as its  funda-
the flesh. The believer hates him as well as he hates his         meritum  divisionis rhe  z&k& is regulative of our love
own old man of sin. The child of God prays for the                and of our  hatred:
elect,  howe.ver.  The believer may not know who and                 In the next  issue of this magazine we pass on to the
where the elect wicked are. Nevertheless they are there.          third division which'has as its basis of division mu enemy.
.4nd rhe child of God prays that this wicked one may hear         We shall investigate to what e:tent this division may be
the voice of the good shepherd. So Jesus taught his fol-          directive of my love. Having completed our investiga-
lowers to pray when he said: "Thy kingdom come."                  tion we shall be ready to remove BerkhoCs  objection and
     AS  for the  reprobate  wicked, the prophet prays for        to give a correct interpretation of Matt...S  :44, 45.
their destruction. Ps.  58:7-l& Let them melt away as                I wish to remark before ending that the attempt to
waters which run continually: . . . . Ler them be cut in          distinguish between the person of the wicked and his
pieces as a snail which melteth, let every one of them            sin, or between the image of the wicked and his sin
pass away.        Ps.  69:23-25,  Let their eyes be darkened,\ implies an admission on the part of the exponent of the
that they see not,' and make their loins continually to           theory of common  g&e that the three points of Synod
shake.      Pour-out  thine indignation upon them, and let        are impossible. This shall also be made plain.
thine wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their  hab-                                                             G. M.  0.


door rood,  wit en blauwe glasruiten wordt geworpen  up                                PREDESTINATION,  -                       .-
het blad  waarop  Clio schrijft.                                                                                *
   Dat kon, onder Godes zegen, verhelderend werken                                        Augtistinian
voor den geest en ruim uitzicht onbeneveld schenken op                                                                 .I.iP
de  onverwelkkIijke,  onbevlekkelijke en- onverderfelijke                                        II
erfenis die in de hemelen bewaard wordt  voor degehen
die in de kracht Gods bcwaard  worden  door het geloof               `We `now come to that part of the Augustinian view
tot de zaligheid, die bereid  is, om geopenbaard te'worden         of predestination'which has been a matter of controversy
in den laatsten tijd, I Petrus 1:4.                                over and over again. If it has become clear to us from
   En ons oude Psalmboek zingt voorts:                             the previous articles on predestination that there are two
                                                                   parts that belong  to it; we ought also to have noticed
           "God, die geducht is in vermogen,                       from  the foregoing discussions that it has not-always been
              Verdraagt de  gqddeloosheid   niet.                  clear to even the best minds of the early Christian Church
            Cij zult, o God, die `t al doorziet,         -         just `what two parts belong to predestination. Any  on,e
            Den booze voor uw heilig oogen,                        making a study of doctrine in the early Church is struck
                   CTeenszins  gedoogen."                          by the lack of formulated doctrines. We have noticed
                                                                   that the times were not fitted for an elaborate outlining
           "God  haat  en  s&at hen billijk tegen,                 of the various parts of doctrine.            But God leads His
                   Die*onrecht  plegen?                            Church into ail the truth by His Spirit and God has also
                                                              i
            -------I                                               gradually led the church into a conscious reproduction
           Gij, Heer' verdelgt den logenspreker,                   of the truths of Scripture. Otherwise we would not be
            Hij, die zijn hand met bloed bevlekt,                  able to speak of progress of doctrine.
            En gruwelen met bedrog ,bedekt."                          What may be said of the formulating of doctrines in
                                                                   general, may in particular be stated of the doctrine of
           "God, die op  `t  recht  zijn troon wil stichten,       predestination. First, there  was not as much as an ink-
             God is rechtvaardig in zijn  richten,                 ling of `this doctrine. `Gradually the horizon of the early
             En toont zijn gramschap dag aan dag.                  .Christian  Church widened and men began  toYfeel  the
             Bestrijdt   de mensch zijn hoog gezag,                necessity of some such doctrine as predestination and
             Elijft hij  zich tegen Hem verzetten,                 God led the Church through various vicissitudes and ex-
            God zal zijn glinsterend wraakzwaard wetten."'         periences of life and as a result men succeeded in formu-
                                                                   lating specific doctrines.    And  &rgustine  was in this
           !`God  zelf zal  aan het wereldrond                     respect more actively engaged than any man before him.
