                                                                 to subjection the confessors of Christ's name to every ,
                   Our Church Order                              kind of injury-also to that consisting in the confiscation
                     The Lesson of History                       of property and of whatever wealth he who joined him-
                                                                 self to a Christian church might possess.         This is
        There are still a few matters remaining to which evident enough from statements found in the Epistles.
     attention must be directed in connection with Article In the Hebrews we come upon a passage that reads:
     11 of our Church Order. The article stipulates, it will "But call to remembrance the former days, in which
     be recalled, `%hat the Consistory as representative of after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of
     the congregation, shall also be bound to provide for afflictions ; . . . . for ye had compassion on me in my
     the proper support of the ministers." Here we have          bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods,
     to do with a duty imposed by Christ upon His church.        knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better
     It is a duty no member may shirk. All without a single and an enduring substance." In fact, the epistles of
     exception must, if able, contribute to the support of the the apostles can be understood only in the light of'the
     service.                                                    fact that they were framed also with a view to pro-
        The action of the New Testament church that con- viding comfort for  8 people whom the world by  re-
     sists in its supporting the service, has a h&tory that      preaches  and affliction made a,  gaiingstock.  It was
     may be investigated with some profit.                       with an eye to their heaviness that Peter wrote to the
        During the life-time of the apostles the Christian strangers: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
     churches, both separately and collectively, were in dis- Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy
     tinction from the Christian church of the  Middle,sges,     hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the re-
     withbut  an independent source of income of their own. surrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,` to an  in-
     An institution of charity, let us say, possessing large     heritanck incorruptible and undefiled,  and that fadeth
     estates or a huge sum of money on the revenues or not away, reserved in heavkn for you, who are kept
     interest  df which it carries on, has, in distinction from by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready
     organizations supported by free contributions,  an in- to be revealed in the last time."
     dependent source of income. Likewise an institution            Such being the state of affairs, the condition of the
     of  learnjng with a million-dollar endowment fund and converted nobles would in many instances soon be one
     a disabled personage living on the interest his capital     of abject poverty so that from a purely material point
     bears him. As was said,' the Christian churches were of view they were no asset to the body of believers they
     at  @rst without such a source of profit. Whatever joined. It means that irrespective of the embracing
     money they needed to carry on their work, they of Christianity by the rich, the churches continued on
     received directly from their members. And among their careers  - poor, despised and persecuted institu-
     these members were also found people with means who,        tions.
     especially'during the high tide of the spiritual life of       However, this condition of life did not. set
     early Christendom, came to the support of the service in until the year 64 A. D. Until this date Christians
     with -their entire substance. As many of the members were treated at least by the Rom+n officials with-in-
     of the church at Jerusalem as were possessors of lands      difference or even with favor mingled with cpntempt.
     and houses sold them and brought the prices of the There are several examples of this in the treatment
     things that were sold, and laid them down at the afforded Paul by the imperal magistrates.                    Except
     apostle's feet. But that the number of rich in the early only when influenced by influential Jews or when
     Christian churches were few may be gathered from punishing the Christians as being involved in disturb-
     parious notices contained in the epistles of the apostle. ances, did they act harshly. But in the year A. D. 64,
c    Wrote Paul to the church at Corinth: "For ye see your       a year' after Paul's aquittal from the charges brought
     calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after         against him as related in the Acts, there occurred the
     the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. first and perhaps the most violent outburst of the
     But `God hath chosen the foolish things of the world        Roman world's smoldering hatred of the "sect." We
     to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak refer now to the persecution begun by Nero, atid  repre-
     things of the world, and things which are  despjsed,        sentative of an unsuccessful attempt on his part to
     hath God chosen, yea, and things which -are not, to         divert popular attention in the matter of the burning
     bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should of Rome. Unsuccessful, we say; for it was soon seen
     glory in His presence" (I Cor.  1:26-29).  "Not many that the Christians were innocent of this terrible  crime:
     mighty, not many nobles . . . . " Yet they were some        But a new charge, namely, that of "hatred of man-
     nobles.                                                     kind," was soon fabricated and the persecution, cmce
        It must not be supposed, however, that the mone- inaugurated, continued unabated. By the lodging of
     tary condition of these primitive churches was greatly this charge, Nero set the Christians off from the rest
     improved by their taking to themselves these nobles. bf humanity as a people deserving of punishment solely
     For these churches were beset by a world that as for their Christianity. And the persecution he began
     hostile to the cause of Christianity grew accustomed soon became established as a permanent police measure,


                                   `I',kLE       Y'I`ANUAfGJJ                     J5JZiAJ5L-cr;K                         r5Y3
-_"._-_-_~   ...--"  "-  ..__._      "111 ..___- .__ _II  --..-"  ---.--.....-...  --" ..- -_I~........          ._-----
directed against a sect considered  dangeroui  to  the institution  Ixpidiy growing in numbers and strength.
public safety. No proof of definite crimes co&itted I This institution the new emperor, Diocletian,  deemed
by the Christians was required. An acknowledgment a menace. It seemed a state within a state over which
of the "Xame" alone sufficed for condemnation. The                 he had no control. He therefore decided to break its
terrible scenes enacted in the Vatican gardens, where power. So in the year 303 he issued three great edicts
this first persecution began, were still fresh in Seneca's of persecution in rapid, succession.             Churches were
mind when some years later he wrote to a friend urging ak:ain destroyed, books burned. And Christians might
him to bear up bravely under sickness and bodily pain. choose between sacrificing to the heathen gads, or being
Wrote he: "What are the  suRerings  compared with the subjected to torture. But iti 311 the three emperors.
Ha.mes  and the cross and the rack and the nameless of the Roman world  - Galarius, Constantine and
tortures that  I have watched men endure, without Licinius,  convinced perhaps of the futility of persecu-
shrinking, without a complaint, without a groan? And tion, issued an edict of toleration to Christians "on
as if all this quiet endurance and brave patience was condition that nothing be done to them contrary to
not sufficient, I have seen these victims even  srhile  in discipline." There was no need at all of the setting of
their great agony."                                                this condition as there had never been a Christian up-
      Tl;is first persecution soon spread through the              rising against the empire. They had all along main-
Roman provinces and continued to press heavily on the              tained a strict, unsweting loyalty to the very Ceasars
Christian congregations until the death of the Emperor that  persecu't6d  them. Paul had set before them a
Nero in 68. According to a tradition the martyrdoms sublime ideal of loyalty when he wrote to the brethren
of Peter and Paul took place in the year 68. From at Rome from Corinth in the year 58: "Let every soul
the many references to trial and suffering with  whi&              be subject unto the higher powers . . . . the powers
the first epistle of Peter is marked -- references to no that be are ordained of God, and they that resist shall
solitary .burst of persecution but to a systematic pre- receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not
scription, to which all Christians dwelling in different a terror to good works, but to the evil . . . . He bear-
parts of the Roman world were liable - it must be                  eth not the sword in vain, for he is the minister of
concluded that  t,his letter, dated from Rome, was writ- God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that. doekh
ten in the third or fourth year of Nero% persecution. evil. Wherefore we must needs be subject . . . .                           *
After the death of Nero the Christian profession re-               also for conscience's sake . . . Render therefore to all
mained illegal and continued to involve its adherents their  dues,  tribute to whom tribute is due ; fear  to'
in constant peril. Because of their rejection of  t,he whom fear; honor to whom honor." So Peter, too, in
heathen gods, Christians were charged with atheism.                his first epistle: "dearly beloved . . . . submit your-
Because of their refusal to participate in  emperor-               self to every ordinance of man for the Lprd's `sake,
worship they were charged with treason. Because of whetder  it be to the king as supreme, or unto the
their holding t,hemseIves  aloof from civil society they governors as unto them that are sent by him for the
were charged by popular credulity with crimes most                  punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them
revolting. And the doctrine of Christ's presence in                that do xvell: for so is the will of God, %hat with well-
the Supper occasioned the accusation of cannibalism. doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
But, though Christians continued to be harassed on men; as free but not using your liberty for a cloak of
every side, nb general persecution occurred before  250.           maliciousness, but -as the servants of God. Honor all
      In this  year the Roman empire, threatened by the men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the
harbnrian  and torn by internal disputes, was in great, king." `This ideal Christians had kept before their
stress. It was thought by people and ruler alike that eye during the entire period of the trying of their                             *
these troubles found their explanation in the circum- faith. Persecution had only served to bring them into
stance that the gods, provoked to anger by the refusal relief as the meek of the"earth, as God's peace-makers.
of the Christians to worship them, had withdrawn Their enemies they had loved ; those that cursed them,
their aid from Rome. So the emperor Decius initiated they had blessed; and for the men which had despite-                                  *
a universal and systematic persecution against Chris- fully used and persecuted them, they had prayed. And
tianity. His aim was to compel Christians by violence they were exceedingly gIad when men reviled them,
to ret,ucn  to the service of the gods. Christians .were and persecuted and said all manner of evil against them
forbidden to assemble; their churches were confiscated, falsely, for Christ's, sake; for they knew that their
their bishops and deacons were ordered to be executed. reward was great in heaven. Fiery trial had showed
The distinguished among them were disgraced, ejected what was the secret of their strength and had demon-
from the provinces and robbed of their goods. `It was strated the intensity of their convictions. "Young and
a period of great trial that lasted with intermissions             old, slave and  free,  the trader and the patrician-born
from  350 to 259. But in 259 a peace began that lasted, alike, proved that while ready and tilling to live quiet,
till 3!R                                                            homely lives as loyal citizens, as faithful servants of
      By  t,his time the local Christian congregations had the emperor, to them to depart  (to die) and to be
already been closely knit into a hierarchically ordered with Christ was far better." Tn the words of the same


author : "When the supreme hour of trial struck and          To this violence the edicts of the three emperors issued,
the  Christ.ian  had to choose between death and life  - as we have said, in the year 371, put an end. In the
life being the guerdon offered for the simple renounce- year 312 the two emperors, Constantine and Licinius,
ment of Christ  - rarely indeed was hesitation shown ;       issued the great edict that insured complete freedom
the guerdon was at once rejected. The contempt of to Christianity. It stipulated that henceforth Chris-
Christians for death puzzled, irritated, disturbed the tians were to be not merely tolerated but free. It
pagan writers and philosophers as much as the magis-         elevated the Christian religion to a position of full
trates. They were utterly at loss to comprehend the          legal equality with any religion of the Roman world,
secret power which inspired this tionderful  sect. As        and called for the restoration of all church property
much as possible they avoid all illusion to Christians;      confiscated in the recent persecution. In 323 Constan-
whenever a mention occurs irritation and surprise are tine, as a result of his victory over Licinius, became the
plainly visible. The one reference `made to them by          sole ruler of the Roman world. The churches were
the great Emperor Marcus Aurelius is a curt and              now everywhere free from persecution and with Con-
angry allusion to their contempt for death. This stantine himself, at least nominally, a Christian.
strange readiness to die for their belief was the char-         Tremendous were the issues of the change that had
acteristic feature which especially struck the Roman passed over the fortunes of the Christian religion. The
mind. So ready and eager were the Christians to give         great events, cited above, had followed one another
up dear life that we find that their great teachers were     during eighteen years. But the civilized world at.large
now and again obliged to curb and even restrain what         remained pagan at heart and even retained for a time
had possibly become a too passionate desire for martyr- its ancient pagan dress. In the words of the historian
dom."                                                        Milman : "Every city continued to repose under `the
    So it was. At Ephesus a company of Christians, tutelary gods of the ancient pagan religion . . . . yet,
Tertullian tells, begged martyrdom from the heathen the silent courts of the pagan fanes were untrodden
governor. After a few had been executed, the rest but by a few casual worshippers, the altars were with-
were sent away by him with the words: "Miserable out victims; thin wreaths of smoke rose where the air
creatures, if you really wish to die, you have precipices    used to be clouded with the reek of hecatombs, the
and halters enough." This morbid crave for death at pagan priesthood murmuring in bitter envy at the
the hands of the heathen was a serious error in conflict throng which passed by the porticoes of their temples
with the true spirit of Christianity  -that consists in      toward the Christian Church."       .
a fusion of humility and power. It was in all likelihood        And how did the great pagan nobles of the empire,
with a view to this error that Paul wrote: "Though           they who were more.closely associated with the empire,
I give my body to be burned, and have not the love,          take the change? A great many of them adopted the
it profiteth me nothing."                                    religion of their sovereign, Constantine, and of the
    But aside from these cases of a sickly crave for         court. But many others of the patrician houses and
death, the suffering virtues of the early church are of the cultured classes held themselves aloof and viewed
in the. `words of the church historian  Schaff  "the         the strange triumph-march of the Christians with a
sweetest and the noblest fruits of the Christian re- shuddering disdain. But for them the end came when
ligion." These sufferers approached their tortures in their cults were swept away in the wild torrent of
no  temporof Stoic indifference and obstinate defiance,      barbarian invasion. Yet all that really went is the
but like Christ, "with calm self-possession, humble re- shell that a paganism, now stalking about-in the dress
signation, gentle meekness, cheerful faith, triumphant of Christian religion, had shed. It seemed that the
hope, and forgiving charity." And the blood that             beast - ancient paganism as it came to a head in the
flowed was the seed of the church. "Go on," said             ruling power of the old Roman empire  - had received
Tertullian to the heathen governors, "rack, torture,         a deadly wound. Fact is, however, that this beast,
grind us to powder; our numbers increase in propor- with the formal adoption of Christianity by the pagan
tion as ye mow us down. The blood of Christians is           Constantine and by the ruling powers that followed
their harvest seed. Your very obstinacy is a teacher.        him, now began to apparently pass into the woman
For who is not incited by the contemplation of it to         (Rev.  1754, 11).     The old Satanic hostility to the
inquire what there is in the core of the matter? And light of heaven as emitted by the true church of God
who after having joined us does not long to suffer?"         on earth, the  oId conformity to the flesh, was still there.
    The meek of the earth were they. Yet persecuted          It lurked in the' bosom of the vast throne that,  as-
and put to death under the stigma of "haters of human-       pressed by necessity and expediency had outwardly
ity," they, the most harmless and inoffensive of men,        embraced the Christian religion. And this hostility
the true lovers of God and `man? There is but one            was soon to reappear in another form as a kind of
answer, the answer of John: "Therefore the world             Christianized paganism even more suttle, demon-pos-
knoweth us not, because it knew not Him."                    sessed and artfully contrived as to its nature and there-
    Such, then, is the treatment the Christians of the fore seen by John in his vision as the beast coming
first two centuries received at the hands of the world.      from the abyss in the likeness of a gentle, harmless


