                                           T    H    E      S'TANDARD   BIL~R~z:R.,                            . .            ,377

        ADS dan `de dichter  al die smart in de handen  van announcing the coming of the Kingdom. Sometimes
     Gocl ziet als een schat die bewaard  word&  ban bet niet they are signs. Again they are miracles. Together,
     anders ; dan begint hij te roepen om den oordeelsdag : they are prophecies. The deliverance of, Israel from
     Bred den arm des goddeloozen (ja, dan ,kan hij nie&           the cruel bondage of Egypt' were `prophesied in the
     meer  doen)  ;  zoek, proef zijn goddeloosheid ! Breng miracles performed by tKe Man of God, Moses.  True,
     het in `t geriehte,  o God ! En doe het zoo lang Heere, we call them 4h.e ten plagues and they most c&tainly
     tot Gij niets meer wind&.                                     were plagues to the E,gyptians,  but &the same time
i       Ja, dan word& het stille.                                  they were wonders or miracles of Jehovah. More
        Ge zijt dan aangeland in de -eeuwigheid. Geen precisely, -the breaking through of the Coveriant  and
     wonder, dat ge dan begint te zingen. Daar wordt het its blessings. Supernatural, yes, to the world,  but
snikken  van `t slachtoffer verandert in een jubel des             natural from a spiritual point of view to the Church.
geluks. God is immers Koning tot in alle eeuwigheid : We mean, that they were not supernatural  eve&s to
dus nu ook. Al is het ook dat Judas grijnst bij `t gril'ig         Moses and Aaron and the believing Israel. They bx-
                                                                                                                              _
     licht in. gindschen opperzaal bij valsche priesters; de pect the so-called supernatural by faith.
onschuldi,ge  Jezus  .wordt  versterkt van uit de tr&nzaal             And does not the Book of Revelation sh& us `clealt
     des Konings.                                                  ly that great signs and many wonders shal,l &me to
        `t Wordt dan  stille.        Aanvankelijke vrede des pass before the coming of the L&d?                               .,
hemels.                                                                Thus we find it in this chapter and that in ,close
        De stem des verdrukten is olvergegaan  in bet gal-         connedion with the suffering and death.of the Saviour.
men van de hallels der overwinning.                                We read of the anointing of the Lord at Bethany  where
                                                          G. V.    Mary  ponred  the costly ointment at the feet of Jesus.
                                                                   IBeautifully  explained by the Lord,  thak this was done
                                                                   against  ,the day of his burying. A sign of His final
                                                                   suffering and impending death. However, the token of
                                                                   friendship is offset by the satanic remark of the son
             Reminded Of His Suffering                             of perdition. `Why was not this ointment sold for &hree
                                                                   hundred pence, and given to the poor', Judas being. a
                                         John  12:23,24.           thief and getting tripe for his hellish betrayal.
                                                                       At the same time many people gathered at Bethany
        A peculiar incident, these Greeks, at the feast at to see not only Jesus, but also Lazarus who was *raised
Jerusalem.                                                         from the dead. SeemingIy  the Rabbi was and became
        That is, if we grasp the true relation of their com- more and more the center of interest. And the danger
     ing to the feast and their request  ato see Jesus.            is noticed ,by the chief priests who consul&d  and coti-
        We read `And there were certain Greeks among *eluded that not only Jesus, but also Lazarus- qught to
%hem that came up to worship at the feast (,original:              be put out of the `way. The signs become plain as the;;
     who were wont to go up) : The same came therefore to increase.
*Philip. . . . saying, Sir, we would see Jesus'. We do                 And  finalmly, did not the people praise Him  when
not deem it necessary  ko elaborate on their comirig to            he made his entry in Jerusalem? And at the same
     the feast as something peculiar, for it was their custom. time, do not the Pharisees become more and more de-
     Nor is it of importance .whether  they `were Greek Jews termined that He must be killed, because the world
     or Hellenes. We believe %hey were simply Gentiles, is gone after him? The friends and disciples of the
     becoming proselytes and desiring to be incorporated Lord may not understand these signs, the enemies
     in the  common~weal~th  of Israel. In principle believers, do.
     perhaps, because it is a question of conjecture. Neither          In this context Iwe find also the appearance of the
     is it of great import. To sermonize on their coming as Greeks. We read of their request to see Jesus by
     such, that is, their desire to see Jesus, is very dangei-     means of Philip and Andrew. And these two seem-
     OULS,  because the sum and substance may center .around       ingly rejoice in this fact, because  th:eir Lord  a$
     their great faith (of which owe are in ddubt) , or `tl?eir    Master becomes more and more popular. It is to their
     yearning after their Master (w'hich  be of an inquisi- liking and earthly expectation concerning : the King-
     tive nature).    We do not  believe  that this record dom to acome. Peter,  Jo,hn, James, Philip and Andrew
     senves   ththait  purpose. It `is not a question who they with ,the rest of them, consider it a good sign when the;
     were and what- can'be said of &heir motives.                  multitude follows Jesus.       Tsheir dreams are to be
        Their coming to the feast forms  a'  p&t of the realized and their pIaces will they pre-are for them-
     context.' What is the context?                                selves. And what an opportunity to have proselytes
        That coming events cast their shadows before.              of Jew&y  come and to be `numbered with the rest of the
        The great events of history, that is of the revelation followers of Israel's King. The hour has corny ,F$ Lit
     9f th.e Kingdom of God, are preceded by certain events .came  wi&h glbry,              j             :             `.


278                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D  B.EARER

       Yes, the hour has come.                                   tiles shal,l  come unto Him, but the coming or the draw-
   And because of that hour, while no one perceives ing of all to Him depends upon His glorification. And
of the dreadful events that  mu& happen, there is one,           shall he make the Gre& glorious (and with them all
the Son of God who is the Son of Man finds in all and            His people) He must redeem them and through the
in every one of these  Ihappenings  a reminder of His            perfect sacrifice make it possible that they shall enter
pending death and suffering on the Cross.                        into  His glory.
       Let us lo& at the answer to the request of the               What  wou!:d it profit anyone of His people to be
Greeks. First of all, the audience is denied. The Lord made like unto Him while  IHe is in the state of humilia-
does not speak to them directly. His answer is: You              tion, that is, in the state as He finds Himself at this
cannot see me. The hour has come. Which hour?                    moment? We know, do  we' not, that the difference
The hour of my perfect sacrifice. There are some com- between us and the modern man consists in this, we
mentators who love to emphasize (the coming of the               have a glorified Saviour, of whose glory we are par-
Greeks as a prophecy of the multitude that once shall            takers. He died and suffered, He paid and redeemed,
stand around the throne of God, being delivered by the           He  `was raised and was made glorious. He went
Son of Man. Thus taken, the Greeks are a reminder through death and the  resumedion  changed from the
of that fact, hence, our Lord must take courage to               earthy into the heavenly. When His nature was glori-
take the burden of the cross and pay also for their sins.        fied we were glorified  width and through Him. The
We do.nut deny that the final resulk  will be the deliver-       modern man also speaks of Jesus' glory, but it does
ance of every one and from every tongue and tribe,               not consist, as to the contents,  in the  gIory  of the
given to Him by the Father. .But it is not on the fore- Risen Redeemer, but in His mode of living. His prin-
ground. It is not even an important ,part.  If &is was           ciple and all that came upon  %lim on account of it.
the case, our Lord would have told them concerning               Hence, He- is the example. Aud  ithus  Re should be
these facts, perhaps as yet unknown to them. Instead,            the exampie for every man until His dying ,day, being '
the Lord speaks concerning His suffering and death.              me& and yet firm, being misunderstood, yet put up
       And qwthen He speaks of His death He refers to it         with all the frailties of His fellow-man. And thus the
not as a simple matier  of fact, but as the great and glory of the modernist ultimately ,is the grave. And
most necessary act of His wik!.. He speaks of it by way after  ithe grave? Well, the sweet remembrance of a
of illustration or comparison. Unless a corn of what good and rea1 humanitaria. No more, no less. Which
fall into *the ,ground  and die, it abideth alone ; but it it    means less than nothing.
die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Concerning Fis dv-               Truly, how sickening must such a gospel be, how
ing He speaks of  it as a process through which  IHe             void and powerless.
must pass in order that He may be *glorified. His                   Salvation exists in being remembered while being
death is the only way to reach that glory.                       dead.
       Hence, He does not say ithe Son of Man must die,             But not so with the, Saviour. He does not know
because His hour has come. If that were all that could of suoh  fruit that shall follow. Never does He speak of
be said, the  Gre& would have been most  welconie.               such a remembrance. Besides, is it not true, that even
They would then be of comfort. They could console the "best" ( ?) among men are not remembered very
Him, weep over; Him, as Jerusalem's daughters did, long? And those who write man's biography, if honest,
when He accomplished His decease out of Jerusalem.               will find many flaws in their heroes, not to speak of
To the contrary, the Lord does not want, nor does He their sins.
need sympathy of the disciples nor of the Greeks.                   The Saviour, in turning the Greeks away at this
,The hour is cume, that is, the hour is not as yet,but  will moment, comforts them at the same time with an eye
soon be there that the Son of Man be glorified, when to the future. He speaks of the fruit that  shal,l be
IHis death shall come upon Him.                                  brought forth, when He is glorified. He must die for
       Strange as it seems, nevertheless, how apparently them. Why?  Becanse the  deefiest  cause of death is
true it became to the Saviour, that these Greeks, being sin and guilt and eternal  dainnatkn. By the way of
$members  of the Church that is to be saved, remind Him His death sin was atoned and paid for, because wikh
of His state of  *humiliation.  He is like unto them the sins of [His people upon Him, He descends in the
in all things, without sin, it is true, but also without nether parts. That "was accomplished by means of the
glory. And from  (the point of view of His humiliation cross. But in His death as the payment for our sins,
IIe must hasten to the cross. At this moment He sees             God raises Him on the third day. He buried the
the connection between His humiliation and exaI,tation,          abominable sins of His  @eople and out of  fie  granre
His servitude and His kingship. He is the Man of arose  bh.e glorious Redeemer, the Lord of heaven.
Sorrows at this juncture, lwqho must become the Lord                Hence, He is able to make us like unto Himself.
of glory.      Through that suffering He beholds  :His           Beautifully  exprkssed  in the latter part of this text.
glory as the crown, the accomplishment of all His work.          The grain falls into the earth and it dies. Yes, but ih
And that gIory does not consist in this, that the gen- `reappears in antiher form, bearing much fruit. And
                                                                                        ,. .


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          279

 as long as the grain remains in the- barn, it cannot
 bring forth fruit. It must be sown and it must die.                 Calvin And The Reformation
 That is  *the process in nature.
     So with the Saviour. Glory is only to be received           The movement known as the "Reformation" is
 by the process' of death. Therefore, it was of no            characteristically spiritual. It denotes that  ,work of
 avail' for the Greeks if the Lord made them like unto God whereby His people, His  church  was liberated out
 Himself. He stood there not in His exaltation, but in of the shackles of Roman Catholicism. To be sure,
 His humiliation And only through death the Mediator the Reformation also had far-reaching political results.
 !was to be made glorious and until this had happened Yea, to many it was merely political.. ~This is due to
!He would not be able to glorify His people;                  the fact that the Roman Catholic, Church, besides being
                                                              a spiritual power, was also clothed with  4political  might.
     After His glorification He brings forth much fruit.
 Calvary, the Cross and Christ's death is the sowing Nevertheless, the Reformation, in its origin and accord-
                                                              ing to its fundamental  .significance,  is decidedly
 of &the  seed that must die. When He arose He received spiritual.
 the Spirit to apply the work of the Saviour unto the            We associate especially two names  witlh the Reform-
 hearts of His own. And through the Spirit He enters
 into the hearts of His people to make them lake unto ation: Martin Luther  ,and John Calvin. Tonight we
                                                              are interested in the latter. The subject given to me,
 Himself. First, through  Iregeneration  and faith and "Calvin and the Reformation", although in  its&f  a
 the means of grace that the man of God may become very broad subject, would emphasize, in my opinion,
 perfect.                                                     Calvin's place in the, Reformation.
     But also in the day of His coming.                                       .                       To ,that end I will
                                                              call your attention to three main thoughts: .Calvin's
     Our humiliated body, sown in the grave shall arise training, his wonk, and his place in the Reformation.
 and in that resurrection be changed through His Spirit
 and be made like  u&o His glorious body.  T*hus He                            _, Calvin's Training.
 brings forth much fruit. Now the believer enters into
 the death of this Head and through faith is made free           When I speak of Calvin's training, I purpose to
 from the `power of sin and corruption and the curse emphasize that God very clearly trained him with a
 of the law. SureIy, the believer may shout for joy, view to his life's task. John Calvin was born at Noyon,
 because Christ was the Head, the Seed, entering death France, some sixty miles northeast from Paris, July
 and through death receiving glory. -And having died 10; 1509, twenty-six years after the- birth of Martin
 with Him, He also was raised with Christ on the third Luther at Eisleben, Germany, and therefore eight
 day.                                                         years before the mailing of the- famous 95 theses to the
                                                              church door at  Wittenburg.  Calvin was brought up
     And presently, eternity shall reveal that there is in all the superstitions of .popery,  and this scholar of
 a multitude which no one is able to number. That is the Noyon was blindly submissive to the Church, cheerfully
 bringing forth of much. fruit.                               complying with all her observances, and persuaded that
     He is in all things first. Better, He is of all who the heretics had richly deserved their fate. Naturdly
 enter salvation, the  tistling.     First to taste death of a timid and fearful disposition, he possessed that
 and also first to receive glory. Humanly speaking the uprightness of heart which leads a man to sacrifice
 one sacrifice looks rather insignificant. How is i,t pos- everything to his sacred convictions. Strictness of
 sible that one dies for all, that in the one all are made    morals was led by the grace of God into strictness
 alive and receive *glory? But through faith it is one of doctrine. He was quiet and serious during his
 of the most beautiful wonders of the grace of God. lessons, never shared in the amusements or follies of
 And that to the glory of the Name of God Triune. -           his sehoolfellows  during itrhe hours of recreation, held
     Therefore, He sacrificed  ~Himself.  Being reminded himself ever aloof, and, fi~lled  with horror at sin, he
 of His death by the knocking at the door of the heaven       would often reprimand their, disorders with severity
 ly kingdom by the Greeks,. He prays,. "Father, glorify and even bitterness. Because of this he `was known
 Thy Name. Then came there a voice. from heaven among. the students as the "accusative case"-continu-
 saying, I have both glorified  it, and will glorify it ally he would accuse' and rebuke them. Among them
 again." That fmally all glory be from the Father of all he was the representative of conscience and of duty,
 light and life and to His honor alone; And for that so far was he from being as some of his calumniators
 purpose, although His soul is troubled, and the re- have depicted him. The pale features and the piercing
 minder of His impending death may cut Him to the eyes of this schoIar had already at the age of sixteen
 quick, yet, He is willing not to be saved from this hour. inspired  skis comrades ,with more respect than the black
 And when the hour has come, come for Him and .gowns of their  Imasters.                     He was preeminently a
 through Him and for this cause  iHe came to this hour scholar. He consecrated to, study the whole force oE
 ,that He, the Glorious Head, may lead man.y  sons to his genius and of his will. He comprehended every-
 &dory.                                         Iv. v.        thing with unbelievable facility. He ran in his studies


280                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
t.  ,._._  -.    ^  .
while his co'mpanions were lazily creeping along. Ac- and Hebrew, although from the summer of 1532 to
,cordingly,  his master twas compelled to take lhim out of that of 1533 he again was a law student at Arleans.
the classes and introduce him singly to fresh studies.      It was at this time at Arleans that his fellow-students
    Although belonging to the humbler  e!ass of his honored him, and students  wiR not honor of their own
age; John Calvin nevertheless received an aristocratic accord dubious or disagreeable characters.              This is
training.  IHis father; Gerard Calvin, not to be reckon- worthy of remembering because of the slander of Cal-
ed among the riah, desired that his children should re- vin by the Roman Catholics. It was also some time
ceive the same education as those of the best families. in 1533 that, to quote his own words, "God, by a sudden
A thorough Catholic, Gerard himself held an important conversion, subdued his mind to a teachable frame,
office in the Roman Catholic Church, and lived  ithere-     having been too obstinately devoted to the superstitions
fore in familiar intercourse with the clergy and the of popery to be easily elctricated  .from so profound an
chief persons in the province. This undoubtedly abym  of mire". Of the circumstances of this con-
prompted him to seek the best in the field of education version nothing is definitely [known, but its central ex-
for  lhis children. John was broulght  up strictly; from ,perience  was that God spoke to him through the Scrip-
his' earliest years he was compelled to bend to the in- tures and the  will of God must be obeyed. Now, how-
flexible rule of duty which soon became habitual to ever, he was immediately inflamed Iwith an intense de-
him. And it was chiefly to stu.dy :that he devoted his sire to make progress in the spiritual knowhedge  of true
time;                                                       %godliness,  so that religion had henceforth the tirst place
    A spirit of piety showed itself early in the ohild's    in his thoughts. Humanism was replaced by a thirst
heart. Hence his father conceived. the design of de- after the hving God and a knowledge of Him out of the
voting his son to theology, then known as the "queen Scriptures. With renewed energy he applied himself
of  science?-  At that  ti.me it `was customary to bestow to the study of the Scriptures, and particularly to the
ecclesiastical titles and revenues on children. Children subjects of Greek and Hebrew. His learning in Latin,
at ages of seven to eleven were made cardinals. Ac-         Greek, and Hebrew enabled  him to become thoroughly
cordingly, upon John Calvin, at the age of twelve, was acquainted with the Old and New Testaments  ,and the
conferred the benefice  ef chaplain by the bishop of writings of the many church fathers.
his community. A benefice was an ecclesiastical  fman-         Among those with whom he discussed Reformed
cial allowance to pursue one's studies in theology. He doctrine was his bosom friend, Nicolas  Cop, who `was
received the chaplaincy attached to an altar in the elected rector of the university of Paris. In connection
cathedral of Noyon. Thus Calvin became a member of {with Cop's inaugural address as head of the universi-
the clergy and capable of entering into the holy order. nity to commend the Reformation to the cultured and
Later the Catholic Church declared bitterly that she brilliant audience which would attend. This address
had.fed John Calvin at her breast and harbored a snake they planned together. Cop delivered it. He spoke on
in her bosom. At the age of fourteen, in 1523, John "Christian Philosophy". By "Christian Philosophy" he
Calvin went to Paris to continue his studies. There he meant the gospel. This speech amazed the audience.
made great progress in Latin literature. Being a mem- In it Cop pleaded for reform, using language borrowed
ber of the holy order because of the benefice bestowed from Luther, but its con&ding part was more indepen-
upon him, he came into contact with the godlessness dent, and in it  `was struck that note of certainty as to
among the clergy, in whose piety, he, as a good catholic, salvation which was to be a feature of  CUvinistic  doc-
had  ahad implicit faith. How he must have been shock- trine. Because Cop had infuriated the theologians of
ed ! It was also at this time, while the future reformer the Sorbonne (the theological school in Paris), having
was growing to maturity in the college of La Marche  in branded them as sophists, he lhad to flee Paris. Also
Paris, that Rome and her satellites were uniting every Calvin fled because his intimacy with Cop was known.
effort to hunt down and tread under foot whatever bore Shortly afterward Calvin returned to Paris, but his
any resemblance to the Reformation.           Already six sympathy with the Reformation could not be hidden,
years before, the 95 theses had been nailed to the          and hence he no longer felt safe in the city where
church door at Wittenberg. And  tmhe  blood of the Pro- already so many had been imprisoned for their faith's
testants was flowing freely in the country of France, sake. In January of 1534, at the age of 25, he .went
inasmuch  asthe Reformation in France did not enjoy forth a wanderer, usually  dining  under an assumed
the political. support as in Germany.                       name. Apparently his light was to remain hidden.
   In. 1528 his father ordered hi.m to ohange his studies IHowever,  he had been trained, by God, for ,his work
to law. Gerard had fallen out. ,with  the ecclesiastical    in the Reformation.
authorities in Noyon. So he left Paris for  Arleans. A#t
theseschools he came under the influence of a  certain                        Calvin's Work.
Melchior Wolmar, a <humanist, and favorable to the          - Calvin's life's work centered in Geneva. Except for
Reformation. However, in 1531 his father died, and a brief stay, in Strassburg he labored in Geneva until
Calvin returned to Paris and to the study of Greek          the end of his life. It was in September of 1536 that


                                     TXIE  S T A N D A R D .   BEARE'R                                            281

he, at the age of 27, accepted the position of teacher plicity of Luther, they, like everything which flowed
in this city of Zwitzerland.    In the year 1535, during from the pen of the reformer, are remarkable for their
his wanderings and while at Basel; he wrote his famous theological thoroughness and solidity. In concluding
"Institutes of the Christian Religion". To be sure, our brief account of his work we must maIke mention
this  work received considerable revision and alteration of a very  importam  matter. In 1558, when  Calvin
at various times ; yet it is amazing that such a profound ,was 49 years old, an academy (was founded in Geneva.
work, even as far as  its first editions is concerned, This institution was primarily designed for the  educa-
should have been completed by a man at the age of 26 .tion and training of ,theologians.         Caivin would gladly
or 27. Calvin took up his abode in Geneva upon the have expanded it into a university, but for this the
urging of Farel, who proclaimed upon him the curse          financial resources of the small c"olmmunity of Geneva
of God if he were to leave Geneva. With Fare1 Calvin were inadequate. Theodore Beza was the first rector.
worked in perfect harmony, himself declaring,  "We In the very first year after its founding, nine hundred
were one heart and one soul".         Calvin's career in men, from almost all the nations of Europe, entered
Geneva was a turbulent one. In 1539 he `was banished their names u.pon the rolls of the institution. Tremen-
from the city and labored in the midst of a congrega- dous ,was the reformer's influence which he exerted
tion in Strassburg for  approxima;tely  a year. He re- upon foreign countries. His correspondence was im-
turned to Geneva because, when a cardinal of the            mense and extended in `ill directions. His industry
Roman Catholic Church, during. Calvin's absence, at- was marvellous.  To be condemned ,to idleness, as he
tempted to induce the city to return to Catholileism,  this occasionally was when sickness interfered with his
city realized that only Calvin was able to refute con-      labors, was most painful to him. His works are well
vincingly the arguments of the Catholics. This the known. Besides his "institutes", he completed a com-
reformer did in his own masterly manner upon return- mentary on almost all the books of the Bible, a work
ing to the city which had exiled him. Of course, `we        which is noted for its general soundness. However,
cannot enter inlto a detailed discussion of this work in his incessant mental exertions at. length consumed
Geneva. `There he encountered fierce opposition from ,his physical strength.           These troubles at the  Jast
many quarters, par&ularly from those who resented increased to such an extent that he went to the pulpit
his rule as with an iron hand. He was fully determined from his bed, and returned to the *latter immediately
to preserve and maintain the purity of the Church *after the close of  &he service. He was at last com-
of  G,od. With untiring vigor he fought against the pelled to permit himself to be either carried or sup-
evils of the people. Calvin believed in church discipline ported to his lecture-room. Exhausted with labor and
to the fullest extent. We must remember in this con- borne down by sickness, he longed for repose. On the
nection that although he believed that only the Church eighhh of February, 1564, he preached his last sermon.
was authorized to exercise discipline and determine On the second of April he caused himself to be carried
whet.her a person should be subjected to censure, never- to &he church on a litter, listened to the sermon, and
theless  the civil government was called upon to punish received the sacrament from  .the hand of Beza. He
all evildoers, including those  urho committed sins which died at eight o'clock in the evening,of  May 27, retain-
today are not considered punishable by the State.           ing his consciousness to his last  bre&h.  His burial
Calvin believed that also in this manner the State was very simple, without the slightest ostentation.
must ever stand ready to defend and aid the church And one of the <greatest soldiers in the army of the
of  God.-  With respect to the church the great reformer lilving God had passed on to his eternal reward.
distinguished between the Church Visible and Invisible.                Calvin's Place in the Reformation.
Only when he spoke of this  distinotion  he did not             Finally we face the question: What is Calvin's place
mean to imply that the former, in distinction from in the Reformation? He was the third of the three
the latter, consisted of good and evil. The Church In- reformers,  Luther,-Zwingli,-Calvin,  but he was the
visible, according to Calvin, was the elect body of third only in time. Much has been written of Luther
Christ. The CJhurch  Visible was its manifestation, re- and Calvin with respect Ito their personal character-
vealing iItself in the pure preaching vf the Word, the istics. One hears of the immediate attraction to the
proper administration of the sacraments, and a Chris- heartdwinning  Luther; Calvin, on the other hand, be-
tian walk. To maintain the purity of the Church of cause of his ofttimes  startlin~g  severity, is often viewed
God he labored in Geneva, and he regarded the State as devoid of all sensibility, as one destitute of Iwe.
as obliged to assist him therein.                           To this we answer, firstly, that a zeal for the truth of,
   Many were his labors and untiring his efforts in &d's Word consumed him, as it were. Secondly, it is
Geneva. His work concerned primarily the proclama- known that the French Reformer at no time disdained
tion of the gospel. Besides preaching, catechetical in- diligently to visit and care for the sick in l&lie city when- .
struction was given to the seed of the church. Calvin ever it was possible. The inexhaustibleness of Calvin's  `.
wrote his own catechism  bo&s.  A&though  his  mte-         loving impulse to help and advise on every si,de, and to
chism books did not have the genial and artless sim- comply with all requisitions upon :him, from the weight-


282                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
.
iest demands upon his Christian charity to the little ledge, the saving hnowledge of Himself as revealed in
courtesies of friendship, is most brillliantly  evidenced His Word. "A dog", bhus he wrote once, "barks when
by his extensive correspondence.  IHow many tears *he sees his master attacked ; it would be #cowardice  for
were Idried up by this apparently austere man! In this me to see the truth of God attacked and keep silence."
respect he is in no wise inferior to Luther, and it may      `L'his man, who coul,d treat his most bitter enemies with
well be that he not infrequently surpassed  (him in tact the greatest kindness, became an uncontrollable fury
and tenderness. The most loving tenderness and care when the glory of God `was at stake.
are always exhibited by those  fwho are thoroughly              Cal-vin's importance in God's work of the Reforma-
acquainted with the Word of God.                             tion, which denotes the return of the people of God
       With Luther  the'Reformation was mainly  soter-       unto Jehovah, is, as we see it, three-fold. Firstly, `he
iological.  His salvation stood upon the foreground. It maintained the principle of the authority of Holy Writ
was the burning question. Luther is characteristized as the only <authority and basis for the faith and life
throughout by seeking *grace  for his soul. Overwhelm-       of the Church, in contrast with the usurped authority
ed by his consciousness vf sinfulness was he even after ol the Kuman clergy and the exclusive authority of the
he became priest and professor in Wittenburg. In fact, pope. Maintaining this principle he rocked and (caused
it was this seeking for peace which led ihim from the t,o crumble the very foundations of that Church. Scrip-
study  uf law to the priesthood. However, his pursuit ture was -his only text-book. Scripture ,was his only
of peace  quickly  led him into conflict with the customs rule of life. To the Scriptures he turned, and through
and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. Yea, what his God-given genius he preached,  revea-ed the Word
is more, the practices and very heart of that church         of God to the people. The  Word, of God was John
hindered him in the pursuit of peace, was to his soul a Calvin's sword. And how he wielded it! Secondly, in
barrier and stumbling-block in his seeking for the  ::iv-    maintaining the Scriptures, he maintained their car-
ing God. Luther, finally assured of justification only dinal  tmth: the sovereignty of God. It is  #hardly
through faith, assured of this justification as received necessary for me to prove this. People today prate
from God alone without any human intermediaries, be-' of Calvinism, a calvinism which certainly would sound
gan to labor against these false practices within strangely foreign to the reformer, whose name it bears.
,the church. Doing so, it became apparent that he at- People today prate of a  calvinism Iwhose underlying
tacked her very foundations, and `was therefore excom- princip.e  seems to be a control of the whole world, in
municated.                                                   a universal, common sense, for God, possible by and
       John Calvin went further. Understand correctly, based upon the theory of a common grace. I say, it
Luther's struggle  bwas not a superficial struggle. The i,s hardly necessary for me to refute this. Since cwhen
question of peace fur one's soul is profound. Yet, is man's natural goodness ,before  God ever ;to be viewed
Calvin went further. And, let us not make a mistake *as the heart of the reformer's teaching?                Calvin's
with respect to the reformer of Geneva. He also knew common grace (he believed in common grace) was to
by experieece  the meaning and &he power of sin. How- him a secondary issue, something which seems to fit in
ever, and this w,as especially true of Calvin, the matter rather awkwardly with his conception.             Calvin is
of salvation was far :more profound than mere personal       known in  Ihistory as proclaiming the sovereignty of
salvation. Man's salvation is not ,an end but only a         God. This, of course, controlled all his' other concep-
means. We have been called out of darkness into God's tions. (Hence he proclaimed  ithe truths of unconditional
marvellous light in order that we may proclaim the           e-e&ion  and reprobation, man's natural hopelessness
blessed virtues of that God. The story of God was            and corruption, so that all his virtues are but brilliant
the French reformer's theme throughout. Of that              vices, the Christ as the only and all-powerful Savior,
glory of Cad the Scriptures spake to him. And with and the irresistible efficacy of `grace. This is Calvin-
all his amazing learning and  *almost unbelievable capac- ism. And also this shook the very foundations of
ity for work and sharp understanding he applied him- Catholicism . Finally, Calvin's importance was uni-
self, with all the God-given Jove of his heart for the       vers&. To him there was neither Greek nor Scythian,
truth, to the study of the Word of God. That Word he neither Frenchman, German, nor Swiss, but only the
studied, that Word he preached, the honor of that Word new creature in  Clhrist  Jesus. Calvin's influence, by
he di!!igently upheld. Scripture was his only guide, his means of :his theological academy and immense corres-
only rule of life. His knee he bowed to nothing else.        pondence, reached out to the nations of the then known
All his life long the Lord  lhad led him in that way.        world.    Luther provided the spark  Iwhich set the
God had gifted him with a brilliant mind. His child- Church of God on fire ; C,alvin  laid its foundations, as
hood and youth had been spent in study. With the upon the Word of the living God.
writings `of the scholastics and early sathers he was           John Calvin died at the age of 55. (He passed away
thoroughly acquainted. His tireless passion for study beoause he could live no longer. `He died thoroughly
had given him tremendous learning. And God, by His exhausted. But his work was finished. He had splijt
Spirit, had subjected that brilliant mind unto the know-
              . . ,                                          wide open the human  defences  of the church which


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         283

 barred the way for God's people unto the living God. so the convocations of Canterbury and York met and
 To God be ,ascribed  all glory for His work accomplished made some six hundred changes in the Prayerbook,
 by this servant of our God.                                 all derogatory to Puritanism. This changed Prayer-
                                               A. V.         book received the royal assent.
                                                                By  ,&he Act of Uniformity the use of any other
 (N.B. This speech was delivered at the last December service tian that of the revised Prayerbook was for-
 meeting of our League of Men's Societies.)                  bidden under *heavy penalties. Each clergyman was
                                                             asked to take an oath of assent to al4 and to every
                                                             thing contained therein, and  the" clergy had to  de&are
                                                             that it was unlawful to take up arms against the king.
                                                             From 1500 to 2000 Presbyterian ministers gave up
            Puritanism In England                            their places rather than take the oath. The result
                                                             was that the Puritan party was banished from the
 CROMWELL'S PROTECTORATE.                                    Church of England. Several acts soon followed, in-
                                                             duced in part by fear of conspiracy against the restored
    Cromwell allowed a liarge degree of toleration to all monarchy. A fine, imprisonment, and ultimate deport-
Protestants, viz., the Presbyterians, the Episcopalians ation were the penalties for the presence at a service
 and the Congregationaaists. He left the great majority not conducted Gaocording  to the Prayerbook.
 of clergymen undisturbed.                                      Notice the wickedness. The Anglicans by their
    His rule, however, was disliked fur its rigor on the measures forced the Puritans out of the church, yet
 one  Ihand and for its broad tolerance on the other. would grant them no freedom of worship.
 As the result of his tolerance there was much contro-          Yet despite this persecuttion,  dissenting preaching
 versy of rival religious bodies. For the great majority and congregations continued.
 of the npeople of England this :was greatly distasteful.       This  (work  of destruction was carried very far. No
 This majority wanted peace and to get peace they pains were spared to render the n&conformists or
 w,ould see one established form of the faith inculcated Puritans odious. They were branded with vile names
 upon the nation, that all controversy might cease.          and :!oaded  with the guilt of murderous plots. Accord-
    Giver Cromwell died in 1568. He was succeeded ing to one authority six hundred persons were hanged.
 by his son Richard, who found the burden which even            The ambition of the Anglican church was to main-           -
 his father had borne uneasily unsupportable to him tain itself as a state church. This could be done by
 and he resigned, and retired into private life.             cleaving to the King, and by flattery convert him  ito the
    Weary of the confusion and alarm that' prevailed suppression of Puritanism. So the/King was told that
 under the committee of safety, that was now formed his throne was not secure, that there was ever danger
 to guide  *the destinies of the nation, the nation as one of conspiracy against him by Puritanism.             Hence
 man turned their eyes to the son of the  sormer  sover- ,Parliament,  which was predominantly Anglican, by
 eign, Charles II.                                           the so-called Five Mile Act bade every minister to take
    Charles II was a wicked.man.  At the time of his the oath condemning (resistance to the King and pledg-
 ascendency  to the throne he was only 30 years old,         ing no attempt at any change of `government either in
 but already a veteran in (vice. He was a consummate the state or the church. The King, of course, was
 hypocrite, e.g., he so regaled the English Presbyterians pleased by this support and loyalty of the Anglican
 sent over to wait on him in Holland with pious dis- Parliament and raised no objection therefore when
 course that they thought that they were getting as king Parliament by its acts forced the P,uritans  out of the
 an experienced Christian. He knew ihow to bewail the church.
 sins of ,his f&her and could talk of the power of godli-       King  Charles was a great spendthrift. He  `was
 ness as fluently as if he had been pupil all his days to a constantly in need of money, much more than Parlia-
 Puritan. Yet  ,there  were two things he lacked: a con- ment was .willing to furnish him. Louis XIV of France
 science and a heart. He was a tyrant. He prized his gave Charles access to his enc.xhaustible  purse with Dhe
 throne bemuse  it enabled thi~m  to wallow in low, bestial purpose of attaching Charles to his person and using
 pleasures. His first ,rnove was an attempted union be- him as a  .tool  for the execution of his designs. He
 tween the Anglicans and Presbyterian parties. His aimed at nothing less t,han to bring s!l Europe under
 object  was .to include both parties in the church. Hm- ihis sway and extirpate Protestantism. Charles sec-
 ever, there  `was a  Irising tide of national reaction retly promised to co-operate with him, for in his heart
 against Puritanism.  It was too strict and too  godly he was Catholic, though  .openly  repudiating Catholic-
 for the masses. This tide the king  cou,ld not stem. ism. So he joined the King of France in a war against
 The first Parliament chosen after his restoration was Holland.
 fiercely royalist and Anglican. The first Parliament           So with  ,dragoons  ,hewing  down Protestants in
 made provisions to bar the Puritans from the church, Scotland, with arbitrary edicts wasting Protestantism


