                                                                                                               .
100                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
 7
                                                             infalhble that any views differing  from the declarations
             E D I T O R I A L S                             of 1924 must be considered off-color, is something
                                                             new to me. I consider this an ,attitude of ecclesiastical
                                                             conceit.
                                                                 Is there no one in the Christian Reformed Churches
         Untrue And Somewhat Conceited                       that dare oppose this Roman  Oathdicism?
                                                                 For the rest, we also earnestly pray that "the truth
       In "The  Ba,nner" of November 16 we found  %e         will  prevaisl and that peace wild be preserved" when the
following statement by the editor:                           Synod of Sneek  resumes its meetings.
       "All these  issues (that are at present being con-        But it is also evident that the Rev. Kuiper and I
sidered in the Netherlands, H.H.) are foreign to our mean something radically different, when we pray
own Church, except .&he one on Common Grace ; and for these blessi~ngs.
this :was settled at the synod at Kalamazoo in 1924.             He means "&at our own ecclesiastical decisions
When Dr. K.  SchiTder  was among us, about eleven may be justified".
mon$hs   (*ago??   H-H.) he  sough,t  to reopen that con-        I mean: "that the truth of the Word of God and
troversy  *by propagating his off-color views on  that our Reformed Confessions may prevail".
subject, but the attempt was not  successf,ul. Many of           And these two are  quike different.
our people are wondering what the decision will be               Nor can the Rev. H. J. Kuiper prove that they are
next spring. (That is, when the Synod of Sneek will not.
resume its sessions and deliberate upon the doctrinal                                                      H. H.
issues,  H-H.). May it be our earnest prayer that the
truth will prevail and that peace will be preserved".
       I qualify these statements as untrue and also as                            -
somewhat conceited.
    Untrue  is the statement that Dr. Schilder "sought
to reopen that controversy by propagating his off-color            Why Not State Yours, Brother?
views on that subject, but the attempt was not success-
ful."                                                            In the same issue of The Banner from ,which we
    Dr. Scbilder did nort try to reopen a controversy,       quoted above we also read  the following item:
bti to heal a breach. The editor of  The Banner my              "The discussion of the subject at the synod of Sneek
reply  b&hat the  rplrofessor,  nevertheless, had to attempt led to an incident which will Interest our readers.
to reopen the controversy in order to try to heal the        Prof. K. Schilder remarked  that they should seek
breach; And this would be true. But he, neverthe-            contact with the Protestant Reformed Church of the
less, &&es  an untruth when he presents the matter as United States, especially because they correspond wihh
if it were Dr. Schilder's  ultimate purpose to reopen ahurches  with which they have much less in common,
a controversy. Had he written the truth, he would            for instance the Reformed Church in America, which
Ihave said: "Dr.  Stilcler made an attempt to heal the has  Eree Masons among its members. Prof. G.  Ch.
breach caused in 1924, but because of rather successful Aalders,  who represented his Church at our synod this
opposition on the part of the Rev. H. J. Kuiper c.s.,        year, was of a different opinion. He stated that tihe
he failed". And what sort of opposition was offered ? Hoeksema  group is very small and a `one man Church'.
Was  ,it in the form of a defense of the truth? No, but By seeking contact with this group his (Shurch wvdd
it  ,assumed the form of a cowardly  fear to discuss         offend other Reformed denominations in America with
matters in a colloquy Ibetween  brethren of the (Xristian which it has or should seek fellowship.
Reformed and Protestant Reformed Churches !                     "We shall let our readers draw their own con-
    Conceited is the phrase  "off+olor   n7iews".            clusions".
    This  im@ies,   ofcourse,  that there is a standard         But we ask : why do you not state your conclusions,
color *somewhere, by which all colors must be judged. brother ?
It presupposes  that  ,&is standard color was mixed             Do you think that it- is safe for Banner-readers to
when the Synod of Kalamazoo adopted its  T.hree              draw conclusionis  of their own, without any guidance
Points. And it means that any views that are a shade         from the editor of The Banner?
different from the Kalamazoo-standard color must be             In  8hat case I am once more taken by surprise.
,branded  as off-color !                                        Or does that last statement mean: the matter is
    I was always afraid that the Rev. Kuiper's mind sufficiently clear: Dr.  Aalders  was right?
was hopelessly closed to any reasonable discussion on           In that case I would have you state and defend your
the matter of common grace, closed by those  uhree position clearly on this point.
ecclesiastical decisions  `that were adopted in 1924.           Would you not take pains to answer the following
    But that he considered that Synod as so  absolutey       questions ?                -


   1. Do you ,defend Dr. A$alders'  attitude against us       seen the offer advertised, cited several al-
and against me personally as he revealed  it, evidently,      leged errors in the Bible and demanded the
at the synod ,of Sneek, although  he had never had any        $100. When Dr.  R,immer  refused to pay,
contact with us, aever  would harve anything to do with       Colonel Nichols sued him for ;the reward in
us, refused an invitation to speak for us, and never          New York.       But the Californian lost on a
met me personally, nor made *any attempt *ti meet me?         technicality: ,the evangelist argued ,that ;trhe
If you do; you are worse that I thought.                      bureau, not he personally, (had sponsored the
   2. Can you defend the statement tihat "Hoeksema-          ad.
group" is a "one man Church"? If you can, you are               Two months ago, Dr. Rimmer, consult-
much handier at "hocus pocus" than I imagined.               his flawless record,  ,decided to raise the ante
   3. Is it correct to  &refuse  correspondence  .with  a     to $1,000. On Oct. 31, he advertised in The
certain Church on tie ground that it is very small ?          New  Ylork  Herald Tribune,' announcing a
If you think so, your tihought  is offensive to the Lord     week% preaching engagement at Central Bap-
of His Church Himself.                                       tist Ghurch-and  tie new offer. Last week
   4. Do you j,ustify the "secession" or as you rather        Wi~lliam Floyd snapped him up. He brought
call it, "return" of your own churches from the Re-          suit in municipal court demanding $1,000 for
formed Church of America? Is your separate exist-             `Iproof"  of five Biblical mistakes.
ence as churches still justified according to your opin-        By the oddest coincidence Floyd chose
ion? If so, then, in  b&e light of this opinion answer       as an attorney the very man who had argued
Dr. Schilder's  argument that his Churches surely`ought      the Nichols case against Dr. .Rimnier  in 1932
to seek correspondence with us, if they have and             -Joseph  W,heless,   71-year-old  director of
keep correspondence with Churches that permit free           Freethinkers of America and veteran of
masons ?                                                     many a  lawsuit   involting  church vs. state.
   Why not state your own  concIusions,  brother?            And by another coincidence, the  FIoyd-
                                              H. H.          W&less  brief turned out  ,to be a second
                                                             edition of the  Nlichols-Wheless   <brief.    Its
                                                             main points :
                                                                l-The Bible says the world was created
                                                             in six days.      Scientists claim it evolved
                                                             through millions of years.
             Bilateral Foolishness                              2-Noah's ark, as described in Genesis 6,
                                                             "could not possibly contain all. . . . animals
   In one of our weekly magazines (Newsweek) +we             and  ltifng things and  &he food necessary for
read the following:                                          t&em."
                                                                3-Leviticus 11. states that the Coney and
       On one side of the theological fence stands           the hare chew the cufd. Neither does.
    William Floyd,  r&ired  New York real-estate              .  "Exodus 16 and Numbers 11 declare
    dealer, descendant and namesake of a signer              God let quail fall around  cbhe wandering Jews'
    of the De&r&on  of Independen,ce. Twenty-                camp- "as it `were a  day% journey (28 miles,
    seven years ago, after reading Thomas                    accordmg  to  Flioyd) on  t&  si,de,  and as  i*t
    Paine's "The Age of Reason," he quit Chris-              were ,a ,day's journey on g&he other side. . . .
    tianity and began editing a freethinking jsur-           and as it were  <two cubits (3.66 feet) high
    nal called The Arbitrater. He is now a mem-              upon tihe face of the earth." The qua%cover-
    ber of Dr. John H,aynes  Holmes' Commu.nity              ed area, according to Floyd and  Wheless,
    Church in Manhattan.                                     ,wouM  be about 2,992 square miles ; the volume
      On the other side of bhe fence stands Dr.              of quail,  305,288,552,448  cubic feet. Allow-
    Harry Rimmer, Presbyterian evangelist.                   ing 2'7 cubic inches per quail, this would
    Nineteen years  ,ago he incorporated a Re-               mean God had sent  19,538,467,356,672  quail.
    search Science Bureau, to investigate man's              Since there were at least  2,414,200  Israehtes
    origin  ,and the Bible's scientific accuracy.            in  ,the ,camp,  wlho took 36 hours to pick up
    For the past fifteen years Dr. Rimmer and                the birds, each person must have picked up
    the bureau have offered all comers $100                  85 quails per second.
    for proof that the Bible contained a scien-                Last week both Fl'oyd and Dr. R,immer felt
    tific error. In all that time, he claims only            confident of victory. They  ,had their views
    one  rna,n ever tried to force payment of                recorded for broadcast over 150 radio &a-
    the $100 in court.     In 1932,  Cal.  Oide C.           tions.    The evangelist attacked three of
    Niahols,  a Los Angeles freethinker who had              Floyd's arguments: science, he said, hasn't


102            I                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

        pro;veCt evolution  ; the bibhcal  Coney  and hare    ,by tie whale and emitted al&e t,h.ree  days l+ater ? And
        are extinct; and the quail didn't necessarily         what will Dr. Rimmer do in such a case? Will he
        cover the whole area around the cam~p.                demonstrate scientific8ally  that this is quite in harmony
   Yes, and Dr. Rimmer might also consider  that there with "science"  ? Or will Mr. Floyd accept it es scien-
is ,an admonition  in t~he Bible warning us against pearls tifically quite correct that Christ is born of a virgin?
before  sw,ine.                                               And if *he denies  ,it, will Dr. Rimmer appeal to science
   I consider that the folly of this case must at least to prove or disprove  ,&he Incarnation? In other words,
                                                              the challenge is f,ooIish  because Dr. Rifmmer and those
as much, if not more, be sought at the side of Dr.            *whom he deliberately challenges do not stand on
Rimmer as at the side of Mr. F,loyd.                          common  ground, proceed from different basic prin-
    To be sure, it is folly on the part of the latter         ciples, ought to, at least, and look at things with
to "snap up" Mr. Rimmer and submit  ~&he  question as different eyes.
to whether there are scientific errors in ti Word of              In the third place I  consilder it far beneath the  _*
tid,  to a worldly court. And the alleged errors he           dignity of the Bible and of a,ny teacher or preaclber  of
found are mostly so old that he ought $to be ashamed Scripture, to make the Word of God a subject of bet-
to call  &&&ion  to them once more. But what can ting. He offers,a  thousand dollars to anyone that will
you  ~expect  of "freethinkers", who confuse true free- try to attack the Scriptures !
dom of thought  w,ith   &he  licentieus  divorce of their         And, lastly, I consider it folly to send forth such a
m.ind from the Word of (God? The natural man does challenge, ,&cause to my mind there is no secular court
not understand the  thin@ of the Spirit. They are tha$ can pr.eperly  determine  the matter. According to
foolishness .to him, because they must be spiritually &-& laws or standards of judgment will the jud$ge
discerned, which ihe cannot do.                               in the case determine the matter? Must he consider
   But I consider it no 1~ foolish, and also in confiict      the ease f;lu>m  the standpoint of Dr. Rimmer or from
with a proper sense of respect for the Wlord  of God,         that of Mr. Floyd. M,ust the case be decided by faith
on the part of Dr. Rimmer thus to offer Holy Writ or by reason? And will it not largely depend upon
to the worl,d of unbelievers to snap at.                      tie question Iwhether  or not the judge is eiat!her  a free-
   It  .is all very well, we think, ;t;o defend the Word of thider or ,a believer?
God and *&he truth of it over against anyone that pro-            And what is the fruit of a challenge of this kind ?
fanely  arttacks it, although even in this respect one        Supse  that Dr. Rimmer wins his case ; will he have
should  ermplloy proper  ~discretion.  We are, indeed,        served the cause of Christ, of the Bible, of the truth?
called to preserve the itrul&, to profess it, and to de- Not at all. And suppose he loses it? Will he not be
fend it against the attacks of the enemy.                     the cause  that mockery and contempt is heaped upon
   But it is an altogether different question, whether the Word of God?
we ought to provoke the worl,d  of unbelief and ohal-             A provocation of this kind may serve, indeed, tc
lenge them to fhxd "scientific errors" in the Bible. In make Dr. Rimmer and his bureau famous,  ar notorious,
the first  ,pl,ace,  it seems to me, that anyone  with  a but it can do no possible good to the kingdom of God.
proper sense of respeot  for the Bible as the Word of             I believe that the BibIe is the Word of God, and
God does not so expose it ;to the attack of freethinkers.     I  love its truth. But frankly, I care not one  whit
It always Ihur& our Ghristiam feehngs  when they do           whether Dr. R,immer  or Mr. Floyd wins this case.
heap  their   co-ntempt  utpon  Scnipture, or npon part of                                                       H. H.
the truth.  Why  sheul~d we,  knowmg  what is their
spirit and attitude over against Scripture, intentional-
ly provoke and challenge them `to do so? In the second                                         1899-1939
place, the &allenge  itself on the part of Dr. Rimmer                            WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
`is foolish. He must know quite well,  &at in such a               On Tuesday, November 28th,  our beloved parents,
case  as he and his bureau propose, <there  will be rio
agreement on the fundamental question at issue. In                                    THOMAS RHODA
other words, before  such a challenge could  mean'any-                                           aud
t!hZng  at all, Dr. Rimmer and whoever chooses to accept                         JENNIE RHODA-Vandertill
,his challenge ought to agree as to what constitutes a oommemorated  their 40th wedding anniversary.
"scientific error". No, we heartily believe with l&n               We thank our Father in heaven for His protecting care
that there are no scientific errors in Scripture. But I over them, and the rich blessings bestowed in the  past.  It  k
also maintai4n  ihat Scripture is the revelation of God in our  sincere prayer that the Lord  may spare them for each other
Christ, and not a book of "science".  Alnd will Dr.            and for us, for many years to come.
Rimmer  and Mr.Floyd ,agree on ,a definition of "scienti-                        The grateful children and grandchildren.
fic error"? Will not Mr. Floyd as an unbeliever insist             849  Oakhill  St., S. E.
that it is a scientific error that Jonah was swallowed             Grand Rapids, Mioh.


`112                                      T H E   JTANDARD   B E A R E R                                                    d
                 The Merciful Blessed                          And again  s&is love of God reveals itself when He
                                                               reaches His purpose in the revelation of the thing as
                                                               being perfectly gIorious. Or, in connection with the
        The Beatitudes can be di'vided in the first  Ifour and creature, His purpose is to bestow a certain good upon
the last (three. The first two speak of the citizen of the it, that it may +become  glorious.
heavenly kingdom as being poor in spi,rit and therefore           Speaking of the citizen of the heavenly kingdom,
he- mourns. In tihe next two he is described as being          while in :&he midst of &is sinful world, it is arpplied a
meek land also that he `hungers and thirsts. Together          little different. For  he'is also  $a creature. Hence it
they express something  negakive.         Pointing to the in- cammt mean that, He shall ,also seek the glorious end in
ward  conditi~on  of the citizen of the heavenly kingdom Himself neither the fountain of mercy is to be found
from  the spiritual point of view.                             in Him. God's purpose and its  fina end is always Him-
        There  is a divine simpl&ity  *and at the Saillze  time a self. And His mercy  ,toward men must serve that
deep thought expressed in these Iwords of our Lord divine purpose. Therefore, God's mercy in t&e citizen
Jesus. No, not like the man of the world who tries of the. hemenly  kingdom is God's tender affeotion  be-
to tell us that the simplicity of these words makes  `re- stowed upon Him wchereby  He seeks His people, changes
ligion acceptable. In fact, if any, these words are a          them inwardly, dwells land lives .in them. He, through
condemnation of man as he is by nature. Take for               His Spirit, implants that love  wiherewith  He loves Him-
instance the promises connected with  tJhese sayings self,  ,making them graceful and showing them His
and one finds ibat it is utierly inconcetiable  to apply divine pity. And thus they become the Menciful.
them to tie man of the world.                                      Thus it Is a virtue in the `child of God. W!hereby
        The merciful are blessed. The last three beatitudes    they become tender hearted. First of all, toward God
express the positive side of the character of the citi- as the object of the highest good. He loved His people
zen. -41~0  lhere it is impossible to explain these words      f&s&  and- consequently they return His love. `I&at is
and apply them to natural man. Sometimes they have the keynote of their lives. It expresses their feelings,
been explained to mean when *any one sacrifices him primarily, an inward emotion as a readiness to feel and
or her self for the sake of humanity, God will be merci-       to think tenderly of their God. In the second @ace,
ful to them. Thus it was during the last worl,d  war,          and that for the sake  af God, the same feeling toward
the blood of natural man given for the sake of  tihe           otlhers. The two together therefore, the inward feeling
country  iwas compared  w&h the blood of Atonement of both in relation to the Lord and  athe brethren, the in-
the Lord Jesus Christ. And Ialso today this text is used war,d inclination of desiring God. Seeking His face and
for many  philanthropical  purposes. Is not the worId          showing our tender feelings to the brethren. Declar-
extremely busy? Drives of diverse institutions for the ing that God is not only merciful, but that He is tlhe
purpose of charity  in many cases find their incerptance       God of all Mercy. Who is blessed for ever and ever
in t&his word of Scripture.                                    and to W!hom belongs all glory, being the beginning
        But Scripture always  speaks of and concerning a and lthe end of all that is good and who alone mlust re-
peculiar people.                                               ceive the praises.
        God's people `are poor in spirit.                          Needless to  saywhen  answering the question, who
        They mourn aand they are meek.                         are the merciful, that this can never. #be spplied  to the
        They hunger and thirst after righteousness.            man of the world. The word general is a  mitfit when
        And they alone are the Merciful.                       applied to grace, mercy, lovingkindness or any other
        Hence, they alone shall obtain mercy.                  of ithe christian  virtues. The beatitudes  speak of one
        BeautifuI  word  &his word Merciful. It is closely     kind of  peopIe,  pictured from a seven-fold point of
connected  mnith the well-known  wvrd  Grace. Grace is view. Moreover, tie text reads, They are filled with
one of God's virtues &at m&es Him t,he Beautiful One.          mercy, not  tlhey became merciful or they showed mercy.
The adorable and desirable One. The Gne who is reaIly          But they are  f&d with mercy, by someone else. The
lovable. Therefore God is also Good, because He is             King of His Kingdom filled His subjects with mercy.
beautiful. And when  ;cv`e say good we mean God is             That is something you cannot find in this sinful world.
absolutely good in His  ethical  perfections. Mercy is         The worId is never fi1Ied with $lhe spiri,&ual  ,gifts of God.
the ~blessedness  of the will and desire, ,seeking tenderly    True it is, they make *a show for a little *while,  but it
Himself ,as the highest good, because #God is always           is only a show and only for a little  while. Besides,
in perfeat  sympathy &vi& Hi-m&f.                              rwe know from the Word that &e mercy of the world
        Here, in the words of rthe text, it is a  rtiirtue which iis plain urruelty. The world never bothers itself with
finds its seat in the emotions. Not merely as an dmpulse,      the inward disposition of  tie heart. Even the glitter-
as something just for the moment. God is eternal and ing wo&s of &arity are the result of the unregenerated
is w,ithout  impulses. He is  &he same today, yesterday heart and must be called by that name. Love for the
and forever. But in Him is eternally the operation of neighbor? Love for the neighbor without the love of
His emotional will to reach a certain object or purpose.       God and  %he love for God, mercy toward  t&e neighbor


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           113

without receiving the mercy of God, are nothing less           many things are ,against  (him. He is poor and despised
than unselfishness at the best. Reason why the world according to the standards of natural man. He cannot
is satisfied wibh formal deeds never searching the heart.      get along with the men of this world and they do not
    But the Lord do.es search the heart. He does not understand him when he speaks of that mercy and the
consider actions apart fr'om the heart. And before             God of his mercy. Yet, God through Christ has re-
Him  a&Eons are of no account, unless they are the  re-        vealed  Himsel~f through His Spirit to and in him. Thus
sutlt of H,is grace.                                           he knows: I am a citizen of the heavenly Kingdom.
    The citizen of  3&o. Kingdom is  Ipictiured from the          And he shall obtain mercy. From the starting
point of  lview of His inward feelings. He is tender           point until tJhe  finish God will provide of His mercy.
hearted and Iin complete sympathy with `the God of his            The starting point is the knowledge of his misery.
salvation, because he possesses the life of the Kingdom There the Lord revealed His mercy. And while there
of heaven, a life renewed by the operation of the Holy is a tremendous distance between this beginning and
Spirit, with the result that he longs and seeks after the point of arrival, that  .is the eternal glory. But
God. His delight-is  *tithe presence of his God and Christ.    God's mercy is sufficient and able to travel the full
    And he reveals it. Because `he is filled. Evidently len& of the road.
meaning that it flows over in him. The heart that                 From ,day to day God's mercy cannot become ex-
tested the mercy of  `the Lord can manifest mercy. Or hausted for it is eternal. New every morning. Suf-
to put it in other swords, when the mercy of God is ours,      ficient in the midst of all kinds of enemies and in all
that is, if we learned ito see God's mercy in the for-         circumstances. Also s&&ient  in both life and death.
giveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ,           And presently we shall see Him face' to face obtain-
it &follows  from the very nature of the case, tihat we        ing His mercy to the full in the eternal morning.
are tender hearted,  filled with lovingkindness, having                                                      w. v.
pity on others and (that for God's sake.
    And thus it  .brings   hi,m to continual and deeper
knowledge of self. A man filled with mercy looks for
sin in self first of all. He knows sin to be sin and
to be  his sin. Resulting in true humility. He  *will
humble ihimself before the face of his God from day
to ,day. He will be humble as a citizen in the Kingdom                          Communication
of his God  and  `he will be humble before the brethren,
Thus ,he is able to deny himself, not being haughty and           From a certain brother we received the following
                                                               missive :
not seeking  Ibis own honor and glory. He is indeed
made ready for service. And he will be satisfied as
long as the cause of his God prospers.                         Dear Brother :-
    This is also in harmony with the citizen of the               I read your article on "Loopers" and found you in
Kingdom when  rwe' keep before us the beatitudes as a complete accord with other ministers writing on this
whole. They called the citizens as being poor in spirit, every  interesting topic.
one wlho mourns and who is meek, while he hungers                 All the ministers, you  incmded, show no sympathy
and thirsts after righteousness. It does not Itake a rich for the "looper". All the ecclesiastics are opposed to
man but one who is poor to  iknow  w,hat it means to be him. But does this mean that his doing is groundless?
poor. T,here  is no room for boasting about riches when           Tfhe "`looper", as compared with the minister, is but
one has none. Spiritually the poor in spirit have noth- an ordi'nary layman, generally a pariah.
ing to boast of and you may depend upon their judg-                Now according to the teaching of Paul in I  Car. 3,
ment.  Tlhus it requires a man filled  -with mercy to all the ministers are Christ's gifts to the laymen. Is
appreciate mercy, the mercy of his God. He knows               this teaching not opposed to the view  (that,  let us say,
and feels and pities.                                          500 laymen must be shepherded by one minister? Does
    That is also his blessedness. Is the knowledge of it not follow  from this teaching of the apostle that
being a recipient of mercy such a blessedness? It the 500 laymen are to regard themselves as the srhleep
surely is. It will make and keep him humble. It will of as ma'ny  pastors as the denomination of churches
cause him to depend upon God alone. His eyes are               possesses within a certain  distriot or limit? If I am
fixed upon God's works of mercy, that is `upon the cross a member of a certain local church awith one minister,
of Jesus Christ, the merciful High Priest.                     d!oes Paul say to me: "You must stay with that cthuroh.
    That is his blessedness because it is of great  com-       The other churches round about you with their re-
fmt. Mercy is the gift of the grace of God. There-             spective ministers are dead to you. `I, Paul, in the
fore, it is God's ol?r11 work  resulting in peace  of heart name of the Lord, forbid you to listen to the different
and mind. Seemingly all things remain the same ac- gifts  ,whi&,  God gave to His churohes. These gifts are
cording to the j:udgmenrt  of the world. Besides, often not for you to benefit from". Does not the apostle


