       maalbfficieel nooit iets  aan. Ma& hij moest bewijzen,                           Simply expressed it signifies that the Bible is an
       dat hij zich niet tegen de wettige autoriteiten ,der ker&               open book. to every believer in the  fellowkhip of. the
       had verzet !                                                            Church as the body of Christ.
           Dit laatste kon hij niet.                                                    It does not mean that there are no mysteries in
           Om de eenvoudige redenen,dathij  zich welhadver- Scripture,,or  that  all  of  Scripture  is  easily  and  without
       zet !                                                                   serious effort understood.
          De vicieuze cirkel!                                                           Nor does it imply that every believer is able to and
           Maar veroordeeld, zegt ge, zonder, dat hij  .gelegen-   _ .ought  to interpret' Scripture by hiinself, individualist- .
       heid kreeg zich te verdedigen ? Eilieve, zijt ge daar-                  ically, without heeding the guiding of the Holy Spirit
       over verontwaardigd ? En ge denkt er niet aan om yer- in the Church organically and throughout the ages.
       ontwaardigd  t& zijn over hetgeen in 1924 geschi'edde?                           And it does not despise the instituted offices, which
           0 tempora, 0 mores !                                                Christ gave to the Church for'its well-being.
           `Hoe was het dan met onze zaak?                                       But it emphasizes, first of all, that the Church is
           Op de vergadering der  Classis  Grand Rapids East, not the institute, that it is not the clergy, but that it is
       die in 1924 V66r de synode werd gehouden,' mochten Xe the body  of Christ, the gathering of believers and their
       ons niet vefantwoorden  en mocht  er niet over de ieer-                 children on earth.
       stellige materie onzer zaak worden  gesproken, omdal;                            It maintains, secondly, that the Spirit of Christ,
     _ het eigenlijk een zaak voor de synode was.
:                                                                              Who is the Author and als,o the Interpreter of Scrip-
           Op de synode werden we niet geroepen ons te  v&r- ture, is not given to the officebearers only, to lead them
       antwoorden, ofschoon &en het dag aan dag over ons                       in all. the truth, but that the. whole Church, that ail
       had. Met alle moeite  kreg& we eenmaal verlof om  te                    b  1.
                                                                                e levers have the unction of the Holy One and that.'
       ,spreken.in  onze eigene zaak en w&rd het ons verder ooic they have no need that anyone teach them, because
       op  .ons dringend verzoek finaal geweigerd.                             they have the Word and they know the  truth.
           En op de na-synodale vergaaerlng der classis  Iron er                        And,  th&efoFe,  it signifies, lastly, that to every
       over de leerstellige  materie  onzer zaak niet meer wor-                member in the fellowship of that organism of the
       den gedelibereerd, omdat de synode immers reeds  ge:                    Church the Bible is an open book. All have the right
       s p r o k e n   h a d !                                                 to interpret Scripture. All have the calling to explain
           We zaten in den  vicieuzen  cirkel dei kerkelij ke auto- tile Word of God. dl are able to read  Holy Writ. And
       riteit!  We moesten eenvoudig de Drie Punten te&ke-                     ultimately it is never the word of man, even though he
     _ `&en. Dat wilden we niet. verzet -was onvermijdelijk. should interpret the Bible by that wo?d, but only the
        -  En  wreekt   &j,  die  zelf  aldus  gehandeld   llebt,  au  `Word   of  God  that  has  autllority  fop  the  b&ever  in
       `over  D1;.  Machen's  zaak met verontwaardiging,  omdat                Christ Jesus.
       hem de kans  ore  zich te verdedigen ontnomen werd ?                             The maintenance of the truth of the perspicuity of
           Ziet ge dan niet, dat ge uzelven het voorwerp pan Scripture gives no place to the devil of hierarchy.
       uw& verontwaardiging dient te  maken, ee? ge nog                                 It will readily be seen that this truth involves re-
       spreekt over de zaak Machen?                                                                                                              .-__
                                                                               sponsibilities  for all the members of the Churih.
           Eerst  de balk, dan de splinter!                                             The doctrine that the Church is the clergy, that
                                                                               there is an official body of priests, culminating in an
                                                                               infallible pope who speaks the last word with respect to ..
           `Dr. Machen is bijna' vermoord.                                     the interpretation of Holy Writ, is  much.more  pleasing
           En reeds houwt  men grafzerkjes.                                   to the flesh, involves practically no obligations, no re-
          En men maakt kransjes om aanstonds zijn graf  te  sponsibilities  for  the  general  membership  of  the
       versieren, als hij gestirven  zijn zal.                                 Church. All the members need is implicit faith in the
                En men zegt : indien wij geleefd  hadden ten tijde Church, that is the clergy, that is the pope. When that
       .onze?   vaderen,  wij  zouden  aan dien moord geen  deel, Church has  spoken  the  end  of  all  in&&igation  and  of
     _ gehad hebben.                                                           all argument is reached. That Church relieves you of
                EX men getuigt tegen zichzelven.                               all responsibility to think and to study. It thinks for
                Door kransjes en zerkjes, die teekenen  zijn van you, it studies for you. You simply accept her declar.a-
       eigengerechtigheid.!                                                    tions. If you are attacked you appeal to the declara-
                                                               H. H.           tions of the Church. If you are in doubt, you"rest  on
                                                                               her infallible authority. To the flesh the hierarchical
                                                                               system is, indeed, much more pleasing  than the Pro-
                   On Bibles and Bible Reading                                 testant  faith` that maintains the perspicuity of the
                                                                               Scriptures.
                The last  time.we  wrote' on  tliis subject we tried  to'.              Besides, in the Romish system there is practically
      make< plain what is meant by the perspicuity of Holy no danger that the outward unity of the Church in the
       writ.                                                            .      world is disintegrated. The Romish Church points with
         ._.                                   .


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                                                                                                                                               _:      ,,     .      ~,     ;'          "y.      .".     ,.          ,`...i_           .          .
  :`-                                                                                                _'                .        .        "*
          8
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                           .                                                         THE ST-AND'ARD BEARER                                                                                                     _                -            ,               3 9 i

pride' to its. unity throughout the ages and among all doctrine may be prociaimed  from the pulpit nor taught                                                                                                                                                               .
nations, ,in contrast with the hopeless disharmony and in the catechism classes, nor' established  and adopted  ..
disintegration that has'.characterized  the..churches  of by the broader gatherings. And they undoubtedly have
the Protestant faith since the days of the Reformatidn.                                                                                  ultimately the- power and calling to depose their own
And she bases upon this universal unity of the Catholic                                                                                  offIcebearers,  the power of Reformation, if in no other
Church a strong argument against the &uth and valid- way false doctrine can be kept outside of the gates of'
ity of the principle of the Reformation. Is not the Zion.
unity of-the Church one of her chief  .distinguishing                                                                                             However; if this obligation to watch rests on all, it
marks ? Where, then, `is that unity among Protestants ? will also be selfevident that on all is placed the re-
It is ho%elessly  lost. It is found in the Romish Church. sponsibility of diligentiy studying the Scriptures, not
only. And it may, indeed, be granted that, it is much in-&dividudistic conceit, but in the fellowship of the
easier to maintain an outward bond of unity within a Church.
Church that is based on the hierarchical system -in                                                                                              The whole Church, all believers, must diligently seek.
which one man speaks the last infallible word. How-                                                                                      the instruction, for  .themselves  and for their children,
ev`er, this does not prove that the unity of the Roman that is o,ffered them through the Church institut`e  in
 Catholic  church is real, inner, spiritual,  essentiat,                                                                                  preaching and teaching, in order that they may  .be  ..
Scriptural. It, is not really a uhity of believers at all, thoroughly founded in the truth.
that binds the members of  the Catholic Church, but a                                                                                             All believers must constantly compare this instruc-
unity of the clergy, ultimately of the pope, the agree-                                                                                   tion with the  only authority, the Word of God, so that
ment'of one man with himself! .                                                                 .                                         their  knowledge  of doctrine may be true knowledge of
               .It `does, however, show that the doctrine of the the Word of God.
perspicuity of Scripture is  mutih more  difficult  in prac-                                                                                      They do this-individually, by reading and searching
tice (as is always the case with the truth in this world)                                                                                 the Scr-iptures.  As individual believers -*hat insist on
than the Romish view, and that it lays heavy burdens the perspicuity of Holy Writ, we should be thoroughly                                                                                                                                                             -
 of responsibility  tipon  the shoulders `of believers in                                                                                 acquainted  tiith the contents of the Bible..
general.                                                                                                                . a                        They do this as  ?amilieti,  when they read the Bible
                First of all, it implies that not only the officebearers in their homes and discuss what is being read.
but all believers are responsible for the maintenance of                                                                                           They do this through means of the various societies
 the truth of the Word of -God, both in their own con-                                                                                    in the Church, whose chief purpose should always  be to
 sciousness and within the Church in the world. Not                                                                                       study the Word of God.
 the  oficebearers  preach and teach, but the Church, -+                                                                                           This diligent study of the Word of God is essential
 through its officebearers preaches, instructs, estab-                                                                                    on the basis of  the perspicuity of Scripture.                                                                          \
 lishes the truth. Officially the office of believers func-                                                                                        If, it is neglected' one of two things will happen: the
 tions  throigh `the instituted offices. Not only the rhiti- _ Church will fall back into the hierarchical `system, or
 ister and elders are' responsible for the doctrine that is it will become a prey to the spi-rit of sectarianism  and
 proclaimed from the..pulpit  and taught in catechism
                -*.-.._-  -_.._.                        _..  -_  _..                                                                      modernism;
 class and Sunday-school;but  the entire Church is. Not                                                                                               The `fi?st occurs; -when -believer's -f&l. to attend to
 only the'delegates  to Classis or Synod  are responsible their own and their children's instruction, gradually
 for their decisions and declaration& but- the tihole                                                                                     wean away from the knowledge of thk truth, lose their
 Church must feel its  kesponsibility  for these decisions. power to -watch, and leav6  the task of watching over
 All believers are responsible before God for the main- the truth wholly to the officebearers. Gradually they
 tenance, of the truth  df His Word !                                                                                                     will look  up.on  `the latter as a special caste, take' for
                 It follows that  `0~ all  rests the obligation to watch, granted that whatever they declare is certainly to be
 and  nbt only  ,on the officebearers.                                                                                                     accepted as the truth, and follow them ,blindly whey-
                 True it is, that 09' ihe latter rests the responsibility: ever they lead.
 to watch in a special sense eve?  the whole flock as well                                                                                            The second occurs, when believers `neglect the in-
  as over themselves; I* is through the instituted offices struction of themselves  aid  their  children, then fall a
 that the Church fun&ions, preaches and teaches,  excer-                                                                                  prey to some seducing spirit and begin to propagate
  cises discipline and. @ens and shuts the doors of the their  false doctrine, form a group and separate them-
  kingdom of heaven. -'                                                                                                                    selves from the Church in their ignorance.
                 But this does nof remove; this rather kmphasizes                                                                                 `The first finds its illustration in the attitude of the
  the calling of all believers to watch, lest false doctrine majority of the members in the Christian Reformed .
  should be introduced into the Church of Christ. They                                                                                     Church, when they accepted the Three Points, declared
  are called tq watch  dver themselves,. to watch over  one- and adopted by the synod of 1924, took for granted
  another- in love, to i$struct and admonish one-another that they must be true, because the synod had  spokh.
  that they may abide in the truth ; to watch even over' and,received  them. as their own faith, even though they
  the officebearers and their official work, that no strange `are not even acquainted with their contents, still less
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       _-
                 .                                                                   :                                                                                                                                          . .                    ,     -         c


                                 able  `to judge of their validity in the light of Scripture
                                and the Reformed Confessions!                                            '                                           By the, Strength of the  Lord,`s  H%nd
                                             But  ,tilso  the second  icase is frequently. realized in
                                our day; Hdw often it occurs that in their youth mem-                                                                  A' notion of the great signification of the act of the
                                bers of the Church  neglkct their own instruction,: fail Lord  ccnsisting.  in His bringing the people out from  -
                                to attend catechism, to ibvestigate  and study the truth Egypt may be gained from the circumstance that the
                                for themselves, so that  $hey  are ignorant of the truth month to which belonged the day on which the .house
                                when they reach the years of discretion,  then meet of bondage has been quitted is made the first month in
                           `with some sect that- denies elec&ion,  infant baptism,                                                                  the calendar in token that the salvation  He wrought
                                the covenant or some other  fundamental part of the                                                                 brought thtim  into being as a nation. And how insistent
                                truih, become  5 prey  t6 false doctrine,  azd enthusi- He is that His  b?itiging them out from bondage  bo
                                astically propagate tliis  i heresy, because they are ig- an event that they keep in mind perpetually, rehearse
                                norant of the truth !                                                                                               repeatedly in the audience of their children and thus
                                 And, therefore, the truth of the perspicuity of `cause it to live forever on in the memory of the genera-
                                Scripture above all imposes on all the obligation :to                                                              tions to come! The event is  affixed  to and symbolized
                                search the Scriptures d$gently!                                                                                    by three services that cas often as they will be kept will
                                                                                                                                                   bring the Israelitish father under the necessity of re-
                                                                                                              :                  H .   H . citing the events from which these  servides  `sprang.
                                                                                                                                                   There is the service of the Passover that they  &all
                                                                                                                                                   observe for an ordinance to them and to' their sons
                                                                                                                                                   forever. And it shall corn? to pass, when they be come
                                                            ANNO~MCEMENT                                                                           to the land which the  Ior& will give them, according as
                                             The Curatorium,  of. the Protestant' Reformed Theo- He has promised, that they shall keep this service. And
                                logical School will .meet: D. V., June 4, -in the Prot. when their children shall say unto them, What mean
                                Ref. church at Orange City, Iowa, `a$1 :30 P. M. instead `ye by this service? that they shall say.; It is the sacrifice
                                of  3c30   * previous meetings.                                                                                    of the Lord's Passover,  who:passed  over the houses of
                                                                                                                                                   th< children of Israel in Egypt, when he .smote  the
                                             Students desixing adinission to the School,. ,till, .be                                               Egyptians, and delivered our houses.
                                e$ected  at this meeting iwith  the follow&:                                                                           Then there is the service of the unleavened bread.
                                             -a. A  .certificate of membership in a Protestant It shall be when the Lord shall bring theni into the land
                                Reformed                   Chuytih.                         i                      ,                               which He sware unto their f&hers to give-them that . .
                                             b, A  recor$mendation  of their  consistory,  as to the entire week of which the day oh-which the Lord
                                ability and  gen&l qualifications..
                                                            .%                                                                                     brought them out of the &ouse of bondage in the begin-
                                                     .       0'.                                                                                   ning.they  shall eat ur&avened  bread. Seven days shall
                                                                                                   L. Vermeer, Sec'y.                              they eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall
                                                                                                                                                   be a feast unto the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be
                                                                                                                                                   eaten seven days ; and there-shall- no leavened -bread-be
                                                                                                                                                   seen with them, neither with them in all their quarters.
j;                                                         AiWJOUlWliiMEN~                                                  ~                      And they shall shew their sons in that day, saying,
     "  '.                             Graduation exercises  of  our Theological School will "This is done because of that which the Lord did unto
     *._.                       be held on the evening of Tuesday, June 4, `at  7`:45, in me when I come forth out of Egypt."
                                the Orange City Protest,atit  Reformed Church.
            `..                                                                                                                       `.              It; .the service of the unleavened bread, shall be for
:                                 The following program will be rendered:                                                        !                 a sign unto the Israelite upon his hand, and for a me-
                                                                                                                                                   morial between his eyes, that the Lord's law may be in
: .                                          a. A speech by gradbate  -4. Petter in the English
          `-                                                                                                                                       his mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord
     I                          language on: "The  Minisber's Task As Exegete".                                                                    brought  him out of Egypt. He shall therefore keep
                                             b. A  .speech  by graduate J.  Kooistra,  in  ,the Hoi- this ordinance in his season from year to year.
                                land language on: "De' dedienaar  <es Woords op den
     2.                    1                  Kansel".                                                                                                Finally, there  is the  ordiliance  that requires of the
                                                                                                                                                   Israelite that .he set .apart unto the Lord all that opens
r:,                                          c. An  ad&ess  by  tile `Rector of our  &hool,   Rev;                                                 the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast
     :., : : F. Hoeksema. Topic not get known.
                                             d. A couple of  music& numbers.                                                                       which he has ; the males shall be the Lord's. Every-
                                - e. Presentation of  yiplomas.                                                                                    firstlihg  of an `ass he shall redeem with a lamb; and if
                                                                                                                                                   he will not redeem it, then he shall break his neck. All
::_                                    : All those interested are cordially invited to be pres- the `firstborn of man among his children shall he re-
     :-_                   ent.                                                                                                                    deem. Here again follows  - (Ex, 13)) "And it shall be
                                                                  The Cilratorium,                                                            - when thy  sop asketh thee in time to come, saying,. What
                       `_  _
            `.:                                                                             `L. Vermeer,  Se&y;                               is. this? that thou shalt say- unto him, By .strength  of
;                                                                                                                                                        /
.:_._  :`.
.  _.,.                                .       .     :

                _I               .,                                      j     `.. .               .               :\
                                                                       _,:               .-,.            .,-             ..-,               .:.               *     _
                                                                         i


_ hand. %he Lord brought us dut from Egypt, from th4            his' host pursuing and rushing to his doom; the deliv-
 hous of bondage : ,And it' came, to pass, when Pharaoh ered hosts of the Lord singing His praises on the banks
 would h.$rdly let' us go, that the Lord slew all the first-    of the sea ; the elements throygh  which the Almighty
 bqrn in the land of Egypt; both the firstborn of man and       operates and lays His stripes upon Pharaoh and his
 the firstborn of beast: therefore I sacrifice to the Lord. people. What a dramatic structure! What unity of
 all. that openeth the  m$rix, being males ; but all the        dramatic action ! How the separate scenes contribute,                '
"firstborn  ofl ray children I redeem. Arid it shall be for to the final result: the salvation of @r&l and the de-
 a token upon thine hand, and for frontlets between struction of the Egyptian host! So it is. But do  not  '
 tGne eyes': for by strength of hand the Lord brought fail to.  qbserve  and  ,&fess   - the matter is  ,plainly
 us  foi+th out of Egypt."                                      stated in the sacred record as we shall see  - that  the
    How the Lord stressed that His work of .redemption          sole  sobereign factor- in all this action is the will of
 should not be forgotten ! How impossible He made it God. The various a$ors without a single. exception are
 for His people to forget! But why should He be .SO His agents so that of the histqry  here made, He is. the
.' insistent that the, knowledge of what  He wrought sole sovereign subject. He doeth all these things.
 abide? If  .this knowledge fades intd oblivion, Israel Rightly considered, bringing Israel out from bondage.
 in his generations, will of necessity cease to praise. is a work of His that consists in all this action.
 But Israel belongs to the Lord,. is thus obliged to walk          Let us concentrate  on this matter. That exercise of
., in ihe way of the covenant in biS generations and to de- divine power in the realm of the physical creation, the
 clare the glories of his `Redeemer.                            Lord's  showilig His signs  among   the. Egyptians, is but .
   But on what ground can Jehovah deiand of Isyale              a phase or part of the work of bringing Israel' out of *,
 that it exists for Him, knoiv, adore and praise Him. On bondage. There is much more to be done. The hearts
the grotind  that He brought Israel out from bondage, of the Egyptians must be turned to hate God's people
 But how must Israel know God? He must know Him and to deal subtilly with them. The plagues must be                                  c
to the exclusion of all oth& gods, It mea& that God's sent  on. Pharaoh's h&art and upon the hearts of his
 claim upon Israel is absolute and that the work of His         servants. Pharaoh must be hardened and prepared for             "
 bringing Israel out from. bondage - the work upon judgment and. at once be terrorized into thrusting
 which this claim Ceposes  - must be as exclusively His Israel out of his country. Thereupon he must be made
 as this claim is absolute.                                     to venture'into the deep to be drowned. As to the chil-
    Thus in commanding Israel that he keep in remem:            dren of Israel, they must be prepared for salvation.
 brance  His .salvation,  the Lbrd was at once declaring Their asections  must be turned from Egypt and set
 with great emphasis that He only and none other upon the things of Canaan. Who is to. do all this, God
 brought Israel `out from Egypt. Let us. now inquire or man,  pharaoh, Israel? `If man,  thed God has but
 after the meaning of this.                                     a very small part in the work of deliverance, a part.
    -Now that .the Lord actually brought Israel out from that consists exclusively in His exercising His power
 bondage must mean .that this work of His consisted in, in the realm of the physical cosmos. Now  to maintain
 something more than shewing  signs among the Egypt- that this is all that God is `capable of is to conceive of
 ians, than turning their.waters  into blood; slaying their - -Him as being without dominion and rule in-man's hear&  :  `.--.-..
fish, bringing frogs in abundance and divers.e.sorts  df and of man as occupying His place in the moral world-
 flies  .apd lice in their coasts, giving  them  hail and order. But  this conception  (th6 conception of the
 flaming fire, smiting their vines, bringng locusts in Pelagian) is as impossible as impious and unscrip-
 their coasts, smiting all  the firstborn and causing the tural. It raises qUestions that cannot be answered and
 waters of the Red sea to return  to their strength. To renders everything  uncertain.. Let Us show this. The
 `maintain that the bringing out from bondage was an time  .is now at hand for the Lord to  fLilfi1 His promise
 &on  `on the part of the Lord that consisted  ix- made unto  th6 fathers and to bring Israel out from
 clusi+ely in the shqwing  of these signs is impious and. Egypt into the promised land. But before  the children
absurd. Bringing Israel out from bohdage was a task of  Israel,will set out for Canaan, their sffections'tiusi
 that actually  cons&ted of all the events and occurrences be disengaged  fro& their beloved nest in Goshen.  This '
`. recorded in the ;record of the Exodus. Upon the stage change of heart is to be effected by the stirring up of
 of the history of this deliverance, `several actors ap-.' this nest through tribulation. But' consider that if
 pear.  : There is the oppressed people of God,  grosning       God does not reign in. man's heart, He finds Himself
 in Egypt's ovens ; Pharaoh driving by the lash the chil- under the  tiecessity  of patiently waiting -until -the
dren of Israel to their task; the taskmasteirs,  co-oper- Egyptians in their sovereign good pleasure  Resolve to
 ating with.Pharaoh  in keeping Israel in subjection; the enslave. God's people in their attempt to offset the
 sooth-sayers, opposing the speech emitted by the signs .danger  of an  insurrectidn.  And this divine patience'
 of i=od ; Moses and. Aaron, declaring as the agents of must in turn be exercised. in the uncertain hope that
 the Almighty the decree  ; the oppressed people as freed the people of Israel again in their sovereign good
 foilowing  Moses out from the bondage; Pharaoh and pleasure will resolve to rally about Moses and sove-