28.4                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        ) y

in England, with Holland smitten down and Louis XIV cise their functions in the dioceses to which they were
standing over it. with a great sword, it seemed as if appointed. A mighty harvest of converts was looked
the last hour of the Reformaton had come and the            for and that it might not be-lost Strom  want of laborers
triumph of the Jesuits assured.                             to reap it, regulars and seculars from beyond the sea
   Meanwhile King Charles  Iwas. sudden?.y  seized by a flocked to  England to aid in gathering it in.
violent illness. Previously he .had been in good health,        The Protestant Anglican Church of England was
so that men whispered that the had been poisoned to         rapidly losing its ri,ght to tihe name national. It was
make room for his brother, the Duke ofY,orCr,  James II, gradually disappearing from the land under the work
*because  Charles did not give himself with heart and of the king, by which her rights were being usurped by
soul to the projeot,  of tie Pope. He was too lazy for      Popish candidates.
that.  Tt soon was evident that the King  was dying.            This sodcalled dispensing power of the King while
His fea<tiures  were ghastly and his pains wracking as daily enlarging the sphere of the Romish Church  was
he complained of the fire that burned in  ,him.  His daily contrac,ting  bhak of Dhe Protestant one. The Fro-
couriers looked on wi+h perfect indifference as he died. Gstants   ,were  forbidden to preach on controverted
Behind. him was a past of crime, around him two ,king-      points,  whiie the priests were urged to attack the Pro-
dams  groanin'g  under  hiS tyranny, before  :him the testant faith.          This the priests did with all their
judgment throne  ; yet he neither felt  t&e burden of his power. Their sermons were printed by secret author-
guilt nor seemed to dread the reckoning.                    ity and distributed throughout  the. land. Apphruntly
   All ,the while he was prefessing  to be of the Ghurch    the King was  ,opposed to both Catholics and Protestants
of England, expressing l&h zeal and affection to it, he alike preaching on controverted points, for he issued an
was secretly  reconciled  to  athe  Churoh of Rome. He edict to that effect. The King's order had just the
died in 1685, at the age of 54. *His corpse was treated opposite effect of  *hat which  ,he intended. It called
*with great indifference, his burial mean, without pomp. forth in  defence  of Protestantism a host of mighty
  His, brother; James II, reigned in his stead. A           intellects and brilliant wiriters, who sifted the claims
daughter of this imonarch  was married to William of of Rome to chaff, and thus exposed the falsehood of her
Orange of' the Netherlands. James  II made it his contentions, in such a way that popery was better
ambition to put down Protestantism. His first move understood by the people of England than ever before.
was his attack  on constitutional government. He re- Against these powerful  ,writers  was pitted perhaps the
modeled the bench of,  ,the  ju,dges.     This remodeled shallowest race of popish  oontroversialists  that  e+er
bench was willing to fall in with tihe measures of the attempted to defend their church. They  ,did little be-
court. It decreed that monarchy and hereditary suc- sides translating a few French works into English.
cession were by divine right,  Ithat the legislature was Hardly a  +eek  passed without a Protestant sermon or
vested in the person of the prince, that the power of tract  :being issued from the press. They were written
the King to dispense witih law was law. The judgment with a cutting logic, and destroyed the Romiah" de-
of the bench was that the kings of England are sover- fenses. The exposure was complete. The discomfitted
eign princes; and that the  laiws  of  EngIand   ,are the Romanists  could only exclaim, thtit it was bad manners
king's  lms; and in the third place that it is an  in- to treat the King's religion with such contempt.
s&perable  prerogative of the kings of England to dis-          To silence these Protestant plans, a new `court of
pense with all penal laws in particular case% and for inquisition was established. The members of the com-
particular, necessary reasons; fourtihly,  that of those mission were empowered  to exercise all manner of
reasons and  necessiities the king is the sole judge;       ecclesiastical jurisdiction, in other words, ,to put *he
fifthly, that this is not a trust invested in or ,granted  to Churccl  of England in the grave. A beginning was
the `king, but the ancient remains of the sovereign made by aticking Dr. Sharp, a learned divine, an .elo-
power of &he kings of England which never yet were quent preacher. The King sent an order tb the bishop
nor'cbuld be taken from them.                               df London to suspend Dr. Sharp. The bishop excused
   This sapped the liberties of England to their very himself by stating that the order was contrary to law.
root. It was an overthrow of the power of the eonsti-       Dr. Sharp was then suspended by the court of ecclesias-
tution,  as complete as it was sudden.                      tical  ocrmmission.
   The king proceeded to exercise his usurped pow&              The Jesuits said to  (the King that his prerogatives
without reserve. Pjromotions and favors were shower- were being disputed by the Church of Englan'd  (this
ed all around upon members of the Church of Rome. was actually the case) ) , that therefore the army alone
Popish seminaries and Jesuit schools were founded not was the safe basis for his power. Accordingly Jam&
only in London :but in all tihe larger towns, and Romish assembled an army of 15,000. The nation now saw a
ecclesiastics of every rank and name sw&ied  &he land. cloud gathering over it, a clotid that was threatening
The Romish Church was again regularly  cyrganized.          to burst.
Four bishops were publicly  corisecrated  and under the         It was while the King was pursuing this course,
title vicar npostoli  sent down to the provin,ees  tie exer- that he published lhis gracious declaration for liberty


 _. 285
                                        T H E   STAND.ARD   ` B E A R E R

of conscience. The real purpose of this indulgence was were  .granted  freedom of worship. Diverse forms of
to set men free from ithe established Church of Eng- Protestant worship could now exist side by side. The
land.                                                            Dissenters, those that broke away from bhe Anglican
    The King <by this time had overtaxed L'ne patience Church because its head was the King of England,
of the English people. He was overturning laws, filing amounted to #a tenth of the population of England, and
the judicial bench with his own men, remodeling the were divided into Presbyterians, Congregationalists,
Church and the universities, strengthening the popish Baptists and Quakers. There  was then religious Eree-
element of the army by Catholic recruits from Ireland ; dom.  IHowever,  no such privileges were granted to
Parliament he dissolved ; in brief, he was destroying (those denying the Trinity and the Catholics. The effec-
the privileges of the people of the Protestant religion of tive re!ief of the Catholics did not come till i791 and
England. England was fast sinking into the abyss was not complete till 1829.
from which Wyetiff's  spirilt had rescued it.
   The people of England turned their eyes in search RESTORATION ,OF SCOTLAND.
of a deliverer from the continent, and they fixed their
eyes on William  III of the house of Orange. He proved             In Scotland Epis&pacy  (the Anglican State Church)
to be the one man in Europe capable to sustain the               was restored. All  the acts  that,  had raised  Presby-
burden uf sinking Protestantism. Ranged against .him terianism to the state religion -of Scotlan'd  w&e,  G$-
were Austria, Spain, France `and James II. These nulled. It will be recal!!ed that in `1643' Episcopacy`  had
`powerful kingdoms were all leagued together for a been abolitihed  by parliament and a thoroughly Pros-
common faith and a common interest. On the other byterian system of church government;  a directory of
hand the prince gathered around him what allies he worship, and a new Calvinistic confession +knownas  the
could from the Protestants of Europe. King James Westminster  .C?onfession had been prepared by an as-
&on received from ,his envoy at the Hague the news of sembly  *known as the Westminster  AssembIy.  These
Ithe prince's design to descend on England. When he preparations  :had been adopted by Parliament in 1648.
received this news, the King was speechless. The first It meant the abolition of Episcopacy as the state re-
thing he did was to try to %I the nation with fear of ligion. This had happened under the protectorate of
the deliverer. A proclamation `was issued that a great Cromwe'l. However, Cromwell died in 1658.
and sudden invasion from Holland with an armed force                The monarchy was restored with Charles  1'1 at the
of foreigners would speedily be made, and that, under head in 1616. In 1661 he was able to persuade Parlia-
the pretense  of saving liberty and religion, proposed ment to abolish, Presbyterianism as the state.  *l&on
the utter subjugation of the people to  :the foreign in the three islands, England, Scotland and Ireland.
power.                                                           In September of the same year four bishops were ap-
   The King's next move was to reverse his whole pointed in Scotland. Further,  all officebearers,  incIud-
policy. However, the news of the Dutch fleet bearing ing- the Presbyterian, were required by Parliament to
William III, induced <the King to immediately withdrzw           disown the covenants of 1638 and 1643. A word about
his concessions again. The King now sank lower than these covenants. The first of these; the Covenant of
ever in  <the confidence of the nation. Soon the prince' 1638,  ha.d been made because Charles I  ihad ordered the
was in  England.  His journey was prosperous.' The imposition of a litergy which was essentially that of
King's fleet was at hand  to drive  ,him back. Due to a the Church of England upon the church folk of his
shifting of wind and a severe storm the King's fleet entire realm. Scotland, it will be recalled, had flared
`was incapacitated for an entire year so that the prince up in opposition, and in 1638 had signed a national
could enter without opposition. The King fled. All covenant to defend the  l&rue religion, Presbyterian
deserted him, his fleet, his army, his friends, his  ffatter-    Cdvinism. Five years ,Iater in 1643 Presbvterian Eng-
ers, his children and even his wife. He .was alone, and land, Scotland and Ireland formed the Solemn  League
finally fled to France to his wife who had preceded and Covenant for the preservation of the aforesaid  re-
him. King William ascended the vacated  throne  of ligi~n. It was these covenants that Charles I in 1661.
England, as the representative of Protestants in required all office-bearers in Sootland  to disown. Be-
Europe?  February 13, 1689.                   ,,      ":         sides, two years later Parliament imposed a heavy fine
   Seven bishops refused the allegiance to the new upon all churchgoers of Scotland for absence from the
sovereign and with them about four hundred. clergy. new  Euiscopd governed churches.                     Further many
To them James II was still the Lord's anointed. They Presbvterian  ministers  Iwere  removed from their office
were deprived of  t'reedom  of worship.                          "and from their flock by Parliament. The sheep. or
   By the To?eration'Act  of May 4, 1689, all who swore parishoners,  who clave to their pastors and who thus
allegiance to William and Mary, and rejected the juris- refused to place themselves under the administration
diction of the  Pepe, with transsubstantiation, the mass, of the Ebishops placed  in the room of the denosed  pas-
the invocation of the virgin and `the saints,. an,d sub- tors, were heavily fined. If they refused to pay, sol-
scribed to the doctrinal portions of `the 39 Articles, diers were quartered with them, Many of these op-


286                                       T ' H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
,
pressed supporters of the Covenants, or Covenanters                     was John Irisen from hhe dwd, Herod  <had aittle  faibh,
as they are known in history, engaged in Ian uprisinh;                  but that .did n& prevent rhis lying apen enough  ~XI fiuper-
known  ws the Penteland Revolt. Penteland was the stitious fancies. He was ill at ease about `&at he hti
leader. T*his ugrieing was ruthlessly crushed and tihe                  done on his birth&jr  feast-haunted by fears th& he
,Presby&ians treated with great severity. In refialia-                  could not  shake off. The  rsuggestion   &bout  Jesus fell
tion one  of the King's bishops, Sharp, was murdered.                   in with these fears, and Ihelped in a way ti soothe them.
This crime  wa followed by another uprising. This                       And so, after  svme perplexity and  dciubt,   it  I&  he
rev& was  also crushed, at  Bothwell  Bridge.                    The    adopted it, and proclaim& it ,ti );e Ihis otixi  c&iviction;
captured insurgents `were treated with great severiity.                 saying to his servants,  zis if Iwith a sornewtit  lighten&
     Six months later, the King's brother James, later conscience, "This is Joha whoI& I b&eaded  : Ha' i,& risen
James II of England,  wa8 put  ,in charge of Scottish from the ,dead: snd, tiherefore,  mighty works da ShOW
affiirs.      The  uncompromising Presbyterians, now themselves fo&h  in him".---do&  had done no mighty
tknown  as Cameronians, from  one of  itheir  leaders,                  wlolrtks   aF long  as  Herod  knew him, but  now,  III  this
Richa& Cameron, were now hunted-down folk. James new estate, ,he h&d rigen ;to a higher level, to Which he,
11, or VII as he  was numbered in Scotland, oppressed                   Herod,  had helped to elevate him-he would like  t0  LC?@
the Cameronians with such severity that the first year him in the new ga.ib.
of his reign became known in history ,a the "killing                       The disciples of John, w%o came and toid Jesug of
time". The government's barbarity toward the Pres- their masters' death, had to tell Him also of t,he etrarige
byterians is unbelievable. The,  itwe!lve  hundred :who                 credulity and cultiaeity  of Her&l. We are left to iema-
had sumendered  themselves at Boltihwell Bridge were gine  %tie impre,%iob  their report Created. It ,mrne at
stripped almost naked, tied two, by two, and driven to the every  time when the twelve had retuqned  from ilhsir
Edinburgh. On the way. they were treated with ,great                    short and separate excurBions,  and when, as tihe fruit
inhumanity. Arriving at  &heir destination,  whereas                    of the divided  anrX  muitiplied agency that had been
the prison was full, they were penned like cattle in the exerted, io many were comin#g and going out and in
Grey  Friar's  &m&yard.  Their misery was  heart:                       among the i-e-assembled band, "that they had no
rending. They, were left without the slightest shelter. leisure," we are told, "so much as to eat".                              For
They were exposed to dl kinds of weather and made to Himself and for them, Jesus desires now a little quiet
s'eep on 4he bare earth. They were treated cruelly by and seclusion ; for  Hi,mself---tiat   IHe might ponder
their guards, who IFbbed  tihem  of their 1,ittle  money and over a  deakh  prophetic of His own, the  occurence  of
often, drove. away the citizens who sought to releive which made, as we shall see, an epoch in His ministry;
their great sufferings by" bringing food and clothing. for them tihat they miaht have some respite from ac-
This continued for five months. At the end of this $ime cumulated  satigue  and toil. His own purpose fixed,
but  tiwo hundred of the twelve hundred remained ! The He invited them to join Him <in its execution, saying
others died of exposure, ill-treatment and hunger. to them, "Come ye yourselves into a desert plaae and
These two hundred were embarked aboard a vessel and                     rest for a while." Such a des&  place as would afford
transported to Barbadoes. me  (heat  and the thirst in the seclusion that they sought, they bad not to go far
the floating  .dungeon  was unbearable. Tlhe ship was to find. Over against Capernaum, across the lake, in
oventaken  by a terrible tempest and thrown upon the the district running up northward to Bethsaida, are
<rocks. Many of the prisoners (died. Those that escaped                 plenty lonely enough  p!laces to choose among. They
`were carried to Barbadoes and sold as slaves.                          take a boat to row across. The wind blows fresh from
                                                  G. M. 0.              the northwest. For shelter they hug the shore. Their
                                                                        dep`arture  had been watched by the crowd,`and now,
                                                                        when ti&y see holw close to *the land they keep, and
                                                                        how slow the progress is they make, a great `multitude
                                                                        out `of all the cities-embratiing,  in all likelihood, many
            And When He Had Taken The of those companies which `had gathered to go up to
                Five Loaves. . . .                                      the Passover-run on foot along  tlhe shore. A less
                                                                        than two hours' walk carries them to Bethsaida, at the
     And when He had taken the ,five lazves and the two fishes,         nor%hern extremity. of the lake. There they cross the
he looked up to heaven and blessed, and brake the 101wes, and           Jordan, and enter upon  that large and uninhabited
gave them to  his disciples to set before them; and  the two fishes     pl'ain #hat slopes  dam to the lake, on its northeastern
divided he among them all.                         Mark 6:41.           shores. Another  hour or so carries them TV the spot
                                                                        at which Christ and His ,disciples land, where many,
     Herod  first heard of Jesus immediately `after the having outstripped %he boat, are ready to receive them,
Baptist's death. While some said that this, Jesus so and where more and more still come, bearing tiheir sick
mu& spoken of vvas Ilias, or one of the prophets, t!here                along with them. It, was somewhat of a trial  to have
were others about the Tetrarch who suggested  that He the purpose  of the  voyage-  appar@ly thus  b&fled,


                                       T H E S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         " 287

the seclusion thus sought after, violated  ; but ,if felt them,  dkid& them among the twelve, and directs them
at ~~11, it sat light upon a heart which, turning away to. go anld ,distribute  them among &he others..
from the though*t  of self, *was filled with compassion           And now, among those thousand-sitting there
for  thme who were "as sheep not having a shepherd". and  arramged  so that all can see what is going on-the
Retiring to a neighboring mountain, Jesus sits down mystery of their feeding begins to  show itself. There
and teaches, and heals; and so  t,he hours of  ithe after-     were one hundred companies of fifty, besides the
noon pass by.                                                  women end children. In each apostle's hand, as he
   But now .another  kind of solicitude seizes on the takes his portion from the hand of Jesus, there is not
disciples. They may not have been as patient of the more than  wou1.d meet one man's need. Yet as the dis;
defeat of their Master's purpose as He was Himself. tribution  by the twelve begins, there is enough to give
They may have grudged to  see the hours which He what looks like a  sufhcient  portion to each of the hun-
had destined to repose broken in upon and so fully dred men who sits at the ,head of his company. He
occupiti. True,  ;Dhey  had  :little to do themselves but gets it, and little enough as it seems for himself, he is
to listen,-and wait and wait. The crowd grew, how- told to divide it, and give the half of it to :his neighbor,
ever; stream followed stream and poured `itself out to be dealt with in like fashion. All eat, all are satis-
u,pon the mountain side. The day declined ; the even-          fied. "Gather up", said Jesus, as He saw some unused
ning shadows lengthened ; yet as if never satisfied, that food lying scattered upon the ground, "the fragments
vast  company  still clung  Ito Jesus, and  ,made no move- `that remain, that nothing be lost." They do ; and while
ment to depart.  T,he disciples grow anxious. They one basket coul,d hold the five loaves and the two fishes,
came at last to Jesus and said, "This is a desert place, sit now Ekes  twelve to hold these fragments.
and the-time is now past; send the multitude away,                Let us notice the effect of Wis miracle. One of its
that they may go into the country round about, and singularities, as compared with other miracles of our
into the virllages  and lodge, and buy bread for them- Lord, was  c&his:  that  such a vast multitude were all  alt
selves, for they have nothing to eat." "They need not once not only spectators of it, but participators of its
depart", said Jesus ; "give you to them to eat." Turn- benefits. Seven or eight thousand hungry men, women,
ing to Philip, a native of Bethsaida, one well aacqu,ainted    band c&ildren  sit down upon a hillside, and there before
with the adjoining district, Jesus  sai,d in an inquiring their eyes for an hour or two-full Ieisure given them
tone, `Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?" to contemplate and reflect--the spectacle goes on, of
Philip runs his eye over the great assemblage, and             fwe loaves and fishes, under Christ's blessing,  and
ma?ting. a  #rough estimate  .of what would be required, by some mysterious acting of His great power, expand-
he answered, "Two  ~hundred pennyworth of bread ing in their hands till they are ,a11 more than satisfied.
would not be sufficient for them, that every one might Wh sees the .wonder,  and sh:ares in 85s result; It is
get a little ; shall we go and buy as much?" Jesus asked not like a miracle however great, wrought in&antlv
how much food they had among themselves, without upon a single man. Such a miracle the same number of
needing to go and make any further purchase. Andrew            men, `women and children might see, indeed, but could
another native of Bethsaida, who had been scrutinizing not all see Ias each saw this. The expression here of a
the crowd, discovering some old acquaintances, said, very .marvelous  exhibition of the Divine power, so near
"Tfhere  is da lad here, who base five *barley loaves and akin to thhat of creative energy, was one so broadly,
two small fishes ; but what are they ,among so many?' so evenly, so slowly, and so  dee@y  made, that it looks
"Bring them to me," said Jesus. They brought them. to <us just wh.at lwe might have expected when the thou-
"Make the men,`? He-said, "sit down by fifties in a com-       sands rise from their seats, when all is over, and say
pany"-an order indicative of our Lord's design that one to canother,  what they `had never got the length of
Ithere might be no confusion, and that the attention saying previously, "This is of truth that prophet that
of all- might be directed to what He was about to do. should come into  the world". No longer any doubt  or-
The season was favorable-it was the .fu?l spring-tide vagueness in their faith-no longer a question with
of the year; the place was convenient--much, green them which m-ophet  or whet kind of nrophet  He was.
grass covering (the broad and gentle sloop that stretoh-       He is none other than their Messiah, their l?rince. He
ed away from the base of the mou,ntain. The marshall- w,ho can do that which they had just seen Him do, what
ing of five thousand men, besides women  .and children could be beyond  IHis power? He may not Himself be
into such an orderly array, must  \have taken some tie.        willing to come forward, assert His tight, assert His
The people, however, quietly consented to be so ar- power--rbut  they will do for Him-they ,will do it now:
ranged, and company after company sat down, till the they will take Him at once, and force Him to be their
whole were seated in the presence of  th Lord, who  ai?1 king. Jesus sees the -incipient action .of that leaven
the while  h,ad stood in silence, watching Qhe operation, which,  if allowed to vork would lead on to some act of
with that scanty stock of provisions in  [His hand. All violence. He sees that the leaven of earthliness and
eyes  ,are now upon Him. He begins to speak  ; He mere Jewish pride and ambition has entered even
prays ; He blesses the five loaves and two fishes, breaks among the twelve, who, as they see and hear ,what is

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

going on, appear not unwilling to take part with the so like their Master as they now see the form to be,
multitud& Irt is itime for Him to interfere and prevent yet if He go past t&em  in silence, iit cannot be other
,any such catastrophe.        He calls the twelve to him,         tihan His ghost, But now He turns;-and, dispelling at
and directs them to embark immediately, to go alone once all doubt and fear, He says, "Be of good clheer ;
and leave Him there, to  ruw back to Capernaum, where,            it is I-be *not `afraid." He is but `a few yards from the
in the course of the nigihrt or &he next morning He might         boat, `when, leaping at once-as was no strange thing
join them. A strange and  unw&ome proposal-for with him-from one extreme to the other, Peter says,
why should they be parted, and  wfhere was their Master "Lord, if it be thou"Ar  rather, for we cannot thitik
to go,. or what was  He.to do, in the long hours of that          6!& `he had any doubt 8s to Christ's -identity-"Since it
lowering night  i&at was coming down in darkness and is thou, let me come unto thee. on the water".  Why
storm upon the hills and lake? They remonstrate ; but not  Iwait till Jesus comes  into+he boat? Recause he is
with a peremptoriness and decision,  ,the very rarity of so pleased, so  proud  to see his Master tread  `with such
which give it all the greater power,  IHe overrules their victorious footsteps the restless, devouting deep ; be-
remonstrafices,  and constrains them to get into the boat cause he .wants to share the triumph of the deed-to
and leave Him behind. Turning `to  trhe multitude,                walk side by side, before his brothers,  with: Jesus,
whose plot about  ta&ng  and making Him king, taken though it  :be buk a step or two.
up by His twelve chief  fol!lowers,  this transaction had            He gets *he permission-he makes the attempt-is
 interrupted, He dismisses them ,in such a way, with at first  successful~.  So long as he keeps his eye on
su<h words of power that they at once dispers&                    Jesus-so long as  tthat faith  Ohat  promtied  the pro-
        And now He is alone. Alone He goes up  inIt  a            posal, that sense of dependence in'which  the-first  step
 moun?tain---&one  He prays there. The darkness deep- out of the boat and down upon the deep was taken, re-
 ens; tihe tempest rises; the midnight comes with its main unshaken,-all goes well. But he has scarcely
 gusts and gloom. There-somewhere on that  moun-                  moved off from the boat when he looks away from
 tiain, sheltered or exposed-there, five or six hours, Christ, and out over tihe tempestuous sea. The wind
 till the fourth  Iwa&h  of the night, till after  dawn-          is not more boisterous-the waves are not higher or
 Jesus holds His secret and close fellowship with God.            rougher than they were the moment before-hut he
 Into the privacies of these secluded hours of His de- was not thinking of them then. iHe was looking at-
 votion we presume not  .to intrude. But if, & we shall he `was thinking of-he was hanging upon-his Master
 presently see was actually the ease,  this threat&d              then.    Now he looks  at-&inks only  .of-wind and
 outbreak of blinded popular impulse in His favor- wave. His faith begins to fail-fearing he begins to
 the  kttempt. thus made, and for `ihe moment  thw&ed,            sink-sitiking he ties his eye afresh and most earnest-
 to take Him by force, and to make \Him king-created Is on Jesus. The eye, effecting the heart, rekindling
 a marked crisis in tihe history of our Lord's dealings faith in t$e very bosom of despair, he cries out, "Lord,
 wri%h the multitudes; as #tie!1 as of their disposition and save me." It was the cry of weakness-of wild &l,arm,
 conddct  toward Him,-this night of lonely  prayer is yet iit had in it one grain of gold. It `was a <cry to Jesus
 to put alongsi,de  of the oh&r instances in which, u&m           as the only One tha,t now could help-some true faith
 important  emergencies, our Savior had recourse to               mingling npw with all the fear.
 ,privacy  and prayer, teaching us, by His great exampie,            The help so sought for came at once. "Immediately
 where our refuge arid  our strength in all  like circum-         Jesus stretched forbh  His hand and caught him, and
 stances are to be found.                                         said unto him, 0 thou of little faith, wherefore didst
        Meanwhile it has fared ill with the disciples  on t$he    thou doubt?" At the grasp of that helping hand-at
 lak&. Two or three hours'  *hearty labor  a;t  the oar the rebuke of that chid!ing  voice, let us believe $hat
 might have carried them uver to Caperan'um. But the faith came back into Peter's,breast,  and that not borne
 adverse tempest is too strong for them. The  whole               or dragged through the waters, but, Iwalking  by his
 night long they toil among  tihe  Ltiaves, `against the Master's side, he made his way back to the li~ttle vessel
 wind. `The day had dawned, a dim light from the east where  this comrades `were,  to take his place among
 was spreading over the water; they ,had rowed about them, a wiser and a humbler man.                        G. M. 0.
 twenty-five or thirty  ftirldngs-w&e  r&her  more than
 $half way across  $he lake  -  wh&n,  treadihg  on' the
 troubled waves, as on a level, solid  paveme`nE,  a  figtire
is seen approaching, drawing  netirer  and nearer to the                                  NOTICE
 boat. Their toil is changed to  terrbE:tie   vigorotis           To all subscribers who are in awears: ! Will you be
 hand relaxes its grasp-the oars stand still in the Air so kind and  sen,d  notice to our Treasurer, R. Sehaafsma,
.or are rather feebly  Blied-the boat  rocks heavi&-a 524 Henry Ave., S. E., Grand Rapids, Michigan, con-
 cry of terror comes  froi-n the frightened  crew-t&y             cerning your subscription before your name is dropped
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 pawed   them  by-they  cry  out  the  mch. For thgu&                                     jI'& Ebqd of the R: I?! P. A,
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THE!iIIANDARD
                                A   Reforme.d Semi-Monthly Magazine
                   PUBLISHED BY THE REFORMED FREE PUBLI SHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

                                                  Fklitow-Rev.  H.  Hocks-a;  Rev. G. M. Ophoff,
ii                                                              Rev:  :T::::R:::.FVos.                   71
                                                  Associate titers-Rev. A. Cammenga, Rev. P. De
                                                  Boer, Rev. M. Gritters, Rev, B. Kok, Rev. C. Hanko,
                                                  Rev. G. Lubbers; Rev. R.  Veldman,  Rev. H.  Veld-
                                               , man, Rev. A. Petter, Rev.  J. Vander Breggen.
      .-
 Vol. XVI, No. 1% Entered  a8 Second  Class mail                       APRIL  1,194O                           Subscription Price $2.00
                            matter at  Grand   Fb~ids. Mich.


                                                                             God concerning His Son, you have all you'need, to live
                 Z'dEDITATION                                                and to die, tv live in the midst of death ; to fight and to
                                                                             have the viotory,  to be victorious in the midst of battle ;
                                                                             to suffer and' to rejoice, to rejoice in' the midst of
                         Risen' With Him                                     suffering !
                                                                                 Outside of Him you .du have nothing, you can have
                                                                             nothing,  yo,u may have nothing, you must seek nothing!
                          Buried with him in baptism, whereid                    Least of  a11 in philosophy and vaindeceit, after the
                        also ye are risen with him through the tradition of men, after the `rudiments of K1.e *world.
                        faith of, the operation of God, .who hath                Let no man, then, beguile you, spoil you, lead you
                       raised him from the dead.
`.                                                                           away from that glorious, that all-suf%ient  Christ !
                                                           Cd. 2:1x.  *          Such is the Word of God as it comes to us through
            Christ your all!                                                 the epistle to the Colossians.
            The great, *he glorious, the mighty Christ, the Lord                 Ghrist  alone your all !
rich over all, the heavenly Christ your all !
            He, Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-                With IHim ye are risen!
 born of every creature *and the firstborn of the dead,                          For Christ is raised from the dead !
by Whom all things are created and reconciled, things                            And He is`become the firstfruits  of them that slept !
 that are in heaven and things that are on the earth,                            Raised He is, from that death into which He de-
things visible and  invis%xle,-your  all !                                   scended, voluntarily in order to bring the perfect of?er-
            For in Christ ye are complete !                                  ing of love to the Father for the sin of His olwn. He
            in Clhsist,  Who is in the form of God and of man,               Iai,d down His Iife for the sheep. He poured out His
 Immanuel; Who is the Lord of heaven and earth and soul unto death, the death. of the cross, descending into
the Servant of Jehovah ; in Whom infinity and fmitude, lowest hell, tasting all there is in death as the  reve'a-
 eternity and time, God and man are personally united tiun of the righteous wrath and' judgment of God
 forever; Who died and lives, Who was crucified and against'ain. And raised He is from that depth!
 glorified, Who knew no sin and was made sin and is                              And His resurrection is not a mere return.
justified, Who descended into lowest hell and ascended                           It does not merely mean that His soul and body
 into tthe highest heavens,-in that Christ ye are com- were separated and- that now l$&y are united once
plete! !                                                                     more. It does net simply signify, that Me poured out
            For it pleased the Father that in Him all &he fulness His soul unto death., that He Iaid down His earthly
should dwell !                                                               life, and that now, in the resurrection He took upon
            And, indeed, in iHim .dwelleth  ail the fulness of God .Himself that earthly  b6dy, that  earth!y  soul, that
bodily !                                                                     earthly life once more. The resurrection of the Lord
            In Him, you have all !                                           is not like that of Lazarus, a return to our earthly
            In Him, as you are reconciled through Him with level, a rehabilitation  witih His earthly nature, like
God, as  yuu are baptized with Him into His death, as unto our sinful flesh, though without sin. It is more.
you are raised with Hi*m through the faith of the opera-                     It is passing on. It is victory over death.  Tt is a
ition of God, as you are united with.Him  as the members breaking through death into the state of righteous, im-
with  the Head of l?he body, as He is revealed unto you mortal, glorious, eternal, heavenly life.  Tn  the like-
in the Scriptures, preached unto you by the gospel of ness of sinful flesh He sojourned among  us,  weak,


