                                                              \
I
'  486                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

             Welnu, zulk een stommerik was Prof.  Ruiper niet.            ing Canaan did so in the capacity of soldiers involved
     "       Natuurlijk zijn wij het  met dit alles niet eens. Wij        in a life and death struggle with the common foe who
          zijn overtuigd dat het  tooneel"ook principieel af  te  keu-    thought to annihilate them ere they reached Canaan ; and
          ren is.                                                         who had to be uprooted and destroyed before Canaan
             Maar op bet standpunt der Christelijke Gereformeer-          could be entered. Likewise the  .eternal  rest of heaven.
          de Kerken hlijft het  ens een raadsel, dat men Prof. It is an era of peace without end, entered upon by those.
          Iiuiper zijn  ontslag gaf, omdat hij zeventien maanden who were able to stand against the wiles of the devil,
          geleden  eens naar de movie geweest was.                        and who wrestled against principalities, against powers,
             En wij voelen ook altijd voor den "under-dog."               against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
                                                            H. H.         spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore one sees
                                                                          them enter bearing the sword of the Spirit which is the
                                                                          word of God ; and  cl&d in the whole armor of God : the
                                  THE SABBATH                             girdle of truth about their loins, the breastplate df.right-
                             I                                            eousness, the sandals of the preparation of the gospel
             In this article we shall engage in an exposition of the      of peace, the shield of faith wherewith the fiery darts of
          proposition to the effect that the fourth commandment the' wicked were quenched, and the helmet of salvation.
          is as binding today as ever; that the Divine speech to Having put on this armor, and having prayed always
          the effect, "Remember the sabbath day to keep it. holy,"' with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, they stood;
          was directed to entire humanity and in particular to the and having stood, do enter the joy of the Lord.  .(3) The
          Church of both the Old and New Dispensation.                    earthy Canaan, and in particular Mt. Sion, constituting
             True enough, the rest which ,our Saviour entered was with two other mountains the city of Jerusalem, the Lord
          projected, so to say, in time. The believer even as  .an chose as his habitation, calledsit  his rest and dwelt there
          occupant of his earthly tabernacle  .enters  this rest. He in the Holiest of All above the Ark of the covenant be-
          does so,  +n that he ceases all the days of his life from       tween rhe Cherubim. This was the specific place where
          his evil works and yields himself to the Lord to work by Israel in its high priest met their God with blood. From
          his Holy Spirit in him. Hence, this his life is a continu- the inmost compartment (the Holiest) the officiating
          ous sabbath and the beginning of the eternal rest. How- priest returned with a Divine blessing for the assembly
          ever, he who maintains that the Divine speech incor- awaiting without. The holiest, then, was Jehovah's basis
          porated in the fourth commandment was not intended for of operation. Here he laid in and through the priest
          the ears of the  iaints  of this day errs  grieviously. We who had sacrificed his benediction upon his people ; and
          shall now proceed to prove that also in this epoch one the poor were satisfied with bread; the priests clothed
          of seven days must be singled out, set aside and hal- with salvation; and the saints shouted aloud for joy.
          lowed.                                                          However, Canaan, as God's home, the temple, rhe holiest,
             We set out by attending to the Old Testament  pre- the Ark and the Cloud, and the officiating priest were
          figurations of the rest entered by Christ and his people. at once so many features of a picture of the eternal
          Shall we succeed in laying hold on the implications of Canaan or more specifically, the Jerusalem above-the
          the symbolism of Scripture respecting the sabbath, we true dwelling place of God. In it is his throne and that
          must take care to distinguish between the eternal rest of the Lamb who  sitteth at God's right hand. In it is
          as such and its realization in this present life of the be- also a sanctuary-the holiest, which Christ by his own
          liever. The former is the rest to which the people of blood entered, obtaining eternal redemption for us. Over
          God fall heir in the day of Christ's return. The latter this place Christ was set a great highpriest, and there-
          is the sabbath as enjoyed by the believer in this  life- fore a pure river of water of life is proceeding out of
          the eternal rest extended in time. Of the eternal  rest- the throne of God and of the Lamb, satisfying forever
          that entered by the believer on the day of the destruc- those who thirsted.
          tion of his earthly tabernacle--the rest of the land of            (4) When the children of Israel hearkened unto the
          Canaan was a figure or, let us say, a picture. Let us voice of Jehovah, their very soil was blessed. In such
          attend now to this picture and tabulate its various fea- periods, Canaan. was a territory of unusual fertility, a
          tures. Doing so, we discover a remarkable correspon- land overflowing with milk and honey. This is evidenced
          dence  betw,een  it (the picture) and the reality signified. by the fact that the yield of rhe land permitted long pe-
          The rest of the earthly Canaan was the termination of riods of rest. The Sabbatical precepts read as fallows:
          a journey made from Egypt through the  wildqrness  to "When ye come into the land which I give you, then
          the land of rest. So, too, the rest of the heavenly Canaan : shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord. Six years
          It is a place where emigrants from the spiritual house shalt thou sow thy field, and six years shalt thou prune
          of bondage come to eternal rest after a toilsome journey rhy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the
          attended by many difficulties. The rest of the earthly seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land,
          Canaan was further (during the reign of Solomon) an a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field,
          era of peace  precede"d  by struggle. The pilgrims  enter- nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own


                                                                                                                                           .
1"  I
                                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                487

         accord of thy  ha:vest thou shalt not reap neither gather and contemplate his glories as exhibited in his salutary
         the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest works.        Such were the lofty and sacred engagements
         unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat        with which the Israelite, exempted from hand labor,
         for you ; for thee and for thy servant, and for thy maid,       must occupy the abundance of spare time afforded him
         and for thy hired servant; and for thy stranger that  so- by Jehovah. And the devout of the Old Dispensation
         journeth with thee, and for thy cattle, and for the beast did so. We take it that the psalmist was giving expres-
         that is in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.    sion to sentiments common to every saint of that day
             And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto when he said: "0 how love I thy law! It is my med-
         thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the itation all the day. Thou through thy commandments
         seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and            hast made me wiser than my enemies: for  they are ever
         nine years. Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the            m*th me. I have more'understanding than all my teach-
         jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month,         ers:  for  thy testimonies are my meditation . . . . How sweet
         in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound         are thy words unto my taste! Yea sweeter than honey
         throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fif- unto my mouth!" Ps.  119:97-99,  103.
         tieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land          Canaan, the land of rest; the Old Testament saint
         unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto    freed from manual labor'and filling his time with the Iof-
         you, and ye shall return every man unto his possession,         tiesr kind of occupations helped to render this good land
         and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee together with its inhabitants a type, that is a picture
         shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not  sow,        of heaven. Let us enlarge on this a little. The believer,
         neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather as an inhabitant of this earth, is, as to his body, soul and
         the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the           entire mode of existence, earthy. His body of flesh and
         jubilee  ; it shall be holy unto you : ye shall eat the in-     blood needs nourishment. Heat and cold, attacking that
         crease thereof out of the field. In the year of jubilee ye      frail frame of his would soon destroy it if unprotected.
         shall return every man unto his possession. And if thou         Hence, rhe acquisition of food, raiment and shelter con-
         sell aught unto thy neighbor, or buyest aught of thy stitute the outstanding engagements of the earthy man,
         neighbor's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:  ac- engagements with which he is compelled to fill most of
         cording to the number of years after the jubilee thou his time, would he live. The end of the day finds his
         shalt buy of thy neighbor, and according to the number energies well spent. If he would keep fit, several of the
         of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee: According hours remaining must be given ro rest in sleep.
         to the multitude number of years thou shalt increase the          Though bearing him interest in heaven, if of the proper
         price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou kind, if their mainspring be a sincere wish to please God,
         shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the num- and their standard the law, man's earthy pursuits have
         ber of years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee. Ye shall     nevertheless a tendency to rivet his mind to this earth.
         not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear          Pre-occupied, his spirit only now and then will soar
         thy God: for I am the Lord your  Gocl.                          heavenward to become fully God-conscious. Compar-
             Wherefore you must do my statutes and keep my atively, little time remains for the direct contemplation
         judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land          of things spiritual. Such are the experiences of the most
         in safety. And the land shall yield her fruit and ye shall      saintly of men. Even so, the believer, going about his
         eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. And if ye shall earthy duties is not oblivious of God. To  .rhe contrary,
         say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold- we             he became and remains, ever, the pilgrim and the soldier;
         shall not sow nor gather in our increase: Then I will           the light of the world and the salt of the earth. There,-
         command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it          fore, his earthy tasks are so performed as to constitute
         shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow       a walk worthy of the Lord Christ. However, he is for
         the eighth year and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth all that, the occupant of an earthy tabernacle, and,
         year ; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old         though seeking things above, necessarily pi-e-occupied
         store" (Lev. 25 2-23).                                          with such things as enter into the makeup of his earthy
             Every seventh and fiftieth year, then, the land was         mode of existence.
         allowed to rest. In these periods the people neither sowed      ' In the new heaven and earth things will be different.
         nor reaped yet ate their fill. Canaan, it is plain, was The saints, now bearing the image of the earthy, will,
         a sabbath land. There was much leisure even in the              in the Father's house,  ,be bearing the image of the Lord
         years of sowing and reaping, for the land yielded abund-        from heaven. The earthy man, made perfect and glori-
         antly.    The question cannot be suppressed: "Why all fied, will enter upon a mode of existence known in Scrip-
         this spare time ? The answer is ready: These sabbaths ture  as  `<a building  of  God; a house not made  *c&h  h.an.d~,
         years were not meant to be periods of idleness. Israel          eternal in the  heavens."  What may be the elements consti-
         was God's peculiar possession; a people brought up out          tuting this new life? To begin with, the body of the
         of Egypt, out of the house of bondage and planted in            saint, sown in corruption, dishonor and weakness, is
         this land of rest that it might sing the praises of its God     raised in incorruption, glory and power. It is sown a

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

. natural body, it is raised a spiritual  b,ody {I Cor. 15: The four-and-twenty elders fall down before him that
42-45 ) . Flesh and blood are not its constituents for sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever
 neither' do enter the kingdom of God (I Cor. 15 :50). This and ever, and cast their cl-owns before the throne, say-
body is without the belly for God destroys  b&h it and ing,  Thou. are worthy,  0 Lord, to receive glory and
the meats (I Cor.  4:13).                                      honor, and power; for thou hast created all things, and
       Being spiritual, incorruptible, glorious and powerful, for thy  plea&Fe  rhey are, and were created." "The four
 it requires not the care and the attention which the living creatures.. and four-and-twenty elders fell down
 earthy man is compelled to bestow upon his frail and          before the lamb, having every one of them harps and
 mortal frame. Hence, rhe pursuits of the natural man golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of the
-such as the acquisition of food, raiment and shelter saints. And they sing a new song, saying, Thou art
 -are not those of the inhabitants of heaven, who are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof:
 occupied, as we shall see, in a way compatible with their for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy
state of glory.                                     J          blood out of every kindred, and tongue and people, and
   However, a passage from the book of, Revelation ren- nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and
ders void the conclusion to the effect that the saints in priests: and we shall reign on the earth.          It was the
heaven do without nourishment. The scripture we have desire of David to dwell in the house of the Lord all the
in mind reads as follows : " and he showed me a pure river days of his life, that he might behold his beauty and in-
of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the      quire `in his temple. His confident hope was thus ex-
throne of God and of the lamb. In the midst of the pressed, "As for me, I will behold thy  fape  in righteous-
street of it, and on either side of rhe river, was there the ness: I shall be satisfied when I shall awake with thy
tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and          likeness."    And one object of the Saviour's desire that
yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree his followers might be with him in heaven was, that
were for the healing of nations (Rev. 22 :l, 2) ." The main they might behold his glory. It is worthy of note that
and important thought conveyed by the elements com- as often as we are ushered by Scripture into the assembly
prising John's vision is rhat the immortality to which of the.inhabitants of heaven we hear them eulogize the
the saints fall heir is not self-subsistence. The redeemed Lamb-and him who sitteth upon the throne. May it
in heaven, as well as the saints on earth live, move and not, therefore, be concluded that the Just will ever be
have their being in God. He to them is like a green engaged in contemplating and lauding the mysterious
 fir-tree : from him is their fruit found  (Hosea XIV  :8). and altogether lovely being of him who takes himself
Their vital forces and glorified capacities for service and into his hands and resolves himself into an object to be
praise-capacities unknown to the earthy man-proceed bestowed upon those whom he knew before the founda-
from and are perpetually being. sustained and replen- tions of `the world? Such, then, will be the sacred en-
ished by him who is their bread of life forever. For the gagements with which the redeemed will occupy their
river proceedeth out of the throne of God and the lamb. time. O:f this blessed state of affairs, the earthy Canaan
Whether the trees and the river of water signify at once with its long rest periods was a most fitting emblem.
the heavenly means by which Jehovah nourishes  theglori-          There are still other features entering in and render-
tied frame of the blessed is, we feel assured, a matter of ing this land a shadow of heaven. Israel musr hallow
conjecture. However, rhe saints take nourishment and every fiftieth year and announce it a jubilee year. This
are fed in a manner congruous with the constitution of institution was constituted of the following features:
their  gloritied  being.  `-4s for the rest, the believer will (1) All property must be returned to its original owner
not know in  .detail  what the spiritual realities are in      (Lev. 25 :lO) that is to. rhe family which had come, into
which John's vision resolves itself until he is transported    the possession of it at the time of the division of the
ro that city where he will know as he is known, and see land. No property might be sold and held by the buyer
face to face instead of through a glass darkly. Be this permanently (25 :23). This arrangement served admir-
as it may, this is certain that the tedious occupations and ably to direct the attention of the Israelite to the fact
wearisome tasks of the earthy man are altogether foreign that the land belonged to Jehovah and not to them; that
to the ideal state of glory. The redeemed will be freed        in disposing of it he must do so in a manner agreeable
from toil of every description. The new heaven and' to Jehovah, its real owner. This is the motive of the pre-
earth is a region of complete rest without end; and of cepr in question (25 :23). (2) In the fiftieth year liberty
this rest exemption from toil, the long periods of rest must be proclaimed to all the inhabitants of the land.
of the earthy Canaan were the significations. The en- Those who had been compelled by poverty to sell them-
gagements of the citizens of the celestial city are such selves as slaves to their brothers, regained their liberty.
as are in harmony with their ideal state.  .What these The purpose of this-precept is apparent. Israel as a theo-
engagements are may be gathered from the following cratic nation was God's creation and therefore his exclu-
notices of Scripture. "His servants shall serve him." sive property. He, Jehovah, had brought them up out of
"They rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, the house of bondage and planted them in the land of
Lord God Almighty, which was and is and is to come." Canaan a free people, subject only to the will of God.