             Het  recht  doen hooren uit zijn mond;                   It is to be expected that he did not formulate or con-
             De volken voor zijn  viersc-haar  stellen; '          ceive of all things correctly. Men are so  prone to be
             En daar  `t rechtmatig vonnis  vellen."               children of their own times and to a grear extent a prod-
                                                                   uct of their environment.  : This was also' the case with
           "De Heer zal al de volken richten,                      St. Augustine. As a result his conception of the sacra-
             En `t onrecht voor het recht  doen  zwichten:         ments, of Scripture and the Church of God were distorted
             Geef dan, o Heer, (zoo zij ook onze bede !)           and  ,far from perfect. For that reason, the Roman Catho-
                                           dat voor elks oog,      lics can still worship him and enroll him on the lists of
             Mijn  recht en vroomheid blijken moog'."              the saints. But, no less, the whole Christian Church is
                                                                   indebred  to him and we find in him the precursor of many
    En verder zij het onze bede tot den God van ons he&            famous theologians of the Reformation Age, And we
die komt om de wereld te  richten  in gerechtigheid:               also can and may and must go back to him, appreciating
                                                                   what God ,has given us in him.
              "`Doe mij niet mee vergaan                              And though he may have. misconceived of the work
               Met hen, die U  weerstaan,                          of grace and thus have given rise to later distorted view:
           Wier  hart steeds schand'lijk  misdrijf kweekt;         of grace, there is in all rhe works of Augustine as a theo-
               Die trouw en plicht  verachten,                     logian, a fundamental line which we may appreciate. He
               En `t  recht  om goud verkrachten,                  has formulated opinions which have formed stepping
           AL5  d'  onschuld  om bescherming smeekt."              stones for later, Reformed theology. Much of his view
                                                                   of grace we can readily incorporate into the  IReformed
    Of met Psalm  28:2:                      .-                    system. And closely connected with his view of grace
                                                                   is his view of predestination with its two parts: election
            "Trek  `-mij niet weg, o Opperkoning,                  and reprobation.
             Met hen wier argelistigheid,                             The last time we have noticed how Augustine's view
      %      In schijn  -van vrede, kwaad bereidt."                of grace necessitated his formulation of the: doctrine of
                                                    G--V.  B.      election. It struck us thar he-apparently allows the work
                                                                                                       . .."


                            I.                                                                                                              `i                      "
                                                                                                                                           . . .                         i
                                  ,I
 258                                                                                      THI'E.  STfc4N   DAR'D,  .BEARE,~                                    "
 I_"~ --......._.-.                         __.._,..I__._.__.,._.._.....~~..~~....~........  _ .-__                                       --.                       -_1_
 of grace to be -wrought in the heart of reprobates, while `conclusions  .presently.  First, however, we must remark
 he limited persevering grace to the elect. This time we                                                    that your objection rests as  .much  upon an inference as
 shall see that he also firmly believed in the positive                                                     the  $bove reasoning. Namely, that without the existence
 reprobation of -individuals by the Almighty God.
                       )                                                                                    of well-known facts, the inferences of above may be ficti-
        First of all; howevef, it must be remarked that it  has                                             tious and erroneous.
 been greatly disputed whether Augustine taught the posi-                                                      Be that-as it may, there certainly is  a. wealth  cJf evi-
 tive reprobation of individuals. Undoubtedly, it is true,                                                  dence testifying unto Augustine's belief in reprobation.
" that his writings give reasons for doubt.- And  unpues-                                                   And that is a very important bit of progress in the field
 tionably true it is that Augustine does not seem to have                                                   of doctrine. Augustine took tremendous strides when
 had that grip and that complete understanding of the                                                       he posited the necessity and to a certain extent outlined
 importance and value of some of his own statements                                                         the nature of predestination. And we expect that Augus-
 which we have today. But it should never be forgotten  " tine in time shall be appreciated more and more for his
 when we study a man as Augustine that there is an evi-                                                     ,views  on  raeprobation.  Reprobation has always been a
 dent attempt at the construction of a system of thought.. subject of great dispute and is today a matter of dispute
 Coupled with this we must look for some results of the                                                     and especially the Reformed theologians may turn with
 influence of environment upon.the thought of such a man                                                    gra&ude  to Augustine, not only for his views on grace,
" who launched out into new fields of study. No one has                                                     preservation of the saints and election, but no  less,for  his
 the audacity to say that Augustine was no more than a                                                      utterances concerning reprobation. Reprobation has
 compilator, who assembled into somewhat of a coherent  j again become the point of controversy in our circles in
 system the prevalent opinions of his day. Augustine was                                                    this country and if the theologians of today will study
 not only conservative; he certainly was progressive; a' Augustine,  Crottschalk,  Calvin and the Fathers of Dordt
 man who sought a fuller understanding of the Bible; one                                                    and no less the prevalent opinions of the authors of Van
 who attempted to reconstruct out of the facts and revela-                                                  Zonde en Genade, then the keen detector will notice
 tion in Scripture the Divinely intended system of Bible                                                    progress all along the line wirh Augustine as the exponent
 truths which God has graciously granted unto His                                                           of reprobation in the Nicene Age.
