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

          THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE                        related to Jesus as children of the same mother. This
                                                             would, of course, imply that Mary had other children
               (John 2 :12-21;  Matt. 21:10-17)              than Jesus, an idea to which from the earliest period
       The miracle at the marriage feast drew a marked there seems to have been the strongest repugnance.
line of distinction between Jesus, the baptist, and the Resting upon the well known usage which allowed the
austere Essenes, those eremites who dwelt apart; shut term brother and sister to be extended to more distant
up in a kind of monastic seclusion, and who renounced relationships, and upon the acknowledged difficulty
the use of wine, condemned marriage, and denounced which arises in connection with the names of our
all bodily indulgence as injurious to the purity of the Lord's brothers as given by the Evangelists, both the
spirit. By acting as He did in Cana, Jesus at the very Greek and the Latin Churches though adopting dif-
outset of His career pIaced  Himself in direct opposi- ferent theories as to the exact nature of the relation-
tion to the strictest class of pietists then existing - ship, have indignately repudiated the idea of Mary's
in direct opposition to the spirit and practice of these having any but one child, and have regarded those
in all ages who have sought, by withdrawal from the spoken of as His brothers as being either His half-
world and estrangement from all objects of sense, to brothers, sons of Joseph by another marrige, or His
cultivate communion with the unseen, to rise to a closer cousins, the  chiIdren  of Mary's sister, the wife of
intercourse with and nearer resemblance to the Deity. Alphaeus or Cleophas. It would be out of place here
       One effect of the first display by Jesus of His super- to enter upon a discussion of the difficult question.
natural power was a strengthening of the faith of the Sufhce  it to say that, after weighing all the objections
men who had recently attached themselves to Him. which have been adduced, there appears to be no suffi-
"His disciples," it is said, "believed in Him." They had cient reason for rejecting the first and the most natural
beIieved before, but they believed more firmly now. reading of the passages referred to, for not believing
The ground of their first faith had been the testimony that they were brothers and sisters of Jesus, who grew
of John the Baptist. Their faith had grown during up along with Him in the household &t Nazareth. Per-
the few days of private intercourse with Jesus which haps our readiness to admit this may partly spring
succeeded, and now, by manifestation of His power from our not sharing the impression that there is any-
and glory, it was still more strengthened. It was still, thing in such a belief either derogatory to the char-
as later trial too clearly proved, weak and imperfect. acter of Mary, or to the true dignity of her first-born
But their mind and hearts were in such a condition Son.
that they open to the influence of additional light as to      Whoever they were, and however related to Him,
their Master's character, additional evidence of His these brethren of the Lord, His nearest relatives, who
authority and power. But there were other spectators had all along been living, if not under the same roof,
of the miracle upon whom it exerted no such happy yet in close  and? intimate acquaintance  ,with Him, sat
influence. After the marriage feast of  Cana broke up, beside His disciples at that marriage feast, and saw the
"Jesus and His mother and His brethren, and His dis- wonder that was done, and they did not believe. As
ciples went down to Capernaum." This is the first months rolled on, they saw and heard of still greater
mention of  those- brethren of Christ who appear more wonders wrought in the presence of multitudes.
than once in the subsequent history, always associated Residing with Mary at Capernaum, they lived in the
with Mary, as forming part of her family, carefully very heart of that commotion which the teaching and
distinguished from the apostles and disciples of the acts of Jesus excited. Neither did they then believe.
Lord. They are represented on one occasion as going Their unbelief may have been in part, sustained by
after Him, thinking He was beside Himself; and when Christ's having ceased to make their home His home,
He was told that Mary and they stood at the outskirts and chosen twelve strangers as His close and constant
of the crowd desiring to see Him, He exclaimed, "Who companions and friends. Nor did any of them believe
is my mother, and who are my brethren? Whosoever in Jesus all through the three years of His ministry.
shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the         But it is pIeasing  to note that, though so long and so
same is my brother, my sister, and mother." On an- stubbornly maintained, their unbelief did at last give
other occasion, the Nazatines referred to them when, way ; you see them in the upper room to which the
astonished and offended, they said to one another, "Is apostles retired after witnessing the ascension. "And
not this the carpenter's son? is not His mother called when they were come in, they went up into an upper
Mary, and His brethren James, and Joses, and Simon           room, where abode both Peter and James, and John
and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and
John tells that at a still later period, in the beginning Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon
of the last year of our Lord's ministry, these, relatives Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all
taunted Him, saying, "If thou do these things, show continued with one accord in prayer and supplication
thyself to the world ; for neither did His brethren be- with the women,  and Mary the mother of Jesus, and
lieve in Him." Had we been reading these messages with His brethren." How many an apt remark on the
for the  first time, we should scarcely have understood peculiar barriers which the closer ties of domestic life
them otherwise than as referring to those who were           often oppose to the influence of the one Christian mem-


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   E E A R E R                                        149

ber of a household, and on the peculiar encouragement purchased upon their arrival at Jerusalem. An exten-
which such a one had to persevere, might be grounded sive traffic, yielding no inconsiderable gain to those
upon the fact that it was not till after His death that engaged in it, was thus created. Some open area for
our Lord's own immediate relatives believed in Him. conducting it was needed. The heads of the priesthood,
   When the marriage feast at Cana was over, Jesus to whom the custody of the temple was committed, saw
and His mother, and His brethren, and his disciples that good rents were got for any suitable market
went down to Capernaum. One advantage of the short ground which the city would supply. They were
visit that Jesus now paid to it was, that it put Him on tempted to fill their own coffers  from this source. Jeru-
the route along which the already gathering bands of salem could furnish no place so suitable for the ex-
visitors from northern Galilee passed southward to the posure of the animals as the court of the Gentiles.
capital. The Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up What more convenient than that the victims should be
to Jerusalem. Hitherto, though some time had passed purchased in the very neighborhood of the place where
(two or three months perhaps, but their are  no mate- they were to be offered up? The greed of gain pre-
rials for exactly determining) since His baptism, and vailed over all care for the sanctity of the temple. The
the public proclamation of His Messiahship, Jesus had Court of the Gentiles was let out to the cattle dealers,
taken no pubIic step, none implying any assumption on and a large amount was thus added to the yearly reve-
His part on the office to which He had been designated. nue of the temple. Still another source of gain lay
Of the few men who attended Him, there was but one open, and was taken advantage of. Every one who
whom He had asked to follow Him; nor was it yet came up to the Passover, and desired to take part in
understood whether He and the rest were to accompany the festival, had to present a half shekel of Jewish
Him for more than a few days. The miracle at  Cana money to the priests. This kind of money was not now
was rather of a private and domestic than of a public in general use ; it was scarce even in  Judea, unknown
character. Nothing that we know of was said or done beyond that land. Nothing, however, but the half
by Jesus at Capernaum or throughout the short visit shekel of the sanctuary would be taken at the temple.
to Galilee, to indicate His entrance upon a public To supply themselves with the needed coin, visitors had
career.                                                     to go to the money changer. And where can he find a
   But now He is in Jerusalem, in the place where better place to erect his booth and set out his table
most appropriately the first revelation of Himself in than within the very area in which the larger traffic
His new character is made. Let us acknowledge that it was going on? He offers so much to the priesthood to
is not in the form in which we should have expected it ;    be permitted to do so ; the bribe is taken, and the booth
nor in that form in which any Jew of that age would and the tables are erected. And so amid a perfect
ever have imagined that the Messiah should first show Babel of tongues, and thronging, jostling crowds of
Himself. We may be able, by meditating a little upon men and beasts, the buying and the selling and the
it, to see more of its suitableness than at first sight money changing are all going on.
appears. But even at first glance how utterly uniike           Into the heart of the tumultuous throng Jesus en-
it was to the popular Jewish conception of the advent ters. Of the many hundreds there, few have ever seen
of the Messiah. One of the first things our Lord does Him before; few know anything about Him, either
at Jerusalem it to go up to the temple. He passes about His baptism in the Jordan, or His late miracle at
through one of the gates of its surrounding walls. He Cana. He appears as a stranger, a young man clad in
enters into the large open area which on all sides en- the simple garb of a  Galilean peasant, without any
compasses  the"sacred  edifice. What a spectacle meets badge of authority in His hand. He looks around with
His eye. There, all around, attached to the walls, are an eye of indignant sorrow, pours out the changers'
lines of booths or shops in which money changers are money, overthrows their tables, forming a scourge of
plying their usurious trade.     The centre space is small cords drives the herds of cattle before Him, and
crowded with oxen and with sheep exposed for sale, mingling consideration with zeal, says to them who sold
and between the buyers and the sellers all the turbulant    the doves, "Take these things hence ; make not my
traffic of a cattle market is going on. It goes on within Father's house a house of merchandise." Why is it
the outer enclosure, but close upon the inner buildings that at the touch of His slender scourge, and the bid-
of the Holy PIace ; so close that the loud hum of the       ding of the youthful stranger, buyers and sellers stop
outer court of the Gentiles must have been heard to their traffice,  the money changers suffer their money
their no small disturbance by the priests and  worship-     to be rudely handled, and their tables to be over-
pers within. How comes all this? The origin of it in thrown? The slightest resistance of so many against
one sense is natural enough. At all the great festivals, one would have been  sufficient to have arrested the
but  especiahy  at the Passover, an almost inconceivable movement. But no such resistance is attempted, no
number of animals were offered up in sacrifice. Jose- opposition is made, by men not likely by their occupa-
phus  tehs us of more than two hundred thousand vic- tion to be remarkable for  mildless of disposition or
tims sacrificed in the course of a single Passover cele- pliability of character. How are we to explain this ?
bration. The greatest proportion of these were not We can understand how, at the last Passover, at the
brought up from the country by the offerers, but were close of His ministry, when Jesus, then so well known,

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

so generally recognized by the people as a prophet, re- the Lamb of God, the Son of God. From the lips of the
peated this cleansing of the temple, there should have men whom they had sent, or from the lips of others,
been a yielding to His authoritative command. But they must have known all about what had happened.
what are we to say of such an occurrence taking place And now here among them is this Jesus of Nazareth ;
at the very commencement of His ministry, His first here He is come up to the temple, speaking and acting
public act at Jerusalem? It is a mysterious power as if it were His part and office authoritatively to inter-
which some men, in time of excitement, by look and pose and cleanse the building of all its defilements.
word and tone of command, can exercise over their What else could the priesthood who had  charge  of the
fellow-men. But grant that rare power in the highest temple understand than that here was claimed a juris-
degree to Jesus, it will scarcely account for this scene diction in regard to it superior to their own? What
in the court of the Gentiles at Jerusalem. It would else could they understand when the words were heard,
seem as if, in eye and voice and action, the divine      or were repeated to them, "Make not my Father's
power and authority that lay in Jesus broke forth into house a house of merchandise," than that here was One
visible manifestation, and laid such a spell upon those Who claimed a relationship to God as His Father, and
rough cattle drivers and those cold calculators of the a right over .the temple as His Father's house, which
money tables, that all power of resistance was for the none but One could claim? They go to Him, therefore,
time subdued. It would seem as if it pleased Him to or they call Him before them, and entering, you will
exert here within the temple the same influence that remark, into no justification of their own deed in hiring
He did afterwards in the Garden, When He stepped out the temple court as they had done, - entering into
forth from the darkness into the full moonlight, and no argument with Him as to the rightness or wrong-
said to the rough band that advanced with their lan- ness of what He had done, rather admitting that if He
terns and swords and staves to take Him, "I that speak were indeed a prophet, as His acts showed that He at
unto you am He"; and when at the sight and word least pretended to be, His act was justifiable; they
they reeled backward and fell to the ground, the effect proceed upon the assumption that He was bound `to
in both cases was but temporary. High priest and give to them some proof of His carrying a Divine com-
officers were soon upon their feet again ; and, wonder- mission, and they say to Him, "What sign showeth thou
ing at their own weakness in yielding to a power which unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?"
at the moment they were impotent to resist, proceeded       He had shown a good enough sign already, had they
to lay hold upon Jesus, and lead Him away to Caiaphas. read it  aright. He was about to show signs numerous
So was it also, we believe, in the temple court. A sud- and significant enough in the. days that immediately
den, mysterious, irresistible power is upon that crowd. succeeded ; but to such a haughty challenge as this,
They yield,. they know not why. But by and by the coming, as He knew, from men whom no sign wouid
spell would seem to be withdrawn. They soon recover convince of His Messiahship, He had but this reply:
from its effect. Nor is it long till, wondering at their "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it
having allowed a single man, and one who had no right up again." A truly dark saying; one that, not only
whatever, to interfere with arrangements made by the they did not and could not at the time understand, but
chief authorities, and to lord it over them, they return, that they were almost certain'-to misunderstand, and,
resume their occupations, and all goes on as before.     misunderstanding, to turn against the speaker, as if
   It was no intention or expectation of putting an end He meant to claim the possession of a power which He
in this way to the desecration of the Holy Place that never could be called upon to exercise. Then said the
Jesus acted. What, then, was the purpose of His act? Jews, interpreting, as they could scarcely fail to do,
It was meant to be a public proclamation of His Son- His words as applicable to the material temple : "Forty
ship to God ; an open assertion and exercise of His and six years has this temple been in building,  ,and wilt
authority as sustaining this relation; a protest in the thou rear it up in three days?"
Father's name against the conduct of the priesthood         Jesus made no attempt to rectify  .the error into
in permitting this desecration in the  HoIy Place. It    which his questioners had fallen. He could not well
was far more for the priesthood than for the crowd in have done so without a premature disclosure of His
the market place that it was meant. They were not        death and resurrection, a thing that He  carefully
ignorant that the chief object of the ministry of the avoided till the time of their accomplishment drew
Baptist, with which the  whoIe country was ringing, near. He left this mysterious saying to be interpreted
was to announce the immediate coming of the Messiah. against Himself. It seems to have taken a deep hold,
They had not long before sent a deputation to the to have been widely circulated, and to have  fixed itself
banks of the Jordan to ask John whether he himself very deeply in the memory of the people. Three years
were not the Messiah, whose near advent he was fore- afterwards, when they were trying to convict Him of
telling. The members of that deputation heard of the some crime in reference to religion, this first saying of
baptism of Jesus ; in all likelihood they had not left His was brought up against Him, as one uttered
the place when Jesus came back from the temptation in blasphemously against the temple, but the two wit-
the wilderness, and was publicly pointed to by John as nesses could not agree about the words. And when the
the greater than himself who was to come after him,      cross was raised, those who passed by railed on Him


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   BtiARER                                               151

saying, "Bh, thou that destroyest the temple, and                  DE LANG VERWACHTE  IS GEKOMEN
buildest it in three days, save thyself.`! Whatever dif-
ferences there were in the remembrances and reports                 , Neen, geen ander is te wachten,
of the people, in one thing they agreed, in the attribut-               Aarz'lend harte, zoek niet meer.!
ing the destruction of the temple that Jesus had spoken               Hij, naar wien Gods heil'gen smachtten;
of here, to Himself. But He had not spoken of the de-                   Aller Vaad'ren  Wensch,  daalt neer.
struction as effected by His own hands, but by those                  Ziet, de  hemel  daalt  met, Hem,
of the Jews themselves. And He had not had in His                     En der juichende Eng'len-stem
eye the material temple on Mount Moriah, but the                      Wordt de wereld rondgedragen
temple of His body, which they were to destroy, and                   God heeft in den mensch behagen.
which He, three days afterwards, was to raise from
the dead. All this became plain afterwards, and went,                 Hij ontsluit het oog des blinden,
when His real meaning stood revealed in the event,                      Hij versterkt den wank'len voet.;
mightily to confirm the faith of His followers. And in                Wat gij mist, doet..Hij  u vinden,
one respect it may still go to confirm ours, for does                   Levenskracht en stervensmoed.
not that saying of Jesus, uttered so early,  - His first              Wie den dood zich overgaf
word, we may say, to the leaders of the people at Jeru-               Wekt Hij uit het zondengraf.
salem, - does it not, along with so many other like                   God hergeeft Hij en Gods vrede.
evidences, go to prove how clearly the Lord saw the                   Weet ge een beter, weet ge een tweede?
end from the beginning?
   The temple of Jerusalem has long been in ruins.                    Heer', hoe heb ook ik te strijden         '
In its stead their stands before us the Church of the                   Met die zinlijke ergernis !
body  of-Christ, the society of the faithful. In her                  Wil mij tot verwinnaar wijden,
corporate capacity, in her corporate acting, has the                    Schenk m' uw schuldvergiffenis !
Church not acted over again what the Jews did with                    Maak, in dankbre ootmoedigheid,
their temple, when she has made merchandise with                      Steeds mij tot uw dienst  bereid,
her offices and her revenues, and sold them to the                    Tot ik, nevens U, o Heere,
highest bidder, as you would sell oxen ip the market                  Niets bedoele, niets begeere.
or meat in the shambles? The spirit which prompts
such open sacrilegious acts, such gross making gain of
godliness, is the self-same spirit which the Lord re-                           EBEN-HAEZER
buked ; and how often does it creep into and take hold              Tot hiertoe heeft de Heer geholpen
and spread like a defiling leprosy over the house of                  In  elken  nood stond Hij ons bij ;
God? It does so in the pulpit, whenever self, in one or             Zijn machtige arm wou ons beschermen;
other of its insidious forms, frames the speech and                   Hij deed ons wandlen  aan Zijn zij.
animates the utterence  ; it does so in the pew, when in
the hour hallowed to prayer and praise, the chambers                Tot hiertoe heeft de Heer gehoIpen!
of thought and imagery within are crowded with                        Zijn goedheid kent noch  paal noch perk ;             ,:
worIdly  guests. Know ye not, brethren, that ye are                 Hij schonk ons duizend zegeningen ;                     .::  :
the temple of God ; and that the temple of God is holy,               Zijn liefde is als de dood zoo sterk.
which temple ye are? Would that have the zeal of the
Saviour showed in cleansing the earthly  buiIding  were             Tot hiertoe heeft de Heer geholpen!
but shown by each of us in the purifying and the clean-               Hij gaf ons krachten tot den strijd ;
sing of our hearts. Truly, it is no easy task to drive              Bij onze vele struikelingen
out thence everything `that  defileth  in His sight, to               Bleef Hij tot helpen steeds bereid.
keep out as well as to put out; for, quick as were those
buyers and sellers of old in coming back to their places            Tot hiertoe heeft de Heer `geholpen!
in the temple, and resuming their occupations there,                  Genade steunde ons keer  opt keer ;
quicker still are those vain and sinful desires, disposi-           Onwankelbaar zijn Gods beloften,
tions, imaginations, which in our moments of excited                  Geen trouwer God dan God de Heer.
zeal we have  expehed  from our hearts, in returning to
their old and well loved haunts. The Lord of the temple             Dies buigen we ons aanbiddend neder
must come Himself to cleanse it;, come, not once `or                  Voor U, o onze Heere en God!
twice, as in the case of the temple at Jerusalem ; come,            Aan U vertrouwen wij ons Ieven,
not as a transient visitor, but as an abiding guest; not              De toekomst en geheel ons lot.
otherwise than by His own indwelling shall those un-
hallowed inmates be ejected and kept without, and the
house made worthy of Him who designs to occupy it.              Het geloof is een ster, die het helderst in den nacht
                                            G. M. 0.         der aanvechting  blinkt.