290                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
_I
mortal, corruptible, in dishonor, bearing the image of          For, of ourselves, by nature, as Iwe are born from
the earthy; in our state, with the guilt of our sin upon the flesh, we are flesh. Ghildren of wrath we are, even
Him. And as such He went to the place of judgment, as all men. Dead we are through the trespasses and
`w-here  the vials of Gud's wrath were poured out over sins. Guilty and  cd:amnable  before God, corrupt in the
His head. As such, with  that nature, in that state He ethical sense of the word, in darkness and perversity
poured out :His lifeblood. With that nature He went of heart and mind, incapable to know and to do the
into :the grave, Sheool, the state of the dead. . . .       good, filled with all manner of evil and iniquity. Sub-
       But He is raised!                                    ject to death we are, under death's dominion ; and
   Raised from death into immortality; from dishonor death works in our members from the moment of our
into glory ; from weakness into power ; from corruption entrance into this worl,d.
5nto incorruption ; from flesh and blood into spiritual         But God Who is rich in mercy ,hath  quickened us
liberty; from the image of the earthy into, the image of together witih Him!
the heavenly. The old form of the weak and suffering            He regenerated us !
Servant, of the body of this `death, was forever de-            He united us with Christ, the Head, through the
stroyed in death, swallowed up never to appear again.       Spirit. And through this union with Christ, the resur-
And in the resurrection He appears, indeed: He, the rected One, tthrungh  Christ's touching our inmost heart
same tihat poured out iHis soul unto death on the cross, a spark of new !life is ignited and set aglow in the
but now in all the glory  uf eternal righteousness and very ,depth  of our inmost being. We are <delivered from
power and heavenly beauty.                                  the dominion and power of death. The beginning of  a,
       Resurrection, His  resurreotion  is exaltation !     new  Iife is implanted in our inmost heart. True it is'
       And we are raised with Him!                          only a beginning. It is but a sparik of life. And it is
   .Raised  with Him, on that same glorious morning of ignited in our old aed weak- and corrupt and mortal
His own resurrection, were we, `were all those whom nature. The "body  of this death" remains. And we,
the Father from eternity had given unto Him. For, too, must pass through the grave before we can enter
He that died and rose again is no mere individual ; and into the fulness of life. But it is life  &hat never
His death and resurrection are not mere individual dies. . . .
experiences of  tihe man Jesus. He is *the Head of t,he         It is a spark that can never be extinguished !
body, the Church. They and He are inseparably united            It is *life that is victorious, transcendent!
in a double sense of the !wvrd. They are a legal body,          For it is resurrection-life!
a corporation, of which He is the representative and            With Him we are risen ! In fellowship with Him,
responsible :Head. And they are an organism, a living in living union with Him, by virtue of t,hat union we
body,  which  is quickened and supplied and filled with are risen ! Partakers <we are of Him and of His ,!ife !
*life and  gIory,  from  trhe Head, through the various         Glorious, strong, immortal,  incorrupti:ble   !
spiritual nerve centers and joints and bands. Never             Free from the dominion of sin and of all death!
can He be separated from them Never  cIrEn  *they  be           Forever !
severed from Him. One they are in life and death.
When He died for all, all ,died. When He was raised
from the dead, all were raised. In that wonderful
moment of the resurrection of Christ all the elect were         Raised ,is Christ !
raised with Him.                                                By the power of the God and Father o+' our ljord
       But there is more.                                    Jesus Christ He is raised from the dead.
  For it is, evidently not  to this central and ideal           Such is the viewpoint of the text.
resurrection of the saints with Christ that the text is         And from that viewpoint His resurrection is com-
referring.                                                   monly viewed in Holy Writ.
       Does it not speak of a being buried with Him in          True, occasionally the Wvrd of God speaks of
baptism? 4nd does not our resurrection with Christ,          Christ as having risen from the dead, thus presenting
mentioned in the text, stand connected with that same the resu'rrectivn  as an act of IHis own. Especially on
baptism : "wherein  also ye  `are risen with him through trhe morning of the resurrection, (when the reality of
the faith of the operation of God, who  lhath raised the joyous fact dawns upon the consciousness of the
him from the dead"? We are, therefore, even now, amazed ,and perplexed di,sciples, they meet one another
. and .that  very really, partakers of His resurrection. with the glad tidings: "The Lord is risen indeed  !"
When we were baptized, that is, when  tlhat took place The viewpoint then is different, though the ,fact re-
with us that is obsignated  and sealed in our :baptism,      mains essentidly  the same. Always, of course, the
then. indeed, we were raised with Christ,!                   resurreotion  is a divine work, showing forth the mighty
       Then we died with Him!                                `power of the Most High, more so even than the work
       Then ,we were buried  wi%h Him !                      of creation. For it is God and He alone, that quicken-
       Then we were quickened together with Him !            eth the dead, and calIeth  those things'that  are not as


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   -                                                  291  .-

if  tohey  were. When, therefore, we read that Jesus            Heis raised for our justification ! Tt is finished in-
rouse from the dead, the meaning cannot be that He deed ! We may have peace with God, being justified,
effected His  own  resu,rredivn  by the power of His         through our Lord Jesus Christ!           .
human nature, but must be that the eterna1  Son of              Still more.
God by the power  vf His  ditinib  overcame the power           `I?hat same God and Father of our Lord Jesus
of .death  in His *human nattlre,  and thus was powerfully Christ, Wiho raised Jesus from the dead, also causes
set forth to be the Svn of Gvd indeed.                       us to rise with Him !
    Yet, here and mvst frequently in Scripture, He is           For, it is not vf him that will&h,  nor of him #hat
said to be raised from  the dead.                            runneth,  but of God that sheweth mercy. Even as the
    The triune God Is the Author of tie resurrection of work of creation, and more emphatically 90, the w-o& "
Jesus:                                                       of raising the dead is solely God's wvnk. He raised up.
    For that triune God, Father, Son and Holy Ghvst' Jesus. rHe raises up all those l&at were given to Him
in unity of divine essence, is the Gvd and Father of         in  svvereign   electivn.  It is He that  giveth  unto the
our Lord Jesus Christ according to His human nature. risen Lord the Spirit vf promise, and makes Him the
All things are wrought by this blessed Trinity. Of the quickening Spirit. It is He, Who through our Lord
Faaher,  through the Son, in the Holy Spirit all things Jesus Christ makes that Spirit, the resurrection-Spirit,
are made and sustaned and gvverned. Of the Father, dwell in the Church, to fill -her with the  resurrection-
through the Son and in the Spirit is the eternal ordina-     life of Christ Jesus.
tion  of the Mediator,  IHis anointing as' the Servant of       He it is that unites us with Him, the body with the.
Jehovah vvej: the whvle ihvuse of G&l. Of the Father, Head.
through the Son and in the Spirit is the incarnation, '         He it is that regenerates  us,,kindling the spark of
the central wonder i Gvd manifest in the flesh ; is the eternal life in our inmost hearts, thrvugh Jesus Christ
atonement and reconciliation of ail things ; is also the our Lord.
resurrection of our Lord Jesus C%rist frvm the dead.            He it is that even now causes us to live through
    And as such the resurrection of Jesus is the mighty Him, giving us the victory over sin and death.
and ever faithful Word of God concerning our justifica-         And He will a?so raise our mortal bodies  !
t i o n .                                                       That we may be with Him forever!
    Fvr He was delivered on account  of our transgres-                                                                     `r
sions ; and He was raised on account  of our justifica-                                                    *.
tion.                                                                                                                 .
    With our sins upon Him He made His way to the               Risen with  (Him?
cross. Standing in our place He received all the vials          Alive we are eyen now, in the midst vf deatih !
of God's wrath against the sin of mankind. Because              Through the faith of the operation  of  God.  For
of our sin He descended into  th.e deepest depth of death by grace are  he saved, through faith, and that not of
and desolation and endured patiently, willingly, in per- ourseIves  : it is the gift of God !
fed,   love of  Gvd and  fihal obedience, the bitterest         Others would find a different meaning in tihe words
agonies of hell. Drvp by drop He poured out His  Iife- vf  our text.  %hey  explain that we are partakers of
blood upon the altar of God's justice for-the  transgrss-    the resurrection of Jesus, even now, bodily. For, this
sivn of His people. And  not until He knew that  al?         is true, say they, not only ideally, He being the first-
was finished, that IBe ,had endured unto the end and fruits, .but alsv in hope. We are saved, we are also
that the righteousness of Gvd was perfectly fulfIlled  in bodily raised  from the dead, in hope.. Hope possesses
Him, did He give up $he ghost.                               the resurrection even now. And that hope has ,for its
                                                             object the operation of God, whereby He raised Jesus
   Delivered fur our transgressions !                        from the dead.
   But now all awaits the divine sentence !                     Yet, it is clear that this cannot be the sense.
   The Sun of righteousness with ,healing  in his wings         !l?he Word of God speaks of a resurrectivn  here that
went down on Gvlgotha, and the night is now darker is even now  rea&ed in us through baptism'; that is a
than ever. Shall He arise  &gain? Our High Priest resurrection in the same sense in which we are also
ministered at the altar, not  wit!h the  blood  of bulls now buried with Christ in that same baptism. It is
ahd goats, but with His own precious blood, sand carried the spiritual resurrect&n,  which we now have through
that  .blvod  of  atonenient  into the innermost sanctuary, our living union  wi$h the risen Lord.
saying : "It is finished!" Shall the God and "Father            There.fore  it is  thrvugh  faith.  For faith is that
of our Lord Jesus Christ cvrroborate  that statement spiritua1  power whereby we are united with Christ.
and set His  eternaI  seal  upon  the sacrifice `of our
                                                 .              And faith is of God's operation !
Lord? . . . .                                                   By grace are we saved!
   He did!                                                      Risen with C?hrist!         .
   For He raised Jesus from the dead!                                                                            ~  H. H.


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        303

wereld  u clan, zoodat ge zelfs  een plaats ontvangt  op foundations of government and further that only  dur-
een eerezuil, feit  bljft, dat de gemeente dood gaat mg the conspiracy of Absalom such danger existed.
en de Kerk een samenkomst wordt van ,brave. Hendritk-             The more common view would apply this Psalm to
ken een deugdelijke menschjes, dat met  Q5n  woord,  `de the perilous times of David's life when he was hunted
boel  kapot  gaat'.                                            by Saul like a partridge on the mountains. In support
    Alle  ergenwilIlige  godsdienst heeft immers geen of their claim they point to that imagery of a bird
waarde? De ware Godsdienst is die, welke zich houdt fieeing to its mountain safety, even as David, when
can den Woorde Gods, waardoor dan ook geen enkel fleeing time and again from the face of Saul, and find-
mensch eenige waarde heeft. Het aannemen van den ing safety in the mountains and caves of the earth.
schijn  en deze te willen inruilen voor de werkelijkheid          There are even some w.ho refer this Psam to Lot
staat altijd geoordeeld en  onze vleeschelijke belangen awhen in danger of the fire and brimstone of Sodom,
te zoeken is puur zondig en met de ware godsvrucht             wliiere  he received counsel of the angels to flee away
nooit te vereenigen.     Het is  precies  het  tegenover-      before the rain of snares, tie and brimstone would fall
gestelde van wat de Heiland  eens zeide, dat het Konin-        upon the &ties of the plain. In that case they admit
tkrijk Gods niet komt met uitwendig ge`aat. Het ken- that David composed the Psahn, but that he was in-
merkt zich, doordat  lhet geestelijk is, opkomend uit den spired by *the historica event of Lot's flight from the
inwendigen  mensoh,  zoodat  het zich altijd openbaart         doomed city of Sodom. This last attempt is rather
,anders te zijn dan de-wereld het wenscht en doet.             fantastic.
    En alle eigenwillige godsdienst is een loochening             Considering them all I find Delitzsch's solution the
van  Christus  heerlijkheid. Hier valt niet te wikken en most probable. And for the *reason advanced above.
te wegen. Zeker, ook de natuurlijke 4mensch  houdt Verse three does speak of the foundations that are in
er  in dezen zijn eigen wijze van God-te-dienen op na.         danger of ,being destroyed, while David certainly must
Hij weet zijn natuurlijke wijsheid zoo te gebruiken,           have received counsel to flee bfore the coming of cer-
dat het den scbijn  heeft van waar en  goed  te zijn,          tain disaster.
formeel  nog we1 als in overeenstemming zijnde met den
Woorde Gods.  Doch  deg de maatstaf des  Woords  er               Now although David at a later time did flee, at
naast en opzet, zoowel  als emddoel  versohillen  zooveel the time the ,counsel  is given by the fainthearted he
van elkander als de dag verschilt van den .na:ht,  de          scorns the idea. Later he would take means Ito put
dnisternis  van het licht, het geestelijike van het natuur-    himself in comparative safety, but only then when he
lijke en de aarde van den  hemel. Wie  zal het zijn,           clearly discerns that such is the will of God.
Schepper of schepsel? De  Heere  ttegenover  den  zon-            The ground for refusing this counsel is stated at
digen mensch.                                                  the very beginning of the Psalm. It partakes of a con-
   Niet slzoo, mijne broeders ! !                              fession : In the Lord put I my trust ! What wonderful
    Uw oordeel zij zoo, dat gij alleen ziet en begeert de and lofty sentiment!
geheel eenige heerhjk*heid  van Christus. En weet dan,            The Lord, Jehovah, the Unchangeable Covenant
dat het vereeren van den rijke  uw van hnnne zijde God, the Rock is David's mainstay. It certainly  may
niets  an,ders brengt dan ellende.  Doch  daarover,  een be said that David's whole life is characterized by this
volgende keer.                                                 glorious evidence of a living faith. Amid all the chang-
                                                w. v.          ing and unstable supports (?) here. below, Jehovah
                                                               stands ,out as the Only One in Whom such trust can
                                                               be placed with the certainty that we will never be put      `
                                                               to shame. It transforms the life of him unto  Iwhom is
                                                               given such wondrous reliance. Through it you  will
                                                               partake of this Rook's stability. Unmoved you will
 Confidence Midst Threatening Danger &stand  in the midst of faltering, failing and falling
                                                               humanity.
    The eleventh Psalm is Davidic ; the superscription            It means that you have abdicated as the arbiter
tells us so.                                                   and master of your life.      You have stepped down
    But whe-n we inquire after the time of its compo- from the throne of your heart and have seen the God
sition and the circumstances referred to in the Psa'm of your salvation enthroned in the innermost heart.
we cannot come to absolute certainty. There are those, Henceforth you have seen how this Great God ruled
among whom the learned De'itzsch,  who think that the you and guided your every footstep. And experience
circumstances described in this Psalm refer to the <peri- has taught you that all was and is well. You even
lous time of Absalom's conspiracy to grasp the reins have the unchangeable Covenant God. He cannot deny
of government. In support of their exegesis they point Himself. And He rules all things. Certainly no one
to the third verse that speaks of foundations which are is  abIe to  aslodge your God from the throne. He
being destroyed and point out that t,his refers to the mocks the  pi,gmies that boast of great things,


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         David, in such a state, scoffs at the counsel of future is in store for the godly nation? Flee and re-
  fainthearted advisers.                                         turn under more prosperous circumstances ! Flee ye
         They  hawe seen the state in a sorry condition. They as birds to your mountain !
 saw the threatening and lowering clouds of evil                    And then we  l&ten to David's own commentary of
 amassing on every side.  T$hey seem to feel already his opening confession: In Jehovah put I my trust!
 Ithe shaking that heralded the destruction of the foun- He will explain his faith.
  dation of this godly state. David and his co-rulers               Jehovah is in His holy temple.
  were threatened ,by subtle conspiracies. 0 King, flee             And that holy temple is also His throne, exalted in
 as a bird to your mountain. Place yourself in safety the very heavens.
before the storm breaks over your head.                             You see, this Jehovah is King Supreme over all the
         There is a difficulty here. In the  oniginal the earth. The throne is emblematic of royal power and
  plural is used: Flee ye us birds to your mountain. I `majesty. From out of the throne of God issues the
 think that the counsellors had David in mind, together regiment of all things, and all persons, devils, angels.
 with his court. Certainly they did not consider to He rules all situations, even this one. He even creates
  see the king in flight all by himself. We know *how            all situations. All the threads of history are of His
  at ,a later date David did flee with a great company making. Wiith His eye to the glorious future He steers
  of his subjects.  *                                            the chariot of present and future history.
         The fainthearted advisers have  <reasons  galore why       And while sitting on His throne, His eyes behold,
  David should take flight.                                      His eyelids try the children of men. Nothing is hid
         All things seem to be ready for the enactment of a from His eyes. Even more, H&s eyeli,ds try : what does
  base plot. Tahe Iwicked  have everything in readiness:         the latter phrase mean? Well, when one studies a
  the bow is bent, the arrow  ris upon the string, the eye person or situation the eyelids draw together in order
  spots the target. The pointed arrow is directed to to focus  ;the eyesight on the particular object. It
  David's breast.       The would-be marksmen have en- refers to the keenness of vision of the Almighty. Noth-
 trenched themselves: they will shoot privily. Detec- ing escapes Him. He is looking aat us even now with
  tion at this stage is impossible. You can do nothing at intent  visi,on. His eyelids try us. That means He
 this stage to dislodge the enemy. All ther works are tastes every change of quality in `our b&&our. When
  very wickedness: they do ,not come out. in the open.           He completes the trial there is no  ,appeal;  He has
  Oh no, but they will wait, are even now waiting for appreciated and evaluated  aright. He therefore knows
  the opportune  .moment  to let fly their poisoned ar- the plight of me, His theocratic king. He is trying me
  rows.                                                          even now. He casts the righteous at times in the cru-
         And the Qrget is the upright in heart.                  cible of trial. Because He loves me. These  arohers
         And that is David.                                      with their wicked intent are  tidden  by Him to terrify
         Innocence abroad.      In the midst of the wicked. and threaten. I cannot escape the trial.
  What a picture !                                                  And still: in Jehovah  ,put I my trust.
         Yes, innocence sand uprightness characterize David.
  Yes, he has sinned and that very grievously. But we               I know that He  :hates the  wicked  ; these violent
  notice from the Holy Record that David was upright enemies of mine His soul hateth. Oh, I shudder at the
  throughout. He did not hide his sin. He walked with vengeance which my God will take. I see a veritable
  God. To be upright in heart does not mean to be with- rain of snares, fire and brimstone  in the offing . They
  out sin. It means that you acquaint God with ,a11 your see it not; they imagine themselves safe in this wicked
  heart in all circumstances of life. You tell Him every- plot. But my God h,as already prepared the destroyer.
  ting, you take counsel with Him at every step. And Hell-fire itself shall consume them. Only, wait on the
  this with the constant urge to be pleasing unto Him.           Lord.
  To be upright  ,in  ,heart  is the daily endeavor to do         And the theological reason is  stated at the close
  God's will. And if sin besets you and if you have of the Psalm. God the Lord is very righteousness it-
  stumbled you do His will. You go to  HCim with  all            self. The virtue whereby God wills the highest Good
  your sins and confess and weep bitter tears. With the is His very being. Reason why He aIso loveth right-
  upright in heart you find gladness and the song of the eousness.           It is the outgoing, the radiance of that
  child ; but also godly sorrow.                                 virtue, the glory of that attribute, be it either in the
         And that is  David.                                     song of the saint or the swift  recompence  of fire on
         Such persons are  thated  by the wicked. Watch the wicked.
  them: they are ready to devour him. Would it not be               0 my counsellors ! Here is the deepest reason for
  better, David, to flee to your mountain?                       my `safety : God loveth me ! His blessed Face is beam-
         Moreover, if the foundations of the stateqtre  shaken, ing upon us, reader, in His glorious Son. And we are
  if you, David, *and your co-rulers and co-supports in safe !
 .the Kingdom are taken away, destroyed,. what  disma1                                                         G. V.


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         305

                                                              ,the people and that for the reason that the blood
         God Blesses His People Only                          brought into this place was that of goats and calves.
                                                              It is the blood of Christ by which God's people enter
                                                              into the presence of God.  IHence  Mt. Sinai  "answereth
   One of the most serious objections to the theory of to  Jerusdem  which now is, and is in bondage with
common grace is that it insti1s in men's minds wrong her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free,
,thoughts  of God. According to this theory God is a and is the mother of ,us ail" (Gal. 4 :25, 26).
friend of all men, of the reprobated as well as of the
,elect. The former, too, God loves and blesses. How              With Israel God institutes His covenant. Unto
`thoroughly  `wrong  this doctrine  .is seen to be when this people He *published His `laws. And he who
viewed in the light of the truth of Scripture. Prayed should fail to confirm all the words of this law to do
`the psalmist, "who shall ascend into the ho!y hill of them  will be cursed. Will not  .this covenant, then,
the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He mean  tihe destruction of the people with  w,hom  it is
that hath clean hands, and a pure heart ; who bath            instituted? For Jehovah is very exacting. Nothing
not lifted  `up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.    but a perfect obedience satisfies Him. To this we reply
He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and that it is the covenant of grace. For the law provides
righteousness from the God of his salvation" (Ps.             for a sacrifice. And the book of the covenant as well
24:2,  4). Only he whose heart is pure shall  &and            as the people  .are sprinkled with  .blood.  The curse
in the holy place and receive the blessing. Now all           shall be borne by Him of whom the animal slain was
are under sin.      "For  !we have before proved both a type. This people will be satisfied wth the mercy
Jews and Gentiles to be under sin: as it is  Iwrit- of Jehovah.  They must know, however, that the God
ten,  Tthere is none righteous, no, not one. There is who pardons and blesses remains, for all that, holy
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh and just. The fire, the smoke, the blackness and the
after God" (Rom.  3:9). Who then shall ascend into tempest taken together was an impressive display of
the holy hill of the Lord? God's people shall, and the awful wrath of God as it is revealed from heaven
this on account of their Ibeing  righteous and holy in ,over  all unrighteousness of men. The people of God
Ghrist. They only receive the blessing from the may know now that the only possible meeting place
Lord.                                                         between God and the sinner is the altar. T,hey will
                                                              not attempt to ascend into the holy mountain of
   Apart from Christ, God cannot receive man into God.
His holy hill except to consume him. . The summit
of Mt. Sinai is therefore a forbidden region even to             Thus it is the God and Father of Christ who
God's people.     If so much as a beast touch the moun- ;blesses.  And He blesses His people only, those chosen
tain it shall  ,,be stoned or thrust through with a dart. .in Christ and who, by virtue of this election, keep
Mt. Zion, on the other hand, is inhabited by an in- His covenant. But He destroys the ungodly, the haters
numerable company of angels, by the general assembly, of His name, the reprobated.
the church  af the first born  which  are written in             These truths form the current doctrine of the
heaven, and by the Lord God, the judge of all. Here Bible.
also is the dwelling place of Christ Jesus, the mediator         "The Lord is in  [His holy temple, the Lord's throne
of the new covenant. In this place then, is found the is in heaven: His eyes behold, His eyelids try the
blood of sprinkling.                                          children of men. . . . The wicked and him that  la{eth
  0 On the summit of Mt. Sinai is God but not the             violence His soul hateth. .Upon the wicked he shall
blood of sprinkling.     Here were seen the emblems rain snares, fire and brimstone and a horrible tempest:
of God's holiness and of His avenging justice-b!ack-          this shall be the portion of their cup (Ps.  115, 6).
ness, darkness, tempest and the voice of words. From Their sorrows shall  .be multiplied that hasten after
the summit of this mountain Moses returns with the another God (Ps. 16 :4),. Thine hand shall find out
law. In this `place, then, the people could not come.         all Thy enemies: thy right hand shall find out those
But the sanctuary of the tabernacle was also closed that hate thee. T(hou shalt make them as a fiery oven
to the people. And in this inclosure `was found the           in the time of Thine anger: the Lord shall swallow
sprinkling of blood. The sanctuary of the tabernacle them up in His wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
was closed to the people but for a season. The veil Their fruit shalt Thou destroy from the earth, and
will be rent in twain when the priest of good things their see.d'from  among the children of men. For' they
to come-Christ Jesus-shall have entered the holy intended evil against Thee : they magined  a mschievous
place-the tabernacle not made with hands-by His device,  lwhich they are not able to perform. There-
own blood. And not only this priest but also those            fore shalt thou make them turn their back, when
*for whom He obtained redemption  sha!l enter ths Thou shalt make ready Thine arrow `upon Thy strings
sanctuary of God. For here is the blood of sprinkling. in the face of them (Ps.  21:9-12). Because they re-
The earthly tabernacle, it is true, was inaccessible to gard not the works of the Lord, nor the operations of

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

His hands, He shall destroy them and not build them 16 :22). ,God resisteth the proud (I Pet. 5  :5) .
up (Ps. 28 :5). Many sorrows shall be to the wicked            The Scriptures, then, most emphatically do assert
(Ps. 32 : 10) . T.he face of the Lord is against them that the (repro,bate)  wicked one is no Ifriend,  no asso-
that do evil, to cut off the.remembrance of them from ciate of God. Such a  .one must keep his distance.
the face of the earth (Ps. 34 :16). But Thou, 0 God,        Wdhat is more, the curse of God is in his house. The
shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction:          face of the Lord is against him. His sorrows shall
bloody and deceitful men shall not liwe out half their      be many. He shall be swallowed up in the Lord's
days. . . . (Ps. 55 :53). But thou 0 Lord shalt laugh wrath. His remembrance shall be cut off from the
at them, Tthou  shalt have all the heathen in derision fa.ce of the earth, for he regards not the work of the
(Fs. 59 :8).    But God shall shoot at them with an Lord nor the operation of [His hand. He believeth not
arrow; suddenly shall they be  Iwounded (Ps. 64  :7).       in the Son. Therefore the wrath of God abideth on
But G od shall wound them head of His enemies, and him.
the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his         However, Holy Writ also makes mention of those
trespasses (Ps. 68 :21). How are they brought into foreknown by God, the elect, predestinated to be con-
desolation, as in a moment; they are utterly consumed formed unto the image of His Son (Rom. 8 :29). With
with terrors. A a dream when one awakeneth  ; so, 0 these predestinated ones the Lord God instituted a
Lord, when Thou awakest shalt Thou despise their covenant and confirmed it in the blood of Christ.
image (Ps.  73:19,  20). Shall the throne of iniquity By nature they are dead in trespasses and sins, child-
have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief ren of wrath. However, they are ,empowered  by the
by law? . . . . And He shall bring upon them their Almighty to meet Him at the altar, where they are
own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own pardoned and. cleansed. Being cleansed they exhibit
wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off the  i.mage of God's Son. God loves them. Their
(Ps. 94 :20,23). Clouds and darkness are round about souls He satisfies with mercy. For they are children
Him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation in the kingdom of heaven. Having been humbled by
of His throne. A fire goeth before iHim, and burneth the grace of God they are willing to be sprinkled by
up His enemies round about. . . .       Confounded, be the blood. And Jehovah blesses them. Such are the
all they that serve graven images, that boast them- plain teachings of Scripture. His (the Lord's) secret
selves of idols. . . . (Ps.  97:2, 3, 7). Surely Thou is with the righteous. He blesseth the habitation of
#wilt slay the wicked, 0 Lord (Ps. 139  :19). All the the just. He giveth grace unto the lowly. The wise
wicked will He destroy (Ps. 145 : 19). For the froward shall inherit Iglory (see Prcnr. 3 :32-35). The Lord will
is abomination to the Lord. . . . The  ourse of the not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish. Bless-
Lord is in the house of the wicked. . . . Surely He ings are upon the head of the just. The memory of
scorneth the scorners. , . . shame shall be the pro- the just is blessed. The desire of the righteous shall
motion of fools (Prov. 3 :32-35). The fear of the be granted. The rghteous is an everlasting foundation.
wicked it shall come upon him. . . . As the whirlwnd The hope of the righteous shall be gladness. The way
passeth so is the wicked no more. . . . The years of of the Lord is strength to the upright. The righteous
the wicked shall be shortened. . . . the expectation of shall newer be removed (Prov. 10). There shall no
the wicked shall perish. . . . The wicked shall not evil happen to the just (Prov. 12  :21). He (God)
inhabit the earth. . . . The froward tongue shall be loveth him that follow&h  after righteousness (Prov.
cut out (Frov. 10 :27, 31). The wicked shall be filled 15:9).
with mischief (Prcrv. 12 :21). The way of the wi&ed            Christ is the truth, the way, the life, no one cometh
is an abomination unto the Lord  .( Prov. 12  :9). The
Lord is far from the .wi,cked  (Prov. 15 :29). Every one unto the Father but by IHim. Wrath and death is the
that is proud `in heart is an abomination to the Lord portion of every one despising  the Christ as the chan-
(Prov.' 16 :5 j . But the wicked are like the troubled nel of divine grace and mercy. In a word, God is a
sea, wihen it .cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire consuming  tie unto the reprobate wicked. These truths
and dirt. There is no peace sayeth my God to the form the  .heart  of divine revelation. Remove them
                                                            from Holy Writ and what remains is but an empty
wicked  (Isaiah"S7   :20, 21). God is jealous, and the
Lord revengeth,  and is furious; the Lord  lwill take s h e l l .
vengeance on His adversaries, and He resenveth wrath           IGod can be a friend of him only who, fearful of
for His. enemies  ..=fNahum   1:2). He that believeth the storm, looks to Christ for shelter. This is the
not the Son shall n& see life;-<but  the wrath of `God      matter  {which  God  <began to impress upon the mind of
abideth on him (John 3 :36) : For the wrath of God is the: Church at the very dawn of grace. The way to
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and un- God's heart is the way of the cross and all other ways
righteousness of men, who hold the truth in unright- are ways of wrath, sorrow and death leading to he%
eousness (Ram.  1:18). If any man love not the Lord Such are the pIain  teachings of Scripture.
Jesus Christ, let him be cursed, the Lord cometh (I Cor.                                              G. M. 0.


                                        THE,  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            307
,
                                                                 demnation?"
                 Lord Remember Me                                               "Dost not thou fear God?"-he does not
                                                                 need to say, Dost thou not fear man? for man has
                                                                 already done all that man can do. But, Dost not thou
                 And one of the malefactors which were hanged    fear God? He knows then that there is a God to `fear,
              railed on Him. . . . But the other -wering  re-    a God before whose bar he and his brother-sufferer
             buked him. . . And  he said unto Jesus,  Lord,      are soon to appear; a God to whom they shall have to
              remember me when thou  come&  into  tihy king-     give account, not only for every evil action that in their
             dom. - Luke 23339-43.                               past lives they !have done, but for every idle word that
     Strange, certainly, that among those who rail at in dying they shall speak. He knows it now, he feels
Jesus at such a time, one of those crucified along with          it now,-had he known and felt it sooner, it might
him should be numbered. Those brought out to, share have saved him from hanging on that cross-that over
together the shame and agony of a public execution,              and above the condemnation of man which he had so
have generally looked on each other with a kindly and lightly thought of, and so fearlessly had braved, there
indulgent eye. Outcasts from the world's  sympathy,              is another and weightier condemnation, even that of
they  :have drawn largely upon the sympathy of one               the great God, into  ,whose hands, as a God of judgment,
another. Since they were to die thus together, they it is a fearful thing for the impenitent to fall.
have desired to die in peace. Many an old, deep grudge              "And we indeed justly." No questioning of the
has been buried at the gallows foot. But here, where             proof, no quarreling with the law, no reproaching of
there is nothing to be mutually forgotten, nothing to the judge. IHe neither thinks that his crime was less
be  Iforgiven,  nothing whatever to check the operation heinous than the law made it, nor his punishment
of that common law by which community in suffering greater than the crime deserved. Nor do you hear
*begets sympathy  ; here, instead of sympathy, there is          from this man's lips what  you. so often hear from
scorn ; instead of pity, reproach. What  tailed forth men placed in like circumstances, the complaint that
such feelings, at such a time, and from such a quarter? he had been taken and he must die, whilst so many
In part it may have been due to the circumstance  that' others, greater criminals than himself, are suffered to
it was upon Jesus that the main burden of the public go at<large  unpunished. At once and unreservedly he
reproach was flung. Bad men like to join with others acknowledges the justice of the sentence, and in so
in Iblaming  those who either are, or are supposed to be,        doing, shows a spirit penetrated with a sense of guilt.
worse ,men than themselves.           And so it may have And not only is he thoroughly convinced of his own
brought something like relief, may even have minis- guilt, .he is as thoroughly convinced of Christ's inno-
tered something like gratification to this man to find cence. "We indeed justly"-for we receive  the due
that when brought out for execution, the tide of public reward of our deeds-`<but this man hath done nothing
indignation directed itself so exclusively  &-ainst  Jesus amiss." Little as he may have seen or known before
-by making so much more of whose criminality, he of Jesus, what he had witnessed had entirely con-
thinks to make so mu&h less of his own. Or is it the vinced  hi*m that His was a case of unmerited and un-
spirit of the religious scoffer that vents here its ex-          provoked persecution ; that He was an innocent man
piring breath? All he sees, and all  *he hears-those             w!!om these Jews, to gratify their own spleen, to
pouting lips, those wagging  iheads, those upbraiding avenge themselves in their own ignoble quarrel with
speeches-tell him what it was in Jesus that had Him, were hounding to the death.
kindled such enmity against him, and too thoroughly                 But he  ,goes much further than to give expression
does he go in <with  this spirit which  is rife around the       merely to .his conviction of Christ's innocence-and it
cross, not to join in the expression of it, and so whilst        is here we touch upon the spiritual manvels of this
others are railing at Jesus, he too will rail. It is extraordinary incident. Turning from speaking to his
difficult to give any more satisfactory explanation of brother malefactor,  fixing his eye upon, and address-
his conduct, dficult in any case like this to fathom ing himself to Jesus, as He hangs upon the neighbor-
the depths even of a single human spirit; but explain ing cross, he says, "Lord, remember me when thou
it as.you may, it was one drop. added to the cup of              comest into thy kingdom." How came he, at such a
bitterness which our Lord that day took into his hands, time, and in such circumstances, to call Jesus, Lord  ;
and drunk to the `very dregs, that not only .were  His           how came he to believe in the coming of His kingdom?
enemies permitted to do with Him what they would, It is going the utmost length to which supposition can
but the  Ivery  crimnal  who is crucified by His side,           be carried, to imagine that he had never met  with
deems himself entitled to cast such reproachful sayings Jesus till he had met Him that morning to be led out
in His teeth.                                                    in company with Him to Calvary. He saw the daugh-
     But he is not suffered to rail at Jesus unrebuked,          ters of Jerusalem weeping by the way ; he heard those
and the rebuke comes most appropriately from his words of Jesus which told of the speaker's having
brother malefactor, who, turning upon him, says, "Dost           power to swithdraw  the veil which hi,des the future ;
not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same con- he had seen and read the title nailed above Christ's