                                                   \


       reignly choose to permit him to lead them forth as the however -to contempt Gdd and to revile His people.
       servant of Jehovah. But now if Jehovah is such a But, being dead ttirough  sin, he can choose to do noth-
       God, what guarantee is there to him that Pharaoh &ill ing else.                               :
       resort to oppression as the  .means of keeping Israel  iii        The view that the sipreme  master of the heart is
      his country.? No guarantee whatever. Pharaoh may the will of man is to be loathe`d .as God-degrading atid
       decide uponGanother  and. a wiser means for `gaining destructive of all  true piety. God  Oniy is God. The
,.. his ends. Fact is that the means adopted are amazing- entire task of delivering Israel is His. He brings His
       ly foolish. And what assurance is there to the Lord,           people -out of bondage. To this task He alone is
       if He be such a God, that Israel as afflicted will resolve     supremely equal as He has' the dominion also in man's
       tci quit Egypt for Canaan ? Non@ whatever. If man is heart. It is He therefore Who turns the hearts of the
       supreme master of his soul, if in his choosing and re-         Egyptians to hate His people, and hating them, to op-
       solving he as to his will is not being held by the &on-        press  tlieti  in their ovens, to strangle their infant males
       trolling and directing strength of God's hand, God has and drdwn them in the river. He so binds tribulations
       no way of knowing how man in a given circumstance on the hearts of Israel!s children  that they turn their
      -will  geact,  except he  l$e `kndwn to always react in pre-    thoughts on Him and await His salvation; He hardens
_  cisely the same way, which he does not. How  uncer-                Pharaoh, sends  His. plagues upon his heart, humbles
       tain on i&e basis of this view everything becomes fdr him, terrorizes  him  i@o thrusting Israel out of his
      God; how halting  Hid,  tread  through  the  ages, how land, turns his heart to pursue ihe departing hosts into
       amazingly incompiete  :and utterly useless to Him His the deep. He brings Israel out from bondage, not Phar-
       decrees  that.were  eterbally  with Him and according to aoh, not Israel.' In this work there is nothing of man.
      .,which  He thought to work all things. How the view, The task is  exc@sively  God's.
       I here appose, robs God of His sovereignty! If the Lord            That the hearts o$ the Egyptians and also of His
       can do no more than show signs; if the sole sphere  in         people are in His hands, is expressly taught by. the
      which He is God is the physical cosmos, if He is capable sacred record of the Exodus  .and by the prophets who
       of exercising His ,power  in this sphere only,, not He         extole and eulogize this work of Gdd  iri song. In Ps.
       but Pharaoh and Israel brought Israel out from bond-           105, we come upon a passage that reads, "He .(namely
       age with God co-operating as their servant and the             God) tuinecl their hearts to hate his people, to deal
       credit for the deliyerance  belongs not to the Lord but subtilly with his servants"  (3s. 105  :25). To Pharaoh
       to Pharaoh and Israel :. to Pharaoh for resoiving by the Lord said by the mouth of Moses, "For I will at
       himself to stand asi'd@ &nd permit Israel to leave his         this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, .nnd
      -&country  and thereupon to enter the deep to permit God upon thy servants, and upon thy people: that thou
       to drown biti in His s&a ; and to Israel for resolving by      maye&  know that there is none like me in all the
 `. hiniself  to set out for Canaan under the leadership of earth" (Ex. `9 :14) . Then there is the notice, "When
- Moses -after  Pharaoh according to his sovereign good               thou goest to return (the Lord is here speaking to
       pleasure deigned to release upon Israel his hold. But Moses) into Egypt, see that thou do all these wonders
       what do the plagues actually contribute to  ,the deliver- before Pharaoh which I have put in thine hand: but I
      anc.e,.  ifPharaoh  himself sends. them upon his heart ..-      will.--harden his heart; -that he shall not let the people       .'
       which he does if God has not the dominion in the m&al          go". (Ex. 4 :21).
       world-order, if the `heart of man is not in His hands -           That God has the dominion in the moral  world-
       and if he can also chobse, if -he so resolves, nbt to be       order is a truth that runs through Scripture from the
awed by them?  Absoiutely  nothing. Consider there- one of its covers -to the other. `He. .puts enmity be-
       fore that if the view here opposed be the accepted one,        tween the serpent and the woman and between the ser-
       we are driven to  conclbde  that God has no part in the        pent's brood `and the woman's seed (Gen. 3  :15). He
       salvation of Israel at all.                                    filled Bezaleel and  l!Iur with the Spirit of God, in wis-
           The view that the supreme master  qf the heart is          ddm, in understanding, and in knowledge . . . . (Ex
       man's -will, is also as  can  b@ expected strongly contra- 35 :30). He will send a faintness into the hearts of His
       dicted by experience. Man fears, is angrf, loves, hates,       disobedient people in the lands of their enemies ; and
       weeps and rejoices not by choice bit often inspite of the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and. they
       himself. His conscious likes and dislikes spring not shall flee, `as fleeing from a sword (Lev. 26 :36). He
      _ .from  decisions that ar< the fruitage  of deliberation btit gives unto Israel, scattered among the nations, a trem-
.are aroused - by what he sees and hears and en- bling heart, failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind  (Deut:
       counters. And even what he chooses to. do is deter- 28 :65). It w&s of the Lord to harden the hearts of the
       mined, shaped, by couhtless  moral, physical and psy-          Canaanites, that they should..  come against Israel in
      * chical, inward and outward necessities over which he battle, that he might destroy them utterly (Jos. II-:
       has not the slightest  sa$ and under which he is brought 20). When Saul turned his back to go from Samuel,
       .by the Almighty. Pharaoh `certainly does not choose God gave him another heart (I Sam. 10:9). When he
`- to be terrorized by the strokes of God. He chooses -went  home there  vent with him a band of men wbose

                  -,.
I            '                                 ,


   -7                           .                     t:,
           i          :
   -            `_                   -.             THE           S.TA'N-DAtiD       BEARER`            .                       3 9 5

 heart  the L&d had touched (I Sam. 10 :26).  He gave                      latter piophets  gave expression to in the strorigest and
 unto Solomon ti wise and understanding heart . . . `. most tender language. As an eagle stirreth up her
_. (I Kings 3 : 12). The hand of the Lord was to give the nest, .fluttereth  qver her young, spretideth  abroad her
 people of Judah one heart to do  the commandment of wings, taketh them, beareth them  on her wings : so the
 the king .  `. . . (I Chron. 30  929. The. Lord taketh Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god
 away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth. . with him. How this imagery from the mouth of God
 (Job 12  :34). He fashioneth  the hearts ,of the inhib- sets Israel before our eye as a people whq went out
 itants of the earth alike ;, . . . (Ps. 33 :15). He makes from Egypt. because He set up His kinkdom  of light
 His people to err from His  ways   and hardens their                      (I speak now of the spiritual Israel) in His son's heart,
 hearts from His fear (Isa. 63 :17). He gives unto His irresistibly called him, made him sensible of his plikht,
 people a heart to know Him (. Jer.' 24  :7). He puts His kept him in His (God's). power, ruled and  led?&&  son
 law in their inward parts and writes it in their hearts. by His Spirit and His word .and thus brought him out.
 (Jer.  31:33).  The Lord moved David against Israel                          There'was  both a physical outward and a spiritual
 to say, Go, number Israel tind Judah (11 Sam. 24 ~1).                     aspect to Israel's redemption. There was the being de-
          Thb Lord delivered the apostatizing  Jsrael  into the livered  from  a physical dppression and a being brought
hands of. spoilers and sold them into the hands of their. in  a' good earthly land and the being freed from  th&  i  `-
 enemies .round about. He rcctied up Judges, which de- spiritual adversary Satan, who,. as operating through
 livered them out `of the hand of those that spoiled them .Pharaoh,  had forced himself between the chtirch ahd
(Ju. 2  :14, 16). The Assyrian rises before our eye in God. All certainly desired to be delivered from the
 thk prophesy of Isaiah as the rdd of His anger, as-the l&s11  of the  E,rryptian  taskmaster. But only the spirit-
 ax with which He heweth and the saw that He shaketh ual &r&e1  could will to be freed from  the dominion of
 (Isa. .lO) . He calls a ravenous bird from the east, the the devil and to  inherjt  the land of unhampered com-
 man that executeth.  His counsel from a. .far country munion with God. The will to be freed from this do-
 (Isa. 46 ilO).                                                            minion and to be brought into a land where the taber-
          Of the life (spiritual) and hallowed dispositions of nacle `of God was with' men, sprang from the life of
 His people,  of. their desire'  fog  H@ and their will. to regeneration. Of this good will He was the Creator.
 walk in the way of His covenant, He is the author,                        But He also turned the, hearts of the carnal Israel to        .,
 fduntain,  creator. By nature dead in sin, they are born desire the deliverance as to its  outward  phatie,  so that
 of God, quicken&d together with Christ, raised up  to;                   tlie redemption as to both its phases in His work. But
 gether and made to sit together in heavenly places in it was this deliverance in its spiritual aspect  that.the
Christ Jesus. They are saved by grace through faith; Lord again had before His eye when He said by the
,, and !hat-not  of them: it is God's gift. Not  of works, mouth of Hose& "When Isriel was a child, then I loved
 lest any.man  should boast. His workmanship-they are, him, and called,my  son out of Egypt. I taught Ephraim.
 created in Cl@st Jesus unto good- works, which God also to go, taking them by their arms ; . . . I drew
 115th  before ordained, that -they should walk in them them  $th chdrds of a man, pith  band? of love: aqd  I
.(.Eph. 2). .-He .w_arks in them, both to .will and to do of was to them as they that take off the yoke on  their ,_
                                                                                      _-  .._  -..-
 His gdod pleasure (Phil. 2  :13).                                        j&s, ,and laid meat unto, ihe;;;" aos.  11 :l-4) ;
          That God's  .reign in the moral world-order is abso-                Say not, Jhere'fore  that the Lord proffered Israel
 lute, that His will is the sole supreme factor in all His .redemp$ion,  offered them liberty, invited, to free                           .
 moral actidn of the rational creature, must follow from them and that Israel of himself agreed to accept the
 the fact that tie is God, that being God, He is man's proff&ed  boon, so that ihe first impulse under which
 Creator and Sustainer 2 Creator also of %hat. spiritual he (Israel). acted was of him and that God's part of.
 oirganism  Scripture calls the church - in Him do we the. task consisted merely in strengthening this im-
 live, move and have our being (Acts !7:28)  ; it must pulse an6 in showing His signs among the Egyptians
 follow from the fact of the sovereignty of His counsel.                  that the latter might of themselves choose to be ter-
 And His  ,counsel  stands, and He will do all His rorized by His plagues and so terrorized (what non-
ple<asilre.           He has spoken it, and will. also. bring it to sense!) choose to let the people go. But say. that the
 pass. He has purposed it and will do it (Isa. 4'6).                      very first impulse under which Israel acted was of
          H&v a man, ?isda@ing the human will as the god God, that the will in them to respond to the call  to'go
 who brings Israel out from bondage, can believe, and out from bondage and be freed was worked by ,Him,
 earnestly and even with ftivency  insist that he pros- that He therefore brought them out. God  .ddes not
 trates himself ,before  the, God of Scripturei  is a conun-               offer but demands, He being God. And what He de-
.drum.  If the one outstanding argument of Scripture mands of His people, He gives.                            .
 is not that He is God and `that there is none else, words                    Finally;' it is exjctly because God reigns supreme
 have no meaning.                                                          in  ehe hearts of the wicked, that He as referring to
         .' That;'  the.._task  of leading Israel  .out from bondage Pharaoh could say by the mouth of Paul, "Even for
belonged  exclusively to the Lord is. a fact which the this purpose have I raised thee up, that I  might show
                                                             -
   .:  :                                   . : :


 my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
 throughout all the earth." -The meaning of this saying                       De Smart Gods
 is plain, `For this purpose have I caused thee to stand,      ' Daar zijn van die vreemde teksten in Gods Woord.
 td harden thy heart, to  place thy nay over against My         Dat zijn teksten die spreken ian. een vermoeien  des
 yea that I might have opportunity for humbling thee in Heeren ; die getuigen van het schier onverkiaarbare,  dat
 the dust by sending my `plagues upon thy heart and          God Zich ontzetten kan, dat Hij smart heeft aan Zijn
 terrorizing thee into confessing that I am God in tlie hart, dat Hem iets berouwt.
 midst of the earth and into thrusting my; people in thy
 fear from thee and thereupon by bringing thee into the         Al heel yroeg in den morgen der historie, ziet de
 deep to be destroyed. .Through the exercise of this My Heere  neer op het drukke gedoe der menschenkindere-n  .
 power in thee, I deliver my people that they may know en hooren we het uit Zijn mond, dat het menschdom
and praise me. So in this doing of mine, the glory of        zijn weg Verdi&f  en dat we1 in zulk een .mate, dat de'
My name will shine forth, in thy humbling and destruc-       .geheele  aarde vervuld was met wrevel. En tusschen
 .tion'and  in the salvation of my people against whom twee'haakjes mag hier -we1 opgemerkt  worden,  dat die
' thou exalteth thyself. And my name will be declared wrevel niet verklaard moet, tils zou het, als `t ware, een
 -throughout all the earth by the redeemed who taste beestenboel geiveest  zijn. Het tienschenleven  voor den
 that I am g6od.  What then is that doing from which vloed was maar geen liederlijke herrie, geen algemeene
 the glory of His name shines forth. It is the doing chaos, ruwe boel of iets dergelijks, want dien indruk
 that consists in humbling to the depths of the abyss la+ Gods Woord  zekerlijk  niet bij hen, die aandachtig
 `arid thus in destroying all violence which He causes to    alle, plaatsen opslaan in het Woord, welke spreken van
 exalt itself against Him and by so destroying and die periode. Gods Woord legt  & zelfs nadruk op, dat
 humbling deliver His people from its power. And of alles zijn geordenden gang  ging. Let er rriaar ,eens op
 this He is capable because He is God and none else.         hoe er. een parallel getrokken wordt tussch&  da! leven
                                             G. M. 0.        der wereld v&jr den vloed en het leven der wereld vlak
                                                             voor de komst van Jezus'op de wolken des hemels.  Alles
                                                             gaat juist .zijn  geordenden gang: ze aten en ze droti-
                 Tl@ PROPOSED PLAN                           ken ; ze  waren  trouwende en ten .huwelijk uitgevende,
                                                             tot op den dag, dat N.oach in den ark ging en God ze
        Dear Editor:-                                        allen verdierf. Dat beeld spreekt niet van  herie en
     me discussion on the proposed plan. certainly is in- chaos, van een beestenboel of reqolutie,  doch van een
 teresting. And I  .also  would send in a letter.  1 welgeordende  "commOnwealth".  Ik denk ze  waren  heel
 .think  it a fine paper and would not like to have a netjes en fatsoenlijk. En zoo zullen ze heel netjes zijn
 &hange.-  We who understand the English language in den laatsten dag.
 better would like more English but that would not be           Neen, als we er iets van verstaan willen van ivat
 fair to our older people.  j                                het zeggen wil, dat God smart heeM  aan iijn hart, dan
     It certainly is a paper we can read and derive much
                                    .                        moeis? we niet allereerst  letten  op den mensch zooals
                                                                                                        .- .._. -..    -.  -..-  _-.
 for o&$i&tual  1%. And -are always i&rncted  in ou$ hij zich gedraagt'&eti&er  `den m&ch, doch op dien-
 R@formed  truths, as this is most necessary for young zelfden mensch zooals hij  zich gedraagt  tegenovepden
 and old. Why should we have a change? And be  s'r;          Allerhoogste.
daliger  of having this crowded out gradually if all the        De wrevel der a&rde en de smart Gods `zijn O&OS-
 other is added. c                                           makeli j k  aan elkaar verbonden.
                                    Mrs. J. Kooienga          De wrevel der aarde is `smartelijk voor Gods hart,
     Grand Rapids, Mich.                                     omdat die aarde wrevelig is tegen God.
                                                                Want God wordt vermoeid  daardoor,  wordt- in Zich-
        Dear Editor :-                                       ielven ontzet, en rouwt.                                       .`.
    Am writing you in response to your request for              Nu heeft men we1 getracht om dit vreemde in Gods
 letters. It was. with much regret that I read that' our Openbaring te verklaren door te spreken van een an-
 `Standard Bearer has seen its day. Kindly list me with thropomorphisme, een vreemd woord, dat Jetterlijk  be-
  those who are not in favor of the proposed plan.           ,teekent:  menschvormig. Die verklaring wil dan, dat
     My reasons are, first, that we do not wish dur paper in al, die plaatsen eenvoudiglijk menschelijke harttoch-
  to be on the order `of The Banner, because we need to      ten aan God toegeschreven  worden,  doch die verklaring
  defend our church views in regard to our history.          heeft eigenlijk ten gevolg, dat er vati de smart Gods
     It is my prayer that we may ever seek the good of en Zijn rouwen  niets meer overblijft. Dan ontzet Hij
  Zion in regard to our paper. If possible I would like      Zichzelf niet j ook wordt I-lij dan ook niet vermoeid
  to have &ore English writing for our young people.         door onze zonden. Het is maar zoo'n  menschelijke
                                              S-.  H .       spreekwijze, die op God overgebracht wordt. Het  netto
     Grand Rapids, Mieh.                                     resultaat is dan, dat het niet waar is.
                                                                               .    c


                                                                              Do not mi&terpret  `the text as though it. reads that
                              S h i n i n g   L i g h t s                     the church must give light to the world. Gramatically
                                Let, your light so shine before `men; that    this interpretation (verse 14). is impossible for then
                              they may see"your  good works, and glorify      the imperative should have been used while we have
                              your Father which is in heaven.                 here simply the indicative, a statement of fact.  u'e  ure
                                                       M a t t .   5:16.      the light of the world. and because ye  `are My command
            This v&se is a continuation and applicatiop  of the is: "Let you% light so. shine befoke men, that they tiay
         i&mediate preceding verse&  We called your attentidn                 see your good works, and glorify yotir  Father which is
         to  theni  in a former article. The main  thbught   ex- in heaven." .
        pressed in them, we saw, is that the  church of our
         Lord Jesus Christ is the light of the .world. That is,
         hers is the knowledge, revelation, truth, illumination
      given unto  her through the operation of the  Hoi:7                      That the light can be extinguished is; needless  ,to
         Spirit. Endowed with these spiritual properties  she is say, `not implied in this text. Salvation! is never based
         able t'o discern beiyeen  right a@d wrong. She, is sur- upon such unstable  grotinds that it is simply left to
         round&d -by dqrkness,  foolishness and ignorance being man to decide whether or not he shall retain the light
         in the midst of the world. That world .does. not know which is given him through the life that is from above.
         the truth and does not live the life of light  - the life Neither is it implied in the  admonition:  `Lef your light
         that is in' harmony with the Word of God. All the ills shine.' Arminianism does not find any help to maintain -
       . of our present world must be explained frfi-om this,point            itself from. this text.
         bf view,.that  the world lives from the principle of dark-             The Savior  char&es'.His  church (the  belikvers)  to
         ness, the `principle of sin and corruption. And although let jts light  shine.  The very nature and purpose  of
         the demand of: God's Word is and always  .will remain light is to shine. It must radiate and there is no choice
         that every man is duty bound to acknotiledge  his. fqol-             as to whether or not it can do anything else. This is-
       isbness abd to renounce his wisdom, no man is capa-. -&6 p!ain from. the illustration in the preceding verse.
       citated to do so, unless. the iight is given-him.                      When  you `light a candle, you put it in a place that it
`.          `No, ,it is not ,tkue that man seeks after the tr'uth or          may answer its purpose. I have kindled you and given
         fountain of life, turning to Him who is light and gn you a place that your light `may be seen. I made you a
         wliom there is no darkness. For if one is seeking earn- new creation, a peculiar gathering endowed with that
         estly after the truth it is because the life of light is knowledge and truth, that heavenly wisdom so .that
         opepating  in him  aid he shall  surely'  receive it con- you are and reveal the antitheiis  in the midst of that
         sciously. On the other hand, man as he is by nature, 2oolish,  ignorant world that is enveloped in darkness.
      .; does not `seek after the truth, after God, and does :.lot For darkness is on. every side and in every sphere of *
      .conduct   hi~mself with propriety when  the  demand  of life.-                   _     _
        God's word comes to him, but he will  oppose that. very                   The light that -is given to the church f&r a  very
         demand with $1 his. will and mind for he delights in                 definite purpose. You must make knqwn the iruth Over
       _ darkness and he prefers-his-natma ,status  above any-                again& the lie. Be not afraid- to let'your light rhine.
         tliing else.: Hence, as he is, he i-nay not and cannot and To have the light means first of all to possess the truth
         will not live the !ife -of light and reveal it in his w.orks.        as a  ilatter of conviction. The conviction as the result
        There is absolutely  nothinr timbiguo@  in this state- of `the` new life of the Spirit iii you. In the second
         ment unless we deny the fundamental teaching of. place, as a conviction that demands expression. We
         Scripture that man is dead  in sin and totally depraved, say sometimes that we have the truth, but we had
t     filled with corruption. No, not so that he does  3ot                    better  .turn  it around into a question applying to our-
         possess a will and mind and desires for than he would selves: did the truth take hold of us ? We mean as a
         no longer be a man. He r.emains a willing creature but deep felt experience of the purifying' power that has
         he never wills God, he does not think after. God and he the force in it to come out for it and manifest itself.
         will in all his actions say there is no God. God is ::lot While the criterion applied for such experience is noth-
         ,in  till his thoughts. Neither does `he desire or long ing less thin the Word of God. All earnest conviction
         after God. He himself is god atid he desires all things demands expression and is characterized with the ten-
         apart from the living God.                                           dency to become bolder and stronger. The more the
             Therefore he does not understand his relation to- Christian reveals himself as a child of light the
         ward God nor his relation toward the world and the                   stronger he will manifest himself as time pabses on
         things  th'ereof.                                                    and that much better he. will be fortified against the
            In the  midst  of that  ignoiance   and foolishness of onslaught of his adversaries.
         the world the church is called upon to let its.light shine.             `Moreover, the source from whence this light  cam6
         That is, let truth and wisdom and knowledge be se: and. the purpose for which it was given calls for
         vealed and. become manifest  in the midst of d&mess.                 exactly that one thing, namely  to  let it shine. This
                                                                                                              ?