156                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   .

die Hij naar Zijn voornemen geroepen heeft. Daarom                           THE PECULIAR OFFICE
zal des Heeren volk ook niet vreezen, maar moedig
voorwaarts  gaan, zoekende het Koninkrijk Gods, strij-            fn the last third of our previous article we were
dende als van Gods partij  in de wereld, Zijn raad ge-         engaged in enumerating the various tenets comprising
williglijk dienend, totdat alles zal zijn geschied. Dan Rome's view of the church and of the special  oflice.
komt de overwinning. En dan zal ook  blijken, dat alle  _ We listed the following propositions :
vijanden nimmer iets hebben gedaan dan medewerken                 (a)    The pope takes Christ's place in the church
tot die overwinning.                 L_                                  militant to rule in  Christ%  stead.
                                                      H. H.       (5)    Apart from the ordaining bishop there is no
                                                                         capacitation for office.
                                                                  (c)    The particular office is affixed  to the person
        QNLYBYBLOODCOULDATONEMENT                                        of the office-bearer and superimposed in him
                         BE MADE                                    . upon the church.
       Only by blood could atonement be made                      (d) The pope should be' recognized as the in-
         .To wash foul sins from the soul.                               fallible authority in every department of life.
       No other offering could cover our guilt;                   (e)    The pope should be received as lord. supreme
         Purify, cleanse and make whole.                                 in all the world to impose his very own word
                                                                         upon all men and to project it into their
       Blood of bulls, goats and rams would not suffice,                 secular affairs.
         Though some were offered each day.                       We wish to add one more proposition. Rome main-
       God's only Son's precious life-blood was spilt,         tains, and correctly so, that no one shall preach except
         Our many sins on Him lay.                             he be sent; that no one shall rule except by appoint-
                                                               ment. Rome has it, however, that he appointing, call-
       How can we thank Thee, Lord, for that great gift,       ing and sending is the bishop as Christ's vicar on earth.
         Christ's precious blood freely given ;                According to Scripture, Christ calls and sends through
       We'll praise Thee now and eternally raise               the instrumentality of His congregation in whom He
         To Thee, our glad hymns in heaven.                    dwells with-His Spirit. Nevertheless, Rome does well
                                                  E. W. C.     in insisting on the legal calling, and in maintaining
                                                               that for this reason the authority exercised by him
                                                               called is, as to its character, juridical. It is a mistake,
                                                               so we are convinced, to say that the authority affixed to
                        KERSTLIED                              the particular office is, as to its character  mereIy
            God zij in de heemlen eer,                         ethical or spiritual.
         Nu de Heiland is geboren!                                Let us now face the questions: What is ethical
           Daalt met uw Hosanna's neer,                        spiritual authority;  what is the signification of the
         Englen  !  zing-t voor sterflijke ooren !             term juridical  authority?'  In order to attain to clarity
            Nu Gods Zoon in `t vleesch verscheen,              on the matter it will be necessary to institute an in-
            Wordt er in zijn Naam gebeen.                      vestigation into the meaning of the four terms  ethical,
                                                               spiritual, authority  and  juridical. As to the term spir-
            Doodsnacht heerschte heinde en ver,                z&al, it signifies the intellectual and volitional man. In
         Angstig dwaalden alle volken :                        Scripture it is the signification of the soul brought
            Maar daar tintelt Jakobs ster                      under the benign influence of the Spirit of regenera-
         Door de wzarte jammerwolken:                          tion, the renewed nature of man, the life of which the
            Zonde en vloek en dood verdwijnt,                  Spirit of sanctification is the source. The term  ethical
            `t  Licht des eeuw'gen Levens schijnt.             is derived from a word which in profane Greek means
                                                                (a) custom, usage ; (b) the rational will in agreement
            Hij, die in de kribbe ligt,                        with the custom. The Reformed dogmatician uses the
         Zal Gods volheid openbaren ;                 *        term to signify the law of God and the regenerated
            `t Gruwelrijk des duivels zwicht ;                 rational will of man prevailed upon by the Holy Spirit
         In de harten staan d' altaren,                        to act in conformity with this law. The term ethical,
            En de vlam des boozen  haats                       then signifies : (a) the law of God ; (b) the spiritua1
            Maakt voor `t vuur der liefde piaats.              capacities of the regenerated child of God to will and
                                                               to act in conformity with this law ; (c) the good works
            Keer, o Jezus ! in mijn hart !                     of the believer. The two terms ethical and spiritual,
         Word, o word ook daar geboren!                        then, are alike, not identical, as to meaning. The former
            Heilig mij door vreugde en smart!                  stresses the law, the will, man's conduct. The latter
         Laat me U eeuwig toebehooren !                        term is the broader of the two. It projects to the fore-
,           Zinge' ik stervend nog uw eer :                    ground the engagements of the Holy  Spirit'and signi-
            Aard en  hemel  looft den Heer'..                  fies the entire body of truth together with the new man


                 .


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        157

in whom the truth is made to dwell. It emphasizes,              plemented by permission to speak coming to him from
finally, that the truth together with this man is of the without. The will and mind of such a one is likely to
Spirit.                                                         predominate. Men detect- the wisdom incorporated in
   We'now come to the term  juridical. It is constituted his word. That word, therefore, has weight, and, rec-
of two words: juris, meaning law, and dice, meaning ognized as true, is received. This is ethical authority
to say, declare, pronounce. The engagements of one and power or dominion. Ethical authority, then, is
acting in the distribution of justice or in the declara- constituted of one's qualification plus an inward calling
tion of the law are said to be juridical.            Now law and the recognition coming from without. To avoid
(civil and divine) presupposes ordinarily a relation of confusion, it would be better, I think, to speak of
supremacy and subordination,  - a supreme power or ethical influence or sway than  of ethical authority.
superior whose right it is to impose his will or the will What is lacking in this so-called ethical authority?
of another upon the inferior one. The law inculcated The answer is ready: An outward  special  calling.
is imperative and mandatory. It comes with a claim                 What, now, may be juridical authority. Both the
and necessitates obedience. Hence, to declare the law words constituting this term are being used, so we said,
is to rule. Such is the meaning of the term juridical. in the sense of the vight to rule. The term in question
    The term  authority is derived from the latin au&or does not yield good sense if the same meaning be affixed
the primary meaning of which is to create, bring  into to both its members. It is plain that we should take
being,     beginner, former, first mover.  The word the two words in their primary sense. Doing so we
(authority) has acquired several meaning. . It is being define juridical as the mere right to proclaim the law.
used to signify among other things the legal right to We then let authority signify the rule of one who is the
command, to act, to rule. It is also being used in the seat (God, the Word of God) or the source of the rule
sense of influence derived from opinion, respect or exercised. The primary meaning of authority, it will
character.    In Scripture we happen upon a term be recalled, is origin, source, to fashion, to create. But
(excousia) translated by Authority, and signifying even if the aforesaid terms are taken in their primary
among other things a mere right or privilege or duty. sense, their conjunction still yields no good sense. Fact
So we may read in Revelations 22 :14 : "Blessed are is, then, that there is, strictly speaking, no such thing
they that keep his commandments, that they may have as juridical authority. We can, however, speak of
authority, that is,  right, to the tree of life."               juridical power in the sense of right or "bevoegdheid."'
    Let us inquire after the meaning of one more term, Juridical power should then be defined as the mere
to-wit, power. It may be used to signify: (a) the fac- right to proclaim the law. Authority should be used
ulty of doing or performing anything; (b) force, to signify the right of rule of one who is the source,
strength, either physical or spiritual ; (c) influence ; seat or originator of the rule exercised or the law pre-
(d) the right of governing; (e) actual government, claimed. We may attach to it the term  legal  to distin-
dominion, rule, sway ; (f) authority.                           guish it from all other authority such as weight of
    Having completed our inquiry, let us now face the testimon-,            warrant, order, permission, precedent.
question: What is ethical authority; what may be the Author&: used in the aforesaid sense presupposes a
signification  of  the term  juridical authority.  If author- superior or supreme being having the right to impose
ity is taken to signify the right of rule accruing from his will of which his law is the expression, upon the
a special outward calling or appointment, there is no subordinate. Authority, then, as well as the law, neces-
such thing  as ethical authority  or power, in the event sitates obedience, to the person or law or word of the
the latter term is being used in a sense identical to authority.
that of authority. For ethical authority can signify               Let us now view the peculiar office in the light of
nothing else than a right, accruing from the possession the above. distinctions.  -Let us once more face the ques-
of superior mental, spiritual and ethical capacities, to tion: What enters into the make-up of the particular
rule, or better said, to influence to the good one's fellow-    office? And the answer: The "aanstelling" and "de:
men. The case may be this: one's gifts may surpass kwaammaking" that is to say, the divine appointment:
those of others so that he is able to utter speech of or calling and the divine capacitation. The former is.
superior wisdom. If so it is the God-given duty and nothing else but the mere right to proclaim the law or
right of such a one to assert himself in a IawfuI man- rather .the Word of God `as a called messenger of the
ner of course. As a member of  classis, let us say, it Most High.              This right must be termed juridical,.
is his duty to take part in the deliberations and to co- that is, the right, privilege and duty to  procIamate  as.
operate toward the solution of the matters up for con- God's messenger His Word. As to authority proper, it
sideration. The divine calling of such a one is, as to enters not into the make-up of the office with which  the,
its character, inward and direct and inheres in his rulers in Christ's Church are vested. Who may be
special spiritual and mental endowments. Such a one termed authorities? Not human rulers on earth but
may speak of his ethical right or authority to rule in God only from whom the former receive their right
the sense of influencing his fellows. To be sure, he of rule. In the church, not the elder nor the pope,
must seek permission to exercise his right so that. this but Christ is the sole authority, taking this term now
so-called ethical right or calling must always be sup- in the aforesaid sense.              His authority, Christ  in-


158                                    T H E   STANDA.RD B E A R E R

corporated not in the office-bearer but in His Word. afIixed  it not to the person of the magistrate but to
It  only necessitates obedience and faith, and can bind the sword. The magistrate was vested with the right
men's conscience, condemn those who imagine vain to wield this sword. That is, he inflicts corporal pun-
things and take counsel against the. Lord and His          ishment upon the trangressor of God's law. This is
anointed. It is this Word that conveys authoritatively his task which he performs as God's minister.
good tidings unto the meek, and proclaims liberty to          The above conception of the office is not shared by
the captives and the opening of doors to them that are Rome. Does the pope of Rome then separate from the
bound, bears comfort to them that mourn and satisfies Word the authority inherent in it to attach it to his
them hungering and thirsting.                              office or his person? To all practical effects he does
   True enough, Christ set some in the church rulers, this very thing. The pope shuts up the word of God
shepherds and teachers, and the believers, as we saw, within his own person and maintains that, unless
are enjoined by Christ to remember, obey and submit uttered by him and the priest, it (this word) has no
themselves to them that have the rule over them. But efficaciousness, no authority, no power to comfort, con-
if the elders are said to rule, will it do then to maintain demn, liberate, instruct and strengthen. That is to
that authority is neither deposited in their person nor say, the divine Word is without life and produces no
enters into the make-up of their office? Surely, the effect until proclaimed by the priest. Until then it re-
minister of the GospeI  is the authoritative messenger mains a dead letter to him who may read. To illustrate,
of God whose report must be received by those to whom      the word to the effect that "for us also, to whom it shall
he is sent? He is that. It is, therefore, his  special be imputed, if we believe in Him that raised up Jesus
task  to  prou(aim   the Word of his Sender  - Christ. our Lord from the dead" will bring no peace to the soul
However, authority in the sense of rule, dominion,         until uttered by the priest; and the announcement to
necessity, pressure, right to liberate and condemn, in- the effect that the wrath of God abides on him not
heres in Christ and His Word, so that the authority of believing in the Son, condemns only when proclaimed
the peculiar office is nothing `more than  the  right and by the pope. It means, it is clear, that the divine word
duty to proclaim that word which  as such rules, liber- adds no authority to the priest but he to the Word ;
ates, comforts, binds and looses. It means that only in that this authority resides in the first instance not in
conjunction with that word, and only when that word the word but in the person or the office of the pope.
dwells richly in his heart to be constantly the word of        Some of the brethren in the Christian Reformed
his lips, leaving him as Iight and power, as a living      Church seem to be of the same mind, as the inaugura-
testimony, is he, vested with the special office, one who tion of the so-called absolution indicates. God's Word
rules, authoritatively comforts and blesses. Once more, authoritatively announces that he who repents may
the authority inheres in the Word. Hence, we hear and feel assured that his sins are pardoned. This promise
submit to this ruler and messenger only as long as he is supposed to gain  in'efficaciousness  when uttered by
proclaims the word. He ceases to rule the moment he the office-bearer. We do not deny that the inAuence
dissociates  himseIf  from the Word. In that case those exerted by the word when proclaimed by a spirit-tiled
ruled rise up and command him to keep silence, and messenger of the Gospel to such as are able to hear,
are obliged to withdraw themselves from under his may be great. But of that power not the preacher
jurisdiction. In fine, the right of rule, as inhering in but the word applied by the Spirit is the source. How-
the zco~rd, is affixed with that word to the office and per- ever, respecting the matter of absolution, it is a mat-
son of the oiZce-bearer.    Let him cast away that word ter of greater or lesser authority  or  certainty. Is the
and with it he casts away his authority.                   authority of a divine promise found on the pages of
       The question arises whether in the event he does so, Holy Writ, hightened because uttered by the minister
he should still be thought of as in office. He should,' for of the Gospel? This, of course, cannot be. The afore-
as was said, the divine right to proclaim the word is said brethren maintain further "that the center `and
one' and the authority inhering in the word as such is core of the service of reconciliation is the absolution.
another.      This latter the office-bearer automatically When this is omitted the rest is meaningless from a
`looses when he parts company with the word. The           liturgical point of view. And since the absolution is an
right to proclaim that authoritative word, he retains authoritative declaration of the forgiveness of sins on
until Christ, through the instrumentality of the con- the condition of true repentance, only an ordained
gregation, deprives him of that right.                     minister of the Gospel, speaking as an ambassador of
       The question is now in order, whether the magis-    Jesus Christ and servant of God has the right to pro-
,trates ruling in the world may be termed authorities      claim it . . . . " The idea incorporated in the last sen-
in the sense that their dominion and sway and the tence, is an outragious untruth. Every believer, vested
pressure they exert, in a word, the right to rule and to with the office of all believers, has the right and privi-
punish,  must be thought of as deposited in their very lege to direct the thoughts of him seeking peace for
`person   or entering into the make-up of their office. his soul to the promise of divine pardon found on the
(Our answer must be a negative one. Fact is, there are pages of God's Word. Every believer has the right to
no such authorities on earth, neither in the church nor announce unto such a one that he is saved if there is
in the state. The authority to punish is God's. He faith and to administer unto him the Word. And the