114                                                          I'HE               S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

seem to teach Ithe very opposite? Does he not stress remained at  ,home,  or perhaps attended divine service
the fact that all the ministers with all their gifts be-                                                 very reluctantly. And the followers of Paul did l&e-
long to all the  churches? Should the clergy frown wise  iwhen  Apollos preached.
upon the layman who rejoices in the various gifts God                                                       Now this doing Paul denounces as springing  frvm
gave to the churches and thus to the individual mem- the flesh. What may be the sin which this evil practice
ber? Does the clergy do right when it declares such of following a man involves one? Tahis may be known
a one a sinner?                                                                                          from  ,what  we read at verse 22 of this chapter, "There-
       Reading the af0resai.d  chapter, I find that the Iay-                                             fore let no man glory in men." Thus, persons who
men say, "I am of Paul ;" and others, "I am of Apollos."                                                 follow a man, it makes no difference who this man may
This means that the laymen were  divided  into groups                                                    be, glories in a man. Now to glory in a man (or in
and that each group had  chosen its preacher. Just as                                                    men) is a great sin. To glory in a man is to make a
we do today. And our ministers approve of this. But                                                      god of that man. To glory in man is sheer idolatry,
Paul says, "Not so." They are all yours. How can atheism. This accounts for it that the apostle rebukes
this be true, if the ministers maintain that listening to the party spirit in the church at Corinth with such
more than one minister is sin?                                                                           vehemence . There were members in that church who
       Is it right for our ministers to declare these persons deified him.                                              Others were  idolizing Apollos. Each
"loopers" just because they listen to all the gifts that                                                 group had its idol. So, the apostle, therefore, reasons
God gave His churches? Could it not be that these                                                        with them as follows, "Who then is Paul, and who is
"loopers" are, more than  6he others, interested in seri-                                                A,pollos," `Are  they your gods in whom you are to
ous religious life? Why denounce them?                                                                   glory, or are they your senvanti'?" They are but
       Dear brother Ophoff,  will you kindly answer these                                                ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave
different questions and publish your answers in the to every man? "I have planted, Apollo.3 watered ; but
following issue of "The Standard Bearer"? I think                                                        God gave the increase. 80  then neither is he tit
that in the Netherlands they are also interested in planteth any thing (members in the church at Corinth
these questions.                                                                                         made gods out of these planters, and this thou& they,
                      Your Brother, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      these planters were nothing), neither is `he that warter-
                                                                                                         eth ; but God that giveth the increase." Thus God is
                                                                                                       c all. Paul and Apollos and Ceqhas  are in themselves
                                 REPLY                                                                   nothing. Therefore let no man glory in men. Glory
       The view to which the writer of the above  eom-                                                   in God, in the Lord. Pay Him your homage. And to
munication  is addicted, if I un.derstand  him correctly,                                                Him only is your homage due. For He is God and none
is this : All the ministers of all the churches of a cer-                                                else. Let no man glory in  #men. For all things, thus
tain district (churches of the same denomination) be- also Paul and Apollos, are your's.
long to, and are thus the pastors of, the sum and total                                                      What now is the meaning elf Paul's statement, "AI1
of members of all these churches. Therefore the mem- things, thus, Paul and Apollos, are your's". The con-
ber of local ohurch A has the right to hear, and should text makes it plain that  the meaning of this statement
hear, all the' pastors of all the churches. Hence, this                                                  is, "All things, Paul and Apollos, are your's, that is,
Sabbath he hears his own pastor; the next Sabbath                                                        they are your senvants  and thus not your gods in whom
he goes to listen to the pastor of church B. On the                                                      ye may glory. And so the apostle concludes, "Whether
Sabbath following, the pastor of church C spies him                                                      Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or
in  ,his audience. And so on. Now  my  correspondent                                                     death, or things present, or tings to come ; all things
maintains that this practice and the view from which are your's ; and ye are Ghrist's ; and Gbrist is God%."
it springs is grounded upon the teaohing of Paul in                                                      Thus (su& is the truth here [presented), ye are not
I Car. 3. Let us see  w*hat the apostle actually teaches                                                 Paul's or ApolIos', but ye are C%rist's. So far is Paul
in this chapter. Wrote the apostIe,  "And I, brethren,                                                   and Apollos from being gods to you, that they are
could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto your ministers by whom ye believed. Hence, glory in
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. . . . For are ye                                                   God, not in man.
nut carnal: for whereas there is among you envying,                                                          Such then is here the teaching. Now it is for me
and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk hard  to see  horn  ,my correspondent can justly base his
as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul: and an- view on this teachmg. The sole point to Paul's reason-
other, I am of A~pollos ; are ye not carnal ?"                                                           ing is that the minister of the gospel, no matter how
       What the apostle here strikes at is the party spirit talented he may be, is no god to be worshipped  as such,
that was rife in this local ehureh  in the city of Corinth.                                              but a mere man, by himself absolutely  notching,   a
The one party would have nothing or li,ttle of Paul. IQ mere servant of his sheep, whose calling is to preach
man was Apollos. Then there was a group in this to them the Word, that *by that Word his sheep may
church m felt nothing for Apollos and swore by Paul.                                                     believe. How now can this teaching do service as a
I suppose that when Paul was in the pulpit, this group                                                   ground for the view  tibat all the pastors of all the


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   &:,                                        I.15

  churches  of a certain district are the pastors of the         getl-m.    The pastor is responsible for his flock also on
  sum and total of members of all these chunohes.'               the Sabbath. His duty is to feed his own. And the
       But does not the apostle say to the church at             duty of the sheep is to be fed by l&heir pastor. How
  Corinth "Paul and Apollos and Cephas are yours"?               then could the Scriptures anywhere be teaching thai
  Let us see. The apostle in this final verse of this            they may pass by and are even under the necessity of
  chapter reasons from the general to the  particular            passing [by the shepherd that God gave them to attend
  thus: All things are yours, absolutely all things. Life        divine services elsewhere. It is not true that the
  and death, Satan and the wicked, things present and pastor of congregation A is also the pastor of congre-
  things future, whatever you may want to name,                  gation B and C. It is not true that the ministers of
  all is yours. Hence, whether Paul, he is yours. Whether three such congregations have all three congregations
  Apollos, he is yours. Whether Gephas, he is yours.             as their flocks. The fact of the matter is this: The
  For all things are yours. But does it now follow from minister is the pastor of that  flock alone which called
  this that if Paul and Apollos and Cephas eaoh  had in him and whose call he accepted. And <the members are
  the city of Corinth his own congregation, the members the sheep of that pastor alone whom they called and to
  of the church  shephered  lby Paul might regularly pass whom they were joined as  flodk.  The view that the
  by their own church, if they so dose, to hear Cephas           minister is pastor of  ohurohes  other than the one that
 `or Apolbs and that the members of the other two con- called him, is rooted in a principle of church polity that
  gregations might do likewise? Can it be this what              is not to be found in Scripture.
  the apostle meant to tell us. It cannot be. Such a                Now, let me face point-blank the correspondent's
  practice  twould  result in chaos. God certainly is not' a questions. He asks, "If I am a member of a certain
  God of chaos but of <order.                                    church with one minister, does Paul say to me, You
       Let  IUS concentrate on the indiwidual. Let us name must stay with that churoh ?" Yes, this is what Paul
  him brother A. Now in a sense it is true that all said. He said it &rough his ordaining pastors in rvari-
  things are his, all the Ipastors  in the world are his,        ous churches.  The correspondent asks, "Did Paul say
both christian and modern, both dead and living. Rut to me, The other churches round about you  ,with their
  it certainly `does not follow from this that brother A is respectirve  pastors are dead to you". No, Paul did not
  in duty bound to Ihear all these pastors preach. No, say this. These other churches and their pastors are
  says our correspondent, not all, of course, but some,          not dead to, me and to my congregation. Upon the
  namely  ,the good pastors, who truly preach the Word, meetings of Classis and Synod our churches  seek one
 and then of these true servants of God, the few that            another, serve one another with advice and work to-
  live within  (his reach. But according to our correspon- gether for the coming of the kingdom. So daes each
  dent, the necessity under which the apostle brings us church with its pastor place its gifts in the service of
  is that, ,whereas, uZZ things are ours, `we must hear all      all the churohes. It is plain that there are other ways
  things, that is, hear them preach. So rightly con- in which the member of a certain church may benefit
  sidered, his view that only the few shall $e heard, is in from the gifts of the other pastors %han by. regularly
  conflict with what he consi,ders to be the teaching of hearing them on  4h.e Sabbath when he should be attend-
  this statement of Paul. So our correspondent must do ing services in .his own church. This, I am convinced,
  one  of two: either maintain that all must be heard is not the Lord's way but the  .way of sinful flesh.
  (which, of course, is impossible) or concede that the             My correspondent writes, "Reading the aforesaid
  statement `all is your's' cannot possibly serve as a chapter, I find that the laymen say, `I am of Paul,' and
  ground for his view. And truly it cannot. For when others, `I am of Apollos'. This means that the laymen
  the apostle says "all is yours", he certainly cannot were divided into groups and that each group had
  mean that every minister of the gospel is "yours", in chosen its preacher. Just as we do today."
  the sense that you must hear them all preach.                     Here my correspondent places the action of a
       But the particular practice which I called wrong church consisting in its calling a pastor on a level with
  in my writings consists in a member regularly passing the sinful action of the various parties in the churoh
  by his own church (to hear another certain minister.           in Corinth consisting in each glorying in and thus
  To do this is to show a party spirit. And it is this           deifying a man. Now this should not be done. To do
  spirit that the apostle condemns. The reasoning of so is to maintain that when a church calls a `pastor, it
  the apostle is not against my contention but in favor          commits a big sin and  &at a flock is living in sin
  of  iIt.                                                       through its having a pastor of its own. Now if this
       In fine, the members should Imake  it a practice to       were true then `all the apostolic churches  lived in sin ;
  attend div.ine  service in their own church, should listen "ror each had its own pastor. If this  (were true then
 to the pastor that God gave to the church  owlhere they the apostle Paul committed a big sin through his
  belong.     This is the pastor that they also chose. ordaining pastors in the various churches.
  Further,  the pastor and his  Aook,  certainly, belong  to-                                                G..  MI. 0.


        I.16                                    T H E   STANDAR`D   BEAIiBil
.                                                                                                                               i
                                Eternal Life                            we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his
                                                                        life for us (Jo. 3 :16). But that he loved us, and sent
                                                                        His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (Jo. 4  :lO) .
                      This is life eternal, that they may know thee,    Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins
                      the only land true God, and Jesus Christ whom     in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests
                      thou hast sent.                                   unto God and the Fatir (Rev. 1:5) ."
                                                      John  17:3.          It is cworthy  of note tiat now,here  in Holy Writ do
                Eternal life. It is a boon unspeakably good. But        we come upon a statement that reads, "But God, for
        just what is it? How is i.t to be described or defined?         His great love wherewith He loved us, causes His sun
        Is it heavenly felicity? Is it to be identified w$ith  holi- to rise  over  *us, sends us rain, causes our land to yield
        ness, with purity of heart? Christ says that to know abundantly, and blesses us with bodily health." The
        God is eternal life. Mark you, not to know about Him reason is that the certain evidence of God's love of His
        but  to know Him is life eternal. It is a knowsing that peopIe  is not His prospering  t-hem  in a material sense
        springs from experiencing His power to save from sin,           but  HIis redeeming them from all their sins. God's
        to deliver from the  :power  of sin, to conform such sending His lpeopIe prosperity is no surer or greater
        who by nature are children of the devil, according to indication that He loves them than His sending them
        the image of His Son. The carnal seed in the church, adversity. He sends them the one as well as the other
        the children of ,disobedience,  who keep not His cove-          in His love. From this it follows that by itself ma-
        nant, know about Him, about His power to save; for terial prosperity is no sign and pledge of God's love
        the Gospel is preached also to them. They, too, to-             (the contention of tie exponents *of common grace).
        gether with God's believing people, are come unto               The pledge of His love is a new heart. And if so, then
        Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the            the certain indication of His hatred of some, is His
        heavenly *Jerusalem. They, too, behold, in a glass, the determination not to save them. And as to material
       glory of ti Lord. They are even enlightened, and are riches, they are gifts of love only if the recipient be a
        perhaps tasting `the heavenly gift, and are being made believer. It it were true that such riohes as enjoyed by
        partakers of the Holy Spirit and may be tasting the             the wicked betoken God's love, it would have to be con-
        good Word of God, and the  powas of the world to                sidered strange that not one statement to this effect
        come. Yet they do nut actually know God, as they                can be found in all the Scriptures. So  far is Holy
       have never experienced that power of His by which He Writ from teaching that God prospers materially the
       quickens %he dead, sanctifies the unholy, that power             wicked in H-is love, that it teaches the very opposite,
        through the exercise of whirch He causes the vile yet `to wit, that to the wicked prosperity is a slippery place
       elect sinner to partake of His divine nature. Hence, on which He sets them.
       though  tzhey  know  (much  about God and about His                 It is altogether understandable that God's bestow-
       redeeming power, they know not God. They are like                ing upon His people the ,gift of salvation should be the
       one who,  though  well informed respecting the com- Ipledge  of the love which He bears them, that the power
       petence of a certain famed physician in the treatment ,by which He saves is the power of His love. Consider
       of bodily disease, has never himself experienced that what His saving His people means. It  ,means  that
       competence.                                                      He washes them in the blood of His only begotten Son,
                But it is not sufficient to say that to know God is     thus making them to paTta,ke of His divine nature, that
       to experience His redeeming power. Consider, that,               He takes them into His  tiuse and to His heart as His
       according to Scripture, this power, as exercised, is the children  that they may everlastingly dwell with Him
       ,power  of His love, so that to be saved by Him forms            and be satisfied by His likeness. How then could His
     . the certain evidence of being His beluved. Scripture             saving them not be the expression of His love.
       lays much stress on this. "But God commendeth His                   And so it is  hkewise understandable that God's
       love toward us, in that, while iwe were yet sinners,             bestowing upon  6he wicked material riches is a doing
       C&rist died for us (Rom. 5 :8). But God, Who is rich expressive not of His love but of His wrath. This is
       in mercy, for His ,greart  love wherewith He loved us,           understandable. For so far are suoh riches the means '
       even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us                by which God softens the hearts of wlitcked men, that
       together with Christ (Eph. 2  :4, 5). And bwalk in love, the more He prospers them, the tmore they taunt Him,
       as C,hrist  also lhath loved us, and <h&h given Himself the more vehemently they say, `Who is  the Lord," the
       for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-           more determined they become in their resisting Him.
       smelling savor (Eph. 51). Even as Christ also loved And as he determinedly swilled this sinful reaction, the
       the  church, and gave Himself for it;  #that He might            contention that also the prosperity of the wicked is to
       sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water be regarded as the expression and the `undoubted testi-
       by the word (Eph. 25, 26). "Behold, what manner of mony of God's love, is grounded neither in Scripture
       love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should nor in reason.
       be called the sons of God: . . . . (I  *Jo. 3:l). Hereby            Now if the power by which CJod saves is the power


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                     117
                                                                                                                    -
of His love, it follows that knowing God is exper,iencing     It is, in a word, having fehawship  with Him.
His love. However, knowing God is more than ex-                  NOW to so know God is life eternal. If so, it follows
periencing the power of His love in the sense of un-          that eternal life is more than mere existence. It is
consciously undergoing its Ibenign  operations. Know- heavenly perfection, joy and peace. It is the gladness
ing, it is to be considered, is always an act of man's        that springs from the consciousness of being God's
conscious soul. If a person, who is critically ill, is not sun in Christ. It is to see the heart of Christ's God.
conscious of his undergoing a successful operation, he It is therefore even something better than  tie blissful
does not know and is &US not rejoicing in the prospect existence of Adam in the state of integrity. Adam,
of a speedy recovery. So it is in the sphere of grace.        too, during the duration of  *his sinless state knew and
To know God's love is to consciously experience, and          walked  (with God. But he did not pray, "Bless the
thus to taste, its power. It is thus of necessity know- Lord, o my soul, and forget- not all His benefits: Who
ing oneself as forgiven and saved unto God, and as            fargimeth  all thy iniquities; Who  healeth  all thy di-
possessing in Christ the right  to draw near unto Him. seases ; Who redeemetih  thy life from destruction." He
Now w,hereas this knowledge is the fruitage  of an act therefore was not tasting the pardoning, saving, love
of Christ's Spirit  Iwhi& consists in His testifying with of God. He saw not God as He is, as he saw Him not
the spirit of God's believing people that they are God's in the face of Christ. And the gIory of his existence
children and are ;thus vested with Christ's  righteous-       was earthy. God's believing people, on  t&e other hand,
ness and washed in His blood from their sins, and are new creatures. Their glory is heavenly, as they
whereas  %e Spirit is so  actiwe in the hearts of be- bear the image of the Lord from heaven, And they
lievers only when they, by God's mercy, are forsaking see God as He is, as they behold Him- in the face of
their sins and turning more and more to Him the               Christ. And they have life eternal, life everlasting and
living God, it  hollows that to know God is to  walk heavenly. For they know God, the only true God.
before  Hiis face in newness of life. A believer,  wlho is       It is solely because God is only and true that <know-
living in sin, does not, while unrepentant, know' God.        ing Him is life eternal. He is the only God. In dis-
The more earnestly  beheving  peopIe  mortify their tinction from the creature, He is the foundation of His
members which are upon the earth-fornication, un- own being and the welI-spring  of His own existence.
cleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and He is thus in and of Himself and in respect to the
covetousness, which is idolatry-and the more diligent creature, the fountain of all life and goodness, so  &hat
they are in putting off anger, wrath, malice, blas- the goodness of His people-their love and holiness and
phemy, filthy communication out of their mouth and wisdom-is His goodness shed abroad in their hearts.
in putting on the new man, which is renewed in the            Hence, He is truly God and none else. Beside Him,
knowledge after the image of him that created him, the righteous One, there is no righteousness ; beside
the more virvidly  do they know God, and thus lknow that      Him Who is love, there is no Iove ; beside Him, the
they are God's children. Bnd the less diligently they mighty One, there is no might, strength, power, so that
are in tihis respect, the less vividly do they know God.      not to Know Him is to know and be unrighteous, un-
   Now if knowing God is undergoing the operation of holy, unlovely, foolish, vain. Thus not to know Him,
the power of Hiis love, it is it once a tasting that God is the only God, is death with all its concomitants : damna-
gracious, lovely, glorious. God being the inclusion of all tion, curse, hell.
perfection and virtue, is gracious, lovely, glorious. And        Being the only God, He is the true God. He is all
in His love, He also beautifies His chosen people, by na-     tha;t  a  Ibeing  must be in order to be God. He thus
ture ugly, through cleansing them from sin in Christ's stands opposed to falseness, unrealness, vanity. He-is
blood, conforming them according to Christ's image the true, eternal, simple, immutable essence. As com-
and everlastingly causing the heavenly fulness that           pared with  H<im the creature is nothing. He is the
dwells in Christ and of which God is the eternal  foun- [highest essence, truth, good. He is pure being. He
tain, to abound in them. And they know themselves as possesses not but is truth, righteousness, lome, wis-
saved, do His people, as God's Spirit testifies with their dom, might, power.         And between His being and
spirits  that they are His  ahildren.  Thus a heavenly the revelation of it in word and deed, there is perfect
gladness fills their souls. Now this joyful awareness         agreement, so that to  (know His word is to know Him.
of what they are in Christ-kings and priests unto             He thus also  stan,ds over against lying and falsehood.
their God-is their tasting that God is good. Still all He is not a man, that He should lie ; neither the son of
has not been said. Knowing God is aIso beholding Him man, that He should repent : He hath said, and shall do.
with a sanctified and heavenly organ of perception, and,      He bath spoken and shall make it good (Num. 23 :19).
as so beholding, a being satisfied by the spiritual beauty He is true God over against error. His knowing is
of His nature as revealed in Christ.                          determintaive. He therefore, knows all things as they
   So, to [know God is to .be like Him and thus to love       are and all things are as He knows them. His know-
and delight in Hi~m. It is to stand in His presence in ing is consequently correct and unchangeable. It is
the consciousness ,of being the objects of His delight. living and absolute. It is essential in God and thus