and engaging lamb no longer persecuting, exercising tics. Wealthy subjects of the realm followed his ex-
its deeds in violence but speaking -- as a dragon, and       ample and bequeathed their property upon the church
by its speech, refined and human yet diabolical, en-         even if, in doing so, they overrode the just claims of
snaring, misleading, enticing  a11 kindreds, tongues and kindred. Bishops and monks became legacy-hunters
nations.                                                     by playing upon the superstitious fears of widows and
   There can be little doubt that Constantine had            dying persons. The result was that the church as an
adopted Christianity for himself and the world over          institution became the owner of enormous treasures
which he ruled because necessity had so dictated.            in money and gold, and of many houses and lands.
Diocletian, fearing the church, had attempted to crush       In the early feudal age it had most of the non-land
its power but had failed ; but Constantine, realizing        wealth in western Europe. It owned in addition fine
the futility of all such endeavors, entered into alliance    church buildings  - chapels, abbeys,         cathedrals,
with the church with a view to securing political con-       cloisters, libraries, merchandise of all kinds and de-
trol over its growing organism.        In this he suc- scriptions, fine cloth embroidered with gold, besides
ceeded  - succeeded in uniting in his person state and numerous chests of treasures. These treasures were-in
church. The status in the church he ascribed to him-         turn converted into real estate so that the church soon
self was that of a divinely appointed bishop super-          came to own a tenth part of all the landed property.
vising the external affairs of the church and taking From its extensive lands it received payments of the '
a religious oversight over all the subjects of the realm.    peasants in its office of lord of the manor. In addition
Eusebius calls him "a universal bishop." Yet did he,         every tenent, who held land, paid to the church two
Constantine, concede that the internal affairs of the        tithes: the great tithe consisting in one-tenth of ail
church belonged to the bishops proper. Thus did he           grain, wine, and large animals raised by the farmer;
call into being an imperial papacy alongside of the          and the lesser tithe comprising the same amount of
hierarchy that would eventually flower in the pope.          vegetables and smaller animals such as chickens and
It meant that the church on earth and also the state doves.
was to have two universal fathers, one imperial and             Thus did the church come into possession of a huge '
one spiritual. Upon the church-state floor, laid by and independent source of income of its own and ceased
Constantine, the two in the period that now follows therefore to be dependent on the voluntary contribu-.
will often clash. There will be frequent encroach-           tion of the Christians.
ments. The one will strive to bring into subjection             What is to be our appraisal of the above order of
to itself t,he other. Now the one, then the other, will      things, an order that raised the church or, let us say
be in the lead. And all this, though neither has a right the clergy, to a position of material independence and
of existence. There will come into being "states of thus checked the exercise of free giving among the
the Church" where. the word of the hierarchy will be         people ? It is certainly contrary to Scripture. The
sole and supreme law.                                        greatest church fathers fully realized this. Chrysostom
   The' conception of the emperor-pope dit not orig- said to his hearers in Antioch: "The treasures of the
inate in Constantine's mind. All the pagan emperors,         church should be with you all, and it is only your hard-
from Augustus on, were at the same time supreme              ness of heart that requires her to hold earthly property
pontiffs, heads of the state religion, who could perform and to deal in houses and lands. Ye are unfaithful
all priestly functions even to offering sacrifices.~         in good works and so the n&i&&-s  of God must meddle
   Constantine did not fail to assert-himself as uni-        in a thousand matters foreign to their office. In the
versal temporal `bishop of the church. He summoned days of the apostles people might likewise have given
the first occumenical council ; appointed and deposed to them houses and lands  ; why did they prefer to sell
bishops and even engaged in the ministry of the word.        the houses and lands and give the proceeds? Because
So, too, the emperors after Constantine.                     this was without doubt the better way. Your fathers
   But the matter in which we are now particularly would have preferred that you should give alms of
interested is, that under the patronage of Constan- your incomes, but they feared that your avarice might
tine and as a result of his legislation, the church soon     leave the poor to hunger; hence the present order of
found itself in the possession of enormous wealth.           things." Augustine asked his people in Hippo to take
Under his favor its material increase was by leaps and back the church property and support the clergy and
bounds. He granted the church the right to receive           the poor by free gifts.
legacies, that is, gifts of `money or property by a~last        The stand of these fathers was correct. Consider
will. He himself made liberal contributions in money that the tribe of Levi - the tribe connected with the
and grain to the support of the clergy. This, however, sanctuary - might hold no land in Israel. The notice
could be no great merit in him as he was lord of the         reads : "The priests, the Levites, and all the tribe of
public treasury as well as of his private purse and was      Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel:
therefore generous at the expense of his subjects.           they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire,
Further, he gave to the church the heathen temples           and his inheritance. Therefore shall they have no
and their estates and the confiscated property of  heri-     inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their


396                                  T H E   STAN~DARD  B E A R E R
         -."_"_.l                                                  ^-"        _-_.... _l__
inheritance, as He hath said unto them." And again dulging their vanity, their love of magnificence and
in  10:8, 9: "At that  time the Lord separated the tribe their voluptuousness ! A great number of the c.lergy
of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord,        could nbt. stand wealth. In fact few people can. The
to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him,  and-to       improvement of their condition of life on the tlbove-
bless His name unto this day. Wherefore the Levite           described enormous scale was therefore attended with
hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the          a proportional degeneracy in their moral character.
Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy ,But many of the better bishops lived in ascetic simpli-
God hath promised him."                                      city. John the almsgiver, patriarch of  alexanclria,
   It is to be noticed here that the Levite's standing       is said on orie occrtsion  to have fed seven thousand five
before the Lord to minister unto  Kim sustained a casual     hundred poor at once.
relation to his having no part nor inheritance with             The above-described order of things also works un-
his brethren. Because he was to be the minister of told harm for the flock. The flock reasons that to
the Lord he might hold no land, might not therefore, give to an institution reeking with wealth is sheer
be supplied with an independent source of income `of folly (and so it is). and cease giving and thus cease
his own. For, in the words of Paul to Timothy, he            ministering to the saints. But also this action Paul
wared  the warfare of Jehovah and should therefore           calls a grace, a flowering of faith. Its cessation there-
refrain from entangling himself with the affairs of -fore represents  a. great loss. The  J~oclc  must  support
this life; that he might please Him Who had chosen           the service. So the Lord ordained. The love of the
him to be a soldier, There is indeed an immutable flock for the service will wane therefore, if it ceases
principle circulating through the laws having a bearing to contribute to its support.
on the support of the Levite.                                   But there is still a darker side to this enriching of
   It was the will of the Lord that the Levite should the church, that is, of the hierardhy. Consider the re-
be dependent on the free gifts of his brethren for whose sult of this union of state and church. The result was
benefit he performed the service. The Levites should a secularization of the church. The church had taken
be allowed with the' families. of the offerers to share to itself the whole  (;f the pagan, unregenerated popu-
the regular  and voluntary gifts, which the people           lace of the Roman empire and had thus become the
should bring to Jehovah at the sanctuary, and in the church of the masse5 and thus at once the church of'
festivities of the great days. They should also not          the world.    It became  a matter of fashion to be a
be allowed by the members of the community in which          Christian. Pagan customs, defiled the worship of God
they resided to  su@er want, for they had no possessions and contaminated the lives of Christians. Hypocrites
of their own.. Deut. 12  :ll; 12 :17-19; 14  52-27; 16:      and formal confessors abounded. True Christian zeal
10-X; 18 :1-K        These mandates, it was shown. in a and brotherly love became more scarce. Rulers &d
former essay, were in substance reiterated by Christ people, with the exception, of course, of the innumer-
and the apostles. The disciples were bidden to refrain able slaves upon whose back the civilization of that day
from setting out upon their preaching tours as laden reposed, lay prostrate at the shrine of mammon. There
down with the means of living. These means would             was a morbid passion for vain display. Chrysostom
be forthcoming from those receiving them and hearing ncldresses a patrician of Antioch as follows: "You
their words. These, the hearing ones are in duty bound count so and so many acres of land, ten or twenty
to provide for them, as the servant is worthy of his         palaces, as many baths, a thousand  or. two thousand
hire. And Paul declares that even as the Lord ordained slaves, carriages palted  with silver and gold." Gregory
that they which minister about holy things live of the       Nazianzen  draws the following picture of the degen-
things oi the temple, so hath the Lord ordained that         erate civilization of that day (the day of Constantine
they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. and his successors). We repose in splendor on high
There is not a single example in Scripture of a minister     and sumptuous cushions, and are vexed if we but hear
of the gospel raising himself or permitting himself to       the voice of the moaning pauper; our chamber must
be raised to a position of material independence, S u c h    heathe  the odor of flowers, even rare flowers; our
a condition of life of the clergy  wosks untold harm table must, flow with the  most fragrant and costly
both for the clergy and for the flock. It entangles the ointment, so that we become perfectly effeminate.
former in the affairs of this world. Such was indeed Slaves must stand ready, richly adorned and in order,
the bitter complaint of the best fathers of the early        with waving, maidenlike hair, and faces shorn per-
church. With a thousand matters foreign to their fectly smooth, more adorned than is good  $or
office ttiey  had to meddle. This follows from the very lascivious eyes; some to hold cups both'delicately and
nature of things. For  these,  large estates had to be       iirmly   with the  t.ips  of their fingers, others, to fan
managed and cared for. Besides, the lesson of the his- fresh air upon the head. Our tables must bend under
tory of the early church is that it favors ease and          the load of dishes, while all  the kingdoms of nature,
luxury, and lures a host of unworthy  persons~ into the air, water and earth, furnish copious contributions. . .
service of the church. How many of the clergy of the The poor man is content with water: but we fill our
period under consideration appear in history  as  in- goblets with wine to drunkenness, nay, immeasurably


beyond it . . .  ." And how about the household of cannot be otherwise. Do you suppose that a world
the emperors? According to Libanus the  ho.usehold            exposed by the church as to all its wanton corruption
of Constantius had a thousand barbers, a thousand cup         will take  that church to its bosom and bury it under
bearers, a thousand cooks and eunuchs so many that            its treasures? Who will care to maintain it? Did the
"they could be compared only to the insects of a              world so deal with Christ?          '
summer day." Verily this entire civilization described           But I can imagine the faithful in the church of
above reposed on the backs of innumerable- slaves.            that day, the remnant according to  the election taking
   And how about the very Constantine, the founder upon their lips the complaint of Jehovah uttered by
of the Byzantine empire and the great  ,benefactor   (?)      the mouth of Jeremiah: "Yet have I planted thee a
of the hierarchy (the church)  ?  His reign is marred         no.ble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou
with the grossest crimes. Though he had solemnly turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unta
promised. Licinius, his  .vanquished  rival, mercy, he        me'? For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take
ordered and secured his execution. Afterward his poli- the,much  soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before
tical suspicions lead him to cause.the  death of Licinius,    me, saith the Lord God. How canst thou say 1 am not
his nephew, a. lad of eleven years. Then he murdered polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way
his eldest son on  ,the generally-held false charge ef in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a
political intrigue and, incest. It is doubtful whether swift dromedary traversing her ways; a wild ass used
Constantine had undergone a true moral transforma- to the wilderness, that  snuffet'n up the wind in her
tion. IIe cared little for the true mission of the church     pleasure . . . ."
and bent his efforts on advancing its social position.           Constantine and the wicked world of which he was
He did not submit to baptism till the last on his death-, the representative is no more. But the spirit that per-
bed. Yet, on the other hand, from him proceeded same          vaded that world is still with us. It assumes flesh and
of the most human laws such as the abolition of the           blood in the fleshly seed in the church, a seed present
gladiatorial shows, and of licentious and cruel rites.        in the sum-total of churches, the church as it is spread
The question whether he was truly a Christian cannot over the whole world ; & seed present in every denomi-
be discussed and settled within the compass of this           nation of churches and in every local brotherhood, It
essay.                                                        is a seed whose heart is far from God. It can be known
    Consider, now, that it was this vain, worldly, licen-     by its fruits. For it'crucifies to itself the Soti of God'
tious, morally degenerate, hypocritical civilization  - afresh, despises the choicest spiritual food  - the
a civilization reposing upon the institution of slavery heavenly manna.- with which the table, that the Lord
and later, when the slaves were freed and became serfs, through His faithful servants prepares for His people
upon the institution of serfdom- that the church, the         in the presence of their enemies, is laden. Turning
hierarchy, was enriched and elevated to a position of from this food; it cries for the fleshpots of Egypt. How
material independence. What does it mean, what can            is this seed to be dealt with? Hearken to its cry, set
it mean? Only this, that the hierarchy, the clergy,           before it Egypt's fleshpots, descend to its level in your
 (barring the few exceptions), after having taken this sermons and writings, condone its sihs and vanities,
civilization to its bosom (something, of course, which lock arms with it, praise, pet, and cajole "It, glory in its
it should not have done), refrained  fr;om,censuring  it,     culture and in its vile virtue - as too many are now
from thundering from the housetops against its doing - and you will keep peace with it and it, this
crimes, its worldliness, its vanities, its ungodliness, seed, will in turn be ready to take the servants of God
refrained from exposing its paganism ; but  Instead,          to its bosom, bury them with its treasures and even
locked arms with it, cajoled, flattered and petted it, IIOW too as well as in the days of yore raise them to a
favored and fondled it, and heaped upon it praise often state of material independence.
to the point of nauseation. At the celebration of the            On the other hand, if the servants of God walk
third decenium of his reign, Constantine was told by worthily of their calling, there will be no rich lavishing
une of the bishops cong?atulating him that he had been upon them their wealth and rasing them to a position
appointed by God ruler over  this world and would of material independence. And this no true servant de-
reikn with the Son of God in the other. And even sires. But we must break off here and finish our say
Bishop Eusebius was so blinded by imperial favor that on this subject in a following essay.
he saw in a banquet which  Constantine gave to the                                                          G.  MI. 0.
bishops at the close of `the council of Nice an emblem
of the glorious reign of Christ upon earth. So did they                            -      -            -
flatter and pet the seed of evil-doers'in the church.
And the result was that this seed lavished upon the                                     NOTICE
hierarchy, its praises and its treasures. This act of            The first meeting of the Central Board of the Re-
enriching on the part of the world in  respect'to  the formed Free Publishing Association will be held Tues-
hierarchy and this flattering on the part of the hier- day, June 20, at 7:45 P. M., ,in the basement of the
archy in respect to this world went hand in hand. It First protestant Reformed Church.


