272                                        T H E   STAN.DARD`   B E A R E R
                 llll_--"l-                      __---.

menschenkindercn zijn naar  aller  overtuiging, en naar                     THE WICKED OR HIS WICKEDNESS?
Schrift  en Belijdenis, tweeerlei  : die van zonde en genade,
antithetisch elkander bekampende en buitensluitende.                      Evident to all who will understand it became that
       De kwestie is nu maar, of men de mechanische philo-             the term "unconverted" is  unscript,ural  especially with
sophische gemeene  gratie-idee  van Kuyper  wil, of onze application to the reprobate wicked and that it is but
organische, antithetische, Schriftgeloovigc  verbondsge-              confusing matters to employ it nevertheless in this sense. I
dachte.     Wij  stemmen  gaarne toe, dat geen van  .beide            The Word of God speaks of the ungodly and sinners, the
voorstellingen volkomen doorschouwd is.  Formeel  zijn wicked and the godless, the fools and the workers of
beide zienswijzen in historischen zin extra-confessioneel. iniquity, the bloodthirsty and the men of violence, the
Op Belijdenisgronden valt geen van beiden  als  ongere-               enemies of God and the unrighteous, etc., etc. We will,
formeerd te veroordeelen. Daar  denken  wij  onzerzijds, ~therefore,  go entirely safe if we will employ this language
in dien zin, dan ook niet aan. Noodig is, dat we ons nader of Scripture when dealing with the subject of God's
op de wortelbegrippen indenken. Gaarne hadden  we dat                 attitude to the ungodly, rather than confuse matters by
willen  doen in gemeenschap met en onder de voorlichting              vaguely speaking of unconverted, that may either be
en critiek van de voorstanders van'de idee eener gemeene              elect or  re&obate.
gratie. 0. i.  hadden  we dan beter werk kunnen  doen, en                "The next question we must answer is: what does the
tot  meerder  heil.  Doch dat  mocht niet zijn. Zonder  na-           Bible teach with regard to God's attitude over against
denken,  zonder bekwaamheid, en zonder  waren ernst heeft the ungodly? And we may from the  ,outset  divide this
de Synode, en meer nog de Classes, meenen te  moeten                  question into two others. First of all the question is:
verdoemen. Wet zij zoo. Wij zullen nu dan zonder hen HOW does Scripture describe-the attitude of God as such,
de organische, antithetische verbondsgedachte trachten absolutely, over against the wicked?  And secondly, the
te ontwikkelen, en  bet  leven  overeenkomstig die  wortel-           further question arises : what does the Word of God teach
idee beinvloeden. En wij vertrouwen, dat onze  organi-                with regard to God's thoughts and purpose when He in
ache gedachte het zeker  zal winnen van de mechanische                this life sends unto the. wicked the things of this present
samenstelling van Kuyper. Wie werkelijk de  grondge- time ?
dachte van het verbond onzes Gods gevat  heeft, weet                     And here we confront immediately a certain view that
zich verrijkt; wie door den  Gee&  der wedergeboorte ver-             is in our own time frequently advocated and pushed to
nieuwd is in den wortel van zijn bestaan, leeft organisch             the foreground by our opponents, who cannot tolerate the
verbondsmatig Gode; wie waarlijk Gods zaligende  ge- conception that God hates the wicked absolutely. They
nade smaakt, die'strekt zich niet uit naar eene hem ledig             prefer to make a distinction here. They allege that it
latende gemeene gratie. Genade maakt rijk.                  .         is Scriptural to distinguish between the wicked and his
   We1  echter   moeten   d e z e   dingen   o a k   verstandelijk    wickedness, between the sinner and his sin, or, which
doorschouwd  worden.   Onze   wander   meet zijn in  het amounts to the same-thing, between the sinner as a crea-
licht  des levens. In onze hoogst bewuste en zuiverst ge- ture of God and the sinner as such.:. And upon the basis
Wilde  organische verbondsmatige levensdaad van liefde of-this distinction they arrive at the conclusion, that God
en vriendschap weerkaatsen we het schoonst de volmaakt-               can both love" and hate the very same object. He loves
heden van het leven des  Drieeenigen.  Voor onze  rechte              the wicked as His creature, but He hates his wickedness,
levensdaden wordt  verei&ht ware kennis van de  voile `He loves the sinner, though He hates his sin. I say, that
rijke Zelf-openbaring van den Verbonds-God. Daarom this view is often proposed as a solution of the question
willen  we, D.  V., in de toekomst nader op deze  dingen              from the viewpoint of those who love to maintain a cer-
letten  in `t  licht van Gods Woord.                                  -tain common grace of God. Writes Rev. H.  5. Kuiper
                                                           H. D.      (The Three Points of Common Grace, pp.  14 11)  :
                                                                        Just this makes the love of God so marvelous, that
                                                                      it is shown not only toward those for whom Christ has
                                                                      died, not only to those in whom, through the regenerat-
                 THE LOVE OF  CHRIsT                                  ing grace of God, there is something which makes them
                    t                                                 lovely in His sight; but even to those in whom there is
           "Love, strong as death; nay  stronger-                     nothing  upqn which His eye "can rest with satisfaction
              Love mightier than the grave ;                          and pleasure, who are aItogether  vile in His sight. Even
           Broad as the earth, and Ionger                             to them He manifests His  love>  His kindness, His grace.
             Than oceans widest wave.                                 His grace, I  say-not His grace in the special sense, as
           This is the love that sought us,                           a result of which they have the,remission  of sins and the
           This is the love that bought us,                           renewal of their hearts, but in the general sense. For
           This is the love that brought us,                          grace is love, love for the unworthy; it is favor, unde-
             To gladdest day from saddest night,                      served favor. And all men are-the subjects of this favor,
           From deepest shame to glory bright,                        rhough  not in the same degree or measure.
           From depths of death to life's fair height,                  "Yes, the Scriptures teach also that God is angry with
             From darkness to the joy of light."                      the wicked, that he hates the wicked. Psalm 5 :.5 :- `Thou
                                                    -63nar.           hatest all the workers of iniquity.' Psalm 11:s : `Jehovah
                                                                                                                              a


                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              273
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                                                     8
      trieth the righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth       will of God is to leave them in their sin unto ete&al destruc-    ,
      violence His soul hateth.'      There are scores of texts      tins.
      which express the same sentiment.  You  may ask:  `HOW             Kuiper believes this, for he admits that he believes
     * can we in the face of all these texts, say that God loves     in reprobation. And reprobation at its weakest implies
      the wicked? kow can He hate them and love them at              all the above.
      the same time?" Even if we could not explain this, we              Now let us again turn to the proposition: God loves
      would believe it, because both thoughts are plainly found      the wicked but He hates his wickedness. Let us look
      in Scripture. An explanation, however, can be given.           at it in the  lighr of the truth of reprobation. For we
      Let'us use an illustration. A godly mother has a very are both dealing with the reprobate ungodly. What fol-
      wicked son, whose every way is a way of transgression.         lows as clearly as the sun in the heavens on a bright
      Though that saintly mother hates the godless works of noonday? Let us apply Kuiper's own illustration here:
      her son, she loves him nevertheless, because he is her         a godly mother loving her ungodly son though hating
      child. So God hates the wicked  as  wicked,  but he loves      his wickedness. What follows from the love of that
      them as His creatures. He is kind even toward the un-          godly mother? Above all things this, that it is her sin-
      thankful and evil; which does not mean that He is  able- cere desire and her supreme effort in life to separate her
      for a single moment or in any measure to approve their         son from his wickedness. For she loves him, but she
      unthankfulness and their evil.- But in spite of their  un-     hates his wickedness. Her earnest effort in that love
      thankfulness and wickedness, they are His creatures and        will be to do all she can to deliver him from his wicked
      as such He loves them and is kind to them."                    ways. She surely will not purpose to leave him in his
         Thus Kuiper. And the reader knows that the same             wickedness. Now, let us apply Kuiper's illustration to
      distinction is often offered as a solution of the question     our subject: God's attitude toward the wicked sinner.
      of common grace by the adherents of the theory that            He loves the sinner, but He hates his wickedness. What
      God is gracious to all the wicked.                             follows? From that love it follows, that God will do all
         We ask the question: is this true?  Is Rev. Kuiper's        He can to separate that beloved sinner from his wicked-
      reasoning both  sound_ and Scriptural?     Is it really in ness, to redeem him and deliver him from guilt and cor-
      harmony  with the plain language of the Word of God?           ruption. And what, in Reformed language, does that
         Let us investigate.                                         imply? Nothing less than this, that God will apply  yis
         It appears that we have some common basis, on which         irresistible,  .almighty grace to the heart of that sinner,
      to stand and from which to proceed, in the fundamentally       and will certainly renew him. He will surely not purpose
     ., Reformed and Biblical truth of election,and reprobation.     to leave him in his wickedness, though he loves him  ?
      For thus writes Rev. Kuiper: "Strictly speaking, the           No. But, then, what is the final conclusion? That the
      present dispute is not about election. We all believe in       sinner, whom God loves, though He hates his wicked-
      election -and reprobation." Very well. We are glad, for        ness is not the reprobate, but the elecr sinner. Plainly,
      the author's sake with this admission, and we will take        Kuiper's argumentation and illustration is deceiving. He
      him at his word.  Pe will also admit that the question         alleges to deal with the reprobate wicked and he is actu-
      we are dealing with concerns those who are rhe objects         ally treating the elect child of God.
      of God's reprobation. Concerning them  Rev.  Ruiper.              Kuiper must admit this.
'     preached and wrote at the time. Of them he said that               Or he must retract his statement that he believes in
      God loved them, though He hated their wickedness. And          reprobation.
      them he compared with that wicked son, loved by his                Or it is still up to him to show, how God can love
      God-fearing mother.                                            sinner and hate his wickedness and yet refuse to deliver
         Now let us see.                                             that object of His love from his misery..
         What is reprobation? In order that we may have                 But now let us return to the subject proper.  Is there
     more common ground and there can be no dispute about            one single statement or allusion in Scripture to prove the
     ,minor  matters, I will offer a  dehnition  of that doctrine    contention, that God loves the reprobate sinner, but that
      ro which also Rev. Kuiper can surely subscribe. It  IS         Xe hates his sin?  Is that proposition at all supported
      the eternal and sovereignly free and righteous counsel of      by Scripture? Certainly not. Scripture speaks an  x en-
      God whereby He purposed and purposes to leave some             tirely different language. A  few  passages  may suffice
      in their sin unto eternal damnation. This is an  Infra-        to convince us of the truth of this statement.
      definition and Rev. Kuiper can have no objection.. to its          We read in Rom.  9:13:  "As it is written, Jacob have
      language as being too strong and extreme. Now what             I: loved and Esau have I hated." Can this possibly sig-
      is implied in rhis doctrine ? For our purposeit is  suffi-     nify that God loved Esau but hated his wickedness?
      cient to point to the following:                               Certainly not, for first of all this is here declared accord-
         1. That God sovereignly rejected  personr, not qual-        ing to God's counsel and, therefore, irrespective of their
      ities or conditions. It is really essentially  Remonstran-     having done either good or evil, vs. 11. And secondly,
      tian to speak of qualities instead of persons.                 the reference is to  Mal.  12-4, where the effect of this
         2. That He did so freely, not on the basis of any           hatred of God upon the historical person of Esau and
      foreseen sin or -wickedness.                                   his generations is described in unambiguous language.
         3. That the purpose of this rejecting counsel and               Take Ps.  5  5, 6: "The foolish shall  .not stand in thy


               `2r-t                                      T H E   STkNDARD  H E A R E R

               sight; thou  hatest all the workers of iniquity. Thou              Let the extortioner catch all that he hath: and let the
               shalt destroy them that speak leasing; the Lord will               strangers spoil his labor. Let there be none  tgexte%pd
               abhor the bloody and deceitful man." Is it the foolish-            mercy  &to him, neither let there be any favour to his           I
               ness or the foolish, the work or the workers of iniquity,          fatherless children. Let his posterity be  cut off; and in  +
               the speech or the speakers of leasing, the bloody and              the generation following let their name be blotted out.
               deceitful deeds or the bloody and deceitful man, whom              Let the iniquity of his fathers! be remembered with the
               the Lord hates and abhors?                                         Lord; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
                        Or read Ps. 11:s : "The Lord trieth the righteous, but    Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may
               the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth."          cut  off  the memory of them from the earth.  Recausc
               Would it be at all possible to paraphrase the latter part          that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted
               of this verse in this- wise:  "the wicked and him that             the poor and needy man, that he might  &en slay the
               loveth violence the Lortl loveth but He hat&h his wick-            broken in heart. As he loved cursing so let it come unto
               edness and violence?'                                              him: as he delighted not in bIessing,  so let it be far from
                        Consider the language of Ps.  21%12 : "Thine hand         him.    As he clothed himself with cursing like as with
               shall find out all thine enemies; thy right hand shall find        a garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and
               out those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a                like oil into his bones." Ps.  109:6-B.  `;For the froward
               fiery oven in the time of thine anger; the Lord shall              is  aboinination  to the Lord: The curse of the Lord is in
               swallow them  -up in his wrath and the fire shall devour           the house of the wicked. Surely he scorneth rhe scorners.
               them. Their fruit shalt thou destroy  frdm  the earth, and         Prov. 3 :32-34. "They  rhat are of a froward heart are
               their seed from among the children of  men.  For they              abomination to the Lord, Prov.  11:20. "The Lord will
               intended evil against thee, they imagined a mischievous            destroy the house of the proud; the Lord is  far from
               device, which they are not able to perform, therefore,             the wicked." Prov.  15:2.5,   29. Every one thar is' proud
               shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt              in heart is abomination to the Lord, though hand join
               make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the               in hand he shall not be unpunished." Prov.  16:5.  "And
               face of them.`" Try and see whether you can justly put             he said, Go, tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but under-
      .I-      enmity for enemies, hatred for haters, etc., and whether           stand not  ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the
               you are able at all to insert the thought of Rev. H.  J.           heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and
               K&per that the Lord loveth these men whom the psalm-               shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear
               ist here makes the theme of his song.                              with  rheir ears, and understand with  their heart, and con-
                        Or put to. the same test the following language of        vert, and be  liealed,"  Is.  6:9, 10. "And he that believeth
               Scripture: ~"The face of the Lord is against them that do          not the Son shall not see life, the wrath of God abideth
               evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth."          on him," John 3 :3G. ,. "For-the  wrath of God is revealed
               Ps.  34:16. "Thou therefore, 0 Lord God of hosts, the              from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness               -
               God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen ; be `not            of men, who hold rhe truth under in unrighteousness.
               merciful  tb any wicked transgressors," Ps.  59:s. "Slay           Wherefore God also gave them up unto uncleanness . - .
               them not, lest my people forget; scatter them by thy               For this cause God gave them up unto vile affectiofis  . - .
              _ power; and bring them down, 0 Lord our shield. Far                And even as they did not like to retain God in their
               the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips let knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to
               them even be taken in their pride: and for cursing and             do rhose things which are not  conveni,ent,"  Rom.  l:lS,  "
               lying which they speak. Consume them in wrath, con-                23. 26, 28. "But unto them that are contentious, and do
               sume them that they may not be and let them know.that              not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indigna-
               God ruleth in Jacob unro the  ends of the earth," Ps.              tion and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul
._             59 :ii-13. "Let their table become a snare before them:            of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the
               and that which should have been to their welfare let it            Gentile,`" Rom.  2:5, 9. %od resisteth the proud but
               become a trap. Let their eyes-be darkened thar they see            gis-eth grace to rhe humble,""  James 4:6 ; I Pe., 5 :5.
               not; and make their loins continually to shake. Pour                  Such is the current language of Scripture with respect'
               out thine indignation unto them, and let they wrathful             to God's attitude toward the wicked, not only in the day
               anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be deso-             when His righteous judgment shall be revealed over all
               late; and let none dwell in their tents.         Add iniquity      men, but even  noti, while they are in the world.
               unto their iniquity; and let them not come into thy right-            We maintain, then, that we speak the language of ihe
               eousness.        Let them be blotted our of the book  .of the      Word of God, when we reject the sophistry  -of the dis-
               living, and be not written with the righteous." Ps. 69:            tinction between the wicked and his wickedness. Aside
               22-25, 27, 28. "Set thou a wicked man over him and                 from ail other considerations, such as the fact, that the
               let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be                distinction is a mere abstraction and does not esist in
               judged let him be condemned and let his prayer become              reality, there being no wickedness apart  from the wicked,
             * sin. Let his days be few; and let another take his office.         we maintain that the  1vord of God nowhere speaks the
               Let his children be fatherless and his wife be a widow.            language of that distinction.
               Let his children be continually vagebonds and beg; let                And we hold, that even after the-covenant that was
               them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.           established with Noah and his seed the distinction is