,400                                 T H E   STANDAR'D   B'EARER                                                     :
                                                                                                               -.         :

light, knowledge, truth, wisdom, is never one's own:           there is no light in us. Especially &hen all seems to be
Wheti the church appears in the world that lieth in against us and the flesh must be crucified, or when the
darkness she is admonished not to be afraid. but to let world flatters us or sets itseif over against the church
it be known to that world that indeed she is light. She as a devouring lion.
must testify come what may. The tendency today is  ,to              And what are these works? Not necessarily  :ihe
make a favorable  impressi&  upon that world, to play works of a religious nature, such as are done in the
nicely along with her. When we read how the church midst of the church. Good works could be defined as
called after our Lord Jesus Christ prides itself that she      all the actions wl&h we perform be they ever sd small..,
is recognized by the world, that the world does not            Works that proceed from a true faith and are per-
consider her a backnumber, all because the principles formed according to the law of God and are done to
laid down in the Word are left in the classroom, pulpit His glory. Whatever He preparkd for us from  day to
and pews, that she has attained to the level of worldly day in the so-called big things as in the small or in-
wisdom, it is about time to be alarmed and also about          significant things.
time that she examine herself very rigidly and try to               Together that they are the `works of light in the
find out whether the light is hid. After all twilight is midst of the world and in the calling whatever that
not light and any mixture between light and darkness           calling may be. That therefore they reveal the truth
is always abominable in the sight of God. Do we infer as the revelation of the knowledge that does all things
then. that  tie must remain `met  een.  boe&je  in ken for God's sake. Let your works be charaderized by
hoekje ?' That we` are .di_stinguished.  from the world the light and let the light' be seen! So that in the
becaqse  we walk in-the midst of her with a long face works the inner  rhan becomes manifest.
or appear with an inferiority complex? God forbid!                  In the sight of men. No, not' you, but your good
   The purpose of the admonition. makes this impos-            works. It is very well possible that we are seen even
sible. Your Father who is in heaven must be glorified,         while the works appear to be good. Think of the Phar-'
therefore let your light shine ! As to the intention and isee in the temple and on the streetcorner. That surely
final aim it must radiate for His sake. `Even as daily is not the light that shines, but the darkness of the old
strength and duties were not given to  us in order that        man of sin, a  .satisfying  of the pride of the flesh to
we may use them as we see fit, so also the light -was          covet honour and glory for self.  .Better not let man
given that it m"y shine forth. No one has the light to -see them for those works the world also performs. Nay.
hide it either because he  becalie spiritually lazy or .but the good works. The works that are done in hum-
entangled in the things of this present ,time.                 ility and in the fear of the Lord. When such works are
        This admonition is further emphasized by the ad- performed in the sight of men the citizen of the King-
verb so, which refers back to the metaphor. Let it so dom ;znd his relation toward God are revealed. Very
shine, let it become conspicuous as a candle placed upon beautifully this relation is expressed in `your Father
$ caridlestick. The Lord did n6t place His church in who is in heaven'. It demands that the Christian re-
some far. off corner of the earth but in' the midst of veals himself as as child of his heavenly Fither. He
the world He placed her, that the world may see her for must be an imitator, a follower of Him. If he is your
the sake of the light.                                         Father, give Him His honour. Be obedient through
                                                             __ ____ -.
                                                               love. It is  exp`eZtti:tr'of  children that  they-  reflect  the-  -  -
                                                               life of their parents. They do resemble in `some -way
                                                               their parents, it is expected  of them. Thus it is with
  The light must shine that men may see your good              God's children. They are created for that purpose in
works. It appears as though the Savior identified light order that they  may'  declare His virtues. Over against
and works. But light and works must not be taken as the father of darkness- and his offspring stands the
if !hey are the one and the same thing. Light itself as Father of light .with His children. They must look and
$0 the idea can be conceived of without works. We              act like Father.
said in a former article that the light a,?,. such is the
illumination of the Holy Spirit as the work of God
Triune through our Lord Jesus Christ in the inner man,
whereby truth, knowledge and certainty are imparted.                If on the one hand the power of that light has
The influx of that life is the influx of His power in us moulded the character of the child of God  ?o that it is
through which our mind and will direct  and guide  -our evident in his conduct, the -Lord now procedes  td point
actions. Of course, not apart from .Him but in close to the highest purpose of it all. Man must see your
connection with Him and in constant study of His Word good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
given to us that we may know His good and perfect Slime expositors try to infer that the specific  works
will and act accordingly. Hence, the light is. not con- mentioned her& are confined to the wo%k of the min-
fined to  oul- innermost being. True it is, we are often istry or as the specific work?% mission as done by the
inconsistent. We hide the light and it often looks as if early church. This view however limits the text as to


             :                       . .
                        _                                           .`+Hi3-     .ST&NDA-l%D                       BEA.RER                                -.                                       4 0 1

           its scope and procedes, from  the idea that the .church                         darkness and in the good works bf His children the
            as ,well  as the individual  member  has but. one calling light indeed di'd rtidiate.
            namely, .to win souls for the Kingdom. It .is the well-                           .T&?refore,  let your light shine &nd your Father in
            .known  phrase of present-day Christendom. Every time `heaven shall be .glorified now `and in the eternal morn-
           a  sinned- is brought into the church .God  is glorified. In i n g :
            other words the converts see the good.works done by                                                                                                                           w. v.
            you and the result of it is that God receives glory. For                                                                           \
           God's glory  zue must convert sinners. Is it not plain
            that this explanation is pregnant with heresy?, To
            mention just  ofie, this view presents the matter  as                                                              THE PROPOSED  PidiN
           though the glorification of our heavenly Father depends                                                                                                                           _
                                                                                                          Geachte Redacteur  :A
            upon the work of His children and as though the con-                                                                                                                     "
            version of a sinner is entirely the work of man. Be-                               Daar u de  lezeis  van onze Standard Bearer verzocht
           sides, this view is rooted in a false conception of God's ,hebt om hunne gedachten. te geven adngaande het
           church and Kingdom. The church and Kingdom  de-. voorgestelde. plan om ons  blae  te,veranderen,  dacht  ik
            pend  upon  a certain actiofi in time and is not the real- het niet overbodig om ook enkele  letteren te schrijven
            ization  bf God's counsel and His sovereign good dienaangaande, ,om geplaatst te worden  in `ens blad.
            pleasure. Do we then make light of the conve_rsion  of                          Volgens mijn  inzicht zou deze  -verandering  onge-
            sinners? We do not ! We admit that every time a wenscht zijn en een stap in de verkeerde  richting. De
           sinner is converted, or rather when conversion is wit-                          tijd kenmerkt zi&h door verandering Op schier  alle .s;e-                                                            a.
            iiessed from  day to day our Father, is glorified by such bied, b&de in kerk en in wereld, in business en in poli-
            a-conSert  and conversion as the work of  His grace.                           tiek.  Overal roept  men  voor verandering. En zoo
                        tioreover,  the text does not single out the ministry roept nien ook ten dljzichte van de S. B; En alhoewel.
            of, the Word as the good work whereby God is glorified.                        alle  .+erandering  niet verkeerd is,  tech is het mijne
            -Works mentioned here include all the good works of all opinie aangaande ons  blid, .dat men het zooveel moge-
            God's children and .to exclude any of thq;m cannot be lijk- in zijne tegenwo&dige  vorm en inhoud, moet be-
            defended by the contents of this text. The tense of the ho&en.                                                                                                                          -
            .verb as used here may be the beginning of an actidn,                              Voigens  sommigen (en dit is nog  tie1 de grootste
            the  whole of it or the result. We take is  .tb be the                         reden  om te veranderen) is de Standard Bearer nietge-
            latter, so that it is not confined to time. That is, when past voor onze jongelui., De stof is te zwaar en te diep, -
            the good works are seen by men, whether they be con- en .ook zijn de stukken te lang. Nu is het mijne  over-
            verted or  not, the result cannot be anytliing  .e!se than. tuiging dat wij niet naar de smaak van de jongelui  moe;
            the glorification of our heavenly Father. His children ten doen., Wil men verhaaltjes dan kan men die nog
            rejoice in  them  now for they are a manifestation of overal  kgijgen.  Maar ik tel mij  ook.otider.het   j'onge
            His grace and loving kihdness.  The good works are a volk, en mijns inziens, is de St. Bearer een gepast blad,
           .-.-testimony .of what He gave to His people. His grace is. voor  `0~s als  Song volk. Want immers,  .als er een ware
            manifested in them. The cause of their good works is be&e.rte   bij- bns'als jongelui  -is -&-I in de wegen van  -
            ihat He prepared them from before the foundation. `of onzen  God te tiandelen,  en zijn geboden te beicrachten,
            the world. And He also prepare the `children through dan vinden wij ook een behagen om godd,elijke  zaken te
            His Son Jesus Christ who~led  them out of darkness into bestudeeren, en- om in de  kerinis der waarheid toe te
            His'marvelous light SO that they can walk in`these good nemen. Met de  verkndering  zal mij;n kennis zeker niet
            works.~   1                                                                    toenemen,  maar minder  worden,   want geen  blad. heeft
                  That shall be  theireternal  song of victory  ,to ascribe. mij zoo vooruit doeri  gaan ds de Standard Bearer sinds
            glory to Him alone. In other words in those  zthat.are                         1924. En. als ik de oudere kinderen Gods vraag, dan
            .saved,  all the light they received and the works they zeggen ze het ook, dat ons blad het eenigste is, waarin                                                                                           -
            performed were of Him alone.                                                   uiteen gezet.  wordt  de eenvoudige.waarheid Gods op een
                        Shall those that are lost also glorify Him?, In the                schriftuurlijke wijze.,
           :great day of judgment every tongue shall confess that                              Hopende' dat de `verandering  niet doirgaa$-  en `dat
            Jesus Christ is Lord; to the glory of God the Father. we1 om der jongelui wil, dank- ik. U voor de  plaatsilig,
            They  shall.never  be able to deny His light in the good                       en  verblijf  .heilbidden& de uwe
            wokks  of His children, while at the same time .they                                                                                                     Peter Zylstra
            seal their own condemnation. `They never walked in
            the light although in their innermost  being.they  were,                        Hull, Iowa
            conyinced  of i& beauty. -But they refused to a`cknowl-
            edge this' fact,  openly. Yet- they  shal! not keep silent-                                                                                                                             .'     ,
            in their, eternal suffering and in the out&  darkness                              God openbaart Zijn gedachten niet f`aan de wijzen
      they Will always acknowledge that in God.  tliere is no' en ,de verstandigen, " tiaar aah .de. ffkinderke-ns".                                                                               .-,  ./
x,

:                            ,.                                                      .'
      .                                                                                      ,:.                                 .-.                                           _
     ,.           _.               -,       -.     .     :     .     -'                       _     ,;,-  .._  .-  ..  .  .                                             -
                                                                                                                                  -I     .          .          `.            .:-.


                The Niceties of the World                          shall be a balance between work and play and sleep:
                                                                  the day of the slave and his driver are gone forever.
         Small wonder that the horrible theory of common And all the world shall wonder after the beast.
     grace finds its devotees by  the thousands in the Church         For beast it is. It homes from the abyss.
     of Jesus Christ..                                                By all means the church shall be maintained. "Y&
         It cannot be denied that  t$e  world of our day          are such a wondrous agent for the uplift of the com-
     abounds in the niceties of life. And that in every munity! Will you not join us next Tuesday? We shall
     sphere.                                                      have a pow-wow, a tea party of the local W. C. T. U.
         Things are so very delicate; it seems as though thz We depend on yo& nice co-operation! We are all so
     life of man in its totality shall abound in refinement;      extremely nice  !" And they have their `thousands of
     there is a deliciousness in living that is' studied, is      pow-wows throughout the land. Our pastor attended
     superabundant !                                              too. With hands outspread, fingertops touching,  while
         You just wait! We are on the right`track. Selfish- his benign countenance beams of gbodwill  and bene-
     ness, sickness, war &and pestilences shall be subdued volence.
among the children of men. Laws of nature are being                   Sure,  the devil wants the church maintained. .I
     studied and we shall be masters .indeed of creation.         wonderful agent to further his diabolical scheme for                      '
     Utopia is coming.                                            the delusion of the masses. How can the Christ be Je-
         And coming events cast their shadow before.              throned without the church? How can Anti-Christ  corn&
         Even now "all the world wondered".                       without the frock that dilutes the  Gospel  of Christ.
         Its root is `man and the wisdom and innate, goodness         It is all so nice in this present tiorld of durs.
     of ma&                                                          Small wonder that niany  of the church that know
         It is clear when we notice the conviction of man re-     not, see in the niceties of the nice worldlings a positive
     garding `man in its infantiy.  Education has changed         goodness that is a source of glee to the heavens.
     radically. Set the child.in  beautiful surroundings from        But I would plead with you for the truth that is
     its birth. Hang the walls of your nursery with roseate once delivered unto the saints.
     paintings of .birds  and of flowers. Tread softly, speak        In the midst of all that nice civilization, we hear the
     softly.  ,By all means, do not argue. Allow the little       thundering word of God: Indeed, the revelation of that
     darlings .to express themselves to their utmost  desires.    power has two horns like unto the Lamb of God, but <t
     In their schoolbooks we read of the soft and delicate        speaketh like the dragon, the devil.
     fairy.       ..          I                                      Even in our own day, and that in ever increasing .
        The child is tbmorrow  in all its brightness. We still -measure, the heavenly evaluation of the nice world is
     bear the shackles of  antiquitarian  and ugly yesterday.     this: every imtigination  of the thoughts of their heart
     Segregate yourselves  fU;om  the hope of the `future. We is only evil continually.
     are beyond hope, but youth shall have its day, They             It ought to be clear that this is so, but for the sake
     are the harbingers of complete  fulfilment.                  of emphasis we shall point it out: all the revelation of
.       BuMhe brats continue to fight  o.ver their games of the niceties of the world. are evil because it is nice
                                                                     ._.                                  _  __--          .~.. --_. ___
     marble and the top.                                          without God. A&`&en  t& sd-Cal&d  niceties are abom-
        We notice  it in the world of eloctition,  the world`of inabls before God.
     the spoken word.                                               You see, the wojrld  has found out that there is some-
        Listen to the radid speeches and it shall strike you thing fundamentally wrong with'itself.  They experi-
     tkai we are growing ever more refined in,our language.       ence the curse of God. They notice that curse in all
     All severe corners are polished off and there is a nicety the relations existing in the world. They cannot,
     in speech that will sooth and soften: cursing and rant- neither will they shut` their eyes to these verities.
     ing `is so extremely  vulgar: "Do not swear while `in around th@n abounding on every side. Death and its
here : for there are ladies present !."                           Causes are too clearly manifested. So also the selfish-
        Around the tables of Geneva the diplomats purr and ness and the hatred among man. The world indeed has
in cadences soft they flatter 2nd promise, they smile             eyes for the ugliness of life.
     and beam on their fellows. It is all so extremely nice.         And of course there is no rest, no peace in their
        But the snake is in the heart: poison of asps in          hearts  either. Inexpressible is  the suffering of the
`their vessels.                                                   human heart. And even though they are blind for the
        It is also in the customs and manners of living.          real, theological cause of this curse and its results,
        Civilization has its day.                                 they notice the good-enough causes. And then they
        Life grows ever more luxuriant, more beautiful forthwith set themselves to correct, to educate them-
     every day. The drunkard and the imbecile are locked          selves and others. They begin to fight  these  good-
     behind doors of steel: our face grows nicer day by day.      enough causes.
All things  are regulated and unfold according, to                   To mention one instance. They notice the suffering
-studied  routine.  Life shall be nice; that's all. There because of manifold deception. and lying in business.

                         :


                                                                                                                                                 403'

           And they fight. it. And the results &re that you find- in the Church of Jesus Christ. For God and His Christ
           thriving busine'sses that abound in formal honesty. only are beautiful. And`tie are now and shall be beau-
           They have studied this curse of  de`ception  among man tiful. Without spot or wrinkle `shsll we stand before
           and they have remedied it.  mey have saved themselves His Face eternally.
           from this curse and its. results of bitter disaipoint-                  And we shall indeed endeavour to make all things
)          ment  and' subsequent revenge.                                     nice. But tie will endeavour to do this bnly in the name
              The niceties of the world is the salvation'of man of Jesus. It is the command of God. We may not use
           by man. In its human wisdom` and ingenuity. The any other means. And, secondly, it is no  us" to  en-
           customer is always right. They always make good.. deavour to do it in other ways. It iS the' only really
           And they do what they promise. And their guarantee effective way.
           can be relied upon. And the result is satisfied customers               Try fill ;ou please to make the world nice and clean
           and the seller a millionaire. Here you have human with human methdds. You will. never succeed. W h e n
           salvation with its heaven.                                         y6u h&e educated and polished the worldling,' you have
           No common grace  in this?                         . .            L nothing but an educated and polished child of the devil,
              Then you are as blind as a bat. Do you not see who hates God and His Christ.
           this  salv&iop  and blessedness on every hand? And                      But preach Christ. And the  rewlt `will be that
           through `The .varidus Chambers of Commerce  we will organically the world is saved. And beComes  nice in
           conquer every curse of the lie and misrepresentation so God's sight.                                             _'        .
           that heaven shall be to the buyer.                                      The niceties of the world are called horrible in the
              And thus it is with all relations of. our present `day a g e - o l d   B i b l e .
           civilization. Utopia is coming.                                         The niceties of the Churcli are  rubi& and diamonds.
              Byt,. beloved, it is evil throughout.           %               They are the  .firstfruits  of the nice `world that is
              For it is' a wicked salvation of man,  fo2 man and by coming. The world that shall be refined'like gold that
           man! Higher than the earth it does pot shine.                      cometh  forth from the crucible of God's redeeming
              Do you not see that all endeavour to remove the grace.- The crucible of Golgotha.
           just curse of God without the Cross of  jesus is abom-                  They are the niceties of the Kingdom. '
           inable in the sight of God! And for that very reason                    The beauties of common grace?
           the Lord does not recognize it. But calls it the revela-                Get another soul. That one is blind.
           tion of the beast.                                        . .      I    `fExcept  ye be born again, ye cannot see the King-
              The curse is a just curse.                                      dom of God !"
              The world has justly deserved to suffer. To suffer                   Nor its glories:
     `: now and to suffer infinitely worse in hell. Sin is no                      "Hier weidt mijn ziel met een verwoncierend oog !"
           joke. Siti is lawlessness. And we may not endeavour                                                                                G. V.
           to remove that curse without the Cross of Jesus.
              All the curse of all God's own people was placed on
     `, Jesus. Arid He .&pried  itawby:  And it. shall  .never                                                                             _-  .  .-     -I
           return. And since the curse is gone for God's people
           there is no more curse for them in the world. All                                               I N `   M E M O R I A M
     things are working for  their  good. Even death and
           suffe&g work  tinto them a superabounding weight of                     Waar het den Hee+e  in Zijne Goddelijke   ,wijsheid  behaagde
           gloyy.-  1; this life and in the life to come;                     onzen  geIiefden  Ieeraar, Ds. B. Kok, en Mrs. B. Veltkamp,  zuster
              Therefore all real improvement and all Christian van  onzen  leeraar, in rouw te  domp'elen,  daar op den 20sten
           civilization stands  ,@ the sign of Golgotha.                      April  1935,   h&ne geliefde moeder,
              Do you not.  see that all  endeavo,ur  to, remove that                                       MRS  BENA KOK,
           awful curse of God, while they call Jesus a .curse,  is op den leeftijd van 65 jaren na een langdurig'lijden door den
           abominable in God's holy sight?                                    dood hun werd ontnomen, wenscht de kerkeraad bij dezen zijne
              When the world cleans itself otitwardly,  its. heart hartelijke deelneming te betuigen  aafi Ds. Kok en gezin,  aismede
           is filled with hatred or indifference toward God. When Mr. en Mrs. B. Veltkamp en gezin, en bidt dat de Heere balsem
           they  appo&t.  their committees- and organize drives of moge gieten in de wonde geslagen en dat Hij hui trooste door
           purity. of morals and what have you, they crucify Zijn Woord en Geest.
           Christ anew and make Him `to an open shame.
              God calls it evil. For all the imagination of iheir                   Namens den kerkeraad van Roosevelt Park, Grand  Rapids,
           thoughts is only evil continually.                                                                               Peter Dykema, Scriba
              Md shall we then call it good? God forbid. _
              Nay, but we shall,  by God's own grace, preach the
           Christ.                                                                 Wij krijgen alleen een begrip van de onmetelijkheid
                                                                                                                                                  7
              `And that Christ is nice. All the real niceties are Van de zonde door de onmetelijkheid van de genaae.                                     II
                                                                                                                       i
     j"        :      ;                                .-                                          .I-       :.


