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

       THE MISCHIEVOUS STANDARD BEARER                            pictures his God as his own character likes to conceive
            DISTURBS THE PEACE OF THE                             of him. (sic! This is not very Reformed is it, Rev. J. K.
                  MINISTER OF PEASE!                              V. B.?) Where hate and animosity reign, God becomes
                                                                  .a  hespotic  being, rejoicing in the agonies of the repro-
      That mischievous Standard Bearer !                          bate. Not only that, but it becomes the preacher's duty
      Ordinarily our friend of yore, the Rev. Jan Karel Van       to look upon a congregation as containing reprobates,
Baalen,  does not read our paper. And we can understand evoking hatred rather than sinners in need of salvation.
that he does not care to see it. I do not think that it           Of that personal attitude of hatred the Standard Bearer
awakens in the mind of the Reverend associations and              I read was full to the brim. The more is a pity that men
recollections that are dear to the heart.                         and women should continue to follow such blind leaders,
      It recalls a hot and bitter fight for the truth. And,       submitting their growing children to an influence' like
oh, how the Rev. Van  Baalen  fought to defend the dear           rhat. How long before these brethren and sisters will
old truth of a common grace. And he won !  X glorious             return to the Church they have left, lest their children
victory he scored !       That the Christian Reformed             run to the other extreme? Study, brethren, the lesson of
Churches are what they are to-day, they owe largely if            the still small voice." (From The Banner, Sept. 30, 1927).
not wholly to him.       At the Synod of Kalamazoo he                When we read this paragraph in the Banner (a paper
scored a victory that saved the churches.                         we do not ordinarily see; only when something of interest
      And the reverend Mr. Van  Baalen  realized it deeply.       appears in it someone takes care that I read it) I smiled
      He enjoyed a moment of victor's joy.                        and said: Well, well, that naughty Standard Bearer! He
      Former members of his former flock in Munster, Ind.,        is not sent to Rev. Jan Karel Van  Baalen  at all. And
told me how he returned from the Synod, shouting jubi-            there he sees to it, out of sheer mischievousness, that,
lantly: Ik heb het gewonnen!                                      apparently incidentally, he encounters the pastor of Pease
      A glorious return to Munster it was!                        and at the first meeting so disturbs his peace that the
      Bur how did the Churches reveal their gratitude for         above paragraph could flow out of his otherwise peaceful
the hard-won battle the Reverend Mr. Van  Baalen                  pen and that while he was writing a Sabbath-school
fought? They simply did not show it. But besides,                 lesson on the "still small voice" !
what  bedame  of the foe, the Rev. Van  Baalen  fought so            We certainly apologize to the Reverend Mr. `Van Baa-
bitterly? He is still in existence. He would not be over-         len for this failure of the Standard Bearer to conduct
come. And he still fights the same battle. He is to an            himself properly. And we will take care that the naughty
extent embodied in the Standard Bearer. And the Rev.              mischief, who so upset Pease's pastor's peace, in this
Jan Karel Van  B,aalen  does not care to meet his former number will deliver this apology in very person to the
foe. And so it happens that ordinarily he avoids the very door of the parsonage.
Standard Bearer. He does not ordinarily see it.                      At the same time we assure the reverend, that our
      But, oh! that mischievous Standard Bearer!                  B'earer did not mean ir so badly. He really meant no
      Somehow he managed to get into the neighborhood harm. He just likes to upset people's nerves sometimes
of the Rev. Mr. Van Baalen. The latter simply could not and when they are good and raving he quietly leaves
help meeting his foe. And, though we gave our brave and laughs himself out. But he means no harm, really
bearer of the Standard no charge to that effect at all, he        not, Mr. Van  Baalen.      If you ever meet him again, just
immediately disturbed the peace of the minister of Pease !        don't be afraid of him. And don't let yourself be upset
      Let the Revereqd relate his encounter in his own            so easily by his appearance.
words :                                                              If you take this advice the effect of your meering him
      "The other day, when upon my vacation, I got hold of will not be half as bad as it was this last time.
a paper  1 do not ordinarily see.     It was the  first Sep-         You will even begin to like him. For he is not as
tember issue of the Standard Bearer (I think the Rev- bad as he looks.
erend means the issue of the first of September,  1927.              Really, try it once.
The first September issue appeared in 192.5.  - H. H.).
Some five years ago I warned the Church against a theol-
ogy which proceeds from the idea of a God of hatred
rather than to conceive of God as a God of love. This,               Some people you simply cannot take seriously.
I pointed out at  the,time,  will, unless it is stopped, ulti-       It makes no difference what they say or do or write,
mately rob-our Church of true evangelical preaching. If even though rhey write the most terrible things about you
any member of the Christian Reformed Church should in public, you cannot take them seriously.
be still in doubt whether this was seen right, let him pick          They could not possibly make you angry, even if you
up said issue of the Standard Bearer. Let him read the            would try your very hardest to get your blood aboiling.
seven pages that breath (I imagine the Reverend means                There is, for instance, the Rev. Van  Baalen.   I could
bredhe)   hatred  ; hate against the Christian Reformed           not become excited about him or angry at him if he
Church, and hatred even against the few leaders among should devote all his Sabbath school lessons'to say such
that small group. Then let him remember that a man                devilish things about me wirh a still small voice as he


                                       THE  S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                                            53
-                                        _ ..~       . . . "   _ _   ..-^  ~._ll_---"-   ..__....-..   -__I
does in this issue of Sept. 30. Even though he would            that he gives vent to his own  heartful  of hatred and all
call me the most horrible names, I believe I would still        this in a lesson on "the still small voice.7' And partly . . .
be serenely calm.                                                    Well, some people you simply cannot take seriously.
     Ordinarily, of course, if one would read such evil
things about himself as this little paragraph contains, one
would just rave. For very grievous things it contains, to
be sure. Things that hurt, ordinarily. Things that would            In the meantime, a paragraph of this nature is en-
cut, if one would have to believe that they could come          lightening.
from a brother in the Lord. Things that are blasphe-                It explains a certain otherwise inexplicable phenom-
mous. Gross misrepresentations, most horrible lies. Just        e n o n .
think, just briefly pass in review what the author of that          The phenomenon is this : It happens more than once,
paragraph writes !                                              chat I discover, when meeting people I never met before,
     He wantshis  readers to understand that our theology       that they express their astonishment at the difference be-
proceeds from the conception of a God of hatred. LIE            tween what they expected us to be and what they actu-
No. 1. (The author should have `written thar some five         ally find us to be. When strangers attend our services
years ago he combatted the truth that God always hates          and listen to the preaching they are often surprised.
the reprobate wicked.)                                          They  expecred  a sermon loaded with many heresies,
     He alleges that the number of the Standard Bearer he       rooted in some such conception of God as Van  Baalen
picked up is a proof of the fact that our theology would        ascribes to us. And they hear good, sound Reformed
rob the church of true evangelical preaching. LIE No. 2.        truth, as sound as in their own church they did not hear
There is in the number he read nothing to indicate any-         it for years.
thing of the kind or even to suggest it remotely to any             And they tell us of their amazement.
normal mind.                                                        The same experience we often have when we are in-
     He says that a man pictures his God as his own char-      vited to lecture in different places. People attend those
acter likes to conceive of him. LIE No. 3, if the author gatherings that come to criticize If not to scoff, and after
applies this to us or to any Christian. This is modern- they have listened to our doctrine they admit  that: they
ism.                                                           were erroneously informed. They agree with us and have
     He intimates that it is our  ,conception  that God re-    no criticism.
joices in the agonies of the reprobate, because with us             These people never read our pamphlets and paper.
hatred and animosity reign. LIE  It'o.  4.                          But they are informed in some way.
     He witnesses that the Standard `Bearer he read was             One often asks: Where do they obtain this erroneous
full to the brim of personal hatred. LIE No. 5.                information that leaves such an evil impression wirh them
     Now, is not that horrible? I mean, is not this a  ter-    concerning us and our doctrine?
tible thing, rhat the Rev. Mr. Jan Karel Van Baalen  dares          It seems to me, with a view to a possible answer to
to write such awful lies about anyone? I certainly think       this question,, the paragraph quoted from Rev. Jan Karel
it is. Would you think that a Christian could write such       Van  Baalen's  Sunday school lesson in The Banner is
terrible statements about anyone if they were not very         positively enlightening.
clearly  rrue? I. don't. Can you explain it, that a man             It does not often happen, that rhe leaders of the
writes a nice and pious article about "the still small          Christian Reformed Church are so bold, that they publish
voice," and then indulges in such deviltries at the same       such dark lies about us as are contained in the paragraph
time? I cannot. Well, but does it not get you raving referred to above.
angry, then, when you read such things?                             Rev. Van  Baalen  forgot himself, no doubt, when the
     It most probably would, if it came from any other very sight of the Standard Bearer set his blood aboiling.
pen than the Rev. Van Baalen.                                       Nexr time he must exercise a little more self control.
     Not now.                                                       He must not reveal himself again.
     And  if, you ask me why not, perhaps I would not be            It looks bad.
able to explain my own state of mind.                               But who can suppress the question: If leaders of the
     There is in my heart a mixed feeling when I read such     Church, when they lose control of themselves for a
awful indictments when they are written by  ~the Rev.           minute, stumble into writing such awful things, what
Van  Baalen.  Partly it brings  ro my recollection a cer- will they do in private?
tain Dutch proverb about being able to stand a kick when            You may answer the question for yourself, reader.
it is administered by a certain party. Partly it is a feel-         But: to me the paragraph was a revelation.
ing of pity, when I remember how little the Rev. Van                                                                  H. H.
Baalen  will be able to give account of such things before
Him, Who will judge borh quick and dead. Partly it PROGRAM BY
is astonishment at the audacity of a man who dares to                               . GIRLS'  SOCIETY-
write about another man's hatefulness at the same time                                                         See last page


58                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
             l__ll-

             THE  TYPOLOGY OF SCRIPTURE                         having been engaged in a vain business in the event that
                                                                he labored to prove that the female members of the
                       The Institution of Marriage              Church should be permitted to take part in the election
                                                                of church officers under the condition that they honor
      Let us now apply ourselves to the contents of Linde- their husbands* wishes at the church polls.
boom's Memoir. In his Memoir Lindeboom arises to the               However,,  Li,ndeboom's  Memoir contains assertions
defense of the proposition that it is the God-given right       the thought of which compels one to conclude that he
of the female members of the congregation to vote for was  not  laboring to prove the proposition presented
church officers. The question arises whether he would above. The Memoir turns out to be a defense of a prop-
allow the wife to pitch herself over against the man or osition which reads thus : Resolved, that the female mem-
whether he is of the conviction that the wife is duty bers of the Church should be given the right to assert
bound to submit herself to the will of her husband when themselves as independent units at the church polls.
she votes and to vote as he does. Which of these two That is to say, the wife may vote contrary to her hus-
propositions did he attempt to prove? Must his Memoir band if she so desires. In other words, Lindeboom has
be regarded as a defense of the proposition that the wife       it that the moment the wife enters the church voting
should be admitted to the church voting booth to carry          booth the marital tie dissolves, and the woman is free
out the wishes of her husband? That is to say, does the         and being free need not submit herself to the will of the
proposition contrary to the one Lindeboom attempted to          man. In other words, the moment the woman enters
prove read : Resolved, that the wife remain at home on the      the circle of the institutional life of the  Chuch  she is
day of the election of church officers, or to express it        man's  eyua1 and need not while moving about in this
negatively, Resolved, that the woman should not be per-         circle bow to the will of her husband. That. this is the
mitted to enter with her husband the church voting booth        view to which Lindeboom is addicted is evident from his
to cast her vote in favor of  theecandidate  which he de-       Memoir. Attend to the following selections : "The, apos-
sires to see placed in office. In other words, is the oppo-     tolic admonitions (we are now quoting Lindeboom)
nent whom Lindeboom faces one who is of the conviction purpose to maintain the peculiar character of marriage
that the woman should be prohibited from entering the and of family life. However, that the wife is subordinate
voting booth even though when voting she should sub- to her husband does not imply that she may not enter the
mit  herseIf to the will of her husband; and is it Linde-       church voting booth to vote for church  offcers. For the
boom's view that the wife may vote providing she co-op-         family is constituted of still other relations of subordina-
erates with her husband at the polls? If so, Lindeboom tion than that existing between man and wife. The
might as well have held his peace as the attempt to either children are subordinate to the parents. The son, never-
prove or disprove a proposition of this kind is a waste theless, may appear at the church poll and vote as well
of time. For in the event that the woman enters the as his father. If the church voting booth is inaccessible
voting booth bent on submitting herself to the will of to the woman, it is likewise inaccessible to the son as he
her husband, it is all the same whether she votes or re- as well as the woman is a subordinate in the house."
frains from voting. For, in either case she recognizes her          Lindeboom, it is plain, reasons thus: The son is al-
husband as her head in that in either case she submits to lowed to vote even though he be a subordinate in the
his will.                                                       home. Hence, the fact that the wife and mother is a
      What is more, if the female members of the congre-         subordinate  Aced not bar her from the church voting
gation co-operated with their husbands at the' church booth. To the contrary, she shouId  be allowed to appear
polls, the outcome of the election would be what it would       at the church poll as well as her son. In other words,
have been had the women not voted. Submission on                 Lindeboom  con&d& that the relation of subbrdiiation
their part would merely mean a doubling of the total            has nothing to do with the question as to whether or no
number of votes cast by the male members of the congre-          the woman may vote.         In the sequence it will be
gation.       It is plain that nothing worthwhile would be made plain that this particular line of reasoning partakes
achieved.                                                       of the character of the nonsensical. Let us, for the pres-
      Finally, the woman willing to honor her husband's          ent, apply ourselves to the privileges of the son of the
wishes at the church polls would be voting even though           home. Indeed he may vote if he be a confessing mem-
she remained at home on the day or the evening of elec-         ber of the Church. What is more, he is not compelled
tion. She would  be voting in and through her represen-          to permit his father to instruct him as to how he shall
tative - her husband - in that his choice is at once hers. vote. That is to say, the son enters the voting booth as an
Let us quote from a former article. "The God-fearing independent unit to vote as he sees  ii?.                He does not
woman may and does so in her representative the hus-             appear at the church polls as one duty bound to express
band.        She does not appear personally at the church by means of the ballot the judgment and choice of his
polls. This she deems unnecessary as her head is there           father. Upon the congregational meeting he appears as
to enter, by means of the ballot, her choice."                   one of the sum total of units constituting that particular
      It is plain that Lindeboom must be charged with body. There he may differ with his father as well as