                                                                                                                  .  '
'     "          -"l.l:..l           _.___  -,I.- T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAkEk                                                   401
                                                                           - ..-. - ..-. - _-_.                             .._. 111 --._.._
           A Catechism On the History of the                               Thus far synod quoted the last article, which con-
                                                                        tinuous as follows:
              Protestant Reformed Churches                                 "The fault lies in themselves ; some of whom when
                                                                        called, regardless of their danger, reject the word of
                                                                        life; others,, though they receive it, suffer it not to .
                               PART TWO                                 make a lasting impression on their heart; therefore,
                                                                        their joy, arising from a temporary faith, soon van-
                                                                        ishes, and they fall away ; while others choke the seed
                                                                        of the Word by perplexing cares, and the pleasures of
             III.  THE  COMMON  GRACE  THEORY OF THE                    the world, and produce no fruit. This our Saviour
                               FIRST POINT "                            teaches in the parable of the sower,Matt.  13.`"
            1. What do you mean by the "First Point"?                      4. And which are the Scriptural references
           The first of the three doctrinal declarations adopted adduced in support of the first point?
     by and added to the Confessions of the Christian Re-                  They are the following:
     formed Churches by the Synod of those Churches in                     Ps. 145  :9 : The Lord is good to all: and his tender
     1924.                                                              mercies are over all his works.
           2. Can you quote it?                                            Matt. 5 :44, 45: But I say unto you, Love your ene-
           Yen; it reads as follows: "Relative to the first point mies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that
     which concerns the favorable attitude of God towards               hate you, and pray for, them which despitefully use
     humanity in general and not only towards the elect,                you, and persecute you. That ye may be the children
     synod declares it to be established according to Scrip- of your Father which is in ,heaven:  for he maketh his
     ture and the Confession that, apart from the saving                sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
     grace of God shown only to those that are the elect                rain on the just and on the unjust.
     unto eternal life, there is also a certain favor or grace             Luke 6 :35, 36: But love ye your enemies, and do
     of God which He shows to His creatures in general.                 good and lend, hoping for nothing again ; and your
     This is evident from the Scriptural passages quoted                reward shall be great and ye shall be the children of
     and from the Canons of Dordrecht, II, 5 and III, IV,               the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and
     3 and 9, which deal with the general offer of the Gospel,          evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father  also is
     while it also appears from the citations made from merciful.
     Reformed writers of the most flourishing period of                    Acts 14  :16, 17: Who in times past suffered all
     Reformed Theology that our Reformed writers from nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he
     the past favored this view."                                       left not himself without witness, in that he did ,good                  ,
           3. Which are the passages from the Confessions               and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons,
     mentioned in this first point?                                     filling our hearts with food and gladness.
           They are the following:                                         I Tim. 4 : 10 : For therefore we both labor and suffer
           Canons II, 5: "Moreover the promise of the Gospel reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is
     is that whosoever believeth in Christ crucified, shall not         the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
     perish but have everlasting life. This promise, together              Rom. 2 :4 : Or despisest thou the riches of his good- -
     -with the command to repent and believe, ought to be ness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing
     declared and published to all nations and to all persons           that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
     promiscuously and without distinction, to whom God                    Ezek.  33:ll: Say unto them, As I live saith the
     out of his good pleasure sends the gospel."                        Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the
           Canons III, 8: "As many as are called by the gospel          wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and
     are unfeignedly called. For God hath most earnestly                live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why
     and truly declared in His Word, what will be acceptable            will ye die, 0 house of Israel?
     to Him; namely, that they who are called should come                  E&k. 1823: Have .I any pleasure at all that the
     unto Him. * He, moreover, seriously promises eternal wicked should die? saith the Lord God; and not that
     life and rest to as many as shall come to Him and be-              he should return from his ways and live ?
     lieve on Him."                                                        5. Which form of the Common Grace theory did
           Canons HI, 9: "It is not the fault of the Gospel, nor the Christian Reformed Churches adopt by this first
     of Christ, offered therein,  ` nor of God, who calls men declaration, the Kuyperian or the Arminian?
     by the gospel, and confers upon them various gifts,                   Virtually both ; for, it is evident that, although they
     that those who are called by the ministry of the Word,             intended to adopt the Kuyperian theory only, they be-
     refuse to come."                                                   came confused when they attempted to support their
                                                                        view by the Confession of the Reformed Churches; and
                                                                        unwittingly they lapsed into the Arminian presentation
           *) This is the correct translation. The adopted rendering    of common grace.
     is corrupt. - H. H.                                                   6. How could you prove this?


402                                      T H E   STANDARD  BI~ARE~R
                            ~-^..".._                                  -_1_------ -.-^-               "--.- ^ _..............  1....._
    This  `is  evident,  first of  all, from the declaration present life, such as sickness, pain, sorrow, adversity,
itself. For, when it declares, that "apart from the               poverty, yea, even death, are not sent to the godly in
saving grace of God shown only to those that are elect God's wrath and to curse them; so it must be evident
unto. eternal life, there is also a certian favor or grace        that the good things of this present' life are not sent
of God which He shows to His creatures in general",               to the wicked in God's favor and to bless them. We
it purposes to express the Kuyperian view that God is must not confuse  gruce and  things.
gracious to all men in .common,  elect and reprobate,                 IO. In what light, then, must we consider the
godly and ungodly, when He bestows on them the things             things which in this life the godly and ungodly have
of this present life, such as rain and sunshine, life and in common, in order correctly to evaluate them and
health, wealth and possessions, gifts and talents. All            understand their significance ?                 .
the good things of this present time are, according to               In the light of eternity. All the things of the pres-
this view, a manifestation of God's gracious attitude ent life are but means to an eternal end. As they are
to all men.                                                       received by us and employed by us as rational-moral
    But the declaration lapses into the Arminian con- creatures they all bear fruit, either to eternal life  a<d
ception, that the saving grace of God is intended for glory, or to eternal death and desolation. If they tend
all men individually, when they speak of "the general to life they are bestowed `on us in the grace of God'and
offer of the Gospel" as a manifestation of the grace of are a ble,ssing, no matter whether they are health or
God to all the hearers without distinction. For, it is            sickness, prosperity or adversity, life or death, for all
evident, that the Gospel deals  with saving grace.                things work together for good to them that love God ; if
    The former theory we map designate by the term                they tend to death and damnation, they are bestowed                     4
"common gracj," for it speaks of a grace, not saving,             on us in God's wrath and are a curse, even though our
that is common to the godly and the  uniodly,  the elect eyes stand out with fatness and we bathe in luxury:
and the reprobate. The latter view is better expressed               11. Are, then, the things of this present life means
by the term "general grace", for, it speaks of the grace          in the hand of God or of men ?
of God,  sabing,  that is intended for all men individually.         Both; as God  &ploys  them He carries out  H&J
    Both these views are clearly implied in the first eternal purpose concerning us, whether it be the pur-
point.                                                            pose of salvation or of damnation ; as we employ them
    7. From what else is it plain that the first point            as rational and moral beings, they become means of
teaches both common and general grace ?                           either righteousness or of unrighteousness. Thus God's
   From the passages that are quoted from the Con-                counsel is realized concerning us `and we remain moral
fessions and from the Holy Scripture in support of the and responsible agents.
first poidt.  For, the first five texts quoted above are             12. But is it not possible to  cjnsider  the  temporal  -'
intended to prove the Kuyperian view of common grace.             things apart  from the eternal and thus maintain  th,at
But the last three texts, as well as the passages quoted in  this life the ungodly enjoy  many good things as'
from the Confessions do not deal with com??zon  Q~CMX             tokens of God's grace toward them?.
that is not `scLvi+zg,  but with gcncm2  gmct! that is sn/)ing       He' that enjoys a nice sleigh-ride on a beautifully
RS fnr us God's intention is cmcerned.                            smooth and slippery road that ends in a deep pyecipice,
f 8. Considering, then, first of all, the element of or he that takes keen delight in a pleasant boat-trip
tommo~z.  grace as taught in the first point, is it not true down the stream t6ward  the Niagara Falls, `wouid be .~ .
that in this life the godly and the ungodly, the, elect           considered a fool. So is he an abominable  fool that .
and reprobate have all things in common ?                         considers the  pleasures of this present time grace and
    This is certainly true. There is manifestly in this a blessing though their end is inevitable destruction.,
world a general providence of God, by which the same You cannot separate the ete&al  from the temporal.
things, both good and evil, rain and drought, abundance All things are means to an end. It is, then, grace and
and scarcity, health and sickness, life and death,                a blessing to climb along a steep and rugged road to
prosperity and adversity, peace and war, joy and heaven; it is wrath and a curse to slide down a smooth
sorrow, gifts, powers, talents and genius or the want             road to hell.
of these, occasions and seasons and times, are sent to               13. But `can we not truly say, that God bestows
men in common, regardless of the question whether the things of the present time upon the ungodly in His,
they are  godly or ungodly, just or unjust, elect  or rep- grace, though the wicked employ them unto their own
robate. W& may even emphasize this `by saying that destruction?  '                               *
both Scripture and experience teach, that less good and              You would not ask this question from a Reformed
more evil are sent to the godly than to the ungodly.              vitwpoint  nor if you are acquainted with the Word of
    9. Is it, then, not also true, that in these things God. For, then you  l&&  thati God certainly and
of  .this' present life both the godly and ungodly receive sovereignly predestinated both the elect and reprobate
tokens of God's favor toward them ?                               unto their own end.. He is God and not man. And as
   By no means'; for, as it must be evident both from             He predestinated their end, so He certainly pre-
Scripture and experience that the evil things of this destinated the way and all the means to that end;


       -. I .._. .l.  I...                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      403
                              __-    --.__                                                                              -l_._ll
      Although, therefore, it is certainly true  that the              of the psalm, where we read: "The Lord preserveth
      wicked with all the means at their command serve sin             all them  t.hat love Him, but all the wicked will He de-
      and work out their own destruction, yet, it is equally stroy," vs.  20.
      ,true,  that they do so in full harmony with God's counsel           20. But does not  Matt.  5:44,  45 prove the point
      and under His providence.               .                        synod made in its first' declaration ?
            Besides, the viewpoint expressed in the question               If the synod's interpretation, of this text were the
'     is contrary to the plain declarations of the Word of             correct one, it would prove far too much and, besides,
      God, as we shall see later.                                      it would lead to absurdity. It is deplorable that synod  -
            ld.  I)o you, then, maintain that God is never merely quoted without even an attempt at explanation;.
      gracious in time or eternity to the reprobate wicked?            otherwise synod would have soon realized how unten-
            I most emphatically maintain that this is true. able the position is, that in these verses we have a
            15. But is not this a terrible doctrine?                   proof that God is gracious to all men. The interpreta-
            All true doctrine is terrible for the wicked and un-       tion which, evidently, synod would offer, runs as
      godly, for God is terrible to them. It is one of the ear-        follows : *
     .-marks of the falsity of the theory of common grace;                 a. We must love our enemies.
      that it is pleasing to the ungodly. It is a great comfort            b. If we do, we will be children of God and reflect
      to the godly, however, to know that all things work              His love, for He loves all His enemies, as well as the
      together for good to the righteous and for evil to the           ghod,  in this present life.
      unrighteous. And,it may rightly be characterized as                  c. This love to all men is manifested in the rain
     1 an un-ethical, very corrupt and pernicious doctrine to and sunshine on all without distinction.
      teach that God favors the workers of iniquity and                    Of this interpretation we assert that, first, it proves*
      smiles upon them in His grace !                                  too much and, secondly, it' leads to absurdity and is
            16. Did not, then, synod of 1924 prove its conten-         untenable. It proves too much, for, all the Scriptures
      tion on this point by the Confessions  ?                         witness that God does not love, but hate His enemies
            Indeed not! They did not even make an attempt              and purposes to testroy  them, except them He chose
      to prove this part of the first point by statements from         in Christ Jesus and that He loves, not as His enemies,
      the Confessions of the Reformed Churches. Evidently,             but as His redeemed people, justified and santified in
      they were quite aware that such an attempt would be. Christ. God does, indeed, love His enemies, but not
      utterly futile. The statements from the Confession ~11 His enemies ; He does love His enemies, but not as
      which they do quote are adduced to prove the Arminian such, but as His children in Christ. And it leads to
      element of the first point. To this we must call atten- absurdity, for if rain and'sunshine are a manifestation
      tion later.                                                      of God's love to all men, the just and the unjust, what
             17. But do not the* Scriptural references quoted are floods and droughts, pestilences and earthquakes
       by synod corroborate the first point in its doctrine of and all  dgstructive  forces and evils sent to all through
      common grace ?                                                   nature, but manifestations of His hatred for all, the
            Superficially considered they would appear to do just and the unjust? But it is absurd to say that God
      so. However, a close examination of the passages will hates the. just, for He loves them. It is also absurd to
      show that the interpretation which synod would offer say that God changes, now  loving_the just and the                          ,-  I
       of them is utterly. false.                                      unjust and manifesting this love in rain and sunshine,
             18. Does not Ps.  145:9  teach that God is gracious now hating them and revealing His hatred in upheavals
       to the righteous and to the unrighteous reprobate? and destruction. Hence, the interpretation that leads
             Not at all. The word "all" in the sentence: "The          to this evident absurdity is itself absurd.              '
       Lord is good to all", must be interpreted in the light              Besides, *it must not be overlooked, that the text
      of the context. If we do so, it will at once be evident does not at .a11 state, that God is gracious to the just
       that it does not mean: "all men", godly and ungodly,            and to the unjust, but that He rains and causes His
       but "all the- works of God", man and beast and the              sun to shine on all.
       green tree and herb of the field, the organic whole of              21. How, then, must the text be interpreted?
     creation, and that the ungodly reprobate are exactly                  We must take our starting point from verse 44. The             ,
       excluded from this "all".                                       Lord admonishes His people that they shall love their
             19. How can you prove This ?                              enemies.       Now, love is not a sentimental feeling or
             First of all from the second part of the text: "and emotion or affection. It is, according to Scripture, the
       His tender mercies are over all His works". According bond of perfectness. It is, therefore, the-bond between
       to the well-known rule of Hebrew parallelism, of which          two parties or persons that are ethically perfect, that
       we have a plain illustration in this text, the second           seek each other and find delight in each other because
       part here explains the first. "All" in the first part is of their ethical perfection, and that, in the sphere of
       the same as "all His works" in the second part.                 et.hical  perfection seek each other's good. It is in this
             And, secondly, that this is, indeed, the correct inter- true sense that God is love.
     pretation of the text is corroborated' by the last part               However, it stands to reason that in the case of


404                                    TEE  STAND~ABD   BEARER-
              -._         ~--l".--._,^""-l
loving our enemies, that despitefully use us, curse us self without witness to the heathen world even in the
and persecute  us, love must needs be onesided. There old dispensation. He revealed Himself as the One that
cannot be a bond of fellowship between the wicked and              must be thanked and served, for He did good from
the perfect in Christ. To love our enemy, therefore, is heaven, giving rain and fruitful seasons, Wing them
not to flatter him, to have fellowship with him, to play with food and gladness. And, naturally, by means of
games with him and to speak sweetly to him ; but                   these testimonies the heathen knew that God is to be
rather to rebuke him, to demand `that he leave his                 thanked and served.
wicked way and thus to bless him and to pray for him.                 b. However, the text states plainly, that God let
It is to bestow good things upon him with the demand               them walk in their own sinful ways, the ways of
of true love that he leave his wicked way, walk in the iniquity and destruction. Though they knew God and
light and thus have fellowship with us. If he heed.our             received His witness, they received no grace and with
love, which will be the case if he be of God's elect and           their rain, fruitful seasons and food and gladness they
receive grace, he will turn from darkness into light served sin and were objects of His wrath and damna-
and our love assumes the nature of a bond of perfect- tion. Fruitful seasons, food and gladness with material
ness. If he despise our love our very act of love will things are not grace, neither are they a manifestation
be to his greater damnation. But the cursing and of grace.
persecution of the wicked may never tempt the tihild                  24. And `how must I Tim. 4:10 be explained?
of God to live and act from the principle of hatred,'                 Either:
to reward evil for evil, an eye for an eye and a tooth                a. Saviour in the text means Preserver, as the
for a tooth.         .                                             synod of 1924 evidently understood the word and the
   As a single illustration from actual life and exper- Holland translation renders it. In that case the text
ience, the Lord points to the  fact,  that so God rains does not speak of grace at all, but merely of God's
and causes His sun to shine upon the just and the un- providential preservation of all men, the -wicked as
just, thus bestowing good things upon them  all, de- well as the righteous, the reprobate as well as the elect.
manding that they shall employ them as means to The text then means: God is a Preserver of all men,
walk in righteousness and light. For with God love                 for He gives to all men their existence and life and all
is delight in perfection in the highest sense of the word.         things necessary for the sustenance of their being;
If now the wicked receive grace with rain and sunshine,            but especially of believers, for them and them only He
they will walk in the light and have fellowship with               preserves in His grace, leading them to eternal life.
God. If they do not receive grace they will employ                    Or:
the rain and the sunshine in the service of sin and                   b. Saviour has the usual meaning of Deliverer
receive the greater damnation.                                from sin and death. In that case the text means: God
   But rain and sunshine is never grace and Matt. 5:               is a Saviour of all men, more specifically speaking of
44, 45 does not prove the contention of the first point.      believers from among all men.
   22. But does not Luke 6  :36 plainly speak of God                  But which ever interpretation is preferred, the text
being kind to the unthankful and evil?                        does not support the theory of a common grace of God
   This text is far more simple than that of Matt. 5,         toward and upon the godly and the ungodly, the elect
because it merely `speaks of the unthankful and evil.         and the reprobate.
No one denies that God is kind to the unthankful and `:                                                          H.  II- --
evil. Only, He is not kind to the reprobate unthankful
and evil. The entire context of Luke 6:35, 36 shows
clearly, that the Lord purposes to teach:
   a. That His own people tasted the goodness and                                      ATTENTION
kindness of God toward them while they were and often
still are unthankful and evil.                                .       The Field Day of the Protestant Reformed Churches
   b. That, having tasted the love of God, as a love          will, be held July 4, at Franklin Park, Grand Rapids,
that reveals itself as grace and kindness toward the          Mich.
unthankful and evil, they must reveal that same kind-                 Further  annountiements  later.
ness toward. their enemies, lending and giving without                                                   The Committee.
                                                                                              .
ever hoping to receive again.
   That God loves and is gracious to the ungodly in
Christ, does not at all prove that He loves and is
gracious to all the ungodly, even those that are outside                                  A'M'ENTIE
of Christ.                                                            De Field Day van de Protestantsche Gereformeerde
   23. Does not the text from Acts  14:16,  17 teach Kerken zal plaats vinden den vierden July in Franklin
that God is gracious to the reprobate ungodly  1              Park, Grand Rapids, Mlch.
   Evidently not; for:                                                Nadere aankondiging later.
   a. It merely teaches that God did not leave Him-                                                       De Committee.