                                                                                                        God was Love itself;  iove in his own immense, incom-
                                                        O u r   Recon&ation  TQ                         prehensible, and unsearchable essence; and that man,
                                                           Our  Neighbout                               by viewing so amiable an object of love, as is displayed
                                                                                                        in Christ Jesus, might be transformed into` the same
;_  `1.                                                         Contribution  i
      :                                                                                                 image day by day.
: _'                               -Every  bne who desires to be reconciled to Gbd, must                      Futheimore,  as  in Christ, God and man united  to-
           :.                   of necessity endeavor to reconcile himself to his neigh- .gether by'an indissoluble tie, so the love of God is so
- :                             bour ; becatlse  God takes the injury' which is offered to closely connected with  the love of our neighbour, that
                  - : man, as offered to himself; and the dhmage  done to man.
,.                                                                                                      it cannot exist without it. Nay, the love of `God and of
..i  -'.,  ca.s done to himself. When therefore, any one  oflends                                       our neighbour can be no more disjoined or put asunder,
._ `..                         .both  God and man he connot  be restored to the favor than the divine.and  human nature jp Christ. And as he
.-.  I'                         of God, before he is reconcilt5d to man his neighbour; who injures the humanity of  C-hrist   cannqt but affront                             .
  ,_  *y.Tfbr having offended them both he' rhust alsb ,be recon-
. . . ..A                                                                                               his divinity also ; so he who offends man, is in like
~  :.:...; tiled to both, which is expressly attested by Christ manner guilty of offending the infinite God himself.
:.                              himself :
 i  -.                                             "If thou bring thy gift to  the altar and there            We will illustrate what has been said, by a compar-
  ->: . . re'memberest  that thy brother hath aught against thee, ison derived .from  nature. When  a circle is made, and
                 . . leaye there.thy  gift before the altar, and go thy way ;` from its centre a number of lines are drawn to&he  cir-
           : . .
 `,.  :                         first be reconciled to thy brother and the'n come and cumference, all these lines, though ever so distant in
   ::                         `offer thy gift".                                          :
-  ._                                                                                                  the circumference, meet  togetheb  `in. the point, which
 :  .,.
. .                                It will be needful, therefore,, to  say some thing
,,;                                                                                                    is in the middle. Here they are all united in one, and
,_ ,.__,_,._.?
        _  further of the love of God and of our neighbour, `and all flow into one, be they ever so wide asunder, yea,
  ..`.-?-`.: how impossible it is td separate the one from the oth.er; even directly opposite one to  the other. Not one of all
8. .; . '_ -' and again,. that this reconciliation so. joined together;
g                                                                                                      the lines, let their number be ever so great, carZ be
                                proves the. true source of brdtherly  love and effection  ; broken from the rest, without losing its communicatidn
                               which the beloved disciple hath expressed as follows: with the center itself, wherein they all meet. So God
                              "If a man say I love God and hateth,his  brother whom is a point, or a centre, whose circumference is every-
                              .he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not
  `_                                                                                                   where, and which, in a manner, extends itself to all men
 __`i,..                       seen?
 :                                      And this commandment have we from him, that upon earth. Whoever presumes to  break off the lines
        . he that loveth God, love his  b&her also." So utterly of, his love from his neighbour, Gust in like manner                                                    '
 :  .,  i impossible 4s it, that. the love of God should subsist
      `_                                                                                               disjoin and break them off from God at the same time.
                       -       without  the love of our neighbour. Hence al& it fol-
      *                                                                                                And as all these lines cohere and concur in `the centre,
      .-  ,Y  TOWS  further, that he who truly  and unfriendly loves and therein mutually .affect one another, so is  ,there a
            _.. " God, will also embrace his neighbour with, the same oin-                             sort of central sympathy, and a fellow, as it were, -of
 ,..                           eere afYe&n.               And again, if the love we profess to the sufferings of our neighbour,. provided we be but
                              bea: to God, be hypocritical and false  ; then the love all united in God, the great center of all good
                               .with which we seem to,love oui- neighbour, will rise no
_  . ./_- .                                                                                            Christians.
                                                                                                      __.-            _  -. _
           higher than  <ts  principle,  -but  p?o;e false likewise:--                                        The truth of v&at has been said,'  & forcibly  ill& __
  ' -.. -Therefore, the love of our neighbour is `the test of our trated in the history of Job. When the news was
           ` `< love of God, by the right application of which, the truth brought him, that his temporal goods were destroyed,
  -' ."                        or falsehood of that love will easily `be discovered.
                  .-                                                                                   it appears that he quietly bore the loss of them with-
                                _ This consideration gives us a true insight into  the out giving any great sign of discontent at the appoint-
                 `. .`. ,_ love- .of' our neighbour,  and. that brotherly reconcilia-
           i                                                                                           ments of  ,Provi'dence. He still continued to bless the
           `_                  tion  .which ought to attend it. There is a twofold ob- Lord, and freely to own, that he who had given him
                               ject given by God to man, to which all the actions of
                       `_                                                                              his'property, had also a right to take it away  whenever
  /'                           his life tire constantly td tend; namely, the love of God,. he ,pleztsed.  But when he was told, that he had also
            .  ..' qnd of our neighbour. Into this,  all our endeavours lost his children, then indeed it went to his heart: then
 :. :.,  -Ought finally to be resolved, and we ought `to` make a" he "arose and rent his mantle, and shaved his head,
                 -.            daily progress in this holy exercise ; since we are to and, fell down-upon the ground and worshipped." So
                  : this very -end, created, redeemed, and sanctified. In a let every true Christian act when he hears of the cala-
                               word, Christ `himself is the one and only scope in mity of his neighbour ; (here .represented`  by the chil-
  .if'                         iyhich all our actions ought-to centre. Now the more'
  `.                                                                                                   dren of Job) knowing that he ought more to be affected
                              we approach to love, the more we approach to Christ. with the misery of his neighbour, than with the loss of
                               and to the practice of his unblameable life.                            all  his worldly  subs$ance.  For it is the property of
                  :-               Fey this very end God was made man; oy the Word true love, to be  moyed.  with the miseries of other men
                  . . was made flesh, that he might set before our eyes a more khan with our own losses. 0 happy men  ! if they
                             `- most lovely; and living image of his infinite love and would live together in mutual love.  and affection! Then
   :_.1: ,. . . k@dnes$  and that from -hence it might appear, that frauds would cease, then injuries would be known no
   -._ zz, y
                  ..k  ,..,  '
                  i. .                  .                                          <'
                                             -.,L-.        ,       .     ..`.                 ;:


 more, nor would there be  any complaint of unjust the person whom he has offended; 2nd, He is faithfully
 ways, or of underhand dealings.                               to restore that of which he has defrauded his neigh-
     Iti  okder  that this might be more deeply impressed      bour ; `that is, he ought to returp not only the prin-
OX the heart, God was pleased to create but one man            cipal, but also the fifth part over and above it; 3rd, If
 in the beginning, together with Eve, who was soon             there be none to receive it, he `is then to offer it unto.
 after.brought  forth. This was done, that all mankind the Lord himself.
 springing up from one original stock, and, as it were            This restitution of thin-gs unlawfully taken away, is
from one root, might all unite in mutual kindness, and         commanded in such strong and expressive words, as  !o -
 brotherly  affection  with one  another.  This; I say, is     make it absolutely necessary for furthering an un-
 the reason why God did not create ,a multitude o? men         feigned repentance. St. Augustine has  ihus expr_essecl
 in the beginning, but only one ; whereas he created           his mind on this subject: "The sin is not remitted, un-
 many beasts, trees, and herbs at once.                        less the thing unlawfully taken away be restored."
     !.i?he love which God commands Us to pursue, is of "When the thing that  *is taken away may  be restored,
  that agreeable nature, and of that in,Fomparable  sweet- and is not, .there is no true, but a feigned repetitance."
  ness, that it does not in the least burden either a'man's       And truly, it is the.property  of unfeigned repent-
  soul ,or body. Nay, it renders. the mind easy under ance to condenin all earthly things, and count them as
  every .event,  is most `agreeable to our very nature, and clung in respect of that abounding grace which.is  be;
  in every respect attended with a quiet ana blessed life.     stowed upon a penitent sinner. Of this we have a
 -But if the same God who has enjoined thee to love thy glorious instance in ZaccGeus,  and in his conversion to
  neighbour, had commanded thee to hate him, thou God ; who has had however but very few followers in
 wouldest then have had cause to complain of hard ' this degenerate  ige. Sound conversion to God cleanses
  usage, and of a far heavier burden than that which the heart, and purifies the  cbpscience,  by faith in
 love can possibly impose  tipon thee. For the spirit. 6f Christ ; it breakes the poimer of sin, &nd by influencing
  hatred and-revenge is a tormejnter'  of the soul, and a a  ma< to restore' such  things as are wrongfully  de-
 daily grief and vexation to those that are enslaved' by       tained;.not  only clears the heart before God, but also
 it. On the contrary, love refreshes the whole man  ;`and      the  outvrjard  conduct in the eye of the world. For in  -
  is so' far from weakening or destroying body or s&l          the heart and conscience a  nian is a  t`hief before God,
  (which is  the common effect of hatred and envy), that as long as  ,@e keeps  ?@hing back that is taken away,
  it is' a great preserver of both, and exhilarates them howev& he may cease to steal hereafter. Therefore,
  by the healing influence which it carries with it. In a in .orcl& .tlflat repentance may prove true, and the con-
  word, to those that. love God it is a pleasure to iove science be freed from guilt, all possible restitution is
 .their  neighbour also ;. but those who do not love God, to be made ; or if a man be not able to make full resti-
 will think it a hard ah'd<,cJifficult task to embrace their tution, he ought fervently to implore the Lord, that he (
  nei&bour-with   brother19  love. But if thy depraved himself,  in his stead, would restore the things taken
  nature still Rnd it a hard  task to love thy neighbour,      from  his neighbour, or that which may be better.
  then consider how hard it will be to be banished for            Since a sinner is thus bound in a twofold respect ti
 evep from the presence of God, and to enduke the pangs        G6d ,iiid to his neighb6ur,  in prdei that his repentance
  of hell to all eternity. Wretched is the man, who makes      may.be full and effcacious,  it is required that both bc
  so sad a choice as  td prefer hell-torments to a friendly satisfied. God does not accept any man's repentance,
  reconciliatioli.  Our own experience would soon con- unless he be first reconciled to his neighbour. There-
  vince us, if we made the trial, that-as..by faith we enjoy fore, it is to no purpose if thou shouldest say unto God :
  solid peace with God, (as the Apostle assures us ;) So -"Merciful  God, I confess I have offended and injured
: by  Christiati  love  and reconciliation, we enjoy  peace    my nejghbour ; I have damaged him by wicked gain
with men, together with much.ease, and tranquility of and fraud; and have dealt so with him, as I would not,
  heart; whereas, 09 the contrary, a mind full of rancour that another should deal with me ; which iniquity I
and malice frets itself, a;nd has no other reward to cx-       humbly  intreat  thee, 0 Lord, to pardori for thy dear
  pect, than the lashes of an unruly conscience.               Son's sake". Be not deceived : God will not be mocked !.
     The sum of all is this : every virtue lewards  `its He repeals thy prayer, and saith: "Restore first that
 folldwers  with peace of  consciezice,  and serenity of which with fraud and usury thou has taken from thy
  mind ; and' every vice punishes those that commit it .neighbour,  and then thy pardon shall be ready". Not
  with the  recompence  they deserve.       Every virtue as if a man meritecl  the pardon of `God by this restitu-
  exalts those that practice  it; and every vice covers its ,%ion ; this is a d&bt due to his neighbour, and how can
  slaves with shame and ignominy. With regard-to the he pretend' to merit anything by that restitution which
  order and method by which we are to proceed in work- he is so engaged. to make, and which the law of God
  ing o& a sound reconciliation with our offended neigh- expressly enjoins?           Fey thus  -`bath the Lord com-
  bour, the Scripture is explicit. The terms of reconcilia-    manded : "All things whatsoever ye would -that men
 ,tion are these: lst, the offender is to ask pardon of should do to you, do ye even so to them." "For with


                  406                                     T . H E   S.TANDARD'B.EAR.ER
                                                                  .
                  the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be
                  measured to you again."                                                                       Cl'& Church  `brder
                     The same truth is confirmed by the following Scrip:                                              The Christian School
                  tures : "Leave thy gift (oblation, sacrifice) before the
                  altar, and go thy way ; first be reconciled (as the law                 The Consistories shall see to it that there are good
                                                                                        Christian  schools in,which  the parents have their chil-
                  hath prescribed). `to thy brother, and then come and                  dren instructed according to the demands of the cove-
                  offer thy gift." "Cease to do evil, learn to do well,                 nant (Art. 21).
                  seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the father;
                  less, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason                The closing paragraph of my former article on this
                  together, said the Lord : Though your'sins be as scar-            subject (an article that appeared in The  `Stuwdccrd
                  let, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red Bearer for Feb. 1, 1935) was `comprised of several
                  like crimson, they shall, be as wool." And again, by              questions that will now be answered under the two
                  the same evangelical Prophe;t  the Lord thus reasons:             sub-titles : The Christian School, its task ,and aim ; and
                  "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the            How the relation between the school, church and the
                  bands of wickedness, to untie the heavy burdens, and home is to be conceived of.
                  to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break overy                 The Christian school is an institution for the in-
                  yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and' struction of the covenant seed. What is its specific
                  that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?          aim in .distinction from that of the church? To so labor
                  When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him, and with the child that eventually it can take its place in
                  that thou hicle not thyself from thine own flesh? Then the organism of this earthy as one who possesses the
                  shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine             mental and spiritual equipment it needs to be a vessel
                  health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteous-            unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use,
                  ness shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be and prepared unto every good work. To so define the
                  thy reward." All these Scriptures, with one consent,              aim of the school is to reason that this institution also
                 -proclaim this great truth,  - that God will not accept            must exist for God. The aim of the church on the
                                                                                    other hand is to so labor with the child that as a living
"                 the repentance of  any. man, or hear his prayer, or re-
                  gard his alms and oblations, unless he be first recon- member of the body of Christ (I speak now of the elect
                  ciled to his neighbour, and make him all the restitution covenant seed). it eventually will properly function in
                  that is in his power.                                             its allotted place in the organism of the church, and in
                                                                  M. J. P.          that place be established, grow in knowledge and in
                                                                                    grace and thus together with all the believers  come in
                                                                                    the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son
                                                                                    of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
                                                                                    stature of the fulness of Christ.  The. school labors
                            _.          _
                         ._ -                BEKENDMAKING                           with the child with a view to the earthy, the earthy
                                                                                    pursuits of life ; the church with a view to the heavenly.
                     Classis-vergadering staat,  D. V., te worden  gehou- The school trains the child to walk in the way of the
               .  _. den Woensdag&Juni, 1935,-omnegen  uur in den VOOT~.            covenant -in -that--place in this -.earthy  in which-it-ovent-
                  middag  in de Protestantsche Gereformeerde Kerk te ually establishes itself. The church is exclusively an
                  Orange City, Iowa.  j                                             institution of salvation. To the church therefore were
                                                  M. Vander Vennen, S. C;           given the means of grace.
                                                                                       With each of these aims goes a corresponding task.
                                                                                    The exclusive task of the church as institution is `to
                                                                                    preach the Word, through the special office, as the
                                                                                    offi&al messenger, ambassador of Christ, to proclaim
                     Wij. mogen het nu nog niet begrijpen, `maar de. dag            direct the promise of redemption to its children; to
                  zal komen; dat wij.:de beproeving een van Gods meest              shut by  .the word it proclaims  - the word of the
                  gezegende engelen zullen noemen, "uit genade tot prophets and the apostles  d the kingdom to. the `carnal
                  dienst om dergenen wil, die de zaligheid be&ven  zul- seed ; to explain the promise, the gospel, the word,direct
                  len."` Doordat er wolken zijn, komt de boog aan den the minds of the believers and their seed- to its content,
                  aardschen hemel. We1 is de blauwe `hemel en het `goud that they may behold as in a glass the glory of the
                  van de ondergaande zon lieflijker voor het oog. .Maar - Lord, see the heavenly and see it as the grand consum-
                  wat zoude er van.de aarde worden,  indien er niet van mation of all the history that God makes ; further to
                  tijd tot tijd donkere wolken over kwamen, om.herle-               bring this word in closest contact with the life and
                  ving en verfrissching te geven  aan hare kwijnende experience of the believers. And finally, it is the task
                  planten?  Is het  anders gesteld met de ziel? Gewis,              of the. church to proclaim to believers the law as the
                  de wolke van smart is noodig. Elk harer droppelen instrument for the awakening of the consciousness of
     .,  .-       draagt een bewijs van liefde met  zich.  '           \      `,    sin and' as a rule of faith, The law spreads itself over

                                   -                                                                                             _

                                                             :                                  .i-.     \'     >.    -1   ".         A.    :     '


                                                                                                              .
                                           T H E   - S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       407
                     -          -
       the whole of man's  esistence,  touches his life at every tions directed to parents that read, "Only take heed to
       point. In the law is therefore found a rebuke for thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget
       every sin, for the sin of every individual.                  the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they de-
           Such then is the exclusive task of the church. It part from thy`heart all the days of thy life : but teach
.      knows nothing but Christ and Him crucified. It'is the them thy sons, and thy son's sons; .especially  the day
       only institution that was brought into being for the ex- that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb,
       clusive purpose of witnessing for the truth as it is in when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people to-
       Christ. And through its witnessing Christ out of. the gether, and I will make them hear my words, that they
       whole human .race gathers His church chosen to  over-        may learn to fear me all the days they shall live upon
       lasting Iife so that the temple of God is in process of the earth, and that they may teach their children."
     `being build. And the labor that the church through the        And again, "And these words which I command thee
       special oflice as its organ expends on the covenant seed this clay  shaI1 be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach
       is done solely with a view to the completion and per-        them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of
       fection of the temple. Thus the church, whereas to them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou
       it was given the task of preaching the word, must in-        walkest in the way, and when thou liest down, ancl
      sist that believers permit it to indoctrinate their seed.     when thou risest np . . . (Deut.  3:9, 19;  6:`7).  And
           What now is the task of' the home and its instru- when thy son  asketh  thee in time to `come, saying,
       ment the school. Does the Christian home have a task What means these testimonies. . . . . Then thou shalt
       differing from that of the church. It does; yet in per- say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's  bondmen  in
       `forming its task, it necessarily contributes ultimately Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a
       to the same result to which the church contributes, to mighty hand . . . . (Deut. 6 :20).
       wit, the coming of the kingdom of God in the hearts of           These injunctions, so I wrote in a former article,
       His chosen seed. He that is not with Christ is against turn on the words of Jehovah. These words, precepts,
       Him: and he- that gathereth not with Him scattereth.         that mass of legislation, promulgated by Jehovah
     The home must be for Christ and gather with Him. through Moses - the  civial, ceremonial and moral law
      There can therefore. be no essential difference as to of the ten .commandments  together with the mighty
       ultimate aim between the task of. the home and that of works that Jehovah had wrought in behalf of His
       the church. Both institutions must labor in a positive people, formed the content of the instruction that had
       sense for the promotion of the interests of the king-        to be given.
       dom. Yet the task of the church is not that of the              The question `will be asked whether today this feed-
       home. The parent and the teacher certainly are not           ing the child with the word of God forms one of the
       sent by Christ to preach the word, to handle as the or-      elements of the training of the child. by the parent
     " gans of the  c'hurch  the keys of the kingdom and to ad-, (and the schoolmaster). It does certainly. Such will
       minister the sacraments. The home in conjunction be our answer unless we take the stand that the corn-
       with the school is not the mother of believers.              mand directed to the Israelitish parent - the com-
          The task of the home, of the parent can best be de-
         _ _                                                        mand, "teach them thy sons," is no longer in force.
       fined as atraining       -  _-._
                             of the cliild in the`way  `he should go But this stand is an impossible'one;-  --The-command .is---. -
       (Provi 22 :6), which is the way of the covenant. This still in force and must be kept. Parents are still in
       Scripture is commonly explained thus: Train the child duty bound to "teach them thy son$. We are not un-
      ,accordi.ng  to, in agreement with, his  adaptibility,  apti- mindful of the fact that in the Old Testament dispensa-
       tude, readiness in learning. But the second member tion the Israelitish people formed one vast congrega-                   I
       of this Scripture, which reads, "and when he is old, he tion with headquarters at  JerusaIem where the priest
       shall not depart from it," leaves no doubt that the word performed the service, that this religious center was
       way signifies an objective cotlrse  of life in which the the only place on earth where the believer through the
       child must be made to walk. But now the labor which officiating priest communed with Jehovah,. that thus in
       the church, expends upon the child can also be deflned       that epoch there were in the strict sense no local con-
       as a training up a child in his way, so that we still have gregations each with its own pastor and teacher, that
       on our hand the question what the training  of the child therefore the local brotherhood was the family, so that
       by the parent consists in and how this training differs the task of feeding the soul of the child `with the word
       from the'labor expended on the child by the church. was made to devolve exclusively upon the parent. To-
       The training the child receives in the home (and in the      day the child has several tutors.
       school) is in a sense broader. `The elements comprising       It is the task of the pastor of the local brotherhood
       it are the following:                                        to which the parents belong, to imbue the child with
          I) Feeding the child with the word of God. A the word of God. But did the coming of the pastor and
       training that lacks this element is thoroughly pagan. teacher free the parent of the obligation of "ieaching
       Instruction, to be Christian must root in the fear of        their children diligently what their eyes have seen?
       the Lord. In the book of Dem.  we come upon #exhorta-,
                                               .                    Surely no. But is not the preaching of the word the


            +
  408                                 T    H      E      STBNDARD  B             E    A    R    E     R

 exclusive task of the church, of the special office (the their duty to impart this .knowledge.  They instinctively
 oi%ce of pastor and teacher) instituted in  the organism feel that their children should be tatight how to read
 of `the church? It is. However, the feeding of the            and to write. Be prepared for some honorable earthly
 soul of the child with the word is no preaching of the        pursuit. That the daughter should be taught how to
 gospel. This latter engagement consists in the pastor         manage a home. The original article XXI (of the
 and teacher directing as the official ambassador of           Church Order) reads, "De kerkeraden  zullen alomme
 Christ, the word of God, the promise of. redemption, to toezien, dat er goede schoolmeesters zijn, die niet alleen
 His church. The gospel may be preached only by the            de' kinderen  leeren  lezen, schrijven, spraken en vrije
 church through its special office. The conclusive proof kutisten,  maar ook dezelve in de godzaligheid en in den
 of this is that He, Christ, gave some pastors and teach-      Catechismus onderwijzen."
 ers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of           From this article it appears that the fathers of
 the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.         Dordt were mindful of the fact  that the training of the
    The gospel, the promise may be given by the ati-           child by the parent, (the school) .consists of the two
 bassador of Christ to the church only. Upon the church        elements brought  forward  in this writing. The article
 only may the blessing be laid. For the church only            as revised makes no mention of the "vrije kunsten,
 has the promise, it being the bride of Christ, while  1Ie     lezen, schrijven en spraken". It merely asserts that
 purchased  .it by His own precious blood. The church there shall be good Chr`istian  schools in which the par-
 therefore is the only corporatioh  that He blesses. Now       ents have their children instructed according to the de-
 the only organization on earth to which we can point mands of the covenant.
 and say, behold the church, is that institution of which                                                    G. M. 0.
 some are p&tors  and teachers. It is seen only as often                          (To be continued)
as believers assemble with their officebearers  for public
I worship. These matters were fully explained in an
,article  appearing in The: Standard Bearer for Jan. 15,
 1934. Does now the circumstance that the preaching
 of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments                          INFINITE GRACE
 were affixed to the special office relieve the parent from           Infinite grace ; and can it be
 the obligatidn of making the training of his children                That heav'ns  supreme should stoop so low ?
 also consist in feeding their souls with the word? Cer-              To visit one so vile as I ;
 tainly not. The love of Christ will constrain him, the               One who has been his bitterest foe !-
 iarent (parents) to say to his sons and daughters,
 "Know the Lord," to praise His name in the audience                  C$n holiness and wisdom join,
 of the child, to teach his sons all the statutes of `ihe             With truth, with justice, and with grace,
 King,-to declare all the judgments of the Lorcl, to re-              Td make eternal blessings mine,
 joice' in the way of His testimonies in the presense of             And sin, with all its guilt, erase ?
 the sons, that they forget now Him word. The view                    0 love ! beyond conception great,
 that Ch+`g&ve some pastors--and teachers-Jvith-a.view          ~_. __ That form'd tlie vast,"Stupendous  ljlan ! -
 to freeing the parent from the obligation of confessing             Where  311 divine perfections meet
 His name in the audience of their children and in the               To reconcile rebellious man !
 `audience of men in general is intollerable  and flatly
 contradicted by Script&e. The New Testament scrip-                  There wisdom shines in fullest blaze,
 tures  bring believers under the necessity of super-                And justice all her rights maintains !
 vising each other's walk, to restore in meekness the                Astonish'd angels stoop to gaze,
 brother overtaken with a fault, to comfort and edify                While mercy o'er the guilty reigns.
 one another with the word. The same obligation rests                Yes, mercy reigns, and justice too;
 with its full weight upon parents. Training that does              In Christ harmoniously they meet;
 not consist of instruction, admonition, wa&ing, Pebuke              He paid to justice all her due,
 and comfort derived from Scripture, and permeated                   And now ,he fills the mercy-seat. p
 with the principles of religion contain&l in Holy Writ,
 is thoroughly pagan. So then, one of the elements of                 Such are the wonders of our God,
 the training of the child by the parent is feeding the              And such the'&llazing  depths of grace ;
 child with the word. The only mental food upon which                To save froni wrath's vindictive rod,
 the soul of the child can thrive is the word.                       The chosen sons of Adam's race.
    Thk training of the child by the parent is comprised             With grateful songs, then' let our souls
 df still another element, to wit, of technical, `natural            Surround our. gracious Father's throne ;
 knowledge. As I wrote in a former article, parents                  And all between the distant poles
 intuitively know as instructed by the Lord that it is                His truth and mercy ever own.