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          59
                                                                                                __--_-.- --__1_

with any other member. That is his right, of which he the four commissaries appeal in support of the view that
may take advantage without becoming guilty of rebellion. the woman may not vote. It is necessary to do so as
In a word, it is the prerogative of the son to express by the Memoir of Lindeboom is in part a refutation of the
means of the ballot a free and independent choice. Why four commissaries' exposition of these very scriptures.
he has this right will be made plain in the sequence. In The  follow&g passages were thought to apply to the
fine, the right to vote, as exercised by the son, is the matter. "Acts 1  :15-26,  And in these days Peter stood
right to function as a self-governed, independent  "zelf-     up in the midst of the disciples, and said (the number of
standig" unit of the congregation.                            names together :were about a hundred and twenty) men
   Lindeboom, as has been shown, is of the conviction, and brethren, this scripture must needs have been ful-
that the wife and mother of the home should be allowed        filled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David
to vote as well as the son. Whereas, the right to vote, as spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them
exercised by the son, is the right to function as a  self-    that took Jesus . . . . . Wherefore of these men which
governed unit at the church polls it follows that, accord-    have accompanied with us all the time that the Lord
ing to Lindeboom, the prerogative of the wife is to throw Jesus went in and out among us . . . . must one be or-
off the yoke of the man at the church polls and to func- dained to be a witness with us of His resurrection. Acts
tion there as a "zelfstandig" selfgoverning unit. That is 6:1-6,  And in those days when the number of disciples
to say, within the circle of the institutional life of the were multiplied, there arose a murmuring among the
Church the woman is the equal of the man.                     Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows
   Lindeboom's view comes to the surface in still other were neglected. in the daily ministration. Then the
sections of his Memoir. ?5Je  quote the following: "Scrip- twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them,
ture forbids the woman to teach and to prophesy in the and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word
church. Doing so she would be asserting herself as man's of God and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye
superior.    Voting, however, is done by ballot and is, out among you seven men of honest report, full of the
therefore, no exercise of power. The scriptures to which Holy Ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this
the committee appeals forbid teaching and prophesying business . . . . ."
by the woman, but do not forbid her to co-operate with           These scriptures (so we wrote in a' former article)
the man at the church polls relative to the election of constitute a record of the event of the election of an
church officers. Hence, from the institution of marriage apostle and of seven deacons. The four commissaries
no damaging conclusions may be draw,n.                        (Kuyper, Bouwman, Ferwerda and Meijering) are of the
    It is plain that Lindeboom does keep before his eye conviction that the women took no part in these elections.
that the woman is not man's master; that she may exer- This, so they maintain, is evident from the fact that those
cise no dominion over him. But neither may the man, whom the Apostle enjoins to do the appointing are  nd-
according to Lindeboom, exercise within the circle of the dressed by him as melt and brethren." ,4nd in these clays
institutional life of the Church, dominion over the wo- Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples and `said,
man. The truth that the man is the woman's superior Men  and  brethren"  (Acts  1:16). Again upon the occasion
within the circle of the family Lindeboom permits to          of the election of seven deacons (Acts  6:1-6) it is the
stand. Says he: "In these scriptures the woman is en- brethren who are told to select from their number seven
joined to submit herself not to every man but to her pwn      men of good report (wherefore, brethren, look ye out
man. She is not the subordinate of every man, but of the among you seven men of honest report). The four com-
 man to whom she is married."                                 missaries aver that the appellatives men and brethren do
    Thus we have succeeded pretty well, I think, in ex- not include the women.           Only in the epistles, so they
tracting from the Memoir the various elements constitut- maintain, must the term be taken as a signification  O?
ing  Lin?leboom's  view. Briefly stated it is this: Within both the man and the woman. Whereas, then, the name
 the circle of the institutional life of the Church the wo- bwtliren  in these chapters (Acts 1, 6) signifies the men
 man is the equal of the man.                            .    only it is plain, so they conclude, that the term only at-
    The question arises why Lindeboom failed to bring tended to the business of appointing deacons and of fill-
 into bold relief the proposition which he attempted to ing the vacancy caused by the apostasy of Judas.
 prove. It is difficult to say. The Memoir impresses one         The thoughtful reader senses -at once that the above
 as being a reproduction of the mental processes of a reasonings of the four commissaries are characterized by
 mind hopelessly confused ; of a mind which failed to pen- a certain incompleteness and arbitrariness. Whereas
 etrate to the heart of the subject with which it dealt. the apostles thought of the woman as being in the man ;
 It seems that he did not have before his eye the real issue and, whereas, in their written discourses the term appears
 when he wrote.                                               as a designation of both the man and the woman, the
    Let  US  now apply ourselves to Lindeboom's proof of question arises on what grounds it may be said that in
 the proposition that the husband and the wife in the their verbal discourses the term was used by them as a
 capacity of church members are, as to their legal status, signification of the man only. The four commissaries
 equals. We set out by presenting the scriptures to which should have adduced grounds. They should have shown


 60                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                                                                      -.-..-.-

 that their delineations are supported by sound exegesis.                however, to convert her into a man (met de  bedoeling
 Fact is, they give no exegesis. That the term brethren, in              haar in den man op te lossen)  and to deny her personal
 tihe first and sixth chapter  of  Acts signifies the men only  is       rights and duties, her work and honor. What is said in
 a proposition which needs to be proven. The four com-                   Eph. 6 to the fathers (verse 3)  to. the man-servants
 missaries seem to take for granted that in these chapters               (verse  5) and to the masters (verse 9) concerns the
 (Acts  I, 6) the term has this signification.                           mothers, the maid-servants and the ladies as well. Is
       Small wonder that the above reasonings of the four there one admonition directed to the brethren which is
 commissaries failed to satisfy Lindeboom and many                       not meant for the sisters? When Paul says (Eph. 6:lO) :
 others. He maintains "that the group in the midst of                    "Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the
 which the election took place was constituted of men as                 power of his might" or (I Thess.  525) "Brethren pray
 well as of women." For in verse 15 it is asserted that the              for us" who would care to aver that he was not thinking
 number present constituted a group of about a hundred                   of the sisters of the congregation? Would anyone have
 and twenty persons. The term group or "schare"  is usually              the courage  to. maintain that the admonition to the
 used in Scripture ,(so Lindeboom maintains) as a designa-               effect: "groan not one against the other brethren" (James
 tion of a multitude constituted of both men and women.                  .5:9)  concerns the men only and that consequently the
 In the- second place, the connection between verses four-               women are permitted to do the forbidden thing.
 teen and fifteen should be carefully attended to. The                     Conclusion (Lindeboom) : The masculine nominatives
 fourteenth verse asserts that "these all continued with                 of address  men  and  brethren  in no wise indicate that to
 one accord in prayer and supplication with the woman,                   the men only  *was  assigned the task of making  a  duo
and Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brethren.                      (Acts 1) and electing deacons (Acts 6). To the contrary,
 Peter, very likely (verse 15) delivered his address in that             Acts 1 and 6 rather warrant the conclusion that this task
 upper room alluded to in verse 13. He did so in those                   was assigned to women as well as to men. Verse 5 of
 days. The Greek equivalent of the pronoun  those  signi- Acts 6 reads: "And this saying pleased the whole multi-
 fies a most intimate connection between what follows                    tude." Compare this assertion with Acts  1423:  "And
 and the preceding scripture. What is meant is the days when rhey  had ordained them elders in every Church, and
  when the women were wont to gather for prayer and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the
 supplication;" So far Lindeboom.                                        Lord, on whom they believed." In this passage the
       We pause at this juncture long enough to say that                 brethren are not even mentioned but the congregation
 we need not hesitate to concede that the group in the                   consisting of both men and women." Thus far  Linde-
 midst of which the election took place was constituted boom.
 of men and women. The question is whether the women                        Our very first remark is rhat Lindeboom is to be
 took an  active part  in the election in the sense that they, praised for his effort to extract from Scripture a basis
 too, were permitted to cast a vote. Lindeboom is of the for his view relative to the position of the woman in the
 the conviction that such is the case. Scripture compels Church. Lindeboom instituted a thorough investigation
 us to differ with him. Before presenting our objection                  into the scriptural meaning of the terms  brethren  and
 let us first direct our attention to Lindeboom's reasons                men, and permitted Scripture to instruct him as to the
 for maintaining that the women of the upper room were                   meaning of these terms.     In a word, Lindeboom gave
 given the ballot.                                                       exegesis  - reliable exegesis at that. But for. all this,
       Says he: "The apostles (we translate as heretofore)               his conclusion to the effect rhat the women took a hand
 are wont to address the congregation as  brethren. See in the election recorded in Acts 1 and 6 must be rejected.
  Rom.  1:13,   7:1,10; I Cor.  2:1,  3:1,  46,  lO:l,  1122,   12:1,    We shall explain., Let us set out by repeating in their
 15  :l, 58, 16  :15 and many other places. They do some- order the various steps in Lindeboom's process of rea-
 times single out the women and address them separately.                 soning.
 They do so when their teachings concern only the sisters                   (a) The group in the midst of which the election
 of the congregation. The expression  brethren  and  sisters o'ccurred consisted of men and women. (b) This group
  (ladies and gentlemen, heeren en dames [interpolation] )               is addressed  as brethren  by rhe apostle and enjoined to
 they avoid. The apostles have it that the man has the                   make a duo and to elect deacons. (c) The nominatives
 priority and that the woman is included in the man.                     of address  men, brethren  signify the women of the group
 This is evident from the addresses and salutations of as well as the men for (1) the apostles include the woman
 the epistles:  To  all  ,that be in Rome, beloved of God                in the man; (2) They do so not, however, with the pur-
 called  saints,  Rom. 1  :7, Eph.  1  :l, Fil. 1  :l. Unto the pose of depriving her of her rights.
 Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are                        Conclusion (Lindeboom's) : The. apostles enjoin each
 sanc@ed  in  Christ  Jesus,   I  Cot-.  12. These appellatives wife of the group to assert herself as an independent,
 appear in the masculine gender. These masculine appel-                  self-governed (in relation to the husband), substantial,
 latives are used as significations of the entire congrega-              free, emancipated unit of the congregation; to assert.
 tion constituted, as it was, of both men and women. The herself once more, as the husband's equal, as one whose
 apostles, it is plain, include the woman in the man not,                right it is to pitch herself over against the man. This


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                  61
                                        __..".             -._.I^.^"___

she is enjoined to do by withdrawing herself from under            true vine Christ that is, as a saint and a member of the
the yoke of the husband and by casting her vote as one             Church, is included in the man. Is there anyone who
who is on a level with the man."                                   would deny that this is indeed one of Lindeboom's prem-
   This, some one may interpolate, is not Lindeboom's              ises? It is possible. Therefore we shall furnish proof.
conclusion. We insist that it is. Lindeboom labored to             Lindeboom maintains, and correctly so, that the mascu-
prove, did he not, that the woman in the capacity of a             line appellatives  S&nts,  saints in Christ  signify the regen-
church member is free and man's equal. True!  he did not           erated woman as well as the regenerated man. What
say so in so many words. He failed, let it be repeated,            else can an assertion of this kind mean than that the
to project the real  issue. The fact remains, however,             apostles included the regenerated woman  us  d saint,  in
that the thoughtful reader of the Memoir will not fail             the capacity of a member of. the Church, in the man?
to detect that the view to which Lindeboom is addicted             And so it is. When the Lord God regenerates a mar-
is that the woman in Christ is not under the yoke of the           ried woman he regenerates one who is a helper to the
man when she moves within the circle of the institutional          man. From that moment on she is man's helper as a
life of the Church. Does not the Memoir (of Lindeboom)             Christian woman, and being his helper is included in
assert that the wife and mother of the home should, as             him as a saint. The saintly woman does not leave her
well as the son, be alIowed  to appear at the church poll?         saintliness in Church  to, return to her man a sinner.
We have already pointed out that voting, when done by              The Church of Christ on earth is constituted of units
the son, implies the right to carry on at the church poll          consisting of a regenerated man and wife. This truth
as a free and independent unit of the Congregation. It             happens to be incorporated in one of Lindeboom's prem-
follows, then, that the woman, according to Lindeboom,             ises.
has this right too. It is clear that he who insists that                   The very events to which Lindeboom alludes plainly
we  incuIcate  upon Lindeboom a view not his, does so              teach us that the woman, even when moving within the
against better knowledge.                                          circle of church life, is included in the man. Eindeboom
   Let us now apply ourselves to Lindeboom's premises              maintains, and correctly so, that whereas the apostles in-
and the conclusion which he draws from them. As to                 cluded the woman in the man, the appellatives  brother
his antecedent propositions, we do not hesitate to declare         (brethren) of Acts 1 and 6, signify *her the woman as
that what they assert is true. It may be conceded,, as             well as the man. Further, the name  brethren  signifies
was said before, that the group in the midst of which the          those constituting the groups in the midst of which the
elections took place consisted of men and women, and               elections of Acts 1 and 6 took place, in their capacity of
that the nominatives of address signify both the men               members of the Church. This is evident from the fact
and the women of these gatherings. It is certainly true            that the Apostle enjoins them to make a duo and to elect
that the apostles included the woman in the man ; that             deacons. These are works in which the man is engaged
they did so, however, not with the intentions of depriving         in the capacity of a church member. Hence, the term
her of her rights.     Lindeboom's conclusion, however,. brother is a signification of the woman in this same capa-
must be.pronounced uns&ptural.  But, someone may ask,              city.
is it not implied in the premises presented above? Our                     As the Apostle refrains from addressing her sepa-
answer is ready: Not at all. _ Fact is that these premises         rately, it follows that she as a  member of the Church  is
contain a clause which would have restrained him from              included in her man.
passing on to his conclusion had not the untruth which                     That the woman is included in the man though she
his soul is cherishing closed his eyes to the truth. `It           be a member of that organization known as the Church is
,reads  (this clause) : "The woman is included  in-the  man."      the plain teachings of Scripture. Ler us attend to I Cor.
Amazing it is that Lindeboom failed to sense that the              11. Paul would have us know that every man praying
truth incorporated in this clause militates furiously or prophesying, having his head covered dishonoreth his
against the view he sponsors.                                      head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with
e What was the proposition which Lindeboom strove                  her head uncovered dishonoreth her head.. . .
to prove? Briefly stated it is this: "Resolved, that the                   The apostle is addressing the Church at Corinth  -
woman in the capacity of a member of the Church is                 the man and the woman in their capacity of members of
man's equal and should, therefore, be given the right to           this Church. The apostle insists that when the members
assert herself as an independent unit in the church partic-        congregate for public worship the woman shall continue
ularly at the church poll." Outside of the institutional           to wear the veil in sign that even as member of the
life of the Church the woman (according to Lindeboom)              Church she is under the power of the man. If, on the
is the subordinate  .of her man and must submit to his             other hand, she, in this capacity, is man's equal it fol-
will. Only as a member of the Church is she on a level             lows that the apostle would have allowed, yea, even
with her man.                                                      urged, her to remove the veil when entering the company
   The question is, then, whether or no the woman as               of believers. This she may not do. To the contrary
a member of the Church is man's equal. In his premises             when praying and prophesying she must wear the veil.
Lindeboom asserts that the woman as a branch of the                        Perhaps the strongest argument against Lindeboom's