                                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                   275
                                                                                                                              --_-l___

maintained that  God loves the righteous only,  c.ven  in                                            PROTESi'EN
time, and that His soul even  uow loaths all the workers
of iniquity.                                                                       In ons vorig nummer kwamen  we klaar met de bespre-
                                                             H. Ii.         king van de "Drie Punten." We gavcn echter geen resutie
                                                                            van hct  betoogde,  en onthielden ons tevens van ale  be-
     HOLD, THAT FAST WHICH THOU HAST                                        spreking van de tijdens  de Synode van 1924 ingebrachte
                                                                            bezwaren  regen  de drie  Synodale  stellingen. Ook  thans
        "Should we gain the world's applause,                               willen  `we niet ingaan op hetgeen anderen deden; maar
.                Or to escape its harmless frown,                           we achtcn het  tech  wet onze  plicht, om onze lezers in
               Refuse to countenance thy cause,                             kennis te stellen met de protesten, die we onlangs zelf
                 And make Thy people's lot our own?                         hebben verzonden  aan het adres van de Synode van
               What shame should fill us in that day,                       Englewood, Illinois. En wij  doen   zulks met des te meer
                 When Thou Thy glory wilt display.                          vrijmoedigheid,  omdat ons een paar dagen verleden werd
                                                                            medegedeeld,  - niet ran officieele zijde  -, dat  Classis
              "No ; let the world cast out our name,                        Grand Rapids West,  aan  wie we  een~ getrouw afschrift
                 ,4nd vile account us if it will ;                          onzer bezwaren hadden   doen  toekomen, ons alle zedelijk
              If to confess our Lord be shame,                              retht op appel  ontzei. Door kennisneming van deze-pro-
                 Oh, then would we be viler still.                          testen kan de lezer  zich derhalve nogmaals op de hoogte
               For thee, 0 Lord, we all resign,                             stellen met hetgeen we gedurende `de laatste maanden
                 Content that Thou dost call us Thine.                      ychrcven
                                                                            .            in rerband met de  drie  punten,  en  zich  tevens
                                                                            vertrouwd  maken  met de kerkrechtelijke handelingen van
              "What transports then will fill our heart                     kerkeraad en Classis.
                 When Thou our worthless names wilt own.
               When we'shall see Thee as thou art                                  Vooraf kan nog  worden  medegedeeld, dat deze  pro-
                 And know as we ourselves are known,                        tcsten zijn opgesteld namens den kerkeraad der (Prot.)
               And then, from sin and sorrow free,                          Christelijke Gereformeerde kerk te Kalamazoo, Michi-
               Find our eternal rest with Thee."                            gan.  Op de gewone kerkeraadsvergadering van den
                                   -In "Our Hope,"  p. 394-S.               27sten  April, 1926, werden ze,  na  lezing  en bespreking,
                                                                            met  algemecne   stemmen  goedgekeurd, en werd verder
                                                                            bcsloten, dat: a)  bet protest tegen de afzetting van den
                       U GELDT DE  ZAAIK!                                   kerkeraad  zou. onderteekend  worden  door alle  kerke-
                 U geldt de zaak, Uw roem, Uw eere,                         raadsleden, alsmede door den leeraar ; b) de kerkeraads-
                    De zaak waarvoor wij staan ;                            leden,  uitgenomen  de leeraar, het protest tegen de afzet-
                 En juist omdat ze Uw zaak is, Heere' '                     ting van den leeraar zouden-  onderteekenen, en c) Op ver-
                    Kan zij  niet ondergaan.            '                   zoek  aan  leden in  voile  gemeenschap, in en buiten de
                 Tech  weten  wij, het tarwegraan                           plaatselijke gemeente,  ecu afschrift  -van deze  t&~e  pro-
                    Ran niet gerijpt in `t zqnlicht  staan.                 te.sten  ter onderteekening zou  worden  verstrekt. En  be-
                 Tenzij het eerst gestorven zij                             treffende  het protest tegen den leerstelligen inhoud van
                    Van de eerste, dorre windsels vrij.                     de  drie  punten   werd besloten, dat: a) de leeraar zelf dit
                                                                            bezwaarschrift  ZOLI   opzenden naar de  Synode  van 1926;
                 Gij  zelf, o Jezus!  Heer  en  Boofd!                      b) dat de kerkeraad, de leeraar uitgezonderd, daarvan
                    Won door het kruis -de kroon ;                          een afschrift  aan het adres van die  Synode  zou  richten,
                  En voert een ieder, die gelooft,                          en c) dat  leden in  voile  gemeenschap, in de plaatselijke
                    Lang-s  d' eigen  `weg ten troon.                       gemeente en in Christelijke Gereformeerde kerken van
                 Welaan, ook ons een deel bereid                            Kalamazoo en andere plaatsen, die daartoe begeerte had-
                    Aan  lijden, en  aan heerlijkheid!           "          den geopenbaard, in de gelegenheid zouden  worden   ge-
                  Geleid ons door der graven schoot-                        steld,  om` een  copie van dit protest, door hen  ondertee-
                    Naar `t eeuwig, zalig morgenrood !                 -    kend, en verder vertegenwoordigd door hun  mend,  Ds.
      ".__                                                                  H. Danhof, op te  zenden   aan het adres van de Synode
                                           J. J. L.  Ten Kate.              van Englewood, Illinois. Tevens werd besloten, dat deze $
                                                                            verschillende partijen van deze onderscheidene  protesten
               Daar is uit `s  wereIds duistere wolken                      een afschrift zouden  zenden   aan  Classis  Grand Rapids
                  Een  licht der  lichten  opgegaan.                        West, vergaderd te Grand Rapids, Michigan, den llden
               Romt tot zijn schijnsel alle volken                          Mei, 1926. Al deze besluiten zijn ook uitgevoerd. Bij
                  En gij mijn  zieIe  bid het  aan.                         gelegenheid van de ingebruikneming van het nieuwe  kerk--
                Het komt de schaduwen beschijnen,                           gebouw der (Prot.) Christelijke Gereformeerde  Gemeen-
                  De zwarte schaduw van den dood ;                          te van Kalamazoo, 5 .Mei, `26, hebben ongeveer 250 leden
                De  nacht  der zonde zal verdwijnen,                        in volle gcmeenschap van onderscheidene Chr. Ger. en
                  Genade  spreidt haar morgenrood.                               Prot. Chr. Ger. kerken afschriften van bovengenoemde


  2      7      6                             T H E   STAtNDARD BEARE'R                                r

  protesten, van hunne naamteekeningen  voorzien,  laten by 10:00 A. M. Wednesday morning, January 21, 1925,
  opzenden  aan de betrokken lichamen.                  In her protest with a definite written answer of your pastor to the two-
  tegen den leerstelligen inhoud der  driepunten   is ook nog  = fold requirement of the Consist&y.
  de begeerte uitgedrukt, dat  Classis  Grand Rapids West                                       Fraternally Yours,
  met de onderteekenaars  mocht protesteeren tegen de                                               Classis.  Grand Rapids West.
  Synodale  uitspraken van Kalamazoo, 1924.  Doch, zooals                                (was signed). W. Stuart, Praeses,
  we reeds  re  kennen gaven, de Classis  heeft al deze stuk-                                               J. P. Battema, Secretary.* "
  ken, ongelezen, ter zijde gelegd.                                         `<Naar aanleiding hiervan vergaderde de kerkeraad in
        Volge hier nu een getrouw afschrift van al deze pro- .speciale zitting den 20 Jan., 1925. Op die vergadering
  testen, alsmede van de officieele stukken daarbij  behoo- werd met alle stemmen besloten, uitgenomen &en ouder-
 3 rende.                                                               ling,  het volgende aan de Classis  te antwoorden:
                                                                           (Copy of the reply of the Consistory of Kalamazoo T
                         "Kalamazoo, Michigan, April 27, 1926.               to the request of  Classis  Grand Rapids `West,
  "Aan de Synode der Chr. Ger. kerken,                                                        dated January 16, 1925)
       vergadert  te Englewood, Illinois,
       den Qden Juni, e. v. d., 1926.                                                  " Kalamazoo, Michigan, January 20, ..1925.
                                                .  '
              "Geachte Broeders :-                                      " `Classis Grand Rapids West !                      s
        "Ondergeteekenden  meenen  ernstig te moeten   protes-              Dear Brethren :-
  teeren tegen de afzetting van den kerkeraad der Eerste                 I The Consistory of the First Christian Reformed
  Chr. Ger. Kerk te Kalamazoo, Michigan, door  Classis                  Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan, begs to reply to your
  Grand Rapids West.                                                    missive of Jan. 16, 1925, as follows:-
        "Deelen we eerst de geschiedenis' dezer afzetting                  I.' Met in special session, Saturday, Jan. 17,  1925,
m e d e .                                                               the Consistory of said Church, received your communica-
        "De kerkeraad had naar de vergadering van  Classis              tion and took due cognizance of your request, viz.:-
  Grand Rapids West, die den 13den Jan., 1925, gehouden                     `The Classis Grand Rapids West hereby requires you
  werd, afgevaardigd: Ds. H. Danhof en ouderling C. to require of your minister:-
  Kloosterman ; deze laatste bro,eder  werd later vervangen `-              lj That he declare himself unequivocally whether
  door zijn secundus; ouderling C. Lemmers. De  lastbrief- he is in full agreement, yes or no, with the three points
  dezer broeders werd door de Classis aanvaard, en zij zelf             of the Synod of Kalamazoo, Acta Synodi,  1924, Art. 132,
  namen, voor vier dagen, aan de werkzaamheden der Clas-                p. 145-147.
  sis deel.                                                                 2) An unconditional promise that in the matter of ,
                Aan den avond van den 16den Jan., `25, zond de
  Classis hen  echter  naar huis, zooals zij  zei,  naar  aanlei-       the three points he will submit (with the right to appeal}
  ding van zekere instructies, waarvan de kerkeraad even-               to the Confessional Standards of the Church as inter-
  we1 niet de  minste kennis had, en waarvan den inhoud                  preted by the Synod of 1924 i. e. neither publicly nor
  zelfs niet aan zijne afgevaardigden werd medegedeeld, -                privately propose, teach or defend either by-preaching or
  met de volgende missieve:                                              writing any sentiment contrary to the Confessional
         (Copy of the first missive of the  Classis  to the              Standards of the Church as interpreted by the Synod of
                               Consistory)                               1924 and in case of an appeal that he in the `interim will
                     "`Grand Rapids,  Mich., January 16, 1925.           acquiesce in rhe judgment already passed by the Synod of
  " `_To the Consistory of Kalamazoo I Christian Reformed                1924.
       Church  :-                                                           The Classis  further request you to furnish the Classis
  Dear Brethren :-                                                      by 10 :00 A. M. Wednesday morning, Jan. 21, 1925, with
        The  Classis Grand Rapids West hereby requires  you              a definite written answer of your pastor to the twofold
  to require of your minister:-                                          requirement of the Consistory.
        1. That he declare himself unequivocally whether he                                     Fraternally  -Yours,
  is in full agreement, yes or no, with the three points of                                         Classis  Grand Rapids West,             .-.
  ,the Synod of *Kalamazoo Acta Synodi  1924, Article 132,                                                     " W. Stuart, Pres. ,
  page 145 to 147.                                                                                                J. P. Battema, Seer.'
        2. An unconditional promise that in the matter of                   2. Though not required  to--do  so, our pastor, Rev.
  the three points he will submit (with the right of. appeal)            Henry Danhof, on his own accord furnished said  Con-
  to the Confessional Standards of the Church as inter- sistbry with the following unequivocal and definite writ-
  preted by the Synod of 1924 i.e. neither publicly nor                  ten answer to your request, and signed by him, viz:-
  privately propose, teach or defend either by preaching or `To the Consistory of the First. Christian Reformed  b
  writing any sentiments- contrary  ro the Confessional                    C h u r c h : -
  Standards,*of  the Church as interpreted by the Synod of Dear Brethren :-
  1924 and in case of an appeal that he in the interim will                 1 hereby do state and declare unequivocally and
  acquiesce in the judgment already passed by Synod of                   definitely that I am not in full agreement wirh the three
  1924.                                                                  points of Synod of Kalamazoo,  Acta  Synodi  1924, Art.
        The Classis further request you to furnish the Classis           132, p.  145-147.


                                          T H E   STAlNDARD B E A R E R                                                     277

   I hereby further state and declare that Synodical deci-.        I. The  consistorj proceeds from the assumption
sions, which according to my sincere  convidt`ion  are  ser-    that classis G. R. West is considering charges and accusa-
tied  and binding, ought not suffer violation.                  tions against Rev. Danhof. Hence its request that these
   Therefore, if informed correctly, viz: that charges of       be laid before the consistory. -The classis calls the atten-
violation of Synodical decisions against me were brought tion of the consistory to the fact thar the various  ovcr-
to the attention of  Classis Grand Rapids West, I hereby        tures presented to the classis in this matter, were from a
implore and request the Consistory to require of said           technical viewpoint not so much accusations against
Classis  : -                                  .                 Rev. Danhof as requests to the classis to enforce the doc-
   a. That either said  Classis herself lay such charges        trinal decisions of the last Synod. Pursuant to these
before the Consistory, or that she require of the plain- requests, the  classis, after ascertaining that the consistory
tiffs r0 do so.                                                 of Kalamazoo I had not enforced these doctrinal  .decisions,
    b. That such accusations or  .complaints  be laid be-       in conformity with the promise given in the Formula of
fore the Consistory in unequivocal and definite language, Subscription, required such action of the consistory in its
and in writing.                                                 letter of the 16th of January. This is the good right and           s
    c. That your pastor be granted an opportunity to solemn duty of the classis, in accordance with Art. 36 of
answer such complaints or charges before the  Con-              our, Church Order. `The classis has rhe same jurisdiction
sistory.                                                        over the consistory as the particular Synod has over the
                     Very sincerely yours,                      cIasses,  and the General Synod over the Particular.'
                                           Henry Danhof.'          Ii. The  classis cannot attach great value to nor can
    Said Consistory presents herewith the reply of its          it at present take any action on the voluntary statement
pastor to Classis.  Grand Rapids West, as required.             of the pastor relative to the three points, and for the fol-
    3. Complying with the request of its pastor, said lowing reasons :
Consistory further begs to inform  Classis  Grand Rapids           a)     the classis requires an answer of the pastor to the
West :--                                                        twofold  requirement   tif  th.e consistory, as  required in our
    a. That said Consistory meets, D. V., next Tuesday, letter of the 16th of January. Until the  classis becomes
Jan. 27, 1925, at 7:30 P. M.                                    convinced that the consistory will not require this of its
    b. That said Consistory hereby requires of  Classis         pastor, the class& does not intend to deal directly with
Grand Rapids West to furnish the Consistory of the First        Rev.  Danhofi.                    ..
Christian Reformed Church of Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  wirh  a           b)     in the voluntary statement of the pastor, only the
written statement of each and all complaints, accusations,      question involved in the first requirement is touched
etc., which she might wish to lay before said Consistory        upon. There is no promise or refusal to submit (with
against its minister. And such charges, indictments, etc.,      right of appeal),
should be in writing, expressed in definite and unquivocal          c)    technically this voluntary statement 01 the pastor
language ; and be in the possession of the clerk of said        is not properly before this body, since the classis has nat
Consistory not later then Jan. 27, `25, 7:30-P. M.              as yet required this, nor has the cnnsistory.          If Rev.
    c. That said Consistory will then hear Rev. Danhof,         Danhof wishes to make a voluntary statement as to his
concerning each and all matters laid to his charge, and         disagreement' with the three points he must do so in the.
report, if so required, to the  Classis its findings, con-      way of protest or gravamina, and in the interim, that is
clusions, opinions and decisions.                               until the next Synod he must submit. Under those con-
                     Cordially Yours,                           ditions the consistory could and should consider his objec-
                (was signed)    C. Vander Roest, Vice Pres.     tions to the three points, and ultimately the case would
                                C. Lemmers,  Clerk.' "          reach  classis and be considered there. But before either
    "De Classis nam met dit antwoord van den kerkeraad          classis or consistory could properly consider his disagree-
geen genoegen; maar richtte den 22 Jan., 1925, de volgen-       ment with the three points, there must be the promise of
 de tweevoudige communicatie  tot den kerkeraad :               submission in the interim; (see Formula of Subscription).
 (Copy of  rhe twofold communication of  Classis Grand ,4nd it is on this point that Rev. Danhof has nothing
   Rapids West to the Consistory of the First Christian          definite to say.
   Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, dated Jan. 22, `25)                III. The  classis calls the attention of rhe consistory  -
    A. Copy of the first part of this twofold communica-        to the fact that it (the consistory) has not met the
 tion :-                                                         requirements of the  classis as embodied in its letter of
      " `Bethel Christian Reformed Church, Grand Rapids,        January 16. Ir has failed  Icompletely  to give the  classis.
                                   Mich:, .Jan. 22, 1925.       the answer of its pastor to the twofold requirement of the,
                                                                               .
 To the Consistory of the Chr. Ref. Church of Kala-              consistory, as required by  classis. The plain fact is that
   mazoo  I.                                                     the consistory has required nothing of its pastor, that it
 Dear Brethren :-                                                frankly admits this and does not seem to intend any
     The  classis G. R. West of the Christian Reformed action of this  na'ture.
 Church begs to reply to your missive of the 20th of Jan-           Its demand that all charges or accusations against
 uary., as follows:  1                                           Rev. Danhof be laid before the consistory seems to imply