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

precedes all things., It is one with His being. His for they shall see God." The believers will see Rim,
Word, law, Gospel is therefore pure truth. He is the not, to be sure, His essence, <which is invisible, but His
original truth ; the fountain of all truth, the truth in        face and thus Him. For His face is radiant with the
all truth; the ground of the truth, of the true being [beauty   of His  infinite perfection, with the glory of His
of all things, of their capability of being known and invisible Self, so that, beholding His face, believers see
thought; the ideal of all truth, of all ethical being, of Him, God, His very heart, the love of His heart, by the
all rule and law, according to which the being and power of which they were saved. And God's face is
revelation of all things must be appraised ; the fountain       Christ Jesus. For He is the Father, and the `Father
and origin of all knowledge of truth in every sphere is in Him, and the words that He speaks, He speaks
the light wherein we alone can see light, the sun of not of Himself: but the Father  that dwelleth in Him,
spirits.                                                        He doeth the works.
       Being the true God, He is the rock. Through His             God's face is Chris&the Christ as He brings Him-
unahangeable  firmness, He is the eternal support of self forward for all that He is. And He is the Lamb
His *people, their shield, their  defence,  their foretress.    of God, Who took away the sins of t.he worId by His
As true  C*od,  He is We faithful One, keeping covenant suffering and death; the way, the truth, and the life ;
trust,  the faithful and dependable resort of His people. the resurrection and the life ; the Christ with whom
So, to know Him is life eternal.                                God's believing  peopIe  were crucified, buried, and
       However, God  ,is known, in the sense described raised up together and made to sit *in Iheawenly places
above, only in and through Christ. "This is eternal
life,  that they may know thee-and Jesus Christ whom in Him ; the Christ W?m  ascended into .heaven, was
                                                                crowned there with power and glory and Who now
thou hast sent." And the reasons? Firstly, in Him gathers His church and rules His people by His Spirit
dwells all the fulness bodily-the fulness of grace and and His Word ; the  CXrrist, Who can pray for His
truth of which Christ's God is the eternal fountain.            people and save them to the uttermost,  Ibecause  He is
So the Father  willed--rwilled  that of  this fulness of the Lamb, "as it thad been slain" and because in Him
which He, the Christ, was to be the meritorial source, now dwelleth all fulness bodily ; the Christ, finally,
He should also be the eternal seat and channel. And this Who shall rol.I up the heavens as a scrol1 and cause the
He is. Thus He is everIastingIy  the true bread of His elements to burn, that the new heavens and the new
people, their  living water, the true vine in whom they earth may appear and that His people with Him may
everlastingly abide and as so abiding bear fruit, the
#head of the church, the chief cornerstone of God's appear in glory. This  C&r-i& is the face of God.  Re-
                                                                holding Him, the redeemed see God. Knowing Him,
temple, their  trut& and light, and thus their very life.
       He is their light. He sustains to them the relation they know God. Loving Him, they love God. Dwelling
                                                                with Him, they  ,dlwell with God. For His love is the
of light-source, so that knowing Him, they walk not love of God. His beauty is God's glory. Where He is,
in darkness but have the light of life. They are not            there is God. Of the fulness  that dwelleth in Him,
merely outwardly  ilhuninated.  There is such an out- God, the triune Jehovah, is the creative fountain, se
ward illumination. It consists in being enlightened by ihat the Father is in Him. He therefore is in the
the truth without being made to  love the light. That absohrte  sense God's Christ and as suoh the Christ o-f
Christ is *he light of His people means that in Him
they are  Eght,  and thus have life abiding in them-the His people.                                                   I
life that is light, truth, love, holiness.                         However, God's face, which is  Cihrist,  God's people
       Being their life and light and truth, He is their        in this life see through or in a glass. And this glass
way to the Father,  the triune Jehovah. He is the is the Scripture. Hence in this life, God's believing
only way. Hence, no man cometh unto the Father but people stand not before God's very face but before this
by Him. No man can know the Father except in and face as reflected by the Scriptures. It is for this rea-
through Him. He, therefore, who is pitted against son  trhat believers fee1 themselves attracted to the
(3rhrisZ knows not God, is shut out from the presence Word. It is in the Word that they behuld  the face of
of the Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus             God Whose grace they are ever being made to ex-
Christ, thus the God of mercy and grace. Such a one perience.              But the reflection of God's face in the
is thus unloved and unblessed.                                  Scriptures is dark. "For now we see through a glass,
       If C&rist is light and life, tie seat and channel of darkly" (I Cor. 13  :12). This can be explained. Ob-
the grace and truth that `is the portion of God's people, jectively  :by the circumstance  tihat  tie language of
it follows that He is also the radiance.of  the Father's Scripture is earthy as are also the symbols through
glory, thus the face in  which  the redeemed see and which Christ in His Word ,spe&s  to His people of the
know God. God has a face. If He had not, the be- glory of His Father and of  HimseIf. In the Scrip-
lievers would never be seeing Him. And that they tures Christ appears as the true bread,  the living
shall see Him, the God and Father of Christ, is prom-           water, wine, miIik, as the door and the way, as the
ised them. Said Christ, "Blessed are the pure in heart, lamb and the altar, as the morning-star, as the sun


                                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             119

that shines in our heaven. It is thus in a. speech tihat
is earthy,  that the Scriptures were written. The Scrip-                           We Would S&e Jesus
tures being earthy, believers behold an earthy image of
 God's heavenly face, which is Christ. Thus as com-                               And there were certain Greeks among them, that
pared with God's very face, this image, this glory of                             came to worship at the feast: The same came
God as reflected by the earthy Scriptures is, must be,                            the&ore  to Philip, which was of  Beth&da  of
dank. And it is well that  iIt  `is thus. For  Ihow could                         Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we  wouId
believers now in this life have God's face as the direct                          see Jesus.
object of their vision? The dazzling radiance of that                                                          John 12:20,  21.
face would destroy them. In this life then, the be-
lievers do nut see God as He is, as they do not see Him                 And there were certain Greeks among tiem that
face to face. But the promise is that they shall. And came up to worship at the feast. It indicated that they
by this promise they lime. For they want to see His had embraced the Messianic hope, as had the Magi
face directly, behold with pure and heavenly eyes His from the East, who had come, some years previous,
glory. Their desire shall be granted. They shall see                to  clhsist's. cradle. As the Magi, so in all likelihood
Him face to face. Then they shall know as tiey are these visitors had been Ibrought  in contact with this
known. And their joy will be full. And in  heavenly                 hope by the Jews in trhe Dispersion. Having embraced
language they shall everlastingly cry out His praises. this hope, they came up to worship at the feast. And
For they will then be like Him, their God. He, Him- they come, wanting to see Jesus. They make known
self, has said it. "And we shall see Him as He is, for their desire to Philip. It is not necessary to conjecture
we shall be like Him." It is not the ideal of essential how they had come into the possession  of,the  knowledge
likeness that is here promised, rbut a likeness that will that Philip was Christ's disciple. We may be satisfied
consist in believers' being holy, as He is holy.                    with the bare report  tihat they knew. Philip's consulta-
    "This is eternal life that they may know thee. . . . tion with Andrew must doubtless be attributed to his
and Jesus Christ  ,whom  thou  lm&  serif'.  It is the reluctance to disturb Christ with these strangers, these
Christ whom Gad has sent, that must be known, if uncircumcised proselytes. Andrew, it must be, thinks
God is to be known-this, Christ and none other, the it best to yield to the request. This they do. Together
Christ whom He sent into tie world, into our grief and they go to Jesus and tell Him.
hell and whom He raised unto our justification. In                      Hearing, Christ is jubilant. And He has reason.
.His name only is  their  salvation.                                The coming of these Greeks marks the beginning of,
                                                     G. M. 0.       the fulfillment of prophecy-of the prophecy to the
                                                                    effect that the gentiles "shall come to thy light, and
                                                                    the kings to the brightness of thy rising," tlhat they
                                                                    shall gather themselves together and come to Him, that
                                                                    they shall come from afar and be nursed at His side,
                               1904-1939                            that nhen He should see, and flow together, and that
                                                                    His heart should then fear and be enlarged ; "because
                  `WEDDING ANNIVERSARY                              the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee,
    On December 1, 1939 our dear parents,                           the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee" (Isa.
                    CORNELIUS LUBBERS                               60 :3-51.
                                  and       i                           So, beholding these Greeks, and having learned
                AGGIE LUBBERS-Van Putten                            their desire, he exclaims, "The hour is come that the
will D. V., celebrate their 35th wedding a.nniversary.              Son of Man shall be glorified. Glorified He shall Abe as
                                                                    the head of His church, which is His body-His church
    Our prayer and da&e is that the Lord, Who has spared t&m        upon which He shall pour His Spirit, that, as Spirit
these many  yeans, may in His gracious care provide for them        filled, it may everlastingly give Him glory.
in the future, and that the "sure mercies of David" may con-
stantly be their portion.                                               But to this glory the Father leads Him through
                                                                    suffering and death. He understands. Even God's
                       Their children                               way with the corn of wheat, tells Him, "Except a corn
                                Mr. and Mrs. -4rtrhzrr Berens       of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone ;
                                Rev. and Mrs. Geo. C. Lubbers       but if it die, it bringeth  forth `much fruit." This seed
                                Mr.  a& Mrs. John C. Lubbers        is Christ.    Except He die, He abideth alone, thus
                                Mr. Peter Jacob Lubbers             abideth without His people. But if He die, He bringetlr.
                                Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Jelsma       forth much fruit. Thus He must die, that,  as  dead,  ITe
                                Miss Henrietta  Bernice Lubbers     may be raised  witi His own unto  justificatron  and
                                Mr. Henry Lubbers                   glory. It is only through His dying, through His bear-
    Budsonville,   Michigan                                         ing the burden of God's wrath against the sin of His

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

people, that He becomes the true vine with branches,         world that lieth in darkness. Why is now its judg-
the head  witi body, His church, the cornerstone with ment?  It is about to crucify God's Son, thus very
living stones, partaking of His life and  builjt up a Righteousness, Holiness. For this, it now :has oppor-
spiritual house.                                             tunity. For God now places Him in man's power, de-
   He knows this. He will therefore. not love His pre- livers Him up  to Jew and Gentile. And the world
sent earthy life and shun the cross. For then He would chooses to crucify Him, the Holy One ! So does it ap-
lose His life and perish with His people. He accepts pear that sin is exceedingly sinful, that man is des-
His cross. He thus will save His life and be crowned         perateIy  wicked, that thus God's appraisal of him is
with glory, He and His people,  who with Him will true, and that the doom of <the wicked is highest justice.
suffer and die and be crucified that they may the raised But whereas the cross is at once the instrument through
up together and be made to sit toget,her  in heavenly which God saves His people from their sins and frees
places in Him.                                               them from the dominion of Satan, it must needs follow
   Let His disciple be mindful of all this. Let them, that when the wicked have done venting their terrible
too, deny themselves, take upon them their. cross and        spite upon We Holy One, the judgment of the world is
follow Him. Let them be resolved to Iose their life          at hand, as also the time for the casting out of the
and  fill up We measure of His suffering, that they may      prince of fthis world. And their doom is certain. For
be honored by the Father and raised up by Him and            Christ is about to be lifted up from the earth to the
be clothed with Christ's glory.                              cross and from thence He will ascend into heaven and
   But what is this that we now hear Him say? "Now be exalted at the right  (hand of the Father. And
is my soul troubled ; and what shall I say? Father save through His Spirit and His Word He will draw all men
me from this hour." This is a cry of anguish ! And           (His people)  ,to Himself. And He will reign in the
it is uttered by the  Saviour. His soul is troubled (not midst of His enemies until God shall have put trhem all
His spirit). His soul will again be troubled in the          under His feet.
garden, when He ,%-ill pray, "0 My Father, I it is pos-                                                 G. M. 0.
sible, let this cup pass from me. . . ." So here, "Father
save me from  t,his hour." How that cross terrifies His
soul, now that His  hour has finally come ! Would He
nhen repudiate His cross? He is the obedient ser-
vant. His meat and drink is also now to do the will of
His Father. But it can be  expeoted  that the anticipa-                             NOTICE
tion of what the immediate future holds in store for
Him, fill His soul with dread. Has He not become like           Please look at  ,&he subscription date on your Stan-
unto His brethren in all things, sin excepted? His dard Bearer: if you are *in arrears please send your
aversion to His cross forms certainly. the unmistakable subscription money (money order) to the treasurer :
evidence of His true humanity. And mark now the                                            Mr. R. Schaafsma
strengbh  of His obedience. .However  troubled His soul                                    524 Henry f&e., S. E.
may be, He prays for His cross, when He says, "But
for this cause (the cause of suffering and dying for
His people), I came into this hour. Father, glorify
thy name."
   How the zeal of God's house consumes Him.                                     THE ANVIL
"Father, glorify thy name !" Lay the burden of Thy
wrath upon me, ,that I may bear it. Exhibit through              I paused one day beside the blacksmith's door,
My cross, the glory of Thy love, `Thy mercy, Thy wis-            And listened to  the anvil ring the evening chime,
dom, Thy power. Let the billows of Thy wrath pass              * And  loo'king in, I saw  upon  the floor,.
over Me. Then will Thy name be glorified. And the                Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.
Father answers, "I have glorified it, and will glorify
it again." The Father has glorified His name, through            `How many anvils have you had,' said I,
Christ's labors in the past. And He  will glorify  i,t           To- wear and  ibatter out these hammers so'?
through the cross and its fruitage.                              `Just one', he answered, with a twinkling eye,
   But let His disciples attend to this reply of God to          `The anvil :wears the hammers out, you know'.
the prayer of Christ. "This voice came not because of
Me, but for your sakes. Nlow is the judgment of the              And so, I thought, the Anvil of God's Word,
world; now shall the prince of &is world be cast out.            For ages  sceptic  blows have beat upon;
And if I be lifted up from this earth, will draw all men         Yet, though the noise of infidel was heard,
unto Me."                                                        The anvil is unworn - the hammer's gone !
   Now is the judgment of the world. . .  ." Of the                                                  Selected.


                         A   Refor'med  S e m i - M o n t h l y   M a g a z i n e
              PUBLISHED BY THE REFORMED FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.




                                           De Boer, Rev.  M.  Grittens, Rev. B.  Rok, Rev.



Vol. XVI, No. 6. Entered  as Second Clam mail                DECEMBER 15, 1939                   Subscription Price $2.00
                        matter at Grand  Rawids,   Mich.


I                                                                   mighty God, the everlasting Father Himself? And
            M E D I T A T I O N                                     where among men is he that is entitled to tie name
                                                                    Prince of Peace?                        *
                                                                        Nor is this application of the text to the Lord of
                 The Prince Of Peace                                glory a mere conjecture.
                                                                        For this Prince of Peace is the  exlplanation,  the
                                                                    cause of the  juy of victory of which the preceding
                     For unto us a child is born, unto us a verses speak. The people that  Iwalked in darkness
                  son is given: and the government shall have seen a great li'ght; and they that dwell in the
                   be upon his shoulder: and his name land of the shadm of death, upon them hath the light
                  shall be  ca&?d  Wonderful,  Cou?nirelbr,         shined. They were ~harassed  by the world-powers of
                   the mighty God, the everlasting Father, darkness, but now they see the light of joy and victory;
                   the Prince of Peace.                             they rejoice s in the harvest and their -joy is as the
                                                      Isa. 9:6.     joy `of those that divide the spoil. The enemy is over-
       Wonderful, indeed !                                          come, and they are delivered from oppression. For
       Wonderf,ul,  tit the Church of the old dispensa- unto tihem a child is born, unto them a son is given, and
tion, while'the mystery was still <hid, could thus sing the government is upon his shoulder. . . .
and shout for joy at the prospect of His coming, the                    The Prince of Peace!
coming of the Prince of Peace !                                         The Christ ?
       And wonderfu1  is He, as in the light of prophecy                For, in order that it might become manifest that
He is here beheld,  .in his `power and dominion, in his He was the One of Whom this joyous prophecy spoke,
marvellous  virtues and qualifications for tihe exercise nhe Lord, after John was cast into prison, departed
of that dominion in the real of perfect peace, and in               into Galilee, and dwelt in Capernaum, in the borders
His origin, as ,of us yet not of us, as born from our of Zabulon  and Nephthalim, that it might be fulfilled
loins, yet given by the God of our salvation.                       which was spoken by the prophet:
       A child is born. . . .The mighty God!                            "The  peopIe  which sat in darkness saw a great
     - A son is given unto us. . . .the everlasting Father !        light ?
       Christ, the I'mmanuel,  the Prince of peace!                     "And to tihem-which sat in the region and shadow
       For always the Church  has understood this pro- of death light  `is sprung up!"
phecy and repeated it in song and sermon a thousand                     And he preached: the kingdom of heaven is at
times,  ,as referring to our Lord Jesus Christ. And hand !
correctIy  so. That it is of Him the Church of the oId                  The Prince of Peace !
dispensation is here enjoined to sing for joy is evident                Dimly he was seen in the pale light of prophecy,
from the words themselves.  Wtit other child was                    and the  clhurch of the old dispensation  Irejoiced  in
ever born to man, to the Church, what other son was hope !
ever given unto  ,her, to whom even the boldest imagina-                But He was manifested in the  fuIness of time, and
tion could apply the names that are here mentioned the light shone upon us, we beheld His glory as of the
of  this Son? Who was there among the sons `of men, only begotten God ! The light was manifested in our
whose very name could be called Wonderful or  Couns- darkness, the darkness of sin and corruption, the dark-
sellor?  Or, if human imagination might  Ksonjure up ness of the  shadow  of death!
such a being, how could he ever presume to be the                       And the' darkness was dissipated! ,


122                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
*
        The powers of oppression are overcome !                     Therefore, love is also righteousness, holiness,
        For, unto us a child is born ! A son is given !          truth. . . .
        The Prince of peace !                                       Without these there is no love; no love of God to
        Wonderful !                                              us, no Iove of us to God, no love of one another. And
                                                                 witihout  this love there is no peace ; no peace with God,
        Magic name in a worl,d of (woe and turmoil!              no peace in God toward us, no peace of us toward God,
        Wonderful name, indeed, in a world torn by war,          no peace between man and man, between group and
bleeding  Ifrom  a thousand wounds: `The Prince of group, Ibetween  nation and nation. It is, and it must
Peace !                                                          needs be, war! . . . .
        Small wonder that even they that know Him not               There is no short-cut to peace!
and understand nothing of the :peace He came to bring,              The sole road hither is that of righteousness, truth,
are spellbound by the charm and magic of that name, holiness, love, life. . . .
and every Christmas  season speak of Him and sing the               That road He travelled, the Prince of Peace, the
praises of what they conceive to be the Prince of Peace ! Captain of our salvation!
They caught the exquisitely soothing music- of the                  Peace he made, first of all, with  ad. Everlasting
name, they taste the heavenly gift wrapped up in that peace, on the basis of an everlasting righteousness.
name, and the good word of God, and the powers of                For, voluntarily, in the obedience of love, He placed
the world to come, a world of righteousness and Himself under the vials of God's wrath in the hour of
peace. . . .                                                     judgment; obediently He descended into the deepest
        Seeing they see; hearing they hear. . . .                woe and agony of death and hell to satisfy the un-
        Yet they do not perceive ; still they fail to under-     changeable justice of God; t&us to open the way for
stand. . . .                                                     peace on the basis of God's own terms: His righteous-
        They use the name ; they reject Him ! Their rock ness ! And that peace He gives unto us. For, the
     is not our Rock; their Prince of Peace is not the Christ    Prince of Peace W~Q died to make peace was raised
of the Scriptures.                                               in peace, was glorified and exalted at the right hand
        He, the Prince of Peace, is characterized by peace of God to reign in peace and to overcome all the evil
 in al1 His appearance, mission, work, and dominion.             forces of war, was given the Spirit to realize that
     To establish peace He came into the world. To rule          peace in the [hearts of all His own. By that Spirit He
     in peace forever, He labors and toils and battles and leads us into His kingdom of peace with God, assures
     suffers and goes down into the  nethermost  parts of the us of our reconciliation with God through His blood,
     earth. For,_peace  he came to establish, peace indeed.      removes the enmity against God that is in our hearts
     Not the superficial peace that is created by conferences by nature, pours out in us the love of God, and causes
     or courts of men, by treaties that are signed, by pacts     us to sing with joy: "We, therefore, being justified out
     that are sealed, and that are broken by them that of faith, have  (peace with God through our Lord Jesus
     make them ; but true, real, essential peace he came to      Christ !"
     create. Quite impossible it is, indeed, to bring peace                                                               1
                                                                     The Prince of Peace!
     in the reIationships  between men and nations, where
     there is no peace in the heart; and quite IhopeIess is          Through that peace with God we have peace with
     the expectation of peace in men's hearts, as long as one another !
     there is no peace with God ! The futility of the attempt        By nature we are war-makers. For we live in
     to establish peace where there is no peace th.e tworId      malice and envy and covetousness, are filled with pride
     has demonstrated in  late years more clearly than ever and hate one  anotiher.        But when the Prin,ce of Peace
     before. For peace &hey longed and war was dreaded.           reigns in our hearts by His Spirit and grace, we be-
     Of peace they spoke in speech and song and discussion come  malkers  of peace, love one another, humble our-
     around conference tables. Peace palaces were built. selves, forbear one another and forgive one another,
     Peace conferences were held. Disarmament agree- even as God for Christ's  salke forgave us!
     ments were attempted. Peace treaties were signed.               And through Him we have peace with a11 things!
     A league of nations was established. Yet. there was             For, having peace with God through our Lord Jesus
     never a time in which the world is so fuI1 of greed,         Christ, we even now are assured that all things are
     hatred, distrust, war, as our own. They speak of ours and we are His and He is God's ; and that He Who
     Ipeace, peace, where there is no peace ! . . . .             reconciled us with Himself through the death of His
        Peace is a profound spiritual reality !                   Son will surely cause all things to work together for
         It is a matter of the heart. It presupposes and is our good.
     rooted in love, the love of one another! And the love           And we Iook forward to 6h.e final kingdom of peace !
     of one another is rooted in i&e love of God! And the             Then, in the new heavens and the new earth, in
     love of God is love of GOD! And herein is love, not whic;h righteousness  shah dwell, God's tabernacle shall
     that we loved God, but that He loved us ! . : , ,            be spread  over  all!