 Church. In this light Augustine `must be viewed. We                                                           The reason why there is, so much debate about Augus-
 may be ready to admit that there are conflicting elements                                                  tine's teaching of reprobation can be found in the fact
 in his system of truth, we may acknowledge that he re-                                                     that there are several stages in the life of Augustine
 produced much of the prevalent thought of his times,                                                       which determine his opinion on various subjects,. Augus-
 we may grant that he has not fully realized the value of                                                   tine did not always hold the same views throughout life.
 some of his statements and has not reckoned with the                                                       He was too much a child of his  age-for  that. At rhe
 conclusions which his ideas allow, we must at any rate                                                     time that he controverted the Manichaeans,, his opinion
 interpret the man Augustine in the light of the fundamen-                                                  concerning reprobation and other doctrines was different
 tal truth which he labored to develop. And then  it cannot                                                 than later on. At the time when -he was combating
 be denied, especially in the light of his opposition to                                                    Manichaeism "he held, not to abstilute,  but to conditional
 Pelagian tenets, that he found  total  depravity  in natural                                               predestination, and to a reserved power in the will, not-
 man, and that God's persevering grace unto His elect                                                       withstanding our need or divine succor. Man, he held  -
 spells salvation unto all eternity. The very fact that his                                                 (at  rhat .&me),  can exercise faith by his own power, and
 conception of grace is so distinguished as to provide                                                      thereby obtain the gift of converting grace. In 394, when
 persevering grace only for the. elect of God, presupposes                                                  he wrote his commentary on the Romans, he contrasted
.  theoiogicai tenets of vast importance. An excellent  .ex-                                                an election on the ground of works with election condi-
 ample of the fundamental notion of Augustine's theology                                                    tioned on faith2  and ascribed to the elect hidden merits-
 is given in his work, The City of God, in which he so                                                      that is, certain dispositions of heart which are the ground
 clearly preaches the antithesis to the true presevering                                                    and reason of their being elected. Further reflection `on
  Church. Over against the city of God he recognized                                                        his own spiritual experience and later study of the Scrip-
 the existence of the City of the World. His description                                                    tures convinced him rhat election is unconditional, that
  of the City of God as an antithetical reality-by virtue                                                   the contrast in the Epistle to the Romans is not between
 of the working of God's grace-to the City of the World                                                     an election on the ground of works and an election on
 calls for some such doctrine in his system as the doctrine                                                 the ground of faith, but between a work springing wholly
 of reprobation. Even though he did not at all times                                                        from God, and man's doings of whatever sort. The  elec-           *
 know how  `to relate things, the fundamental notion of                                                     tion of man is not a judgment in his favor, in comparison
  reprobation was certainly in his mind.  *                                                                 with- other men, but an act of sovereign grace." (Fisher,
        YOU  may object that the above reasoning is unscien-                                                History of Christian Doctrine, p. 192.)
  tific, since it is not sufficiently based on *objective and                                                  No wonder thus  rhat  Augustine's language varies
 well constituted facts. You object to the process of with regard to the doctrine of reprobation or predestina-
 inference and conclusions from such given facts as are                                                     tion to death. Because Augustine did not sufficiently ori-
 uncontestable.                         Let it be immediately mentioned that we                             entate himself, we must expect to find statements which
 shall  marshal facts to the support of our inferences and                                                  reflect Augustine as wrestling with the implications of
         .                                                                                             ,


                                                                                                                      .   .
                                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D -   BliARIiR--                                                 2.59
                                                                                                                                    -             -
                                                  I.
             his own position. Thus we marvel not when we read:                 make God's Counsel  consist  of foreknowledge  alone,`as
             "Sometimes he seems to shrink from saying that God                 though foreordination entirely depends on foreknowledge.