                                    T H E   STAN-DAR.D  BEARE-R                                                       159

Word brought is as authoritative and effective, if the God he .hath purchased with His own blood ; to love
pure Word of God and if applied by the Spirit-as the Christ and to feed the sheep. . . .
same Word brought by the minister of the Gospel.                 There is no transference of power from congrega-
Necessarily so, for it is both times the Word of God. tion to office-bearer. Our conception of the church and .
Not that we would deny a difference between the the office has nothing in common with Collegianism.
peculiar office and that of all believers. But this dif- According to the exponents of this view the church is
ference is not what some think it is.                         no divine institution but a  collegium  which has grown
    It appears, then, and this is the point that we were up in the state through social compact. The church as
making; that the power of the church is not merely a voluntary association has only two classes of mem-
ethical. To maintain this is to deny, it would seem to bers, teachers and hearers. However, these two classes
me, that the church, in its office-bearers, has a  partic- stand side by side with equal rights, the teachers have
ular and special calling. This it has. Its power is no authority over the hearers. According to the view
indeed juridical as to its character. Conjoining him- we present the church is a divine institution, the body
self to the Word, the office-bearer is the ruler in the       of Christ, with teachers having authority over the
,xhurch,  the mouthpiece of Christ. To reject him, is hearers.
to reject his Sender.                                            Further, according to Collegianism the character
    Our  final conclusion is that the office-bearer, though of church government is the power of association which
an organ of the congregation is, nevertheless, above may be made over by an act of transfer to the state
and the ruler of the body whose organ he is. Let us ruler. This,was  done in the Netherlands.
now take up the question, whether his being an organ             In a following article we shall present the distinct
of the body he rules, does not necessitate the con- advantages of our view.
clusion that the power he exercises is derived from the                                                    G. M. 0.
body over which he is set. Would not the proposition
to the effect that the office he bears is affixed  to the
body he rules, yield the same conclusion? Certain it is
. that if the office-bearer derives his authority from the                            ZUCHT
congregation, the conviction cannot be escaped that                  0, waar bij dagen en bij nachten
the latter and not he - the office-bearer - is the real                Dit  Q&e voorrecht mij vergund,
ruler. In this case -his position is one of juridical                Dat  zich mijn zwervende gedachten
inferiority in `relation to the congregation he rules.                 Vergaarden om QQn middelpunt  !
The real ruler in this case would not be he, but the                 Stond Jezus' trouwe mij voor oogen,
congregation, and it should have to be admitted that                   Zoo als Hij onder `t Iijdenswee
the view we present partakes of the character of Inde-               Ter dood bedroefd lag neergebogen
pendentism and that system of church government                        En worstelde in Gethsemane  !
known as Collegianism. For, according. to these sys-
tems, the office-bearer derives his jurisdiction from the            Mocht ik Hem aan het kruis zien hangen,
body he rules whose servant or executive committee                  Waar Hij mijn zonden op  zich nam,
he is.                                                               Met brekend oog en bleeke  wangen,
    ?.?a& is, however, that though the office is afXxed to             Gelijk een spraakloos offerlam!
the body ruled and though the office-bearer is an organ              Of steeds dat woord  ,mij Monk in de ooren :
 of the body ruled, the latter need not and neither does               "Het is volbracht! voor u volbracht,"                     r
 pass on authority to the office-bearer or vest him with             En ik met Hem, vernieuwd, herboren,                    _ ;
the office. To begin with, Christ extends to such as he                Voor eeuwig opstond uit den nacht!
 qualifies for the office, a call. He does so through the                                                            -,..._--
 instrumentality of His congregation led by His Spirit.
 This is the view found in the Forms of Ordination of'                          .
 Ofice-bearers.  The first question put to those called                 Jezus is de Rots der eeuwen,
 is whether they do  feel  in their hearts, that- they are                Die geen wank'len vreest of val,
 lawfully called of God's church, and consequently of                   Die,. wat hier bezwijkt, Gods kind'ren
 God Himself, to their respective holy offices. If he                     Tot een toevlucht wezen zal.
 called accepts the call, he is inducted into the office
 afiixed  to the body by Christ directly. The one selected
 may be said to step into the office to which he, was
 called on the occasion of his ordination. Thereupon he
 is exhorted by Christ through the- instrumentality of            De alleen ware, onoverwirilijke en onverwrikbare
 the ordaining office-bearer who is at once an organ of eere Gods is, dat de  men&h  God in zijn hart met  zich
 the congregation, to execute his office, to take heed omdraagt. Op het altaar der harten de zondige Iusten
 unto himself and all the flock, over which the Holy te verbranden, vermag niemand dan de Geest Gods.
 Ghost hath made him overseer, to feed the church of                                                      -Zwingli.

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

tot eenig  goed  en geneigd tot  alle kwaad. Met andere               SKETCHES ON THE DEVELOPMENT
woorden: men had op ons tegen, dat wij Gereformeerd                               OF DOCTRINE
waren en de waai-heid  van Gods Woord en der Belij-
denis handhaafden. Anders  ault  gij,  Ds.  Hum,  niets                    GOTTSCHALK-SEMIPELAGIANISM
kunnen  u&den. En indien gij meent iets anders te                  Four centuries have elapsed since the views of
kunnen vinden, wij bieden u in dit blad de gelegenheid          Augustine were accepted by the Church over against
aan om het aan het licht te brengen. Doorzoek eens              the man-exalting heresies of the British monk Pela-
de archieven van Classes Grand Rapids Oost en West gius.
en onderzoek eens in oprechtheid des  harten,  hoe men             On a bright October morning of the year of our
ons heeft  behandeld,  hoe men onze kerkeraden op het Lord eight hundred and s$ty-eight a priest enters a .
hart getrapt  heeft, hoe men zich had samengespannen, dark and gloomy dungeon of the monastery of Haut-
om ons er tech uit te werpen. Bestudeer eens  ue  op- villiers, France. He came to offer the last Sacrament
teekeningen van de procedure om de gebouwen van of the Holy Church to the only occupant of this mis-
Eastern Ave. Luister eens nauwkeurig naar het ge- erable prison cell, who, reclining on a cot, is struggling
tuigenis, dat daar is afgelegd door verschillende ge- with death.
tuigen. Lees eens het slotwoord van den  advocaat  on-             The dying prisoner is Gottschalk, a man far Iess
zer tegenstanders, een slotwoord, waarin wij werden known and renowned than Church fathers and Re-
uitgemaakt voor  alles  wat  leehjk  is en geteekend  wer- formers, but worthy of our remembrance as a faithful
den als waren we de Antichrist in persoon? En  denk witness of the truth, that in the matter of salvation
er dan aan, dat nooit een woord van protest is geuit God is sovereign and man is no factor. Although he is
tegen deze behandeling door hen, die dezen advocaat hardly more than three-score years of age, one might
tegen ons  hadden  gehuurd ! En vraag dan nog eens :            easily imagine that he were of the age of the very
waarom? Misschien, dat u de oogen zullen opengaan. strong. However, the deep furrows on his face are
Misschien, dat ge door Gods genade deze  dingen  in het caused much less by time and age than by a life of
rechte  Iicht zult Ieeren  zien. Miss&en, dat de kerken suffering and tragedy. For tragic, .indeed, was Gott-
zich zullen verootmoedigen en in schuld zullen komen schalk's life. He was born in Mainz in the year eight
voor den levenden God, eer het te last is !                     hundred and six. When still too young to choose his
       Daarom,  Ds. Haan !                                      own way and determine for himself upon the course of
       En waar uwe kerken heengaan?                             his life he was placed by his parents in a monastery
       Ik zal het u zeggen. Ze gaan,  tenzij ze zich bekee-     at Fulda. But the secluded life of a monk did not ap-
ren, met sneller vaart dan zich een tiental jaren  geleden      peal to him and as soon as he became of age he asked
we1 denken liet, steeds verder afwijken in leer en leven, to be released. His request was favored by the Synod
de wereld in, ten verderve ? Dat k-an niet anders. Tot of Mayence in 829. But the hard and proud abbot,
de wet en tot de getuigenis, indien zij niet spreken Rabanus Maurus, judged that no decree of the living
naar dit woord, het  zal zijn, dat ze geen dageraad  heb-       could annul the decisions of the dead. The parents
ben?  Dat was  waar in  Jesaja's   bangen tijd voor had consigned Gottschalk to the monk's life. The con-
Israel. Dat  geldt  voor de kerk van  Christus  uit  alle tract entered into by them was to be considered sacred
eeuwen. Daarom roepen  wij u toe : vraag niet langer :          and binding upon the living. He, therefore, refused to
waarom? en: waar gaan wij heen? maar bekeert u aIs              comply with the request. After a course of study he
kerken ! Keert  terug ! Zegt, dat ge gezondigd hebt ! entered the convent at Orbais, where he was ordained.
Dan, maar dan ook alleen kunnen er weer rechte  paden              Gottschalk loved Augustine and was an ardent stu-
gekozen  worden voor de voeten en daarin wandelt God ! dent of his works. Moreover, he, was of a profound
                                                      H. II.    mind and (his enemies called it stubbornness) of a
                                                                firm and immovable faith. Wholeheartedly he em-
                        -                                       braced the doctrine of predestination, the truth that
                                                                God shows mercy to whom He wills. Nor did he em-
VERBLIJDT  U IN DEN HEERE  TE ALLEN TIJD phasize exclusively that God is sovereign in the be-
             0 God! vergeef Uw zondig kind                      stowal of his grace ; he understood that election and
               Zijn morren en zijn klagen;                      reprobation are inseparably connected and that the
             Leer mij  tech met een  dankend  hart              one without the other can never be maintained. Hence,
               Den last des levens  dragen.                     he taught that the Most High is equally free and sov-
             Ik weet : Uw liefdehand bereidt                    ereign in the formation of the vessels of wrath upto
               Ons ook den kelk van `t lijden -                 destruction. Hath not the potter power over the clay?
             Leer mij dan in Uw zaal'gen dienst                    For a time Gottschalk traveled, visiting various
               Mij t'  aIlen tijd verblijden.                   places and ecclesiastical celebrities both in the East
                                                                and in the West. He spoke ardently of the truth he
                                                                loved. But, strange though it may seem, his views
       Hoop  aiIeen  kan nadeelig werken ; hoop en beproe-      found little favor. They were considered dangerous,
ving  moeten  samengaan.                                        considering that they minimized the responsibility and


                                       THE,  STANDA R D   B E A R E R                                           I65

moral freedom of man. Surely, ,Gottschalk's  views, it Gottschalk must recant his views and thus justify his
was deemed, would make men careless and profane !            accusers and enemies. If he will only comply with this
Before long he came into inevitable  con&t with  Rab-        one condition, the sacrament will not be withheld from
anus Maurus, who at that time was archbishop of him.
Mainz. Rabanus wrote against  Go&chalk,  accusing               Gottschalk is indignant !
him of the dangerous doctrine "that God had from all            What? Should he now deny the truth? He had
eternity predestinated men to salvation or to damna- suffered in the defense of the truth that God is all and
tion." But Gottschalk was not afraid. Mere words, mere man is nothing. Did his enemies actually con-
though they were uttered with ecclesiastical authority, ceive of the possibility that his dying breath would be
could not subdue him. The truth was dear to his heart. a recantation of what constituted the very heart of his
It had become part of him. His faith was firm. Re- faith? Indignantly he refuses to comply with the
plying to Rabanus he accused him of Semipelagianism, request.
an indictment which was wholly correct, but which so            The priest leaves. And Got&chalk  dies without the
angered the archbishop that he called a council at grace of the Holy Church.                 .
Mains and there, in 848, the views of  Got&chalk  were          Though little known, he is worthy of our remem-
condemned as heretical and dangerous.                        brance.
   But Orbais was in the province of Rheims, and                For he was a man of God.
though Rabanus Maurus might call a council and effect           And a faithful witness of the truth, seahng  it in
the condemnation of the views of Gottschalk, the latter suffering and affliction.
stood under the jurisdiction of Hincmar, bishop of
Rheims. This Hincmar was a very learned man, in-
deed, whose serious weakness, however, was that his             How come, you ask, that only four centuries after
learning was easily equalled by his vanity. If one only the Church had condemned Pelagius and accepted the
knew how to flatter this vanity, one would meet a views of Augustine, a man could be condemned, could
strong friend in the bishop of Rheims. But in a per- be cruehy flogged and sentenced to end of his life in
sonal conference with Hincmar the monk of Orbais prison, because he propagated the very views of the
could not be persuaded to recant his views. Gottschalk       greatest of all Church fathers? For, it cannot be de-
was firm. He defended his doctrine as both based on nied that there'was no principal difference between
the Word of God and in harmony with the teachings            Augustine and Gottschalk. The latter may have spoken
of Augustine, with whom no divine of those days cared        somewhat more freely and boldly of the doctrine of
to differ. Did he, perhaps, also accuse his opponent of reprobation in distinction from the former, who rather
Semipelagianism? We are not in a position to know. exclusively emphasized election.               A real difference
But certain it is, that it aroused Hincmar's fury that a there did not exist. Essentially it remains true that
mere monk would not be persuaded by his argumenta- Gottschalk was condemned for the very views that
tion and confess his error. He called the council of made Augustine famous over against Pelagius.
Chiercy and cited Gottschalk before it. He gave ac-             How must this fact be explained?
count of his beliefs. It was demanded of him that he            By the fact that the Church in the years inter-
recant. He remained firm and unmoved. He was vening between Augustine and Gottschalk had departed
condemned as a heretic. Rather than deny t.he truth. from the truth, had become Semipelagian. Surely,
he submitted to a cruel flogging, gladly suffering afiiic- even in Gottschalk's age the leaders of the Church in
tion and reproach with the people of  God; Finally, he the main pretended to be followers of Augustine. The
was sentenced to life-imprisonment as an incorrigible name of this Church father was held in honor, even as
heretic. And he was sent to the dungeon in the mon- the name of Calvin is on the lips of all that insist on
astery of Hautvilliers,  to the which we saw the priest being called Reformed today. But the fact remains,
direct his way on that clear October morning in the that they, who thus sought to gain glory for themselves
year eight hundred and sixty-eight.                          by appealing to the name of Augustine, had departed
   The dying man's features bespeak the life of far from his views. To be sure, personal ambition and
tragedy and suffering that was his lot.                      vainglory were factors to be taken into account if one
   But his firm mouth shows that his conviction is would explain the severe treatment of Gottschalk. And
still  firm and his faith is as strong as ever.              there were those who were opposed to his cruel flogging
   The representative of ecclesiastical authority has a and imprisonment and who weakly protested. But per-
brief conversation with him. The Church has been sonal envy and hatred and ecclesiastica  vainglory do
gracious to Gottschalk. Those, who once condemned not explain the history of Gottschalk's life and his
him and sent him to this cruel prison cell, have remem- treatment by the Church. The deepest reason for it
bered him, and, now he is dying, would gladly admin- all must be sought in the fact, that the Church had be-
ister to him the last sacrament, that he might Ieave the     come Semi-pelagian.
earthly house of this tabernacle as a faithful son of the       The God-exalting and man-humiliating truth of
Holy Church. To bring Gottschalk this message the predestination is not in harmony with man's perverse
priest has come. There is, however, one condition:           nature. Hence, though the Church occasionally rises

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

to those heights whence she wholeheartedly professes body. It is less profound than the doctrine of predes-
this truth, she generally does not remain on those tination. St requires less thinking. And in the third
heights very long. Soon decline and corruption of this place the truth of predestination seems so impractical!
truth set in. The Church always again departs from If we cannot convert souls by persuasion and preach-
this profoundest principle of the truth.                            ing, if it is all the work of Almighty God alone, what is
       Thus had been the development after Augustine.               the use of preaching anyway? The babbler, who makes
       Even during the life time of this Church father, people believe that he can bring  so& to Christ, much
much to his grief, trouble arose about this doctrine in a more easily gains hold of the ignorant masses than the
cloister at Adrametum, Africa. The inmates were humble believer in the truth of the Word of God, who
much disturbed by various considerations, that seem preaches as he believes, that God only can draw us and
to arise in the minds of the weak and half-hearted that no one can come to Christ, except the Father drew
rather commonly, in connection with the truth of elec- him. Of course, in  reahty  all these considerations are
tion and reprobation. On the one hand there were vain and of no weight at all. For one who knows the
those who reasoned, that the doctrine would lead men truth the doctrine of predestination is much more in-
to doubt and despair; others drew the conclusion that telligible than the lie of free will; for one who has
it was conducive to licentiousness, that it would make experienced the grace of God, there is much more com-
men careless and profane. Matters assumed a rather fort in the doctrine, that God saves His people, than in
serious aspect in Adrametum's cloister. The case was the untruth that God's salvation is contingent upon the
referred to Augustine, who was successful in relieving choice of mere, sinful man.
the situation by writing about the subject that troubled               But the fact remains, that Semipelagianism appeals
the minds of the monks. Before long a school of  Semi- to many, always.
pelagians was formed in Southern Gaul (France).                        As it did in those days.
True, for some time after Augustine's death there were                 It gained ground, it wonSn influence. And though
some very able defenders of the truth of divine predes- at the time of  Gottschalk  the leaders still  called them-
tination, who strongly maintained that man of himself selves Augustinians (it is always so) they had in real-
is totally depraved and wholly incapable of contribut- ity departed from his teachings and become  Semi-
ing anything to his salvation. This is evident from the pelagian in doctrine.
council of Orange in 529, where Semipelagianism was                    Thus they condemned the poor monk of Orbais.
strongly condemned. How firm this council stood on                     History repeats itself.
the basis of the truth is evident from some of its de-                 It repeated itself when the Synod of 1924 of the
clarations. Thus the council condemned all who taught,              Christian Reformed Churches accepted the famous
that prayer is possible before man receives grace, an Three Points.
error which is not infrequently defended in many a  so-                The Ieaders of those churches still call themseIves
called Reformed sermon of the present time. It ex- after Calvin. They still maintain that they adhere to
pressed its anathema upon  all who taught, that there the standards of the Reformed Churches. But in real-
can be any willingness to be purged from sin without                ity they departed. They became Semipelagian. For
grace.     And it opposed  all who claimed, that there next to their standerds they adopted a set of declara-
could be a seeking, knocking, or striving after any good tions that are in flagrant contradiction with those
before the grace of God had operated in the heart of  standards. And having become  SemipeIagian  they did
                                                              l 
man. Truly, this Synod of Orange leaves the impres-                 what without these Three Points they never could have
sion of having stood firmly on the basis of the  dot-               accomplished with even a semblance of justice, they
trines developed by Augustine.                                      condemned and cast out ministers who faithfully de-
       But  synodical decisions are generally not able to fended the Reformed truth.
stem the tide of false doctrine. Semipelagianism  spread                You ask : what is SemipeIagianism?
rather rapidly, though it was so strongly condemned.                    It teaches in distinction from pure Pelagianism,
And one need not be surprised. For in the first place,              that man, as he is born of woman, as he descends from
the doctrine, that man can do nothing, absolutely noth- Adam, is not wholly without corruption. He is weak-
ing toward his own salvation, not even will it, seek it, ened,  both morally and physically. He is a sick man.
pray for it, unless the grace of God first  empowers him You may even say, that he is very, that he is deparately
and creates within his heart a  new  life, seems so hard,           sick.
is so wholly opposed to all that lives in the heart and                 But it teaches in opposition to Augustinianism, that
mind of sinful man. It leaves him so entirely in the the natural man is not  totally  depraved, that he is not
power of God! It humbles him so deeply ! It is so wholly corrupt, that he is not dead because of  tres-
terribly consistent in its confession that God is God passes and sins. He is well, say the Pelagians. He
and there is no God beside Him! In the second  place, is  dead, emphasize the Augustinians. He is sick, affirm
the doctrine that man is able to contribute something, the Semipelagians.
let it be nothing but the merest desire to be saved by                  And thus it maintains that there is a factor of co-
grace, is far more superficial, and for that reason  more operation on the part of man in his own regeneration.
intelligible to the sinful and superficial mind of  every-          Surely, he must be regenerated. And regeneration is