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            I.23

   The creature shall participate in the glorious liberty salvation, the Father in heaven, come unto us! And,
of the children of God !                                      therefore, His name is truly Wonderful,  ,for He is our
   And there shall be nothing that shall destroy in Prince of Peace, nevertheless ; God in the  flesh, eternity
all God's  hdy mountain !                                     in time, Creator in the, creature, the Lord as servant,
   Blessed Prince of Peace !                                  the Judge being judged, the  Lord of life dying. . . .
                                                                 His name shall be called Wonderful !
   Mighty Prince !                                               Mighty He is to save and to establish and maintain
   Might and `power are, indeed, indispensible requi- forever the kingdom of peace that was appointed Him?
sites for one wfho would change this war-torn world               And filled He is with all wisdom!
into a realm of everlasting `peace!                              For, His name is Counsellor !
   And mighty He is !                                            God of God in human nature, He has direct, inner
   The government is upon His shoulder! Authority contact with all knowledge and wisdom of the Father!
and power have been conferred upon Him. By divine               All the treasures of knowledge and wisdom are in
right He is and reigns as the Prince of Peace ; by            Him!  -
divine authority He comes into this world to claim it            And He counsels us in the way of peace!
as His own possession  ; by divine appointment He                Glorious Prince of Peace !
battles His way into His dominion of peace, over-
coming all the forces of evil, all the powers of oppo-           Gospel of joy !
sition, all the rprincipalities  that make for war; and           Glad tidin,gs of good things?
by divine ordination `He reigns in His own, eternal              Let us rejoice as in the time of harvest, and be joy-
realm of peace !                                              ful as those that divide the spoil !
   The government is upon His shoulder!                           For the people tihat sat in darkness have seen a
   Ordained He was as the Prince of Peace from be- great Iight, and they that  dweI1 in the  Iand of the
fore the foundation of the world. And exalted He was, shadow of death, upon them the light shined !
clothed with all authority and power in .heaven  and              For unto us a child is  barn!- Unto us a son is
on earth, He now is at the right hand of God, still bat- given !
tling until all enemies of His peace-rule shah be sub-           Born, yet given!
jected under His feet!                                           How could it be different? Is not His name Won-
   And He is strong to save!                                  derful? He is,  tlherefore,  a child that is born of us.
   Not only autihority,  the divine right to rule, has He,    Born He is, not of the world, not of the seed of the
but also, the power and strength to maintain and exer- serpent, but of us and unto us. For, He is of the
cise that authority. Such was necessary. One that woman's seed, in the line of Seth, according to the
has authority must be strong. Strong in power and promise of Shem, of the seed of Abraham, out of the
#wisdom   h6 must be. And this Prince of Peace must           tribe of Judah, a branch of nhe royal tree of David,
have power to stand and overcome alone! Alone a root out of a dry ground, from the flesh and blood
against all ! The powers of Ihell and of the world, of of the virgin Mary. Man of ,man, flesh and blood of
the devil and wicked men, of sin and death He must our flesh and blood is He. Unto us a chiI,d is born !
overcome ! He must establish His dominion of peace               Yet, thou'gh  born of us, He is definitely given!
by removing and overcoming the kingdoms of this                  Unto us a son is given !
world ! And He must maintain, preserve and  perfe.3              How could we, who are dead through trespasses and
that kingdom, and reign forevermore over ail things I         sins, enemies of God and of one another, who are for-
   And powerful He is !                                       ever  ,making  war,  {bring  forth the Prince of Peace,
   -For He is called The Mighty God ! He is named Who knew no sin, though He came in the likeness of
The Everlasting Father! His name is, therefore, sinful flesh, Who was found without .guiIe, though in
Wonderful ! And He is justly named the Counsellor  ! aII other respects He was  Iike unto His brethren? And,
   Mighty God is He, for this Prince of Peace is the what is more, how could we bring forth Him, that is
eternal Son, coequal with the Father and the Holy mighty to save and to establish the eternal kingdom
Ghost, infinite in might as they are infinite in might, of peace, and Whose name is Wonderful, The Mighty
eternal as they are eternal, filled with all, with infinite God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace?. . .
wisdom as  they have all wisdom and knowledge in                 He is given ! Given of God !
themselves. And as such He is the Everlasting Father !           Given through the Wonder of wonders, the Incar-
Not, indeed, as if He were not distinct, as Son from nation !
the Father, as the Second  ifrom  the first Person in the        God's Son became our C!&ild  !
Holy Trinity, but as God, as  l%eing one in essence and          The Prince of Peace  ?
nature with the- Father and the Holy Ghost, He is the            GIory to God!
Everlasting Father Himself, Whose image He is. In                Peace on earth !
the Prince of Peace we see Jehovah, the God of our                                             I            H. H.


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              1x.5
 II ----_                                                      _-
 te schri jven.      Historische omstandigheden we&ten
 die  beschouwing  in de hand,  aa;nmartigingen   door                      Suffering Because Of Slander
 Rome's bisschoppen  sl,oten  zich gaarne bij de  histo-
 rische omstandigheden aan, en theologen.  die meer bet                 This is also a great evil upon the earth.
 instituut der Kerk dan de Schrift ,dienden, gebruikten                 T*hen our enemy is not after our body so much as .
 al thunne scherpzinnigheid, om `de theorie in overeen-         he sets himself to tear our soul  in pieces.
stemming  te lbrengen  met de praktijk. En zoo werd                     And the `damage is `done. And there is almost no
langzamerhaond  de leer  ontwikkeld  en  kerkelijk   vast-           remedy against its devilish poison. You can cry against
gesteld, dart ond.er de apostelen Petrus de  primus  inter           it and give testimony  of the truth of  ithe matter: it is
pares, de voornaamste was, in den zin,  dat  oak de of no avail. At least as long as the Judgment Day is
andere  ~apostelen aan hem en zijn agezag  onderworpen          far away.
waren,  en dat de Kerlk  op Petrus, als de rots in Matt.                There is nothing the devil invented that is as
16  :18 aangeduid, gebouwd  is ; dat Petrus ~~oorts de          efficient as slander. It is gladly believed by all of us.
eerste bisschop  is geweest  van de Kerk te Rome, en dat We are inclined  ra-trher  to believe the evil than the good
deze zijn apostdisch  gezag voorts zou hebben overge- ,of a person.
dragen   aan zijn opvolgers, de Roomsche bissahoppen.                   Yes, you can `fry against it, but all such crying is
En eindelijk werd geheel deze leer  schenp uiteengezet weak. It is far better never to cry against it, that is,
en kerkelijak  geijkt  ,door het Vaticaansch Concilie van `to the ears of man. The more you give testimony
1870 in de Decreta Dogmatica De Fide Catholica  Et              to man that "mine integrity" that is in you ; the more
De Ecclesia Christi,  waar aan de leer, dat de opperste you are torn ,asunder. The impression is made and you
jurisdictie en volmacht van Petrus over heel de Kerk are powerless ito uproot  iit.
op aarde door hem nog al*tij,d wordt  uitgeoefend  door                 The only remedy against slander is to tell it to CM.
`de  Pausen, werd  toegevoegd:  "docemus et divinitus                  Cry  to CM and you #will be healed of the tearing
revelatum  dogma esse def%mus  : Romanum  Pontificem, and cIawing  of your. soul.
cum ex cathedra  loquirtur,  id est, cum omnium Chris-                  That is what David did in the Seventh Psalm.
tianorum  pastoris  et  doctoris  fungens pro  suprema                  It was occasioned by the "words of Cush, a  Benja-
sua Apostolica  auotori~ate  doetrinam  ,de fide vel mori-      mite".
bus ab universa ecclesia tenendam definit, per assisten-                We do not  know  its history. Neither does it make
tiam divinam, ipsi i'n beato Petro. promissam, ea infalli-      any difference.
bitate poller-e, qua divinus  Redemptor  Ecclesiam  suam                I am glad *that this psalm is found in the bunIdle of
in definienda doctrina de fide vel moribus instructam spiritual songs. It points the way to the only remedy
esse vomit", etc. Dat is : "wij  leeren en  bepalen, dat against the poison of slander.
hat een goddelijk `geotpenbaard dogma is : dat de Room-                 In this instance the slander amouIlited  to  ;trhis: this
sche  Paus,  wanneer  hij  ex  cathedra   spreekt, dat is, Cush told about David how he supposedly had rewarded
`wanneer  hij, fungeerend als pastor en leeraar van alle evil for good. There must have been a person who was
 Christenen, *door zijn ,hoogste  gezag een leer, betref-       at peace with David. And Cush told the story around
,fende  geloof  of zeden, die door de universeele Kerk te that David  ihad played a dirty trick oh that peaceable
onderhouden  is,  bepaalt,  door  ,de goddelijke assistentie person.
hem in den gezegenden Petrus beloofd, die  onfeilbaar-                  Now the truth of the matter was that David had
heid  bezit,   waarmee  de  goddelijcke   Verlosser   gewild ,aoted  just in the opposite way. He had rewarded good
Iheeft,  dat  Zijne  Kerk  lbekleed  zou zijn om te  kunnen     for evil. He *delivered  a certain person who was his
bepalen de leer aangaande geloof  en zeden".        (Schaff  : enemy  wilthout cause at all. In other words, he Ihad
Creeds of Christendom, II, 270, 271).                           acted as a child of God should always act.
    Vele historische  en exegetische bezwaren kunnen                    Well, you can imagine the result. Slowly on this
tegen deze  voorstelling   worden  ingebracht.  Doch de rotten story came to the ears of David: "Did you hear,
voornaamste  is wel,  dat het een wezenlijk, indien niet David, what Cush the Benjamite, is telling about you?
bet wezenlijk  kenmerk  van een ,apostel  is, .dat hij kan He tells it all around  that you have played an evil trick
zeggen: niet cdoor middel  van menschen, maar direkte-          to so and so ; you know, David, that man is really at
Iijk ben iik door Jezus geroepen. Dat dit alleen  geldt         peace with you". And you ought to hear, David, what
van de  itrwaalven  is  duidelijk.  Dat  hiermee heel de the people think about you. They think it vile of you,
Kerk en  al hare  ambten  gezamenlijk   aan het woord that you have supposedly done this. There are others
der apostelen  alleen  ,onderworpen  en  gebonden   zijn,       David, who do not exactly believe the story, but all
is  oak  duidelijk.  En  tevens  is  duidelijk,   dat hiermee %he same, there are many who do believe in it!"
alle  priester-heerschappij  over de Kerk ,der nieuwe be-              Can you imagine the ,result  for David's peace of
deeling  bij den worte1  is afgesneden.                         mind ?
                                                                       Small wonder (that David complains to God regard-
               8`                                H. H.          ing enemies that try to tear his soul in pieces. He cries


 136                                       T H E   STA.NDARD   B E A R E R
 -..~---.                                                  _. -- .__._ --._-
 for help, because there is none to deliver. You know,                             It is the daily cry of the righteous. 1 assure you
 as a rule we have enough to ,do about our own inhere&                          that this life is a continuous death. Death  ih our
 than to go out of our way to try to deliver &he brother                        members that are upon 4h,e earth. Perfeot death in
 out of the hand of t15e slanderer. No, there is none                           heart and mouth  ,and all the  ,manifestations  of vain
. to deliver. And mind you, David means that ;there  is                         men that surround  `us. He who has the power of death
 none at all who concerns himself about him who is                              w&h <his dathly host of devils about tim to torment
 torn by the devilish "Iwords of Cush".              I-                         us as the day is long-1 assure you that life at its best
        Therefore David does the  on'e sensible thing: he                       is but miserable.
 turns  Ihimself to God.                                                           If our trust had not been in the Lord, now may
        And let me assure you that this is the only -and best                   Israel say ; if our trust had not Ibeen in the Lord ; sure-
 `way too. Iat does not help at all to turn Ito man. YOLL                       ly we  Iwould have been swallowed up alive.
 will,find  &hat there is none to deliver.                                         Therefore, 0  M ! let this wickedness speedily come
        But David says : 0 Lord my God ! That's the  SW-                        to an end ; but establia Thou the righteous and the up-
 sibleness of faith. Faith knows God and faith trusts right in heart !
 God.                                                                              And He does. And lSe shall continue these paths
        `0 w.hat wondrous consolation in going to God and of equity and justice.
 saying ,to Him : Thou lrnowest  Lord tihat this thing is                          For He is an& with the wicked every day.
 not true. 0 comfort me then ; speak to my hart of                                 Go to now, you common grace enthusiasts ! The
 Thy wunderful `love  a,nd lovingkindness. Pour Thy Lord is angry with the wicked  evee day.
  balm i,n my wounds for my soul is torn and rent in                               And the ,Lord gives testimony of %his anger. He
  pieces  Iby these devils !                                                    explains to us in unmistakable language  tih,e prepara-
        It is clear from the  texk  that David  Iwas not  gui&y.                tions for the final issue of this anger of God. Gad will
   Clear, because David tells God that if he really whet His sword ; God has bent His bow, and made it
  did this thing it would be alrighit to Zqirn to have his                      ready.    In other words, when God beholds all the
  enemy Ipersecute his soul, tread down his life upon the tickedness  of the gwiuked, He delights to look upon His
  earth and lay his honor in the dust.                                          vengeance, that is, everlasting death in *hell. He t&s
        I assure you that if you are guilty you will never already  pl'epared  *he  bonv. God has preparedthe  in-
  dare to say such things to God. Oh yes, to man you strumen&  of the death of the wicked. He ordaineth
  may be able to say great and loSty  words. You may His arrows against the persecutors. EYen the present
  calmly and haughtily assure and affirm, be it ever so persecutors of  Datid.
  stouttly.  But to God? Ah, but that is `different.  G,o-1                        What terrible truths. I do  npt wonder that foolish
  horns it all.                                                                 men have for thousands of years endeavored to blunt
        El% that is also the reason `why you twill finally grow the piercing sharpness of God's arrows.  Grxe for
  calm again. That is, if you are really innocent. Tell the wiuked.  Forsooth  !
  the Lord that you haTe not done it and bhat He knows                              Oh, I can understand that the hair of our flesh
  it : and I assure you that you will arise from your knees trembleth for fear of  my judgments, 0 God ! But
  strengthened and comforted.                                                   Thou art  tru,e,  dwelling among the tribes of Thy
        Hear .David : Lord, if I really did it, `then let a just people ! Dwelling among  the praises of Zion!
  and swift punishment  tid me ! It is the language of                             And Gud is just. He does not judge unrighteously.
                                                                                   Listen: the object of His anger is described for us.
  innocenl:e-  that is speaking.                                                And the picture is also true to life. Even your life
        From verses 6 and 8 we note in this connection and my life. This  ds the picture that is drawn for
  ,David is  gledly remembering that after all `God is the us by the Holy Ghost : He travail& with iniquity, and
  .j&ge hand not man. He calls for the judgment day, hath conceived mischief,  ,and brought forth falsehood.
  nay more, he calls for that judgment now. He knows                                No doubt David is still thinking of :his ,slanderer.
  that God judgeth every day, even'now, while David is But the picture frts any and all ages and peoples atid
  being slandered in Israel.                                                    tribes that are disobedienit  to' the heavenly yision of
        He has realized that God's  ow,n   work of righteous- God in Christ Jesus the Lord. It is a.lpicture which
  ness and integrity are present in ,his heart and that you may recognize with -a shudder on all sides about
  God certainly will never disallow His  vwn  work in you in the world. And sometimes -also in Ithe church
  Dnvid. He knows that God will glorify His work in of God.
  David so that God be blessed forever.                                             It is the picture of wicked man  ,under  the imagery
        All bhis history made David weary of the wicked of a woman  whu is travailing with child.
  life on earth,                                                                    That is, whatever the picture may potimy, this is
        Harken  to him : Oh let the wickedness of the Iwicked                   sure, his whole being is engrossed with it, even ,as a
  come to an end!                                                               woman whose only thou&t is with the child she bore


                                        T H E   STANDAR`D   B E A R E R                                                      131

and now brings forth. T,here  are no side issues in such
a case.                                                                         The Christian School
    And such is the wicked, the reprobate.                           We  shou'ld, as Christian people, defihitely know
    His child, the occupation of his entire being is very that it is God's will that we have and maintain our own
iniquity, mischief and falsehood.                               schools for the instruction of our children. Without
    How :Iuorrible !                                            such knowledge there can be on our part no strong
    How sweet is the picture  Iwhich  the Holy Ghost            con.tiction  that, in maintaining our own schools we are
draws of ithe true child of God. Because of Jesus in doing what the Lord requires. And I take it that you
him he may humbly confess his uprightness of heart              do  know and that .therefore  in sponsoring the cause of
and his *integrity  as we hear from the lips of David.          Christian instruction you do act from conviction and
    And even though also this psalm bears a strong              principle and. `are ibeing impelled by the love of God.
Messianic  &amp,  so that only in Jesus Christ this in-         However, there is also such a thing as being strength-
tegrity and  uprighkness finds its  e&ire  and central ened in our hallowed convictions and of such a strength-
fulfillment, still, a  prinoiple   of these virtues is also     ening, stablishing,  settling, God's believing people al-
found in the man that is recreated in the image of that         ways tive need. So my aim (is now .to deliver an ad-
Son of Gsd. It may be a small principle but it is there.        dress the hearing of which may result in .our being
And here I would exclaim: if that small principle is            confirmed in our belief that in maintaining our own
so wondrous and miraculous in its sweetness, what *schools  we are doing the will of God. I speak  to you
must the hamrest be !                                           on tie subject:
    When Jesus came  i&o our  .heart,  the old leaven
of falseho  and iniquity received its deathblow and                THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL WILLED BY GOD*
honesty and  purilty were ingrafted. And the life from              In making *his plain, I must set ou% wikh  direct-
above speaks and thinks and lives in every one of God's ing your atiention *to our children, and in particular to
OWL                                                             the,fact  that %ey are seed ,of the covenant of God. To
    And the end of that people is in &he words of this `appreciate  this statement, one must precisely and
psalm: hhe ,praise of the Lord according to His right-          definitely what is to be ,understood  by She covenant.
eousness. It shows that all the virtue of the ChristIan         The covenant, as to  its essense, is God's  Ioving   I&
is rooted in the righteousness of God. The end is God's `people,  chosen by Him unto life eternal in Christ Jesus
praises. And %e heart of the sweet singer of Israel and filled by Him now and ever with the fulness  that
has grown tranquil again. There is harmony in his dwells bodily in Christ. Thus tihe covenant is also this
heart. Harmony with God's own voice.                            people's as so chosen and redeemed, loving, seeking
    Harmony that is heavenly, because whether you are and delighting in God, -the God and Father of Christ.
listening at the gate of the new Jerusalem or listening T'he covenant then is a bond-the bond of perfect Ime
at the cave of David, you will hear the same strains:           between God and His redeemed. This covenant is God's.
I will sing praises to the name of the Lord most high !         How could it be otherwise if this people is by nature
                                                                dead in sin and- thus -without strength. if it only
    And the eld&s  and the beasts and the multitude can only will to harce God and despise His salvation.
join this anthem of praise. And the angels sing the We affirm, therefore, that the covenant is solely God's.
choruses.                                                       He conceived of it; He prepared it for His people
    To such a theme all the people say : Even so, Amen !        through Christ; He establishes it, through His saving
                                                 G. V.          His people from all their sim and thus through His
                                                                pouring His love in their hearts.
                                                                    In this covenant is contained  (but one party, and this
                                                                ,party is God. The chosen ones, this covenant seed, are
                                                                thus of  God's party.. As  such  <they form  Itie second
                                                                part to the covenant.
                        IN  MHMORIAM                                In the light of the above observations, it is  evbdeit
                                                                th& my &atement  ito ,the effect that our children are
    The  consistosy  of the First  Pro&&ant  Reformed Church    covenant seed implies a deal more than  tiat  +hey are
of Grand Rapids,  Mich.,  hereby wishes to express sympathy     baptized, that is, dipped in or sprinkled with water.
bo our brother-elder ADRIAN DE VOS because of the death         It  @plies, does this statement, that they are chosen of
of his son, Lawrence. May the Lord comfort the brother in                 .-
                                                                *Address delivered by the undersigned on the meeting of the
this bereavement.                                               friends of Christian instruction at Byron Center. This address,
                              Rev. H. Hoeksema, Pres.           as the reader will surmise, was  amplified here and there with a
                              M. Vander  Venneq Clerk.          view to its publication in The Standard Bearer.