223                                            T H E   STANDXRD   BEXRER

that in the opinion of the consistory the  classis  Aus  no            In case Rev. Danhof resigns,  Classis  requests a
right to make the requirements as embodied in its letter            dcfinife unequivocal answer to  this'letter  and the require-
of Jan.  16.  Our conviction that this is the correct inter-        ments therein embodied by Saturday morning  9:30 Jan.
pretation of the stand of the  con$story is strengthened by         24, 1925.
the language used by the loyal consistory member in `his                                Yours fraternally,
protest against  `ten verzet des kerkcraads tegen den eisch                          The  Classis  Grand Rapids  W&t,
der classis.'                                                                       (was signed)  W. Stuart, Pres.
       In consideration of the foregoing  on the basis of Art.                                            J.  D e  Haan,  S  6.
36 above referred to, and in order that the  classis may               "Gedurende den nacht van Jan. 23-24, 1925, l+am de
know definitely whether the consistory of Kal.  i submits           kcrkeraad nogmaals in  speciale zitting bijeen. Het  vd-
or refuses to sub&t to  Synodical  and classical jurisdic-          gende is een afschrift van hetgeen hij  besloot  aan de
tion, the  classis hereby again requires you to require of          Classis  te antwoorden :
your minster  :                                                     (Copy of the reply of the  Cohsistory  of  Kal?mazoo I to
       1. That he declare himself unequivocally whether he            the twofold communication of  Classis  Grand Rapids
is in full agreement yes or no with the three points of the                      West, dated January 22, 1925.)
Synod of Kalamazoo, Acta Synodi  1924, Art. 132, p. 145-                                      `Kalamazoo, Michigan,`jan.  23, 1925.
147.                                                                Classis  Grand Rapids  \Vsst!
       "?i-. An unconditional promise  t&t in the matter of Dear Brethren:-
the three points he will sumbit (with the right of appeal)             In reply to the two communications of the 22nd  of
to the Confessional Standards of the Church, as inter- January, 1925, the Consistory of the First Reformed
preted by the Synod of 1924,  e. i. neither publicly nor            Church of Kalamazoo, ?+ichig+an, begs to advise the Clas-
privatel?:  propose, teach or defend either by preaching .or sis as follows:-  -                           ",.
writing any sentiment contrary to the Confessional                     :I. Touching the conditional request of the  Classis
Standards `of the Church, as interpreted by the Synod of            i. e. that the Consistory declare itself unequivocally
1924, and in case of an,appeal  that he in the interim will         whether it is in full agreement, yes or no, with the three
acquiesce in the judgment already passed by the Synod               points of the Synod of I(ala&azoo, Acta Synodi  1924, Art.
of 1924.                                                            132, p. 145-147, and - promise that in the matter of the
       IV. The classis request' the consistory to furnish the       three points it mill submit (with the right to appeal) to
classis by 9:30 Friday morning January 23, 1925, with, a            the Confessional Standards of the Church as interpreted
definite written ansmer  of the pastor to the twofold re-           by the Synod of 1924 i. e. neither publicly nor privately
quirement of the consistory, or in case the consistory will         proposet  teach or defend either by preaching or writing
not submit to classical jurisdiction in this matter, with a any sentiment contiary to-the Confessibnal  Standards of
definite written statement to that effect.                          the Church as interpreted by the Synod of 1924 and in
                           Sincerely yours,                         case of `an appeal that in the interim will acquiesce in the
                                    Classis G. R. West,             judgment already passed by the Synod of 1924;  - --
                 (was signed)  W. Stuart, Pres.                     relhtive   tp this conditional request of  Classis the said
                     .              J. P. Battema,  Seer.           Consistory  advises  the  CIassis  that Rev. H. Danhof did  ~
       B. Copy of the second part of this twofold communi-          not resign his office.
cation  :-                                                             B. In regard to the reply of the said  Classis  to the
                          `Grand Rapids,,  Mich., Jan. 22, 1925.    Consistory's communication of the 20th of January, 1925,
To the Consistor>-  of the Chr. Ref. Church Kal. I.                 said Consistory wishes to state the foilowing:
Dear Brethren  :-                                                     1. Granted, as is maintained by the  Classis,  that the
                                                                                                                  -..
       In case Rev. H. Danhof should resign his office at the       various overtures presented to the Classis  in this matter
coming consistory meeting as he himself has declared to-            `were from a technica  viewpoint not so much accusations
day to be his intention, the  Classis requires of the Con-          against Rev. Da&of  as requests to the Classis  to enforce
s&tory :                                                            the doctrinal decisions of the last Synod;  - this  b-eing
        1. That it declare itself unequivocally whether it is       granted, for the sake of argument, the  Classis  should have
in full agreement yes or no with the 3 points of the Synod          furnished sufficient proof for her own assumption `that
of Kal. .\cta Synodi  1924, Art. 132, p. 145-7.                     the Consistory of Kalamazoo I did not enforce these doc-
       2. An unconditional promise that in the matter of            trinal decisions in conformity with the promise given in
~the three points it will submit (with the right of appeal)         the Formula of Subscription.'
to the Confessional Standards of the Church as inter-                  This the  Classis  failed to do. And the Consistory of
preted by the Synod of 1924 i. e. neither `publicly nor             said Church is not at all aware of the fact, if a fact it be,
privately propose, teach or defend either by preaching or           that it neglected its duties. No charges or complaints of
writing any sentiment contrary to the Conf. Standards               neglect' of duty relative to this matter referred to by
of the Church as interpreted by the Synod of 1924 and in            Classis  were ever brought to the attention of said  Con-
case uf an appeal that in the interim will acquiesce in the         sistory. And neither did the Consistory ever receive any
judgment already passed by the Synod of 1924.                       cliarges, complaints, accusations, indictments, or  any-

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

thing whatsoever of a similar nature, touching the matter                   DE  JONGSTE  KERKELI JKE STRI  JD.,
referred to by  Classis  against its pastor, Rev.  Da&of.
      Even  Classis Grand Rapids West herself, although                                IV. Na de  Synode
more than sis months have passed since Synod of Kala-
mazoo 1924 met, and although said Classis  does not now                             "De Twee-en-Negentig"
meet for the first time after said Synod, (she also met in
Sept. 1924, four months ago) nevertheless, said  Classis               Hier ter stede staan de groep menschen, die niet meer
has neither laid anything to the charge of Rev. Danhof,             bij onze  gemeente  behooren en  waarvan  thans  Ds.  Van
nor any complaint against the Consistory of Kalamazoo I.            Wijk zijn leeraars-traktement  ontvangt,  bij jong en oud
      Did, perhaps, something unusual happen?  If so, may bekend als "De Twee en Negentig." Van "De  Twee en
not the Consistory know it?  Classis' reply to the  com-            Negentig" spreken de menschen in hunne  gesprekken
niunication  of the Consistory of Jan. 20, 1925, makes no           over den kerkelijken  strijd en ieder weet dan waarover `t
mention whatsoever of any definite and unequivocal                  gaat ; van "The Ninety Two" spreken en zingen  -zelfs  de
charge, complaint, accusation, or any such like thing,              kinderen  en het is lang geweest, als. men op de een of
either against Rev. Danhof, or against his Consistory.              andere vergadering bij geval het  getal 92 voor de  aan-
      Please, inform the Consistory as to the facts; charge         dacht  kreeg, dat men een glimlach niet kon  onderdruk-
either the Consistory or Rev. Danhof with something                 ken, omdat men aanstonds  dacht  aan "De Twee en
definite and unequivocal, and we promise to perform our             Negentig." Ongetwijfeld is het een naam, waarmede ze
duty !                                                              rot in lengte van dagen zullen worden  genoemd.
      2. As long as this is not done, the Consistory does              Ook is het opzichzelf genomen geen schimpnaam.
not deem it proper to require of Rev. Danhof to declare             Het is waar, wat sommige  leden  van dien  groep  soms
himself relative to the three points of Synod referred to           tegenwerpen, dat ze riu tech waarlijk geen twee en negen-
by  Classis,  and hereby does state and declare that it             tig in  aantal  zijn, daar  ze sedert het begin van hun  be-
would not dare to comply with the request of the'classis.           staan  tech eenigszins zijn toegenomen. Maar het is  001~
      3. The Consistory of Kalamazoo  I prays  Classis              waar, dat de naam  `Twee en  Negentig"  wortelt in de.
Grand Rapids West not to insist upon the demand i. e.               historie en van de geschiedenis maakt men zich niet licht
that the Consistory require of Rev. Danhof that he                  weer af, Laat ons zien, hoe men aan dien naam is geko-
clcclare himself relative to the three points of Synod              men.
referred to by  Classis,  except she can prove that said               Ik Iees in de notulen des kerkeraads  van  de Eastern
Consistory willfully neglected its duties, and without lay-         Ave. gemeente, 12 Sept., 1924:          ."
ing a definite unequivocal charge or complaint, or any-                "Ter tafel een protest van 11 belijdende  leden tegen
thing of like nature against its pastor, Rev. Danhof. Said          de gehouden vergadering der gemeente." `             ,
Consistory would deem such a procedure an act of gross
injustice. And said Consistory does hereby state and                   Dit protest was ingediend  aan den avond van den
declare that in the case said Classis  does insist and pro-         2den September, denzelfden avond waarop ook de  be-
ceed, it will not be able to comply with the request of wuste  en beruchte gemeente-vergadering gehouden was.
Classis,  but it will have to protest against such action of        Dien avond was er  echter geen kerkeraadsvergadering,
Classis and appeal to the next Synod.            .j                 zoodat dit protest eerst den 12den Sept. in behandeling
                    Very sincerely yours,                           kwam. Het luidde als volgt :
                                                                       "Aan den kerkeraad der Chr. Ger. kerk van Eastern
 ^                      In name of said Consistory,
                                Jan. 24, 2 A. M., 1925,             Ave., Grand Rapids, Mich., 2 September, 1924.
      1       (was signed)    C. Vander Roest, Vice Pres. .            "Waarde broeders :-Ondergeteekenden,  leden  dezer
                              C. Lemmers, Clerk.'              j    gemeente, protesteeren ten sterkste tegen het besluit des
      "Nag dienzelfden dag heeft de Classis Ds. Danhof uit kerkeraads voor het samenroepen van eene  gemeente-ver-
zijn ambt ontzet, nadat hij het volgende op de hem  ge- gadering op den avond van  -den 2den Sept., 1924.  Vol-
stelde vragen geantwoord had :                          ._          gens aankondiging zal deze  vergkdering  gehouden  wor-
                                                       k D.         den om in de  controverse  tusschen kerkeraad en  classis
                                       (Wordt  vervolgd.)           de gemeente gelegenheid te geven zich uit te spreken of          '
                                                                    ze de zijde van den kerkeraad kiest of van de classis.
                                                                        "Wij achten deze  beweging een daad van oproer en
      162. Wie in de leer valt, die doet  niet een'  mensche-       rebellie  en in strijd met elk gezond  beginsel  van  Gere-
lijke, maar een' duivelsche val,  namelijk: van den  hoo-           formeerde kerkregeoring. Het kan niet anders meenen
gen  hemel tot den afgrond der  belle. Want het is met               (mbet zijn: beteekenen, H. H.)  dan een diep zondig
de menschen, die in hunne dwaling volharden, zoo  ge-               pogen om de gemeente, die slechts  eene zijde  `der zaak
steld, dat zij hunne zonden  niet alleen  niet erkennen,            hoort,  op te ruien tot  rebellie tegen  classis en synode.
maar  willen  het nog daarenboven verdedigen,  als ware             Onze Kerkenorde kent geen recht van appel anders dan
-bet de allergrootste gerechtigheid en  heiligheid;  waar-          op  classis en synode. Te appelleeren op eene  gemeente-
door het  dus onmogelijk is, dat zij vergeving kunnen               vergadering is onwettig, wanordelijk en kan tot  niets
erlangen.                                                           anders leiden dan tot tweedracht en scheuring.


                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
  ---... --II_._                 "    ..-           -...._ -                                                                           281

  ping des leeraars aan genoemde drie punten van den kan-         hicr slechts  aan, dat zelfs de Synide  dit niet had aange-
  se1 bekend gemaakt worde,  daar wij  overtuigd zijn, dat        durfd. In de tweede plaats, dat deze protestanten komen
  zoo alleen de rust en vrede in de gemeente kan  terug-          aandragen met dezelfde leugentjes  aan&ande de beruchte
  keeren.                                                         gemeente-vergadering. Vrouwen en meisjes werden aan-
      "2) Wij vragen van den kerkeraad dat deze  zich             gespoord om te  stemmen.   * En dat nog  we1 jonge (sic  !)
  onderwerpe aan de besluiten onzer meerdere vergaderin-          meisjes. Nog eens: er is nooit  over  iets gestemd op die
  gen, voornamelijk  aan het  nu reeds tweemaal genomen gemeente-vergadering. En  appel  op het  ,,volk !  Eenvou-
  besluir dat de censure over de drie broeders moet worden        dig niet waar. Het volk  Wilde  protesteeren; Het had de
  opgeheven. Daar dit besluit der classis weer rust op een vergadering der classis bijgewoond in Bates St. kerk. Dat
  Synodaal besluit is het kerkelijke  rebellie   zich daaraan     was genoeg'.  En eindelijk verdient de aandacht, dat deze
  niet te onderwerpen. Wil onze kerkeraad  -zich  niet  aan       protestanten uitgaan van de gedachte, dat een kerkeraad
  deze besluiten onderwerpen dan verbiedt ons geweten onvoorwaardelijk de besluiten der classis  heeft uit te voe-
  ons om met een kerkeraad die in rebellie  leeft langer het      ren, ook dan  wanneer  de kerkeraad  zich beroept op  de                              ,
  avondmaal te vieren, maar  zullen  ons genoodzaakt zien         Synode tegen de classis. Voorts   hebt,,ge ook hier weer
  om de kerkeraad bij de Classis aan  re klagen.                  dezelfde hoogdravende taal en het schermen met alle be-
      "3) Wij protesteeren tegen de vergadering der  ge- gmselen  van Gereformeerd kerkrecht zonder eenig
  meente gehouden den avond den 2den September en we1             bewijs.
  op de volgende gronden.                                            Hoe het met deze vijftig protestanten ging en hoe ze
                                                                  ten  slotte  "De Twee- en Negentig"  we?den   hopen  we een'
      "a. Beroep op het voIk tegcnover Classicale besluiten volgende keer te verhalen.
  betreffende zaken die de regeering der kerk aangaan, is
  iets  dat lijnrecht indruischt tegen  alle  beginselen  van                                  i'                             H. H.
 gereformeerd  Kerkrecht.
      "b. Ook  vrouwen en jonge meisjes werden  aange-                            B E R K H O B   A S   E X E G E T E   _,
 spoord om te komen.  stemmen,  geheel tegen de aloude
 regel dat alleen mans-lidmaten stemgerechtigden zijn;               Our previous essay was the first chapter of our
      "Wij verzoeken den kerkeraad deze zaken met bekwa-          analysis of Berkhof's exposition of Matt. 5  :44, 45 and of
 men spoed te behandelen. Wij vragen om een  antwoord             Luke 6  :35. We maintained, that the professor's exegesis
 voor of op den eersten Oct. 1924, te bezorgen bij W. Hol-
 werda,  900 Baxter Street of bij F. Boerkool, 634 Fulton         of these Scriptures is decidedly unscriptural. The pro-
                                                                  fessor, so we avered,  failed to give reliable exegesis. And
  Street.  Aan de onhoudbare  toestand  in  .onze  gemeente       his failure, so we pointed out, is due to the fact, that he
 meet spoedig ecn einde komen, `desnoods door het zamen-
  roepen  van een  speciale   Classis.                            failed to regard these Scriptures as integral parts of the
                                             In de woorden van
 onzen  Ieeraar, `Zoo kan het met langer'!                        entire word of God. Berkhof confined himself to the near
      "Was get., H. Hoeksema, Fred Boerkool, Orrie Date-          surroundings of rhe text. His renderings, therefore, are                    .
."' ma,  Benj.. Rietema, Henry B. De  Haan,  John Bylsma,         of no value.
 John Kamp, Tony  Zylstra,   Nickolas Holst, J.  F.  Ozinga,         In our former treatise we placed the passages in ques-
 P. Timmer,  Ysbrand Vos, J. Beukema, R.  .Dertien,  John         tion in the path of the rays of the far surroundings of the
 Hoeksema,  13. Boelema, A. Klaassen, John Starkenburg,           text. This light it is which is making it possible to detect
 J. Koorndyk, P. Van Hekken, William Holwerda, John               the real meaning of these particular utterances of Jesus.
 Jolman, S. Jolman, Harm Holwerda, `Wm. Jonker, G.                This essay is meant  to  be a complete record of all our
 Japenga, F. Johnson P. Koning, John W. Holwerda, B.              findings.
 H. Ritsema, Mrs.  I?. Sterkenburg, Katie Scheepstra, M.             Our first step was to call attention to the fact, how
 Holwerda, Peter Ploeg, A. M. Bruininks, Mrs. j. Tiddens, that Scripture divides the group humanity into sub-                                      -
 George Bylsma, E. De Haan, J. Datema,  `I'. Vander Lugt,         groups. The Bible takes as a fundamentum divisiones
 S. Vander Veen, Ralph Kok, D. Hunderman, H. P. Roze-             the elect and breaks up the group humanity into elect and
 ma, Mr. John Karsies, Mrs.  H, De Weerdt; Mrs. D.                not-elect or reprobate. God's word knows of' another
 Agema."            (Er was nog  &Cn naam meer onder dit stuk,    division. Taking as a fundamentum'divisiones the wicked
 doch  deze broeder kwain op den kerkeraad met het ver- holy writ divides rhe group humanity into wicked and not-
 zoek, dat men  zijn naam  Wilde  schrappen, daar degene, wicked or just. And then there is a third division, namely,
 die,.met  de lijst bij hem gekomen was, hem had wijs  ge-        my  enemier  and not-my enemies. Here the basis of divi-
 maakt, dat hij v66r den leeraar zou stemmen  als  hij zijn       sion is my  enemies.
naam teekende !)           :.                                        Which of these three divisions, so it was asked, is
      Bovenstaande is een getrouw afschrifr, `met de fouten regulative of the Christian's love&d  of his hatred. The
 voor rekening van den opsteller.                                 first division is directive of the course of my love and of
      Aandacht verdient in dit protest-verzoekschrift, dat my .hatred only in so far as the elect lie within the range
 men hier voor het eerst komt aandragen met de drie pun-          of my observation. Those who are of the party of God
 ten. De leeraar  moet  trouw  zweren  aan dit stukje  ket-       hate the elect wicked one `as a historical phenomena
 terij van de Synode van Kalamazoo! We herinneren er              whose election is unknown to them. The children of the