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                    167

the work of God. But man must will to be redeemed                     PROPHESY OF SCRIPTURE AND ITS
and will to be regenerated. He must seek, knock, strive
to enter, pray. He must open the door of hi's heart,                               FULFILMENT
when Jesus knocks. And after all the doorknob is on
the inside. Man must take hold of it and turn it and              Israel as a nation existed approximately fifteen
                                                               hundred years. Its lawgiver was Jehovah who gave
let the Holy Spirit in. Man must help and improve His law unto Moses and vested him with the commis-
himself, say the Pelagians. God must help man and He sion to proclamate it to the people. He does so and
only can do it, believe the Augustinians. God helps having led the Israelites to the borders of Canaan takes
those that are willing to be helped, profess the Semi- official leave of them in a brief. series of addresses in
pelagians.                                                     which he rehearses the mighty and singular events
   Finally, they teach, with regard to the doctrine of constituting their brief history, and supplements the
,predestination,  that God predestined those to life and law of God with blessings to accompany obedience and
glory, whose willingness to accept Christ and to be with griev,ous  judgments that will lay the people low
saved He foresaw from eternity ; and He rejected those, in the event of their 
of whose incorrigible stubbornness and perversity He                                 apostacy.    The doleful history of
was assured in Himself from before the foundation of the Jews of the ages  following prove to the unbiased
                                                               mind that the author of these proclamations of doom
the world.
   It is adulterated Pelagianism; it is more dangerous and bless was Jehovah for whom the future contains
                                                               no secrets in that its contents is from Him.
than the latter, because it is the same in principle, yet                                                           The
its error is less bold and not as easily detected.             aforesaid discourses contain predictions applicable to
   Beware of Semipelagians  !                                  events far off and more recent. While in the desert
                                                               Israel hears that the land which it is about to enter
                                                      H. H.    will present to their enslaved and vanquishing poster-
                                                               ity scenes of desolation.    "The Lord," so we read,
                                                               "shall bring a nation against thee from far, and from
                                                               the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies ; a
                                                               nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand ; a
                       NAAR HUIS                               nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard
              `k Ben in Gods gena geborgen !                   the person of the old, nor show favor to the young,
                `k Bid haar wegen dankend  aan.                And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit
              Al mijn zonden, al mijn zorgen,                  of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall
                Zijn door haar te niet gedaan.                 not leave thee either corn, wine or oil, or the increase
                                                               of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have de-
              Wat mij bangst en pijnlijkst heugde,             stroyed thee ; and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates,
                Is voor goed  in slaap gesust.                 until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein
              In mijns Heilands sabbats-vreugde,               thou trustedst, throughout all thy land" (Deut. 28).
                Vind ook  ik de zoetste rust:                     The military expedition of the Romans and their
                                                               incursion into Palestine is a precise fulf3ment of the
                                                               above prophesy. The Romans came from a country
              Ruste voor mijn krank geweten,                   far removed from Canaan. In the march they were.
                Ruste voor `t ontroerd gemoed.                 swift. Their visage wore a fierce aspect and was ex-.
              `k Voel het, "s Vaders kind te heeten,           pressive of that awful boldness, determination and
                Is het eenig-zalig Goed!                       fleshly courage peculiar to a race successful in bringing.
                                                               upon its knees by sheer brute force the world sur-
              In die rust van `t stil gelooven                 rounding it. Then, too, they spoke a langauge not un-
                Draag  ik hier mijn lijdenskruis :             derstood by the Jews. Having come, they instituted
              Eeuwge ruste vind ik Boven,                      in Judea  a wholesale slaughter. Their expedition was
                In het heerlijk Vaderhuis.                     remarkable for its plunder and pillage.        They en-
                                                               thralled the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and forfeited.
                                                               their property to the public treasury of the Roman
              Of ik eens  daar Hem aanschouwe,                 empire. The cities throughout  Judea  in which  the-
                Hem, Wiens liefde `t al volbracht              Jews put their trust, were besieged and taken and their
              Die me omringde met Zijn trouwe,                 walls razed.
                Die mij steunde met Zijn kracht!                   The prophet details scenes of utmost human want.
                                                               and misery and wretchedness : "And thou shalt eat the.
              Daar  eens  volgen Hem de Zijnen                 fruit of thy own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy
                Tot in `t eindeloos verschiet.                 daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee,
              In den lof der Serafijnen                        in the siege and in the straitness,  ,wherewith  thy
                Meng ook ik mijn Sabbats-lied !                enemies shall distress thee: so that the man that is


168                                      T H E   STANDARD   B E A R E R
                                    *
tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be that are left alive of you, I will sent a faintness into
evil toward his brother,  and toward the wife of his their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and a sound
bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which of a shaken leaf shall chase them ; and they shah flee,
he shall leave: so that he will not give to any of them as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none
the flesh of his children that he shall eat: because he persueth" (Leviticus 26 :30-37)  .
hath nothing left him in the siege, and in the strait-          These predictions are in perfect agreement with
ness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee, in the unquestionable records of fair-minded historians.
all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among
you, which would not venture to set the sole of her foot                                                         G. M. 0.
upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her
eye shall be evil toward her husband of her bosom,
and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and to-
ward her young one that  cometh  out between her feet,            OPROEPVOORCLASSIS-VERGADERING
and toward her children which she shall bear; for she           D. V. vergadert de Classis op Woensdag, 6 Februari
shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the        1929, des namiddags om 2:30 in het Kerkgebouw te
siege and straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall dis- Hull, Iowa.
tress thee in thy gates. If thou wilt not observe to do         St&ken  voor het Agendum  moeten  worden   inge-
all the words of this law that are written in this book,     diend  bij den Stated Clerk.
that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name,           Brenge de Heere  ens in  Zijne gunst op den  be-
THE LORD THY GOD" (Deut. 28 :53-59).                         paalden  datum te samen.
   This prophesy was fulfilled repeatedly.         When                                      S. G. SCHAAFSMA,
Samaria,  the capital of Israel, was besieged by all the                                                         Stated Clerk
Syrian hosts; when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jeru-
salem, then the capital of  Judea ; in the latter wars of
the Jews when they permanently lost Jerusalem. In
every instance the famine was-heavy and the passion                                   BEKENDMAKING
for food so fierce that even the mother, yea, the tender
and delicate mother - she who once for softness let             Zoo de Heere wil en wij leven, hoopt  op den 5den
herself be carried, rode upon the ass or camel  - F'ebruari 1929, de Protestantsche Gereformeerde  ge-
grudged those related to her by nature, such as the meente te Rock Valley haar kerkgebouw officieel in ge-
husband, the son, the daughter,  - the flesh of her bruik te nemen.
suckling whom she slaughtered and whose flesh she               Aanvang des namiddags  om half twee.
contemplated eating in secret. Josephus, in his his-            Ds. G. M. Ophoff en Ds. H. Hoeksema hopen bij die
tory of the Jewish wars, related this most revolting gelegenheid  eene rede te houden.
detail. He tells of a noble lady who killed with her            Allen welkom.
own hands her suckling and ate in secret its flesh.             Namens den Kerkeraad van Rock Valley, la.,
Upon the discovery of her deed, the whole smitten                                                        BAS LEMS,
city shuddered with horror. Jeremiah laments that                                                                    Scriba.
"the hands of the pitiful woman have sodden their own
children: they were their meat in the destruction of
my people." In every house the members of the fam-
ily would contest for food. All these are well authen-                                IN  MEM~RIAM
ticated facts, predicted ages before. To be sure, the
author of these predictions must have been Him who           f On December 9, it pleased the Lord of Iife and death to take
                                                              rom us our beloved father, grandfather and great grandfather,
determines the termination of the sins of the nation.
   Another declaration of the Lord reads : "And I will                         WILLIAM  VANDEN BERG,
destroy your high places, and cut down your images,          at the age of 84 years.
and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your              Our hearts are sad in this bereavement, but we beIieve  that '
                                                             our loss is his gain.
idols, and my soul shall abhor you. And I will make                                        Mr. L. Boomstra
your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto                                         Mr. and. Mrs. N. Holst
                                                                                           Mr. and Mrs. H.  Brummel
desolation, and I will not smell the sweet savors of                                       Mr. and Mrs. N.  J. Bouman
your odors. And I will bring the land into desola-                                           31 grandchildren
                                                                                            22 great grandchildren
tion: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be             Grand Rapids, Michigan.
astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the
heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and
your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.              In de eeuwigheid alleen  zullen wij vaste woningen
Then shal1 the land enjoy her Sabbaths, as long as it aantreffen. Daarom, o grijsaard! beschouw de reeks
Iieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in uwer voorbijsnellende  jaren als  zoovele bouwvallen,
your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. And upon them over welke gij heenvliedt naar de eeuwige stad.


                                 -
                        A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE published by
                    THE REFORMED FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
                                                          Editorial  Staff:
                                           H.  HOEKEMA                  G. M., OPHOFF
                                                        Associate Editors:
                                           G. vos                         WM. VERHIL
                                      Entered  cm second class mail  mat&r  at Grand  Rapids.  Mich.

Vol. V, No. 8                                          JANUARY 15, 1929                                 Subscription Price, $2.50

                                                                       salom, say some. He was being persecuted by king
                                                                       Saul, say others. And, perhaps, the latter conjecture
                                                                       may be regarded as the more probable, especially be-
                                                                       cause in the psalm the poet makes mention of his being
                                                                       forsaken by father and mother. Little it matters. For
           JEHOVAH MY CONFIDENCE                                       the psaIm  itself informs us beyond all doubt, that it
                                                                       was a time of great danger and of much suffering for
                      The Lord is my light and my  sabation;
                    whom shall I fear?      The Lord is the            David. Does he not speak of the wicked, that came
                    styaq&h  of my life; of whom shall I  be           upon him to eat his `flesh ? Does he not speak of an
                                                  - P s a .   27:l.    host that may encamp against him, of war that may
   What shouts of triumph !                                            rise against him, of a time of trouble, when the Lord
   What a jubilant outcry of undaunted courage in the shall hide him in his pavillion, of false witnesses that
assurance of certain victory and absolute safety !                     rise up against him ; of times of such great danger and
   Standing on the mountain-peaks of faith, looking trouble and distress, that he would have fainted were
all about him at the furious crowd of enemies, that                    it not that he had placed his trust in the Lord his
threaten his life, that fume and rave against him unto God? No, the jubilant outcry of the psalmist is not
his destruction, he challenges : whom shall I fear? Of occasioned by the absence of trouble and danger. He
whom shall I be afraid?                                                is a man that is acquainted with grief. His life's path
   Or was  there no danger?                                            was not often smooth. His day was more frequently
   Is this exclamation of fearless confidence, perhaps, dark. His life's ship knew of rough seas and rolling
the vain boasting of one who is courageous enough, in- billows, of contrary winds and severe storms. His
deed, as long as there is no enemy in sight, as long as shout of undaunted courage is no idle boast!
no danger threatens, as long as the trumpet-blast does                      All the more dear to the heart of the Christian this
n'ot call to battle, but whose heart will sink and whose psalm is, because of the fact, that it was triumphantly
boasting will be silenced as soon as actual danger sung, in the remembrance of past troubles and in the
arises, at the very first onslaught of the enemy? Such presence of new, always threatening dangers.
there are. Christians that are heroes when there is                         For, though in lesser degree than was the case with
no call for heroism of faith; that appear to be of the the Lord's anointed of old, yet also the path of the
caliber that characterizes martyrs, as long as the scaf- Christian is often, is more frequently steep and rough.
folds are not erected and the fires at the stakes are not His enemies are many, more numerous according as he
kindled, but who disappear from the battle front when is faithful to Him Who called him out of darkness into
the forces of opposition come marching on, and may His marvelous light. And the calm confidence of the
presently be found in the ranks of the foe! Vain servant of old, expressed in this precious song, inspired
boasters . . . .                                                       by the Spirit of Christ, is to him a comfort in the
   Were the circumstances of the poet such as to offer way . . . .
no occasion for fear and trembling, when he shouted                         Whom shall I fear?
these words of victory and confidence?                                       Of whom shall I be afraid?
   With certainty these circumstances cannot be                              No, the words do not express absence of trouble
determined. It is not known exactly when David com- and danger. Neither are they the expression of proud,
posed this psalm, neither can the occasion of its com- supercillious  folly, an attempt to hide a heart full of
position be ascertained. Conjectures are made with worry and fear. This also men will do in the pride of
regard to this question. It was the time, when he fled their heart. Pain and suffering cuts through their
before the face of his rebellious and haughty son,  Ab-                 flesh, but they will not wince,; sorrow and grief gnaws

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

     at their ve&y life roots, but they do not complain; there he match his own strength against that of the enemy,
     is danger and trouble on every side, but they do not and does he count the number of his hosts over against
     flinch, and even though they know that there is no the forces of opposition, thus assuring himself that he
     saIvation,  that there is no possibility of escape from is stronger than all his foes and laughing in the face .of
     the threatening destruction, they haughtily and proud~- the enemy ?             .
     ly cry out: what shall I fear? . . . .                          If he did, his boast would be vain. Never is the
          The poet means something quite different.               child of God nearer his own downfall than when he is
          When he shouts in triumph and challenges the boasting of his own strength. One of the dearest dis-
     threatening foe, he expresses nothing less than that ciples of the Lord thus climbed the imaginary rock of
     there is no' reason for him to fear !                        self-reliance, in spite of the ,repeated  warnings of the
          There is darkness, for he speaks of Jehovah as his Master. Oh, how strong he was in his love to the
     light. There  is oppression and  misery, for he speaks of Saviour ; how firm he was in his faithfulness to Him !
     Jehovah as. his salvation. There is danger threatening Never, no never would he be offended, though all were !
     on every side, for he speaks of Jehovah as the strength, Far was it from him, that he should ever deny the
     that is,.the fortress of his life. And, oh, how true a11 Lord ! Ready he knew himself to be to go into- prison
     these things are of the pathway of the children of God and into death with the Master he loved ! Eut, ah, how
     in the midst of the world ! There is darkness in the miserably he failed ! The sight of his Lord in trouble
     way  ; darkness of sin and suffering, darkness of sorro-w and in the power of' the enemies, the question of a
     and grief, the very darkness, too, that characterizes us simple damsel in that horrible night of Jesus' betrayal,
     as we are by nature. There, is oppression and misery, these are sufficient  to. cast Peter down from the high
     the very oppression of the power of death within and rock of his perfect self-confidencg,  and send him head-
     round about. There is danger threatening all around, Iong into the depth of shame and humiliation, where he
     enemies, that would swallow us up. There is the devil fmds himself, when he stands outside of the gate of the
     going about as a roaring Eon, seeking whom he may palace of the High Priest, weeping bitter tears of rel
     devour, the arch-enemy of Christ and His people, the pentance  . . . .
     powerful Prince of darkness who hates the light, be-            It is only on the brink of faithlessness and sin, that
     cause he is darkness and there is no light in him. There we boast of our fearlessness in the pride of self-reh-
     is the power of the world, tempting, seducing, singing ante.
     its siren song, or threatening and fuming, breathing            Not so the poet!
     death and destruction . . . .                                   And not so the child of God. that is really strong.
        a. Whom shall I fear?                                        Just hear this same jubilant psalmist, when he
        ' Of whom shall I be afraid ?                             bows himself in the dust and commits himself to the
         The poet is squarely looking at reality. He is connt-    throne of grace with all his troubles and temptations:
     ing the -foes. He realizes the danger. Yet he feels no "Hear,  8 Lord, when I cry with my voice  ; have mercy
     fear. `His heart does not tremble. He rather challenges Z&O upon me and answer me; Hide not thy face far
     the enemy to rise up against him.                            from me  ; put not thy servant away in anger ; thou hast
         Neither is his attitude one of foolish and rash dare- been my help, leave me not, neither forsake me, 0 God
     d e v i l t r y .                                            of my salvation. Deliver me not over unto the will  of
         But he does not fear, because there is no reason to mine enemies; for false witnesses are risen up against
     fear. He is not afraid, in the face of all the enemies       me and such as breathe out cruelty !" Is, we would be
     that threaten him and of  al1 the danger that threatens inclined to ask, this trembling, praying, supplicating
I    his life, because he feels himself perfectly safe.           child of God, who complains fearfully of the cruel at-
         The enemy may rave. An host may encamp against tempts of the enemy, the same as he, who just a mo-
     him.                                                         ment ago cried out in perfect assurance of safety and
         Yet, there is no fear in his heart.                      victory : whom shall I fear? Of whom shall I be
         Because real danger there can be none.                   afraid? . . . .
                                                                     It is, and it could not be different.
                                                                     For in his weeping and supplication he confesses
         Whom shall I fear?                                       his own weakness and helplessness, and in the confes-
         Of whom shall I be afraid ?                              sion of this personal weakness lies the very strength of
         There is no danger that can threaten, there is no        the child of God. For while realizing his weakness, he
     foe that can reach me ; why, then, should I be afraid ?      clings by the strong power of faith to the Almighty as
         But where is the poet's ground for such triumphant the God of his salvation, like ivy clinging to the rock,
     shouting  ? What is there, that may justify this like a trembling child sheltering close to father `. . . .
     jubilant feeling of perfect safety in the midst of ene-         And thus clinging to the  Ahnighty, he shouts:
     mies ?                                                       Jehovah is my light, my salvation, the fortress of my
         Is he, perhaps, confident of his own strength over Iife I
     against the power of the enemy? Is his triumphant               Hence, there can be no danger.
     shout the expression of complete self-reliance? Does            Whom shall I fear? . . . .


