Il.52                                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   -
-I...-.*. . . - __1.__",  " _. "..l-_.l,l""""  ..-___-_  "11~    " ._.- - ___- _"-_ -. ___~ -- _."^ -___ _," ".__ _._--.    ..-       __-- .._..__-.    _- .._......_.  "-
                Other-worldliness and Our                                                           saints of Scripture, the prophets and the apostles.
                                                                                                    From this it follows that Holy Writ is other-worldly.
                                  Earthy Tasks                                                     We ought to know this, and this knowledge should be-
                                                                                                    come to LIS the working principle of all our labors as
         Let me by way of introduction define  terms, shed                                          exegetes, the one point of view from which we look at
some light upon the subject I purpose to treat and raise every text. It is this knowledge that constitutes the
the questions I purpose to answer. In this writing the key that unlocks to us the door of the treasure house
term other-~?oorldliness  is used as the signification of of the Bible. To him who refuses to handle this key,
the Christian's faith, hope and love, of all his hallowed this house remains closed. It is because the premillen-
strivings, dispositions and attitudes.                                                             nialist refuses to  achnowledge  that the Bible is ex-
         Of faith, which is to be defined as the conviction of clusively other-worldly that he is a Pre.
the child of God that the kingdom of God exists and                                                      Let me  now  take hold of my subject. The other-
that he himself, being redeemed by the blood of his worldliness of the believer implies, must imply, that
Saviour, Christ Jesus, is a citizen of this kingdom and t.here is, besides this world, another world to which
with it will appear in glory with Christ in His day.                                               his heart goes out. What is this other world? In
         Of hope, which may be defined as the energy of the                                        brief, Christ, the New Heavens and the New Earth,
regenerated spirit of the child of God according to peopled by a race of men cleansed from all their sins
which he reaches out for the heavenly to be brought                                                by the blood of Christ, a race foreknown by God, pre-
near in the day of Christ and appropriates it as a destinated to be conformed to the image of His Son,
blessed reality that constitutes for him the highest called, justified and glorified, a race, therefore, with
good.                                                                                              whom the tabernacle of God is and eternally will be.
         As to love, it is that holy energy of the spirit of This other-world is in a word all things, the things in
the believer according to which he feels himself united heaven and the things on earth, which God gathers to-
to the heavenly and in it delights.                                                                gether in Christ. First is God, from whom and to
         The believer seeks the heavenly, the things above.                                        whom and unto whom all things are. Next is Christ in
Upon them he sets his affection. He presses toward                                                 whom all the fulness dwells bodily. Third in order is
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in                                               Bis peopIe  whom He purchased with His own precious
Christ Jesus. This is his other-worldliness.                                                       blood and in whom He dwells by His Spirit. Of this
         Can a man be truly other-worldly and at once take people He is the head, and they His body. Fourth in
an interest in the `earthly, establish himself in the                                              order are the angels and  ,tially the redeemed and glori-
earthy, think, will, move, live and work in the earthy? fied creature that in its present state also groaneth, ex-
Besides the heavenly, there is this earthy, a complex pecting and awaiting the manifestation of the sons of
of relations, institutions and human endeavors that God.
belong to the earthy and are earthy. The question is                                                    This oneness, other-world, God eternally possessed
whether a man can be truly other-worldly and at once as a glorious idea, thought-structure. In it He eternally
meddle with the earthy. Is there such a thing as true delights as it exhibits all the glories of His blessed be-
this-earthiness.  This is the question to which an an- ing. Now this oneness, God resolved to call into being
swer wil be given in this writing.                                                                 that He might also possess it as a concrete entity, dis-
    The subject here dealt with is important enough. tinct from His own being. To express it otherwise,
We as Protestant Reformed people lay all stress upon God determined to bring into existence a world that in
the other world. For this we are branded Anabaptists every respect should conform to that glorious  thought-
by our opponents. I want to meet this charge and ex- structure He eternally set before His eye. Consider,
pose it as being thoroughly false. It is for the benefit however, that this ideal is a world redeemed from
of all of us that I do so. Appnrc&ly our position has iniquity, a worid, therefore,. that God also eternally,
something in common  .with the Anabaptistic doctrine-of sees as being  by nature  dead in trespasses and sin (as
World-flight  so that if we know not what this doctrine to its rational constituency), but chosen unto eternal
is, if we are unacquainted with the conception from life in Christ Jesus and thus eternally called, justified
which it springs, if in addition we understand not our and glorified in Him. Salvation as to all its phases is
own position,  vri will continually be tormented by the thus eternally present in the counsel as an idea to be
thought that after all the charge may be true. Now realized in time by the Almighty alone.
this thought and the fear it occasions, totally disquali-                                               It follows, therefore, that this other world, or let us
fies us as students of the Bible. With this fear present say, the chosen ones, must appear in time as a race of
in our souls we begin to distort Scripture, impose upon                                            men that in Adam fails to keep its first estate and
it our preconceived notions of true godliness, all in the                                          thus subjects itself to sin, and consequently to death,
attempt to get away from the other-worldliness of Holy and the curse, giving ear to the words of the devil.
Writ. There is no excuse for the presence of this fear According to the determinate counsel of God, this race
in our hearts. The Lord our God is of necessity ex- appeared. God created man out of the dust of  the,
clusively and absolutely other-worldly. So, too, the earth, and made and formed him after His own image


                                 ,THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           l&3
                                                                              .lll_
and likeness good, righteous., and holy, capable in all temple  is' in process of being build. This then is the
things to will agreeably to the will of God. But the       Heavenly of which the church on earth is the mani-
commandment of life "which he had received, he trans- festation, and the Heavenly includes this manifesta-
gressed ; and by sin separated himself from God, who tion.
was his true life, having corrupted his whole nature ;        Now this Heavenly God loves with all the intensity
whereby he made himself liable to corpora1 and spirit-
ual death." This was man's fault. But the event of of His infinite being. This Heavenly He seeks. It
                                                           means that He is exclusively and absolutely  other-
the fall was nevertheless the issue of an eternal sove- worIdly. If I were to quote all the scriptures that teach
reign decree that together with the entire complex of
divine decrees turns on one grand purpose, to wit, the this, I would be compelled to insert in this writing the
bringing into being of that Heavenly unto His eternal entire content of Holy Writ; for the whole of this con-
                                                           tent actually turns upon the Heavenly. Our fathers
glory. Deny this and you lose God.
   The very fmst revelation of this purpose occurred in had an eye for this. The eighteenth question of the
Paradise. This garden itself was the symbol  ,of the Catechism reads: "From whence knowest thou this, to
                                                           wit, that our Lord Jesus Christ is that Mediator? And
heavenly. To it the spoken Word was added when the
Lord announced that He would set enmity . . . . and the answer: "From the holy gospel, which God himself
thus bring in the heavenly through Christ Jesus.           first revealed in Paradise ; and afterward published by
                                                    Im-
mediately the heavenly appeared in Adam, in Eve, in the patriarchs and prophets, and represented by the
the holy seed that sprang from her, in the altar of sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; and  lastiy
God that this seed continued to build. We see the has fulfilled it by his only. begotten Son." Christ is
heavenly in the bringing of Israel out of the land of the Lord from heaven and as such the Meritor,  founda-
.Egypt,  out of the house of bondage, in the paschal tion, head, the point of convergence, the very life of the
lamb, in Israel's journey through the desert, in the Heavenly. In Him it dwells; from Him it emerges;
holy war waged  by Jehovah through Joshua, in the with Him it is hidden in God; and with Him it willap-
establishing of Israel in the land of Canaan, in pear in glory, so that to say  C?t.&st  is to say the
Jehovah's rest which He with His people entered after izeavenly.  Upon the promise respecting the Heavenly
the land had been cleansed from the wicked, in the all prophesy turns ; and about the promise as now ful-
priest that performed the service and blessed in the filled, about the Heavenly as now existing above, the
name of Jehovah the assembly, in the temple that rose whole of the New Testament Scriptures moves. Now
on the summit of Mount Zion, in Jerusalem the capital Scripture- is the very infallible Word of God and thus
of the kingdom, in the exile, in the  return  of the rem- the glass through which we see in the face of Christ
nant to Canaan, in the rebuilding of the  ternpIe and of the mind and heart of God, the counsels, the glories
Jerusalem's walls. But all this was but shadow. The and the strivings of the Almighty so that if the whole
body is Christ; and He being the Lord from heaven is of Scripture is other-worldly, and it is this, God is
the supreme revelation of the Heavenly. He sitteth other-worldly.
now on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in         How altogether other-worldly God is, how He loved
the heavens ; for He came and by -His own blood en- this other-world, the Heavenly, appears from this that  -
tered in once into the holy place, having obtained He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever be-
eternal redemption. It means that the right of exist- lieveth  in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
ence of this other world, Jerusalem, Zion, the church of Say not that the world loved is humanity head for
God, the Father's house with its many rooms, has been head, for it is not; but say that it is the "sons of
merited. From the point of view of right it exists, as God" by nature dead in sin, but, as reclaimed from
it also eternally existed, in all its heavenly complete- death, believing in Him ; say that it is the creature now
ness. With Christ the chosen ones were set in heaven subject to vanity but waiting for the manifestations of
and blessed with all spiritual blessings. True, because these sons. Say, finally,  that it is the Heavenly that
the purposes of God are immutable, the Heavenly could eternally stands out before God's eye as a grand ideal
be brought in at the beginning of history; long before that as to all its part is gathered together in Christ, as
the sacrifice was brought.. And so it was. From the a world delivered in Him from the bondage of sin and
beginning to the end of the world, Christ gathers,, de- corruption and elevated to the glorious heights of the
fends, and preserves to Himself by His Spirit and          Heavenly. Saying this you at once say that the world
Word, out of the whole human race, a church chosen He loves is an earthy that he called into being and over
to everlasting life. But Zion, Jerusalem, the Heavenly, which He gave Christ to be the head with the express
that in the old dispensation was on earth, is now' in      view to leading it to glory in Him through sin and
heaven as Christ's body upon whom He poured out His,, death and thus conforming it according to the pattern
Spirit. So does the Heavenly now exist  - in heaven. of the eternal ideal, that as a creature redeemed and
And the exalted Christ draws all men (His people)          glorified it might eternally show forth His praises. In
to Himself so that all the rooms of the Father's house loving t&is u;orMt therefore He seeks and ends in self
will be occupied. The places are being prepared. The and not in the creature, Doing the latter  His  love


154                                  TfiE  .sTaNDakr,   .BEARER
-,          -                               -ll-.----.-  --_. "_llll-
wouId  fall short of  1% Self, the Highest Good, and        we are compassed about. All of them were seekers of
thus be vile.                                               this other world.    No trial of cruel  mockings  and
       He so loved the world that He gave His Son, gave     scourgings, no bonds and imprisonment could induce
Him, his blood, His very life, sent Him into the world, them to divert their affections from it. How great the
into hell and death ; and in this death all the billows     Iove that Jerusalem's children bear the heavenly city !
of divine wrath passed over Him. For our transgres- Sitting by the rivers of Babylon they say, "If I forget
sions He was wounded, bruised, oppressed and afflicted,     thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cun-
brought as a lamb to the slaughter. So was His soul ning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave
made an offering for sin. But for this He shall see to the roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem
His seed, and shall prolong His days, and the pleasure above my chief joy." It is their love for. Zion that
of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. So did God give prompts them to pray, "0 daughter of Babylon, who
His Son that the world through Him might be saved. art to be destroyed ; happy shall he be, that rewardeth
How He loves this other world ! How exclusively He thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that
seeks it in all He does appears from a Scripture found taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."
in the prophesy of Isaiah that reads (Isa, 62  :I, 2) :     Possessing the first fruits, they (Jerusalem's children)
"For Zion's sake mill I (the Lord God) not hold my groan within themselves, waiting for the adoption, the
peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,, until the redemption of their bodies. Verily, in Scripture Jeru-
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and  the salem's children (on earth) rise before our eye as being
salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth." Jerusalem,       exclusively other-worldly. So we all should be dis-
Zion, is the nucleus of this other-world, now above. Its    posed. Who will gainsay this. They certainly were
righteousness, salvation, doth not yet appear, that is,     given to us as patterns.
shine forth through the agency of a heavenly form that         However, there is besides the other-world also a.
can be seen and handied. The just men in heaven com- this-world, the earthy, with its complex of legitimate
prise an assembly of spirits to be cIothed  with the body earthy relations, institutions and endeavors. I men-
of,.the  resurrection when Christ appears. Jerusalem's tion the family and the state, earthy institutions, in-
children on earth still bear the image of the earthy and created in the organism of the earthy by the Lord God
possess but a small beginning of the true obedience.        in the beginning. Both therefore are divine. As to
What is more, there are places in the Father's house        the complex of earthy endeavors, it divides into severa
that must still be prepared. But the Lord will not rest departments such as the department of industry, of
until Jerusalem hath form, bright as day with. the comknerce,  of science, of art, and the like. These de-
true beauty of her perfected righteousness and salva- partments in' turn again divide into numerous branches
tion. This is the goal toward which He moves through or trades or tasks. There is then a this-earthy. There
all the history He makes from the beginning to the          is also a this-earthiness that consists in a man's estab-
end of time ; and He does all things. To Zion all things lishing himself in the earthy, in his forming earthy
must work together for good; and this good is Zion's        relations, in his cultivating any one or more of the de-
appearance in glory with Christ-all things: creation,       partments of earthy endeavors, in his allowing earthy
fall, death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things institutions to take on form and substance in him, in
present, things to come, height, depth and every other his holding positions of trust in the state as when he
creature, event or phenomenon. How exclusively He allows himself to be vested with the office of president
seeks Zion. For Zion He gives men, and people that of a village, or of mayor of a town. The question is
she may live (Isa. 43 :4). Over her He will joy with whether other-worldliness goes hand in hand with this-
singing (Zeph. 3:17). How He loves Zion !                   worldliness, whether a man can be heavenly-minded
       Turning to the saints of Scripture, we find that the and at once meddle with the things of this earth, work
same mind was in them, and this of necessity as they a farm, set up a business, hold office in the state, run
were the children of the Most High. We think now a bank, cultivate the sciences, take to himself a wife,
first of Christ. Hear Him pray: "I have glorified thee beget children, rear a family, faithfully and whole-
.on the earth : I have fmished the work which thou heartedly perform the tasks in which he involves him-
gavest me to do. And now, 0 Father, glorify thou me self through his establishing himself in the earthy. In
"with thine own self with the glory which I had with        a word, can a man truly seek, love, set his `affections
thee before the world was." How He for the joy that upon the things above and at once think, will, live,
was set before Him endured the cross, despising the move in the sphere of the earthy. Let me answer the
shame . . . . `All the prophets of Scripture were sim- question in this way: There is a this-earthiness of the
ilarly disposed. By faith Abraham sojourned in the Anabaptist;  there is besides a this-earthiness of
,la.nd of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in the promulgators of common grace ; there is also the
tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him true this-earthiness of Scripture, which, rightly con-
of the same promise: for He looked for a city which         sidered, is sheer other-worldliness. Only with the type
bath foundations, whose buiIder and maker is God. So of this-earthiness last mentioned does other-worldlmess
it is with that entire great cloud of witnesses by which    go hand in hand.