  282                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R               -                                - -
                           0
  light love the elect wicked one as soon as he begins            in quaestie niet, nl., dat God zelfs den niet-uitverkorene
   radiating the light which God kindles in his soul, in other gunst of genade bewijst. Zeker,  `Goi geeft vele gaven,
  words, as soon  as it becomes apparent that he is an elect.     die  als  gaven,  Gods ook  goed zijn,  aan  alle men&hen,
The reprobation of the reprobate is a hidden matter. maar die gaven zijn geen zegen, maar vloek voor hen, die
  Hence, the reprobate cannot be hated as reprobate. niet uitverkoren zijn.                     De  overige schriftuurplaatsen,
  Nevertheless, the rejected ones must and can be hated waarnaar de Synode verwijst, zijn  echter  voldoende, om
  for they are wicked, bad trees are they,  tearing  bad          dit bezwaar te bntzenuwen.  Letten  we allereerst op de
  fruit. it is plain now to what extent and in what respect       parallel-plaatsen uit de  Ber&ede. In  Matth;   5:44, 45
  the sub-groups elect and not-elect are directive of the be-     lezen  we.. . . . . In Lukas 36~35, 36 luidt het . . . . " S O
- liever's love and,of his hatred. Berkhof's assertion to the far Berkhof. It is plain, that Berkhof looks upon these
  effect that God  wt~t wie de  uitverkormen   sijn,  doch wij  particular utterances of Christ as superior affirmations
  weten  bet  nit? is not altogether true.                        of the theory of common grace. Let us attend to the pro-
         The elect and the reprobate are known to God. For fessor's  exegesis of the above Scriptures.
   He made the division. It is H'e, who determined the num-           The important terms in these Scriptures are the terms
  ber of each group. And it is the plain teachings of Scrip-      unjust  and  unthankful.  If the two groups designated by
  ture that God hates the reprobate and loves the elect.          these terms include the repro&&e  unthankful and unjust
   Election and reprobation do direct the course of His ,IOVe  - the exponents of the theory of common grace are ju.&fied
  and of His  hatied,. For scriptural proof see my former         in  ,maintaining  that Scripture is on their side. Professor
  article.                                                        Berkhof insists that  the group  unjust  or  unthankful  does
         The second division which has  as its basis of division include the reprobate sinner. Writes Berkhof: "In deze
  the wicked and which breaks up the group humanity into          plaatsen  worden  wij opgewekt, om onze vijanden lief te
  the sub-groups  z&cked  and  not-wicked  or  just  is to the    hebben,  en  lief  te hebben ook  dati  eelfs wanneer  zij  zich  ais
  fullest extend regulative of the believer's love and of his     vijanden  Gods.  opexbaren."  And again: "Het is  niets  dan
  hatred,' but not of God's: God's word bids me to hate           een uitvlucht, om te zeggen, dat deze plaatsen slechts be-
   the bad trees bearing bad fruit and to love the good trees     doelen,  dat God zijn uitverkoren  vijandeq   zegent-"  Bro-
   bearing good fruit. The wicked whom I am enjoined to           chure, p. 27.    What is there that gives l&rkhof the right
   hate are the reprobate wicked, the elect wicked ; these I      to maintain that the terms lrnjust.and  unthmkful  must be
   hate not, I repeat,  .as elect but as historical phenomini     made to apply to the reprobate sinner? Let us see. Says
  whose election is unknown to me. And finally, I am en-          Berkhof: "Er is in het  verband  geeh enkel woord, dat
  joined  by-~Scripture  to hate myself in so far as I am daarop wijst." There is nothing in the near surroundings
  wicked. The old man of sin must be crucified. For scrip- of the text, says Berkhof, which  iridicates  that the term
  tural proof see my former article.                              unjust should be made to apply to the elect unthankful or
                                                                  unjust only. In our former essay we pointed out, `that
         Every student of Scripture knows that the Bible this argumene.of  the professor has no weight. The argu-.
  speaks of still another  #division.  Jesus divides the group    ment is worthless in that it is a conclusibn  drawn. from
  humanity into the sub-groups: my enemies and not-my             silence! The argument is worthless since the far sur-
   enemies,' or my friends. The believer is admonished by roundings of the text were not searched. It is possible
   Christ to love these enemies of his as well as his'friends.    that beyond  the  near surroundings of the text one will
  Says Jesus: "But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless       happen upon data compelling the expositor to apply the
   them that curse you,  dp good to them that hate  you,          term unjust to the elect only. We may dismiss the argu-
   and pray for them which despitefully use you and perse-        ment therefore.
   cute you" ; and further : "That ye may Abe the children of
   your Father, which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun             Berkhof advances -one  inore reason for applying the
   to rise on the evil and the good, arid sendeth rain on the     term unjust to the reprobate unjust. It is this:  "Bovcn-
   just and -unjust." Luke has it: "But love ye your ene-         clien berooft zulk. een verklaring de woorden van den
   mies, and do good and lend, hoping for nothing again ; Heifand van hun eigenlijke kracht en praktische waarde
   and your reward shall be great and ye shall be the chil-       door  het voor den mensch onmogelijk te  maken, om het
   dren of the Highest: for He is kind unto the unthankful        Goddelijk  voorbeefd  ook maar van  verge  te  volgen. God
   and to the evil," Luke 6:35.                                   weet wie de uitverkorenen zijn, doch wij weten  het niet,
         Knowing ndw the various sub-groups. into which en zouden dus altijd in gevaar verkeeren, dat wij den ver-
   Scripture. divides the one group  mankind and having keerden persoon  zouden maken  tot het voorwerp van onze
. learned from Scripture what should be the believer's            liefde." Brochure, p. 27. We are confronted here with
   attitude toward these various sub-groups, we are now a bit of deception of amazing subtileness. The professor
   ready to point out the errors present in Berkhof's-exposi-     reasons thus. The believer is enjoined by Christ to take
   tion of the Scripture quoted above.                            God as his model. (Very true.) The deniers of com-
         It is maintained that these particular utterances of mon grace maintain that God loves the elect wicked only.
   Jesus pre-eminently prove the theory of common grace. AS  the believers are admonished to take  God as their
   Writes Berkhof : "Maar, zegt men, die plaatsen {Ps. 36 :6 ; model, they are permitted to love the elect wicked onIy
   I Tim. 4:10; Acts  14:16,  17; Ps.  1459) bewijzen het punt    since God, their model, does so. However, so the pro-


                                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                                   28.3
                                                                                                                                   -       -

              fessor  continues to reason, the people of God cannot sub-         Great inventions are usually named after the in-
              tract from the group wicked the elect wicked for the pur-       ventors. The fallacy exposed above we therefore name:
              pose of focusing their  love upon them. Hence, the be-          Berkhof's fallacy.
              lievers cannot take God as their model in case He ioves            We repeat Berkhof's conclusion to the effect that the
              the elect wicked only. It must be, therefore, that God- group signified by the term unjust include the reprobate
              loves all the wicked, the reprobates as well as the chosen      wicked as well as the elect, has for its-premise a ridiculous
       '      ones. This He does and the  believers,  for this reason,        piece of sophistry.
              can take Him as'their model. For God is not engaged in             The  professor"`refused   .to.. permit Scripture to define
              doing the thing which the believers cannot do. He is not for him the terms .unjust and unthankful. The plain teach-
              singling out the elect wicked for the purpose of lavishing ings of Scripture are set aside. Berkhof substitutes them
              upon them His love."                                            for his own imaginations. These imaginations of his are
                 The above argumentation is a piece of Satanic  sdph-         mad6  to serve as a premise for the conclusion that the                I
              istry And this sophistry should be exposed. It can be           term unjust signify the reprobate wicked as well as the
              done by reproducing the above reasoning in a slightly           elect. But these  ,imaginations  are vain. `Hence,  Be&-
              different form. Let us do so.                                   hof's  concIusion  has no premise. In fine, Berkhof failed
                 I, as a father, am providing for my children. Mr. A.,        to establish that the group  unjust  include the  rep;obate
              who is also a father, may take me as his model. However,        wicked. His attempt to prove that t-hese  particular utter-
            I am providing for my children only. Hence, Mr. A., if ances of Jesus may be quoted in defense of the -theory of
              he takes me as his model, must provide for my children.         common grace ends in a dismal failure.
              But it so happens, that Mr. A. does not know who my                                                            G.  M.  0.
              children are.    Hence, in order to make it possible for
              Mr. A. to take me as his model, I must provide for  a11                                                                           .
              the children, let  us say, of the city.of Grand Rapids.         DE  E-DELMOEDIGtiEID   bER KALAMAZOOSCHE
                 The above argumentation is a reproduction of  Berk-                 SYNODE  JEGENS DE "AFWIJKENDE
              hof's  reason'ing.  Attend to his reasoning again. The                                 BROEDERS"
              belie+&-s  are enjoined to  tak> God as their model. God
              loves His chosen  cmes only, so the deniers of common              In  den brief, dien een onzer redakteurs  schre&   "Aan
            grace maintaih. Hence, the believers, who should take             iijn  Vriend in het  Westen"  (zie de `*Standard Bearer'"
              God as their model, may love God's chosen ones only. van laatstleden April) maakte deze  opsteller  een  verge-
              But the children of God do not know who the chosen lijking tusschen  de hoffelijke  behandeling,  die Dr.  Gerl-
              wicked are. God, therefore, in order to make it possible werken van Amsterdam-Zuid in Nederland ter  Buiten-
              for His people to take `Him as their model, loves all the       gewonk  Fynode,  te Assen gehouden, ondervond, en  dc
              wicked, the reprobates as well as the elect. Hence, so lompheid waarmede hij (Ds. H. Hoeksema)  en  zijp
              Berkhof concludes, the group signified by the terms vriend en medestander, Ds. H. Danhof, ter Synode  van
              rrnjust and  unthankful  include the reprobate wicked  as KaIamazoo  in  1924 was bejegend geworden.
              well as ,the elect. It appears, however, that the profes-          En ixeende  Ds; H. Hoeksema, dat die zoo op hun cul-
              sor's conclusion has for its premise a ridiculous peace of tuur bogende  Gemeene  Gratie voorstanders in de Chr.
              sophistry. -k may take me as a model without being Geref. Kerk hier teiande, nog we1 een lesje konden nemen
              obliged to provide for my children. Nor need I  hrovide         aan het bestuur en de  leden   de; Asser Synode, die ten
              for all children in order to make it possible for A. to take    minste jegens een "ver'dachten," aangeklaagden broeder
              me as his model. All that is necessary is that A. provide en mededienaar toonden in beleefde `en broederlijke ont-
              for his children and that I provide for mine. I and Mr.         vangst  en samenspreking, goede vormen te eeren en
                                                                                                      \
              A. must both be providing for our own children. Taking christelijke"beschaving te bezitten.
              God as my model does not oblige me to love the very                En wat Ds. Hoeksema aan "zijn vriend in het Westen"
.I-           individuals loved by God. Nor is God obliged to be              serd&-  mededeelde omtrent de  Synodale  behandeling door
              hating the very individuals hated by me in order to make        hem  ondervondeti  in  den  zomer  `van 1924, is volstrekt
              it possible for me to take Him as my  mod& This is niet overdreven.
              Berkhof's reasoning. That God is the believer's model              Wij  waren  meermalen getuigen van de grove manier,  ..
              must mean, reasons the professor, that God and the be- waa`rop  de Synodeleiding  de dienaren Danhof en Hoek-  i
              liever love the same individuals, in this case all men, the     sema  goed gedacht heeft te "erkennen"  eri toe te  spre-
              wicked and the just, the reprobate and.the elect.               ken, en bij hen, zonder hen, over hen te oordeelen en te
                 Logicians  have succeeded in dividing the group fuila-       beslissen:
              ties  into sub-groups.- To which of these sub-groups does          We  willen  van die  dingen  hier nog  iets meer gaan
              Berkhof's fallacy belong? To none of them as far as I am        zeggen, `opdat het nageslacht ook kennis neme van het
              able to determine. Berkhof's fallacy defies all classifica-     onrecht, dat den dienaren voornoemd'op deze manier is
              tion. Berkhof seems to have produced something brand            aangedaan door een Gereformeerde Synode, die, in plaats
              new in the way of fallacies. Berkhof should take heed           van te  .waken  voor de zuiverheid van de leer naar het
              lest he wake up some morning to find himself famous.            Woord Gods en voor de eer van trouwe  en voor `t Woord


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      Vol. II. No. 11                                                   -JUNE'  15, l!X%                                    Sub&riDtion Price, $2.50

                                                                                         confidentially friendly communion of             unblemished
               M E D I T A T I O N                                                       love 1. . .
                                                                                             To be tailed  sons of God is to be called after Him !
                                                                                             Not, indeed, as if we should ever be or aspire after
                           SINGULAR LOVE                                            '    `being God even as  the.Son  of God. The essential differ-
                                                                                         ence between God and us, between Creator and creatures,
                               Behold what manner of love the Father                     between the Infinite and the finite, between the Son and
                             hathl  bestowed  upon  us, that we should  6`~              the brethren of Jesus Christ shall never be removed. But
                             calied the sons of  God)         -1  J o h n   3:l.         even so and barring'all Pantheism which is of the  Evil+-
         Behold !                                                                        One, strictly maintaining the eternal distinction between
        . What marvelous love was bestowed upon-us!                                      the ever blessed God and His creaturely  children, the fact
                                                                                         remains that we do not over-estimate the glory'and the
         No cold, matter  of fact statement it is which the                              marvel of love the apostle has in mind if we  stat.e the
      apostle here makes before the church of all age?; rather                           matter thus,' that to be called sons of God is to be called
      must we conceive of it as a shout of ecstacy pressed from
      the auth`or's  heart under the influence of an over-master-                        after the Only Begotten of the Father.. . .
      ing emotion. Rapt out of himself and elevated above the                                To be sons of God implies that also we, though it be
      reach of ordinary, natural perception, caught up in the                            in creaturely measure partake of Father's life, of Father's
      sphere of heavenly and spiritual mysteries, he beckons                             glory, of Father's love. It signifies that  we  are.His own
      the church to come with him and to contemplate these                               and'that He manifests the glory of His image also thru
      heavenly joys.. . .                                                                us. It means that God's mind and heart and will and all
                                                                                         that is within Him is motivated by the living power of a
         Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed                             father's love toward us so that His thoughts over us are
      upon us !  I                                                                       ever paternal thoughts, the-cbunsel  of His will is domin-        ;
         Sons of God we &-e called !                                                     ated  by fatherly  l&e, the desires of His heart are paternal
         Nay, the full implication of this marvelous truth has                           longings to bless -and glorify us, to have us with Him in
      not yet -been revealed; the term: "sons of God" is still                           everlasting light of bliss and press us in heavenly glory
      pregnant with possibilities that shall not be fully realized                       at His bosom. Ir means that our mind and will and heart
      until the day when we shall see Him  as He is. But                                 are dominated by this over-powering influence of a son's
`,$ potentially and in  spirl'tual  principle and in Jesus Christ                        love toward Him, so that we think as sons, will as sons,
      our Lord we are all we ever shall be. For now we are                               love and long as sons to walk in Father's light, to know
 ;  s6ns of God.. . .
Ii                                                                                       Him as we are known, to see Him face to face and to
         What unspeakable glory !                                         I              rejoice forever in the secret communion of 13% covenant-
         There is in the' divine family of the ever blessed Trin-                        friendship.. . .
      ity one Son. In Him dwells all the fulness of the God-                                 To  bk called sons of God means that God calls us
      head perfectly, infinitely, unfathomed and inexhaustible.                          such ; that  I-Te operates within our hearts until we call
      Father's life is His life, Father's power His power,                               ourselves such, crying : Abba, Father ; and that He will so,
      Father's glory His glory, Father's mind `His mind,                                 fill us with His own life and so impress  upoq us the
      Father's will. His will. He knows the Father as He is                              glorious image of  Hi,s Son, that presently  iI1  .the world
      known by Him; He loves the Father as He is loved by                                will be compelled to call.us children of the Most High . . .
      Him; He is the perfect effulgence of Father's  glojr, the                              To be called sons of God !
      express image of His person and He lives wiih Father, in                               Singular blessing!
      His bosom in everlasting, infinite, perfectly intimate and                             Marvel of love !


  290                                           T H E   STAN.DARD   B E A R E R
                                       _ .----....- -__1                                    .-.-.                             -4

         Behold !                                                        wondrous blessing of  sonship bestowed upon such
         What  man&r  of love!                                      abominable objects, to cc?nsider  also the manner in which
         Bestowed upon us.. . .  t                                  it was bestowed upon us by the,  Fathe'r.
         And as with the apostle by faith we rise somewhat                  Fo'i  ro  contemplate this  man& of  tile bestowal  of
  to the elevated plane of vision whence we may behold the               God's  love upon us is to gaze in mute adoration into the
  wonder of blessing bestowed upon us; and as we do  SO                  unfathomable depths of that divine love. . . .
  in `order to contemplate with  the apostle the marvel of                  Father's way to our sonship  lay thru the awfut  death
  divine  Iove that becomes manifest in this unspeakable of His only Begotten ! . . . .
  +x-y ; let US not fail to emphasize for a moment this little              It could not be otherwise.
  Eut so significant us.. . .                                      I.
         Upon us this love ivas ,bestowed  !                                Given the love of Father, whereby  .Ke was  impklled
         Upon whom?               -                                 to call US His sons, and the death of His only Son must
         Were we, perhaps, worthy of such manner of love?                follow as a divine necessity. Not, indeed, as -long as you
  When this love found you and me, where were we? What                   view the cross as the mere cause of that l.ove will you be
  was our state before Him who reavealed  such marvelous            able- to feel the thrill of John's ecstacy. God's love must
  love toward us? What was our name, which were our                      be conceived as first. First with respect to our love. But
 rights, what was the condition of our heart and mind               first also wirh regard to the death of His  only Begotten
  before Him Who thus loved us7 Could we claim  any- Son. The awful cross  follow$d  with absolute  necessity
  right to such love? Or was there, perchance, within                    from the greatness of God's love.. . ,
                                                             US
  some, be it but smoldering fire of love, to which His love                There was no other way.        ;                       s
  responded, or some lingering-remnant of beauty that                       For  ive were not sons.
  kindled the fire of so-great a love in His divine heart?. :.              Neither could we be called sons of  Gc;d as we were.
         We know better.                                            -4n awful spectacle it would have been had God merely
         Search as we may, never will* we find within our- -called us, who were full of sin and iniquity and with our
  selves an inkling of anything that might serve to explain              abomination written in our every feature, His children.
  the mystery of this great love. Nay rather, the longer                 The very glory of His Name delnanded,  if He would calI
- and the more deeply we search in our own hearts and                    us children;that  He should make us worthy of the name.
  lives, the greater the mystery of this love looms before                  And to bk made worthy of that calling we must need
  our wondering eye.                                                     be washed.. . .
         Rights we had none unless condemnation may be                      Washed, not outwardly, but inwardly, not naturally
  called a right. For we were guilty, sins innumerable as                but spiritually: washed from all our guilty stains . . . .
  the hairs of our head testifying against us. -4nd daily we                And to wash us from these  guilty stains no'  soIution
  were adding to these condemning sins and thus *gathering               was sufficiently powerful except rhe blood of the Son of
  a veritable treasure of wrath for the day of righteous                 God. . . .
  judgment. :\nd our name was: Children of our father                       :\nd that blood God provided. He sent His Son in the
  the devil. For true though it may be, that Father origin-              likeness -of sinful flesh, iri order to provide the blood that
  ally formed us after His image and that our every feature              would wash away the sins of those, whom in love He
  betrays  that noble origin still, even this remembrance of would call the s&s of God. It was His Son, the child of
  a former glory but witnesses against us. For the fact is,              His bosotn, Whom He loved wirh infinite love. It was
  that by nature we are children of the devil. our mind,  SO             His only Begotten Son, His dear.est,  His all, upon Whom
  evidently adapted to the light of God wantonly chose the               `He lavished from-eternity the streams of His infinite love,
  darkness in preference to that light; our will, so plainiy             dearer than Whom He possessed nothing. He was God
  formed  to will Father's will, foolishly submitted itself  to Himself, the brightness of Father's glory. He sent Him
  the slavery of Satan; our heart, so  manifestiy  fitted  to            as the gift of His love. And He sent Him  into all that
  throb with the love of God we sinfully filled with enmity              depth of darkness and suffering and humiliation and
  again& Him. Children of wrath we were, hating God and                  death and hell of which the cross remains forever the
  hating one another, our neck. toward Father, our face                  silent symbol. For God so loved the worid; that He gave
  toward hell. . . .                                                     His'oniy  begotten Son, that whosoever  believeth  in Him
         Thus we were and there He-found us, neither longing should tlor perish but have everlasting life ! . . . .
  for Him nor seeking Him, wallowing in sin, groping in                     Thus  John's'"Behold,  what manner of love" takes  US
  darkness, defiled in our blood. . . .                                  as ever to the foot of the cross on  Golgotha's mount.
         And upon us, so guilty, so miserable? so abominable, There on Calvary's hill I see the love of the Father be-
  He bestowed such manner of love !                                      stowed on us. There I behold a love that stops  ar no'th-
         Oh, what impenetrable mysteries !                               ing in order to gain and embrace its object. There I  see
         What marvel of love !                                           the love that shrinks from no sacrifice, not even from that
                                                                         of what is dearest, but: gives Him up even unto the death
         Behold  !                                                       of the cross. There I behold the love that can stand
         Neither fail, & you contemplate in rapt adoration the           alone because it is first, that is not evoked by any beauty


