                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       1 9 9

                                                               Let us now direct our thoughts ,to the decree of the
                THE PECULIAR OFFICE                         last Christian Reformed Synod respecting absolution.
                                                            This body, as is known, reached a decision to the effect
   In our previous article attention wascalled to abso- that the various churches it represented shall make
lution  - an institution which, arising in the early room for the aforesaid institution in the order of public
church, was laid hold on by the popes and so ultered        worship. The decree drew forth a various response.
and remodeled as to constitute finally a fitting basis      The divines comprising the committee that drafted the
whereupon the popes were able to found their throne. new and supposedly improved order of worship, clamor,
The grand-work of the institution in question is, so it of course, for the revival of absolution for reasons to
was pointed out, the proposition to the effect that the     be considered in the sequence. Then there are those in
pope was appointed to liberate, in the capacity of          this church who decry synod's decree as representing
Christ's vicar on earth, the penitent one from the          a retreat into the arms of the pope or at least in a
offence  and guilt of sin. That is to say, he thought of direction towards Rome. There is found, further, a
himself as one vested with the right to place in the        third group who, though they deem the induction of the
possession of the penitent sinner the Divine pardon.        institution into the order of public worship a super-
This spiritual boon was supposed to reach the contrite fluous addition and would raise their voice in defense
of heart through the pope and could not be received of an overture requesting the coming synod to recon-
by the believer from Christ through the agency of His sider the aforesaid decree, maintain, nevertheless, that
Word received directly from the pages of Holy Writ.         absolution as made over by the committee is an alto-
It was pointed out that the ninety-five theses of Luther gether harmless affair. Let us see which of these
constituted a protest against this false claim of the       groups correctly appraise synod's doings.
pope and that, in publishing them Luther, be it unwit-          We set out with a comparison between the formula
tingly, struck at the very heart of the medieval church of absolution suggested by the committee and accepted
system and dealt the throne of the pope a blow so by synod and the one used by the pope of Rome. The
severe as to set it to tottering. It is well that he did priest says : "I absolve thee." That is, "I as one stand-
so for some how the false  pretentions  of the pontiff ing in Christ's room in His church on earth, cancel,
were being believed so that his frawn made men trem- separate from thee, thy sin." The formula recom-
ble, his benevolent smile, rejoice and that because it mended by the committee reads: "Unto all who thus
was through that he had been made to stand inChrist's       repent and seek in Jesus  Christ their salvation, I pro-
room to open or close heaven's gate. "Christ," said claim, on the ground of God's sure promise, that all
Tetzel  in his carnal zeal to induce his victims to pur- their sins are forgiven them for the sake of the merits
chase his indulgences, "Christ no longer reigns, but the of Christ. On the contrary, unto those who do not re-
pope." In saying so he was giving expression to what pent from the heart, but seek for themselves other
had become the official doctrine of the Vatican. The means of salvation, I proclaim from the Word of God
false claims of the, pope had enabled him to frighten that the wrath of God and eternal condemnation rest
men into the doing of his bidding. The papal bull of upon them as long as they do not turn unto God with
excommunication  was. a most dreaded document and heartfelt repentance."
feared to that degree that any potentate of Europe,             It must not escape our notice that the two formulas
rather than incur the wrath of the most holy father at differ, that the two terms signifying the difference are
Rome, would cater to his every whim or, having in- absolve and proclamate.  The pope appropriates unto
cited his ire, prostrate himself at his feet and plead his himself the right to absolve, that is, to cancel sin. The
pardon.                                                     aforesaid synod, however, urges the pastors of the
    Such was the wretched state of affairs when God churches represented to assert themselves not as liber-
raised up Luther and bade him announce to the church ators from sin but  as proclamators of a pardon desolv-
 in bondage that the pope had assumed a right not his ing upon him who repents. The pretention of the
 but God's only, that no man, though he were an apostle, aforesaid synod, then, is not identical to that of the
 can forgive sin but merely declare the Divine pardon. priest. It can easily be shown, however, that the dif-
 Men were made to hear from God's own Word, again ference is more apparent than real. Recall, once more,
 placed upon the candlestick, that the pope's claims the tenets constituting the ground-work of the absolu-
 were false.     It meant that the pope had seen his tion of the pope. One of them reads : "Christ no longer
 d a y .                                                     reigns in His church on earth but the pope, standing
    Luther and Calvin, it was said, though resisting and     in Christ's room and functioning as His vicar.`* In
 denouncing the encroachments of the pope, retained agreement with this tenet the pope's formula of absolu-
 absolution  - that very institution which had enabled tion reads : "I absolve thee," That is to say, "Not
 the pope to assert and maintain himself for ages past       Christ directly but I, the pope, one standing in Christ's
 as the tyrant of Christendom. We added and proved           room in His church on earth, forgive thee thy sin." In
 that the Reformers had emptied the institution of its accordance with the  of&ial  doctrine of Rome, the pope
 real content so that what they retained was the empty substitutes his very own self, ego, T for that of Christ
 shell.                                                      who is thought of as having retreated to heaven after

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

        having transferred His authority to the pontiff of
                                                     *             many a time to their profound interest in the  welI-
        Rome.                                                      being of the  flock to whom they may be writing. Not
           So, too, are the pastors of the Christian Reformed that the  OId Testament is devoid of discourses in which
        churches urged to say: "Unto all who thus repent . . . writers register their subjective states and attitudes.
        I, the pastor, proclaim that all their sins are forgiven There are such books as the Psalms and the Lamenta-
       them . . . .  " The pastor doing so is as well as the tions of Jeremiah,  - the Word of God as well as sec-
       pope of Rome placing his very own self,, ego, I in the tions preceded by a  Thus  s&h the Lord. It  follows
       room of Christ, and says by implication: "Not Christ from the nature of the case that in scriptures such as
       directly but I, your pastor, one standing in Christ's these the thinking, willing and feeling human agent
       room, proclaim unto thee that thy sins are forgiven." writing would project himself as the subjects of the
       This pastor, then, be it unwittingIy,  consigns, as we11    thoughts to which he gives utterance. However this
       as does the pope, Christ to the heavenly regions above may be, neither the prophets nor the apostles ever once
       and projects his very own  self  in Christ's room. I in- usurped, as does the pope of Rome and as the aforesaid
       vite the sponsors of absolution to point us to a single     pastors are being told to do, Christ's place. There is
       scripture where even either a prophet or an apostle de- no case on record of them saying: "I proclaim unto
       clares : "I, the prophet, I, the apostle of God, I proclaim thee that thy sins are forgiven." Paul never does. Not
       unto all who repent that all their sins are forgiven." even in his epistle to the Romans where he engages in
       Examining their discourses one discovers them retreat- the exposition of the doctrine of justification by faith.
       ing to the background to make room for God and plac-        His nearest approach to the formula in question is
       ing their audience face to face with Him. Let me pre- found in the fourth chapter and reads: "But for us
       sent a selection or two. Says Amos: "Hear this word also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him
       that the Lord hath spoken against you, 0 children of that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; . . . .
       Israel, which I (God) brought up from the land of           (Romans 4  :24). Many passages also occur in which
       Egypt, saying, You only, have I (God) known of all the apostles, speaking as the mouthpiece of that holy
       the families of the earth: therefor  I (God) will punish assembly to which they know themselves conjoined,
       you for all your iniquities . . . . Hear ye and testify     voice the conviction to the effect that "God commandeth
       in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God the God of his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
       hosts, That in the day that I (God) shall visit the         Christ died for us."
       transgressions of Israel upon him will I (God) also            What may the phraseology be of which the apostles
       visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar under the guidance of the Spirit availed themselves of
       shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. And I (God)       when conveying unto the churches as the ambassadors
      will smite the winter house with the summer house ; of Christ the glad tidings of the Divine pardon? Let
       and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great         us quote from their writings. "As ye being dead in
       houses shall have an end, saith the Lord" (Amos 3). your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
       "The word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah quickened together with him,  having forgiven you all
       . . . . I (God) will utterly consume  .all things from trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
       off the land, saith the Lord. I (God) will consume man that was against us, which was contrary to us, and
       and beast ; I (the Lord) will consume the fowls of the      took it out of the way, nailed it to his cross ; . . . .
       heaven . . . and I will cut off man from off the land,      (Cal. 3  :13, 14). "Forbearing one another, and for-
       saith the Lord. I (the Lord) will also stretch out giving one another, if any man have a quarrel against
       mine hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of any: even. as Christ forgave you, so also do ye" (Cal.
       Jeruzalem ; and I (the Lord) will cut off the remnant       3:13). "If  we confess our sins,  he is faithful and  ;iust
       of  Baa1 from this place . . . .  " (Zeph. 1 :l-4).         to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all our
          In the New Testament we happen upon an essen- unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). With this the phrase-
       tially like phenomenon. There is, however, this dif- ology of the prophets of the Old Dispensation is in full
       ference to be noticed.    In the Old Dispensation the agreement. We quote: "Behold, I send an angel before
       outpouring of the Spirit was an event of the future. thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into
 The Holy Ghost, not having as yet entered the body of the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and
       Christ to dwell in it, did not as thoroughly identify obey his voice, provoke him not; for he (the angel of
i Himself with the person of the prophets as He did with the Lord, Christ) will not pardon your transgressions :
 the person of the apostles. Hence, though there is for my name is in him" (Ex. 23 :20, 21). "`Yet now, if
       plenty of objective elucidation of truth, the ego of the thou wilt forgive their sin" (Ex.  32:32). "The Lord
       latter is much more prominent in their writings than God, merciful and gracious, . . . . forgiving iniquity
       the person of the prophets in the prophetic discourses and transgressions and sin . . ." (Ex. 34 5). "The Lord
       of the Old Testament. The apostles often reproduces is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity
       the truth in the form of a personal testimony consist- and transgression" (Num. 14  :18). "And the Lord
       ing of an enumeration of the blessings of the kingdom said, I have pardoned according to thy word" (Num.
as realized in the lives of the saints with whom they              14 :20). "And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot
: identify themselves. Then, too, they give expression serve the Lord : for he is a holy God ; he will not for-
/,


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       201

give your transgressions nor your sins" (Josh. 24  :19).    know now from Christ's very own lips that the saying,
 "Bless the Lord 0 my soul: . . . . Who forgiveth all       "I proclaim unto thee that thy sins are forgiven," may
thy iniquities" (Ps. 103 :2). "Let the wicked forsake       mean, "I forgive thee thy sin." Had Christ said, "Man,
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and          thy sins are forgiven thee by the Lord God," or, "Man,
let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy        I proclaim unto thee that the Lord God forgiveth thee
upon him ; and to our God for he will abundantly par-       thy sins," He would not have offended the scribes. He
don" (Isaiah  55  :`7). "And they shall teach no more       refrained, however, from pubhshing the name of the
every man his neighbor, . . . for I will forgive them       Forgiver, directed by this very omission the thoughts
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more"      of the palsy and of those standing round to Himself,
 (Jer.  31:34;  33:8;  36:3). "Who is a God like unto       placed them face to face with His own person, and
thee that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the trans- made it appear, and correctly so, as if He himself had
gression of the remnant of his heritage" (Micah pardoned, as if He were the author of the declaration,
`7 :18). In vain do we search Scripture for a passage       "Man, thy sins are forgiven," which indeed He was.
where these spokesmen of the Lord insert, when en-          They say, therefore, "this man forgiveth sin."
gaged in transmitting the message of Divine forgive-            Likewise in the formula suggested by the commit-
ness, their own ego between God and their audience.         tee, the name of the Divine Forgiver does not appear.
What they do is to bring the sinner face to face with In its room was placed a pronoun signifying the person
God. The first to do otherwise were the popes of of the preacher. It reads: "I proclaim . . . .  " As
Rome, and it is worthy of note that the formula  I pro- did Christ so does the minister using this formula
claim unto thee that thy  s&s are forgiven  is one they, direct, by this very omission, the thoughts of the
too, used at the beginning of their deflection.             penitent to himself and places him face to face
    Pray, what need is there of the pope or the minister with his very own person thereby making it appear as
of the Gospel coming between God and the penitent.          if TLe pardons, as if he is the author of the proclamation
Did not Christ through the agency of the prophets and of pardon. In the early church when once this formulas
the apostles project His very Self, His gracious mind       had begun to be used it did not take so very long before
and will into a Word - His Word? He did so, for He men began to think of the bishop as one who forgives
knows that the broken of heart must see Him, and hear sin. The laity in the Christian Reformed churches will
from His own mouth that they find favor in His sight likewise soon say, "The minister forgiveth me my sin."
or their soul remains disquieted in them. The declara- It appears, then, that the formula in question fits in
tion, "Thy sins are forgiven thee" will not ease their the mouth of Christ but not in the mouth of mere
troubled minds if its author is not known to be Christ.     human ; that there is no essential difference between
Let the preacher, then, refrain from saying, "I pro- the formula of the pope of Rome and the one suggested
claim unto thee that thy sins are forgiven."          The by the committee.
penitent one needs not thee, but Christ. Usher him             What is more, the committee plainly states that
then into the presence of the Saviour of Scripture in- the declaration, "Thy sins are forgiven thee," is not
stead of directing his thoughts to thyself. Bring him       God's Word but its very own. Let me quote: "Unto
not thy word but the message of Christ which asserts:       all who thus repent and seek in Jesus Christ their
"I,  Christ,  declare that thy sins are forgiven."          salvation,  I proclaim, on  the ground of God's sure
   Let us now attend to the formula as a whole. It is promise, that all their sins are forgiven them for the
significant that of all the prophets of Scripture the only sake of the merits of Jesus Christ." Let me remark
one known to have said, "I proclaim unto thee that thy in passing that the formula, though an untruth in that
sins are forgiven", is Christ the Son of God. Those the  1 uttering this speech cannot forgive sin, is never-
whose sins He pronounced forgiven were : a man taken theless a concatenation of pious phrases and therefore
with a palsy (Luke 5 :20) and the woman who was a is bound to impress many as being a thoroughly legiti-
sinner (Luke  7:48).      There may have been others mate statement. Such phrases as, "Unto all those who
whom He publicly pardoned, but these are the only two       repent and seek in Jesus Christ their salvation," and
cases on record as far as we have been able to ascer-       "on the ground of God's sure promise," and "for the
tain. To both the palcy and the woman He said : "2%~        sake of the merits of Jesus Christ" are very apt to
sins are forgiven?" On the occasion of the public par- render the formula acceptable in the eye of many a
don of the man sick with the palsy, certain of the          devout. Let such know, however, that the pope, too,
scribes' charge Him with having blasphemed. They absolves only those who repent and seek in Christ their
say within themselves, "This man blasphemeth, for salvation ; that he, too, insists that the pardon of sins
who can forgive sins but God." Their mutterings in-         has its cause in the merits of Jesus Christ ; and that its
dicate that to them the declaration of the Saviour ground  fmally is the sure promise of God. The pope's
amounted to a Divine cancellation of sin. That they written absolution (indulgence) sold by Tetzel reads
had grasped the true import of Christ's speech is           in part as follows: "May our Lo,rd  Jesus Christ have
evident from His rebuke directed not against their          pity on thee N. N., and absolve thee by the merits of
appraisal of the word He had spoken to the palsy but        his most holy  passion. And I, in virtue of the apostolic
against their denial of His power to forgive sin. ?Ve       power that has been confided unto me, absolve thee

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

from all ecclesiastical censures, . . . from all excesses, A single divine announcement of the gospel should be
sins and crimes . . . In the name of the Father, Son, enough for us, enough to take God at His Word. Not
and Holy Ghost, Amen." The pope, then, freely ad- to receive that one assurance would already amount to
mitted that the sinner is absolved by Christ by the declaring God a liar. But instead of letting this stice,
merits of His passion. Wherein then did the popes           He who knows our frame, who knows how difficult it
with, whom Luther dealt err? In this that they set is for us to accept in childlike faith his assurance of
themselves up between Christ and the penitent as the forgiveness and reconciliation, and to regard ourselves,
channel of the Divine pardon, as such, instead of as in the face of our ever present workings of sin and in
proclamators of Christ's very own Word of pardon. the absence of all visible and rational proofs, as the
Instead of saying, therefore, "I proclaim unto thee heirs of salvation - He who knows all this has, in
the Word of Christ to the effect that He, Christ, for- condescending grace and according to His great mercy,
gives thee thy sin," they said, "I proclaim unto thee done many things to elucidate the gospel for us, im-
that thy sins are forgiven." This later on was made to press it upon us and confirm  it upon us. All this in
read, "I forgive thee thy sin," or, "I absolve thee in      view of the weakness of our faith.
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."         "We refer to things like these: the fact that God
    In agreement, then, with his false pretention the has repeated the promise of the gospel again and again ;
pope comes not with  Christ's very own word of pardon that He has symbolized and typified it in various events
but with his (the pope's) very own word. Says he, and ceremonies of the Old Testament; that He has
"I absolve thee." Likewise the minister of the Gospel given the promise of salvation not only in the form of
taking upon his lips the formula of absolution sug- a declaration, but also in the form of a formal cove-
gested by the committee. He comes not with Christ's nant-transaction, confirmed with an oath ; that He has
very own Word  of  pardon but with his (the minister's)     revealed the Name Jehovah as His covenant-name; and
word. For the formula reads, does it not, "Unto all that He, to make the measure overflowing, has added
who thus repent . . . I proclaim on  the grounds of the sacraments to the covenant.
God's sure promise, that all their sins . . . "                "All this to elucidate and confirm the wonderful
    The committee, let us not fail to notice, distin- gospel-promise. All this to aid our weak faith. Fre-
guished between the proclamation as such and its            quent Repetition  - Types  - the Covenant  - the
ground. Whereas the proclamation is not the ground,         Name Jehovah - the Sacraments - and other means
and whereas the ground is God's Word, it follows that besides. In this manner the Lord has clearly shown
the declaration, "I proclaim unto thee that thy sins        that in His eye it is of the highest importance that His
, are forgiven," is not God's word but the word of the  I people should have the full assurance of faith till the
who is speaking. It appears, then, that the utterance,      end ; that they should know the things given them of
"Thy sins are forgiven thee," is the very own speech God ; that they should enjoy the rich comfort which
of the minister. Hence, as the pope, so this pastor. He this assurance brings and that their gratitude for this
will put at ease the disquieted soul of the penitent with certain salvation should move them to walk constantly
his very own word of pardon. We also gather from an- in holiness and godliness.
other section of the report that the aforesaid minister        "In this divine example a special liturgical action,
of the Gospel comes with his very own word. We              whose purpose is the strengthening of the faith of
quote : "Granted, " `one asks,' "that there is a great God's people, has its sanction."
need of the building up of the church in a scripturally        "But how firm a ground for our faith," so it is
grounded and living hope of eternal life, and granted asserted on the preceding page, "is furnished by such
that also the confession of sin and the absolution can a formula of Absolution as the one given by Calvin,
serve this purpose, is the preaching not sufficient?" who declares: `To all who in this manner are sorry for
"Is the preaching not sufficient?" is the question which    their sins and seek their salvation in Jesus Christ, I
the committee places in the mouth of the inquirer. We proclaim the forgiveness of sins, in the name of the
ask: To whose or  what  word does the committee refer Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.'  "
when it asks, "Is not the preaching  sufllcient?"  We       Acts of-Synod,  1928, p. 285.
gather from the following paragraph that the Word              What is then the answer of the committee to the
of which the committee speaks is the very Word of question : "Is not the preaching of God's very own
God so that the question must be made to read : "Is not Word sufficient to remove the uncertainty of salva-
the preaching, that is, the proclamation of God's very tion?" Its answer is: "No, the proclamation of God's
own Word sufficient to remove the constant uncer- very Word is not suflicient.               What is needed in addi-
tainty concerning salvation?" Let us now attend tion is a special liturgical action." On page 300 of the
closely to the committee's answer. It reads: "We Acta the term action is substituted for the term de-
reply by reminding of the many things which God has claration and absolution defined as an authoritative
done to explain and to certify to his people the rich declaration of the forgiveness of sins, which, indeed, it
and gracious contents and the full truthworthyness of is. Speaking, of course, is also action. Whereas, then,
the gospel as an invitation to come to God's fountain according to the plain statement of the committee, the
of salvation and to take freely of the water of life. preaching of the very word of God is not sufficient, but