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAB.ER                                           155
                      - ._-...., ~.        -_l                           -            ---.                -
   Let us delineate on this matters. The Anabaptist from his iniquity. The Anabaptist, in agreement with
maintains that the earthy  - the family, the state, in-- his conception, teaches thatnature (man) is not healed,
dustry, commerce, art, science - is in and by itself saved, but destroyed in  ,the sense of annihilated. and
sin and thus constitutes the ethical opposite of the that the new creature is, as to substance, a new crea-
heavenly, of grace. Its contrast (anthithesis) is be- tion. There are then most essential points of difference
tween the earthy and grace. Now it follows from the between the doctrine I here champion and the Ana-
very nature of matters that on the basis of this con- baptist heresy. We are no Anabaptists. Nor are we
ception the earthy must be shunned ; for if it be in        a people with Anabnptistic leanings. Every one of the
and by itself sin, he who establishes himself in it,        above tenets are excerpts taken literally from our Con-
thinks, wills, moves, lives and works in sin, chooses       fession.
sin as his sphere of action and thus walks in darkness.        In opposition to the doctrine that comes to the sur-
   Let us appraise this view. Doing so, we set out face in these tenets, the promulgators of common grace
with affirming that the above conception of the earthy maintain that there operates in unregenerated man
is  thoroughIy  false. The earthy by itself is not sin.     (the reprobate) a principle of grace by which sin in
How can it be, if it is God's creature, seen by Him as him .is stemmed and he himself rendered capable of
being very good. If the earthy and sin be identified,       performing works that are truly good in the sight of
the latter is substance and as such a creature of God.      God. Thus common grace makes of children of dark-
So, then, in opposition to the Anabaptist, we maintain ness, of men devoid of the principle of regeneration,
that sin and the earthy is a false antithesis, contrast,    children of light. I will return to this presently.
that thus not the latter but the former const%utes  the'       Man, the human race, is by nature totally depraved,
ethical opposite of the heavenly; that therefore the As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one ;
earthy need, yea, may not be forsaken. Rightly eon-         there is none that understandeth, there is none that
sidered, it cannot be forsaken. One could betake  him- seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way,
self to an uninhabited island, but also there the earthy they are together become unprofitable ; there is none
business of struggling for an existence would be await-     that doeth good, no not one" (Rom. 3  :lO-12). How-
ing him. Anabaptism is a world-view that requires of ever, from the beginning to the end of the world, the
a man that he take his life in his own hands and trans-     Son of God gathers, defends, and preserves to Himself
port himself into eternity.                                 by  HisSpirit  and Word, out of the whole human race,
   The this-earthiness of common grace is as false and a church chosento everlasting life. There is this other-
pernicious as that of  -Anabaptism.  This can best be world, seen on earth from the beginning to the end of
shown by placing it alongside of the right conception time. The citizens of this other-world, Jerusalem's
of Scripture; There is a true this-earthiness. The          children, are also here, so that the world of men `on
tenets upon which it reposes are the following:             this earth divide into two classes, the children of light
  .1. In-the  beginning God created heaven and earth and the children of darkness.
and the fulness thereof including man: The earthy,             Let us now set before our eye the children of dark-
therefore is His exclusive possession. He being its ness together with the earthy in which they establish
Maker, is cannot by itself be sin.                          themselves. It need not be emphasized that the wicked
   2. The crown of creation is man. He left God's           establish themselves in the earthy. We see it before
hands as a being sinless and pure, capable in all things our eyes. The child of darkness sets up a home, takes
to will, agreeably to the will of God. But, in the words to himself a wife, begets children, rears a family, sets
of our creed, revolting from God by the instigation of up a business, opens a bank, holds office in church and
the devil, and abusing the freedom of his own will, he state, cultivates the sciences and arts. There is no de-
forfeited these excellent gifts ; and on the contrary en- partment of labor where he is not found; no institution
tailed on himself blindness of mind, horrible darkness,     that is not seen to take on form in him. He works his
vanity and perverseness of judgment, became wicked, way into every nook and corner of this complex of
rebellious, and obdurate in heart  &nd will, and impure earthy relations and endeavors. How he schemes, and
in his affections.                                          strives and bends every effort in his vile ambition to
   3. Man after the fall begat children in his own gain the earth; and in this he is altogether successful.
likeness. A corrupt stock produced a corrupt offspring, The earth is his. The resources of the earth are his.
so that there now operates in every man a principle of Power is his. Influence, honor, fame are his. But the
sin by which his whole nature is so corrupted that he sad fact is'that the earthy - the family, the church,
is  wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to the state, industry, science, art, commerce - I say the
all wickedness, except he be regenerated by the Spirit sad fact is that the earthy as it takes on form and
of God. We notice in this connection that sin is not,       substance in him, is 3s debased and vile as he and
as the Anabaptist teaches, substance, one with man's' exhibits all the wanton corruption that is lurking in his
being, but a power operative in the essence of his being, bosom. Mark you, my contention is not that,. let us
so that what has been corrupted is not being as             say, business or science as such is corrupt and must
such but its nature. Man therefore can be redeemed .for this reason be shunned. Besides, business as  @z&z


  156                                 T H E   STA-NDARD  .BEARER

  is without form, is thus an abstraction existing as an              Let us now give a positive definition of the duty of
 idea in your and my mind. What we have to do with the believer in respect to the earthy.
  is business as it takes on substance, flesh and blood,              Shall I say that the objective believers must set
  so to say, in those by whom it is being carried on. What before their eye is the winning of the whole world, the
  I maintain is that business, to confine ourselves to tXs gaining of every department of life, for Christ? But
  department, is what they by whom it is carried on is this what the Lord requires of them? Consider that
  and in whom it takes on form, are.          This holds the gaining of every field of human endeavor for
  true of every institution set by the Lord God in the       Christ means something more than compelling by force
  organism of this earthy, of every relation, of every       the unscrupulous people who cultivate these fields to
  endeavor, of every task, office, trade, position. It fol- curb their' wickedness and swing themselves in line
  lows then that the earthy insofar as the godless think, with the right ethics ; it means to  fill these fields with
  will, live and move in it, is darkness. Here we again      men who as constrained by pure love for Christ think,
  clash with the theory of common grace. According to will and act, out of right principle. How will we go
  the exponents of this theory, the earthy is light even about accomplishing this? Shall we petition the powers
' as it takes on substance in the children of darkness so that be to forcibly remove from these fields all un-
  that the earthy also as cultivated by the wicked forms principled people and place in their room staunch Cal-
 a field where the children of darkness and the children     vinists? Or shall we put our heads together ad as
  of light may meet and lock arms. Astounding! Don't one man request the men of business the world over to
  the exponents of the theory of common grace under-         be truly good or sell out their interests to us and leave
  stand that he who enters this field, sets himself upon the field?0 If we had money enough wherewith to buy
  a slippery place from which he will be cast down into and if they would only sell, at least one great field could
  destruction?  IIe who co-operates with the wicked in be gained. Successful here, we could then try others,
  this field, walks in darkness, establishes himself in as for example the fields of science and of art. These
  corruption, lives, moves, wills and thinks in sin. The     of course are only suggestions. Perhaps somebody else
 earthy - business, science, art, culture, industry, reli- has better ones to ~proffer.  It ought to be plain that
 gion, government  - as it takes on form in the godless such slogans as "alle terreinen des levens voor Chris-
  is mammon, an idol, a hidious beast, a false god.          tus" were coined with a view to tickling the ears of
     Herewith we have brought to the fore the  this-         unthinking idealists.
 earthiness of common grace. It clashes with the other-               Shall I say that it is the duty of believers to estab-
 worldliness of Scripture. This ought to be plain enough. lish themselves in every conceivable department of en-
 The other-worldliness of Scripture spells the worship deavor with a view to monopolizing the whole of life
 of the true God. The this-worldliness of common grace and thus crowding out the ungodly? The question is
 on the other hand spells the worship of mammon. What not any more absurd than the ambition (winning the
 agreement hath mammon with God? None whatsoever.            world for Christ) from which it springs.
                                                                      What may be the duty of the believer in respect to
     Let us also notice in this connection that we have      the earthy? Plainly and simply this: to think, will,
  to do here with another point of difference between desire, live and act out of the principle of regeneration
 the views to whose defence  I arise in this writing and in whatever place of the earthy the Lord stations him
  the Anabaptistic heresy. According to the  Anabap-         in order that the earthy - the earthy task, relation or
  tistic  cofiception,  the earthy as such is vile and must endeavor  - as it takes on form in him may e,xhibit the
  therefore be shunned. According to the view I  here. glories of ,God. This is the same as saying that the be-
  champion, not the earthy as  such,,.,but  the earthy as it liever may not outrun the earthy, which of course he
  takes on form in the godless, is to be avoided. There cannot do, but must subordinate the earthy to the
  is still another  difFerence. The Anabaptist runs away Heavenly and seek in and through the earthy the
  from this world. According to the view, I here present, Heavenly, the kingdom. of God and its righteousness,
  the believer runs for nobody, if he stands in his faith. the other-world.
  What he does is to separate himself from sin and                    We can do one of three things with the earthy. We
  iniquity, turn about and resist the unclean thing to its can cast it from us as a thing by itself vile, repair to a
  face.                                                      lone island and shut ourselves up in a cloister. So
     Let there be no misunderstanding. The view I here does the Anabaptist. We can also place the earthy
  present does not involve the believer in the necessity over against the heavenly and seek it for its own sake.
  of  ridmg in separate streetcars and of working in         Doing so, we make of the earthy an idol, a god,  mam-
  factories owned and operated by Christian people. But mon; and at the footstool of this god we are knelt and
  the view in question does involve the believer in the serve the flesh, set our affections on and seek the
  necessity of refraining from being diversely yoked with things on earth, work for the bread that perished.
  unbelievers, from throwing off the yoke of Christ with              Thirdly, we can also, as was said, subordinate the
  a view to strapping himself down with the yoke of the earthy to the Heavenly and seek in and through the
  wicked.                                                    former the latter. This is true this-earthiness. But it
                                                               2;.


                                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   E E A R E R                                                                                  157
-- -..-..-.-..  ^ ..^-- ^. .._-. "l""--^--^  ..__ ^ ..__ ..-- "--               -..-_--.....  - .-_. ^^_^_^ ^.." _ -__. .._"^.."."  __._ "._^-l..^^ ._...._. -.."^-._- -.l--.-..-- .^.^^.__
is plain that this type of this-earthiness is sheer                                     about time, it seems to me, that our opponents recog-
other-worldliness, a seeking of the things above. If I                                  nize this. If they would do any denouncing, let them
am this-earthy in this sense, the earthy insofar as it denounce their own theory (of common grace) and re-
is occupied by me is a temple of God that radiates the                                  turn to the truth.                         Let them freely admit that the
light of heaven. This is what the house of my earthy theory of common grace is one of the most dangerous
tabernacle should be  - a veritabIe house of God in the and pernicious heresies that was ever hatched out on
midst of this dark and sin-stricken world, a candle-                                    either pagan or Christian soil, that its triumph spells
stick on which we put our light. How well the prophets the disappearance of the confessing church from the
and apostles through whom we received the Word un-                                      face of the earth. It seems to me that it's about time
derstood this!  * .I now quote at random from their                                     that we Protestant Reformed people begin to realize
writings : "Ue are the light of the world. A city that this too. I am afraid that many of us do not realize it.
is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a Common grace is the devil's crowning achievement in
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick:                                the way of lying inventions. It is a theory so horrible
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let that as constrained by love of God and of the brethren
your light so shine before men, that they may see your maintaining it we ought to cry out against it day and
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven                                  night in and out of season and when in the society of
(Matt. 5 :14-16). If ye then be risen with Christ, seek the brethren opposing us cry so loud that either they
those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on confess or flee from our presence. This locking arms
the right hand of God. Set your affections on things                                    with them as if there were no cloud on the horizon,
on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid will not do.                                                             *
with God in Christ (Col. 3:1-3).                                                              The principles I enunciate in this writing bring into
      if we are this-earthy in the true sense, the earthy                               relief, if lived, the contrast, the antithesis. Now to
insofar as we inhabit it  - our tasks, the relations we show yourself up in and through your earthy house of
form, the office with which we may be vested, the field this tabernacle as the spiritual opposite of the un-
of endeavor we occupy, the institution that takes on godly, is to confess Christ's name and -to condemn by
form in us, in a word, our earthy house of this taber- your light the darkness, the foolishness and the vanity
nacle,  - will be seen by men as the spiritual opposite                                 of the world. But the world will not be condemned
of the earthy as inhabited by the children of darkness.                                 without reacting; and its reactions spell persecution
Thus seen, we as the instruments of God bring into                                      for the people of God. To live the principles I enunciate
!*eIief  the contrast (antithesis) between light and dark- in this writing therefore requires a courage and love
ness that must always be there. Consider what its dis- for God that you and I do not of ourselves possess. It
appearance would mean, nothing less than the disap- requires no courage at all on our part to cast from us
pearance from the face of the earth of the confessing the earthy and shut ourselves up in a cloister (Ana-
church. How can the kingdom come with the light of baptismj  or to pat the child of darkness on the back
the believers under a bushel?                                                    .      and tell him what an admirable type of a man he is
      The triumph of the theory of common grace spells                                   (common grace). Either, is the behaviour of a coward.
the destruction of the antithesis; for this theory main- And cowards we all by nature are. And how our hearts
tains that the child of darkness, the man devoid of the go out to the things on this earth! By nature we have
life of regeneration, is a child of light, that the earthy no vision. But if any of us lack wisdom, let us ask of
house he inhabits is a house of God, that therefore the                                 God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbrsideth
child of light may be friends with him and live in his                                  not and it shall be given him (Jas. 1:s).
house. Now facts are stubborn things and do not give                                          Brethren, let us be exclusively other-worldly that
way to theories; and the facts in this case are that the                                when our earthy house (,this earthy insofar as we in-
child of darkness is darkness indeed, that his earthy habit it) of this tabernacle (this earthy as inhabited
house of this tabernacle is a temple of Baal, that when by both the children of the light and the children of
the believer locks arms with him and worships in his                                    darkness) is dissolved, we may have a building of God,
temple, his light is under a bushel, that then the earthy                               an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
also  as inhabited by him exhibits not the light of
heaven but all the corruption that lurks in his flesh,                                                                                                                G. M. 0.
that thus as far as he is concerned the antithesis has
disappeared.
      In conclusion let me ask: Is God exclusively other-
worldly? Should the believer be other-worldly? Can
he be and still attend to his earthy t&asks? Does other-                                                                            NOTICE
worldliness go hand in hand with true this-earthi-                                            A Central Eoard meeting of the Reformed  Free
ness? And the answer: Surely, yes.                                                      Publishing Association will be held January 9, at  7:45
      You see now that our position and the Anabaptistic P. M. to discuss the language question and other im-
heresy have absolutely nothing in common ; and it's portant matters.
                                                                           L