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            171

   Surely, the jubilant poet is confident, but it is the but stumble into their own death, shout for joy: Of
confidence of faith, that always finds its strength, not whom shall I be afraid  ? The Lord is the strength of
in self, but in God, in Jehovah. And Jehovah is the my life !
immutable I Am, the unchangeable Rock, with Whom                 Thus, all is well.
there is no changeableness neither shadow of turning.            His light never darkens, His salvation never fails,
He never changes in Himself, He iS from everlasting His powerful fortress never falls.
to everlasting the same, the same in power, the same             Our own strength is nought. Reliance on it results
in wisdom, the same in His faithfulness and love. And only in disappointment.
as He is the immutable one in Himself, so He is un-              Neither must flesh ever glory in self.
changeable in His attitude to the people He carried in           But weak in self, clinging to Him, strong in the
His loving heart from before the foundation of the consciousness, that our ever faithful covenant-God is
world. With an unchangeable purpose He leads them our light, our salvation, our strong fortress, we may
on to glory, that they may be made like unto the image go our way rejoicing, cheerfully singing as we go:
of His Son ; with an unchangeable love He holds their
hand and leads them all the way; with immutable and                    My Saviour `neath Thy sheltering wings
perfect wisdom He directs them in the way, over moun-                    My soul delights to dwell;
tain-peaks and through deep ravines, through dark                      Still closer to Thy side I press,
nights and in the bright sunlight, through the midst of                  For near Thee all is well.
the hosts of the enemy, through fire and through                       My soul shall conquer every foe,
water, always keeping in view the purpose whereunto                       Upholden  by Thy hand ;
He called them out of darkness into His marvelous                      Thy people shall rejoice in God,
light; with almighty power He defends  them,`holds  the                  Thy saints in glory stand.
enemies in His power, so that they can do nought                                                              H. H.
against His will, yea, so that they can only serve the
very salvation of His people.
   The night may be very dark, but if He is my light,
the darkest night is as the brightest day, for He is the          OVER HET AANHALEN  VAh TERSTEN
true light, that can guide me  aright,  the perfect light,
that will conduct me to glory, the constant light that           remand bepaalde onze aandacht bij een hoofdartikel
never is extinguished and never fades. And if, in the in  The Standard-Bulletin  van den 7 Dee.  I., waarop, zoo
joyful assurance of faith, I may confess that He is my meende onze vriend, het  we1 der moeite waard is even
light, the night of sin and death, of suffering and te reflecteeren in 012s blad. En  toen  wij het bewuste
danger does not intimidate me. Cheerfully I may go artikel lazen,  waren  we het aanstonds met onzen op-
onward, having light in the darkness and triumph- merkzamen vriend eens.
antly singing : whom shall I fear? Jehovah is my                 Het artikel heeft tot opschrift: "Giving Thanks
light!                                                        Always For All Things" en bedoelt dus een Dankdag-
   The evil that threatens me may be great. Troubles ontboezeming te zijn van den redakteur. Reeds aan-
may  overwhelm  my soul, pains of hell, bonds of death stonds treft het ons echter, dat het Dankdag-opstelletje
may lay hold upon us, but if He is my salvation, there eigenlijk slechts zeer  kort is en slechts als een aanloopje
can be no power of hell and death strong enough to gebruikt wordt door den schrijver om zijn hart eens te
carry me down into destruction, yea, these very powers kmmen  luchten tegenover sommige menschen en  schrij-
must work together to save me and lead me on to glory.        vers die des redakteurs dierbare gemeene gratie  looche-
And if, with the strong confidence of faith, I may live nen, voornamelijk we1 tegen de redakteurs van Ret
in the glad assurance that He is my salvation, I have Oosten en  De  Nollandsche   Amerikaan,  waar voorts
every reason to be fearless in trouble and to shout in tech,  al generaliseerend,  zich ook  richtend  tegen  allen,
the midst of trouble: what evil shall I fear? Jehovah die "de xonde"  begaan van de loochening der algemeene
is my salvation !                                             genade. Nu zouden wij, wat ons persbonlijk betreft,
   The enemy that threatens my life may be strong niet op dergelijke artikelen  willen reflecteeren, omdat
and numerous. They may encamp against me, a verit-            wij  het der moeite niet waard achten des geachten
abIe host. They may advance to eat up my flesh, to            schrijvers argumenten te ontzenuwen.          Zijn pijlen
destroy my life. But if Jehovah is the strength of my schieten niet diep.  `Ze blijven gewoonlijk iemand in de
life, the fortress in which my life is guarded, there can     bovenkleeren  hangen.  De  reden of oorzaak hiervan
be no danger that the purpose of the enemy will ever          moet misschien  we1  hierin  gezocht  worden,   I dat de
be realized, for that Fortress no enemy ever could            schrijver een zeer breed veld beslaan wil in zijn arti-
enter, no powers of death and hell could ever capture. kelen. Hij behandelt vraagstukken van sociologische,
And if, in the joyful trust of faith, that I am in the politieke en theologische beteekenis en  zegt dan altijd
midst of the strong fortress of my life, I rely solely        maar het laatste en afdoende woord op al deze  terrei-
on Him, I may well challenge the enemy, advancing nen. Als iemand niet op zijn stokpaardje van Prohibi-
against me for destruction and, knowing that they can tion wil rijden, dan is hij, aldus de schrijver, een helper

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

van  bootleggers en  hi-.iackers!  En schier  medelijdend niet te gelooven, weigeren de waarheid  aan te nemen.
roept hij het laaste woord uit over de theologische            Zij  willen niet buigen  vo6r het Woord van God. Zij
kwestie der  Gsmeene  Gratie: "What a pity, yea what a zijn eigenlijk Schriftaanranders, ongeloovigen,  moder-
sin to deny God's common grace !" Nu, wat zal men nen, ja, er zijn eigenlijk geen woorden voor te vinden
daarvan zeggen ? Als een klein stroompje  zich wil  uit-       om zulke menschen te beschrijven. Als het artikel dan
spreiden over `t geheele land en  zich breed wil  vertak-      ook geen blijde Dankdag-meditatie van den schrijver
ken, dan loopt  men er ten slotte door zonder de kousen        geweest ware, weet ik niet, hoe hij die menschen we1
nat te krijgen.                                                zou hebben beschreven. Maar zeker is, dat zij Gods
    Maar er zijn misschien nog onderscheidene onzer            Woord niet gelooven.
Protestantsche Gereformeerde menschen, die  The                   In de derde plaats  willen wij er op wijzen, dat zulk
Standard-Bulletin  lezen. En men kan soms niet weten,          aanhalen van teksten zeer gevaarlijk is. Men geeft
welken invIoed  er nog hier en daar kan uitgaan van dan geen verklaring. Tech doet men een zekere ver-
zulk geschrijf.                                                klaring we1 zeer duidelijk uitkomen als de eenige moge-
    Daarom meenden we  tech even te  moeten reflectee-         lijke. En zoo draagt men ongemerkt  scheve   voorstel-
ren op bedoeld artikel                                         lingen van zekere stukken der Heilige Schrift  in het
    We willen enkele grepen doen uit des schrijvers ont- bewustzijn des volks in. Langzamerhand  worden
boezemingen, om hier en daar zijn geschrij f eens te zulke plaatsen der S&rift weer door het volk in den-
toetsen  aan de waarheid.                                      zelfden Remonstrantschen zin gebezigd, als waarop de
    Allereerst  willen  wij wijzen op de losse wijze, waar-    schrijver dit doet. En al zijn zulke verklaringen dan
op de schrijver met teksten uit de Heilige  Schrift            ook reeds duizendmaal weerlegd, zij blijven  tech hier
speelt. Wij zullen eerst aanhalen uit des schrijvers en daar hangen  en doen  haar werk bij de menigte.
artikel, en voor het gemak onzer lezers de aanhalingen            Daarom willen we er in de vierde plaats ook even
maar vertalen :                                                op wijzen, dat de schrijver het mis heeft, dat zijne
    "Alweer," aldus de schrijver, "zij schijnen niet te verklaring, ik bedoel de verklaring, die hij blijkbaar
gelooven, dat Gods `zaligmakende genade verschenen is aan deze woorden hecht, de ware niet is en niet zijn
aan alle  .menschen'  ofschoon Gods Woord ons zulks kan. En op gevaar af, dat hij nog eens zal zeggen,
leert.                                                         dat wij de Sehrift niet gelooven en weigeren de  waar-
    "Al verder, zij schijnen niet te gelooven, dat God heid te aanvaarden, ontkennen wij, dat Gods Woord
wil dat `alle menschen' zalig worden  en tot de kennis         op die plaatsen eene algemeene genade leert.
der waarheid komen."                                              De eerste tekst, dien de schrijver aanhaalt, is geno-
    Wat verder zegt de schrijver:                              men uit Titus 2 :11 : "Want de zaligmakende genade
    "Zij weigeren om de waarheid aan te nemen, dat Gods is verschenen aan alle menschen." Het springt
Christus  de Joden  liefhad, die Hem verwierpen, toen allereerst in het oog, dat de apostel hier een reden aan-
Hij zeide: `Jeruzalem, Jeruzalem, gij die de profeten geeft voor iets, dat hij in het voorgaande heeft gezegd ;
doodt en steenigt, die tot  u gezonden zijn ! hoe  menig-      en tevens, dat de schrijver van het bewuste  Dankdag-
maal  heb ik uwe  kinderen   willen bijeenvergaderen, ge-      artikel, door zijn losjes aanhalen, die geheel en al over
lijkerwijs een hen hare kiekens bijeenvergadert onder het hoofd ziet. Hij verandert den tekst doordat hij
de vleugelen ; en gijlieden hebt niet gewild?' "               niet rekent met het kleine, maar zeer beteekenisvolle
    Wij willen  op enkele dingen  wijzen in verband met woordje `*want."           Dit laat hij eenvoudig weg. En
deze wijze van teksten aanhalen.                               tech werpt dit woordeke juist het rechte  licht op de
    In de eerste plaats, let er op, dat de schrijver het vraag: wat bedoelt de apostel hier met  a&  menschen?
heel gemakkelijk heeft. Hij haalt maar voor de vuist Bedoelt hij absoluut  elk mensch, die in de wereld leeft?
weg aan, zoo losjes weg. Elke poging tot Schriftonder-         Gij zegt aanstonds: dat zou niet kunnen, om de een-
zoek en verklaring der teksten, die hij aanhaalt, ont- voudige  reden,  dat zelfs het Evangelie nog slechts  aan
breekt ten eenenmale. En  tech haalt hij in het  ver-          betrekkelijk weinigen was verkondigd en de apostel
band van zijn artikel de Schriftuurplaatsen dusdanig hier spreekt van een reeds verschenen zijn van de  zalig-
aan, dat ze we1 degelijk een zekere verklaring  voor-          makende genade Gods aan alle menschen. Maar wat
staan. En de verklaring, die de schrijver voorstaat, bedoelt de apostel dan we1 ? Als ge u laat leiden door
ofschoon hij geen poging waagt tot exegese, is, dat God het woordeke "want" en dat niet eigenzinnig weglaat,
wil, dat ieder mensch, hoofd voor hoofd zaIig worde. zal  u de zaak volkomen duidelijk worden. In heel het
De teksten  worden  aangehaald op  zulk eene wijze, dat hoofdstuk schrijft de apostel over allerlei  soorten  van
de schrijver als het ware zegt : dat spreekt nu tech we1       menschen, over oude mannen  en oude vrouwen, over
vanzelf  : wie zou er nu  tech  aan kunnen twijfelen, dat jonge vrouwen en jonge mannen; en in het onmiddel-
dit de beteekenis is der teksten?                              lijk  verband spreekt hij over de dienstknechten in  be-
    In de tweede plaats moet het uwe aandacht niet trekking tot hunne heeren. Hij vermaant hen, dat zij
ontgaan, dat de schrijver elke mogelijkheid, dat er nog zich van die heeren niet zullen onttrekken, (de  bedoe-
eene andere, eerlijke uitlegging van deze woorden der ling is blijkbaar: ook al zijn die nog niet tot Christus
S&rift zou kunnen zijn, bij den wortel afsnijdt. Zij, gebracht), maar dat ze hun trouw zullen bewijzen en
die deze teksten anders opvatten, schijnen de Schrift          alzoo de leer van God onzen Zaligmaker door hunnen

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

Heere God er verre van is. Het is Hem een gruwel.           term meaning origin, first cause, and may, therefore,
    Nu kan het zijn, dat de schrijver bedoelde, dat er      be conveniently used to signify the rule of Him
werkelijk in de vergaderingen van landsgrooten een          (Christ) who is at once the source of the rule exercise,
waarachtig gebed tot God wordt opgezonden in den He being God. The primary meaning of jurisdiction,
naam van  Christus  en op grond van Zijn volbrachte on the other hand, is to proclaim the 2au;. This term
offerande, die eenmaal aan het kruis geschied is. En        may then be made to apply to the rule of the under-
dan  willen  we met hem God  danken  voor dit blijde shepherds in the church.
feit.                                                          Fact is, however, that from time memorial, so to
    Maar als hij bedoelt, dat men in zijn gebed met de say, dogmaticians have been speaking of the authority
offerande van Christus  niet rekent, dat men meent tot      (gezag) both of Christ and of the particular office. In
den Allerhoogste te kunnen naderen,  om dingen  van view of this, it would lead to endless confusion to de-
Hem af te smeeken, buiten  Christus en Zijn offerande part from what seems to be the accepted usage of these
om, dan zeggen we zonder aarzelen, dat dit geen gebed       two terms. Hence, either of the statements "Author-
is, dat de Heere God buiten den Middelaar Gods en der ity resides not in the office but in the word," or,
menschen niet te bereiken is, en dat Hij zekerlijk Zijn     "Authority resides not in the word but in the office"
oor sluit voor het geroep dergenen, die het bloed van are extremely misleading. It is better, I think, to con-
Christus  vertrappen.                                       tinue speaking of the authority both of Christ and of
    Ook hier geldt het weer: wij  moeten niet droomen. the peculiar office and thereupon to distinguish between
    Wij  moeten ons door enkele algemeenheden niet van the authority of the peculiar office and that of the
het  rechte  spoor laten brengen.                           Word or of Christ.
    Wij kunnen  we1 veel bazelen van algemeene genade,         We did so. It was asserted that, according to the
gebruiken groote woorden, die den toets der Heilige         plain teachings of Scripture, the church has but one
S&rift niet kunnen doorstaah en verleiden daardoor Monarch, to-wit, Christ; that there is a very essential
vele zwakke zielen, zoodat wij straks het  schoone  rijk    difference between the character of Christ's rule, and
van den Antichrist voor het koninkrijk der hemelen the character of the rule of His under-shepherds and
aanzien.                                                    rulers in the church. Christ is the sole law maker of
    Maar wij voor ons houden ons Iiever bij het  Woord      and the source of all rule exercised in the church. His
onzes Gods, dat van al die algemeenheden niets moet law He proclamated through the instrumentality of His
hebben, dat ons  leert, dat God een vriend is dergenen,     agents, called, capacitated and sustained by Him. He
die Hem vreezen, maar dat zij, die Zijn Woord ver-          vested with the special office is no legislator, but a mere
achten niets anders hebben te wachten dan Gods ge-          messenger of Christ whose particular right and duty it
duchte straffen.                                            is to proclaim the law and the Word of His Divine
    Gods volk zij gewaarschuwd !                       .    Sender. Christ imposed His mind and will upon the
    Tot de wet en tot de getuigenis ! Zoo zij niet spre-    church in the Word He spoke through the mouth of the
ken naar dit woord, het zal zijn, dat zij geen dageraad     prophets and the apostles. The authority of Christ,
hebben.                                                     then, is a right, inhering in Himself, He being God, to
                                              H. H.         impose upon His sheep His mind and will as incor-
                                                            porated in His Word. That of the particular office is
                                                 I          the derived right to proclamate Christs' word.
                                                               This Word, further, is with us. Being the vehicle
              THE PECULIAR OFFICE                           of the mind and will of God, it as such necessitates obe-
                                                            dience, justifies and condemns, binds and looses. The
    There are some points in the preceding article, ap-     right of rule, then, and the right to condemn and to
pearing under the above caption in the need of a word pronounce just inheres not in the person of him vested
of explanation. An inquiry was made into the meaning with the peculiar office, nor does it enter in the make-
of the three terms authority, power and jurisdiction. up of the office he bears. To the contrary, it inheres
The discovery was made that the three terms, the one in the Divine person of the Mediator and enters into
as well as the other, are being used as the signification the constituency of the office with which He as
of  rule,  government. Now the three elements, so it was Mediator was vested. He only has this right, He be-
said, entering into the make-up of a complete and full      ing God. Here it is that we and Rome arrive at the
rule are three in number, to-wit, (a) the making of the parting of the ways. Rome maintains that not the liv-
law, (b) its proclamation, (c) and the actual rule when ing Word  - a Word Scripture describes as quick and
the proclamated law is being obeyed. Only the gov-          powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword,
ernment of him who rules by right either inherent in piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and
himself (the triune God) are derived from a lawful          spirit, and of the joints and morrow, capable of dis-
source, is lawful. Opposed to the lawful ruler is the       cerning the thoughts and intends of the heart - but
usurper.                                                    the priest condemns and forgives, binds and looses and
    We discovered that as to their primary meaning,         that as one occupying Christ's place in His church on
the two terms do differ. Authority is derived from a earth. The right to forgive sin, so it is taught, was