13.8                                     THiB  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

God unto eternal life in Christ, that thus-they are or and religious sense common to every normal child with-
eve&dly  will be baptized with t~he Holy Spirit, that,          out distinction. The child speaks as a child, under-
as a result they are, or in God's good time will be, cleav-     stands as a child and thinks as a child. Its concep-
ing "to this one God, Father Son and Hdy Spirit" that           tions of things and mental grasp is that of a child.
they love and serve Him in principle, that they even as A very young child of, let  ,us say, two or even six
children show that they possess the  [power to forsake years, can have no notion of the magnitude of time
,$he world, orucify their old nature and Iwalk in a new         and space. Explain to such a child the principle of
and holy life.                                                  locomotion of an ,automobile  and it will be none the
        You surmise, to be sure, that I am using the term rwiser. Tche child is without a natural singleness of
cotrenant  seed as the signification of our elect children, purpose. It is irresponsible. It is without a moral
the seed of promise. Beside this seed there is also the sense and a sense of [propriety. Its convictions are
carnal seed, comprised  of such whom God wills not  ito         that of a child and in these convictions it is easily
save, and who thus despise Christ and perish in their           shaken. But when the child becomes a man, it puts
disobedience. This seed is not truly in t&e covenant.           away childish Ithings.    It speaks, thinks and under-
It is not the trmLe  covenant seed. T,he true seed is com-      stands as a man.  T,here  is depth to its insight and
prised solely of God's chosen people. Hence, it is with         strength to its impulses. It knows  i.ts mind. There
this seed alone that the covenant is actually made firm,        is direction to its life. 1~ has clear and definite notions
so that, in the final instance, it is tis seed only to          of things that formerly lay beyond its mental grasp,
whom the promise pertaineth and who come into the and its view of life is fixed. For the child is now a
actual possession of  its content.                              man. There is. then suoh  a thing as a maturing mmd
 Now this seed, these lambs, sheep of Christ, must              and soul and a ,growing  consciousness of God and of
be fed. Education is a term that denotes an action              right and wrong. It is, to be sure, not due to sin
that consists in feeding  this seed. The educator then that we come into being as creatures who through a
does not make but feeds the child-the new man in process of mental and physical growth must attain to
the child, the potential man  of God. The child comes manhood and womanhood. This is adue to our being
to the tutor as made-made as to its distinctive nature,         born babes. Yet it is unmistalkeably true that much of
spiritual and mental power, capacity for good ( or evil). what is now characteristic of the ohild-soul is to be ac-
It is folly to speak of the task of the educator as con-        counted for by the entrance of sin.
sisting in making the &Id, of building character. The              Now, as was just remarked this natural growth
character of a child is its distinctive nature. This na-        of  ti  child+&  is one and the spiritual growth of
ture, if evil, cannot be changed or eradicated and a the man  uf God is another. Yet the two are intimately
more likely nature impressed upon the  essense  of the related in God's believing people. And the two usually
child's being. True, such a child can be  l&rained to go hand in hand in the eIect ones whom the Lord re-
behave. It can be taught to observe for its own benefit         generates in their youth. (And there is every reason
recognized laws of decency. But the  .resultant   ahar-         to believe that witi the' majority of the elect regenera-
aider that the educator imagines he succeeded in build- tion does take place early in youth). Yet an  elect
ing is but so much veneer.                                      one may ,be spiritually m&ure or nearly so, though
        This then is the real task of the pedagogue, to wit,    but a child. Rightly considered, it is not the new man
feeding the potential man of God. And the pedagogue, as such that grows ; for this man is spiritually perfect
at all worthy of the name, wills to do &is very thing. and is therefore not subject to growth. It is the be-
T,his  occasiuns  the question: what is that food  .with        liever' himself who  :grows. And this growth consists
which this man is to be fed. And the answer: the kind negatively in His laying aside by the mercies of God
of food whereby !he Ican'gr~w. This man is capable of all sin  ,and  Ipositively  in his being more and more
growth. So he appears in Holy Writ. Allow me to transformed by the  rtYlewal  of his mind. However,
quote  ,a Scripture or two. "Wherefore laying aside all the believer, the man of God, this spiritual seed, ,must
malice, and all guile, and  ,hypocricies.  . . . As new- have food whereby to grow. We must now  take up
born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that the matter of the kind of food with whioh  our covenant
ye may grow thereby"  (I Pet.  2:1, 2). There are               seed must be fed. This food, in one word, is Christ.
other scriptures. "That we henceforth be no more We know this from Christ's own lips, "Except" said
children, tossed to and fro. . . . But speaking the             He, "ye eat my flesh and drink my blood, ye have no
truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which life in yourselves." Then there is this word coming
is the head, even Christ" (Eph,, 4:14, 15)" "But grow to us from  9he  ,apostIe,  "As new born babes long ye
,+n grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour after the  ~menkal,  genuine milk. . .  ."             As appear
Jesus Christ" (II Pet. 3 :18).                                  from the sequence, this milk is Christ Himself. "If
        Now this spiritual growth of the "man of God" ye  ihave tasted," so the sacred writer continues, "that
should not be identified with the growth of natural             the Lord (namely, Christ) is good." Christ then is
mental capacities and <the development of the moral             the milk, as He also is for t&e man of God the true


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                             139

bread, the living water and the wine. And He is this and its fulness is the Lord's, that, in the words of the
as in Him dwelleth all fulness, all the gifts of grace Confession, rche universe is before our eyes as a most
,&hat accrue from His stirring  and death. He bhere- elegant book,  .wherein  all creatures, great and small,
fore is this man of God's food, and his only food. are so many characters leading us to contemplate the
There are not several but there is but one food for           invisible things of  `God and of Christ. Let the in-
&is man, for our covenant seed, so that to feed this structor impart unto the child knowledge of t~tis earth.
seed any other  %od, is to feed it stones for bread. But let him not fai1 to tell the child that the earth is
The apostle  iwould have this well understood. He             God's, that the ordinances of the stars and the moon
therefore wrote, "Long ye for  the  mental, genuine and the sun were given  `by God. Let tie instructor
milk. . .  ." This statement of mine is not extreme ;         impart  ,unto the child knowledge of its mortal frame,
it is altogether true. The tutor must teach, feed (;to rbut let him not neglect to repeat in the audience of the
teach is to feed) our covenant seed Christ, tie word child the words of the psalmist, "I will praise thee  {for
of God, God's self revelation, and this. word only. The I was fearfully and wonderfully made ; and that my
only food is God as revealed in the face of Christ, is soul knoweth  right well. Tlhine eyes did see my sub-
thus Christ as to his :person, natures, and all His works stance, yet being imperfect; and in thy book, all my
of the past present and future. Now these works, the members are written, which in continuance were
report, description, record of them, is contained in fashioned, when as yet there  `was none of them." Let
the Scriptures, which are thus the means by w,h.ich we the instructor tell the child that God makes lhistorf and
know God. Hence; to feed our children Christ is to            that through all the events of time, however dreadful,
feed  `them  the Scriptures. Eating, imbibing the Scrip- God's kingdom comes. In-a iword, let the prescribed
tures, the written Word of God, they eat Christ.              courses of study be so taught that their sum and total
   But  .how  can it now actually be maintained ,that         mirror Uh,e  praises of God and of Christ. Let, in this
Christ is the only food. This must be maintained. essential sense, the sole content of all the instruction
God said it. He said i4t first by the mouth of His ser-       be exclusively the word of God,-revealed in the face
vant Moses, "And these words, which I command thee            of Christ. The covenant seed has need of this word,
this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach       for it is the food, the only food by -which the man of
them diligently  vnto thy children, and shalt talk God can grow.
of them :when thou sittest in thine house, and when              In  the state (public) schools the child is fed stones
thou walkest  by the way, and when thou liest down,           for bread. This statement applies to the entire con-
and when thou ristest  `up. And thou shalt  [bind them tent of the instruction. In those institutions the in-
for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as Ifront- structor <does not, is not permitted to, base the various
lets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them sciences, which he teaches, upon God's word. What
upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates" (Deut. he finds himself under  tihe necessity of doing is shutting
6:6-g). The sigular personal pronoun  thou  indicates out God from His creation. This he does, not always'
that the admonition was directed to every Israelirtish        deliberately and directly perhaps, but through his keep-
parent. And the thrust of the command plainly is ing silence about God and thus through his discoursing
that  the child (children) be taught the word of God          upon the  ear% and its fulness as though  ,he had to do
at all  times  and in every place, that  thus this word be with an entity that exists through and for itself. Thus
made to form the content of all instruction. Now this in the course of study in the state schools the earth and
command is as much in force today as then. It must its f,ulness is made to appear not as God's creature,
not be supposed that the reason  w,hy Israelitish parents but as the other god before God's face, thus as an idol
were commanded to teach their dhildren the word of -the idol which the child is trained to deify and to
Jehovah exclusively is that  .life in Canaan was so very glory in and *which it is taugh,t to seek for its own sake.
simple that there was nothing to teach but the word.          In the state school then the child is fed the image of
Life was simple indeed. Yet then as well as now the idols of this world. But God is not mocked. At-
there was the earthly pursuit to be followed. And tend to this scripture from Paul's pen, "Because that,
to teach  the child the word was not, no more than it wthen  they ;knew  God, they glorified Him not as God,
now is, to refrain from imparting unto the child such neither were thankful; but :became vain in their ima-
knowledge as it needed to properly follow this pur- ginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Pro-
suit. Yet it is true that the sole content of all instruc-    fessing themselves to be wise, they became fools. And
Ition is and must be the word of God,-God revealed in changed the glory of the  uncorruptible  God  intu an
the  face of  Ch!rist.   Wlhatever  course of study our image made like unto corruptible man", and, Paul
children are made to ~fol~low,  must be so taught that might ihave added, `fed their souls with the image of
essentially  the Word is being taught. And the branches this man, the creature.' But God is not mocked, "For
of study will actually be so taught, if the sciences are this cause God gave them up to vile affections. . . .
founded upon God's  iword, if the cultivator of the And even as they ,did not like to retain God in their
sciences proceeds from  tlhe premise that the earth knowledge, God gave them ever to a reprobate mind,


 140                                    `i'klk  S T A N D A B D   BEABEB

 to do things which are not convenient; being filled thy God in Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Gather
 with all , unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, me the people together, and I will  nn&e them ,hear
 covetousness, malignity ;  Iwhisperers,  backbiters, haters my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days
 of God, despiteful, :proud, boasters, inventors of evil that they shall live upon tne earth, and  thcct   they  muy
 things, disobedient to parents,  ,without  understanding,      teach their children"  (Deut.   4:9, 10). And again,
 covenant breakers, without natural affection.  im-             *`And these words which I command thee this day shall
 plmble, unmerciful. . . .  ."                                  be in UI.&  lhRirt:  And thou shalt teach them a!k!igently
        Such is the rioting of sin to which God in His          unto thy children. . . .    And when  thy  son  aslketh
 judgment gives man up when .he foresakes God and               thee in time to come, saying, What means the testi-
 turns to  the idol. Consider now that  .the educators in monies. . . . Then thou shalt  say  unto thy son,  We
 in the worldly institutions of learning are indeed knelt       `were  J%araoh's   bondmen  in Egypt; and the Lord
 before the shrine of the idol ,and that all who enter          brought us out of Egypt  Iwith a mighty hand. . .  ."
 the doors of these institutions are made to kneel with         (Ileut.  63, 20).
 them. If then God is not mocked, how can His  beleiv-             The italicized clauses indicate that it  "was the
 ing people, who have understanding of this, send their         parents to which the Lord through the agency of
 coveant  seed to schools other than Christian ? They luoses was commanding, tihat thus the task of feeding,
 cannot. If this seed is Christ's  - and it is this, as         instructing. their children, sons and daughters, was
 He bought it with His own Mood - how dare they?                assigned by Him to them. The reason that this task,
 How.rh;tlve  they the heart, if in these lworldly  institu-    that the right and duty to train, teach, instruct, the
 tions the child is given stones for bread? Are stones child  &ould be the parents' is obvious.                 It is the
 the food by  which  the man of God can  gxow?  .That           parents who instrumentally brought the child into
 man must be fed Christ, and the God and Father of              being. Rut the parents not only have the right but
 Christ, if God is going to be glorified through this they  are also best qualified to train the child and this
 man.                                                           on account of  the bond of  love-6lial  on the side of
        But now another thing. If the man of God is to the child and parental on the side of the parents-be-
 grow, it is not sufficient that he be fed Christ. More tween parents  ,a.nd children. It is this filial love that
 is required, namely, that Christ be set before him in a renders the child so susceptible in its  youth  to the
 pure state. Attend once more to the apostle's exhorta- instruction of its parents. And  sfrum this parental
 tion, "Desire the mental, unadulterated milk. . . that love springs a natural patience, understanding and
 ye may grow thereby. . . .  ." The apostle has  re-            sympathy &hat the child can find in its parents only.
 cference here not to the very person and natures but And this, too, is of the Lord.                       ,
 to the revelation, the doctrine of Christ. It is this             Now the  Israelitish  parents trained their own'
 doctrine that must be eaten by the man of God. Now children. The school with its schoolmasters, as an
 this doctrine came down from God in a pure, unadulter- auxihary in the work of training the child, was un-
 ated state. And in this state it is also contained in known not only in Israel but in all countries of that
 the Scriptures.  M.an, however, adulterates this doctrine, epoch. The school (outside the .home) -is a phenome-
 mental milk, food, throu.gh  his mixing it with the lie. non of our Christian era. Church and state schools
`Now it is against this food as adulterated that  tie           were established lby Charles the Great. In the 14th
 apostle indirectly cautions. And  lhe has reason. What and 15th centuries their number multiplied. Only two
 mother would knowingly feed her infant child adulter- branabes  were taught, namely, reading and <writing.
 ated, that is, poisoned milk! How can we as parents            The Reformers urged the state to establish good schools
 be satisfied with anything less than ,the purest mental w,here  children might receive instruction in the service
 milk, doctrine, for our covenant ohildren ! Can the man and fear of the Lord. Besides the church and state,
 of God thrive on adulterated milk? Shouldn't we, there were also diaconate  and orphanage schools. But
 Protestant Reformed confessors, have our own schools? their number were few. The Reformed churches in
 Some one will say,  "Tihe schools, such as we now the Netherlands ruled upon their synods that the  con-
 possess, will do." But do we not realize that, by so re- sistories should see So it that there were competent
 torting, we render void the very and sole reason of our school-teachers, able to give instruction in languages
 existence as a Protestant Reformed people?                     and the free arts and especially in the doctrine and
        Whose task is it be feed, educate, the child, this the truth.
 man of God?  The parents'. So God has ordained.                   The French  Reveltion  abolished revealed religion.
 The book of Deuteronomy contains this admonition,              In the Netherlands the tie between church and state
"Only take ,heed  to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, was severed, and the tohurch  #lost all supervision over
 lest thou forget the things which thy eyes have seen the school which thereupon became an instrument for
 and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of the instilling of the principles of the Revolution.
 thy life: but teach them thy so=, and thy sods sorts;             In our day ~Jx school has become so much a part
 especially the day that thou stoodest {before the Lord of our civilization, that it is impossible to conceive of


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          141
                                                                                                                      -
modern life without the school. The land of civilized         instructors who teach in them  feed the `child with
peoples are dotted with schools for the training of bread that is bread  ,and not stones.
the youth. And in our land the requirement is that                What is culture? The word cultivate is from the
our children remain in school from their fifth to their Latin  colere,  culturn,  meaning, to till, cultivate. Cul-
16th year. And if at all possible that son or daughter ture then is the act or practice of cultivating ; applica-
must be sent to college. I suppose this is all right. tion of labor or means in rendering productive, in re-
Without their having learned a smattering of this and ducing, in refining, in cherishing, promoting, advanc-
a smattering of that, they would not be cultured. So,         ing, as the culture of the soil, of the mind. It is the
as a result of  compulsery  education, mankind in civil- state of being cultured ; result of cultivation ; physial
ized lands has become literate. But literacy is yet improvement ; enlightenment and discipline acquired
no wisdom.                                                    by mental training. So then the fundamental meaning
    On account of the complexity of modern life, it is of culture is to till. The term culture properly denotes
undoubtedly true that the  shoal  as  ,an auxiliary in the the labor applied, together with the fruit of the labor;
work of  trainging the youth is a necessity. How now the yield of the land (if the cultivator be the tiller of
are we to regard the school? What can be its task? the soil) the information gained, the data accumulated,
What is the relation in which it stands to the parents? the skill acquired and the practical use to which this
What is the character of the, authority of those who          knowledge is put. The cultured  m$an is said to be
teach there? These are questions that can be supplied seh'ooled in the sciences and arts. Whereas the act
with clear and defmite answers. From the proposition reacts upon the doer and .w*hen  oft repeated passes
that the ta&, the duty, right to train the child is solely    into a habit, the cultivators of the more spiritual
the parents', it must follow that the school is to be         sciences  (phylosophy, history, literature and the like)
defined as the extention of the home and the school- show a certain mentality and elegance of manner and
master as the agent of the parents, appointed by them speech and taste that the world calls refinement, which
to assist them in bringing up their child in the fear         in the ungodly is refined sin. In a word, the term
and the nurture of the Lord. Thus the task of the             culture in the world stands for the entire complex of
parents and that of the tuter in the schd are one and         sciences and arts,  enffagements,  attainments and
the same.  The  tuter  ,derives  .his right to teach the      achievements of a civilized people. Thus in the vocabu-
child from the parents and must function under their lary of the world, culture is but another term for civili-
jurisdiction and supervision.                                 zation.
                                                                 But *wehat is true culture. What is culture in the
    Such then is the task of the instructors in the           sphere of (special) grace ? Let us take our answer
schoo1. Their task is to co-operate with the parents from the allegory of the vine and the branches. Said
in brim&g  utp the child in the fear and nurture of the Christ, "I am  the true vine and my Father is the  hus-
Lord. And what will be the fruitage, if this task be bandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit,
faithfully and properly performed? The answer: Tlhe he taketh away: and every branch that lbeareth fruit.
man of God  w-ill be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto he  purgeth  it, that it may bring forth more fruit"
all good works. For the Scriptures are able to make           `(John 15).
thlis man wise unto salvation through faith which is                     Let us attend closely to this word of Christ.
in Christ  Jesus (2 Ti. 3 :17, 15). Mark you, the man Consider then that culture calls for a being capable
of God, the spiritual seed, the elect of God, His believing of rational action. In the sphere of grace this being is
people. It is with this seed that the instructors in the God. "My Father is the husbandman", that is, the
school have to do. It is primarily with a view to this tiller, the  culturist.        Culture, further, calls for an ob-
seed that we ,do and must will to have our own schools. ject .that can be acted upon. In the sphere of grace,
ShouId we gainsay this? Consider that it is precisely this object is the spiritual seed in our homes, in our
this seed, and this seed only, in whom instruction that schools and in our hurches. Further, the term culture,
is christian will bear truly good fruit. And the reason `as was just said, denotes the cultural action, tihe labor
is that ,it is only this seed that can receive and by it      applied together with the fruit of the labor. In the
grow. When the apostle penned, "Desire the mental,            sphere of grace, this action is the labor expanded upon
pure, milk, that ye may grow thereby. . . ." he had in Christ's branches by the divine Husbandman,  God,-
mind solely this seed. This is plain. Those whom he expanded directly by Himself and through the agency
admonishes,  -!he  c;zlb "`new born babes". It is these of the parents, the instructors in the school and the
babes, and they only, twho shave life in themselves, and pastor of the child. And the fruit of this labor is the
who, as the possessors of  life (spiritual) desire Christ,    fruit  [borne  by the spiritual seed, by the  bran&es  who
eat His flesh and drink His blood. Food, certainly, is abide  in Christ. And this fruit is the believer himself,
only for the living. And eating, these living ones his hope, faith and love, his works of love, his praise
bear fruit that is, true culture. And our Christian and prayer and thanksgiving, his  ,affedions,  as set
schools will  ibe institutions of true culture, only if the upon  the things above, the spiritual man, renewed in


142                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D ` B E A R E R
                           I____---
knowled.ge  after the image of Him that called him; the      of this church was divided. Some were following Paul
bowels of mercy of this man, his hindness, humbleness        and would have nothing or  Iittle of Apollos. Others
of mind, his meekness, longsuffering and <forbearance. had attached themselves to Apollos to the exclusion of
This fruit is true culture. And  ,in this culture, God's Paul. Their cry was, "I am of Paul," or "I am of
believing people must be interested. T.his culture they Apollos." It is this party spirit that Paul rebuked.
must love. It is the only culture  worti&y  of the name.     And rightly so, as both Paul and Apollos were true
And because they do love this true culture and  de&e         servants of God, espousing and ,devoted to the same
it for their ohil,dren,  they insist on maintaining their cause-the cause of God. Paul planted and Apollos
own schools.                                                 watered. This being true, the one might not be ac-
       It may still be asked: What is the difference be-     cepted and the other rejected. To do so, was to com-
tween the .instruction  w,hich  ,tis child is to receive in mit a big sin. I think we are all agreed on this.
the home, in the school, and in the Izhurch?  Certain           However, what was true of Paul and Apollos, name-
it is that there may be no essential difference between      ly, that  [both were true servants  crf God, co-operating
what is fed tihe child in the home and what is fed it together for  the coming of Christ's kingdom, is not
in the school and iwhat is fed it by the pastor. The         true of many ministers of the gospel of today. Many
instructors in the school, as well, as the parents in the    of them have departed in their  preachixig from the
home and the pastor must feed the  ohlild bread  that  is truth and have become exponents of the lie. It means
bread. and not stones. Will anyone gainsay this? Will that there is division among  the ministers  now. In
anyone want to maintain that the instructors in the          6he church at Corinth the common members were
school in distinction from the pastor and the parents divided. Today the rupture is between the pastors.
may feed the child stones? Indeed not. But this of Now df I am a member of a church, whose pastor gives
course cannot, does not mean, that the task of  t~he         stones for bread, is it wrong for me to listen on the
church is to give instruction in writing and arithmetic Sabbath to a pastor other than my own-to a pastor
and the like. This is the task of the parents and the w,ho trulyt feeds the flock of Christ. Does this doing of
school. The  soie calling of the church is to  preaah        mine not spring from a sincere desire  for  the true
the word of God. And the calling of the instructors in bread of life? Would Paul rebuke also this doing?
the school  is to so mix all they teach with t&m word,          You will believe me, when I say that I had this
that of their instruction, too, it can be said that it is question in mind when I wrote my  first missive. The
truly  Ibread. The earth and its fulness, as detached        reason I wrote as I did is to bring out clearly the
from  .God and the heavenly, is tihe idol, the other god rea1 issue.
before God's  iface. I have said.                               My dear brother, may I once more ask you to  ans-
                                             G. M. 0.        lwer my question, as I here state it?
                                                                Respecting your reasons for not mentioning my
                                                             name, I am sincerely your brother indeed.