62                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
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view may be derived from the covenant of grace. The              woman should be given this right - the right, namely, to
Lord God did not institute this covenant with let us say         assert herself as such a self-governed unit, as one who is
Abraham and Sarah separately as with two unrelated               the  equal of the man. The woman (so Lindeboom rea-
and disparate individuals.     With Abraham alone did the        sons) taking advantage of this right would not be set-
Lord negotiate. He did so in that this hero of faith             ting aside  ,the mandates of Scripture, for Holy Writ
together with his wife constituted a unit, a cell, one body      merely forbids the woman to assert herself as man's
of which Abraham was head and representative. This               superior.     In other words, the woman may vote. That
unit consisting of man and wife was made the second              is to say, she may elevate herself to man's level in the
party to the compact.  It goes to show that even as a            Church. Doing so she sinneth not. Lindeboom has it,
member of the covenant Sarah was included in her hus- then, that the mandate: "Thou shalt not teach" is equal
band. Covenant friendship is an all-embracing concept            to rhe mandate "Thou shalt not usurp authority over the
and includes the idea of church membership. The only             man" and  `LThou, woman, mayest raise thyself to his
permissible conclusion is that the woman as a member of          level."      According to Lindeboom, the mandate "Thou
the Church is in the man.                                        shalt not teach is  not  equal to the mandate "Thou, woman,
      What now, according to Scripture are the implica-          shalt submit thyself as a member of the Church to thy
tions of the proposition to the effect that the woman in         man."
her capacity of church member is included in her hus-               Placing these reasonings in the limelight of God's
band  ?. I Cor. 14  :34 is the answer :  "Let: your women        Word we make the amazing discovery that the very
keep silence in the churches ; for it is not .permitted  unto    Scripture to which Lindeboom appealed in support of
them to speak; but to be under obedience, as also saith          the view, that the woman may elevate herself to man's
the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask           level in the Church, asserts that she must refrain from
their husbands at home: for it is a shame for a woman            doing this very thing. It asserts that the woman in the
ro speak in the Church." Unto Timothy Paul writes: capacity of a member of the Church must submit herself
"But I suffer not a woman to teach . . . " Here the woman to the man. I Cor.  14:34  is the Scripture to which we
is forbidden to speak and to teach in the Church. Doing allude. It reads: "Let your women keep silence in the
so she would be usurping authority over the man. This            Churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak;
she may not do. Says the apostle: "But I suffer not a            but to be  under  obedience,  as also saith the law. And if
woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man" they will learn anything let them ask their susbands at
(I- Tim. 2:12). It is plain that neither in the home  Bar        home." And this word: "Let the woman learn in silence
in the Church  may the woman assert herself as man%              with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach,
superior.  In the Church as well as in the home she is           nor to usurp authority over the man."
the subordinate of the man.                                         These scriptures make it plain that the prohibition
      What does Lindeboom do with scriptures such as "Thou shalt not teach and assert thyself as man's superior
these? He either passes them by or attempts to dis-              in the Churches" is indeed equal to the command "Thou
qualify them. Let us adduce an example. We quote the             shalt submit thyself to man in the Churches."
following from his Memoir: "Scripture forbids the woman             In this way Lindeboom twists from irs natural shape,
to teach and to prophesy in the Church. Doing so she yea, silences Scripture in the interests of his view. Did-  - -
would be asserting herself as man's superior, Voting,            he not know of these scriptures? If so, did he  consci-
however, is done by ballot and is therefore no exercise          ously distort them? It is not for us to say. We are not
of power. The scriptures to which the committee appeals          engaged in gauging Lindeboom's capacities for observa-
forbid the woman to teach and to prophesy but do not             tion nor his motives bur the contents of his Memoir.
forbid her to co-operate with the man at the church poll.           Thus we have established on the basis of Scripture,
Hence, no argument can be derived from the institution           that the woman in the capacity of a member of the
of marriage in favor of the view that the voting booth of        Church is included in the man  ; that she, being in the
the Church is inaccessible to the woman."          Thus far man, is his subordinate also when moving within the
G n d e b o o m .   .                                            circle of church life. Consequently the proposition which
      Lindeboom admits that neither in the home nor in the Lindeboom attempted to prove- the proposition, namely,
Church may the woman usurp authority over the man.               that the woman in her capacity of a member of the
However (so Lindeboom reasons) he or she who votes is            Church  is  man's equal and may therefore assert herself
not engaged in exercising power. The woman then can              as an independent, self-governing and emancipated unit
vote so he concludes, without militating against the             at the church poll - rhis proposition, so it appears, is in
mandate of the apostle. For this mandate merely forbids          violent conflict with God's Word. The view to which
the woman to exercise power over the man.                        Lindeboom is addicted is far removed from the truth.
      Let us now attend closely to the above reasoning.          The practice which he would see inaugurated in the
It has been shown that according to Lindeboom the bosom of the Reformed churches is most pernicious. If
privilege of voting implies the right to assert oneself as       inducted into these. churches their institutional life is
a free and independent and self-governed unit at the polls sure to disintegrate.
of rhe Church. Lindeboom is of the conviction that the               In his Memoir Lindeboom not only militates against


                                       TEE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               63
                   -                                                      .I

Scripture, he is also, as was before said, in violent con-     too. She will then be free and the man likewise: The
flict with himself. The truth to the effect that the woman     earthy, marital tie will give way to ties which are spirit-
in her capacity of a church member is included in the          ual. This heavenly freedom the man and the woman
man  - this truth Lindeboom  incorporated  in his  prem-' even now posses as a primordial good. We repeat, there
ises. It means that he dealt the view which he labored to      is no conflict here at all.
prove a death blow. For the proposition to the effect that        Question :     Is not the Church trampling upon the
the woman in her capacity of a church member is in- woman's rights, disowing her tasks and dissolving her
cluded in the man and the proposition that this same           (to express ourselves in the words of Lindeboom) into
woman in this same capacity is man's equal and may             the man when it( the Church) refuses to admit the
assert herself as such are two contrary propositions. Not woman into the circle of its institutional life as an eman-
having penetrated to the heart of the matter with which        cipated individual?
he dealt, Lindeboom without realizing it turned against           Answer: It is indeed possible to deny the woman's
his own view.                                                  task and trample under foot her rights. For the woman
   Let us now pause to answer such questions which             has rights. She also has her work for which she is pecu-
anyone might be likely to raise.     (1) If the masculine      liarly fitted. True, the woman is included in the man.
appellatives  brethren  and  mt*pt,  (of Acts 1 and 6) were    She and the man constitute a unity of which the man is
being used by the apostles as significations of the women      head. This body or unit was brought unto being for a
of these groups (granted that there were women pres-           certain purpose. To it was assigned certain definite
ent) as well as of the men, does it not of necessity fol-      tasks. Nevertheless there is a division of labor. So it is
low that the summons to make a duo and to elect deacons        with  the, higher, heavenly union  - that of God and
apply to the women as well as to the men? To this we           Christ and of Christ and the Church. Each  of.the parties
reply: Necessarily so as the woman was and is included         to these compacts has his work to perform. There is a
in the man. From this it does not follow, however, that        division of labor. Not God but Christ atoned for the sins
the women present were allowed to assert themselves of those given Him by the Father. For this work Christ
as self-governing, independent and emancipated units. was peculiarly fitted as He possessed a human nature.
And this is Lindeboom's view. However, as the apostles         Tt was God, however, who fitted Him for this task and
included the woman in the man it may not be maintained         sustained Him while performing it. The Spirit of the
that they permitted, her to pitch herself over against the     Lord rested upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and under-
man and to carry on as an emancipated individual. Fact standing, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
is that the apostles forbid the woman to do this very knowledge and the fear of the Lord (Isa.  11:2). What
thing. The woman voted in and through her head and is more Christ received this work from God, His head.
representative  - the man. She permitted him to express As was said before, the task of redeeming the slaves held
her choice.                                                    captive was to begin with a work which God had taken
   Question 2: Whereas in Christ, there is neither man upon Him. And He it was by whom the task was exec-
nor woman, how can it be that the woman as a member uted as the Saviour, according to His person, was God.
of the body of Christ and of that institution known as            As to the compact between Christ and the Church,
the Church, is included in and consequently subordinate each of the parties to this union also has his (its) task.
to the man?                                                    Not the Church but Christ entered into the heavens itself
   Answer: The relation of subordination on the part of and appeared in the presence of God for us, and appeared
the woman in her relation to the man is grounded not in        to put away sin through the sacrifice of Himself (Heb.
her being in Christ but in her earthy, natural woman- 9:24, 25). For this work Christ in distinction from the
hood. She cannot disassociate herself from her woman-          Church was peculiarly fitted. Due to the indwelling
hood but carries it with her into every department and         Christ the redeemed eternally declare God's glories and
sphere of life she enters. She retains it when inplanted sing to the praises of the Lamb. This task was to begin
in Christ, when joined to His body and to His institution      with Christ's.    He performs it in and through the
the Church. She will be as the angels of ,God  when glori- redeemed.
tied. That will mean the dissolution of the marital tie           As to the union between man and wife, also each
and, consequnetly the emancipation of the woman.               party  to. this union has his (her) peculiar task. The
Hence, on this side of the grave, she is under the man,        woman's sphere of activity is especially the home. Here
even as a member of Christ's body and of the Church as         there are tasks awaiting her for which she is peculiarly
an institution.                                                fitted. She may enter other departments of life. Doing
   Yet in Christ is neither man nor woman. There is no so she remains subordinate to the man. The home, how-
conflict here. What is meant is that Christ does not ever, is her domain. Here she is king, priest and prophet
favor the man in preference to the woman; that He takes        in and under the man. Her tasks, however, are to begin
no account of her status when bestowing upon her His           with those of her man  - her head which he assigns to
riches. She as well as the man is an heir of eternal life. and performs in and through her. It means that the man
And of this inheritance she receives even in this life as is first of all responsible to God for the state and the
much as the man. Christ at His return will glorify her run of affairs in the home. He is the king, priest and


  64                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                                                    -_-^" ._- -_---

  prophet in the home; the ruler, protector, preserver, and the ungodly movement known as woman suffrage, it
  provider of the family.                                          would not be advisable to permit the woman to appear
           As we said, the woman also enters other departments at the church poll; that the woman must choose other
  of life. She is an active member of the Church, taking           means for exerting her influence." To the delineation of
  upon her such work for which she is fitted by God. As            the above objections the four  cimmissaries  devote con-
  an active member of the Church she remains subject  ro           siderable space. We quote the following: "Aside from
  the man.                                                         the objections raised by God's Word, present-day cir-
           The woman, then, has her work of which she may not      cumstances should withhold rhe church from rendering
  be deprived. Is it possible to. dissolve her into the man?       the church poll accessible to the woman. In our day, as
  This can be done in a sense by, as Lindeboom says, de-           well as in the days of the apostles, the tendency is to
  priving her of those tasks for which she is especially           emancipate the woman and to elevate her to man's level
  fiitted and by consigning her (Lindeboom forgets to add          in every department of iife. The sponsors of the move-
  this) to such work as is in conflict with her womanly            ment known as woman suffrage are people who refuse
  nature, talents and qualities. And this is the very thing        to heed the teachings of God's Word, yea, deliberately
  which not we, but Lindeboom, would see happen. What set this Word aside. Commissaries admit that the en-
  he cautions us against is the very thing he advocates.           franchisement of the woman has in the past corrected
  At least within the circle of the institutional life of the      several social evils. However, the movement is grounded
  Church he would see the woman emancipated, raised to upon erroneous principles. Though "vrouwenkiesrecht"
  the level of the man and consigned to tasks to which the         were not wrong in  itseIf,  modern tendencies prohibit its
  man alone is equal. It appears that rhis man Lindeboom induction at this time." So far the four commissaries.
  is full of contradictions.                                          It seems to us that the above deliverences  of the four
           Let us now direct our attention to those reasonings     commissaries partake of the character of the nonsensical.
  of Lindeboom which wet remain. We shall first present               Attend to rhis assertion: "The unchristian emancipa-
  the argumentation( of the four commissaries) which Lin-          tion movement in the world renders its induction into
  deboom in the remaining section of his Memoir (to which          the Church inadvisable." It is clear that to their mind
  we shall now apply ourselves) attempts to offset. The            the unchristian "emancipatie-beweging" in the world and
 four commissaries maintain that their exposition of Acts "vrouwenstemrecht"  differ. What, pray, may this differ-
  1 and 6 is in harmony with Paul's teaching relative              ence be? Fact is there is none. The  "emancipatie-bewe-
1 the position of the woman in the Church. They are                ging"  in the world is unchristian for the reason that it
I cognizant of the fact that in Christ the woman is man's emancipates the woman and elevates her to man's level.
  equal as in Him there is neither man nor woman. This "Vrouwenkiesrecht" (the four commissaries admit this)
  equality, however, must be confined to the benefits de-          in the Church, likewise, implies the emancipation of the
  rived from the death of Christ  - in which benefits-the woman and her elevation  to. man's level. Hence, what
  woman is made to share as well as the man.           Let us      the four commissaries say really amounts to this: The
  pause here for a moment. The four commissaries move              unchristian "emancipatie-beweging"  in the world renders
  very clumsily here. They maintain  *that "this equality          irs induction into the Church inadvisable. This, we in-
  must be confined to the benefits derived from the death          sist, is sheer nonsense. Further, the commissaries assert
  of Christ.       Fact is, however, that the emancipation of that though "vrouwenkiesrecht"  were in itself not wrong,
  the woman constitutes one of these benefits. Why, then, modern tendencies in the world prohibit its induction
  do the. apostles continue to include the woman in the            into the Church. To this we reply that the  "emanci-
  man? In vain do we search their report for an answer.            patie-beweging" in the world may not prohibit the
  Let us now continue: "Even so the man is the head of Church from admitting the woman to the church voting
  the woman, which headship  was not rendered void by the booth if it is her God-given right to vote. In this case
  advent of Christ. Such are the plain teachings of Scrip- she should have this right.
  ture. . . . . When the woman  takei part in the election of         Thus we have reproduced and at once criticized the
  church  oficers  she does so not as man's helper but as  hi.r    main sections of the report of the four commissaries.
  equal. Enfranchised she could even gain the  ascendency          The composition which they submitted to synod turns out
  over the  mn."                                                   to be, to put it mildly, a very unsatisfactory piece of
        These last two assertions present the real issue. The      work. It is nothing short of tragedy that these men did
  fact that Lindebcom was acquainted with the contents             not quit themselves of their task as they should. Had
  of the report of the four commissaries at the time he they done so, Lindeboom would never have written.  AS
  wrote his Memoir proves conclusively that the proposi- it is he sent into the world a very misleading writing.
  tion which he strove to prove reads: Resolved, that the The entire report of the four commissaries contains but
  woman should be emancipated within the circle of church one worth-while paragraph  - the paragraph which  as-
  life.                                                            serts that `%rouwenstemrecht" implies the emancipation
        The four commissaries have still other objections of of the woman and her elevation to man's level. Even
  a more practical nature. They maintain "that in view of          so Dr. V. Hepp feels certain "dat  allen  het er  we1 over