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              489

 The precept in question was meant to reclaim the land          the Gospel age,  ir is  .true, but more specifically of the
 from the grip of the vile beast slavery and to render it       new heaven and the new earth.
 each time the borders of liberty. The state of bondage            it was during the reign of Solomon that Canaan re-
 was incongruous with the destiny of the freed Israelite.       sembled most the kingdom of glory. The king himself
    That the events of the year of jubilee were so many was a type of Christ. Under his reign the kingdom of
 signs meant to direct the minds of God's people to spirit-     Israel attained to a great world power. The bounds of
 ual realities is plain from the phraseology of the Holy        Israel were greatly widened, and south and north united
 Spirit in his proclamations of the high purpose of the         into one nation. rZl1  the people whom the children of
 advent of Christ. We present the following selections.         Israel were not able to destroy-the Amorites, Hittites,
 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . . . to proclaim         Perizzites, Hevites and Jebusites  - became the king's
 liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to bondsmen. The kings of Tarshish, and of the isles brought
 them that are bound; to proclaim  rhe acceptable year of him presents. And many nations called him blessed. He
. the Lord (Isa. 61  :lb)." Also from the following extrac- judged the people with righteousness. In his days `the
 tion it appears that the prophets regarded salvation as righteous flourished, and the poor and the needy were
 a crystallization of the events of the year of jubilee into    spared and fed. There was peace. The nation prospered,
 higher spiritual realities. The passage we have in mind and the people dwelt in safety. The court life of the
 is found in Isa. 58 and reads as follows:  "Is not this the king was characterized by great splenclour.
 fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wicked-            With the rest of Canaan in our eye `we are able to
 ness, to undue `the heavy burdens, and to let the              give unto the rest eternal a content. It appears that this
 oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke."              rest is a journey ended in that the pilgrims have reached
    In the words of William  Baur,  the jubilee year their destination; the cessation of a spiritual warfare,
 "looked forward to the salvation of chosen mankind. Its        the battle having been fought and the victory won in
 deepest meaning is to be found in the restoring of all that Christ ; exemption from toil of every description ; a glori-
 which, in the course of time was perverted by man's ous freedom and peace enjoyed by glorified beings; pros-
 sin, in the removing of all slavery of sin, in the establish- fierity.  service, praise and  companioship  with  Cad.
ing of the true liberty of the children of God, and in the
 delivering of the creation from the bondage of corrup-            The house of bondage from which Israel had  ,been
 tion to which it was subjected on account of man's de-         brought out by the mighty arm of Jehovah was separated
 pravity.    In the year of jubilee a great future era of from Canaan by a dreary wilderness. Through this
 Jehovah's favor is foreshadowed, that period which, ac- desert land Jehovah led his people. In it he made them
 cording to Isa. 61  :l-3, shall be ushered in to all those     sojourn for forty `years. Their stay in and journey
 that labor and are heavy laden, by him who was through this region was attended by many  difficmties,
 anointed by the Spirit of the Lord Jehovah."                   surmounted `by the Lord only. To him alone is due all
    In the Old Testament dispensation these various, ben- the credit for the safe arrival of this people in the prom-
 efits were casting shadows made to fall in the land of ised land. He showed his -signs among them and won-
 Canaan and placing this land in a sign of redemption           ders in the land of Ham. Egypt was glad when they
 and of heaven.                                                 departed : for the fear of them fell upon them. He spread
    According  TV the notices of  Scri$ure (Lev. 25  9) the a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night.
 trumper proclaiming liberty throughout the country was The people asked and he brought quails, and satisfied
 sounded on the great day of atonement,-a day upon them with the bread from heaven for the desert was un-
 which the blood of the sin offering was brought into the productive. He opened the rock and the waters gushed
 Holy of  Holies  `and a general remission of all the sins out; they ran in the dry places like a river.            For he
 that had been committed in the year gone by, guaran- remembered' his holy promise, and Abraham his ser-
 teed. The corresponding reality is Christ entering by vant. And he brought forth his people with joy, and his
 his own blood into the holy place, obtaining for us eter- chosen with gladness:  And gave them rhe lands of the
 nal redemption. The positive blessing accruing from both heathen: and they inherited the labor of the people;
 this sacrifice and its corresponding shadow (the entrance      that they might observe his statutes, and keep his laws
 of the high-priest into the inmost compartment of the          (ps. 105). That God gave them  the lands of the heathen
 earthy  tabernacle) was the liberation of the slaves. Finally does not preclude a  srruggle  on the part of Israel. As
 the jubilee year was a period of rest for the soil and con- was before said, Israel entered Canaan `as the army of
 sequently for those who tilled it. It was, in the lan- the Lord fighting the battles of Jehovah their God. con-
 guage of the prophet, a year in which burdens were             quering and expelling in his strength the foe who
 lifted, oppressed let go free, and yokes broken. Whereas       thought to destroy them err Canaan had been reached.
 the high point of Christian liberty is reached when               It is the plain teachings of Scripture that this people
 heaven shall have received the whole company of saints,        taking in the power of God the land of Canaan by storm
 the jubilee years rendered the earthly Canaan a sign of        after having sojourned in and passed through a  wilder-


i
     490                                      T H E   STANDA'RD   BEaRER

     ness, resolves itself in realities  ol' a different character.        Further, as was before said, the rest of Canaan pre-
     Eapt, in Scripture,  is  a figure of the spiritual house of        supposes a journey from Egypt. That also this feature
     bondage, likewise separated from the rest eternal by a             of the desert period resolved itself into a corresponding
     wildernqss  in the world and through which those heaven-           spiritual reality is the plain teachings' of Scripture. One
     bound sojourn and pass. That the desert was a sign of of rhe big themes of Holy Writ is the believer's path or
     the world is plain from the speech of John the Baptist.            way, his manner of walk, the difficulties besetting him
     Said he to those inquiring: "I am the voice crying in the and the goal to which he presses forward. Let us quote
     wilderness. . . .`,                                                a little from God's word. Matth.  7:13, 14, Enter ye in
            We may now make a beginning of exposing .the                at the strait gate . . . . Because strait is rhe gate and
     error of thar doctrine which asserts that the fourth com-          narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life . . . .  Ps.  1:6,   For-
     mandment was abrogated by the  advent  of Christ; that             the Lord knoweth the wuy of the righteous . . . . Ps. 119:
     the believers  r?f the New Dispensation must not single            105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light  unto
     out one of seven days to hallow it in that every day is            my path. Prtiv. 4:18,  But the path of the just is as a shin-
     now a day of rest. Let us set out by facing the very               ing light.
     simple question : "Where are we, in heaven or in this                 It must nor  escape our notice that the way of the
     desert-world?"         And the answer is ready: "We are in righteous is of rhe Lord. Ps.  25:4, Show me thy ways,
     this world." May we, while in rhis desert, indulge in un-          0 Lord, and teach me thy paths. Ps.  25:9, The meek
     broken rest? May every day .be unto us a day of rest?              will he teach his way. Ps.  37:34, Wait on the Lord and
     Was  Israei's  sojourn in the wilderness a period of con-          keep his way.
     tinuous rest?  tt was not.. As was before said, Israel                The following scriptures teach that the way of the
     was Canaan-bound, and had to press on. Israel was the              righteous is constituted of the statutes, precepts, in short
     army of the Lord, called upon to fight the battles of its          the entire word of God, written in the believer's heart
     God and to conquer in his strength. What would have                and exhibited by means of the various organs of the
     become of this people, had it rested every day? It would           soul. - such as the tongue, the mouth, the hand, the
     never have arrived in Canaan. It would have perished               foot and the eye. Ps. 119 :27, Make me understand the
     in the wilderness. The believers of the New Dispensa- way of thy precepts. Ps. 119:14,  15, I have rejoiced in the
     tion constitute the pilgrim-army of the living God. Is             way of thy testimonies,  as much as in all riches. I will
     their stay in rhis wilderness of sin and woe a period of           meditate in  thy precepts  and.have  respect  unto  thy ways.
     unbroken rest? Let us turn to Scripture for the answer.            I  will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget
     Eph.  6:10-18,  Finally, my brethren, be strong in  the            thy word. Ps. 119 :32, I will run the way of thy command-
     Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole              ments,  when thou shalt enlarge my heart.             Ps. 119 :33,
     armour  of God, that ye may be able to stand against the           Teach me, 0 Lord, the way of thy statutes;  and I shall
     wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and           keep it unto the end.
     blood, but against principalities, against powers, against            Because the believer's way is at once that of the Lord,
     the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual        he may and shall commit it unto the Lord and feel as-
     wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unro you the             sured that its righteousness shall be broughr forth as the
     whole  armour  of God, that ye may be able to withstand            light. Ps.  37:5,6, Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust
     in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand               also him  apd he shall bring if to pass. And he shall
     therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and            bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and rhy judg-
     having on the breastplate of righteousness ; and your              ment as the noonday.
     feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;                 Finally, this way is one of life. It is a new way,
     and above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye            dedicated by Christ and ending in the heavenly sanctu-
     shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.         ary (Hebrews 10  :20). As the way of the redeemed is
     And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the             one of truth, light and life, it is a way of strife with evil
     Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with              and the evil one, a way which is at once a condemnation
     all prayer and  suppli'cation  in the Spirit, and watching         of the way of the world. The struggle grows in inten-
     thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all           sity as the pilgrim nears Canaan.
     saints; . . . Luke 13 :24, Strive to enter in at the strait           Once more, the believer is a pilgrim-soldier sojourn-
     gate: for `many I say unto you, will seek to enter and             ing in this desert-world. Shall he rest? Rest, with Ca-
     shall not be able.                                                 naan still in the distance, with the body of this death
            It is clear that the views we oppose are in violent         embracing him and tiith the devil going about as a roar-
     conflict wirh Scripture.                                           ing lion seeking prey? Rest, while still beset with the
            The believer, then, is envolved in spiritual strife with    antagonists of God, crushing truth to earth, and setting
     his own flesh, the world and the devil. The  p!ain of              themselves and taking counsel against the Lord and his
     battle is the heart and very department of life. That the anointed? Let me  say that he mounting a rostrum to
     believer must take the offensive is evident from such              shout in the ears of these pilgrim-soldiers,  Rest, rest,
     scriptures as:  crucify your members which are upon the every  day rest,  betrays Christ and is playing his people
     earth.                                                             in the hands of the devil. Should these words strike


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             491

root in the hearts of the hearers, they perish in and with     both negative and positive elements. The redeemed one
this desert-world.    Let these pilgrim-soldiers hearken       ceases from sin, breaks with the devil and withdraws
unto the voice of the Captain of their salvation who says:     from the world only to assail by the light which he
"Press on, strive, witness for my truth, confess my name,      emits, the sinister forces with which he broke. On this
resist the devil, crucify your members which are upon          side of the grave, then, this rest is at once a holy war
the earth, put on my armor and stand in the evil day."         waged-with the forces of darkness. Not until this pil-
When the devil is cast into the lake of fire and brim-         grim-soldier has crossed Canaan's borders to take his
stone where the beast and the false prophets are; when         place in the Father's house, will his rest cease to be
the heavens shall have passed away with a great noise          strife, may he lay aside the sword, and will his Sabbath
and the heavens shall have melted with fervent heat, and       resolve itself into engagements congruous with his glori-
the earth also and the works that are therein shall be         fied state.
burned up ; when ye no longer look for new heavens and            The pilgrim-soldier, sojourning in a desert land, fight-
a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, in that they       ing the battles of Jehovah, all the while pressing on to-
are `here; when ye hear the sound of the trumpet and           ward distant Canaan needs -nourishment, refreshment,
see the dead raised ; when this corruptible shall have put     rest, encouragement and consolation as journeying and
on incorruption, and this mortal immortality ; when            striving are most strenuous engagements. In this desert
heaven is about to receive the entire company of saints ;      land is neither food nor water. The soldier of Christ
when ye hear the great voice out of heaven saying, Be-         would soon perish if the Lord would not provide. He
hold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall           does provide. The Lord feeds him with manna of
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God heavenly origin and quenches his thirst wirh water from
himself shall be with them, and be their God; when God         the rock ; and this rock and likewise this manna is Christ.
shall have wiped away all tears from eyes; and when The Lord maketh this soldier to lie down in green pas-
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,      tures and leadeth him beside still waters. He restoreth
nor pain: in that the former things are passed away;           this soul and prepares-a table for him in the presence of
when ye see, finally, the holy city coming down from           his enemies,  anointeth  his head with oil, his cup  run-
God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her         neth over, and he exclaims  - this' pilgrim-soldier:
husband, - then, 0 then ye shall rest. Until then, strive      "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
on. It is plain that this life is not a rest period but the    of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for
desert period of our career, the period of journey and ever." When does the Lord so provide for these pilgrim
holy strife. I feel certain that, had synod called  Wierin-    soldiers?  ,4nd the answer: Every unit of time of their
ga's attention to these things instead of referring him        sojourn in this desert but especially upon one of the
to a few meaningless points, he (Wieringa) would have          seven days of the week, namely, the Lord's day, our Sun-
seen his mistake and admitted that he had erred. It            day. Upon this day, the soldiers of the cross retreat
must not be supposed, however, that Wieringa would             from the plain of battle into the Lord's sanctuary, to
have had his flock rest in this life in a sense described      behold his beauties- Then are they with him and sit
above. He merely meant to inform his people that the           down at his table adorned with his bounties  - true
advent of Christ meant the abrogation of the sabbath as        bread, living water, milk and wine. And the Lord satis-
a part of the typical-symbolical apparatus of the Old          fies them with his image, feeds them with his mercy
Testament. In this he was entirely correct. The con-           thus restoring their soul. He speaks  .to their hearts of
clusions he drew are so palpably erroneous. To these           his grace and love. Then, these pilgrim-soldiers have
conclusions we shall attend in the sequence.                   peace in the very presence of the foe and they sing:
   Let us first put at ease him who might want to know         "Thou,  0  Gods hast prepared of thy goodness for the
how rhe view to the effect that' this life is a period of      poor. Blessed'be rhe Lord, who daily loadeth us with
journey and holy warfare can be harmonized with the            benefits, even the God of our salvation. He our God, the
answer to question 103 of our Catechism and with Paul's        God of salvation ; and unto God the Lord the issues from
sayings. The Catechism asserts, as was before said, that       death. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and
"all the days of my life I cease from evil works, and          the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his tres-
yield myself to the Lord, to work by his holy Spirit in passes.
me: `and thus begin in this life the eternal resr." It is         -The Lord's day is so much like heaven. It is, in the
so, indeed. Christ, as was said, brings those for whom         superb sense, heaven - the eternal rest - projected in
he labored into his rest even in  this 1ij.c. He  does so  .by time,  - the oases in the desert. When you go  up  to
making them whom he redee,med  kings and priests unto          God's house on the sabbath you must say: "I am going
their God. It means the dawn of eternal day in the             to heaven." So much like heaven. For upon the sabbath
lives of such, for they no longer toil under the oppressive    you rest from your labors,  - from those tasks peculiar
weight of their guilt.    Being priests, they cease from       to your earthy mode of existence-- works which be-
their evil works and set themselves aside for God's serv-      cause of indwelling sin are at once works of sin. Upon
ice and bless him, who works in them the will and the          the sabbath you retreat as was said, from the  plain  of
doing. However, the believer's rest is constituted of          battle into God's sanctuary to be with the Lord, and to