                                                                                     REPLY
                   Communication                                I am glad to learn that my correspondent so heart-
                                                             ily agrees  witih my answers to the questions he put to
       The brother, whose communication appeared in the me in his former missive. For I am convinced that
previous issue of this magazine, sent me the following these answers were  taken from Scripture, that thus  in
re::ly-a reply which contains a new request.                 replying I came to the brother with the word of God.
       Dear Brother :- I thank you for t&z kind favor of 1. am pleased to have learned that this is also the con-
answering my questions in The Standard Bearer for viction of $he brother.
Dec. 1, 1939. I am convinced that your answers are              Before I pen my reply to the question he puts to me
correzt,  that they represent the true biblical view as      in this second communication of his, I want to briefly
set forth by the apostle in his f!irst epistle to the Corin- comment on this phase from his pen, *`Respecting your
thians (chap. 3).       They are answers to which no reasons for not mentioning my name." True, I had
serials-minded  layman can have any objections. I was my reasons. The statement of my correspondent how-
not actually objecting to -them in my first communica- ever might lead some to conclude that I disclosed them
tion. I intentionally wrote as I did, not  because  I was to him perhaps in a private communication. I did not.
pitted in my mind against the Pauline teaching and           So what the brother means to say is this, "I respect
admonition in question, but because I am critilzal  of your reasons,  ,tuhatever   they were, for not  mentionmg
certain conditions prevalent in definite churches of our my name. Let me now disclose my reason (reason not
day,----conditions which concern not the laity but the reasons. I have  only one). In answering questions
clergy. Allow me to explain myself. There was a sent to me, I must of course expose as false the view
division in the church at Corinth. The membership to which a correspondent is addicted, if I am convinced


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            143
 that the view deserves to  Ibe exposed as such. Now to. my correspondent has in mind ,does wrong, certainly.
 be exposed in public as one who has erred in his think-       I take it that he has followed all the prescribed ecclesi-
ing is always more or less embarrassing. So, to spare.  astical channels (from consistory to  classis and from
a correspondent this embarrassment,  I-`arn decided to classis to Synod). He could get no action. He must
refrain f&-om publishing henceforth the name, if such therefore now break with his pastor. This belonging
be the desire. No one will learn from me who sent the to one church and  atten,ding  divine services of an-
question. So anyone desiring to have published in our other, is representative of an action that must be
magazine a question which he has, may act upon this deemed wrong, especially so, if the preaching in the
desire without fear of being exposed. I say again,             church where one is member is so mixed with untruth
the name will not be published, if such be the desire.         (and  *&is is the contention of my correspondent) that
But this should not always be the desire. It should not the minister of this church must be classified with the
when in his communication the correspondent gives              false teachers.
me "a  *piece of his mind" so to say. Then he should
want his writing to appear above his name, not for              :                                           G. M. 0.
                                                                     `: i
my but for his sike. For when one writes with the
thought in his soul that his writing will appear with                                    -         -
his name under it, one  *is much more apt to weigh his
words and thus to write with caution than when he
knows that mankind at large will be none the wiser as
to whom the author of the writing might (be. I always                        The Time Of The Birth Of Christ
receive a strange impression from anyone who sens
me an abusive letter to which is appended the request,                  The Saviour was thus to appear, accor.ding to the
"Now don't publish  my name," or, "T,his  is not meant prophecies of the Old Testament, during the time of
for publication. For I don't want to be made a fool of the continuance of the ,kingdom  of Judah, previous to
in public".                                                    the destruction of the temple, and immediately sub-
   Let me now reply to the question contained in the sequent to the next prophet. But the time is rendered
above-cited communication. My correspondent wants yet more definite. In the prophecies of Daniel the
to know whether it jis wrong for one to listen on the          kingdom of the Messiah ,is not only foretold as com-
Sabbath to pastors of other churches who truly feed mencing in the time of the fourth monarcihy,  or Roman
the flock, if the pastor of the church where one is            empire ; but the express number of  years&hat  were to
member has departed in his preaching from sound precede His coming, are plainly intimated: Seventy
doctrine. I take it that the case which my correspon- weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the
dent has in mind is the following: There `are two de- holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an
nomination of churches. The Ipastors  in the one preach end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity,
pure ,doctrine  ; not so the pastors in the other. There and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal
is a certain' person who is a member of one of the             up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most
churches  w.hose pastors have in their preaching de- Holy. Know therefore and understand that from
parted from the truth. This person is a true child the  ,going  forth of the commandment to restore and to
of God who has need of the unadulterated milk. What build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall
is he now to do? Here is my answer. This person's              be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks." Dan.
first act must be to speak with his pastor. Thereupon,         9 :24, 25. Computation by  Iweeks  and years was com-
in the event his pastor  will m-tt hear, he finds himself mon among the Jews, and every  seventh, was the  Sab-
under the necessity of placing his grievances before rbatical year; seventy weeks thus amounted to four
his consistory. If the consistory will not act, his duty h(undred and ninety years. In these words the prophet
is to  apped his ease to  cIassis  and if need be to synod.    mari& the very time, and uses the very name of the
If his synod will take no action, the person is in duty Messiah the Prince ; and so entirely is all ambiguity
bound to leave the  churclh of which he is member and .done away, that the destruction of the city and the
join  (himself  to one of those churches wherein, accord- sanctuary, the ceasing of the sacrifice and the oblation,
ing to his conviction, the true doctrine of the gospel is and the commencement of the long-continued desola-
preached. What can  or may hinder  him from affiliat- tion that has ever since ensued, are all definitely
ing with such a church? Rightly considered, one who marked as consequent on the cutting off of Messiah:-
(does so, is not leaving tke church but is seeking it.         And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be
What God is solely interested in is the church,-the            cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the
church which Christ punchased  with His own blood.             prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the
Hence every  tbeliever  should want to  .join this church, sanctuary: and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
which he does by joining himself to that local brother- and unto the end of the war desolations are in the
hood that bears its marks. So then, the person whom midst of the week  !he shall cause the sacrifice and the


144                                    T H E   STANDA,RD  B E A R E R
-      -    -    -                -
oblation to cease and for the overspreading of abomin-           The predictions contained in the Old Testament re-
ations he shall make it desolate, even until the consum- specting both the family out of w;hich  the Messiah was
mation, and that determined  ,&all  be poured upon the to arise, and the place of His birth,  ,are almost as cir-
desolate" (Dan. 9  :26, 27).                                  cumstantial, and are equally applicable to Christ,
       The plainest inference may be drawn from these as those which refer to the time of His appearance.
*prophecies. All of them, while in every respect, t&q         He was to be an Israelite, of the tribe of Judah, of the
presuppose the most perfect knowledge of the future,          family of David, and of the town  ofBethlehem.  The
accord in perfect unison to a  singIe precise period          two former of these  particuIars  are implied in the
where all their different lines terminate at once-the         promise made to Abraham-in the prediction of Moses
very fulness of the time when Jesus appeared.                 -in the blessing of Jacob to Judah-and in the
       A king then reigned over the Jews in their own         reason assigned for the superiority of that tribe, be-
land  ; they were governed by their own laws ; and the cause of it the chief Ruler should rise.                 And the
council of their nations exercised its authority and two last, that the Messiah was to be a descendent of
power. Before that period, the other tribes were led David and a  .native of Bethlehem, are expressly af-
into captivity, from which they never returned ; and          firmed.    "There shall come forth a rod out of the
the Israelites were outcasts, for ages, before the Jews stem  of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his
were dispersed among the nations. As an unbroken roots ; and. the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him."
tribe, Judah alone remained, and the last sceptre in That this prophecy refers to Christ, is evident from
IsraeI   ihad not then departed from it. Every stone the whole of the succeeding chapter,  wlhich  is  descrirp
in the temple was then unmoved ; it was the admiration tive of the kingdom of the Messiah, of the calling
of the Romans and might have stood for -ages. The of  the Gentiles, and of the restoration of Israel. The
city was not then destroyed ; but it was the flourishing same fact ,is predicted in many passages of the pro-
and populous capital of their own Iand, iwhich `was then      phecies :-<` Thine honse and thine kingdom shall be *
peopled by four million Jews.          The sacrifices and established for ever before  thee.-1 have made a
oblations were then offered up in Jerusalem, the place covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David
anpointed for them, and thither from all the land mul- my servant. Thy seed will I establish forever, and
titudes for that purpose still continued to resort yea? build up my throne to all  generat,ions.  Behold, the
by year continually. But in a short space, all these days come, saith the Lord, that I shall reign and pros-
concurring testimonies to the time of the coming of per, and shall execute judgment and. justice in the
Christ passed away. About the very time when Christ. earth.-This is his name whereby he shall be called,
in the twelfth year of His age, first publicly anpeared       the Lord our Righteousness."
in the ternpIe  about His Father's business, Archelaus.          The place of the birth of Christ is thus clearly fore-
the king was dethroned and banished. Coponil7s was told:-Thou  BetheI   Ephratah,  though thou be little
annointed  procurator, and the bkingdom  of Judea,  the among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall
last remnant of the greatness of IsraeI,  was debased he come fort, unto me. or, "shall be born," that is to
into a part of the province of Syria. The scewtre was be ruler in Israel  ; Iwhose goings forth have been of
smitten from the hands of the tribe of Judah: their old, from everlasting."                                G. M. 0.
crown fell from their heads ; their glory departed : and
soon after the  death, of Christ, of their temple one
stone was not left upon the other; their commonwealth                               -              -
itself became a  compIete ruin, and  swas broken in
pieces ; an,d they have ever since been scattered through-
out the  Iworld,  a name but not a nation. Every mark                                    NOTICE
that denoted the time of the coming of Christ in the
flesh was erased soon after the crucifixion of Christ.           There are still a few Conference-speech  Pham-
and could never afterwards be renewed.                        nhlets obtainable in either the Holland or the English
       The time at which Christ was to appear is clearly language. Price is 20 cents.
defined in these prophecies.                                     Tohe articles written by Rev. H. Hoeksema against
       Even the Jews, to this day, own that the time Rev. D. Zwier which appeared in this organ, are being
unhen their Messiah ought to have appeared. according printed- in book form in both  $he Holland and the
to their prophecies. is long since nast. and thev attri-      English language. If you desire to purchase one or
hl?te the delay of His  coming  to the sinfulness of their more of these." books please send your order to the
nation. And thus from the distinct wrophecies  them-
selves. and from the concession  of_ the Jews, every Treasurer:
nroof is afforded that Christ appeared when all the                                       Mr.- R. Schaafsma
roncurring  `circumstances of the time denoted the                                        524 Henry  .Ave., S.  E.
prophesied period of His advent.                                                          Grand.  Ratids,   Michigan.


                         A  ReforTmed   Semi-Mo'nthly  blagazine
              PUBLISHED BY THE REFORMED FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND  R,4PIDS, MICH.





Vol. XVI, No. 7. Entered  as Second Class' mail
                     matter at  Grand Rapids.  Mich.               JANUARY  1, 1940                       Subscription Price $2.00
                                                                                                    - - -

                                                                              As far  ,as eye can see the New Year bears the
                                                                          same aspect as the Old. It invites us to meet the same
                                      .,                 *                problems, to pass through the same labor and sorrow,
                                                                          the same sufferings and ,dea$h. Man's days are still
                Thy Mercy, d Lord                                         like the grass. Still his life flourishes as the flower
                                                                          of the field, with precarious tenderness, and still the
                    Let thy  mercy,  0 Lord, be upon us,                  winds blow and pass over it to snatch it away. And
                 according as toe hope in thee.                           still its very {place forgets that it ever was !
                                                   P.S. 33.22.               New Year? . . . .
    New Year's morning!                                                      A/h, but how old, how frightfully old do all things
    Yet, &here is nothing new under the sun !                             Fppear,  when especially on this particular first morning
    Old things ,have not ,passed  away, all things have                   of the year nineteen hundred  .and forty  Iwe look about
not become new.                                                           us in the world ! For, even as of old, men reveal that  `
    Still we move about and whirl around, with all men                    the picture Scripture draws of them is true, and that
and all things, within the vicious circle of vanity,                      they are filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
hemmed in on all  si,des by impenetrable darknegses,                      wEcked*ness,  covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy,
limited everywhere by things earthly and temporal..                       murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; that  they are whis-
and there appears to be no way out. . . .                                 perers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful,  proud,
    Vanity of vanities !                                                  boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to par-
    It is still true, also on New Year's morning, that                    ents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, with-
our eyes open upon a scene of labor and toil that yield out natural  3 affection, implac,able,  unmerciful ; that
no profit.     Generations come and go, children are                      there is none that seeketh after *God, none that  doeth
brought forth with travail, men pass away in sorrow, good ; that their t!hroat is an open sepulchre, that with
and there is no progress from one generation to an-                       their tongue they use deceit, that poison of asps is
other. Tlhe sun rises and sets, and in its course through                 under their lips, that their mouth is full of cursing
the heavens witnesses the same scenes of fruitless                        and bitterness, that their feet are swift to shed blood,
activity and toil every day. All things earthly are                       that destruction and misery are in  `dheir ways; that
like the  Iwind, which  `"goeth toward the south, and                     there is no fear of God  <before  their eyes, that fhey
turneth about to tie north,  and whirleth continually,                    know not the way of peace, that. . . .
and  returnet,h  according to its circuits  ;" or  1i:ke  the                But why say more?
rivers that run into the sea without ever filling it.                        With the memory of the horrible world-war still
   New Year?                                                              fresh in tih,eir  minds, while the wounds inflicted in that
   Many there are on  @he first morning of another                        terrible conflict are still bleeding, and while the ruins
year that would fain see something new, that express                      caused by shells and bombs are still testifying of the
the hope for something new, that bless their fellowmen                    destruction war brings to the world, the nations are
as if there were a basis for the expectation of some-                     at one another's throats once more, ,armed to the teeth,
thing new. Men also continue to  [boast  that their hatred in their hearts, murder in +heir eyes!
house shall stand forever. . . .                                             Germany-Polan,d  ; France-England-Germany ; Rus-
   And yet, there is no new thing under the sun !                         sia-Finland !
   And all things are so full of labor, that man cannot                      Covenants are made and violated as if they never
utter it!                                                     I          existed.


     146                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   BE.ARIiiR

            The mighty trample under foot the weak and boast            But to leave all things to Him, if only we may be
     of it!                                                         assured of His everlasting mercy !
            The  iway of peace they have not known, though all         Then all w.ill `be well !
     profess to seek it!
3                                                                       For, our days may be like the grass, our life like
            New Year? . . . .                                       the flower of the field. . . .
            Ah, but how old, how hopelessly old is the world           And all things may be vanity in this present world
     and are all things that present themselves to our eyes !       of sin. . . .
            Progress? Culture? . . . .                                 But from everlasting to everlasting is the mercy of
                                                                    the Lord toward them that fear Him !
            Ah, but how wearily and despairingly we move and           Let, 0 Lord, thy mercy be upon us !
     whirl about in the vicious circle !                               According as we hope in Thee !
            No, indeed, there is no new thing under the sun!                            +.                    `I... 1 __
            Vanity of vanities !                                     ...I ".~ --
                                                                       Thy mercy, Lord ! _
                                                                       We hope in Thee only !
            What shall Iwe say, then?                                  There  .is in this prayer, first of all, the expression
            What shall be our attitude on this first morning of of an attitude of humble dependance.
     the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty?                  We feel helpless in ourselves, realize deeply that we
            Shall we just deliberately close our eyes to reality, can do nothing apart from Him. We are conscious of
     to the woe and misery of the world, ,to the fact that our ignorance and darkness, and iwe acknowledge that
     there is,  Endeed, nothing new, and vainly meet one            we do not know the way. We are like a man that
     another with the blessing of a `%appy  new year" in the travels in an utterly strange,  mou*ntainous country,
     earthly sense of the word? Shall we just pull our              intersected by hidden ravines and  d.angerous  precipices.
     wishdbones,  and speak of wealth and prosperity, of life We cannot find our way. We are surrounded by dan-
     `and health, of houses that stand for aye, of the coming gers. All our  self+onfidence  is gone. A guide we
     glorious day of Man? . . . .                                   need. Someone we look for that does know the way
            Then, on New Year's morning we join the com-            out, upon whom we can depend, in whom we can trust.
     pany of the blind that lead the blind !                        We do not care to control things ourselves. We are
            Shall we put our trust in the basic goodness of man,    wholly willing to leave all things to God, to follow
     or, perh,aps in the superficial goodness of a L`common         where He leads, to depend solely on Him. . . .
     grace", and join our voice to theirs w.ho boast of the            WehopeinThee!  . . . .
     progress of culture and civilization, of science and art,         And we are conscious of misery. We are in trouble,
     of the power and ingenuity of Man, and  ,who, in spite,        in darkness and death, in the power of sin and cor-
     of the glaring fact that such horribly old things h,appen      ruption. And, what is more, we humbly acknowledge
     all about us, persist in their promise of a new day that we are even.wholly  unworthy of God's favor, have
     of  (peace  and, prosperity, because Man's efforts will nothing on which we  might plead to be delivered from
     ultimately be crowned with success? . . . .                    our wretchedness. All our pride is humbled in the
            Then, on New Year's morning, our number is the          dust. In the  #world  there is such a thing as proud  de-
     number of mere Man !                                           pendance. When we are  conscious  of our unworthi-
            Six hundred and sixty-six!                              ness, of our riches ; when we can afford to reward our
            Toil without rest! Efforts without success ! The        guide royally ; when we feel that we citn order him
     week without the sabbath!                                      about and that we really do him a great favor by trcst-
            Shall we sit down in dumb despair, confessing that ing in him and.permitting  him to lead the way,-then,
     there is no hope, no light anywhere in the darkness,           indeed, we are dependant,  butt pride is the chief char-
     no life in tihe midst of this death, no way out of our         acteristic of our attitude of dependance. Not so in
     misery and woe, no victory, no peace? . . . .                  this prayer. We hope in God ; and we implore His
            Then, on New Year's morning we are of those who mercy!
     seek death a*nd cannot find it!                                    Humble dependance !
            But God forbid that we should either boast in man          Dependance  upon God Who is God!                     '
     or .despair  because of him !                                     On Him of Whose praise this ,paalm is full.
            Rather let the dawn of the first  d,ay of the year         For, He it is, Who made the heavens by His Word,
     of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty find us on our and all the host of them by the ibreath  of His moutbh;
     knees,humbly  seeking the face of Him Who revealed             Who gathereth the *waters of the sea together in an
     Himself in Jesus Christ, our Lord!                             heap, and layeth up the depth in storehouses ; who
            Not to ask Him for things He will never give !          spake and it was done, Who commanded and it stood
            Not to seek the things that are on the earth !      3d fast. He bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAf:klX                                                   147
                                                                                           _-             -      -       -      -
and maketh the devices of the people of none effect.            Thy mercy, 0 Lord!
But His counsel shall stand forever, and the thoughts           Let it the upon us, and it sufficeth !
of His heart to all generations!                                For, according to that mercy He loved us with an
    With whom shall He be compared?                          everlasting love! It is in His abundant mercy that He
    He even fashioneth the hearts of men alike, and          predestinated us to be made like unto the image of
considereth,  all their works. But  ,for His power all       His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many
things are vain. There is no safety in the multitude brethren ; that He purposes to deliver us from all our
of an host, in the power and invention, in the ingenuity misery and make us heirs of the glory of His heavenly
and wisdom of man. A horse is a vain thing and he and eternal tabernacle, where there  shah be no  ni,ght,
shall not deliver anyone by his great strength.              where the former things  &all be forgotten, where He
    But blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah !         shall wipe away all tears from our eyes ! It is in that
    And blessed is he, who in humble  dependance  may abundant mercy, that He gave His only begotten Son,
look away from the creature, in order to confide  soIely     that He sent Him into our death and darkness, that
in the Lord his God!                                         we might live in the everlasting light of His coun-
    0 Lord, we hope in thee !                                tenance ! . . . .
    Thy mercy be upon us!                                       And in that same eternal mercy He determined on
                                                             T-our and my way, that must lead all of us and each of
                       -                                     11s individually to the glory and to our particular-place
                                                             in the glory, which He would have us inherit.
    Thy mercy !                                                 That way may be a wzy. of adversity, of suffering
    Thy everlasting mercy, that is from everlasting to and sorrow, the way of deat,h. . . .
everlasting upon them that fear Thee, be upon us !              But-in His mercy it is the way to eternal life and
    For, if that mercy be upon us, we need nothing glory  ?
more, we shall ask for nought else !                            Let that mercy, then, be upon us Lord !
    There is in this prayer the expression of an atti-          And it will quite suffice !
tude of childlike trust, of a confidence that commits           Childlike trust !
the `way wholly to Him!
    Blessed trust !
    Ah, how often we are I.adk.ing  in that quiet trust
that is confidence in God ! We would trust Him, then.
in part only. Oh, we do seek His  `face, and we do              For, we rhope in Thee !
implore His ,heIp, and we desire to be the objects of          And according as we hope in Thee, let Thy mercy
His mercy f but at the same time there are a thousand        be upon us !
other things, ,vain  things, things of mere man, of the         There is in this prayer, finally, the expression of
creature, conditions,  circumsta,nces,  on which we rely,    nn attitude of calm assurance !
in which we seek rest, or of Iwhich we are afraid. The          Of the assurance &at our prayer is answered, must
assurance that He guides and cares is really not  s&i-       be heard, that our petition is heard of God much more
cient. His Word of promise alone cannot satisfy our          certainly that I even feel in my `heart that I desire it
soul. We want to see. We desire to understand. And.          of Him. For many things we may ask that `we shall
besides, we would licke to explam  to the Most High just never receive, because we do not seek the  thi,ngs  tshat
how our way should be, to dictate to our Guide just are above, but those things that are ibelow,  even in
in what direction He ought to lead. When there is            our prayers. But the prayer for His mercy, the prayer
sickness we would have health ;  w:hen there is sorrow that He forgive our sins, that He deliver us from all our
we desire joy; when adversity meets us in the way            woe, that He, lead us to His eternal glory, and that He
lwe cry for prosperity; when there is war we pray for        cause a11 things to work together for our salvation-
peace ; and when, presently, the dark shadows of death that prayer cannot fail !
grow longer and steal over our soul, we want to                 For, we hope in Him! And this  hope is also the
live! . . . .                                                work of His grace ?
    And the result is that we do not taste the joy of
wholly trusting in the Name of our God and of resting           And never does He forsake the work of His own
assured in the will of Him Who assures us that all           hands !
things work together for good to them that love Him,            Blessed assurance  ? According as we hope in Thee,
whom He has called according to His purpose.                 0 Lord!
   The peace that  passeti all understanding, and               So let Thy mercy be upon us  ?
which is the sure fruit of committing the way to Him            Now and forevermore?
alone, does not set our soul at rest!                                                                          H.  H,


                                       T H E S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             159

naam die  boven   allen  naam is. Niet  alleen  in deze
wereld maar ook in de toekomende. Want er komen                     Jehovah's Suffering Servant
andere  grootheden.  We1   verwant  aan deze wereld,                                               Isa. LIII : 1-3.
want het proces  het wedergeboorte. Maar de tweede
wereld zal boven de  eerste wereld  uitblinken gelijk          Peculiar and Particular Gospel !
Jezus boven Adam uitblinkt : de Heere uit den hemel.           The question concerning Jesus Christ' is placed
    Dan  gaan  we weer psalm  acht  zingen.  Doch dan before the peopIe  of Israel, Who shall believe this re-
zal er een dieper  ~k~lalank  in gehoord wmden  dan toen en port' or this preaching.
nu. `t Is we1 waar dat in bet nu ook al gezien wordt           Peculiar because the Gospel presents a suffering
wat worden  zal. Doch  la& ons niet gaan vergelijken. servant, given [by Jehovah as the only Mediator be-
Daarboven  bij God  zal `t onbeschrijflijk en  onuit-       tween God and His people, yet He is one  (who is rejected
sprekelijlk  sohoon zijn!                         G. V.     by all. Besides, while the Gospel is particular, it must
                                                            be preached to all promiscuously, while the specific
                                                            message is to call a certain cIass of people. The poor
                                                            in Spirit, the  oni of broken heart. Those who are lost
                                                            and miserable sinners in themselves alone are saved,
                      Contribution                          because God's intention is to save them. Is it surpris-.
                                                            ing that this Gospel finds so many enemies, not only
DEAR EDITOR :                                               in the world but also in the midst of the churches
                                                            round about us?
    Whereas: It becomes evident from time to time,             This. gospel presents a particular Christ and of
and that in an increasing measure, that our Prot. Ref. course, the Christ lwho died for His own is not desired
people have no heart for the local Christian High by all. It  foBows  from the nature of the case that
School, and,                                                Christ, the servant of Jehovah, is not accepted by all
    Whereas:  To  my judgment, the breach between us men. He does not draw every one  who hears the
and the Christian Reformed Church gradually becomes Gospel. Unless, and that contrary to Scripture, a
wider, especially after Dr. Schilder's visit and his man-made Christ is presented, the masses lwill turn
' present writings in the  "Reformatie",  and,              away from Him. Make of Him an example of the good
    Whereas : It is our God given duty to Ibring up, and    Master and if not, .the multitude no longer shows
educate our children in that truth that He in His interest in the preaching of the Gospel, the Word of
grace has revealed unto us, and,                            God.
    Whereas : According to information the Chr. Ref.           However, the true picture of Scripture, concerning
 people now partly pay for the education of our youth the Christ and His Gospel is, that no one desires Him.
which attend said school, and,                              No one as He is by nature beheves the report concern-
    Whereas:  Thk local Christian High School is ing Him. Every one hides His face and esteems
 crowded for room, so that the board very likely will       Him not.
be glad to get rid of some pupils so they will not have        Of these facts the prophet speaks when he portrays
 t o   b u i l d ,                                          the suffering servant of the Lord.
    Is it not our God-given duty and privilege to begin        The first feature deals with the lowly origin and
 our OWN Christian High School as soon as possible,         growth. He grew as a tender plant. In these words
 even though it be on a small scale?                        is expressed the hopelessness of ,a11 thah is embodied
    I  thin,k, dear Editor,  <we can easily do this, and    in the word strength and beauty. For the word trans-
 must be sincere and willing enough to together put         lated  pIant and root refer to, remind us of a tree that
 our shoulder to the wheel, push, and get the ball          is felled. The tree is cut down and nothing but a stumu
a-lrolling  !                                               is left. And out of  *he trunk appears  `a little twig,
                                     J. Cammenga Sr.        the remnant of life that once in its full glory belonged
                        * *  *  *                           to the house of David. For Christ is of the lineage
 Editor's Note. The readers know my conviction in the *of David, the representative of the glory of Israel.
 matter. I certainly believe in the principle of Chris- .And looking at the twig and the stump the question
 tian Instruction, and I  twould  deplore the  d,ay that our arises, is there any hope that the former glory shal1
 people should forsake this principle. I aIso firmly be- reappear? Once the house of David appeared under
lieve that we should begin to take care of the instruc- his kingship as the gIory  of the glorious kingdom of
 tion of our own children and youth, and for several Israel, but  sinlee His death disappeared. Hence the
 years  I have advocated a Christian High School of question, shall it reappear?
our own. There is no reason why we should have only            And a root out of a dry ground.
one institution of the kind in Grand Rapids. But `YOU          The eclipse of the former glory is further illus-
 pu& do it*                                       H,  H.    trated in this figure. The root is the beginning of a