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      208

 should be supplemented by a liturgical deckration  it The answer would be forthcoming: "A liturgical de-
 follows that the word constituting this declaration can- claration of the Word, that is, of the promises of God
 not be the very word of God but one of which the to be sure." Though we deny it, let us for the sake of
 pastor is the author.                                     argument receive this answer as in agreement with
    The question cannot be quelled: Why should the truth. What now is the preaching of the Word of
 pastor's own word, though it be based on the sure         God? What else but also an authoritative preaching,
 promise of God, prove more effectual unto the removal proclamation, declaration of the Word, that is, of the
 of the uncertainty of salvation than God's very own promises of God. If now the committee insists that
 Word? Further, the committee maintains that the we adopt this latter interpretation it said this: "The
 weakness of our faith necessitates the constant repeti- authoritative proclamation,  deciaration  of God's
 tion of the divine promises. God, so it said, did so word or gospel is not sufficient, but must be supple-
 again and again. We reply : Let, then, the pastors con- mented by an authoritative declaration of God's Word
 tinue repeating  the very word and promise  of  God in- or gospel. It appears, then, that if the committee in-
 stead of setting aside this divine speech to make room sist that its absolution consists in a proclamation or
 for their own. For in doing the latter they revive an declaration of the very promises of God and that the
 institution consisting in the pastor `asserting himself things contrasted in the above cited statements are the
 not as a proclamator of Christ and His word but as preaching and the liturgical action, it is compelled to
 one vested with the right to bestow upon the penitent admit that at least that section of its report dealing
 by means of a magical formula and as God's agent the with the institution in question is an unmeaning com-
 very pardon as such.                                      position. And likewise the synod who adopted this
    Someone may insist that I misinterpret the state- report.
 ments of the committee ,when I present them as assert-       However, various statements found in the com-
 ing that the proclamation of God's own Word is not position we criticise,  compel one to conclude that the
 sufficient unto the strengthening of the spiritually committee in its report did not yield the kind of non-
 weak,.that  it must be supplemented, therefore, by a sense described above but actually revived an institu-
 word other than God's and by a person other than tion which, as was before said, enabled the pope to
 Christ. Let us see, then, if the above cited statements maintain himself as the czar of Christendom for many
admit of another interpretation. We quoted the com- a cycle of years. The very formula suggested is one
 mittee as avering that the  preaching  is not sufficient compelling him using it to place his very own word and
 but must be supplemented by a liturgical  c&ion.    We self in the place of Christ's Word and His divine Per-
 were not engaged in distorting the above cited selec- son. Let the committee if it will give a reasonable'
 tion, as anybody reading, will at once perceive. Neither plausable answer to the following question: If, as well
 can there be any difference of opinion as to what is      as the regular preaching of the Word, the absolution
 meant by preaching. Most assuredly the very Word of endorsed by the committee is meant to be nothing else
 God. We may now emphasize the term  Word of God but an authoritative, liturgical declaration of the very
 and read: "The preaching of the Word of God is not Word of God, why have it? The members of the com-
 sufficient but must be supplemented by a liturgical ac- mittee may reply: "The question has been answered
 tion." If the emphasize is not misplaced the commit- by us in our report." True enough but it is a most
 tee declares in plain Engiish that the weak in faith unsatisfactory one. It reads: "The significance of the
 require in addition to the Word of God a liturgical Confession of Sin and the absolution as a means of the
 action and, by so declaring asserted, by implication, removal of this disease (uncertainty of personal salva-
 that the action recommended is not the Word of God.       tion) lies in this that it points with all the solemnity
 We may, however, let the emphasize fall not on  Word characteristic of a liturgical action to the inseparable
 of  God but on the term  gpreaching  and read: "The connection which God in His grace has established be-
 preaching of the Word of God is not sufiicient but must tween the sinner's penitence and faith on the one hand
 be supplemented by a liturgical action." If this is and His certain salvation on the other hand  - in ac-
 what the committee meant to say the two things con- cordance with the divine promise: he that believeth in
 trasted are not the  Word  of  God but the preaching of the Son hath eternal life." One invariably asks, how-
 this Word and the liturgical action. If so we may then ever: Are not these committee members, all of whom
 paraphrase the statement thus: "The removal of the are ministers of the gospel, solemn when engaged in
 uncertainty of salvation requires, in addition to the the regular preaching of the Word? Do they not then
 preaching  or declaration of the Word of God, a liturgy make it a point to make clear the connection between
 conveying to the weak of faith the truth incorporated the sinner's penitence on the one hand and his certain
 in this word by means  of action." Though we may salvation on the other hand  - in connection with the
 now be construing the above cited statements as the divine promise: he that believeth in the Son hath
 committee would have us, we cannot stop here. For eternal life? If not, what may be the character of the
 absolution is not a liturgical action but, as the com- contents of their sermons? Are they so far below the
 mittee itself admits, a liturgical declaration. If the standard as to render this brief and isolated decIara-
 committee were now asked : A declaration of what? tion of what may be termed the sum and substance of

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

the gospel necessary? This these brethren would cer- is an authoritative declaration of the forgiveness of
tainly not admit. Well, then, why revive absolution sins on the condition of true repentance, only an or-
if nothing more than a miniature sermon constituted dained minister of the gospel, speaking as an ambas-
of God's very own gospel promise? How can it be ex- sador of Jesus Christ and servant of God, has the right
pected that a diminutive discourse of say two min- to proclaim it." It is then, according to the committee,
utes at the most will remove or even help to remove a the exclusive right of the minister of the gospel to pro-
disease upon which a lengthy exposition of the Word of claim the Word of God. Let us hear Luther on this
God has no effect? The formula of absolution shows matter. "A  pope or a bishop has no  more  power than
that the committee entertained no such expectation but the lowliest priest, as regards remission of sins. And
that it was laboring under the delusive idea that faith even were there no priests, each Christian, even a
is strengthened when the so-called ambassador of woman or a child, can do the same thing. For, if a
Christ makes it appear as if he  bestows instead of pro- simple Christian says to you, `God pardons your sins
claims the pardon of God, and when he directs the for Christ's sake,' and you receive this word with a
thoughts of the penitent to his very person and word        firm faith, and as if God himself were addressing you,
instead of leading his sheep into the very presence of you are absolved." "If a pious Christian consoles thy
Christ. It is this ambassador which is to make up for conscience with the Word of the cross, let it be man or
the absence of all visible and rational proofs of salva-    woman, young or old, receive this consolation with
tion.                                                       such faith as rather to die many deaths then to doubt
    In its report the committee informs the public that that it will be so before God."
its revival of absolution constitutes a return to the          If it were true that no one but the minister of the
principles of the Reformation. Let us quote: "Con- gospel might proclaim the word of God, the parent
fession of sin and absolution are elements which origin- might not instruct from that Word his child, a friend
ally belong to the Reformed liturgy and were dropped console from that Word his friend, no one, then, ex-
under the influence of an unreasonable prejudice cept the one vested with the particular office might feed
against fixed forms of worship. When we speak of an even himself with the Word. The entire Word of God
approved order of worship we certainly mean nothing is an authoritative declaration of God's decrees. To
else than improvement in the direction of Reformation say, as does the committee, that the believer may re-
principle and practices.                                    ceive this Word through the channel of the particular
    "That these two elements were generally used in office only is to bind the believers with the fetters of
the worship of the Reformed churches of the Reforma- Rome.
tion period is an indisputable fact. When Calvin came          Our conclusion is that the absolution of the Chris-
to Strassburg he found a liturgy which included the tian Reformed churches is not as innocent an affair
Confession of Sin and Absolution. When he returned as some think.
to Geneva he desired to introduce both elements but                                                  G. M. "0.
was successful only with Confession of Sin . . . .
a  Lasco incorporated both elements in his regulations
for the worship of the London Refugees' church and
he put them in direct connection with the reading of                         BEKENDMAEING
the Law and the Credo . . . ."                                 Op den eersten Woensdag in Februari 1929, D.  V.,
    Of the Reformers we remarked in our previous hopen onze kerken in Classis te vergaderen in het kerk-
essay that although they retained absolution they gebouw der Prot. Geref. kerk te Hull, Ia.
nevertheless denied the power thereof; that the Re-            We zouden gaarne  willen dat iedere kerkeraad ons
formers, further, had emptied the institution of its de namen hunner afgevaardigden zond.
real content so that what they retained was the empty          Indien er anderen mochten wezen, buiten onze af-
shell. The fact that they retained this shell shows only gevaardigden, verzoeken wij ook dezulken ons dit te
too plainly, so it was remarked, that they never wholy laten weten.
succeeded in purging themselves of the leaven of               Hopende dat ge aan dit ons verzoek zult voldoen
Romanism. What difference does it make after all en u in welstand te mogen ontmoeten.
whether Confession of Sin and Absolution are elements          Namens de Commissie ter regeling voor verblijf-
which orginally belong to the Reformed liturgy. The plaatsen,
big question is whether the principles incorporated in                                      E. GRITTERS,
these institutions are congruous with truth. This the                                                 Perkins,  Ia.
committee, so it seems, even failed to attempt to in-
vestigate. What it did do is to crawl behind the Re-           P. S. De afgevaardigden van Michigan en Illinois
formers where it feels itself secure. Fact is, however, kunnen het gemakkelijkst de Chicago, Milwaukee, St.
that the principles coming to the surface in the report     Paul en Pacific nemen van Chicago `s avonds 6  :15, de
of the committee constituted the very bone of conten- naam van de "flyer" is de "Sioux," terwijl de broeders
tion between the Reformers and the pope. On page 300 van Waupun dezelfde trein kunnen nemen te Madison,
of the Acta one may read: "And since the absolution Wis., des avonds om ongeveer 10 uur.

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

strekken aan den boom des levens. Zoo nu verstaan,           doctrinal deadness and apathy, it had emphasized min-
was die boom des levens ook een getuigenis. Hij sprak        ute and insignificant questions of a ritualistic nature.
tot Adam. Hij getuigde, dat de mensch bij brood alleen Thus already the Trullan Council of 692 had seriously
niet leven zou, maar  bij -alIe woord, dat tot den mond      labored with the question how a layman should hoid
Gods uitgaat. Zijn leven in den diepsten zin des his hands when he received communion. The Council
woords bestond niet in het aardsche bestaan, dat de of Nicene in 78'7 had reached the weighty decision, that
boom des levens opzichzelf hem kon bieden, maar in no Church edifice should be consecrated if it were not
de gemeenschap der vriendschap, in het kennen en provided with a sufficient number of relics. And a third
liefhebben en het  genieten  van de goede gunste Gods. ecclesiastical gathering had determined that no pic-
En daarvan was die boom des levens, zooals hij daar tures of the Lamb, but pictures of Christ must be used
midden in den hof stond, in bet eerste heilige der heili-    in the Churches. When a Church is otherwise impov-
gen, een getuigenis, een teeken,  in zekeren zin een sac- erished it will emphasize formalistic and ritualistic
rament.                                                      elements. Today one may notice  this same phenome-
       En zoo verstaan is die eerste boom des levens ook non in the time that has been spent and the iabor  that
beeld van den tweeden  in het Nieuwe Jeruzalem, als de has been bestowed upon a Form of Worship that in-
tabernakel Gods eeuwiglijk bij de menschen zijn zal.         cludes the Absolution.
Dan is de boom geen middel meer tot vereeuwiging van            But in the' West it had been different.
een aardsch bestaan, maar het middel waardoor we                For a while, indeed, superstition and ignorance.
gevoed worden  ten eeuwigen leven. Dan is hij geen tee-      reigned supreme and from' the time of the breaking up
ken meer, maar eeuwige werkelijkheid, de  werkelijk-         of the mighty empire of Cl?arlemagne  until the dawn
heid van het leven Gods, zooals ons dat eeuwiglijk  uit of a brighter day in the beginning of the eleventh cen-
Hem door den Heiland zal toevloeien in Zijn volmaakte tury the `darkness was, indeed, appalling. But with the
gemeenschap !                                                dawn of that century there arose a number of brilliant
                                                   H. H.     and serious thinkers ; there was inaugurated the age of
                                                             the Schoolmen.
                                                                A wonderfully poetic age it was !
                                                                An age of much `unrest and strange contrasts ! Un-
          SKETCHES ON THE DEVELOPMENT                        rest prevailed in the Middle Ages, chiefly because it
                      O F   D O C T R I N E                  was an age of transition and it was characterized by
                                                             all the restless activity that is generally peculiar of
                     T H E   S C H O O L M E N               such periods. On the one hand there had been an in-
   `We now turn our attention to the Schoolmen, those flux of new and strong and youthful nations from the
"knights of theology" that lived and labored during the North into the forms of the decayed civilization of the
brighter part of the Middle Ages, from the eleventh to old Graeco-Roman world. These nations, barbaric but
the fifteenth century of our era, men of brilliant intel- strong, strove to inject their life into the oId forms. On
lectual capacities, who applied the logic of Aristotle to the other hand the old forms struggled to mould the
the faith of the Church and `for its defense, keen life of these, from a historic viewpoint youthful, na-
dialecticians, that could with delight dispute  aboutthe tions. Then, too, from the direction of the old World
minutest details of any question, sometimes could seri- had come the gospel of Jesus Christ and the inheritance
ously ponder the problem how many angels there could of the doctrine of the Christian Church, and in these
be dancing on the point of a needle, or what would be-       uncivilized peoples the Church received new children
come of the consecrated bread after it had been in her bosom. And healthy and robust these children'
changed into the Body of Christ if a mouse should run were, though it is also true, that they came with a new
away with part of it, whose more profound and serious outlook upon old things and that the instability and
minds, no doubt, served their purpose for the main- unrest of youth also characterized them. Remarkable,
tenance of the faith,  - but who after all produced indeed, is the fact, that almost all the strength of
nothing new.                                                 Scholasticism came from the North. From these new
       From the Eastern Church we may, from this time nations came the earlier Schoolmen such as Radbertus,
forward, take definite leave.                                Baeda, Gottschalk,  of whose suffering in the cause of
       It  had become separated from the Western Church the truth we already spoke ; but with these may also
definitely in the eleventh century.                          be numbered men like Anselm, Peter de Lombard, who,
       And its condition was far from enviable.              though he hailed from sunny Italy as his birthplace,
       The conquests of the fierce Mohammedans had con- was of Northern blood ; Thomas Aquinas, who had the
siderably narrowed the limits of its domain ; Jerusalem, blood of the  Normans  and the Hohenstaufens rushing
Antioch and Alexandria, those old episcopal centers. of in his veins ; Roscelinus and Abelard,  who were from
name and fame, were in the power of the Moslems.             Britany; Hugo of St. Victor, who was German; Wil-
Poverty characterized its spiritual life ; stagnation had liam of Champeaux who was French and Duns  Scotus
been the end of its doctrinal development. And as is who was a stern Scott. However this may be, certain
often the case, when a Church lapses into spiritual and it is that this attempt at amalgamation of the old and