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                     65  1
___I...          .-                                                                - ..- - ..- ^..--___-  .--_" ..-. -_l_.-.l"
eens  zullen  zijn, dat deputaten (the four  corn-missaries)    cording to the plain teachings of Scripture, the latter is
hierin een doorwrocht stuk werk hebben geleverd." the case.
Amazing !                                                          Lindeboom's fundamental error is that he proceeds  i
   Let us now direct our attention to Lindeboom's repiy from the supposition that regeneration and sanctification !`;
to that section of the report of the "deputaten"' repro- dissolve the marital tie. This is the proposition which                           ;
duced above : "Scripture forbids the woman to teach and         constitutes his major premise. What the proposition as-
to prophesy in the Church. Doing so she would be as-            serts `is in violent conflict with Scripture. It is the plain
serting herself as man's superior.     Voting, however, is teachings of Grad's  Word that the woman's emancipation
done by ballot and niust not be regarded as an exercise is inseperably bound LIP with her glorification. Let it be
of power. The Scriptures to which the committee ap- repeated that on rhis side of the grave she possesses this
peals forbid teaching and prophesying by the `woman, benefit as a primordial good. To this we add that Linde-
but do not forbid her to co-operate with the man at the boom comes nearer to the truth than the four commis-                               "
church polls relative to the election of church officers. saries. He sees that the woman's emancipation is a bene-                         :
HenFe,  from the institution of marriage no damaging con- fit merited for her by her Christ. This is a truth which
                                                                the four commissaries seem to have lost sight of.
clusions can be deduced." We have already replied to
this particular line of reasoning of Lindeboom.                    Let us return to the Memoir and direct our attention                    '
                                                                to the following argument: "In the days of the Secession              :
   Hereupon Lindeboom appeals to the office of the be- and of rhe Doleantie the woman often would attach her- j
liever, due, so he correctly maintains, to the woman as self to the group engaged in reforming the Church. She i
well as to the man. Says he: "The office of believer is did so, leaving her husband behind. Did anyone living in ;
also due to the woman.            For every believer is         those days repel the woman by referring her to the insti-             :
a recipient of the benefits derived from the death of tution of marriage?  Td the contrary, men rejoiced that  :
Christ. All have the annointing and are therefore duty also she received the necessary grace to take a stand and r
bound to function in the capacity of prophet, priest and        ro execute her office. Is it not  inconsistant,  then; to             ;
king.      Each member is under obligation to place his maintain on the one hand that the woman did right in
gifts in the service of the other  ,and to do so willingly joining these reformatory groups and on the other hand                          :-
and  joyfuly.  Of this office Art. 28 of our confession insist that the church voting booth is inaccessible to  I
speaks:  "We believe, since this holy congregation is an her?"
assembly of those who are saved, and that out of it there           (Reply). Apparently a very cogent argument. In
is no salvation, that no person of whatsoever state or reality, however, a thoroughly fallacious-one. In reply-
condition he may be, ought to withdraw himself to live ing let us set out by asserting that the woman is duty i
in a separate state from it; But that all men are in duty       bound to disobey her husband whenever he would refrain                     .
bound to join and unite themselves with it; maintaining her from acting according  to the revealed will of her
the unity of the Church; submitting themselves to the Christ or whenever he would hold her to a course of ,ac-
doctrine and discipline thereof; .bowing  their necks under tion which Christ cannot sanction. This is according to (3..
the yoke of Jesus Christ; and as mutual members of the          the teachings of Christ. Says he: "He that Ioveth father                        ;
,same body, serving to the edification of rhe brethren, or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he ;,;
according to the talents God has given him. And that that Ioveth son or daughter more than me is not worrhy 1:
this may be the more effectually observed, it is the duty of me" (Math.  10:37).  It was in respect to such situa-
of all believers, according to the Word of God, to sep-         tions that  .Christ  said: "Suppose ye that I am come to                   i
arate themselves from all rhose who do not belong to this       give peace on earth? I tell you, nay; but rather division:                 i
Church, and to join themselves to this congregation,            For from henceforth there shall be five in one house  i
wheresoever God has established it, even though the             divided, three against two and two against three. The
magistrates and edicts of princes were against it, yea, father shall be divided against the son, and  ,-the son
though rhey should suffer death or any other corporal against the father; the mother shall be divided against
punishment.      Therefore, all those who separate them-        the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the
selves from the same  ,or do not join themselves to it,         mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the  I
act contrary to the ordinance of God."                          daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (Luke 12:  :
    Here Lindeboom is arguing beside the point. No one 51-53). This prophesy of Christ is realized as often as
denies that to the woman is due rhe office of believer;         a wife joins a reformatory group, thereby joining herself                       :,.
that she has the annointing; that, finally, she is duty         to the true Church even though the husband would
bound to function in the capacity of prophet, priest and        restrain her or remains behind. In rhis case the woman
king. This is not the issue, but rhis rather whether the rebels and she does well. She must obey God more than
 woman, in her capacity of prophet, $riest, and king, func-     man. Lindeboom erred  rediculously,  however, when he  ;
 tions as an independent, selfgoverning and emancipated appealed to abnormal situations such as these in support
 unit of the congregation that is to say, as man's equal of the proposition that the woman, as a member of the
 or as his subordinate, as one included in the man. Ac- congregation may pitch herself over against a god-fearing


                                                                                         t

  66                                        T'HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
  --..-.                                                ____-.

  husband to assert herself as an independent, self-govern-          Passing her husband by she appears upon the consistory
  ing, emancipated unit of the Church of Christ  when the            as an independent and emancipated unit of the congrega-
  occasion does not demand  it. The abnormal, Lindeboom              tion. This is the mode of procedure recommended by
  elevates to the level of the normal and holds it up before         Lindeboom. For it is his conviction that the woman exe-
  the woman as a standard of conduct. He makes Christ                cutes the office of believer as man's equal, as an eman-
  say that the woman on this side of the grave should with-          cipated individual. We wish to assure Lindeboom that
  draw herself from under the yoke of the man and declare            his ways are not God's ways. According to God's Word
  herself free and independent. Horrible !                           this woman, even when functioning as one clothed with
        (Lindeboom). True  ,the woman's "right of approba-           the office of believer, is included in and subject to her
  tion" is not being challenged.       It is a settled matter        husband. She executed this office as one who submits
  among us that this right is due  ro her by virtue of the           herself to her husband  in all things.  Hence, she must
  office of believer. The  Dordrecht Church Order, it is             keep herself to a course of action which differs radically
  true, makes no mention of this office.         However, the        from that advocated by Lindeboom. This particular wo-
  stipulation, Art. IV and XXII, to the effect that the con-         man of whom we speak, shall expose that one to whom
  sistories seek rhe approval of the congregation relative           she objects, to her husband, who in turn as her head and
  to the persons selected must be regarded as implying it.           representative appears upon the consistory with her
  Speaking of this approbation (De verkiezing voor het grievance, which he made his own.
  ambt, blz.  4.5) Prof. Dr. H.  I-I. Kuyper asserts: "There-           But supposing the husband is of the conviction that
  fore the Reformed Church has always requested that the             the brother against whom the wife would lodge a com-
  consistory present to the congregation the names of                plaint should not be exposed because the erring one re-
  those selected for office and anyone has the right to              pented and is otherwise a man with many gifts, spirit-
  submit to consistory objections to the persons selected."          ually fitted for the office. What shall the wife do now?
  The approval of the congregation, so it appears, is not            According  ro Lindeboom she should inform her husband
  something adventitious but a matter of prime importance,           that she, in the capacity of a member of the Church, is a
  the basis to a legal election.                                     selfgoverning unit, the man's equal, vested with the right
        (Lindeboom). The question cannot be quelled : If the         to execute her office as one having been delivered from
  woman possesses the right to attempt to undue anyone's             his yoke. She should thank her husband for his advice
  election by presenting to consistory legal objections, why,        and for the rest act as she sees fit.
  then, is it not given unto her to promote anyone's  elec-             Also these ways are not God's ways. According to
tion? What can be the standard applied? If she may                   Scripture, the woman, even when executing the office of
  help build the foundation (approbation) why should she             believer, shall submit herself to her husband in all things.
  be prohibited from helping  to,erect  the building resting This wife, then, must adopt her husband's point of view
  upon this foundation (election)? Upon what grounds                 and keep silence. She shall do so unless it is her firm
  does she possess by virtue of the office of believer the           conviction that her Christ commands her to speak and
  right of approbation. but not the right of election?               forbids her to render unto her husband obedience rela-
        (Reply). Lindeboom is still hard at it fighting that         tive to this particular matter. Then let her speak, for
  strawman. That is to say, he continues to argue beside             God must be obeyed more than man.  Ler this woman
  the point. No one is challenging the woman's  right of             realize, however, what she is doing, namely, rebelling
  approbation. This right she has and is and ever has                against her king, the man. As was said before, in case
  exercized  it as a member of the congregation. The issue           of conflict between Christ and her husband, she  must
  is whether the woman should be permitted to exercise               rebel. Where there is no conflict the woman sins greatly
  this right as an emancipated, independent and  selfgovern-         when she rebels. Lindeboom, on the othe rhand, is of the
  ing unit of the Church of Christ. Let us project the               conviction that when this woman sers aside the word or
  real issue by the use of an illustration. A certain  con-          request of her husband she does not become guilty of
  sistory selects certain persons for the office of, let us say,     rebellion in that as a church member she is not included
  elder. Their names are published that the members of in and subject to the man. In other words, within the
  the congregation may approve or disapprove of the selec-           circle of the institutional life of the Church the man is
  tion made. One of the persons selected is living in sin,           not her king, priest and prophet.
  let us say, the sin of theft. No one knows of the matter,             In fine, the woman is indeed vested with the right
  save one woman. Tt is her duty and her right by virtue             to approve or disapprove of the consistory's selections.
  of the office of believer to expose this man to the  con-          She does so, however, as one included in and subject to
  sistory.  The question  fi  how shall she proceed.  `diccording    the man. It is plain rhat Lindeboom repeatedly refrains
  to Lindeboom, as follows: She shall pass by her hus-               from telling his readers what he is really talking about
  band, ignore him altogether, refrain from speaking to her and driving at. How strange !
  husband about him to whom she objects and subsequently                In a final article we shall dispose of the remaining
  appear upon the consistory to voice her objections. That           arguments of Lindeboom.
  is to say, this woman shall carry on as if she had no man.            It appears that it is far from true that the woman, as