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                 291     -
                                                          .-                                                        --_.----_

 or lovableness on the part of its object, but rise's From the               DE TROOSTER IS GEKOMEN!
 depth of God's own Infinite Being.. . .
       Love stronger than death, deeper  tha,n deepest  sea,               Looft den Geest! Hij is de Heere,
 measureless in its wide embrace; higher than the heavens,                   God door God uit God gegaan!                                      ?
  transcending the understanding of the boldest human                      Zing-t Hem  psalnien!  Geeft Hem eere!
  mind. . . .                                                                Roept Zijn Naam uit ! Bidt Hem  aan !
       The love of God in Christ my Jesus.. . .                            H&, die Gaaf en Gever tevens,
                                                                             Uitzendt en gezonden wordt,
       What manner of love !                                                 God is, en wordt uitgestort!
       Behold !                                                            Looft, o  volk! den Geest des  levens,
                                                                             Hem, die schept  en wederschept,
       Marvel of the love of God !                                           Dien ge in  `t hart  ontvangen  hebt!
       For He not only exhibits His love to                                  - -  -  -  -.-  -  -
                                                LIS.
       He bestows it upon us.                                              Looft den Geest! Hij zal nooit wijken
       Of little avail a mere exhibition of that love would be.              Van de Kerk, met bloed gekocht.
There are, indeed, who wquld  have it so, that God merely                  Zijn'nabijheid zal steeds blijken,
  shows the love He manifested in the Gift of His Son in                     Hde de vijand woeden  mocht  !
  order that by the wonderful sight of  that.  beautiful love              Vreest niet, o gezochte schapen,
  men may open their hearts to Him and thus become sons               I      Vrees niet, weergevonden ziel,
  of God.                                                                    Zoo de nacht   u  oveqiel!                     /
       Contrary to Scripture, but also contrary to the eiperi-             Zou de Geest des Heeren slapen  ?
                                                                             Waakt Hij, schoon  geen oog Hem ziet,
  etice of every child of God is such a presentation of the                  Voor de kleine kudde .niet?
  matter.
       Would we not shut our hearts all the more tightly and               Geest der kennis, Geest der waarheid,
  seal them against even that marvelous love of God, were                    Der genadk, der gebecn!
  the cross nothing but a mere sign for  reco&ition  and-                  Leer ons  wandlen  bij uw klaarheid,
  response on our part, an expression of the longing to See                  In de heilverborgeqhein !
  its own likeness in'us and nothing more? Would not our                   Doe ons Abba, Vader, bidden,
  eyes refuse to see and our ears refuse to hear and our                     Zeggen : Jezus, onzen  Heer !
  hearts refuse to be filled with the fire of that. love, if                ?Geven  U in alles de eer.
  after the Father had exhibited His love, it remained a                   Woon in der Gemeente  midden,
  matter of our own will, whether or no we would re-                         Om te heilgen de offerand
  spond?....                       T                                         Van' huq hart, en mond, en hand !
       But God bestows His love upon us. . . .
       For He sent forth the Spirit of His `Son into our                   kaak ons ook in  donkjre tijden
  hearts. . . .                                                              Hier  tech steeds indachting  aan,        *
       And that Spiri; of His Son is a spirit of sonship . . . .           Da! door strijden, druk en lijden,
       And that Spirit of sonship  carries the fire of that love             `t Volk met Jezus in moet gaan!
  of God, according to which He called us sons of God, into                Breek de hardheid onzer harten,
  the depths of our own hearts, by it melts them into con-                   En onze aardsche duisternis!
  trition and repentance because of sin, and creates the                     Woer  ons  op; waar  Christus is!
  spirit of sonship within us so that.we cry: Abba, Father!                Bid, verzucht, in vreugd en smarten,
       Behold, then, what manner of love was lavished upon                   Gij, die Jezus'  adem  zijt,
  US;  a love first in its eternal origin, boundless in meas-                Voor ons, in ons, `t  allen  tijd!
  ure, unfathomable in depth, shrinking from no sacrifice                         Uit  "Pinksterzangen II" van Da Costa.
  in its search of its object, faithful'and persevering till it
  has found its way into our hearts.. . .                                                                  ,
       Behold and believe. -Believe and confide. Confide
  and respond, so that His: "My children" may evoke our               "Why was I made to hear Thy voice
  "My Father." And responding walk worthy of the call-                       And enter while there's room,
  ing of so great a love. . . .                                            While thousands made a wretched choice,
                                                                             And  rather'starve than come?
  ,    As sons of God and children o`f !ight . . .                         `Twas the same love, that spread the feast,
       And in thankful worship adore the marvel of this love                 That gently forced me in,
 of the Father.                                                            Else I had still refused to taste,
       Soli Deo Gloria!                                                      And perished in my sin."..
                                                        H. H.                                                    ---F. Harper.


   292                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                    .._.-

                           PROTESTEN                                 rakende de afzetting van den kerkeraad luiden, als  volgt  :
                                                                        `Art. 118. The Committee further presents the fol-
                              (Vervolg)                              lowing report recommending deposition of the consistory
                                                                     of Kalamazoo I with the exception of one loyal elder.
   (Copy of the final answer of  Rev.  Danhof regarding the              We advise the  Classis  to adopr the following resolu-
     two requirements of  Classis  Grand Rapids West;
                                                              -._    tion :
                            Jan. 24, 1925.)                              Classis Grand Rapids West, in session the 24th  bf
   "  `Clas& Grand Rapids West !                                     Jan.., 192.5, hereby deposes the Consistory of the Christian
   Dear Brethren :-                                   ,...           Reformed Church of  Kalamazob.1 (except the one loyal
          To the request of  Classis  that I declare myself un-      elder.)
   equivocally whether or not I am in full agreement with               Crassis  Grand Rapids West hereby deprives the afore-
   the three points  `of Synod of Kalamazoo, 1924,  and-             said Consistory of all the righrs and privileges of a legal
   whether  or'not I do promise unconditionally to submit -Consistory  in the Christian Reformed Church of America.
   myself to the Confessional Standards of the Church  a~'              ,Classis  Grand Rapids West deposes the aforesaid
   interpreted by said Synod of Kalamazoo,  1924, I can,' Consistory by virtue of its  L jurisdiction over the  Con-
   under presknt circumstances, only reply that in my ,most          sistory as expressed in Art. 36 of our Church Order --
   humble opinion  Classis  has no right whatsoever to de-           `The  Classis  has the same jurisdiction over the  Con-
   mand any answer of me.                                            sistory as the Particular Synod has over the Classis and
          My grounds for this  are:-                                 the General Synod over the Particular,' on the following
          a. No charges against me were ever brought  t: the ground,s  :-
   attention of my Consistory, and neither was my  Con-                 J. Insubordination      t o   Synodical   a n d   C l a s s i c a l
   sistory ever charged with neglect of duty relative to the a u t h o r i t y .   '
   doctrinal decisions of the Synod of Kalamazoo, 1924.                 Formula of Subscription  - `We declare, moreover,
          True,  i"t was not an assumption on the part of your thar we not only reject all errors that militate against
   committee in re this matter that my Consistory' never this doctrine and particularly those which were con-
   required of me to declare myself relative to the three            demned by the above mentioned Synod, but that we are
   points of Synod. But that does not touch- the point.              disposed to refute and contradict these, and to exert our-
The point is that your committee in  re this matter has selves in keeping the Church free from such errors. And
   assured that' my Consistory did not enforce the doctrinal if hereafter any difficulties or different sentiments respect-
   decisions of  Syvod of Kalamazoo, 1924. And the stand             ing the aforesaid doctrines should arise in our minds, we
   CJf  the Consistory is: Prove that we have neglected our          promise that we twill neither publicly nor privately pro-
   duty, or lay even  now,,any  and all charges against Rev. pose, teach or defend the same, either by preaching or
   Danhof before us, and we, the Consistory, will  percorm           writing, until we have first revealed such sentiments to
   our duty. This, however, was not done.                            the Consistory, Classis  and Synod, that the same may be
      b. Now for the first time we know that. something examin.ed,  being ready always;cheerfully  to submir to the
 , unusual happened. `The Standard Bearer' was  p'ublished.          judgment of the Consistory,  Classis  and Synod, under
   But as yet it has never been made plain to my Consistory          the penalty in case of refusal to be, by that very fact, sus-
   that I committed a sin by my participation in publishing pended from our office.
   that monthly.                                                        II. Public Schism.      By refusing to require of its
          Please, call the attention of my Cons&tory to that         minister submission to Synodical decisions, it gives its
   fact, if a fact it be, and I assure you that the Consistory       moral supporr to  2 movement that threatens the solidarity
   rrf Kalamazoo I will take proper action.                          of our denomination in several quarters and takes a stand
      c. I gladly admit that a major assembly has certain            that will disrupt the local Church of Kalamazoo I.
   rights and duties in case a minor assembly neglects its              Pldopted  by the following vote of 30 yes  - 8 no  -
   duties; but such a major. assembly must first prove that          1 blank." "
   the minor  &sembly,  in this  "case the Consistory of Kala-          "Officieel afschrift van de Classicale notulen, en daar-
   mazoo I, willfully neglected  itS duties.       But no such in van deze besluiten, gewerd den kerkeraad ongeveer
   charge has been brought against the Consistory of Kala-           een  maand ni bovengenoemben  datum.
mazoo   I     .                                                         Vanwege deze besluiten'ging de vrede in onze  ge-
          For these reasons I can only reply to the requirements     meente teloor. Thans bestaan er feitelijk twee  gemeen-
   of the Classis rhat my answer has been given in the com-          ten, waarvan de eene  zich  aan de Classicale uitspraken
   munication of said Consistory, dated Jan. 34, 1925.               onderwierp, terwijl de andere den afgezetten kerkeraad
                        Very sincerely yours,                        als wettig bleef  erkennen."
                                                  H. Danhof.'           "Onze  bezwaren tegen deze afzetting:
          "Wij voegen dit hierbij in, om den gang der gebcurte-         1. De Classis,  uitgaande van de veronderstelling, dat
   nissen te  doen  verstaan; want  onmiddellijk  hierop, en         de kerkeraad de.Ieei  vervat in de Formulieren van Eenig-
   zonder verdere stappen, ging de  Classis  er toe over om          heid:  niet handhaafde, heeft-zulks  niet kunnen bewijzen.
   den kerkeraad af te  z&ten.. De besluiten der  Classis            De kerkeraad houdt staande, dat hij die leer we1 heeft ge-


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                                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                        -.                                                                                                                          293
                                              _--.- .._ -_-_..- . . ..- ---._- -.^ ____-...                                            ..----
                                        _*
     handhaafd. Tot  op de  genokmde  Classicale vergadering  heden  der  Classis  deei.                              Aan den avond van den  16den
     heerschten vrede en welvaart in de gem%xnte  hem toebe-                          Jnnuari, 1925, echter zond de Classis  hen naar huis, nanr
     trouwd. Dit trad nog bizonder  aan het licht  op de kerk-                        aanlcicling  `van zekere ingediende instructies, wax-van
     visitatie, gehouden  vlak  v&jr de  Classis.                                     de inhoud niet werd medegedeeld, zelfs niet  aan de  bc-
        2.  V&jr deze vergadering der  Classis   bestoAden  er                        trokken  afgcvaarcligden, -.-- met de volgende communica-
     geen  bezwaren tegen leeraar  of kerkeraad. En  oak  de                          tie :                              .."
     Classis, in weerwil van herhaaldelijk gedane beloften, dat                           Cf. `Copy of the first missive of the  Classis  to the
     de kerkeraad de leer zou handhaven, is in gebreke  ge-  Con&tbry.
     bleven eenig bezwaar  tegen  Ds. Danhof bij zijn  kerke-                             Naar aanleiding  $iervan  vcrgaderde de kcrkeraad in
     raad in te brengen. Hoe zou de kerkeraad dan  schuldig                           speciale  zitting den 20 Jan., 1925. De Vice-President,
     kunnen staan  aan insubordinatie en  openbare   scheur-                          ouderling  .C. Vander Roest, presideerde. In  afbezigheid
makerij ?                                                             _"              van den leeraar,' werd met alle stemmen  besloten, `uitge-
        3. Indien de Classis  van gedachte was, dat de publi-                         notnen   CPn ouderling, der  Classis  te antwoorden, als
     catie van The Standard Bearer, door Ds~ Danhof en ande-                          volgt :
     ren, grove zonde was, en der afzetting waardig; dan had                              Cf. `Copy of the reply of the Consistory nf Kalamazoo
     men zich m'et dat beiwaar naar den kerkeraad dienen te I to the request of  Classis  Grand Rapids West, Jan.  16,
     wenden.   Doch men heeft den kerkeraad dit punt zelfs  1935,
                                                                                        I  .
nooit genoemd.
        4. l&let alle erkenning van de macht en de jurisdictie                            Den 22 Jan., 1925, richtte de.  Class&  andermaal,  nu
     van Classis  en Synode, is de kerkeraad tech van oorde"el,                       eene tweevoudige communicatie,  tot den kerkeraad, van
     dat  hij-r&t  mag toegeven aan giof w.illekeur.             Hij  mocht           den volgenden inhoud :
                                 `".
     zijn eigen wettig gezag niet prijsgeven.                                             Cf. `Copy of the twofold communication of  Classis
        5. Verder hebben de ondergeteekenden nog deze Grand Rapids West to the  Consistory   cJf  Kalamazo I,
     meer formeele bezwaren  tegen de afzetting van den ker-                          dated Jan. 22,  1925.
     keraad:  dat zij geschiedde zonder eenige waarschuwing,                              FVetir  kwam de kerkeraad in  speciale  zitting bijeen,
     vermaning  of onderhandeling, zonder  schorsing en  ken-                         Jan. 23, 1925, en in den vroegcn morgen van, den 24sten
     nisgeving, op staanden voet  en in afwezigheid  van de be-                       kwam hij met het volgende stuk gereed, om als antwoord
     trokkeneh,  die zich in geen enkel opzicht konden  verdedi-                      aan de Classis  te doen  toekomen:
     gen.                                                                                 Cf. `Copy of the reply of the Consistory of Kalamazoo
        Vertrouwende,  dat de  Synode   bet  gepleegd  onrecht                        I to the twofold communication of Classis  Grand Rapids
     zooyeel mogelijk  zal' zoeken te  herstellen,  noemen zij                        West, Jan. `22, 1925.'
     zich,  heilbiddend, uwe broeders in Christus:                                        In den namiddag van dienzelfden dag heeft de'Classisl
             (Was  geteekend   door   al  de  leden   van  den  kerkeraad)            DS.  &&of  uit  zijn  at-&t   ontzet,   nadat   hij  bet  volgende
     C. Vander Roest ; J. Post ; ,%. Woltersom ; G. Broekema  ; op de hem gestelde vragen geantwoord had: Cf. `Copy of
     H.  Poe1 ; F.  Huizenga  ; J. Weyland  ; C.  Kloosterman   ;                     the final answer of Rev. Danhof regarding the  require-
     J. Rust; E. Brondijk  ; P. Dijksterhuis ;  Ii. Ruster ; C. K.                    mtnts of Classis  Grand Rapids West; Jan. 14, 192.5.'
     I,aning;  E.  Onder   .De Linde;  J.  Koning;  I'. Eshuis;                           De  besluiten  der  Classis  rakende de afzetting van
     H. Danhof, en C. Lemmers, Clerk."
                   !                                                                  onzen  leeraar luiden,'  volgens  Art. 117 der classicale
                                                                                                                                  ,
                                                                                      notulen, als  volgt:
        Tegen de afzetting van Ds. H.  Dar&of  werd het  vol-                             `The Committee on overtures presents the following
     gcncle protest ingediend :                                                       report recommending deposition of Rev. Danhof on the
                              "Kalamazoo, Michigan, rlLpri1 27, 1926.                 grounds of insubordination and public schism.
     Aan de Synode  der Chr. Ger.  kerken,                       -               _        In consideration of the refusal of Rev.  H. Danhof to
       vergaderd te Englewood, Illinois,                                              submit to the requirements of Classis  in re submission to
       den 9den Juni, e. v. dagen, 1926.                   ,,                         the doctrinal  decisidns  of the Synod of Kalamazoo, your
     Geachte Broeders :-                                                              Committee  hereby   advises   Classis  to take the following
        Ondergeteekenden  protesteeren  hiermede. tegen de action after preceding prayers  :
     afzetting,  van hun leeraar,  Dn  1-I. Danhof; door  Classis                         The Cla&is  Graiid Rapids West in session the 24th of
     Grand Rapids West, den 26 Jan., 1925.                                            Jan., 1925, hereby deposes Rev. H. Danhof from the min-
             Lichten.  we u eerst de geschiedenis dezer afzetting istry of the Word and the Sacraments in the Christian
     toe.                                                                   *         Reformed  C+rch of America on the following grounds:
        De kerkeraad van de Eerste Chr.  tier. Kerk te  Kala-                             (a> Insubordination to ecclesiastical authority. --
     mazoo,  Michigan, had naar-de vergadering van  Classis                           See Formula of Subscription  - `being ready always
     Grand Rapids West, die gehouden stond te  wordeq den                             cheerfully to submit to the judgment of the Consistory,
     13den Jan., 1925, afgevaardigd: Ds. Ii. Danhof en ouder-                         Classis   and  Sinod under the penalty, in case of refusal,
     ling C.  Kloos~erman,  die later vervangen werd door  zijn                       to be by that very fact, suspended from our office.'
     secundus, ouderling C. Leinmers.  Voor vier dagen namen                                   (b)    Public Schisin. Art.  80 of the Church Order --
     deze broeders  op gebruikelijke wijze  aan de  werkzaam-                         `Furthermore among the gross sins which are worthy of