                                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   '                                   209

               the new, this spirit and movement of transition caused scholarschip it stood entirely in the service of the
               the Middle Ages to be an era of restlessness and               Church. The Schoolmen regarded the authority of the
               strangest contrasts. And for the more quiet and pro-           Church as final. About it they did not dispute. And
               found development of the truth, for the discovery of while. these Schoolmen ,lea&  their method from' Aris-
              _,. new and fundamental principles and the formation of totle, the material upon which they exercised their rea-
               comprehensive life-views such periods are but little  soning' abilities was furnished them by the Church
               adapted.                                                       Fathers and by the decrees of the Church. Hence, they
                  Then, it must be taken into consideration too, that did not really advance the truth, neither did they aim
               life in general was dominated by the Church, and the `so high. Rather was it their earnest endeavor to clothe
               Church was the Clergy and these. culminated in and the doctrine delivered unto them by the Church in a
               were, as' it were, embodied in the Pope. Not always reasoned philosophy, to defend the faith of the Church
               had it been thus. The teaching of the apostles had not Fathers by keen dialectics.
               engendered hierarchical principles. On the contrary,.           , Hence, among them we .do not look for a distinct
               the apostles had always emphasized that old things had . advancement of the doctrine of sin and grace.
               passed away,  all things had. become new.  The, Old               And it may  suffice  us to remember a few names of
               Testament priesthood was but a shadow of a better the most noted among the Schoolmen.                    "
               priesthood to come, the High Priesthood of Christ and  .;         First comes the name of Anselm, 1033-1109. In
               the priesthood of  all believers in Him. Temple and our opinion he was the greatest, at least the soundest
               sacrifices, priest and altar, all had been types in the among the Schoolmen, though he is not traditionally
               day of shadows and had been fully realized in Im-. such. With respect to the question of sin and grace he
  ,.'          manuel, God with us, the Tabernacle of God with men. adhered of  all the Scholastics most closely to August-
: ".           A priesthood, indeed, was acknowledged to exist, but it ine. He emphasized the truth that man is by nature
               was the general priesthood of believers, who in common totally depraved and with remarkable astuteness he
               partook of their Lord's anointing. As a, separate and reasons about the freedom of the will to show that true
               special office it could find place no more in, the new freedom does not consist in the power of contrary
               dispensation.    But, also, it seems very difficult for the choice but in the will to do good, and that the sinner,
               Clergy of al1 ages to admit that they have no power who is dead in sin, deprived himself of that true free-
               over the flock and that they must serve the Lord Christ        dom, which can be restored to him  only by the regen-
               in humility and fear! As early as the fourth. century erating grace of God; Famous is his work Cur Deus
               the Church Fathers begin to speak of a sacerdotal office Ilome.1 in which he answers the question why God sent
               and of a priestly order. Tertullian calls the bishop the His only Begotten Son into the flesh. Like Augustine
               summus sacerdos and the pontifex muximus,  the chief he stands for the truth of unconditional predestination
               priest. Hypolytus claims for himself, as successor of and the necessity of sovereign grace to save the'sinner. .-
               the apostles, the dignity of the office of high-priesthood.       By no means as profound nor as firm and sound in
               Thus, gradually, there was created a new order, a sep-, the truth as  Ansehn,  though more largely followed  by.
               arate Clergy in the Church of Jesus Christ, And the the Church, was Peter de Lombard, died 1160. He
               Church, especially through a new development of the exercised all  ,his power to show that' the opinions of
               doctrine of the Sacrament, was made dependent for the. Church Fathers constituted a logical system of
               its very life and salv@ion  upon the Clergy.. The-Clergy truth, and that there were no contradictions in their
               was` the Church and the Church was the dispenser of various writings if they were only rightly understood
               grace, the sum and  subst&ce of all religion. To be            and correctly interpreted. The embodiment of this
               obedient to the Church, that is the Clergy, was the labor of Lombard is the Book of Sentences in which he
               well-pleasing life before God and men. It cannot be            compiled the opinions of the Church Fathers.. Need-
               cause of surprise that under such, conditions the masses less to say that, although the work is of value in pre-
               were  ignoiant,  seeing it was sufficient to. believe, not serving the truth as these Fathers saw it, it did not
               with a true and conscious and living faith in, the Lord advance the truth and the very purpose of the  authQr,
               Jesus Christ, but with an implicit, blind and ignorant to free the Church Fathers from every indictment ot
               faith in the Church Catholic. Neither is this all; What inconsistency, bften makes his `reasoning artificial.
               was true of the masses soon proved to be equally true             Often extolled as the greatest of the Schoolmen is
               of the large number of the priests. An ignorant lot Thomas' Aquinas (1227-1274) .' In general it' may be
               they were, superstitious like the masses they were sup- said ,tbat he is Augustinian in his tenets; although it is
               posed to instruct, blind leaders of the blind. A large by no means  aIways clear, that he does not incline
               number of them died without ever having' read the somewhat to Semi-Pelagian views. He sometimes
               Bible. The Church, and for these indolent priests this leaves the impression, that there must be something,
               meant either the higher clergy culminating in the Pope, some power of good left in the natural man, whereby
               or merely the institution of the Church in the abstract, he is able to co-operate with the grace of God. The
               did all the thinking. We are, then, not surprised that emphasis on the absolute sovereignty of the grace of
               under such conditions there was no free and inde-              God is weakened with him.
               pendent research and study. In as far as there was                But decidedly Semi-Pelagian is Duns  Scotus (1260-
         I


 :               !           ..!

                       `.
                       :            210                                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                       1
         .,            I..
                 j  j 1308). With him we find the doctrine, which became                                                                         V R A G E N
                               the characteristic teaching of the Roman Catholic
       !  '  L Church, that man's original righteousness did not                                                                   Geachte Redactie !
       \' i,.. essentially belong to his nature, but was a superadded
       :: `.                        gift. He might and did lose this original righteous-                                       Beginnende met de geschiedenis van Job, en dan
        -+
       :,:.  :                                                                                                              weer bijzonderlijk handelende over het in twijfel  trek-
4,:;                                ness without having the mere powers of nature in him
                                    impaired. The natural man, therefore; is not really ken of feitelijk loochenen door Satan van de oprecht-
$1  1, corrupt. He only lost a certain power that could enable heid des geloofs van dezen knecht Gods, rezen er, als
: ;; f :t him to strive for the highest good, to `accomplish the                                                            de discussie  zich ontwikkelde, als vanzelf een drie- of
        -4;  ;$                                                                                                             viertal  vragen op, die we met de hoofdzakelijke bespre-
,&ji%  :G spiritual good. He needs the assistance of divine grace king derzelve  bier  Iaten volgen en met betrekking tot
,p;'  `:; in the seeking and accomplishment of that highest
       .Y.`,'
`. c                         ii good. But, although without the assistance of God's                                         dewelke we gaarne de  "VAANDELDRAGER"   volgen naar
%!ff,, i`:! grace he is incapable of reaching the highest good;man het licht.
,,&j:, i ,!;$ can produce within himself dispositions of heart and
                                                         ay prepare him for the reception of this                              VEAGEN:
                                                       od, yea, by which he may merit it. `Even                                1. Waar de Duivel  zelfs  tegen de uitdrukkelijke
                                                       Scotus  was not original, for Semi-PeIagian-                         uitspraak van God in, het werk Gods in Job loochende,
                                    ism had been developed before him.                                                      mogen wij daaruit besluiten, dat hij hetzelfde doet met
                                            Thus it may be said, that Scholasticism paved the betrekking tot een ieder geloovige?
                                    way for the incorporation of the Semi-Pelagian view                                        2. En zoo ja, moet het hieraan dan worden  toege-
                                    into the official declaration of the Roman Catholic schreven, dat de Satan nooit moede noch mat schijnt
                                    Church as made by the Council of Trent. From the te worden in het verzoeken en bestrijden van Gods kin-
                                    mere viewpoint of time it is a rather `big stride from deren, op hoop daardoor, als in het geval met Job, hun
                                    the last of the Schoolmen to the Council of Trent which geveinsdheid, zoo gewaand door Satan, aan het licht te
                                    convened, with several intermissions, from 1545 to doen treden  voor het gansche rijk der duisternis, opdat
                                    1563. It assembled as a reaction against the Re- zoodoende de naam Gods worde gelasterd en gesmaad?
                                    formation, for the purpose of a restatement of doc-                                        3. Dit leidde weer tot de vraag  of de Vader  der
                                    trine and the reform of different abuses in the Holy leugen uitteraard en in eigenlijken zin de waarheid we1
                                    Church. But although historically there seems  `to be gelooven kan  ? Kan hij ?
                                    a  wide gap between the Schoolmen and  this council of                                     4. En zoo niet, of datzelfde ook geldt van zijn
                                    the Roman Church, on the question of sin and'grace geestelijk zaad, den natuurlijken  mensch. Doet het?
                                    it decidedly took the side of Semi-Pelagianism. This                                       Uit het voorgaand;!  -is duidelijk, dat er twee par-
                                    may become evident from the following declarations: tijen zijn.                                                                .
                                            "If any one shall at&-m that the free will of man                                  Partij No. 1 redeneert Iangs  de lijn welke de vra-
                                    was lost, and became extinct after the sin of Adam, gen aangeven en komt tot de conclusie,  dat wijl er geen
                                    let him be accursed. If any one shall affirm that the                                   waarheid in hem, Satan, is, hij de waarheid  noch  ver-
                                                       f man, moved and excited by God, co-oper- staan kan noch gelooven. En. dit is evenzeer het geval
                                    ates nothing by assenting to God thus exciting and call- met den  ongeloovige.                                 Zoekt de duisternis het licht en
                                    ing, so that it disposes and prepares itself for obtain- zal ze hetzelve najagen?
                                            the                of                        *  .   .   .
                                    ing             grace             justification                      let him be  ac-
                                                                                          .                                    Partij No. 2 zoekt de oplossing  als  volgt.  Satan
                                                                                                                            wist wel, dat Job rechtvaardig was, en dat hetzelfde
                                             If any one shall affirm that all works that are per-                           geldt van de overigen van Gods kinderen, maar  `net
                                                    before justification are really and> truly sins duivelsche van den duive1  komt juist hierin uit, dat  al-
                                               let him be accursed."                                                        hoewel  hij  zulks  ,wel weet, hij het nochtans ontkent
                                            "If any one shall afhrm that- the sinner is justified niet alleen, maar ook zichzelven tracht diets te maken,
                                                     alone, in the sense that nothing is requisite dat het niet zoo is. Hij wil niet  gelooven..  Dat hij
                                                    ay co-operate to the attainment of the grace of het evenwel  tech doet, bewijst de  Schrift  duidelijk.
                                                    ion . . . . let him be accursed."                                       Hoor maar : "Gij gelooft dat er een God is, en gij doet
                                            And here we may take leave of the Roman Catholic wel; de duivelen gelooven het ook en zij sidderen."
                                                      s far as the doctrine of sin and grace is con-                           Partij  No. 1 ontkent  dit laatste natuurlijk niet; ze
                                                        turn our attention to the Reformers and the stemt -toe, dat de duivel zeer goed weet, dat God is,
                                       urches of the Reformation.                                                           doch de vraag blijft of hij gelooft, dat God God is. Ge-
                                                                                                                H. H.       loofde de Satan het laatste, toen  hij opstond tegen den
                                                                                                                            Allerhoogste?  Kende  hij  toen, en kent hij nu God?
                                                                                                                            "Dit is het eeuwige leven," zoo luidt het, "dat zij u
                                                        Waar gij zoekt, daar is het  niet,                                  kennen  . . .  ."
                                                               En gij zoekt niet  waar het is:                                  Partij  No. 2 komt terug met: "Dit is natuurlijk
                                                        `t Roosjen dat geen doornen biedt,                                  volkomen  waar,  wijl de Bijbel het  zegt,  maar  het is
                                                               `t Eden in de wilder& !                                      feitelijk niet het punt in kwestie. Dit  kennen  betee-


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             213  :

keling van dien Raad in de toekomst  betreft;  zeer zeker         En  ien kan immers altijd weer aankloppen bij                :
blind is. Ik stel mij ten opzichte van deze  zaak twee-        hem ?
erlei voor. In de allereerste plaats mag ieker  we1 ver-                                                        H. IX
ondersteld  worden,  dat de duivel.. bekend is `met de                                                                         i
groote hoofdlijnen van den Raad Gods, zooals deze in
de Heilige Schrift zijn geopenbaayd.  *Er is geen reden
om aan te nemen, dat hij den inhoud der S&rift niet                            THE YOUNG RULER
kent, dat hij de Schrift niet Iezen kan. De wijze, waar-
op hij de S&rift weet aan te halen bij de verzo&ing              `,Setting forth afresh, and now in all likelihood about      i'
van, Jezus, toont dit we1 anders.,.  Wij mogen dtis aan-       to pa&out of that,region,  there met Him one who came
nemen, dat de Satan bekend is met ,de hoofdlijneh `van         running in all eagerness, as anxious not to lose the op-
den Raad Gods, en dus ook weet;  dat in dien Raad Gods         `portunity,  and who kneeled to .Him with great rever-
zijn ondergang vast staat. Maar in de, tweede plaats           ence as having the most profound respect for Him as             ;
staat ook we1 vast, dat de Satan deze dingen' alleen uit a righteous man, and w,ho said, "Good Master, what
de Openbaring weten kan en dati hij ,geen'  inzicht heeft good thing shall I. do that I may inherit eternal life?"
in den,Raad  Gods. Daarom:weet,hij,dok  de bijzodder-          Jesus might at once and without any preliminary con-
heden van Gods plan niet en is hij blind voor di3 dingen,      versation have laid on him the injunction that He did           j
die God doet. Hoe God Zijn Raad uitwerkt, `en ho8 de at the-&t,  and this might equally have served the final
duivel daarin medewerkt; ofschoon. hij bet zoo  @et            end that the Lord had in view, but then we should have          ,
meent, ziet hij zeker al evenmin als*wij. ."                   be& left in'ignorance as to what kind of a man he was,
    (3)       Dat hij, hetgeen hij van den Raad Gods uit `and hdw it,was that the injunction was at once so need-              '
Zijne openbaring weten kan `en zeker ook weet, we1 ver-        ful and appropriate. It is by help of the preparatory
werpen kan en in ongerechtigheid  ten onder houden. treatment that we are enabled to see further than we
Hij wil dien Raad zeker niet; Hij staat vijtidig  tegen2       should otherwise have done into the character of this
over diep Raad. Het is zijn'doel  hem tit .verijd&n.  En petitioner. He was young, he was wealthy, he was a
in de vijandschap zijns willens en de duisternis zijns         ruler of tee Jews, Better than this, he was amiable,
verstands zal hij zeker -oak weigeren, oin-aante  tiemen,      he was virtuous, ,had made it from the first a high ob-
dat de Raad des Heeren Heeren vast staat.  '  Ofschobn         ject'of' ambftion  .to be just and to be generous, to us&       j
hij zeker uit de.historie zou hebben  .geleerd;  dat  ,Gods the. advantages of his. position to win in a right way
Raad altijd geschiedt, tech wil  hij` niet  toest&nm&n,        the favor oE his, fellow-men. But notwithstanding, af-
maar houdt hij door de vijandschap  zijns harten in'on- ter all the successful attempts of his past life, there was
gerechtigheid ten onder, dat dit daarom ook in de' t?e-        a restlessness, a dissatisf+ction  in his heart. He had
komst zoo zou zijn en dat hij den Raad des  Reeren             not reached the goal. He heard Jesus speak of eternal
nimmer zal kunnen verijdelen. Daarom wordt'  zijn              life, somethipg evidently far higher, than anything he
strijd  we1 steeds wanhopiger,  naarmate.  hij ziet, `dat h&d yet attained, and he wondered how it was to be
zijn tijd kort is en dat <God de Heere Zijn Raad uit-          got at., Nothing doubting but that it must be along
voert, maar,geeft  hij dien tech nimmer op. `Ndg altijd the same track, that he had hitherto been persuing, but                .'
is het zijn pogen, om zijn eigen'koninkrijk  en- inldcht       by some extra work of extraordinary merit, he comes                   :.  :.
te doen  zegetieren,  en God en Zijnen Gezalfde het on- to Jesus with .the question, "Good Master, trhat  good
derspit te  doen  delven. Het is daarbij' schier' ondenk-      thirig shall I  do, that I may inherit eternal life?" Jesus
baar, dat de duivel zeer beslist aan zijn eigen onder-         saw'at bnce that he was pvtting  all upon moral good-
gang zou gelooven, dat hij ganschelijk ge&n' hoop bou          n&s; some' higher virtue to be reached. by. his, own            "
hebben, dat zijn toeleg  nog eens zal  gelukken;,  Daarom efiort entitling  him to the eternal life. He saw that               :
zou ik geneigd zijn om aan te nemen, dat. bij. al `de he `was so fully possessed with the idea that it regu-
wetenschap, die hij heeft, bij al. de erviiring,  die hij lated, .even~  his conception of Christ's I own personal
heeft opgedaan, deels doordat. hij  sniet alwetend is, ctiracter,  whom he was disposed to look upon rather
deels doordat hij in vijandschap  zichzelveri  altijd  Geer    as' a tire-eminently virtuous man than one having any
verblindt en de waarheid in ongerechtigheid ten  ond&          peculiar relationship to God. Checking him, therefore;
houdt, de duivel tech altijd weer zijn werk begint e`n at the, very first  - taking exception to the very form
voortzet in de hope, dat het hem gelukken zal nog ee&          and `manner of his. address, he says, "Why  callest thy
den Raad Gods te verijdelen en de overwinning voor nik good? there is none good but one, that is, God."
zich en zijn rijk te behalen.                                     Endeavoring thus to raise his thoughts to the true
   Last dit eerst genoeg zijn.          "            '         source  of all real goodness, rather than to+ay anything.
 Ik weet zelf niet of partij No. 1 of partij No. 2 nu          about His own connection with the Father, which it is
gelijk heeft gekregen. Doch  dat doet er ook niet aan no part of His present object to speak about, ..Jesus
af of toe.                                                     takes him first upon his own ground. There need be no
   Of de "VAANDELDRAGER'~  nu aan de breeders  bevre- talk about any one particular good thing, that  behaved'
diging gegeven heeft, weet  ik  aok niet. Maar  hij  ver- to  b& done, till it was  seeri  whether the common
trouwt wel, dat hij eenig iicht heeft ontstoken.               acknowledged precepts of God's law had all been kept.