             predestinates man to destruction, on the ground that pre-          Faith and unbelief, salvation and damnation are not mere
             destination can only have regard to such things as God             objects of God's passive foreknowledge, but objects of
             Himself works, whereas sin is not his work. At other               God's will-and good pleasure. Faith is the gift of election
             times he distinctly favors this stern dogma as the only            and foreordination is not passive foreknowledge but the
             logical `deduction from his theory of irresistible Grace.          D.ivine  predetermination affecting the nature and charac-
            `The  Emhiridion  clearly contains it, but it  be,gan  to,, be ?er of all events and persons. But Augustine did desig-
             specially developed,-in the De  Correptione  et  Gra~ia,           nate reprobation as ,a foreseen fact. But, Augustine did
             which was written in 427 and was followed up  `by the              not intend to designate the act of divine reprobation as
            .-.De   Pmedestinatione   Sanctorum  and the De  Dono  Pm-sever-    in no way determined by the foreknowledge (voorweten-
             utiiae." ,"In one of his early works Augustine had de-             schap)  of God, By no means, he never conceived of
             clared that Predestination is grounded on foreknowledge            God's foreknowledge as being passive and non-determina-
             -an opinion which was already held in the Church. But              tive. He fully realized that this idea presupposes the
             as his views of grace developed and as the Pelagian .con-          subjection of the divine will to the human will. `Exactly
             troversy advanced, he referred to this as a mistaken no-           in this connection, Augustine affirms that God tiished to
             tion which'he held before he became a bishop, and began            have men sin, and that siri &such has been divinely pre-
             to set forth a more absolute Predestination, such as has           arranged and guided. The reason why Augustine does
             so  Iargel-y  entered into the controversies of later times.       not use the term foreordination with regard-to the repro-
             This doctrine has never been held in the Church and was            bates, may perhaps be sought in the fact that he realized
             in every sense of the  word a novelty. But at the same             that God does not work out reprobation in exactly the
             time Augustine seems to have stopped short. of thk'idea            same way as election unto eternal life. This  distinction-
             of a positive decree of perdition, and the doctrine of             has persisted even to our very day. Although men are
             reprobation was never urged so consistently and relent-            beginning to realixe that. with `God there is no negative
             lessly by him as it was subsequently, by Gottschalk in             act and rhat a foreknowledge which determines reproba-
             the ninth century and by Calvin in `the sixteenth." (R. S.  ' tion unto eternal death is just as almighty and certain
             Moxon, The Doctrine of Sin, p. 101.)                               of realization as foreordination unto eternal life. Augus-
                One thing, however, may be certain: Augustine did               tine, himself, seems to have sensed this and for-&at rea-
             not limit predestination to election unto eternal life. He         son did not hesitate to view reprobation as the negative
             certainly has recognized that, next to election and' in side of election. _
           many respects co-ordinate with that doctrine, there is                  Those who are in a position to realize how strongly
             the doctrine of foreordination unto death. He may, have Augustine taught. reprobation will not be surprised to
             grappled with the problems which are involved in them,             read that he spoke of the reprobates as "predetermined
             but nevertheless, did arrive at conclusions  which make unto everlasting death," "predetermined unto eternal cor-
             him an outspoken teacher of, the doctrine of reprobation.          ruption,,,  "the  ,i?rorld foreordained  unto:  condqmnation,"
             This is very evident from rhe way in which he explains "Judas, predestinated unto corruption."
             the most fundamental difference  between sinner and sin:              Relative to Schaff's  contention that Augustine's, views
             ner. He treats, for example, of the fact why God created           move within the limits of infralapsarianism, we wish to
             the reprobates, if He knew that they were ro. be lost for-         remark that Augustine built up his view of predestination
             ever. He also tried to explain how God is never the                largely  up09 another idea, n.l., that all men form one
             author of sin-a point of doctrine which is  closely-re-            mass of  damnatidn.  But insofar as Augustine  strdngly
._           lated to the doctrine of predestination. He also tried to          asserts that God has willed  the fall of man into sin, it is
             explain' why the number of the reprobates is far greater           to be questioned whether any such assertion  .as  Schaff
             than the number of the elect and how the doctrine of rep- makes can  .be sustained. One thing, however, is evident,
             robation is to' be -admitted alongside of the confession           and that is the necessity of the view rhat God's will con-
      '      that God is gracious, merciful, long-suffering and full of cerning elect and reprobate is the result of the ages.
            ' loving-kindness.                                                  Read John VI : 36-39; Ezek. 34 :I6 ; John X :26.
                 With these facts before us, there is no room for any                                                              B. J. D.
             doubt whether Augustine advocated the doctrine or rep-                                             ._
             robation !
                 To be sure, there are certain `indications in the writ-
             ings of Augustine which might cause one to doubt., One                32. Er zwerven gedurig  drie roofschepen om  oni
             of the reasons for this fact has been given above and in           rond. Eerst, onze  ver,dorvene  natuur  ; ten  anderei  de
             the following we wish to particularize and  to mention wereld; ten derde, de  valsche  leer. Om dezer  drie  stuk-
             some of the things which hint at a denial of-reprobation.          ken  wille is het haast gevaarlijk, in de wereld te  zijn; Bij,
             Some have thought that Augustine made the elect objects            het derde gebruikt de Satan menschen van groot  ver-
             of God's predestination or foreordination, while repro- stand en groote bekwaamheid, welker woord om  zich
             bates are objects of God's foreknowledge. He does not grijpt als de franker.
                                                                                           ..,