  308                                   ` T H E '   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
  -
  hea~d~`pro?ltiiming  Him to be the King of the Jews ; not only as a public testimony to the kingly character
  from the lips of the passers-by, of the Chief Priests,      and prerogative  ,of Jesus, but as the prayer of in-
  the elders, the soldiers, he had gathered that this Jesus, dividual, appropriating faith; the earnest, hopeful,
  now dyng  .by his side, had saved others from that trustful application of a dying sinner to a dying
 . very death He is  IHimself  about to die, had professed Saiiour. His ideas of Christ's character and office may
  a suppreme trust in God, had claimed to #be the Christ, have been obscure ; the nature of that kingdom into
  the Chosen, the Son of God, and he had seen and              possession of which he was about to enter, he may
  heard enough to satisfy him that all  w,hich Jesus had lhave but imperfectly understood.. He knew it, how-
  claimed to. be He truly was. Such were some of tihe etrer,  to be a spiritual kingdom: he felt that individlual-
  materials put by Divine Providence into this man's ly he had forfeited his right of admission to its privi-
  hand's whereon to build his faith ; such the broken leges and its joys; he Ibelieved  that it lay with Jesus
  fragments of the truth loosely scattered in his way. to admit him into that kingdom. Not with a spirit
  He takes them up, collects, combines ; the Enligfhtening     void of apprehension, may  #he have made his last
  Spirit shines upon the evidence. thus afforded, shines appeal. It may have seemed to him a very doubtful
  in upon his quickened soul; and there brightly dawns thing, whether, when relieved from the sharp pains
  upon his  sQrit the sublime belief that in that strange      of crucifixion, the suffering over, and the throne of
  sufferer by his side he sees the long-promised Messiah,      the kingdom readhed, Jesus would think of him amid
  the Saviour of mankind, the Son and equal of the the splendors and the joys of his new  kin&y state.
  Father, who now, at the very time that his mind has Doubts of a kindred character have often haunted
  opened to a sense of his great iniquity, and he stands the hearts of the penitent, the hearts of the best and
  trembling on the brink of eternity, reveals Himself so the holiest; but there were two things of  ,which he
  near at hand, so easy of access.         His faith,. (thus had no doubt, that Jesus could save him if He would,
  quickly formed, ,goes forth into instant exercise, and and if He  #did not,. he should perish. And it is out
  turning to Jesus, he breathes into his coruvenient ear of these two simple  e!ements.  that  ,genuine  faith is al-
  the simple but ardent prayer,. "Lord, remember me ways formed, a deep, pervading, subduing conscious-
. when thou comest  into thy ikingdom."                        ness of our unworthiness, a simple and entire trust in
         The hostile multitude around are looking forward Christ.
  to Christ's approaching death, as to that decisive event        It has *been often and well said, that whilst this
  which shall at  oncei  and forever. scatter to the winds one, instance of faith in Jesus formed at the eleventh
  all the idle rumors that  .have  been rife about Him ; all hour is recorded in the New Testament, in order that
  His vain pretensions to the Messiahship. The faitii  of none, even to .the lacst moment of their being, should
  Christ's own immediate followers is ready to give way despair,-there is but this one instance,  that none may
  ,before   t.hat same event; they  `bury it in His grave, presume upon a death-bed repentance. And even this
  and have only to say .of, Him afterwards, "We hoped instance teaches most impressively that the faith which
  that it had been He that should have redeemed Israel." justifies always sanctities ; that" the faith  lwhich brings
  Yet here amid the triumph of enemies  ,and the failure forgirveness  and opens the gates of Paradise to the
  of the faith of friends, is one w.ho, conquering all the dying sinner carries with it a renovating `power; that
  difhculties that sense opposes to its recognition, dis- the faith `which  conveys the title, works at the same
  cerns, even through the dark envelope which covers it,       time the meetness for the heavenly inheritance. Let
  the hidden glory of the Redeemer, and openly hails           a man die that hour in which he truly and cordially
  Him as his Lord and King. Marvellous, indeed, the believes, that hour his passage into the heavenly king-
  faith in our Lord's dilvinity  which sprung up so sudden- dom is `made secure ; but let a window be opened that
  ly in such an unlikely region, which shone out so bright- hour into his soul, let us see into all  the secrets thereof,
  ly in the very midnight of the world's unbelief. Are and we shall discover that morally and spiritually
  we wrong in saying that, at the particular moment there has been a change in inward character corre-
  when that testimony to Christ's divinity was borne, sponding to the change in legal standing or relation-
  there was not an&her  full believer in that divinity but ship with `God. It was so with this dying thief. True,
  this dying thief? If so; was it  nota fitting thing, that we have but a short period of His life before us, and
  IHe who was never left without a witness, now w,hen          in that period only two short sayings to go upon;
  there was .but one-witness `left, should have :had this happily,  howwer, sayings of such a kind, and spoken in
  solitary testimony given to His divinity  at the very such circumstances, as to preclude all dowbt of their
 f  ti'me  when it was passing into almost total eclipse;      entire honesty and truthfulness ; and what do they
  so nearly  ,wholly shrouded from mortal vision? There reveal of the condition of that man's mind and heart?
 were many to call Him Lord when He rose triumphant What tenderness of conscience is here, what deep
  ,from,  the tomb; there is but one to call' Him Lord as      reverence for God ; what devout submission to the
  He hangs dying upon the cross.  ,.                           divine  ,will; what entire relinguishment of all  personal
         But let us look upon the prayer of the dying thief grounds of confidence before God ; what a vivid realiz-


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                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         309

ing of the world of spirits ;  what  a  humb!e  trust in among them as they please ; His human soul they may
Jesus ; what a zeal for the Savior's honor; what an          strip of its outer garment of the flesh, and send it forth
indignation at the unworthy treatment He was re- unclothed into the world of spirits. But His kingly
ceiving? May we not take that catalogue of the fruits right to dispense the royal gift of pardon, his power
of genuine repentance which an apostle has drawn up to save, can they strip Him of that? Nay, little as
for us; and applying it here, say of this man's  re-         they know& they are helping to clothe Him with that
pentance,-Behold  w.hat carefulness it wrought in him; power, at the very time  .when they think they are lay-
yea, what clearing of himself  i* yea; what indignation  ; ing all His kingly pretensions in the dust. He will
yea, what fear; yea, what vehement desire; yea, what not do what they had so often in derision asked Him
zeal, yea, what revenge ! In all things he approved that day to do-He will not come down from the cross
himself to be a changed man, in his desires and dispo- -He will not give that proof of His divinity; He will
sitions and purposes of heart. The belief has been not put forth His almighty power by exerting it upon
expressed, that in all the earth there was not at that       the world of matter. But on this very cross He will.
particular moment such a believer in the Lord's divini- giwe a higher proof of His divinity: He will exert that
ty as he ; would it be going too far to couple with that power, not over the world of matter, but over the world
.belief  this other,  that in all the earth, and at that     of spirits, by stretching forth His hand and delivering
moment, there was not another man inwardly riper a soul from death, and carrying it with Him that day
and readier for entrance into Paradise?                      into  Para,dise.
   "Lord, remember me when thou cometh into thy                 "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with
kingdom." Loud and angry voices have for hours been me in Paradise."               Jesus would not' rise  ,from the
ringing'in the  cvexed ear of Jesus-voices  wlhose  blas- sepulchre alone ; He would have others rise along with
phemy and inhumanity wounded [Him far more than Him. And so, even as He dies, the earthquake does its
the more personal antipathy they breathed. Amid allotted work, ,work so strange for an earthquake to
these harsh and grating sounds, how new, how wel-            do-it opens not a new grave for the living, it opens
come, Ihow grateful, this soft and gentle utterance of the .old grawes of the dead ; and as the third morning
desire, and trust, and love ! It dropped like a cordial dawns, from the vpened  graves the bodies of the saints
upon the fainting spirit of our Lord, the only balm arise  with the rising body of the Lord-types and
that earth came forth to lay upon His wounded spirit.        pledges of the general resurrection of  tile dead, verify-
Let us, too, be  ,grateful  for that one soothing word ing, by their appearance in the Holy City, the words
addressed to the dying Jesus, and wherever the gospel of ancient prophecy : "Thy dead men shall live, together
is declared let these words which that man spake be with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing,
repeated in memorial of Him.                                 ye that dwell in the ,dust; for thy dew is as the dew
   "Lord, remember me when thou  comest into thy of herbs, and the earth shall cast out her dead." And
kingdom." He will not ask to be remembered now ; he as Jesus would not rise from the sepulchre alone, so
&will not break in upon this season of his Lord's bitter neither will He enter Paradise alone. IHe will carry
anguish. He only asks that, when the sharp  pains of one companion spirit with Him to the place of  like
His passion shall be over, the passage made, and the blessed; thus early giving proof of His having died
throne of the kingdom won, Jesus will, in His great          upon that cross that others through His death might
mercy, then think of him. Jesus will let him know b:?at live, and live for ever. See, then, in the ransomed
he does not need to wait so long; He -will let him know spirit borne that day to Paradise, the first trophy of
that the Son of man hath power, even on earth, to for- the- power of the uplifted cross of Jesus ! What saved
give sin ; that the hour never cometh when His ear is this penitent thief? No  ,water of baptism was sprink!ed
so heavy that it cannot hear, His hand shortened that upon him  ;' at no table of communion did he ever sit ;
it cannot sanre ; and the prayer has scarce been offered of the virtue said to be in sacramental rites he knew
when the answer comes, "Verily, I say unto thee, Today nothing. It was a simple believing look of a dying
tihalt thou be with me in Paradise."                         sinner upon a dying Savior that did it. And that sight
   The lips may have trembled that spake these words  ; has lost notlhing  of its power. Too many, alas! have
soft and low may have been the tone in which thev passed, are still passing by that spectacle of Jesus  uron
were uttered ; but they were words of power,-words           the  truss;  going, one to his farm, another to his
which only one Being who ever wore `human form. merchandise, and not suffering it to make its due  im-
could have spoken. Bis divinity is acknowledged: the nression on their hearts  ; but thousands upon thousands
moment it is so, it breaks forth into bright and  beauti-    of the human race-we bless God for #his-have gazed
sful manifestation. The hidden glory bursts through upon it with a  Iodk kindred to that of the dying thief,
the dark cloud that veiled it, and, in all His omnipo-       and have felt it exert upon them a  hindred  power.
tence to save, Jesus stands revealed. What a rebuke          Around it, once more, let me ask you all to gather.
to  His crucifiers! They may strip His mortal body Many here, I trust, as they look at it, can say with
of its outward ,raiment,  which these soldiers may divide adoring gratitude, He loved me; He `gave Himself for


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     3 1 0                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

      me ; He was (wounded for my transgressions, He was                   "I love to think of heaven ; its cIoudless  light,
      bruised for mine iniquity ; He is all my salvation, He Its tearless joys, its recognitions, and its fellowships
      is all my desire. Some may not be able to go so far; Of love and joy unending; but when my mind antici-
      yet  tlhere is one step that all of us, who are in any                pates
      degree alive to our obligations to redeeming love, can The sight of God Incarnate, wearing on His hands
      take--one prayer that we may offer; and surely, if And feet and side, marks of the wounds
      that petition got so ready audience when addressed to Which He for me on Calvary endured,
      Jesus in the midst of  His dying agonies, with certain All heaven beside is swallowed up in this ;
      hope of not less favorable audience may we take it up,            And  IHe who was my hope of heaven below
      and shaping it to meet our case, may say, Now that Becomes the glory of my :heaven  above."- (Se'ected)
      thou hast gone into thy kingdom, 0 Lord remember me.                                                           G. M. 0.
              Yet once more let the words of our Lord be re-
      peated, "Today shalt tihou be with me in paradise:"
      But where is this Paradise; what is this Paradise? We
      can say, in answer to these questions, that with this                          Puritanism In England
      heavenly Paradise into wlhich  the redeemed at deatfr do
      enter, the ,ancient, the earthly Paradise is not fit to be RESTORATION OF SCOTLAND.
      .compared. In the one, the direct intercourse with God              In Scotland Episcopacy (the Anglican State Church)
      was but occasional ; in  ithe other it shall be constant. was restored . All the acts  t&at had raised  Presby-
      In the one, the God was known only as He revealed terianism to the stake religion of Scotland were an-
      Himself in the works of creation and in the ways of               nulled. It will be recalled that in 1643 Episcopacy
      His providence, in the other, it will be as the God of had been abolished by Parliament and a thoroughly
      our redemption, the God and Father of  `our Lord and Presbyterian system of church government, a directory
      Saviour Jesus, that He will be recognized, adored, of worship, and a new Calvinistic confession known as
      obeyed-all the higher moral attributes of His nature              the Westminster Confession had  <been prepared by an
      shining forth in [harmonious and illustrious display. assembly known as the Westminster Assembly. These
      Into the earthly Paradise the Tempter entered ; from preparations had been adopted by Parliament in 1643.
      the heavenly he will be shut out. From the earth'y                It meant the abolition of Episcopacy as the state re-
      Paradise sad exiles once were driven, from the heavenly ligion. Tlhis had happened under the protectorate of
      we  slhall go no more out forever. Still, however, after Cromwell. However, Cromwell died in 1653.
      all such imperfect and unsatisfying comparisons, the                 Six months later the king's brother James, later
      questions return upon us, Where, and  wlhat is this James II of England, was put in charge of Scottish
      Paradise of the redeemed? Our simplest and our best affairs. James II, as we me noticed, oppressed the
      a.nswers to those questions perhaps are these-Where Presbyterians with such severity that the first year of
      is Paradise? wherever Jesus is. What is Paradise? to his reign became known in history as "killing-time".
      be  ,forever  with, and to be fully like our Lord. We                .Tahe Presbyterians were hunted on the mountains
      know-for God ihas told us so, of that Paradise of the             and tracked by ibloodhounds  of the privy council to the
      redeemed-that it is a land of perfect light; the day              caves and dens in  iwhidh they hid themselves. The
      has dawned there ; the shadows have forever fled away.            ,King's dragoons were continually on the pursuit, shoot-
      It is a land of perfect blessedness ; no tears fall there ;       ing down  ,men  and women in the fields and on the high-
      no sighs rise up there ; up to the measure of its capacity ways. As fast as the prisons could be emptied they
      each spirit filled witih never-ending joy. It is a land of, were filled w,ith other victims brought out by the spies.
      perfect holiness ; nothing that def?leth  sha!l enter there,      The -persecution fell ,with  equal severity on all who
      neither whatsoever loveth <or maketh a lie. But what              appeared for the cause of the Presbyterian religion.
      gives to that land its ligiht,  its joy, its <holiness  in the    Some of the best intellects were hanged, and the
      sight of the redeemed? it is the presence of Jesus. If ghastly spectacle of their heads and limbs met the
      there  she no night there, it is because the Lamb is the eyes of the gazers in the chief cities of the kingdom. It
      light of that place ; if there be no tears there, it is           I&s been calculated that during the twenty-eight years
      because from every eye His (hand  ,has wiped off every of persecution that 18,000 jpersons suffered death or
      tear. The holiness that reigneth there is a holiness `hardships approaching it.
      caught from seeing Him as He is. And trace the tide                  Such was James  111's mighty attempt to exterminate
      of joy that circulates through the hosts of the blessed           Presbyterianism in Scotland. This monarch, at heart
      to its fountain&head, you will find it within that throne a thorough-gong Catholic, engaged in restoring  tJhe  re-
      on which the  Lamlb  that once  `was slain is sitting. To ligion of his heart in his realm, was a second Philip of
      be  witch Jesus, to be like Jesus, to love and serve Him Spain ,in whom the Spanish Inquisition with all its
      purely, deeply, unfailingly, unfalteringly-that is the horrors was revived.
      Christian's heaven.                                                  However, there cazme  a breatlhing-spell  for the per-


                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             $11
i_.
secuted Presbyterians when the King issued letters of
indulgence,granting  freedom of worship. As in  Eng-                    The Disputings Of Two Of Them
Iand so in Scotland, the release of the Catholics fr0.m
penalty aroused the hostility of all shades of Protes-                             Ought not Christ to have  suS:,r&  these things,
tants.                                                                          1xnd  to enter into His glory? - Luke 2426.
   Then William and Mary mounted the throne. The                       tit was towards evening; the day was far spent
Presbyterians were their friends. However, Scotland when the two disciples reached  Emmaus; yet there'
was more divided than England both religiously and may have been time enough for them ,after they head
politically. The Stuarts were  scats and though the dined, to return by daylight to Jerusalem  (a distance
Episcopalians disliked the Catholicism of James, they of about seven miles, a two or three hour's walk) and
also disliked the Calvinism of Dutch William.. Never- to be present at that evening meeting, in the midst of
theless, the revolution in Scotland  .triumphed,  and all which Jesus was seen by them once more. It must
shade of belief rallied about him.              James II was have been between mid-day and sunset  that the journey
repudiated by the great majority of  Scats.  May 11, to.  Emmaus  had been taken. Of the two travellers,
1689, Mary and William became rulers of Scotland.                   the name of one only has been presenved ; that of
    In 1690 Parliament restored all Presbyterian minis- Cleopas,  generally believed to have been a near relative
ters in Scotland, deposed since 1861, ratified the West- of Christ-the husband  ,of the Virgin  Mary's sister.
minster Confession, and declared Presbyterianism to It was not, however, the closeness of  tihe relationship
be the state religion of the realm.                                 to Jesus which won for them the privilege of that con-
   The legal elevation of Presbyterianism to the state versation by the `way. Had nearness `of relationship
religion continued to be opposed by the Cameronian had anything to do with, the matter, there was one
wing of Presbyterianism. They, and rightly so, con- surely to whom, above all others, we might have ex-
tinued their &hostility to the system of church govern- pected that  IHe would appear on the  ,day of His resur-
ment that placed the c&trol of the church in the hands rection.. Yet neither on that day, nor on any of the
of  tjhe civil magistrate. King William III became at forty days He spent on earth thereafter, does Jesus
once the head of the Presbyterian State Church of the seem to have made any special manifestation of Him-
realm.                                                              self to His mother, or ;to..have taken any individual
   The legal establishment ,of Presbyterianism was notice of her whatever. Her name does not once occur
also opposed by the Episcopalians, who were strong in in the record of this period of Jesus' life. ..Xt shows that
northern Scotland. Nevertheless, they were permitted Jesus had dropped the recognition of this relationship
by t&e Toleration Act of 1'712 to use their own liturgy.            altogether, as one not suited to be carried into that
Thus both in England and in Scotland the long quarrel kingdom to whose throne He was about to ascend.
between Protestants came to an end, adjusted bv                        And as it was nothing in their outward relationshin
toleration. What also came to an end is the continued to Jesus, so neither was it anything in the persona1
attempt of Rome to re-establish through her agents character, Iposition, or services of these two men wlhich
Catholicism in the British Isles. The one man instru- drew upon them this great favor of Christ.
mental in stemming &e rising tide of Catholicism in                    They had occupied no prominent place beside Christ
both the British IsIes and the continent was William                in the course of His ministry. They had shown, as far
III of Orange. Though the  pIace he occupied in the as can be known, no special strength of attachment to
church as civil magistrate did not beIong to him, yet Him, or to His cause. Had Peter, James and John
the Lord used  lhim in that place to promote His cause              been the  travellers,  it would not  have been so remark-
and ,to deliver His people from the claw of the lion.               able that He should have given them so many of the
                                                  G. M. 0.          hours of that first day of His resurrection-more hours
                                                                    than  IHe had given to any other interview of that
                                                                    neriod, perhaps as many as were spent in all the other
                                                                    interviews together. Why was it that He joined Him-
                                                                    self to them? Christ's first words to them help us to
                       IN MEMORIAM                                  understand. He has been ,walking  beside them so close
  De  Kerkeraad  der  Redlands  Protestantsche Gereformerde Kerk    as to overhear their conversation. But they have their
wensch hiermede zijne deelneming te betuigen in h:t overlijden      minds so set upon the topic that engrosses them, that
van een zijper  vroegere Ieden, Ouderling                           they notice not that a stranger has overtaken them, and
                      ANDREW PORTE                                  had been a Iistener to their discourse. At last in a
                                                                    manner expressive at once of interest and sympathy,
   De Heere trooste de bedroefde  familie  met de  he?:rlijke       Jesus breaks in upon their discourse with the question,
gedachte `dat  zijn heengaan vr?de was.                             "What manner of  :communications  are these that ye
                               De Kerkeraad voornoemd.              have to one another, as ye walk and are sad?" That
    Redlands, California.                                           sadness it is that draws Jesus to their side. It was to,


I 3 . 312                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                           -_ 4
       Mary, weeping in her lonely grief; to Peter drowned waited an hour or two longer, they wou!d have had all
       in tears of repentance,-that He had already appeared. their doubts disolved. It is clear enough,  howairer,
       And. now it was to these two disciples in their sorrow that neither of them had any faith in the resurrection;
       that He joins Himself. Early did the risen Savior as- and as clear that they were dissatisfied with their  un-
       sume the office of conforting  those who mourn, of bind- belief-altogether puzzled and perplexed. Ignorant,
       ing up the broken heart.                                    they needed to be taught; deeply prejudiced, they
          Little need, thought one of these two disciples, of needed to have  tlheir prejudice removed; For hours
       asking such  a  question as Jesus had asked. Of what ,and hours, for days and days, they might halve re-
       could any two men leawing  Jerusalem, only two days mained together without clearing up t,he difficulties
       after that crucihxion had occur&l--of  what else than that beset them. But now in pity and in love, Christ
       of it, and Him the crucified, could  they be talking? Himself `appears-appears in  tie garb of a stranger
       "Art. thou only,"  asays Ceopas, "a stranger in Jeru- who joins them by the way. They do not recognize
       salem, and hast not known the things which are come Him. For their eyes were holden  that they should not
      to pass there in these days?" And the stranger says know Him.
     " to him, "What things?" Thus it is by questions that                               (To be continued)                   G. M.O.
       Jesus draws out from them that statement, which at
       once reveals the cause of. their  ,grief. And they said
       unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth,  which  was a
       prophet mighty in deed and wor,d  before Cod and all
     .  lthe people: and how the chief priests and our rulers                              IN MEMORIAM  '
       delivered him to be condemned to death, and have cruci-
       fied him. But we trusted that it had been he which             Op den Xden   Maart,  behaagde het den Heere, van ons weg
       should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today te nemen,  onze geliefde, zorgdragende Prouw en `Moeder, 1
       is the third day since those things were done."
             There `was indeed much about which these disciples                         MRS. WM. MARLINK
       might differ and dispute. The yielding of their Master in den ouderdom van 56 jaren  en 10 maanden.                           .?"
       to the power of His enemies, and His shameful  cruci-          Zij was een  vronw  met veel  geloof. God eal Zijn  waarheid
       furion  two days :before,-how  could they reconcile with uimmer   krenken;  was  haar vast vertrduwen tot in den hood.
       :His undoubted power, as a .prophet  so mighty in words        Hij bevestige Zijn verbond   aen ons en duize,nden.
       and in deed ? And those sayings of His, pointing to a i                                         Mr. Wm.  M&link
       future, never now to be realized, so they thought, what                                         5 zoonen en 2 dochters
                                                                                                                                .
       could they make of  l&em?  IHad Jesus Himself been              Grand Rapids, Mich.
       disappointed, deceived: had He imagined that the
       people would rise on His behalf, and prevent His cruci-
       fixion? That might have been, had He not so often
       abow  that He knew all that -was passing in men's
       hearts. Could He t,hen  have been ignorant how the                                  IN MEMORIAM
       multitude of Jerusalem would feel and act?  Tihere                 c
       was truth, too, in what so many of them had flung              Den 12den Maart overleed zacht en kalm onlze  gelidde  Man,
       reproachfully in His teeth, as He hung upon the cross:      Vader en Grootvader,
       He had saved others, why did He not save Himself?
       mat a `confused mass of difhculties must have risen                                 ANDREW PORTE
       up before these twu men's eyes as they reasoned by          in den ouderdom van `71  jaren en bijna drie msanden.
       the way ! And then besides, there was what they had            De wetenschap, dat hij in Sezus  .ontslapen  is,  lenlgt   ooze
       just heard before they left the city,-the report of-some amart.
       women that they had gone out, and found the sepulchre                                          Mrs. Andrew Porte-Cupid0
       enypty, and had seen angels, who told them that He                                             Susie Porte
       was alive. They indeed might easily  hawe been de-                                             Jake  Forte
       ceived ; but Peter and John had also gone out. It is                                           Barbara `Porte-VanMeeteren
       true that they had seen no angels, nor had any one,                                            Alex Braaksma
       that they have heard of; seen the Lord Himself. But                                            Gertrude Braaksma-Porte
       the sepulchre had- been found empty. The women were                                             Ben Barkema
       right so far; were tihey right also in  wchat they said                                        Wilhehnina Barkema-Porte
       about the angel's message ? Could Jesus actually be                                            Dick Hofman
       alive ,again ? We wonder that these two men could                                              Albertha  Hofman-Porte
       have left the city at the time they did. We wonder                                              en 7 kl&nkinderen.
       at this the more because we know that, had they but             Redlads,  California


816                                     T+HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                                                 Reformed Churches of the Netherlands! Did they not
             ED I TO-R1A.L S                                     speak of the eternal and immutable counsel of election?
                                                                 Did they not  ,confess in very strong language that
                                                                 man is wholly incapable of doing  .any good and in-
                                                                 clined to all evil, powerless to save himself, wholly de-
             Beware Of False Teachers                            pendent upon the grace of redemption? Did they not
                            I I I .                              very clearly teach that even the Christian would not
                                                                 be able to persevere one moment without the  all-
       From the Scriptural passages we quoted in our             sufhcient  grace of God? Yet, in these same five points
 previous articles on the above subject (see the issue of they introduced the false tenets of an election that is
Feb. 15) it became evident that the false teacher  is            dependent on man's  fai,ti, of the freewill of man with
motivated by carnal considerations. He serves not the respect to salvation, and of a perseverance of the
Lord Jesus Christ, but his own belly, his carnal pur- saints that rests ultimately in the will of the Christian
poses and desires, his own name and position and glory,          to receive the preserving grace of God. And a Christ
the acquisition of *filthy  lucre. These.purposes  he can- who died for all! `How does even the modernist of to-
 not serve by teaching and- preaching .t,he truth, that day employ the very terms which the Clhurch  has al-
always is contrary to the flesh, condemns it; hence, he ways  empl'oyed  to express the great truths of the
,needs  the lie and.teaches it in order to realize his carnal gospel ! Even he speaks of Jesus the Saviour, of Christ
ends. But from,the  same passages it isalso plain that the King, of the Kingdom of God, of peace and right-
his method is t,hat of deception. He comes .as a wolf eousness, of redemption and regeneration, of faith and
in sheepsclothing. His .methods  are characterized by hope. Yet, he gives to these terms a meaning so
such phrases as `%he sleight of men",_ and "cunning radically different from their proper signification, that
 craftiness", and he is said .to "beguile the believers by them the faith of the Ghurch is completely robbed of
with enticing words", and "to .deceive  the hearts of its contents !
the simple" by "fair speeches" and by  ;`good words".               Or let us stay a Iittle closer at :home.
       This deception is practiced in a twofold way.                Why are  athe  wellknown  "Three Points" formulated
       First of all, the false teacher, intruding into the       in such ambiguous language,. that it requires many a
 Church of Christ and aware that in,that  Church the Iwritten  page even to explain them properly, and many
truth of God in Christ. is. preached and taught and more pages to make the `(hearts of the simple" believe
known, attempts to introdece his .errors  under cover that they are in harmony with Scripture and the Con-
,of, the.truth.  _ That .Church  not only.has  theScriptures,    fessions ? Why did the Rev. Zwier recently consider it
fbut, also its Confessions,. in which it ,. has definitely necessary to devote no Iess than three entire articles to
,,formulated  the  truth  of the. gospel.  ,And the false give an answer to the simple question of Dr. Schilder:
teacher realizes that hemust exercise extreme caution, "whether or not the word CERTAIN properly belongs
if he would "deceive the hearts of the simple". He               to the First Point?" The answer is very simple: be-
cannot venture to speak clearly and openly. A.sem-               cause the error had to be camouflaged by the appearance
blance  of truth he must give to his erroneous doctrines.        of the truth ! 0, the matter itself. is very simple ! The
iHe must seek a formulation of his false teachings  that Refarmed Confession holds that grace is particular,
 resembles_as  closely as possible the words of .Scri;p          that the sinner is w,holly .depraved  and incapable of
,ture and the declarations of the Confession of the              doing any good, .and that good works are only those
 Church. If at all possible' <he nfust employ the same           that are in harmony with the law .of. God, are. done to
terms, and give them a different content. And thushe             His glory and proceed from a true faith ; and that,
-must  persuade tie `"(hearts of the., simple", that. he         tierefore,.only the Christian is able to do.good works.
teaches nothing but what has always been accepted But now the faIse doctrines were to be introduced, that
 by the Church as. the truth of the `Word of God. Later,         grace is common, that the natural. man  .is not totally
 when his false doctrines have been .imbibed, he. may            depraved, and that he is able to do. good works in this
,  grow  bolder, and employ terms that: more clearly ex- world. How could this be accomplished? Could the
 press, his meaning. But this cannot be done  .at once.          Synod. that formulated. these points speak in simple
By  ."fair.  words" and "speeches" he must prepare the terms, cIear  and unambiguous, so that all could under-
way.                                                             stand? No, it could only  [have recourse to "fair
       !It is well-known that, this has always  -been the speeches" and "good words", by. which they introduced
 metihsd  followed by those. that would introduce. false the lie under cover of the truth !
doctrines into the Church. How carefully, for instance,             Beware of false teachers!
 did the Arminians formulate the five points of the                 But this  methodof deception also means that the
 Remonstrants in 1610. How many were persuaded false teacher usually tries to make bis. doctrine ac-
 by this crafty `formulation that they intended to teach ceptable to  *he flesh, more pleasing to the carnal nature
 nothing else than what was always professed by `ohe             of man than the truth can ever be. He comes with


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          317
b
`*god words" and with "fair speeches". He useskind            evil workers, beware of the concision". Phil. 3  :3. TO
words, lovely words, words that appeal to man ; and           the Church of the Colossians he writes: "Beware, lest
&with fair speeches, words of praise and flattery <for the    any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit".
carnal man.  IHe refrains as much as possible from The apostle John writes : "`If t,here  come any unto you
appealing to Scripture. He tries to present the truth and bring not this doctrine, receive him nut into your
in such a form as to bring it into discredit. And over house, neither bid him God speed", II John 10. And
against it he presents his own lie in a form that ap-         he emphasizes this ,by adding: "For he that biddeth
peals   to man's imagination. It is, not plain that it is     him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds". To the
really a "horrible doctrine" to teach that God from           Church of Pergamos, that tolerated in her midst the
eternity determined men unto damnation? Does it not false teachers known as  tie Nicolaitans, the Lord
make God  the author of sin? Does it not present Him writes : "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly,
as a terrible tyrant rather than as the God of love?          and will fight against them with the sword of my
And `cannot everyone see for himself that the natural mouth". Rev. 2  :16. And Paul admonishes the Church
 man still performs a good deal of good? Look at all at Rome with a view to  t,hose  that cause divisions and
 the mighty works of modern culture, of science and art, offences  contrary to the doctrine which they have
 at the works of charity, at the noble deeds of  self-        learned, that they shoud "mark them" and "avoid
 sacrifice performed by the unregenerated ! No, the them".
world is not so bad as those would marke it w#ho insist          Now, all this certainly condemns the attitude of
 on the truth of total depravity ! Ho.w  would you ex- those who would simply ignore the false teachers `and
 plain all this,  i'f there were not an operation of common leave them alone. Always there are those that would
 grace ? And thus the false teacher always appeals assume this attitude. They do not like controversy,
 to man's vain imagination rather than to the Word of as they say. They would  .ratlher  be silent in regard to
 God, and deceives the hearts of the simple !                 false doctrines and seek for the points of doctrine&on
     Shall we, then, Ipermit the false teacher to do his which we can agree. Some would even unite all the
 evil work in the Church?                                     churches on such a basis. Let us abolish creeds, say
     God forbid ! Would you permit the murderer of they, and onIy speak of those things on which we all,
 your .children  to feed his poisonous candy to them?         agree, and then unite !, But this is not the attitude
     Shall we, at least, allow him a small place in the       which we are admonished to assume over against false
 Church' and refrain- from troubling him, as long as teachers by the Word of God. Always we must watch !
 :he departs only a little `way from the pure truth of The  Laissez-faire'  attitude over against false teachers
 the gospel, and does not attack the great fundamentals is to be condemned, first, because it is the calling of the
 of the truth? God forbid !                                   Church to profess and to keep the truth ; and, secondly,
     For, he will drive in the wedge of false doctrine because such an attitude simply would leave plenty of
 until the foundations of the truth are destroyed !           room for the false teachers to do their destructive work.
     Shall we, perhaps, assume an attitude of "broad-            We shall beware of them, and `mark them! This
 mindedness", an'd say that, perchance, we also do not implies that we shall be  .always on the lookout for
 know it all, and there may be elements of truth in the       them, knowing that at any time they may creep into
 doctrines of the false teacher, which we might adopt?        the Church. `It means, too, that we shall be able to
 Or shall we, at least, confess that the truth lies in distinguish their error from the truth, to expose their
 "the golden mean"?                                           false doctrine in the light of the Word of God. And
     God forbid!                                              it signifies, in the third place, that you shall point them
     For, by so speaking you would already have sur- out, so that all may know them. Mark them! Expose
 rendered the truth to tie enemy of it, and exposed them, wherever tihey try to corrupt the truth, .whether
 yourself to him as a man without definite convictions,       it be on the [pulpit, by the written page, in Sunday-
 easily moved to and fro by every wind of doctrine.           School or Christian School or in your societies, de-
     Shall we, at least, assume a  *charitable attitude over signed far the mutual edification and instruction of the
 against them that teach false doctrines, make common members in the Word of God.
 cause with them, and, in conferences and otherwise,             And have no fellowship with tfhem  !
 be as fraternal as possible?                                    Receive them not in your house. Do not bid them
     God forbid !                                             Godspeed. Avoid them. Turn away from them ! Shun
     Everywhere Scripture warns us to assume quite a them as you would shun poison!
 different attitude over against them that would intro-          If they are not member of your  churah already,
 duce or that teach false doctrines in the Church of keep them out unless they repent. If they are found
 Christ. The Lord IHimself  admonishes us to "beware in your own midst, expel them, unless they repent.
of false. prophets" and to know them by their fruits.            For, the false teacher that does not `repent, after
 With a view to these false teaahers the apostle exhorts      that he is admonished and instructed in the truth, is
 the Church of Philippi: "Beware of dogs, beware of not an erring brother, ,whom  you ought to pity in love,