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                                                                                                         Author. He conceived of it in His eternal counsel, when
                                                                                                         He chose His people in Christ Jesus and ordained, that
                                                                                                         they should be made conformable to the image of His
                                                                                                         Son. He realized and openly demon&-rated  that right-
                                                                                                         eousness,  when He sent His Son into the likeness of
                                          B o a s t i n g   E x c l u d e d sinful flesh, and made Him a public spectacle, set Him
                                                                                                         forth as a propitiation for our sins. He publicly  de-
                                                 Where is boasting then? It is excluded.
                                              By what law? of works ? Nay, but by the                    clared this righteousness, when He raised Him from
                                              law of faith.                           Rom.  3:27.        the dead arid gave Him testimony that He is righteous.
                                                                                                         He imputes tha% righteousness unto His own and as-
                          Where, then is boasting?                                                       sures them of it, when by grace He works saving faith
                          Then, that is, if the case with man and his right- in their hearts. And He will publicly justify His
                  eousness before God is as was described in the context, people in the day of judgment, when He shall adopt
                  where is boasting ?                                                                    them in the redemption of their bodies and make them
                      There is no difference!                                                            heirs of all things!
            .&        From the viewpoirit  of the question whether a man                                      The righteousness of God, through Christ, by faith!
                  is righteous before..God all men  are alike. There is no                                    Of God, through God and unto God is this right-
                  difference between Jew and Gentile, between rich and eousness whereby a man may be justified before God.
                  poor, between learned or unlearned, between the pious                                       Every other way is eternally closed !
.  --. -and the impious, between the wise-a.nd .the.-unwisei  be- - _.._ Where, then, is. boasting?                                                          I                 __  _  _.
                  tween the man that painstakingly observes his re-                                           Is there, in that case, still any ground for man to
                  ligious obligations and the openly ungodly  ! All stand glory in himself? God forbid !
                  on the same level. All occupy the same forensic position                                   Boasting is excluded.
            before the judgment seat of God, Who shall judge                                                  Never could it `have been excluded by the law of
                  every man according to, his works and judge, right- works.
                  eously, without acceptance of persons. For, all have                                       But the law of faith shuts out all glorying in self.
                  sinnecl  and all come short of the glory of God! . . . .                                   He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord !
                      There may be an obvious difference between. men,
                  when they stand before man's tribunal. Before God's
                  bar they are all damnable!
                      From. the viewpoint of his righteousness before God                                     All self-glorying impossible !
                  the case of man is hopeless!                                                                For  such is the boasting to which the Word of God
                      Neitlier  is there any difference between men as to here refers.
                  the only possible way in `which they may be. justified.                                     The boasting soul stands or imagines to stand in a
                      It is the .way of free justification, through grace, position in which it has reason to  gloiy in self, to
                  by the redemption there is in Christ Jesus!                                          attribute something to itself, to exalt itself, to claim
                      Righteousness' cannot be wrought by men. It is, the right to honor, whether in company with or, as it
     . .          however, wrought and manifested by  God. It is the                                     reveals itself  more  usually, in distinction from others
                  righteousness of God, imputed to us, freely, by grace. that have no right to occupy this real or imaginary
                  This   righteousness God has  manife&e&   Be is its
                     .              .'                                                                   position; Particularly, the ted refers to such a posi-

                                                                            . .
:
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      410                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   .

      tion of man before God in judgment, according to which eousness he does nothing! The citizens of the City of
      he may claim, on grounds of his own, that God will             God are justified freely. without the works of  ,the law,
      declare him righteous.                                         merely of grace, through the redemption there is in
             The law of works could not exclude this self-err-       Christ Jesus !
      altation.                                                         Boastful is he that would be justified by the law of
             According to it man- appears with his own right- works !
      eousness before the tribunal of Him that judgeth every            For, his righteousness before God is of his own ac-
      man according to his works, with the claim that Gqd complishment. Whether in reality or in his imagina-
      must justify him and give him the inheritance of tion, one that is righteous according to this law brings
      eternal life. For, the law of works is: do this and thou his own work before the judgment seat that it may be
      shalt live. He that is righteous according to this prin- evaluated by Him that judgeth righteously, is confident
      ciple may boast of what he possess&s. He may take of its worth, is self-assured of his claim on the reward
      pride in an inherent. goodness of the heart, by virtue of  13e. He boasts that the door into the kingdom of
      of which he is capable of performing the law of God:           glory must surely be opened unto him, for he prophe-
      thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and        sied  .and taught in the name of the Lord, he cast
     mind and soul. For, unless this inherent goodness be  .. out many devils, he.sacrificed  all to improve the world
     ' presupposed; he would never be able to accomplish his for God, he accomplished many wonderful works. . . .
      oti righteousness before God. The :righteous  accord-             Idan,  boasting of self before the living God!
      ing to the law of works must be able to boast, that he            Boasting of a man-made righteousness!
      stands in a perfect state of righteousness before God,            All excluded by the law of faith! For, according to
      that his own conscience does not condemn him, that no the law of faith the righteousness of the believer is all
      creature in heaven or in earth is able to.in&ct  him and of God. It is He that in sovereign grace conceived of
      convict him of sin !                                           this righteousness before the foundation of the world,
             How proud a boast!                                      for eternally He willed to justify the ungodly. It is
             The boast of being inherently good and of being per- He alone that in time realizes this righteousness in
      fectly righteous !                                             Christ Jesus our Lord. For, He it is that ordained I&s
             A boast, that is excluded by the law of faith.          only begotten Son to be the Head of His breihren, in
             For, the rule of faith implies that God justifies the order that He might be the propitiation for their sins.
      ungodly, freely, by His grace, through the redemption He it is that sent Him in the likeness of sinful flesh
      there is in Christ Jesus! And this leaves the believer and for sin, that through Him sin might forever be
      that is so justified nothing of self wherein to glory. His     condemned in the. flesh. He it is that caused all our
      glory must needs be in the Lord. He has nothing,               iniquities to be upon Him, that He might bear them in
      no righteousness, no worthiness before God, no  in- His own flesh on the accursed tree. He it is that raised
      `herent  goodness of nature, on the basis of which he          Him from the dead, thus finishing our justification and
      might claim the right to eternal life. There is in him, perfecting our righteousness in Him. It is a righteous-
      as he stands before the tribunal of the living God, noth- ness of God and of Him alone !
      ing but sin
     -.-..-  I--..      and..&&,-nothing but a thousand reasons _       -where   is  boast.i.ng-t&jn?   -  __. --- ---
      why he` should be damned and forever cast,away.          He       There is no room to add to that righteousness of
      that is justified according to the law of faith, has but       God. It is perfect in itself. Not the good works of
      one statement to make concerning self : I am ungodly! mad, not his piety or religion, not his prayers and
             Boasting is excluded !                                  adoration can add to the perfection of that righteous-
             The heart that is dominated by the law of faith         ness which God prepared freely, of grace, through the
      glories no more in self.                                       redemption that is iti Christ Jesus.
             Its glorying is solely in the Lord !                       All of God, none of self!
             Who justifies the ungodly!                                 Boasting is excluded !
                                                                        For, mark  you well, even our faith does not serve
                                                                     to perfect that righteousness of God!
                                                                        Often that matter is presented `as if somehow faith
             Boasting excluded !                                     were our kighteousness  before God.
             Wherever you turn, in the City of God ruled by the         God, indeed, prepared our righteousness in Christ
     law of faith the gates are shut to a!1 glory in self.           Jesus our Lord if we will but believe, so it is said. It
             There no man can exalt himself because of what he       is really not the work of God iri Christ, it is not His
      has, for with a view to righteousness he can boast of          death and resurrection, that is our righteousness, but
      nothing but sin ; a debt he can never pay; corruption he our regarding that work of God in Christ believingly.
      &an never cure.                                                For, looking upon that cross and resurrection of Christ,
             Neither is it possible for any man to boast on the. we confess that God is righteous even in His damnation
      gr'ound  of what he does, for with respect to his right-       of the ungodly, and acknowledging this righteousness
I


                                                     "THE.`ST.ANDkRD.   B E A R E R   .                                                          411.

                 of God we bow down. in dust and ashes, brokenhearted. It finds no room to stand in the City of God ! It is
                 and penitent, we cry out foP.inercy  and forgiving grace absolut&l+  impossible that within its walls the `voice
                 and  believk  that God justifieth the `ungodly. That `act of the boaster should ever be heard! And equally in<;
                 of faith, that loqk on the accursed tree and the vacated cbnceivable  it is, that he that boasts should be counte$j
                 grave, that bending of the penitent knee,. that outcry, a,mong  them that are dominated by the iaw of faith!!
                 of `contrition, that confidence in God's forgiving grace,            It cannot be based on what the justified believer has,
                 - in short that spirityal act of acknowledging and ac- for he finds nothing but sin and damnation with him-
                 cepting God's work in Christ is our righteousness. self. He is the ungodly! . . . .
                  If it were so, the City of God would still be under                 `Nor can it appeal to what the justified believer does,
                 `dominion of the law of works.                                 for all his work of faith does not add one iota to the
                      For, it  would be the work of `faith that establishes prefect righteousness prepared for him .by his God.
                 our righteousness before God.                                       Where is .boasting,  then? : . . . .
                     .And our bdast would be that by `our work of faith                Is it, perhaps, to be found in what he is ? If faith
                 we cause God's w&k of justifying `the ungodly to be is the power, the means, whereby he receives,the  right-
                 ,eff  ective.                                                  eousness of. God, must he, then, `not  be a believer in
                      Self-glorying would  not be" excluded!                    order ever to be justified? Must there not be found
                   Or, according to another attempt to introduce the            with% ,him some goodness, must there, not be present
                 boast of vain man into the. City of God, faith is our          within him that peculiar spiritual .receptivity  that is
                 righteousness before God,  becausk  it `is  cotitiidered  in called faith? And must. he not be -something in dis-
                 the light of its  frtiit.  By faith  wt: live, by faith we tinction from those that are  tiot, justified  through the
                 love, by faith `we perform` good works and glorify God ; r!ghteousness  of God? All our righteousness ;is, ,then,
                 by faith  awe flee from sin and walk  in righteousness.; of God, but we must approach that right!ousnesS  with
                 and it is because of those fruits of faith that we are reckpfive  hearts, and of that receptivity we may boast !
                 righieousness  before the tribtinal of the Most High! '             God forbid ! .A11 boasting $s excluded !               -
                     B&even so, boasting is not excluded for our right-                For, faith is  not of us! By. grace  a?e  yB saved,
                 eousness would still be' attained by works !                   through faith, and that not of us, it is the gift of God !
                     Yet, by  the law of faith all self-glorying is expelled           Or, maybe, granted that we are by nature  not be-
                 and forever shut out from the community of. the right- lievers but unbelievers, that we lack that receptivity
                 .eous.                                                         which is necessary even to receive the righteousnecss  of
                      For, even  faith adds nothing to our righteousness ! God, `that faith is His gift, does He.not  bestow3hat  gift
                      Itself is not our righteousness, neither is it the of grace on u$ while He witholds it from others, be-
                 ground of our righteousness, nor the reason why, we cause\ of so& worthiness on our part to receive that
                 are justified, nor a  means on our part whereby we' gift, atid may we not boa& of this' distinction? .' . . .
                 `would render effective the work of God.                              Not $t .all, for He best;ows that faith upon His elect
                      God justifies the ungodly!                       L.       and upoti  none other.
                      The righteousness of God, which by the iedemption               ,Where  is boasting, then? . . .
                 of Christ Jesus He prepared for all His own, is perfect               Yes,  but &en granted. all this, conceded" that all
                 i n   .itself.                                  `.             our &ghteou&ness  is solely of God in Christ ; that faith
                      And faith merely receives!                                merely receives ; that of ou&.elves  we have nqt the faith
       ;              It is not even the hand which we, in distinction `but that it is the gracious gift of God, whereby He
  . . . . .      frpm others, extend  to.tage the divinely prepared right-'
 \:,:                                                                           causes our soul to cleave. to Christ our Righteousness-;
  I         :
  ;.  :          eousness unto ourselveti.  If it were, would we not boast granted,  finally, that He, thus favors only the ilect,  -
:`;              of our ioddness  and willingness to extend that hand `doe,% not the questidn remain: and who are the elect?
                 of  ?aith and exalt ourselves above those that `refuse the Are they n&t those, whoti God from eternity foreknew?
                 proffered righteousness? . . . . .                             Did He not see froth everlasting who woul$t be  willing
                   God forbid!                                                  and desirous to receive that gift of f&ith atid  wh0 would
                      But faith is the divinely .ordained  means whereby despise even that gift.7 And did He not choose those
                 we receive  a  Aghteousness  that is without blemish! wh6  &illed'to  believe? . . . . :
                      The righteousness of -God, without works !                     God forbid!
                      Without the works of the law, without the' works                 For, He chose, not those that willed, but  vcihom  He
                 of our faith,' without our goodness, our piety, our re- sovereignly willed to justify in Christ!  j He  is merciful  -
                 ligiousness !                                                  to whom He wills! . . . .
                      Justified freely, of mere grace !                                .Where is boasting, then? It is forever excluded!
                                                                                       .And h@ that glorieth must glory in the Lord I
                                                                                     `. .Halleluj'ah  !                      ~_.  -  :
                                                                                c                                                         EL H.
                      met-e `is boasting, `then? . . _. f


414                              ..THE   ~TANIKARD~~EARER   ,.                                                          .

           The Crossing of the Red Sea                              Before we now concentrate on the chain of events
                                                                that now follow, there are two notices that must first
     The tenth blow fell.      Pharaoh rose up on the be dealt with. The first of these-is the notice to. the
hight,.he  and his s&vants,  and all the Egyptians. There effect that Moses took the bones of Joseph dith him in
;liTas then'a great cry in Egypt, for it was found that that the latter had straitly sworn  th? children of Irsael.
there was not a house where there w& no one dead.               saying, "God will surely visit you ; and ye shall carry
Pharaoh  called  for Moses and Aaron and commanded up my bones away hence with you".
them arid the`chiidren.of  Israel to get them forth from            Joseph, too, had insisted that Canaan be the fmal
among  his  peopie with  their flocks and their  hejrds.        resting place of his dead bones. His request sprang
Swift footed  meisengers  carried the  ,command.  to start from his faith. "By faith Joseph, when he died, made
at once for Rameses to every section of Goshen. The mention of the departing of the children of Israel ; and
`Israelites' did as bidden. Three or four days aft& the gave commandment concerning his'bones." Because he
fifteenth found  all. gathered at the common centre, se- believed, the things promised had stood out before his
parated  rogghly into their  respective  `tribes  and  ar- eye as comprising the, one blessed reality. So had he
$@d f&the march. They `had gained their freedom continued in the faith, grounded and settled. And the
without bloodshed. The vast host presently started articles of his faith were th& same as those of his spirit-
from Rameses, under  -Moses. There were no'murmur-              u.%l forbears. He believed that the promised land was
ings heard among them. They were glad and optimistic in the final instance the heavenly, where  j.ust  men  walk
respecting the future. They had still fresh water and with God. He therefore gave cdmmandment  concern-
fodder for their cattle. Canaan, the land.flowing with ing his'bones. Had he not been looking forward to his
milk and honey, would soon be reached, so they reappearance on the far off shores of a land that is
thought; for the journey to the promised,land  was to brighter than day, he would have given them command-
be, made, so they hoped,- by the `shortest possible  rotite,    ment to let his bones niinglk wit@ the dust of I!&ypt.
and their tacid demand was that they be led thither at But he believe&  in a blessed immortality of God's own.
once. And it seemed  that their wish was to be granted ;        He therefore died embracing the.promise  that in deatli
for the vast host entered on the direct road to Palis-          his soul would be with the Lord and that eventually he
tine, and at the close of. a march northeast, df about alid all the saints would appear with Christ in glory on
fifteen  .miles,  encamped at Succoth, "the tents". Four the new earth where God will tabernacle with, His
months from the date of departure at the niost, so they people. And all these convictions he compressed into
must. have reasoned among themselves, would find the one request, "Ye shall carry up my bones froin
them at the borders of the promised land. The way hence,_and  deposit th&m in the soil of the earthy re-
lied open before them. SQ they were glad. Thus far plica of  the heavenly. There my bones shall lie."
they had known no want. Water had been within.                     From that coffin of Joseph arose therefore this
reach all the way.                                              testimony, "I Joseph, who during my earthy pilgrim-
     Pressing on by, the same dir&t route, they en- age dwelt in the mortal frame, being preserved in this
camped the next `day near the bastions of Etham, at coffin, entered at death upon the blessed existence of
the edge of the eastern  wilderness.  Thus they were the just in Christ. I thus received the essence of the.
still  on Egyptian soil. It is here that the word of the promise. And God will sureiy v&it you, too, and bring
Lord came to Moses, bidding him that he order the chil- you out of this land into the earthy replica of the
dren of Israel  to, leave the direct way to the promised heavenly, - the land which He swore to Abraham, to
land and turn to the southwest `and encamp before Isaac, and to Jacob. In this conviction I died. I there-
Piha@roth,  between Migdol and the sea, over against fore gave thee command to carry up my bones from
Baal-zephon. These three  places cannot be exactly hence. `Look upon them therefore as the token and
located. The identification of the route of  th$ exodus memorial of may faith. T$ke home to thy heart the
beyond the sea, requires the place of crossing to be            speech that rises from this coffin and believe." And
within three  days'  j&&f  i3f:  Marah.  which  ptits  it the evidence that  the spiritual Israel during all the
somewhere near the modern Suez. Pihahiroth may be time of its sojourn in Egypt h&d heard this speech and
anywhere within ten miles of that p.oint.                       had thus  embraced  the promise as twined about
     The order that the people turn southwest must have Joseph's coffin is the notice that they took his bones.
come to them'as  a surprise. Yet Moses at least knew with them.
that the way to Canaan determined upon by the  Lord                The other notice calling for. comment concerns the
would lead past Sinai. When God appeared to him cloud. When they encamped in Etham, in the edge of
in the burning bush, He said to him,  "Ceriainly  I will the wilderness, the Lord for the first time went before
be with thee ; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way ;
have sencl thee : ' When thou hast brought forth the peo- and by night in a pillar of fire, to give tliem light; to
ple out of  Eg$pt,  ye shall  serve God upon this go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the
mountain:".                                                     cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by niglit, from be-
.                             ..-. . . - .                                                           _                  .:
     .,        ._                    ,_.                               .        ";
                                                                        ..,      *..        `.  ,. `.`.-  - .:  .,::
                                                                                                                 .            -.