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

"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit              He needed a sharp lesson to teach him this, to lay bare
adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, `Do not bear false    at once the true state of things within. Christ was too
witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and thy kind and too skillful a physician to apply this or that
mother." As the easiest instrument of conviction, as emollient that might have power to allay a symptom or
the one that lay entirely in the very region to which two of the outward irretation. At once He thrusts the
all this youth's thoughts and efforts had been confined, probe into the very heart of the wound. "One thing
Jesus restricted Himself to quoting the precepts of the thou lackest:  go thy way," said He, at once assuming
second table of the law, and says nothing in the mean-     His proper place as the ,representative  of God and of
time about the first. The young man, bearing the chal- His claims, - "go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast,
lenge, listens to the precepts as they are detailed, and and< give to the poor; and come take up thy cross and
promptly, without apparently a moments misgiving, follow Me." The one thing lacking was not the renun-
he answers, "All these have I observed from my youth." ciation of his property in bestowing it upon the poor.
There was no `doubt great ignorance, great self-decep- It was a supreme devotedness to God, to duty  - a
tion in this reply. He knew but little of any of these willingness to give up anything, to give up everything
precepts in its true significance, in all the strictness, where God required it, to be given up. when the holding
spirituality, and extent of its requirements, who could of it was inconsistent with fidelity- to Him. This was
venture on any such assertion. Yet there was sincerity the one thing lacking. And instead of proclaiming his
in the answer, and it pointed to a bygone life of ,fatal deficiency in this primary requirement, without
singular external propriety, and that the fruit not so which there could be no true obedience rendered to any
much of constraint as of natural amiableness and  cbn- part of the divine law, Christ embodies the claim which
scientiousness. As he gave the answer, Jesus behold- He knew the young ruler was unprepared to honor -
ing him, loved him. It was new and refreshing to the in that form which struck directly at the idol of his
Saviour's eye to see such a specimen as this of truth- heart, and required its instant and absolute dethrone-
fulness and of good report among the rulers of the ment.
Jews. Here was no hypocrite, no fanatic, here was one         Not for a moment, then, can we imagine that in
who had not learned to wear the garb of sanctimonious- speaking to him as He did, Jesus was issuing a gen-
ness as a cover for all kinds of self-indulgence ; here eral command, or laying down a universal condition of
was one free from the delusion that the strict observ- the Christian discipleship, or that He was even holding
ance of certain formulas of devotion would stand in- up the relinquishment of earthly possessions as an act
stead of the mightier matters of justice and of charity; of pre-eminent meritoriousness, which all strivers after
here was one who so far had the contagion of his age       Christian perfection should set before them as the
and sect, who was not seeking to make clean the out- summit to be reached. There is nothing of all this
side of the cup and the platter, but was really trying here. It is a special treatment of a special case.
to keep himself from all that was wrong, and to be         Christ's object being to frame and to apply a decisive
toward his fellow-men all that, as he understood it, touch-stone or test whereby the condition of that one
God's law required. Jesus looked upon this man and spirit might be exposed, He suited with admirable skill
loved him.                                                 the test to the condition. Had that condition been
       But the very love He bore him prompted Jesus to other'than it was, the test employed would have been
subject him to a treatment bearing in many respects a different. Had it been the love of pleasure, or the love
likeness to that to which He subjected Nicodemus. With of power, or the love of fame, instead of the love of
not a little, indeed, that was different, there was much money that had been the ruling passion, He would have
that was alike in the two rulers, - the one came to framed His order so that obedience to it would have
Jesus by night at the beginning of His ministry in demanded the crucifixion of the ruling passion, the re-
Judea  ; the, one who now comes to Him by day at the       nunciation of the one cherished idol. The only one
close of His labors in  Persea  ; both honest, earnest abiding universal rule that we are entitled to extract
men, seekers after truth, and lovers of it in a fashion, from the dealing of our Lord with this applicant being
too, but both ignorant and self-deceived ; Nicodemus' this - that in coming to Christ, in taking on the yoke
error rather one of the head than of the heart, flowing of the Christian discipleship, it must be in the spirit of
from an entire misconception of the very nature of an entire readiness to part with all that He requires us
Christ's kingdom; the young ruler's one of the heart to relinquish, and to allow no idol to usurp that inward
rather than of the head, flowing from an inordinate, throne, that of right is His.
idolatrous attachment to his worldly possessions. In          Christ's treatment, if otherwise it failed, was in one
either case Christ's treatment was quick, prompt, de- respect eminently successful. It silenced, it saddened,
cisive, laying the axe at once at the root of the evil. it sent away. No answer was attempted. No new ques-
Beneath all the pleasing show of outward moralities tion was raised. The demand was made in such broad,
Christ detected in the young ruler's breast a lamentable unmitigated, unambiguous terms, that the young ruler,
want of true regard to God, any recognition of His conscious that he had never felt before the extent or
supreme and paramount claims. His heart, his trust, pressure of such a demand, and that he was utterly un-
his treasure, were in earthly, not in heavenly things. prepared to meet, turned away disappointed and  dis-


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   ` B E A R E R                                                  215

satisfied. Jesus saw him go, let him go, followed him           Liefde Gods ! in u geborgen,
with no importunities, besought him not to return and             Blijf ik uit der zonde strik ;
to consider. It was not the manner of the Saviour to            Machtloos deinzen angst en zorgen, -t
be importunate, - you do not find in Him any great                Zelfs de Dood verliest zijn schrik:
urgency or iteration of appeal. When once in any case             `t Spooksel wordt een  Vreegezant
enough is said or done, the individual dealt with is left          Met d'olijftak in de hand !
to his own will. Gazing after this young ruler as he
departed, Jesus then looked around about, and saith to          Liefde Gods! Gij rust der moeden,
His disciples, "How hardly shall they that have riches            Steun der zwakken, troost in smart.
enter into the kingdom of, God." The disciples were             Veilige Ark op  `s waerelds vloeden,
astonished at these words, as  we11 they might. What!              Heeling voor `t'gewonde hart,
was the ease or the difficulty of entering into the king-         Manna, dat de ziel verblijdt,
dom to be measured by the little or by the more of this           Toevlucht in verzoekingstijd !
world's goods that each man possessed? A strange
premium this on poverty, as strange a penalty on                Liefde Gods! 0  zielsverblijden,
wealth. Jesus notices the surprise that His saying had            Vaste hoop voor `t droef gemoed,
created, and, aware of the false track along which His          Die de zwartste wolk van  % lijden
disciples' thoughts were running in a way as  effec-              Zoomt met zilvren Morgengloed.
tionate as it was instructive, proceeded to explain the           Wat mij hier geloof deed raan,
real meaning of what He had just said. "Children,                Zal ik namaals eens verstaan !
how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter
into the kingdom of God." It is not the having but the
trusting that creates the  difficulty. It is not the kind
or the quantity of the wealth possessed, but the kind                                                        .'
or quantity of the detachment that is lavished  upon'it.                    K R U I S   DRAGEN  I                                  .;
`The love of the penny may create as great impediment                Achter  Jezus `t kruis te dragen;                        /
as the love of the pound. Nor is it our wealth alone                   Weet gij, wat dat zeggen wil?
that operates in this way, that raises a mighty obstacle             Heel uw leven zonder klagen
in the way of entering the kingdom. It is anything                     Willen,  wat uw Heiland wil.
else than God and Christ upon which the supreme                      Ied'ren dag en  elken  morgen                 '
effection of the spirit is bestowed. A new light dawns                 Leven uit Zijn hand alleen.
upon the disciples' minds as they listen to and begin to             En te  weten : God zal zorgen
comprehend the explanation that their Master now had                   In de bangste tegenheen.
given, and see the extent to which that explanation                  Morren  maakt de last niet minder
goes. They were astonished at the first, but now the                   Moed alleen vermindert haar.
astonishment is more than double ; for if it indeed' be              `.Neem  uw kruis op, wat het zijn moog,
true, that before any individual of our race can cross                 God weegt  niemands  last te zwaar.
the threshold of the kingdom such a shift of the whole
trust and confidence of the heart must take place,  -                            `,
i.f every living earthly creature, - attachment must be
subordinated to the love of God and of Jesus Christ His
Son, who, then, can be saved? for who can effect this           Gij zijt al wat ik behoeve ;
great revolution within his own heart,`who can take                Meer dan alles, Gij alleen  ! '
the dearest idol he has known and cast it down in the           Richt .&ij op, versterk mijn zwakheid,             !,
dust, who can lay hand upon the usurper and eject                  Leid  rlnijn blindheid, stier  mijn  schreen!
him, who can raise the rightful owner of it to the              Ik bel; v&l van smet en zonde,          "
throne? Astonished out of measure, the disciples say               Gij gerecht en h&g zaam ;
among themselves, "Who, then,  can  .be saved?" His             Ik ellendlg,  Gij volzalig ;                            ,"
reply is, "With man it is impossible, but not with God,            Trouw  en Waarheid  is uw naam !
for with God all things are possible."
                                            G. M. 0.            Alles heb ik in uw volheid;
                                                                 Wat mijn  armoe`komt  te sta ;
                                                                Voor een talloosheid van zonden
       Liefde Gods! waarvoor ik kniele,                            Eindeloosheid van gena !
         Bron van heil en levenskracht !                        Laat me, 0 Springfontein van leven,
       Eeuwig rustpunt  mijner ziele,                              Putten waar Ge uw wat'ren spreidt;
          Hemelsch Licht in `s waereIds  Nacht !                Word een ader in mijn binnenst,
         In uw stralen, waar ik ga,                                Vloeiend tot in eeuwighefd.
          Wandlen  mij alle Englen na.                                                                -Wesley.


                                 A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE  @dished  by
                           THE REFORMED FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
                                                                                                                            I~--- .-..............  - .-.. ~-_--- __.
                                                                       E d i t o r i a l   Sta#:
        Subscription       comm&ications              H. HOEKSEMA                       G. M. OPHOFF                            Communications  felative  to con-
         shouId be addressed to ' F. Prins,                                                                                     tents shouid  be addressed to Rev.
         704 Lynch St., S. W., Grand                                Associate Editors:                                          TI. IIoeksema,  1139 Franklin St,
         Rapids,  Mich.                               G. VOS                              WM. VERHIL                            S. E., Grand Rapids, Mich.
                                               Entered   as  second  class  mail  matter   at  Grand   Rapids.   itfich.    _.......-

      `Vol. V,' Noi 10                                           FEBRUARY 15, 1929                                                       Subscription Price, $2.50

                                                                                       it the extreme corner of the porch that led directly
                                                                                       into the Sanctuary? We know not. Probable it is that
                                                                                       from this pinnacle as a watch-post  a  priest would an-
                                                                                       nounce with silver trumpet-blast the first glimmer of a
                                                                                       new dawn, and give the signal for the morning sacri-
                   IF THOU BE THE SON OF GOD                                           fice. Now, as the Tempter leads the Son of God to this
                              If thou be the  So-n of God,  ca&tigelf                  lofty pinnacle, the first streak of morning light had,
                            down . . . .                                . :  .         perhaps, already expanded into the full glory of a new
          If thou be the Son of God !                                                  day and the morning offering had been brought from
          Was it with a grin of sarcasm playing on his face, the altar in the court below. Jerusalem's children had
      that the Tempter challenged the divine  Sonship of this entered through the gates of the temple to present
      pale Man, Whom from the bleak desert he had trans- themselves before the face of Jehovah, to thank Him
      ported to the pinnacle of the temple ?                                           for His faithfulness in the night and to shew forth
          In the wildernis had he found Him, hungry and in                             His lovingkindness in the morning. Had they noticed
      want, destitute and apparently forsaken of God and this Stranger, pale and hungered, Who had taken the
      man. And with the same taunting challenge he had place of the watching priest on the pinnacle of the
      appealed to the almighty power of that divine Sonship,                           temple? . . `.  .
      tempting Him to employ that omnipotence to end His                                     What surroundings for the very' temptation the
      suffering and change the gloomy desert into a blooming shrewd Tempter had in mind !
      Paradise.                                                                              How well the invironment was selected !
          But the hungry Servant had refused.' The Son had                                   How carefully the stage was set!
      appealed, in  humble obedience to the Word of His                                      For here, from the pinnacle of the temple, all re-
      Father: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by *minded of the beautiful trust and humble but firm con-
      eveiy word .that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.                             fidence expressed in the very psalm the Tempter
      When .confronted  with the alternative to suffer with quoted. Here, in -the temple, one dwelled in the very
      hunger `in the favor of the Father or to be satisfied                            house of the Father. Here he would find himself in the
      with earthly bread in the way of disobedience, He had secret place of the `Most High and might abide in the
      resolutely rejected. the latter and chosen to seek the very shadow of the Almighty. Here he might surely
      Bread that never perisheth . . . .                                               say of the Lord': He is my refuge and my fortress,.my
         , Now, then, the Tempter would appeal no more to God ; in Him will I trust! No `danger could' lurk here
      the power of the Son. He would challenge this com- for him, that ,would put his entire `trust in Jehovah
      plete and absolute trust of the Son in the nearness and his God. The snare of the  fowler  would here prove
      faithful love of the Father, to care for Him, to protect futiIe, the noisome pestilence could' not fill this place
/     Him, so that in no way He would dash His foot against with its poisoned fumes. Here one need not be afraid
      a stone. To, the temple, the very house of the Father, of the terror by night, nor fear the flying,arrow  in the
      in His immediate presence, under the very shadow of daytime. All about him, who would seek his refuge in
      Hiswings..  .`.                                                                  this house of Father, thousands might fall, ten thou-
          What a scene !                                                               sands might be plunged into destruction at his right
          Was "the pinnacle of the temple" the tower at the hand, but, surely, it could never reach him.
j                                                                                                                                                        For with-
      southeastern angle of the temple-cloisters, from whose out this shadow of the Almighty were only the wicked,
1     heights one could look into the stupendous depth of the whose destruction he would behold with his eyes, but
:.    `Kedron  valley, yawning some four hundred' and fifty                            no evil could befall him in this habitation of the Most
I     feet beneath? Was it merely the ternpIe roof? Or was High.                                    Angels, those flaming servants of the Most


218                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                                                   ,.
                                                                                                                    3
High; hovered  ,here, ready to keep and  crotect  all that  : temple in the .&olden  flood of sunhght,  ex&& 2exa&Yy !
loved the Lord, and, they would be instantly charged to " some such token `of the,`coming  of. their long~iooked4or  i'
guard:%he children. of .the Most High and safely :keep  .`. Messiah?' WouId there, even"aniong the I$.iests that ,j;
them" `in the midst of the threatening dangers . . . . had just finished the morning sacrifice, be any that
       Now, then, if thou art the Son of God . . . .                would doubt His claim to the-Christ-ship,  if thus He
       If thou be, not merely one of His children, whom would  descend'from  the amazing height of the temple
also He Ioveth and for whose safety He is anxious, but upon Jerusalem, the city of -God?' What shouts of joy..
the  Cnly-Begotten,  the. Beloved, that is in the. bosom would be heard. presently in the streets of Jerusalem  E
of the Father .  ,.  ;  .'                                          With what acclamations of praise He  would be se-  ;::
       Cast thyself down!  i  I  '                                  ceived !" `One step, one movement of the foot, I and all ' ,
                       2                                  ~,        Jerusalem would kneel at His feet, worshipping' Him"
                                                                    and paying `Him the hom,age to which He truIy ha,d a
       Whit a scene it would. be !                                  claim. The goal of His Messiahship can be reached:bp  :
       That  paIe Stranger, standing on the dazzling height,  _ a. single plunge. The way of glory is here presented as- TV- .A-
of the temple's, pinnacle, suddenly descending, fear-               itself a  gI.orious  way,!
                                                                                  _.._,  _                                                                     .", .  ,,  .--F  .
lessly stepping into space and the multitude expecting               And, then, there was  the.i.other   wiy,  the:`way  of
to see Him crushed to death on the pavement of the suffering!                           _,`,  ,:'                        ,          i"`. 1 .'
temple's court . . . .                '                                Itstretched  itself in gloomy vista's before the vision
       Then,  unexnebtedly,  from all directions angels, clad of the Servant of the Most High;' with its ever deep- -
in the bright gIdry of heavenly holiness, darting for-              ening shadows Z of determined opposition and, i bitter
ward; `flying upward, to meet Him, the Son, the Lord of hatred, of haughty contempt and rejection, of deepest
heaven, the Beloved of the Father, Whom He would                    shame and `humiliation, `of `cowardly. `denial by His
deliver and ,honor'; and, covering their faces with two loved one and treacherous betrayal by one, He, had
of their wings, paying Him honor and obeisance, rev-                chosen, of excruciating ,pain and untold agony, ,of bear-,
erently  bearing Him u'p'in their hands, carefully con- ing the wrath of God and the' reproach of men . `. . ,. ,
veying Him down, lest He dash His foot against a  "                     Whispers the `Tempter at His `side: If thou. be the '
stone . . . `.                                                      Son of God . . .  .'                       '                                               :.                              '
       How grand's show it would be !                                   Cast thyself down!                               "     I                  '                              ,!
       Merely to drush this Tempter with his taunting                   Angels shall' bear thee uG ! Lest thy foot ) c$sh `*:.,
challen,ge,~  who seemed to question His claim to the love against a stone !                  L
and protection of His Father, would it not be gIorious                  Stage a scene of heavenly  glory !  ~  I                                        1'                 :'          '
to stage the show, to make the display, to put to shame                 And prefer  the.  way  .of glory  to." the  way-,of   the'  ,.
the haughty sarcasm of the Devil? Simple and  f7.rm cross?  "  "                                     "'  ."                    ",,,'  '  I.  ,,                                   1'  `,,  ,,
trust had been the power by which He had warded  of?                    What a scene it wouid be !                                                                               ,:I  ,.
the first attack of the Tempter.' He had cast Himself                                                                                                     .  ;.*
                                                                                                                                           .~                        ,                 i
as the confident Servant in the care and protection of                                                                                                         :  ,< . .
the Father and chosen the way of obedience, even if it                  The pale Man stands, unmoved  !"                                    '  /  1  ' .  '
were a way  ,of' suffering and humiliation. Here the                    The Tempter is watching, anxiously  for any hope- `:.::
Tempter' challenged His very confidence and the very ful glitter in His eyes, for any weakening line in His
love of- the Father. Let Him now descend ! Let Him features, as c&my this second Servant of Jehovah  is, ,' :
now trust in God,. in obedience to Whom He already surveying the scene . . . ; ,                                                                               b.%                           I.,
had preferred hunger to physical satisfaction. Let                      Is He considering?                               "           ~                 `*, ,                                              i
Him now show; that His trust in the Most' High, of                      Is He weighing'in His `mental balance'the aIternat, 1
Whose presence all- the surroundings witnessed, was tives : abject shame and, heavenly `glory ;  `.deepest re-.  ,,
firm and immoveable!               Oh, it was a double challenge ! preach and royal honor? Is there, in the.bosom  of, that' '
On the one hand the Devil questioned the most humble silent Man, a struggle going on, that makes it diffipult . i
and childlike  tionfidence  of the Son ; on the other for Hii to decide,' whether to accede to. the request an'd , ,
hand, he,sarcastically'suggested  that the Father might yield to the temptation or  Qnly and absolutely to  re-                                                                                     I;
forsake Him in the hour of danger and would be faith- ject this' gIorious way to glory? Is there, perhaps, `a
less to `His own `Word. Shall He answer the challenge, slight wavering of the mind, a mere weakening ,of the: I
take it'up; show the Devil? . . . .                                 will, the beginning of a hesitation to choose? . . . .                                                             '  '
       Then,' `was' there not opened up here a short and                God forbid !                                                       :*-
direct way to glory?                                                    Resolute and final is the answer, quoted once more
       Would-not this-prove a glorious way into His  king- from the Word of the Father which also the  Devil had
dom?                          "                                     cited, though defectively and with wicked application : ,
       A way without suffering?                                     It is written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord Thy
       Did not the people, waiting below in the court of God ! . . . `.
the temple and, perhaps; watching in wonderment this                    God cannot be tempted with evil. For He is a light
Stranger, silently standing on the pinnacle of the and there is no darkness in Him. The Father of lights