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

but an enemy of the truth, a wolf in sheepsclothing,          leiding van het nachtelijk bezoek van Nikodemus. We
to whose pernicious influence you may not expose the gaan hierbij uit van de onderstelling, dat de woorden
flock of Christ!                                              van Jezus doorgaan tot  aan vs. 21 (van cap. 3). Er
       Watclhf,  therefore !                                  zijn er, die meenen, dat hetgeen door den Heiland tot
       And grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord        Nikodemus  gesproken werd, in vs. 12 of 13 ten einde
Jesus Christ.                                                 Joopt, en dat hetgeen hierop nog vo!gt, niet meer tot de
       For in Him only are all the treasures of wisdom woorden van Jezus gerekend kan  worden, maar  be-
and knowledge !                                               schouwd  moet worden  als van den evangelist Johannes
                                                  H. H.       zelf. We zijn thans niet van plan, om deze kwestie  te
                                                              bespreken, doch willen er slechts op ,wijzen,  dat we in
                                                              lhet verband der woorden hoegenaamd geen reden kun-
                                                              nen vinden voor zulk eene onderscheiding. Het rede-
                                                              beleid loopt  onafgebroken door over hetzelfde onder-
               De Prediking Van Jezus                         werp.  En. we beschouwen  dus heel deze pericoop tot
                                                              en met vs. 21 als eene weergave van de hoofdzaken
                                Iv.                           van Jezus' onderwijs  aan Nikodemus.
                       V O L G E N S   J O H A N N E S           Nikodemus  vindt het  blijk.baar noodig, om hetgeen
                                                              hij eigenlijk begeerig is met Jezus te  bespreiken of aan
       Talrijk zijn de voorbeelden, die we in het Evangelie hem  te vragen, met een enkel  ,woord  in te leiden:
naar Johannes van de prediking van Jezus vinden.              "wij  *weten,  dat Gij zijt een leeraar van God gekomen ;
       We gebruiken  bet  fwoord "prediking", zooals de want. niemand kan de teekenen doen,  die Gij doet, zoo
lezer zal verstaan, kier in een eenigszins  lossen en God niet met hem is". Doch de IHeiland gaat hierop
breeden  zin van het woord. In de eerste  plaats   ver-       maar  niet verder in, vraagt ook aan Nikodemus niet,
staat ieder, dat er een groot verschil  is tusschen de wat eigenlijk de bedoeling van zijne komst is in dit
"prediking" van den H&land  en de prediking door ge- nachtelijk uur, maar valt met de deur in *huis : "Voor-
wone menschen. Hij  tech is de Zoon Gods in  lhet waar, vo-orwaar zeg  lk u: tenzij dat iemand wederom
vleesch, en is niet alleen van alle mogelijke prediking geboren worde, hij kan het Koninkrijk Gods niet zien".
subject in den centralen zin des woords, maar tevens          Ja, ja, daar ging het immers over? Dat gewichtige
het  voorwerp  dier prediking.  Indien  dan ook de onderwerp van het Koninkrijk Gods had den leeraar
Schrift  zelve ons er niet in voorging, om, zij het sechts    in Israel bezig  gehouden in den laatsten tijd. Dat was
ook een enkele keer van Jezus' spreken als "prediking" eigenlijk altijd een geIiel?koosd onderwerp, waarover
te spreken, zouden wij aarzelen om dien term te ge-           een Joodsche rabbi we1 gaarne mocht  redeneeren. Doch
bruiken. En in de tweede plaats passen  wij hier den deze Rabbi van Nazareth had  tech  dingen gezegd over
term toe op alle redenen des Heilands, tot wie ook en in dat Koninkrijk, die op dat onderwerp opnieuw en met
welken vorm ook gesproken.                                    nieuwe belangstelling de aandacht  vestigden, en ook de
       In het Evangelie naar de beschrijving van Johannes vraag deed opkomen, of men in de theologische kringen
nu vinden we voorbeelden van Jezus' prediking tot bij- we1 den rechten kijk had op de dingen, we1 een zuivere
zondere personen, zooals Nikodemus en de  Samari- voorstelling  had van  dat Koninkrijk, en of het  mis-
taansche vrouw ; tot de broodzoekende schare  te &per-        schien niet noodzakelijk zou blijken om de "gangbare
naum; tot de opponeerende en twistzoekende  Joden te meening" op dit punt grondig te herzien. Want naar
Jeruzalem, waar we den Heiland vinden  vooral  op de die "gangbare meening" behoefde er heelemaal niet
feestdagen en gedurende de laatste week van Zijn  om- aan worden  getwijfeld, dat in dat Koninkrijk allereerst
wandeling op aarde; en ten slotte tot Zijne. jongeren, zouden ingaan de Schriftgeleerden en FarizeBn,  terwijl
die Hij vlak v66r  Zijn verhooging  aan het kruis troost Jezus met een besohouwing van dat Koninkrijk kwam,
over Zijn heengaan en wijst op bet nut van Zijn heen-         die deze geleerde en deftige en bij het volk geziene
gaan, opdat de Trooster  tot hen komen moge.                  men&en  juist :buitensloot. Deze .dingen hielden Niko-
       We doen ook hier slechts enke!e grepen.                demus  bezig.  En daarop gaat de Heiland nu  maar
       En we houden natuurlijk voor de aandacht, dat het aanstonds en rechtstreeks in.
ons doe1  is, om duidelijk te maken, dat er in die predi-         Ziet ge, Nikodemus,  zegt de Heiland als het ware,
king des Heilands geen plaats is voor de leer van een het Koninkrijk Gods is geen Koninkrijk voor deftige
"algemeene genade in de verkondiging des Evangelies", menschen en geleerde theologen. Het is oak niet aIdus,
voor de voorstelling, dat alle menschen, tot wie het          dat ge nu juist een Jood maet  zijn en uw gesbchts-
Evangelie  wordt  gebracht, Gode aangenaam zijn, voor register moet hebben bij gehouden, om  recht te hebben,
de beschouwing, dat in de prediking God in genade en om qdat Koninkrijk in te gaan. En zelfs is het  met
welmeenend Zijn heil aanbiedt  aan  allen, die haar waar, dat het al genoeg is, indien ge maar een Jood
hooren.                                                       zijt en de "geboden" hebt `onderhouden.     Zulke  onder-
       Letten  we eerst op hetgeen Jezus leert naar aan- scheidingen en scheidingen maakt de leer aangaande


                                        T,HE S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        325

., Is het dan wonder, dat bij zulk een toestand  de god- that God has created the greater part of mankind unto
deloozen rondom draven?                                       destruction ; secondly, that we make God the author
    `t.Lijkt dan we1 op een circus. Ze draven rondom:         of sin, when upon the basis of Scripture we ascribe
piassen, clowns, komieken. `t Geheel iheeft veel weg all things, also the sin of man to the all overruling
ivan `n Jan Klaassen spul. En de duivel trekt aan de will of God ; and thirdly, that our doctrine makes men
touwtjes..  . . .                                             careless  *and profane.
    Alles roept als de Zaligmaker.  De&t er  we1 om:             The striking thing of these foul blasphemies which
Paulus  zeide, dat Cod deze wereld door een Mensch are hurled against us by these haters of sound doctrine
zal oordeelen.  Jehova  Heil, dat is, Jozua-Jezus, is ook is, that the enemies of God's Word ihave always ad-
de  Rechter des hemels en der aarde.                          vanced these same base calumnies against the servants
    Zalig hij die bet" potsierlijke, het dom-malle, van and truth of God, from the days of the apostles until
deze wereld nu inziet en met David uitroept: Ze dra-          now. It is more remarkable still that these so-called
ven, in een cirkel. Mirabile  v&u!                            defenders of Calvin and Calvinism accuse us of the
                                                              same blasphemies, as the enemies of Calvin accused
                                                G. V.         him. We are ,tiankful  for this ,for two reasons, first,
                                                              it strengthens us in  .our conviction that we are called
                                                              upon to fight for the same truth which the great Re-
                                                              former was also called upon to defend, and secondly
                                                              that we can answer our opponents with the very words
            Foul Arguments Refuted                            of Calvin and thereby clearly reveal that they are not
                                                              defenders of calvinism, as they falsely claim to be, but
  ..During our hbors at Manhattan we have continu- its enemies. In this article we will confine ourselves
alls been harrassed  by foul and  wioked arguments to the first false accusation, namely that we present
against the truth of God's sovereignty, as it is frevealed    God as a demon or monster when on the basis of God's
to us in God's Word, and maintained by us as Protes- Word we teach that God, according to His righteous
tant Reformed churches.       Although the Rev. Bratt judgment and infinite wisdom, created not only vessels
lacks the moral courage to face us in open and public of mercy, but also vessels of wrath fitted for destruc-
debate on the issues of "Common Grace", to which we tion. Even as in the days of Calvin so also in our day
have repeatedly challenged him, he cannot refrain from the enemies of God's sovereignty rebel against the truth
making derogatory charges against our churches. In of ,God's Word, "The Lord hath made all things for
this dis!honorable  practice he is ably assisted by the       Himself; yea even the wicked for the day of evil.,"
so-called leader of the young people, Mr. Henry  We&a,        Prov. 16  :4: That Calvin was attacked upon this point
who `claims to be an ardent supporter of Calvin and of dootrine is evident from the accusation that was
calvinism,  so much so, that he claims to agree with brought against him. They described Calvin's God as
every word the Reformer had ever written, and thought follows :
it evil of me, that during a conversation I had said,            *`Calvin's God is slow to mercy and swift to anger ;
"that even though I agree in the main with the doc- Who has created the greatest part of the world to
trines of Calvin, I could not agree with every word he perdition, and has predestinated them not only to
had Written". This already reveals the foolishness and damnation, but also to the cause of their damnation ;
the'ignorance of the man, for in the f&t place I am and :has, therefore, decreed from all eternity, and wills
sure that he has not even read a" smaI1 :part of all the      and causes their sins,  Iwhich sins are consequently of
Reformer's works, and in the second place it is folly necessity; so that neither thefts nor adulteries, nor
to ascribe to any human document that which alone             murders are committed, but by His will and instiga-
is worthy to !be ascribed to the Word of God. "And            tion. For `He suggests in men depraved and evil af-
yet", to speak in the language of Calvin, "this ape of fections, not only permissively, but effectively, and har-
Euclid puffs himself ofF in the titles of all his chapters dens men's hearts. Wherefore, while men are living
*as  a.first-rate  reasoner," by boasting to the young wickedly, they are rather doing the work of God  th,an
peop!e   ti,at I would not even be able to' debate with a their own work, and cannot do otherwise. This God
"hill-billy" like him.    And whereas most of their makes Satan a liar; so that Satan is not the cause of
hearers refuse to attend our lectures or read our liter- his own Iies, but Calvin's God is." Calvin's Calvinism
ature, they believe the foul calumnies. of these men pp, 335, 336.
which they utter against our doctrine and against                :In this description, by his enemies, of Calvin's God
our churches. Blind leaders of the blind.                     we find a distortion and mutilation of the Calvinistic
    The base calumnies and foul charges which these doctrines of predestination and God's sovereignty over
men hurl at our churches and our doctrines are chiefly all things, also over the sinful deeds of men. After
these three ; &hat, we present God as a demon and a having set forth their conception of Calvin's  C&d,
monster when we upon the basis of Scripture teach,            these enemies of the Reformed faith give their  de-

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

scription of the true God as follows: "But that God even worse than the ten statements which  Z,wier
 which nature, reason, and the Holy Scriptures teach, gathered from his false witnesses, which he sought
 is plainly the contrary to this God of Calvin, for He is for and found. These fourteen statements are as fol-
inclined to mercy and slow to anger. And He created lows ; they are all taken from Calvin's Calvinism.
the first man, from w,hom  all men arose, in His own
image, that He might place him in Paradise and be-               1. "God of His pure and mere will created the
stow upon him eternal life. This God  .wills  that all               greatest part of the world to perdition." pp. 264.
men should be saved, and that no one man should                  2. "God not only predestinated even Adam to dam-
perish. And for this very end He sent His Son into                   nation, but to the causes of that damnation
the ,world, that His righteousness might abound where-               also, whose fall He not only foresaw, but He
ever the sin of man had abounded. The light of this                  also willed by His secret and eternal decree and
righteousness "lightens every man that cometh  into the              ordained that He should fall, which fall, that it
world", and this Son of God, the Saviour of the world,               might, in its time, take place, God placed before
calls aloud to all, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour                him the apple, which should cause that fall."
and are heavy laden, and 1 will give you rest." This                 ,pp. 279.
God suggests good affections and honourable, and de-             3. "The sins which are committed, are committed
livers men from the necessity of sinning (into which                 not only by the permission but even by the will
they precipitate themselves by their disobedience) ;                 of God. For it is frivolous  to make any differ-
and He heals all manner of sickness and all manner of                ence between the permission of God and the
disease among the people. Nay, so merciful is He,                    will of God, as far as sin is .concerned.    They
that He never denies His mercy and help unto anyone                  who attempt to make this difference merely
that prays to Him for them. In fact, this true God                   attempt to gain God over by flattery." pp. 234.
comes for the very end that He might destroy the                 4. "All the crimes that are committed by any man
<works  of that God `of Calvin, and thrust him out of                whatsoever are, by the operation of God, good
doors." idem. pp. 336, 337.                                        . and just." pp. 297.
     rrhere  is a striking similarity between this  descrip-     5. "No adultery, theft, or murder, is committed
tiqn of God by the enemies of Calvin and Calvinism,                  without the intervention of the will of God."
and the ,conception  of God which is held by the present             (Institutes, chap. 14 ; 44) pp. 300.
day' defenders of the theory of Common Grace. They               6. "The Scripture openly testifies that evil doings
also believe in a God that wills that all men shall be
saved, and in a well meaning offer of salvation unto                 are designed, not only by the will, but by the
all men, and all their efforts are bent to maliciously               authority, of God." pp.  301.
root out of the earth the precious doctrine of God's             7. "Whatsoever men do when and *while they sin,
sovereign predestination, and to thrust the God of                   they do according to the will of God, seeing that
Calvin out of doors.                                                 the will of God often conflicts with His pre-
     Calvin's reply to these foul blasphemers of the truth           cepts." pp. 305.
is in part as .follows : "God, however, does not need my         8. "The hardening of Pharaoh, and so his obstin-
feeble defence.  He is now, and in the last day will be,             acy  -of mind and rebellion, was the work of
at mighty Avenger of His own righteousness, even                     God, even on the testimony of Moses Himself,
though all the foul tongues of the whole world should                ,who ascribes all the rebellion of Pharaoh to
combine their efforts to becloud that righteousness with             God."  app. 316.
obscurity and confusion. Wherefore, go you .on with              9.  "T,he will of God is the supreme cause of all the
your band of like spirits, to hurl your blasphemies up to            hardness of heart in man." pp.  316..
the very heavens... They shall all assuredly fall back on       10. "Satan is a liar, at the command of God."
your own heads. `As to your base revilings, I can bear              pp. 321.
them with patience and without trouble, provided they           11. "God gives the will to those who do evil. He
touch not then ever-blessed God, Whose servarrt I am.              also suggests depraved and dishonest affections,
I challenge you to stand (*where you must one day                   not only permissively, but effectually, and that
stand) before His tribunal; that He may show Himself                too, for His own glory." pp. 322.
the righteous Avenger of His own doctrine, which do&            12. "The wicked, by their acts of wickedness, do
trine you thus furiously assail in my feeble person."'              rather God's work than their own." pp. 328.
idem.   p p .   3 4 1 .                                         13. "We sin of necessity  (`with respect to God),
    Even as tehe Rev. Zwier  in "De Wachter" gave ten               ,whether  we sin of our own purpose or accident-
mutsated  and distorted statements concerning our                   allly." pp. 330.
doctrine, so also the enemies of Calvin published four-         14. "What wickedness soever  men commit of their
teen slanderous statements <which  they claimed to have             own will, those wickednesses proceed also from
gathered out of his writings. These statements  are                 the will of God." pp. 330.


                                        T H E   .STANDARD   B E A R E R                                            327
*                                                                -       -             . _ _ _ _
     Even as the Rev. Zwier obtained his statements             Jehovah is His God, is the God of all His people.
from those whe were formerly adherents to the  trt!th        And Jehovah is the Father, who cares for His own.
of God's sovereign grace( outwardly at least, as 1 do        All these things are implied and confessed by the poet
not believe that they ever loved that truth) so also He  &nows the assurance of salvation finds its founda-
these blasphemous statements against Ca!vin's doctrine tion in the fact, that God is his God, who must pardon
were made by one of his former disciples. He writes and forgive. And how true it is, no other grounds
to Calvin, pp. 338, "The truth is, that I myself once        can bring peace and happiness. Doubt will take its
favored your doctrine, and even defended it, though          place, when the forgiveness of sins is not experienced.
I realy did not clearly understand it. For I thought         Doubt in the midst of the battle,  w.hen it saps the
so much of the weight of your authority, that I con- spiritual resistance. Doubt, with the result of becom-
sidered the mere entertaining one thought contrary to ing an easy `prey for the onslaught of that threefold
it `was quite a crime. But now having heard the argu- monster; sin, devil and world. No one knew it better
ments of your opponents, I have nothing to say in reply than David, who had departed from the ways of the
to their conclusions and proofs."                            Lord, walking in the ways of the flesh and the ways of
     If the Rev. Zwier would mould these fourteen his own liking. Nevertheless, it made David an humble
articles against Calvin into a sort of sermonette, even man, who, knowing .his sins, came to confess them.
as he did with the ten statements against us in "De             Secondly, also subjectively God's ipeople  know to
Wachter", I am sure he could make quite a carricature        be God's Covenant people, Without this subjective
of Calvin's God. But I was not writing against the knowledge the danger of dead intellectualism' appears.
Rev. Zwier, but against some of the foul accusations         That will make them proud and unbearable and cause
and arguments brought against us here in Manhattan. all kinds of strife and wranglings. Of *course, we can
I promised to do this in the very words of  Catvin.          easily be misled and take to the notion, that the  sub-'
How Calvin answered some of these wicked charges jectilve  experience can be had apart from the Word.
I will leave for the next time.                              In reality there is no experience in the true sense of
                                        Rev. B. Kok.         the word, unless it is based upon and in perfect har-
                                                             mony  iwith Scripture. All the experience must be
                                                             based upon God's Word if it is to have any value. And
                                                             this subjective experience, if genuine, will reveal itself
                                                             by walking in the ways of the Lord and by keeping
                                                             Covenant fidelity. True it is, spiritual life cannot ade-
              The Cry For Pardon                             quately be expressed in words, but it most assuredly
                                                             will be revealed in one's  wallk.
                                                                Hence, in the sphere of His Covenant and His testi-
                                           P s .   25:ll.    monies, that grace and truth, of  *which the poet speaks,
     `Beautiful words we find in this Psalm. The cove-       are experienced. This will never happen in the way of
nant relation of God and His "people is revealed sin and wickedness, because the Lord is not to be
throughout it. This is clear from the context in all         found in those ways with His  me&y  and loving kind-
that #precedes and follows the text.                         ness.
     The poet addresses God by His covenant Name,               And David's desire, expressed in the petition is,
Jehovah. Only in &nd through that Name pardon is to be a participant of the Covenant blessings. He
possible. And speaking of pardon, God's ways became wants to see them, taste them and live wholly in that
the ,ways  of mercy and truth to him. Therefore, the         way of truth and mercy. Therefore, he does not boast
who!e of the Psalm presents a man vexed in spirit and about his godly <walk,  but he prays : 0 Lord! :pardon
reveals the deepest emotion of one who cries for de- mine iniquity for it is great. Only an humble and up-
liverance.    He is indignant, when he beholds the right man can pray for the foregiveness of Ehis sins.
enemies, forsaking the precepts of the Lord. Is this And note also the basis for his prayer. Says he, do it
Psalm connected with David's persecution by the hand for Thy Name's sake. Let Thy Name alone be the
of Saul? This may be the case, but it does not refer to ground whereupon I am authorized to pray. And
persecution exclusively. David speaks of the sins of secondly, let Thy Name be the motivating power or
his youth, hence, the Psalm may also refer to the cause, to hear my prayer, to  fulfill my petition and to
rebellion of Absalom. But above all, it refers to deep 13ardon  my sins.
inward grief over his sins. Sins committed that must             It is evident, David had arrived at a ripe old age at
be forgiven. !He also speaks of his life that must be the time he made this Psalm. We expect something
consecrated to the Lord. The unholy fie of sin must radically different from what we find in this Psalm.
be quenched and the love for his God become pre- A note of joy would have been more appropriate. The
dominant.                                                    older a Christian is, that much closer he lives with the


                                 .I.
328                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                "---
Lord. That,  *we said, may be expected. Usually the to law and order. And whereas the method of grant-
advance in age means the increase in the grace and ing pardon has become general, which is wrong in it-
the knowledge of the Lord. However, we must not se-f and destroys its own `purpose, the idea of  Ipardon
Forget, that the deepening of grace and the increase in has become contrary to the laws ordained by the Lord.
knowledge are not attained at the expense of the true        The pardoning of the criminal should only be done
knowledge of sinful-self. ' The fact is, that this is im- in cases  -when the  gueilt was established by circum-
plied. When a child grows spiritually,. he repeats the stantial evidence. The slogan "Crime does not pay"
confession of his sins more consciously and will pray should be exchanged for "Pardon fails". Why? Be-
that the Lord may make his sins known unto him, in cause a man wtho~ is pardoned in the' world may not be
order that he may fight against them, imploring the          first of all the object of love.  " The meting out of
divine help and mercy at the same time. That, accord- punishment stands in relation to justice and without
ing to Scripture, is the si,gn of true conversion. T,he justice the fundament of society shakes and crumbles.
`process of the dying of the old- and the rising of the      Besides, how can such a person be the object of love,
new man. In other words, through the continual battle when his benefactors never saw him, as is often the
between these two, the child of God arrives at spiritual case? Pardon today has become a matter of routine
manhood, continually crying for the mercy of the and custom, often depending upon whether or not one
Lord.                                                        is able to pay or to be paid for. Yes, the consequences
   IHence,  David prays for pardon.                          are well known. One who is set free by this method
       The Scriptural idea of forgiveness has a very high will soon forget that punishment is the payment for
purpose. No, it does not simply mean to get rid of his evil doings, .while at the same time, this procedure
misery. Even  ,our world today prays for that, if such tends to make  tehe criminal think  &how easy it is to
can be considered to be prayer. Every man dislikes transgress the laws.
misery and no one prays for it. But David aims at               Scripture knows  nothing -of such pardon.
a higher &purpose. This is also plain from the context.         David does not &plead  for pardon, because he likes
He knows the Lord shows (gives) His mercy unto to get rid of some certain punishment, nor does ;he ask
those who keep His covenant. And it is unto them, for the change of outward conditions. To him sin
that the Lord reveals His mercy and truth, in that itself is the burden, spiritually. He grieves over his
way. Therefore, the question comes before the mind sins. He sighs under its burden. No, not the con-
of the Ipoet,  while I know my sins better and feel my sequences, but sin troubles him Here, the contrite
iniquity so much keener, how shall I receive God's heart and the broken spirit speaks and confesses. He
mercy and truth? And, of course, the only answer is, speaks of his sin, his filth, his iniquity. And he does
only in the way of forgiveness of my sins. For, when not pray, o Lord, keep me from being punished, but
I walk in that way, the way of repentance, the Lord take away all my sins.
again is willing to reveal it to me, that He is the Cove-       For what purpose? The poet spoke of. the mercy
nant One. Only a prof,ound  sense qf sin makes one feel and the grace of God. And of course the viewfpoint  is
the deep need of (pardon. When life is spent loosely subjective. Not simply a question of mere knowledge,
and carelessly,  -one or a few more sins matter not much. but of  experienlce.  David longs for the grace of his
But w,hen life is spent in earnest, even the so-called , God. His innermost being cries to be restored in God's
Iittle sins become unbearable. Thus we find it in the favor. Therefore, take away my sins, that I may ex-
text. Mine iniquity is great. Committing sin day by perience and be fully assured of thy lovingkindness.
day means, that he must pray every day to #receive the       Sin is the great stumblingblock to #have fellowship with
forgiveness of sin. T;he day is spoiled when this is         God. It will keep us away from Him and from  %lis
not done.                                                    Word. Unless a man knows, my sins are forgiven, he
   What does it mean to pray for pardon?                     cannot have fellowship with Jehovah. And it is only
   This word is often misused and misunderstood.             by the way. of pardon that this relation of friendship
In daily life it appears in connection with the criminal is restored. And that assurance, God loves me, is peace
who must serve either a life-sentence or a long term. affording. There is absolutely no other way.
However, before his term expires, he is set free. By            We find an example of it in our own lives. How
the way of so-called legal procedure based upon the can one have fellowship with his friend if that friend
philosophy of the world, that a criminal is in reality a has wronged him? To cover it up makes it that much
sick person, who must be first of all the object of pity more impossible to have true fellowship. Or as is the
and must be made fit to take his place in society as a case with Iparents  and children. The love of parents
decent being. With the result, the increase of crime on commands rebuke if they do not punish their, children
every hand, according to our criminologists. The ques- and make them feel that their wrong doings should be
tion of pardon is played with in our day and the fruit confessed and corrected. And how can the Lord have
is nil, The so-called reform-methods are detrimental fellowship with His people if they ,wallow  in the mire


                                                                                          ..

                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B'EARER                                             329
 (h
 of sin and seek the things of the flesh. Can the Lord has become really sin before one's consciousness, he
 love sin and act as if sin is not committed before His      feels ashamed and will not and must not tell others
 face? Of course not. The cross of Jesus Christ is the       about it, making a show of them. Man can also pride
 revelation of God concerning sin and sinner. The ter- himself in that respect, be it o so humble.
  rible toll paid by the S&our makes it impossible to           No, David's experience is not handed down to us,
 think light of sin. And one doing so makes the cross in order that we may learn to boast about our sins,
 the greatest piece of mockery the world ever witnessed.     but rather it is given for our instruction. The in-
  Never does Scripture present sin to us as something struction is, to bring our sins before the throne
  we can make light of in any way.                           of grace.  This. also implies, when others complain
       And never did David feel at ease as long as his sins about their sins, that we should not pry into them,
  were not pardoned. For, first of all, the inner man,       that we may know in detail what actually happened,
 <renewed by the Spirit longs for peace with God. The but to advise them to unburden themselves as David
 heart cannot rest unless that word of forgiveness is did and as the Christian always ought to do, be-
 spoken. And the outwar,d,  conditions may be changed, fore the face of the Lord. It will keep the church
  but they will not satisfy the heart. The heart  first      and the covenant circle spiritually healthy and away
 and the outward conditions will be taken care of and from all kinds of evil. That, according to Scripture, is
  looked at  in that light, the light of the peace of heart the way of the Lord.
 and mind.                                                      What is David's ground for his prayer? The
       And his heart speaks of his sins as being great or answer is: God Himself.
 manifold. He cries  from  the depth of his soul. As            For Thy Name's sake. For the sake of all Thou
 a swift river becomes wider and wider; thus life as it      didst reveal. concerning ,Thyself  in connection with sin
  passes on becomes to him a stream ever flowing of sin. and misery and forgiving love. Through His  self-
  Hence, this word is not a silent meditation, but a cry revelation, the Lord has made Himself known as the
 direct to God.                                              Unchangeable Covenant Jehovah. The I am Who I am.
                                                             Always willing to forgive, through. Christ Jesus, those
       Beautifully expressed in this verse. David tnow-      who come to Him burdened and heavy laden. They
  ing his sins confesses: Lord, I am so bad, that no one may, nay, they must come. To them He is the God
  is able to help, least of all that I can help myself. of grace and mercy and never failing love. Tlhat Name
  Thou art my only hope. That is always one of  *he reveals the eternal relation between God and His
  characteristics of the Christian, when he pleads for people in and through Jesus Christ. It reveals, I have
  pardon. First, he will acknowledge that no one is able loved thee from all eternity. I have blotted out and
  to help himself, nor can he be helped by others. Hence, written your names in the book of life. Fear not, I am
  he must pour out his heart before the Lord, making your God and Father for my Son's sake. I gave Him
  his sins, all his sins, known unto Him, never trying to to be your Saviour, to pay the price that He may ran-
  cover up any of them. Secondly, sin must be confessed som you from the grave and eternal damnation. You
  to the Lord. Some like to tell them to the so-called are mine and although your sins be- as scarlet, they
  "elite" circle, the "fathers" and "mothers" in  Israe!,    shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like
  who are the self-appointed referees in such spiritual crimson, they shall be as `wool. Rebel not, but con-
  matters. And they tell their stories not once, but as      fess.
  often as the "elite" are gathered and with the most            Hence, that Name is the cause, the ground, ,the
  impossible variations. Just try to tell that kind of motive, that gives us the authority for our prayer and
  people, that they are great sinners with the Word of it provides the assurance, that the prayer is heard and
  God and they soon become angry. Perhaps you heard the desire of the heart shall be fulfilled whenever the
  the story of the lady who made it her hobby to tell        cry of pardon is uttered:
  newcomers, that she `was such a great sinner. When             "For Thy Name's sake, 0 Lord, pardon mine iniqui-
  the new minister arrived she also told him,. that she ty ; for it is great.
  was the greatest sinner of his flock. And when he to:d                                                   w. v.
  her, that he already had that .information,  the same
  "sinner" fiew into a rage, demanding who the person
  or persons were, who  ;had told him, for she would not
  stand for that.                                                                    NOTICE
       Furthermore, notice while they mete out their sins
- before others,. how the one element necessary is miss- The Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches will
  ing, namely, they never say they have brought their be  held D. V. in the parlors of the Fuller Ave. Pro-
  sins before the Lord and received remission for them. testant Reformed Church at Grand Rapids, Michigan
  You may be sure they never did, because if that is the on Wednesday,  M,ay 22, 1940.
  case they would not speak about them so often. iIf sin                                  G. STONEHOUSE,  Clenk.