160                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
`-
tree, out of it the tree must appear. But there is no is given to Isaiah, he cries out, `Who shall believe it,
expectation from a hewn down tree. Some of its life Lord?'
may show forth in a little twig, tbut no tree shall grow        He stands before the greatest mystery of all. A
from it. Take both together, the old stump and the          rejected Saviour. A man without form or comeliness.
root in dry ground and the case is hopeless, with a view A man rejected of all. Shall that preaching bear fruit?
to the expectation of a `new tree. And the hopeIessness     Shall it take hold of man? We think the question is
of it all is this, there is no power to produce nor life    also the answer. The prophet means to say, no one
to sustain, hence there is no future for what was once      shall {believe that preaching.    And  Iwe must admit
beautiful, mighty and strong.                               that this preaching shall fail, if it depends upon the
       Meaning of this figurative language is, the tree in will and the desire of man as he is by nature. Who
its glory is David's house, David's reign and the reign will believe, that is,  #who knows and trusts such a
of his son Solomon. The little twig is Christ, who          Saviour? Who will depend upon Him in life and death?
according to the flesh is from the royal lineage of         Who will trust Him as the Saviour? And again we
David. And the preaching of the Gospel concerning           say, no one, will. The Christ of the Scriptures does
the Son of God is received in such a way that people        not impress in the least.
.will  say .of Him, He is the Son of David,  but David's       Of course, if the preaching of the despised servant
glory no  longer  belongs to this man of Nazareth,  iwho    of Jehovah is changed to the ,preaching  ,of the Good
at His best is the son of a carpenter. And let us admit Master or to that of a great man, the ideal and example,
it, from the point of view of natural men, there is no      the  muItitude  will listen. But the preaching of the
beauty, no greatness, no power or glory in the Son of Gospel of Christ as pictured in Holy Writ is an al-
man although He descended from the kingly tribe of          together different preaching that will never be ac-
Judah and  the lineage of David.                            cepted by natural man.       The main theme  vf this
       In harmony with His lowly origin is His lowly preaching is that He is the suffering servant of Je-
birth or the appearance in this world. Yes, He grew hovah and that man must  find a11 that is necessary for
up before Him, but as to man, he found Him in the his salvation in Christ Jesus. Man cannot and will not
fashion of man. After  all, the appearance of the little do anything for or to obtain salvation. But the wea&
twig must be in harmony  with His origin. A twig branch, the little twig in all its aweaknesses  .according
cannot boast of rich foliage. It is not impressive nor to the flesh-the sufferings of hell and  th'e agony of
,does it take  its place amongst the roses. People can death of the One crucified spells salvation.
$0 very well without it, because it does not impress           N.o one has believed. Tremendous truth.
them. Hence, he had no form or comeliness. Without             To believe means to know and to trust. To know
form the prophet sees Him, whiah  does not mean that because God spoke to us and God Iwho speaks i,s the
the Lord did not have any form, for then he could not Unchangeable, Ever-Faithful Jehovah. And when God
have seen Him. Nay, but it means that the form of speaks He speaks irresistibly through His Spirit in
the Saviour was not the form desired by sinful men. the heart of His own. He makes all things new. He
,4nd from that point of view he had no comeliness. changes the heart, bends  th.e will and all the desires.
He has beauty as to the eye of faith, but Iwhen  natural
man sees Him, there is no outward  Ibeauty, no attrac-         Thus the sinner listens to the God of his salvation.
tion. Why? Because the Saviour came in  the  litke-            To trust means that the one who speaks can be
ness of sinful flesh. He took upon Himself our weak- depended upon. Here, as is always the case,  Cad can
ened nature  ,and became  Iike unto us in all things, sin be depended upon for ever. He is no man who can lie.
excepted.                                                   His Word and His promises come to pass. And thus
       Moreover, that form was the form of the servant. the man called by God trusts and depends upon Him
Not the form of one of the great and the mighty of alone. Depends upon Him because of the work of the
the world, not to order but to obey, not to rule over the servant of Jehovah. Relying on His work alone.
world but to shed His life-blood that His own shall            Thus the sinner trusts and depends upon God
be saved. And because He is the servant of Jehovah, alone.
He became obedient unto `death, yea, the death of              Peculiar and Particular Gospel.
the cross. And because He was obedient, His form,              The exclamation of Isaiah is the experience of all
that is, the ,form  of the mighty, the form which is de- who spreach  the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all its purity.
sired by  natura1 man, disappeared.       The suffering The apostle John as well as the Apostle Paul speak of
servant despised, forsaken, cursed and rejected by its fulfillment.          Though Jesus had performed many
man, nailed to the cross to die the death of the guilty, miracles in their presence, they believed not in Him,
an exlex, given in the hands of His enemies, who dies that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled,
`an infamous death.                                         ,which he spake  "Lord, w,ho hath believed our report,
       The Christ of the Gospel, the Christ of the Word of and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" (John
God must thus be preached. And when that command 12 :37, 38). And Paul says, "But they do not all be-


.L.                                           T H E   8TANDAR.D   B E A R E R .                                         161

       &eve the  Goospel  ; for Isaiah  saith, Lord, who hath           New Method Of Fatii& ViSitixig
       believed our report?" (Rom.  10 :16).
           why??                                                      The Missionary Monthly (continuing  De  Heiden-
          Because they did not see the arm of the Lord?            wereZ8)  for this month contains a notice (taken from
          Yes,. they did, because seeing Him they despised The Bcmner)  that reads:
       Him, the Messiah. They did not  care for Him and               "As soon as Labor Day is past the ministers of Hol-
       esteemed Him not. Yet He grew up before Him.                land begin their family visiting. . . .
          While men may and cannot and will not esteem                "Dr. Danhof is following a different arrangement.
       Him, because of their iblindness,  God cared for Him.       He tries to visit  ihis entire congregation each year;
       He prepared Him. The Spirit of ,the Lord was upon two-thirds of these are personal calls, and one-third
       Him. And even the lowly birth of tihe Saviour did not are carried on in the presence of the elder. <He finds
       change God's attitude, for He upheld Him from the           that this method is successful, since it gives him a
       manger to the cross, and death and the grave. And closer contact with his people than the regular way."
       when the tender plant is made an offering for sin, He       So far the notice,
       shall receive a portion wi*th the great and divide the         Does not this "different arrangement" have the
       spoil with the strong and justify many.                     appearance of being the  first step toward the complete
          why??                                                    abolition of family visiting (as this is done in con-
          Because He  ,is the arm of the Lord.                     servative Reformed circles) and toward the placing in
          For He grew  up before Him. In the days of Isaiah        its room what is  kmwn  as  the  spontaneous  visit.2
       in spite of the unbelieving Israel. In the days of John According to the latter arrangement  the pastor visits
       and Paul  while the multitude rejected Him. In His all the families once without being *accompanied by an
       ministry upon earth, while despised and rejected by elder. He makes these calls immediately upon enter-
       men and nailed to the cross.                                ing a new field of labor. Thereupon, ,he, again, as unac-
          why??                                                    companied by an elder, calls upon the members of his  '
          Because the arm of the Lord reached from all eter-       church not in accordance with a rule that at regular
       nity to those whom He has chosen  to be His own. Be- intervals and at a stated time all the families be visited,
       cause His Sovereign Elective Grace is more abundant but as moved by personal choice or by the knowledge
       than sin. Because the arm of the  Lor.d  can  reach  in that for a special and particular reason, such as  siak-
       time and `at all times the hearts of His people. Be- ness or death in the family, he is needed or wanted.
       cause His eternal Council shall stand.                      The result is of course that during the pa&orate of
          His arm effects the salvation of His people, because a certain minister comparatively few families are twice
       that arm works with an Almighty will and Eternal love visited by the pastor in their homes. Such is the usage
       irresistibly taking away sin and guilt. The Lamb of denoted by the term "spontaneous call". Family
       God, who was so highly esteemed and exalted that all        visiting on the other hand, is a usage that con-
       power is His and shall be revealed. Revealed now in         sists in the pastor, as accompanied by an elder.
       every one who believes and revealed in the day of His visiting all the families according to a fast rule that
       coming.                                                     every so often  the `visits be made. This being true,
          Wonderful Gospel.                                        the usage known as the occasional call should never be
                                                    w. v.          allowed to take the place of family visiting. Nor should
                                                                   a consistory allow its pastor to engage in such a prac-
                                                                   tice that might lead to this. For family visiting is a
                                                                   vital  necessity.  The word must be administered not
                                                                   only to the members collectively on the meeting for
                                                                   {public worship but to each member individually. All
                                NOTICE ! !                         the members have need of this. Family visiting is
                                                                   necessary to the minister. He must know each sheep,
          Will those who have received all sixteen copies of if he is to iknow  the floclk as a whole. Without this
       the sermons on Romans 9-11 of Rev. H. Hoeksema, and knowledge he  cannvt  minister the Word as the needs
       have paid only $1.00 thus far, kindly send another of the flock require.
       (postal money order) so that the committee can pay             The usage that the pastor Ibe accompanied by an
       the printer, and publish the sermons that will follow? !    elder is grounded in Scripture and in history. Cal yin
                                                                   was the first to advise it. Christ sent out His disciples
          Thank you !                                              two by two for tihe purpose, certainly, of mutual sup-
                                The Publishing Committee.          port. Paul always set out upon his missionary jour-
                                                                   neys with a traveling companion. The other apostles
       P.S.-The sermons are 1Oc per copy, and there will be        did likewise. It was in all likelihood this usage among
       about 1% more copies.                                       the apostles that induced Calvin to advise as he did.


 I.62                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

         The practice is a most commendable one. The                 Does it not appear in the light of the above ob-
 Ipastor is  ,in the need of the elder, as the work of servation that Dr. Danhof's "new method" is really a
 family visiting is a <difficult one. The pastor needs the step in the wrong direction? Dr. Beets, therefore,
 elder to assist him in directing the conversation in could have done better than encourage the doctor in
 the right ohannel-the channel of the things which the use of this method. And encourage the doctor, he
 are of the Spirit of God, and in preventing the conver-         does. Wrote Dr. Beets, "We shall be glad to learn in
 sation from deteriorating into an ordinary social chat due time  ihuw Dr. Danhof's new method works. Per-
 such as any group of worldlings could engage in. The sonally Iwe tried about the same thing years ago while
 pastor needs the elder to assist him in answering diffi- pastor of a Grand Rapids congregation-and liked it?"
 cult questions and in dealing with  difhcult cases. The                                                    G. M. 0.
 usage has its advantage in other respects. The pre-
 sence of the elder gives to the visit the necessary official
 character. Then, too, the pastor may, later on, be
 in the need of a witness,  Iwho has heard what was said.
 Also, the work is more likely to be done with the proper              The Typical Significance Of The
 earnestness and thoroughness, if the visit be made by
 the pastor and the elder jointly. And those visited                                  Tabernacle
 will be more tractable and more ready to receive the
 instruction of God's Word. And what is more, the                    A distinction must be drawn between the taber-
 elders, too, are shepherds. The task under considera- nacle as such an,d the furniture contained in it and the
 tion is aIso theirs.                                            service  with which it was inseparately associated and
         Objections have been and are being raised against which `was performed within its sacred precincts. In
 family visiting, against the usage according to which this article I purpose to set forth the typical signifi-
the pastor visits all the families at stated times in the cance not of this furniture and service (this has
 Ipresence  of an elder. The principal objection is that abeady been done), but of the tabernacle proper, by
 the visit, being, as it is official, and being' made in the which is to be understood the "tent of meeting" as
 presence of an elder, renders it  impossi,ble  for the such, thus this tent as disassociated from the sacred
 pastor to set up with the members of his flock that             things which were found in it and from the various
 personal, intimate, and lively contact that is needful.         ;kinds  of offerings that formed its service.
 This appears to be Dr. Danhof's objection, as is evident            The tabernacle is the type of the human nature
 from the notice, "He (Danhof) finds that this method            of Christ in its union with the person of the Son of
 is successful, since it gives him a closer contact with         God. The  *view here expressed is grounded in Scrip-
 his people than the regular way." Now this objection ture. The epistle to the Hebrews contains this passage
 is devoid of all validity. Consider that even as un-            (9 :ll, 12)) "But Christ being come an high priest of
 accompanied by an elder, the pastor visits the family good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
 and the individual in the presence of his family and            tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not
 that thus all the  (words that pass between the pastor of  *this building; neither by the blood of goats and
 and the individual sheep are uttered in the hearing calves, but by !h.is own blood he entered in once into
 of the latter's family. Is it now true that the presence the holy place. . .  ." In this passage "the greater
 of the elder renders the ,individual  more inarticulate         and more perfect tabernacle" and "his own blood"
 than the presence of his family? Fact is, that there are one and the same, and so, the  tabernacle by which
 ,are persons who feel more free to speak about their            Christ entered the  holies,  is His own flesh and blood,
 spiritual life with the shepherds in the church than the slain and resurrected human nature with which the
 with the members of their family. In fine, that "closer Son is personally united. The circumstance that this
 contact" can be set up between the pastor and the               nature, formed as it  `was (and is) of a human body
 individual, only by the pastor visiting the individual .and a human soul, bears in the text the name of taber-
 in the absence not only of  the elder but of all the            mcle, implies that w.hen the sacred writer penned this
 members of the family. This, certainly, the doctor had passage, Moses' tabernacle, the one made with hands,
 no intention of doing. It means that the result of his stood out in his mind as the prefiguration of the taber-
 "new method" is no improvement at all but rather loss. nacle "greater and more perfect", of Christ's human
 There is, to be sure, real need of the so-called "per-          nsvture.
 sonal" or "spontaneous call". The sick must be visited.             Pre-figuring Christ, Moses' tabernacle had to have
 There may be times when the individual member or                agreement with Christ. So it did. Let us attend to
 the family will want to confide in the pastor only. But this agreement. As to its interior, the tabernacle was
 the "spontaneous call or visit" must supplement family a costly and beautiful structure. As has already been
 visiting. It should not be allowed to usurp the place           pointed out, its walls were composed of planks over-
 of family visiting.                                             laid with gold, which rose perpendicularly from sockets


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        163

of silver, held together by transverse bars of gold, pass-    poured out upon the church, thus upon the chosen ones,
ing through rings of gold. The inner tent-cloth that made unto God priests and kings by Christ.
formed the tabernacle praper was also a  th,ing of               With this oil was anointed also the tabernacle and
beauty, the colors employed in its construction Ibeing        the ark of the testimony, "and the table and. all his
white, blue, purple and scarlet.      As to Christ, the *vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the
perfect tabernacle, He, too, and we speak now of His          altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering and his
human nature, is a creature of glory. And His glory           vessels, and the laver and his feet" (Ex. 30 :26-28).
is the brightness or splendor of His spiritual beauty,        "And thou shalt sanctify them", was the Lord's word
of the grace and truth of which He is full. Christ, to Moses regarding this anointing oil, "that they may
however, stands not alone. Joined to Him is His body, be holy."
the church, of which He is head, His temple of which             The import of this action can be known from the
He is the cornerstone, His branches of which He               Old Testament Scrisptures. Said Samuel to Saul, after
is the true vine, and of whose fulness all the mem-           having poured the horn of oil upon his head, "And the
bers of His body partake. And as coming to Him,               Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee".  ". . . .and
as to a livin,g stone, the chosen of God are built up a       the Spirit of the Lord  ca.me  upon David from that day
spiritual house, an holy priesthood. And as abiding           forward," namely, from the day on which `Samuel
in Him, they bear much fruit. Thus His body, too, is took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of
glorious. And its glory is the effulgence of the fulness his brethren. Thus in the history of these two kings,
that dwelleth in Him. Now of this spiritual splendor the anointing oil is expressly associated with the com-
of both Christ and His people, of the (variety, mani- munication of the Holy Spirit.  This coupling of the
foldness and totallity of the spilritual gifts which God oil with the Spirit tells us, as plainly as words could,
bestowed upon this people, the beauty of the earthy that of the Spirit it was the sign. The conclusive proof
tabernacle was the prefiguration. That the costly of .this is that the Saviour,  ,though He was never anoint-
materials that were made to enter into the construction ed in the literal sense, was called the Christ, that is,
of  ,the tabernacle thus formed a kind of glass in which      the Anointed One. Anointed was He with the Holy
could be seen the glory of Christ, is a view that, as         Ghost and `with power. The reason that  .in His case
has already been made plain, is grounded in Scripture.        the symbolical rite was omitted, was His being  the
   But the agreement between Moses' tabernacle and Anointed  One. And because God's believing people are
Christ (and His body) does not stop here. It was not united to Him by faith and thus partake of His anoint-
enough that the materials of which the tabernacle was ing, they, too, are said to be "anointed  ;by God" or "to'
constructed were costly  ; nor that the whole was built have the unction of the Holy One which ateacheth them
according to the pattern let down from heaven. After all things." Under the dispensation of the New Testa-
it had thus been constructed and before it could be           ment, the symbolical rite continued to be observed for
used as the Lord's dwelling-place, it had to be con-          a time and in regard to outward and miraculous opera-
secrated by the application of the holy anointing oil, tions of the Holy Spirit, "The apostels anointed many
the instructions for the perparation of which are found       sick persons with oil, and made them whole in the name
in Exodus  30:22-25,  "Moreover the Lord  spake  unto         of the Lord" (Mark  6:13).
Moses, saying, Take thou also unto thee principal                This sacred use of oil had, as its  background,   a
spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of            common use of it in  .the east, especially in Egypt,
sweet cinamon  half so much, even two hundred and Arabia  .and Palestine. Its use there  fmds its explana-
fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and           tion in the circumstance of its being regarded as singu-
fifty shekels, and of  cassia five hundred shekels, after     larly promotive lof bodily health and comfort, and so
the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:         the custom persisted and descended even to modern
and thou shalt make it an oil  ,of holy ointment, an          times. The inhabitants of Africa anoint their bodies
ointment compound after  #the art of the apothecary : it when the day becomes intensely hot, because it serves
shall be an holy anointing oil."                              the purpose to exempt them from enervating effects of
   This was to be an holy anointing oil unto the Lord the climate. Even in Greece, where the heat is less
throughout Israel's generations. It is pronounced to          intense,  tihe combatants in public games, had their
be a most severe and punishable offence  for the com- bodies copiously rubbed and supplied with oil. As
mon members of the theocracy to aspire to make any            anointed with such oil, the body would feel itself in-
other like it. Upon man's flesh, that is, upon the flesh vigorated and refreshed, and became fit for the per-
of common men, it might not  :be poured. And who-             formance of any active labor. Oil, therefore, was an
soever should put any of it upon a stranger, should apt figure of the soul, replenished with the Holy Spirit.
even be cut off from his people (Ex. 30 :31-33).     The      As endowed *with grace, it can engage heartily in God?s
only men to whose flesh it might be applied were the          service, and run tie way of His commands. In the
priests and kings and God's prophets. It is no different language of one writer, "the anointed man was he who,
sow. The Spirit of Christ, symbolized by this oil, was being chosen and set apart by God for accomplishing