                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                161
-" .--.. ___.---.- -      -      __--                -             _____ _.....___. -.-.-l-_ll.----     _-._____-......^  - -..-,
staan. Er was we1 ontwikkeling bij ons, even zoo goed
als in de Kerken waaraan we mede ons ontstaan te A Catechism On the History Of the
danken hebben. Zal het echter voor ons vrucht dragen                        Protestant Reformed Churches
dan moet een boek, als in dit artikel genoemd werd,
met alleen gelezen, maar ook bestudeerd worden  en
voor ons zelf en voor het geslacht ons toebetrouwd. We                                        PART TWO
zijn er niet klaar mee om straks te zeggen, dat het op-
komend geslacht, dat de jongeren niet veel van de
Waarheid verstaan. De vraag zal zijn of mij hebben                         VII.  j  SYNOD'S  PROOF FOR THE SECOND  POINT
onderwezen, en dat onophoudelijk.
     Hetzelfde  geldt ook met het oog op hen, die buiten                  1. Did the synod of 1924 prove that the theory of
onze kerken staan en met wie we in aanraking komen. the restraint of sin through an operation of the Holy
Een ieder, vooral  als we tijd in overvloed hebben, kan               Spirit is confessionally Reformed?
zijn Iedigen tijd besteden. Zendelingen hebben we niet.                   It referred to two different passages of the  Nether-
Welnu, last ons dan naar onze kracht, gave en tijd ge-                land Confession, which, however, teach something
zamenlijk dezen arbeid verrichten. We .zouden  willen                 radically different from the contents of the "second
aanraden, gelijk we het zelf ook deden, om eerst nog                  point".
eens "Een Kracht Gods tot Zaligheid of Genade Geen                        2. Which are those passages ?
Aanbod"  te lezen en daarna  "Het Evangelie, of De                        The Nether-land Confession, articles 13  and  36.
Jongste Aanval op de Waarheid der Souvereine Ge-                          3. How does article 13 read in full ?
nade," dat loont zeer zeker de moeite.                                    As follows :
     De commissie heeft aan de vereenigingen in  ens                      "We believe that the same God, after he had created
midden bericht gestuurd, dat er een aantal examplaren all things, did not forsake them, or give them up to
ter zijde zijn gelegd, zoodat een ieder die er  belang  in fortune or chance, but that he rules and governs them
stelt een exemplaar kan verkrijgen voor den geringen according to his holy wilI, so that nothing happens in
prijs van vijf en twintig cent. Net boek is  we1 een this world without his appointment; nevertheless, God
dollar waard, doch met het oog op de tijden waarin we neither'is the author of, nor can be charged with the
leven, meende de commissie, dat voor zulk een lagen                   sins which are committed. For, his power and good-
prijs het voor niemand moeilijk zou zijn zich van dit ness are so great and incomprehensible, that he orders
werk  te voorzien. Is dat echter onmogelijk, dan  be-                 and executes his work in the most excellent and just
vest@  ook in deze de uitzondering den regel. Het manner, even then, when devils and wicked men act
adres waaraan het geld. moet  worden  opgezonden is:                  unjustly. And as to what he doth surpassing human
Ds. B. Kok, 1724 Clyde Park Ave., S.W., Grand Rapids, understanding, we will not curiously inquire into,
Mich. Bijdragen van degenen die iets meer kunnen farther than'our capacity will admit of; but with the
geven dan tijf en twintig cents worden  door de com-                  greatest humility and reverence adore the righteous
missie ten zeerste gewaardeerd.                                       judgments of God, which are hid from us, contenting
                                                          w. v.       ourselves that we are disciples of Christ, to learn only
                                                                      those things which he has revealed to us in his Word;
                                                                      without transgressing these limits.          This doctrine
                                                                      affords us unspeakable consolation;since  we are taught.
                                                                      thereby that nothing can befall us by chance, but. by
                          IN MEMORIAM                                 the direction of our most gracious and heavenly Father ;
    Den 27sten  Nov., l.l., behaagde het den Heere door den dood      who watches over us with a paternal care, keeping all
uit ons  midden  weg te nemen, na een Iangdurig en smartelijk         creatures so under his power, that not a hair of our
lijden onzen  gelieSden  Echtgenoot, Vader, Zoon en Broederi          head (for they are all numbered) nor a sparrow can
                        RICHARD DE ZEEUW,                             fall to the ground, without the will of our Father, in
                                                                      whom w.e do entirely trust; being persuaded that he so
in den ouderdom van 35 jarea                                          restrains the devil and all our enemies, that without his
    Zijn heengaan was vrede, en  schoon  ons hart bloedt, geeft
de Heere genade om stil te zijn en in Zijn welbehagen te  be-         will and permission they cannot hurt us. And there-
rusten.                                                               fore we reject that damnable error of the Epicureans,
                                                                      who say that God regards nothing, but leaves all things
                                  Mrs. R. De Zeeuw
                                    En kinderen:                      to chance."
                                 Julia                                    4. Is there any point of doctrine expressed in this
                                  H-Y                                 article to which the Protestant Reformed Churches
                                  Hilda Gerahline                     cannot subscribe ?
                                  Barbara Bernice                         Not at all. On the contrary, while these do and
                                  Benevens  de moeder, drie  broe-
                                    ders en tien zusters  van den     always did emphasize the truth as it is expressed in
                                    overledene.                       art. 13, the Christian Reformed Churches are very


162                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   BE.ARER
---"-                 -..-___l_                                                                     -_                I_.
weak on this point and always accuse those that do soIuteness  of men might be restrained, and all things
maintain it, that they make God the author of sin.              carried on among them with good order and decency.
    5. How, then, is it possible that they refer to this        For this purpose he hath invested the magistrates with
article as proof of the second pomt and with an appeal          the sword for the  punishmen% of evil-doers and for the
to it cast out their-Protestant Reformed brethren?              protection of them that do well. And their office is, not
   `L'his is possible only because in the "second point" only to have regard unto and watch for the welfare of
they so "interpreted" this article that the interpreta- the civil state; but also that they protect the sacred
tion declares something radically different ' from the          ministry  ; and thus may remove and prevent all idol-
article that was supposed to be interpreted.                    atry and false worship; that the kingdom of antichrist
   6. How can you prove that the alleged interpreta- may thus be destroyed and the kingdom of Christ pro-
tion entirely distorts the meaning of the article ?             moted. They must therefore countenance the preach-
   First of all by pointing out that the second point of ing of the Word of the gospel everywhere, that God
1924 and article  13 of the Netherland Confession  deal         may be honored and worshipped by everyone, as he
with two different subjects. The former treats of gen- commands in his Word. Moreover it is the bounden
eral grace, the latter of divine providence.           As is duty bf every one of what state, quality or condition
usually done by the exponents of the theory of common soever  he may be, to subject himself to the magistrates,
grace, synod confused grace and providence. What is to pay tribute, to show due honor and respect to them.,
merely God's omnipresent power it presents as God's and to obey them in all things which are not repugnant
omnipresent grace.                                              to the Word of God; to  suppiieate  for them in their
   7. Have you more evidence that the meaning of prayers, God may rule and guide them' in all their
article 13 was wholly distorted in the second point of ways, and that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life
1924 ?                                                          in all godliness and honesty. Wherefore we detest the
    Yes ; synod speaks of a restraint of  sin through  a,n Anabaptists and other seditious people, and in general
&fluence  ,of the Holy Spid, whereby some good is pre- all those who reject the higher powers and magistrates
served in the natural man, so that he can live a natur- and would subvert justice, introduce community of
ally good life in this world; but the article speaks of goods, and confound that decency and good order,
a restraint of tti &cked (the devil and all our ene- which God hath established among men."
mies)  by  keeping them,  surcder his-power. The differ-           10. What is described in this article?
ence is glaringly evident, so glaringly that it is dif%            The calling of the magistrates according to the
cult to suppose that the committee that composed the Word of God. What we have in this article is, evidently,
second point and the synod that adopted it were the picture of a Christian government, according to the
blinded by so great a stupidity that they could not conception of our fathers. When the government func-
detect it. The restraint of which the second point tions accordingto its calling, it punishes the evil-doers
speaks is a spiritual, internal operation of God in the and protects them that do well; it destroys the king-
heart of the wicked, by virtue of which they somewhat dom of antichrist and promotes the kingdom of Christ
improve their lives ; but the article of the Netherland and it furthers the preaching of the Word, so that God
Confession speaks of an external compulsion, leaving may be worshipped everywhere. And although the
the wicked morally unchanged, but bridling their phrase "and thus may remove and prevent all idolatry
wicked designs and leading them in those channels and false worship" has been amended in a foot-note,
which may serve the purpose of the Almighty.                    rejecting the dominion of the State over the Church,
   8. What especially should have prevented synod yet the article as a whole was never repudiated.
from quoting this article in proof of the statement that           11. Rut is there in this article any proof for the
there is an operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart contention that there is an operation of the Holy Spirit
of the wicked checking the process of sin within him ?          restraining sin in the heart of the natural man ?
   The fact, that article 13 includes the devil. God re-           Not at all. The difference between this article and
strains the devil and all our enemies. By quoting the the second point of 1924 is very lucid. Once more
article in proof of the second point synod  actually            this article speaks of an external restraint upon and
adopted the doctrine that there is an operation of com-         punishment of the wicked, and that not by God, but
mon grace through the Holy Spirit upon the devil,               by the power of the magistrates and of their sword.
whereby he is not as wicked as he might be I                    So little does this part of the Confession speak of a re-
   9. How does article 36 of the Netherland Confes-             straint of sin in the heart by the Holy Spirit, that if
sion read in full?                                              the latter were true the magistrates and the police
   It read as follows:                                          wculd not be necessary for this purpose. It is exactIy
   "We believe that our gracious God, because of the because of the dissoluteness of men, which is not re-
depravity of mankind, hath appointed kings,  i princes strained by any spiritual or moral improvement, that
and magistrates, willing that the world  shotid  be gov- the government must bear the sword.
erned by certain laws and policies (i. e., police or police-       12. But do not the Scriptural passages to which
regulations; French: polices) ; to the end that the  dis-       synod refers prove the truth of the second point 1


                                  THE?  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           163
                                                                                                             ___-____
   Not at all; if synod had taken the trouble to inter- interpretation, while it is in harmony with the text
pret these references, it would undoubtedly have re- itself, is also in accord with the general teaching of
frained from quoting them.                                 the Word of God, that the Word is a savor of death
   13. Which is the  grst passage to which synod unto death for the ungodly and that it hardens men's
r e f e r s ?                                              hearts if by it they are not converted to God.
   Gen. 6:3 : And the Lord said: My Spirit -shall not         18. Which other passages does synod quote in
always strive with man.                                    proof of the second point?
   14. How would synod read this text?                        It refers to five different texts that speak of a
   Synod read this passage as follows: And the Lord "giving over" of the ungodly by an act of God.
said: My Spirit shall not always restrain sin in the          19. Which are these five texts?
heart of man so as to improve him.                            They are the following:
   1.5. Why is this interpretation wholly impossible?         Ps. 81 :ll, 12 : But my people would not hearken to
   Because it would presuppose that until that moment my voice and Israel would none of me. So I gave them
the Spirit had actually restrained the process of sin in up in their own heart's lusts and they walked in their
the heart of the wicked world, while the facts plainly own counsels.
contradict such a view. Wickedness in the predeluvian         Acts 7:42: !I'hen God turned and gave them up to
world had abounded and developed with astounding worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book
rapidity, so that, after sixteen centuries of develop- of the prophets: 0 ye house of Israel, have ye offered
ment, the world was ripe for judgment and its measure to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty
of iniquity was full. It is evident, therefore, that there years in the wilderness ?
had been no checking of the process and progress of           Rom. `1:24: Wherefore God also gave them up to
sin in the world. This leaves only two possibilities:      uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to
either the Spirit of God had attempted to stem the tide dishonour their own bodies between themselves.
of sin, but had utterly failed, which is blasphemy even       Rom. 1:26: For #is cause God gave them up to vile
to think; or there had been no such operation of the       affections ; for even their women did change the natural
Spirit of God upon the heart of man as synod declares use for that which is against nature.
to be taught in this text. The latter is the truth.           Rom. 1:28:'  And even as they did not like to retain
   16. Does not the context also contradict the inter- God-in their knowledge, God gave them over to a repro-
pretation of synod?                                        bate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.
   It does, for, in vs. 5 we read: And God saw that the       20. Do these passages teach what the synod elic-
wickedness of man was great in the earth and that ited from them?
every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was            Even a cursory reading ought to be  sulKci&  to
only evil continually. It is quite impossible that, given convince one that the very opposite from a restraint
an operation of the Holy Spirit upon that heart of man, of sin is taught in all these passages. It must be clear
every imagination arising from it could be only and to all that can read that "to give up" is the very op.
continually evil.                                          opposite from restraint.
   17. What, then, is the meaning of Gen.  6:3 ?              21.  _ But how could synod quote passages that are
   "Strive" in the text has the meaning of striving or so evidently in contradiction with its own declaration
opposing by the Word. It is evident from Scripture in the second point?
that the Holy Spirit had striven with the wicked world        It understands the phrase "God gave them up" or
before the flood through the Word of God by the prei       "He gave them over" in the sense of "ceasing from re-
deluvian patriarchs. Thus we read in Jude vs. 14, 15: straining them any longer.`" Thus synod would read all
And  Enoch  also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these passages as if they merely signified, that where-
these, saying, Behold, the Lord  cometh  with ten thou- as God formerly restrained the mad course of the un-
sands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and godly. He now let them go and allowed them to run
to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their their own way to destruction. In this way they arrive
ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, at the conclusion that, although these passages do not
and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners directly speak of a restraint of sin, they do presuppose
have spoken against. him.                                  such a restraint on the part of God as preceding the
  - From this passage it is evident that the Spirit did moment of the giving up.
strive with the ungodly world, not by an operation of         22. Is this interpretation tenable?
the Holy Spirit upon the hearts of the ungodly, but by        No, for, in the first place it does not allow the full
the Word of the prophets. It is  also plain from this significance to the term "to give up" or "to give over".
text that the ungodly sinners contradicted the Word of The word used in the original in the passages quoted
God and spoke "hard speeches" against it. And thus it by synod is frequently employed in Scripture and
is easily to be understood that over against this striv- always refers to a positive act of delivering up. Thus
ing of the Spirit the world increased in sin. The Word the word is used in all the four gospel narratives to
of God, as always, had a hardening effect. And this denote the act of Pilate whereby he delivered up Jesus