330                                    T H E   STwANDARD   B E A R E R

                                                            of fierce countenance, a race  dktinct  from the effemin-
        Prophecies Concerning Jerusalem                     ate Asiatic troops.    Throughout many parts of the
                                                            Roman empire, and, in repeated instances, at Jerusalem
       The commonwealth of Israel, from its establish- itself, the slaughter of the Jews was without distinc-
ment to its dissolution,  su,bsisted for more than  fifteen tion of age or sex.. The inhabitants were enslaved and
hundred years. In delivering their law, Moses attested banished, all their possessions confiscated, and the
that he was vested with a divine commission and that kingdom of Israel, humbled at first into a province of
the law which he gave, originated with God. In en- the Roman empire, became at last the private property
joining obedience to it, after having led them to the       of the  emporer.    Throughout all the land of  Judea
borders of Canaan, he promises many blessings to every city was besieged and taken ; and their high
accompany their appliances to the law, and announces and fenced walls were (razed from the foundation.
grievous judgments that would overtake them for the            But the prophet particularizes incidents the most
breach of it. The history of the Jews, in each succeed- shocking to humanity : "And thou shalt eat the fruit
ing age, attest to the truth of the last prophetic warn- of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy
ings of the first of their rulers ; but too lengthened a    daughters,- in the siege and in the straitness where-
detail  would  be required for its elucidation. It con- with thine enemies shall distress thee ; so that the man
tains predictions,  apphcable  to more recent events, that is tender among you, and' very delicate, his eye
which refer to ;historical events that admit no cavil. shall be. evil toward his brother, and toward the wife
He who founded their government, foretold, notwith- of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his chil,dren
standing the ,intervention  of so many ages, the manner whom he shall leave, so ,that ahe will not give to any
of its overthrow. While ,they  were wandering in the of them of the flesh of his children, whom he shall eat,
wilderness, without a city, and without a "home, he because `he hath nothing left him in the siege, and in
threatened them with destruction in their cities,  and the straitness, wherewith thine enemy shall distress
the devastation of their country. While they viewed thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman
for the first time the land of Palestine, he represented among you, which would not ventusre  to set the sole
ithe scene of desolation that it would exhibit to their of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and ten-
enslaved posterity, on their last departure from it. derness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of
Before athey  themselves had entered it, he described her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daugh-
those enemies by whom their descendants were to be ter, and toward her young one, and toward her child-
subjugated and disposed, though they were to arise ren which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for
from a distant region, and although they did not ap- want of all things in the siege and straitness wherewith
pear till after fifteen hundred years, "The Lord shall the enemy shall -distress thee in thy gates". (Deut.
bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of 28 52-5'7).
the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth ; a nation whose       No commentator, nor careful reader of Scripture
tongue thou shalt not understand ; a nation of fierce and of Jewish history could fail to observe the repeated
countenance,  *which shall not regard the person of the instances of the fulfillment of this awful and striking
old, nor  shew favor to the young. And he shall eat prediction. When  Sarnaria,  then the capital of Israel,
the fruit of thy. cattle and the fru,it of thy land, until was besieged by all the hosts of the king of Syria, an
thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee ass's head was sold for eight pieces of silver. (2 Rings
either corn, wine, or oil ,or the increase of thy kine, 6 :25). When Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem,  the
or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee ; famine prevailed in the city, and there was no bread
and he shall besiege thee in thy gates, until thy high for the people in the land. And Josephus, in his his-
and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, tory of the Jewish war, relates the direful calamities
throughat all thy land". (Deut. 28 :49-51).                 of the Jews in their last siege, before they ceased to
       Each particular of this prophecy, though  it be only have a city. The famine was too powerful for all other
introductory to others has met its full comp!etion. The ipassions, for what was otherwise reverenced was in
remote situation of the Romans, the swiftness of their this case despised. Children snatched the food out of
march, the very emblem of their arms, their unknown the very mouths of Itheir fathers ; and even mothers,
language and warlike appearance, the cruelty and un- overcoming the tenderest feelings of nature, took from
sparing pillage which they exercised toward the per- their perishing infants the last morsals that could
sons and the property of the Jews, could scarcely have sustain their lives. In every house where there was
been represented in more  descriiptive  terms.  Vespa-      the least shadow of food, a contest arose ; and the near-
Sian, Adrian, and Julius Severus,  removed with part est relatives struggled with each other for the miser-
of  their$rmies from Britain to Palistine, the extreme able means of existence. He adds a most lrevolt,ing  de-
points' of the Roman world. The eagle was the stan- tai1. A noble lady killed with her own hands, and ate
dard of  their armies, and the utmost activity was dis- secretly, her own suckling.         Jeremiah laments over
played in the reduction of  Judea. They were a nation the miseries of the siege which he witnessed : "The


                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                  331

hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall
children: they were their meat in the destruction of not a hair of your head perish. And many false pro-
the  dsu'ghter of my people." These facts predicted fur phets will arise and shall deceive many: and because
ages, could not possibly have been revealed but by in- iniquity shall abound, the love of many wax cold. When
spiration from Him who knows because He has deter- ye therefore shall see Jerusalem encompassed aboJ,t
mined the end of the .iniquities  of the nations.              with armies, and the abomination of desolation stand
      Moses  an'd the other prophets; foretold also that in  the holy place, and where it ought not, then let
the Jews would be left few in number, that they would ,them which are in Judea flee to the mountains, and
be slain before their enemies, that the pride of their let him which is in the midst of the city depart out.
power would be broken, that their cities would be laid         Let him which is on the Ihouse-top  not go down into
waste, that they would be destroyed and brought to the house, neither let him that is in the field turn back
nought, plucked from off the land, sold for slaves, and        again for to take up his garment, for these are the
that none  wodd buy them,-that  their high p-aces days -of vengeance. But woe unto them that are with
were to be ,desoate,  and their bones to be scattered          child, and to them that give such in those days ; for
round their altars,-that `Jerusalem was to be en- there will be great distress in the land, and  -wrath  upon
camped round about, to be besieged  w(ith  a mount, to -the people ; and they shall fall by the end of the sword,
have forts raised..against it, to be ploughed over as  2t and shall be led captive into all nations. And Jeru-
field, and to become heaps,-that the end was to come salem shall betrodden down by the gentiles."
upon it; and that the Lord would judge them according             These prophecies,  ,from the Old Testament and from
to their ways, and recompence  them for all their abom- the New, are numerous and clear. History attests the
inations ; the sword without and the pestilence and the ,truth  of each and all of them. "There shall be great
famine within : "ihe that is in the field shall die with distress in the land. and wrath upon the people. These
the sword ; and he that is in the city,  ,famine and are the days of "vengeance." Such are some of the
pestilence shall devour him" (Lev. 26 :30 ; Deut. 25 : 62 ;    words of Jesus, relative to the destruction of Jeru-
Isa. 24 :3 ; Ezek. 6 :5; Micah 3 :12).                         salem ; and all the previous prophecies regarding it
   These predictions, which are recorded in the Penta-         were of the same sad import. The particulars of the
teuch, and in the su'bsequent  prophesies, accord with siege are all related by Josephus, and form a detail
the minute prophetic narrative which Jesus gave of the of miseries which he repeatedly declares in terms
siege and destruction of Jerusalem. The different pro- that entirely accord with the language of prophecy,
phecies of Christ respecting Jerusalem may be con- and are altogether unequaled in the history of the
densed into a single view: "And Jesus went out, .and <world. The Jews had assembled in their city from all
departed from the temple ; and His disciples came to the surrounding country, to keep the feast of un-
Him, for to show Him the buidings of the temple. And leavened bread. It was crowded  with inhabitants when
Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? they were all imprisoned within the walls. The pass-
Verily  I say unto you, there shall not be left here one .over,   which was commemorative of their first great
stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. deliverance, had collected them for their last destruc-
And as he sat down upon the Mount of Olives, the tion. Before any external enemy appeared, the fiercest
disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, dissessions prevailed. The blood of thousands was
when shall all these things. be? and what shall be the shed by their brethren. They destroyed and burned
sign of thy coming, qand of the end of the age? And in their frenzy their common provisions for the siege.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that They were destitute of any regular government, and
no man deceive you ; for many shall come in my name, divided into three factions. On the destruction of one
saying,, I am Christ; and shall .deceive  many. And the of these, each of the others contended for the mastery.
time draw near; and ye shall hear of wars,-or com- The most ferocious and fanatic, the robbers or zealts
motions: these things must first come to pass, but the prevaled at last. They entered the temlple,  under the
end is not yet. Nation shall rise `against nation, and ipretence  of offering sacrifices, and carried concealed
kingdom against kingdom; and great earthquakes shall           weapons for the purpose of murder. They slew the
be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences, and priests at the altar; and their blood, instead of that of
fearful sights ; and great signs there shall be from the sacrificial animals, flowed around it. They after-
heaven. All these things are the beginning of sorrows. wards rejected all terms of peace with the enemy.
But before all these things shall they lay their bends         None were suffered to escape from the city. Every
upon you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the house was entered, and every article of food was stolen,
synagogues and into prisons, being brought before and the most wanton barbarities committed. Nothing
kings and rulers for my nam's sake. And many shall could stem their fury. Wherever there  :was  the ap-
be offended. Ye shall be betrayed .both by parents and pearance or scent of food, the human bloodhounds
brethren, and kpinsfolk  and friends: and some of you, tracked it out; and though a general famine raged
shall they cause to be put to death, and ye shall be round, though they were ever trampling on the dead,

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

nothing  coul,d intimidate or shock them, till Mary, the
daughter of Eleazar, a lady once rich and noble, dis-                   Victory Over The Grave
played to them and offered them all her remaining food
-the remnant of her half-eaten suckling.                                    ,So  &when this  cornuptible  shall have put on
       Sixty thousand Roman soldiers besieged them. They                  incorruption, and this mortal  shall have put on
encompassed Jerusalem with a wall, and  hemned  them                     immontality,   thy  shs.U be brought to pass the
in on every side. They brought down their high and                       saying that is  WTititen,  Death is swallowed up
fenced walls to the ground.  Tjhey  slaughtered the                      in victory.
slaughterers. They spared not the people. They burn-                        0 death, where is thy sting? 0  gr,zve,  where
ed the temple in  d&ance of the command of their                         is thy victory ?
general. The whole city was full of famished dying                          The sting of death is sin;- and the strength
and murdered dead. The Roman soldiers put all in-                         of sin is the law.
discriminately to death, and ceased not till they became                    But  ,&hanks be to God, which giveth us the
faint and weary with the -work of destruction. Then                      victory through  onr Lord Jesus Christ.
they set fire to the city in various places; The flames                     Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye  stead-
spread everywhere. Jerusalem became heaps, and the                       t&at,  unmoveabk,   aIways   `&bounding  in the work
mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.                  of the Lord,  forasmuch  as ye know that your
Within the circuit of a few miles;in  the space of five                  labor is not in vain in the Lord.
months, eleven thousand human beings perish. To                                                         I  Car.  15:54-68.,
the wailing women who followed Him on the way to                The term death, in this Scripture is an abstract
Calvary, Jesus turned and said, "Daughters of Jeru- no.un, and is therefore the signification of an abstrac-
salem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and tion. The -apostle in his mind draws death away from
for your children. For behold the days are coming, in the thing which is dead-the sinner-and conceives of
the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren and         it as something- apart. This, of course; can ,be done
the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never in the mind only. Fact is, that the sinner is dead.
gave suck."                                                  Death is a state or condsition  of being;, both physical
       No imposter ever predicted events so unlikely, .and spiritual death. The death of- the Scripture we
astonishing and true, as an attestation of divine com- now deal with is  Iphysical. This is evident from the
mission. Jesus revealed the very judgments of God. context. There were.found;,in,the,Christian  assembly
All these prophecies, of which we have been reviewing to which the apostle directs these words, those who
the accomplishment, were delivered in a time of perfect at least questioned  the'raising up of the dead. How,
peace, wlhen  the Jews retained  ,their own laws, and en- such would ask, are the dead raised up and'with  what
joyed the protection of the Roman Empire. The won- body do -they come? "Fool;" said  the' apostle,. "that
der excited in the minds of His disciples at the strength which thou  sowest  is not  -qui&kened,   except   it. die.
and durability of the temple, drew forth from Jesus And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body
the announcement of its speedy  .and utter ruin. He that  shall be, Sut bare grain, ,it may chance-of `wheat,
foretold the sppearance  of the false Christs and pre- or of some-grain; but God giveth it a body as it bath
tended iprophets  ; the wars and rumors of wars ; the pleased Him, and to, every seed. his `own' body." The
famines and pestilences and earthquakes and fearful apostle goes on to say that .a11 flesh is not the-same
sights that were to ensue ; the persecution of His dis- flesh, but there is one kind.-of-`flesh  of men; another
ciples  ; the  apostacy  of many ; the *propagation of the flesh of beasts. . . . The new body, then,  kwill not
gospel ; the ruin of Jerusalem ; and that all this crowd differ, as to kind from the earthy body shed.~  However,
of events, was to pass away within the limits of a single "There are also celestial bodies; and bodies terrestrial ;
generation.                                                  but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of
       But the prophecies also mark minuter facts, if  pos- the terrestrial is another. So also is the resurrection
isible more unlikely to have happened. Jerusalem was of the dead. The two bodies,-the one shed, the
to be ploughed over as a field ; to be laid even with the    earthy,  Land the body of the resurrection-do not differ
ground. Of the temple one stone was not left upon as to species, but `as  to' glory; The body shed is cor-
another. T.he Jews were to be few in number; to be ruptible, dishon&ble,-  weak. It is raised in glory
led captive into all nations. Titus commanded the and power, a spiritual body. So it appears that the
whole city and temple to be razed from the foundation. theme of this chapter is the apparance of the saints
The soldiers were not then disobedient to their general. in the day of Christ. Then this corruptible will have
The altar, the temple, the walls and the city, were put on incorruption; and  thismortal,  immortality. . . .
overthrown from the base, in search of the treasures         then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
whioh the Jews had concealed and buried during the written, Death is swallowed' up in victory (verse  54))
siege.                                                       land the apostle jubilantly exclaims: "0 death, where
                                           - G.  M. 0.
                            -.,                              is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory?


                                     TSHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                     333

    Death here is thought  .of as a poisonous insect does not wound and slay the believer, does not ripen
 with a deadly sting,  .operating  in man, wounding him for a grave constituting the gateway to hell.
 him, and gnawing at the very root of his earthy How must it be accounted for then that the believers
 existence.                                                .die  and. descend into the grave? Death hath been
    Man takes death with him from the womb, and swallowed up in victory. That is to say, respecting
 becomes aware of  ,its operations in him as soon as the believers, death as the instrument of sin has been
!he attains to self-consciousness. Every ache and pain conquered, overcome and rendered their servant, their
 is  .a testimony  to. the  fact  that this body is being slave. What may be the service death renders to the
assailed and mortified. And though the very strong Ibeliever?  A very  i,mportant  one. The believers are
survive for many a year, the dimned vision, the im- earthy. They bear the image of the earthy. Their
paired hearing, the faltering step, the furrowed visage    regenerated spirit dwells in a house of an earthy
peculiar to the evening of man's life, warn them that tabernacle-this body of flesh and blood.  iHowever,
 they, too, shall soon  succomb  to death's assaults. flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God.
 The final thrust is made when the soul forsakes Neither can corruption inherit incorruption. And,
 its earthy dwelling.    The lifeless frame is then fact is, the house of this earthy tabernacle is  cor-
 placed beneath the sud and the grave has gained an- rul:tible,  dishonorable, weak.        T4he believer cannot
other victory.                                             enter into the  ,heavenly  mansions clothed with this
    The sting of death is sin. There is, then, a causal body. It must be shed, broken, torn, destroyed. Death
relation between sin and death. For sin, returning. not as the instrument of sin, but as a servant of the
to the sinner as guilt slays him through death. Man believer, renders the believer this great service. And
 is the sinner. He is this, first of all, in the head when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
and representative of the race to w,hieh  he belongs. and this mortal shall have put on immortality, deat,h
 There is the transgression of Adam extended to all shall have completed its task. Then shall have been
mankind, a corruption of the whole nature produc- realized the saying is is written, death is, swallowed
 ing in man all sorts of sin. It is by their sum total up in victory.
 that the house of man's earthy tabernacle-is being           It is God that giveth the victory through our Lord
assailed and destroyed. And if it be considered that Jesus Christ. God through Christ gained the victory
the wound of any one sin is fatal, the conviction can- for His people. Assuming full responsibility for our
 not be escaped that man is certainly headed for the sins, He was wounded for our transgressions, `bruised
grave.                                                     for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace `was
    The apostle asserts, further, that sin is strong, ulpon Him ; and with His stripes we are healed. It
 and that its strength ,is, the law. The transgressed pleased the Lord to bruise Him, to put Him to grief,
 law  dema&  that sin return to the transgressor as and to make His soul an offering for sin. Christ, then,
guilt and slay him through  ,death.  The soul that suffered sin's Ipenalty,  -and thus removd, took away,
 sinneth  shall die. The law .must be associated with for His people, sin. He thus destroyed death and at
 the unrelenting righteousness of holy God so that once silenced the law, so that it no longer demands
 it is He who  must  demand the death of the trans- that the transgression returns to the believer in. the
 gressor. Death, then,. being transgression of the law, form of guilt and slay him through death. By Himself
 is a Divine necessity, certain and sure as the great dying, and living again He loosed death from sin and
 God is mighty to revenge, as unrelenting as the converted it from a servant of (hell to a servant of life
 Ahnighty is holy.                                         and heaven. By IHimself passing through the grave,
    Further, death contemplated as punishment ripens He loosed it from sin and converted it from  a'gateway
 man for a grave that constitutes the gattiay  to hell. to the realms of eternal darkness, to the gateway of
 The law is not satisfied until the transgressor has dis- heaven. From the grave the. way led into the sanc-
 appeared into the region of eternal night Where men tuary above, which He entered taking with Him
weep <and wail only.                                       His loved ones.    Tihus did the Father give to us
    So it appears that the inward reality of death through Christ, the victory. For, being included in
is sin. This the fool refuses to admit. Being stupid Him we were afhxed .with Him. to the cross, passed
he refuses to recognize the facts of man's existence.      with Him through the grave and were set with Him
 The, ,very thought of death he puts far from him and      in heaven. The victory, then, is our lawful `property.
insists that his house shall stand forever.                Therefore must and does death serve us, ,and when
    The apostle, wonderful to say, derides death's sting death shall have done its work, Christ in and through
and the victory gained by the grave. "0 death, where the believers will shake death off them as upon the
i,s thy sting.  O.grave,  where is thy victory." They morning of the resurrection He shook it off Him-
 no longer exist-for those who are in Christ. For self, to reclothe them  ,with  a body congruous with
death has been .swallowed  up, devoured, reduced to their heavenly mode of existence. 0 death,  w,her  is
nothing, wiped out of existence, Sin through death thy sting; 0 grave,  wihere  is thy victory,? What

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

doth it avail the that thou destroyest  tmhis  house of thru the narrow gate. Satan and the wonld  in conjunc-
my earthy tabernacle? Of what value to you, grave,          tion with the flesh combine to jolt us loose from
is thy victory?                                             the truth. All that is in the world, the lust of the
       "Therefore my beloved brethren," so the apostle flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
continues, "be ye steadfast, umovable,  always abound- life may engage our minds so that we lose out of
ing in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know sight the unseen realities. God  worketh  the will to
that your labor is not in vain to the Lord."                be unmovable.
       This admonition was occasioned by the presence          Many are being moved this day by the mockery
of, the sceptics in the Christian assembly at Corinth. of the scoffers. The circle still cleaving to the truths
In his reply, the apostle calls attention to the fact of Christendom is becoming ever smaller.               Of the
that the resurrection of the just is imaged in creation.    doctrine of the resurrection of the just unto glory
The seed sown, dies. In this seed, however, is hidden the world must have nothing of. For its other side
an invisible life that abides. What decays is the body defines the resur?ection  of the unjust as the prelude
housing this life.  The- latter receives a new  body- to their disappearance into that region of outer dark-
the plant. So, too, the believer. He is an organism ness. It is a doctrine that constitutes an argument
housing a new principle as such invisible,, to-wit,         in  falvor  of taking a stand over against the lust of
the regenerated spirit or ego, which at death is set the flesh. The  ,wicked, however, will to love and to
free and received in heaven. What remains is the life- serve the flesh. They therefore despise the truth and
less frame of man, which decays and returns to the take their position upon the lie. The reason why the
dust. In the day of Christ that which is born of God truth is hated and the lie loved is an' intensely practical
receives a new  `body. The two constitute' the glorified one.
organism that takes its place in the eternal kingdom           One may have glided from the truth without
of light.                                                   having openly broken with the truth. This sort of
          It is with a view to the resurrection of the just thing may happen in those circles whose members
that the apostle wrote: "Be ye  stea,dfast,  unmovable.`" have been living all their lives on familiar terms with
The term steadfast is self explanatory. Man must the truth. What tells us that a shifting process is in
stand somewhere. God alone is not in the need of progress is the growing worldliness on the part of
standing room distinct from  IHis own being for He the one having shifted. The lie is always lived before
rests in and stands upon Himself. The  splace upon confessed.
which man takes his position is distinct from self.          . "Be ye unmoveable, always abounding in the work
The steadfast are such as keep to the position once of the Lord." Abounding in the work of the Lord
taken up.                                                   characterizes the unmovable Christian.      Yl?he work
       The ,believer  ties his stand upon the truth, as it of the Lord." The Lord, then, has a work called His,
is in Christ Jesus. The truth in addition dwells in to wit, the execution of the counsel of God. Of this
him and constitutes the element in which he abides counsel the outstanding article is the one asserting
and moves. To the u,nseen  realities reflected by truth that the elect shall be called out of darkness into the
he feels himself attracted. They constitute for him light; that the church shall be cared for, and that the
the pearl of great value for which he sells all, which world shall be made ripe for judgment. The work of
he seeks with a singleness of purpose and a persever- the Lord is to execute these Divine decrees. In this
ing diligence called steadfastness.                         work the unmoveable Christian abounds in a man-
       The particular truth to which the apostle admon- ner compatible with his being creature.            The un-
ishes his readers to keep is that of the resurrection       movable Christian places before ,his eyes the high ideal
of those who fall asleep in Jesus.       Paul would not -of fearing the Lord, letting his light shine, conform-
,have his readers be moved from this truth by the           ing his whole life to God's law, living in every depart-
sceptics.    Doing so they ,would needs be taking their ment of life out of the principle  of regeneration. Do-
stand upon the opposing lie to the effect that there        ing so, this unmoveable one is engaged in the work
is no resurrection of the dead, that man therefore of the Lord. As the Lord's instrument he is calling
had better eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow by his light, out of the world, God's people, nourish-
he dies. On the other hand, abiding unmovable their ing those who dwell in the light, and condemning by
speech would be: There is a resurrection of the his light the world. This in general. There are, of
just to eternal life.     Hence, let us abound in the course, many specific tasks  with in a  specific sense
work of the Lord for we know that our labor is not constitute the work of the Lord. A number of such
in vain.                                                    tasks are mentioned in this sixteenth chapter,  such as
   Be ye unmovable. Do not shift positions by pass- the helping of the poor in Jerusalem. Further, the
ing from the truth to the lie. Would this be pos- Corintheans  are. charged by Paul to see to it that
sible for the saint?  lIndeed  not? However, to be Timothy be among them without fear and to submit
unmuveable  requires real effort as well as to enter in themselves to the `house of Stephanus.


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A ' R E R                                          335
-
     He who would abound in the  ,work of the Lord upper chamber, the disciples were assembled. They
shall  `be prepared to practice much self-denial. He could not be taken by surprise. They were prepal;ed
must be prepared to suffer for the sake of the Lord. by' the (report of Mary Magdalene, of the women, of
Therefore the apostle adds that his readers  must                     Peter, of the two disciples from  Emmaus, to believe
keep before their eye that their labor is not in vain                 that He was alive ; yet when Jesus stood in their midst,
in the Lord. The saints, then, labor, must  conscious'y               they supposed that they had seen a spirit; so troubled
labor in the  Lord.  This labor is the Lord's and it                  were they at His sight, so doubtful were they, even
must be perform.4 in  the Lard. The laborer shall as they lmked at Him, that He had to say to them,
transport himself through faith in the Lox-d  and con- "Why are ye troubled and why do thoughts arise in
template the Lurd as One who merited the good works your heart? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I
in which he as the Lord's laborer may be engaged.                     myself; handle me, and see, for a spirit  bath not flesh
These works have been prepared for him that he and bones as ye see me have ;" and still further to
should walk in them. This la,borer  should contemplate remove all doubt,  (He asked them for some meat, and
Christ further as one who by His Spirit worketh in He took the piece of broiled fish and the honeycomb,
him both to will and to do; as One who is the true and did eat them in their presence. It was, no doubt the
vine apart from whom the laborer can bear no fruit:                   sudden appearance of Christ in the midst of them,
as One in whom dwells the fulne& of life and ,power.                  while the doors of the chamber remained unopened,
This laborer, finally, must know himself as the Lord's which, in part, begot the belief that it .was a spirit
instrument, in and through whom the Lord performs that stood before them. But there was also something
His labors. Any labor performed in any other frame in the changed appearance  of Christ to sustain this
of mind is an abomination in the sight of the Lord.                   belief. This is evident from what is told us of His
     This kind of labor. is not in vain but will be re-               next appearance by the lake side of Galilee. John
warded.     And the reward, the redemption of our recognized Him from the boat; bnt when they had all
bodies-the main theme of this epistle-and the adop- landed and gathered around Him, "None of them, "it is
tion of children, in a word, the aggregate of the bless- said, "durst ask Him, Who art thou? knowing that it
ings of the kingdom, Christ is pleased to call a reward was the Lord." But the desire to put this question,
though it constitutes a blessed boone merited by Him, arose from a passing doubt, and  t,his doubt rose from
a reward for the faithfulness and  perseverence  of some change in His appearance.                           The *resurrection
which he again is the Workman.                                        body of Christ had passed through a stage or two in
                                                      ti. M. 0.       its transition from the natural into the spiritual body ;
                                                                      from its condition as nailed upon the cross, to its
                                                                      glorified condition as now upon the throne. The flesh
                                                                      and blood, which cannot inherit the kingdom, was still
                                                                      there, yet so modified as to be no longer subject to
                                                                      the material laws and conditions of the earthy.
 The Disputings Of The Two Of Them                                       There was something special in the instance of the
                                                                      two  disciples travelling to  Emmaus. Two or three
                And, behold, two of them went, thitEizt  same day     hours were spent in close and earnest conversation,
              I&O a village called  Emmaus . . . .         I  t       (without their once suspecting that it was He. He
                                                 Luke 24:13.          punposeiy concealed Himself until the work of instruc-
                                                                      tion was complete.
     In reading the accounts of all the different appear-                A stranger though Jesus is to them, they do not
ances of Christ after  His resurrection, it becomes plain hesitate to confess their faith in Him as a  pz-opheit
to us, that some change had taken place in the appear- mighty in words and deed. But their hope that it was
ance of Jesus, enough to cause the disciples to hesitate He who should have redeemed Israel had been Masted
to declare that it is IHe, yet not enough to leave any by His crucitiion. They had so hoped that it was He.
permanent doubt as to His identity. In the garden For they loved God's people and truly loved Jehovah
Mary Magdalene was so absorbed in  :her sorrow, that and thus were yearning for new tokens of His mercy
she failed at fist to see who Jesus was. But when her and favor-the redemption of their  peolple.                         Their
name was spoken, and she turned and tied her eye fancying that their hope had been vain tells us that
upon Christ, the recognition was  complete.                   To the they were ignoPant respecting the true character of
iwomen by the way, to whom next he showed Himself, God's kingdom and its King. Christ was not standing
His very greeting revealed Him, and left no room  fm                  out in their minds as the Lamb of God that taketh
doubting that it was He. They held Him by the feet,                   away, that had taken away, the sin of the world.
too, for a moment, as they worshipped, and got the                    `I'hey  understood not that /He  M to suffer these things,
evidence of touch as well as sight to convince them and to enter into His glory. The redemption which
pf His bodily presence. That `same evening, in the they in common  Iwith all God's people were hoping


336'                         `,-`THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                   22
for' they contemplated as deliverance from the yoke the heart as of the head. They were interested not
of the oppressor, in this instance the Romans. Tcheir in maintaining themselves in their false conceptions,
ignorance can be explained but not excused. In the but in knowing the truth about Christ. They therefore
past Israel's salvation had always assumed this form. could be corrected. By the mercy of God, they were
When they forsook Him, His wrath would burn against susceptible to the truth. "And beginning at Moses,
them. Then the enemy would enter their borders to           and  all the prophets, He expounded to them in all the
rob  and, kill. But as often as they would repent of        Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Yet He
their apostacy,  He wouId forgive them and bring de- did not spare them . "0 fools and slow of heart to
liverance. This would again be to them the token believe," He says to them. Slow of heart, indeed,
that they again walked in the light of His countenance. and difficult to convince  .had they been, who, after
T(he disciples  ha,d also a wrong conception of the king- such clear declarations of *His own beforehand, that
dom that Christ had come to establish. Their con-           He should be *delivered  upon to the rulers, and suffer
ception of it was earthy.       It was to be, so they many things at their hands, and be crucified and rise
imagined, a kingdom with an earthy appearance, thus again the third day, had nevertheless remained so
with an appearance identical to that of the  Israelitish    obstinate in their unbelief. Yet Christ wounds but
state or commonwealth to  whiloh  they belonged. They to heal. He rebukes the .unbelief,  but instantly pro-
realized not that this commonwealth was but shadow-         ceeds to remove its grounds.       The one. great, mis-
a shadow of the heavenly. Their ignorance finds its         leading prejudice of the disciples had been their belief
explanation,  ,at least in, part, in the circumstance  .that that the path of the promised Messiah was only to be
they had not yet the heavenly as the direct object of one of triumph and glory. To correct that error, it
their vision. And they could.not have, as the heavenly      was only required- that .they should be made to see
had not yet appeared. The view therefore that the f&at the predicted triumph and glory were alone to
expectation of the disciples of the Lord was indicative be reached through the dark- valley of suffering and
of sheer carnality is wrong.      The disciples-all of death. "0 fooIs, and slow of heart to believe all that
them-were, as to the heart of their disposition, true the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have
believers. What they yearned for in the final instance suffered these things, and to enter into glory?" And
is not the earthy but God. Hence, what they had He expounded to them in all the Scriptures concerning
need of knowing is that God loved them, loved His Himself. And (while  He talked with them, their hearts
Ipeople.:  And because, so they thought, the fresh token burned within them, burned with .the new hope and
of this love was to be His delivering His people from joy which the Scriptures which He opened to them
the yoke of an earthy oppressor, it was to this deliver- and was applying to their heart, kindled in their
ance, and to the coming of the promised deliverer, that heart.
they were looking forward. And therefore they had                                                         G. M. 0.
so trusted. that it had been he which should have re-
deemed Israel.
   Now it is true, of course, that what they were
expecting-the restoration of the kingdom of God as                             JEZUS LEEFT
to its earthy form-also appealed to sinful flesh. ' In
the kind of. kingdom they were expecting their flesh               Jezus Ieeft en wij met Hem,
cduld  and did greatly interest itself. Having once at-            Dood ! Waar is uw schrik gebleven?
tached themselves to Christ, the disciples were looking            Jezus Ieeft, en Zijne stem
forward with carnal eagerness to their being raised to             Roept ook ons eens weer in `t leven,
positions of prominence next to  rHim in His kingdom.              Zal ons eens met eer bekl&n-
And each had his  (heart  set on the  (place of highest            Dat is onze  troost  alleen.
honor. Yet; they truly loved Him and therefore  clave              Jezus leeft, nu is de dood
to Him, despite the fact-that He was continually blast-            Ons een  ingang tot het leven,
ing their fa!se messianic hopes through His instruc-               Welk een rust in stervensnood
tion. They, the  apostIes,  clave to Him, except the               Zal dit woord  `ens harte geven,
Judas who betrayed Him. But he was a child of the                  Gij, o, Heiland, Gij alleen,
devil. He could not endure to be corrected, because                Gij zijt onze troost alleen.             .
he had all his affections set solely upon the things on
earth.                                                             Jezus mijn  Verlosser  Ieeft !
   "To the two disciples that "went that same day to               `k Zal als Hij  onsterflijik   wezen,
the village called  Emmaus," Christ Himself drew near,             Zijn, waar Hij mijn Heiland leeft,
because,  being true lovers of God and of Zion, they               Waarom zou ik dan nog vreezen?
were sad, and therefore could be and had, need of being            `t IHeerli  j k Hoof d is opgewekt,
instructed. Their erring was  a  matter not so much of             Dat Zijn leden tot Zich trekt.
        E-


                           A   Reformed  ,Semi-Monthly Magazine
             PUBLISHED BY THE REFORMED FREE  PUBLI  SHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS,  MICH.




                                            Boer, Rev. M. Gritters, Rev. B. Kok, Rev. C.  Banko,
                                            Rev.  G. Lubbers, Rev. R.  Veldman,  Rev. H.  Veld-
                                                  Rev. A. Petter, Rev. J. Vander Breggen.

Vol.  XVI, No. 15. Entered  an Second Class mail                  MAY 1, 1940                         Subscription  Price $2.00
                        matter at Grand  Rwids.   Mich.


li                                                                      crowds had been roused to enthusiasm and would have
          MEDiTATI~N                                                1 crowned Him king ; and *here they had become offended
                                                                        `in Him because He would not give them the bread that
V, perisheth. Here the wind and the storm tossed.billows
       By The Word Of `I'he Risen Lord                                  had obeyed the word of the Master's power; here they
                                                                        *had seen Him come unto them in the night, walking
                                                                        on turbulent waves ! And :here they had been called
                 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go fish- .away from their earthly occupation with the  some-
               ing. They say unto him. We also go with !w'hat strange assurance that He would make them
               thee . . . , and that night they caught fishers of men. . . .
               nothing . . . .         Then Jesus saith unto
               them, Children, itave ye any meat? F/UZU                     I go fishing!
               answered him, No. And he said unto                           How many strange and  marvellous  things had taken
               them, Cast the net on the right side,of the place since they  had followed the Master in His jour-
               ship, and ye shall find. They cast there- neying through Galilee, especially during the last few
               fore, and now they were not able to drau*                weeks ! Many a change had been brought about, not
               it for the multitude                                     only in their relation to and fellowship with the Lord,
                                            of  fishes. Therefore
               that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto but also in their own hearts and exprience. Jesus had
               Peter, It is the Lord . . . . As soon as died ! And how terribly  tHe had died ! All that He had
               they were come to land, they saw a fire of spoken concerning Himself and His decease at Jeru-
               coals there, and fish  laid thereon, and salem, His being delivered into the power of the chief
               bread . . . . Jesus saith unto them, Come priests and Pharisees  to be crucified, words that had
               and dine . . . .         This  *is now the third never been understood by them, had now come to pass.
             , time that Jesus  shewed  himself to his Willingly, without the least manifestation of His
               disciples after that he was risen from the mighty power, without a word of self-defense, He had
               dead.                                                    died. And, indeed, He had risen ! They had seen  lHim af-
                                                John 21:3-1.4.          ter His resurrection. Yet, things were not the same as
      I go fishing !                                                    before the cross ! Jesus seemed remote! The former
      A heart full of impatience and weariness tries to daily fellowship had never been resumed. And even
un,burden  itself in this  *brief announcement.                         when He did come to them, He seemed to belong to
      `t Was at the Sea of Galilee.                                     them no longer! . . . .
      The familiar surroundings must have recalled to                       Hardly ever did they see Him ! . . . .
the disciples that were together here many an incident                      Was He, perhaps, still grieved with them, because
from the ministry of their beloved Lord, who had now in the hour of His sorrow they had all been offended
died and risen again from the dead!                                     in Him? . . . .
      Here many a miracle had been performed ! Many                         I go  fishing!
sick had been restored to health ; many a leper had                         The Lord had directed the disciples to go to Galilee,
been cleansed ; many a lame man had been sent forth                     and promised them that there they would see Him.
leaping with joy ; many a devil-possessed had been set Even before His suffering and death and .resurrection,
free; to the blind sight, to the deaf hearing was re-                   when He spoke to them of all these things, He had
stored ; and the gospel of the kingdom of .heaven had                   enjoined. them that they should go to Galilee.       But
been preached to the `poor ! Here multitudes had been even as they had never understood the gloomy predic-
fed with a few loaves of bread and fishes ; here the                    tions concerning His death and shame, but had con-