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                219

 is He. In His Being there is nought but goodness. would fail to bear Him up and He would be crushed
 Holiness and righteousness belong to the very essence           against the pavement of the temple court . . . .
 of His nature. AI1 His thoughts and counsels are holi-             But God forbid, that this Servant of the Lord could
 ness and truth. And in Himself He lives the infinite  life      possibly consider the `Tempter's proposition !
 of most perfect goodness. His eyes cannot behold evil              Far be it from our minds, that even  ,for the
 with complacency; His will cannot accede to the plots of shortest conceivable moment, He would waver and feel
. the wicked ; the sight of evil provokes His wrath con-         attracted to this glorious way to vain glory from the
 stantly. Temptation, therefore, has no hold on Him.             pinnacle of the temple.
 And whoever would approach Him with temptation to                  For He was the Son' of God, indeed I
 sin, must experience that our God is a consuming fire,             And because He is' the, Son of God, He could not
 whose eyes are over the righteous, but whose soul               contemplate casting Himself down, for even as His
 loatheth the workers of iniquity. To tempt the Lord' power was one with the power `of the Father, and even
 our God'is to `expect and to pray, that He may descend          as His will was perfectly blended with the Father's
 with us' into-ways of sin and iniquity and that in those will, so He loved the Father even as the Father loved
 ways He may show us His favor `and lovingkindness, Him. And loving the Father,  '  He. would walk in the
 hold our hand and lead us, prosper us and protect us.           way of love. And walking in, the way of love, He would
 To tempt Him is an attack upon the holiness of His              taste the truth of the promise the Devil quoted so
 name  : .  `.  .                                                erroneously: He shall keep thee in all thy ways!
     Thou shaIt not tempt the Lord thy God!                         Those ways were the ways of perfect obedience.
     That answer implied all, that needed be expressed. And the way of perfect obedience was the way of suf-
     It constituted a resolute and final refusal, to yield to    fering; of reproach and shame, of suffering and death.
 the Devil's temptation, an ultimatum: how could the             The way of the cross .`. . . .
 Son of  God, commit an act that was a tempting of the              And it was the way of'the,  cross, because it was the
 Most High? It implied a reason for the refusal of the           way of righteousness,  by'which  He would be the Cap-
 temptation. And it resisted the Tempter's quotation tain of the salvation `of those, whom'the  Father gave
 from Holy Writ with a Word of equal authority, at the :Him . . . .
 same time rebuking the Evil One for his destortion of              Hence, He would not `tempt the Lord' His God to
 the Holy Word.                                                  accompany Him in ways of disobedience and the vain
     For this, indeed, had he done.                              glory of men.
     He had quoted Scripture, but falsely. For, not only            But He would submit .Him.seIf  humbly to the way
 had he applied the Word of God to conditions in which           of the Father and walk it unto the end.
 it could never be of force, but also he had omitted a              He does not consider; He does not' hesitate ; He
 part that was, nevertheless, essential to the right un- stands unmoved.                    ,.
 derstanding of God's testimony. Cast thyself down !                The Tempter is put to shame and defeated.
 For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over            The Servant of God chooses the way of the cross!
 thee and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at           Thanks be to His ,name !
 any time thou dash thy foot against a stone! But the                                                              Ii. H.
 Word of God had been: To keep thee in all thy ways!
     Surely, the Father would reahze  this promise in
 the Son, sent in the flesh to be the Servant of Jehovah.                              BEMQEDIGING
 He would never fail Him. He would keep Him in all                        Een  mensch  lijdt dikwijls meest
 His ways. Only, these ways were the ways of Jehovah.                     Door `t lijden, dat hij vreest,
 The ways of the Son were the ways of the Father, were                    En wat nooit op komt dagen.
 the ways that had been counselled for the Son from be-                     Dus heeft hij meer te dragen,
 fore the foundation of the world, were the ways of                         Dan God te dragen  geeft.
 most perfect obedience. In those ways of the Servant,                    Het leed, wat is, ,,drukt met zoo zwaar,
 which were the ways of Jehovah, well did the tempted                     Als vrees voor,allerlei  gevaar.
 Son know, was not incIuded this way from the pinnacle                    En komt het eens in huis,
 of the `temple. It was a presumptuous way, a vain `way,                  Dan helpt God altijd, me&
 a way of self-exaltation, a way `to flatter the pride of                 En geeft Hij kfacht naar kruis.
 sinful men, to receive the honor and glory of those
 men, that would crucify Him, should He walk in the
 ways of His Father. The promise of protecting angels                        Hoe hoog dan ook de zonde ga,'
  and loving care did not apply to this presumptuous                              Gelijk een berg verrezen,
  way of vain glory. To appeal to the promise of God                         Nog hooger, God ! gaat Uw gena,
 and cast Himself down from the height of the temple's                            Oneindig als Uw wezen.
  pinnacle would be an attempt to lure the Most High                         Gij, Vader, zult het Kinderhart
  with Him into ways of sin. And he would only invoke                        Van zondesmet en zondesmart
  the displeasure of God upon Him, the protecting angels                          Volkomen eens  genezen.


                                                                                                                                         .
                                                                T H E   STANDkRD   B E A R E R                                                  %`28

                          kan niet.. Daarom kan er dan ook geen kwestie van
                          zijn, of de bedreigde straf is onmiddellijk  in working         THE REQUEST  illf THE SONS OF  ZEBEDEE
                          getreden. Ten  dage  als gij daarvan eet  zult gij den                             (Matt. 20 : 17-34)
                          dood sterven, zoo had de Heere gesproken. Dit is geen
                          bloote profetie, waarin de Heere God later een weinig             NO district of the Holy Land is more unlike what it
                          verandering  brengt, zoodat er uitstel komt en het ten once was and what it still might be than that in which
                          &ge niet wordt vervuld.     Weliswaar kon de dood ook Jericho, the city of palms, once stood. Its position,
                          niet uitblijven en is dit woord in zooverre ook eene  aan-    commanding the two chief passes up to the hill country
                          kopdiging van hetgeen onvermijdelijk geschieden of Judea and Samaria,  the depth and fertility  ,of its
                          moest, zou Adam zich losrukken uit den band des Ver-          well-watered soil, and the warmth of its tropical
                         bonds met den God des levens. Zoo- zeker als iemand climate, early indicated it as the site of a city which
                          zijn woning in duisternis dompelt, zoodra hij de elec- should not only be the capital of the surrounding coun-
                         trische draad, waardoor hij verbonden is met de cen- try, but the protection of all western Palestine against
                          trale, doorsnijdt, zoo zeker stort iemand zich in den invaders from the east. Joshua found it so when he
                          `dood,  zoodra hij de band der gemeenschap doorsnijdt crossed the Jordan ; and as his first step toward the
                         met den God  des, levens. Maar dit onvermijdelijk re- conquest of the country which lay beyond, laid siege
                         sultaat  van zulk een daad is tech nooit 10s te denken         to a city which had walls broad enough to have houses
                         `van Gods wil. Daarom is het aangekondigde resultaat build upon them, and whose spoil when taken, its gold
                          opk tegelijkertijd een bedreiging van straf. God hand-        and its silver, its vessels of brass and of iron, its goodly
              ~ .,  haaft de heiligheid van Zijn Verbond. Daarom zegent Babylonian garments, bore evidence of influence and of
                         Hij  .met  leven en  gunst hem, die Zijn Verbond  houdt        tratllc. No town in all the territory which the Israel-
                          en is Zijne goedertierenheid over hem, maar daarom ites afterwards acquired westward of Jordan could
                         treft Hij ook met Zijn toorn en vloek, al wie van Hem compete with Jericho. It fell, was reduced to ruins,
.,  .:                    afhoereert. Daarin handhaaft Hij de eere Zijns Naams, and the curse of Joshua pronounced upon the man who
 ,i,..  ~..~ `:. die Hij  aan geen anderen geven kan.
       >v .`.                                                      En zoo lijdt het attempted to raise again its walls. In the days of
,.:..*_  * geen twijfel of de mensch stierf dienzelfden dag en  on Ahab that attempt was made, and though the
`-:"  :I: ,dat eigen oogenblik den dood.
       . . `..;                                            We1 was er oak genade threatened evils fell upon the maker, the city rose from
        i 9 /,
,,.  "  `:  ". en ging Adam in den dood niet onder.
       " :y                                                        Doch die genade its ruins to enter upon another stage of progressive
                         was  niet gemeen, maar vloeide hem toe uit den  ICnecht prosperity, which reached its highest point when  Herod
            .
`-`y, ,y `, des Heeren bij uitnemendheid. Want ook handhaafde                           the Great selected it as .one of its favorite resorts,
       ::,' ,:`. de ,Heere  God Zijn Verbond in positieven zin door Hem,
 G.                                                                                     beautified it with towers  .and palaces, becoming so
: A " : Dien Hij van voor de grondlegging. der wereld gezalfd attached to it that, feeling his last illness to have come
                          heeft. Hij komt  .om des Vaders wil te  doen,. verhoogt upon him, he retired there to die. Soon after his death
       . en  verheerlijkt  Gods Verbond en brengt ons tot de
                   .,                                                                   the town was plundered, and some of its finest build-
                         glorie van het nieuwe Paradijs Gods, waar  we1 de boom ings were destroyed. These, however, were originally
                          des levens, maar nooit meer de boom der kennis des            restored to all their original splendor by Archelaus  and
                          goeds en kwaads bloeien zal. Aldaar zal  geen nacht           as he left it Josephus  has described it - its stately
  ,>. z i j n .                                                                         buildings rising up among groves of palm-trees miles
                                                                             H. H.      in length, with gardens scattered round, in which all
                                                                                        the chief flowers and fruits of eastern lands grew up in
                                                                                        the greatest luxuriance. The rarest.and most precious
                                                                                        among them, the balsam, a treasure worth  3s own
                                        ZONldE   "IiN VERLOSSING                        weight in silver, for which kings made war, "so that
                          `k, Voel mij, onwillig, door lusten bestoken ;                he," says the Jewish historian, as he warms in his
                            `k Zie mij in de netten der zonde verward.                  recital of all its glories, "he who should pronounce the
                          Wordt dan de strik nooit volkomen verbroken?                  place to be divine would not be mistaken, wherein is
                            Blijft dan het kwaad de tiran van mijn hart?                such plenty of trees produced as is very rare, and of
                          Neen, gij bedrukte, geplaagde, bedroefde  ?                   the most excellent sort. And, indeed, if we speak of
                            Neen, niet gewanhoopt in troostloozen rouw !                these other fruits, it will not be easy to light on any
                          Hoe ook. de strijd aw vertrouwen beproefde, -                 climate in the habitable earth that can well be com-
                            `t Oog op uw Heiland! Hij blijft  u getrouw!                pared to it."
                          Eens, op zijn tijd, zal Hij uitkomst u geven;                    And such as Josephus  has described was Jericho
                            Eens velt zijn hand uw belngers ter neer.                   and the country around when Christ's eye rested on
                          Hij is de Levende en schenkt u het leven;                     them, in descending into the valley of the Jordan, and
                            Hij geeft de vreugde en de vrijheid   u weer.               above the,tops  of the palm-trees, and the-roofs of the
                          Hij doet {de Zoon!) u in "t V:~derh?uis  wonen,               palaces, He saw the trace of the road led up to Jerusa-
                            Hij  giet  (de Pries& !) u d'  oiie op `t hoofd.            lem. None beside the twelve had gone with Him into
                          Hij komt (de  Koning) uw  schedel   eons  Jxonen,  -          the retreats of Ephraim and Pereae. But now He is
                            Wacht Hem, wees sterk, want Hij heeft het beloofd           on the track of the companies from the north, who are

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

going up to the Passover, that is to be celebrated at the    p&id to them, might naturally enough expect that if
close of the following'week. The time, the company,          special favors were to be `dispensed to any, they would
the road, all serve to bring up to the Saviour's thoughts not be overlooked. James and John tell their mother
events that are now so near, to Him of such momentous Salome, who has met them by the way, all that they
import. A spirit of eager impatience to be baptized          have lately noticed in the manner of their Master, and
with the impending baptism seizes upon Him, and gives all that He has lately spoken, pointing to the approa&h-
a strange quickness and forwardness to His move- ing Passover as the season when the manifestation. of
ments. His talk, His gait, His gestures all betoken the kingdom was to be made. Mother and sons agree
how absorbed He is ; the eye and thought away from to go to Jesus with the request, that in His kingdom
the present, from all around, fixed upon some future, and glory the one brother should sit upon His right
the purport of which has wonderfully excited Him.            hand and the other upon His left, a request that in all
His hasty footsteps carry Him on before His fellow-          likelihood took its particular shape and form from
travelers. "Jesus went before them," St. Mark+  tells what Jesus had said but a few days before, when; in
us, "and they were amazed; and as they followed they answer to Peter's question, "Behold, we have forsaken
were afraid." There was. that in His aspect, attitude, all, and followed thee ; what shall we have, therefore?
and actions that filled them with wonder and with awe. And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That
It was not long till an explanation was oflered  them. ye which have followed Me in the regeneration, when
He took the. twelve aside, and once again, as twice be- the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory,' ye
fore, but now with still greater minuteness and partic- also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve
ularity of detail, told them what was about to happen tribes of Israel." What could these thrones, this judg-
within a few days at Jerusalem, how He was to be de- ing be? Little wonder that the apostles' minds were
livered into the hands of the Jewish rulers, and how set a-speculating by what still leaves us, after all spec-
they were to deliver Him into the hands of the Gentiles,     ulating, about as much in the dark as ever. But while
how He was to be mocked and scourged, and spit upon Salome and James and  John  were proffering their re-
and crucified, till all things that were written by the quest, and trying to pre-engage the places of highest
prophets concerning Him should be accomplished, and          honor, where was Peter? It had not come into his
how on the third day He was to rise again. Everything        thoughts to seek a private interview with his Master
was told so plainly that we may well wonder that any for such a  purpose. He had no mother by His side to
one could have been at. any loss as to Christ's meaning ;    fane the flame that was as ready to kindle in His as
but the disciples we are  .told, `funderstood none of these in any of their breasts. That without any thought of
things, and the sayings. .were  hid from them, neither one whose natural claims were as goo'd  as  theirs, James
knew they the things that were spoken." This only and John should have gone to Jesus `and made the re-
proves what a blinding power preconception  andmis-          quest they did, satisfies us at least of this, that, it was
conception have in hiding the simplest things told in not the understanding among the twelve that when the
the simplest  ,language  - a  .blinding  power often exer- Lord had spoken to Peter as He did after his good con-
cised over us now as to the written, as.it was then exer- fession, He had assigned to him the primacy, on, in-
cised over the apostles as to their Master's spoken deed, any particular  pre-eminence  over the rest.
words.  I The. truth is that these men were utterly un-         "Ye know not what ye ask." They did it ignorantly,
prepared .at the time to take in, the real truth `as to      and so far they obtain mercy of the Lord. What it was
what was to happen to their Master. They had made to be placed on the ,right  and on His left in the scenes
up their minds, on'the best of,evidence,  that it was the that waited Him in Jerusalem, two at least of the
Messiah. He had Himself lately confirmed them in that three petitioners, John and Salome, shall soon know as
faith. But. they had their own notions of the Messiah-       they stand gazing upon the central cross of Calvary.
ship. With these such sufferings and such a death as         "Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be bap-
were actually before Jesus were utterly inconsistent. tized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"
They could be but figurative expressions, then, that He They say, <`We can." From this reply it would appear
had employed, intended, perhaps, to represent some that the disciples understood the Lord as asking them
severe struggle with His adversaries through which He whether they are prepared to drink along with Him
had to pass before His kingdom was set up and                some cup of sorrow that was about soon to be put'into
acknowledged.                                                His hands, to be baptized along with Him in some bap-
   Qne thing alone was clear - that the time so long tism of fire to which He was `about to be subjected.
looked forward to had come at last. This visit to Jeru- They are prepared, they think that they can. follow
salem was to witness the erection of the kingdom. All him, they are willing to take their part in whatever
other notions lost in that,.the  thought of the partic-      suffering such following shall entail. Through all the
ular places they were to occupy in that kingdom entered selfishness, and the ambition, and the great ignorance
again into the hearts of two of the disciples - that         of the future that their request revealed, these'shown
pair of brothers who, from early adherence, and the out in this prompt and no doubt perfectly sincere and
amount of sacrifice they had made, and the marked honest reply, a true and deep attachment to their
attention' that on more than one occasion Jesus had Master, a readiness to suffer with Him or for Him. And


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAREB                                           22,s