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       415

 fore the people. From the cloud the glory of  th6. Lord mercy,  of death and life, of hopes and fears and
 shone forth. In it His voice was heard and He ap- victory, has been selected and prepared for them by
 peared upon the mercy seat. The cloud covered the Him. And He wills that they take it; the long way
 tabernacle and had at even the appearance of fire until through the desert with its oppressive heat and dirth
 the morning.    It shielded Israel upon the march and streams that run dry, with its fire and serpents.
 against the burning rays of a tropical sun. It made Here He will have them and make them to walk in the'
 separation'  between him and  the. pursuing Egypt-        shade and light of His cloud, eat of His manna, drink
 ians and was to the latter darkness but light to His of the streams that He will cause to burst forth from
 people. And the promise is that the Lord wiIl create the desert rocks, .hear in the vast solitude His voice and
 upon every dwelling place of mount Zion and upon her posses His laws. And His tabernacle will be with them
 assemblies, a cloud and a smoke by day, and the shin- there and with His blood will they be sprinkled. And
 ing of a flaming fire -by night : for upon all the'glory thz\y will be called a people,blessed  of the Lord. And
 shall be a covering.                                      as taught by His Spirit, they will exclaim that he is
    The cloud  was the sign of the `presence of the        God. 0,ften  they will be tempted and fall and be mad&!
 triune Jehovah in the came of Israel and at once the to rise again in His strength. They will witness the re-
 visible form' assumed by the "Angel" of the Lord, the velations of His wrath over the unrighteousness of the
 Son of God. The appearance and office of the cloud is carnal seed, be awed by the manifestations of His  ter-
 thus prophetic of that action  of the  .Son  consisting in. ribie majesty, feel His chastening rod. But under His
 His assuming in the  fglness of time our nature. And hand will they humble `themselves and He will exalt
through the Son incarnate, the Father speaks to us and them. So will they learn to put their trust in Him and
 saves us from all our sins. And -He the Cloud leads to tremble before His majesty and thus in this way be
many sons to glory, is the captain of their salvation, prepared fdr His warfare and for a life .with Him. in
their light and the life of their life, their great reward, His country.  WhjT now does the Lord lead them
and their shield and bukler, their shelter in the desert. through this longer way ? Because it is His will that
And in Him dwells God, so that from His nature the they  ftrst hear His voice and walk with  Him for a
.glory of God shines forth. And.His glory covers  and season in the desert before they enter Canaan's borders,
fills the temple and every room thereof. And the liv- be prepared for a life with Him through suffering and
ing stones of this temple declare His praises and the trial, `pass through fire and water to ilory that the trial
praises of the Father.                                     of their faith may be found unto praise and honor ahd
    The Lord,  as was noticed, led His people not glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, and that as
through the `way of  the. land of  the Philistines  - the redeemed they may know and have experienced that
.direct  way to Canaan - although, so the sacred record His mercies are from  everla,sting  udto  everlasting over
reads, that was near. So at Etham the freed host was thein that fear Him.
bidden to turn to the southwest. The +ason is. given:         But theye  was also an immediate reason w.hy the
"for God said, Lest preadventure the people repent Lord led them from the direct way to Canaan to the
-when  they see-wgr,,  and they .&+rn to Egypt." .This southwest. And that reason was Egypt's king. Phar-
notice may at first glance strike one as strange. The" aoh must sa,y of `the'cllildre'd,f-rappel  tha;t th@ ai% en-
people as yet cannot see war, cope with the adversary.     tangled in the land and that the wilderness shuts them
And the Lord therefore leads them through the longest in'. And the Lord will harden his heart, `so that he
possible way. Is the Lord, too, curtailed in His  move-    shall follow `after them. And the Lord will be honored
men& by times and seasons and circumstances, by the        upon him, and upon all his host that the Egyptians.
creature, his states, modes and dispositiotis?  Surely; may know that Jehovah  is God. It seems most natural
no, He can if He so wills, make heroes.of  His people in- that Pharaoh, unacquainted with the ways of the Lord
stantly. Who will deny it? The hearts of men are in with His people, should'  cohclude,  when he heard that
His hands. Courage to face the foe, strength to fight the children of Israel had left the highway to Canaan
His battles, military dexterity are His. For He is and had struck out in a direction away from the prom-
God, who called the things that were not as though they ised land, that they had lost their way and were en-
were. Iti Him'all things subsist. Thus the sole factor tangled in the wilderness. In his willing ignorance, he
in all His counseling.is His will. And He does  ali His must have insisted that this maneuvering of the Israel-
good pleasures. He is God in the midst of the earth itish host was a certain sign that its going out from his
and besides him there is none else. He leads them country was an action with which Jehovah had really
through the longest way because He wills. Their un- nothing to do, or if He had that He was woefully de-
preparedness springs from His providence.          And ficient as a saviour and a leader. That Pharaoh pur-
this way, too, the way of hardships and sorrow,            sued them, now that he felt certain that they knew not
of trials and failures and spiritual triumphs, the way out .of his country, proves that he was well
of rejoicing and weeping, of sin and repentance aware that  tlieir departure was meant to be permanent.
and pardon, of revelations of divine wrath and                Having recovered somewhat from the tenth blow,


                  416                                TEE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                  Pharaoh's vexation of heart, occasioned by the loss of with all his horses and chariots and his horsemen, and
                  his slaves, becomes `mighty in him. There is again a his army.
                  voice in his soul `that says, "Who is the Lord that I        ` Truly, a formidable foe! How apparently hopeless
                  should obey His voice to let His people go!" Herewith the plight of that host of men, women and children'
                  he again denies the existence of God or at least insists    encamped by the sea. Yet there is no danger. For the
                that He is a harmless deity, devoid of power to               captain of their salvation is Jehovah. It is He with
                  enforce His claims. Of the plagues He is not the author. whom Pharaoh has to do. It is against Him whom he
                  Moses has-deceived him. So to the testimony.that rose pits  his chariots and horsemen. He who sitteth in
                  from the plagues that Jehovah is God he again shuts the heavens laughs.
                  his ears, and again deems himself a supreme fool for           The children of Israel, it seems, have broken up
                  having permitted the thought that there `was reason to their  encamplment  and are marching. toward the sea.
                  fear Moses' God to take root in his soul. Tidings are Lifting up their eyes, they behold the Egyptians march-
                  now brought to him that the Hebrews set out on the          ing after them and they are sore afraid. And they cry
                - direct route to Canaan but now are turned south. What out unto the Lord. And they say unto Moses, "Because
                  he now says, "The wilderness hath shut them in,"- is there were no graves in Egypt hast thou taken us away
                  true. Eastward is the Red sea ; to the west and south to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt
           ,      rise. mountains. With no way of escape in these di- thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not
                  rections, it will, from the point of view of nature, be an this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying
                  easy matter for Pharaoh to recover his slaves. So he        `Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For
                  thinks. But what he wills to be ignorant of is that he it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than
                  has to do with the God capable of drying up the sea, that we should die in the wilderness.' "
                  and thus opening a way of escape for His people. So            What frightful railing! From this speech animates
                  he and his servants say, "Why have we done this, that not only fear but extreme vexation of spirit and a
                  we have let Israel go from serving  us?" What fright- bitter and most taunting sarcasm. Consider that the
                  ful hardness of ,heart! Grasp the implication of this premise of this reasoning is that Moses brought them
                  questioning, "Why have we done this? There' can be out from Egypt that they should all die in the wilder-
                  no reason. What ailed us? We could as well have ness. This is a proposition that needs no proof. What
                                                                And who
I               chosen to retain our hold upon the Hebrews.                   a monstrous accusation! How they are bent on wound-
                  would have prevented us?"          .                        ing the soul of the man Moses. They could not say
                     What a perversion of the true state of matters!          anything worse to him. Thus .he has performed all
                  They had not let the Hebrews go at all but. had been the miracles that had been placed in `his hand as moved
     _`           terrorized by the Almighty into. thrusting them out of by the impulse to make it appear that he had come to
                their' country. This they refuse to recollect  .and argue them as their deliverer that, after having gained their
                                                                              confidence, they might follow him out of Egypt's
                  as if the supreme necessity under which they had acted
                  was their own sovereign will. "Why have we done             ovens into the desert and to their doom. Their ques-
                 this . . . .  ?" They should~ask-this  with the corpses- tion is therefore not why he has shut them up in the
                  of their slain barely cold, with the echo of that great     wilderness to be slaughtered as sheep-by the  .sword  of
                  cry that escaped their bosom when they found not a Pharaoh, but why, seeing that there are so many
                  house without one dead still in their ears, with the graves, cemetaries  in Egypt, he took them away to die
                  spectacle of Pharaoh as paralyzed by fear ordering in the desert.
                 the Hebrews to be gone still before their eye and with          Apparently they mean to lash Moses only and not
                 his prayer, "Bless me also," still fresh in their memo- the Lord. But Moses is the Lord's servant. The
                 ries? `Why have we done this? Because 0 Pharaoh, wonders that he had held in his hand, had been given
                 thy heart is in the hand of the Hebrews' God ; because him by the Lord. It was the counsels of God that he
                 with His plagues upon thine heart thou wert afraid had declared. Thus their blows fall upon the Lord as
                 and knew as thou dost still know that Jehovah is the well. Rightly considered it is not Moses whom they
                  God in the midst `of the earth. That thou art again assail but the Lord. This they well know. Yet they
                  defying `the authority of Heaven is because the Lord        shrink from openly setting their mouth against God.
                 for the last time now raises thee up from the dust           So they set Moses apart and vomit their venom on him.
                 where He cast thee and makes thee to stand -that He But they do not understand that in pitting Moses
                 may lay thee low in the abyss.                               against God-and in accusing. him of successfully having
                                                                              plotted their- ruin, they deny that they had been de-
                     So Pharaoh makes ready his chariot, and takes his livered by the Lord and thus maintain with Pharaoh
                people with him. And  she takes six hundred chosen that the plagues were so many strange pranks of na-
           -- chariots besides, and all the chariots of Egypt, and ture of which Moses made use of to make it appear that
                 captains over every one of them. And the Lord hardens he was sent by Heaven to deliver them?
                 his heart. And he pursues after the children of Israel.         But they have still another shaft. It is a settled

                                                                                                                     --Y


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         417

matter with them that they are now about to die in the       dering on panic as mixed with disgust that now strikes
desert. There is in their minds no doubt about this.         out at Moses. It is these emotions that urge the above
How can it be otherwise. They visualize once more cited speech to their lips and out of their mouth. They
their plight. Eastward is the Red sea ; to the west and are crazed by fright. Is the view allowable that all
south rise foreboding mountains.       From the north these murmurers were reprobates? I think not.
approaches Pharaoh's army. Trapped are we ; our                  Moses also seems to be perplexed by the Lord's
doom is fixed. So they say. Their impending death doings. He, too, shares .their fear and cries unto bhe
they now place alongside of their bondage in Egypt. Lord. This is evident from what the Lord in respond-
By concluding that of the two the latter is much to be       ing says directly to him (Chap.  14:13), "Wherefore
preferred, they lay the foundation for .another  taunt.      criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel,
They say to Moses': "Wherefore hast thou dealt thus that they go. forward."
with us, to carry. us forth from Egypt?" Canst thou             `$!Ioses' crying plainly displeases the Lord, as is
tell us? Let us hear thine answer, if. thou hast one.        evident from His reply. Why is this? His crying, too,
.Was it because we solicited thy service, begged thee to springs from fear and a willing ignorance. Consider
lead us out from our bondage? Nay ! Thou knowest that the cloud - that visible sign of Jehovah's presen.ce
that,it was thou who first sought us out. And we told - is, must be, leading and advances in the direction of
thee that thou shouldst leave us alone, that we might        the sea. It is. evident that through the sea the way now
serve the Egyptian$.  But thou wert adamant. So we           leads. So the Lord. speaks plainly enough. But for
harkened unto thy voice.                                     this speech neither Moses nor the people have ears.
   Or did& thou, lead us forth out of Egypt because          Lifting up their eyes, they see the Egyptians marching
thou thoughtest that death in the desert is prefferable after them. Instead of advancing with the cloud they
to bondage in Egypt? But thou knowest that it would as paralyzed by fear, it must be imagined, come to
have been better for ,us to serve the Egyptians than to      an abrupt halt and begin crying unto the Lord and
be slain by their sword in this wilderness.  : So tell us    chiding Moses. And Moses, too, cries. How unutter-
Moses, why thou didst carry us forth. Canst thou             ably foolish this wailing ! So the Lord asks him,
tell? Moses is mute. To their questions as affixed to        "Wherefore criest thou unto me," and adds, "Speak
the premise that their doom is now fixed, he can have        unto the children of Israel that they-go forward . . . .
no answer. So do they taunt him, after they first Seest thou not my finger, pointing toward the sea?
have cried unto the Lord. What they cried is not re- Hast thou not the courage to follow where I lead thee?"
corded. It must have been a prayer for deliverance But Moses evidently still wavers. W-hat .will it avail
springing not from faith but from,  fear and thus un- us to follow the cloud, progressing toward the sea. The
belief. Do they not say that they have been led into         shore of the sea will mark the end of the flight in this.
the desert to be killed?, Their prayer is an ejaculation direction; That the waters will be divided does perhaps
such as also escapes from the bosom of the heathen,          not occur to him. The Lord therefore reading his
when danger threatens.                                       thought  continues, "But lift thou up thy rod, and
   This railing of the children of Israel, how deeply stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it:
sinful ! Yet-it can be explained.- Their. murmuring and---the- children of Israel shall go on - dry -ground               - -
spring from fear and vexation of soul keyed  ,np to          through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will
their highest possible point. It seems indeed as if their harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall
hour has struck.. They can visualize no way,of .escape.      follpw them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh,
They can  see no reason for having been ordered to           and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his
turn from the highway to Canaan. The weaker spirits horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am
among them, so  it may be safety conjectured, have al- the Lord, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh,
ready been vexed by the discomforts, inherent in a upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen."
march through the wilderness. In spite of all tribal          Moses is reassured. He believes and is unafraid.
separation and sub,division,  their camp must still have He can, now comfort. his brethren and allay their fears.
been a chaotic confusion of men, women, and children He. has for them a fresh message. He is eager to im-
and  .cattle. There was want of discipline and order         part it. Though they have wounded his  soul  with
among them. Children must have been exhausted and their cruel speech, he bears them no ill-will. SO in a
the cattle jaded. Moses could give them no hint of his voice that rings with conviction, he says to them, "Fear
plans. So they were asked to follow the Lord blindly. ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord;
And now they. site the Egyptian host, making `down which he will show to you today: For the .Egyptains
upon them from the north,  magnificant  squadrans, whom you have seen today, ye shall see them again no
after the prey, "the horses swift as jackals, their eyes more forever. The Lord shall fight for YOLI and YOLI
like fire, their fury like that of a hurricane, when it      shall hold your peace." And people are now still.
bursts." There was no escape in any direction. Flight           A word about the  complainings  of the Israelites in
was impossible; defence-madness, It is alarm,  bor- this crisis. Let us condemn these vile murmurings with

                                                                      I.                 .

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

            all the vehemence of which we are capable. Let  us say
            as we must that these murmurers are.altogether with-                         De Smart Gods
            out excuse, that considering all that the Lord has al-                                 II
           ready done for them their reactions in this crisix are
            shameless, but let us not fail to understand that where-        In een vorig artikel spraken we over de smart
            in we judge them we condemn, ourselves in that we do Gods, zooals Gods Woord die ons openbaart. En dan
            the same things.                                             vooral aan de hand van Gen. 6 :5, 6. Daar lezen we:
              We, too, are still on Egyptian soil. As the children "En de Heere zag dat de boosheid des menschen  menig-
            of Israel of old we have followed the Lord into the vuldig was op de aarde, en al het gedichtsel der gedach-
            desert and thus have broken with all that is Egyptian, ten zijns harten te allen dage alleenlijk boos was. Toen
            Egypt's false gods and devil worship, Egypt's bondage berouwde het den Heere dat Hij den mensch op de aar-
            but, alas, also with Egypt's fleshpots to which our flesh de gemaakt had, en het'smartte Hem aan Zijn hart."
            does so cleave. And now the desert shuts us in. To              Evenwel, we  me&ten  op, dat ook andere gedeelten
            the west and south rise mountains. To the east lies the van des Heeren Woord ons spreken van die smart, na-
            sea. Looking to the north, we discover that we are melijk, teksten die spreken van een Zich ontzetten van
            being pursued by the persecuting world, whom we have         God, van het vermoeien des Heeren en Zijn menigvul-
            vexed by our testimony, and by the prince of this            dig klagen.
            world, from whose grip we have been delivered but               En alhoewel we niet bij machte zijn om dit diepe
            who, as vexed by the loss of his slaves, would .terrorize    vraagstuk nu eens in een onmiezien op te lossen, be-
            us by his horses and chariots into returning  ,to his loofden we om aan de hand van Gods Woord er eenig
            country. In our unbelief we can visualize no way of licht over te verspreiden.
            escape and in our anguish cry unto the Lord. But                Toen  we dan de verschillende gedeelten van Gods
            our cry displeases Him, as it is the expression of a fear    Woord hierover raadpleegden, zagen  we, dat indien we
            that springs from an ignorance of the way of escape          dan al ietwat Iicht mochten w&pen  op deze diepe in-
            that is willing. This way is  ,known, as the Cloud, grijpende  zaak, we `zouden  moeten spreken over de
            Christ Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, goes before      antithese, het Beeld Gods en het Heilig Wezen.
            LE.     But we observe that He advances toward the sea,         Sprekende over de antithese in het .vorige artikel,
            that thus the way out of this desert to Canaan leads         zagen  we.dat de oplossing zeker niet gezocht moet wor-
            through fire and water. He, too, went by this same way,      den in een klagen Gods, omdat Zijn mooie schepping,
            .He, the author and finisher of our faith, Who for the       tegen Zijn wil en buiten Zijn raad om  aan stukken ge-
            joy that was set before Him endured the cross, de-           slagen is.  Zagen  duidelijk, dat alle openbaring van
          spising the shame. Deeming it impossible to follow goddeloosheid, beide in de engelen- en in de menschen-
.           the cloud through the sea, and conscious of being  pur-      wereld daar is vanwege Gods eeuwigen Raad. Dat de
            sued by Pharaoh, we imagine that our doom is fixed. vreeselijke God Zich heeft willen openbaren hoe en wat
            Coming to an abrupt halt, we cry out unto Him, when Hij is, doch ook hoe en wat Hij niet is. Dat alles Hem
            we should be following Mim  - into the sea. How we moet dienen, dat alles er is om Gods wil, ja, ook de
_-_.-._ murmur  and- fret. Our fear and disgust becomes. goddelooze-tot-den dag  deskwaads.                           ..-.
            mighty in us, holds us in its  .grip and gains complete         Bezien we dan nu voorts deze zaak uit het oogpunt
            possession of our speech. What strange speech now van het beeld Gods.
             escapes our bosom! How heathenish our prayers                  Uitgangspunt zal dan moeten  zijn Hebr. 1:3 en Cal.,
          . may become! Presently the voice of God is heard,             1:15  en hiet allereerst Gen. 1:26, 27. Want hoewel het
            Wherefore  criest  thou unto me? Speak unto the chil- beeld Gods  we1 inhaerent is in den mensch en de
             dren of Israel that they go forward . . . . The chil- mensch in zekeren zin tot in der eeuwigheid toe zal
             dren of Israel shall go on dry ground through the sea. toonen, dat hij geschapen is naar Gods beeld, tech mag
                   *`The Egyptians which ye have seen today, ye shall ons uitgangsput niet zijn het beeld Gods zooals dat in
             see- them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight den mensch gevonden wordt.
     .       for you . . . " So does He bear with us in our weak-           En de reden is doorzichtig.
            ,ness; and allay our fears.                                      Het gaat over de smart Gods. ,Zoudt ge dan tech
                                                         G. M. 0.        bij den mensch beginnen, zoo zou de verklaring eenvou-
                                                                         dig uitloopen op oppervlakkigheid en zouden we nooit
                                                                         er iets van kunnen zien hoe God smart heeft  aan Zijn
                                      NOTICE                             heilig hart. Het gaat om God in  verband met  alle
                   Our annual Field Day is to be held, D. V.. Julv 4,    dingen.  Ook hier. Die smart Gods loopt  uit op ten
            at Johnston Park, located near new bridge at Grand:          openbaring van grimmigen toorn die onuitsprekclijk
             ville, Mich.                                                is. Dat was al duidelijk bij het heilig verhaal van den
                   Please keep this date open to meet with us.           vloed. God heeft smart aan Zijn hart en die smart
                                             Field `Day Committee        openbaart  Zich 1.n bet ,gegil der millioenen die versmo-