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           164                                            THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                         II_-____ -... --  ---.-._--...-_____"   ._..  -.L___--___..                         _.__.____I__...___...._____  ^ . ..__ - _.........._ ".--_.-- -.--..
           to be crucified, where the word certainly cannot signify                     the very opposite from that which synod attempted to
           the same as "to let go". And in this sense it is used set forth.
     ):    in many other places, while it never has the meaning                            24. Did not synod refer to still another text to
           which the synod would ascribe to it in the passages                          establish the second point?
           quoted.     Hence, the interpretation of synod distorts                         Indeed; it also referred to II Thess.  2:6, 7: And
           the true meaning of Scripture in these passages.                             now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be re-
              23. Is there not another reason why the inter-                            vealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth
           pretation of synod is untenable?                                             already work; only he who now letteth will let, until
                                                                                        he be taken out of the way.
              Yes, the reason namely, that no such restraint of                            25. What is the implied contention of Scripture
           sin can possibly be presupposed as preceding the mo- with respect to this passage from Scripture?
           ment of the. "giving up" in any of the passages quoted.                         That "what withholdeth" is the power of common
           The very opposite is true. In Ps. 81.~11, 12 and Acts                        grace ; and "he who now letteth and will let" is the
           7:62 the reference is to wicked Israel, to whom God                          Holy Spirit. Hence, the conclusion is, that the devel-
           had sent His word by Noses and the prophets, but who                         opment of the power of antichrist to which the text
           had constantly revealed that they would not hearken to refers is restrained by the power of common grace and
           the voice of the Lord. They had not been restrained                          the influence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of sinful
           by an operation of common grace, but, on the contrary,                       men. ,
           they were hardened in sin. Sin had taken its course                              26. What may be said of this interpretation?
           and over against the Word of God had hardened their                              That it is extremely arbitrary and far fetched, to
           hearts. It was then that the Lord turned to give them                        say the least. Certain it is that the text does not
           up to worship all the host of heaven. The giving up,                         speak of common grace as the withholding power, nor
           therefore, is a positive act of God as a punishment for as the Holy Spirit as the One who now letteth and will
           their sin in which they had developed and increased.                    '    let. At the very best the interpretation is a mere con-
                  Still more clearly evident this is in the passages jecture and invention of ingenious minds. Besides, it
           which synod quoted from the first chapter of the epistle presupposes that the Thessalonians had already be-
           to the Romans. From vss. 18-23 the apostle certainly come acquainted with the doctrine of common grace ;
           does not describe a restraining influence of the Holy we conjecture it must also be supposed that the apostle
           Spirit upon the wicked heathen world, whereby the                            had taken pains to instruct them in this wonderful
           heathen had lived a morally good life in this world, but theory. For, he writes to them: And now ye  know
           on the contrary speaks of a manifestation of the wrath                       what withholdeth.
           of God from heaven all through the ages of history,                              27. But is this interpretation not probably cor-
           from the very beginning of the world's sinful course,                        rect ?
           against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,                              On the contrary, this explanation or conjecture is
           who hold the truth in ungodliness. Instead of common probably very incorrect. For, first of all it is very im-
           grace wrath is, therefore, revealed from heaven. And probable that the Thessalonians knew that it was the
           instead of a tolerably good life as a fruit of the opera-                    power of common grace that was withholding-the man
           tion of the Holy Spirit there is found in men a holding of sin. How strange it would be that the apostle should
           of the truth in unrighteousness. They knew God, but presuppose knowledge on the part of the Thessalonians
           they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful.                        of a doctrine of which he himself never writes in his
           -4nd what was God's attitude over against this ungod-                        epistles! In the second place, it is entirely safe to say,
           liness of wicked men? Did He restrain them? Did He                           that, if the apostle had meant to refer to the Holy
           cause a gracious operation of the Holy Spirit to work                        Spirit in this passage, he would have mentioned Him by
           in their hearts, so that they would not corrupt them- name, for he always does. He would certainly not have
           selves ? The very opposite is taught in the passages                         expressed himself so cryptically, that all might have
           which synod quotes. He gave them over. He made                               their guess as to what he really meant. And in the
           them foolish, so that they worshipped men and beast third place, Scripture would not write of the Holy
           and creeping things. And not only did He deliver them Spirit: "until he be taken out of the way." For all
           up to religious folly and darkness, but He also gave                         these reasons the conjecture of synod is very improb-
           them up to moral uncleanness and corruption, to vile able if not quite impossible.
           affections, to a reprobate mind, to do things which are                          28. What is a far more plausible interpretation of
           not convenient.                                                              this text?
                  Except for the fact, then, that the synodical  com-                       That the apostle is referring to a definite power and
           mittee that composed the three points and the synod person, known to the Thessalonians, that in those days
           after them blindly followed Dr. A. Kuyper,  Sr., in the                      stood in the way of the full realization of the  anti-
           use and application he makes of these passages, it may Christian kingdom. We know not what person and
           be considered inexplicable that these passages were at what power the apostle had in mind, neither need we
           all adduced in support of the second point. They teach know. Every attempt to determine this must needs be


                                                  T H E '   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              165
- _l",.."^.-^.                     - - -                 --~-                       _.---.
mere conjecture. Eut this power and person certainly
is a type of all those historical powers and persons and                 De Nederlandsch e Geloofsbeli  jdenis
circumstances that prevent the ultimate manifestation                                           Artikel  27
of the kingdom of antichrist before God's own time.
       29. Did synod offer still more proof from Scrip-                    VAN DE  EENE  HEILIGE   ALGEMEENE   CHRISTE-
ture ?                                                                                         L I J K E   KERR
       No  ; we examined all the evidence synod adduced.                    Wij  gelooven  en belijden eene eenige katholieke of
       80. May it, then, be maintained that synod clearly                 algemeene  gerk, dewelke is eene heilige rergadering
established the second point as being Scriptural and                      der ware Christ-geloovigen,  alle hunne zaligheid  ver-
confessional Reformed  ?                                                  wachtende in Jezus Christus, gewasschen zijnde door
                                                                          zijn  bleed,   geheiligd  en verzegeld door den Heiligen
       On the contrary, every one will have to admit that                 Geest.    Yeze  Clerk  is geweest van den beginne der
it miserably failed in this respect.
                                            *                             wereld af, en zal zijn tot den einde toe; gelijk daaruit
                                                            H. H.         blijkt, dat  Christus  een eeuwige  Ironing is, dewelke
                                                                          zonder onderdanen met zijn kan. En deze heilige  Kerk
                                                                          wordt van God bewaard, of staande gehouden, tegen
                                   -                                      het  woeden  der  geheele  wereld; hoewel zij somwijlen
                                                                          een tijd lang  zeer klein  en als tot met schijnt gekomen
                                                                          te zijn in de oogen der menschen; gelijk zich de Heere
                      I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE                           ' gedurende den gevaarlijken tijd onder dchab zeven dui-
                                                                          zend menschen behouden heeft, die hunne knie&n  voor
Why should I rebel1 when the cross is hard to bear?                       Baal  met gebogen hadden. Ook mede is deze H. Herke
Why repine in sorrow, or tremble with despair?                            niet gelegen, gebonden, of bepaald in een zekere plaats,
Jesus still is with me - His promises are sure,                           of  aan zekere personen, maar zij is verspreid en  ver-
And throughout the ages forever, shall endure.                            strooid door de geheele wereid;  nochtans te zamen ge-
                                                                          voegd en vereenigd zijnde met het hart en wil in cenen
                                                                          zelfden Geest, door de kracht des  geloofs."
When the day is darkest, and trouble-billows roll,                       Wanneer we deze hoogstbelangrijke artikelen van
Sweetly this assurance comes stealing o'er my soul:- onze geloofsbelijdenis bespreken, dan dienen we we1
"I am He that liveth ! Hope on, nor be afraid !                       voor de aandacht te houden, dat wij te doen  hebben
Trust in 1Me for refuge, and be thou not dismayed."                   met eene belijdenis des geloofs. We leggen in dit  ver-
                                                                      band er bizonder nadruk op, niet omdat de andere  ar-
The' He sends me trials, `tis but to make me strong,                  tikelen geen geloofsstukken  zijn, maar omdat wij dit
And the fiery furnace shall echo with my song ;                       artikel in het licht van de geschiedenis, niet zouden
in my weakness He will give strength for ev'ry day,                   kunnen verstaan en vasthouden, indien niet op den
Love, guiding, keeping, sustaining all the way.                       voorgrond stond dat wij te doen  hebben met een ge-
                                                                      loofsstuk der kerk. Wet gaat, in andere woorden, in
                                                                      dit artikel over wat we geloovcn  de Kerk te zijn, en
Some day I shall see Him to know Him as He is ;                       niet over mat we van die kerk zien. Dit is terstond
Some day I shall feel my hand closely held in His ;                   duidelijk, als we even de eerste woorden van dit artikel
Then, with all the loved ones who've journeyed on                     zouden  willen verklaren als doelende op de zichtbare
                  before,                                             kerk, zooals wij die in de historie voor ons zien, met
In His presence I shall rejoice forever more.                         onze natuurlijke oogen. Hoevele kerken b.v. zien wij
                                                                      niet met onze natuurlijke oogen. En tech belijden we
I will never leave thee !                                             in dit artikel : wij gelooven een eenige  ~katholieke  kerk.
Sorrow shall not grieve thee !                                        Immers de  ongeloovige,  die zeker  dit artikel nooit zou
In my arms I'll hold thee and wipe thy tears away ;                   kumnen onderteekenen wijst u juist op de oneenheid,
I will not forsake thee !                                             de strijd  en de verschillen, die de Kerk des Heeren uit-
Foes shall not o'ertake  "thee !                                      een  scheurt.  Verder wordt er beleden, dat die kerk
I, the Lord, will keep thee secure against that day.                  eene  heilige  vergadering is van ware  Christ-geloovi-
                                                                      gen. 0, hoe spottend  en verachtend kan de goddelooze
                                                                      de  &ger leggen op een donkere vlek in de maaltijden
                                                                      der kinderen Gods. En spreekt zelfs de apostel niet
                                                                      van "vlekken in uwe maaltijden.`, Waar blijft dan de
                      I look to Thee in every need,                   heiligheid der Kerke Gods.7  Maar daarom  moeten we
                             And never look in vain ;                 met dit artikel vasthouden daaraan, dat wij te doen
                                                                      hebben met een Kerk, die het  voorwerp  is van het  ge-
                      1 feel Thy strong and tender love,              loof,  en niet van aanschouwen. Immers ook de belij-
                             And all is well again:                   denis  van God DrieBenig,  van Christus en Zijne verzoe-
                      The thought of Thee is mightier far             ning, van den Heiligen Geest en Zijne reinigmaking, is
                      Than sin and pain and sorrow are.               een zaak, niet van aanschouwen, maar van geloof. ZOO-


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                                                                                        flower with the fierce winds. Our life is nothing but a 1
                   M E D I T A T I O N                                                  continual death. The best of it is labor and sorrow.
                                                                                        And there is nothing abiding . . . .
                                                                                           Nothing? . . . .
                                                                                           But! Oh, what a "but"! The mercy of the Lord is
                                Everlasting Mercy                                       everlasting !
                                                                                           No, it is not a matter of experience, the  e&:mity of
                                             But the mercy of the Lord is from ever-
                                       lasting to everlasting upon them that fear       God's mercy, for, how shall our fleeting existence com-
                                       Him.                                             prehend the Eternal ?
                                                                       Ps. 103 :17a.       And yet, again it is experienced, though it is not
                                                                                        perceived by the natural eye, nor tasted by the natural
       Man . . . . . but . . . . God!                                                   heart. It is apprehended by faith !
       How wholly different !                                                              For it is not far above us, outside of us, beyond our
       Our little, fleeting breath of life . . . . abut . . . .                         reach, but with us, upon us, right in the midst of our
God's abiding  eternity,  never begun, never ending, fleeting world !
always perfect !                                                                           The one abiding reality in the midst of all things
       As for man, his days are like the grass ; as a flower transient !
of the field so he flourisheth,  precariously because of its                               The mercy of the Lord upon them that fear Him!
tenderness and because of the fiercely blowing winds                                       From everlasting to everlasting !
. . . . but . . . . the mercy of Jehovah is from ever-
lasting to everlasting!
       As for man, he is like the tender flower, danger-
ously flourishing in the open field, exposed to the rough
wind that blows regardless of the flower's delicateness ;                                  Wondrous, mysterious mercy !
it is soon gone, and the place of it knoweth  it no more;                                  Fpr, upon us it is from everIasting!
when it is gone it is forgotten, is the flower;  and is                                    It reaches out for us, children of time ; it touches
man. For, though he appear to occupy a place ever so                                    us as we are in the midst of the ever changing, yet
large  in the midst of the transient things of time, the                                never changing, scenes of time ; it takes hold of our
gap, that. was expected to be caused by his being re-                                   fleeting existence, permeates it, detekmines  it, controls
moved by the cruel wind of death, is astonishingly                                      it; but itself  is  not of this world, its spring is not
small and it is soon filled in . . . . But . . . . the among us. It is from everlasting.
mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting!                                      It constantly casts its blessed shadow over us, yet
       Marvelous !                                                                      itself far tfanscends  our keenest perception, recedes
       The one is a matter of our experience, of every day, into eternity.
of universal, of everybody's experience, for we all fly                                    Beginning it never had, for it does not belong to
away and we are soon cut off. They rejoice over us,                                     the things created, but to the Creator!                           '
because a man is born into the world . . . . and hardly                                    Mercy is of God !
are the pangs of our birth forgotten when they already                                     It is in Him the eternal will to bless its object, to
mourn over us, because the grave yawns to swallow us remove from the good, the righteous, the perfect all
up ; and all that lies between the pangs of birth and the misery and to fill him with good ; to wipe away from
sorrow of death is one hopeless struggle of the tender his eyes all tears and cause him to sing and to shout