 He is  far  quicker to recognize the one than to con-
 demn the other. "Ye shall indeed drink of the GUD  that
 I drink of ; and with the baptism that I am baptized           Dat geheei  Israel zalig zal worden  iecrt de Heilige
 withal1 shall ye be baptized." You, James, shall be the Pchrift nadsukkelijk en  op ceer vele plaatsen.          Gods
 first among the bveive that shall seal your testimony ,volk  mag droeve  tijden  beleven,  waarm de  Elija's cou-
 with you? blood. You, John, shall have the longest if den gaan neerzitten en zuchten, dat ze nog maar elleen
 not the largest experience of what the bearing of the       overgebleven zijn, maar de zeven  duizend, die hunne
 cross shail bring with it. Eut to sit on my right and on knie voor Baa1 niet gebogen hebben zijn er altijd en
 my left in my kingdom and my glory ; ask me not for         breken straks  weer uit in  menigte.   Jeruznlem  mag
  that honor `as if it were a thing in the conferring of zich soms laten beschrijven als een hutje in den wijn-
 which I am at liberty to consult my individual will or gaard en een  nachthutje  in den komkommerhof,  maar
 taste or humor. It is not mine so to dispense. It is het overblijfsel wordt  zekerlijk behotiden  en de poor-
  mine to give, but only to those for whom it is pre- ten van Sian  worden straks verwijd en de grondvesten
  pared of my Father, and who by the Course  of discipline van de stad Gods heerlijk gelegd. Er mogen tijden in
  through which he shall pass them shall be duly pre-        de geschiedenis komen,  waarin het  ai den  scfiijn  heeft
  pared for ft.                                              of God Zijn volk heeft verstooten, maar het volk, dat
     James and John have to be content with such a re-       de  Heere van te voren gekend heeft, verstoot Hij  nim-
  ply. Their application though made to Christ when mer. Want God is de getrcuwe, de  eelwig-onveran-
  alone, soon ,after  became known to others, and excites derlijke God. Zijn Naam is Jehova, daarom wnrden de
 no small stir among them. FVhich,  indeed., may cast kinderen  d'akobs  niet verteerd. We1 veranderen de be-
 the first stone at the t-wo ? They all had been guarrel-    rleelingen  en komt dat volk niet altijd op gelijke wijze
  ing among themserves  not long before, as to which of en in gelijken vorm tot openbaring in de  wereld.  Maar
  them should be greatest. And they shall a11 ere long gansch  Israel wordt  zekerlijk ealig en de beEoften  Gods
  be doing so again. Christ's word of rebuke as He hears zijn ja en  22nen.
 of this contention is for all as well as for James and         Zoolang  we niet meer zeggen en in deze algemeene
 John. He tells us that no such kind of authority and waarheden  blijven hangen,  zai we1 geen Christgeloovige
 power as ,is practiced in earthy govermnents - the of groep van geloovigen van ons kunnen verschillen.
 authority of men, rank,  or power carrying it dictatori- Maar zoodra ge op deze waarheid  wat meer in bet hij-
 ally and tyrannicaily  over  su'bjects and dependents - zonder ingaat,  zoodra ge u indenken wilt op de eigen-
 is to be admitted among the disciples ; greatness nmoog     lijke beteekenis van Gods beloften, van  oudsher  aan
' them being a thing to be measured not by the amount %ijn volk  geschonken,  zoodra ge een  zekere  Deschou-
 of  pawer possessed, but by the amount of service ren-      wing naar de  Schrift  wilt  ontwikkelen  van de  wijze
 dered, by their greatest likeness to the Son of man,        waarop de Heere  God geheel Israel zalig maakt, zijn
  "who came not to be administered unto, but to minister, er velen, die  andere wegen  in&an  clan die wij  men-
 and to give His life a ransom for many."                    s&en te bewandelen en die de Heilige &hrift op dit
     The contention is thus momentarily hushed, to           punt  anders schijnen te lezen dan wij. We hebben
 break out again, when it shall receive a still more re- thans  met name het oog op de velen, die nag een zekere
  pressive rebuke.                                           an&e toekomst voor de Joden  verwachten:  en nog meer
                                              G. M. 0.       in het bijzonder hebben we hen voor de eandacht,  die
                                                             van gedachte zijn, dat de Joodsche  natie als zoodanig
                                                             nog weer uit alle landen   zal worden  vergaderd en in
                                                             eigen land geplant zal worden,  om dat eeuwiglijk te be-
    Verhoor, o God, mijn zuchten en mijn Magen!              zitten. Gaze  aandacht  werd in den laatsten tijd nogal
    Hebt Gij dan nooit een antwoord op mijn vragen?          eens  weer op die beschouwing gevestigd, beide doordat
                      Mijn  sehreiend  oog                   we in aanraking kwamen met de broederen, die zieh de
                      Blikt naar omhoog,                     zaak alzoo  voorstellen en doordat we eigen nandacht  in
    Of, eindlijk! niet de Reddings-star  zai dagen.          den laatsten tijd  nogal eens bepaald hebben bij de  pro-
                                                             fetische gedeelten der Heilige  Shrift. Nu kunnen wij
    Maar neen, mijn God ! Gij hebt mijn hand genomen :       ons het eenvoudig niet voorstellen, hoe ernstige studie
    Ik voel  haar, en ik volg IJ zonder schroomen,           der profetie  ooit iemand kan leiden tot zulk een toe-
                      Hoe danker  `t zij,                    komstverwachting  voor de  Joodsche  natie. En des  te
                      Gij ziet voor mij :                    meer trok het onze aandacht, dat deze broederen dtijd
    Gij zijt mijn oog - z&5 zsl ik verder komen.             weer de zaak voorstellen, aisof het geioof  sen zulk een
                                                             aparte toekomst voor het nationale Israel eenvoudig
    `k Zal komen, God ! ook over deze  steenen,              een eaak  is van nederig aannemen  hetgeen de Schrift
    Dit dorenpad, en alle bergen  henen.                     ens leert. Naar onze overtuiging  berust  de Chiliasti-
                      Gij trekt mijn spoor                   sehe voorstelling ook up dit punt juist on misversiand
                      Door graven door :                     van hetgcen ons in de Shrift  op niet onduidelijke  wijze
    `1-1 ZaX komen waar tiw kindren niet meer weenen.        is geopenbaard. Nasr hunne voorstefling  ontbreekt  het


 225                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   BERREE

 keren  der wereld en Hij roept  Zijn yolk van de einden
. der weseld.                                                        T'I3E  ??RiVILEGES   OF  THE BELIEVER
        Wij hebben dan ook geen verwachting van  een               Cur last two articles constituted a defense of the
 aparte  toekomst  voor de.Joden. We1 is er ook voor hen proposition that the authority of the special offree is
 zaligheid. In zijn geschrift  tracht Ds. Vander Werp          the sole right to impose upon the church .of'God  the
 duidelijk te maken, om welke praktische redenen de mind and will of Christ as proclaimed b.y the mouth of
 herstelling van Israel in het land Kansan  ons ter harte      His prophets and apostles and incorporated in a book
 zou gaan. Hij wijst daartoe op de rijke zegeningen,           termed: Holy writ. Considerable space was given to
 die ons door Israel, als drager der beloftenissen, zijn       a discussion of the errors in which `a recent  Christian
 geworden.       Hij waarschuwt voor den vloek, die  ge-       Reformed Synod implicated  itseIf when  -it, revived
 dreigd wordt op hen, die dat volk  vloeken. Hij  herfn-       absolution. This institution was seen as a negation of
 nert er aan, dat dit volk nog bemind  is, om der vaderen      the truth embodied in the above-cited proposition. It
 wil, dat de Schrift ons vermaant hun barmhartigheid           appeared to consist in the ofhce-bearer  placing in the
 te bewijzen, niet tegen hen te  roemen,  omdat zij  afge-     room of the Word and person of Christ his very own
 broken zijn uit hunnen eigen olijfboom; en hij is overt       person and  2 speech by which he bestows as the agent
 tuigd, dat de herstelling van Israel van zeer rijken          of Christ the divine pardon upon the penitent.
 zegen zal zijn voor heel de wereld. Daarom meent hij              Let us now institute an inquiry into the difference
 is het van  belang,  cm te gelooven, dat Israel straks weer between the particular  office and that of all believers
 zal  worden  hersteld en terug zal  worden  gevoerd .naar     from the point `of view of the .privileges  of each con-
 eigen land. Maar dit laatste gaat niet op. Wij geloo-         cerning the Word of God. Can the difference consists
 ven ook wel,.dat  er uit het Jodendom zalig kunnen wor-       in this that he vested with the particular office pos-
 den. Zij kunnen en zullen op hun eigen olijfboom weer sesses, in distinction from the common. believer, the
 worden  ingeent. Maar dit is de olijfboom,  waarop  ook exclusive right to deal with the Word of God? And
 de Heidenen zullen  worden  ingeent  en worden  ingebnt       the answer is ready : Not so. . We. call attention to the
 in deze bedeeling. Het wordt dus  tZen boom, Eene plan- following notices of Scripture; "And  X myself (also am
 ting, Ben organ&h geheel. En  alzoo zal geheel Israel         persuaded of yolu, my brethren, that ye also. are full of
 zalig  worden.   .En  de zaligheid, waarin  geheel  Israel    goodness, filled with all knowledge,  able. also to ad-
 zal deelen  is zeker veel  heerlijker en grooter dan een      ,nzon&oh  one another"' (Rom. 15 :X4). "`L&the word of
 terugkeer naar het. aardsehe  land ,der vaderen  ooit zal     Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom ;' ten&&g  @nd
 kunnen worden  gedacht. Het is dus volstrekt  niet noo-       admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
 dig, `om aan zuik een terugkeer der Joden te gelooven,        spiritual songs, singing with grace in your. hearts to
 zal onze houding  teqenover  het oude bondsvqlk een           the Lord" (Cal. 3 :16). `Wherefore exhort yourselves
 barmhartige  zijn, zooals  *de  sc$.rijver  van genoemd       together, and edify one  another,   even as also ye do" (I
 pamphlet meent. In elk geval zijn wij van overtuiging, Thess. 5 :11). "But exhort one another daily, wtile it
 dat de Heilige  Schrift zulk een aardsche toekomstver-        is called to-day  ; lest any of you be hardened through
 wachting voor den Jood niet leert.                            the deceitfulness of sin." "Not forsaking tile assem-
    Zoo staan onze beschouwingen tegenover elkander. bling of ourselves together, as the  manner.of.some  is;
 En we zullen  beide voorstellingen toetsen  aan Gods          but exhorting one another:  and so much `the  .more,  as
 Woord, ook mede aan die plaatsen, die zoo gaarne door you see the day approaching" (Heb.. 3 :13 ; 11125).
 het  Premillennialisme  op den voorgrcnd  worden   go-           In these passages the believers not vested. with the
 drongen.                                                      particular .office are enjoined by Christ through the
                                                    H. H.      mouth of the apostles to admonish one another. One
                                                               of the above-cited scriptures .makes  it plain that the
                                                               admonition with which the one approaches the other is
                                                               no man-made product but  an  ,estraction   fro:m Holy
                                                               Writ. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
                      WIE IS. JEZUS?                           teaching and admonishing one another.", In  agree-
          Hoe dikwijls  hoort ge uit veler  monden:            ment, then, with. the express will of Christ, the be-
          IK ben.onmachtig  - zondig - slecht;                 lievers shall administer to one another Christ's  Wcrd.
          OF :  IK heb dat zoo ondervonden.                    Further, the believer is light, the salt of .the earth, a
          Men vindt een deksel voor de zonden ;                good tree and constitutes with his fellows the city of
          Zoo wordt de schuld op- God ,gelegd.                 God, a kingly-priesthood. Acco,rdingly  he shall emit his
                                                               light, bear good fruit;, declare the virtues of God, con-
                                                               fess His name, present his body a living sacrifice. holy
          0, zondaar ! hebt ge. wat te klagen,                 acceptable unto God, fight, as king, the good fight of
          Gevoelt ge  waarlijk uw  gemis?  . . .               faith and reign with Christ. When engaged in the
          Dan moogt g' uw last tot Jezus dragen,               discharge of these duties, the believer reproduces the
          En met uw Bijbel telkens vragen                      Word that dwells richly in him. He and the Word are
          Wie Jezus  voor den zondaar is.                      one, as it falls in his heart as in earth well prepared


                          a                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               229

                 and taking root bears fruit sixty and a hundred fold.           forts, exhorts, pardons and condemns. We are now
          The fruit is his good works - works .of praise, of self- ready for the question whether this divine Word rules,
                sacrifice and self denial, and these works are the man pardons or condemns always, when brought by the com-
               and, at once the word dwelling  ric-hly  in  .him and  deL        mon believer as well as when delivered by the minister
                 termining the mode of expression of the new man. The of the gospel. Our `tinswe'r  `must'be  an at&native one.
                believer is the living embodiment of the word, the The Word,of Christ as we'now have it, is authoritative
                 Word rendered flesh and bone, `so to say. For upon and remains so-when brought by no matter whom Let
               s ' this Word he feeds, by it he is led and to it he is drawn.    us enter this matter a little more thoroughly; Doing so
               He and  the' Word are so `united that the  new"m&n  in            we set out with the question :  .Why is the Word of
                 action is of necessity the Word revealed. From" the Christ as possessed by `the thurch  authoritative, as such
          *      nature. of the ease, then, the  ,believer  reproduces. the so that it necessitates obedience on my'part whether it
                 word whenever he.allows  the new man to come fort,h             be  received,by  me directly'from the  piges  of Holy Writ
     /           dncl refrains ,from ,covering  up his light by his vices. or delivered to me `either by the' particuiar  `oflice or the
                 `For this reason the individual manifestations of this office of all believers?' The answer is? The Word has as
               : ,man as well as the light emitted by the church in its- its author God. "We confess, further, that this`.Word  of
                eoi-poral  capacity is of necessity .a `condemnation of the God was. not -sent nor delivered by the will of man, but
                 world. It is altogether proper,' then, `to speak of t'ne that-holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
                 o@& of -all, believers as consisting in `the right duty         Holy Ghost, as the ApostIe  Peter saith. And that after-
                 ; and ,privilege  to witness for the truth and for Christ.      wards `God, from a speCia1  care, which H& has for us
     ,: `unto the edification of those able to- receive the testi- and our salvation;  commanded  His servants, the
                 mony and unto  the, eternal condemnation of those who prophets  and- the apostles, to commit His revealed
          `. continue as children* of disobedience; To maintain the Word to writing; and He Himself wrote with  .His own
                 contrary is to deny the priesthood of the believers. The finger; the two tibles of' the law.' Therefore we call
                 unqualified. statement to the effect that only the or-' such writings holy and divine Scriptures" (`Art. 111).
     1.'  c dained minister of the Gospel may proclaim the Word The Word, then, is God's,' the incorporation of His de-
                of Go6  4s at- variance with plain  teachings  of God's crees. He choose holy men who, speakihg  as! they were
     `..`. Word. It is, the right and duty of every believer to                  moved by the Holy Ghost, delivered this Word not to
                 .proclaim  the Word notimerely  in the sense of eshibiting- the church  through the clergy but directly to'the church
     .  ;a conduct or mode of li,ving in agreement with, based                   and hence to every individual believer. This is evident
                upon'hnd  saturated, with the Word. but even  in the             from  the.salutations  of  the'various  epistles. We pre-
               `; `sense of approaching his fellow Christian ,with Christ's sent the following selections: "Paul, a servant'of Jesus
               ' . ,very'  Word of instruction,- admonition' and rebuke.         Christ,  ; . . . To nit that be in Rome, beloved'of  God,
     `: `1 Christ through. His prophets and apostles placed His called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from
     *  : truth not  ;in the first instance in the hands of the                  God . . .  : "  -(Ram.   l :l-7)   .' "Paul,  called  to be an
                 clergy conceived of' as a  distixt caste added with the apostle . . . . unto the church `of God that is at
               r *word `to the- church, but in the hands of the church as        Corinth, to them"that  a.re `iancti@d in  Christ Jesus,
                 such. i Hence, the task and duty to investigate, absorb,        called to be saints, with all that in every ?jlace iall upon
                 live and confess' the Christ of Scripture devolves upon the name of Jesus Christ our' Lord, bbth' theirs and
                 every believer. `So it appears, then, that the difference ours: grace be unto you . . .  Z'  (1  Cor:l:l-a).. Paul,
          ' between the particular  oflice  and that of- all believers is an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God . . . unto
                 not that only the,former  may deal with the Word. Can the church of Christ which is at Corinth, with all tha
               *. it'be, .then,  that the feature peculiar to the particular     saints tihich are in at1 Achaia'"  (II Cor. !: :l,) . +`Paul,  an
               : or special  .office is that it only speaks  withy authority apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to'the sa/ints
               ,*. when* proclamating the s Word, so that the Word of which are in Ephesus,  and `to `the faithful in Christ
                 Christ has weight only when brought by the ordained Jesus" (Eph. 1 :l). `"Paul and Timothy, the servants
               . . ,minister  of the gospel and is devoid of efficaciousness of Jesus `Christ, to ,all the `saints in Jesui; Christ which
                  when reaching one through the channel of the common are at Philippi,' with the bishops  `and deacons': Grace
                  believer? The answer is ready,: Indeed  not. In making be unto you : . . . " (Phil. I: 3). "Paul, an apostle of
                  our meaning clear we set out with once more calling Jesus Christ . . . To the saints and faithful brethren
                 `attention to the difference between the authority of the in Jesus Christ which aTe at Colosse  . ." . " (Cal. I :l) .
                  peculiar office and that residing in the Word., The "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,  to the .strangers
                  former is the mere' right to proclaim the Word of scattered throughout Pontus . . . .  " (I Pet. 1  :l)  .
          . Christ. Whereas it  appeared'that  this right is one of "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
                  the constituent elements of the office of all believers as to' them that have obtained like' p?ecidus' faith with
                  welli the- conviction cannot be escaped that as channels us  ; . . .  99 John the apostle addresses his epistles to
               : of the word both  olZ&es are  equahy  lawful. Further, "My little children;" to the "brethren," to the
                  aside from the authority peculiar to the aforesaid "fathers," "to the young men," (I John 2 :l,?,' 12, 13).
                 offices, the Word of Christ has an authority peculiar to Further, "Jude the servant of Jesus Christ. . . . . to
I                 itself. Being the word of Christ, it as such rules, com-       them that are sanctified . . . ."