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       177
 affixed  to the person of the pope. It is not Christ who      is." This assertion is in the need of further explana-
 speaks to the soul of the penitent but the priest.           tion. The church possesses a Word in to which Christ
         Hence, no one can do without him. He is indis-        projected His divine mind and will. This Word, there-
 pensable to the distressed soul in quest of peace. Aside      fore, and not the person of the office-bearer is the
 from him, no salvation is possible. This was the hor- superior to which the body of Christ submits. How-
 rible fallacy under which the church labored some four ever, whereas the particular office is one consisting of
 centuries preceding the Reformation.         However, it the right and duty to proclamate this Word, is follows
 then happened that God healed the wounds of Luther's that this office, in the event he inducted into it is faith-
 disquieted soul by His Word not as uttered by the            ful in the discharge of his duty, is elevated by the
 priest but as received by this monk directly from the        Word to a position of superiority relative to the body
 pages of Holy Writ. It was the proclamation of this submissive to the speech of Christ.
 vital bit of experience which, taking root in soil well          Let us now say a few words about absolution - an
 prepared, broke down the edifice of the Pope, and            institution, originating in the early church, retained
inaugurated a movement known in history as the Re- by Luther and Calvin, but dispensed with by the Re-
formation.                                                    formed churches. An institution, finally, which various
         In fine, it appears, as was before said, that the    Christian Reformed churches, in compliance with
authority of the particular office and that of Christ or Synod's decree, recently inserted into their order of
the Word (the two cannot be separated) differ as to public worship. The term absolution is derived from
character. The authority of Christ is a right to r&e,         the Latin absolve,  a word meaning to loose from, un-
the right to condemn and to justify, the right to bind bind, unfasten, free, liberate, and signified the formula
and to loose. As was before said, Christ projected His "I absolve thee,"  - a formula which, when uttered by
divine mind, will, decree and intentions in His Word the pope or the priest as his agent, was supposed to
inclosed  this day between the two covers of a book free the penitent from the guilt and the  offence  of his
known as the Bible. This Word being the vehicle of sin.
the thoughts and intentions of the divine mind of                Let us now direct our attention to the grave error
Christ, rules, necessitates obedience, condemns and in which the institution envolved the papacy. Doing so
justifies. It (this Word) does so as such, apart from we set out calling attention to the elements constitut-
the priest or the minister of the Gospel. Not he, but ing the Divine pardon of sin. These elements are two
the Word is indispensable to him in quest of eternal          in number, to-wit, (a) an act of God consisting in His
life.                                                         cancelling the sins of his elect and pronouncing him
    The authority of the particular office, on the. other guiltless for Christ's sake ; (b) an act of God consist-
hand, is the right to proclaim the mind, will, decree ing in His entering by His spirit and His word the
and intentions of Christ as incorporated in His Word.         distressed heart of the penitent one, born of God, to
It (this authority) is the right and duty to proclamate,      testify with his spirit that God as his Father in Christ
as a called messenger and servant of Christ's Word Jesus does and ever will, for Christ's sake, hold him
which as such rules, necessitates obedience, condemns guiltless and grant him eternal life.
and justifies.                                                   Such are the elements constituting the divine par-
    It was pointed out that the above presentation of don. If so, it will be seen at once that no man can ,for-
the matter of the character of the rule of the special give sin. For the divine cancellation is at once a re-
office is not in conflict with those notices of Scripture     moval of sin in Christ in and through whom God  him-
which by implication assert that he vested with the self took away both juridically and ethically the sin
special office is the ruler in the church. For whereas of His elect so that it no longer exists as guilt and is
the Word as  such  rules and exerts dominion, it follows destined to disappear as spiritual  filth or pollution.
that he whose task it is to administer and to  pro-              I repeat, in a sense, just explained, no man, not
clamate t.he Word, rules. This rule, then, resides in the even the apostles and much less the pope, can absolve
Word, and is necessarily added with the Word to the a sinner. No mere human can cancel sin in the sense
office of him who is called upon to function as the of juridically removing it. No mere human can brake
minister  of this Word. That is to say, the office-bearer and soften the hard heart of a spiritually dead sinner
rules in conjunction with the Word or, better still, as and prevail upon it to embrace the promise of Divine
one associated with Christ -the seat of rule. Let him pardon.
part company with Christ and the Word and his rule               In what sense, then, may and does a called' agent
ceases. He vested with the special office, rules, then, of Christ (the minister of the gospel) forgive sin?
in that he proclamates a Word which as such exerts            But one possibility remains. The task of the mes-
dominion.                                                     sengers of Christ, and this applies to the apostles as
    In this connection we wish to comment upon an- well, is to proclaim a Word - the word of Christ -
other statement of our appearing in the preceding ar- which as such asserts that God has cancelled or for-
ticle. It reads: "Our final remark is that the office-        given, does cancel and ever will, the sins of the broken
bearer, though an organ of the congregation is, never- of heart.
theless, above and a ruler of the body whose organ he            What now are the various tenets constituting the

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

 ground-work of that Roman Catholic institution the first pope to use the above-cited designation in a
 known  as absolution? The following :                            plenary indulgence was Celestine V, whose relations to
        (a)    It is the exclusive right of the pope to pro- the Spirituals are well known. The next pope, Boni-
 &mate the Divine Word  of pardon, so that Christ will face VIII, disapproved and revoked it, probably, how-
 not speak to the distressed soul directly from the pages ever, not on the ground of general opposition to in-
 of Holy writ.                                                    dulgence a mlpa et: poenn,  but as objecting to the con-
        (b)    The pope, as the agent of Christ was vested        cession of such an indulgence to a particular church in
 with the right to stand in Christ's room in His church           perpetuity. In any case, his objection to it was not
 on earth to cancel, that is, to remove juridically as long maintained at Rome , . . . The free use of this
 Christ's mouthpiece the sins of those who repent.                kind of indulgence by recent popes, especially John
        (c) The right  to- absolve the penitent is ex- XXIII, led to attempts in the council of Constance to
 clusively the pope's - a right which he in turn exer- abate the practice ; but nothing further was' attained
 cises through his agents,  - the priests.                        than the revocation, by Martin V in his reforming de-
    It may be that someone will interpolate that  "I mis- cree `of J418, of such indulgences granted to special
 represent the doctrine of Rome when I assert that the localities."
 pope (and the priest as the pope's agent) assigns to                The substance of the above selection is that, in the
 himself the exclusive right to stand in Christ's room above cited centuries the popes had indeed assigned to
 and cancel sin. In replying,  1 call attention to the themselves the right to juridically liberate, as agents
 formula of absolution in vogue in the Roman Catholic of Christ, it is true, but nevertheless in His room, the
 Church. It reads: "I, th.e pope, I, the priest absolve penitent one from his sins.
 thee." To absolve means to free, separate sin and the               The  pope's  letter of absolution sold by Tetzel yield
 sinner. "I, the priest, absolve thee penitent one, that the same conclusion. We present the following  ,extracts  :
 is, I liberate, separate from thee thy sin." Such was               "And I, in .virtue of the apostolic power that has
 the speech of the priest. To anyone who may still been confided me, absolve thee from all ecclesiastical
 object that I misrepresent Rome  I ask: What may the censures, judgments, and penalties which thou mayest
 priest then pretent  to be doing when he says: "I ab- have incurred; moreover, from all excesses, sins, and
 solve thee." Can it be that he merely means to be en- crimes that thou mayest have committed, however,
 gaged in declaring to the penitent sinner: "I, as the            great and enormous they may be, and from whatever
 mouthpiece of Christ, declare to you, broken of heart,           cause, were they ever reserved for our most holy father
 the very Word of Christ  - a Word which asserts that             the pope and for the apostolic see. .I blot out all the
 Christ and Cod, for Christ's sake, do and ever will              stains of inability and all marks of infamy that thou
 absolve, separate from thee forever thy sin?                     mayest have drawn upon thyself on this occasion. I
    In support of the contention to the effect that the           remit the penalties that thou shouldst have endured in
 popes of Luther's day had appropriated the .right to             purgatory. I restore thee anew to participation in the
 liberate the penitent from the guilt of sin, we quote            sacraments of the church. 1 incorporate, thee afresh
 from the article of T. Brieger incorporated in  5%               in the communion of saints, and re-establish thee in
 Wew  Scha,#-Herm.q   Ennyclopcdin   of Religious Knowl- the purity and innocence which thou hadst at baptism.
 edge, Vol. `V, p. 487. The selection reads as follows:           So that in the hour of death, the gate by which sinners
 "After the decay of the crusading enthusiasm, the in- enter the place of torments and punishment shall be
 dulgence granted for that purpose (an indulgence was closed against thee, and, on the contrary, the gate lead-
 and still is a written absolution, G. M. 0.) had thrust ing to the paradise of joy shall be open . . . . " Taken
 out a new shoot in the jubilee indulgence which, in-             from D'Aubigne's  History  of the Reforma.tion.
 vented by Boniface VTII, in  1.300, became increasingly             ff words have any meaning, the above quoted selec-
 remunerative to the popes, especially after it  couId  be tion declares in unmistakable terms that the popes had
 gained (beginning with Boniface IX, in the last decade assumed the right to justify the sinner and usher him
 of the Fourteenth century) outside of Rome itself, and in heaven.
 not only in a jubilee year, but as often as the pope                "God absolves, forgives thee, liberates thee from
 pleased. It has only recently been realized that the             thy sin, sinner, through my (the pope's) mouth only.
 indulgence of the last medieval centuries show rather               "The Word received by you directly from the pages
 an essentially new form than a mere abuse of the                 of God's Word will avail you nothing.
 theory. Ey the middle of the thirteenth century  the                "To  absoIve thee, sinner, is my exclusive right."
 indulgences granted to the crusaders must have been                 Such are indeed the tenents constituting the ground
 widely understood  n,.s  n  libern,tion  or  c&sol&ion   f%nz    work of the institution known as absolution. It was
 pen&y and fcdt. Tt is not then surprising that, a few the. denial of these propositions which set on foot a
 decades later, the `famous Portiuncula indulgence `was movoment known in history as the Reformation -.- a
 designated as liberation `from all  fad  and  peizdty.'          movement emancipating the church, and causing the
 This unique character won high esteem  among  `tlie              throne of the pope to totter. These propositions it was
 spur&& Franciscans not long after the middle of the              then ,that comprised the bone of contention between
thirteenth century ; and this accounts for the"%&  that           Luther and the pope. Against these false claims of


                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAR&                                                  179

     Rome the ninety-five theses posted by Luther on the sulted in the return of the  believer  to God and His
     door of the church of Wittenberg constituted a pro- Word. In these theses, Luther, be it by implication,
     test. We now let follow some of these propositions: shouts in the ears of the  mope:  Abdicate, thou usurper
        "The pope cannot lemit any condemnation, but or@ from hell, make room for Christ. It need not surprise
     declare and con&m the remission of God . . . .' "                 us then that as soon as the papacy realized that the
        This single proposition alone proves that the  pope            Wittenberg disturbance amounted to something more
     had assigned unto himself the right not merely to de- than a mere storm in a tea cup, it took resources to
     clare the divine pardon but to actually liberate the              the severest measures and prepared itself for a combat
     penitent from his sin. Likewise the following:                    to the death.
        "The commissaries of indulgence are  in  error when               In fine, he who denies that the papacy had assigned
     they say, that by the papal indulgence a man is d&v- to itself the exclusive right to  libekate,  as Christ's
     ered  from every  punishment,  and is saved.                      vicar  on  earth, the sinner from the guilt and the offence
        "Those who fancy themselves sure of salvation by of sin, has failed to grasp Zh`e very issue of the Re-
     indulgence will go to perdition along with those who formation.
     teach them so.                                                       Strange to say, notwithstanding his denunciation  of
        "Every true Christian, whether dead or alive,                  false papal claims, Luther and Calvin as well, retain
     joys an entire remission both of the penalty and of the           absolution - an institution grounded upon the very
     guilt, without any need of Gzdulgence.                            tenents supporting the throne of the pope.. It cannot
        "Eevry true Christian, whether dead or alive,                  be supposed, however, that the Reformers  ctave to
     participates in all the blessings of Christ or of the             absolution  proper. If  so, it should have to be con-
     church, by God's gift, and  without  a letter  of  In-            cluded that their opposition to  P,ome was more ap-
     dulgence.                                                         parent than real ; that they yielded to the pope relative
        "We should teach Christians that if they have any the very issue of the Reformation, respecting the very
     superfluity, they are bound to keep for their own house- point of matter constituting the bone of contention be-
     holds, the means of procuring necessaries, and ought tween themselves and Rome. True, Luther had his
     not so squander their money for indulgences.                      private confessional where he sought to put at ease the
        "We should teach Christians that the pope's in-                contrite of heart with a formula reading as folIows:
     dulgence is good, if we put no confidence in it; but that *`I absolve ,thee  from thy sins in the name of Christ
     nothing is more hurtful, if it diminishes our piety.              and by virtue of His command, so that it is not I, but
        "To hope to be saved by an indulgence is a lying               He, who through my mouth forgives thee thy sin, and
     and an empty hope, although even the commissary of this thou must accept and firmly believe as if thou
.    indulgence, nay, farther, the pope himself, should                hast heard it from the lips  of  Christ the Lord." It is
     pledge their souls to quarantee it.                               as if Luther senses that the utterance "I absolve thee"
        "The true and precious treasure of the church is               does not fit in the mouth of a mere human, and that he
     the Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God:                uttering it assigns to himself a right not his but God's
        "The indulgence of the pope cannot take away the               only. For he added `<so that it is not I, but He (Christ)
     smallest sin, as far as TegcLrds  the guilt or the ojjfence.`"    who through my mouth forgives thee thy sin." If
        This last quoted proposition again proves unmis-               Luther thought he had actuaiiy corrected himself he
     takably that the popes of that day were engaged, such was sorely mistaken. For the addition "not I, but
     was their claim, in juridically removes sin, that is, in          Christ through my mouth" is no improvement what-
     separating sin and the sinner. If not, it must be said ever upon the statement "I absolve thee." The pope,
     that Luther was engaged in fighting a strawman.                   too, thought of himself as one through whose mouth
         Scanning the above cited proposition we gather Christ absolves the sinner. The question is whether
     that over agalnst the pope Luther maintained:                     Luther regarded the formula uttered by his mouth as
         "That God through the mouth of the pope does not effectual in juridically liberating the penitent  one  from
     take away the guilt and the offence  of sin.                      the guilt and  offence  of his sin; whether he thought of
         "That God, without the intervention of the pope's himself as the vehicle of a word which the believer
     mouth justifies the penitent, for the pope cannot remit could not receive directly from the pages of Holy Writ ;
     sin but merely declare the pardon of God.                         whether, finally, he regarded the practice in which he
         "That the believer can do without the absolution engaged as one limited to his caste only. These, as we
     of the pope in that God alone justifies the penitent before pointed out, constitxte  the ground work of abso-
     through the agency not of the pope's mouth but of 15s lution proper. A hasty glance at his theses cited above,
     Word which the contrite of heart may receive directly and an hurried examination of his sermons is quite
     from the pages of Holy Writ."                                     suf&ient  to convince  ns that, though ret&ining  absolu-
         Luther in the above cited proposition denies then tion, Luther had emptied the institution of its real con-
     the right of the pope to remit  sin: In doing so, he tent so that what he retained was an empty shell. We
     struck at the very heart of the  ,entire  medieval church now quote from a sermon of his on the subject of for-
     system, set on foot a movement which compelled the giveness of sin:
     pope to release his hold on men's conscience, and re-                 "The remission of sin is in the power neither of