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

 fill your time with such engagements peculiar to the                                              CORRESPONDENTIE
 state of glory. In the week day the believer takes his
place in life to work for the Lord. For it must be borne                             Het  laatsre,  dat de broeder geeft is nog het armste.
 in mind that Christ's rest is joyous activity.  ,Our  Sa-                     Hij schrijft verder :
viour is engaged as the exalted Christ in calling out of                             "Spr.  3  ~33:  Het wil ons  voorkomen,  dat  oak  deze  uit-
 darkness into his marvelous light his elect. Having spraak der H. S. beoordeeld moet worden  naar den maat-
 been with rhe holy God our Redeemer we are to take                            staf van een levensopenbaring van goddeloosheid aan de
 our place in life to exhibit by word and deed the light                       t%ne zijde; en een  leven.  naar  recht  en gerechtigheid aan
 he kindled within us.            Doing so we may regard our-                  de andere zijde. Waar we  echter  de vraag onder het
 selves as instruments  *used  by our Christ for transport-                    oog zullen  moeten  zien,  of er ook voor de verworpenen,
 ing out of the kingdom of  satan  into that of his, those                      clie onder den toorn en vloek Gods liggen, nog van  ze-
 known by him before the foundations of the world. In a                        gen of gunst sprake kan zijn, daar  willen we maar  aan-
 word, we are to behave as soldiers of the cross. Doing so,                    nemen, dat de Spreukendichter `hier de tegenstelling rus-
 your weights and prices are just. You look away from                          schen het kind Gods en het kind der mereld op het oog
 all sordid get-rich-quick schemes ; you know the way of                       heeft.          " . .
peace and you are no wine-bibber (Please do not par-                                 "Ook hierbij zal de H. S.  als richtsnoer  moeten   die-
 don rhis last expression). In a word, when we let our                         nen.  Onze waarneming van de  dingen   tech zou ons bij
 light shine men see heaven  `in our eyes; see and hear                        onzen  beperkten  blik kunnen  misleiden."
 Christ in our conduct and speech.                                                   Antwoord:
       It. is not true what Dr. .C. Bouma is telling his audi-                       Hier moet ons even de opmerking uit de pen, dat dit
ences that we come to our people with the message:                             beslist alles is, wat de broeder weet te zeggen van Spr.
 "As long as you are elect it makes no difference what                         3:33. Hij doet in het vervolg  we1 alsof hij nog steeds
you do and how you live." I wonder why he should be                            dat tekstwoord verklaart, maar feit is, dat hij er nooit
spreading these foul lies about us.                                            met een enkel woord weer op terug komt. Hij. gaat nu
       We will have to write one more article on this sub-                     over alles en `nag wat redeneeren en haalt alles bij onze
 ject. In that article we will attend-more specifically to                      discussie, wat reeds lang door ons werd besproken op
 the fourth commandment; finish exposing the error of                           allerlei wijze, in boek en brochure, zoowel als in  ens
 those who would set aside the sabbath, and account for                        blad. En hij doet alsof dat alles nu voor' het eerst werd
 the change of day from the last to the first.                    G. M. 0.     .opgebracht en bespreking eischt. Nog eens weer zij het
                                                                               gezegd, zoo is geen discussie mogelijk. Weet de broeder
           ' GOD HOUDT ZIJNE BELOFTEN                                           nog,i hoe wij onze bespreking begonnen? Hij hield ons
              Hij zal `t  doen  en wie zal `t keeren?                          enkele teksten voor, waarvan hij meende, dat ze een
              De koninkrijken zijn des Heeren                                  zekere algemeene genade  leerden,  en dat wij ze op ons
                En Zijns Gezalfden, voor altoos!                               standpunt niet konden verklaren. Wij hebben  toen die
              God kan nooit Zijn  Woord vertragen,                              teksten verklaard en ons strikt daaraan gehouden. Wij
              `t Zal komen op den dag dei dagen,                                hebben er niet alles bij gesleept., En tegen het einde van
                Dien Hij naar Zijn bestek verkoos.                             onze bespreking hebben wij den broeder een aantal  an-
                     `1 Verzegeld en gewis                                     dere  teksten voargehouden, waarvan wij overtuigd zijn,
                        Is Gods geheimenis,                                    dat ze precies het  tegenovergestelde   leeren  van hetgeen
                         Wie zal `t keeren?                                     de broeder beschouwt als de waarheid, en waarvan wij
                         Wat Hij bereidt                                       ook meenen, dat hij ze op zijn standpunt niet kan  ver-
                         Van eeuwigheid,                                       klaren. Het  pat dus over die teksten. Over  Gets  anders.
              Volvoert Hij naar Zijn hoog beleid.                              Het is des broeders taak alleen  om die teksten re verkla-
                                                                  H. P.         ren. En wat doet hij nu? Hij raakt ze zelfs niet  aan  1
                                                                                Hij springt  alle   kanten   heen.  Hij doet dat, naar onze
                                                                                overtuiging, omdat hij er geen weg mee weet, omdat ze
                           I N   M E M O R I A M                               gansch en al niet passen  in zijne beschouwing. En  daar-
    Den  llden  Juli behaagde het den Heere om onze geliefde
 echtgenoote, moeder en grootmoeder,                                            door veroordeelt hij zijn eigen beschouwing. Een  be-
                 M R S .   H A T T I E   R O T T S C H A F E R                  schouwing, die  schijnbaar  gerechtvaardigd  woqlt door
 in den ouderdom van  64  jaren en 8 maanden door den dood van                 enkele teksten, maar waarin het overgroote meerendeel
 ons weg te nemen. Zwaar  valt  ens dit  verlies,  maar wij  treu-              der  Schrift  niet  past, zoo slecht past, dat de broeder
 ren niet  als degenen die geen hoop hebben, want haar leven
 was  Christus en haar sterven gewin.                                           zelf gevoelt, dat hij geen weg weet met de verklaring  er
    Namens de bedroefde familie,                                                van, deugt zeker niet.
                                   Mr. John Rottschafer
                                    Mr. en Mrs. Wm. Rottschafer                      Spreuken 3  :33 leest : "De  vloek  des Heeren is in het
                                    Mr. en Mrs. Al Rottschafer                  huis des  goddeloozen, maar de woning der  rechtvaardi-
                                   Johanna
                                   Margaret                                     gen zal  i%j zegenen." De verklaririg van dit woord is
                                   John                                         nls volgt :
                                    cn twee kleinkinderen.                           a. Het gnat in  dit  tekstwoord  over het tijdelijke  le-


1 `-                           E
         500                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D  RE;IKEK

                    THE SEVEN CHURCHES  OF ASIA                         removal of the candlestick as was the case with Ephesus.
                        The'  Churc'h  Lax in Discipline                .Her condition was not as precarious as that of the church
                                                                        without its first love. The congregation is  to be saved,
                                    (Continued)                         even though the Lord must come with His judgments.
                                                                        Exactly what would be implied in this coming of the
                IV. Just as we observed in connection with  $he pre-    Lord to the church in Pergamum the text does not indi-
         vious letters we discussed. so also here we may notice         cate. Most probably we may think in this case of  tem-
         that the self-announcement with `which Jesus introduces        pbral judgments with which the Lord will visit the
         Himself to the church in Pergamum is evidently in har-         church in order to chastise them for their laxity in  clis-
         mony with the message the church must receive. He pre-         cipline and cut out  ,the  evil men from their midst. An
         sents Himself as the One out of whose mouth proceeds           analogous case we may find in the congregation of Cor-
         the sharp two-edged sword. The significance of this
                                    .                                   inth. She also was loath to banish evil  *men  from her
         sword we pointed out  rn a former discussion; in  <brief,      midst and permitted the desecration of the Lord's sup-
         it denotes the power and authoriti of the one that walks       per, and she too was visited by the Lord with many a
         in the midst of the golden candlesticks to execute judg-       temporal chastisement. Where the true church still
         ment and destroy  .the evil-doers by the  \Vord of His         exists and is as strong as the congreg-ation  in Pergamum,
         mouth. He is Judge Supreme and rules also against the          her  sole defect being a weakness in discipline, the Lord
         evil men in His own church, destroying them by the             vis-its His church with temporal judgments, in order that
         sword that proceeds out of His mouth. That sword is            she may repent and excommunicate the impenitent evil-
         His sovereign Word, and that Word is a Word of power,          doer.
         executing the judgment expressed. An earthly judge                But this is not the last word. On the contrary, ma'ny
         can pronounce a verdict of guilty and announce the sen-        were the faithful in the church of Pergamum, and for
         tence of punishment,  but his word is no word of power;        them the Lord closes with a word of comfort and en-
         inflicting the penalty expressed in his sentence. He has       couragement. To them that overcome the Lord has a
         need of the executive power to inflict that punishment         twofold promise. In the first place He promises them
         and enforce his sentence. Not so, however, with the word       that they shall be  fep with the hidden manna; and sec-
         of Jesus. If He, as the mighty Ring-Judge expresses            ondly that they shall receive a white stone and upon
         a sentence upon anyone,  the very word of the sentence         the stone a new name written, which no one can read
         is the  po,wer that inflicts the punishment and realizes       except he that receiveth it, The  figure*  of the hidden
         the judgment, the sword that executes the sentence. In         manna is not difficult to understand. We all are ac-
         this light, then, as the King-Judge in the  midst of His       quainted with the history of God's people from which
         church He announces Himself to the congregation in             this symbol is derived. In the desert, on their long jour-
        1 Pergamum. She has in her inidst evil  men. that aim at        ney to the promised land Jehovah fed His people mirac-
         the destruction of the church by their evil doctrine and       ulously with bread from heaven. Every day except on
         these men must he rooted out from her midst. And,              the seventh he rained His manna from heaven. And in
         therefore, His appearance with the sharp two-edged             the gospel of St. John we are told, that this manna that
         sword proceeding from His mouth is in accord with the          rained from heaven in the wilderness was not the real
         condition of the congregation.                                 manna, but that  Christ is the true Bread of Life, of
                Before, however, the  ,Lord comes to exercise the       which the manna in the desert was. only typical. But
         power and authority of that sharp sword He sends the           even as the people of God in the old dispensation were
         message to the church: "Repent, therefore." These              fed with the material manna raining from heaven, so
         words are not primarily intended for the evil men that         the people of God are spiritually nourished with the true
         held the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. It is `not they but      manna,' the Bread of Life that nourishes them unto ever-
         the congregation that is addressed through her angel.          lasting life. In Christ is their all, their justification and
         It is the church as a whole that is guilty and worthy          their sanctification and their full redemption. All the
         of rebuke because of her laxity in discipline, and, there-     grace they need to be delivered from the power of sin
         fore, of this she must repent. She may not make light          and  .death  and appear before the Father in everlasting
         of the glory of her King  an< be careless in regard to         glory to serve Him in perfection, it is all in Christ Jesus.
         the well-being of the church by tolerating these Balsam-'      By the Spirit,  thiough the medium of faith He imparts
         ites to continue in her midst. The call to repentance in       Himself unto His people that have become one plant
         this case is equivalent to the call to exercise proper dis-    with Him.  ,+nd, therefore, to the faithful in Pergamum
         cipline over the Nicolaitans in the bosom of the church.       the Lord promises a full supply of the hidden manna,
 \       And if they do not repent and cut off these evil mem-          that will strengthen them in their battle against  satan
         bers, the Lord threatens that He will come `Himself, and       and his throne, and that will  finally lead  t&em  on to
         that quickly, to make war with them. Let us notice in          perfection when they shall have appropriated all the
 I       the* first place, that, the church is not threatened with      blessings of salvation completely. Because of their  mys-


I                                                                                   v
                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              501

     tical union with Him that walketh in the midst of the           a person the more easily he is scrutinized. In perfec-
     golden candlesticks they shall be fed with the hidden           tion personality shall be emphasized and developed to
     manna and eternally their soul shall be satisfied.              highest glory so that each saint shall know his own
        As to the symbol of the white stone we can perhaps           name `only. Thus God shall be glorified in the new
     interpret it most correctly by recalling the ancient cus-       humanity  ,in which the image of God shall shine forth
     tom of expressing a verdict upon him that was arraigned         in all its divine fulness and beauty, radiating as it were
     in court by means of two stones, a white and a black.           from the Lord Jesus Christ into all the members of
     Each one of the jury members would be given a white             His Body and reaching its  ml1 realization and manifes-
     and a black stone ; in case he deeme$  the accused .guilty      tation not in each individual saint but rather in the
     he would cast the black stone in a vessel, if judged inno-      harmony of the whole. Each one only knows his own
     cent the defendant would have a white stone cast in his         name, each particular child of God shall then  manifesr
     favor. The black stone, then was symbol of guilt and            his own peculiar shade of God's image, and together
     condemnation, the white of innocence and justification.         with the new creation they all shall reveal in one grand
     By promising,to the faithful in Pergamum a white stone,         and most beautiful harmony the wonders of God's image !
     the Lord assures them of their  final justification and            He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit
     purification in the day of the Lord. They need not be           saith to the churches! What doth the Spirit say? Watch,
     alarmed by the appearance of that two-edged sword, for          and do not remove the  s&tine1  of discipline allowing
     they shall receive the white stone in proof of their per-       evil men in the midst of the church of Christ. Never
     fect justification and glorification and they shall be pre-     allow them to  .obliterate  the distinction between the
     sented to the Father without blemish, without spot or           church and the world as Balaam tried to erase the line
     wrinkle, shining forth in the perfection of their new           of demarcation between Israel and Moab. And for the
     being.                                                          rest, in the midst of the world where satan has his throne
        In close connection with this white stone is the new         and dwelling-place, be faithful and uphold the honor
     `name that is written upon it, and which they only shall        of your King. For he that overcometh shall be given to
     be able to read that receive it. The name in' scripture         eat of the hidden manna, so that he shall be satisfied
     is expressive of one's being and individual nature. That        with the blessings of salvation and eternal life; and he
     peculiar character of each person that causes him to            shall be given a white stone, the stone of his justifica-
     differ from his fellow human being is his name. It is,          tion and purification in the blood of the Lamb ; and a
     therefore, but natural that in perfection the children of       new name he shall receive, expressive of his new being,
     God shall receive a new name in harmony with the per-           a name which he alone  shah  be able to know, a name
     fect renewal of their being. In this dispensation their         that determines exactly his personal place in that bless&l
     name so frequently spells imperfection and misery, im-          throng that shall once gather around the throne of God
     perfection physically and spiritually. In principle, indeed,    and the Lamb and reveal in all its fulness and splendor
     they already possess their new name in Christ, but the          the image of our God I
     glory of that new name is so largely covered up by the I           Shall that stone be cast for us? Shall we receive that
     darkness of their old name of sin. Sin controls them,           new name assigning our place in the new economy of
     and, besides the world hates them and adds to their             things? We shall if we overcome in the strength of our
     outward misery in this dispensation. But in the eternal         Lord !
     kingdom this shall be different. If they persevere and                                                  H; H.
     overcome and are faithful unto death, they shall once
     enter into glory everlasting and in that perfect state
     the glory of their new being shall shine forth in all its                           ANNOUNCEMENT
     splendor uninterruptedly. Still more. Not all the saints
     shall be alike so that there should be an endless monotony         The Fourth Annual Field day of the Protestant Re-
     of identically the same beings  ; the difference between        formed Churches will be held, D.V., at Campau Lake,
     one individual and another shall not be obliterated in Sept.  3rd, 1928. Good speakers have been provided for
     perfection. On the.contrary, there shall be an infinitely the day. There will be band music, singing, and games
     rich variety of individuals. Personality shall also be in for the young  people'.         Carry own lunch baskets  ; coffee
     heaven, individual character shall even be emphasized           and refreshments can be bought on the grounds.
     to perfection. That is why the text has it that only he            Directions to get there:
     that receives the name shall know it. Even here on                 From Kalamazoo and Byron Center, take US131 to
     earth it is true that after all a person knows himself          Cutlerville, thence straight east 8 miles. Friends from
     only and never shall we be able to penetrate into the           Hudsonville, Hope, etc., can meet at the First Prot. Ref.
     hidden depths of one-another's individuality. The greater church, car. Franklin  & Fuller,, between 8 and 9 o'clock.
     and deeper the person the more difficult it becomes to             A hearty welcome extended to all.
     fully explain him, the shallower and more insignificant                   >                            The Committee.