230                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                         .--
                                                                                               -4,
    These citations make it unmistakably clear that the is constituted of names signifying the saints as well `as
Word is God's message of redemption entrusted in the the bishops. Let the bishops (elders and ministers of
,first instance to His chosen messingers or ambassadors the gospel and the deacons, too, for that matter) know
- the prophets and the apostles  - and in agreement that the common believers have direct access to God's
with the mandate of its divine Author delivered by Word as well as they ;  thkt the believers may instruct
them not in the first instance to the .elders and min-         themselves and others from that Word as well as per-
isters of the gospel but directly to them sanctified, to mit themselves, in agreement with the mandate of
all the saints in every place, to the faithful in Christ       Christ, to be instructed from that Word by the partic-
Jesus, to the scattered strangers, to fathers including ular office ; that this instruction, comfort and admoni-
the mothers, to young men and young women, in short,           tion is exactly as authoritative as when coming from
to every believer be he man or woman; minor or senior,         the minister of the gospel ; that every believer is essen-
servant or master, rich or poor, king or subject. The tially as capable of feeding .himself  and others from the
Bible, then, should be conceived  of,as  God's letter con- Word of God as one vested with the particuiar  office.
veyed by the prophets directly to every child of For they (the believers) have an unction from the
God, so that all the elements needed to constitute this        Holy One and they  all know and need not that any man
Word authoritative have  be@ furnished. (a) It is, the teach them: (I John 3 :20, 27). How utterly absurd
Word of God. (b) Its carriers were divinely appointed the claim, then, that it is the exclusive right of the
messengers  - the prophets and the apostles ; (c) who          particular office to proclaim the Word and that this
placed it directly in the hands of &he church in general       office renders the Word of God authoritative. If need
and in the hands of every believer in particular. The be the believer can do without the particular office but
Word cannot be shorn of this. authority. Whether re- not without the Word. As to the above-cited selec-
ceived directly from the pages of Holy Writ, or pro- tion, which of the two interpretations we gave of it the
claimed and explained .by either the minister  of the          committee  majr prefer, we know not.
gospel or the common believer, it is ever the authori-             Let us now hear Scripture on the matter
tative, efficacious Word of God, as such ruling, com- of the authority of the Word as brought by one
forting, admonishing and justifying  th8 believer.             not vested with the particular office.        Says Peter :
Hence, when the committee on absolution asserted               "Be ye all subject to one another" (I Pet. 5  :5). At
that, "whereas the announcement of the forgiveness             first flush this Scripture seems to involve us in a dif-
of sins is an authoritative declaration, only an ordained      ficulty. How, one involuntarily asks, can, let us say,
minister of the gospel, speaking as an ambassador of A submit to B and 3 to A. They do so not simultane-
Jesus Christ and a servant of God, has the right to            ously but successively. The one submits to all and the
proclaim it," it (the committee) was attaching undue all to one so that subjection in this case signifies a duty
significance to the particular office. For the statement common to every member of the group  believers. How-
seems to imply that the declaration of the divine par- ever, the other side of submission is rule, authority,
don carries no weight and is devoid of authority unless sway. The one necessitates the other so that the ques-
delivered by the minister of the gospel.                       tion arises': W'ho may be in, this case the ruler to whom
   My interpretation of the above-cited quotation may submission is shown? Certainly  not the person of the
not satisfy the committee. It may say that I failed to         believer but rather the Word  ,of Christ which the be-
grasp the meaning that the utterance in question was lievers administer to one another as occasion requires.
meant to convey. Let us,. therefore, attempt another Then the one submits to the other and in so doing is
interpretation  - the only possible one remaining. We,. subject to the Word and in the last instance to its
then, adhere strictly to the letter of the deliverance divine author, Christ. That there must be. this sub-
and keep ourselves to what it literally  asserts,  `to-wit,    mission shows that the Word retains its authority
that, whereas absolution is an authoritative declaration even when brought by one not clothed with the pecu-
of the forgiveness of sin only an ordained minister of Iiar office. So it appears that the feature setting apart
the gospel may proclaim it. However, God's Word this.last  named office is not that it alone in distinction
plainly teaches that if this is what the committee             from the common office speaks with authority when
meant to say, it then, too, gave expression to an un-          engaged in a deliverance of the Word.
truth. As if the believers may not comfort themselves             We still have on our hands the unanswered ques-
and one another with a letter from heaven addressed tion:  What may constitute the difference between the
to them jointly and therefore their very own property.         particular office and the office of all believers? Can it
As if it is the exclusive right of the minister of the         be that the rights and duties constituting the former
gospel to break the seals of the believer's very own           bear, in distinction from the rights and duties en&-
missive to deliver to him  its contents. Preposterous !        ing into the make-up of the latter, an official character?
If such were God's will would not the address of this To be specific, is the minister of the gospel in distinc-
letter then read : "To the elders, bishops and ministers tion from the common believer the official servant of
of the gospel . . . .  "? Instead it reads: "To all the        God? Our answer must be an emphatic and unmis-
saints in Jesus Christ which are at Philippi, ,with the        takable No. In validating our reply, we set out by
bishops and deacons . . . ." (Phil. 1:l). This address         directing our thoughts to the meaning of the term


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           231

official. It signifies : (a) That which pertaineth to an minister to the congregation assembled the Word.
office ; (b) that which is derived from an o&e ; as an Upon this day, his place is in the pew. This subjection
official statement and report. Do, now, the rights and to the rule and the instruction of the elder is as to its
duties exercised and discharged by the believer per- * character  ecclesiasticaI  "institutair."
tain to an office? And the aGwer  : They do and, &hat               Let us now once more face the questions: Do the
is more, constitute the very office with which Christ believers, not bearing the special office, rule, instruct,
vested them and must, therefore, be termed official.             engage in works of mercy, prophesy directly? Is their
Surely, the exercise of a right constituting an office is rule and instruction authoritative, official? The an-
official. There is a command of Christ which reads:              swer of the committee oti absolution was an unquivo-
"If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell         cal No. They say in their report: "That only the or-
him his fault between thee and him alone . .  .`)` (Matt.        dained minister of the gospel may labor with the Word,
18 :15). Let the brother being told  bf his fault by one may approach his fellow with the Word of instruction,
against whom he sinned, know that he is being dealt              rule, comfort and admonition.`: Their reply is iden-
with by an official servant of God as well when ap-              tical to that of-the pope of Rome who denies the office
proached by an elder or minister of the gospel. Christ of believer and who says: "I am the church."
calls and sends the aggrieved one to that brother. In               Let us now .present  &at, according to our convic-
telling him his fault he functions in an official capacity tion, is the correct answer. It is the right, d&y and
as well as the minister of the gospel engaged in the dis- privilege of every believer as well as of those vested
charge of his ministerial duties.                                with the peculiar office to study and absorb  the Word
    Can it be, once more, that the particular office in and with it (the Word) to officially and authoritatively
distinction from the office of all believers is ecclesias- instruct, admonish and comfort the brother as occa-
tical, i.e., "institutair," "kerkrechtelijk"? This ques- sion requires. They do so, however, not in their capa-
tion has been answered by us before in the negative.             city of members  pf the church as institution. In this
The office of all believers, it was remarked, is the right,      capacity it is their calling, duty and privilege to be in
duty and spiritual ability to serve and to praise and,           subjection to the rulers and teachers in the'church so
therefore, can no more be shed than the ne& life. It that  the exercise of their right to labor with and carry
is part and parcel of that self renewed in knowledge             forth the Word is, as to its character, non-institutional.
after the image of  Him that created him. Hence, this On the other hand, the, rule, admonition and instruc-
office is made to enter into the make-up of the institu- tion of him vested with the special office is, as to its
tion at that very juncture when the believer joins His           character, ecclesiastically "kerkrechtelijk,"  "institu-
self to the church. What is more, thti.duti&  constitut- tair," official and authoritative.            Hence, the terms
ing the particular office as well, if acts of faith and if       signifying,the  difference between the rule of the partic-
performed in agreement with the divine law and done ular dffice and that of the believers are not  official and
with an eye focused upon God's glory, are so many a;uthoritative   but  ~institutair.   When conditions in the
particular forms, modes of expression or  individualiza-         church as institution are normal, the members not
tions of the office of all believers. The latter is related bearing the special office, neither rule nor teach but
to every task, as form is related to essence. It lies at are in subjection. However, when those inducted into
the basis of every good work in which the believer may           the special office become unfaithful in the discharge
engage, and defies for this reason all classification.           of their duties and dissociate themselves from the
Hence, it cannot be singled out and placed  over against Word, the common believers assert themselves as re-
the sum total of the various particular tasks of life.           formers and as the trustees of the truth delivered by
To illustrate, it will not do to say that the office of  `a11    the apostles directly to them.
believers, in distinction from functioning as elder or              Which of the two offices, the office of all believers
minister of the gospel, is spiritual. For a complete and the peculiar office has the greater value? The
illucidation of this matter, see my former article on            former, to be sure, and this for the following reasons:
the  Orgice  of  All Believers.                                  (a) The latter is but a particular mode of expression
    However, it is exactly within the sphere of action           of the former ; (b) The former (the  .office  of all be-
peculiar to the church as institution that the one,single        lievers) is the basis of the latter ; .(c) The former is
office of all believers is executed in a manner in which essential.  to the very being of the church, the Iatter  to
it may not be exercised by the laity. He vested with its well-being. That is to say, the believer, could, if
th6 peculiar office shall assert himself as ruler and            need be, do without the particular office. To be devoid
teacher in the church. The exercise of this rule and of the office of all believers, however, is to be in an un-
the giving of this instruction is the peculiar, ecclesias-       regenerated state which if continued ends in eternal
tical exhibition of the office of all believers in those death; (d) The particular office is timely and is des-
clothed with the peculiar office. On the other hand, in tined to disappear  ; (e) The  ofice of all believers is
those not clothed with this office, the office of all' be-       eternal and is destined to reappear in the new heaven
lievers exhibits itself as subjection to the  afdresaid          and the new earth in new and unheard of forms -
rule and instruction. The common member, to illus-               forms congruous with the glorified mode of existence
trate, would not be allowed upon the Sabbath to ad-              of the redeemed -' and individualize, particularize


232                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                   .,
itself in a manner agreeable to the glorified state of       found there," and, "If there is a hell, Rome is, build
the redeemed. There is, then, no particular reason           over it." Those -who dared to voice  .complaints were.  :
why the dlergy should exalt itself above the common          frightened  ., into silence by the, thunders from the.
believer.                                                    pontiff of Rome.  '  4           ,.     :     s           #.:,
                                                                Let the clergy h-now its place and recognize8  the, .!
                                                             prerogatives of the believers and realize with  whom.it
       Thus we have given, what, according to our con-       deals. Not that, we would belittle -the peculiar office,
viction, is the,scriptural  conception of the particular     The minister of the gospel is indeed.a  called servant of
office. However, as in the beginning of the Christian        Christ whose very special  duty it is.%0 devote his life
era, so today,, there is a tendency on the .part of some     to the  study.of God's Word,  and.to.,feed-the.flock  of  ~
to depart from this view. As then, so ,now,  this office ,Jesus  Christ in His name.. He  ,vested with the peculiar :
is being unduly magnified., To it `is being attached an      office.  speaks with the authority of one .appointed  and
improper signiiicance  a,nd atIixed rights which Christ capacitated by the Lord Himself to proclaim  the:Word.  :.
only may exercise. It is being conceived of in a man:        This servant, however, is deserving of, honor in that It
ner constituting a denial  .of the rights and privileges degree that he is faithful in the execution of ;his,,Godi  :
of every believer; and presented' as an aitair  raising given right to, proclaim the gospel  ,of Christ:, Says! the: *
those vested with it to a sphere of a&ion where a apostle : "Let  .the elders that  ruble  1  well, be counted.
mere human cannot possibly operate. The authority worthy of double honor" (I Tim. 3 3'7). We rejecting.
of the Word is made to inhere in the office and the          this elder rejects Christ, as the Word which he brings
latter conceived of as'bonstituted  of the exclusive right is Christ's, On the other hand, in the event this servant:
to deal with the Word so that the office, thereby, is loses his savor, he, too, is thenceforth good: for nothing ;
rendered indispensable to the salvation of the sinner.       but to be cast .out and to be trodden under foot by ,men. s +
       Why  ,should divines, desire to so magnify. their        It is becoming increasingly, clear .that in  * certain `:
office? A lust ,for power and honor will in part ,account    Reformed circlesin our land the trend is back to,Rome;.  :,
for it.  History tells. us that when the clergy of the       The rather recent notorious tyranny .of ,Classis Grand.
middle ages  I had finally succeeded in. training men's Rapids West and East,, the false claim . that. t when :
minds to pass up and down the above-stipulated lines Synod had spoken the church at  *large must  :hush and  `8
of thought, the pope appeared,, who soon had the laity obey, the. attempt' on the part of. some to  extend>:  the
addressing him as  *"most  holy father";, falling down at institution beyond the local church to classes and to
his feet to submit themselves to him  with,all they had set up this body as a power abave the particular otRce,  ; .
and with all they' were ; revering .him as one having        the undue magnification of this oflice,  thc%endency  to
power to' take away life and to restore it; acknowledg- belittle the office of all. .believers;  the denial of ' the.., :
ing his voice as the voice of Christ.                        rights and privileges of the believers, absolution, the
   What is more, the preacher, having succeeded, in          transference of the authority of the  Word-to  the.or%ce
training men to regard him as the turnkey of heaven          are all so many indications of a retrogressive move
and hell, may' with greater propriety use his office as ment on the part of the clergy of the  Christian;Re-   ,
a license for a life-long vacation and exemption from        formed churches along a path leading back to.  a..h.ouse  I
work ; as a shield against, bitter but just ,rebuke  in-     of spiritual bondage where not the Word but  %he
cited by gross ignorance, shiftlessness and worldliness.     speech of a .mere. .human' is law. The danger of. us:
A single frown accompanied with a "Have a care, sir, going along and thus .following  a bad,example  mustabe  I
I'm a domine," is sufficient, then, to silence the critic. warded off. This is done, `as was said at the outset, * a
       It is a m,atter  of history that as the papacy arose by extracting from. God's Word the principles, that the
land succeeded in legitimatizing itself the clergy de- church as institution .should be made to exhibit and
generated. `In the days prior to the Reformation, the        by instituting an. investigation into such matters as
German monks were being entertained in wealthy con- the status of the parts of this institution ; the order to                 '
vents. The revenues of the, convent of. the Benedic-         which it should adhere .when in actian  ; the relation
tines on the banks of the PO amounted to 36,000 ducats       which the various local, institutions sustain, to each
annually. Twelve thousand were devoted to the tables other; the power of such bodies as classes and synod,.
alone ; twelve. thousand for the wants of  t*he monks ;      This has now ,been  done in part in this series of ar-'
the remainder was set apart for buildings. Their titles.                ,
apartments were splendorous. Their dress rich, their            From the nature of the, case, the first matter' up
food delicate. Even upon Friday their tables groaned for consideration was the institution. The question
under a load of meet. Here was marble, silk and was faced : What kind of institution would Christ have "
luxury in all, its forms. What is more, their conversa- His body project itself into. It was`seen  that the kind
tions were impious, and they did not recoil from utter- is one that will show forth the features peculiar to,
ing a thousand mockeries. In the mansion of the pope Christ's body. These features were laid hold on The
at Rome conditions were no better. Men of that, day church, such are the teachings of God's Word, is` the
said : "The nearer people approach the capital of Chris- bodg  of Christ and constitutes an organism ; Christ
tendom (meaning Rome) the less Christian spirit is and His body, further, constitute the kingdom of


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             233

 heaven, the reality of the typical theocracy of the old       20:23  is well sprake van de macht, door Christus aan
 dispensation. Hence, the institution pleasing to Him          zijne discipelen geschonken, om door het al of niet ver-
 is one in which the parts - the rulers and teachers on geven der zonden het koninkrijk der hemelen te ope-
 the one hand and those ruled and taught on the other nen en te sluiten. Maar deze macht is tech geen,an-
hand - willing adopt such a status, and conduct them- dere, dan dat de apostelen, thans toegerust met het
 selves in such a way and profess to be so related as to       Woord van  Christus  en de gave des H. Geestes, let
 reveal unto the observer that the church of Christ is         recht en de bevoegdheid ontvangen, om in hunne mon-
 His body and the reality of the old theocratic state, the delinge en schriftelijke prediking den weg  aan te  wij-
 kingdom of God on earth. An institution of this kind,         zen, waarin de weldaad van de vergeving der zonden
 so it was said, calls for the particular office as Scripture verkregen kan  worden,  en om dienovereenkomstig de
 conceives of it, to-z&,  an office instituted by Christ verhouding te bepalen, waarin iemand tot het  konink-
 the king of the church, and constituted of the right          rijk der hemelen  staat.  Geheel ten onrechte maakt
 and duty to administer unto His sheep His Word so             Rome daarvan eene rechtelijke macht, welke aan de
 that those vested with it assert themselves as Christ's bisschoppen en missione episcoporum  aan de priestera
 agents proclamating His Word - a Word that as such            geschonken is ; door hen, niet in de prediking of in den
 rules and condemns, comforts, admonishes and  bIesses         doop,  maar  in het sacrament der boete uitgeoefend
 in that it is the vehicle of the mind and will of God.        wordt; over alle geloovigen en over al hunne zonden
 Upon the character of this office we dwelt at some            zich uitbreidt, en een absoluut karakter draagt. . . . .
 length in the preceding articles. On the other hand it Als de Roomsche kerk hare bisschoppen en priesters
 was pointed out that the believers have certain rights        tot zulke judicus maakt, matigt zij zich een recht en
 and duties which the institution does not render void.        eene macht aan, welke uit den aard der zaak alieen  aan
 These rights were dwelt upon at some length because God als den onfeilbaren kenner der  harten kunnen
 it is their denial that makes possible the romanizing         toekomen. Wie kan de zonden vergeven, dan  alleen
 process referred to above. This, then, is the territory God? Jes. 43 :25 ; Mk. 2 :7." (Bavinck, Dogmatiek,  IV,
* thus far covered.                                            173. 174).
    Respecting the church as institution, there still re-         More of this in the article following.
main to be considered various matters, namely, (a} The                                                       G. M. 0.
 necessity of the institution and of the particular of&e  ;
(b) b Joining one self to the institution obligatory  ;
 (c) The peculiar office in its three-fold aspect;
 (d) Election of office-bearers  ; (e) Sacraments ;
 (f) Discipline. These subjects will be dealt with in                           THE MATCHLESS ONE
subsequent articles.                                                    I love to lie at night and muse
    We end this article by singling out the important                        Upon His perfect loveliness.
 features peculiar to the apostleship. We set out with                  No words describe, though I enthuse,
 the negative statement that the apostles could no more                           The Matchless One.
 forgive sin than can the pope of Rome. It is sometimes
 said, but erroneously so, that the pope in claiming to                 I call Him Sovereign, God and Ring,
 be able to absolve the sinner, that is, liberate him from                   Redeemer, Ruler, Saviour, Lord,
 his sin, appropriated a right belonging to the apostles                His praises thus I love to sing -
 only. No one, however, can forgive sin but God.That  the                         The Matchless One.
 Pontiff absolves in virtue of the apostolic power that,
 so he avers, has been confided to him, but shows that                  Yet feeble tongue cannot reveal
 he ascribes to the apostles, a power which even they                        My adoration and my love ;
 never once claimed to have possessed. All they ever                    Accept the homage that I feel,
 did was to proclaim the divine pardon of God. True,                              Thou Matchless One.
 unto them Christ gave the keys of the kingdom of                                               -E. W. Carlisle.
 heaven, so that whatever they did bind on earth was
 bound in heaven, and what they loosed on earth was
 loosed in heaven. This key, however, was the Word
 they delivered into the church - a Word which as such
 asserts that "believers have remission of sin, but that                            CONSECRATION
 unbelievers stand exposed to the wrath of God and                      Blessed Saviour, may we ever,
 eternal condemnation, so long as they are uncon-                            By each act, each word, each thought,
 verted." Whenever this Word was and is proclaimed                      Show to men Thy saving power,
 and correctly applied in individual cases by the                             May they see what God hath wrought.
 apostles and the church in general, its virdict was and                      So our daily joy will be -
 is valid in heaven as well as in Christ's church on                         To glorify and honor Thee.
 earth. Says Bavinck: "In Mt. 16  :19, 18:18 en Joh.                                            -E. W. Carlisle.