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

with joy; to give unto him heavenly beauty for the               From everlasting !
ashes of sorrow, the oil of joy for mourning, the gar-           No, His mercy is not an afterthought! It did not
ment of praise for the spirit of heaviness and to make have its beginning after we were plunged into the
him taste forever that it is blessed to be  rightequs  and misery of our present death,  - it was before our
holy and to say that God is good, to be like Him !            death. It is not evoked by our moaning and groaning,
   As such it is, it must needs be eternal even as He         - - it anticipates our tears. It is not determined by
is eternal !                                                  the things of this present time,  - it determines them
    From everlasting !                                        . . . . from everlasting . . . .
    Ultimately and absolutely it is the will of God to           It is sovereign, rooted in God only !
bless Himself, a will which is eternally perfect in its          Not conditional it is, not contingent upon anything
realization, for He is the ever and infinitely blessed        we may be or not be, do or not do; it is before all our
God. For, He is  good1 A light and there is no dark- doing and not-doing !
ness in Him. Perfect righteousness and spotless holi-            It is unchangeable, because it is from everlasting,
ness is He. And with Him there are pleasures for- the sole unchangeable reality in the midst of all the
evermore. And He wills eternally to be blessed and re- changing vicissitudes of our transient existence; the
joices in the eternal realization of His infinite blessed- abiding Thing !
ness. And as the living God, the Triune, Father, Son             It is the motive that determined all things that are
and Holy Ghost in the one Being of infinite perfection,       and shall not be, the history of this present time.
lives a divine life of perfect bliss and  infmite joy in         The axis around which all things revolve !
Himself! From everlasting is the will of God to bless            As for man . . . .
its eternal object, Himself! . . . .                             His days are as grass ; as the flower of the  field  so
    Upon us, upon them that fear Him, is His mercy            he flourisheth !
from everlasting !                                               For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the
    For, He willed to have a people that would, in the place thereof shall know it no more . . . .
highest possible sense of the word, be like unto Him-            But . . . . oh, blessed  but!
self, like unto Himself as the reflection is like unto           The mercy of the Lord is not from among these
that which it reflects, in righteousness and holiness heeting  things !
and truth, in knowledge and love and life; a people              It is from everlasting!
that may know Him as they are known, that may dwell              Amazing mercy !
in His tabernacle, that may taste that the Lord is good
and eternally acknowledge His goodness ; that may ex-
,perience His blessedness and rejoice with a joy un-
speakable and full of glory. A people whom He or-
dained to be made like unto His Son. And that people             Constant mercy !
He willed to bless from everlasting, and from everlast-          From everlasting to everlasting!
ing His will to bless them is also realized in His eternal       Surely, in its profoundest sense that means that
counsel. For, whom He did predestinate . . . . them God's mercy is eternal, from eternity to eternity!
He also glorified !                                              But eternity we do not  know;Y:cannot comprehend.
       From everlasting is His mercy upon us !                It is not time. It  ia related to t&&e only as that which
       Upon us, who are in the midst of the suffering of is wholly different from time, ,f?om  all we know and
this present time, whose life is nothing but a con-           see and hear and taste and touch and experience, as
tinual death, who are in darkness because of the pres- different from time as God is different, absolutely dif-
ent night, sojourners in a strange land; whose days ferent from not-God, the Creator from the creature..
are like the grass which today is and tomorrow is cast Strictly speaking we do not understand, we repeat only
into the oven; whose corruptible life is like that of the a mystery when we say: from eternity to eternity.
tender flower dangerously flourishing Where the fierce Eternity we do not experience in time . . . .
winds blow; who cry and lament in our present misery ;           And yet we do !
who groan and moan and wail because of anguish of                Not, indeed, as eternity, but as that which con-
soul and body; who worry and are anxious because of stantly abides, as the immoveable Rock in the midst of
want and poverty; who are afraid of all things, of the swiftly flowing stream !
things above and things below, of heights and depths,            For that reason the original Hebrew literally reads:
of things present and of things to come ; who are             But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon
always overcome with death, oppressed with fear, over- them that fear Him !
whelmed with sorrow; - upon us, reaching out for us,              Eternal mercy we experience, and then by faith
is that mercy, that will to bless, to change our moaning      only, as the only abiding reality in the midst of all
into rejoicing, to wipe away our tears, to deliver us         that passes away, from age  to,age the same! It is the
from all our woe, to make us partakers of the highest word that expresses the unchangeable attitude of God
conceivable bliss in eternal glory . . . .                    toward them that fear Him. It is the blessed word

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

that denotes the motive of all He does in time, for             Will be upon us !
them, to them, in them. For, His mercy is upon them,            Upon them that fear Him !
His will to bless them with heavenly bliss and un-              We, then, will also be, always, be never perishing
speakable joy constantly reaches out for them and holds objects of His never ending mercy !
them. It is upon them, when He sends the only Be-               With His mercy we will abide, abide forever! The
gotten into the world, in the likeness of sinful flesh;      world passeth away and the lust. thereof, the lust of
when He sends Him into our deepest woe ; when He             the eyes and the lust of the flesh and the pride of life,
causes Him to bear our sins on the accursed tree and for these are not the object of the Father's mercy.
makes Him taste our death for us al1 ; when He raises And how could anything abide, which He does not will
Him from the dead and gives Him a name which is              to bless? Love not the world, neither the things that
above all names ; when He sends His Spirit into our are in the world, for if you love the world the love of
hearts, when He has His eternal mercy preached among the Father is not in you, neither is His mercy upon
us, that we might believe, that in the darkness of this      you ! But he that doeth the will of the Father, he
present time our hope and expectation might be in that feareth God, abideth forever, for the mercy of the
Him ; when He calls us out of darkness into His              Lord is upon them that fear Him, and how could any
marvelous light, that we might shew forth His praises perish whom He wills to bless ?
and declare that the Lord is good . . . .                       We shall not die, but live !
    Constant mercy !                                            We shall abide as the objects of His everlasting
    Always upon us !                                         mercy, which is from  everiasting,  and out of the
    Constantly the motive of all He sends us !               mysterious everlasting shall reach out for them that
    The guiding power in our earthly way!                    fear I&n and be upon them to everlasting!
    Yes, His mercy is upon them that fear Him, from             Abundant mercy !
age to age, from day to day, from hour to hour, from            So abundant that the suffering of this present time
moment to moment.        It never leaves us. It never is not worthy to be compared with the glory which His
relinquishes its hold upon us.. Even when the way is mercy shall reveal in them !
dark and steep and rugged, His mercy leads us in the            Joy unspeakable and full of glory !
way. Even when poverty and want causes us to be                 The inheritance incorruptible and undeflable  and
filled with anxiety with regard .to the things of this that never fadeth!
present time ; even when the pain of death causes us            Never ending mercy!
to writhe in agony and when sorrow upon sorrow over-
whelms our soul  ; when our punishment is there every
morning . . . .
    Oh! then it may seem, indeed, as if His mercy wit.h-        To them that fear Him !
drew itself into the mysterious "everlasting" whence            The fear of the Lord is the sole thing that counts  ?
it is!                                                          For His mercy is not upon all. The mercy of the
    But the mercy of the Lord is from age to age upon        Lord is not general. It is very particular. It is upon
them that fear Him !                                         them only that fear His name !
    The sole abiding reality !                                  Not, indeed, as if His mercy were upon them, be-
    Your sorrow shall pass away !                            cause they fear Him, for quite the contrary is true. It
    His mercy never!                                         is not our fear of His name that evokes His mercy,
                                                             but it is His everlasting mercy that is .first and that
                                                             is the everlasting cause that we may fear Him.
                                                                Yet, the truth remains: His mercy is not upon the
                                                             ungodly ; it is confined to them that fear Him ! The
    Never perishing mercy !                                  way is narrow ! It is very narrow! It becomes nar-
    For, even as it is from everlasting, and because of      rower as you go on ! Not one step to the right, or to
that very fact, the mercy of the Lord is also to ever- the left can you make, without forfeiting the taste and
lasting.                                                     the blessed assurance of His mercy ! For it is for
    We look backward, contemplating that mysterious them, that hate sin and eschew it, that love righteous-
eternal reality, mercy, and not being able to express its    ness and pursue it, that God purposes His everlasting
eternity we say: from everlasting it is ; never a begin- mercy. For them, that are, indeed, still beset with sin
ning it had ; in the past it always was.                     and often stumble, but that have a strong and heartfelt
    And looking forward in the future, contemplating desire to be delivered from all iniquity and be pleasing
the transient things of time and, in the midst of them,      to Him, the light of His mercy shineth . . . .
that one abiding reality, mercy, and, still not knowing         The end of the matter is clear; the only end!
how to denote adequately its eternal nature, we say,            Fear the Lord, all ye people !
God says and we repeat it by faith: it is never ending;         And taste His mercy forever!
in the future it always will be.                                                                            H. H.


t

     174                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
     -               -....--          --."-.---.--l- - __ -- ..._" ._---......_  ________ ..___.. - . ..." ..___.__._ _- ..___ --.- _..__.._................I.__"
     eenenmale loochenen, het Supra-lapsarisme sterk  drij-                      vraagt met het vriendelijkste gezicht van de mereld:
     ven, fout vinden met den term Algemeen Aanbod des wat is er van uw dienst? En als men vraagt om corri-
     Evangelies, en geen Zending voorstaan in den gewo-                          gendum, is hij de  vriendelijkheid  en welwillendheid in
     nen zin des woords. Deze worsteling scheurde eene persoon  : "Corrigendum? Zeker ! Heel geen boos op-
     flinke gemeente uiteen (in Grand Rapids) en hier en zet in spel geweest, geloof me! `k Meende `t eerlijk
     daar ontstonden ruim een dozijn kleine kerkjes,  voor-                      en oprecht ! Maar, corrigendum? Gaarne ! Hier hebt
     zien van predikanten opgeleid in eigen Theologisehe                         ge `t! De volle maat hoor! En ik zal er tevens voor
     School. Nog steeds gaat de worsteling voort, hier en zorgen, dat het in de Nederlandsche  bladen  ver-
     daar, onder ons volk.'                                                      schijnt  !"
            "We meenden dit was een getrouwe voorstelling der                          En verbluft door zooveel vriendelijkheid neemt
     betrokken groep. Gegeven zonder boos opzet. Naar men het corrigendum in dank  aan, de deur gaat weer
     onze opvatting der zaak. We hebben - zooals Prof.                           dicht en? . . . .
     Qualben het nog pas opmerkte in zijn `Church History,'                            Als men weer op straat staat en men beziet nog
     zie `Book Review", door onze studie van de groote  reli-                    eens nauwkeurig, wat Dr. Beets ons in de  handen
     gieuse bewegingen geleerd om gepast respect te  kwee- drukte, dan blijkt het letterlijk niets te zijn!
     ken voor de opinies en overtuigingen van anderen. Dat                             Koddig?
     geldt ook br. Hoeksema en de zijnen. Ook al zijn wij                              da, maar als men uitgelachen is, en nog eens over
     het niet eens met hunne  speciale gevoelens. Maar we de zaak nadenkt, dan is het tech . . . . Laat mij dit
     hebben ook geleerd om met broederen die op dezelfde                          woord in de pen houden !
     fondamenten bouwen veel meer  te zien met  waardee-                               Wat zegt Dr. Beets?
     ring op de vele punten waarin we overee?&emmen,  dan                              `t Is een kwestie van opinie ! Naar mijn opinie is
     maar te staren op de enkele  stukken waarin wij ver-                        er %n gemeente uiteen gescheurd door de gemeene
     schillen, en daar gedurig op te harpen alsof de zalig-                      gratie troebelen, naar Ds. Hoeksema's opinie twee flin-
     heid er van afhing. Dat is nu eenmaal een  beginsel                         ke gemeenten en BBn kleine. Naar mijn opinie zijn er
     met ons. Daarin moest ook Ds. H. ens leeren te dra-                         ongeveer  een'  dozijn kerkjes, naar Ds. Hoeksema's
     wn. Trouwens, gelijk we reeds eerder opmerkten,                             opinie zijn er precies achttien, afgedacht van de ge-
     wij houden te veel van hem als persoon  dan dat hij                         meente van  Ds. Danhof in Kalamazoo. Naar mijn
     ons boos kan  maken als editor. Daarom drukken wij                          opinie zijn dat alle kleine kerkjes, naar Ds. Hoeksema's
     hier ook af wat ZEerw. zoo vrij is als voor te steIlen                      opinie niet. Naar mijn opinie staan de Protestantsche
     als een corrigendum van de paragraaf waar hij tegen                         Gereformeerde Kerken geen zending  voor in den ge-
     toornt. Alzoo,  stelt Ds. Hoeksema voor, behoorde het                       wonen zin des woords, naar de opinie van Ds. H. doen
     geluid te hebben."                                                          ze het  we1 . . . .
            Hier volgt dan het slot van ons artikel over dit                           Het is een kwestie van opinie!
     geval. En dan schrijft Dr. Beets:                                                 En tech is dat juist niet het geval!
          "Welnu, hier geven we dus de voile maat aan Ds.                              Er kan geen verschil van opinie bestian  over voor
     Hoeksema.       Zijn bede om corrigendum inwilligend. ieder duidelijke, met cijfers  aan te toonen, feiten.
     Waarom ook niet? Dat we alles wat ons in den mond                                 Beets geeft ons dus niet de volle maat.  Hij geeft
     wordt gelegd niet  beamen weet Ds. Hoeksema  wel.                           ons letterlijk niets.
     Doch  een debat hierover is nutteloos. Ook geen ruimte                            Spreuken  18:17 heeft hier absoluul  niets mee te
     voor.                                                                       maken.
          "Willen  de Nederlandsche bladen dit voorgesteld                             En daarom kan Dr. Beets we1 heel vriendelijk doen,
     corrigendum, deze voorstelling van zaken zooals door erg verdragelijk willen zijn en verdraagzaam  doen,  ons
     Ds. II. H. gegeven, overnemen - gaarne. We kunnen de verzekering geven, dat er geen boos opzet in `t  spel
     daar in elk geval uit leeren hoe Ds. Hoeksema denkt                          was,  toen   hij de feiten zoo scheef voorstelde op de
     over zijn groep en haar prestaties. En het is ens altijd Synode  te Middelburg, - nu hij ook nadat hem de
     een genot gewaar te  worden  hoe eigen groep denkt over feiten duidelijk bekend zijn gemaakt, niet wil  toestem-
     eigen optreden. Reeds de Romeinen  leerden  `Audi men, dat ze alzoo zijn, dat hij abuis had, geloof ik er
     alteram  partem'  : `Hoor ook de andere zijde.' Elk niets meer van !
     onzer zij in zijn eigen gemoed ten volle overtuigd. Wij                           Dit is misschien minder vriendelijk.
     onderwerpen ons beiden zeker  aan Spreuken 18  :17."                              Het is meer waar !