                                                                       *

502                                                         T H E   STAN-DARD,BEARER

   THE CHURCH. WITH A MYSTIC TENDENCY                                                      become evident when we consider her as:
                                                                                              The Church with a Mystic Tendency, and study:
             And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write:                                I. Her Blessed Spiritual Condition,
        These  thinrrs  saith the Son of God. who hath his eves
         like a  flam; of fire, and his feet are'like unto burnished                          II. Her Yielding to Awful Heresies,
        brass:  1 know thy works and thy love and faith and                                   III. The Terrible Judgments Announced to Her,
         ministry and patience, and  that- thy last works are
         more than the first.                                                                 IV. The Glorious Promises Her Faithful Receive.
              But I have against thee that thou suffer&t the wo-                              I. If we stare that in the church of Thyatira we be-
         man Jezebel, who  calleth  herself a prophetess+; and
       she teacheth and seduceth my servants to  cormmt  for-                              hold a picture of the church with a mystic tendency it
         nication and to  ea,t  thinas sacrificed `to idols.                      And I    will perhaps not be superfluous to explain first of all
         gave her  -time  that she should repent; and she willeth
         not to repent of her fornication.                                                 e-xactiy what is implied in this assertion. By mysticism
             Behold, I cast her into a bed and those that com-                             in the sense in which the term is employed by us now,
         mit adultery with her into great tribulation, except                              sometimes designated as  "false mysticism," we denote
        thev  renenf  of her works. And I will kill her children
        wiih  death and all the churches shall know that I am                              a condition or tendency in the church of Christ, charac-
        he that searcheth the reins and the hearts: and I will                             terized by ardent  and+ abundant spiritual life, rather of
        give unto each  .one of you according to  youi works.
             But to you I say,  to the rest that are in Thyatira,                          the experimental or emotional type, but more or less
        as many as have not this teaching, who know not the                                severed from  the objective criterion and tesr of the Word
        deep things of  satan as they are wont to say; I cast                              of God.
         u p o n   y o u   n o n e   o t h e r   b u r d e n .    Nevertheless, that                  Perhaps, you will be able to gain some concep-
        which ye have hold fast till I come. And he that  over-                            tion of this condition if we say that it represents the
        cometh and he that keepeth my works unto the end,
         to him will I give authority over the nations': And                               direct opposite of the condition in the church of Ephesus.
        he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of                           The latter  was  strong  ,in respect to whatever is  pui-ely
        the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received                          objective, strong in doctrine and the  knowIedge  of the
        of my Father: And 1 will give him the morning star.
             He that hath an ear let him hear  what the Spirit                             truth, faithful, too, in works and strict' in discipline; but
        saith unto the churches.                                                           she was weak in regard to the life of the Spirit and had
                                                                  - R e v .   2:18-29.     lost her first love; poor in warm, inward, devotional
   If from-more than qne point of view the churches of                                     spiritual life.    With a church of mystic inclination
Smyrna and Pergamum presented the same aspect,  :;                                         it is exactly the reverse. She is generally rich in
first glance at the letter addressed to the church in                                      spiritual devotion, abundant in that part of our
Thyatira might  leave'the   imp,ression  that her condition                                spritual  life which cannot be explained and expressed
was almost  id.entically  the same as that of Pergamum.                                    in words, often claims a direct intercourse with the
!&deed,  there is one point of difference that may be                                      Spirit; but she mosr frequently manifests an accom-
noticed immediately. Thyatira, the. city known to us                                       panying tendency to separate itself from the objective
because of its connection with the name of Lydia, the                                      standard of the Word, is poor in  knowledge  and in gen-
seller of purple, was not a large city like Pergamum, it                                   eral in regard to things that can be grasped and analyzed
was  not exactly a place where  satan  would naturally                                     by rhe intellect. Or, to prevent any possible  misund&-
establish his throne and dwelling place.  fZnd for that                                    standing, it is perhaps expedient to call your attention to
reason the church in Thyatira might enjoy a compara-                                       three possible conditions in the church of Christ on
tively peaceful existence, no doubt, and did not have to                                   earth. First of  all we may mention the correct, the
suffer tribulation and persecution.as  did those of Smyrna                                 healthy and normal, the most perfect condition of the
and Pergamum. But for the rest, we would say, the                                          church on earth, nameIy,  that condition which is charac-
resemblance between Thyatira and Pergamum is striking.                                     terized by a correct and constant equilibration of the `sub-
Also the church in Thyatira was faithful to the Lord  as                                   jective and objective. It is the condition of the church
the text plainly indicates.  Alsq  her, defect, however,                                   that is borh strong in knowledge and maintenance of &e
seems to be that she suffered evil men, in this case an                                    truth, emphasizes the necessity of the Word properly,
evil woman with her following, in her midst, and hence, but at the same time not devoid of true devotional, ardent
we would be inclined to draw the conclusion, that also                                     spiritual life and where the latter is continually guided
in Thyatira we are presented with the  portraiture,of   a                                  and tested by the former. Of course, in any form of true
church weak in discipline. Still  more, even the nature                                    Christian `religion there is a mystic'element, resulting
of the heresies that was  bein&  propasted  in the two                                     from our spiritual communion with Christ our Head, and
churches evidently was the same, for also in Thyatira the                                  any true.child of God will be able to  spsak  of the fact
Nicolaitans had their influence. Yet, there must have                                      that he experiences moments of sweet communion with
been a difference. For if in the seven churches of Asia                                    the Saviour that transcend all analyzation and expression
we correctly discern a picture of the church in irs totality                               in human language. To speak in terms often employed
from seven different aspects, it is plain that the churches                                by children of  God,  there  are moments that rhey have
of Thyatira and Pergamuin can present a different view                                     "good times" with the Lord, moments in which we ex-
of the church, each. add their own peculiar detail to the                                  perience the mystical feeling of the Bride that is near the
picture as a whole. This, in fact; is also plainly indicated                               Bridegroom. Such moments are perfectly normal and
in the letter addressed to the church in Thyatira, as will                                 they   should  constiture  an element of our life with  God.


                                                                      :                                                             '       ,
                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER-                                                             503

      There is no danger in such mystical CcJmmUnion  if only it           in which it evidently occurs in the text is not the root of
      is continually subjected to the objective test of the Word           our spiritual life, but faith is. .It is by faith that we are
      of God. And if such a condition is peculiar of an entire             grafted into Christ, by faith that we draw from Him the
      church, that church enjoys what may be called a state of             treasure of our salvation, by faith that we grow in the
      healthy mysticism. A second condition, however, also                 knowledge and grace of our Lord. Not love is  the  root
      met with in the church `of Christ on earth, is that which            of faith, but faith is the root also of our love, and the
      results when the value of pure doctrine and the function             latter flourishes and blooms only on the root of faith.
      of the intellect in religion is overrated  and. exclusively          But in this letter love is mentioned first because it was
      emphasized, while the inward life of  <he Spirit is for-             the most apparent, the most eminent, the most prominent
      gotten. Then all the emphasis is placed exclusively on               quality of the church in Thyatira. It was a congrega-
      cold doctrine, the congregation never receives  g taste of           tion overflowing with real, warm, spiritual love of the
      the sweeet mystical communion of the Spirit and religion             Lord. Exactly the opposite of the  cl%%ch  in Ephesus.
      becomes  cald and dead intellectualism, a body without               There  love was wanting to a large  gtent,. here it is
      a soul. Such a condition is, of course, to be condemned              abundant; there, I `think, one could be found only with
      as very dangerous. But there is still another form that              difficulty that  *would  consciously speak of the love of
      reveals itself from time to time in the history of the               Jesus, here most every member could give a testimony in
      church as the dominant form, a form, in fact, that never .a prayer meeting. There the hearts were cold, here they
      vanishes out of sight entirely, and that is the condition were glowing with ardent love. Surely, there was also
      of false mysticism.    If dead orthodoxy overrates the faith, for how otherwise could love exist? `But faith is
      value of doctrine, false mysticism undervalues sound mentioned in the second place.  "The  cangregation  was
      knowledge of the truth altogether; if the  intkllectual              characterized  not,so much by the firm strength of  con;
      church is not  suffitiently emphasizing the life of the              scious  faith as by .the attractive warmth of true and
      Spirit and mystical communion, the church that is mysti- ardent love.               And in their  a,ctual life? It was again
      cally inclined places all the emphasis on the experience love, revealing itself in .works that appeared in the fore-
      of the soul. The mystical element is there, exists, in fact,         ground, for in the text their ministry is mentioned first
      in an abundant measure, and oh, so many in the church of all. This last word may be taken in a general sense
      can testify of the good times they experience with the               as applied to all kinds of service in the kingdom. They
      Saviour, but `this mystic life is from the start not guided all exerted themselves to do something for the kingdom.
      by the objective testimony of  the Word. Such a congre- I imagine, that if any one was taken sick in rhe church,
      gation makes the experience of its members the test and the angel would have to be on the alert if he desired to
      guide of ail spiritual life; she is in danger of running be the first one that called on that sick person. If anyone
      wild with devotion  .and if it continues and develops she was in suffering or want, the church was sure to know it,
      will attach significance to all kinds of feelings and senti- and all would help to alleviate the suffering or provide in
      ments,. yea to visions and dreams, and finally, being cut            case of need. The ladies of the church perhaps often
      loose from the Word of God, she becomes a lit object of              came together' in the afternoon, not to gossip and expose
      Satan's seductive influence, exposed to any and every the sins and weaknesses of the brethren and sisters, but
      error of the kingdom of darkness. And I  think,"a  clear             to work for the relief of the poor, if not in their own
      tendency towards this false and dangerous form of mysti- church then for the benefit of the poor in other parts of
      cism may be noticed in the church of Thyatira.                       the church. And all this they performed from the motive
         In proof of this assertion let  us+ observe in the first of love, not in order to be seen by men and receive the
      piace that the Lord in His letter to the church  of.Thya-            praise of the world. For also they were subject to re-
      tira enumerates some of the most excellent  qualities  a proach and malevolent slander, but with patience they
      churh may possibly possess. "I know," thus He speaks, bore and labored and ministered in the kingdom of God.
      "thy works, and thy love and faith and ministry and Nor were rhey in a condition of gradual degeneration.
      patience, and that thy last works,are more than the first." On the contrary, the congregation was spiritually grow-
      Evidently, the term  `Lworks"   in  the first part of this ing, increasing in their love and faith and ministry and
      description must be taken in the general sense of the patience, for the Lord testifies concerning them that their
      word, as referring not merely to external works of faith last works were more than the firsr. Indeed, a beautiful
      but just as well to the internal spiritual condition of the          picture this side of the congregation presents to our view.
,     church, while this *all-comprehensive term is further ana- It is, perhaps not a picture that necessarily impresses one
      lyzed and specified in the words: "thy love and faith and            by its strength of features or staunchness of expression,
      ministry and patience." The meaning, therefore, is  i  "1 but one that is attractive because of its sweetness and
     know thy works, namely, thy love and faith and ministry               appeals because of its beauty.
      and patience." The church according to this description                 II. But there `is a reverse side to this picture, a- side
      was in an enviable condition, indeed. Notice, however, which is as horrible and repulsive as the former was
      from the start that love is mentioned first, not because attractive and beautiful. The Lord turns this side to our
      love is first, for, that is not the case. Love, in the sense view when He continues in His letter: "But  1 have this


I                   `             -.
             504                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

             against thee that thou sufferest the woman  Jezebel, who          despicBble  female characters of the  (3. T. No, there was
             calleth herself a prophetess; and she teacheth and  se-           a real woman in the church of Thyatira, and we receive
              duceth my servants to commit fornication, and to eat             the impression that she was allowed to teach her con-
             things sacrificed to idols." These words  reveal the exist- temptible doctrine.                       Regardless of the fact, that the
             ence in the church of Thyatira of a most horrible heresy          woman was not allowed to teach in the church, but was
I             that  had already obtained a foothold and was  evidently         enjoified  to be silent; regardless of rhe i"urthGr fact, that
I            gaining ground. There is no reason to conceive of this            this woman taught a most horrible doctrine and seduced
              fornication and eating of things sacritied to idols in any       many of the servants of God fro,m  the path of righteaus-
             other than the literal sense of the word, especially since it     ness, this Jezebel was allowed to teach. If we add to this
              is  a  well-known fact that immoral practices, sometimes         the fact, that her teaching is characterized as a sort of
             adulrery  of the wl:fst s&-t,  was intimately connected with      mystic  gnosticism by the words that evidently designate
              idolatry in r&os%=$im&, especially in  connecticjn  with the     the slogan of her and of all that followed after her: "who
              sacrificial feasts. And hence, in this congregation, so          know the deep things of Satan," I can suggest but one
              filled with love and so busy in the ministry of the king-        possible explanation of rhfs toleration on the part of the
              dom, presenting such an attrative and sweet picture, we Thyatiran church: she was mystically inclined and was
              meet with one of the worst forms of degeneration con-            in danger of severing her beautiful spiritual life from
              ceivable in the church of Christ. The impression is, in the infallible guide of the Word of God.
              fact, that at this time there were already a comparatively                                      (To be continued)
              large number that lived in open adultery' and partici-                                                                                           H. H.
              pated in the heathen sacrificial feasts. And what is far
              worse, this departure from the way of sanctification  u-as
              evidently defended by an appeal to principle. Clearly, in                                         IN `MEMORIAM'
              the church of Thyatira we meet once more with the
              Nicolaitans, people who boasted in wanton profanity that            Het  behaagde den Heere den 7den  Juli een  onzer   leden
              it -mattered not at all how the chfistian  lived here upon       do& den dood tot  Zich  te nemen,                            .
              earth,  "christians" who sinned that grace might  ibound                                       MRS. G. BOERSMA,
              the more! The old Adam was doomed to destruction in den ouderdom van 45 jaren.
              anyway! And Christ  .had fulfilled the law! The argu-               Waar ook zij lid was van de strijdende kerk van Christus,
              ment that was adduced' to defend such a life in sin, was         &ogen wij gelooven, dat zij is overgegaan in de triumfeerende,
           as we shall see presently,  th_at a descent into the very om haar Heiland daar zonder  zonde te dienen. Openb.  7:14,   15.
            ,dep$hs of satan  caused the child of God to appreciate the           Door dezen  betuigt  de  Hall. Vrouwenvereeniging der  Eer-
            a *glory of Christ's gracious deliverance all the more ; but ste Prot. Geref.  gem.,  "Weest eed Zegen." hare oprechte  deel-
            : in reality the protagonists of this view made of their neming met  d" treurende  familie.
            ", so-called Christian liberty a pretext for the flesh. And,                                                        Rev. H. Hoeksema, Pres.
              therefore, there is no question about it, the church of                                                           M r s .   J.  Cammenga,   Seer.
           ,.g Thyatira viewed from this angle offered as horrible an
     -,       aspect as the first view was sweet and attractive.
                    You remark perhaps that this recalls to our mind
              exactly the condition of the church in Pergamum. There,
              too, these evil Nicolaitans were found and there as here
              they were allowed to exert their evil influence upon the                                          IN MEMORIAM
              church without being disciplined. And in so far you                 Het behaagde den Heere. den  llden 
              are correct. But there was in my opinion  an important                                                                             Juli een onzer  leden
                                                                               door den dood tot  Zich te nemen,
              difference between rhe two congregations with respect to
              the reason why these dangerous heretics were allowed                                          MRS. G.  .J. Rottschafer,
              and tolerated. In Pergamum it is a case of mere laxity           in den ouderdom van  64 jaar.
              in discipline, We are simply told  %hat the Nicolaitans             Wij mogen  oak.  van haar gelooven dat zij is ingegaan in
              existed in that church and that they had not been dis-           het land der  ruste waar geen moeite en strijd meer  wezen
                                                                               zal  volgens   O p e n b .   7:16,  1 7 .
              turbed before the Lord addressed His letter to them.
              That they were allowed to teach  an&  ro seduce  others we          D e   H e e r e   t r o o s t e   d e   b e d r o e f d e   fam?lie  e n   d a t   w i j   acht
                                                                               mogen geven  op' het ernstig woord waarmede de Heer  tel-
              do not read. Bur this is entirely different in the church kens tot ons komt: Maranatha, Jezus komt!
              of  Thyatira. In the first place let us notice that in  Thya-       Namens de  Hall. Vrouwenvereeniging, "Weest  een' Zegen," ,
              tira the propagator who disseminated the seed of this            van de Eerste  Prot.  Geref. gemeente,
              horrible heresy  tias a woman;- Jezebel. There is no
              reason to allegorize  a&d make this woman a fictitious                                                          Rev. H. Hoeksema, Pres.
              character symbolizing some thing entirely different,                                                              Mrs. J.  Cammenga,   Seer.
              though `the name calls to our mind one of the most


                    A REFORMED  SEMI-MONTHL'Y  MAGAZINE  published by
                    THE  REFOPMED FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN





                                               Entered  as second  class  mail matter at Grand Rapids,  Michigan

vol. IV, No. 22                                                     AUGUST  15,1928                                 Subscription Frice,  $2.50