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              67
                                                                                            _-.--
     Lindeboom says, helps to build the foundation (approba-            Artikel 31 spreekt over de wijze der verkiezing ook
     tion) but is not permitted to help erect the building (elec-    van de diakenen en van hun beroeping.
     tion) resting on this foundation. The women right along            Overigens zwijgt de Nederlandsche Confessie `van  .de
     exersizes  the right both of approbation and election. She      Diakenen.
     does so, however, as one included in the man.                      Professor Biesterveld zegt in zijn werkje over Het
                                                    G. M. 0.         Gereformeerde Kerkboek, dat het Diakenambt zich eerst
                                                                     uit het Apostelambt heeft ontwikkeld.
                                                                        Handelingen 6 geeft dat dan ook we1  aan.
                                                                        Biesterveld zegt dan verder, dat twaalf (bedoeld zal
               DE DIAKEN IN DEN KERKERAAD                            zijn: 7)  mannen  werden gekozen voor dit ambt,  mannen
                                                                     vol des geloofs en des Heiligen Geestes en der mijsheid,
        Gebeurtenissen, dit jaar en eerder ook reeds, plaats         om de armen en de kranken te verzorgen.
     gehad hebbende in de Protesteerende Eerste Chr. Geref.             De Heilige Schrift  deelt slechts mede, dat op de klacht
     Gemeente te Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  een gemeente die  zich,         der "Grieksche" weduwen die  "verzuimd"  werden, deze
     zonder wettige  reden,  zonder goede oorzaak, en geheel         nieuwe ambtsdragers werden verkozen, ten  einde  de
     uit boos opzet, losgemaakt heeft en afgescheurd van de          Apostelen vrij zouden zijn van de Bediening der Tafelen,
     Protestantsche Gereformeerde Kerken, en van welke Ge-           en  zich geheel konden wijden  aan de verkondiging des
     meente schrijver dezes met enkele andere broeders en            Woords en de uitdeeling der heilige teekenen.
     zusters rich heeft moeten  losmaken om des rechts en der           Later stelden de Apostelen over de Gemeenten  Opzie-
     waarheid wille, (christelijke deugden die  tech zeker in ners of Oudsten aan geestelijke verzorgers, gesplitst nog
     de eerste plaats in `s Heeren Gemeente, in Codes Kerk,          later in Ieeraars en ouderlingen,, onderscheidenlijk voor
     moeten  blinken  en schitteren onder hare leden,  een plaats    het  leeren  en regeeren.
     der eere onder andere kenmerken van het nieuwe leven               Luther herstelde met de Reformatie die drie ambten
     moeten  bezitten),  - deden ons, onder meer andere din-         niet,  doch Calvijn wel, en deze werd de  Vader  van de
     gen, sterker dan  anders   we1 aandacht schenken  aan de        dusgenaamde Presbyteriaansche kerkregeering.
     positie en de taak der diakenen in de Gereformeerde ker-           Calvijn  zegt in  zijn Institutie, dat in Romeinen 12
     ken.                                                            tweeerlei  diakenen  worden  genoemd (vers  8) : zij, die
        Want, naar al wat ons omtrent het optreden en de             uitdeelen  [Hii die  geeft, staat er in de Engelsche tekst)
     handelingen van die ambtsdragers in de Gemeente van             en- zij, die barmhartigheid doen.
     Ds. H. Danhof ter oore kwam, en wat daaromtrent  eer-              Deze eerste soort werd dan bepaald diaken genoemd,
     der reeds in den Standard Bearer was geschreven door volgens hem.
-    Hr. Lemmers en anderen, hebben deze "behulpsels" zich              Het formulier, bij de kerken van Gereformeerde  be-
     we1 "dapperlijk" gekweten als  leden  des kerkeraads om         lijdenis in gebruik tot bevestiging van de Diakenen
     hun overheer en Ieidsman des geloofs hun trouwe dien-           (O(uderlingen  en Diakenen), zegt, - na eerst vastgesteld
     sten te verleenen in het  helpen   beoordeelen,  en  veroor-    te hebben, "dat de Dienaren des Woords en de Ouderlin-
     deelen,  vermanen en bestraffen van broeders en zusters,        gen  samen  een  collegie  of gezelschap vormen, zijnde  als
     die langzamerhand al meer op de hoogte gekomen waren            een Raad der  Kerke!"  - riangaande  de Diakenen, van
     van de zeer af te keuren handelingen van predikant en           den oorsprong en instelling derzelve mogen wij lezen in
     ouderlingen, van den ganschen  breeden  kerkeraad der de Handelingen der Apostelen, Hfdst. 6.
     Gemeente van Ds. H. Danhof, jegens zijn eigen Gemeen-              Aldaar  vinden wij, daf in het begin de Apostelen zelf
     te, jegens andere ambtsdragers, en met betrekking tot de        de Bediening der  Armen  gehad hebben, "tot de voeten
     kerken der  classis.                                            van welke gedragen werd de prijs der verkochte goede-
        Ten opzichte van de plaats des diakens in den kerke-         ren," en werd een ieder uitgedeeld naar dat zijn nood was
     raad bestaat er verschil tusschen de Confessie, het  Beves-     eischende.    "Maar  alzoo  daarna een murmureering  ont-
     tigingsformulier, en de Kerkenordening; gelijk men weet.        stond, omdat de weduwen der Griekschen in de dagelijk-
        Artikel 30 van de Nederlandsche Geloofsbelijdenis            sche bediening verzuimd werden," zoo zijn door  verma-
     zegt :                                                          ning der Apostelen gekozen geworden  mannen  die  be-
        "dat er ook Opzieners en Diakenen zijn om met de             paaldelijk hun werk van de bediening der armen  zouden
     Herders te zijn als de Raad der Kerke, en door dit middel       maken.  opdat de Apostelen in  `bet gebed en in de  Be-
     (namelijk der geestelijke politie of inrichting door  Die-      diening des Woords te beter mochten aanhouden.
     naars of Herders, Opzieners en Diakenen uitgeoefend)               En dit is van dien tijd af onderhouden geweest in de
     de ware religie te onderhouden en te  doen  dat de ware         Kerk,  alzoo  het blijkt uit Romeinen 12, waar de Apostel
     leer haren loop hebbe, de overtreders op geestelijke wijze      sprekende van dezen Dienst, zegt: Dat degenen die  uit-
     worden  gestraft, en dat armen en bedrukten geholpen en         deelen   zulks  doen  zullen met eenvoudigheid. En I Cor.
     getroost worden . . . . doch  moeten  zulke personen  worden    12  :25, sprekende van de hulpen of behulpsels, verstaat hij
     verkoren die getrouw zijn, en naar den regel, dien de hei-      degenen, die in de Gemeente gesteld zijn om de  armen
     lige Apostel daarvan geeft in den Brief a.an Timotheus." en ellendigen te helpen.


                               A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE  published by
                               THE REFORMED FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS. MICHIGAN


                                                                                                                tents shouId  be addressed to Rev;




                                                                   NOVEMBER 15, 1927                                    Subscription Price, $2.50

I.                                                                               at our bidding and in our  time; And when the clouds
                  M E D I T A T I O N                                            did gather and the rain did descend, refreshing the thirsty
                                                                                 creature, how we grumbled that it was too late! And
                                                                                 how soon, when the clouds did not scatter and were not
                      THANKSGIVING OFFERING                                      dispersed according to our schedule, did we complain
                                                                     e           that whatever might still have been saved of the harvest,
                                   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;    now would drown and rot! How distrustful we were, 0
                                 a broken and a contrite heart, 0 God, thou      God, of Thy faithfulness and lovingkindness ;  how,-un-
                                 wilt not despise. - Ps. 51:17.                  grateful we were in the midst of abundance ;  hoti  small
        .O, Lord, our God!                     _                                 and faithless we revealed ourselves when clouds of trouble
         Unto Thee would we give, thanks!                                        lowered !
          And we would bring unto Thee, at the close of an-                          And now, 0 Lord . . . .
 other season, in which Thou didst  ,sp;ead the beauty of                            Now, as we have reached the close of this season and
 Thy goodness over all Thy works,' a sacrifice of thanks-                        count the blessings Thou didst bestow upon us in Thy
 giving that is pleasing in Thy sight!                                           grace . . . .
          For Thou, Lord, didst lavish Thy goodness upon us                          As we consider our benefits and remember Thy
 and the benefits Thou didst, bestow upon us are without                         works, how Thou didst do all things well, giving rain and
 number. And we would remember before Thee this day                              sunshine, cold and heat, causing the seed to sprout and
      all the abundance of Thy grace and the inestimable                         the trees to bring forth their fruit, making the season
 riches of Thy lovingkindness !                           ."                     abundantly fruitful and filling our barns with Thy good
          As we look-about us on this autumn-day and behold                      things ; how Thou didst amply provide for man and
      the trees of the woods, now shedding the last remnant beast, giving food to the hungry, refreshment to the
      of their foliage that recently clothed them in a rich gar-                 weary, labor for the strong, abundance for all, bread and
      ment of beautifully variegated green; and cast a Iast                      wine and oil ; how Thou didst help in time of trouble,
      gIance  at the fields, now barren, from which we might                     wert our shield against the enemy, our comfort in sor-
      gather into our barns a golden harvest of barley and oats,                 row, our strength in affliction ; how Thou didst reveal
      of corn and wheat; and consider the now stripped                           Thy Name unto us, always near to help and lead us, and
      branches of the fruit-tree and the vine, a while ago                       how  Thou didst cause all things to work together for
      offering us their rich and luscious products; then, 0                      our good....
      Lord, shame covereth our faces, because of the doubts                           Lord, our God ! then we must cover our faces with
      and fears, the moments of distrust and the times of mur-                   shame. Then, on this thanksgiving day, as we remember
      muring and  rebelion  against Thee, that so frequently our own smallness  and weakness and frequent murmur-
      caused us                                                                  ings and distrust, we dare not lift up our eyes to heaven!
                       io  sin against Thy grace in the season that is
      n o w p a s t . . . .                                                           Yet, Lord, we would praise Thee for Thy good-
           How often did we, anxiously and full of worry and                     ness . . . .
                                                                                      And bring Thee thanks for Thy mercy.
      care, lift up our eyes, when day after day the sun rose
      with golden brightness and the firmament spread itself                          A sacrifice of gratitude !
      over                                                                            Lord, our God!
               US  in clearest blue, and fearfully scan the horizon
      to watch for a promise of rain ! How often did we criti-
      cise Thy work, 0 Lord, and complain that there would                            But, 0 Lord, how shall we?                      . .
      be no pasture for our cattle, no fruit on the vine, no                          HOW  can we express our gratitude to Thee in a man-
      crops in the field, when abundant showers did not come
                                    .                                             ner that may meet with Thy approval?


74                                    T H E S T ii  N D A R D B E AR E R

      How shall we appear before Thee in the holiest?            Lord, we  would.bring  unto Thee a gift of thanks.. . .
What sacrifice, what gift of thanks shall we bring that is       But how. shall we?
acceptable in Thy sight?
      Shall we, on this day of thanksgiving prepare our          What shall we render unto the Lord?
feasts and rejoice, filling ourselves with the good things       How shall we appear before Thee so, that Thou wilt
Thou didst bestow upon us in such rich abundance? not despise us and cast us off?
And feasting shall we commemorate before Thee how                What is the sacrifice of thanksgiving that is pleasing
great were our efforts and how hard we have labored in Thy sight and upon which Thou wilt look down in
and toiled; how well we deserved Thy bounties and how love and good pleasure?
wisely we dealt with them? Shall we bring into remem-          A broken spirit!
brance before Thy face our good works, our marvelous             A broken and a contrite heart!
achievements and mighty accomplishments, our charity             It alone can please Thee, Who hast no respect to that
and brotherly love, in order to prove how worthy we which is merely external, Who despisest the foolishness
were, in distinction from many around us, of the abun- of insignificant and sinful men, as they exalt themselves
dance of Thy grace?                                           and would requite Thee for Thy goodness and grace,
      God forbid !                                            Who desirest truth in the inward parts.. . .
      How foolish would be the attempt, for we have  cor-        A broken spirit! A spirit, cured of the stiffnecked
rulited  our way before Thee !                                pride*.and haughtiness of sin.f A contrite heart! A heart
      How abominable we would become in Thy sight, be- that is crushed and overwhelmed in deep humiliation,
fore Whom no flesh may or ever can glory!                     because of a deep sense of God's greatness and power,
      Shall we, then, attempt to remunerate Thee? Shall of Hig righteousness and holiness and of our own in-
we bring unto Thee our bulls and goats as .a sacrifice of     significance and smallness or corruption and our guilt.. . .
thanksgiving? Shall we take with us to Thy house our             A heart filled with the sorrow after God!
money and our possessions and lay them at Thy feet as            It alone is the sacrifice, 0 Lord, that is pleasing to
a reward and recompense for all Thy goodness toward Thee !
us? Or shall we pledge ourselves, our talents and power,         We will, then, approach Thee, bringing this sacrifice
our time and our service, to requite Thee for all the of thanks !
wonders of Thy lovingkindness?                                   We will acknowledge that Thou only art God and
      But, 0 Lord, how shall we bring what is not Thine? the Fount of all good. We will not rejoice in  things.but
      How shall we take into sanctuary a sacrifice of thanks in Thee alone. We will make mention of Thy Name as
which Thou didst not first bestow upon us?                    we consider our tilled barns and our bounteous bless-
      Is not all the world Thine? Are not the cattle on a ings. We will count them before Thee, one by one, not
thousand hills Thy possessions? Is not all the gold and forgetting any of all Thy benefits. And as we count
the silver Thine own? Where shall I search among my them we will mention the glory of Thy Name, we will
possessions for something with which I could increase sing of the marvel of Thy grace and of the wonder of
Thy riches? Nay more. Even I am Thine. My body Thy mercy toward us. We will speak of all Thy virtues
and my soul belong to Thee, for Thou art the Lord my to Thee. We will mention  all--Thy  wonders before one
God. And Thou rightfully requirest of me, that I shall another. We will speak of Thy glories and of all Thy
love Thee with all my heart and mind and soul and wondrous works in the midst of the world.. . .
strength. Thou wilt that I shall serve Thee with all that        Lord, our God, we will do so, in humility and con-
I am and possess. And if I should most perfectly comply trition of heart and mind.. . .
with all Thy holy precepts and keep them to the very last,       For we will acknowledge before Thee how helpless
I would still have nothing wherewith to recompense Thy we are without Thee, and that only when Thou  do&t
love and goodness and all the bounties Thou lavishest provide for us we can live. It is Thou and Thou alone,
upon me. I would still be an unprofitable servant and we will confess, that didst send the rain and the sun-
would have accomplished merely that which was re- shine, that didst cause the grass to grow and the seed to
quired of  me ! How then could we render  ,unto Thee sprout; it is Thou that feedest us out of Thine hand,
anything in reward for all Thy benefits toward us?            that providest bread` and water, oil and wine ; that carest
      Lord, our God, how contemptible in Thy sight must for us, Thy people, in covenant-grace, that leadest  US
be the pretentions of the creature who would remunerate in ways of joy or of sorrow, of prosperity or adversity;
Thee with Thine own! How displeasing in Thy sight it is Thou that doest all things well. We will confess, 0
 must be the man who would offer unto Thee gifts of gold Lord our God, that it was not our power or ingenuity,
 and silver received out of Thine own store  1                our labor or toil, our wisdom or efforts that brought even
      No, Lord God, Thou art God and Thou alone ! All the least of all these things to us. For even these, our
 sufficient art Thou in Thyself and no creature can bring taients and power, our labor and efforts, our wisdom and
ought to Thee to increase Thy great riches  1                 insight, were Thine, Thy gifts to us.. . .
      Thou art the sole Fountain of all good. An outward          Like all Thy helpless creatures, we all wait upon
gift we cannot bring to reward Thy kindness.                  Thee,!