                                                    ,.


                                                                On Thursday evenings the Young People's society
           Work Done In California                             meets.    Also this society is small, numbering eight
   It seems but proper to us that we give a report of          members, but everyone is active and enthused about
 our work done in and around Los Angeles, and that             the study of the truth. During'these meetings the
 we give this report publication in our Standard Bearer        "Three Points" have been discussed this past winter.
  to be read by all our people, seeing it was all our people During our stay amongst them, we finished the second
 who, through the classis, sent us to labor in this newest     and third points. As visitors are always welcome in
 field of activities. Although we will make this report        both society meetings, there come some of the Chris- :
 `as informal as possible.                                     tian Reformed Church. And mostly because of this we
     First of all, let us remark about the activities of       experienced that more and more we must impersonally
 the Los Angeles congregation. On the Lord's Day,              dwell on the positive principles of our movement, in
 services are held three times. The morning and eve-           order that the impression is not left that our battle is
 ning services are conducted in the English language,          against flesh and blood, but against the principles of
 and the afternoon service in the Holland language.            despised Arminianism, which find their root in the first
 After the morning services catechism classes are held         sin in Paradise of old. For Arminianibm is older than
 for the children. So it is plain that our people at Los Arminius and feels therefore perfectly at home in the
 Angeles are in the courts of the Lord most of `the            temptation of the Devil, when the words fell from his
 Sabbath Day. The reason that catechism classes are            lips to mother Eve: "Thou shalt-be as God".
- held on Sunday after the morning service, is that a             This brings us to our impressions of the future,
 few of the children must come over 20 miles to the            for this congregation in far away Los Angeles. First
 place of meeting, making it nearly impossible during of all ,it cannot be denied that our people as a whole
 the week days. The place of worship reminded us               understand the fundamental principles underlying the
very much of Holland congregation. Also here the movement of the Protestant Reformed Churches. We
 people of God worship in a rented store, as much in           visited most of the congregation and discovered a warm
 the center of the Holland settlement as possible. I           love and devotion to the truth. They all desire the
 speak of the Holland settlement here, because the Ho&         strong emphasis of our doctrine in Sunday worship and
 landers are but as a drop `in the bucket in the large         in weekday meetings. And yet much care and tact
 city of Los Angeles, a city numbering  1,300,OOO  in-         must be used in this connection. Whenever the doc-
 habitants. There are, however, quite a number of Hol-         trine is bluntly or rudely presented, offence  is easily
 landers, that have drifted far from the covenant into         caused. California is in this respect somewhat differ-
 the world, especially in the days of so-called prosperity,    ent than the East. And this fact can readily be ex-
 some of whom in these days of chastisement are seek- plained. The people in this far west locality are not
 ing return to the ways of the fathers. We will return personally acquainted with the bitter enmity and strife
 to this phase of the situation in Los Angeles later in        our denomination had to suffer and go through since
 our article.                                                  1924. Surely our do&me is desired in Los Angeles
    Discussing the activities of this small congregation,      and. elsewhere in California, just as strong and in as
 we find that they are active despite their smallness.         much detail as our people desire it in the East, but
 Two societies meet every week. On Tuesday evenings care must be exercised in the way of presentation.
 the Men's society~  meets regularly.~m The topic-under And thus there  ,is surely a future for our congregation
 discussion during our stay of six weeks was, "Ret in Los Angeles. The necessity of changing from three
 Evangelic"  by Prof. Heyns of CaIvin  Seminary. These to two services is being felt by all, in order that nil
 articles by the Prof, were written in "De Wachter," our people may come to  all the services. This cannot
 official organ, of the Christian Reformed churches. In be done with three services. Also the congregation is
ithem we found a terrible and sinful attempt to under- feeling more and more the lack of a shepherd'of  their
mine the foundations of our Reformed truths. It can own; one who can systematically perform al1 the labors
 readily be understood therefore that these discussions to be done in her midst. Therefore if the classis grants
: were very interesting and educational, and again we          to her the necessary funds, this congregation will soon
 were convinced that our Protestant Reformed people issue a call to one of God's servants. May her efforts
 may never forget the essential differences which histor- be blessed.
 ically and, in the future gives our churches an absulute         This brings us also to another remark. We did
 and perfect right of existence., In this Men's society not have the privilege to preach in Bellflower, a small
 ,it becomes again so plain that the Almighty Jehovah city about eighteen miles from Los Angeles. But we
wills at all times a people, however small in number           did visit here the people interested in our cause. For
 they may, be, to defend  and'confess  to all, that God is     the last three or four months things have been more
 One and-unchangeably the Same both in election and or less disorganized here. The reason is because there
 reprobation and that in this all He alone is the Sov- is no systematic and continuous work performed.
 ereign One, to be adored eternally.                           Meetings arranged in Bellflower were continued until
    But to continue our report.                                the visiting minister from Los Angeles would `again


have to leave, and then the meetings would again have                        THE SHEPHERD MASTER
to be postponed, until the next visiting minister arrived
in Los Angeles. Two or three weeks would elapse be- The Lord is with us, let our courage falter not;
tween the two, and the work in Bellflower had to be            He leads the way before us-what have we to fear?
laid down temporarily. This necessitated confusion His everlasting arms are underneath us,
because there are no advertising facilities in this town.      And His voice in ev'ry time of trial we may hear.
`But it seems to us that if the services in Los Angeles
were so arranged that also our people in  Bellffower
were able to attend one or two services there, it would      The foe, however strong, shall flee before us, and
simplify matters considerably, if not permanently, and         The  cIouds  that rise shall rifted be, and bright
if Bellflower then would become strong enough for                  the day;
organization separately from Los Angeles, then there His word of promise is : "I wiII be with thee ;
would be a 6ne nucleus to begin with. This would also
make Los Angeles stronger for the time being. This             I  wiIl go before, and lead thee in the perfect way.
is however but a suggestion for consideration. It sure-
ly is true that wherever one goes amongst the Holland        To do His perfect will our daily prayer shall be ;
people in California, there is an element that hungers         Wherever He may caIl or need us we will gladly go ;
and  -longs  for a return to the old trodden paths of the A Shepherd, and a Master, kind and patient,
fathers. Epecially in Ripon,  about three hundred miles
north of Los Angeles there is a strong group of God's          He  will point the way, and grace abundant  will
people inclined to  the. truth as we love and confess it.       . bestow.
   Therefore we may truly say, that it was a pleasant
six weeks spent in sunny California amongst our people,      Where the Shepherd leads us, we His voice of love
and our work was made pleasant by the hearty recep-                obey ;
tion of the people. It was also our privilege to visit       And the hand that feeds us, we will follow aII the way.
a few days with Rev. G. Vos and his family) and meet Where the light precedes us, we will go without delay;
many of his congregation. Surely we have in Redlands
a wonder of God's grace: A neat and very practical           Where the Master needs us, we will work today.
church building has been erected, and when we Ieft
there, plans were being made to erect a suitable parson-
age. A Christian  SchooI  one hundred per cent attended
by the children of our peopIe  flourishes also in  Red-
lands. And the fifty-five families are to the observant
visitor, as one family, working together in unity and           I  ,will bless the Lord, who huth  given  me counsel.
                                                                                                        -Ps.  16:7.
love. The work of Rev. Vos is very much appreciated
and the devotion of the congregation is much cause of           Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; aervixg
joy to him. One Sunday out of the six exchange of the Lord. -Ram.  12. II.
pulpits  was made by Rev. Vos and the visiting pastor
in Los Angeles.  Redlands   also wishes to become ac-                 Mine be the reverent, listening love       ,.  _.__.
quainted with our ministers. And it surely was a                        That waits  a11 day on Thee,
pleasure for us also to be able to preach there, as  well             With the service of a watchful heart
as give a lecture under the auspices of the Men's                       Which no one  else can see.
society, on the subject : "The Problem of Suffering and         Nothing is  small or great in God's sight; whatever
its SoI.ution  in the book of Job". This was spoken in       He wills becomes great to us, however seemingly trifl-
the Holland language. And thus California  wiII not ing, and if once the voice of conscience tells us that He
soon be forgotten by the  child of God visiting or work- requires anything of us, we have no right to measure
ing there, because God reveals Himself so wonderfully its importance. On the other hand, whatever He would
in. nature in this Aower  state. But as it  aIways is, not have us do, however important we may think it,
where God reveals Himself most majestically, there the       is as nought to us. How do you know what you may
world wallows the more in sin. But  then also the anti- lose by negIecting  this duty, which you think so trifl-
thesis becomes more glorious, for the world exclaims         ing, or the blessing which its faithful performance
in haughty pride at the greatness of nature: Is not this may bring? Be sure that if you do your very best in
oz&r %&ylon  great? while the child of God humbly con- that which is laid upon you daily, you will not be left
fessing his nothingness, exclaims: "We praise Thee, 0 without sufficient help when some weightier occasion
God, we praise Thee, for that Thy Name is near: Thy          arises. Give yourself to Him, trust `Him, fix your eye
wondrous works declare".                                     upon Him, listen to His voice, and then go on  ,braveIy
                                          L.  Vermeer        and cheerfully.


                              A   R e f o r m e d   S e m i - M o n t h l y   M a g a z i n e
                 PUBLISHED BY THE REFORMED FREE  PzUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.



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Vol. IX, No. 18                                                JULY 1, 1933                            Subscription Price, $2.50

                                                                        Israel . . . . deliverance and respite . . . . and then
           M E D I T A T I O N                                          the whole cycle is gone all over again.
~.^..__"..                     --._-                                       Onandon! . . . .
                                                                           As the sun draws the vapor from the ocean in
                        Long Patience                                   cloud vessels, and they carry the water to the tops of
                                                                        the mountains there to empty themselves in pouring
                           Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges       rains, forming streams and rivers that carry it back
                        which delivered them out of the hand of         to the ocean . . . .
                        those that spoiled them.      And yet they         Ever recurring ; never finished process !
                        would  not hearken unto their judges, but          A history weary with the monotony of its constant
                        they went awhoring after other gods, and
                        bowed themselves unto them; they turned         return to the same phase !
                        quickly out of the way which their fathers         And its apparent vanity!
                        walked in, obeying the commandments of
                        the Lord; but they did not so. And when
                        the Lord raised them up judges, then the
                        Lord was with the judges and delivered
                        them out of the hand of their enemies: for
                        it repented the Lord because of their groan-       Marvelous revelation of God's long patience !
                        ings . . . .                                       His longsuffering with Israel of the old dispensa-
                                                    Judges  2:16-19.    tion, with His Church in the world throughout the
                                                                        centuries, with you and with me ! . . . .
   Sad summary this of Israel's history !                                  For, such is, no doubt, the central thought of this
   And, -alas ! of the history of God's Church in the sad summary; it reveals the marvelous long patience of
world, throughout the ages!                                             Jehovah, the God of His people, in all the brightness
   And, lest we should exalt ourselves, of the indi- of its unchanging love, upon the dark background of
vidual child of God, of you and of me!                                  Israel's obstinacy, of your sin and my sin, of the con-
   A history, weary with the mournful monotony of stant backsliding of His chosen Church.
its ever recurring phases, like the endless sameness of                    Frequently Scripture speaks of this longsuffering
the waves of the ocean rolling over the smooth slope of the Myst High. The Lord is slow of anger, long of
of the sandy beach.                                                     passion: longsuffering over His people. Often this
   And the children of Israel did evil in de sight of                   wondrous virtue of Jehovah is mentioned in immediate
the Lord . . . . And the Lord delivered them into the connection with other perfections of His glorious and
hand of their enemies that spoiled them . . . . And                     adorable Being, such as grace, mercy, lovingkindness
the Lord repented because of their groaning . . . .                     and truth. Sometimes Scripture explains more fully,
And the Lord sent them judges that delivered them.. . that He is long-suffering to  usward because He does not
And they would not hearken unto their judges . . . . will that any should perish, but that all should come to
And they did evil in the sight of the Lord more than                    repentance  ; that He will avenge them speedily
their fathers . . . .           And the Lord delivered them although He is longsuffering over His elect that cry
up . . . . and they groaned . . . . and the Lord re-                    unto Him day and night.
pented . . . . and He delivered them . . .                                 And sometimes it does not specifically speak of this
   Sin and backsliding . . . retribution and chastise-                  long patience of Jehovah, but merely causes us to feel
ment . . . . repentance and groaning on the part of
            1                                                           that it only is the reason why Israel is cast into the