                                                                                     Righteousness is, therefore, fundamental in all His .
                                                                                 dealings with His creatures; it is basic in all His rela-
                                                                                 tions toward His people ; it is the foundation of His
                                                                                 throne and the strength of His sceptre; it is the corner-
                    A BLESSED CRAVING                          '                 stone of His temple, the all-pervading principle of the
                         Blessed ark they which do hunger and                   constitut?on  of His Kingdom, the only gateway into the
                      thirst after righteousness; for they shall be              tabernacle of His covenant, the key to all the treasures
                      filled.-Matth.  5 :6.
    How precious a boon is righteousness!                                       of His favor and gracious fellowship. For the righteous
    Trash are all the treasures of earthly possessions,                          God loveth righteousness because He loves Himself as
 deceitful'  gloss'is all the gleam and glimmer of' glory,                       the Highest Good ; with loving kindness and favor He
 of name and fame, of wisdom and knowledge that are                             regards the righteous, but the w'icked  and him that loveth
 from below, dregs and dross are all the fleeting pleasures                     violence His soul loaths and hateth. Without  righhous-
 of the flesh in comparison with righteousness!                                 ness you cannot approach His throne and live ; you can-
    More to be desired than all the sinful soul seeks after                     not enter into his blessed kingdom and  bossess  its
 in this world! For if a man should crave after the whole                        treasures; you cannot dwell in His tabernacle and be-
 world and satisfy his ambition and have no righteous-                          hold His beauties. But all His goodness, light and joy
 ness, better it were that a millstone were hanged about                        and glory and eternal bliss, is lavished upon them that are
 his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. . .                      in conformity with the standard of His righteousness and
    For righteousness is the state in which we measure                          the criterion of His justice.
 up to the demands of our God.                                                       Only through righteousness could' His people become
    It is to be right with Him.                                                 iartakers of His covenant.
    It is the condition of heart and mind, of all the deep-                          By justice only can Zion be redeemed!
 est and  secrete&  recesses of our being, of all  @he issues                        Another way there is none.
 of our life, which the Most High will approve; it is that                           Neither was Zion possessed of this righteousness by
 spiritual state of our inner being and outward  .appear-                       virtue of its own holiness and inherent purity of heart,
 ante in which He will receive us, cause His holy eye                           nor on the strength of the fullness of its works before
 to rest upon us in good pleasure. To be upright and                            God.
 blameless when He drops the plumbline of His law                                    Nay, by nature corrupt and laden with unrighteous-
 alongside of us ; to be free and without reason to fear                        ness, full of pollution and covered with iniquity, are
 when He calls us before the seat of His judgment; to                           Zion's children.
 *have confidence and be filled with peace, profound peace,                          Their very righteousnesses are but filthy rags !
 the peace that passeth all understanding, when He meets                             Oh, the blessedness, then, of that well-spring of right-"
 us-that is righteousness !                                                     eousness, which the Father hath opened for those whom
    Not what man, who looks at what is outward and                              He loved from before the foundation of the world ; the un-
 judges corruptly, may have to say of us, but what we                           speakable preciousness of the Bread of righteousness He
 are in the estimation of God, who requires truth in the                        provided for His children  !, He provided it, when He
 inward parts, is the question involved in righteousness.                       put His Almighty shoulders under the heavy burden of
    For God is righteousness.                                                   our iniquity to bear it away and drown it in that bottom-
    There is no unrighteousness in Him.                                         less depth of the hellish agony of His Son!
    He is the sole Fount of all righteousness.                                       For Himself bore our sins in His own body on the
    Righteousness belongs to the very nature of His                             tree. Sin He was made, that we might be made' right-
 spotless Being.                                                                eousness of God !


                                                                  ,  ~
/-
           506                    E                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                  And now righteousness is not an attainment  but:  a the I$oly  One ; and a hearty longing to be delivered from
           gift, a boon of grace from the God of our salvation.                     thk body, of this death. Way down deep in our hearts
                  A fountain from which we may drink.                               we are conscious of a new love, witnessing against the
                  Bread we may eat.                                                 enmity of our sinful nature, of a new knowledge and
                  Precious gift !                                                   desire to be holy and pure, condemning always the cor-
                                                                                    ruption and pollution of our sinful heart, of a new delight
                  Rlessed are they that hunger and thirst after it!                 in rhe law of our God and a desire to  ,walk not only
                  Thanks, dear Lord! for that precious word, for that according to some but according to all of His command-
           merciful way of lavishing Thy blessing even on me, a                     ments, testifying against the transgressions  of our life
           sinful man !                                                             and walk. . . . . . . .
                  For so Thy people may  find comfort and peace for                    And Lord, we have seen the sparkling Fountain of
      . their troubled hearts under the shadow of this blessed                      righteousness, that was opened by Thy precious blood,
           word of assurance and  cqnsolation!                                      we have knowledge of the Bread with which Thou  feed-
                  Thanks and everlasting praise for the work Thou                   est Thy people unto everlasting  righreousness  and life!
           didst accomplish and through which it became possible                        r?ind we drank and tasted blessings of peace and justi-    i
           to drop a word of blessing, not on the righteous in them-                fication.    We ate and experienced a blessed .satisfaction
           selves, not even on them that struggle and toil to work of righteousness. . . . . . . .
           out their own righteousness before our God, but on the                      And still we eat, for our craving is not satisfied, we
           soul that hungers and thirsts, that just craves after are not filled as yet. . . . . . . .
           righteousness !                                                             And stiIl.our throats are parched and we stay at  the
                  For so we may trust that rhe word of blessing was living Well to drink still more. . . . . . . .
           spoken for us!                                                              Blessed Redeemer, not righteous and perfect are we,
      "           Not like the traveler that may trust in an abundance but hungry and thirsty are we for righteousness, for Thy
           of supplies of food and drink of his own, that will surely               righteousness! Bnd if this Thy word of blessing applies
           last him till  ..the end of his journey is reached, but like to those, that have learnt to  casr all their own imagin-
           a weary caravan in the desert, wirh parched throats and ary righteousness away and that have found the clear and
           faint with hunger, destitute of all that may refresh and pure well-spring of the righteousness of God in Thee, that
           strengthen them, are Thy people in themselves.                           eagerly drink from its refreshing waters and pray for the
                  They have no righteousness !                                      unspeakable blessing that there, at that Fountain, they
                  Nothing on which they may plead before God have may abide and drink to satisfaction . . . . .
           they !                                                                      Then, Lord, we know that Thou  .dost bless us !
                  For all is sin!  Iri sin are they born hnd in sin they               Blessed are the hungry and thirsty !
           live. Iniquity witnesses against them from the womb and                     Thanks, blessed Saviour !
           iniquity increases as they march on through the desert                      For that means me!
           of sin and death!  Their mind is darkness, their will is
           perverse, all their in&nations are toward evil. Enmity                      Blessed are they !
           against God is constantly born in their heart, wickedness                   For they shall be filled !
           and perversion, hatred and rebellion marks their every                      Oh, how  marvellously  full of comforting assurance is
           step. Nor could they be ldt to work out their own deliver-               this fourrh beatitude !
           ance. Chains of sin and death unbreakable hold them im-                     If we hunger and thirst, if we have found the Bread
           prisoned. iNever  could they draw near  unro their God, that carr satisfy us, the Fountain of living waters that is
           never could they have confidence in His presence, never able to quench our thirst, we have therein the firm assur-'
           could  .they dwell in His tabernacle, were the condition ante,  that we may ear and drink, that we shall eat and
           that they must bring  yrith them a righteousness of their drink, till we shall be perfectly satisfied!
           own. No, Lord, hadst Thou said, that merely the right-                      Never shall we be forbidden to eat!
           eous, they that could show a righteousness of their own,                    Never again shall the Lord of that Fountain banish
           were blessed, never could we have had the boldness to us  from the presence of its refreshing waters!
           take our place among those, that may be refreshed and                       The  language of an unchangeable eternity pronounces
           comforted by the showers of this blessing!                     ,         us blessed.
                  But now, all is different. . . . . .                                 He who speaks here knows, that they who are hun-
                  For, blessed Saviour, we find within ourselves a con- gering and thirsting after righteousness, who crave after
           stant and deeply rooted. consciousness of sin  anal  un- the Bread of life and long for the waters of righteousness,
           doneness, of being devoid of righteousness that is valid are His  own? given Him of the Father, drawn, irre-
           before Thee, now faint and almost forgotten, now strong sistibly drawn toward the Fountain of liying water by
           and vivid and making us mourn because of transgression, His God!
           yet always present.           We feel, dear Lord, a constant                It could not be different.                       .
           sorrow, because we are thus and because our way we                          Hunger and thirst are unmistakable signs of renew-
           have corrupted and  Sri11 very often do corrupt before ing and drawing grace.
                                                                               i


i
                                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                   507

         The natural man hungers and thirsts, indeed, but               Yet, all is still imperfect.
     surely not after righteousness. He is not poor in spirit,           As yet they are not filled !
     neither does he mourn. He is in darkness and cannot                And as they eat and drink the craving for more, for
     see the Fountain of living waters, he is in corruption          perfect satisfaction increases . . . . . .      ,.
     and does not desire to be delivered. He is full of un-             But blessed are they !
     righteousness, but does not care to be emptied. He seeks           For they shall be filled !
     and weighs out his money  ,for that which is `not bread.           And in His day He shall be in them and they in Him
     Oh, surely, even he recognizes occasionally, that all the       to perfection, all the darkness of imperfecticin shall van-
     gloss and glitter of the world, that all the pleasures of ish, all emptiness shall be made full.
     the flesh do not leave him satisfied. There is no peace,           Their righteousness shall be perfect.
     saith my God, for the wicked. Like a troubled sea,                  And they shall be satisfied!
     heaved up and down by the fierce tempest, laboring yet             With His likeness!
     never coming to rest, are they. Yet even so, they con-              Forevermore !
     tinue their craving and striving after the things that are                                                              H.  13..
     below. Righteousness, which is the key to all the, hea-
     venly treasures, they do not seek.
         For righteousness is of God.
         And God, above all, they do not desire.                             DR. BEETS OVER HET BEROEP OP
       They set themselves against Him; they flee far from                              D S .   D E   K O E K K O E K   '
     Him ; and fleeing from Him they vainly attempt to fill
     up the gaping emptiness of their miserable heart, eternity          In "The Banner" van 20  juli komt een artikel voor
     they would fill with time. . . . . . . .                        van de hand van Dr. Beets, waarin de schrijver  medi-
         Till the grace of God stops them in their mad rush!         teert over het beroep, dat een onzer Kerken heeft  uitge-'
         Then, and then only, all is changed!                        bracht  op Ds. De Koekkoek, predikant bij de  Christe-
         Then they realize, that the misery of their condition lijke Gereformeerde Kerk te Oskaloosa, Iowa. Het  arti-
     is rooted in their unrighteousness ; then they feel their kel trok onze aandacht, al was het ook  alleen  maar, omdat
     real poverty of spirit and mourn because of it; then, and       men  tech eens den moed heeft, om in een der kerkelijke
     then only, do they cast away all that is of self; their eyes    bladen der Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken eens
     are opened for the Bread that is bread indeed, for the          iets over ons te schrijven. En wij achten den inhoud we1
     crystal waters of the Fountain of righteousness, spring- der moeite waard, om er even op terug  te komen.
     ing from the everlasting love of God in Christ Jesus!               D,e redakteur van The Banner begint zijn artikel met
         Oh, surely,, hunger and thirst after righteousness is       de vermelding van het feit als zoodanig, dat Ds. De  K.
     not of all, is not of the natural man, is the fruit of the      een beroep heeft ontvangen van de Protestantsche Gere-
     operation of God's almighty grace !                             formeerde Kerk te  Doon,  Iowa.
         And the operation of that grace has its incentive in            Daarna tracht  hij een antwoord te g-even  up de vraag,
     eternal love. Hunger and thirst after righteousness are         hoe  *her te verklaren zij, dat juist Ds. De K. zulk een
     the temporal manifestation of God's eternal good pleas-         beroep van een onzer Rerken  .ontving.  Hij releveert,
     ure, according to which, in soverign grace He chose His ter verklaring hiervan, hoe de beroepen .broeder vroeger
     own to everlasting righteousness and glory. . . . . . . .       protesteerde tegen de afzetting van Ds. H. Danhof,  of-
         Hence, the note of certainty in this beatitude.             schoon hij dit deed op meer of minder bijkomstige gron-
         The hungry and thirsty  ure blessed, for they shall  be den. Ook brengt hij in herinnering, dat eenigen tijd  ge-
     filled !                                                        leden,   toen  Ds.  D,e  K. nog leeraar was te Comstock,
         Oh, in principle they are filled now. For, drinking as      Mich., deze een zekere toegenegenheid betoonde  tegen-
     they do from the Fountain of righteousness in Christ over ons en de broederen, die  aan onze zijde stonden.
     Jesus, and eating of the Bread of Life which is He, they Dit zal  clan  we1 verklaren hoe wij op de gedachte  kwa-
     are conscious of a new peace and hope and joy.  ,\nd            men, om hem in een onzer Kerken te beroepen.
     they confess that although their conscience still  testi-           Verder spreekt de schrijver een oordeel uit over de
     lies against them, that they have violated every com-           zaak. Indien Ds. De  K. werkelijk in zijn hart ons  gene-
     mandment of God, and that in themselves they lie in the         gen is, kan de redakteur van The Banner het niet  ver-
     midst of death, yet they are righteous before Cod, be-          staan, waarom hij  tech  zoolang in de Christelijke  Gere-
     cause they belong by a true  an-d living faith to Him,          formeerde Kerken gebleven is. Het standpunt door deze
     Who is their sole righteousness before God . . . .              Kerken ingenomen in 1923 is immers beslist, zeer  defi-
         And being thus justified by faith, they have peace          nitief en ondubbelzinnig.          En wie daarmede niet van
     with God!                                                       harte kan instemmen, moest  zich in eigen geweten  ge-
         Then, too, eating and drinking by faith the Eread and       drongen  weten, om dit openlijk te zeggen en een ander
     `Water of life and righteousness, they know within them- kerkelijk  onderdak te zoeken. Menschen, die dat  doen,
     selves the beginning of a new holiness of  love.                al verschillen ze dan ook leerstellig van den schrijver,
         ;!nd through it they strive unto sanctification!            kan hij tech respecteeren.