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

 the pope, nor of the bishop, or of the priests, nor of         conviction cannot be escaped that the Word may be
 any other man, but reposes solely on the word of               dispensed of.
 Christ, and on your own faith. For Christ designed                                                                      G. M. 0.
 not to build our consolation, our salvation, on the word                                                        %
 or on the work of man, but solely on Himself, on His
 work and on His Word. Thy repentance and all thy
 works may deceive thee, He will not falter, and the                                    BEKENDMAKING
 devil shall not overthrow His words.                               Op den eersten Woensdag in Februari 1929, D. V.,
        "A pope or a bishop has no more power than the          hopen onze kerken in Classis te vergaderen in het kerk-
 lowliest priest, as regards remission of sins. And even gsbouw der Prot. Geref. kerk te Hull, la.
 were there no priests, each Christian, even a woman                We zouden gaarne  willen dat iedere kerkeraad ons
 or a child, can do the same thing. For if a simple             de namen hunner afgevaardigden zond.
 Christian says to you, `God pardons sin in the name                Indien er anderen mochten  wezen, buiten onze  af-
 of Jesus Christ,' and you receive this word with a firm        gevaardigden, verzoeken wij ook dezulken ons dit te
 faith, and as if God Himself were addressing you, you          laten weten.
g are absolved.                                                     Hopende dat ge aan dit ons verzoek zult voldoen
        "If you do not believe your sins are forgiven, you en u in welstand  te mogen ontmoeten.
 make God a liar, and you put more confidence in your               Namens de Commissie ter regeling voor verblijf-
 own vain thoughts, than in God and His Word.                   plaatsen,
        "Under the Old Testament, neither prophet,                                                         E. GRITTERS,
 priest, nor king had the power of proclaiming remis-                                                                    Perkins,  Ia.
 sion of sins. But under the New, each believer has this            P. S. De afgevaardigden van Michigan en Illinois
 power. The church is overflowing with remission of kunnen het gemakkelijkst de Chicago, Milwaukee, St.
 sins. If  a pious Christian consoles thy conscience with       Paul en Pacific nemen van Chicago `s avonds 6  :15, de
 the Word of the cross, let it be man or woman, young           naam van de "flyer" is de "Sioux," terwijl de broeders
 or old, receive this consolation with such faith as rather     van Waupun dezelfde trein kunnen nemen te Madison,
 to die many deaths than to doubt that it will be so            Wis., des avonds om ongeveer 10 uur.
 before God. Repent, do all the works in thy power;
 but let the faith thou hast in pardon through Jesus                                      -        -        -
 Christ be in the foremost rank, and command alone
 on the field of battle." L. Opp. L. 17. 162. Quoted                                     IN MEMORIAM
 from D'Aubigne's  History of the Reformation.                     Den  19en  Dec. 1928 behaagde het den Heere tot  Zich te
     Luther, let it be noticed, brought man face to face        nemen  onze   geliefde  vrouw,   doohter  en  zuster,
 with God. In the words of D'Aubigne,  "The work of                                 MRS. CHRISTINA DEPPE
                                                                                                         geb. Schoo,
 forgiveness descended pure from on high, without               in den ouderdom van 31 jaar.
 passing through a thousand corrupting channels. In                Zmht en kalm ontslie zij in haren Heer en Heiland, Die
                                                                zij in al haar lijden hier Beneden  ten allen  tijde socht.
 order that the testimony of God should be efficacious,            Moge de  Deere  ons ten  allen  tijde Zijne rijke troost schenken.
 it was no longer necessary for men to set their delusive                                  f55,  Jyo$e pe
 seal to it. The monopoly of the sacerdotal caste was                                                     !ichoo
                                                                                           Mr. `en Mrs George Rininck
 abolished ; the church was emancipated."                                                  Mr. en Mrs Fred  Schoo
                                                                                           Mr. en Mrs. Egbert  Schoo
     By no means, then, did Luther regard himself as                                       Mr. en Mrs. Richard De Zeeuw
 one whose exclusive right it was to set free the sinner;                                  Mr. en Mrs. Herman Schoo
                                                                                           Mr. en Mrs Wiiam Scheltema
 as one rendering the Word of pardon effectual and                                         Miss Gertrude  Schoo
 adding to that Word a certain efficaciousness it as such          Grand Rapids, Mich.
 not already possessed. Luther's absolution is an affair
 innocent enough in itself. Though retaining the insti-
 tution he denied the power thereof. Then why did he                         Grijp moed - o pelgrim,  draag Uw kruis
 retain it? There can only be one answer. Luther, and                          Eens eindigt alle Ieed en pijn
 this applies to Calvin as well, did not wholly succeed in                     Wat zal dat zalig zijn.
 purging themselves .from  the leaven of Romanism. The                       Straks komen al Gods kind'ren thuis
 Reformed churches of a latter date dispensed with the
 institution altogether.
     Our final remark is that one of the evils resulting                     Liefde Gods ! wie kan doorgronden
 from the institution in question was the cessation of                        Wie gij zijt en wat gij geeft?
 the preaching of the Word of God. This was as could                         Wie uw zhligheid verkonden,
 be expected. For if the Word is rendered ineffective                          Die begin noch einde heeft?
 as the agent or vehicle of Divine pardon and if the                          Als het hart  aan  u gelooft,
 right to cancel sin is afhxed to the particular office, the                   Valt de doornenkroon van `t hoofd.


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        185
Zijn goddelijke kracht, om  alle  dingen  te verlossen.                      THE ANOINTING AT BETMANY
Straks staat Hij Zelf uit de dooden op in het heerlijke
leven des hemels als het Hoofd van Zijn volk, vaart                                      (John 12 :1-8)
Hij door de hoogste hemelen en zit  aan de rechterhand                 In the whole bearing and conduct of Jesus in and
des hemelschen Vaders, stort Hij Zijn Geest uit in het about Jericho there was much to indicate that some
midden  van Zijn volk, wederbaart Hij door het wonder great crisis in His .history  was at hand. it does not
der genade, roept hij het  licht des hemels uit de  duis- surprise us to be told of the disciples believing "that
ternis des doods, herschept Hij een volk, dat Hem gege-            the kingdom of God should immediately appear." It
ven is, opdat het  eene openbaring zou zijn van het was because He knew that they were so misconceiving
wonder der genade in het  midden der wereld. Straks the future that lay before Him and them, that, either
doet Hij hen door den dood ingaan in het  .leven,  wekt in the house of Zacheus, or afterwards on the way to
Hij hun stof op uit den slaap des doods, verheerlijkt  en Jerusalem, Jesus addressed to them the parable of the
verhemelscht Hij alle dingen,  in Zich vereenigd, om den Pounds. He would have them know, and could they
tabernakel Gods eeuwiglijk bij de menschen te doen                 but have penetrated the meaning of that parable they
zijn. Dan heeft de regeering Gods haar  eindbestem-                would have seen, that so far from any such kingdom as
ming bereikt  naar den eeuwigen raad, des Heeren ; en they were dreaming of being about to be set up for
dan is het wonder  der genade zijn  voleinding  inge-              them in Jerusalem, He was going through the dark
gaan.                                                              avenue of death to another, to a far country, to receive
                                                        H. H.      the ,kingdom  there, and after a long interval return;
                                                                   and that, so far from them being about to share the
                                                                   honors and rewards of a newly erected empire, they
                                                                   were to be left without a head, each man to occupy and
                      A N N O U N C E M E N T   r                  to labor till He came again. Another parable, that
                                                                   of the laborers in the Vineyard, spoken but a day or
   Meeting of the- Curatorium of our Theological two before, had an kindred object -- was intended to
School will be held, D. V., Tuesday, February 5, at 7 check the too eager and ambitious thirst for the dis-
o'clock, p. m., in the basement of the Protestant Re- tinctions and  recompences  that the apostles imagined.
formed Church at Hull, Iowa.                                       were on the eve of being dispensed. The addressing
                                 S. G. SCHAAFSMA,                  of two such parables as these to His disciples, with the
                                                        Secretary specific object of rectifying what He knew to be their
                                                                   false ideas and expectations, the readiness with which
                                                                   He listened to the cry of the blind beggars by the way-
                                                                   side, and the interest that He took in the chief of the
                                                                   publicans, conspire to show how far from a mere nar-
         OPROEP VOOR CLASSIWEDiADERING                             row or selfish one was the interest with which Jesus
   D. V. vergadert de Classis  op Woensdag, 6 Februari, looked forward to what was awaiting Him at Jerusa-
e. k., des namiddags om 1:30 (niet om 2 :30, zooals in de lem. During the two days' journey through Peraea
vorige S. B. werd aangekondigd) in. het kerkgebouw through Jericho to the holy city, His thoughts were
te Hull, Ia.                                                       often and absorbingly fixed on His approaching suffer-
   Stukken voor het Agendum moeten ingediend bij ings and death, but it was not so much in their isolated
den Stated  Slerk.                               .'                and personal as in their public and world-wide bearings
                                                                   and issues that He was contemplating them ; nor had
   Brenge de Heere ons in Zijne gunst op den  bepaal-              the contemplation any such effect as to make Him less
den datum samen.                                                   attentive to the side of thought and feeling prevailing
                                 S. G. SCHAAFSMA,                  among His disciples, or less ready to be interested in
                                                 Stated Clerk those who, like Bartimeus and Zacheus, threw them-
                                                                   selves in His way.
                                                                      In coming down into the valley of the Jordan, Jesus
                                                                   had joined the large and growing stream of people
           Ach, versterk de zwakke krachten,                       from the north and east, passing up to the approaching
                Gij, die onze sterkte zijt!                        Passover. There would be many Galileans among the
           Leer mij  `s waerelds  hoon verachten,                  group who had not seen Him now for many months,
                En volharden in den strijd !                       and who, if they had not heard of it before, must have
           Weg met al die ijdle vragen !                           heard now at Jericho of all that had happened at the
           Weg met al dat laf vertsagen                            two preceding feasts of Tabernacles and Dedication, of
                Van vergankli j k vleesch en bloed !               His last great miracle at  Bethany, of the great excite-
           Die het met den Heiland wagen,                          ment that had been created, and of the resolution of the
                Faalt het nooit  aan heldenmoed.                   Sanhedrin to put Him to death. And now He goes up
                                      -4. J. L. Ten Kate.          to face these rulers, to throw Himself as they fancy,

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

upon the support of the people, to unfold the banner of the rebuke before administered to her as to believe that
a new kingdom, and call on all His followers to rally serving  - the thing that she most liked, to which her
around it. His Galilean friends heartily go in with disposition and her capabilities at once prompted her
what they take to be His design; they find the people - was in itself unlawful or improper, that her only
generally concurring in and disposed to further them. duty was to sit and listen. But she had so profited by
One can imagine what was thought and felt, and hoped the rebuke that, concerned that she is that all due
and feared, by those who accompanied Jesus as he left care be taken that this feast be well got through, she
Jericho. A few hours walk would now carry Him and turns now no jealous look upon her sister, leaves Mary
them to the metropolis. It was Friday, the eighth day without murmuring or reproach to do as she desires.
of their Jewish month Nisan. The next day was Satur- And Mary seizes the opportunity now given. She has
day, their Jewish sabbath. On the Thursday following not now Jesus to herself. She cannot as in the privacy
the lamb was to be slain, and the Passover festival        of her own dwelling, sit down at His feet to listen to
commence. The great body of the travelers press on, the gracious words coming from His lips. But she has
to get into the town before the sunset, when the sab- an alabaster phial of fragrant ointment - her cost-
bath commences. Jesus and His disciples turn aside at liest possession  - one treasured up for some unknown
Bethany,  where the house of Martha and Mary and           but great occasion. That occasion has arrived. She
Lazarus stands open to receive them. Here in this gets it, brings it, approaches Jesus as He sits reclining
peaceful retreat the next day is spent, a quiet sabbath at the table, pours part of its contents upon His head,
for our Lord before entering on the turmoil of the next and resolves that its whole contents shall be expended
few days. The companions of His last day's journey upon this office. She compresses the yielding material
have in the meantime past into Jerusalem. It is already of which the  phial  was composed, breaks it, and pours
thronged with those who had come up from the coun- the last drop of it upon His feet, flinging away the
try to purify themselves for the feast. With one and relics of the broken vessel, and wiping His feet with
all the engrossing topic is Jesus of Nazareth. Gather- her hair. Kingly guests at royal banquets could not
ing in the courts of the temple, they ask about Him, have had a costlier homage of the kind rendered to
they hear what had occurred; they find that "both the Him. That Mary had in her possession so rich a treas-
chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command- ure may be accepted as one of the many signs that her
ment, that if any man knew where He was, he should family was one of the wealthiest in the village. That
show it, that they might take Him." What in the face she now took and spent the whole of it upon Jesus, was
of such an order, will Jesus do? "What think ye," they but a final expression of the fulness and the intensity
say to one another, "that He will not come to the          of her devotion and her love.
feast ?" But now they hear from the newly arrived             Held hidden behind the Saviour's reclining form,
from Jericho that He is coming, means to be at the she might have remained unnoticed, but the fragrant
feast, is already at  Bethany. They hear that Lazarus, odor rose and filled the house, and drew attention to
the man whom He so recently raised from the dead, is her deed. Cold and searching and jealous eyes are
also there. He may not have been there till now. He upon her, chiefly those of one who never had any cor-
may have accompanied Jesus to Ephraim, or chosen dial love to Jesus, who never had truly sympathized
some other place of temporary retreat, for a, bitter with the homage rendered Him, who held the bag, had
enmity had sprung up against him as well as against got himself appointed keeper of the sma!l purse they
Jesus. "The chief priest had consulted that they might had in common, who already had been tampering with
put Lazarus also to death, because that by reason of the trust, and greedily filching from the narrow stores
him many of the Jews believed on Jesus." Whether he committed to his care. Love so ardent, consecration
had retired for a time or not, Lazarus is now at  Beth-    so entire, sacrifice so costly, as that of Mary, he could
any. Many, unable to restrain their curiosity, go out not appreciate. He disliked it, condemned it; it threw
to the village, "not for Jesus' sake only, but that they such a reproach by contrast upon his own feeling and
might see Lazarus also." It was but a short distance, conduct to Christ. And now to his envious, avaricious
not much more than the Sabbath-day's journeys. Dur- spirit it appears that he had got good ground for cen-
ing this day, while Jesus and Lazarus are there to- sure. He had been watching the movements of Mary,
gether, many visitors go forth to feast their eyes upon had seen her bring forth the phial, had measured its
the sight, and on returning to quicken the excitement size, had gauged the quantity, estimated the quality,
among the multitude.                                       and calculated the value of its contents. And now he
        It was on the evening of the Saturday, when the    turns to his fellow disciples, and whispers in their ears
Sabbath was over, and the next, the first day of the       the indivious question, "Why was not this ointment
week, had begun, that they made Jesus a supper in the sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?"
house of Simon, who one had been a leper, some near        Three hundred pence. equal to the hire of a laborer for
relative in all likelihood of the family of Lazarus, and a whole year, - a sum capable of relieving many a
Jesus sits at this feast between the one whom He had child of poverty, of bringing relief to many a house of
cured of his leprosy and the other whom He had raised want. Had Judas got the money into his own hands,
from the dead. Martha serves. She had not so read instead of being all lavished on this act of outward


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       It%

attention, had it been thrown into the common stock,       might He not have taken the &ensure  of her as a dis-
it would not have been upon the poor that it should paragement of Himself? All these His general claims,
have been spent. He would have managed that no - which go to warrant the highest, costliest, most  self-
small part of the money should have had a very dif-        sacrificing services that an enthusiastic piet can render:
ferent direction given to it. But it serves his mean       - He in this instance is content to waive, nxing upon
malicious object to suggest that such might have been the peculiarity of His existing position and the spe-
its destination. And by his craft, which has a show cialty of the peculiar service that she had rendered, as
in it of a wise and thoughtful benevolence, he draws       supplying of themselves an ample justification of the
more than one of his fellow-apostles along with him,       deed that had been condemned. The claims of the poor
so that not loud but deep, the murmuring runs `round had been set up,as if they stood opposed to any such
the table, and they say to one another, "To what pur- expenditure of property as that made by Mary in  the
pose is  this waste? This ointment might have been anointing of the Saviour. It was open to Christ to say
sold for so much, and given to the poor."                  that it was an altogether needless, false, injurious con-
   Mary hears the murmuring, sees the eyes of one          flict thus sought to be stirred up, - as if to give to
and another turned askance and condemningly upon           Him, to do anything for Him, were to take so much
her, shrinks under the  destracting  criticism of the      from the poor; as if no portion of the great fund of
Lord's own apostles, begins to wonder whether she the church's wealth was available for any purely devout
may not have done something wrong, been guilty of a and religious purpose till all the wants of all the poor
piece of extravangance  which even Jesus may perhaps were met and satisfied  - the wants, be it remembered,
condemn. It had been hard for her before to bear the of such a kind that though we supplied them all today,
reproach of the twelve. But neither then nor now did would emerge in some new form tomorrow - wants
she make any answer, offer any defense of herself. which it is impossible so to deal with as wholly and
She did not need. She had one to do that office for        permanently to relieve. He is no enlightened pleader
her far better than she could have done it for herself. for the poor who would represent them and their neces-
Jesus is there to throw the mantle of His protection sities as standing in the way of the indulgence of those
over her, to explain and to vindicate her deed. "Let warm impulses of love to Christ, out of which princely
her alone," He said, "why trouble ye the woman? she        benefactions, as well as many a deed of heroic self-
hath wrought a good work upon me." He might have sacrifice, cerping, disparaging, - has often even crept
singled out the first adverse criticiser  of Mary's act, unto the Christian society, and men bearing the name
the suggester and propagator of the censorious judg- of Jesus have often been ready, when donations on
ment that was making its round of the table. Then behalf of some strictly religious enterprise were spoken
and there he might exposed the hollowness, the hypo- of, to condemn them off-hand on the one ground, that it
crisy of the  pretence  about his caring for the poor,     would have been much better had the money been be-
upon which the condemnation of Mary was based. And stowed upon the poor.
doing so, He might have made the others blush that            It is, however, as has been already said, upon some-
they had given such ready ear to a speech that such a what narrower ground that Christ vindicates the act
mean and malignant spirit had first broached. He did of Mary. It was one of such personal attention to Him
not do  &is, at least He  .said nothing that had any as could be shown to Him only while He was present
peculiar and exclusive reference to Judas. But there in the flesh. "The poor," said He,  "ye have with you
must have been something in our Lord's manner, - a always, and whensoever you will, you may do them
look, perhaps, such as He bent afterwards on Peter good, but me ye have not always." Further still, it was
in the judgment hall,  - that let Judas know that be- one that but once only in all His earthy life could be
fore Jesus he stood a detected thief and hypocrite. shown to Jesus, for "in that she bath poured this oint-
And it was not to weep bitterly that he went forth ment on Me, she is come beforehand to anoint my body
from that supper, but with a spirit so galled and for the burial." Had Mary any definite idea that she
fretter that he took the earliest opportunity that oc-     was doing beforehand what Joseph and Nicodemue
curred to him to commune with the chief priests and would have no time and opportunity for doing, what
the temple guard as to how he might betray his Master, the two other Mary's would go out to do to find only
and deliver Him into their hands.                          that she need for its being done was over and gone1
   Loosing sight of him, let us return to Christ's de- It may be assuming to much for her to believe that with
fence of Mary. "She hath done a good work," he said, a clearer insight and a simpler faith in what Jesus had
"a noble work, one not only far from censure, but said than had been yet reached by any of the twelve,
worthy of all praise. She hath done it unto Me, done it she anticipated the death and burial of her master was
out of pure love - a love that will bring the best, the near at hand. But neither can we think that she acted
costlies,  thing she has, and think it no waste, but without some vague presentiment that she was seizing
rather its fittest, worthiest application, to bestow it    upon a last opportunity, that the days of such inter-
upon me." Upon that ground alone, upon His indi- course with Jesus were drawing to an end. She knew
vidual claims as compared with all others, Jesus might the perils to which He would be exposed whenever He
well have rested His vindication of Mary's act. Nay, entered Jerusalem. She had heard Him speak of His