          Aardig gezegd van Dr. Beets, nietwaar?
          Hij dwingt onze bewondering weer af, ook al doet
     hij de dingen  verkeerd. Hoe netjes en vriendelijk weet                                        That Wretched Truant
     hij iemand af te zouten ! Ik heb er bepaald om gela-
     then.  Men komt bij Dr. Beets om een bede om corri-                               Through the window of my study, one Sunday
     gendum, klopt zelfs een beetje hard nan, omdat men                          morning, 1 saw a young man aimlessly walking the
     ietwat uit zijn humeur is. Dr. Beets doet zelf open en                      street, both hands in the pockets of his overcoat, coat-


                                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                         175
                --..._ - .._ ---.-- .._ ^ ..-...... -.-  .._. -..-..........    -.-._. -~-."^-__                      _.. --- _......._  - .__..- ____l____l
collar up, evidently very uncomfortable ; for the                                  First of all it is a great sin!
   weather was chilly and a line drizzle was falling. It                           Sin because of the fact that, whenever anyone stays
   was eleven o'clock. I had conducted the first or Hol-                        away from that particular place where his duty calls
   land servece  and so happened to be in my study during                       him, he refuses to go and to be where God calls him!
   the second morning service, which begihs at ten-thirty.                      lt is, therefore, sin in itself, apart from the question
       That young man was playing truant!                                       where the truant spends his time while he is playing
       He should have been attending the service, listen- truant.
   ing to the preaching of the Word of God. But rather                             But sin, too, because of the places he evidently
   than worship with the people of God he would wander prefers to the things of the kingdom of God.
   miserably and aimlessly about on the street in a cold                           It is bad enough, a manifestation of carnal tenden-
   drizzle !                                                                    cies, when a young  man  ,prefers  to walk in a cold
       `No doubt, he peeked in to know who was preaching                        drizzle, rather than attend the services of the people
   on that particular morning; perhaps he will find out of God on Sunday morning.
   from others what was the text on which the sermon                               But the truant does not always walk in the rain
   was based. If necessary he will inform his parents when he plays truant.
   that he was in church, that so and so conducted the                             He prefers many things to the kingdom of God.
   service, that he preached on such and such a text, but                          Now the ice is just beautiful and the weather favor-
   that the sermon was so dark and deep, that he could able and he prefers to go skating ; now it is too warm
   not understand much of it!                                                   to sit in Church or to attend Catechism and he prefers
       How true, thought I, is that word truant!                                to take a ride; again he knows of a good movie, of a
       For, truant means literally: a wretch, a beggar, a nice program, of a splendid baseball or basketball
   tramp !                                                                      game ; or he reads an interesting novel ; or he hangs
       He is one, who for no valid reason at all stays away                     over a lunch counter . . . .
   from any place where it is his business, his calling to                         A thousand and one excuses he can find why on a
   be. To play truant is to stay away without reason                            particular Sunday he should play the truant, or on a
   from the place of our calling.                                               certain evening he should not attend Catechism or
       Truant is the child that makes his parents believe society.
   that he goes to school but does not. In this sphere                             And every one of these reasons is perfectly carnal.
   however, the evil of truancy is largely overcome, since The truant lives from the principle of the lust of the
   there are truant-officers and laws compelling the chil- flesh. He does not seek the kingdom of God and his
   dren to attend school.                                                       righteousness.    He will not be instructed in the truth
       But  ,the evil of truancy is not eradicated from of the Word of God. He sells his birthright for a mess
   Church-life.                                                                 of pottage. He is a fornicator. In as far as he is a
       On the contrary is but too general.                                      traunt he is closely related to  Esau!
       Truants are young men and young women, the boys                             But truancy is also an evil, a sore evil from the
   and girls (not to speak of adults), that should attend                       viewpoint of its effects.
   the services but are absent for no reason whatsoever.                           Truancy bears fruit!
       Truants are several youths that are supposed to                             Evil fruit!
   attend Catechism and do not. Occasionally they come,                            First of all for the truant.
   especially when they have just been visited by a com-                           For he learns little of the truth if anything. Occa-
   mittee from the Consistory or when the danger                                sionally, as was said, he will attend Catechism. But
   threatens that they will so be visited; but only to stay                     when he does attend, he does not know the lesson. His
   away again as soon as "the danger" is past.                                  stale excuse is usually that he did not know what lesson
       Truants are they that are members of the societies                       he had to learn. Besides, he does not understand what
   that are organized within the bosom of the congrega-                         the instruction is all about, for he lost the connection
   tion, but who hardly ever attend, and who are usually or rather he never had it. Catechetical instruction is
   reported absent when it is their turn to deliver an in- systematic instruction. One lesson is based on another.
   troduction to the Bible discussion, essay or recitation ;                    One cannot fruitfully attend Catechism once in a while.
   snd the Sunday School teachers that never or seldom And the truant blames it to the instruction. It is too
   attend teachers meeting and are careless about teach- deep .for him ! At the same time he found one more
   ing their classes, as well as the children that are en-                      reason why he should play the truant, this time a rea-
   rolled, but attend very irregularly, though there be no son that apparently justifies him to an extent, justifies
   reason why they should not attend every week.                                him, alas ! also in the eyes of some parents !
       Yes, sad to say, there are always a number of                               But there is more.
   truants in practically every sphere of Church-life.                             In a sound Reformed Church the preaching really
                                                                                presupposes sound Catechetical instruction. It is ex-
                                                                                positional and doctrinal preaching, as it should be.
       Truancy is a sore evil!                                                     And the truant, in the same way and for the same


176                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
- - -   ..-.  -  -.--            ----  ..-._  --"  .._.  "._-             .---_.--__ _..__""-               __          --"---___~
reason that he loses hold of instruction in Catechism,
loses all contact with the preaching of the Word of                                              Our Church Order
God.                                                                               THE OFFICE OF MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL
       And again, he does not blame himself. He bhames
the preaching. It is too deep for him. And he puts                              The last article that appeared under the caption
the blame on the preacher. Why cannot he tell some "Our Church Order" was devoted to the "Office of
stories, as other preachers? If only he would be more Ministers of the Gospel.`" That writing of mine turned
interesting, he, the truant would also reveal more in- upon the following three propositions :
terest in the things of the kingdom of God!                                     (1)    The special  o%ce  (the  office of ministers of
       His truancy bears evil fruit for himself.                            the gospel) a divine institution that cannot be ignored
       But also for the body to whidh he belongs, for the with impunity ;
Church, for the Catechism-class, for the society.                               (2) The preaching of the gospel affixed to this
       Many a program of a society the truant spoils, un- office exclusively ;
scrupulously ! He is a member. His name appears on                              (3)    By this office the Word is administered to the
the program. He must deliver an essay. He is absent. church.
The society has nothing else on its program for that                            These propositions have been proven. The proposi-
evening. It depended entirely on the unfaithful truant.                     tion under 2 afforded  me opportunity for raising the
The evening is spoiled.                                                     following questions : (1) Wherein, rightly considered,
       In Catechism the instruction must needs .more or does the preaching of the  gospel;that is, the Ministry
less adapt itself to the needs of the truant, when he                       of the Word consist? In other words, what is true
does attend.                                                               preaching of the gospel? (2) What is the difference
       The Church will lower its standard of preaching between the Ministry of the Word by the special office
if too many of these truant complain that they cannot and such engagements of the common believers as con-
understand it !                                                            sist in their instructing the youth from the Word of
   The truant is the dead fly in the ointment!                             God, in their comforting, admonishing and edifying
   Truancy is a great evil, indeed !                                       one another.
                                                                               The  lirst of these questions has been answered.
                                                                           Ministry of the Word was found to be an engagement
                                                                           that consists in the pastor and teacher, directing
   What to do about it?                                                    Christ's Word to His church.
   Usually very -little is effective against the truant.                       The  pastor  und  teacher.   According to Scripture,
   The Church has no truant-officers, and it cannot put I wrote, the gospel may be preached only by the or-
the truant in confinement.                                                 dained minister of the gospel. So Christ wills. The
   But the Consistories must watch, warn, admonish,                        conclusive proof of this is that He gave not  crEZ but
labor patiently with these truants, for their own sake,                    some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the
for the sake of the rest, for the Church's sake.                           saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying
   And parents must not defend their truant children, of the body of Christ. 1: continued: "The question may
protect them and try to justify them in their truancy.                     still be asked : why did He so will ? The answer is
Rather they must try to be sure, much more sure than                       simple enough: if all were pastors, where would be
they actually are, that their children are where they the flock, the church? In this case there would be no
are expected to be.                                                        church."
   And the Church must not be tempted to cater too                             To tlae church. The word, the gospel, the promise,
much to her truant children.                                               may be preached, administered, directed, given, to the
   For their sake the Church may not be allowed to go                       (true) church only. Upon the church only may the
to ruin!                                                                   blessing be laid. The reason is that the church only
                                                                 H. H.     has ~the promise, the blessing, has Christ. Being His
                                                                           bride, which He purchased by His own precious blood,
                                                                           it is the only assembly He can and will bless and save.
                                                                               Finally, the question was raised: "To which organ-
                                                                           ization, institution or corporate body of men on earth
                                                                           can we point and say: Behold the church, the true
              Discouraged in the work of life,                             manifestation of the body of Christ? The answer
                Disheartened by its load,                                  given : "That institution, organization, of which some
                                                                           are pastors and teachers (and deacons) through which
              Shamed by its failures or its fears,                         Christ as through His organs rules and declares the
                I sink beside the road ; -                                 word of promise in it. It is seen, comes to the fore, as
              But let me only think of Thee,                               the manifestation of the church in heaven, only as
            And then new heart springs up in me.                           often as its members assemble with their office-bearers


                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D B E A R E R                                           177

for public worship, for the praise of God's name. In      and action of the recipients of the publication - the
this assembly and in none other on the face of the        people. The status of the former is that of messenger,
earth may the pastor and teacher engage in the min- ambassador; the status of the latter is that of common
istry of the Word.                                        subject. The action of the former consist in publishing
    I closed with the question: "What now is to our       the decree; that of the latter in receiving and observ-
appraisal the engagement of the common believer?" ing the decree. Now it follows from the nature of  1
The question was left unanswered. It is therefore the matters that these subjects, being filled with regard for
matter to which I now direct attention.                   the king, say to one another, `know the king and his
    The question is whether, with the aggre- decree,' rebuke the obstinate who will not hear and
gate of duties and privileges belonging to the office of teach their children the word of the king. This is the
all believers before our eye, we may say that only he     duty and privilege of these common citizens. But this
vested with the office of Minister of the gospel may action does not raise them to the position of official
and actually does engage in the ministry of the Word.     messengers of the king and thus pass into official pub-
The answer that was given is: we can and must say lishing of the mind ,and will of their sovereign.
this, for so it is. This was shown, so that we are now       So, then, the two words that betoken the difference
ready to consider the question, What is the difference    between the status of the king's messengers and the
between the ministry of the Word by the special office status of the common citizens are the very words
and such engagements of the common believers as con- official messenger or ambassador and common citizen;
sist in their instructing the youth from the Word of and the two words that bring into relief the difference
God (the parent, the Sunday School teacher, the between the engagements of these messengers and the
teacher of the Christian day school}, in their comfort- engagements of the common citizens are the words
ing, admonishing and edifying one another? The an- o.fTicial publishing and unofficial  imtmcting.
swer may be briefly put, thus: The minister of the           This illustration is in the need of little application.
gospel is the ambassador of Christ and as such the        This king is the Lord God. Eternally He  .possessed  a
accredited agent through which He directs His Word decree, a word, by which He resolved to reveal Himself,
to His church. The common believer is not this. His       and which He published by the prophets and the
engagements as prophet and priest are as compared apostles, who spake as they were moved by the Holy
with those of the minister of the gospel are common.      Ghost. He also commanded them to commit His word
   This answer, without some explanation added to it, into writing. The recipients of this word, writing,
will not satisfy, I realize. I have done little more than publication, is the church of God. But only the spirit-
repeat myself. The matter can be made very clear and ual seed in the church have ears to hear unto eternal
the point, driven home most effectively by means of a life. To the others the saying applies : "By hearing ye
simple illustration. Let us set before our eye any shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing ye
region as ruled over by a king or sovereign. The king shall see, and shall not perceive . . . . " The true
by himself has made a certain decision that he passes subjects of the king are the believers, they to whom the
into a law by writing it among the laws of his realm.     word is a savor of life unto life. Being well disposed
His next act is to call a number of persons messengers to their King, they take a profound and abiding in-
&to the subjects of his realm. Unto these he declares terest in His word by which He reveals Himself, His
his decree and bids them publish it into every province glories, His mind and will, His eternal counsels, to His
and to all the people. This is done. The subjects subjects. To this word therefore they feel themselves
receive the decree in writing. Notice their reactions.    attracted. It is their food and drink, a lamp for their
Being well disposed toward the king, they make it a       feet and a light upon their pathway, their compass,
point to thoroughly acquaint themselves with the mind their guide through life, their rock upon which they
and will of the king as expressed in the writing deliv- pray to be set. By the word of promise - the promise
ered them by the messengers or ambassadors of the of redemption  - these subjects live and the precepts
king. They study the writing with great caution, and of the King are written in the tables of their heart.
thus fill themselves with the word of their monarch This word they confess and for it they witness. It
by the written decree. So insistent are they that the means that they confess the name of their King; and
words of the king be honored and obeyed also by the       in this word, as in a glass, they behold with open face
rising generation, that they teach them diligently unto the glory of their Lord, and are changed into the same
their children. Of these words they talk when sitting image from glory to glory even as by the  Spirit of
in their houses, when walking by the way, when lying the Lord. It is to be expected that they say to one
down and when arising. If they see any man obeying another, "Know the Lord," that they teach this word
not the decree, they warn that man and have no com- diligently unto their children, that of this word they
pany with him; and they also admonish one another. talk when sitting in their houses, when walking by the
   Now anybody surely can see the difference between way, when lying down and when rising. If they see
the status and action of the persons sent by the king any man obeying not the word, they warn that man
to publish his decree to all the people and the status and have no company with him. So they do, as a