  510                                           T H E '   S T A N D A R D   BEA3ER
  -..
         Predikanten, die als  leden, die belijdenis des geloofs                                       THE SABBATH
  wenschen te doen, hun te kennen geven, dat ze nooit kun-                            Let us now direct our attention more specifically to
  nen instemmen met de Drie  Punten, zulke  leden   ant-                           the fourth command and at once finish exposing the
  woorden, dar dit niets ter zake doet.                                            fallacies of the views we oppose. The statement was
         Predikanten, die, wanneer  leden   bun  kinderen  ten                     made that "het geheele vierde gebod is ceremonieel en
  Doop wenschen  t% heffen, maar bezwaar hebben tegen                              vindt zijne vervulling in Christus." This we are quite
  het antwoorden op de vragen, die ze bij den Doop  hun-                           ready to endorse. However, the statement must be made
  ner kinderen  hebben te beantwoorden, omdat ze meenen,                           intelligible. Understood, it will be seen at once that the
  dat in de "kerk alhier" ook de Drie  Punten   worden   ge-                       insistence on the abrogation of the sabbath is due to a
  leerd en gehandhaafd,  aan zulke  leden  zeggen, dat de                          Iack of appreciation of rhe very rudiments of the Chris-
  Drie Punten  met de tweede-vraag niets te maken  hebben.                         tian religion.. The fourth command imposed upon the
         Ouderlingen, die het gansch en al niet eens zijn met                      Israelite the duty to cease from toil every seventh day
  de Drie Punten; dat ook openlijk uitspreken, voor ieder,                         and every seventh and fiftieth year. Whereas the be-
  die het wil hooren, er soms zelfs over klagen, omdat ze                          liever is as  ro  his entire mode of existence earthy, and
  tech  zich bezwaard gevoelen, maar die niemand durft                             whereas indwelling sin renders his peculiarly earthy
aanpakken om des lieven vredes wil.                                                tasks works of sin, the sevenfh  day and the seventh and
         Genomineerden voor ouderlingen, die naar hun  Ker-                        fiftieth year rest periods were at once periods in which the
  keraad gaan en zeggen, dat ze niet dienen kunnen, omdat                          Israelite ceased from his sinful earthy works. Further,
  ze niet in de Drie  Punten  gelooven, maar die  tech maar the fourth command, as was said, is positive as well as
  op de nominatie blijven.                                                         negative. The sabbaths were not meant to be periods
         Zoo zijn er.                                                              of idleness. Remembering and'hallowing them was done
         `Misschien  is dit alles voor Dr. Beets geen nieuws                       by ceasing from toil and by filling the leisure with
         Maar in het lichr van zijn eigen beslist standpunt,                       sacred engagements chief of which were the sacrifices
  aangegeven in het bewuste artikel, kreeg ik  tech den                            and their hallowed contemplations. The engagements
  indruk, dat Dr. Beets onkundig was van het feit, dat er of the sabbath, then, were of a typical-symbolical char-
  in zijn Kerken zoo afschuwelijk geknoeid wordt.                        .         acter, and rendered rhe day itself, together with the
         Maar feit is het, Dr. Beets.                                              law imposing it, a type or picture. Christ became and
         Als hij er mij om vraagt zal ik de namen noemen                           lived the things signified. He fulfilled the Old Testa-
  met de bewijzen of getuigen er bij. Nietwaar? zoo kun-                           ment sabbath in that he, having assumed our human
  nen we elkander nog  helpen.                                                     nature, bare our sins in his own body on the tree ; made his
         Neen, het gaat er niet om, dat al die menschen dan soul an oiIering  for sin, and ceased from sin. The pic-
  bij ons een kerkelijk onderdak zouden zoeken.                                    ture resolved itself into spiritual realities. Of the bring-
         Wij groeien hard genoeg. En  aan Efraimieten en                           ing of this sacrifice and of this subsequent ceasing from
  Sukkothieten hebben wij waarlijk geen behoefte.                                  sin by Christ our great Highpriest, the bringing of the
         Maar het gaat nu om uitzuivering, nietwaar?                               sacrifices by the typical priest of the Old Dispensation,
         Recht door zee! Dat wil Dr. Beets.                                        and the ceasing from evil works by this same priest and
         Daarin  willen  wij hem gaarne  helpen.                                   by the entire people constituted but a type or picture,
         Hij vrage slechts inlichtingen.                                           That is to say, the true priesr and the true lamb was
                                                                H. H.              not the levitical priest and his victim, but Christ. In
                                                                                   truth did he present his body a living sacrifice, holy, ac-
                                                                                   ceptable to God. In truth did he cease- from imputed
                                                                                   evil. works.    In a word, Chrisr remembered to hallow
                                                                                   the sabbath in truth. Christ, then, fulfilled and thereby
                                                                                   annulled the Old Testament sabbath in that he became
         Op den  7den  September  hopen   onze  geliefde   ouders,                 and lived the things which the various elements consti-
                                                                                   tuting it, signified. Let us make our meaning clear. On
                            HYLKE  BOORSMA                                         Friday evening, the beginning of the Jewish sabbath,
                                      en                                           Christ uttered the momentous words: "It is finished,"
                      ANNE  BOORSMA,  geb. Visser,                                 and, "Father, in thy hand I commit my spirit." Until the
                                                                                   morning of the resurrection - the firsr day of the week
   hune SO-jarige  echtvereeniging  te vieren.  Zij  de Heere hun tot              - his body, separated,from  the soul, rested in the grave.
   hulp en sterkte in de toekomst gelijk  zij dat ook mochten  erva-               Thus this Highpriest poured out his soul unto death
   ren in het verieden. is de  wensch  van  hunue  dankbare  kinderen.             and in so doing rendered null and void the typical en-
                                  Mr.  en Mrs. William  I-I.  Boorsma              gagements constituting the  typica sabbath of the Old
                                  Mr. en Mrs. Herman  Mulder                       Dispensation. It means that he annulled this very day
                                  Mr. en Mrs. Peter Bonjernoor                b
                                  en 12 kleinkinderen.                             and dissociated the fourth command from it, His com-
         Open                                                                      ing forth from the grave on the morning of the resur-
                  House van I tot 6  uur,   447 Eastern Ave.
         Grand Rapids, Nlich.                                                       rection was  *at once the inauguration and the  begin-


                                        THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              511

ning of a new day  - rest eternal. He made this day             The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Sat-
and therefore, he is its Lord. It is this day which the         urday. Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims
saints of the New Dispensation remember and sanctify.           to observance can be defended only on Catholic princi-
For ,as victor over the grave, as one having made a show        ples. From beginning to end of Scripture there is not
openly of the principalities and powers which he spoiled        a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly
and over which he triumphed in himself, Christ entered public service from the last day of the week to  the.first.
this day of rest, laden down so to say with gifts for his       Neither Christ nor his apostles nor  `the first Christians
people. What may these gifts be? Their sum total may            celebrated the first day of the week instead of the sev-
be designated by the one term  true rest.  This rest, when      enth as the sabbath" (Quored from THE  PRESElNT
analyzed appears to be constituted of the following ele- TRUTH, Vol. VI,  No. 16). In view of the plain teach-
ments: (1) Cessation from evil works and toil of every          ings of Scripture respecting the disappearance of the
description. This blessing already implies the justifica-       Jewish sabbath, these are startling utterances. Paul's
tion, regeneration, sanctification and glorification of the     sayings are known to all. Rom.  14:5,   One man  esteem-
spiritually dead yet elect sinner.      (2) The cessation of    eth one day above another: another esteemeth every day
the believer's sojourning, journey through and spiritual        alike.    Let every man be fully persuaded in his own
strife in this desert world. (3) The privilege of dwell- mind. Gal.  4:9, 10, But now, after that ye have known
ing in the Father's house as his sons, bearing the image        God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to
of the Lord from heaven, to contemplate and laud for-           the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire
ever with glorified organs of sense, the glorious and mys- again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months,
terious God. (4) The deliverance of the whole creation          and times and years. Col. 2:16, 17, Let no man therefore
from the bondage of corruption ro which it was subject on       judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holiday,
account of man's corruption.          These are the various     or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: which are
blessings constituting the inheritance of the just; an          a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
inheritance which, while on this side of the grave, they           These are momentous words. From their very tex-
possess as a  premordial  good only. Though justified,          ture as well as from their surroundings it is evident rhat
regenerated and sanctified, they nevertheless dwell, as         these statements must be regarded as a thrust at those
was before said, in an earthly tabernacle. Their mode           who would see the shadows of Old Dispensation pro-
of existence is earthy. They sojourn in a desert land,          longed into the New; who insisted on the observance of
are embraced by the body of this death and strive to            rhe ceremonial law by New Testament Christians, even
enter in through the narrow gate. The rest in all its going so far, at least some of them, as to attach to this
blessed fullness is a matter of the future and an object        observance a  meritorial  value. Those Judaists, for such
of fond hope.    Says Peter:. "Blessed be the God and they were, also observed the sabbaths and would judge
%ather  of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his        others for not doing so. The apostle administers unto
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively             them rhe sharp rebuke we quoted. Attending to this
hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,         selection we make the following observations:
to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that            1. Those  este,eming  every day alike must not be
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are            troubled (Rom.  14:5). That this was said in reference
kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation           to the typical sabbath of the Old Dispensation follows
ready to be revealed in the last time (I Pet.  1:3-S).          from the fact in the  ,chapter  from which we quote the
Wieringa seems to have lost sight of the truth incor-           apostle rebukes the intolerant Judaist.
porated in this scripture and began to reason as if the            2. Those observing sabbaths (typical) are, accord-
believers on earth are in heaven. Fact is that a life of        ing to the apostle, weak in faith and turn again to weak
unbroken rest enters into the makeup of that mode of and beggarly elements (Gal. 4 :9  ; Rom. 14 :l). Add to
existence known in Scripture as Glory.                          this rhat the apostle identifies these sabbaths with the
   Fact is, then, that Christ annulled in that he fulfilled     shadows of the Old Dispensation ("Let no man," says
the typical sabbath of the Old Dispensation. This sab-          he, "judge you in respect to the sabbath days which are
bath together with the entire typical-symbolical appa- a shadow of things to come.") and the conviction can-
ratus of the Old Testament was supplanted by the true           not be escaped that in these scriptures he pleads for their
rest remaining  ro the people of God, and disappeared. abolition.
This rest Christ entered upon the morning of the day                3. Whereas rhe sabbaths to be abolished are identi-
of his resurrection  - the first day of the week. It is,        fied with the shadows, and whereas our day of rest is not
therefore, this day that the Church of the New Dispen-          the prolongation of any one of these rest periods but the
sation sanctifies. Yet there are those, among others the        projection in time of the rest eternal, it follows that the
Adventists, who insist that there is no command in the          scriptures in question do not apply to our sabbath.
Bible for the sanctification of the first day of the week           We may at this juncture point out the primary fal-
instead of the last.    "You may read," say they, "rhe          lacy permeating  Wieringa's views.  *  It is constituted of
Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find the propositions to the effect that the Christian sabbath
a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. is a prolongation of the typical sabbath of the Old Dis-  '


 5 1 2                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
               .-_-.

 pensation ; and that a periodical day of rest is exclusively death. Man having separated himself from God who
 Jewish. He setting our with these premises cannot avoid            was his life, became corrupted as to his whole nature,
 the conclusion that the sooner the Christian Church                wicked and perverse in all his ways. Hence, the holy
 abolishes the periodical day of rest the better.          So it and the righteous God could and might no longer tolerate
 happened that Wieringa was heard maintaining that be-              him as an inhabitant of his (God's) sanctuary, for in it
 lievers rest not one of seven but every day. In fabri- was no priest covering fallen man with blood.. So God
 cating his premises and in passing from premises to con-           sent him forth from this, holy place and from his pres-
 clusion, Wieringa, as was before said, reasons as though           ence an exile. If we may assume that man fell on the
 the saints on earth are in heaven. That is to say, his             first sabbath, the rest-day of Paradise became unto him
 premises are fallacious. His conclusion is, therefore, un-         the day of his banishment from `the sanctuary of God.
 true. Our Lord's day is no prolongation of the Jewish               Holy Writ knows of yet another sanctuary namely
 sabbath but the true rest merited by Christ for his peo-           that of the earthy tabernacle, separated from the outer
 ple. Finally, nor a periodical day of rest, but the last day       court and thus from the assembly without by a veil. In
 of the week filled with typical-symbolical engagements             this holiesr of all God dwelt  -  ,alone. With the excep-
 is Jewish.             In this desert-world the soldiers of the    tion of the highpriest who entered this place once each
 cross may neither rest every day nor refrain from resting          year with blood, the holiest was not accessible to the
 one of seven days. Doing the former and neglecting to              ancient worshiper. He had to remain without and keep
 do the latter would both prove disastrous for reasons              his distance. Such were the state of `affairs prevailing
 already given.                                                     not only upon the week days but also upon the.sabbath
    However, one's faith in the truthfulness of a doctrine          and even upon the great  d$y of atonement. True, the
 does not hinge on a single text. In proving the abroga-            saint of the Old Dispensation knew himself as one be-
 tion of the Mosaic sabbath, we could, if' need be, do              loved by God and fed  by% Jehovah's mercy. He could
 without these particular utterances of the apostle. Fact           rejoice in the forgiveness of his sins and carried about
 is that the entire economy' of grace as well as the char-          with him the. conviction that he would behold God's
 acter and properties of rhe Old and the New Dispensa-              face  in' righteousness, and be satisfied, when he awoke
 tion demand this change of day. The Mosaic sabbath                 with his (God's) likeness. Even so, the spectacle of the
 was suitable to the Old Covenant only. Thar is to say,             Old Testament believer standing before the closed door
 that the children of Israel were enjoined to sanctify not          of the sanctuary is truly expressive of the state of mind
 the first but the last day of the week had its reasons.            of the Church of thar day. The prayer, "As the hart
 We present the following consideration :                           panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
     1. The  MO&c  sabbath stood in the sign of man's               thee, 0 God. My soul  thirstethA  for God, for the living
 spiritual bondage and banishment from the sanctuary of             God: when shall I come to appear before God?' this
 %od. In elucidating this matter we must set out with               prayer, I say, rose from the heart of one yearning for a
 man's state of integrity, sometimes termed the golden closer and more intimate companionship with God. The
 age of humanity. There was in the beginning a place                outer court was as far as the saint of that day might and
 known in Scripture as the garden of Eden, made and                 dare come. The Church of the Old Dispensation is still
LO fitted out by the Lord God for man. It was a region the exile, banished from the sanctuary. Even for Christ
 of a life of delight and of peace. Every creature, there, the Mosaic sabbath was a day of gloom. For he spent
 radiated the glory of God. There the wolf and the lamb             it upon the cross and in the grave having poured out his
 dwelt together, and the leopard laid down with the kid;            soul unto death. The point is that the sabbath of Para-
 and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together.          dise or of creation was projected into rhe life and history
 It was a region of marvelous vitality; and its many trees, of both Christ and the Church of the Old Covenant as
 laden with food were nourished by streams of water a day of spiritual banishment.
 flowing through it and keeping it in perpetual healthful-             Scripture, finally, makes mention of still another
 ness. This garden was the sanctuary of God, where he               sanctuary, that entered by Christ on the day of his as-
 dwelt and communicated with, blessed. and was blessed cension by his own blood. Over this house he was set
 by the sinless man whom he had formed out of the dust              a highpriest. The believers, therefore, have boldness
 of the earth and in whose nostrils he had breathed the             to enter it, by a new and living way, which he consecrated
 breath of life. In this garden, then, man dwelt in  ,the           for them, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh . . . .
 presence of God and lived.                     8                   (Heb:  10:19,   2 0 ) .    They no longer stand before the
     However, from the very outset man's faith in and               closed door of the sanctuary of God, but draw near'
 his love for God were put to a test. For out of the ground         now with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
 the Lord God had made to grow the tree of knowledge                their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and their
 of good and evil. Of this tree man was forbidden to                bodies washed with pure water. The believer is no
 eat. Doing so, he shall surely die. Nevertheless, man              exile anymore, but a priest and king in God's temple
 did eat and in eating.committed a heinous sin against his presenting his body' a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
 Maker and Benefactor. His eyes opened, and the open- unto God.
 ing of his eyes turned out to be the earmarks of spiritual            2. The Mosaic sabbath stood in the sign of law and