crucible of  aii-liction  and suffering, yet is never con- the neighbors to slander you and drag your name
sumed! . . . .                                                 through the mud. He orders your servants about as
   Thus it is in our passage !                                 if they were his and maltreats them as he pleases. ,4nd
   The hand of the Lord was against them . . . . and           he begins to beat your children, to persecute them, to
they repent . . . . are delivered . . . . sin again . . .      kill them. But you must have him in your house until
are chastised once more . . . . cry for help . . . . the a certain time, until he served a certain purpose. And
Lord repents and delivers . . . .                              your attitude toward him is expressed in the words:
   Just repeat this story, again and again and you             I bear with you as long as necessary, then you go ! . . .
have the contents of the book of Judges.                           Such is forbearance.
   And again, only repeat this same monotonous and                 Such is also the forbearance of God, His long
apparently endless strain and you write the history of passion of wrath over the ungodly.
the Church of Christ in the world !                                For is not the ungodly that stranger in God's
   Times change, conditions alter, different persons           house? Does he not eat God's food and drink God's
appear on the stage of this history as generation after drink and breathe God's air and cover himself with
generation passes away . . . .                                 God's garments? Nay more, does he not himself with
   But the same drama in all its acts and scenes is            all his powers belong to God, with his body and soul,
enacted.                                                       with his mind and will, with all he is and possesses?
   And through it all shines the long patience of God.         And does he not move about in God's creation as if he
   Wonderful longsuff ering of Jehovah !                       were sole and rightful lord of all? Does he not act as
                                                               if God were not, and does he not say in his heart that
                                                               there is no God? Does he not hold the truth in  un-
                                                               1ighteousness  and, knowing God, refuse to thank and
                                                               glorify Him as God. Does He not exalt himself against
   Longsuffering  ; do not say : forbearance !                 the Holy One and does he not persecute His children
   These are not the same and may `not be confused,            in the world and kill them a11 the day long? And did
although they have an element in common.                       he not even crucify the Lord of glory? . . . .
   They are alike in this, that both are a revelation of           And does he, nevertheless, not serve God's purpose
the long-passion of God, of the fact, that as far as His until God's own appointed time?
revelation in history is concerned, the Most High need             And does not God assume the attitude over against
not hasten ; He can  afford  to wait till the appointed end    him: that he will bear with him, until the measure of
is attained.                                                   iniquity is filled, and no longer?
    They differ in this, that longsuffering is the long            God's long passion of wrath !
passion of love, forbearance is the long passion of                His forbearance of the ungodly !
wrath  ; longstiering is God's long passion  pver His              Rut different it is with respect to His long passion
people, whom He loved from before the foundation of            over His people.
the world, whom He ordained that they should be made               It is not forbearance, the long passion of wrath;
like unto the image of His Son, whom He forms and              it is longsuffering, the long passion of unchangeable
redeems and sanctifies till they are without spot and          love !
blemish in order that they should declare His -praises ;           .A surgeon is called upon the  performn-an  operation
forbearance is God's long passion over the ungodly,            on his own child, his very flesh and blbood.
whom He hated with sovereign hatred and ordained as             . The condition of the child is such, that although the
vessels of wrath and whom He fits unto destruction,            operation is necessary and the only means whereby its
that His power and wrath and righteousness may be              life may be saved, it is impossible to administer an
revealed in them  ; longsuffering is God's long passion        anaesthetic. In full consciousness and sensibility the
to save, to save all, to save fully ; forbearance is God's     child must endure the agony caused by the surgical
long passion to destroy, to hurl into perdition all that knife. And the child is bound upon the operating table.
exalt themselves against Him and His holy name, to             The father cuts into his own flesh and blood. The child
destroy all, to destroy fully , . . .                          screams, and its screams cut into the father's heart.
    You entertain a stranger in your home.                     The child begs father to stop, implores him to hurt him
    `He moves about freely in your dwelling as if he           no more. And father's heart bleeds with grief. Yet
were the owner of your house. He `helps himself to             he continues. In spite of the awful agony of his child,
your food and drink ; he clothes himself with your             of its cries and prayers, he continues to work over the
garments ; he sleeps in your ,bed. And you charge him son of his love, until the operation is finished . . . .
nothing at all.                                                    Such is longsuffering.
    Yet he assumes the attitude of wanton ingratitude              And such is the longsuffering of the Most High over
over against you, his benefactor. From morning till            His people.
night he acts as if you were not in the house. He neither           His long passion of love, when He operates on
thanks you nor even speaks to you. He goes about by them unto their final perfection.


   When He `casts them into the crucible of suffering             `Until they groaned to Him!
and agony, apparently deaf to their cries.                        Until they let go of their Baalim and Ashteroth and
   Longsuffering!     Do not say: forbearance.                 repented of their sin.
                                                                  Not all, indeed; but the Bochim, the Weepers, the
                                                               remnant according to the cl&ion. They would wee3
                                                               before the Lord in true penitence and implore His
                                                               mercy.  *
                                                                  Then the Lord would repent. Not as if the Lord is
   God loves His people !                                      mutable, but it grieves Him to see His people suffer,
   He loves them with an everlasting love !                    because of His eternal mercy over them.
   Only remember, that the love of God is perfect, in             And He would deliver them.
deepest sense always a love of Self, because He is the            For a time He would send respite.
highest, the only Good, the implication of perfection.
The bond of perfectness with Him is love !                        Until they turned back once more, when again He
                                                               would stretch out His mighty operating hand to cut
   And as a perfect people He ordained His own ! In into the flesh and blood of His son Israel !
sovereign causal love He chose them, perfect, holy,                For God loves His people from before the founda-
without spot and blemish. As such He has them and tion of the world !
beholds them in His eternal counsel. And as such He               Loves them with the love of perfection!
loves them, has His delight in them, seeks them and                He is longsuffering over them !
has fellowship with them, the fellowship of perfect
friendship.
   And Israel was His people.
   And the Church thruout the ages of history is His
people.
   Only, that people, that Church, as it actually and             Sad summary!
historically exists in the world, is not perfect as is the        A historical account, wearying because of the ever
eternal pattern of them in the sovereign counsel of recurring phases of sin and repentance, chastisement
God. Far from that perfection they are by nature.              and deliverance !
For not only are not all Israel that are of Israel and is         And they sinned and followed after  Baa1 and
there an ungodly and reprobate carnal seed with Israel, Ashteroth . . . . and the Lord delivered them into the
with the Church of all times ; but also the spiritual chil-    hand of their enemies . . . . and they groaned and
dren are still far from perfection. And due to this repented of their evil . . . . and the Lord repented
carnal element as well as to the sin of the very elect, and sent judges to deliver His people . . . . and they
they often forsake the Lord  t.hat formed them and             sinned again, and so on and on . . . .
hanker after other gods. An evil disease, the fatal dis-          Will the end never come?
ease of sin and `corruption cleaves to God's people as            Will that people never be perfected?
they exist and become manifest in the world.                       Will they always return to their sinful ways and
   And God loves them.                                         make themselves abominable in the sight of God be-
   And because He loves them and would lead them to cause of their backsliding and idolatry? And if they
the eternal perfection of His tabernacle, that they may will always return to their sinful ways, will not the
be His sons and daughters forever and He may walk Lord finally destroy them? . . . .
among them as their God and bless them, He operates                Oh, but they would, and the Lord would have to
on them.                                                       destroy them, if their salvation depended on them and
   His is the operating hand.                                  their ,walking in the way of the law. For, the law can
   The instruments are the enemies, that spoil them,           never make the comers thereunto perfect. And the
that would surely destroy the Church, were it not that         Bochim, the Weepers among Israel would finally real-
they were but the operating instrument in the hand of ize, that One greater than the law must come, one
Jehovah and must serve His purpose only. And wher- greater than all the judges would have to arise to de-
ever Israel turned, as they bowed before  Baa1 and liver them forever, One that could take all their sins
Ashteroth, the hand of the Lord would be against them upon Himself and bear them away forever! . . . .
for evil. And the people would groan, for the enemy                *4nd He came ! And, for His people, God delivered
WZLS   cruel and would rejoice in causing them to suffer.      Him, even to the death of the cross !
For a long time the Lord would keep silence and refuse             And He was longsuffering over His only begotten
to listen to  their cries. Though He loves His  people Son !
and hates their enemies, yet He would be silent and, in            Till all was finished  !
spite of their cries, continue to chastise them. He was            G l o r i o u s   v i c t o r y !
longsuff ering over them.                                                                                    H. H.


                                                            given. We showed that this order is contrary to Scrip-
              Our Church Order                              ture. St is the will of the Lord that the ministers of
              (T                                            the gospel be dependent on the free gifts of those for
                HE  LESSON OF  HISTORY)                     whose benefit they perform the service. The aforesaid
   in our previous essay we were engaged in an in-          order  ~render  the exercise of free giving among the
vestigation of the history of that action of the Chris-     members of the brotherhood unnecessary, and thus
tian church consisting in its support of the service.       works great harm for the flock. It entangles the min-
During the life-time of the apostles the Christian          isters in the affairs of this life. It favors ease and
churches, so we wrote, were in distinction from the         luxury on the part of the clergy and lures a host of
Christian church (the hierarchy) of the middle ages,        unworthy persons into the service of the church. The
without an independent source of income of their own.       improvement of the life of the clergy on the above
An institution of charity, so we continued, possessing scale, is sure to be attended, such is the lesson of
large estates or a huge sum of money on the revenues history, with a proportional degeneracy in their moral
or interest of which it carries on, has, in distinction     character. Enriched by the fleshly seed of the church,
from organizations supported by free contributions, the cler,gy is tempted to lock arms with this seed, to
an independent source of income. Likewise, an institu- favor, flatter and cajole it, instead of thundering
tion of learning with a million-dollar endowment fund against its worldliness, its vanity and ungodliness.
and a disabled personage living on the interest his            Let me now trace to the end the history of the
capital bears him. As was said, the Christian churches matter in question.         The above-described state of
were at first without such a source of profit or income.    affairs long continued. Even that movement in his-
Whatever money they needed to carry on their work, tory known as the Reformation brought little change.
they received directly from their members. 4s a result There is the case of Queen Elizabeth of England. This
of the aforesaid manner of giving, and as a result of       queen embraced protectantism because  expediancy  so
the circumstance that in the first two-hundred years dictated. She was opposed to the pope because of his
the church was beset by a hostile world that had soon encroachments on her temporal power through his arm, *
grown accustomed to subjecting the confessors of            the clergy. She was therefore  gIad  to throw off his
Christ's name to every kind of injury also that con- yoke. The catholic nobles did not resent her rejection
sisting in the confiscation of property and of whatever of the authority of the pope for they, too, were ready
wealth he who joined himself to a Christian church to dispose of him for similar reasons. The queen made
might possess, these gifts, especially in times of active the acceptance of her religious settlements as easy as
persecution, were not, could not have been copious. possible.          The church in its service, worship and
But in 311 the three emperors of the Roman world,           government was only slightly modified. Her policy
Galarius, Constantine and Licinius, issued an edict of was to modify the service to satisfy the protestants
toleration to Christians "on condition nothing be done yet not enough to provoke the Catholics. She insisted
by them contrary to discipline." In the following year, on uniformity of worship. Her aim was one church,
312, the two emperors, Constantine and Licinius, issued* the mother of protestants and Catholics alike. In ac-
the great edict that insured complete freedom to Chris- cordance herewith, she had parliament pass the Act of
tians. In 323 Constantine became the sole ruler of the Uniformity, an act demanding that all worship be con-
Roman world, as a result of his victory over Licinius.      ducted in agreement with the stipulations of the Re-
The churches were now everywhere free from persecu- vised Prayer Book of `Edward, a book that, even as
tion with Constantine himself, at least nominally so,       revised, retained many Catholic usages and practices
a Christian. Under the patronage of this monarch,           such as prayer for the dead, communion at burials,
and as a result of his legislation, the church came into    anointing and exorism in baptism and anointing of
the possession of great wealth. Under his favor its         the sick. By the supremacy act, passed by parliament
increase was by leaps and bounds; It became the in the same year, the authority of the pope was
owner of enormous treasures in money and gold, and officiahy  rejected in the interest of the authority of the
of many houses and lands. These treasures were in            queen. The official title given her was the supreme
turn converted into real estate so that, as time wore        head of the church of England. In order to avoid a
on, the church came to *own  a tenth part of all  *the       clash with the' protestants this was  later changed to
landed property. From its extensive lands it received Supreme Governor of the church of England. Fact is,
payments from the peasants. Every tenant, holding then, that the Reformation effected no essential change
land of the church, paid to it two tithes. Thus did in church government in England. What occurred is
 the church (the hierarchy) come into possession of that the Pope was replaced by the Queen. It was this
 a huge and independent source of income of its own          failure to bring the church back to the truly Biblical
 and ceased therefore to be dependent on the voluntary position as to its worship and government that gave
 contributions of the Christians. Our appraisal of the       rise to  ,the movement known as Puritanism. In Eng-
 above. order of things, the circumstance from which it land, then, church and state continued united in the
 sprang, its effect upon the cIergy,  has already been person of the temporal ruler, Thus did the hierarchy


                                                                                                                                                        .--
418                                                        `I'HE   S`1',4NUAK.U  UliiAfC&J;fl
l___".l_l_____lllll  .-.-" .._ -.._--.-._ ._ "."" .--.. ".-" -......" .._ -_~-- -" ..-.....-...._ -.-.-" -" ___-.... -~-".           "-.-..-___.
in England become the English or Anglican church.                                                because of their interests. When the peasants revolted
Clergymen  were  obliged to take oath that they  would                                          in the terrible insurrection of 1524-25, the princes
support the new head of the church. The land and                                                united against the revolution. Luther supported them
property of the church automatically went to the crown                                           in language that was coarse and violent. He cut the
and the latter assumed responsibility for the support of                                        Reformation adrift from the failing cause of the
the clergy. But the monastaries were suppressed even                                             pe,asants  and tied it to the chariot wheels of the tri-
by Henry VIII. Most of their lands and property were umphant princes. The following year the princes per-
handed over to court favorites.                                                                 suaded the Deit to agree that each prince should control
       Puritanism had its inception during the reign of the religion of his own state. Whether the prince was
Bloody Mary, so-called because of her persecution of catholic or protestant, this control included the secular-
Protestants. Many Protestants fled to Geneva, Zurich,                                           ization of the monastaries and many other church
and Base1 in Zwitzerland and to other places. The                                               properties. Monastaries and church Iands were lost to
refugees, returning from Geneva, were  filled with ad- the church and became the property of the state. In
miration for the thorough-going Protestantism they France, the number of converts to the Reformation
had encountered in this foreign resort. These refugees                                          ran into the hundreds and thousands but the empires
were people of deep religious earnestness who desired remained Roman Catholic and became the real head
to see the service purged from all the remnants of of the Roman church. It meant that in this country,
Roman superstition, and the church supplied with too, the property of the church went to the government.
earnest, spiritually-minded ministers.                                  They were Some Swiss cantons became protestant and followed
divided into two classes: the moderates and the radi- iirst Zwingli then Calvin. The Scandinavian countries
cals. The former had as their aim the reformation of became protestant. Italy was disunited at the time
the church-state in which the crown should take the                                             of the Reformation. Thus did the Roman church lose
lead.       They were adverse to all separation from its land and the property and the Pope his temporal
this church. The radicals, on the other hand, insisted power.
that the hierarchical yoke should be cast off and a                                                   Let us understand the situation well. In my former
form of government adopted in agreement with Scrip- essay I wrote: "The status in the church he (Con-
ture. This, of course, would mean a break with the                                              stantine) ascribed to himself was that of divinely ap-
king in his capacity of head of the church. Many be- pointed bishop supervising the external affairs of the
lievers did separate, and by so doing acquired the name                                         church and taking a religious oversight over all the
of Separatists or Congregationalists.                                   They were subjects of his realm. ' Eusebius calls him a "universal
fiercely persecuted by the government. But the matter bishop."
to be noticed is that now for the first time appeared a                                               "Thus did Constantine call into being an imperial
number of congregations supporting their respective papacy alongside of a hierarchy that came and still
ministers by free contributions.                                                                comes to a head in the Pope." From the day of Con-
       As to the Netherlands, the shade of Protestantism stantine on to the Reformation the Christian church
that penetrated into this country is known as Re- `was to have and did have two universal fathers, to wit,
formed. This Protestantism was elevated to the posi- the state as it came to a head in the king, and the
tion of a state religion. As in England, so here, the                                           hierarchy as it came to a head in the Pope. And upon
land and property of the hierarchy was turned over to the state-church floor, laid by Constantine, the two --
the Protestant churches. Today the salaries of the aforesaid heads or fathers continually clashed. There
clergymen belonging to the state-church are paid out were frequent encroachments. The one strove to bring
of the treasury of the state. But in 1834 and again in into subjection unto itself the other. Then the one,
1876 large numbers of believers left this church to then the other was in power. But the point that I now
form separate congregations supporting their respec- wish to make is that even after the Reformation the
tive ministers by free gifts.                                                                   above-cited order' continued in several countries and
       Let us now notice the  vicissitutes  of the Roman thus in several divisions of the Christian church. So
hierarchy in the old Roman empire. Germany had it did in England. Queen Elizabeth, as was said, severed
been waiting for a national leader. That leader she the. judicial tie that bound her and her country to the
seemed to find in Luther. His cause was taken up by Pope at Rome, set herself up as bishop over the Chris-
hundreds of thousands who joined in a great religious tian church of her realm alongside of the hierarchy,
reform movement, by multitudes who objected to the now deprived of its head (the Pope) , and subjected this
arbitrary rules of the Roman hierarchy, by the knights decapitated hierarchy to herself. Thus did the Chris-
who wanted more political rights, by the townsmen tian church even after the Reformation continue its
with whose trade the special privileges and laws of career in the aforesaid country under two unIawfu1
the church interfered, by peasants who demanded from yokes or powers, that of the state and that of the hier-
their lords the reform of all abuses, by church men archy, with the latter under the controle  of the former.
who demanded the right to marry, and by princes who                                                   The same order came into being eventually in the
had embraced the Reformation out of conviction or Netherlands. The first church order ruled  that'elders