2x.  --                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                           .-.._--              _.._-... -_                                                 -.-.L...         -.
being punished with suspension or deposition from office,         aan Art.  31? Dat  Artikel  spreekt hem immers juist vrij.
these are the principal ones - - public schism.'                     b. Op de Classis werd hem evenwel juist de gelegen-
    Through his association with the Standard Bearer,             heid ontnomen, om te bewijzen, dat de drie Synodale  uit-
 Rev. H. Danhof participates in organized propaganda spraken in strijd zijn met  Schrift en Belijdenis. Daar-
 against  the%fficially accepted doctrine of our Church, pro-     door heeft de  Classis zelf  zich vergrepen  aan Art. 31.
 paganda which  is  making inroads upon our denom- Kerkeraden,   Classis  en  Synoden zijn verplicht,  naar  dit
 inational solidarity.  -  -                                      Artikel, om  .nauwkeurig   acht te geven op bezwaren van
    Voting by ballot shows the brother deposed by a vote dezen aard.
 of  25 yes  - 11 nos  - 1 blank.'                                   3. Zoover zij kunnen zien, liad de  Classis, .indien zij
    Officieel afschrift van de Classicale  notulen,  en  daarin iets had  willen   doen, dan ook  aan Ds. Danhof  moeten
 van deze besluiten, ontving.  de kerkeraad  ongcveer een         vragen,  am zijne bezwaren tegen de  drie  punten  toe te
maand   n5 bovengemelden datum.                                   lichten;  opqat  ook anderen met hem  zich tot de Synode
    Van de moeilijkheden, die hieruit ontstonden voor den         hadden kunnen wenden  ter tiegneming  van die bezwaren.
 kerkeraad, en voor de gemecnte  hem' toebetrouwd,  gewa-            a.  Zulks   tech wordt beslist  geEischt  door het gezag
 gen we hier maar niet.                                           \-ax  Schrift en Confessie.
     Mel,ding   maken  we hier evenwel van  bet feit, dat            b. Ook eischt het wezenlijk  heil der  kerk& zulks.
 ondergeteekenden,  allen  leden-  van den  kerk.eraad,  en          c. Hiervbor liet  de,Synode,   n&  Da&of's protest, h. i.
 vele van da  gemeenteleden, met deze handelwijze der den weg open.
 Classis geen  genoegen durfden te  nemcn, en  derhalve              4. Zoover zij kunnen zien, had eigenlijk reeds de
 Ds. Danhof als hun wettigen leeraar bleven erkennen.             Synode van 1924 den geestelijken strijd met Ds. Danhof
     Dat hebben ze gedaan op grond van de volgende over-          moetcn aanbinden en uitstrijden.
 wegingen :                                                          a. Daar t&h was de  zaak,   waarom  het ging en  hog
     1. Zoover zij kunnen zien,  he/eft  Ds. Danhof  tegd;        gaat, wettig  aan de orde gesteld.
 geen enkelen kerkelijken regel gezondigd.                           b. Daar heeft Ds. Danhof,  nS  vele  vergeefsche  pogin-
     a.  l&j heeft  zich niet schuldig gemaakt  aan  insub- gen om discussie uit te lokken over punten,  waartegen hij
 ordinatie `to ecclesiastical authority'; want niemand bezwaar had, zelf  in zijn protest critiek geoefend up de
 maakte eenig bezwaar tegen hem aanhangig bij zijn  ker- Synodale uitspraken, den aard van zijn bezwaar  blootge-
 keraad, onder wiens  opzicht hij  allereerst  staat. Hij legd, en kennis gegeven van zijn voornemen.
 heeft zelfs zijn kerkeraad verzocht, om  aan de  Classis  fe        c. Daar had men h. i. den strijd  moeten  beEindigen;
 vragen, of zij  misschien bezwaren tegen hem had, en om men had,  moeten worstelen op vriendschappelijke wijze,
 die dan den kerkeraad voor te  leggen; opdat hij  zich  zou      totdat men tot eene bevredigende oplossingzou zijn  ge-
 mogen kunnen verantwoorden. En zijn kerkeraad heeft komen, of indien zulks onmogelijk  mocht gebleken zijn,
 aan zijn verzoek voldaan  ; doch niemand diende Wezwaren         dan had men,  zulks   erkennende,-uiteen  moeten  gaan.
 iti. Ds. Danhof  heeft niets geweigerd, en  zijn  kerkeraad          d. Doch van dit  alles is  feiteIijk  niets geschiedt. Van
 heeft niets geweigerd,  waartoe zij  zich door hunne  be-        vriendschappelijke onderhandeling  w&s geen  sprake.
 loften verplicht  hadden.  Maar  b&den  hebben getracht, Doch anderzijds verklaarde de Synode de aangeklaagde
  c.)m in den  kerkclijken  weg  zich  vjn hunne rerplichtingen broeders  tech ook weer voor Gereformeerd in de  fonda-
  te  kwijten.                                                    menteele stukken der leer in de Confessie geformuleerd.
     b. Hij heeft  zich niet schuldig gemaakt  aan  open-         Van een grove zonde, der-afzetting waardig, kon bij hen
  bare scheurmakerij.  -De  Classis  zelf is van de onbewezcn derhalve niet  we1  sprake  zijn, bezien van het standpunt
  veronderstelling  uitgegaan, dat zijn  deelname  aan de der Synode. Om die  reden  zal  zij hunne zaak dan  oak
  publicatie van  The Standard Bearer  gelijk staat met wel niet aanhangig hebben gemaakt bij hunne respectieve
  `organized propaganda against the officially accepted kerkeraden. Hoe dit laatste zij, dat is in elk geval niet
  doctrines of our Church';  doch dit punt had men juist geschied. En zoo staat de zaak, naar  de-idee  van  gezolid
  eerst  op wettige wijze  moeten bespreken. En de  kerke- Gereformeerd kerkrecht, thans  nag-;  want iets  nieuws  is
  raadskamer is daarvoor de aangewezen  plaats. Als men er niet bij gekotien, .of indien wel, dan is tech dat nieuws
  daar niet  klaar komt, dan kan men naar de  Classis gaan. niet behandeld geworden. Ook uit dat oogpunt dient
      2. Zoover  %j kunnen  zicn, heeft Ds. Danhof ook niet        deze gansche zaak h. i. weer terug te gaan  naar  de
  gezondigd tegen het Ouderteekenings-Formulier of  tegcn          Synode. .
  Art. 31 onzer Rerkenorde, geheel  afgedacht  nu van de              Daarom komen ondergeteekenden dan ook op grond
  willekeurige handelwijze van de  Classis, door zijne  deel-      van deze overwegingen tot de Synode mt t het dringend
  name aan de publicatie van `The Standard .Bearer.                verzoek, dat zij Ds. Danhof weer herstelle in zijn ambt,
      a. Hij zelf neemt het standpunt in, dat de  dtie  punten     met hem zijne bezwaren tegen de uitspraken van de
  van de Synode van  Kalamazoo\strijdig  zijn met  Schrift         Synode van Kalamazoo biddend overwege en, indien
  en Belijdenis, en hij deed van dit zijn  geVCJden   mededee-     mogelijk, wegneme, of  mocht men niet kunnen  samen-
  ling  aan de Synode van 1924. Hoe  zou hij, inzooverre hij       komen, dat men zulks dan van beide zijden  duidelijk"uuit-
  dat gevoelen openbaart in bewust  blad,   zich nu  daardoor      spreke, opdat dan elk in vrede zijn eigen weg moge kun-
  kunnen  vergrijpen   aan het  Onderteekenings-Formulier  of nen gaan.

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

                 BERKHOF   AS  EXEGETE                                   God  pitics even such needy ones as are His enemies.
                                                                      His heart is filled with compassion for such as these even
       Let us now attend to the real meaning of Jesus' say- though they be evil and unthankful; `He sends them rain
 ings. These : "Love your enemies.. . . that ye may be                and sunshine. Yes, He gave  unro them His only begot-
 children of your Father which is in heaven: for He                   ten son that they  shouId not perish but have everlasting
 maketh His sun to rise upon the evil and on the good,                Iife. For these unthankful needy ones are those fore-
 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust, Matt.                known by God.
 5 94, 45. And again : "But love your enemies.. . . and ye               It is this glorious  \:irtue which the children of the
 shall be children of the Highest: for He is kind unto the            Highest shall eshibir. We ye compassionate as your
 unthankful and to the evil." Luke  62~5.                             Father, which is in heaven, is  com$ssionate."  They do
       What, now, does Jesus request of the citizens of the so not;  -1% repeat,  by* reduplicating God's deeds. If so,
 Kingdom of Heaven.T Is it His will that these citizens               Christ'would have instructed them to love  God's  enemies.
 copy God's conduct, reduplicate His acts? Indeed, not.. As it is, Christ admonishes his followers to love their
 I, who am a mere creature cannot reduplicate the acts of             own `personal enemies. Doing so, they are engaged in
 the almighty God. Can I cause the sun to rise on the revealing God's glorious compassion: In other words,
 evil, can I send them rain? Berkhof would have  it  SO.              the followers of Christ shall perform such works  as
 If it be true, so reasons Berkhof, that God loves the elect exhibit' the virtue compassion. God, too, does those
 and hates the' reprobate wicked it follows that the be-              things which reveal His mercy. The Highest is kind unto
 lievers,  who.are  children of God, must do likewise. The His  enemies. He sends them rain and causes the sun to
 reprobate wicked must be hated by them. Upon the elect               shine on them. The children of the Highest shall show
 should they lavish their love.                                       mercy. They shall love  tlzeir enemies, do well  ro  those
       It cannot even be maintained with Berkhof that Christ that hate them, bless those that curse them.
 in this particular sermon enjoins his followers to take                 Who is the personal enemy on whom the children of
 God as their model or example (voorbeeld). Says  Berk-               the  Highest  have mercy? He may be a just man. But
 hof : "Bovendien berooft zulk  eene verklaring de woorden            would such a one hate and persecute the children of the
 van den Heiland van hun eigenlijke kracht en praktische              Highest? The just man's old man of sin will do so. We,
 waarde door het voor den mensch onmogelijk te  maken,                who have been deposed, have enemies of this kind. Just
 urn het  Go'ddelijk  voorbeeld ook  maur van  verre  tc  volgen."    men hating, persecuting and speaking all manner of evil
       What, then, would Christ have his followers do? It is against us because they detest God's truth for which we
 very plain. Said Christ : "Be ye therefore perfect even as witness. If they are  jusr men they will repent of their
 your Father in heaven is perfect."  -And again: "Be ye               amazing ungodliness.
 therefore compassionate as also your Father is compas-                  The children of the Highest have a countless number
 sionate."' The citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom have of enemies. There are the thoroughly wicked who hate,
 God as their Father. They are of God, His workmanship curse and persecute them. They do so for the sake of
 are  they? created in Christ Jesus unto good works. These            Christ's name. And this means that rhese wicked are
 children, says the  Apostle `Peter, are partakers of the             at once and first of  all the enemies of God. `However, ,it
. `divine nature. It is Christ's will that the children of God        is God's will that His children love these wicked not as
 exhibit their perfection. Doing so, they will at once be             His' enemies but as theirs.  As enemies of the Highest
 exhibiting, declaring the glories of God, since they are             these wicked ones must be hated by the followers of
 God's children. Christ enjoins his followers to radiate? Christ. It was Christ who moved the prophet to say:
 exhibit, reveal, declare the glories, the perfections of "Would I not hate those who hate Thee?' Is it possible
 Him whose children they are. Here it is God's perfect,               for the children of God to hate and at once to love the
 holy compassion which the believer must display. This wicked? It is, since loving and hating in this case are
 he does, not by copying God's deeds, but by letting shine not contrary works. The children of God eshibit their
 his own light, by exhibiting the glories which are his               hatred for the wicked when they refuse to place them-
  (the believers). The believer, therefore, must reflect the selves under their  goke,  when they  rej.ect  the entire
  Father's glories. `Here, I repeat, it is the Father's holy          scheme of life of the  wicked,.together  with his plans,  pu.r-  j
 compassion which His children shall display. Shall they poses, ideals and aspirations. Their love for the wicked
  do so, it follows that they themselves must be compas-              is active when they pray for them, bless them and  do
  sionate. Being God's workmanship, their  compassjon is them well. Blessing and praying for rhe wicked one and
  at once a revelation, an exhibition of the holy compassion          the refusal to place oneself under his yoke go together.
  of their heavenly Father. In other words, God reveals in Blessing the wicked consists in refusing to adopt his
  and rhrough His children His holy virtues.                          plans and purposes and ideals.          Says the Psalmist:
       Compassion or pity is love enveloping the needy, the "Blessed is the man that walketh nor in the counsel of the
 wretched. Man is needy. He must have rain and sun-                   ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth
 shine or he perishes. God sends him rain and causes the in the seat of the scornful"
 sun to  rise  on him. The Highest is compassionate.                      The revealed love of  God and  His  revealed hatred are


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            299

two opposite manifestations of the holiness of Gad. was  heard.                Those who showed no repentance received
Whom God hates He destroys. God saves those whom no remission of sins, no remission of this one great sin.
He loves. With  Gnd,~~love and complete salvation' go If Christ prayed for the unrepentant, He prayed in vain.
together. Likewise hatred and destruction. These arc But this cannot be. Hence, we must conclude that Chiist
+he plain teachings of Scripture. Therefore, God is not prayed only for those who  repented,,i.e. for the elect.
hating and at once loving the reprobate. Neither do the           Consider this: If the Father refused to hear rhis one
children of God bless the reprobate and pray for him. request of our Christ, what guarantee-do we have that
This may not be done. The people of God pray for the           the Father hears `Him when He prays for  you and  me?
wicked whose election or reprobation is a hidden matter. On the other hand, if Christ prayed rhat the reprobate,
   That the children of God may not pray for the repro- responsible for His (Christ's) crucifixion, be forgiven
bate and bless him, is evident from God's word. Spakc this one great sin, and if that prayer was heard it  foIIows ,
Jesus : "I pray not for the world, but for them which that there can be forgiveness of sin without real  repcnt-
Thou hast given me," John  179.  Rev.  Manni asserted ence. For the reprobate does not repent of his sin. The
in "De  Wachter," that Christ prayed for the reprobate grief of king hhaz and of Judas was not the kind of sor-
in the hour of  crucifi.xion.    "Father, forgive them for row followed by forgiveness of sin.
they know not what they do," should be made to apply to
the reprobate.. So it is maintained. Can it be that Christ        And finally, hdw dare  &q-one  maintain that Christ
asked the Father not to lay to the charge of the reprobate prayed for  rhe  reprobate. For Christ said: "I pray  not
Jew the hideous sin of crucifying the son of God? Let us for the world, i.e.  foF the reprobate world. There is not
see. Said Peter to his audience on the day of the outpour- a single passage  iq Scripture asserting thar  Christ,  or, the
ing of the Holy Spirit: "3iTe men of Israel, hear these prophets or the apostles blessed or prayed for the repro-
words : Jesus of Nazareth, a man apbroved of God among bate.. The apostles deliver unto the saints their message
you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by of grace, peace and love. "Paul.. . . to all the  saints  Gz
                                                               Chdrt  Jesus
Him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves                                      . . . . grace unto you, and peace from God our
                                                also  know:
Him  beidg delivered by the determinate counsel and Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ," Col. 1  :l, 2.
foreknowledge of  God? ye have taken, and by wicked               This proves conclusively that God is ndt gracious unto
hands have crucified  and slain," Acts 2  23, 24. These        the reprobate. For these various reasons the children of
Jews, addressed by Peter, are being accused of having rhe  Highest do not pray for those rejected by God.
.crucified Christ. They may not have taken a hand in the          These sayings of Jesus exhibit the glory, the greatness
actual crucifixion. The -task of affixing Christ to the and the perfection of God's  loye or compassion. God's
cross was assigned to and performed by the Roman sol- love is glorious, it is given to the unjust and to the
diers. Yet  the Jew was held responsible. It was he who        unthankful. Indeed. But you will have to add  some-
had clamored for the crucifixion of the man from Galilee. rhing. This: The Christ suffered and died for the  un-
Christ asked the Father to forgive them this  henious sin. thankfulness of the unthankful and for the unjustness of
Was this prayer heard? Tt was. Christ says that the the unjust whom God loves. If that compassion is not
Father always hears Him..' Who" were they who received related to Christ, it is an unholy compassion, even though
the divine pardon for which this Priest prayed? Only it be lavished upon the unthankful. How dare they prate
those who repented. "Now when they heard this, they of a love not related to Christ. It was God Himself who
were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and unto assumed the responsibility for the sin of the  unthgnkful.
the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we      For that sin He suffered in the human  @m-e which He
do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be bap- assumed. Therefore that love lavished upon the unthank-
tized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for rhe     ful is glorious.
remission of sins."                                               These sayings of Jesus exhibit the glory of God's
   No one would care to maintain that the heinous sin of hat&l and qf His wrath. The very fact that God himself
crucifying the son of God was,, not among the sins             was able to assume the responsibility for the sins of the
remitted. The Question, "What musr we  do:" they asked unthankfu1  whom He wills to love goes  ro  show that
because they were  greatIy distressed for having crucified     God's hatred and wrath is no malice or sinful revenge
Jesus.  The awful significance of their crime was clear to which cannot be eased unless the very person who sinned
them now. ;%nd they were  prickkd  in their heart. In be destroyed. The fact that God imputed unto Himself
their ansiety they cry: "Brethren, what must we do?" the sins of the unthankful whom He choose t`o love, indi-
And the answer: "Repent and  h baptized in the name of         cates that His hatred, that His wrath, is a holy indigna-
Jesus for the remission of sins." And among the sins tion occasioned by sin.
remitted was also the sin greatly disturbing their peace          It is this glorious love and this glorious hatred which
of mind at rhat moment. This sin was forgiven those            rhe children  6f the Highest must eshibit.  .They do so
who repented. For them Christ prayed when He said:             when they love their enemies and hate God's enemies.
"Father! forgive them for they know not what they do."         Then the course of their love and of their hatred is not
 What transpired on the day of the outpouring of rhe being determined by men's attitude toward them but by
 Holy Spirit goes to show that the prayer of this `Priest      men's attitude toward God and by God's own holy will.