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

tinued their own line of thought and discussed the all correctly synchronized ; whose name had been espec-
question who would be the greatest in the kingdom                ially mentioned by the angel at the vacated grave:
of heaven, so in the hour of darkness they had never             "tell His disciples. . . .and Peter"; who had been es-
remembered  iHis word concerning the resurrection,               pecially privileged by a manifestation of Jesus to him
and had forgotten the promise that in Galilee they               alone ; and w$ho now, Iperhaps,  felt that he needed still
wodd see Him. And after the resurrection the com-                another word from the Master, a sword of public re-
mand had been repeated. Another week they had storation,-Peter takes the initiative, and that in his
waited, hoping that also T,homas might be persuaded own characteristic way !
to go with them. And now they were at the Sea of                     I go fishing!
Galilee, waiting for the fulfillment of the promise                  Then, of course, there were the two sons of Zebedee,
that here they would see the Lord. . . .                         the Boanerges, w,hose  mother had once conceived for
       I go fishing!                                             them a place of special honor in the cabinet of the
       They had now waited for His coming what seemed King ! Not easily would they separate themselves from
to them a long time. And they had expected Him in the company of the disciples, nor abandon the hope
vain. For, notice that the apostle informs us that this of seeing the risen Lord. Nor would Nathanael, the
was  the  third  time that Jesus appeared unto His dis- Israelite in whom there was no guile, and who on a
ciples. Twice He had manifested Himself to them in very early occasion had confessed that Jesus is the Son
Judea.      Hence, this appearance of the Lord at the of God!
Sea of Galilee was the  first  since the disciples had               But `Peter leads : I go fishing !
gone thither. They had waited for some time. Every                   He asks no question. He does not invite the others
day they had looked for the coming of the risen Lord.            to go with him He merely makes an announcement.
But  .hitherto  their hopes had ended in bitter disappoint-          You may do as you please, but I go fishing!
ment.                                                                I am weary of waiting.
       They were weary with waiting!                                 I shall, for once, at least, return to my former occu-
       Impatient. . . .                                          lpation !
       They had forgotten their own slowness to under-               Yet, the others follow : we also go with thee !
stand all that the Lord had told them, their disobedi-               And fishing they went!
ence and delay in following the Lord as He would go
before them to Galilee; and now they felt that they had              And that night they caught nothing !
reason to be impatient. Tthe Lord is dack concerning                 For, how  shah they go fishing. Yes, yes, they
His promise. So foolish we are !                                 may labor and toil, cast their net into the dark sea and
       I go fishing!                                             again draw it out, all the weary night long.
       Seven they were. Five of them are mentioned                   But the earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof.
by name ; two are merely indicated as "other disciples".         In His hand are the deep places of the earth ; the sea
This most probably indicates that only five of them              is His and He made it. And if the  f&he; are to be
were of the eleven apostles, while the other two were caught into the net, it is He, Who calleth  them all by
disciples in a more general sense of the word. And               name, that must lead them into it. How, then, shall
where were the others? Is there not an indication they hsh, but by the Word of the Lord? . . . .
here, in the presence of these five only and the absence             And they toil, and they wait, and they labor all the
of the rest, that the apostolic bond was already begin-          night long. . . .
ning to dissolve? Always they had been together' dur-                And they grow more weary still !
ing the last three years. But the bond of their fellow-              And more impatient :  all things are against them !
ship had been their special relation to Jesus, had been              And more irritable. . . .
Christ  Iiimself.  And now He  `was gone from them !                  I go &hing  ! We also go with thee ! Yes, yes,
And they already began to scatter! Easily we may but . . . .                                                            t    it!t
conjecture what would have become of these men,  ,had                 Apart from Me ye can do nothing!
*the Lord not returned to them in the Spirit. They                    Whether ye be fishers of fish, or fishers of men !
would have scattered. They would have returned to                     And that night they caught nothing!
their former mode of living.  They  could not have                                       -           -
preached the gospel of the risen Lord ; Christ Himelf                Hank ! a voice !
must do it through them. . . .                                        Is it not familiar?
       Hence : I go fishing!                                          In the pale light of dawn they perceive a  .man,
       It is, of course, Peter speaking.                         standing on the shore, waiting, watching them. . . .
       Peter,  w,ho had so self-confidently boasted ; who had         Had he been  Iwitness  of their toil and of their
so ,deeply fallen ; who had been so marvellously saved           failure? , . . .
from utter ruin, by the prayer of Jesus and His never                 0, it was the Lord ! IIt was the risen Master, for
to be forgotten look and the sign of the cock's crowing, Whom they had been waiting, at Whose tarrying they


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        339

had grown impatient, if not disgusted. But now they as one having authority and not as the Scribes? Still
see Him not, they *fail to recognize Him, they know they do not see Him, but they hear @Iis Word! And
Him not though they see His form, though they hear they obey in faith. . . .
His voice ! And how could they? Is nut, as long as            It is the Lord !
we are on this side of the grave and He on the other,         0, John had recognized Him as soon as he heard
the Word always first? And must we not needs live that command. But he waited, expectantly now, an-
by faith, #before we can ever live by sight? And had xiously, with every nerve taut, until they should have
they not grown impatient at His Word, unbelieving, so obeyed and beheld the effect of His mighty Word. . . .
that they could abide no longer? . . . .                      It is the Lord!
   And now, He stands before them, and they know              0, yes, indeed, it is the Lord. For the net is now
Him nut!                                                   full of fishes, and they were not able to draw it for
   And He speaks, familiarly, intimately, with friendly the multitude of them ! And, behold, although the
(words: Chil,dren, have ye any meat?                       net was so heavy with the catch, yet they drag it to
 ' And they hear not  His voice !                          the shore and `it does not even break !
   And all their fishermen's disgust they express in          Yes, they went fishing!
the curt:                                                     And fishing they would go again. For, had not the
   No! . . . .                                             Lord spoken to them on a similar occasion (though at
   And again they toil.                                    that time the net had rent !) , that He would make them
   And still they catch nothing!                           fishers of ,men?
                                                              But even so they must abide in Him and believe
   It is the Lord!                                         and. obey His Word!
   T,his time it is not Peter, but John, the man whose        They  could not be fishers of men in their own
soul is like the placid waters that are deep, the dis- power !
ciple w,hom  Jesus loved, the quiet but profound, the         But the risen Lord ,would  ascend to the Father,
intuitive John, who speaks.                                would be gIorified  at the right hand of God, would be
   It Ps the Lord !                                        clothed with all power in heaven and on earth, would
   Or is it? . . . .                                       receive the Snirit of promise,  wou?d pour out that
   They cannot tell and yet they know. They wonder, Spirit upon all flesh. . . .
and yet they are sure. Even presently, when on the            And He Himself would direct their fishing activities
shore they are breakfasting with Him, they would from .the shore, where they couId not even see Him :
like to ask Him: who art thou? And yet, they durst Cast your net on the right side of the ship !
not, for they knew that it was the Lord! 0, it was He,        And they must obev  His calling!
yet He was so different! He was the same as they had          And He would by IBis Spirit direct the fishes into
known Him, yet He was wholly other! It seemed their net!
that He was with them, and still He was far from              Thus only could they be fishers of men !
them! For, He had risen,!  And the resurrection was           And give Him the glory!
no return, but an advance.          He had gone through
death, through the grave! We had sw,allowed  up death         Come, and dine !
into victory ! He was on the other side ! No, He was          0, it is the Lord, indeed !
not another, yet He was other! It `was the same body,         For, as they reach the shore, they find that He,
for you could still see the prints of the nails in hands Who but a moment ago had asked them, whether they
and feet, yet it was completely changed! The weak had any meat, had breakfast all ready! There was
had become strong, the corruptible had become incor- the fire of coals, and fish, and bread. And He gives
ruptible, the mortal had become immortal, the psy- the invitation : come, and dine !
ch&l had become spiritual, the image of the earthy            Yes. to them it meant that it was the Lord! And
had been replaced by the image of the heavenly. . . .      none of them durst ask Him, Who art thou? knowing
   He was familiar, yet strange !                          that it was the Lord! But it  aIso meant far more !
  It is the Lord!                                          Perhaps, they did not understand at that moment. for
    0, yes, He had shewed Himself to them, and they thev  were amazed and  perpIexed,  and they did not
had recognized Him then.                                   lmderstand  the resurrection, neither did they expect
    He *had spoken again, and the Word had been re- the ascension. But later  they must have understood,
miniscent of a similar Word they had heard in the nast,    that as al1 the Iwonders of the Lord so this one was
and th*at could only be spoken by the Lord: "Cast the ?  sirm. The Lord meant to speak to them:
net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find !"        Ye shall be fishers of men!
And `was there not something familiarly authorative            Go h&inn for fish no more ! And take no thought
about that command? Was it not the Word of Him,            what ye shall eat ! I wilI *provide  !
of Whom the people had borne witness that Re spoke             Come, and dine!                            H. H.


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      343
.
     Behoeft het nog te verwonderen, dat hij het met when on the basis of the Word of God we teach, that
een korte verklaring we1 af kan?                              God in His sovereign and righteous good pleasure has
     Alle teksten, die bespreking vragen in verband met created the wicked unto destruction. The enemies of
zijn  onderwerp,  zijn zoo eenvoudig en duidelijk,  dat Calvin were offended at the same truth, and brought
een kind ze  we1 verstaan kan, dat ze geen verklaring against him the wioked accusation that he taught that
be hoeven  !                                                  "God of His mere pure will created the greatest part
     Ja, ja, dat is nog eens het echte!                       of the world to perdition." Though this statement
     Zoo deed de Synode van 1924 het ook.                     may appear to be the teaching of Calvin, yet Calvin
     Zoo spreken ook alle Arminiaansche ketters over never taught that God of His mre mere will created
t&&en,  waarin het woord "alle" of "wereld" of "god-          men to destruction, but that He did it according to
deloozen" voorkomt. En dan mogen ze gaarne zulke His righteous judgments. Calvin replies as follows:
teksten adverteeren op aanplak*bor.den  langs de wegen. Ca&Ys Calvinism, pp. 266 ff.
Wet zijn  allemaal teksten, die ge door een lange  rede-         "That on which you seize as your First Article is,
neering maar bederft.          Een kind kan ze  qwel  ver-    "that God, by His pure and mere will, created the
staan !                                                       greatest part of the world to perdition". Now, all this
     De lezer oordele zelf.                     H. H.         -"the greatest part of the world unto perdition," and
                                                              `thy ,His own pure and mere will"-is a perfect fiction,
                                                              and a production from the  Iworkshop of your own
                                                              brain. For although God did certainly decree from
           " Foul Arguments Refuted                           the beginning everything which should befall the race
                                                              of man, yet such a manner of speech as the saying that
                               II.                            the end or object of God's work of creation was de-
                                                              struction or perdition, is nowhere to be found in my
     In our former article we stated that we, during our writings.        Just like an unclean hog, therefore, you
labors at Manhattan, had continually been harassed root  up with your foul snout all doctrine that is of
by foul and wicked charges against the truth of God's sweet odour, hoping to find in it something filthy and
Sovereignty, as it is revealed to us in the Word of offensive."
God, and maintained by us as Protestant Reformed                 `"In the next place, although my doctrine is that the
Churches.       In this  ~wicked practice the Rev. A. H.      will of God is the first and supreme cause of all things,
Bratt is ably assisted by a certain Henry Westra, the yet I everywhere teach that wheresoever in His counsel
leader of the young people. The former should be and works the cause does not plainly appear, yet that
acquainted with Calvin's teachings concerning God's there is a cause ,which lies hidden in Himself,. and
sovereign decree of election and reprobation, and the that according to it He has decreed nothing but that
overdruling  counsel of ,God's will, but the latter, I be- which is wise and holy and just. Therefore, with
lieve does it in his ignorance, though also here  ignor- reference to the sentiments of the schoolmen concern-
.ance is inexcusable. These men claim to be Calvinists, ing the absolute or tyrannical twill of God, I not only
and yet they attack us when we teach the very doc- repudiate, but abhor them all, because they separate
trines which Calvin taught and defended over against the justice of God from His ruling power Now see,
his enemies. They, and many others of our day re- then, thou unclean dog, how much thou hast gained,
mind us of the words of our Saviour,  "Woe u.nto you and how far thou hast advanced thy cause by this thy
scribes and  P-harisees, hypocrites ! because ye  build impudent barking. For myself, while 1 subject the
the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres .`whole human race to the will of God, I at the same
of the righteous, and say if `we had been in the days time ever affirm that God never decrees anything but
of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with with the most righteous reason, which reason (though
them in the blood of the prophets." Thus also many it may at the present time be unknown to us) will
scribes and leaders of our day. 0, if they had lived in assuredly be revealed to us at the last day in all its
the days of Calvin, they would not be numbered among infinite righteousness and Divine perfection."
his enemies, but they would have embraced the doc-                "You thrust in my face, and impudently upbraid
trines which he so ably d~efended;  and yet we find those me with, the "pure and mere will of God", which idea
same men bringing the same wicked accusations I, in a hundred or more passages of my  lbooks, utterly
against us, as the enemies of Calvin brought against repudiate. Meantime, I freely acknowledge my  doc-
him. Therefore we will answer them with the very trine to be this: That Adam fell, not only by the
words of Calvin.                                              permission of God, {I underscore, B.K.) but by His
     Even as the enemies of the truth in Calvin's days, very secret counsel and decree; and that Adam drew
so' also these enemies of the truth of God's absolute         all his posterity with himself, by his fall, into eternal
sovereignty, rebel at the truth of sovereign election and destruction. Both these positions it seems, give you
reprobation, and say that we present God as a demon great  offence,  as being (according to your account)


     344                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D ,   B E A R E R

     "contrary to nature, and to Scripture." You attempt to reflect upon what God might have made me, had He
     to prove it to be contrary to nature, because every been so pleased ! As many dull of comprehension and
     animal naturally loves its own offspring; whence you idiots as there are in the *world, so many spectacles
     argue that, therefore, God, who gave such a natural         does God set before me in which to behold His power;
     affection to brute beasts, ought not, certainly, less to not less a subject of awe than a subject of wonder.
     love all men, seeing that they are His offspring. (This But as for you, you brawl against God Himself with
     argument is also made by the present day defenders all impiety and (profanity, as "being less merciful than
     of the theory of Common Grace. B. K.)        Your argu- a wolf," because (according to your opinion) He has so
     ment and thought are infinitely too course and low, and     little considered the good and happiness of His off-
     infinitely beneath the mightiness of the matter, when spring!"
     you demand of God, the eternal Author of nature,               Calvin proceeds on pp. 272-273 "With reference to.
     just what He rightfully demands of the ox and the ass, the doctrine of permission, we will speak of that here-
     which He has created. As if God Himself ought to be after in its place. But for the present, if you should be
     bound by the same laws as those which He has ap-            disposed to reply that the foreknowledge of God is not
     pointed for the creature whilch He has made !"              the cause (I underscore, B.K.) of, evils, I would only
            Further on pp.  270-271,  Calvin continues: "But ask you this one question: If God foresaw the destruc-
     you are ready to reply, next, "that to create is a work tion both of man and of the devil before He created
     of love, not of hatred ; and that God therefore created them, and did not, at the same time, decree their de-
     in love, not in hatred." But you perceive not, that         struction, why did He not apply  betimes,  an adequate
     though all men are hateful to God in fallen Adam, yet remedy, which should  ,prevent  their Fall and their
.    that in their ,original creation the love of God shines liability thereto? The devil from the very beginning
     in all its brightness". . . .                               of the world, alienated himself from the hope of sal-
       ' "Meantime, you hesitate not to vomit forth your vation. And man, as soon as he  vas created, destroyed
     profane and abhorrent opinion that God is worse than        both himself and his posterity with a deadly destruc-
     any  ,wolf, who thus wills to create men to misery.         tion. If, therefore, the preservation of both. was in
     Some men, be it remembered, are born blind, some            the hand of God, how was it that (if He had not.de-
     deaf, some dumb, some of monstrous deformity. Now, creed their destruction)  He permitted their ruin? Nay,
     if we are to go by your opinion as the judge in these       why did He not furnish each with at least  `some sma-1
     sacred and deep matters, God is also cruel, because degree of ability to stand? To what circuitous reason,
     iHe afflicts His offspring with such evils as these, and    ings  soever,  therefore, you have recourse I shall be
     that, too, before they have seen the light of day. But able to hold you fast to this principle, that althuugh
     the day, be thou assured, will .come when thou wilt man was created weak and liable  to..fall,  yet that this
     heartily wish that thou hadst been blind, rather than       weakness contained in it a great blessing, because
     thou hadst ever been so wonderfully sharp-sighted in man's Fall immediately afterwards taught him that
     thus penetrating into these secrets of the eternal nothing outside of God is either safe, or secure or en-
     God !"                                                      during. Hence, therefore, it is made  &dent that all
            "You accuse God of injustice ; nay, you declare Him which you prate about men having been created unto
     to be nothing above a monster, (do you remember mak- salvation, is an argument mutilated and halt, and- laid
     ing that very statement, Mr. Westra? B.K.) if He            down without adequate consideration."
     dares to decree anything concerning men otherwise              Calvin continues further pp. 275-276, "Here, you
     than we ourselves should determine concerning our own throw in the common objection "that God  ,has no
     children. If so, how shall we account for God's creat- pleasure in the death of a sinner," as declared by the
     ing some dull of comprehension, others of greater in- prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 33 :ll) . .( Notice here that the
     capacity, others quite idiots? Do you really think that same objection which the Synod of 1924 brought
     the work of God's creation, with reference to such im- against the truth of God's Sovereign grace, namely
     perfect mortals, was really according to the fables of that God is merciful to whom He wills and that He
     some Jews about the Fauns and Satyrs? For they say hardens whom He wills, was already a  commOn objec-
     that God was prevented from completing the form tion  in the days of Calvin: ex ungue  leonem,   B.  K.)
     of these latter monsters by the  in'tervention  of the      Calvin goes on to answer this common objection: "But
     Sabbath, and, therefore that they fell, half made, from listen, I pray you, to that *which, in the prophet, im-
     His hands. No! It rather  *becomes us to receive a mediately follows, "Because God  inviteth all  ,men  to
     deep and humbling lesson from such sad spectacles as repentance" (Ezek. 18  :30-32).  To all such, therefore,
     these defective human beings, and not to commence a as return into the way of life pardon is freely offered.
     quarrel with the Maker of heaven and earth, from the Bust the next principle thing to be considered herein is,
     conceptions of our own brain, concerning His works, whether or not that conversion or "returning" which
     or what, in our opinion, they ought to have been.           God requires (verse 30) is in the power of man's free-
     When any idiot happens to meet me, I am admonished will, or, whether it <be a peculiar and' sovereign gift


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                            345

of God! Inasmuch, therefore,  .as  ,811 men are invited modesty in so impudent a dog as thyself, ought to have
.and exhorted by God to repentance, the prophet, on been known to thee as existing in my writings in a
that ground, justly *declareth  that "God hath no plea- hundred different places. (This should also have been
sure in the death of a sinner." `But wTLg it is that God known to Rev. Bratt and Mr. W., the latter claiming
.doth not turn or convert all men  to IHimself,  equally to agree with every word the Reformer has ever writ-
and alike, ,is a question the reply to which lies hidden ten, which  of course is folly, B.K.) . And although thou
in -Himself. And as to your usual way of citing that mayest take it upon thyself to reject such a solution,
`passage of the apostle Paul, "That God would have  .a11 it nevertheless stands supported and confirmed both
`men to be saved and to come to -the -knowledge of the by the apostle Paul and by the prophet Ezekiel."
truth" (I Tim. 2  :4), how vain a prop that is to put                "But how, and in what sense it'is, that God  willeth
under your error to support it, I think I have shown all men to be saved is a matter not here to be inquisi-
with sufficient plainness already,  ,and that repeat- tively discussed. One thing is certain, that these two
edly."                                                           things-salvation and knowledge of the truth-are al-
    On pp. 276-277 Calvin continues: "There is, per- ways  inseparably   joined  together. Now, then, answer
haps a stronger colour in some -of the swords of Peter,          me, (and I  <would like to see Zwier, Berkhof, H. J.
which might have better suited your purposes, -where Kuiper   C.S. give an answer to this question of Calvin).
.he saysthatGod  is "not willing that any should perish, If God had willed that His truth should be known unto
-but that all ,should  come to -repentance" (2 `Peter 3 :9).     a'1 men, how is it that, from the  first  preatihing  of
 And if there be anything in the first member  of the the gospel until now, so many nations exist unto whom
 passage that  .seems difficult of comprehension  *at  -first    His pure truth has never been sent by Him at all, and
 sight, it is made perfectly plain by the explanation unto whom, therefore, it has never come? And, again,
.which -follows. -For in as far as God "will&h  that all         if such had been the will of God concerning all men,
should-come to repentance," in so far `He willeth that how `is it that .He never opened the eyes of all men?
no `one-should-perish ; but, in order that they maythus          For the internal illumination of the Spirit, with which
~ be received of-God,  -they -must' "come". ,But the Scrip- God has condescended to bless so few, is  indispensibly
ture everywhere  ;affirms, `that in order that  *they may necessary unto faith. And there is also another `.knot
 "come", `they must  lbe prevented of God ;  .&at  is, God for thee to untie. Since no one:but  .he who is drawn
must first come %o them to -draw them; for until -they by-the secret influence of the Spirit can approach unto
,-are `drawn `tif God, they ,will remain -where they are,        God, how is it that  -Cod does not draw all men indis-
given up to the obstinacy `of the `flesh. Now if there criminately to Himself, if He really "willeth all men
:were onesingle,partide~of right ,judgment  in ~you;you          to be saved" (in the common meaning df the expres-
would, in's -moment, acknowledge that there is.a wide sion) ?" pp. 277.
and won'derful  difference between these two things-                                                            `Rev.  B. `Kok.
that the shearts of men -are made of God "fleshly" out
-of "stony" hearts, and that it is thus `that they are                                       -
`made to be displeased and dissatisfied withthemselves,
and are, brought as suppliants,  to'beg of `God-mercy and                               IN MEMORIAM
 pardon ; and that after they `are thus changed, .they              Early in the morning of April the 8th, at the age.of 79 years,
+ are received. into all .grace."                                it  pIeased  the Lord to take unto Himself our  .dearly  beloved
    "Now God "declares th& both these things are *of Mother, Grandmother, Great-grandmother and Sister,
His puregoodness.  and mercy ; : that He gives us -hearts
that we may -repent, and then pardons  `us  ,gr&ously                           MRS. JOHN JONKER, nee  Blom
upon  "our  repentance  and supplication.  #For if  -God            We tisnk.the Lord :for the msany  years He .&pared  her, and
were not ready to receive us <when we do truly implore pr the blessed hope that washers, when. the Lord took ,her to
.His.mercy;He  .would-not  say, "Turn ye' unto `Me, and rher heavenly home, that we -may be consoled \,by the thought,
I will  turn. unto. you"  (Zech. .1:3). -But if -repentance that our loss was Mother's gain.
,were in the power of the frswill  of man, Paul ,would                                 The Children,
not say, "If  =peradventure  God -will give them repent-                                     ;Mr. and Mrs. D.  Wierenga
ance to the acknow!edging  of the truth" (2 Tim.-2 :26).                                      Mrs. John Ploeg
I Nay if. God Himself, who. exhorts all me' to repentance                                     Mr. and Mrs. Peter Jonker
                                                                                              Rev. and Mrs. H Dekker
by His voice-if God Himself, d repeat, who. thus ex-                                          Mr. John Tuinhoff
horts, did not draw His elect ,by the secret-operation                                        M r .   J o h n   H e n d r i c k s o n
.of His Spirit, -Jeremiah would. not thus. describe those                                     Mr. and Mrs.. Jacob. Junker
who da.return ; `Turn Thou me, and I shall be -turned ;                                       Miss  Tena  Jonker
-for  -Thou  art .the Lord my. God. Surely after. that I                                      Mr.  ,and Mrs. Arthur  Ensing
                                                                                              Mr. Cornelius Jonker
W&  turned,  .Lrepented".   (Jer..   3X:19).  This   solution                                 35 Grandchildren
of the -matter f I. repeat) , if there were any shame `0~          s Grand Rapids,  Mich.     10 Great-grandchildren


           346                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                    -
                                                                                 eternity. "Clean gone forever".
                   The Anxious Quest Of The Sorrowful                               We h.asten  to add, however, that such is impossible.
     -1 ,:, i                                                                    We may experience such in our consciousness, but
                    The thirteenth Psalm is, first, the outcry of a heart there is no objective reality that corresponds with this.
     that. is overburdened with grief, chief of which is God never forgets His saints. He cannot forget them.
           the feeling of forsakeness; second, the prayer for re- Their names and image are in the very palms of His
           lief in the face of jeering enemies; and, third, the song hands. He always beholds them in Christ Jesus as per-
     of a grateful saint.  .:s.:                                                 fect and holy.
                     In the first part of the Psalm, that speaks of for-            You may ask: how is it then that both David and
           sakeness, we hear the cry: How long? four times.                      we and all the children of God experience such feeling
         r:;  j The first cry sounds strange. There is a great of forsakeness at times? And the answer is: such
        contradiction in it. Or so it seems. Attend to this:                     comes over us for several reasons. Sometimes it is
           "How  long, .:Jehovah,  wilt Thou forget me perpetually? because we have sinned against God in a very grievous
           It seems to us that if Jehovah would forget us per- way. Then God makes us to feel His displeasure
           petually, there would be no point in asking how long against  such sins. Sometimes it is because God with-
           this perpetual forsakeness would last. In the English draws His grace from us to teach us our absolute de-
           translation this difficulty is removed by simply  divorc-             pendency upon Him. Sometimes it is because the Lord
       ing the last word from the first outcry and making it iwants  to try our faith by it. So that we may come
           an outcry in itself. Then the outburst reads : How long out of the crucible, or, rather, that our faith may show
           wilt  .Thou  forget me, 0 Lord? Forever? The sense through these triaIs its heavenly and precious char-
           is then : I feel forsaken by Thee, 0 Lord ! How long acter.
       will this condition last? And the saint answers this                         At any rate .it does not mean that God really has
           inquiry with another question : Forever?                              forgotten us. It is rather  `like David says in the second
                    Against this translation is the fact that the word:          cry: How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me? Yes,
           forever, belongs to the outcry. It is part of the sen- that is the real, objective situation. In heaven such
           tence.                                                                a thing is impossible. In heaven, `now and forever, the
                    The German translation evades the difficulty by saints and the angels see His face perpetually. But,
           translating the word forever, for: entirely ; the sense ah yes, here on earth we do not see His face at all
*           then being: How long,  0 Lord wilt Thou forget me times. We are still walking in the valley between
            entirely?                                                            the mountains and His face is oftentimes hidden from
           The French translation evades the issue by  trans- our view. Even at our brightest moments we do not
            lating the word, forever, for: without ceasing. Then see that Face unobscured. We see in a glass darkly.
            the ,sense is : How long, 0 Lord, wilt Thou forget me, The Face is in heaven, revealed in Jesus Christ, our
            without a glimpse of Thy presence being left me?
           .I                                                                    Lord. A reflection of that Face we have through the
           ,_I       I think that Delitzsch properly explains this seem- Spirit of Christ in the Bible. Further, when -that  self-
            ing contradiction by pointing out that the experience same Spirit of Christ illumines our mind's eye, we see
            of forsakeness, partakes of its eternal character. He in that glass (the Bible) the beauteous Image of God.
            says : "It is in the nature of the Divine wrath, that the And we rejoice, in part.
            feeling of it is always accompanied by an impression                    Now  .you will understand that many things  can
            that it will Iast forever; and consequently it becomes a come Ibetween  our ,view  and the Face of God.
            foretaste of hell itself."                                              The twicked,  even though thy look into that .glass,
                    .You. find another glimpse of it when an insnired do not see the Face, because their foolish heart is
            poet exclaims : "The sorrows of death compassed me, darkened and because the devil has. blinded their eyes.
            `and the pains of hell gat hold upon me." (116 :3).                  IICor.4:4.
                     You see, there is an awful "power in His anger".               And.we, although reborn and converted, oftentimes
                  (Psalm 90 :ll) .                                               do not look, or when we look, we look awry and with
                     Yes, I think that Delit%ch  is right: when God hides ,prejudice.  or with sin in the mind and the heart, or
             His'face-from us, it-seems as though the darkness of an without the right attitude, that is, hungry and thirsty.
        ' eternal night'has settled round about us. Then we feel                     And when we  cuntinue  liike- this we become miser-
             like the saint who complains  ; Will God forever spurn?
                                                    :                            able and finallyzry.: Bow  longwilt  Thou.hide  Thy:face
                  Shall we no more His  favor'see?  Will mercy never f-jjomge?  ..l"  ,,y'  -  .'                     ,, .            .,    `.
             return?   :  .'          :'                          -,"--~-.a~~
                                                                      :  *           B u t   t h e r e   i s   m o r e .
                     That was the experience of David in this Psalm.                 David tells the Lord all his sorrow. At night he
                     It seemed to him as though God had forgotten would lie awake and cast and recast his sorry plight
            him with that forgetfulness that lasts forever. It before his mind's eye, trying to find a. way out of his
                 seemed to him as though God did not think about him present misery.  Be would take counsel in  ,his  sod.
                 any more.-+ And the quality of that forgetfulness was He. would make. all kinds of plans,.and  schemes which
                                                                                                               `.     ,_     ,.    -  `. ;  ~  _"


                                                                        `.;,.            1.
                                                                             ._                                                                                    .
                                     *  ,F",   .  ,:
            .:,    ,.     -     _                         ..,     ,,
                                                                                   :      e
                                                        T H E   STA,NDARD  B E A R E R                                                                                        I .&ty  .-:
                                                                                                                                                                                                  - ;'
would haply bring him his erstwhile peace of mind., the conclusion that he has prevailed over me.  `Let  Thy  :'
But it did not help. `All through the day, upon awaken- light and Thy truth have the victory; 0 Lord !                                                                               `1'
ing from a troubled sleep, he would carry sorrow in his                                          Is it not, wonderful that in such a sh L % P&&i "we'  ."
iheart.                                                                             `\ see the reward of persistent  .crvi.ng  to  k'od?                                             Witn
   -OAnd that is very miserable. The heart should be giant steps David  proceeds  from utmost  ~misery', to
filled with gladness. Thus we were created. The heart neavemy   JOY and rejoicing. His  f-l.& cry reminds us'
of man is the life of man at its source. All the thoughts,                                of hell and his tinal &ant is the song of the" angels. ' "..
                                                                                                                                                                                                  `.
desires and issues `of your life are  coloured  by your 1n ,between  are suppli&tion  and w&ping. By it .Jacobi'
heart. You can readily understand that when the prevailed and received the reward of God's communion
heart is sorrowful, your thoughts, reflections, medita- wnich  he craved.  So also David. And so also  `we, if
tions, outlook on all life is also sorrowful. Nothing `we walk in the faith of the- fathers Jacob and Ua-vid..
`looks nice, nothing tastes good, nothing is  agreeabIe  to                                      Y'es, there is a moment in His wrath but there is
the sorrowful.                                                                            an eternity in His mercy. The Bible speaks of the'
    Who among us, poor mortals, does not know that ,>eternal  mercies of  God; Also of. the sure mercies of
state?                                                                                    D2vid.                                                                                   ":                    .,
    There comes one more : How long !                                                          Mercy is exactly  *what David,  ,needed in this in-  ,'
    It has to do with the enemy of David. He seema stance. He found sorrow, also hunger and thirst for-
to have  had,trouble.  within and without. Yes, very God's presence, peace, light  ,and  .:iife.   He':wept at  "
often  .do' ,we read.. of the enemies of David. These night and groaned by day. In a word: he was miser-
enemies are very foolish people. David means: Be- able.                                                                                                                                     ,.
loved. That is, beloved of God. And I would say that                                             Well, the sure mercies of David, that is, of Jesus,:
if you want to make enemies the worst way, do not are God's longing to deliver out of all our  ,troubles.
make enemies with God's Beloved. You lose before That longing is realized in Calvary. Jesus. dying for
you start. David brings the enemies to God.                                               us and raised again is the mercy of God for you, my L
    I do not think though that the enemies of David ~brother,  who art in distress.                                                                     -                     `.                            .
were the cause of his greatest misery in this history.                                           Certainly, even while David is  `.writing all his  sor-, 1
Just b&use the enemy is over against us is no indica-                                     rows on paper, writing slowly because that his eyes.
tion that God has forsaken us. Even in the midst are continually filling with bitter tears, even while,'
of those that breathe cruelty you may be able to re- he must pause a bit andsigh sume more, even while :
joice in the God of your salvation.                                                      the four times repeated : how long! ascends  `to God---
    But here is the point: they do not improve the ourFatherhears.                                                                        ,::*i                                             ;
misery of your soul and heart. They aggravate  our,-                                             Witness the last verses : David trusts ; .he- rejoied .
trouble. And since Davi$ was .pouring  out his troubles .in God's salvation ; he sings .&to 3he Lord; "he has I'
before the face' of God he made a. clean breast of- -it.  II -eyes for `the bounties of-the Lord :` .
Therefore we'hear'from  the enemy,last'of  all. ., -                                             I think that when David handed the documentto
    It is with`tkis  matter even as with the passion of Haman or Asaph for temple ,worsh.ip,  his .tear-stained  :
the Lord Jesus,`-and, remember that also here in this face was already illumined with the smile  of.heartfel&
Psalm is `a clear Messianic note, Jesus suffered from happiness.                                                     .'       " :          :                                  ~
two causes : the' Lord' His God :and His enemies. But                                            He saw the mercy of Jehovah. T h a t   .mercy"is   Sal?,
chief of all His sufferings is the awful,  unutter&ble                                   vation.  Which is the same thing as though you  and  ".
experience of forsakeness which He suffered. When I would say with Paul: But'we see Jesus. . . . G
He hung on the accursed tree in deepest darkness, He
suffers most because: My God, My God, why hast Thou
forsaken Me?                            `,                                                                                                                   .           .
    Enemies, yes, but to be apart from God is the very                                                                 --
core of eternal death.  t  :,                                                                                         N            O      T        I                    C                         E
    Well, David has uttered his despairing cry and it                                                                       ..'
seems as though it has  ,prepared  the way for quiet .T:he ConsistorJl  of the First'Prot. Ref.. .CXu.u&  hereby
prayer. What now follows is calmer, sweeter, more notifies the churches, that Synod willmeet IL3.I: m the
hopeful. He asks for `positive -blessing. He asks for parlors of the Fuller.  Ave;  $hurcli.' at Grand Rapids;
light.~ Now light, life and happiness are  closeiy re- Michigan on May  22,. 19.40.                                                                                `.
lated. "' Da~id'knows  that if,b'nly he may see the face                                                                                G. Stonehouse, Clerk:
of God and receive from that face `the beaming light-.                                                                                                                                                  ,,  2
rays of Iife and strength: all will be well with him.                                                                  -
There is a final remembrance of his woe: 0 my God,
give me this light, because if I must go without it, Classis West will meet the 2nd Wednesday in Septem-
I will sleep the sleep of death and my enemy will draw ber.                                                                             N. Gritters, S. C.