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               237

                                                            who, hailing from the Reformed Churches, surely
                  DEFECTIVE LOGIC                           ought to know better, in a brief article in the  first
   Recently our attention was called in various ways issue of Grace  ati Glory, a new publication edited by
to the easy and simple yet, nevertheless, defective some brethren from-the Reformed and the Berean Re-
method by which Premillennial brethren establish their formed Churches.  j
own conviction that their conception of the future and          It is to this latter method that I wish to call atten-
of the .Coming  of our Lord is the only possible and        tion in these articles.
Scriptural view of the matter.                                  For the benefit of our readers we here reprint the
  One.of their methods is well expressed in the title article of Rev. Bulteti:
of8 a pamphlet, written recently by Rev. J. Vander
Werp, designing to prove that the second coming of                          "WHY ON THE FENCE?
Christ must be Premillennial. The title referred to is :        "A good many brethren in the ministry have been
rYhy not simply take God at his Word? The title im- on the fence for years as to the question of. Pre- and
plies, of course, that the Scriptures are very clear and Post-Millennialism. Very often such brethren fal1 on
explicit on the matter. All one really has to do to be- the wrong side-of  the fence and hurt themselves badly
come premillennial in his belief is read the Word of so that we feel sorry for them. But why should a
God. It reveals in so many words that there will  bc a minister of the Word sit on the fence at all? Seven
blessed reign of Christ on the earth, lasting a thousand    Bible Proofs were some time ago given by a believer
years exactly, preceded by the rapture and the first why Christ's Coming will be Pre-Millennial.                                 .
resurrection and the return of Christ with His saints.          "1. When Christ. returns He will raise the dead
It is all so very simple. Unless one is prepossessed and the Word reveals that the righteous are to be
against the premillennial conception, and shuts his         raised before the millennium, Rev. 20:5, 6, `The rest
mind and heart. against  it,~ he cannot help but admit of the dead lived not until the thousand years were
that the pre-view is correct. And the title also implies finished.' `Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the
an insinuation, though we are ready to believe that the first resurrection.' If so, His coming must be PRE. '
writer did not seriously mean to offend other brethren.         "2. When our Lord returns He will destroy Anti-
The insinuation is, that all those who cannot agree with christ, whose work is on this side of the millennium,
the views of Chiliasm refuse to take God at His Word.       II Thess. 2 :8. If  so;His coming must be PRE.
Neither was it only the above mentioned booklet that            "3. Our Lord's return to this .earth  with His' peo-
brought this apparently simple method of the  Pre-          ple will come immediately after the Great- Tribulation
brethren to my attention. When not long ago I at- which is to take place before the millennium; Matt. 24 :
tended a meeting of the Grand Rapids Classis  of the        29-31. If so, His coming must be  PRE,
Reformed Churches, the meeting that tried and de-               "4. The Church is called to suffer with her Lord,
posed Rev.  Waalkes, I happened to exchange thoughts John 15 :X9-21, and this will continue until she is taken
with some premillennial brethren and sisters. And out, II Thess. 1:7-10, before the millennium. If so,
more than once the same thought was expressed. His coming must be PRE.
The Millennium was a matter of simple faith! If I did           "5. At our Lord's return Satan is to be bound and
not believe in the Pre-view of the Coming of the Lord,      kept so during the millennium, Rev. 20 : 1-3. If so, His
it was only because I did not believe the plain teaching coming must be PRE.
of the Word of God ! And they seemed to be serious              "6. At Christ's coming the wheat and the tares are
when they expressed themselves thus.                        to be separated because the millennium is to be a reign
   Another method may be expressed by the following of universal peace,  Matt.  13  :40-43, and the 72nd Psalm.
syllogism :                                                 If so, His coming must be PRE.
    (a)    The Coming of the Lord is either Premillen-          "7. The millennial kingdom will be a literal reign
nial or Postmillennial.                                     of Christ on the earth and not simply a spiritual exalta-
   (b) It is plainly evident from Scripture that it is      tion of the church. `A king shall reign in righteous-
not Postmillennial.                                         ness,' Isa. 32  :l ; Jer. 23  :l-6 ; `Upon the, throne of
   (c)     Hence, it must be Premillennial.                 David,`. Isa. 9 :7 ; in .Jerusalem,  Jer. 3 :17 ; Zech.  14 : 16.
   In the conversation I had at the occasion of the         The apostles shall sit upon the twelve thrones, Matt.
classical meeting to which I referred, it appeared more 19:28,  and the saints shall reign upon the  ,earth, Rev.
than once, that my premillennial friends proceeded 20.:5. If so, His coming must be PRE:.
along.the  line of the same logic. When I made it plain         "How can any child of God promote a  Post-Miilen-
to them, that I was no Pre, they immediately drew the nial program that has as its foundation the theories of
conclusion that I must be a Post. And when I assured men and not the eternal Word of God. When you put
them, that their conclusion was erroneous and that I your amen to such schools, etc., you are helping to edu-
did not believe in postmillennialism any more than in cate men and women to throw down the clear state-
premillennialism, they were plainly at a loss and looked ments of God's Word.
at me wonderingly and incredulously. And the same              "It does appear to the unsophisticated believer that
method of reasoning is followed by Rev. H. Bultema,         these seven proofs are conclusive. Why then should


238            ,.          >.             `,                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
        ,`,
any preacher be on the fence in, regard to this. mat- unto HimseIf  another people.  Tfis other  people  is  the
ter?"  ;  t                                                             I
                      ,(            .,. `.            ,                                           Church. of the new dispensation. It is the Body,. not
     The careful reader will notice, that all these so- the Kingdom of Christ. And Christ is the Head of the
called proofs .for the' premillennial coming of the Lord                                          Church, not her King.                                  ,
proceed from one and the same supposition. The sup-                                                Towards.  the,end  of time, not long before the actual
position  isi that on this side of eternity there will be a                                       Second Coming of the Lord, will take place what is
millennial reign of Christ in universal peace on the                                             called. the rapture,- and in connection `with it the first
earth. Upon this supposition is. based the major  pre-                                           resurrection, that is the resurrection of the righteous.
mise in ,this, chain, of reasoning : Christ's Coming must The' righteous shall be raised  .out of the dead; while the
be  eether  `@re'millen~@l   or' postmillennial. Further a rest of; the dead live.not, and together with the righte-' :
minor' premise is deduced  from a few texts ,out of the ous living of that time they shah be caught up with the. ,'
                                                                                                 Lord in the air.
Word .of `God., . The minor. premise is: ,Ghrist's coming, , for  SOme  time                                              There they shah remain with Christ
ti  not"pqs@2lenninl.  And thus `we are prepared  far!                                                                     ,:     ,.
the inevitable ,conclusion : Ch@f's .coming.  ,must be pre-.                                       In the meantime, while Christ is with His saints
mille&&l~   (  " .  ;'                                                                           in the air, there will take place on earth what is called :
                                                             .
     T&`&hod  i s   r a t h e r   i n g e n i o u s .   :                                        `the Great Tribulation; the gathering of the Jews .out
     And  ,the )ogic `seems  absoIutely binding. It `would of all lands whither they have been driven to their own                                                c
be, at Ieast; for us;,for  we do not believe in~post&llen~land,  Canaan,,  the coming of the man of sin and  the:-
nialism. The' latter,' `we think is. plainly denied by aI1                                       reign of.Antichrist. Object of this tribulation shall be
the teaching of Scripture; Besides, we think' it  in- `all nations; particularly also those elect that were not
evitabIe  `t;hat.  this view :leads' to modernism, is itself, found ~faithful  and worthy at `the time of the rapture :'
moderrnst+ `If', it were' true;. that Scripture left no to be caught up with'the Lord in the air, and  the.Jews,
other alternative than that of Pre or Post, we' would a `part `of whom shall perish s in -that tribulation but `at
                                                                                                  remnant of whom shall be cleansed and turn unto  the.
have  %a admit, `that `the coming of Christ  must'be'  PRE. Lord : !                                                                                     :  ,.
     Butifact  ,`is, that the logic is not binding, because                                           *      1  .
of the  simple.fdct,  that'the major premise from which.                                             This tribulation shah be. ended by the Coming of
it proceeds and`on  &i&h it is built is untrue.                                                  the Lord on the ~clouds  .of. heaven with His saints, the
    And we know *`that Rev. Bultema `is aware of' the,' Church  ,of the rapture. He will then `consume Anti-
fact, that the coming of Christ is not necessarily either Christ. by the breath `of His mouth, be merciful unto t
premillennial or postmh~ennia1.  ,`Tt may. also be `a-mill- His people Israel  ,and Judah and in Jerusalem establish `:
emial.'  ,  9  ,.  :'  j  b                                       .,                        :    the throne of; David and a reign of peace and glory
    The  ' moment: `you admit `this  pessibility   ._ the o over the :whole earth. He shall reign with His saints
stringency of the' logic is completely  brokEen. It binds and over His people Israel for a thousand years on the  '
                                                                                            ,
no more.                                                                                         earth. At the end of the thousand years Satan must
    It is defective, and therefore, the proofs are no                                            be loosed for a little while. He shall go out and deceive
proofs at all.                                                                                   the nations that~ live on the four corners of the earth
    We intend to expose the fallacy of this reasoning `and these shall come up against Jerusalem; only to be
with regard to the separate aiieged proofs before our destroyed by the power of the Lord. Then-shall follow  '
readers. :But before we attempt to do this'it may not the judgment and eternity.                                                        '
be superfluous to explain  to our readers what is meant                                              It will be plain now to the reader, what is the mean- :
by pre-, post-, and a-millennialism For in our cir&es                                            ing of the term Premillennialism. Pre means before.
the terms ar% not so commenly  used as by the adhefents And the,tern--expresses  that the Lord will come again
                                                                                                 before   the Millennium
to the premillennial view; and often `they are not under-                                                                         . The purpose  of. His coming
stood...,:                         ,.           t          ";'                                   .!will be to establish this glorious reign of peace on the'
                                  ,I.                                                            earth.
         :      .     .
               $  i  ,i                    "PRE-MtiLE,NNIi+M   .I                                    The fundamental  troubIe with this conception is
    The fundamental tenet of the premillennial view is,, that it cannot see the clear line of the organic develop- * :
that Israel .of the-old  dispensation and the Church of ment of `God's covenant that runs through all Scrip-i
the new dispensation are two- peoples.                                                           ture, that it- is essentially an Old Testament and Jew-
    Israel .is thekingdom-people; Christ is their King ish point of `view that is taken of the work of God and '
and Be is destined to occupy the throne of: David in `that it hopelessly divides and cuts up into separate bits
the literal .and earthly sense  ,of the word. When, how- of history the development of God's Kingdom in the
ever, this anointed King came to His people in  Ris world.                                                           a
first advent they rejected .IIim  and by wicked hands                                                And the danger of it, from a Reformed point of
nailed Him to the cross. For this the people of Israel view is, that isloses the basis of God's covenant in the
were .punished.  and they are now in the dispersion,                                             new dispensation and cannot maintain the important
scattered into many countries, exiled from the land of truth of infant baptism.
the fathers.                                                                                         But about this later. Our purpose, for the present,
    While the Jews are in captivity the Lord gathers is merely to  atiquaint  our readers with the view itseIf.


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          239

                                                              cannot be put to them, who hold this view, for the
                                                              simple reason, that they are firmly convinced that there
   We may be briefer about Post-millennialism.                will be no such thing as a glorious reign of Christ on
   As Premillennialism believes that the Coming of the earth before the end of all time and the regeneration
Lord will take place before the millennium, so that the. of all things, the creation of the new heavens and
glorious reign of peace will be inaugurated by the won- earth.
der of. His Advent, so Postmillennialists  hold that the         They believe as well as the Premillennialists that
Second Coming will occur after the millennium. These there will come times of great apostacy  and that the
also believe in a certain period of peace and earthly         power of Antichrist, the man of sin, must be revealed,
prosperity before eternity. But it will be inaugurated, before the Lord will come again. They expect, as well
not miraculously and suddenly by the Coming of Christ. as the Pre-brethren, that times of great tribulation are
but gradually, in a more spiritual way and through the at hand and must come before the Second Advent,
preaching of the gospel. The Church will prosper more times so dark and troublesome, that no flesh should be.
and more in this dispensation. The gospel will gain its saved and the very elect would be deceived if the days
victories  .and make its converts the world over, till all    were not shortened. They  aIso look forward to `the
the nations of the earth shall bow the knee before the        wonder of the parousia, the literal and bodily appear-
Ring of. kings and Lord of lords.                             ing of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven; when
   This final and complete triumph of the Church and He shall consume the Antichrist and all the wicked by
the gospel of Jesus Christ will constitute tne millen- the breath of His mouth. They believe, too, in  the*
nium.                                                         glorious resurrection of those that are asleep in Christ*
   And only after the millennium Christ will return. as well as in the translation of those that shall be living
   The principal trouble with Post-millennialism is, at His coming, and they expect to meet the Lord in the
that it cannot see the organic development of sin in the      air.
world and the filling of the measure of iniquity, culmin-             But they do not believe that the Word of God
ating in Antichrist and his kingdom, and that, in this        teaches that all this shall take place to establish a tem-
respect it plainly contradicts the very explicit teaching poral reign of peace in the sinful world `They, do not
of Holy Writ. Surely, the Word of God draws an                beheve  that Christ shall reign as the literal King of
entirely different picture of the development of things the Jews in Jerusalem for a time, neither do they be-
in the world and nowhere encourages the view that lieve that the resurrection of the righteous that are
gradually the whole earth will be filled with the knowl- asleep in Christ and the rapture shall take place some
edge of the Lord even as the waters cover the sea.            time before His coming and to make them escape the
    And the danger of this view is very great.                great tribulation.
    It is essentially  evoIutionistic  in its worst forms.            They simply hold that the Lord shall appear in
It looks upon mere worldly development as essentially glory, to raise the dead, to glorify: His saints, to judge
an advance of Christianity. Culture and civilization,         the quick and the dead, to destroy the power of the
art and science, federation of Churches and of Nations ungodly and to create new heavens and a new earth, at.
must take the place of the power of the gospel.               the end of ail time.
    And it leads to a denial of the literal Coming of                 The Premillennialists believe that the coming of the
Christ in the clouds of heaven.                               Lord will inaugurate a glorious earthly and temporal
    For if this world will gradually and almost imper-        reign of Christ.
ceptibly develop into a perfect Kingdom of God, what                  The Postmihennialists  hold that Christ will  come
is the use of Christ's Coming at all. On the funda- to take a perfected Kingdom in possession.
mentals of the Christian Faith, particularly with re-                 The A-millennialists hold that, there will be no
spect to the hope of His coming, Post-millennialism such a thing as a millennium, but that Christ wilLcome
grows more and more vague and uncertain. And it again to inaugurate the eternally perfect state of
induces men to seek the things of this world and to           things.
make of this present world a kingdom of God  (so-                     And because Rev. H. Bultema ignored the last men-
called) by human effort and power.                            tioned view in his so-called proofs for the Pre-coming
    Perhaps my premillennial friends, when they read of Christ, his argument is defective and does not hold.
this, are ready now to believe that I am no more n                    This we will show another time.
believer in Post-millennialism than they and see its                                                              H .   I I .
 dangers as well.
                     A-MILLENNIALISM
    Characteristic of this view (which is ours) is, that                      Liefde Gods! Gij Liefdezonne,'
 it believes in no millennium at all.                                           Alle heemlen door verspreid !.
    The A before the word millennialism in the term,                          Gij zijt ook mijn Levensbronne,
 stands for a negative shaking of the head and  means                           Nu en tot in eeuwigheid !
 No. The question, therefore, whether they believe in                           Staamlen moog' mijn jubellied,
 a return of the Lord before or after the millennium,                           Van u zwijgen, kan ik niet.