             iy: :;,
             ,;:.  :                             ,420                                   THIE.-.`STA~NDA,RD,.BE,AAER
             :  _..'
             :  ,_
             ;  -
              , 1.                                en aanbiddend  voor Hem  staat `en Hem  noemt den al-
             , `.                               leen heiligen en heerlijken God.                         *                   The  J?alling Away Of  @e's Part
             ,:.I
             L.; .; .i                                   D&h als God nu op de aarde ziet in den .tijd, zoo
             : -I                                                                                                           The Men's Society of the Prot. Ref. Church.of  Los
                                                .ziet. Hij : "En de Heere zag het, en het was kwaad.iti
             ;..                                                                                                        Angeles sent in the following question:
             ...:`..                              Zijne oogen d& er geen recl$ was. Dewijl Hij zag dat
             .,  .`_                                                                                                        "The Men's Society of the  Prot.  Ref. Church  ,of
             :- `; ".                            .- er niemand was, zoo ontz&te'  Hij zich, omdat er geen
               .,"  - v o o r b i d d e r   w a s . "
                                                                             Ziet ge nu niet dat die ontzet&g           L. A., Calif.,  requests you to  expiain the following text
              L_,..,,  .'                                                                                               in. the S. ,B. : Rev. 22 :19."           .
             i.:                                 .Gods Tiastzit aan Zijn Heilig Wezen  en aan bet Beeld ?
             ! +                                  Er is geen recht, doch we1 krommigheid. Daar  reageert                    The. passage.  referred to in the request reads as
             `-.... - -Zijn heilig Wezen tegen. En Hij ziet, dat Zijn geliefde f oilows : "And if any man shall take away from the
             `,.  .,  "
             L...                                                                                                       words of the book of this prophecy, God shall  take
        LT.  _  `..                               volk niet gklijkt op het Beeld, hdtwijl  Hij in Zij.6 heili-
               :  i-
              -.' ::. :                         ge  handen   draagt.                           \                        away his part out of the book of life, and out of the
               -l.
             : `< .: .                                  ..`En dan en daarom  lezen we verder : "daarom-bra'cht .        Holy city, and from the things which are written in
                                      . .
              .:  :,  ;  .,                       Hem Zijn arm heil aan, en Zijne gerechtigheid onder-                  t h i s   b o o k . "
             i  :.I                               steunde  Hem.`?                                                           What is threatened here is that a man's pari'in the
             i".                        .
             i.  .                                                                                                      book of life and the holy city and the things pertaining
       ": ,.:                                            De smart in Genesis beteekent de  he1  voor'  deri
                     .,---_ _`-.                  mensch. En de onzetting in  Jesaja 59  beteekent  de to the salvatioli  that shall be revealed' at. the second
             :.  " . .                                                                                                  coming of Christ, shall be taken .away, And the threat
                          li  .                   he1 voor Jezus ; en de  he1 voor de verworpenen. _ .Lees
             :.  `. :  -                                                                                                concerns the man that takes  away.from  -the words of
             z.:.,:*..                            maar verdef. De ontzetting  tiordt? "Want Hij  trek
       : 5. +..                                  `gerechiigheid aan-als  een pantser,  en de helm des heils "the book of this prophecy" that is from the contents
                                                :; zette Hij op Zijn hoofd, en de kleederen der wraak trgk- of the book of- Revelation.                          This latter part un-
                                                  Hij aan tot  kleeding,  en Hij deed den ijver aan als een             doubtedly signifies a deliberate making or denial of
                                                 -mantel. Naar de werken, daarnaar  zal Hij ,-vergeldeh,                the contents `of the`book  of Reveiation, which speaks in
                                                 .&Gmmigheid   aan Zijne wederpartijders, vergelding the main of the things that must shortly come to pass.
                                                L aati Zijne Tiijanden;  den eilanden zal Hij .loon  vergel-                But I suppose that the, question is not so much con-
                                                  den." Maar ook dit, en dat is. door het  plaatsvervan-                cerned with this last part as with th& part that speaks
                                                 .gend lijden van d&n Borg: "Dan zullen zij den Naam of the taking away of anyone's part out of the book of
                                                  des Heeren.vreezen  van den bndergang . . . . "                       life and. the holy city and the blessings of salvation.
                                                                                                                        And again, in itself the text isnot difficult or dark. It
                                                        . Niet anders is het &et het vermoeien van God door speaks rather clear language. The book of life is the
                                                  onze  zonden en onze woorden. Zie Jes. 43 124 en Mal. figurative expression for the list of those names whom
                                                  2 117.                                            I                   `God, from before the fdundation of the world, ordained
                                                        Gods  Gee& gaat door de eeuwen  heen van geslacht unto eternal life: If a  man.has his name written in
                                                  tot geslacht om te heiligen, want we  moeten  gelijkvor-' that book, he has  .eternal  life. The holy city is  `ihe
                                                  mig worden.aan  het Beeld. En als onze booze oude'na-                 glorified Church, the New Jerusalem. If anyone has  a
                                                  tu& reageert tegeri  het werk van dien, Geest, dah is er part with'the holy city he partakes of its life and glory
                                                  een vermoeiing van God., En. die vermoeiing van God                                                     --.
                                                                                                                        and bliss. And "the things that  a&  written  in this
                                                  is onlust, is smart. En die smart uit zich in h&t dooden              book" refers to the blessed promises of glory anh bless-
                                                  van onze ,leden. die op de aarde zijn. .Dan wordt den                 ing that are to be realized at the second coming of our
                                                  boozen  ouden .mensch  verteerd  en afgelegd door dien Lord, This is rather clear. In itself it is also perfectly
:i                  .  .  .-
             .'                                   Geest..  -Want we moeten heilig en heerlijk worden.                   clear what it means that one's part `in these eternal
 .:  ._  `_  .
      ,.             -..7              `.  _
                           :                             Als dan ook de God-man verschijnt  in de volheid blessings. shall be taken away. It means, that one did
                    .:..
             _:                                   des tijds, om al'de smart' Gods te dragen,  die. rechtetis            have a part in them, and that' God deprives him of that
                                                  thuishoort op de hoofden  der uitverkorenen, en die part. But the society of L. A. saw a difficult problem
                     : .-.                       smart weg te  dragen,  dan wordt Hij Man van Smarten here. They placed themselves, no doubt, before the
~                                     .".        -en klaa& vanwege verschrikkelijke God-verlating.                      question: how is, this possible? Can a man have his
                                .:
8.                                     ,.(               Doch de Engelen juichen en leggen dat gejuich in name in the book of life and can he have a part in the
               -  :..*                           de harten van menschenkinderen.               Goede Vrijdag.
                     ,:-  _:                                                                                            holy city and in all. the promises of salvation and yet be
                          -.
 :  ..:                                                  Is' het dan wonder, dat er blijdschap is in den  hemel         iost? Then there must be a falling  away of saints. But
 .-  ..`.  i
       .--..~..                                 bij de Engelen Gods 31s QQn zondaar.  iich bekeert?                     there  is no-falling away of  ,saints. Hence, that cannot
                     -.
              ._ :-                               ,.
              .*  .-,                                                                                                   be the meaning of the text. Thus, it seems  tp me, they
              .-...__                                   ,O Zoon! maak ons  Uw'beeld  gelijk !  .'
                    . .                                                                                                 reasoned. And in the line of that'reasoning they found
                                                - Dan heeft de smart uit, eeuwig uit !
                    _;-.                                                                                                it impossible satisfactorily to explain the words of the
                .-__                                     En,  rngn begon  vroolijk te zijn.
                     I                                                                                                  text, which, taken by themselves, seem so clear.
                                                         Dat is Hosanna !                                                   And in this way of reasoning the society of L. .A.
                                                         En : Halleluja!.                           -                   was certainly right. Not m if we might ever `impose
                                                                               -_         *.__:               G. .V.
                                                                                                                 _'     our views upon the clear Ian&age  of the Word  of God.
                                                                                                                                                 .


              `_




                     W&t we may never attempt.  DogmaXics  may  never                salvation. He is excommunicated. And in the second
                     dominate exegesis of Scripture. We must- always be place, He does this in the day of judgment, when it
                    - ,careful  to 1st the Word of God speak. But it is exactly shall appear, that his name was neve?  written with the
                     for the last mentioned reason that the society of L. A. elect and that his part is. eternally with them that are
                     pursued the right way, when  they refused to accept as without. Here on earth he had his part for a time. with
                     the truth of the Word of God what, on the face of it            them that had their names in the.book  .of life, but God
                     and superficially'  consider,eh,  appears to be the simple `took it away forever.                    .               \
                     meaning of this particular text. For, the apparently                                                                                                  H. H.
                     simple meaning of this verse militates against. the
                     whole of Scripture. All the' Word of God plainly
                     te@zes that the election of God is without repentance,
                     that there is no possibility of the failing away of saints,
                     that no one can pluck the sheep of Christ out- of His
                     hand, out, of the Father's hand, that those,' whom Gdd
                    foreknew He also did predestinate-to be conformed ac-                   DESTRUCTION'S DANGEROUS ROAD                                                                              .'
                     cording to-the image of His Son, that He might be the
                     firstborn among  many brethren, that He  juitified  and                Destru&ion's  dangerous road,
                     called and glorified them, so that the golden chain of                    What multitudes pursue !
                     salvation is unbreakable ; that  not&g  can forever se-                While, that, which leads the  s&l to God,
                     parate the elect from the love of God which is in Christ                  Is known or sought by few.
                     Jesus ; that they are-- all. kept in the power of God
                     through faith u&o salvation which is ready to be re-
                     vealed in the last time. And in the light of this plain                Believers enter in
       ii:           teaching of Scripttire  the text of Rev. 22  :19 must cer-
        i.  .                                                                                  By Christ, the living door;
                     tainly be interpreted. And if this is the requirement                  But they, who- will not leave their sin,
                     of Scripture,  the.appare&  and simple meaning cannot                     Must perish evermore.
                     be -the real significance of the text. So that the ques-
                     tion arises : what, then, is the meaning  of. the state-
                     ment that one's pa& shall be taken away fjrom the book                 If self, must be denied,.
                     of life and the holy city and all the b!essings  of salva-                And sin forsaken quite;
                     tion?  -                             :.                                They rather choose the way that's tvide,
                         My explanation is as follows:                                         And strive to think it right.
                         The text"evidently  looks at the m& that takes away
                     form the words of this `book from a historical and                     Encompass'd  by'a throng,
                     earthly. poilit of vi&w. The man is a member of the
      .^                                                                                       On number's they depend;
                     Church in the world; He is probably even a leader, an                  They think so many  can% be wrong,
                     `ofiieebearer,  a ministe?  of the Word. At any rate, he
                     interprets Scripture. Here on earth; therefore, his-                      And miss a happy end1
                                                                                                                                                                                                           :
_. :,                torically, his name appears to be in Jhe book of life.                                                                                                                                     0
`.:.;
'  :                 That is his own claim aid testimony. It is the testi-                                                                                                                            -
`:* ,_                                                                                      But numbers are no mark
     *. ;            mony of the Church as she exists in the world. His
        ;,                                                                                     That men will right  -be found;
!                   name is on the Church rolls. He dwells and  tiilks
                     among l&em  whose ntimes are in the book of life &n.cl                 A few were sav'd  ip Noah's ark,
                     that have-a  part in the holy city; And he also has the                    For many millions drown'd.                                                        x                   i
                                                                                                                                                                                              : _                           ,
                    testimony of;believers  that he is otie of them and that                                                                                                            .                            ..z
                                                                                                                                                                                         -2
                     with them he is  h&r of salvation. In brief: here on                   Obey the gospel call,
                      earth, .for a time at least, he is in every respect like
                    . them that have their-names in the-book of life. But he                   And. enter while you may ;
                     .becomes manifest as a reprobate. He clenies  Scripture.               The  frock of Christ remains still s&all,
                    He denies the second coming of Jesus. He becomes                            And none are safe, but they.                                                                                           .,
                      worldiy, carnal, seeking the things belo+ and teaching
                      God's people to seek the world. Then God takes away                   Lord, open sinners' eyes,
                    - his part out of the book of life and out of the holy City..
                      He does this, first of all, here on earth through the                     Their awful state to see;
                     Church. The  ,latter  no longer acknowledges  hiin as                  And make them, ere the storm arise,
                      having a part in the book; of life. and the blessings of                  To Thee for safety flee.                            -
                                                                                                                                G.
                                                                                            _.:..-.i_._ ;  _..., .  .._  `,(:. .  ..1.         -         1. . . . . . -      _


                                                                       to the works of their hands: to wood and gold and
                            Humiliatiop                                silyer idols. But the inighty Assyrian appeared with
           A  p?oud  man is an abomination, and that not only his horses and chariots and no god had proven  %o be
        in the sight of God, but also in the sight  of man. No the stronger. My, how strong ,we are ! Let us gd up
        one loves the strutting fool.                                  to the city. of Jehovah !
           It is so "onmenschelijk" to be puffed up in foolish             And Israel in their  calamaties  would trust in
        pride ; to speak loftily. And it seems as though we feel Asshur. And they would tbust in horses. They would
        it instinctively, for when we are out. to  sitig  OUT praises surely deliver them.
        in the hearing.of  our fellows, we do so very cunningly.          Are we any wiser than they?
        We,. begin to hint as to our endesvours and very                  Ah no, we have no more the idols of the heathen,
        adrbitly  we turn -the conversation to the great works that is, we do not  have them  artjmore  in the same
        our hands or  otir brains have wrdught.                        forms. Neither  hive we the hosts of the Assyrians  to
           But oh, when we are unmasked and the erstwhile turn to. But we have the world in all its splendour of
        innocently listening brother begins to suspect ! We, can strength and powe?. We have the inventions of man
        read the abomination in ey& and face; we feel it in a and the endeavour of strength. We h'ave health and
        loudly speaking conscience.                                    the strong right hand+  as well as the philosophies of
           To be a proud man is misery.                                the wise of the world. And we have our trust in them
           It is contrary to our nature. We were not made. to all. `or in `part.
       strut. We' are made  to be sweet and humble.                       We have  .a foolish alid proud heart.       -
           Humility  is so unutterably sweet.                          . "Dat heb ik er nog eens tietjes afgebraeht!"
          Adam did not strut in Paradise : he served  the Lord           We have the view of the Badylons' which we have
        in fear and awe. No, it tias not the `trenibling fear and built.
        awe of the slave, who ir; in mortal dread pf his cruel            And it is the wicked  abominat.ion  of pride and
       master. B&t it is the fear that the child feels for its haughtiness.
       fathe?.  He knew God and loved Him. And loving Him                 It is true: unequal is the fight.  We are so weak
       he endeavoured -to be well-pleasing  urito Him. If' he and so puny. And the powers which are arrayed
        did anything at all, he did ,this thing with a view -2>?       against us are so strong. Or appear .to be so strong.
       ' God and his fellow. He loved God above all and his            From where will our help be?
       neighbour`  as himself. And the first pre-requisite for            Blessed is the man who in his extremities is taught
       such service is sweet humility.                                 humility.
           Such is bur nature. Oh no, I do not mean that we               And says: "Asshur shall not save us we will not
       are. inclined by nature to walk in simple humility. Far ride upon horses; neither will we say anymore to `ihe
       be it from us to be so foolish. We know better. We works of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in Thee the
       1;av.e learned to know ourself. What we mean is this : fatherless findeth mercy  !"
       according to the ordinances of creation we are so made             It is so difficult for our proud heart to compare self
       that we are only  happy  in loving service. Service of to the orphan.
       :God and man. It is nDt happiness to lord it over .our            The orphan is such a picture of helplessness.
       fellows and' to lord  it ia haughty pride over God, Who            Father was the strong helper. Every morning he
       is blessed forever. God made us servants and  only in left our house `and .he laboured  for our food and sub-
       that way of loving service can man ever be blessed.             stance. Oh no, we did not fear for the, wicked op-
       ,_ Israel tried to strut. But in blood and tears it re- pressor for father was mighty  td save the family.
       pented.                                                         Motlier would lean on him atid the children were un-
           You Lee, Israel  did not want to trust in the living cotisciously  happy in his protecting care: The wolf of
       God and His truth ; they did not make Him their Shield hunger and general want feared our doorstep. Father
       and Buckler. Instead they trusted .in horses and in stood at the helm of the ship of our family-life. What
       chariots. They trusted in the godless Assyrians and a wonderful picture of protection  and  safetjr  is father!
       the Egyptians.  They trusted in the vanity of man                  And father died. And mother wept. And the
       whose bre&th  is. in ,tis nostrils. What fools they were ! wicked like so many ravenous beasts are upon them.
       And as a fitting sequel, we might confess : What fools Just read those passages of the Old Testament that
       wci are!                                                        treat of the widows and orphans in.  t&eir poignant
           It-cannot be denied that the great hosts of the As- grief atid misery. Will they not make you weep  wit!
       syrians conlcl boast.of  some power. They- could indeed. sympathy? Is there anything in this terrible world
:  -.  _ -And that power certainly had made itself felt.               that can compare in misery with yonder. group where
i-,                                                         All the
       nations roundabout Israel had to kneel before the the weak and weel$ng mother bends her head over the
       dread juggernout. And their gods were a nice theme cradle: the prattle of the little ones  ar,e so many knife
       of jokes and laughter for the captain df the. host. What stabs in the heart that mourns for father. And he ig
       a droll picture! They prayed and made supplication gone. And with- him fled  protections  and care.


                                      -             TII~%.STAN~AR.D   BE:A&GR                                                    42%
                                                                       _
                     That is your picture!                                    ' Son. Where art' Thou, Father? Why, oh, why hast
                    `Will  you not admit that you are like  tin orphan in Thou forsaken Me? I need strength. - '                 -
              ` t h e   world?   -                                                And strength came from God. The almighty
                                                                               Divinity sustained Him.
              .i     Everything round about you is so much stronger
              _ than you are. And even within you lurks the devastat-            Is then your way and my way through the midst of
               ing power that will  du'ag you down to deepest hell. the wolves and if the strong bulls of  Bashan  would com-
               Ancj no power of horses or hosts of the Assyrians will pass you about : let us not go to .the goddless world for
              save  you. Israel's salvation was  xot in horses and in wisdom and strength. But let us go to God, the Rock
               chariots. Neither iS your salvation.in  anything of this of  our salvation.
              world.                                                              For He has mercy for the meek.
                     All the things that are in this world with all' their        In the midst of our trials and tribulations there is
               show of power and wisdom will drag you down into the such wonderful strength  and consolation. And we can
               pit that burqs  with fire and sulpher.                          sum it all up in that one magical word of Divine power :
                     There is the power of sin in your members. Weak The Eternal Truth of the Word of God..
               as the orphan you  are against its onslaughts. This                Place then that helmet of salvation on your heacl;
               powe!rful  enemy of sin will work in you as the cancer.. and the breastplate of Divine righteousness about your
               And you have no power  against  it. It will have  `ihe          loins. Take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word
               victory if you are not hegped  against it.                      of God and put to flight all the enemies of God. The
                     There- is the power of the  worid. And that world shield of faith shall guard you, poor orchan, against all
        :  .treats you as the orphan.  The world is out to spoil the fiery darts of the devil and your foot shod with the
              you all the time. They make  a `spoil of you. `And if preparation of the Gospel will be fleet to tell of' His
              they have had their wil of you they will laugh you to wondrous works  ancl to  sing'of His glory.
               scorn. `They that wasted us have required mirth: Sing              And all these weapons are hung about you 2or you
              us bne pf the songs of Zion. The devils !                        are gird about with the girdle of truth.  Ancl the
                    There is the power of hell. There is the prince .of truth shall make you  free.
               the devils; Never will we know on this side ,of the                Humility, .how  sweet it is !
               save how much the deyils have tormented us. In-                    It shall teach you the truth in all the -realities  of
               stead of helping us they will seek how much they may life. It calls your name an orphan and it shall teach
               devour. As roaring lions they will tear asunder; as how to cry to God in godly sorrow of heart. It shall
              angels of light they will flatter and ensnare.                   guard you against the folly of pride and bring you tin
                    Poor orphans in the storm of .life.                        your knees before God.
        .`          Will you not ticknowledge that you are a -poor or-            Orphans in the storm. .But only'for a little season.
              phan in the terrible storm of this present dispensation?            For you have the Spirit of adoption.
                    It is the only right way. God calls you and me to             When all the weary night is-passed you shall arrive
              repentance. We must come` of our high perch and                  in the home of Father. Nevermore to roam. And even
         --acknowledge-our--smallness, our insignificance and we now in.the  storm, -where so qften-you  felt forsaken like
              must recognize that the only Helper is the God of our the orphan: His eye is ever over you in tender  %atch-
              salv%tion.                                                       ing and .guarding  care. You are even now sons and
               . And it is the continual call of repentance to Gocl's daughtgrs  for Jesus' sake.
              own people. We must not.go  to Asshur or to the power-              And that shall,be  revealed.
              ful horses. We must not and we may not say to the                 Once, we do not know how soon it shall be, your
              works of our own hands : Behold my gods ! They will sonship shall be proclaimed from the housetops. For
              save me. We must and may not be proud!                           you obtained mercy.       The bowels of compassion of
                    And in Jesus Christ we must be clothed with sweet your'and my loving Father.
              humility.                                                                                                       G. V.
                    In that  Chtiist  we find  a&o the way marked out
        for -us.
                    No, there's not one like .the lowly Jesus ! No, not                                                                 .:
              one, no, not one!                                                                                    .:.
                    He humbled Himself.
                    And when He. wanted for strength and help He                                       NOTICE
        i went to the Father.                                                     Our annual Field Day is `to be held, D. V., July 4,'
                    Is it possible, Father, that another `way be found        at Johnston Park, located near new bridge  .at  Grand-
              toward the redemption of Thy beloved children? Oh, I
              am so  dreaclfully weary and My strength is  epent.             ville, Mich. ,
         - That  yawning abyss of death and corruption is so  ter-                Please keep this date open to meet with us.
      i -rible.
`.                        I am like an;Orplian;,  I, Who am the Eternal                                       Field Day Commi%tee
                    -.          ;


                                426                                                                                     T H E   STANljARD  B E A R E R

                                                                                                                                         but by the home by itself and through the school as its
                                                                            The School                                                    agent. But this knowledge must be brought- to the
                                             Thus it is plain that the instruction which the child mind of the child as pervaded by the light of heaven.
                                keceiyes  from the parents has much in commop with The promise of every science must be derived from
                               -that given it by the church. Both the pastor and the scripture. The entire  instru,ction  must root  .in She
                               parent feed the soul of the child with the wol*d. But fear of the Lord.' The things earthy must be com~ected
                               from this it is not to be concluded that the training of                                                  in the mind of the child with their Creator, with God as
                               the child by the school is identical to that given the                                                    revealed in the fa'ce- of Christ, that the earthy upon
                               the child by the church.. There  Is a difference.  But which the child is made to concentrate be the image
                               what may this difference be?                                                                              of the heavenly and the medium of the revelation of
                                            It will not do to maintain that the home in dis-                                             His glory.
                               tinction from the church stresses right moral conduct                                                            Now if it iti the task of the church to indoctrinate
                               and inculcates  .ethical principles. God has revealed to the child and if the home through the school imparts
                              us  in-  H.is word what He is for His people in Christ +o the child a knowledge of the earthy as mixed with
                               Jesus.  ~ The development and systematization of this the religious and moral truth contained in Scripture,
                              .revelation  gives, dogmatics. God has in. addition re- what does the parent by himself contribute to the
                               vealed td us how He will have us walk before His face.                                                    child's training ? What is their left for him to do?
                               The  fruitage of the development and systematization Consider that before the child, is laid hold on by the
                              of this revelatipn is a Christian ethics. Now the view church and the school, it has already been made by the
                              -. that the  chuich   confines itself in its preaching and                                                 parent. The first one to have the child is the parent. ,
                               teaching to dogma and that the home and the school                                                        He lays in the child the foundation upon vcihich the
                               should be more exclusively  clevoted to' the task of  teach:                                              church and the school rear their superstructure. T h e
                               ing ethics is certainly not a healthy  one. The church influence exerted' over  the child by the parent is the
                               declares to all its sons including the child,. "He who                                                    strongest and most potent under which it can be
                               names the name of Christ, let him depart from in-                                                         brought. The child says what he hears the parent
                               iquity," as well as, "The Lord knows them that are saying and does what he sees the parent doing. The
                               His." And likewise the parent. Both the church and habits of life of the parent the child imitates. To the
      /  :-.-_                the home (and school) are devoted to the task of in-                                                       child the parent is the supreme authority in any of its
                               culcating revealed religious and moral truth. Yet the debates with the outside world and whatever judgment
                               training of the child by the church and the training the parent renders closes for the child the argument.
                              which it receives in the home and in the `school. do and Where the parent is, there is also the home of the child.
                               should differ. The training done by the  church  consists And the atmosphere of this home is the spirit that ani-
                              exclusively in opening to the child scripture and  ,in                                                     mates from all the speech and conduct of the parent.
                               filling its soul with the word. The home and  the school And this atmosphere the child breaths. In the parent
                               also, as wcas said, feed the child with the word, but the the child hides itself. In the shadow of his wings the
                               home..by  itself and--through the school inculc&es  re- child dwells. When danger threatens the child is at
                               vealed religious and moral truth as joined to and mixed ease if only the arms of the parent be about it. When
                              with the earthy and the term earthy I use as the sign- the parent hides his face, the spirit of the child droops.
                               ification of the earthy pursuit, the free arts, the craft, With  the light of the parent's countenance in its soul,
        `_
 :                             trade and profession, the natural sciences, the  instit;l-                                                the child `is glad. The influence that the par&t con-
 :                             tions of this life.                           _                                                           sciously and unconsciously brings to bear on the soul
                                      As I wrote in a former article, Scripture is no text- of the child,  i+s incalculable. In the home lasting im-
                               book on the technic of forming or building or on what pressions are made. If this influence and these im-
                               is called the natural sciences. It sheds no technical pressions be truly good, the ,home, the particular home,
                               light on the trades, crafts, arts and sciences.                                                   Scrip- is Christian and may regard itself as one of the agents
                               ture makes one wise unto salvation.. `It speaks to a man through which Christ brings to spiritual maturity the
                              df the heavenly. The things on which it sheds light child, that, as matured, it may be His servant in the
                               are the things of the spirit and on these things it sets midst of the world.
                               our affections. But the child as a citizen of the king-                                                          Let us new say a word about the rightful relation
                               dom of heaven (I speak now of the spiritual seed)                                                         between the-school and the church. The school belongs
                               belongs to this earthy and must eventually take his not to the church but to the parents. The child is the
                               place in it as the servant of Christ. .That  iri ,this place parents'. And according to the ordinance of God, the
                               he may w.alk-  %orthily of the calling wherewith he is                                                    responsibility of training the child rests upon the
                               called, he arms himself with the word. But it follows shoulders of the parents. The training of the child is
                               from the nature of things that a knowledge of this too broad in its scope to allow the church to attend to
                               earthy  and of the things of this earthy is indispensible it. Should the church appropriate this task, it would
                              -to him. This knowledge is  supplie,d not by the church of necessity envolve itself in duties not belonging to its

                        .             .                                i
                               ,,                                                                                                   _
                                                                                                                          -.
                        _      ,-_         `.     `-      .'                                                                              `.
`:                :            _.:                .-.;          _._         ,*.-     .     1;'     `,      -,     ..