178                                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
_ .._.._ _ ..^.._.._.  - .._.. ----~.. "._--  ..__._                 --WT...--              i_ll_  -_
people rr;oied by love r'or their Lord. But it must be                     fallible teachers so that, though dead, they still speak
evident to all that this complex of engagements (ar.d                      to us by their word. But it is equally true that in a
there are, of course, more than those I here enumerate)                    narrow and restricted, or, better said, special sense
belonging to the office of all believers does not elevate they functioned only in respect to those groups of be-
to the position of official messenger (ambassador) of lievers of their day to which they directly addressed
the Lord and can never pass into  official  publishing of themselves; that only to these brotherhoods they in a
the word.                                                                  particular, special sense belonged. Let me show this
      The terms that betoken the difference between the by concentrating on `the epistles of Paul. Let us attend
status of the apostles and that of the believers to whom                   first of all to the first epistle to the Corinthians. In this
the gospel is directed are the te:ms  official messenger writing the apostle speaks directly and in a particular
and common  believer;  and the terms that betoken the special sense not to Christian churches of the nine-
difference between the  engagements of the apostles and teenth century located, let us say, in the city of Grand
those of the common  believers  are the terms  ofic;at Rapids, Mich., but to a Christian brotherhood found
infallible publishing and xnoficiul fallible instructing, at  Co&tlt. This appears from the introductory sec-
udmonishing,  etc.                                                         tion that reads: "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus
      Nobody, I feel certain, will have fault to find with Christ through the will of God . . . unto the church
the distinctions I here draw. Anabaptists and Quakers of God which is at  Corinth." Had this letter in a
alike are perhaps as set as any of us in the conviction special sense been written for, let us say, the Protes-
that the apostles are to be set off from the class  com- tant Reformed church at Byron Center, Mich., its in-
mon believer as being ambassadors of Christ through troductory section would have been made to read:
whom He published His ,.word  unto the church. But "Paul an apqstle . . . unto the church of God which is
what these people deny is that in addition to the  uffice                  at Byron Center."
of apostles, Christ set still another office in the organ-                        That the epistle under consideration was written in
ism of His church - the office of pastor and teacher, a specific sense only for the Corinthians is further
of Minister of the gospel - to which He affixed the                        evident from its entire content. Chapter 5:1-5 reads:
preaching of the Word; that those vested with this "It is reported commonly that there is fornication
office are, as well as were the apostles, sent ones  (ge-                  among you, and such fornicatipn  as is not so much as
zondenen), ambassadors of Christ, whose task is to named among the,  gentiles, that one should have his
publish and explain the word, direct and apply it to                       father's wife. And are ye puffed up, and have not
the flock as existing needs require and to place the rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might
flock under the Word's yoke. According to Quakerism be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent
and kindred isms, the only special and official pastors in the body, but present in spirit, have judged already,
and teachers, publishers and preachers of the Word, as though I were present, concerning him that hath
ambassadors of Christ, the church has, are the                             done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
prophets  atid  the apostles. By the word (our  Scrip-                     when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the
Lures)  that God spake through them, they continued, power of our Lord desus  Christ, to deliver such a one
after their decease, to shepherd the Christian churches unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the
of every age and clime.                                                   spirit may be  `&ved in the day of the Lord Jesus
      Let us place alongside of this reasoning the truth. Christ." Consider that the apostle, were he with us
I set out with affirming with the greatest possible em- today, would not write in this vein to, let us say, the
phasis that the prophets and the apostles in distinction Protestant Reformed church at Byron Center for the
from all other men were Christ's agents, prepared by reason that the sin - the  sin  of moral uncleanness  -
Him, and through which He delivered and committed as to the peculiar form in which it is seen in the
to writing His revealed Word, now contained in two                         excerpt, quoted above, is not found, as far as is known,
books, namely, the Old and New Testament, which are in this church.
canonical and holy for the foundation, regulation and                             The same must be said of the apostle's condemna-
confirmation of faith; that these books fully contain tion of the factions in the church at Corinth (1 :l-4 :
the will of God ; that whatsoever man ought to believe 21) ; of the emphasis placed on the necessity of church
unto salvation is sufficiently taught in them ; that in discipline (5 :l-6 220) ; of the answer to inquiries sent
them the whole manner of worship is written; that from the church (?:I-14  39) : of the apostle's discus-
therefore it is unlawful for any one, though an apostle,                   sion of the resurrection (15  :l-58)  ; in short, of the
to teach otherwise ; and that thus the doctrine of these entire content of the epistle. Attend to chapters 7:1-
books is most perfect and complete. This is the same 14:89 . "Here we find a discussion of the lawfulness
as saying that the doctrine of the prophets and apostles of marriage and its duties  ; directions about mixed mar-
constitute the foundation upon which the church  uni-                      riages and an apostolic advice to the unmarried. Then
versa1 is built: that in their capacity of foundation follows a discussion of Christian Iiberty in the partici-
layers and of sole channels of revealed truth, they                        pation of food off'ered  to the idols, in which love must
sustain to the whole church the unique relation of  in- rule, and one must beware of any participation in idol-


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                      179
             - -                                                             ^.......  -."-_.- ..__. "-
atrous practices. Next the place of the woman in the trine, teaching, word of universal and eternal signifi-
assemblies of the church, and the proper observance cance and value, - a word holy for the foundation,
of the Lord's Supper is considered. And finally the regulation and confirmation of faith of all believers, a
spiritual gifts manifest in the congregation come in for word therefore fully expressive of the mind and will
consideration. Their source and diversity, their func- of God and thus setting forth whatever man ought to
tions, the superiority of love over the extraordinary believe unto salvation. But this word, the universal
gifts and of prophesy over the speaking of tongues, and       truth, comes to us as applied to and connected, inter-
 the right service of God  - all receive due treatment."      woven, with the specific need and state of affairs o.f
     In chapter 11 the church is addressed as follows :       the community of believers directly shepherded. And
 "When ye come together therefore into one place, this        once more, it is in a dress whose manner was occa-
 is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating every sioned by what' was peculiar to the specific brotherhood
one taketh before other his own supper: &nd one is            addressed, that the universal truth was given us. This
 hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye no             also accounts for it that the universal promise of re-
 houses to eat and drink in? or despise ye the church of demption as proclaimed by the prophets comes to us
 God, and shame them that have not? What shall I as shrouded in the dress of a complex of figures sug-
 say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you gested by the typical-symbolical apparatus of the Old
 not."                                                        Testament dispensation. On the other hand, very often
    This rebuke is found in Scripture for the sole &a-        the truth is presented in the framework of a. language
 son that  ie forms a part of a writing directed to a in which nothing of the local need or circumstance is
 church deserving it. The rebuke was called forth. by         reflected. This is true for example of much of the
 and thus corresponds to a definite sin  - the sin of content of the epistle to the Romans and of the didactic
 desecrating the Lord's Supper - of which the Corinth-        books of the Old Testament scriptures. But the fact
 ians had made themselves guilty. The entire content          remains that all revealed truth reaches us as most in-
 of the epistle in fact was occasioned by a state of          timately connected with the life of the communities to
 affairs, by doubts and misgivings, peculiar to this          which it was first given.                    We find in Scripture no
 brotherhood. There were divisions in this church. -4         treatices on doctrine wholly divorced from life. The
 common report had it that fornication and even incest        command of God was: Comfort ye, comfort ye my
 was permitted in the congregation.        Moreover the       people.    Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem . . . .
 church sent a letter asking the apostle's opinion in         This command was observed. It is to be considered in
 several matters, as marriage, the eating of meat offered     this cbnnection  that the Lord revealed himself by the
 to the idols, etc.                                           wonders He wrought (the redemption of Israel) by the
     In agreement with this occasion the purpose of the       types He constructed and by the spoken word. The
 epistle is especially two-fold : In. the first place the     three comprise a unity in which as in a glass the
 apostle desires to quench the party spirit that was          church beholds the glory of the Lord. The above re-
 rife among the Corinthians that he might lead them           marks have a bearing on the works of the Lord and
 all to the unity of the faith that is in Jesus Christ:       upon the types as well as upon His spoken word; for
 and to correct the other evils that were found in the        the discourses of the prophets and the apostles turned
 church. And in the second place it was his aim to            upon God's mighty works of redemption and the New
 give the young church, struggling with temptations           Testament is at once a commentary  dn the Old Testa-
 and baffled by many difficult questions, further instruc- ment types. But the point that I am making is that
 tion along the lines indicated by them in their letter.      the prophets and the apostles performed a two-fold
 In the light of all this it cannot possibly be maintained    task, a particular and a universal. (1) In their capacity
 that in this epistle the apostolic office narrows itself of infallible teachers and pastors they shepherded the
 down to the office of special teacher and pastor of all particular communiti&s  of believers to which they were
 the churches of every age and land. The truth is that directly sent, that is, proclaimed to these brother-
 in this letter as in every letter he wrote (the excep-       hoods the Wor$ of God, the universal gospel and the
 tions here are the pastoral epistles addressed not tc .law, in a manner agreeable to ptirticular  needs and
 churches but to persons) the apostle also rises before       conditions. Otherwise said, they proclaimed, admin-
 our eye as the special pastor and teacher only of that       istered to, the churches to which they were directly
 particular church whose name appears in his writing. sent, the truth that is universal, and brought it in
 The same must be said of all the prophets and apostles       closest connection with the life and experience of
' of Scripture, of all they spoke and wrote. The entire these churches.                 (2) In their capacity of infallible
 content of Scripture comes to us in a dress whose            foundation layers, they gave to the church universal
 manner was occasioned by the particular condition, cir- the Word of God.
 cumstance, need, danger, trial, joy or grief, etc. How-         These two tasks can be distinguished between but
 ever, in shepherding the specific community of be-           not separated. In performing the one, they performed
 lievers, they, the prophets and the apostles produced the other. Th.e word they delivered to the church uni-
 in their capacity of infallible spokesmen of God,  a'doc- versal, is the very word they administered to their


180                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
-                                                               _I-                         --,
respective flocks. We find in Scripture the gospel and heavenly, all things, the things in heaven and the things
the law upon which the whole of the content of Scrip- on earth as gathered together in Christ. But we also
ture turns. Both are universal. But the universal behold in this glass the promise in process of being
must be proclaimed and applied as the individual needs fulfilled. In the scripture, therefore, the suffering
of the flock require. This is the work of the shepherd. servant of Jehovah also rises before our eye as bearing
And the apostles were first of all shepherds of distinct the burden of .divine  wrath against sin that His peopie
churches for which reason the Word of God that came might have life, as leading this people through suffer-
to the church universal turns out to be, when examined, ing and death to glory and thus as causing all things
a word comprised of instructions, admonitions, warn- - creation, fall, death, hell, Satan, the wicked, prin-
ings, exhortations, blessings and prayers of the shep- cipalities, powers, things present, things to come (all
herd.                                                      are His servants) - to work together for good, to this
     The question may now be asked whether the             people, to Zion. And the promise is that these sons
prophets and the apostles sustained in the narrow and will be like Him; for they shall see Him as He is; that
particular sense the relation of pastor to all the Chris- thus the Lord will not hold His peace and will not rest
tian churches of every age and land. The question until Zion's righteousness goeth forth  a$ brightness
must be answered in the negative.       In the narrow and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth ; that
special sense, they were the pastors only of those Chris- thus He  will redeem Zion with judgment and her
tian co-unities or brotherhoods to which they in converts with righteousness, destroy the transgressors
their discourses and writings directly addressed them- and the sinners together and consume them that for-
selves. How could they after their decease function in sake the Lord.
the special, narrow, sense as pastors of churches? But        We even see in Scripture, as in a glass, the heaven-
in the universal sense, in the capacity of foundation ly (the redeemed and glorified earthy) in all its pure
layers, they belong to and are the teachers of, the        glory : "And I saw," says John, "a new heaven and a
church universal.                                          new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were
     So then, as appears from their writings, the          passed away; and there was no more sea. And I, John,
apostles were first of all pastors. The churches they saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down
shepherded are known as apostolic. The apostles, how- from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride, adorned
ever, were men whose days were numbered. Being for her husband . . . having the glory of God ; and
men, they were confined to a certain place and could       her light was a stone most precious." Finally, in the
shepherd by their actual presence but one flock at a word, the Scripture, is also contained the law.
time. Whereas there were soon more churches than              What now is the task of the minister of the gospel?
apostles and whereas the church after their decease        (1) As the otiicial  messenger, ambassador of Christ,
would continue to need pastors, the Lord soon set in he proclaims, directs, to his flock, to the children of
the orga.nism  of His church the special office of teacher God in the church over which he is set as pastor and
and pastor, an office already included in that of teacher, the promise of redemption. (2) By the word
apostles. Only as born by the apostles did this office he preaches - the word of the prophets and apostles,
`function infallibly and in behalf of the whole church.    of Christ  - he closes the kingdom to the carnal seed
It means that the  prdinary  pastors may not be classi- in the church. (3) He explains the .promise,  the gospel,
fied with the apostles and be defined as their suc- the word, that is, directs the mind of his flock to its
cessors.                                                   content, that it, too, may behqld as in a glass the glory
     We are now prepared,to  more definitely state what of the Lord in  al1 that He hath wrought, see the
the common pastor and teacher, the minister of the         heavenly, see it as the grand consummation of all the
gospel is, and to define and circumscribe his task. His history that God makes and rejoice. (4) He brings this
task is to proclaim and administer the word to his gospel in closest contact with the life, experience and
flock. The prophets and apostle of Scripture cannot history of his flock. Thus does he comfort God's people.
certainly do this for him for the simple reason that Failing in this, he fails to administer the word, though
they are no longer on earth. As they directed the word h& sermon be ever so sound and learned. How well
i-o the communities of believers to which they in $he      the prophets and apostles understood this. As was said,
narrow sense sustained the relation of pastors, so the we find in their writing no formal argumentative dis-
ordinary shepherd must admonish this same word zo courses divorced from life. Never did they remain in
the flock over which he is set.                            midair with the truth they proclaimed but interwove
     Let us enlarge on this. The expression word of it, so to say, with the very tecture  of the life of their
God I use as ,the signification of the entire content of flock. How could they do otherwise, if God's salvation
all the scriptures. In these scriptures is contained spells the redemption of His people, and if the gospel
the promise and the law. Scripture is also the glass in is His glad tidings unto these redeemed ones. Thus
which may be seen the content of the promise: the their writings glow with the warmth of a great love
Lord of glory, the fulness that dwelleth in Him bodily, for God and His people ; and throb now with the holy
the church of God as redeemed and glorified, the indignation of men who could say, "Do I not hate them