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

approaching sufferings and death. To others the words spreading, yet loosing nothing of its sweetness, such
might appear to be without meaning, or only to be            fresh vitality, such self-preserving power, lodging in a
allegorically interpreted, but the quick instinet of her simple act of pure and fervid love.
deeper love had refused to regard them so, and they             One single parting glance let  LIS  cast upon  o`;lr
had filled her bosom with an  infinite dread. The nearer Saviour as He presents Himself to our eye upon this
the time for loosing, the more intense became the cling-     occasion. He sits at a festive board. He is surrounded
ing to Him. Had she believed as the others around her by men looking joyously forward to days and years of
did, had she looked forward to a speedy triumph of success and triumph. But He knows what they do not
Jesus over all His enemies, and to the visible erection - that on that day of the week His body will be lying
of His kingdom, would she had chosen the time she did        in the new-made sepulchre. Bnd He accepts the anoint-
for the anointing? Would she not have reserved to a ing at  Xary's  hand as preparing His body for the
more appropriate to the crowning of a new monarch burial. He sits the invited quest of a man who had
than the preparing of a living body for the tomb? In been a leper, surrounded in that village home by a few
speaking as He did, Jesus may have been oniy attribut- humble followers. With serene eye he looks down into
ing to Mary a fuller understanding of and a simpler the future, and abroad over the earth, and speaks of it
faith in His own prophetic utterances than that pos- as a thing of certainty that this Gospel - the Gospel of
sessed at the time by any of His disciples. Such a con- glad tidings of salvation in His name  - was to be
ception of her state of mind would elevate Mary to a preached throughout the whole world. If it be true
still higher pinnacle than that ordinarily assigned to that Jesus thought and felt and spoke and acted as the
her, and we can see no good reason for doubting that Evangelists represent Him as having done that night,
it was even so.                                              I do not need to say how vain the attempt to explain
   But it does not require that we should assign to her away His knowledge of the future, to reduce it to the
any such pre-eminence of faith. It was the intensity dimensions of the highest human wisdom sagaciously
of the personal .attachment  to Jesus that her act ex- anticipating what was afterwards to occur.
pressed  which drew down upon it the enconium of the
Lord. Thus He had to say of it what He could say                                                         G. M. 0.
of so few single services of any of His followers -- that
in it she did what she could, did all she could - in
that direction there was not a step further that she
could have taken. Of all like ways and forms of ex-                            SFROKKELINGEN
pressing attachment there was not a higher one that             Er is  niets wat God meer tot toorn verwekt dan de
she could have chosen. IIer whole heart of love went vervalsching van Zijnen dienst. Trouwens, een man
out in the act, and therefore Jesus said of it, "Verily zal duizend gebreken in zijne vrouw verdragen, maar
I say unto you, Wheresover this gospel shall be is zij ontrouw in het verbond des huwelijks, dat zal
preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hem het hart breken, en geene  verzoening  is tusschen
hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her,`" - hen meer mogelijk. .
the one and only case in which Jesus ever spoke of the
after earthly fame of any service rendered to Him, pre-
dicting for it such a wide-spread reputation and such
an undying remembrance. Thus said Chrysostom, when              Niemand zegge tot God: "Uw wil geschiedde,"  zon-
discoursing upon this instance, "While the victories of der eerst te leeren zeggen ; niet mijn wil.
many kings and generals are lost in silence, and many           Wat een  hove&r in zijnen hof is, dat moet een
who have founded states and reduced nations to suh-          christen in zijn huis en hart zijn  - een uitwieder van
jection,  are not known by reputation or by name, the onkruid.
pouring of ointment by this woman is celebrated
throughout the whole world. Time hath passed  amay,
but the memory of the deed she did hath not waned               &s een christen te lijden is  - te lijden uit christe-
away. But Persians and Indians and Scythians and lijke beginselen en op christelijke wijze.
Thracians, and the race of the Mauritanians, and they
who inhabit the British Isles, publish abroad an act
which was done in  Judea privately in a house by a
woman." Fourteen hundred years have passed and                          Of een leger mij besprong,
gone since, in the great church of St. Sophia at Con-                   Of de vijand binnendrong,
stantinople, Chrysostom uttered these words, referring                    God staat mij ter zijde.
to the British Isles, as one of the remotest places of                  Hij, de rotssteen van mijn moed,
the then known world. The centuries that have rolled                    Gordt de lenden,  steunt den voet,
by since then have witnessed many a revolution. Still                     Onderwijst ten strijde.
wider and wider is the tale of Mary's anointing of her                  Waar God-zelf de Leidsman is,
master being told, the fragrance of the ointment                        Daar is mijn triomf gewis !

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

verband.   AIlereerst  mogen we natuuruijk we1 opmer-        in Matthew 1625: "Verily, I say unto you, there be
ken, dat dit woord nimmer mag worden  aangewend, om some standing here which  shaI1 not taste of death, till
de bezwaarde  harten  der geloovigen kleinmoedig te the Son of man come in His kingdom."
maken. De uitverkorenen, die al hun heil zoeken niet
in zichzelven, noch in eigen werken of in eigen gerech-         REPLY:
tigheid, maar in de gerechtigheid van den Heiland, die          First of all I must make the remark that the brother
hierdoor gekenmerkt zijn, dat ze temidden van veel ge-       does not quote the text correctly. We do not read:
brek tech een ernstige begeerte hebben, om niet alleen       "Till the Son of man come in His kingdom," but, "Till
naar sommige, maar naar  alle geboden Gods te leven, they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
die daarom het Koninkrijk Gods en zijne gerechtigheid           Further: this verse is not easy and has always been
zoeken, gaan zeker in. Ook wordt er niet mede bedoeld a crux to interpreters of HoIy Scripture, because it is
die Masse van menschen, die op geenerlei wijze met not easy to decide to which event the Lord refers.
den  Christus  in  verband staan ;  noch   worden  zij  be- There are, indeed, those, who boldly maintain, that the
doeld, die Hem  openhjk  verachten en Zijn Naam Iaste-       Lord simply referred to His second coming at the end
ren. Bij de Iaatsten tech zou zelfs  de meening, dat zij     of the world, and that He actually thought that this
zouden ingaan ondenkbaar zijn. Neen, maar we1 wor-           Second Advent'would be so soon, that some of His dis-
den zij bedoeld, die in zekeren uitwendigen zin in aan-      ciples of that time would still be living. Of course,
raking gekomen zijn met den Christus, zich ook naar          such an interpretation is immediately ruled out, if we
Hem hebben genoemd, misschien  we1 vele krachten ge-         believe that the Lord Himself certainly could not be
daan hebben in Zijnen Naam, maar  tech nimmer door mistaken with regard to the time of His Second Ad-
de genade Gods geraakt werden, nimmer geestelijke vent. Others refer it exclusively to the Lord's resur-
kennis van zonde  hadden, nimmer  zich door het geloof rection and ascension into heaven, which, of course,
op den Christus  wierpen, maar op andere dingen  hun was an entering into the Kingdom for the Saviour, a
vertrouwen  stelden. Zij zeggen immers: "Wij hebben receiving of the Kingdom promised Him by the Father.
in Uwe tegenwoordigheid gegeten en gedronken, en Gij As far as it goes this interpretation is undoubtedly
hebt in onze straten geleerd." Of naar Matth. `7 :12 :       correct, and personally we have no doubt, that this
"Hebben wij niet in Uwen Naam geprofeteerd, en in entering of the Lord into His Kingdom is implied.
Uwen Naam duivelen uitgeworpen, en in Uwen Naam Yet, I doubt, whether the Lord had reference to this
vele krachten gedaan?" Het gaat ey dus in den grond entering into His glory exclusively. In the first place,
der zaak bij zulke  menschen niet over, wat Cbristus         the Lord does not speakof entering into `His kingdom,
voor hen, maar over hetgeen zij voor  Christus  gedaan       which from the point of view of the disciples might
hebben. Daarop bouwen zij het huis hunner zaligheid.         refer to a departure from them in His part into glory ;
Op dien grond meenen zij te kunnen ingaan. En zij            but of a coming in His kingdom, which, again from the
weten  niet, dat zij goddeloos en verdorven zijn en dat viewpoint of the disciples must rather refer to a mani-
zij sheen door genade behouden, en ook door genade festation of Him to them from heaven. Besides, if the
strijders  worden om in te gaan door de enge poort.          reference of the text were exclusively to so near an
Het wil mij altijd  voorkomeni  dat in tijden als de onze    event as the exaltation of the Lord, it is difficult to con-
juist vele zulke menschen gevonden worden.  Alles is ceive of a reason why the Saviour should express Him-
Christelijk. Men roept: Heere, Heere! Men werkt self as He does, with regard to some that should not
voor Hem ! 0, men is zoo ijverig in de weer, om Jezus ta&e of death. This expression rather suggests that
de voeten te wasschen. En ook  wiI men ieder de voeten the event to which He refers is sufficientiy remote in
we1 wasschen, die men op den weg tegenkomt. Maar time to warrant the assertion.that  many would already
om zijn eigen voeten gewasschen te hebben door den have died; while at the same time it is near enough to
Heiland, dat zij verre van hen ! Lieve werkers voor say, that not al1 of that generation of disciples would
Christus, die het werk van  Cbristus niet kennen. Vrome have tasted death, but some would still be living.
en brave menschjes, die altijd  in de weer zijn om duive-       Now, it is evident from the preceding verse, that
len uit te werpen, maar die zelf kinderen  des duivels       the Lord is speaking of a coming in glory and power
blijven. En omdat zij van eigen vroomheid en werk            for judgment. In that verse we read: "For the Son
een grond  maken hunner zaligheid, daarom meenen ze .of man shall come in the glory of His Father with ,His
in te gaan. Maar omdat dit nimmer een grond zijn angels; and then He shall reward every man according
kan, daarom gaan ze niet in, maar worden  als werkers to his works." From this verse it is evident, that the
der ongerechtigheid uitgeworpen.                             Lord is referring to His final coming for judgment on
   Indien ik nu het eigenlijke punt, waarom het ging the clouds of heaven. If, then, He is speaking of His
gemist heb, dan  schrijft ge maar weer.                      final coming, while from the assertion that some shall
                                                             still be living at that coming it is evident, that He can-
                                                             not refer to it exclusively, it seems to me, that we must
                                                             look for that event, in which that coming of Christ for
  Mr. R. B. of Holland, Mich., asks:                         judgment finds its typic01 beginning. That event is the
   Could you, please, tell me the meaning of the text destruction of Jerusalem. There is nothing  unscrip-


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       191

tural in this interpretation, seeing that the Lord Him- Gereformeerde Kerk  maakte  hem  (den meester?  H. H.)
self sometimes speaks of the destruction cf Jerusalem later professor aan Calvin College. Niettegenstaande
and the Second Advent in one breath, as if they were die grove en onbeschaamde, onbeschaafde en onchriste-
one and the same event. The reason is, that in this de- lijke bejegening, die ik ondervond, bleef  ik de zaak van
struction of the old dispensational center of the king- het Christelijk Onderwijs getrouw, al vond ik, dat de
dom of God, there is given a type of His final coming. onderwijzer de zaak niet begreep of verstond.
Yet, at the same time, it also was very actually a com-        Enkele  jaren  gaan voorbij. Groote Iichten, in de
ing of the Lord to reward every one according to his Kerk geboren, schitteren nu ook in de School. In de
work. And, therefore, we prefer that interpretation Kerk werd de vrouw Jezabel aangesteld  om te Ieeraren
that would refer this saying of the Lord especially to en de onderwijzen (zie Openb. 3 20-23).
the destruction of the Holy City. Or rather, we would          AI zeer spoedig werden de grondvesten van het
express ourselves this way: the text refers to the' Sec- eenvoudige geloof  weggerukt en moest het  schoone  ge-
ond Coming of Christ, as it had its beginning and type bouw der Kerk rusten op een drietal punten. Net  een-
in the judgment over Jerusalem.                             voudige geloof der vaderen,  zetelende  in de Iiefde en
   This interpretation meets al1 the facts. It is a com- genade van God? maakte plaats voor de philosofie der
ing of the Lord for judgment. It is a type of His sec- algemeene  genade, waarin Iiefde geen  plaats inneemt.
ond coming. It is sufhciently  distant in time to war- En nu weergalmt kansel  en kerkorgaan van wartaal
rant the conclusion, that many of His disciples would en tegenstrijdigheid, waarin men tevergeefs zoekt naar
already have tasted death. Yet it is sufficiently near een zweem van harmonie. Zou Gods Geest te vinden
to make the assertion that some of them would still be zijn in zuIk een mengelmoes  van waarheid en Ieugen?
living. Thus they saw the Son of man coming in His Zou Gods Geest Iuisteren kunnen, wanneer de Ieeraar
Kingdom.                                                    op de kansel  den volke tracht diets te maken,  dat "God
                                               H. H.        in het hart des menschen begeerte gelaten  heeft om
                                                            goed  te doen"? Zou God het werkelijk  kunnen goed-
                                                            keuren, wanneer es verkondigd wordt, dat Hij de zonde
                                                            stuit, dat Hij  allen genadig is? Zou de Heilige Gee+
               I N G E Z O N D E N                          aanwezig zijn, als de waarheid op deze wijze wordt
                                                            verkracht ? Onmogelijk. Zeide God de Heere niet zeer
  EEN OWXZICHT  VAN DE UNIE DER CHRISTELIJKE                beslist, dat uit het hart des menschen booze  bedenkin-
        SCHOLEN  IN  AMERIRA EN  HAAR  LIWEN                gen komen? Zegt Hij met, dat het hart des menschen
               OP  CHRISTELIJK  TERREIN                     boos is van zijne jeugd aan? Heeft God eene genade
Hooggeachte Heer, Redacteur van                             voor Zijne lieve Kerk en eene andere voor Zijne lieve
                                     THE STANDARD           wereld? Wie gaf den grooten Dr. A. Kuyper het  recht
    BEARER!                                                 om Gods genade aldus te deelen?  Laat Gods genade
   Ondergeteekende, in Nederland geboren en opge- zich we1 deelen?  Immers neen, evenzoomin als Zijne
voed en  ontwikkeld  in de atmosfeer van Christelijk liefde. En tech, op ,die gedeelde genade wi1 de Christe-
Onderwijs,  vindt  zich ook nog na een veertigjarig  ver- Iijke Gereformeerde Kerk Gods Koninkrijk opbouwen.
blijf aan deze kusten in voile sympathie met de bewe-       Zal zij `t kunnen?  ZaI zij?
ging op dat terrein. Men zou ons, terecht, van onna-           Dus vieI de Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerk. En
tuurlijk  en onchristelijk kunnen beschuldigen,  zoo die    wat is natuurlijker dan  dat iij in haar val ook de
zaak, tegen  alIes in, niet door woord en daad door ons Christelijke School met  zich  sleepte?
gesteund ware geworden.                                        Heeft de Kerk hare  edelen. der Kultuur, wier  voet-
   Laat' mij  s.v.p.  daarvoor bewijs  leveren.  Enkele zolen de donkere spelonken  der philosofie inwandelen,
jaren  terug  hadden  wij  kinderen  op de Christelijke zoo hebben ook de lagere en de hoogere scholen hare
School. Ben mijner jongens misgreep zich, in een ge-        machtigen der beschaving, die de voetsporen volgen
schreven note, doch niet door hem geschreven, aan den der groote kerkvorsten.
meester. Deze zond hem naar huis met het  beve1 niet           Als  lid eener Chicago schoolboard werd mijne  aan-
weder te komen. In den morgen nam ik den jongen!            dacht menigmaal  getrokken door de vreemde hersen-
na hem eerst duchtig gestraft en onderricht te hebben, schimmen, die ik zag opkomen uit het brein der Chris-
mede naar school. Mijn jongen vroeg den meester in telijke  School Onderwijzersclub van Chicago. Vreemde,
eenvoudige  taal om vergiffenis. Na deze schuldbelij- nooit gehoorde en onmogelijk  idealen  werden voor ons
denis van mijn jongen vroeg ik den meester  om mijn         door hen ontvouwd.
zoontje terug te nemen. "Neen," zeide hij, "dat doe            In een Document,  getiteld:   Are  We Reformed in
ik niet." Ik zeide: "Ik zie en prijs in U, dat U even Our  Istruction?   kwamen wij zoo onverwacht tot onze
rechtvaardig  als God wilt zijn, maar bewijs mij nu ontsteltenis  te staan voor de volgende  stellingen  : 1. Het
ook de liefde van God en neem mijn zoontje terug. De is moeilijk  om eene verklaring  te geven van het karak-
onderwijzer bleef  echter  halstarrig weigeren en ik ter van het Christelijk Onderwijs. 2. Alle onderwijs,
kon met smart in de  ziel naar huis gaan, en mijn zoon publiek, zoowel  als Christelijk heeft een philosofische
naar de publieke school zenden. Maar de Christelijke basis. 3. De mensch is `gevallen, enwel  draagt hij nog