                   -                                       T H E   STAti.bA.Rb  BEARX:R                                                  427

                   office. The school therefore is an extension of the hdme.
                   :This has all along been the view op people  df Re-                                INGEZONDEN                   '.
                   formed persuation.                                                   Geachte Hoofdredacteur :-
                      However, an examination of various rulings of
                   Reformed syonds of the past, reveal that connections              Mag het navolgende een plaatsje in uw blad ? Bij
                   betwken  the church and the school have been set'up by yoorbaat  mijn dank.
                   c'bnsistories  that were out of alignment with the above         Na veel wikken  en wegen naar aanleiding van de
                   S;iew. The question is whether it is the task of the cqri-    vraag van het  zenden van onze kinderen  naar de P. S.
                   sistory to take supervision over the school. The Synod en haar besntwoording,  ktin ik het voornemen niet on-
                   of the  "Ger&formeerde"  church at Leeuwarden  (192b)         derdrukken ook mijn gedachten in dezen te kennen te
                   so adjudged. It declared "dat toezicht van` kerke- &even:
                   raadswege  03 het onderwijs  gewenscht  is." The ques-           Last het voor alle lezers dui;Jelijk  zijn; dat ik'niet
                   is what was meant by the exercise of supervision of the ga schrijven  om. het onzen hoofdredacteur te verbete-
                  Con;sistory  over the school. This may be known from ren. De  vraag in  kwestie  is  beantwoord  op  kernge-
                   the last .of the series of declarations of the aforesaid zonde wijze, men weet wat  m&n  aan de man heeft, de
                   synod,  .@b.ich reads: "De wijze waarop het toezicht te uitdrukking  in verband .met de G. G. nu daargelaten.
                   oefenen zij, is het best bij onderling overleg  te regelen. Daaivoor  mijn oprechten dank. En nu vraagt ge lilis-
             ,     Het schoolbestuur erkenne  +et kerkelijk toezicht  vrij-      schien, en waarom. dan  nqg schrijven? En dan is mijn
             i
      .`.i         willing en overlegge. w+, het `best is, of dat <an van- antwoord, in verband met het  verschenen.rapport  van
I:!
-:                 wege den kerkeratid'  twee zijner leden  in het bestuur de Engelsche  Mannenvereenigingen In vergadering bij-
.y                 zitting hebben met volle rechten,  of dat de kerkeraad.. een in Holland,  Mich.,  30 October. `34. Wat laat, zegt
                   een afzonderlijke commissie voor liet kerkelijk toezibht      ge,  en terecht.
                   benoeme. Eventueele bezwaren met het bestuur  moe-               In verband  met voornoemd rapport en het &ant-
                   ten besproken worden.  Dragen  ze een religieus en gees-      woorden vaii gestelde vraag, zag ik de werkelijklieid
                   telijk karakter, dan  berust  de bslissing,  als alle  pogin- van dit geding.     Toen liep  mij het water over de
                   gen tot  tvegneming  van het geschil mislukt zijn, bij de stihoenen. Ik stond verbijsterd en vroeg mijzelven af:
                  - kerkelijke vergaderingen."                                   de  Chr. School niet genoegzaam voedsel verstrekkende
                      It `is plain that in the above excerpt,  supervision       aan onze verbondskinderen en  dar* die onduldbare  prac-
                   signifies jicric.&ctl  authority, actual rule, so that, ac- tijk om onze kinderen  te zenden waar men God niet op
                   cording to the conception of th& above-named synod, Zijn Woord geloofd? Ik verqta het nog niet en in de
                   the consistory through its committee is, should be, .a praktijk van het beleven onzer  beginselen vloekt het,
                   member of the body that  rul.es  the school. Respecting ja, ik durf haast schrijven  spot men met bet Prot. Ger.
                   matters of a spiritual, religious character, the word of belijden van God en Zijn Woord, bevelen, ordinantign
                   the consistory shall even be final. This  ruling,  it is en inzettingen. Ik vermoed  dat onze.leider  schreit in
                   plain, places the schobl .under  the jurisdiction of the. zijn ziel, de kerkeraad bang te moede en dat het, het
                   church. Now a school ruled by the church is an ec- betere deel der gemeante ezn door, in het vleesch is.
                   clesiastical  .institution, proceding not from the parents `. Schrijyer  dezer.is  hier nog maar weinige jaren  en
                   but from the church.               \                          tech komt hij tot de droefstemm~n,de  conclusie,  dat er
                      What is to be our appraisal of the action of  the bier meer op doorkan clan in bet oude vaderland. De
                   church,  consi&ing in  ,extending  its rule over the plaats waar hij van&van  komt had men ook dezelfde
`I j               school. The action cannot be called right. Consider toestanden, dat wil zeggen,  een Chr. en  Openbare
     * !.          that the church exercises its rule over its members. school, Maar er ging niet  66n kind van  Cbr. ouders
I                  only. Now the school CLS school is no member of the naar laatstgenoemde school.
                   church. Over it therefore the church can exercise no             Ook kan ik me niet herimcren in mijn schoolhisto-'
.!                 rule, set itself up as a directing board over the  &hool.     rie er ooit iemand haar bezocht  heeft.
                   It should not even insist that it through its committee          En indien wel, ik vermoed ten  .sterkste  dat kerke-
                   form a. part of the board. This board must be',com-           raad, en schoolbestuur  tniet  zouden  gerust hebben,  tot-
                   prised of parents only. The Consistory is no school dat het verbondskind weer in den boezem der kerk, of
                   supervisor. It may ascertain what is being. taught. de voor het  kind noodzakelijke levensfeer ware  terug-
                   But if it  ,should  discover that the teaching is wrong, zt gebracht.  Doch we laten dit nog even,  rusten. Het
                   tells the parents about it  and urges them to, effect the meest aanstootelijke voor mij is de stoere, beginsel-
                  :correctiofi  that  iS needed. Its duty is to urge the vaste en'onwrikbare belijdenis der Prot. Geref. kerken-
                   parents to build and maintain Christian schools. for- groep. Daarmede vormt ze een  finaal  onoverbrugbaar
                   their children. It must insist that they send their contrast en daarom is ze voor miJ een Steen  des aan-
                   children to the Christian  school. But the school must stoots. Men is niet eerlijk.
                   actually proceed from the parents. A church school,            - Van Geref. standpunt zou men het haast verwach-
                   rightly considered, is a forbidden thing.' G. M. 0.
                          .   .                                                  teri kunnen dat er bier en daer een j?Tri:.te  raaf naar het
                                                                    _


            p'-          :,-...-:;.d,--     ..`.'     :~,e:",-~":c:`.~,. ...:y     .:.     `:.`,:     _     I           \     ,,I     `j,;     x.     .     .     :    .,.:.,-     ..-.     ..,     .     .     .
                 -..     -.    s,..                                                                                                                                                                                     :
       .,.                                                                   :      .                             `i
           ,-
       :                                                                                                                !FHE..  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                                                    431

                                                      ,                                                                                                                              - always anxious to  fead wheh the Standard Bearer
                                                              THEPROPOSEDPLAN                                                                                                               comes. Especially the meditations are very good, please
                         D s .   H .   hoeksema                                                                                                                                             don't  ,change  thim,  will serve as sermon to read at
                                                                                                                                                                                      ' hbme when one is not able to go to church on the sab-
                               Geliefde                        Breeder:-                                                                                                                    bath, or  even   `$0 be read as sermons, taking the place
                                       Op uwe vraag aangaande het al of niet veranderen of teading service, when sermons of our' ministers are
                         van onze S. B.`zou ik u willen antwoorden, verander                                                                                                           not available. Also Rev. Ophoff's  pieces about Moses
                         ons blad Get. Laat ons voortga-an  op den  ingeslagen                                                                                                         and Israelites are good and also instructive for young
                         weg, en niet terugkeeren. Laat ons in dezen ook jagen                                                                                                              aid old, especially our children can learn much from
      i                  naar het vohnaakte,  .want ook ons blad' heeft het aol-                                                                                                       them  for) their catechism work.
     maikte   n o g   n i e t   bereikt.                                                                                                                                                                  If he could be a bit plainer, not too many big
                                       Groetend, uw medeb,roeder  `in het werk des He&en,                                                                                                   words, would be better yet for our younger children.
                                                                                                                                                                                                          We think the ydung folks can get plenty instruction
                                                                                                                                       H. G. Schuil                                    from the Standard B,earer, as it is, if they were  only
                                                                                                                                                                       :
                                       Redlands, California                                                                                                                            yore  afixidus about our principal truths.
                                                                                                                                                                                                          Let us altogether cling to these Reformed truths as
                                                                                                                                                                                       explained in our present-day Standard Bearer.
                                         Geachte                                           Redacteur:-                                                                        .                                                 Mr. and Mrs. Jacob De Vries
                                       Naar .aa@eiding  van het besproken plan om  onzen                                                                                                                  Pella, Iowa .'
                         S. B. te ,veranderen,  zou ik ook mijne gedachten willen
                         zeggen. Het heeft mij van het begin af tegen gestaan
                         en ik kan er inet den besten  tiil geen heil in zien. Ik
                         geloof w@, dat ons blad voor verbetering vatbaar is,
                         doch niet in den voorgestelden weg. Als & b.v. een                                                                                                                                     God's Doings In the Last Days
                         beetje- meer kerknieuws in ..kwam, dat zou bet blad                                                                                                                                    I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and  y&r
                         dmikt mij  niet  minder inaken. En als Ds. Ophoff  be-                                                                                                                           sons and daughters shall prophecy, and you young men
                         wogen kon worden,  om oak. eens iets in `t .Hollandsch                                                                                                                           shall see visions, and your. old men shall dream dreams.
                         te schrijven, dan geloof ik vast, dat +ele Hollanders                                                                                                                                                                          Acts  23'7
                         dat zouden waardeeren. En zou dat tegenover onze
                         Hollandsche lezers dok niet billijk zijn? Ma&r verder                                                                                                                            "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh," upon
                         geen veranderihg,  want als dat gebeurde  en dan voor ,men  of every age and of both sexes, upon your sons
                         e&n goed  deel op genoemden` grond, dat de inhoud tie and your daughters, upon your. young men and old
                         zwaar is, da? vrees ik, dat'er gauw weer verandering men, upon my servants and on my handmaidens. This
                         moet  komen  `en dat op denzelfden grond. Eti dan zal prediction was fufilled by the glorified Christ when
                         onze S. B. binnen enkele jaren alleen maar meer be-                                                                                                           the day of Pentecost was fully come. During the Old
                         &a&in naam. Het_xordt  dan al maar minder en ten Testament dispensation the Spirit was not. That great
                         slotte krijgen we ook nog een ellenlange love-story,  zoo-                                                                                                    titretim of grac%%hX'do%veth  fr&%i'~t&<throne had not                                -
                         als b.v. in De Wachter.                                           Bij dien tijd zal er van het beeti.   `,The grace of God had descended upon the
                         beginsel, dat God God is  bitter  weinig meer over zijn.                                                                                                      church of the aforesaid epoch in rivulets. In agree-
                                       Hoor ik niet lachen? Ja, het schaterlachen van den ment herewith, the church of the first. days rises be-
                         Gijand,  6aarvan ook de dichter  spreekt in Ps. 35 en fore our eye in Scripture, a child, under a tutor - the
                         Ps. 40 ; het hoonende : Ha ! Ha ! Hei komt uit het Armi- law. Being a child under governors, the church lacked
                         niaansche kamp. Van den mensch, die als  Gdd wil zijn.                                                                                                        insight into the mystery of redemption. Yet this  mys-
                         Ik zie gevaar, dat we op  den duur met volle zeilen tery,had been revealed in  type.atid symbol. There had                                                                                                                                               -
                 ,_.s  iveer kbe'rs  zetten naar de haven van Armijn.                                                                                                                 heen a sacrifice, blood of calves and goats, a tabernacle,
`,,-'                                  En nu weet ik we1 er zijn altijd van.die achteraan-                                                                                             the first, wherein  was the candlestick and the table and
I.7                                                                                                                                                                                    the shewbread and the golden tenser  and the ark of
i- I'-: komers geweest, die steeds een leeuw zien `op den weg. the covenant, overlaid with gold, wherein was the
;                        H.et zij zoo. Ik kan het in dit geval niet anders zien.
t                                                                                                                                                                                      golden pot that had Manna and Aaron's rod that
,_                                                                                                                                    J. H. Sietstra                                   budded and the tables of the covenant. There had
;                                      Boyden,  Iowa                                                                                                                                   been priests, going always into the first tabernacle ac-
.                                                                                                                                                     \
,.                                                                                                                                                                                     complishing the service of God, and a  highpyiest.going  '
                                                                                                                                                                                       once a .year with blood which he offered for himself
`i                                                                                                                                                                                     and for the errors of l&e people ,into  the holliest of all.
                                            Dear Rev. Hoeksema:-                                                                                                                       But all these things and. acts were but so many
                                .. We think the "Proposed Plan"  ti rather great features of a grand picture, the corresponding. reality                                                                                                                                               :1.
                         bhange,  and de not., wish a change; must say we are
i  ..'  .                                                                                                                                                                              of which is Christ Jesus, And the: speech that r&se                              /
I.^


                                                                                                                                                             - ?
                              4 3 2 ,                                  T H E   STAND.AR.D   R E A R ' E R                                               .

                              from this picture was but imperfectly  understood.`The       And the devout men, out of every nation under heaven,
                              saints of those first days therefore saw no visions,         marvel but  the. sons of Belial,  when  they hear the
                              dreamt no dreams, and did not prophesy. The excep- testimony of  God's-prophet,  mock. The reaction of
                              tions were the prophets, men of God, whom the Spirit these mockers has been foretold by Joel: "And I will
                              would  lay'hold on at intervals. and elevate to vantage shew wonder in heaven above, and signs in the ear'th
                              points of such heights as allowed them to glance ,mo-        beneath; blood,. and fire, and vapour of smoke. The
                              mentarily upon the glory of the distant Body by whose sun s'hall be turned into darkness, and the moon into
                              shadow they were enshrouded. And this body is Christ blood, before the great. and notable day -of the Lord
                              and the fulness that dwells in Him bodily. But the day come . . .  "
                              of Pentecost is fully come. The disciples of Christ are          This depiction points to the judgment of God by
                              all with one accord in one place, `this `place being, in all. which these sons of Belial, the men of that world that
                              likelihood, one  of. the rooms of the temple. Suddenly lieth in darkness, who mock the prophets of God, dis-
                              there comes a sound  .from  heaven as of  ' a rushing credit their witness and thus crucify the Christ afresh,
                              mighty wind, and it fills the `house where they are will be overtaken in the last days: -The prophesying of
                              sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues .these  sons and daughters brings into. being a crisis,
                              like as fire, and it sits upon each of them. And they the climax of which will be reached when the wicked
                              are. filled with the Holy Ghost, and begin to speak shall have `filled their .measure  of iniquity. Then this
                              with other tongues, as the Spirit gave utterance. Now opposition that contempts  God'will  be destroyed.' The
                              is the prophesy of Joel, "I will pour out my spirit upon     devil and his hen&men  will be cast into the bottomless
                              all flesh" initially fulfilled. These disciples and friends pit. The earth will be cleansed from the race of men
                         .of Jesus form the nucleus of the New Testament that now corrupt -it and be placed in the possession of
                              church with its sons and daughters prophesying, with the `meek.
                              its young men seeing visions and its old men dreaming            These latter days therefore are days of trial and
                              dreams.                                                      cruel mockings for the prophets of God. They are days
                                 To prophesy is an action consisting in witnessing filled with the terror of the Lord, because of the un-
                              for the truth, for the Heaven!p,  for the hope.that  is in righteousness of men. But the just in these days call
                              us. The sons and daughters of the church prophesy.           upon the name of the Lord, hide. themselves in Him.
                              For all are now prophets, as the ,exalted  Christ has They therefore will be saved; For the promise is that
                              poured out His Spirit upon all flesh. And ivhat are the *whosoever  shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
                              visions of' the young men and the dreams of the old b e   s a v e d .
                              men other than the things that God hath prepared for                                                                G. M. 0.
                              them that love Him, the things that the eye hath not
                              seen,.  nor ear heard neither have entered into the
                              heart .of man, things.therefore  that God hath revealed
                              unto us, sons and daughters and old men, by the Spirit?                                      ANNIVERSARY
                              And for these things we witness also in  .the audience          On the 26th day of April, 1935, our beloved parents,
                              of the world that lieth in ~darkness;       .-  -  - ----                  .                     _  -.
                                                                                                         MR. AND MRS.  HENRY  K%JIPER;  -- ------  -                -'
                               Let not the language of Joel strike us as strange.
         .  *.  _-. To see visions, is to see  God. in Christ making history celebrated their 25th  `yedding  anniversary.
p;  ..,,. :                                                                                   We are thankful that the Lord has spared them in. the past
1..?..,.   -  -               and moving through all the events of time toward a
I;..                                                                                       and hope that  He  will spare them for each other and for us
F!, .  ,'
..,-ry: `!. . : single goal: the appearance of Zion in glory to the
;J:,<.  ,-.                                                                                and.bless  them in tl$ future..
Fza"y :
         ~.  _          "- everlasting praise of His name. To see visions is. to
y?<:.;  . .                                                                                                   I  .`:.,           Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kuiper
                                                                                                                   . .:
j .&:::, I,            see by faith the passing away of this world and. the                                                      Stella
go.,..                        coming into being of the New Heavens and the new                                                   Herman
7..  -1_..,.,                 earth upon which righteousness shall dwell and where
y-3..                    .                                                                                                       Elsie
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`5.                  ..:-,$+' the tabernacle of God. will be with men.                                                           A l i c e
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"- .,.. :` .+.-                                                                                                                  Berniece
:....,  . .              '       And he who dreams this heavenly dream is one
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6.;' .p .'                                                                                                                       Henry, Jr.
;TC&Y <hose mind and will and affections have been loosed                                                                        Gektrude  Ann
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+ 1 :                                                                                                                            Clarence
._;  `..A,.  : -  .from  the things on earth and set upon the things above.
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                      ,. ,. Such a one is a new creature, with a conversation in
;;.. .-.., 1: . .                                                                             Hudsonville,  Mich.
: _ ,. . . .
,.  _..:  -.
?`"I- y : ,L ,.          heaven, one made wise unto salvation and who thus
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,-y .- ;,__ :2-> understands that the only abiding and worth-while
`Z'  .I<--
        ._;.,
ic c.,<                       thing is the heavenly. And this heavenly is his dream.
                       _. . .
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`-,-`*  1                        And all now see visions and dream dreams. And                                I will commemorate, 0 Lord;
;,-; :, . . . 2
           __.
  \_                   ,._ for these visions and dreams all witness, as the exalted                                Thy wondrous deeds of old,
i j ..---
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$  :  %                       Christ poured out His Spirit upon all His servants and
y. .;.. .'                                                                                                    And meditate upon Thy-works,
.`;<I;;:'  :,,".         handmaidens.
;~...$~.:~<:'   .__                           Hence, all know' now. And all prophesy.
                         *                                                                                         Of power and grace untold.
+;.. y`->. _
-1,  `1:<2  I-.  :"..                                                                                                                             -.