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

dat Woord ons  laten gezeggen.  Alleen  hij en zij die         12 :22). And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jeru-
buigen voor het Woord, zullen in staat zijn te waken en        salem, coming down from God out of heaven,  pre-
op den rechten weg te wandelen. Daarop zij dan mede            (pared  as a bride, adorned for her husband (Rev.
de prediking des Woords ingericht. Net alsof er nu             21:2).
zoo  maar op eens speciale preeken moeten gehouden                The Church a city, the people -of God, a distinct
over het  Christeiijk  onderwijs.  Ieclere  predikatie  zal commonwealth, a separate society, constituted of such
tenslotte,  zonder dat men er zich speciaal  op toelegt,       as have  [been redeemed to God by  tcze blood of the Lamb
de noodzakelijkheid van een eigen  inrEchtilng  naar out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation  -
voren schuiven. Het is ons althans  .niet mogelijk om a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy na-
het steeds  voor den aandacht van de gemeente te               tion, a peculiar people, twhose King supreme is God.
brengen. Daarbij is een andere gelegenheid het huis-              This city cannot be hid, as it sets on a hill. Cal-
bezoek.  E,n ook daar behoeft men  met   naar wat we vin's commentary on this utterance reads as follows:
naemen voor een `opening' te wachten. Die is er altijd "This means, that they (the apostles and the pastors)
en ligt voor de hand. De kwestie is maar of we er ge-          ought to live in such a manner, as if the eyes of all were
bruik van maken, iets dat we zeker niet doen, wanneer          upon them. And certainly, the more eminent a person
we  er systematisch over zwijgen. En niet te ,vergeten,        is, the more  inj,ury he does by bad example, if he
vooral ,de ,jeugdigen  dienen er op te worden  gewezen.        acts .improperly.    Christ, therefore, informs the apos-
Een voorganger, die het vertrouwen en de liefde van            tles, that they must be careful to. live a devout and
zija jonge volk bezit, kan  schier alles aan hen  kwijt        holy life, than unknown persons of the common rank,
Het is maar een zaak van aan p&ken.                            because the eyes of  til  ane directed on them, as to
       En Redlands  blijft voor ons allen  het schoone  voor- lighted candles ; and that they must not be endured,
beeld in dezen. Als er iets is wat ons jaloersch  maakt        if their devotion and uprightness of conduct, do not
is  bet die kleine school in Redlands. En wat daar nu al       correspond to the doctrine of which they are min-
jaren  feit is, zij voor ons de spoor-slag  de zaak aan .te    isters. . . . After having taught the apostles that,
pakken.                                                        in consequence of the rank in which they are placed,
       Zoo dleen zullen we ,de wacht houden en een toe- both their vices and their virtues are better known
lkomst hebben als Protestantsche Gereformeerde  Ker-           for good or bad example, he now enjoins them to so
ken.                                            w. v.          regulate their life, as to excite all to glorify God."
                                                                  The assertion that all eyes are ,upon such as do
                                                               occupy  #positions  of prominence and that the vices and
                                                               virtues of such persons are better known for good or
                                                               for bad examples, and that,  finally such persons should,
                                                               for that reason, be careful to live devout lives is all
              Let Thy Light So Shine                           very true in itself. However, such are not the senti-
                                                               ments circulating through Christ's words. Such, very
       The phrase "of the world" denotes the  re'ation         plainly, was not His point of view. The matter upon
which the Church sustains to the world. It signifies           which He was discoursing was not the conspicuousness
that the Church was given to the world as  light;  that        of the Church or the individual Christian as such, but
,th.is light must shine, in order that men (the elect)         .the duty of this church to render itself conspicuous by
may glorify God.                                               letting its (light  shine. The Christian,  #being light, must
       "A city set upon a hill cannot be hid, neither do       emit light, may not cover his light by his vices. Doing
men light a candle and put it under a bushel but on a so, he places himself under a bushel.
candlestick ; (and it give&h light unto all that are in the       By others it is maintained -that Christ meant to
house, Let your light so shine before men, that they <caution  his people against retreating from the affairs
may see your good  =works and glorify your Father of the larger world into the smaller circle of their own.
which is in heaven." The Church, then, is a city.              Doing so, they place their light under a bushel, come
Scripture frequently calls the Church a city. "There           down from the crest of the hill to the ,valley  below.
is a river, the streams of ,which shall make glad the          The believer, Christ is supposed to have meant to say,
city of God" (Ps.  46:4). Great is the Lord, and               should cast him in the deep stream, or take ,his seat in
greatly to be praised .in the city of our God, in the          high places, enter, let us say, politics, engage in big
mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the business, join the union, in a word, mount himseif
joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on t,he sides of upon  `the candlestick. If one of the gifted God's people
the north, the city of the  ,great King" (Ps. 48  :12).        could persuade his countrymen to elect him president
Abraham .is said to have looked for a city that hath of our own United States of America, the angels in
foundation, whose builder and maker is God (Heb. heaven would rejoice, so it is argued. For this parti-
11: 12). But ye are come unto Mount Zion, unto the city cular disciple, having been raised to the aforesaid
.of the *living  God, the heavenly Jerusalem. . . . (Heb. height,  lwould be shedding his light over the vast


                                      T H E   STANDAtiD   B E A R E R                                               355

expanse of our land from one of its borders to the            Put on therefore as. the elect of God, holy and be-
other.                                                        loved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind,
    It is altogether possible that such a one would be        meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and
hailed by men as a great light. It is a matter of doubt,      forgiving one  an&her; if any man  bath  a quarrel
however,  wlhether the light radiated would continue'to against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also ye
be the light of Christ. The world refuses to come to do". (Cal. 3).
this light, so that this particular disciple might soon          Once more, a city on a hill cannot be hid. A city
conclude that he had better  #place his pure  liaght of will not be passed by unnoticed. Not in Christ's day
heaven under a bushel, would he get along. Be this as at least when travel was slow and dangerous and the
it may, it must ;be supposed that Christ was urging attending difficulties many. A city spied in the dis-
His disciples to m~ake themselves conspicuous. in the         tance `was therefore a welcome sight. Behind its walls
aforesaid sense when He said, "Let your light shine."         the weary wayfarer would retreat for the night and be
This, of course, is no plea for the view that the be-         safe against the prowling beast. Add  ;to this because of
liever may not take a hand in helping to run the affairs its position alone, the city set on ,a hill is most con-
of the state, that he may not hold office. Tlhe question spicuous so that it cannot in truth be hidden. In, the
confronting us in  respeot  to the matter at  ,hand, is       last instance, however, it <was God's city of light on
cwhether Christ in this particular discourse or in any earth-the church-that Christ had before His eye,
other discourses of His, urged His followers to seek so. that the, thought circulating through His speech
,places of prominence in this world. Fact is, no such must be, then, that the church,  ;by reason of its emitted
admonition ever passed from His lips nor from the lips light, is as conspicuous as a city set Q on a hill. The
of His servants-the apostles. Paul does say: "And             individual Christian is here enjoined to render himself
that ye study to be quiet, and to do your. own busi- noticeable not by seeking places of prominence in the
ness, and to work `with your own hands as we com- world,  but by radiating the light kindled within ,his
manded you ; that ye may walk honestly #toward  them bosom by the Spirit  of Christ, in that particular station
that are without, and that ye may have lack of no in life where Providence  .placed  him. It is a mistake,
man" (I Thess. 4 : 14, 15). And again : "Now we com- then, to appeal to the aforesaid Scripture in support of
mand you brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus the contention <that the believer should aspire to a seat
Christ, that ye withdraw yourself from every brother in Congress or join himself to a labor *union in order
that walketh disorderly, for yourselves know how ye ,&I provide himself  <with  an opportunity for letting shine
ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves dis- his light.
orderly among  you ; neither did we eat any man's bread          Christ does not say, it should be noticed, that the
for naught; but swrought  with labor and travail night burning candle and the city cannot be hidden. Had He
and day, that awe might not be chargeable to any `of          said so, He would not have added, "Let your light so
you ; Not because we have not power ; but  to make our-       shine." The burning candle can be placed under a
selves an example unto you to follow us. For even bushel, and the city might have sprung up in the valley.
when we were not with you, this we commanded you, As the measure in this case would hide the candle, so-
&that if any would not work, neither should he eat. . . ."    the hills would hide this city. The believer, too, can
(II Thess. 3  :S-13).                                         hide his light by projecting that part of self which
    Here. the believer is told how he should conduct ought to $be put off, to wit, the o!d man of sin. And the
himself as a member of society. He may not lead a church, likewise, ceases to be seen when it looses sight
ahift!ess  life, eating the bread of another. But no- of its calling, and involves itself in the  seculrar affairs
where in Scripture is he tol,d that he should contend of this life. Ascending  the hill to its crest, coming
with  this fellows for a place in the limelight for the       from under. the bushel to mount the candlestick are
reason that the  ,world may know he is on earth. The          processes constituting the other side of the mortifica-
matter Scripture stresses is godly conduct. To let our tion of earthly members. In a word, `the church  is th2
conversation be in heaven is ,the great injunction of the city on the hill when it preaches and lives the W70i-d,
Lord. "If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things          and the burning candle mounted upon the candlestick
which  are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand      is the  emble-m  of the believer whose conversation is in
of God.     Set your affections on things above, not (heaven.
on things of the earth. For ye are dead and your life            The city on the hill cannot be hidden. A church
is hid  w&h  Christ in God. When Christ who is our            emitting its light will not fail to attract attention to
life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him itself. By the world, this city is cursed ; the walking
in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are dtars of Jehovah despised. The prophets ,were,  Christ
upon the  earth. . . . But now ye also put off these:         was. So too,  tHis followers, especially in the  first few
ang,er, malice, wrath, blasphemy,  fllt~hy communica- centuries of our own age. The eyes of the world were
tions outof your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing upon the disciples of Christ of that day. For they let
that,  ye have put off the old man with his deeds. . . ,      shine.their  Iight. W.ere $hey.men  of. high estate, these


356                                    T H E   STA'NDARD  B E A R E R
-.
disciples?      Not according to the testimony of the good will and support of the Egyptians, the citizens of
apostle which reads: "For ye see your calling, breth- the  city of light prosper, grow fat, and become famous
ren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not and the ,world deems them worthy. But let it be born
many mighty, not many noble are caal'ed : but God hath in mind that while the flesh hwas still between their
chosen&e:foolish  things of the world to confound the teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of ,the Lord was
things:wh.ich  are mighty" (I Cor.  1:21,  26).  IIt was      kindled against the people, and, the Lord smote the
these foolish men after the flesh, men Jdevoid  of, power, people with a  ,great plague. (Num. 11:33).
ignoble and weak things who in that day attracted `to            Cucumbers and meIons  and leeks and onions and
themselves the attention of the world.                        garlic-it is all good food. However, if not a gift of
       History cannot once be appealed to in support of `grace, if secured at the expense of a printiiple,  we die
the contention that the candle on the candlestick is t&e      while we eat. "And while the flesh was yet between
big and useful man to whom the workl &will lend an ear their teeth. . . . the Lord smote the people with a very
and for whom it makes room. The joint testimony of gre&  p!ague." If the flesh and the cucumbers and the
history is that -the city on the t&ill is the persecuted onions and ,&he garlic are ours Ibecause of our having
church, constituted,.of  such as had triais of cruel mook-    obscured our light, we may feel assured that we shall
ings and scourgings,  yea, moreover of bonds and im- !come to grief.
prisonments. The light of the church shines brightest
when its members are men of low estate, occupying                Seated at the Egyptian fleshpots, the citizens of the
humble places. There is a reason then why the Bible ci.ty of light feel ill ,at ease, as .is evident from, their
turned out to be a written record of God's message attempt  ,to compel Scripture to sanction their upward
to a persecuted church, to a church buffeted by a world       climb. We, so they say, are the light of the world. A
incensed  by.the living testimony of the just.                city on a hill may not be hid. Nor do men light a
       Let your Light shine. A  Very necessary admonition. candle and put it under a bushel but upon a candlestick.
For the inhabitants of the city on the hill may be            Hence, we have found our place. Forsooth, a nauseat-
tempted to hide their  light under a bushel for more ing distortion of Christ's words, indicating a shifting
than one reason. As was said, the light emitted in- of emphasis from heavenly to earthly treasures, and
censes the adversaries of the Lord, who, infuriated by the loss of both the desire and the inclination to serve
ithe light, lay siege to the city of God. In order to as heaven's channel for heaven's  hght. True, it takes
pacify the wolves without, the citizens of the city of        courage and means self-denial. For "this is the con-
(God may be tempted to obscure their light. This may demnation that light is come into the  w,orl,d, and men
not be done. Let your lifght shine.                           loved darkness rather  Ithan light, because their deeds
       There may still be another reason why believers are evil. For every one that doeth evil  hateth  the light,
should want to render their light inconspicuous. It neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be
may happen that the crave to again sit at the fleshpots reproved.         But he that doeth truth cometh to the
of Egypt becomes strong. In the city on the hil`l are light, that  .his ,deeds may be made manifest, that they
no fleshpots, but the manna from heaven, good for are wrought in God" (John 3  :19, 20). And the hoIy
food, and the pure water from the rock. However,              city shall they tread under foot forty and two months-,.
when in a carnal mood, the citizens of the celestial city     (Rev.  11:12). And they went up on the breath  of j
go to weeping and say ; "Who shall give us flesh to eat.      the earth, sand compassed the camp of the saints about
We remember the flesh  which we did eat in Egypt and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out
tieely,  the cucum;bers  ,and the melons, and the leeks of heaven, and devoured them (Rev.  21:9).
and the onions and the garlic: but now our soul is               Let  your  light shine.  Light  .is life revealed. Let
dried away: there is nothing at all, besides this manna your light shine that men may see your good worhas.
before our eyes." .However,  these fleshpots and cucum- All the organs df self-expression are involved in this
bers,  .and leeks and melons and onions and garlic thrive     command,-the tongue, the han'd,  the eye,- the foot.
in Egypt. The E,gyptians  must be pacified, their favor All must be placed in the service of the new man in
won, before they can be expected to admit the citizens order tit this man may shine forth. "Wherefore lift
of the aforesaid  .city  ,to their fleshpots. Th,is is done. up  the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees"
Lights  are&aced  under measures and simultaneously           (Heb.  12:12). "Then the eyes of the blind shall be
the Egyptians .lau,ded as a people of superior virtue,        opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
shaming by the fine moral quality of their deeds many Then shall the hme rpzan leap as a hart, and the tolzguq!
a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. The Egyptians are of the dumb shal1 sing" (Isa. 35 :5, 6). "I thought on
told, fturther, .that they  are the blessed of the Lord. `my ways and turned my  feet  unto my testimonies"
This flattering speech has its  ,desired effect. The wrath    (Ps. 119 :59). "I have refrained `wL'~  feet from evil
of the adversary subsides. The long standing feud ways  that I might keep thy word" (Ps. 119  :21). "So
comes to an end. Light and darkness lock arms and our eyes wait upon the Lord our God until he have
make for the coveted fleshpots. With the aid of the mercy  supon us" (Ps. 123  :2), And my tongue shall


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           357

speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the course with and nearer resemblance to  the Deity.
day long" (Ps. 35 28).                                                One effect of the first display by Jesus of His
   "And glorify thy Father in heaven." The light supernatural power was a strengthening of the faith of
emitted attracts, thenas  well as it repells,-attracts, the men who had recently attached themselves to Him.
draws those foreknown  bef,ore  the world's foundation. "His disciples", it is said, "believed in Him." They
By the light of the church Christ draws all men- had believed before,  `but they believed more firmly now.
such He loved unto death-to Himself. These men;                    T+e  ,ground  of their first faith had been the testimony
and none other, glorify God, so that this  Scripture.can `of John the Baptist. Their faith had grown during the
neither be quoted in support of the view that  ,the                f&v days of private intercourse  with Jesus which
reprobate wicked, as a result of having been brought `su&eeded,  and now, by manifestation of His  power
under the influence of Common  Grace,  glorify God and'gl.ory,  it was still more strengthened. It was still,
when they see the good works of Christ's followers.                as later trial too clearly proved,. weak and imperfect.
   The light shed, finally, is the  .believer  returning to        But their mind and hearts were in such a condition
God'whose  workmanship #he is. The good deeds done that they open to the influence of additional light as to
image the glories of God. He, then, is glorified.                  their Master's, additional evidence of His authority
                                               G.  M. 0.           and power. But there were other spectators of the
                                                                   miracle upon whom it exerted no such happy influence.
                                                                   After the marriage feast of  Cana  broke up, "Jesus
                                                                   and His mother and His brethren, and His disciples
                                                                   went down.  to Capernaum."     This is  thevfirst  mention
   And-He Dr'qve Them All Out Of                                   of  those brethren of Christ who appear more than
                     Thii Temple' T                                once in the subsequent history, always associated with
                                                                   Mary, as forming part of her family, carefully dis-
               And the Jews' plssover  was at hand, and Jesus tinguished from the apostles and disciples of the Lord.
             went up to Jerusalem. And found in the temple         They are represented on one occasion as going after
             those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and         Him, thinking /He was beside Himself; and when He
             the changers of money sitting: And when he had        was told that Mary and they stood at the outskirts of
             made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all      the crowd desiring to see Him, He exclaimed, `Who
                                                                   is my mother,  ,and who are my brethren?
             out of the temple, and the sheep,  md the oxen;                                                     Whosoever
                                                                   shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the
             and poured out the changers' money,  .o.nd over-      same is my brother, my sister, and mother."
             threw the tables; and said unto them  tha,t sold                                                        On an-
             doves, Take these things hence; make not my           other occasion, the Nazatines referred to them v&en,
                                                                   astonished  and offended, they said to one another,  Ys
             Father's house a house of merchandise. And his        not this the carpenter's son? is not His mother called
            disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal     Mary, and His brethren James, and  Joses,  and Simon
             of thine house hath eaten me up. Then answered        and Judas?
             the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest                       And His sisters, are they not all with us?"
                                                                   John tells that at a still later period, in the beginning
             thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?    of the last year of our Lord's ministry, these relatives
             Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this       taunted Him, saying,
             temple, and in three days I will nsise it up. Then                            "If thou (do these things, show
             said the Jews, Forty and six years was this           thyself to the world ; for neither did His brethren be-
             temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in       lieve in Him." Had we been reading these messages
             three days ? Rut he spake of the temple of his        for the first time, we should scarcely have understood
             b o d y .                       John 2:13:21.         them otherwise than as referring to those who were
                                                                   related to Jesus as children of the same mother. This
   The miracle at the  marriage'feast.  drew a marked would, of course, imply that Mary had other children
line- of distinction between Jesus, the baptist, land the- than Jesus, an idea to which from the earliest period
austere Essenes, those eremites who dwelt apart ; shut there seems to shave been the strongest repugnance.
up in a kind of monastic seclusion, and who, renounced Resting upon the well known usage w4hich allowed the
the use of wine, condemned marriage;, and. .denounced              term  <brother and sister to be extended to more distant
all bodily. indulgence as injurious to  the  ,purity of the relationships, and upon the acknowledged difficulty  .C
spirit. By acting as He did in Cana,  Jesus. at the very which arises in connection with the names of our
outset of His career placed  lHimself in. direct opposition I *ord's brothers as given by the Evangelists, both the
to the strictest class of pietists then existing-in direct Greek and the Latin Churches though adopting dif-
opposition to the spirit and. practice-of these in- all ages. ferent theories as to the exact nature of the relation-            I
who have sought,- by withdrawal  ,from  the  ,world and shin. have indignantly  ,repudiated  the idea of Mary's
estrangement from. all objects, of sense;-to cultivate having any but one child and have regarded those
communion with. the unseen, to  :rise to a closer  inter-          spoken of as His brothers as being either  IHis  half-


358                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
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brothers, sons of Joseph by another marriage, or His Jesus ,went up to Jerusalem. Hithertoo,  though some
cousins, the  children  of Mary's  sis*.er, the wife of ,time had passed (two or three months perhaps, but
Alphaeus or Cleophas. It would be out of place here to their are no materials for exactIy  adetermining)  since
enter upon a discussion of the difficult question.  -Suffice    His baptism, and the public proclamation of His  Mes-
it to say that, after weighing all the objections which siahship, Jesus had take no public step, none implying
have been adduced, there appears to be no sufhcient             any assumption on His part on the  off& to which He
reason for rejecting the first and the most natural had been designated. Of the few men  ,who attended
reading of the passages referred to, for not believing Him, there was  <but one whom He had asked to follow
tnat they wer brothers and sisters of Jesus,  w~ho grew Him ; nor was it yet understood whether He and the
up along with Him in the household at Nazareth. Per- rest were to accompany Him for more than a few days.
haps our readiness to admit this may partly spring The miracle at  Cana was rather of a private and
from our not sharing the impression that there is any- domestic  than of a public character. Nothing that we
thing in such a belief either derogatory to the char- know of was said or done by Jesus at Capernaum or
acter of Mary, or to the true dignity of her first-born throughout the short visit of Galilee, to indicate His
Son.                                                            entrance upon a public career.
       Whoever they were, and however reIated  to Him,             But now He is in Jerusalem, in the place where
these brethren of the Lord, his nearest relatives, who most appropriately the first revelation of Himself in
had all along been living, if not `under  the same roof, His new character is made. Let us acknowledge that it
yet in close and intimate acquaintance with Him, sat is not in the form in which we should have expected it ;
beside His disciples at that marrige feast, and saw the nor in that form in ~which any Jew of that age would
wonder that was done, and they did nut believe. As ever have imagined that the Messiah should first show
months rolled on, they saw and heard of still greater           7mself.  We may be able, by meditating a little upon
wonders wrought in  ithe ,presence  of multitudes. Re- it to see more of its suitableness than at first sight
sid,ing with Mary at Capernaum,  uhey lived in "the m npears. But even at first glance how utterly unlike
very heart of that commotion which the teaching and it was to the popular Jewish conception of the advent
acts of Jesus excited. Neither did they then believe. of the Messiah. One of the first things our Lord does
Their unbelief may have been in part sustained by at Jerusalem is to go up to the temple.  (He passes
Christ's having ceased  %o make their home His home. (through one of the gates of its surrounding walls. He
and chosen twelve strangers as His close and constant enters into the large open area which on all sides
companions and friends. Nor did any of them believe encompasses the sacred edifice. What a spectacle meets
"3 Jesus all through the three years of His ministry.           His eye. T.here,  all around, attached to the walls, are
But it is pleasing to note that, though so 1on.g  and so. lines of booths or shops in which money changers are
stubbornly maintained, their unbelief did at last give plying their usurious trade. The center space is crowd-
way ; you see them in the upper room to which the ed with oxen and with sheep exposed for  sale and
apostles retired after witnessing the ascension. "And between the buyers and the sellers all the turbuIant
when they were come in, they ,went  up into an upper traffic of a cattle market is *going  on. It goes on within
room, where abode both `Peter and James, and John the outer enclosure, but close upon the inner buildings
and Andrew, 3Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and of the Holy Place ; so close that the loud Ihum of the
Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon outer court of rthe Gentiles must have been heard to
Zdotes,  and Judas the brother of James. These all              no small1 disturbance by the priests and worshinners
continued with one accord in `prayer and supplication within. How comes  a11 this? The origin of it in one
with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and sense is natural enough.  At  alI tie great festivals.
with His brethren." /How many an apt remark on the but esnecially  at the Passover, an almost inconceivabIe
peculiar  abarriers  which the closer ties of domestic life ndlmber of animals were offered up in sacrifice. ;Tose-
often oppose to the influence of the one Christian mem- ,nhus tells us of more  rEhan two hundred thousand vic-
ber of a  Ihousehold, and on the peculiar encourage- tims sacrificed in the course'of a single Passover  cele-
ment which such a one had to persevere, might be                bration.    The greatest portion of these were not
grou:nded  upon the fact that it was not till after His brought up fr,om the country ,by the offerers, but were
death that our Lord's own immediate relatives believed ourahased  upon their arrival at Jerusalem. An exten-
,in Him.                                                        sive traffic, yielding no inconsiderabIe  gain to those
       When the marriage feast at Cana  was over, Jesus engaged in it, w,as thus created. Some ouen  area for
and His mather, and His brethren, and His disciples nonducting  it was needed. The hea,ds of the priesthood,
went  ,down  to Capernaum. One advantage of  the to whom the custody of the temple was committed, saw
short visit that Jesus now paid to it was, that it put          that good rents were got for any suitable market
Him on the route along which the dready  gathering ground which the  city would  sunply.                    They were
bands of visitors from northern Galilee passed south- tempted to fill their coffers from this source. Jeru-
ward to the capital. The Passover was at hand, and &em could furnish no pIace so suitable for the  ex-


                                      THE.-`STANDARD   B E A R E R                                               359

posure of the animals as the court of the Gentiles. `word and tone of command, can exercise over their
What more convenient than that the victims should be fellow-men. But grant that rare power in  the highest
purchased in the very neigh,bor+hood  of the place where degree to Jesus, it will scarcely account for this scene
they were offered up? The greed of gain prevailed in the court of the Gentiles at Jerusalem. It would
over all care for the sanctity of the temple.         The     seem as if, in eye and  vaice  and action, the divine
Court of  tihe Gentiles was let out to the cattle dealers,    power and authority that lay in Jesus broke forth
and a  (large amount was thus added to the yearly into visible manifestation, and laid such a spell upon
revenue of the temple. Still another source of gain lay those rough cattle drivers and those cold calculators
open,. and was taken advantage of. Every one who of the money taxes, &at all `power of resistance was
came ,up to the Passover, and desired to take part in         for the time subdued. It would seem as if it pleased
ithe festival, had to present a half shekel of Jewish Him to exert here within the temple the same in-
.money  to the priests.  This kind of money was not fluence that He  <did afterwards in the Garden, when He
now in general use ; it was scarce even in Judea, un-         stepped forth from the darkness into the full moon-
known beyond that land. Nothing, however, but the light, and said to tihe rough <band that advanced with
half shekel of the sanctuary would be taken at the their lanterns and swords and staves to take Him,  "I
temple. To supply themselves ,with  the needed coin, that speak unto you am IHe"; and when at `the sight
,visitors  had to go to  tihe money changers. And where and word they-reeled backward and fell to the ground,
can he find a better Iplace to erect his boo& and set out the effect in both  <cases was but temporary. High
his table than within the very area in which the larger       priests and officers were soon upon their feet again;
traffic was going on? He offers so much to the priest- and, wonderinlg  at their own weakness in yielding to
hood to be permitted to do so; the bribe is taken and         a power which at the moment they were impotent to
tlhe booth and the tables are erected. And so amid a          resist, proceeded to lay hold upon Jesus, and lead
perfect Babel of tongues, and thronging, jostling Him away to Caiaphas. So was it  B~SO, ,we believe, in
crow,ds  of men and beasts, the buying and the selling the temple court. A sudden, mysterious, irresistible
and the money changing are all going on.                      `power  is upon that crowd. .They yield, they know not
   Into the heart of the tumultuous throng Jesus en- why. But by and by the spell would seem to be with-
ters. Of the many hundreds there, few have ever seen drawn. They  soon recover from its effect. Nor is it
Him before ; few know  anytlhing  about Him, either long till, wondering at their havi.ng  allowed a single
about His baptism in the Jordan, or His late miracle at man, and one  w*ho had no right whatever, to interfere
Cana. He appears as a stranger, a young man clad in with arrangements made by the chief authorities, and
the simple garb of ,a Galilean peasant, without any to lord it over them, they return, resume their occupa-
badge of authority in His hand. He looks around with tions, and all  ,goes on as before.
an eye of indignant sorrow, pours out the changers'              It was no intention or expectation of putting an
money, overthrows their tables, forming a scourge of end in th#is way to the desecration of the Holy Place
small cords, drives  the herds of cattle before Him, and that Jesus acted. What,  uhen, was the purpose of His
minghng consideration with zeal, says to  trhem who act? It was meant to be a public proclamation of His
sold the doves, "Take these things hence ; make not my Sonship to God ; an open assertion and exercise of His
Father's house a house of merchandise." Why is it authority as sustaining this relation  ; a protest in the
that at the touch of His slender scourge, and X?e bid-        Father's name against the conduct of the priesthood
ding  of the youthful stranger, buyers and sellers stop       in  ,permitting  this desecration in the Holy Place. It
their traffic, the money changers suffer their money to was far more for the  priesthood  than for the crowd in
be rudeIy handted,  and their tables to be overthrown?        the market #place  #that it was meant. They were not
The  s&&test  resistance of so many against one would' ignorant that the chief object of the ministry of the
have been sufficient to Ihave arrested the movement.          Baptist, with which the wh& country was ringing,
But no such resistance -is. attempted, no opposition was to announce the immediate coming of the Messiah.
is made, by men not likely by their occupation to be They had not long before sent a  ,deputation  to the
remarkable for mildness of disposition or pliability of banks of the Jordan to ask John whetrher  he himself
character.  .How are we to explain this ? We can were not  the Messiah, whose near advent he was fore-
-understand  how, at the last Passover, at the close OF telling. The members of-that deputation heard of the
His ministry, when Jesus, then so  Iwell known, so baptism of Jesus; in a?1 likelihood they had not left
generally recognized by the people as a prophet, re- the place when Jesus came  ,back from the temptation
peated this cleansing of the temple, there  shoul'd have in the wilderness, and was publicly pointed to by John
been a  yield,ing  to His authoritative command. But as the greater  than himself who was to come after
what  ,are we to say of such an occurance taking place him, the Lamb of God, tlhe Son of God. From the lips
at the very commencement of His ministry, His first of the men whom they had sent, or from the lips of
public act at Jerusalem? It is a mysterious power others, they must have known all about what had
which some men, in time of excitement, by look and happened. And now here among them is this Jesus


     360                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
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     of Nazareth ; here He is come up to the temple, sneak- there were in the remembrances and reports of the
     .ing and acting as if it were His part and office authori- people, in one thing they agreed, in the attributing
     tatively to interpose and cleanse the building of  all its the destruction of the temple that Jesus had spoken
     defilements. What else could the priesthood who had of here, to Himself. But He had not spoken of, the de-
     charge of the temple understand than that here was struction as affected by His own hands, but by those
     claimed a jurisdiction in regard to it superior to their of the Jews themselves. And He had not had in His
     own? What else could they understand  (when the eye the material temple on Mount Moriah, but the
     words were heard, or were repeated to them, "Make temple of His body, *whEch they were to destroy, and
     not my Father's house a house of merchandise,"  tihan      which He, three days afterwards, was to raise from
     that here was One Who claimed a relationship to God tk.e dead. All this became plain afterwards, and:went,
     as His  Eather,  and a right over the temple as His when His real meaning stood revealed in the event,
     Father's house, which none could claim? They go mighticy to confirm the faith of His followers. And in
     to Him, aerefore, or they call Him before them, and        one respect it may still go to confirm ours, for does
     entering, you will remark, into no justification of their not that saying of Jesus, uttered so early,-His  first
     own deed in hiring out the temple court as they had        word, we may say, to the leaders of the people at Jeru-
     done,-entering into no argument with Him as to the salem,-does  it not, along with so many other like
     rightness or wrongness of what He had done, ratlher  ad- evidences, go to prove how clearly the Lord saw tke
     mitting that if He were indeed a prophet, as His acts end from  tlhe beginning?
     showed that  tHe at least pretended to be, His act was        The temple of Jerusalem has long been in ruins;
     justifiable; they proceed upon the assumption that He In its stead their stands Ibefore us the Church of the
     was bound to give some proof of His carrying a  Dimvine    body of Christ, the society of the  faithfu?.   In her
     commission, and  titey  say to Him, `What sign showeth corporate capacity, in  `her corporate acting,  ih& the
     thou unto us, seeing that thou ,doest  these things?"      Church not acted over again what the Jews did with
            He lhad shown a good enough sign already, had they their temple, when she has made mer'chandise  with
     read  it,aright. He was about to show signs numerous her  offices and her revenues, and  sol,d them to the
     and significant enough in the days that immediately highest  bi,dder,  as you would sell oxen in the market
     succeeded; but to such a haughty challenge as this, or meat in the shambles? T:he spirit which prompts
     coming, as *He knew, from men whom no sign would such open sacriligious acts, such gross making gain of
     convince of His Messiahship, He had. but this reply: godliness, is the self-same spirit w,hich the Lord re-
     "Destroy this temple and in three days. I  ,wi!l raise it buked ; and how often does it creep' tinto and take hold
     up again." A truly dark saying ; one that, not only and spread like a defiling leprosy over the house of
     they did not and could not at the time ,understand,  but God?. It does so in the pulpit, ,whenever  self, in one
     that they were almost certain to misunderstand, and, or other of its insidious forms, frames the speech and
     misunderstanding, to turn against the speaker, as if animates the utterance ; it does so in the pew, wihen  in
     He meant to claim the possession of a power which He the hour hallowed to prayer and praise, the chambers
,    never could be called upon to exercise. Then said the of thought and imagery within are crowded with
     Jews, interpreting, as they could scarcely fail to do,     worldly guests. Know ye not, brethren, that ye are
     His words as applicable to the material1 temple : "Forty tie temple of God ; and that the temple of God is holy,
     and six years .has this temple been in building, and wilt <which  temple ye are ? Would that have the zeal of the
     thou rear it up in three days ?"                           Saviour  showed in cleansing the earthly .building  were
            Jesus made no attempt to rectify the error into     but shown by each of us in the purifying and the clean-
     w,hioh  his questioners had fallen. He could not well sing of our Ihearts. Truly, it is no easy task to drive
     have done so without a premature disclosure of His out  then'ce everything that  defileth  in His sight, to
     death and resurrection, a thing that He carefully keep out as well as to put out; for, quick as were those
     avoided till the time of their accomplishment drew buyers and sellers of old in coming back to their places
     near. He left this mysterious saying to  ,be interpreted in the temple, and resuming their occupations there,
     against Himself. It seems to have taken a deep hold, quicker  sti!l are those vain and sinful desires, disposi-'
     to have been widely circulated, and to have  fixed  itself tions, imaginations, ,whieh  in our moments of excited
     very deeply in the memory of the people. Three years -eal we ihave expelled from our hearts, in returning
     afterwards, when they were trying to convict Him of to their old. and well loved haunts. The Lord of the
     some  cnime in reference to religion, this first saying of temple must come Himself to cleanse it; come, not once
     EHis was brought up against Him, as one uttered blas-      or twice, as in the case of the temple at Jerusalem ;
     phemously against the temple, but the' ` two witnesses come, not as a transient visitor, but as an abiding
     could, not agree about the words. And .when the cross guest; not otherwise than by His own indwelling shall
     was raised, those who Ipassed by rai,led  on Him, saying, those unhallowed inmates be ejected and kept without,'
     "A,h, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it and the house made worthy of Him  w'ho designs to
     in  tlhree  days, save thyself." Whatever differences occupy it.                                     G. M. 0.