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and deacons be appointed by the consistory, that min- the hierarchy had already come into being, a finished
isters of the gospel be called by the con&tory in con-                                      product, ready to be laid hold  on and utilized. But
junction with the classis and that the call be submitted                                    ;rhat  Constantine  found:: William created in order to
for approval to the state. The last church order, on                                        make it  possiblt?fonhiuiself to `gain control. over the
the other hand, required that elders and deacons be ap-                                organism of the :h&&Y  in *his. realm.
pointed by the magistrate, that the ministers be  Galled                                       As was said, the properties- and the lands of the
by the magistrates and that the called bind themselves                                      Roman hierarchy were seized by the--Reformed state
to the state by an oath. The Synod of Dordt, 1619,                                     and in part turned over t,o the church. These proper-
produced a Calvinistic Church Order, according to ties were chassified  as monastic, spiritual and ecclesias-
which the calling of the ministers of the gospel had to                                     tical. The monastaries were converted into schools,
be  npproved  by the magistrate.  Thougli the States                                        orphan asylums and hospitals. The proceeds of the
were opposed to this order, they nevertheless expressed church property was used for the maintenance of
a desire that it be introduced. Then on January 27 of church edifices and parsonages, while the salaries of
the year 1651 the "great gathering" elevated the Re- ministers were paid from the profits yielded by the so-
formed church to, the position of State Church, and                                         called spiritual properties. In the protestant Nether-
thus by this act strengthened the ties uniting the                                          lands, then, the order of things peculiar to the Chris-
(Dutch) republic and the church. Great was the in-                                          tian church of the middle ages was completely re-
fluence now exerted by the sovereign government and                                         stored, and, from the point of view of church polity,
the town magistrates upon the government of the                                             the work of the great reformer Calvin undone.
church, upon the calling of ministers, the construction                                        In those countries of Europe where the hierarchy
of public worship and controversies respecting doc- remained Roman, the state as represented by the crown
trine. During the French period the Reformed church continued in control as imperial pope of the church in
automatically passed under the jurisdiction of  Nether-                                     its realm. True, the godless state of the French revolu-
land's new sovereign Napoleon. After Napoleon's fall tion repudiated this office and chose~to be without reli-
the control naturally reverted to the local government gion. It viewed `the churches as religious clubs and
now again supreme and headed by the prince of declared church land national property. It deprived
Orange, the oldest son of William V. However, by the the Pope of his states, carried the Pope himself a pris-
"ground-law" (grondwet) of 1815, the tie between state oner to France and made Rome a republic. The aim
and church was to all practical extent actually severed.                                    of the Jacobin  leaders was not to gain control over the
But the separation was of short duration. With the                                          church but to abolish Christianity. Napoleon, on at-
approval in the year 1816 of the "General Order for                                         taining power, recognized that, a majority of the
the supervisory board of the Reformed church (of the French people were Roman Catholics and that the
Netherlands)  " the church again passed under the juris- church might be used by him. He therefore ascribed
diction of the crown. According to this Order the rule to himself the office the Jacobins  in their godless haste
over the church belongs  .to and is exercised by the                                        had disowned, the office of imperial pope. Thus was
ecclesiastical board. The supreme board is the synod, the Roman church and state once more united, this
a body comprised of persons delegated by the various                                        time in the person of Napoleon. Peace with the Pope at
provincial boards. The next highest ruling body in the Rome was now made. The Pope agreed to the church
church is this provincial board, constituted of the surrendering all confiscated lands not held by the gov-
king's appointees delegated by the classis. The mem- ernment,.-and  Napoleon in turn promised to restore to
 bers of classis are likewise appointees of the king. The the church al1 land in government possession. In his
king also appoints the president and secretary of synod.                                    office of imperial pope, he nominated bishops and arch-
 Members of the provincial board function as presiding bishops but allowed the Pope at Rome' to appoint his
 officers of their respective  classis. It is plain that the nominees. Finally, he agreed to pay the clergy from
 Order here described placed the Reformed church in the state treasury but forbade the publishing of papal
 t.he hands of the king to be twisted and turned by him                                     decrees and the, holding of Frenc`h  synods without his
 at will as to its life and doctrine. For consider that permission. So the Roman church again had two uni-
 these creations of his admit to the office, exercise                                       versal fathers;-but, as can be seen, the actual father of
 church discipline, depose officebearers and cancel privi- the church was now not the Pope but Napoleon. And
 leges of candidates. What we have to do with here is this, though Napoleon himself was an infidel. As can
 a state. of things identical to that encountered in the                                    be expected, Napoleon and the Pope soon quarrelled.
 history of that period of the ,Christian  church begin-                                    The former now annexed the states of the church and
 ning with Constantine. The Reformed synod and classis                                      held the Pope a prisoner; '
 king William converted into hierarchical assemblies                                            After'the fall of Napoleon, the French government
 with  Iegislative  power over the churches  .and  respons-                                 continued in its office of imperial pope for another cen-
`ible in the exercise of this power to himself. The crime                                   tury, and during this time quarrelled  incessently  with
 to which he committed himself is even more grave than the Pope at Rome. Monastaries and nunneries were
 that of Constantine. When the,Iatter  came to ,power,                                       suppressed. by  ,the state and their properties  con-


tiscated.    The climax was reached when the French and preaching as the state bade them, and thus helped
government in the year  1906 voluntarily laid down its to arouse and keep alive that fierce sentiment of war.
office of imperial pope and thus separated itself from            The time will come when the beast will make the
the church. Though in agreement herewith it resolved church, the members of the church, choose between
to cease paying the clergy from its treasury, it ap- life and bearing its (the beast's) mark. And many
propriated all the property of the hierarchy. Thus the will choose the latter that they may live and prosper
Roman hierarchy lost all its land together with the            materially, and thus loose their soul by saving it.
revenues this land yielded, so that from now on the               The state, once more, always tries to bring the
clergy, protestant and catholic alike, had to be sup- church into subjection to itself. This the recent de-
ported by free gifts of the people.                            velopments in Germany again shows. And the worldly
    In 1306, the government of Germany, as repre- church always yields. The anti-Christian power that
sented bjr Francis II, likewise laid down its office of now is and is to come, is and will be a fusion of the
imperial pope and decreed the separation of the State godless state and the worldly church. That this church
and the Roman hierarchy. The old ecclesiastical ter- and this state have separated means nothing. As was
ritories practically ceased to exist in 1503, and were         said, this separation is but outward,  technica and
divided between the secular states.                            formal. In reality the two are united and thus one, -
    In Italy, the Roman hierarchy was overtaken by a one as to aim and principles. And it is this combina-
similar fate. In 1861, Victor Emmanuel established             tion of the godless state and the worldly church that
the kingdom of Italy and included in it the greater part shakes its vile fist in the face of the Almighty and
of the States of the Church. On September, 1870, he            persecutes God's people. During the last world war,
captured Rome and the inhabitants voted for annexa- it were also churches that threatened to tar and feather
tion to Italy. The Pope by the consent of the Italian anyone who dared to expore the truth of the situation
government continued in the absolute possession of the and stand for right principles.
Vatican and the  Lateran.                                         That the state and the hierarchy as officially and
    In fine, in all the countries over which the Christian     technically connected, quarrelled and separated can be
church had spread, the Pope was by decrees stripped of         expected. So united the one stood in the way of the
his political power, and the hierarchy, he headed, re- other, encroached upon the domain of the other. It' is
lieved of its imperial head, the state, and of its proper- the way of men to quarrel when one steps on the other's
ties and land on the large revenues it had lived since toe. Once more and finally, though separated the two
the days of Constantine. From its high position of are essentially united and one.
material independence, it has dropped to a level where
it must be supported by the free gift of its members.                                                        G. M. 0.
Then, too, as was said, it has lost its political power.
But the Roman hierarchy remains, in a certain respect,
a marvelous organization whose arms reach to every
corner of the Christian world.
    Church and state in most countries are now
separate. So governments have decreed. The imperial                            TEACH ME TO OBEY
Pope had passed out of existence except in the Nether-
lands and-in the Britsh Isles. But it may be ,questioned              What though the taskThou hast for me,
whether the separation is little more than formal or                  Tedious, and long, and hard may be,
technical. In Scripture government appears as an anti-                Speak to my soul that I may see,
Christian power, as a hideous beast bent on prey and                      And teach me to obey.
setting its mouth against Heaven. And especially in
times of national crises, this power insists that the                 Thy will, 0 God, not mine, not mine !
church swing itself in line with it and be its servant.               Nothing have I that is not Thine,
And the lesson of history is that the church always                   So unto me the work assign,
yields ; for it has respect to the riches, honor, and glory               And teach me to obey.
dangled before its eye by the beast. The church yielded
to Constantine and in the Netherlands after the Re-                   Lead me, no matter when or where ;
formation to King William ; for this king had enormous                Show me the burden that I must bear;
possessions of land taken from the Roman hierarchy.                   Only my selfish heart prepare-
And the church coveted this income from this land and                     And teach me to obey.
therefore it kept silence when the king laid his yoke
upon it. And here in our own country the church be-                   Keep me, 0 Lord, from self and sin;
came the willing tool of the state during the world                   Help me to obey Thy will.
war. There was hardly a church edifice without the                    Pure I would be without, within.
national flag. And ministers in truth were praying                        Oh, teach me to obey.


ander  trouwt. Ook al is eene verlatene vrouw, die door
haren man verlaten is zonder oorznak  van hoererij, nag                Los Angeles, California
zoo onschuldig, zij kan nooit weer trouwen.  Doet  ze             Considering the free publicity Southern California
het  wel,  dan bedrijft zij overspel. De Schrift  be- received in the last few months; it may appear some-
schouwt haar  als aan den eersten man verbonden. Zijn what superfluous to again bring a portion of this sec-
overspel  ma&t  haar niet vrij.                               tion of the country before the attention of our people.
   We moeten  bij dit dies echter  niet uit het oog ver-      No doubt you have also enjoyed the splendid article
liezen, dat de Schrift er aan toevoegt: on.&?rs clun om       prepared by our friend, Rev. G. Vos of Redlands, Calif.
hoemrij.                                                      Through the medium of his writing you have been able
   Zooais we reeds opmerkten, hoererij is geslachts-          to obtain a glimpse of the effect an earthquake has
gemeenschap van een der gehuwde partijen  met een upon cities about 100 miles distant from the point of
vreemde.                                                      origin. It is not our intention to paint a darker picture I
   Dat de Heiland deze beperking hier  invoegt,  wil than the one you have observed, but rather to present
zeker zeggen: indien iemand zijne vrouw verlaat uit to you the experiences of  some  of our people who reside '
oorzake van hoererij en een andere trouwt, die doet in the area effected by the earthquakes of March 10th
geen overspel. De onschuldige  partij  is dus in  zulk and subsequent dates. We trust that when you have
ecn geval tot echtscheiding gerechtigd en ook tot het carefully read the article by Rev. Vos and finished
aangaan  van een nieuw huwelijk. En wat van den perusing this statement, you will have experienced the
man geldt, geldt ongetwijfeld ook van de vrouw. Een emotions of those who have been in the effected area;
andere  verklaring  van de beperking:  antlers   dnn  onz,    you will, perhaps, be able to imagine the scenes as
hoer&j zou ik niet mogelijk achten. De Roomsche               words may describe them (be it inadequately) so that
verklaring, dat hier scheiding van tafel en'bed  geoor-       you will not long for the experience which h,as been the
loofd wordt genoemd op grond van hoererij, g,aat  ook portion of thousands of people in this vicinity.
niet op, eenvoudig omdat de beperking ongetwijfeld               When, upon March lOth, about 5.55 o'clock P. M.
ook behoort bij het : cm em undere trouwt. En indien the entire country was notified by radio and telegram
op grond van hoererij een nieuw huwelijk mag worden           that a very severe earthquake was experienced near
aangegaan,  het aangaan  van zulk een nieuw  huwelijk Los Angeles, our thoughts were not so much concen-
geen overspel genoemd kan worden,  dan is de eenige trated upon the outside world as upon our own immedi-
conclusie,  waartoe we kunnen komen, deze,  dat de ate needs. The entire experience was forced upon us
Schrift metterdaad  hoererij beschouwt als een vernieti-      with dramatic suddenness. We had just seated our-
gins van den ban  de,s huwelijks.                             selves at the supper table, barely had the children fin-
   Dit is dan `ook mijn antwoord op de vraag  van de ished their prayer, when their appeared to be a loud,
Mannenvereeniging van Hudsonville.                            rumbling noise coming from somewhere, apparently
  ' Gaarne verwacht  ik bezwaren tegen mijne  con- from . . . . where? Time lacked to andyse the char-
clusie. Dat spreekt  we1 vanzelf. In de eerste  plaats        acter of the sound for immediately the house com-
staat ons blad altijd open voor fatsoenlijk debat. Maar menced to tremble and sway very noticeably. It's an
in de tweede plaats is de vraag, waarover het gaat ook . earthquake ! It's an earthquake ! In less time than
een zeer gewichtige. Er zijn geen ellendiger kwesties it takes to write this down the swaying had become so
dan echtscheidings kwesties  voor de Kerk van Christus, severe that all thought of eating left-us and everyone__
voor een  (kerkeraad.      Allerlei scheeve verhoudingen made haste to get out of the house - into the open
worden soms in het leven geroepen, waaruit men geen spaces. Even before this was accomplished the doors
uitweg ziet, en dan moet de kerkeraad het zacakje maar        of the china  ciosetv  were forced open, the kitchen cab-
oplossen. Vooral in ons land, met  zijn slappe huwe- inet doors gave way to the swaying and rocking.motion
lijkswetten, is dit het geval. Reden  temeer, om deze         and dishes came tumbling on the floor. The supper
moeilijke vraag  goed  onder de oogen te zien.                waiting on the table swayed and  finaIly with increased
                                                  H. H.       momentum was deposited on the floor. A heavy water
                                                              kettle standing on the gas stove, and a  perculator.
                                                              standing near it, filled with delicious coffee, were
                                                              thrown on the floor by the motion of the earth, now
                                                              swaying, now rocking, in its effect. One moment the
            I want a sober mind,                              direction of the movements were from East to West,
             A self-renouncing will,.                         the next moment they were North and South. It was
            That tramples down and  casts behind              reported that the  first quake  Iasted  only twenty
              The baits of pleasing ill ;                     seconds. Under ordinary circumstances this is but a
            A spirit still prepared,                          brief space of time, but at a time like this it seems so
              And armed with jealous care,                    long, it seems more like twenty minutes ; especially
            Forever standing on its guard,                    when you behold the destruction that is accomplished
              And watching unto prayer.                       in that very brief space of time. In twenty seconds