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R  i                                          513
-I
avenging justice of God. Said God: "Cursed be he that          seven days do they retreat from the world to be with
confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. one another and with their God in his sanctuary.  HOW
Israel, wholly incapable of doing any good and inclined improper if they should do so on the day of the admin-
by nature to all evil, was perpetually transgressing the istration of death, on that day of gloom and unappeased
law. By righteous judgment of God, this people deserved wrath when the church dared advance no farther than
temporal and eternal punishment. Yet it was permitted the outer court and stood before the closed door of God's
to rest at the end  of. each weekly cycle of a life of sin. house. Will not he with a sense of religious propriety
On this day, the curse due to the Israelite was transferred insist that the saints should assemble with their God on
to the sacrificial victim made to pour out its `blood for that day when the church was raised from the dead with
the transgressor. The Mosaic sabbath, then, was a day Christ and set with him in heaven to begin a new and
of atonement and hence a day of blood. The speech of           unheard of life of holy companionship with their  God,?
the blood was that God does not tolerate sin but. will         To clamor for the transference of the commemoration of
have his justice satisfied, exacts punishment or  satisfac-    the aforesaid events from the first to the last day of the
tion,,for  wrong done to himself and executes vengeance week is as absurd as to insist that the event of the Lord's
upon the transgressor. What is more, the constant birth be celebrated on Good  Friday1   - the day of his
repetition of the sacrifices testified of their unsatisfactory death.
character as .a means of allaying the just wrath of God.          3. There is a reason why Jehovah selected the last
Conscious of this state of affairs, the soul of the Old day of the week as a day of rest for the Church of the
Testament saint was often  c&t down and disquieted in          Old Dispensation. Israel was made to rest after each
him (Ps.  42), and he would pray :  `(For we are con-          weekly cycle of a life constituted of `works rendered by
sumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath `are we troubled. indwelling sin, works of evil, displeasing to the holy God,
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins and atoned for by the officiating priest on the last day
in the light of thy countenance. For all our days are of the week. Saturday, being `the day appointed for
pas'sed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale        the weekly atonement, the Church was ever looking for-
that is told" (Ps. 90 :7-g). Paul, on the other hand, sings : ward to the sacrifice to be brought. Whereas the saint
"Therefore, being justified. by faith, we have peace with      of the Old Covenant was made to realize the blood of
God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we             bulls and goats could not serve as a true. covering for
have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, sin, the aforesaid arrangement taught the Church to
and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God"  (Ram. focus its hopes upon Jehovah and to await the salva-
.5:1, 2).                                                      tion which he would prepare before the face of his
    The Old Dispensation, then, and in particular the lJeOpk.  Thus the Church was put into an expectant
Mosaic sabbath was a period of bloody engagements and mood  - a state of mind altogether congruous with the
unappeased Divine wrath. But, thanks be to God, this fact that, from the point of view of the Church of the
day was fulfilled and passed away forever in that Christ Old Covenant, the incarnation and passion of our
came and brought a sacrifice which needed  ' not to be Saviour was an event of the future.
repeated. For the blood which he shed, being his own,           . Today the passion of our Lord is an event in history.
was received as a true covering for the sins of his people ; The supreme sacrifice has been made. To ir the Church
and the sanctuary of heaven became his permanent no longer looks forward for it is a past event: So the
dwelling place in that he entered it by  his `own blood. Church, loosening itself from this day, placed it behind
    So the day of spiritual banishment, of unappeased itself and stepped ahead, so to say, to enter with Christ
wrath, the day of the administration of blood and of           his rest and to begin with him the eternal sabbath in
death has passed forever. The Church entered a new             this life. We may pot complain that ir did so, for it was
epoch when Christ was declared to be the Son of God            God's work.
with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the          The great theme of the songs of the redeemed is
resurrecti'on  from the dead  - an epoch characterized now the cross of Christ, to be sure, but in addition the
by the absence of the shedding of blood ; an epoch in merciful God who sought and found them in and through
which even the Church on earth may enter into the very         the cross and set them in heavenly places with Christ.
presence of God and dwell in that house over which             Christ arose, and the risen Saviour returned to his Fa-
Christ was set a highpriest; an epoch of rejoicing in the      ther to prepare for his friends a place in  that: house where
hope of the glory of God and in Christ whom though             there are many mansions  ; and when these places shall
not having seen the redeemed love and believe, receiving have been prepared he shall return to empower his bride
the end of their faith even the salvation of their souls;      to meet him in the air and to enter with him the gates
an epoch finally in which our Saviour as the exalted and       of that city where the saints walk in the full light of day.
glorified priest of the' holiest of heaven intercedes for,     When the redeemed assemble for public worship it is
blesses; and sanctifies his bride, filling her whom he         to realize in their present lives this day and to rejoice in
loved unto death with his. grace.                              it. The Church of the Old Dispensation looked ahead to
    For this blessed day with its glorious and mighty          the sacrifice brought by the true Lamb. Its horizon
events the redeemed praise God while they live. One of having been enlarged, the Church of the New  Dispen-

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

sation has its mind focused on the day of eternal rest.                                   G O D   I S
Should it then not assemble on a day when this rest
was realized in its life in a measure unknown in the                Wie tot God komt moet gelooven, dat Hij is en een ,
a g e s   p r e c e d i n g ?                                    belooner is dergenen, die .Hem  zoeken. Dar God is staat
       4. That in rhe Old Dispensation the last day of  the      dan ook voor het geloof, dat een vaste grond is der  din-
week was selected as a day of rest was in agreement              gen die men hoopt  en een bewijs der zaken, die men niet
with the state of minority of the Old Testament Church.          ziet, onwrikbaar vast. Het is het begin en beginsel van
Let us make our meaning clear. At the beginning of ,this         alle belijden. De belijdenis, dat God is, beheerscht in
period the law had been projected to rhe foreground. To          den diepsten zin des woords al ons gelooven, ze is de
it was attached the Divine threat: "Cursed is he that conditio sine qua non, de onmisbare voorwaarde voor
confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.             elk ander element van den inhoud onzes geloofs. Wie
From the people was extracted the promise to keep this           zegt, dat God is, moet ook meer zeggen. Wie weigert
law. The law was not kept; and to the transgressor               zelfs dit uir te spreken, moet  we1 met een ophalen der
was due the curse. As was before said, the curse was             schouderen en een schudden van het trotsche hoofd gtaan
transferred on the last day of the week to the sacrificial       tegenover  alle overige werkelijkhkid. Het kind van God
victim, and the transgressor's life spared. Jehovah, then,       belijdt dit dan ook met blijdschap des  harten,  omdat
accomplished what he had set out to do namely, waken hij door genade God zoekt en gesmaakt heeft, dat Hem
in his people a sense of  ,their depravity, create for him-      te kennen het eeuwige leven is, dat in Zijne  gemeen-
self the opportunity to exhibit his justice and mercy,           schap  alle   goed voor lijf `en ziel, voor tijd en  eeuwig-
and prepare, by means of this course of training the             heid  begrepen is. Hij weet en kent, dat God niet alleen
hearts of his elect for the mercy  wirh which he desired         is, maar ook, dat Hij een Belooner is dergenen, die Hem
to feed them.                                                    zoeken. Daarom begint hij altijd zijn belijdenis met de
       Let  us! once more notice the arrangement: Law, the       de uitspraak, en dan als een blijde jubel des  harten:
attempt on the part of the people to keep this law, their        God Is. Zoo beginnen ook de Gereformeerde Kerken in
failure  ro do so, curse, sacrifice and finally mercy. The       de Nederlandsche Geloofsbelijdenis met de  schoone en,
law then was placed at the beginning of Israel's career,         en rijke woorden van het eerste artikel haar geloof uit
and at the beginning of each weekly cycle.          Having       te spreken : "Wij gelooven  allen met het hart en  belij-
walked, stumbled and transgressed, the broken hearted            den met den mond, dat er is een eenig en eenvoudig
would turn unto the Lord for mercy. Realizing that               geestelijk  Wezen, hetwelk wij God noemen, eeuwig,  on-
 the blood of bulls could not make clean according to the        begrijpelijk, onzienlijk, onveranderlijk, oneindig,  al-
 conscience, he  was"  taught~  to wait, as was before said,     machtig; volkomen wijs, rechtvaardig,  goed,  en een zeer
 for the. salvation, which Jehovah would prepare before          overvloedige fontein aller  goeden."     Met dezen grond-
 the face of his people.                                         slag staat of valt het gansche gebouw van ons geloof.
        However, the word became flesh. The supreme                 De natuurlijke mensch  echter, die niet begrijpt de
 sacrifice was made. The true lamb poured out his soul           dingen,   die. des Geestes Gods zijn,  wil, overeenkomstig
 unto death. The risen Lord has returned to heaven.              de inspraak van zijn boos en verdorven hart,  oak deze
 The Church entered a new period, in which, let it be            belijdenis niet  tot: de zijne  maken.  Immers staat het
 repeated, new truths are being shoved forward and em-           niet alleen zoo met hem, dat God niet in al zijne  ge-
 phasized among others, the rruth to which Paul gave             dachten is, maar ook zegt de dwaas in zijn hart, dat er
 expression when he said: "For by grace are ye saved geen God is. Zoo is het niet geworden door de hoogere
 through faith; and that not of yourselves: It is the gift       ontwikkeling van wetenschap in  onzen   modernen  tijd,
 of God: Not of works that any man should boast. For             door rijper ervaring of rijper nadenken van het mensche-
 we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto             Iijk verstand, of ook door het  aan het lich'c brengen
 good works, which God hath before ordained that we              van allerlei feiten en breeder onderzoek, maar zoo is het
 should walk in them" (Eph. 2  $3-10).                           altijd geweest. Zuo was het  toen de Heere van den  he-
        Let us notice the arrangement: Saved by grace,           me1 nederzag op de menschenkinderen in de oude  be-
 created in Christ Jesus, unto good works ordained that we deeling, om te zien of iemand verstandig ware, die God
 should walk in them. First grace, then law; first salva- zocht. Zoo was het onder de wijzen van Griekenland en
 tion, then walk. Congruous with rhis order is the trans-         Rome. Zoo is het ook in de  mode&e  wereld. En de
 fer of the day of rest from the last to the first day of the    oorzaak voor deze weigering om te belijden, dat God is,
 week. The believer on the first day of the week is with          moet niet warden gezocht in  iets bijkomstigs, in  ont-
 God in the holiest. Refreshed and strengthened he takes          dekking of wetenschap, of ook in onkunde en gebrek
 his place in life to fight the battles of Jehovah his God        aan inzicht, maar in diep ingewortelde vijandschap, die
 in his (God's) strength. Because the day eternal has             van nature in het hart woont van ieder mensch. Want
 dawned in his life, because he was set in heaven with            God Iaat  zich niet onbetuigd  ,aan eenig mensch. Niet
 Christ, he (the believer) walks, struggles, strives and          alleen  worden  zijn onzienlijke  dingen  van de schepping
 conquers.                                                        der wereld  aan uit de  schepselen  verstaan en doorzien,
                                                G. M. 0.          zoodat Zijn eeuwige kracht en  goddelijkheid  door al de


 .,                        c

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

           THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA                             is actually a prophetess, though her speech directly con-
            The Church with a Mystic Tendency           .         tradicts the objective. revelation of the Word. And many
                                                                  even follow her, and in harmony with her teachings de-
                        ( C o n t i n u e d )                     scend as she into the depths of  satan.     Many  servants
                                                                  of the Lord are seduced by her teaching! How must
       If I may be allowed to cast a modern hue over. the         this be explained? How is it possible that this ardent
ancient church and present to you in a concrete picture           little congregation of Thyatira listens patiently to the
my conception of rhe congregation in Thyatira, I would dark testimony of this instrument  .of hell? In but one
offer rhe following.     It is Wednesday-evening. The             way. This sweet and lovable little church had gradually
church holds mid-week prayer-meeting.            Let us attend    forgotten to apply the objective standard of God's revela-
one of these. The angel of the church opens with a fer-           tion, and allowed personal experience to be the chief
vent prayer and offers a few words of introduction, glow-         criterion of the truth! If they had at all made an attempt
ing with the love of his heart to the Lord Jesus. He              to apply the test of rhe Word of God to the speech and
speaks if it, how in the past few days he realized his sin-       life of this woman Jezebel they would have detected her
ful condition, but also how clearly `he experienced the all-      heresy immediately and cast her out if she would not
sufficiency of the grace of Jesus Christ.. Speaking, evi-         repent. But they are inclined to false mysticism. And
dently,  .with  all his heart in it and with tears of grati-      satan aware of this tendency in the congregation, employs
tude glistening in his eyes, he praises the Lord for the          a woman, who Iargely lives by intuition, is more easily
abundance of His grace. After'him an old man arises inclined to drift away on subjective feeling and ex-
who also restilies  in the same manner. Of years ago he           perience and of a stronger- and more ardent emotional
speaks, when first he became acquainted with the gospel           nature than man, to appeal to the mystic tendency in the
of redemption and he emphasizes that this gospel has              church of Thyatira in order  ro  seduce. her from the
been sweet unto his soul, a power of love; ever since. A          truth. For this same reason Scripture calls this woman
third, and a four!h and a fifth give their testimony, and         Jezebel, which may be considered a symbolic name to
all witness of- the personal participation in the grace of        remind the church of her real nature., For even as Jeze-
Christ Jesus and of their love to Him. But finally, a             bel seduced the people of the old dispension to the service
strange figure attracts our attention. It is a woman of of  Baal,  so does she lead the people of Thyatira astray
a weird and repulsive appearance. Her large protruding            in paths of fornication and vilesr sin !
eyes, sensuous lips and  mobid complexion witness of  a              In short, then, we discover in the congregation of
life of sin and dissipation. She, too, speaks. With a             Thyatira the church with a t,endency  to false mysticism,
voice that sounds as `if it comes from  the.  nether world,       the church that is strong in warm devotional life; but
she tells. the congregation of a vision she had in the by-        that has enthroned personal experience as the criterion
gone night, and how the Lord appeared to her to reveal            for the truth. Frequently this aspect of the church has
His truth.m  a dream. For she claims to be a prophetess.          become prominent in history. In the middle ages, when
In her dream, so she continues, the Lord showed unto              the death-chill of Scholasticism and Roman Catholicism
her the horrible depths of  satan,  the abyss of sin and          began to cause reaction, this mystic tendency became
iniquity; And as they both stood on the brink of that             manifesr before long. At the time of the Reformation
dark and horrible abyss, the Lord said unto her: "If              there also was a mystic  str,ain  mingled with the other-
anyone would truly taste my grace and-infinite mercy, he          wise healthy movement of Protestantism. After the
must actually descend into these depths and learn to              dead orthodoxy of the eighteenth century had laid ex-
know them by experience. For the more he is able to clusive -stress on cold and dead orthodoxy the same in-
realize the depths of satan  by actual experience, the more       clination becomes manifest. And every time when the
he will be in a condition to appreciate my salvation."            church has passed thru a period of intellectualism, the
She still continues to explain that she has personally            right of the more emotional and mystic element of our
obeyed, that she did descend into those depths of satan.          religion to assert itself is maintained and by reaction the
She committed fornication, she feasted with the heathens          church swings to the opposite extreme of false mys-
in their sacrificial meals, she subjected her body to the         ticism. And just as often this mystic strain became the
vilest service of sin. And she concludes by testifying            occasion for the flesh, and ended  ,in sin and dissipation
that to her there was a great blessing in this descent into       simply because of its licentious separation from the  ob-
the abyss of sin, for the more clearly she realized the .jective  testimony. of the Word of God. And, therefore,
awful depths from which the grace of Christ redeemed              the church should be on her guard against both extremes.
and delivered her, the more fully could she gratefully            She should watch out against the danger of cold intel-
appreciate the wonders of His mercy! Thus this instru-            lectualism, but at the same time refuse to enthrone sub-
ment of the devil speaks in the midst of the  congreg&            jective experience as supreme lord. Our personal expe-
tion. But what now does the congregation do ? Does                rience must be subjected continually- to the test of the
she cast this vile woman out, admonishing her to re-              Word of God. And if anyone would experience anything
pent of her horrible sin? On the contrary. She listens.           not in harmony with that objective revelation, he should
She is silenr.  She admits the possibility that this woman        draw the conclusion that it is of the evil one. And again,