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                      75

   And, therefore, we will not boast in Thy presence !          haughtiness within us, and cleanse us from all our hor-
   Nay more.                                                    rible corruption . . . .
   We will humble ourselves before Thee,  0 Lord our                Then, Lord, we will come !
God, on this day of thanksgiving and confess in dust and            Then we will bring to Thee our contrite hearts, Thy
ashes our own sin and transgressions and that we had gifts to us!
forfeited a thousand times all Thy goodness toward                 Then we will thank and praise Thy holy Name for all
                                                        US.
For we are guilty in Thy sight. In sin we are conceived Thy wonders and the abundance of Thy lovingkindness.
and in iniquity. we are shaped, and also in the season,             And having brought our  sacrince  we will thank Thee
now past, in which Thou didst display the wonders of            still. . . . . .
Thy grace toward us, we only could increase our guilt               Praise Thee that we might express our gratitude !
daily. Our transgressions witness against us. Evil we               Thank Thee for the offering of thanks we might
are and evil we did. And,  0 God, if Thou  shouldest            bring !
mark transgressions and bring into remembrance our                  And Thine be the glory alone !
sins, how could we stand before Thee?. . . .                        Forevermore !
   Thus, Lord, we will come to Thee, with nothing of                                                                     H. H.
self and all of Thee, pleading and boasting on nothing
we might be or do for Thee, but only in what Thou hast                               THANKSGIVING DAY
done for us, clinging, even as we come to Thee to give
Thee thanks and praise, to the accursed tree of our Lord                     Well may the wheels of industry
Jesus Christ, lest we should be cast out from Thy pres-                      Desist from work and silent be,
ence . . , . .                                                               That we may glad and thankfully
   Thus, Lord, we would come.                                                       Give thanks to God above.
    For we would bring unto Thee the sacrifice of thanks-
giving.                                                                      W.e oft forget the guiding force,
    And praise Thy holy Name!                                                Accept as natural that great source
                                                                             That leads all on thru destined course.
    But,  0 Lord, how shall we?                                                     Can we, then, thankful be?
    How shall we be able even to bring to Thee this sac-
rifice of a broken spirit, of a broken and a contrite heart?                 Should we forget the God that gives
    We are by nature proud, rebellious, haughty . . . . .                    The heart's desires to all that lives?
    -4nd even while we were speaking unto Thee, words                        Not only that but health he gives
of contrition-and humility, words of sorrow after Thee,                             Should we not thankful be?
we felt how hard and stiffnecked we are by nature, how
totally incapable of humbling ourselves before Thy coun-                     Is it a little that each day
tenance . . . . . ,.                                                         He gives us zeal to tread our way,
    Sinful we are and in darkness. Inclined to maintain                    Imparts His powers that we may
ourselves over against Thee, to seek self and our own                               Resume our walk  i9 life?
glory, to forget Thee and trample the glory of Thy Name
in the dust. Even while our mouth would speak words                          Is it a little that we hear,
of contrition and humility, our heart would exalt itself                     Each Sabbath Day that word of cheer?
against Thee. For so deceitful and wicked we are. And                        While others live in darkness drear
we know that Thou demandest truth in the inward parts.                              ,4nd grope around in dark.
Even as the outward sacrifices of bulls and goats, or of
our vows and gifts could not please Thee and be accept-                      For numbered gifts as ocean's sand,
able in Thy sight, so Thou  hatest the mere word of our                      For crops and joy thruout the land
lips if our hearts do not humby  seek Thee . . . .                           Should we not in obeisance stand
    And, therefore, 0 Lord God, even here we are                                    oin  this.Thanksgiving Day?
helpless.                                                                                                    -Contributed.
    We have no humble heart to offer unto Thee !
    We cannot appear in brokenness of spirit before Thy                        VAN KRACHT TOT  KRACHT
face !
    Unless even this contrite spirit and heart Thou wilt                                In droeve dagen
first bestow upon us by Thy Almighty grace !                                            Door God gedragen;
    And, therefore, Lord, God, we pray Thee: humble all                                 In zware stonden
our pride ! Renew us by the Spirit of our Lord Jesus                                    Getrouw bevonden -
Christ! Create within us, even now, a broken heart,                   266 gaat het voorwaarts in `t vaste vertrouwen:
filled with sorrow after Thee. Search our hearts and                  `Door dulden en hopen  naar `t zalig aarischouwen  !
.minds,  and see whether there is any remnant of this evil                                                             A. W.


i
                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R  -                                       81

              THE INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE                               The charge is a conclusion drawn from an antecedent
          Let us direct our attention to those reasonings of false proposition to the effect that the woman as a mem-
      Lindeboom which remain.                                        ber of the congregation is as to her legal status, man's
          (Lindeboom)-Is the privilege of voting inherent in equal. If this were true the charge should have to be"'
      the office of believer and does  th!s right always accrue maintained.
      from this office? The Dordrecht Church Order does not             Lindeboom now proceeds to disqualify the argu-
      take this stand. Fact is that the election of church ment to the effect that the modern tendency to eman-
      officers by the members of the congregation is a matter cipate the woman in every department of life renders
      concerning which this church order has nothing to say. her enfranchisement in the Church decidedly dangerous.
      It asserts that the con&story can appoint church officers      Says .he : "From the very nature of the case it follows
      without first consulting the congregation. The failure that this objection does not exist for us who are of the
      on the part of the consistory to summon the members of conviction that the woman by virtue of her office should
      the congregation to co-operate with it (the consistory)        be admitted to the church voting booth. The woman has
      in the matter of the election of church officers does not this right or she has it not. If she has it, by virtue ot her
      render its election illegal. Whenever the consistory does office, the Church is duty bound, irrespective of presenr-
      seek the c.o-operation of the congregation it does so with day circumstances, to acknowledge this right: and then
      appeal to the  ofEice of believer, an office in which the it is certain that the ,execution  of this right would pro-
      believers are placed by the Lord God.' In this office the mote the spiritual well-being of the Church. It will not
      believers shall serve God.                                     do, therefore, to extract from present-day circumstances
         The office. of believer may not always and in all cir-      a motive for depriving the woman of her right. Espe-
      cumstances -entail upon the believer the right of voting. cially do we object to linking up the unchristian emanci-
      The execution of this right, however, if requested by the pation`movement, which sets itself against the ordi&nce
      con&tory,  rests as well as the execution of the right of      of God, with the petition for the co-operation of the fe-
      approbation, upon this  offce.    If the consistory, when      male members of the congregation in the election of
      summoning the members of the congregation to exercise church officers. This emancipation craze has nothing in
      their right of voting, directs its summons to the male         common with the request to refrain from continuing to
      members of the congregation only, it is slighting the deprive the woman of her right.  -31s to principles and
      woman in her office.                                           motives there is a vast difference. Fact is, the request
          (Reply)-We agree that in the event the consistory is made upon the basis of the ordinance of God exhibited
      should direct its summons to the male members of the in the calling of the woman unto the office of all be-
      congregation only it would be slighting the woman in lievers.
      her office since it is held by her as well as by the man.
      However, whereas she is included in the man, the sum-             (Reply)-The  abave  reasoning proves conclusively
      mons to exercise .the right of voting is directed to her as that Lindeboom failed to penetrate to the heart of the
      well as to her husband. This right she  exercizes  not, it subject with which he dealt. As he sees. it there is a
      is true, as an emancipated and self-governing unit of the difference as to principles and motives between the  so-
      congregation, but in and through her head and repre- called emancipation craze in the world and the request
      sentative, the man. Consequently, it may not be said to render the church poll excessible to the woman. Pray,
      that the woman is being slighted in her office and pro- what may this difference be? We assure Lindeboom that
      hibited from executing it.                                     there is none. The worldy emancipators clamor for equal
          Fact is that Lindeboom again fails to present the          rights for the woman. They would destroy the relation
     j proposition which he was laboring to prove. It reads:         of subordination on the part of the woman relative the
      "The refusal on the part of the authorities in the Church      man and render her an independent and self-governing
       to grant unto the woman the righ,t'to assert herself as an    unit of society.
       emancipated and self-governing-unit at the church poll           ?Vhat  now is Lindeboom insisting upon? That the
       is equal to a disregarding of the woman in her office." Church grant unto the woman the right to' assert her-
      This, let it be repeated, is the proposition which  Linde-     self as an emancipated and self-governing unit of the
      boom  /&ed  to  prove. The proposition is constituted of Church.         The only perceptible difference between the
       a charge to the effect that the woman's rights are being so-called emancipation craze in the world and the striving
       infringed upon; that she is not permitted to come to her of Lindeboom is the insistence of the former upon the
       own in that office in which she has been placed. He who emancipation of the woman in every conceivable depart-
       complains that the woman is slighted because of her in- ment of life. Lindeboom is of the conviction that the
       clusion in the man is finding fault with God's methods emancipation of the woman should be confined to the
       since it was He who included her in the man and forbade       circle of the institutional life of the Church.    What
       her to assert herself in life as one set free. Lindeboom Lindeboom would see happen in the Church is what these
       should realize that he is criticizing God. and accusing emancipators would see happen in every department  of
       Him of dealing unjustly with the woman. The charge            life.  As to principles and motives, there is absolutely
       must be withdrawn by all means,                               no difference between the striving of Lindeboom and that


/  52                                      T H E   STAND,4RD  B E A R E R

    of the modern suffragette.      When Lindeboom denom-           before his eyes that the relation of subordination on the
    inated the so-called emancipation craze unscriptural he         part of the woman in her relation to the man is grounded
    was  d,enouncing,  be it unwittingly, the very practice upon or rooted in her womanhood. The two cannot be
    which he would see inducted into the Church. Yet he             separated, but constitute, as it were, one plant. Whereas
    asserts that his request is grounded upon the ordinance the woman cannot undo herself of her womanly proper-
    of God. Preposterous !                                          ties it follows that even when entering the circle of the
         Lindeboom is inconsistent. Would he be able  tq            institutional, life of the Church she continues to submit
    explain why the emancipation of the woman should be             herself to the will of the man.
    confined to the circle of the institutional life of the            It is the plain teachings of Scripture that the dissolu-
    Church? In other words, if the woman should `be set             tion of marital tie and the severing of the relation of
    free as a member of the congregation why should she             subordination and supremacy and subordination of the
    not be elevated to the status of the man within the circle      man and the woman in their relation to each other is
    of the life of the family ? Because, so Lindeboom would         accomplished by a modification, not to  s-peak  of change
    reply, she, the woman, in her capacity of church membe;         or disappearance, of the manhood of the man and the
    is the holder of an office  - the office of all believers.      womanhood of the woman. The time will come when
    To this we would reply that the Christian woman is never        they both will be like unto the angels of God. That
    without a duty, calling, office or yvork. Also as wife and      will mean the cutting through. of the relation which *the
    mother it is her calling to assert herself as one born of       man and the woman now sustain to each other. But why
    God. (The terms evork and o&e are identical as to mean- should we continue delineating upon this phase of our
    ing.) And what applies to the woman must also be made           subject? Scripture teaches plainly enough that the
    to apply, to be sure, to every believer. It is his  cahing woman remains subordinate to the man even.when  enter-
    to declare the virtues of his God ever and everywhere           ing the circle of the institutional life of the Church. And
    and in every possible capacity. It is not true that the         that settles the matter. Lindeboom should change  his
    off;ce of every believer is merely an ecclesiastical affair mind, admit that he is in error and declare the proposi-
    in which the believer functions only when moving about          tion which he strove to prove. an untruth.
    within the circle of the institutional life of the Church.         The assertion to the effect that the woman in her
    No matter what department of life he may enter, the             capacity of church member is under the man, must not be
    believer shall always exhibit the Christ in him.       I        misconstrued. We are well aware of the fact that in
         The woman, then, also in her capacity of wife is a         respect to the believer, Scripture speaks of two states
    believer and continues to execute her office of all believ- and two corresponding modes of existence. The apostle
    ers within the circle of the life of the family. Now if this    Paul describes them in one of his epistles. The selec-
    office emancipates her within the circle of the institu-        tion reads as follows: "But some man will say, How
    tional life of the Church, why does it not render her a         are the dead raised up? and with what body do they
    free and emancipated unit of the family?                        come? Thou fool, that which thou  sou-est  is not quick-
         Lindeboom may reply that the  term*  "office of be-        ened except it die: and that which thou  sowest thou
    liever" is a term which should be reserved for that office      sowest not that body which shall be, but bare grain, it
    only which the believer holds as a member of the Church         may chance of wheat or of some other grain: But God
    as an institution. Very well. But Lindeboom shall have          giveth it a body as it has pleased him, and to every seed
    to admit that the believer in every conceivable capacity        his own body.  -411 flesh is not the same flesh; but there
    is the bearer of a Christian office in which he shall con-      is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh, of beasts, an-
    tinue to function as king, priest and prophet in Christ         other of fishes and another of birds. There are also
    twenty-four hours of every day of the week. He  (Linde-         celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory
    boom) may signify this say "non-ecclesiastical office" by of the celestial is one, and th; glory of the terrestrial is
    whatever name he will, the fact remains that it does            another. There is one glory of the sun, and another
    not differ essentially from the "office of believer" proper.    glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars for
    Both root in regeneration. Such being the case it cannot        one star differeth from another star in glory. So also
    be maintained that the woman may throw off the yoke of is the resurrection from the dead. It is sown in corrup-
    the man in one department of life, but not in another.          tion, it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor;
    The believer is a member of that organism called Church         it is raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness, it is raised
    - the body of Christ. Being a member of this body in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual
    he possesses life in himself. This life he shall exhibit.       body. There is a natural body and a spiritual body. And
    He shall do so as a member of both institutions  - the          so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living
    Church and the family. So to the woman. Why, now,               soul ; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. How-
    may she exhibit her light as an emancipated individual in       beit,  that was not first which is spiritual, but that which
    her capacity of church member but not in her capacity of        is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The
    wife and mother? Any attempt at an answer that will             first man is of the earth earthy: the second man is the
    stand ends in a failure.                                        Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also
         Let it be repeated that Lindeboom failed to keep           that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, such are they also