hundreds of roofs caved in, walls collapsed, streets' the next block with the crowds apparently seeking a
were torn open, bridges thrown out of their founda- way out to get home. All the main traffic arteries in
tions, thousands of people streamed out of their habita- the southern part of the city were carrying an over-
tions looking for a place of refuge, and while looking load of cars. And it seemed that everybody wanted to
for such a place of safety were instantly killed or in- be where the damage had been the worst. But already
jured. According to newspaper reports the total dead the effected area was policed and no one allowed to
was placed at about 150, while the injured were re- enter without very good reasons being advanced. After
ported at well in the thousand mark. Take your watch the first fear had somewhat disappeared, we managed
and let it click off twenty seconds - and you have a te get our coats out of the house and commenced to
fairly good idea how long it must have seemed to those     clean up the broken dishes and the spilled supper. In-
poor people in the midst of all the destruction. In        vestigation throughout the house showed that all the
downtown Los Angeles one department store had over furniture had been moved about four inches from their
twenty show-windows demolished, walls cracked, and positions. We were supposed to go to Bellflower that
in many buildings plaster fell off the walls. In the       evening with our visiting pastor, but in view of cir-
city jail the inmates screamed in fright unable to make cumstances deemed it wise to cancel the meeting. In
an attempt to escape the thing they dreaded -the next      the course of the evening we went to see how our
quake. The city hall with its tower reaching twenty-       church building fared and found a window cracked
five stories toward the sky, swayed like a reed but from top to bottom, the two pieces being supported by
withstood the shaking well. Just about the time we chairs from within. Here we found the family of one
had found safety under the open sky and considered         of our members standing outside and upon hearing
re-entering the house to survey the damage done, an- their experience learned that every dish was broken,
other quake rocked the ground. It was now evident          that with the first quake the lights had been turned off
that we must have been near the center of the shocks.      and the gas turned off also. Proceeding further we
By the center we mean where the quake originates.          came by one whose chimney had collapsed, bricks fall-
And the first motion having been an east to west           ing into the house covering the rug with several inches
motion we estimated that in the vicinity of Huntington     of soot. At another place the chimney had also caved
Park, Compton, Hynes and Bellflower the damage must        in and crashed through the roof into the kitchen. One
have been more severe. Subsequent reports proved that      person there scarcely escaped serious injury in the at-
our estimate was too conservative. Huntington Park tempt to find safety and protection in the open. Else-
(about four miles from here) was severely damaged ;        where the people were found walking around the block
Compton (about ten miles from here) had their busi-        in order to keep warm and to be safe from falling
ness section demolished  ; many buildings in Bellflower    debris.    Everywhere was evidence of the immense
were lying flat on the ground ; the building were Rev. power of the earthquake.
Hoeksema had meetings last October was totally                Under these conditions it is amazing how people
ruined ; Long Beach was also severely hit ; many houses    who otherwise have no thought of God now call on His
being moved off their foundations, one street the          Name for protection and even calmly testify that He
houses being moved east and west while on another          will care for them; and others who present a calloused
street the houses were moved north and south. In .our      front and boldly announce that "if it's their time to die,
section of Los Angeles practically everybody was now they'll die," adding thereto,, "for we're ready."  ^'
standing outside discussing the damage done in their           On the other hand, you hear people speak in a vein
homes, and afraid to enter them for fear of the next       which at once indicates they are totally ignorant of the
quake.    Meanwhile fire broke out in the industrial       fact that it is God who makes the mountains quake and
section in four or five different places. Fire trucks earth's foundations shake. Amidst all this it was com-
and ambulances with sirens wide open.could be heard forting to be with those of the household of faith to
in every direction. Meanwhile it was growing dark.         acknowledge with them : "God is our refuge and our
Across the street from our home a grocery store'front strength, a present aid in time of'trouble."  How sweet
window had succumbed under the strain and the stock, to be in the fellowship of those, who, while many are
which had been neatly stacked upon shelves,  wa,s now      frantic with fear, may even now say: "In sweet com-
lying scattered over the floor. A block away from us       munion, Lord with Thee, I constantly abide, my hand
the upper wall of a two-story building had crashed in Thou holdest in Thine own, to keep me near Thy side."
upon the roof of a house. Looking at the ornamental And thus we entered into the night. Between six and
street lights we noticed that hardly a  light was stand- ten o'clock three severe shocks were felt with more to
ing straight and in many places the glass parts of be expected. Not a thought to encourage sleep. To
them lying on the street. In a building about a mile or sleep in the house was not advisable so the next best
two from here a roof had caved in, killing three men. thing was to fix the car with pillows, blankets and over-
Instances could be multiplied. The traffic was dense.      coats and park in the driveway. We were not alone.
Judging by the automobiles on the road one would get       All along the street automobiles were parked in drive-
the impression there had been an important event in        ways, on the lawn, or on empty lots adjoining the  prop-


   erty. By this time a very heavy fog came up from the          friends and associations of long standing. It is griev-
   direction of the ocean, creating an air of mystery, an        ing to behold the tendency to drift away from the truth
   air which seemed to intensify the destruction which           of God's Word, the lack of emphasis given to doctrinal
   had been wrought and the fear which filled the heart of       purity, and the catering to that which is superficial in
   man. How sweet in such an hour is the fellowship              spiritual things.
   with our God, how real then is the presence of the                When we behold the present in the light of the past
   Comforter, the Spirit of God testifying within our            we must conclude that the separation of  1.9212 was
   heart that we are never aIone. Never alone, no matter         founded on  sound  motives, upon honorable principles.
   what the circumstances might be. To realize that we           We  firmly believe that the Lord has given our  church-
   had company; that the angels of heaven were watching          group a tremendous task, an immense responsibility
   over our peopl'e so that none were harmed. How true has been placed upon our shoulders. As He has given
   became the words of the text to which we had listened         us   grace to accept that responsibility so will He give
   just the other Sunday, "Cast all your burdens upon the        us strength and wisdom and all things to carry on the
   Lord, for He careth  for you." .At a time like this we        work, to proclaim His sovereignty in all spheres of
   learn to know that we really have burdens, that we            life. Although we are far removed from most of our
   often attempt to cast them elsewhere or try to solve          sister churches,  neve?theless  we are fighting in a
   them ourselves, whereas we should have brought them common cause. Geographical boundaries may separate
   to the Lord. Guilt takes possession of our heart and          us, but spiritually we are  one.
   we are brought to confess our sins of omission. Amidst            Some time ago we might participate in the dedica-
   physical dangers we have  .great spiritual comfort. We tion of a new church building for the Redlands  con-
   look toward the hills from whence  cometh  our aid ; to       gregation. It was a pleasure to behold so large a gath-
   Him whom heaven and earth has.made. How insigni- ering of believers, ready, willing, and eager to fight for
   ficant we feel compared to the spacious heavens  - as         the cause of truth. In Redlands  our churches have in-
   a speck of dust; in the sight of God as nothing in our-       deed a stronghold, a fort, a place of defense and a
   selves; and yet, in the still of the night we were com-       center of offence,  a place of refuge, where nearly three
   forted when within our hearts me might  excIaim:              hundred souls are being instructed in the Reformed
   "From out the depths, 0 Lord, I cry to Thee; Lord,            truth. Compared with Redlands, Los Angeles is but
   hear my prayer, to my voice attentive be, and my sup- an outpost situated a little beyond the camp where you
   plication hear." Song,s  in the night ! Even though the find the sentries walking the beat. The army has not
   earth trembled and shook we felt safe. Safe in the yet advanced upon this city, the sentries have not been
   Father's care.  What a blessing to experience the             relieved.    The reason is: they are waiting for re-
   tender love the Father has for all His children dear.         inforcement. Los Angeles needs a general, or to use
   When we met for worship the following Lord's Day              a more fitting term, Los Angeles needs a shepherd.
   there seemed to be a new and stronger bond of fellow-            A shepherd to guide the flock, to' show them the
   ship, of one-ness, of spiritual freshness which per-          advantages of their own pasture, to teach them that,
   meated the services. It appeared clearer than before          although the neighbor's pasture may look more at-
   that under the guidance of Jehovah, this small group          tractive, have more appeal, the food at home is richer;
* had been brought together, had united under one                it is better for them  not only for the present, but
   banner, had pledged their allegiance to the "faith of especially for the future.                             ~.  ~-.  _
   our fathers." That und.er  His care they had assembled           Our p&$le  are hoping and praying that the way
   as a branch of His church to proclaim the mercies of          may be opened that they may obtain a shepherd to
   God. Friends, we felt that the  catastrophy  of the           lead them into the way of truth. Our people are con-
   earthquake had knit us more closely in bonds of               vinced that with good leadership consistently applied
   spiritual unity. And as we look back over the months          and with the help of God, many that are weak may be
   in which we have existed as congregation, we thank            revived, many that are now slumbering may be
   God that back in 1924 a movement took place which awakened, to impress upon the thoughtless that God is
   brought about a distinct line of demarkation.                 God, always the same, as He was yesterday so He is
      On the other hand, we deeply regret that it became         today; as He is today so He will be to all eternity.
   imperative to sever our connection with the Mother            What a glorious task; there are many difficulties `tis
   church ; for we love the church in which we have              true ; but the difficulties make it more glorious. As
   grown up. But even the things we love and cherish brethren and sisters of one spiritual family we ask
   must give way when they lead us away from the truth that you remember the work in Los Angeles. Re-
   of God's Word. Love for the truth, love for the pre-          member them in your prayers  ; remember their small
   servation of the "faith of our fathers, holy faith," the      number; the great task, their spiritual needs, their
   true longing, the desire of our hearts to be "true to         material necessities and the great field which needs
   thee, till death," the desire to bring up the children the    cultivation.
   Lord has given us in the true way of His covenant, all                                                       Corr.
   these surpass in importance the ties which bind us to            326 East 76th St.                (James Zoetewey)


                                                                                           -_  -  - -
- -  -. - -I_ --.. -_ _........__-_ ....--  - -  ^-"..-"  ..-.-....-             _......  - - -   .-..............    __-.I _I_-.-  ..-_  "-    I
                                                                        without the means of man, and did not only assume
              ,Christ, the True Vine                                    the human nature as to the body, but also a  true  human
      I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.              soul, that He might be a real man . . . . The person
      Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh               of the Son is inseparably connected and united with
    away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth               the human nature ; so that there are not two Sons of
    it, that it may bring forth more fruit.                             God nor two persons, but two natures united in one
      Now ye are clean through the word which I have                    single person  ; yet that each nature retained its own dis-
    spoken unto you.
      Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch  carmot  bear            tinct properties. As then the divine nature hath always
    fruit in itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can           remained  untreated  without beginning of days or end
                                                                  6
    ye, except ye abide in me.                                          of life, filling heaven and earth : so also hath the human
       I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth              nature not lost its property, but remained a creature
    in me, and I in him, the same  bringeth  forth much                 having beginning of days, being a definite nature re-
    fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.
       If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch,          taining all the properties of a real body. And tho He
    and is withered; and men gather  them, and cast them                hath by His resurrection given immortality to the same
    into the fire, and they are burned.                                 nevertheless He hath not changed the reality of His
       If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye  shail          human nature ; for as much as our salvation and resur-
    ask what ye will,  and it shall be done unto you.                   rection also depend upon the reality of His body.
                                               John 15:1-7.                 The human nature is a creation of God and is not
    The vine and its branches are but a ,figure of the the very being of God projected in the sense that both
organism of the church. This must be borne in mind the man Jesus and God are one in being, possessing,
or it (this figure) becomes unto us the yawls bearing                   as to number, the same essence and life. As to His
us on into the miry waters of Pantheism. The vine                       human nature, Christ as creature images God, exhibits
urges its own vital saps into the branches. These His glories and is the sublime reflection of God's
same fluids - same not only in kind, but also as to                     eternal self-knowledge.
number - circulate in both the vine and the branch.                         Neither is the new man of the believer a projection
Further, the vine is rooted to the earth and serves as of the Son of God. If so He, too, (the new man), were
the channel.  thru which the vital elements, present in God. Man is a creature. Says the apostle: For we
the earth, are transmitted thru the vine into the are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto
branches. It appears at once that the vine is a most good works, which hath before ordained that we should
apt  figure of  Ch.rist  both in His relation  t.o God                  walk in them. Eph.  2:lO.
and to His body, the church. We at once recognize the                       There is still another point of departure to be
point of convergence. Christ is the true vine - the noticed. The same vital elements - same as to number
head -- in whom, according to the good pleasure of as we11 as to kind - present in the earth, circulate,
the Father, the fulness dwells. The term fulness is the be it  ,in a modified state, both in the vine and the
signification of the aggregate gift of grace of which                   branches. But the fulness to which the believers fell
God is .the creative source and Christ the meritorial, heir, is present in God as a creation, and is not poured
cause, the seat and, so to say, the channel. This ful- out, so to say, in the human nature of Christ and urged
ness is hidden in God and was made to dwell in Christ by Him into His branches, so that, as is the case of the
-...- divine  - by whom in turn it is urged into His natural vine, the same vital forces - same as to num-
branches  - the body of the church. However, we                         ber  - present in God, are present both in Christ and
 must guard, as was salY before, against the error of the believer. Not in this sense is-Christ the seat and
 Pantheism. We do so by carefully noting the point                      channel of the fulness, of the blessings of the king-
of departure between the vine in nature and the true dom - a fulness merited by Him in time and imputed
vine Christ.                                                            to both Him and His branches in the silence of eternity.
     As to the vine in nature, its branch, in a most                        Though life spiritual is derived from God and urged
 literal sense is an outgrowth of the vine. The branch by Christ into the believers, this life is not transferred
 is the vine extended. Christ, is not, as to His human from God to Christ and from Christ to the believers
 nature, God extended ; nor is the believer the projection as water may be transmitted from one vessel to another
 of either the man or the God Jesus. If so, both this                    or as the vital fluid circulating through the vine is
 man and the believer were God.                Christ as to His extracted from the earth and transferred by the vine
 human nature is a creature. To express ourselves in                     to the branches. There are, then, these differences.
 the words of the confession (Artt. 18, 19) God sent                        What now is the important point of convergence?
 into the world at the time appointed by Him, His own, Why is  t,he vine in nature an apt figure of Christ?
 only begotten and eternal Son, who took upon  Him  the                  This has already been pointed out. Said the Lord
 form of a servant, and became like unto man, really                     Christ : "T am the vine and ye are the branches" (John
 assuming the true human nature, with all its infirm- 15:5a). Once more, what is there about the natural
 ities, sin excepted, being conceived in the womb of the vine that renders it a fitting figure of the Christ?
 blessed virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Ghost, Attend to Christ's answer : "As the branch cannot bear