             300                                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                             _I.__._...__.  -^^-              ..-..-.-
..           The children of God love their  en&lies, not  because their                                      BIJ U SCHUIL IK!
             enemies love them.  `The contrary is  tiue. These enemies
             hate and persecute them. Yet the people of God love                                                  ' Psalm  143:9
             these enemies of theirs because God so demands it. Their                     Waar  \-ind  ik  `n  tocvlucht voor  `t vreezendc hart,
             lore is at  once obedience. -q holy love `guided and set in-                 \i'ertroosting  in, droefheid, genezing in smart?
             action by God's holy will. The children of  God! hate                        Waar  vind ik ecn rustplaats na  moeiten  en zorg?
             GC;d's enemies not because these enemies  hate them, but                     Wie blijft  \-oor mijn  redding  en zaligheid borg?
             because `these enemies hate God. The hatred of  God's                                              Sij U schuil ik !
             people, therefore, is a holy indignation aroused by sin.
             For sin is rebellion against  God. The love and the hatred                   11~ schuil bij U weg, als de storm  urn mij  raa'st,
             of God's people is, therefore, a holy love and a holy                         Het  leed mij  beangst en de strijd mij  verbaast  ;
             hatred and revealing, for this very reason, God's love and                   Als schuldbcsef  drukt  en de moed mij ontzinkt,
             His  h&red.                                             .                    In `t tiuister der zicle  geen  starre meer blinkt.
                     There is also another kind of love, the love of the                             I          Bij  U schuil ik!
             sinner for his neighbor. This love Christ condemns and
             the exponents of the theory of common grace extol. Christ                    Xk schuil  bij' U rustig; Uw woord gceft mij  recht;
             denounces the love and the hatred of the wicked, because
                                                              -..                         Gij hcbt  aan  mij, zondaar, Uw heil toegezegd;
             the essence of that love and of that hatred  is selfishness.                 Ik zie  Uw  genade  in het raadselvol kruis,
             The wicked loves his neighbor  when that neighbor loves                      In  Jezus  schonkt Gij mij den Leidsman naar huis!
             him: The love of the wicked for his fellow men is not                                               P,ij U schuil ik !
             directed and  controIled by God's will, nor by his neigh-
             bor's attitude toward God, but by the attitude of the                         Ik-schuil  bij. U  veilig; bij U is `t mij  goed;
             neighbor toward himself. What  is true of the love of the                    `t Besef Uwer liefde vertroost mijn  gemoed;
             wicked is true of his hatred. The wicked hates his neigh-                     Gemecnschap  -t-net  U is volzalig genot,
             bor not because that neighbor hates God, but because                         Is weelde der ziel  oak, bij `t  bitterste  lot!
             that neighbor hates him. The love  and*the  hatred of  the                                          Bij  U schuil ik!
             wicked is pure idolatry, malice. -Again I asked, how dare
             the esponents of the theory of common grace main&in                           Ik schuil bij U immcr !  o  Hecr ! houd mijn hand,
             that the love and the hatred of the wicked is-out of God?                     Versterk  mijn  geloove,   verlicht mijn verstand!
             Do they not feel  that  they are blaspheming God?                             0  wees Gij mijn  toevlucht, mijn heil, Gij  alleen,
                     Anybody`that will quote the sayings of Christ in sup-                 Dan reis ik met blijdschap naar `t  Vaderhuis  heen  !`.
             port of the theory of common grace gives evidence of  d                                             Bij U schuil ik !
             dimmed spiritual vision.                                                                                                     B. Ten Kate,
                                                                           G.  M. 0.

                                                                                                            BAAT TEGEN  KW-AAD
                                             IN  MEMORIAM
      ..        :                                      `_                                                 .-\lls de  slakke  komt  gekropen
                     Whereas it pleased our Lord in `His infinite  wis'dom                                  Hier en ginder door het huis.
             to take out of our midst our beloved member                                                  `t Is al met haar  slijm bedropen,
                                          F R E D   H A N K O ,                                             Niet C&n kamer blijft er kuisch.
                                                                                                          Mnar het  middel  is te vinden                -'
             at the age of 29 years,  w,e hereby wish to express our                                        Om het  vuil, het leelijk ding,
             heartfelt sympathy with'the  berea;ed family. Although                                 -  Op  -te  schorsen, in te  binden,
             we have lost in him a faithful member, we know that to                                         I)at het niet te vcrre  ging.
             go was his gain, according to his own testimony. May                                         Men behoeft  ma& zout te krijgen,
              the Lord by His grace fill the empty place.                                                   Dat men  oP  zijn lichaam  strooit.
                                          The  Y.  k. S. of the Eastern Ave.  J?rot.                      Straks  zoo zal het nederzijgen,
                                              Chr. Ref. Church,,           <                                r-4.1s  hct ijs,  wannker  het dooit.  -
                                                             Wm.  Verhil,  Pres.                          Als de lust  u.komt bekoren
                                                             B.  Elharr, Sec'y.                             En  u  kruipt   omtrent het  brein,
                     June 1.5, 1926.                                                                      Geeft den moed  tech niet  verloren,
                                                                                                            Maar bewaart uw  leden  rein;
                                                                                                     , Uit haar  vuil is  we1 te komen,
                     Geschiedt het niet in geloof  en met Gods  Woord.                                      Laat maar `t kwaad niet verder gaan.
             Iaat  bet  ook'zijn, dooden op te wekken,  of zoo kuisch en                                  Zout,  uit  Godcs  Woord genomen,                   .-
              rein te  leven als de Moeder Gods, zoo is  bet  voor God                                       Ican de  zonde tegenstaan.
              beter, dan  openbare zonde en  schunde.                                                                                              J. Cats.

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

     POLYCiAMY   I N   OLb  T E S T A M E N T   T I M E S         in creation. Eve is brought ro Adam by God, Hence,
                                                                  marriige is a divine institution. Individual choice is a
                           (Contiriued)                           choice that is in harmony with the divine contrast as
                                                                  God formed it  in the creation of man and woman, and
         The last  time  we briefly  called your attention to the made them husband and wife. Gen.  2:21-24 reaches
  evolutionistic rheory that attempts to justify the prac- nothing less than a profound and inseparable unity and
  tice of  polyganiy in Old Testament times. We fbund  .that fellowship" existing between Adam and Eve. Generically,
  the solution offered for- the problem is deficient in its       we may conclude from  this  passage, that man without
  character, and does by no means satisfy us,  rhat the  prac-    woman is not complete. Dependence of the man or  the-
tice `of polygamy is legitimate, even though the Old woman, and rhe greater dependence of the woman on the
  Testament seemingly does sanction it. It is our purpose         man,  .does not permit us to conclude that the weaker of
  to prove that rhe Old Testament does not sanction the the  two  sexes is an inferior one, but the dependence of  -
  practice of polygamy, and we will proceed upon a theo-          the two respect&e sexes upon one another indicates only
  logical basis-in doing so. We must return in our dis- a difference of function. Both man and woman are  com-
  cussion to the days of the Creation of man and  woman/ plete.image bearers of God, and man alone cannot fulfill
  and look at the. marriage relation from the ideal state,  > thg demands which God demands of him. One of the
                                                 m
  as was the case in Paradise.                                    demands which is of interest to us at  ,-present,  is, the
     In the beginning God created man and woman, and propagation of man's own genus. To propagate his own
  God united them into the holy state of marriage. Man genus man finds a complement in the woman, and these .
  and `woman were not created alongside of one  anbther,          two when united together in a monogamous marriage
  in the sense that one was merely the dominating factor.         relation are able to give answer to the demands which
  Adam was the complement of. Eve, and Eve was the God has made.. Woman, therefore, is not standing above
  complement of Adam. Not to be  misrinderstood, Adam the man, nor belpw rhe man, but is standing alongside
  was a perfect finished production when he proceeded from, of the man. The works of Dr.  Geesink are of  sign$icance
  the hands of the Creator. Adam was a finished piece  pf in this connection, when he says,  "bet bizondere in den
 x workmanship, and the  hature of Adam was complete.             man, en het bigondere in de vrouw,  vereenigd,,eerst  weer
  Yet, we must not make a mistake in  saying  that Adam Ret algemeene: den mensch. Tercht is dan ook  opge-
  was a complete entity in himself, for rhat is not entirely      merkt dat de man eerst een volkomen man wordt in de
  correct.  Adam  ivas alone and his nature was desirous          verbinding met de vrouw,  `en de  vrouw eerst een  vol-
  of a human  complement.~ Hence, we must, explain the            komen vrouw in verbinditig mer den man. Fichte schreef,
  state. of' loneliness in Adam as a plea on his part that `de ongehuwde  persoon is  siechts voor de  helft een
  would help to complement his own lonely state  oi exist- mensch'. Celibacy,  as a  principIe,  in fact would destroy
  ence. Eve, therefore,' is thk  complemtintation of Adam,        God's plan,  wouId destroy the harmony and unity which
  and Adam is the complement of Eve.  ThC formation exists in God's creation of man and  worntin.  Celibacy;
  of the  first human pair f&s in the period of the phy- therefore, is  &t a desired ideal, and is not advocated as
  siological creation of the man only. This formation of such. Kuyper says that in rhe mystery of creation lies
  the first human pair  is  not  jftei'the manner of ready- the'institution of  marriage,  and "niet  alleen het huwelijk,
  made, or at once completed being, but in the way of             maar  z&r  beslist het  monogame huwelijk, d.  j. van  B&n
  becoming-more and more complete. The one developing man en  B&n vrouw, ligt in de schepping en in de  onder-
  hunian  form becomes perfected in the  cont?ast of the          houding vast, en geldt- uit dien hoofde als een in de
  one man and the one woman. Man, as a personality, is natuur zelve gefundeerde ordinantie." Celibacy, is as
  not conditioned  ,through sexual completion  or integra- such not condoned in the Old Testament dispehsation,
  tion; and man and wife are not only  tqro halves `that and in the New Testament day celibacy does not become
  together make one whole in a personal sense, but this a norm-and standard of living, but is considered to be
  is true in the social sense. The wife, however, is just an  excep'tionable  form of living for a human being. Neti
  as much a complete being in h&self, as the man is in            Testament celibacy is a problem all its own, and we have
  himself. Surely,  -the woman proceeds from the rib of limited ourselves to the Old Testament. Hence, we just
  man as a substance, but-also from that trance-like vision       touch upon that subject.
  into which Adam had been cast by God, the woman came.              In the previous paragraph, I believe, we have estab-
  forrh from that death-like sleep of Adam  ai a complete         lished beyond all reasonable doubt, thar marriage is not
  individual in' the ph'ysical sense. In  redspect  to substance, only a divine institution, but also that polygamy is  a
  the woman as fbrmed from one of man's ribs is of a violation of the ideal marriage relation as God had
  different formation, but not a less formation. The-crea- ordained it. Polygamy violated the divine organic har-
  tion of the woman is no less a power of God, but it is mony and unity of relation which God had established
  rather a  complementitig  power to the creative  poker  of between man and woman. Polygamy may be captioned
  God as manifested in man. Woman is not a  sekpndary             <as a result of sin. The question- arises, if the polygamous
  power,  and" man a primary  .power,  but each is primary        marriage relation. is a sin per se, i. e. `in itself, or whether
  in his or her own place in the organism of creation.  HOW-      it can be called an infirmity of the flesh? In other words,
  ever, we must not lose out of sight the divine contrasts        is polygamy the result of man's sin against God, or is


                                          T H E   STANtidRR B E A R E R                                           3oi
 ~~..                                ^.__I--
polygamy sin itself ? Is polygamy a decidedly evil prin- in  turn.also gave birth to four children. Besides this all,
ciple  or-6 polygamy an outgrowth of another evil in the Jacob was exceedingly blessed of God with many riches,
wor'ld?  How does the  Old Testament view, these ques- and God does not condemn the polygamous marriage
tions? We know that in the  Old Testament dispensa-          relation in which Jacob lived.            1..
tion monogamous marriage did  notsremgin  prehoniinant,         As a third illustration in which polygamy was seem-
and complete recognition of monogamy among the ingly approved `of, we' make mention of Elkanah, the
`Hebrews did not return until the ninth  cenrury  after father of Samuel. Elkanah was also a polygamist, for
Christ. It is a patent `fact that some of the patriarchs he possessed two wives. Hannah was a woman of piety.
lived  in a polygamous state. We are facing a problem,       and we read of her husband that he feared jehovah. In
and a serious one, and God does nor expressly condemn this case we are assured of the fact that both husband
or approve the polygamous marriage relation of the and wife were the recipients of God's divine favor. The
patriarchs or their generations: It behooves us to ponder question still remains, did God sanction the practice of
well the different aspects of this question, as presented polygamy?                      1
in  ,the Sacred writings, and to reflect on the fact that
there are in one and the same book of Scripture widely        . It is not necessary to enumerate other evidences of
clifferent  teachings on the matter in question, and to con- pol,ygamjr  among the Hebrews. We are satisfied that
clude that polygamy in Old Testament times was con-          it was practiced, and the degree of polygamy practiced
demned or approved should be a  matternof extreme cau- is an  efitirely different question. We also can make men-
tion. We  muit have a correct view of the law in rela- tion of the fact that even David and also his son Solomon
tion to polygamy, and see whether God condemned or possessed a plurality of wives, and now here in the Sacred
approved the practice.                                       records is there a shadow of rebuke, but in the midst of
    In reference to Abraham we are explicitly told that the  polyiamy practiced we are told, that the Lord of
he took to himself a secondary wife, or concubine, Hagar,    Ho&s was  %th them.
and that Abraham did so at the suggestion of  his wife,         That we have a problem to solve is evident from the
 Sarah.  To  this Hagar, a son was born, and she named examples enumerated above, and these examples could
 him Ishmael. Now if polygamy in its very essence and be  Fultiplied, but we have chosen for our purpose such
 principle is a breach of God's fundamental law of mar- examples which on the surface  wei-e not denounced, but  '
 riage, then, of  :ourse, this act of Abraham was an error apparently were sanctioned by God. The question arises
 and a sin, more or less blameable according to the degree what is the principle, what is the law which must help
 of  knbwledge which Abraham had received of God's law. us to determine the question involved? It is  indqeh  nec-
 It might be that Abraham sinned in ignorance, as  Abime-    essary ro remind ourselves of the fact, that the Mosaic
*lech was about to do ; it might be that Abraham sinned Code of laws does not prohibit or sanction the practice
 knowingiy and wilfully, even as Adam had done in Para- of polygamy. Even Moses himself was a polygamist,
 dise. Y&t, we may not suppose that Abraham was with-" for we  lead that he also married the Cushite woman.              .
 out sin, and his ignorance  of the law is no valid excuse. The question is, therefore, what role does the Mosaic
 On the hypothesis, that Abraham acted in ignorance of Code play in respect  ro the polygamous practice of the
 the divine law, it is almost inconceivable to believe, that Hebrews ?
, God, who so carefully `interfered to  prevenr the crime       In  attempting  an answer to the various questions
 of adultery on the part of Ring Pharoah, and again in which we have presented, it is a matter of fact that the               .
 the case of Abimelech, would altogether neglect the same Mosaic Code does regulate the position of women, and
 care in regard to His Covenant friend and servant, also regulates  the rule of family life. Moreover, many
 Abraham. That Abraham also sinned wilfully is an un- practices of the patriarchs  are under the administration
 tenable hypothesis, for it is inconsistent and incredible df the law no  long&   peimitted. To account for this
 with the whole tenor of the Sacred narrative. There is change, nl. that God permitted the patriarchs to  db cer-
 not so much as one word of reprdach  in the whole history tain things which the Hebrews under the-law were pro-
 implying that God was in any way offended with hibited, we must remember that the law was pedagogical
 Plbraham's  conduct on that occasion.                       in its nature. The character and letter of the law per-
    The  hisrory of the celebrated patriarch Jacob, pictures mits polygamy to continue, yet, the law is very careful
 to us a person who indulged in the practice of polygamy in its terms as to the official stamp of approval. The laws
 even to a greater  extent   than the celebrated patriarch of Moses refrain from sanctioning. the practice of poly-
 Abraham. Jacob, if any, lived under the special guidance gamy. A great  expans5  of time elapsed between the
 of the Almighty God, and received God's blessings on fall of Adam and the promulgation of the Mosaic Code.
 many remarkable occasions in his life. Jacob had two When Adam  was driven from Eden's garden of perfect
 wives, Leah and Rachel.  ,_ Leah gave  birth to six sons contentment and communion with God, the ideal state
 and one daughter, and Rachel bore Jacob two sons. But, of marriage was soon fallen into a state of decay. Lamech
 even Leah and Rachel were entirely in harmony with pe?verted  the monogamic ideal of union between one man
 the polygamous relation in which they lived with Jacob, and one woman. The children of men are born in an
 for both Leah and Rachel even complicate the polyga- environment which no longer portrays to their minds
 mous relation in presenting their respective maids, who the beautiful harmony that exists between man and