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

something com&ed  with God's glory, was furnished this prayer was the Father's anointing the exalted
for it by His good hand with necessary gifts.  An,d        Christ. But the prayer is still being answered through
the more noble the office to which anyone was anointed, the ages and will have been fully answered when the
the greater was the supply of the Spirit's grace which new (heavens and the new earth will have appeared and
the anointing brought him." But what the Spirit when on this earth, as cleansed from the race of men
supplied  was not always grace for  the recipient. Nor that now corrupt it, the church will have appeared with
Iwas it always sanctifying as to its character. In the Christ in glory. Of the anointed  Crhrist  and His body
case of Saul it was a "kingly heart", that is, merely in glory, the anointed tabernacle of Moses was the
such courage and aptitude, as he needed *to function as type, the prophetic emblem.
king.                                                         The record of the instructions for the anointing of
  In the light of these observations, it is not difficult #the tabernacle contains also this statement, "What-
to perceive the significance of the anointing of the soever  toucheth  them (the anointed tabernacle and its
tabernacle. This being, as has been proven, the type furniture) shall be holy." Now the tabernacle was but
of Christ's human nature, the anointing of it with the an inanimate thing. Its holiness was its separation
holy oil was the sensible representation of the com- from  things  common and profane and its consecration
munication of the Holy Spirit to this nature. To to sacred use, to God and His service. But there is
Christ the Spirit was given. It rests upon' Him, the also the holiness of a moral-rational nature,-a holiness
Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of that is purity of heart, a sanctified energy under the
counsel  ,and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the impulse of which the one holy is pitted against sin and
fear of the Lord. And He is of quick understanding is seeking  Iwith all the power of his mind  ,and will
in the fear of the Lord and judges with righteousness and awith his whole heart after God. Such was the holi-
the poor, and reproves with equity for the meek of the ness of Christ. And such is also the holiness that  I-Ie
earth. And righteousness is the girdle of His loins,       imparts unto all who touch Him, unto all who, by a
and faithfulness the girdle of His reins (Isa. 2 :l-6).    living  ,faith, are grafted in Him and posses Him as
To Him the Spirit was successively given without their dwelling place. For He, being the Anointed One,
measure. The Spirit was given Him during the period is the sanctification, the justification, the wisdom and
of the preparation of His human nature in the womb the redemption of His people.
of Mary, so that He  was born without sin. The Spirit         But the observations thus far made, do not exhaust
*was given to the  Christ-child,  so that through the the typical significance of the tabernacle. This struc-
years this child increased in favor with God and man ture prefigured even the union of the person of the
and was conscious of being impelled by the love of God Son of God with the assumed human nature. Con-
to be about His Father's business. And when the            sider that out of the midst of the tabernacle a voice
time was at hand for Him to begin His public ministry, spake to Moses the words of God. The first to hear
John saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a this voice speaking the gospel of redemption were our
dove, and it abode upon Him. And being raised up           first parents just after the fall. And through the
unto the justification of His people, and being by the     centuries this  vwice  continued to speak. It spdke to the
right hand of God exalted, He received of the Father patriarchs. It spoke to Moses, first out of the burn-
the Spirit for Himself and His people. And the Spirit ing bush, then out of the cloud enveloping the summit
glorified Him, the exalted Christ, beautified exceedingly of the. mount and  finally out of the tabernacle. It
His human nature ; and the Spirit also imparts unto        spoke, did this voice, to all the prophets of God who
His body, the  churrch, the fulness of grace  ,of which came after. Whose voice was this? With the excep-
His suffering and death is the meritorial cause, and       tion of a few, all the passages contained in the Old
His !human nature the eternal seat and channel, and His Testament Scripture that record the speaking of this
Father the creative fountain. And as the Spirit is         voice ascribe it exclusively' to Jehovah. So the pas-
God, of one essence with the Father and the Son, and sages contained in the books of Exodus and Leviticus.
as the grace which He imparts is God's creature, the       It is Jehovah Who <is presented as saying to Moses,
anointing of the exalted  h~uman nature of the Saviour `Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh. . . .
with the Spirit marked the beginning of the everlast-      (Ex. 6 :l) . See I have made thee a God to Pharaoh
ing indwelling of God in Christ and of Christ in His       . . . . (7 :l) . Go unto `Pharaoh and say unto him,
church. At the close of his public ministry and just       Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go. . . . (8 :l)  .
before His crucifixion, Christ prayed, "That they all Go unto Pharaoh, for I ,have hardened his heart. . . .
may be one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,    (10 :l) . These are but a few of the numerous scrip-
that they also may be one in us : . . . . And the glory tures .in which the name used to designate the com-
which thou gavest me I have given them ; that they municator of the divine  (word or message is the name
may  be made perfect in one ; and that the world may       Jehovah. However, there are  some passages, found in
know  that thou ha& sent me, and  hast loved them, as the Pentateuch,  in which the name used is not Jehovah
tthou hast loved me" (Jo. 17  :21-23).  The answer to      but the  angel of  the Lord. The  first of these is the


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             165

record of His appearance unto Hagar in the desert. the question, Who was the angei of the Lord, can be
 "And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain           definitely answered. That this angel did not belong to
of water in the wilderness. . . . And the artgel  of the the class of ordinary angels, is plainly indicated by                  .
Lord  said unto  Iher, Return unto thy mistress. . . .        tihat we read of Him in Gen. 16:10, "And the angel
And the  angel   of  the Lord  said unto her, Behold, thou of the Lord said unto her (that is, unto Hagar) , I will
a~.+. with child. . .  ." (Gen.  16:7-11). It was the         multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be
angel of the Lord who called unto Abraham out of numbered for multitude." Ordinary angels, certainly,
heaven and said to  :him that he should not lay his being created beings, have not the power to multiply
hand upon the lad, Isaac (Gen. 22 : 11) , Who spake unto seed. Of this working God alone is capable. Now in
Jacob *in a dream that He had seen all that  Laban  had the passage just cited, this working is ascribed to the
done to him (31 :ll), Who appeared unto Moses in a angel of the Lord. This angel, therefore, is, must be,
flame of fire out of the midst of the bush (Ex. 3 :2).        <as to his subject or person, God. There are several
In all these passages the name employed is angel of the passages contained in the Old Testament Bible setting
Lord. Who  now is this angel? Light is shed upon this         forth an identical teaching,-passages in which this
question by what the Holy Spirit records in the third angel appears as being one with God in power and in
chapter of the book of Exodus. Here we read, "And name, blessing, salvation, adoration, and honor. "And
the angel  of  the Lord  appeared unto him (Moses) in a he (Israel) blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom
flame of fire-out of the midst of a bush : . . . . And my fathers Abraham and Isaac did  `walk, the God
Iwhen the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God           which fed me all my life long unto this day,  the angel
called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and             which  redeemed me from all evil,  bless  the lads (Gen.
said. . . . draw not nigh hither. . . . Moreover he           48:15,  16). . . . And the ange1  of the Lord appeared
said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham,         unto him (Muses) in a flame of  fire out of the midst of
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. . . ." In this the bush: . . . . And when  the  Lord  saw that he
passage, it is to be observed, the voice that called to       turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the
Moses out of the bush is ascribed both to the angel  of midst of the bush, . . . Moreover He said, I am the
the Lord and to God, the triune Jehovah. Thus this God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of
angel is no ordinary angel. If not, is He then to be          Isaac, and the God of Jacob. . . .And I am come down
identified with the triune God, Father, Son, and to deliver them out wf the hand of the Egyptians. . . .
Holy Spirit? And if so, how can He at once be Je-             (Ex. 3 :3-8). And he said, Surely they are my people,
hovah's angel? And if He be an angel, how can He children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. In
be God? Is the latter too, an angel? Having been led          all their afllictions he was afflicted,  and the angel of htis
into all truth by the Spirit of Christ exalted, the church    pesence saved them: in his  Iove and in his pity he
of God can and is now answering these questions.              redeemed them ; and he bear them, and carried them
    The Church now understands and believes that all the days of old" (Isa. 63 :9, 10).
there is only one God, Who is the one single essence,             But there are also passages that form a record of
in which there are three persons, really truly, and           God's sharply distinguishing  Ibetween,  Himself, the
eternally distinct, according to their incommunicable triune Jehovah, and the Angel. Such a passage is Ex.
,properties  ; namely, the Father, and the Son and the        23 :20-23, "Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to Beep
Holy Ghost ; that Jesus Christ, according to His divine thee in the way, to bring thee into the place which I
nature, is the only begotten Son of God, co-essential         have prepared. Beware of  H,im, and obey his voice,
and co-eternal with the father, the express image of          provoke him not; for he will not pardon your trans-
His person, and the brightness of His glory, equal unto       gressions: for my name is in him. But if thou shalt
Him in all things; that God sent into the world, His          indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak ; then I
own, only-begotten Son, Who took upon Himself the             will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary
form  of a servant, and became  Iike unto man, and  :lid      unto thine adversaries. For mine angel shall go before
not only assume human nature, as too the body, .but           thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the
also a true human soul, that He might be real man ;           Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the
that, finally, tis Son was from eternity ordained to          Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them ofI".
be our Saviour, our prophet, priest, and king, that              But if the subject of the Angel is God, and it is this,
thus even before His incarnation, the Son of God, in          as :has just been proven, how can the triune Jehovah
His capacity of Mediator was teaching His people,, re-        distinguish himself from this  AngeI? There is but one
vealing  to them the Gospel of God, was ruling His            possible explanation of this. The person of this Angel
people by His word as applied to their hearts by the          is the only-begotten Son of God, of one and the same
Spirit, and was also atoning the sins of His people not       essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and at
by His own Iblood but by the blood of His animal sacri-       once ordained to save God's people from their sins.
fices.                                                        So, though the Angel is God, He is to be distinguished
    Because the Church now has understanding of this.         not from the Father and the Spirit but from the triune


     166                                      T H E   STANDARD   BEAh&Ii                                     -    -
     Jehovah. For the distinction to be made here is not              sequent chapters of some heavenly being or creature
     between the Son on the one hand and the Father and
.                                                                     not before seen to bring the people of Israel into the
     the Spirit on the other, Ibut between the Son in His             promised land of their abode, and to speak to it the
     office of Mediator and as subject of the Angel, of the           word of God. But as no such being appears and as
     human nature to be assumed in the fulness of time                the Sacred writer continues to use the name Jehovah
     on the one hand and the Son as the second person of to designate Him with whom the revelations communi-
     the blessed trinity on the other; thus between the               cated to Moses originate, the passage in quesstion has
     Son as Mediator and the triune Jehovah, Father, Son occasioned no little difficulty. Yet needlessly so. This
     and Holy Spirit, the God and Father of the Angel, of Angel as to His person is the Son of God in His office
     Christ.                                                          of Mediator. And He has already come. And the
            Herewith the question,  Who is the Angel of the earthy, visible form by which He has already made His
     Lord, has been answered, This Angel is the Mediator;             presence known is that same cloud by which the
     He is Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away ;he               people  of Israel will be led during the rest of the
     sin of the world. ,He is rightly presented in Scripture time of their wanderings and from out of which the
     as being one with God in name and power and honor, Son of God will speak to Moses the Word of the triune
     as He, being of one and the same essence with the                Jehovah. That the subject of this Angel is the Son of
     Father and the Spirit, is God. But it is also right              God and is thus the same subject that spoke to Moses
     to distinguish Him from God, as He is Mediator and as            from out of the burning bush, is proven by the circum-
     such the subject of an assumed human nature. Thus                stance that also this Angel is one with God in power
     on the part of this Angel, the  ~distindion  concerns,           and honor. He will bring Israel to Canaan. The
     rightly considered, solely this nature. Only because people are cautioned to beware of Him, as He will not
     Christ is also man, the Word in  carnate,  can and may           pardon their transgressions, that is, being holy and
     He be distinguished from God.                                    righteous God, He will not condone and excuse sin in
                                                                      the ungodly but He will of course pardon such as truly
            Now even before His incarnation in the fulness ,repent and forsake their sins (33%). Lastly, God's
     of time, the Son of God in His capacity of Mediator,             name is in Him (33 :22). That the sacred writer speaks
     was assuming especially in the epoch that commenced of the wo.rks  the Angel is to perform (He is to bring
     with the calling of Abraham and ended with the the people of Israel into the place which God has pre-
     conquest of Canaan, an earthy appearance. This ap-               pared) and the words He is to speak as being at once
     pearnce  varied with time. To Abraham during his the works and words of the triune Jehovah, is because
     residence in the plains of Mamre, He appeared in the Jehovah speaks and works in and through Him.
     form of a man of flesh and blood. The record of this Though He already has made His appearance on the
     appearance is contained in the 13th chapter of the               stage of Israel's history, the Angel is now for the
     book of Genesis. That being or person whom Abraham first time formally introduced. The reason is that
     addresses as Lord, and whom he beseeches not to pass             whe&as,  through the ratification of the covenant
     away from him and for whom he orders a little water Israel is now about to be constituted a royal priesthood,
     to be fetched that He might wash His feet and whom an holy nation, that as so constituted, it may hear and
     he  fet&es a morsal of bread,-this person was the                obey God, press on to Canaan and war God's &warfare,
     Son of God, the Christ, the Word, that, in a sense, had there is now need of a captain of salvation, qualified
     for the moment become flesh. The other material and to speak unto the people the word of God and to give
     visible forms with which the Son of God as Mediator it the victory over the adversary. Whereas the Angel
     associated His person and through or out of which he is this captain, the Lord tells His people to look to Him
     spoke to His servants, are the burning bush, the fire            (the Angel) as the one to teach, keep, and lead it. For
     and smoke of the holy mount, the pillar of cloud, and Jehovah this will not, to be sure, spell the commence-
     the tabernacle of Moses. However, Christ's associa- ment of a period of inactivity. Jehovah, too, will keep
     tion with. these material forms .and things did not of His people in the way and lead it, not apart from but
     course spell for Him true and real incarnation. These through the Angel. For the task is one. And Jehovah
     things and forms, as associated temporarily with Him, and the Angel are one. This being true, the act of
     were but  ,a shadow of the true incarnation.                     communicating the revelations of God to Moses and
            Now it is only in the light of the above delineations,    the work of leading the people of Israel to Canaan is
     that certain passages in the book of Exodus take on now ascribed to the Angel and then again to Jehovah.
     meaning for us. Passages they are that h&e proved                   Let us now turn to 33 : 1-3, "And the Lord said unto
     perplexing to many a Bible student. The Lord's say- Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people
     ing to Moses and the people of Israel, "Behold, I send which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt,
     an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the &way and to unto the land w'hich I  sware unto Abraham. . . . And
     bring thee  i&o the place which I have prepared," I will send an angel before thee ; and I will drive out
     caused them to look forward to the appearance in sub- the Canaanite. . . , for I will not go up in t.he midst


                                        THE S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

of thee ; for thou art ,a stiffnecked people : lest I con- appearance. What a remarkable type, was this taber-
sume thee in the sway."                                          nacle, of the Christ, of the incarnate Son of God, of the
    The angel of which mention-is here made is again             indwelling of God in Christ and of Christ in His body. '
the Son of God in His office of Mediator. The meaning The tabernacle, on account of the indwelling of Christ,
of this notice cannot be that this Angel is to take the and of God, in it, was, as it were, a thing alive. From
place of Jehovah as leader of Israel. Nor must it be out of it came a voice, the voice of Ckrist and of God
supposed that the Lord `here threatens to separate him- sneaking through Him His word to His people. And  if
self from the Angel and the people of Israel that they we now, as lwe should, associate with this tabernacle the
may *go their way alone without Him, the triune Jeho- typical priest with the sacrifice by blood, then this
vah. The key to the correct interpretation of  th,is             structure stands out in our minds as the perfect pre-
passage is the clause, "For thou art a stiffnecked figuration of Christ in His office of prophet, priest, and
people: lest I consume thee in the way." The people              king.
through their worshipping the golden calf, `have re-
vealed themselves as stiffnecked. So he, the triune                                                              G. M. 0.
God, can not go up in the midst of them alpart from the
Angel, Who is Christ, t2~1s  by Himself, solely in His
capacity of  tkune  God. We are to distinguish here
between God as stich or by Himself and God in His
capacity of God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God by Himself, being the Holy One, can only f7nd it                          Zion's Light Is Code
in Himself to destroy this  p.eople  ; for it is stiffnecked.
But as the Father of Christ, He will send His Angel                             Arise,  shhe;  for thy light is come, and the
before them and will go up in their midst as Christ's                           glory of the  Lord  b risen upon  th,ee. For,
God, thus as the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-                         behold, the darkness  shall cover tie earth, and
suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping                          gross  da;rkrrzss  the people: but the Lord  shall
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgres-                          rise  upan thee, and his  gloxy   .shall  be upon
sion and sin. But the godless among them, the un-                               thee.    And the Gentiles shall come to  thy
repentant, thus the carnal, reprobated seed, need take                          light,  iand kings to t!x brightness of thy com-
no comfort from this, as He will by no means clear,                             ing.                             Isa.  60:1-3.
that is, condone sin, but visits the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children. . . . of them that hate Him.             It is night. Darkness covers the  earth,-a darkness
So was God training His people, in connection with               not of a night with stars shining in its heavens, but
their great sin, to distinguish between Himself and His          the darkness of a night with skies overcast with a
Angel, and to  contemplate  their salvation as somehow thick, impenetrable cloud-the cloud of  t>Ke wrath of
boun.d  up with this Angel.                                      God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
   That the passage under consideration is thus to be unri,ghteousness  of men, who hold the truth in unright-
explained, is evident from the Lord's reply to Moses             ness. Such is the nature of the darkness of ,which the
petition, ". . . -consider  that this nation is thy people" prophet here speaks. It is a terrible darkness, unmixed
(33 :13). The Lord in responding, does not say, "I with any light whatever, thus total and absolute. It is
have heard thee. So, instead of sending an angel be- the d,arkness  that fell when man, giving ear to the devil
fore Ehee, 1, myself, will go up in the midst of thee," transgressed the commandment of life, which he had
but he says, "My presence (face in the original) shall           received ; and separated himself from God who. was
go with thee. . . ." Now the  face  of Jehovah is iden- his true life. Then the sun of man's righteousness,
tical with the Angel, as is evident from Isa. 54  :9, where      and holiness, and knowledge did set, and horrible dark- .
He is called "the angel of His face". Now if the Angel ness covered the earth-the darkness of corruption
is to be identified with God's face or presence, it cannot of the whole nature of man, thus the darkness of sin,
be that the statement to the effect, "I will send an             and guilt and death spiritual, of all unrighteousness,
angel before thee. . . . for I will not go up in the midst wickedness, maliciousness, murder, deceit,  .bitterness
of thee" is to be  explsined to mean, "I will send an and destruction, ,of ,walking  in the counsel of the un-
angel in My  stead to go up in the midst of thee".               godly, of standing in the way of sinner and of sitting
   Now this cloud, the Angel of the Lord, as to His              in the seat of the scornful, the darkness of rage, of the
person, Christ, the Son of God in His office of Mediator.        people imagining a vain thing, of kings of the earth
took up His abode in the tabernacle. The cloud that setting themselves, and the rulers taking counsel
hovered above the mercy-seat of the ark of the cove-             against the Lord, the darkness of manifold misery and
nant that stood in the holiest place,  was this Angel,           woe of every description, of the weeping of blank
the Christ.  This visible, material cloud, together with dispair and unutterable weariness.
Moses' tabernacle formed in that epoch Christ's earthy              Such is the darkness of the night that set in when


 168                               `-  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
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 the sun of  man%  original righteousness set. And this noun thee signifies Zion. And the possessive pronoun
 darkness is great, absolute. For, though man may be thy  sets forth Christ as  beIonging  only to Zion, to
 spiritually blind, he retained after the fall his rational His people. How could it be otherwise. It is this
 eye, perception. And what may be known of God is people only who with Him was crucified; buried and
 manifest in him. The invisible things of God are clear- resurrected. Thus the new day dawned only for and
 ly seen and understood by him. But the pure light in Zion. And therefore even after the rising of the
 from heaven is in him darkness. For his eye, rational glory of the Lord, the great darkness continued to
 perception, is evil. He holds under the truth in un- cover the earth, and gross darkness the people. Such
 righteousness. He insists that the virtues of God are certainly is the  pIain implication  af the prophet's words,
 vices, that the loveliness of God is unloveliness, that "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth. . . .
 the purity of God is vileness, that the wisdom of God but the Lord shall rise upon  thee,  and His glory shall
 is foolishness. So man changed the glory of the in- be seen upon thee."
 corruptible God into an image made like unto the                Upon the children of Zion then is His glory seen.
*corruptible creature. Thus even the light in man is These children parbake  of His fulness. Thev come into
 darkness. How great then this darkness.            .         the possession of the content of the promise. These
        But God promised, "I will put enmity [between thee He saves from all their sins. In their hearts He pours
 and the woman. . . ." It is the promise of the coming His love. In them does the lifethat is in Him abound.
 of the light, of light that spells forgiveness of sin and These are conformed according to His image, and shew
 deliverance from its power, thus of light that is right- forth His glory. In  220%  ,has the new day dawned.
 eousness, holiness, purity of heart, of light that is love But gross darkness covers the people. The day has
 and faith in God and fear of His name, of fellowship dawned, the Sun is risen; yet,  Ibeyond the borders
 with God, of a being satisfied with His likeness. It is of Zion it is still night.
 the promise of Him who is the light of the world, of            And therefore let Zion arise and shine-shine in
 Zion, the resurrection and  t,he life, the sanctification, that darkness. "Arise, shine : for thy light is come. . ."
 righteouesness,  wisdom and redemption of His people Let the children of Zion shine, shew forth their glory,
 -Christ Jesus. Thus it is the promise of the rising which is the glory of Christ, through confessing His
 of the glory of the Lord, of the dawn of a new day.          name, and witnessing for the truth, and through their
        And this day has dawned. The promise is fulfilled. walking in the way of His commands, in a  ,mrd,
 Such surely is the implication of the shout of joy of the through their walking ,in those good works which He
 prophet, "Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the       prepared. Let these children not put the  gIory of
 glory of the Lord is risen U&N-I  thee."                     Christ in them under a bushel, obscure this glory
        God sent His eternal Son into the world, His only through the works of their flesh. But let them be con-
 begotten. He took upon Him the form of a servant, and formed according to the renewal of their minds, in
 became like unto man, assumed the true human nature, order that their light may shine forth.
 with all its inflmities, sin excepted. Him God wounded
 for our transgressions, and  ,bruised for our iniquities:       And in this gross darkness their light shines. The
* the chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And             world, the disobedient, all such who are destined to
 having glorified God on the earth, and having finished       perish in their unbelief, do not comprehend the light
 the work which the Father gave Him to do, He ascend- spiritually. They do not love the light, and, as so Iov-
 ed from His cross into heaven, after having tasted death ing, come to the light and be saved. Though they
 for `His people. And there in heaven, the Father glori- rationally `perceive the light, they despise Christ. The
 fied Him with His, the Father's, own self with the light in them is darkness  an,d gross darkness therefore
 glory which He, in His office of mediator, had with the will continue to cover the earth.
 Father in His counsel before the world was. For it              However, the Gentiles, the elect of God among the
 was the Father's will that in Km all fulness should Gentiles, will come to the light, and kings to the bright-
 dwell. So was He mightily exalted, and received a ness will no longer cover the earth, as it will have been
 name above every name. For He had become obedient gather His church. But gross darkness will cover the
 unto death, even unto the death of the cross. And as earth, until the final rising of the Sun of righteousness,
 so glorified, He, the Lord of heavenly glory and beauty, through the second return of Christ. Then there will
 rose upon His ohuroh, shone (and shines) in the hearts       be new heavens and a new earth upon which Christ
 of those given Him by the Father, of those chosen in         will appear with His people in glory. Then gross dark-
 Him  unto life eternal, and thus also set together with ness will no longer cover the earth, as it will have been
 Him in heavenly places,-upon these He rose as to             cleansed from the race of godless men who are now
 His glory through His pouring out His Spirit upon corrupting it. The  whole earth will then be bathed in
 them, upon Zion, only, and upon none other. Such is the glory of the Lord as shewn  forth by His body, the
 indeed the teaching of the prophet. `The gIory of the church.
 Lord is risen upon thee. Thy light is come". The pro-                                                  G. M. 0.