                                     .L  IZ   u    u  1.  i%  I.   Y  A%   I"   Y    Y  Y  A..   .  ..w  Y  -I
                                                                                                      _-.....  -.-"..-. 111"         _- ..__.  - ..--1111 "--  ___  -
                                                                    --."...----..-
____II_... _.-_   _"."   ".-
                                                                               Walking with God, he loved Him, heard His Word
          The Solitary  For God's Sake                                    and spoke it.
                                                                               So he was set apart.
     To be solitary for God's sake demands self-sacrifice.                     He became ever more the solitary for God's sake.
     It is so contrary to man's nature and makeup. We                          And suffered because of it.
are an organism. We are bound together with count-                             Small wonder, that they sought him. They, the
less  bonds. Therefore we crave companionship.                            godless, must have grown tired of his condemnatory
     If then for any cause whatever you are called upon                   speeches and must  have  finally agreed among them-
to stand alone, you will suffer.                                          selves to silence his voice for ever.
     That is true even in a very general sense. It hurts                       But Enoch pleased God. Oh! what a charm,
to be in the minority. For then the mockery and deri- heavenly charm, is there in these few words in Heb.
sion of the multitude is your portion. The minority                       11. "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not
has no right in the world.                                                see death; and was not found, because God had trans-
     To stand alone characterizes the believers.                          lated him: for before his translation he had this testi-
     They certainly are always in the minority.                           mony thcci; he plcnscd  God!"
     They are torn from the organism continually. The                           What a charm!
believer is even called upon in many instances to stand                         Imagine, my dear brother, that heaven smiles upon
alone in a very literal sense.                                            you ! Just fancy : that great God, Who cannot be en-
     You have a few instances of it in Scripture.                         compassed by the heaven of heavens, thinks on you !
     And of all the solitary ones (Jesus excepted)  1 find                      To be well-pleasing to God is the greatest, the only
Enoch the most attractive.                                                boon for poor mortals.                                `
     J'udging  from Heb. 11:5, 6, but still more so from                        What matters is then when the ungodly sinners
Jude 14, 15, he must have been `a terrifying but still                    around us think us odd, condemn us, yea, kill us all the
attractive figure. Terrifying to the wicked but at- day long. "The Lord hath come unto judgment!"
tractive to all God's people.                                                   If only my Maker thinks on me !
     I always imagine him standing in the midst of a                            Here for a while we will taste the bitterness of
mob of the godless, hurling his thunderbolts of                           solitude for His sake and even His presence now in the
prophesy of judgment to come into their midst. With valley is better than the mob. His communion removes
fists upraised he bears testimony of the evil which is the bitterness of the solitary.
so manifestly rampant in his day.                                               But what a charm! He is pleased with us!
     Listen to him! I  assure you that he is preaching a                        And the reward is sure. Bye and bye we will
sermon that is hardly attuned to the  ear of those that                   mingle with the multitude that no man can number.
do not love Jehovah. "Behold, the Lord cometh  with                       And all the glorious shining faces are turned toward
ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon                     the t.hrone.
all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them                            Turned towards our God, most blessed for ever!
of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly                                                                                                        G. V.
committed, and of all their hard speeches which un-
godly sinners have spoken against Him."
      You see, the difference between Enoch and so many
 would-tie prophets of our day is: They are concerned                                                       IN MEMORIAM-
 about man --- Enoch- is concerned about God. I know                           On June 1.9,  11133,   it pleased our heavenly Father to take
 that the following expression is not wholly correct, but away from our side our dearly beloved Wife and Mother,
 to illustrate my point very clearly: man is ever pity-                                               MRS. SIETSE DE VRIES,
 ing man but no one pities God !                                          at the age  of GO years.
      Enoch was concerned about God. It moved him to                           We believe she entered the house not made with hands but
 the quick when he heard hard speeches against his                        eternal in the heavens. This is our great and only comfort.
 Father. .And believe me, he reacted. As is plain from
 the above-quoted text. Four times he characterizes his                                                           The Bereaved,
 age as u?&.rlodZy.  And calls down God's judgment upon                                                               .Mr. S. De Vries
 them.                                                                                                                Mrs. J. Vander Laan
      Enoch  wras concerned about God rather than man                                                                 Mr. and Mrs. A. De Vries
                                                                                                                      Mr. and Mrs.  N.  Iieegstra
 because he walked with Him.                                                                                          Mr. and Mrs. C. De Vries
      Now, of course, Adam and Eve and all the old                                                                    Lena De Vries
 patriarchs before the flood walked with God. In the                                                                  Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Pastoor
 days  of  Enos man began to call upon the name of God.                                                               John De Vries
 If then we read: Now Enoch walked with God, it must                                                                  Mr. and Mrs. J. D. De Jong
                                                                                                                      Mr. and Mrs. J. De Vries
 point to the degree of his life with God. Enoch walked                                                               Betty De Vries
 with God more so then any other.                                                                                     Clarence De Vries


fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can     themselves, dwell in Christ the vine? In replying we
ye, except ye abide in Me . . . . He that abideth in          set out by distinguishing between Christ's humanity
Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:          and divinity. Christ is real man and very God. And
for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15 :4, 5).             the fulness to which He fell heir when He entered the
   The branch, then, cannot bear fruit of itself except sanctuary in heaven and took His seat at the Father's
it abide in the vine. The thought conveyed by the             right hand, dwells in both the man and in the very
words of Christ is a matter of common knowledge.              God. How does this fulness dwell in Christ the God?
Life apart from the vine is death to the branch. The We remark in passing that the term fulness is a signi-
connection between the vine and the branch is a living        fication of the sum total of blessings merited by
one. The vine and the branches comprise an organism.          Christ. The term signifies more than the spiritual
   Christ's manner of speech is highly intelligible. quickening of the spiritually dead yet elect sinner., It
The branch bears fruit if it abides in the vine. The is this latter blessing, however, with which we have to
vine, then, in relation to the branch is the seat of life.    do when dealing with the allegory of the vine. We are
The branches live, thrive and bear fruit because the using the term fulness as a signification of this partic-
vine urges its vital saps, extracted from the soil, into ular gift of grace - life spiritual. The question was
its branches. The branch, then, can do nothing of itself.     <asked how this life dwells in Christ the God. There is
In a word, the relation is a vital one. So, too, do the but one answer : also as an idea eternally contemplated ;
believers live, thrive and bear fruit only if they abide and as an eternal deliberation and decision. Herewith
in Christ. The connection between Christ and the be- the question as to whom this life as an eternal concep-
liever is a living one. Life apart from Christ is death. tion was transferred from the `Father to the divine
This, then, is the point of convergence between the           person of Christ has also been answered. Whereas the
natural vine and Christ.                                      Father and the Son are one as to being, this conception
   However, if the new man of the believer is an ex-          is eternally common to both, and cannot, therefore, be
tension of neither God nor Christ and if the spiritual        transmitted from the mind of the Father to that of the
vital powers identifying themselves with the believer's Son for there is but one divine consciousness.
nature are hidden neither in Christ nor in God as a              We have not said enough, however. The fulness
creation, that is, as spiritual substance, transmitted dwells in Christ, the God, not merely as a conception
first in Christ and thereupon by Christ in the believer, and decision but as a conception and a decision which
what may the character of this vital connection be ;          He in the capacity of Mediator may and does, because
how must it be conceived of; how, in other words, is the      of His perfect obedience, lawfully express and realize
believer connected with Christ; how does he (the be- in His assumed human nature and in the spiritually
liever) come into the possession of the fulness dwelling dead yet elect sinner. This fulness, then, dwells. in
in Christ? In replying, let us set out with the assertion Christ, the God, in the first instance, as a right He
that the fulness of life made to dwell in Christ also may excersise.
dwells  - must dwell  - in God. But how? Does it                 However, this fulness dwells in Christ in still an-
dwell in Him as a creation, that is, as a spiritual sub- other sense, namely as a conception reaIized  and ex-
stance? This cannot be. Things do not leave His               pressed in His own human nature. Christ, the God,
being as a substantial product. Though He is omni- entered this nature, quickened and glorified it. He is,
present, creation is an event taking place outside of therefore, according to His assumed nature the temple
Him. Can it be, then, that this fulness dwells in God of God, radiating the glory of the Lord of which the
as spiritual substance one with His being? Indeed whole house is full. Thus the human body and soul of
not. So the Pantheist thinks of things made. This             the person of the Christ was made to share in the glory
fulness dwells in God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit-          merited.
as an idea eternally contemplated ; as an eternal de-            As to the question how this fulness was transmitted
liberation and decision whose expression was merited from Christ the God to the assumed nature, let it be
by the suffering servant of Jehovah - Christ Jesus.           said that strictly speaking such terms as transfusion,
   However, it pleased the Father that in `Christ transmission and transference are out of place here.
should all fulness dwell. Of this fulness Christ was The glory filling the human nature is a divine concep-
made the recipient, the seat, the channel and the dis- tion realized by the spirit in the man Jesus. The glori-
penser. Therefore He is the true vine. Such are His fied body and soul of Christ is an idea in God's mind,
prerogatives in that `He, being in the form of God,           realized by the quickening Spirit who prepared for
thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made Christ His human nature, entered and dwells in it as
Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form its sustainer, as the creative source of its powers and
of  a servant, and was made in the likeness of men ; in       of the glory now dwelling in the exalted Christ.
that He being found in fashion as a man, humbled Him-            Let us now direct our attention to Christ's
self and became obedient unto death, even the death branches - the believers. Here the same questions
of the cross (Phil. 2 3-g).                                   arise, namely, how is the life spiritual which the be-
   Rut how does the life which believers have in liever hath in himself to be accounted for; how is it


                                                                             ~  .e'
imparted? As with Christ's human nature, so with
His body the church, the life in it is a conception pres-                              Ingezonden
ent in God's mind and realized by Christ, Who by `His                                         Decatur,  Mich., May, 1933.
Spirit, enters the spiritually dead yet elect sinner and
dwells in him as the creative source of the life which          Eerwaarde Ds. H. Hoeksema !
He, by His sufferings, merited for His own human                Zou  u zoo vriendelijk  willen zijn om bijgaand
nature and for His branches  - the elect sinner.             schrijven  een plaatsje in de Standard Bearer te  willen
   The statement was made that Christ by His Spirit geven? Bij voorbaat  dankend  voor uwe  welwillend-
entered His own assumed human nature to quicken heid.
and glorify it. So He did. IJowever,  in the sinner the             Christelijke Celery Growers Vereeniging
Spirit performs a task not performed in Christ. In              Daar ondergeteekende voor de laatste  jaren lid is  ge-
both- Christ the man and the church He, the Spirit,          weest van een zoogenaamde neutrale Celery Growers
dwells as the creator of life, yet with this, difference:    vereeniging, heb ik we1 ondervonden, dat wij ons, als
the sinner, being spiritually dead, corrupt and filthy,      Gods kinderen, daar met thuis gevoelen.
he regenerates and cleanses. Not so Christ, to whom             Wij  willen onze  hulp en  kracht- bij God zoeken.
the epitaph dcnd  i-n trespasses and  sin does not apply.    Maar  in de zoogenaamde neutrale vereenigingen, zoekt
Christ knew no sin. He, too, was reborn on the day of        men het bij den mensch.
His quickening and glorification. His regeneration,              Oak zegt men, dat men neutraa1 moet zijn. Ik weet
however, was not the rebirth of a man dead'to things werkeiijk  niet wat neutraal is. Wij kunnen niet neu-
right and ,holy. It was ever His meat and drink to do        traal zijn.    Wij behooren ons als Christen Celery  '
the will of the Father.                                      Growers afzonderlijk te vereenigen om elkanders  be-
    Thus we., have penetrated a little further into the langen  te behartigen. Nu heb ik geen bepaaId  kerkge-
character of that vital connection between Christ, the       nootschap op het oog. Het heeft er niets mee te ma-
vine, and the believers, His branches. What is our ken, tot welk kerkgenootschap wij behooren. Wij moe-
conclusion? None other than this that, though Christ ten als Gods  kinderen  elkanders belangen behartigen.
is the vine and we the branches, the relation which He           Wij  moeten ons niet  ianger  aan het individualisme
sustains to the members of His body is that of creator vastluemmen,  want daar  zchuilt gevaar  achter.                 God
and  creature+,,  I Though being branches of Him, we are wil dat wij onze piichten  oak op sociaal en maatschap-
and remain, creatures created in Christ Jesus. Thus it pelijk terrein vervullen. En dan zijn  wij als  indivi-
appears that the Pantheist would unlawfully be ap-           duen  te zwak om machtig of met eenige kracht op te
pealing to the allegory of the vine in support of his        treden. Alles gaat  zich in den laatsten tijd  vereeni-
philosophy.                                                  gen om kracht te krijgen. En  moeten wij daar dan
    Now let us'again  face the question why Christ in maar geduldig ons bij neerleggen? Wij  moeten ons ook
reIation to the believers calls Himself the vine. The        als Christenen vereenigen, en dan uit liefde elkanders
question has but partially been answered. It was said belangen behartigen.
that the speech of the vine in nature is that the con-           Christen Celery farmers, laten wij ons ook in de
nection between Christ and the members of His body verschillende  celery districten vereenigen, om  zoodoen-
_I the believers - is a vital one. However, whereas de een Christelijke Celery vereeniging in Michigan te
the connection between the first and the third persons vormen. En dat  et- bij ons als celery growers ook wat
of the Trinity and the believers is as vital as that be- meer eensgezindheid mag komen.
tween Christ and the believer, the question will not be          Moge de Heere het in die richting leiden !
suppressed why Christ refrains from associating the
vine with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We never                                                           Wm. Elling
 hear Him say: "I and my Father are the vine." Such              Decatur, Mich., R. 3.
 speech never passed Jesus' lips. To the contrary, He
takes care to inform His hearers that His Father, in
 distinction from Himself, is not the vine but the hus-
 bandman,  who taketh away every branch that beareth             The Sunday School of the Fuller Ave. Protestant
 no fruit that it may bring forth more fruit. Why this Reformed Church wishes to announce that a new
 association of the vine with himself only? There is a pamphlet has been issued entitled "The Gospel" written
 reason for Christ's manner of speech. In presenting by Rev. H. Hoeksema.
 this reason we must set out with attending once more            As the committee is endeavoring to secure as large
 to the vine in nature. Why must the vine in nature a mailing list as possible, we are asking all persons
 and its branches be thought of as comprising an organ-       interested to send in their name and address to the
 ism? Because, the branches and the vine are vitally          Sunday School Mission Publishing Society, 1043 Baxter
 c.onnected.                                                  St., S. E., Grand Rapids, Mich., and this pamphlet and
                                             G. WI. 0.        all future pamphlets issued will be mailed to them.
                    (To be continued)                                                                    The Committee.



                                                                                         "                                   --- 1