 308                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   ` B E A R E R
           -._---                .____-                                                          _ _ _ _ -                - -
 woman, but the dominance of passion and  Iust of the bring Israel to the consciousness of monogamy, the orig-
 flesh of the stronger over the weaker sex finds expres- inal marriage institution of God. The laws of people,
 sion. Moreover, we must not forget, when Abraham is           indeed a very interesting phenomenon, are always
called from the land of the Chaldeans, that he also founded upon the state of their existence and relation-
 brought with him the practices and customs, at least to ships.' `Moreover, the laws of God promulgated  and  writ-
 some extent, of the land of his birth. Chaldea was a          ten by His own Hand, were laws made to pedagogically
 land where sin reigned supreme ; where morality was bring about the restoration of the ideal. Laws not only
 at a low ebb. We also know from reliable sources that are for the purpose of condemnation, but also must be a
 the  position.of women in the land of Babylonia was far       means, or a teacher unto godliness. In a certain sense
 from the ideal. That  LZbraham  at least in part survived     we can speak of the laws of God as being immutable.
 some of the practices of his ancestry, I believe, is not The Old Testament Laws were founded upon a far deeper
 an untenable assumption. `Tis true in the land of Baby- spiritual principle which found expression in the day of
.  ion and Chaldea and Egypt monogamy was the rule, yet        Christ in the New Testament dispensation. The per-
 some exceptions to the rule' were in vogue.                   manent and spiritual  principles~  of the law are again
        It is even probable that the Code of Hammurabi did emphasized in the New Testament. In this respect, the
 not  esist in the land of Chaldea at the time of Abraham's    ethics of the Old Testament, even though bereft of their
 call by God; it certainly is an undisputed fact that the local coloring again find spiritual expression in the New
 customs which were later codified in the remarkable Testament dispensation. This is  a.lso true of the laws
 Code of Hammurabi were in full sway. It is significant regulating the marriage relation of the Hebrews. We
 that the relation. which Abraham sustained to Hagar           must not be too hasty, however, to conclude that mar-
 finds a similar specification in the Code of Hammurabi. riage  finds  its true spiritual expression again first in the
 We quote in part the following, "if a barren wife  gives- New Testament day, for a close scrutiny of the pro-
 to her husband a slave girl who bears children to him,        phecies discloses the higher meaning of the marriage
 then he may not marry another wife, otherwise, he might vow. The prophets already allude to the symbolism of
 do so. The slave girl given to the husband is bound to marriage as the union existing between God and His
 show due deference to her mistress; if she does not do. people. The prophecies too, are teachings to bring back
 this she loses her privileged position, but she may not       the people of Israel to the consciousness that monogamy
 be sold if she has borne a child to her husband." Very is the ideal marriage relation. The prophets spiritualized
 likely this custom codified in the Code of Hammurabi          the meaning of the laws of Moses. It is entirely natural
 also lived in the consciousness of Abraham when he sent that the spiritual import of the laws of Moses came to
Hager  away.  betause she did not show due deference to        complete expression as time went on, and it is folly to
 her mistress, Sarah. We must not forget that before a expect that a people coming from the Egyptian bondage
 law is codified it has been a custom and a practice for would understand rhe import of the law in its deep. spirit-
 some time, and has lived in the consciousness of the peo- ual meaning and basic import. Centuries must pass by,
 ple for some time. Laws are customs and habits which and the constant teaching of the prophets of Jehovah
 by common consent become a rule for life in society. NO were necessary to bring the Hebrews to an understanding
 doubt a similar custom in  ,the consciousness of Sarah        of the real meaning of the law. Especially is this true
 actuated the giving of Hagar as a wife unto Abraham of the marriage relation. God did not condemn or con-
 in order that Sarah might become a mother by proxy.           done the practice of polygamy, but He did place barriers
 A childless mother in ancient times was considered a to thwart the polygamous marriage reality as it then
 special curse, and such women were scorned and of little existed, and would gradually elevate the people of Israel
 repute. In the case of Jacob we see that a polygamous to the ideal as God had ordained ir in Paradise.
 state is forced upon him, because the customs of the land        Let us D. V. see next time how God restricted the
 do not permit  Laban to give away the younger before practice of  poIygamy  among the Hebrews when the Law
 the eldest daughter. The position of women among the was promulgated. .
 Hebrews was by no means an ideal one. The great love                                               R. J. DANHOF.
 for children on the part of the patriarchs accounts in
 part for the practice of polygamy, but the  Mosaiq  Code                          VERBETERING
 of laws, although not immediately abolishing polygamy
 among the Hebrews, certainly did mitigate its evil con-          In het artikel  YGezichtsbeneveling en  Gedachtenver-
 sequences. The laws of God given by His servant Moses         troebeling," zie No.  9, Vol. II van de "Standard Bearer,"
 unto the people of Israel elevated the position of women is tusschen den eersten en den tweeden regel weggevallen
 socially?, and granted them certain rights which were not     een anderen regel,  n.1.:
 found among the heathen tribes and nations.                   Staat," Ds. Jansen,  Veldprediker in Algemcenen  Dienst
    The question may be asked, why did not the Mosaic                                                         G. V. B.
 Code of laws at once condemn polygamy? In answering
 this question we must be reminded of the fact that the           178. Wij  worden  niet rechtvaardig door het  recht-
 `law of God took into consideration the darkened ethical      vaardige  te  doen; maar rechtvaardig geworden  zijnde,
 consciousness of Israel, but God pedagogically would doen wij hetgeen rechtvaardig is.


                                                                               .-.
                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D -  BEA-RER   ,p                                                  311.
-                - -
                  INGEZONDEN                         .          oproer en zonder tegenspraak hebben ze alles maar over-
          . .                                                   gegeven. Want ze gelooren en houden nog vast  aan
        Geachte Redactie !                                      Gods Woord en zijne beloften  (natuurlijk er is altijd  kaf
                                                                onder het koren). Oordeelt niet, opdat gij niet  geoor-
     Vergun  mij  ecn weinig ruimte in uw door  velen  ge-      deeld wordt. Maar ik  rnoet eindigen. Later nog wat
waardeerd blad.                                                 meer,  `zoo de Heere wil.
     Met het oog op de `laatstgehouden feestviering van            Met dank voor de plaatsing,
Calvin College, las ik onder anderen ook van Mr. Beets,                                                            M.  MAAS.
daar hij zeide, dat Calvin, de studenten zoude  voorberei-         1007 Sherman St.
den tot betere verklaring van den Bijbel. Nu, ik dacht al
aanstonds, dat het niet  overbodig  zou zijn,  dat die  ge-
leerde heeren van Calvin College, en ook zeker Mr. Beets,* Dear Editor:
zelf ook nog  -wat meer onderwijs ontvingen, opdat zij             I wish to call your attention to a serious error in
den Bijbel beter zouden verstaan, want zij hebben in den        respect to the content of the article "Polygamy in Old
laatsten tijd  we1 getoond,  -dat zij niet  goed  begrijpen, Testament Times."
war Jezus bedoelde  toen Hij (Jezus) zeide: "Een nieuw             On page  216,-the closing paragraph, a sentence reads,
gebod  gecft ik  u, hebt elkanderen hartelijk  lie&"  want "This distinction is of value in the discussion of our sub-
wat is het anders dan groote vijandschap om alles maar ject, for we must be led astray . . . . . .  " It should
goed te keuren wat hun bekwame advokaat (volgens Mr. read, "This discussion is of value in the discussion of
Beets)  zooal van Ds. Hoeksema te zeggen had in het our subject; for we must  not  be led astray . . . . . .  "
Court House; niets anders dan goddelooze, schandelijke             On page 214, the same article should read  in.the first
en lasterlijke taal; en daar durven die heeren dan hun paragraph,  `fnorm   and,standard  of judgment . . . . . . .  ,"
naam onder  zetten. En tot nog toe zijn zij met die vijand- instead of  "form and standard of judgment . . . .  : .  "
schap  besmet,, en ook  meesta1   alle andere leeraren der         Trusting you will place this  c.orrection,  I remain
Chr. Geref. Kerk, want'van protesteeren hoort men niet.                                      Fraternally yours,
Er zijn dan ook vele leeraren tegenwoordig, die  zichzel-                                                 R. J. DANHOF.
vkn weiden inplaats van de schapen, waarover zij gesteld
zijn; en hoe kunnen en durven zij  nag-bidden,  en het
Avondmaal bedienen, alles maar met een vijandig hart?                                 SUIT  D E   DIi%PTE
Het is  tech zeker  we1 wat erg. Dat komr verkeerd uit,
broeders! Leeraren, die nog den vollen Raad Gods  ver- . .                    (Een oud-Duitsch Kerklied)
kondigen, zoo maar uit hun ambt te zetten, zonder hen                    Gij Jezus ! Toevlucht van mijn hart !
gelegenheid te geven zichzelven te verdedigen, is een                      Mijn Lichtstar uit den  (?osten!
groot onrecht die leeraren aangedaan. Of hebben zulke                    Gij ziet mijn  nacht. Gij kent mijn smart!               ,     .
leeraren in de Chr. Geref.  Kerk geen  plaats meer? Het                    Gij  kunt en  zult mij troosten.
schijnt  we1 zoo;  mzar  dat het al maar menschenwerk  is,                             0 maak mij stil
kan ieder  duidelijk zien, want er  loopen  al meer en meer                            In Uwen wil.
menschen uit de Chr. Geref. Kerk  weg.                                     En leer me in dood en  leven
     ,Ik kan maar slechr gelooven, dat Mr. Bouma, Beets                    U heel mijn  ziele  geven!
en anderen dat ook voor een goed werk beschouwen  voor                                                                    /
God, om eenige leeraren zoo maar uit de <hr. Geref. Kerk                 Gij Jezus! Leven van mijn ziel!
te bannen zonder voldoend bewijs uit Gods Woord. En                        Geef leven  aan al de Uwen !
dan Ds. Pekelder van Coldbrook gaat nog een stap  ver-                   Gij Jezus ! Rots van mijn gemoed !
der ; die scheldt Ds. H. Hoeksema maar uit voor een                        0, zie mij tot U treden!
Pope, en zijne volgelingen  &or dweepers. Het zou voor                   Bcspienkel met Uw heilig bloed
U,  Mr.  Pekelder,.ook.wel  `goed  zijn, wat meer onderwijs                Mijn zondige gebeden !
re  ontvangen ter betere verklaring van den Bijbel, Nu, u                             `Draag Gij ze, o Zoon!
kunt gerust zijn, Mr. Pekelder, want Ds. H.  Hoeksema  is                               Naar `s Vaders troon.
geen Pope, en zijn volgelingen nog geen dweepers. Het                      En  last mijn geest'lijke ooren
zouvan   u zeker  we1 wat beter zijn wat meer over de  toe-                Het Godlijk : "Amen !" hooren.
komst uwer  leden  te  denken,  inplaats van  aan uwe  leden
te vragen of zij  nogal  wat geld bezitten. Komt dat ook                 *  IJws Geestes Iente  luwen!
fe pas in uwe ambtsbediening? Waar  denkt  u  tech over?                 Doe, waar -de winter  nederviel,
Gij moest  u schamen! En u, Mr. Beets,  kunt  aok  gerust                               Bescherm alom
zijn, want Ds. H. Hoeksema en zijne volgelingen zijn nog                                Uw eigendom.
geen Anarchisten. Zoo laag zijn ze nog niet  gevallen,.                       Dat Uw verlosten Boven
maar ze hebben getoond bij het verlaten der kerk  aan                      U eens voor eeuwig loven !
`Eastern Avenue, wat soort van  menschen  ze'zijn  ; zonder                            _(                 J. J. L. Ten Kate.


     312                                                                          T  Ii  E      S T ;I N D X R D B E .A R E R
                                     - SCHEDIJLE OF SCJPPLIES FOR JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST
                                                                                                                                              -
                                       I                          JUNE                                         JIJLY                                                        AUGUST
                                                                                                                                              I                                    ..-
                                            -__                   -.....-- -_.-- -.---"-.- - -   ..-.  -_-_-- ---                                  ____- .-_--  -_--_- ------.--_--
                                                       13            20            `)7          4              11        1s           25                1.             8                  15             z:!  *            29
                                            ----... -- - - - I___-- - - - -.--- --i                                                                                           -                 -.-.--._-_  __..---.-l--
     V-P             __---.-





                                            G.O.                  H.H.       G.O.             H . H .G.O.              H.H.      H.H.              G.O.         J.G.               Wm.V C.H.                             WmV.
     Eastern--...--..  __._                 R.V.                   C.H.      H.H.             R-V.  C . H .            R.V.      R.V;              H.H.         C . H .   R . V .                   R.V.                 H.H.
                                            L.V.                   H.H.      H.H.             H.H.           G.O.      H.H.      H.H.              H.H.                            Wm V G.O.                             H.H.
                                            H.H.                   H.H.      H.H.             H . H .   C . H .        H.H.      H.H.              H.H.         ;;Gq.   R . V .                    J.G. . H.H.

                                            -                -               -.._- --.--  - - - - -""  .._-...-                                    - - . ---_I --__-.-- - - ---- - -
                                                                                                                                                                                                 I-      _,

     Kalamazoo....._ ____ __ H.D.                                 H.D.       H.D.             R:D.  H . D .            H.D.      R.D.              H.D.         H . D .   R . D .                  H.D.                  H.D.
                                                                                                                                        1.
                                            ----" --.....                    --_- --__-- -                                     - --.--                          - - - -   __- -.-"-- ----.  - -
                                                                                                                                                                                                 _-



     Hope.: _...__ _ _._____._.._           G.O.'                  G.O.      R.V.             G . O .   L . V .        R.D.      G.O.              C.H.         A.G.   G . O .                      G.O.                 AdV.
                                            G-0.                   G.O.      G-0.             G.O.           G.O.      R.D.  1 G.O.                G.O.         C . H .   G . O .                   G.O.                 ,AdV.

                                            -                - -           - - - - - - -   - - - - - - - - - - -                                              - I__ -__- -.- _.._.. ----.---
                                                                                                                                                                                                 _-



     Hull.. ____ __________ _______         BJD.                   BJD.      BJD.             J.G.           BJD.      BJD.      BJD.              vos          L . V .   H.l%                         BJD.              BJD.'
                                                 -T
                                            - - -                            -            - - - -   - - - - - - - __-                              -          - - - - -   -__- ._-.^--^- ---"----
                                                                                                                                                                                                 _-



     Doon..--.-....  .._._ _ __._           J.G.                   J.D.      AdV.             .4dV.  J . G .           vos       T-OS              L.V.         H.H.  j L.V.                           vos . vds
.                                           -                - -           - L-- -..--A-.- - __-- -__I_                                                                                                                  . .._--
                                                                                                                         ,.     -             - - - - ---_--                                                       --
                                                                                                                                                                                                 _-



     Sibley-l.. _____ _ __-____.            AdV.                   AdV.      J.G.  '          B J D .   AdV.           L.V.      L.V.                           vos                vos                 L.V.              L.V.

                                            __- A----..- --_-  - ____. _-- __.__  - - - - --....-.. __--- 11-----                                                                                                  --- - -

     Byron Center _____-_                   H.H.                   R.D.      L.V.             C . H .   R . D .        AdV.      `J.G.             WmV. WmV.b  J . G .                             7WmV.                 C.Ii.
                                            H.H.                   R.D.      G-0.             G . O .   R . D .        R.V.      J.G.              WmV. WmV.  J . G .                              7WmV.                 WmV.

                                            -                - -           - - - - - ----__- - - - -                                               - - - - - -   -__-- ----...-----. ..--
                                                                                                        -                                                                                        _-

     Waupun _______ - ____-  -              AC;.                  WmV. RmV, WmV.  WmV. WmV. H.D.                                                   A.G.          R.V.              BJD.                H.H.              G.O.

     - - - - - -                                                             - - - - -                - -i ..--.- -             - - - -                       - - - -   __.__- -I__ --- - -
                                                                                                                                                                                                 _- I

     Munster ________________ WmV. L.V.                                      CM.'             H.D.           vos       G.O.      WmV. J.G.                       R . D .   A.G.
                                                                                                                                                                  .                                    R.D.              R.V.
     -_------ -.--                                                           --.-- _"._"-__  _...... ."-.-                      - - -                                                                              ---_-
                                                                                                                                                                                                 _-



     HudsonviIle  ___. ._ . _.              C.H.                   R.V.      R.D.             A . G .   R.V.           C.H.          C.H.          R.D.          G.O.              .%dV.               A.G.              RD.
                                            V O S                  G.O.      R.D.             A.G.  R . V .            R.D.          C.H.          R.D.          C . H .   C . H .                     "LG.              R.D.'

                                            -                - - --_ -.II.-  - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~-~..~,__~~~._                                                                                  .-.--- --
                                                                                                                                                                                                 --

                                            vos                    vos       vos              Vos H.H.                 J.G.          R.V.          BJD.          B J D .   H . D .                     J.G.
     Grandville  Ave.:...                   G.O.                   vos       vos              Vos H.H.                               G.O.          BJD.          B J D .   H . D .                     J.G.
                           .-\.             R.V.                   R.V.      R.V.             R . V .   H . H .                      R.V.          BJD.          B J D .   H . D .                     R.V.
                                                                                                                                                                                                 -                 -
                Changes to be made according to circumstances by personal arrangement where possible.
                K'e_y  to Names-L. V. is L. Vermeer; R. V. is R.  Veldman;  H. D. is  H. Danhof; BJD. is B. J. Danhof; R. D. is
     R. Danhof; Wm. V. is Wm. Verhil; J. G. is J. Griflioen; -4. G. is A. Griffioen; C. H. is C. Hanko; Vos is G. Vos; G. 0. is
     G.  Ophof.; H. H. is H.  Hoeksema;   AdV. is A. De  V&s.