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               519
       -


if on the basis of his experience `any member would           the Lord but an instrument of satan. Now the Lord will
spread a doctrine not in harmony with the Scriptures, he      plainly expose her, and reveal that she is nothing but an
should be corrected, and if he will not repent excom-         agent from hell to" seduce  * the congregation of Jesus
municated without improper delay.                             Christ. But then the church must pay attention. Hence:
  `III. It is only if we bear in mind this peculiar con-      "Behold, I will cast her into a bed." The  judgmenr of
dition of the church in Thyatira, that we will also be        Christ will strike the woman first of  -all. Her case is
able to discern the reason for the particular message that    hopeless. She  has descended into the depths of  satan
is sent unto her thru :John. Notice,' that the customary      vohrnfarily  and consciously so often that she  will come
admonition to repent is lacking in this message. The          to repentance no more. And, therefore, the measure of
Lord does not enjoin on the church to discipline the          her iniquity is full, and rhe time for judgment is come.
wicked Jezebel and her followers in order to excommuni-       That the Lord will cast her into a bed must, of course,
cate  .them  if they do not repent. They would not be in      not be understood as if He would cause her to be an.
a condition to obey this command. Discipline can only         instrument of adultery still more. He will not cast her
be exercised on the' basis of the objective Word of God,      into the bed of  prostiturion.  This  Shea had been doing
and in regard to the knowledge and the application of         herself. But it is most natural to assume that the Lord
this Word the church of Thyatira was weak. They were          would send unto her those horrible and repulsive dis-
not able to distinguish the true from the false. They                                                              `.
                                                              eases that are the inevitable result of a life of dissipation
lacked the power to discern and test the spirits. And,        and prostitution. For this way the Lord would reveal by
for that reason, the Lord Himself will mark the evil-         His judgment most plainly, that all impurity is despised
doers-in the congregation and clearly point them out as       by Him, and that it is not His will that we descend into
the objects of his sore displeasure. In person He will        the depths of  satan  that grace may abound. But also
exerci.se  discipline. He announced Himself in such terms     upon her children the sin of the mother would be visited.
as are suitable to reveal Himself as the One that is able     Perhaps she had many children. Perhaps they were
to search the reins and the hearts. He is the Son of God.     children of adultery. However this may be, the sin of
And especially in connection with what follows it is          their mother will be manifest also in them. Not as if
plain that this appellation must serve to bring' Him be-      the children were considered guilty of the sins of their
fore the consciousness of the congregation as the Om-         mother, but in the first place to reveal the effects of her
niscient One before whose eyes nothing is concealed.          sin also in her children and in the second place to add
For He continues to announce Himself as the One that          to  the.  severity of her own judgment. And for rhe chil-
has eyes like a flame of fire, eyes that possess power to     dren it may have- been a blessing that they were killed
penetrate into the innermost parts of man and scruti-         with death. And finally, also those that have been se-
nize the deepest depths of his heart. This woman Jezebel      duced by her and that will follow in her steps, that com-
and her followers might hide a horrible nature of sin         mir adultery with her, are  ,mentioned  in this message.
behind a mask  of, piety and devotion, to Him that mask       For them the time of repentance is, not passed and, there-
did not conceal a thing. He is able to expose to view         fore, their judgment is presented as conditional upon
all the darkness of sin that is hidden behind this mask       their attitude to this message. If they do not repenr  the
of godliness. Still more.  Not only does He possess the       Lord will send unto them great affliction. I they con-
power to penetrate and to know the hearts of Jezebel          tinue to follow in her steps even though  they  behold
and her followers, but He is also able to execute terrible    how rhe Lord despises her works, the Lord will also
judgment. For His feet are like unto burnished brass. If visit them. And, no doubt, also their affliction will stand
His eyes detect iniquity, with those feet He is able to       in close connection with the nature of their sin. And the
tread  do.wn  the enemy and consume him. In  short.the        purpose of these judgments is that the churches may
Lord announces Himself to the congregation as the om-         kno&  that the Lord is He that searcheth the reins and
niscient and omnipotent Judge of the evil-doers in His        the hearts, and that  I?i.e will give to each one according
church.                                           I           to his works. Again this avowed purpose is clearly in
   In harmony with the self-manifestation of the Lord is      full harmony with the condition of rhe church in  Thya-
the message He delivers to the congregation. He not           tira. She could not test the spirits and distinguish the
only appears as judge, but He will act  assuch in the true from the false and exercise discipline where neces-
midst'of the church and by His own judgments He in-           sary. The Lord, who searches the hearts, would do if
tends to expose the evil-doers. Behold, thus  He  speaks,     for them. Again, the church allowed a doctrine of
behold, I will cast her into a bed ! Behold ! The Lord        licentiousness to be taught in her midst,, a doctrine that
wants to draw the attention of the church, for it is pri- boldly advocated a life of sin, a descent into the dark
marily for her sake that He will come' with His judg-         depths of  Satan, in order that grace mighr the more
ments upon the wicked. They themselves were not able          abound. Jesus will appear as the rewarder of each one
to exercise proper discipline and they allowed the wicked.    according to his works and thus expose the devilish
Jezebel to teach and to seduce the church. They were          nature of such a heresy. Thus the church of Thyatira
not in a condition to discern the spirits, and lacked the     shall see the works of the Lord and at the same time
courage to assert that Jezebel was not a prophetess of        become a warning example ,to the churches round about


                             ""`ir
                             /
                       i/
`520       ,.  ,`I'                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

 in as far as they also were endangered by the heresy                           of the church, would timidly subject themselves once
 of the Nicolaitans. And not only is the church of Thya-                        more to the bondage of fear. This must' be p&vented.
 tira a warning example to the churdhes of that time.but                        And, therefore, the Lord comes with the definite mes-
 to those of all ages as well. The devil even in the present sage: I cast upon you none other burden. Just keep
 day  `goeth about like a roaring lion, and his object is                       what ye have till I come.
 always again to sever the church for the basis of the                             To these faithful; then, to those that keep what thky
 Word of God, thus to set her adrift on the seductive cur-                     have and are pure from the defilement of Jezebel's
 rent of human imaginations. The church of Thyatira,                           teaching, the Lord comes with a m&t beautiful promise.
 then, may also be our warning example, for  the Lord                          Says He:  " And he thar overcometh, and he that keepeth
 searches the reins and the hearts and He will finish a just                   my works unto the end, to him will I give authority
 work upon the earth!                                                          over the  I nations,  and he shall rule them with a rod of
        IV. But also the message to the church of Thyatira ~ iron, as the vessels of a potter are broken to shivers; as
does not conclude with threats of judgment, but closes                         I also have received of my Father." To see in these
with most glorious promises to them that are faithful and                      words anything but a promise of final victory in the day
overcome.               In the first place the Lord tenderly com-              of our Lord Jesus Christ is  ro do  Violence  to the plain
forts them and at the same time warns tliem against the                        words of Scripture.      Plainly Jesus promises in this
danger of falling into an opposite extreme when he says: `passage that He will give to the faithful the same power
"But to  ~Tou,   to the rest that are in Thyatira, as many                     He has received from His Father. In the day of His
as have not this teaching, whb know not the deep things                        coming they shall share in His power and glory of vic-
of  satan  as they are wont to say: I cast upon you none                       tory. Evidently the reference is to Psalm 2. There we
other burden." These last words are referred by some                           are presented first of all with a `picture of the powe;s and
to a burden of judgment. The meaning then would be,                            rhe might of the world raging and striving to obtain the
that the Lord would, indeed, visit the congregation with                       world-dominion that properly belongs to the kingdom
,his judgments by afflicting and punishing the evildoers,                      of God's Anointed. This dominion the Father gave to
but that outside of the culprits He would not afflict -any                     His Son. He has been anointed  *King  over God's Holy
other in the church. Bur this view appears less prob- Hill, over Zion. And when that Son declares  the decree
able.. More natural it would seem to refer these words                         of  Jehoyah,  He  ,..,says   : "The Lord hath said unto, me,
to a burden of law and precepts. As the undefiled and                          Thou art my  Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Ask
faithful would witness the judgments visited upon the                          of me and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thine inher-
wicked  Je&bel and her following because of their for- `itance and  rhe.uttermost   @arts of the earth for Thy pos-
nication, they might be inclined to the opposite extreme                       session. Thou shalt break theni  with a rod of irony; Thou
and imagine that the complete fulfilment of the law was                        shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Evi-
still incumbent upon them and necessary for their salva-                       dently, the dominant thought is that the powers of the
tion. From Antinomianism they might swing to  Phari-                           world strive to break the domin'ion of Christ and rebel
seism and Nominianism. And against this rhe Lord                               against  the Most High,  &ut that the Son shall have the
warns them by saying that he dasts upon them none                              ultimate victory in  the. day of His coming and execute
othyr   burd,en.                      The more probable this interpretation    vengeance upon all His enemies, This is the power He
wo'uld  seem because there is an unmistakable reference                        has received from His  Fathkr.  And in this power the
in these words to the passage of Acts 15 ~28, 29. We re-                       faithful of the church of Thyatira shall share according
member thar the question of circumcision and of the                            to this gloriops promise., In a later connection  wi shall
entire Mosaic law had been a burning one in the early                          have occasion to explain this promise more definitely.
churches, and that. it had been discussed and settled at                       Now it ,&ust suffice rhat we state as our'conviction  that
the Synod of Jerusalem, approximately in the  ye&  50                          this promise is to be literally fulfilled. Literally the ene-
A;D. And rhe well-known decision, of that important                            mies rage against the kingdom and dominion of the Son.
gathering had been: "For it seemed good unro us and to                         Literally the Christ shall come to break the power of His
the Holy Ghost, to lay upon you none other burden                              enemies. But these enemies that rise against the king-
except these necessary things, that ye abstain from meat                       dom also oppose the subjects of that kingdom while
offered to idols, and from blood, and from things                              still  they-are  on earth. They reproach and slander them ;`
strangled, and from fornication, from which if ye keep                         they persecute them and cause them to suffer for the
yourselves ye shall do well.  + Fare ye  .well." This, then,                   sake of Christ. But even as they share His reproach, so
`was rhe burden that had been cast upon them,  hereto-                         they shall also participate in the glory of His victory in
f&e. And if they  dnly had adhered to these precepts                           the day when He shall have the final victoiy over all His
they would undoubtedly have kept themselves undefiled                          enemies.'  TheJ shall come wirh Him. With Him they
from the vile sins of Jezebel and her wicked brood. But shall judge the nations. And with Him they shall enter
now the danger  was more than imaginary, that the faith-                       into His dominion when the nations are broken to shiv-
ful, at the  sighr of the judgments inflicted upon the                         ers like a potter's vessel and all the power of opposition
wicked woman in their midst, would turn to the other                           shall have an end.
extreme, and not intimately -acquainted with the doctrine                         And in the second place, the Lord gives to the faith-


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                      521

ful the beautiful and suggestive promise of rhe morning-                  HET' IS OP AARDE NOG  iO0 KWAAD NIET
star. Mention of the fact that the righteous shall shine
with radiant glory as the bodies in the firmament is not                   Een "Evangelisch gezang" van de Nederlandsche
foreigh to Scripture . In Daniel 12 :4 we read : "And they Hervormde  Kerk begint met de bekende regels:  "Hoog;
thar be  wisi shall shine as the brightness of the firma- omhoog, het hart naar boven, Hier  beneden  is het niet!"
ment, and they that turn many to righteousness as the                      De  `gelbovers  in "Gemeene Gratie"  zingen   vooralp
stars forever and ever." And in Matthew  13:43  the Lord                nog als goede Neo-Calvinisten dit gezang niet.
says : "Then shall' the righteous shine forth as the sun                   Over het algemeen  geven  de vooruitstrevende  "gees-
in the kingdom of their father." And, therefore, all the                teskinderen" van Calvijn, de schouwers naar  "Gerefor-
righteous shall shine. That is the glory of their per-                  meerde Beginselen" van het breede en van God geschon-
fected new being in Christ. -Cleansed and purified in-the               ken wereldleven, tot  heden  nog de voorkeur  aan her  zin-
blood of the Lamb they shall forevermore reveal them- gen van  Psalmen,  hetzij in  Holla`ndsche  `of Engelsche
selves in eternal lustre and resplendent with glory. To                 berijming of vertolking.                '
rhat eternal glory also the symbdl in  our text  refers. But               Ofschoon die Davidische, Salomonische, en  &ndere
evidently there is this difference, that the morning-star               Lie$eren  Zions geheel  eh al NIET in de lijn liggen van
shines with greater splendor, is  more%  qbvious in bright-             de Gemeene Gratie drijvers en "goede-werken"  propagan;
ness than the other stars  in the Armament. It is a star disten. Daarom waarschijnlijk is men  zoowel- in  Neder-
of special lustre and glory. Thus also  they thar keep                  land als hier in Amerika in die kringen bezig en er druk
themselves pure in the midst of great temptations; they op  tiit, om het kerkegezang op  .het erf der "gratia  speci-
that remain faithful in times of special stress and danger,             alis" te verrijken? met produkten der kunst van het  ter-
shall shine forth  yvith distinguished glory in the  eterrial sein der Algemeene Genade ; voor  welk'e vruchten van
kingdom of God. Even as rhe morning-star shines with                    Gbds Ontferming en `Liefde over goddeloozen en Hem
special glory in the firmament of heaven, so shall they verwerpende qenschenkinderen, wij den Heere  ootmoe-
that have kept themselves pure from the defilement of dig hebben  re  danken,  naar zij  leeren.
Jezebel, and in the midst of great temptations have been                   Jawel, zulke  "vrome" onzin verkoopt men gedurig
faithful unto the end, reveal themselves'in  the eternal                van den kansel en in  de kerk- of predikantenbladen; al
kingdom wirh  disiinct glory and splendor.                              kletskoek en leuterpraat,  tien.om een dubbeltje met een
   He that. hath ati ear let him hear what the Spikit saith balletje toe.
unto the: church! What doth the Spirit say? Do not                         `t Is  eighnlijk  schande, zoodanig bedrog plegen.
drift away on subjective'experience, ignoring the objec-                   Erger nog,  hit is  goddelo&   ; want men zet het volk
tive principles of the Word of God. Cling to the Word.                  fjedorven   eieren   voor die met een zuurtje en geurtje
For only rhat Word is our safe guide and firm basis  ,in                onruikbaar zijn  gemaakt   ; men  biedt  het leugens  aan,
the midst of strong currents of human theories . And if geeft gifstof !                  En telkens vragen wij ons af, hoe het
false prophets arise that would lead you astray with their mogelijk` is, dat Gereformeerde belijders maar stil laten
own imaginations, test the spirits and reject them with- geworden, dat in hun  kerk.  Gods  Woord wordt  aan een
out hesitation. This false doctrine may sometimes ap-                   zijde gezet, wordt gemarteld en verminkt; en  mensche-
pear `under a very beautiful mask. In Thyatira  it was -1ijke  wijsheid, die dwaasheid is voor God; verkeerde
the mask of super-piety. In our day it is the mask of beschouwingen van het leven der menschen en der  kin-
service to humanity ! Surely, service is good, if it  is                deren Gods; valsche redeneeringen die des Heeren getui-
service  tlot merely of Man,  b'ut above all service of God. genis beleedigen en Godes eere krenken,  worden   aange-
Service is good,  i,f it `is based not on the vain theories prezen en als levensbrood opgediend.
of a human philosophy bur on the eternal principles of                     Wij zullen er  niet  "ZAT" van  worden  om gedurig en
the Word. Cling, then, to the Word. Keep yourselves                     altoos  weder op deze zaak  tk wijzen, rotdat God ons de
pure from the wicked Jezebel. For the faithful to the verhooring onzer  beden  geve, dat wat  zich noemt naar
end shall receive the same power as Christ has received                 Zijn heiligen Naam en de Gereformeerde waarheid  be-
of His Father, and they shall shine as the morning-star                 lijdt,  zich weder'openbare in leer en leven naar de waar-
in the kingdom of heaven!                                               achtigheid der aloude geloofsartikelen en de zuiverheid
                                                  H. H.                 der eerst eerlijk beleden leer.
                                                                           Wij dachten aan dat boven aangehaalde "Evangelisch
                                                                        gezang,"' t,oen wij verleden week in  Ooze  Toekmst,   het
                                                                   ,    blad van Dr. J. Van Lonkhuyzen, te Chicago, een artikel
                                                              *         lazen van de hand van Ds. M. E. Broekstra, die tijdelijk
                                                                        den hoofdredakteur  vervangt tijdens diens verblijf in
   We can sin abundantly by passively yielding to the                   Nederland.
course" of this world, but to be holy and gracious needs                   D.& Broekstra schreef in 0. T. van 27 Juni, 1.1. in de
many a struggle, many a tear.                                           rubriek "Van Week tot Week,' een artikeltje onder het
                                       C. H. Spurgeon.                  hoofdje "Uitkomst  voor de Blinden," meldende dat de
                                                G. V.  13.              wetenschap, die in den laatsten tijd zulke reusachtige