                                            T H E   .STAN   D A R D   B  E,4R.ER                                               53

that are heavenly. iind as we have borne the image                   It is asserted that Adam was made a living soul; that
of the earthy,  lwe shall also bear the image of the              he was natural, of the earth and earthy. The. properties
heavenly."  (1 Cor.  15  :35-49.)                                 of this earthy, sinful  ma-9 are  cm-mptibility,  dishonor  and
   The above is a reply to those who questioned the               weakness.  The term natural is a signification of his mode
resurrection of the dead.            The apostle refers these of existence. Food, drink and rest were as. essential to
doubters to the vicissitudes of the seed. The grain must his well-being as to ours. He was in the need of a help-
die shall it be quickened; When sowed it becomes the meet; was confined to the regions of this earth and sub-
.victim of decay. There remains however an invisible, ject to its laws. On the other hand, Christ is the Lord
unsearchable germ of life, unto which is given a new from heaven. He was made a quickening spirit and. is
body urging its way upward through the ground until               spiritual. . He came to merit .for Himself and for those
the new plant is before us. So to the believer: his given Him by the Father a mode and state of existence
quickening must be preceded by death. Hence he is which. the Scriptures denominate glory.
made to die  - sown as it were  - and becomes the                    The Apostle further asserts that as is the earthy such
victim of a process of decomposition.           However, that     are they also -that are earthy ; and a's is the heavenly such
which is born of God, the regenerated ego, the incor-             are they also that are heavenly. That is to say, the elect
ruptible seed, the new man, remains and to this man - being sons and daughters of Adam bear his image. Their
the seed  .- who was sown is given a new body  - the              state and mode of existence is similar to his. We shall
glorified body of the resurrection. The resurrected ego           bear the image of the heavenly. This prediction will be
comes forth from the grave clothed with a new body,               realized in the day of Christ's return and not before.
which though glorified does not differ as to species from         On this side of the grave the believer is, however,
the one shed. Further, at death the process of sanctifica-        brought under the benign influence of the grace of Christ
tion is completed and the ego itself glorified. The resur-        and is made to experience the cleansing power of His
rected man is the seed which was sown.                            blood.
   The Apostle now draws  a  comparison between  .the                Peculiar to the state of glory is the absence of the
organism man which was sown and the organism of the               belly and of meats (God shall destroy both it and them)
resurrection.    The former is corruptible, dishonorable,         (I Cor. 6:13) ; the absence of the institution of marriage.
weak and natural; the later, incorruptible, glorious,             Scripture further asserts that those in glory shall see
powerful and spiritual. Our attention is directed to the face to face, walk by sight, know even as they are known,
fact that the lower creation presents a similar variation.        dwell in the Father's house, walk with Him and be satis-
There is a difference as to glory between one kind of fied with. His image.
flesh and another and between the bodies terrestrial and             The institution of marriage, then, is peculiar to
those celestial. All flesh is not the same flesh . . . . There    the natural mode of existence. When Christ shall come
are also celestial bodies and those terrestrial  ; but the        to glorify his people this institution shall have served its
glory of the terrestrial is one and the glory of the celestial    purpose  ,and be made to disappear. Lindeboom's error
is another. The heavenly bodies themselves differ as to           is that he would induct into the life of the natural man
glory. There is one glory of the sun and another glory            a freedom peculiar to the state of glory only.
of the moon. Likewise does the glory of the man who                  The above mentioned benefits to which the believer
dies differ from the glory of the (elect) resurrected man.        will fall heir he now possesses only as a primordial good.
   The Apostle, then, directs the attention of his readers        This applies equally well to the dissolution of the marital
to two things:       The body or organism of the resur- tie and the accruing freedom. The natural earthy man
rected ego (man) is as to species like unto the organism          must live the life for which he is adapted. To suppose
of the same ego (man) who was made to die. So it is that the man and the woman would do well if set free,
with the various kinds of grain which are sown. God it matters not in what sphere or department of life, is
giveth unto each kind of seed his own body.  .However,            as foolish as to suppose that they would continue  ro
the body of the resurrected ego greatly surpasses. in             thrive without food. The  headship  of the man relative
glory the body of the same man who,died.  In the cosmos,          the woman is  essential'to  the well-being not only of the
then, the apostle discovers the symbols of the two states         institution of  .marriage as such but of the institutional
and the corresponding modes of existence of the elect of          life of the Church as well.
God. The entire lower creation, in a word, loudly pro-              Let us now apply ourselves to the argument that the
claims the resurrection of the just.                              woman should not be prohibited from voting because
   That which follows deserves special attention.  A she is' a subordinate in the home. It reads as follows:
comparison is .drawn between Adam and Christ; between             "The relation of subordination on the part of the woman
the first man and the second. It should be borne in               relative the man does not interfere with her right to take
mind that it is the natural Adam who is being compared            a hand in the election of church officers. The son of the
with Christ. The matter to which the Apostle directs              home is subordinate to the head of the family  - his
our attention is the glorification of the elect. We are father  - as well as the wife ,and mother. Nevertheless
not losing sight of the fact that glorification necessarily       he votes as well as his father. If the church voting
implies an ethical purging of those glorified.                    booth must remain closed to the woman it should  like-


                                                               .
c&l                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

wise be rendered inaccessible to the son as he as tie11 as          dissolves. Father and son, too, are joined together by a
his mother is a subordinate in the home?                            tie called parental. This tie, however, is greatly slack-
       (Reply)--We will grant, momentarily, that both the           ened when the son reaches manhood. Then he is enjoined
mother and the son are subordinates in the home. The                by the Lord God Himself to leave his father and his
question now is whether for this reason the woman as                mother  tind to cleave unto his wife. The father and the
well as the son may assert herself as an independent and            mother shall then relax their hold upon this son and
self-governing unit of the Church. Scripture has it that            permit him to futlction  as a "Zelfstandig," self-governing
the woman within the institutional life of the Church               (in relation to the parents) unit of society and of the
shall submit herself to the will of the man. Hence, Linde-          Church.
boom's conclusion is unwarranted. The entire reason-                    iMarriage,  then, in contrast to the union between
ing presented above must be set aside as unlawful.                  parents and children, is characterized by a peculiar inti-
       The question cannot be suppressed why Lindeboom              macy, a close and confidential.friendship. To this must
did not go to the very limit and conclude that the woman            be added that the martail  tie is never slackened as is the
may appropriate unto'herself all the rights and privileges          parental tie.
of the son, also the right of holding office. This latter               Marriage is a divine institution. It is-the Lord God
conclusion is contained in his premises as well as the              who gave unto it its peculiar properties.  ,It is His will
conclusion that the mother and wife may vote. Linde-                that there should be this close and permanent union
boom would reply that Holy Writ. does not  alldw the                between man and wife  in order that this institution might
woman to hold office. No indeed but neither does Scrip- serve us a symbol of the union between Christ and His
ture permit the woman to pitch herself over against the             Church and exhibit the peculiar properties of this higher,
man at the  church poll. The one conclusion is as un- heavenly union  - the properties, spirituality, intimacy and
scriptural as the other.                                            durability.                      .
       The trouble is that the premise from which either of            Whereas marriage is meant to be an emblem of this
the two above conclusions are  drawn.is  fallacious. Fact heavenly union, of its permanency and its peculiar inti-
is that the relation which any father and a grown-up son macy it follows from the very nature of the case, that
sustain to each other is not that of supremacy and sub-             husband and wife must present a united front ever and
ordination. The son having attained to'manhood is no everywhere and  especialiy  within the circle of the insti-
longer the subordinate of his father, nor is that father tutional life of the Church when entering the company
the sovereign head of this son.  To  the contrary, this of saints. Such are the plain teachings of Scripture. "Let
son is enjoined by the Lord God to leave his father and        your women keep silence in the Churches: for it is not
his mother and to cleave unto his wife: and they shall permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded
be one flesh. Being a man this son asserts himself as to be under obedience, as also saith the law" (I Cor.
an independent and self-governing unit of society and of 1434).                That is to say, let not the wife pitch herself
the Church. The church voting  booth this son enters as over against her husband when entering the company of
an independent unit. He does not appear there to ex- saints but be under obedience that also in this circle the
press by means of the ballot the judgment and choice peculiar unity of marriage may be preserved.
of his father. Nor does this father enter the home of his               Where in Scripture is it said to the grown-up son that
son to take charge of the run of affairs of the son's               he  shalf-keep silence in the Churches and be under
family.      Nowhere in Scripture is it said to  this  son: obedience? Nowhere. It is the child, the minor, who is
*`Son submit thyself to thine own father, as unto the commanded to submit itself to the will of its parents.
 Lord  ; for the father is the head of the son, even as             As to the grown-up son, even though he resides in his
Christ is the head of the Church . . . . Therefore as the           father's house, he shall enter. the voting booth of the
Church is subject unto Christ, so let the grown-up sons Church as a self-governing unit of the congregation. For
be to their own'fathers in everything."                             he has come to years of discretion and is capable and
       It must be borne in mind that the relation which the         duty bound to fill his place in life and in the Church.
wife sustains to her husband differs radically from the The grown-up son at home, living the life of a minor,
relation which the son sustains to his father. `The hus- is an abnormality.
band and the wife are so related and united as to con-                 We do not mean to say that the parental tie is severed
stitute one flesh, a single cell. This union is so very when the son reaches manhood. However, this tie is
close that it is said of the woman in Scripture that she loosened, so to say, to that extent as to permit an inde-
constitutes the very  flesh of her husband.       Says the pendent life and conduct on the part of the son. Under
Apostle: *`So ought men to love their wives as their own no circumstances  is?themarriage tie loosened. The close
bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself." (Eph.              union of marriage  .must abide. An independent life and
5 :28.) On the other hand, the father is not the head of conduct on the part of either the wife or the husband is
the son. The two do not constitute one flesh.                       in conflict with the very genus of niarriage as instituted
       Further, the union between man and wife is charac-           by God.
terized by permanency.       Man and wife are joined to-                It appears that it will not at all do to conclude that
gether by a tie  - the marital tie  - which only death              the wife may vote as well as the son as both are subor-


                                             T H E   STANDAR.D   B E A R E R                                                 87
      I
                          THE SABBATH                                 The-blessing and the sanctification of. the seventh day
                                                                   had respect to the divine rest as their reason and cause.
           The Sabbath was instituted by God at creation. In       "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because
     the book of Genesis after his account of the creation of      that in it he had rested from all his work which God
     the heavens and the earth, rhe sacred historian proceeds      created and made,`, or as we have it in the. Decalogue,
     as follows : "Thus the heavens and the earth were fin-        "In six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth,
     ished and all the host of them. And on the seventh day        the sea and  all things  thei-ein,  and rested  .the seventh
     God ended his work which he had made ; and he rested          day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and
     on the seventh day from all his work which he had             hallowed it." The holy day recalls its occasion. It is
     made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified designed. It was the purpose of God, that the day which
     it; because that in it he had rested from all his work."      saw the creation finished should be set apart .in honor of
           No improvement in translation would affect the mean-    the great work, or rather of Himself as its Architect.
     ing of these words, which are generally admitted to be           The institution thus appointed at creation was meant
     a faithful version of the original language. A critical       to be a law, right, and blessing to mankind in all time. It
     examinatio?  of the terms employed, and the light of          was an example addressed to Adam and through him to
     parallel texts would only confirm the views of the pass-      all his posterity. The arrangement applies to all man-
     age which a first reading at once ascertains. Without         kind and that from the beginning of time as truly as does
     dwelling at this juncture upon the value of the informa- the institution of marriage. The sound of its appoint-
     tion here and in the preceding chapter for the first time     ment went through all the earth, and its words unto the
     recorded respecting the origin of the world and of man,       end of the world. In paradise God called  -upon  every
     let us mark the leading facts as they bear upon our           human being to remember his creator.
     subject.                                                         Yet there are those who maintain that the law has
           God `rested on the seventh day from all his work        become obsolete, that it does not remain in full force
     which he had made.        As the Almighty fainteth not,       upon the human family.
     neither is weary and as the Father worketh hitherto in           Let us now present the scriptural evidence. for a per-
     the hroduction  of human spirits and in the maintenance       manent Sabbath. We point first of all to the narrative
     and government of the universe, His rest is to be under-      itself of the event considered in its time and place. It
     stood in a sense compatible with the constant activity        cannot be supposed that the sacred writer  is there
     of the Creator -- as a rest  no'c from all work, but from     describing what was not to take place until many years
     the work specified - a rest of cessation and satisfaction,    after the creation, with imputing unto him the inability
     and not of repose. The word "sabbath" signifies not such      to write history and to express his thoughts, or a disre-
     a rest wherein one sitteth and doeth nothing, but only a gard for truth, inasmuch as he introduced a fact in such
     resting and ceasing from that which he did before.            a connection and in such terms as naturally lead us to
           While the creator pronounced  all the works of the      think that it was contemporaneous with the Creator's rest
     six days to be very good, He reserved his blessing for        from His work of six days. That an inspired man should
     the day of rest. ",4nd God  .blessed  the seventh clay."      so write is an impossibility. The interpretation there-
     When human beings utter! words of blessings, they are         fore must be false. How after the light which the trans-
     only helpless petitioners. But it is the practice of God      action of Sin and Sinai had in view of Israel shed on the
     to impart the  .good  which He pronounces with his lips.      Sabbath, the words describing it should appear where
     And He blesses creatures according to their natures ; men     they are at all, is to be explained only by the fact of its
.    by bestowing favors which rational creatures can only         e&y institution.
     enjoy. He blesses the animals agreeably to their capac-          A second circumstance that presupposes the primitive
     ities, opening his hand and satisfying the desire of every    appointment of the weekly holy day is the. respect which
     living thing. He blesses things without life by making        began soon after to be shown for the number seven. The
     them the means of benefit to living creatures. In these       Creator Himself, in denouncing sevenfold vengeance
     forms did he bless the-seventh day. That day was dis-         against the person that should take the life of Cain, first
     tinguished above the others by being constituted a means      employed the number as a signification of perfection.
     of peculiar advantage and happiness.       .                  The number was used in the arrangement that the beasts
           The seventh day was devoted to sacred use. "God         and fowls should be'selected by sevens for preservation
     sanctified it." The idea incorporated in  `%anctify,'  as     in the Ark. Further, the periods of plenty and scarcity
     used by the inspired writers, is separation from a com-       in Egypt were seven years each. The number seven
     mon to a holy purpose, consecration to the divine service.    appears in many other intimations of the will of God
     Like blessing, sanctification is predicated of beings ac-     down to the time when the Apostle John in the vision
     cording to their natures. As all days are God's, and ought    of the seven candlesticks, and of one in the midst of them
     to be spent in His work, the sanctification of the seventh    like unto the Son of man.
     in particular would be a meaningless expression, unless          This use, then, of the number, was no superstitious
     it indicated a special appropriation of the day to the        practice of human device. It was divine speech and it
     worship of God.                                               had.an important meaning. But that meaning could not