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           181
--"-.."~^"-"  --... "-..-..                                                                   --.-                   ^-..-_-
that hate thee," then with the joy of hearts that tasted       any man shall take away from the words of the book
that the Lord is good, of hearts that believed and hoped of this prophesy, God shall take away his part out of
and reckoned that the sufferings of this present time the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the
are not worthy to be compared with the glory which things that are written in this book." The pastor ex-
shall be revealed. And they were convinced and                 plains the word. He delivers it as a word that dwells
rightly so that the experience of every believer en-           richly in Itim, has taken root in his own heart, as a
dorses every one of their statements. In a word, re- word that he has received into his own consciousness
vealed truth, as proclaimed by them, connected with and masticated. Thus his preaching is and must be a
the particular flock they shepherded. Addressing him- confessing. So then, the pastor does not merely read
self to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, etc., the word, repeat literally what the prophets and the
Peter wrote not, "The God and Father of the Lord               apostles have written - should he do no more than
Jesus Christ, hath according to His abundant mercy this, he would not be preaching the  woFd, feeding his
begotten again a people unto a lively hope by the resur-       flock - but he lays hold on the universal truth, ex-
rection of Jesus from the dead, to an incorruptible in- plains it and concentrates it upon the experiences and
heritance," but, "Blessed be the God and Father of individual needs of his flock. However, these needs
our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His and experiences are again com?n  to the whole church
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively of God. It is for this reason that the Bible is a book
hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,        for all times.
to an inheritance incorruptible . . . . reserved in               Here then, let me repeat it, we have to do with an
heaven for  gou who are kept by the power of God               action that the apostles cannot possibly engage in for
through faith unto salvation . . . wherein ye greatly the simple reason that they are not on earth.
rejoice, though now for a season, if need be ye are in            The pastor & an agent of Christ; yet the office as
heaviness through manifold temptations that the trial he bears it does not function infallibly (Rome).
of  iour faith," etc.                                          Pastors are not successors of the apostles (Rome) but
       Notice that this excerpt abounds with the pro-          as compared with these, common shepherds.              The
nouns we, ye, US, our, you. What are these words but pastor is no foundation layer, no channel of truth that
so many chords by which they tied their doctrine to has not been revealed, but the expositor of a word that
their flock. Notice, too, that he speaks of the trial of has been delivered to the church of all ages through the
their faith and concentrates his message on this ex-           prophets `and the apostles.
perience of theirs. Here, then, we have an example of            But nevertheless, his task is one of great magnitude.
true ministry of the word.                                     Will he perform it, he  mu& know the word, know the
        (5) The minister of the gospel as the official         flock, know the times. It is a task that for reasons I
messenger of Christ proclaims and administers to his do not now mention requires great cqurage,  constancy,
frock the law as the instrument by which the knowledge zeal, love, patience and self-denial. But the pastor can
of sin is and as a rule of life. The law when cast into do all things through Christ which strengthens him.
the framework of a universal phraseology reads : "Love            In a following article I will continue this discus-
the Lord. Trust in Him. Be thou holy, for the Lord sion. There are still various matters that have either
thy God is holy." Now the law spreads itself over the not been touched upon or are in need of more explana-
whole of man's existence, touches the whole of life as tion.
to all its departments, lays hold on the whole man, his                                                       G. M. 0.
body and soul, mind, will, heart, affections, conscious
and subconscious desires, the deepest quiverings of his
being. It connects with the individual nature of every
individual man. We find in the law, therefore, a rebuke                            EL SHADDAI
for every sin, for the sin peculiar to the individual                            Gen. 1i':l; Rev. I:8
and to every  particuIar  community of believers on
earth. The pastor declares and explains the law. In              Deep down into the depths of this Thy name,
addition .he discovers in the law the word that exposes          My God I sink, and dwell in calm delight:
and rebukes the sins peculiar to his flock. Doing this,          Thou art enough, however long the day ;
he rebukes, warns, admonished, exhorts, encourages               Thou art my God - the All-Sufficient One,
and comforts as the peculiar needs of His flock require.         Thou canst create for me whate'er I lack;
       Such then, in brief, are the tasks that tinter  into      Having Thyself, I have a sure reply.
the makeup of that engagement known as the ~ministry
of                                                               Thy mighty hand has strewn the backward track
       the word. Let me add to this a remark or two. The
duty of the pastor is, as was said, to explain the word.         With miracles of love and tender care
Mark you, he adds nothing to or substracts nothing               For me, thy trusting one. My God I dare
from the word. Doing so, he makes himself guilty of              Once more to fling myself upon Thy breast,
a great sin. I think now of John's warning: "And if              And then adore Thy ways in faith's deep quiet rest.


                                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                         19s.
-.-               -_-- -.,-............    ^.^-.~-___I  . - ..^                 "." ..-..........  ^-^^--.-  _...--........" ______"_-...
is eene  verwarring. Alleen de geestelijke  levensge-
meenschap  van de leden  des lichaams des Heeren, mag                                        Contribution
de grond zijn voor vereeniging ook op kerkelijk gebied.                   Dear Editor :-
Alleen op grand hiervan mag men nooit verschillende
kerken verbinden in een kerkverband, met een  classis                  Is there  w little room for these  few lines in  o11t
en synode. Ja, niet alleen mag zulks gesehieden, maar              Standard Bearer?
zullen ook zulke kerken de band aanknoopen en  vast-                  There was joy in our hearts when we read the essay
houden en zich niet laten scheiden, "van welke staat               of Wilfred G. Rottschafer which was published in the
of qualiteit zij ook mogen zijn." Dit ziet men dan                 Standard Bearer at the request of the Young Men's
ook altijd verwezenlijkt ten tijde van kerkreformatie.             Society of the Fuller Avenue Protestant Reformed
Zoo was de zaak in de 16de eeuw; zoo alweer in 1834                Church.
en in 1886, en niet minder  in 1924. Voor de scheiding                Throughout the essay we could hear that same
kwam in de kerken werden alle pogingen in het werk                 melody again of twenty. or more years ago, when
gesteld om de eenheid te bewaren en  wilden  de  refor-            al.most  at every meeting of the societies, or of their
matoren  zichzelven niet afscheiden. Maar zoodra "t dui- League gatherings, that wonderful Psalm for young
delijk werd dat de  mannen van de reformatie van een men was sung:
andere geestesrichting  waren,  kon de vervalschte kerk                 "Waarmede  zal de jongeling zijn pad
ze niet meer verdragen, en werd het eerst een afsnij-                         Door ijdelheen omsingeld rein bewaren?
cE&g  voor het overging tot een  afscheiding.  De  ken-                  Gewis  als hij dat houdt naar `t heiIig  blad;
teekenen van de ware Kerk in onderscheiding van de                            U zoekt mijn hart, mijn oog blijft op u staren."
valsche kerk zullen we laten rusten tot een volgend                   In the last few years we rarely hear this sung.
artikel, waarin die zaak wordt  besproken. Alleen sta              Instead, they are singing songs like, "What can 1 do
hier op den voorgrond dat wegens de wezenlijke een-                for Jesus?" The topics they choose for debates in their
heid der Kerk, als het lichaam des Heeren, een ieder societies are like: "May a young man smoke?" One
verplicht is  zich te vereenigen met de ware Kerk, ook young man at the Illinois League meeting said: "The
ten koste van magistraten en plakkaten van overheden               issue of our young men of today is, "How can we get
en vorsten, van eenige lichamelijke straf of zelfs den the country on its feet again'."
dood, zooals dit artikel beweert.                                     How does God take care of His church? There was
      En dit houdt in, dat alle leden  zich zullen onder-          a separation, many of God's people had to :leave the
werpen  aan de onderwijzing en tucht der kerk, en den Christian Reformed church, and that Word is preached
hals buigen onder het juk van Christus, zoodat we                  pure again. Our people, and the young folks as well,
elkander mogen dienen met de gaven en talenten  die are beginning to see the beauty of the Word again,
de Heere geeft. Gelijk het oor van een mensch de and as a result +e once more hear them echoing the
hand dient, en het oog dient den mond, alzoo zullen de songs of old:
leden  van het lichaam des Heeren elkander dienen tot                     "Waarmede zal de jongeling zijn pad."
onderlinge stichting en opbouming, en dat  we1 uit                    Our young people are seeing that the one great
kracht  van het ambt der geloovigen. Niet dus alleen issue is the same as it always was: "Is God's covenant
de ouderlingen of de diakenen of de dienaren des                   being realized?"
Woords, maar elkeen ziet niet op hetgeen zijn eigen                   Blossom and grow, young people, you are the flower
is, maar ziet ook op hetgeen eens anderen is. En in of the church. How beautiful when young people in
die eenheid toont de Kerk des Heeren ook, overeen-                 their own sphere and all in their own way proclaim
komstig dit artikel, dat zij zich afscheid van degenen the `glory of the Lord, and that, too, in those years
die niet van deze kerk zijn, om alleen te wonen  als een           when life is at its springtime.
bijzonder volk in den Heere, en om dan straks met de                  All our young folks should belong to the young
overwinnende Kerk triumfantelijk de eerekroon te dra-              men% and young women's societies. If some of our
gen.                                                               young people do not belong to one, it is, of course, the
                                                   L. Vermeer      duty of the parents to see to it that they do join.
                                                                   Also, the society has the duty of working with these
                                                                   young  folly to persuade them to join.
     "Ik leef, do& niet meer ik maar Christus  leeft in
  . . . .                                                             The writer of the essay says: "It was a con-u-non
mlJ.~"                                                             custom in the days of the- past for a father to call his
     Weinig hebben wij ervaren,  ieder onzer. welke hulp-          family about him at the close of the day for a period
bronnen verborgen liggen in die machtige inwoning,                 of Bible reading." We, as parents, must do that in
weinig hebben we geleerd wat `t is, al de vezeIen  onzer these long winter evenings. We must talk with our
ziel doordrongen  te hebben van de kracht daarvan.                 children about that Word. It should not be that we
Moge God ons leiden,  hoeveel  het dan ook kosten moge,            speak a thousand words to them which do not amount
tot  aIles wat daarvan gekend kan  worden  bier op                 to anything, to one word spoken about God. By our
aarde !                                                            walk and by our talk we must teach them of God.


132                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
_,..... __.-__ _ ."...-  ..__    .-_-..-  .._ ~..--  ---               ~ .,.... -.--l.ll.-."                 --__- _" .._......-II_- ..."
        it can never be told what a blessing that is, when                       Wat broeder K.  nu verder  schrijft is een  vcrt/lijt,
parents have the habit of spending  t,he evening cozily                      wat ik niet in  bet publiek wensch  te beantwoorden,
together in the home, talking with the children, asking omreden dat ik bij ondervinding heb, dat ik noch  bij
them questions and teaching them of the beauty of the mijn kerk, noch oak bij de kerk waar de broeder bij
Word.                                                                        behoort, begrepen wordt.
                                                            D. Kort              Ik ken de broeder niet, en hij mij ook niet, naar ik
        Oak Lawn, Illinois                                                   mij verbeeld. En daarom zeg ik dat hij goede inlich-
                                                                             tingen aangaande  rnijn  persoon   inwon.   Tech  bevalt
                                                                             mij de zinsnede niet, waarin hij  zegt:  "Door wat  dich-
                                                                             ter bij een kerk te gaan wonen waar hij (Mr. I-1.) soms
                                                                             van voorgeeft  zich  ten mee te gevoelen," enz.
             NOG EENMAAL: THE  WORLIi'S  FAIR                                    Bij mijn  weten heb ik nog nooit den schijn gege-
               Hooggeachte Redacteur  :-                                     ven dat ik schijnbmr  ems ben met die kerk, de P. C.
                                                                             R. C. bedoeld. Mijn mond en mijn pen hebben in over-
        Zoo het moogelijk is, zou ik  gaarne  Mr. L. Kooi- vloed in het publiek getuigenis gegeven dat ik persoon-
stra's  critiek beantwoorden.                                                lijk het volkomen eens ben met de P. C. R. C., dat is,
        Onlangs liet Mr. G. Boersma het publiek gevoelen in haar bestrijden van de valsche leer der L?rie Pzntcrz
dat de zaak, "een Christen naar the  World's Fair,?'  bij                    ingegeven door den  gee& der dwaling. Maar dat ik
hem twijfelachtig was.                                                       op dit oogenblik mij niet heb aangesloten bij de P. C.
        De ondergeteekende antwoordde hem dat "the Fair" R. C. zit vast aan oorzaken en omstandigheden, die,
S0do.m   niet vertegenwoordigde, als dat  aidaar  intellect misschien ongeldig bij den mensch zullen genoemd
op den troon zat. Dat intellect, zoo schreven wij, was worden,  en tech bij God bekend zijn, die mij niet heeft
 te adnschouwen in het schoone  der natuur op het dock                       gezet om over een anderen te oordeelen,  noch ook een
gebracht, Ixnst.  Bij de groote gaven die God in den ander over mij. Rom. 14  :lO en 13.
mensch gelegd had, en die uitkwamen in nijverizeid.                              Broeder K. vroeg ook nog: Heeft de Christen, die
 Zonder  dat verstand zou de mensch het dier gelijk zijn,                    niet naar the Fair ging, werkeiijk kleiner God? Mis-
 maar met dat verstand, door Gods  Guest verlicht, zou                       schien niet in het rijk der genade en der liefde, dat
 hij de. dingen  aldaar  tentoongesteld Gode meer kun- hangt  af van meer or minder, grooter of kleinere zon-
 nen verheerlijken  dan zoo hij niets van die dingen  te                     den, maar we1 op het terrein van het verstand. Xemand
 zien kreeg. Een Christen, zoo staande, deed geen  zon-                      die nooit de geweldige cataract van de Niagara zag,
 de om the Fair te bezoeken. Zoo was once redenatie. kan zijn God in dat respect zoo groot niet maken als
  (Ect wat in het slachthuis verkocht wordt, Rom. 14:2).                     iemand die het zag en ter harte nam. Zoo dat niet
        Omdat wij de World's Fair beschreven als zijnde waar is, wat zou er van Dan. 12:10,  het laatste gedeel-
 intellectueel  en niet religieus, komt Kooistra zeggen:                     te, terecht komen?
 "Religie is, ook intellectueel." Net of wij dat zouden
 willen weerspreken, zijnde tegenwoordig bij de  in-                                                       Uw Broeder, J. H. Hoekstra
 wijding van de Fair, waar een groote  kerkman  een ge-
 bed tot God uitsprak.
        Wat meer een Christen de groote werken Gods  on-                                              IN  MEMORIAM
 der de  oogen  krijgt,  wat. grooter God hij heeft, zoo
 schreven wij. En nu vraagt broeder K., zijn dat Gods                            Den llden December behaagde het den Heere om onze ge-
                                                                             liefde Echtgenoote, Moeder en Grootmoeder,
 zucrken   dan.r op  tke  Fair?  Wij zullen  zien.   Denatuur
 in volle bloei. Waterval en sneeuw bekroonde  bergen,                                             MRS GEESJE LEMS,
 zedig trillende pijnboomen, wilde rumoerige  zeeen,                         in den ouderdom van 60  jaren  en ruim 3 maanden, door den
                                                                             dood uit ons midden  weg te nemen.
 goudgeel  graan, schitterende bloemvelden, alles  keurig                        Zwaar valt  ons  dit  verlies, maar wij treuren  met   als  dege-
 weergegeven op het doek door de hand van den kunste-                        nen die geene hope hebben, daar zij ons die blijde verzekering
 naar. De rollende auto, de stoomende locomotief, de heeft achtergelaten, dat ook zij meer dan overwinnaar is door
 schommeiende  stoomboot,  Bet majestieuze zeilschip.                        Hem, Die ons Iiefgehad heeft.
 Van mien  zijn zij? Van Satan? Gaf hij den mensch                                              Namens de bedroefde familie,
 de kunst en de gaven om ze op te maken  `en daar te                                                    M r .   B a s   L e m s
 stellen? Ik hoop, Mr. K. weet we1 .beter.                                                                   Mr. en Mrs.  I?. Lems
                                                                                                             Mr. en Mrs. L. Van den Bosch
         Dan zegt de broeder, Mr. H. wil en adviseert dat                                                    Mr. en Mrs. H.  KIeinwoltering
 men het kwaad maar zal voorbij loopen,  en de oogen                                                         Mr. en Mrs. A. Van Kekerix
 dicht  doen. Hoe een man als br. Ii. mij zulke woorden                                                      Clarence
 in den mond durft Ieggen, is mij een raadsel, te meer                                                       Gerrit
 daar ik  z-elf het  Tczunnd aanwees, het                                                                    Hilda
                                                      kwaad   in de                                          Bas
 we&d, zoo u wil, en het kwa,ad in de kerk, als waar                                                         Grace
 wij op wezen, met de hand in &en boeze;m.                                                                          En de kleinkinderen