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
88                                            -
exist in any intrinsic value of that number above others,       days He would cause it to rain upon the earth, and  the
for it had no such value. The first mention of it in a          warrant which the sacred historian has given us for
new application stands in connection in the sacred his- tracing a connection of cause and effect between the week
tory with the seventh day on which God rested from the as originally appointed, and the week as observed by
work of creation, and that application is not arbitrary. the patriarch, all forbid the supposition that he did not
The sevenfold vengeance, is a vengeance which com- work for six days, and rest and worship on the seventh.
pletes its purpose, sheaths the sword and is satisfied even        Further the prevalence of public worship implies the
as the Creator finished His work, rested and was re- obligation and the observance of a Sabbath. There were
freshed. The language addressed to Cain had a meaning religious assemblies. Cain and Abel came together for
and was meant to be understood by all. But where is the divine service. They were not the only persons present,
meaning of "sevenfold" to be found if not in the preced- as appears from Cains postponement of his murderous
ing context? The meaning was the same to Cain as to deed till he and Abel were out of sight of the others in
those who might seek to slay him. And he and they are           the field., This is the second recorded instance of public
presented by the historian as having their eyes turned to       worship. In the time of Seth, men began to call upon the
the same day of rest, blest and sanctified when the world       name of the Lord. Not that. they then for the first time
was made. Nor is this all. That marked respect has been         professed religion, as the history proves, but that their
shown for the number seven in the first five books of the       profession  had,become  more public. Twice are we told
Bible as well as in the book of Revelation proves that          in the book of Job that the sons of God came to present
God will have His name remembered, and a seventh day            themselves before the Lord, and that Satan, as he has
hallowed in all generations.                                    often since done, came also among them. The services
       No Iess important is the observance by the patriarchs    on such occasions are mentioned. There were sacrifices
of the weekly division of time. Noah stayed seven days, and offerings, which formed an important part of ancient
three several times, before he sent forth the dove out of       worship. Cain and Abel bring offerings. Noah, Abra-
the Ark. The friends of Job sat down with him seven ham, Isaac and Jacob erect altars, and devote victims
days and seven nights. . We read of the week in the days        thereon to Jehovah. Job had instructed many and
of  Laban  and Jacob. And Joseph made a mourning for strengthened weak hands, and where he had done `so is
his father seven days. But whence the regard to periods intimated in his words, "I stood up and cried in the con-
of seven days? There was nothing in nature to suggest gregation." Noah was a preacher of righteousness. We
or recommend it for adoption any more than there was            read also of the sacraments of circumcision and the pass-
some peculiar excellence in the number seven to secure          over  - and of a priesthood with tithes for its mainte-
for it a preference above all other numbers. If there had       nance. As there was a law for the consecration of prop-
it would have been even more generally observed than,it erty and of a certain portion of it to the service of God,
is.     No human being would independently have con- it follows that there would be one for the consecration
ceived of such a notation of time. No number of human of a certain amount of time to the same purpose. For
beings could have given it prevalence or perpetuity. His-       this worship, places of convocation were requisite. Cain
tory, however, leaves no room. for speculation. It in- and Abel came together in one place. It is the place of
forms us that the week was appointed at creation, not           public worship that is favored with the presence of the
by any provision made on the forth day in the lights            Lord, from which Satan is said twice to have gone forth,
which were to be for signs and seasons and days and             and Cain once and forever. &And even more necessary
years,  buS by the example of the creator, who occupied         must have been appointed places of worship when men
six days in making the world, rested on the seventh,            began on a large scale to call upon the name of the Lord.
blessed and sanctified that day, not the eighth or follow-         But set times were also necessary. Order and fixed
ing days, on which He rested from creative work. Thus           places demanded them.      If the sons of Job had their
God prescribed to us the same distribution of time,  an4        days of feasting, we cannot doubt that the sons of God
of its work  <and rest, no less certainly than if He had        had their days for worship. And it was so. There was
written `on the phenomena of nature.                            a day when the sons of `God came to present themselves
       From these facts we are led to infer what the week       before the Lord. It  was.in process of time, or rather in
was which Noah and others observed, and why they the end of days, that Cain and Abel brought their offer-
so regulated their time. The week as defined by the Cre-        ings before the Lord. We are informed in the Epistle to
ator, consisted of six days for work and a day of rest.         the Hebrews that Abel was accepted because he offered
A day of sacred rest. Such also must have been the in faith; consulting God's will in regard to the matter and
week of the patriarchs. It is possible, indeed, for this circumstances of the service. Cain was blamed not for
cycle of time to be observed in some form after its Sab- error as to the time and place, but for the state of his
bath had ceased. However, if the seventh day  was. and mind, and the bloodless nature of his offering. We can
still is connected with sacred rites among heathen na- conceive of him observing the appointed day of rest and
tions, it is inconceivable that Noah could have forgotten       worship and induced by the customary suspension of
or disregarded so important an alliance. His own piety, labor into compliance with the law and the custom, but
the language of God announcing to him that in seven             we cannot conceive of him leaving his farm on working


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                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           89

     days for the purpose of appearing at the altar  of God.        all people. He intimates these things unto the people and
     And the sacred writer has again warranted the conclu-          returns their words unto the Lord. For two days they
     sion that the time of these offerings was the seventh          must sanctify themselves, that they might be ready on
     day. He had already recorded the consecration of this          the third day, on which Jehovah was to come down in
     day to rest, and must have known that nothing was more         sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai. D,earh  was to
     natural than for his readers to take for granted that          be the penalty of going up into the mount, or touching
     upon this occasion the day so set apart would be applied       the border of it. "And it came to pass on the third day,
     to its appropriate purpose.                                    in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings,
        Our position is further strengthened by the'instances       and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the
     of deep piety (on the part of a chosen few) which distin-      trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people trembled.
     guished this period. We mention  Enoch,  Noah,  Mel-           And Moses'brought the people out of the camp to meet
     chizedek, Job, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph, Moses         with God : and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
     and Aaron. It was by the grace of God that they became         And Mount Sinai was altogether upon a smoke, because
     what they were. That the Sabbath must have been a              the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof
     principal means of fostering this faith by which those         ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole moun-
     elders obtained a good report, appears from the proved         tain quaked greatly."
     necessity of a periodical day of rest and worship to the          In these circumstances of glory and terrible majesty,
     religion of present days.                                      which made Moses himself say, "I exceedingly fear and
        There are incidents in the history of Israel in Egypt quake," did Jehovah proclaim with his own lips the ten
     which give indication of  .a pre-existing Sabbatism. Mo-       commandments. And thus, not only by priority of pro-
     ses and Aaron, by the direction and in the name of Jeho-       mulgation, but by the august solemnities attending it,
     vah, asked of Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go that they          did He distinguish these commandments above the civil
     might hold a feast unto God in the wilderness. What the and ceremonial statutes which were afterwards pri-com-
     feast was appears from the answer of the king of Egypt         municated to Moses. "These words the Lord spake unto.
     to their demand: "Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron,            all your assembly in the mount, out of the midst of the
     let the people from their works? Get you unto your fire, of the cloud and of the thick darkness, with a great
     burdens. Behold the people of the land now are many,           voice, and he added no more." But in reference "the law
     and ye make them rest (sabbatize) from their burdens." of commandments contained in ordinances,*' it is said:
     And no sooner had the people gained their liberty than         "But as for thee stand thou here by me, and I will speak
     they celebrated "the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the         unto thee all these commandments, and the statutes and
     Lord," feasting on the bread of heaven. Before this time       the judgments which rhou shalt teach them, that they
     and on the very eve of the exode, the Passover was in-         may do them in the land which I give them to possess it."
     stituted, where the Sabbatic circumcision of  sez'en  days,       Nor was this all. The law of rhe ten commandments
     "resting from all manner of work" and "holy convoca-           uttered by the great voice of God was also written by
     tions,' are all mentioned as matters with which they were      his own finger. The Law-giver proclaims His eternal
     acquainted.                                                    law with His own mouth, and wrote it with, His own
        The Sabbath, as instituted at the creation, had a place     hand. Twice  was it so written. It was inscribed on
     assigned to it in the moral law given `from Sinai. When        tables of stone, and-in this form placed in rhe Ark, with-
     the Almighty gave forth the law of the  Decalogue with         all the security which incorruptible shittim-wood, and
     His own voice from Sinai, one of the utterances was,           gold overlaid within, without and above could provide.
     "Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days It was, as it were made a part of the throne of God. But
     shalt thou labor, and do all thy work, but the seventh no divine voice is heard announcing'the laws of a tem-
     day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ; in it thou shalt porary polity, or of a shadowy ritual; they are uttered
     not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter,          in the ears of Moses alone. No divine finger &aces their
     thy man-servant, nor. thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, written Characters. For this the hand of Moses is
     nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days     deemed adequate. They are committed to no secure and
     the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in       precious casket; but placed beside the Ark, as things
     them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord ready to be removed.
     blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it."                        In all these honors of the  ten words  the fourth com-
        The Scriptures have in various forms done special           mandment fully shared. Prefaced by the same solemni-
     honor to the law of the ten commandments. Its promul-          ties, attended by thunders and lightnings, spoken by the
     gation was heralded by solemn preparations. "Moses             Divine voice, all its words engraved by the finger of
     went up unto God and the Lord called unto him out of           God, and intrusted to the sacred keeping of the ark, who
     the mountain. He is instructed to inform Israel of the         could have any reason ro imagine that the Sabbath was
     divine condescension and kindness to be shown unto             a Jewish rite, belonging entirely to a covenant which was
     them in the covenant to be established between God and         to decay, wax old and be ready to vanish away.
     them, and the necessity of holy obedience on their part,          The language in which the laws of the Jews are
     that they might be a peculiar treasure unto Him above          respectively mentioned in several parts of Scripture

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

     agrees with the  circumstancqs  mentioned above.            Not    DE  PliOTESTANTSCHE  GEREFORMEERDE  GE-
     that the civil and ceremonial faws might be slighted.              MEENTE TE KALAMAZOO, MICH., HERSTELD
     They are included in the "right judgments and true laws,               Aan  den avond van den twintigsten October  laatstle-
     the good statutes and commandments," which were given              den werd de :I%otestantsche  tiereformeerde Gemeente te
     them by rhe hand of Moses. The transgression of  them              Kalamazoo,  Mich., door Gods goedheid hersteld binnen
     was held to be an act of contempt to the Divine Law-               het kerkverband van de Protestantsche Gereformeerde
     giver and King, and was visited with severe retribution.           Kerken hier te lande.  Nadat in den Dienst des Woords
     The loss of them in the captivity was deplored as one of door Ds. G. 111. Ophoff, van de Hope Gemeente bij Grand
     Israel's chief calamities. Their recovery is promised as           Rapids,  Mich., was voorgegaan, waarbij I Johannes 4,
     one of their greatest mercies.       But there are several         de `verzen  9 en 11 tot tekst. was gekozen, werd de verga-
     statements which indicate their inferiority.  1 Thus it  is        dering der gemeente voortgezet en kerkeraadsleden  ge-
     written in Hqsea, "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice;           kozen.
     and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings  ;"                 Als ouderlingen werden verkoren: de broeders C.
     and in Jeremiah, "I spake not unto your fathers, nor               Van der Roest en G. Van Eeek  ; en als diaken : broeder .
     commanded rhem in the day that I brought them out of               P. Van der Gugten.
     Egypt concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifice; but this               Het adres van den scriba des kerkeraads is bij onder-
     thing I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice." We                 geteekende, 1616 South Rose street, Kalamazoo, Mich.
     have similar statements in the New Testament: "Woe                                                         G. VAN BEEK.
     unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: for ye pay
     tithe of mint, and  anice and  cummin,  and have omitted
     the weightier things of the law, judgment, mercy and                                C O R R E S P O N D E N T I E
     faith. These ought ye to have done, and not to leave
     the other undone. How different the terms in which the                                           I
     apostles speak of the law of ceremonies and the law of                          Antwoord   aan broeder De Mey
     the ten commandments. In referring to the former, the
     apostle Peter asks, "Now, therefore, why tempt ye God,                We  kunnen   `onzes  inziens met een antwoord op de
     to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which nei-           tegenwerpingen van broeder De Mey, voorzoover hij
     ther our fathers nor we were able to bear." The apostle            die nog heeft na ons laatste antwoord aan hem, kort zijn.
     Paul says of the law of the ten commandments: "Where-                 Wij hebben in hetgeen wij schreven in alle  oprecht-
     fore the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, just            heid trachten te verstaan wat de broeder ons schreef en
     and good. We know that the law is spiritual; I delight             daarop een antwoord gegeven.  Wij hebben de  Schrift-
     in the law of God after the inward man."'                          uurplaatsen, waarin de broeder meende een zekere alge-
        Comparing these passages with each other, we arrive             meene genade te zien naar ons beste  weten trachten te
     at the conclusion that the law of the ten Commandments             verklaren. Wij kunnen, ook  als wij nalezen hetgeen
     was honored above the other laws. When we turn to                  de broeder schreef en hetgeen wij hem anrwoordden, met
     these laws themselves we discover that they belong to a            den  besten  wil ter wereld niet zien, dat wij hem op de
     distinct class.                                                    een of andere wijze verkeerd verklaard hebben. Ook
                                                     C.  M .   0 .      weten  wij geen betere verklaring te geven van de Schrift-
                                                                        uurplaatsen door den broeder aangehaald. Wij  zullen
                                                                        dan oak-ons  antwobrd laten zooals  het is. Wij oordeelen,
                                                                        dat dit voldoende duidelijk is. Beter kunnen wij het niet
                GOD GELATEN, GOD GEWIJD                                 doen, ook  ni,et door in te gaan op  hetgeen de broeder
                                                                        thans ons schreef. Wij laten het dus hierbij, tenzij dat
                God gelaten, God gewijd                                 de broeder werkelijk iets nieuws opbrengt.
                Zij uw leven t'  allen  tijd;                              Eerlijk, wij kennen naar de  Schrift  geen uitwendige
                Zonder ophef, zonder praten:                            goede  daden,  waardoor een mensch, die door en door
                God gewijd, en God  gelaten;                            verdorven is en een vijand Gods, wiens bedenken altijd
                                                                        vijandschap tegen God is, genade of gunst bij God zou
                God gelaten. Wat Hij doe,                               kunnen verwerven.
                Eer Zijn wegen; kus Zijn roe,                              Wij verwijzen dus verder onze lezers naar hetgeen
                Zonder morren, zonder klagen,                           wij eerder schreven in antwoord aan broeder De Mey en
                Zonder  twijflend  reden vragen                         laten het verder aan hun oordeel over.
                                                                           Doch daarmede zijn wij niet klaar.
                God gewijd, van God vervuld ;                              Daarmede is ook broeder De Mey niet van ons af.
                Wat gij zijt of  worden  zult.                             Hij  heeft  ons enkele Schriftuurplaatsen  voorgehou-
                Waar geplaatst en hoe omgeven,-                         den, waarin naar zijne meening de  Schrift  leert, dat er een
                Hem uw hart, uw kracht, uw leven!                       zekere gunst of genade Gods is over de goddeloozen en
                                            N. BEETS.                   verworpenen.


