460                                          T H E   STAN.DARD   B E A R E R

                                                                        written on this subject on our part in books and  pam-
                                                                        phlets and in "Tthe Standard Bearer".
                                                                           2. There was, even from the viewpoint of the Chris-
                                                                        tian Reformed Churches, no need of these doctrinal
                                                                        declarations to preserve the unity of the `Reformed
                                                                        faith and doctrine. This is clearly proven by:
                      Our First Synod                                      a. The fact that the very Synod that adopted the
       It is not our purpose to discuss in detail the various           "Three Points" declared that it could not be denied
decisions taken by our first Synod. All the decisions that those who were declared to be in conflict with the
will be published in the  Acta, whioh all that are inter-               three doctrinal declarations were Reformed in the
ested may purchase and study for themselves. Only to                    fundamentals as set forth in the Three Forms of
some of the more important matters we wish to Cal2                      Unity.
the attention of our readers.                                              b.  T,he fact that the Protestant Reformed Churches
       To these belongs, no doubt, the address  w,hich  our in their history of sixteen years of separate existence
Synod decided to send to the Synod of the Christian                     have furnished ample proof that one can very well re-
Reformed Churches.                                                      main Reformed while he rejects the "Three Points".
       Here it is:                                                         c. The testimony of several Reformed theologians
                                                                        in the Netherlands, several of wehose  statements can
                                      Grand Rapids, Mich.               be quoted in proof of our contention under  2, if so
                                      May 27, 1940.                     desired.
       The Synod of the Christian Reformed Churches,                       3. Yet, by adopting these doctrinal  dec!.arations,
       assembled at Grand Rapids, Mich.,  June . . . . . . . . 1940.    to which the Protestant Reformed Churches cannot in
       Esteemed brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ  :-                   good conscience subscribe, your Synod of 1924 caused
       The Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches in the breach now existing between your churches and
its session of May 27, 1940, adopted a resolution to ours, thereby transgressing the commandment of God,
deliver to your assembly the following address, begs that we shall endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit
you to give it your earnest and prayerful consideration, in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4  :3.
and having done so, to favor us with a reply.                              We, therefore, brethren, now the Lord has blessed
       It is now sixteen years ago that your Synod, then us these several years,. and we might complete our
assembled in Kalamazoo, Michigan, adopted three doc- ecclesiastical organization by instituting a synod, feel
trinal declarations, known as "The Three Points", that we are conscience bound to admonish  yo,u concern-
which, briefly expressed, teach :                                       ing your error, committed in adopting the said three
       1. That there is a favorable disposition or attitude doctrinal declarations, and in the love of Christ earn-
of God, not only to the elect and the righteous, but also               estly implore you to remove this stumblingblock, the
to the reprobate and ungodly in this present world.                     cause of the dissension and separation between your
       2. That the preaching of the gospel, conceived as a churches and ours. We consider this the indispensab!e
well-meaning offer of grace and salvation on the part and primary condition for the restoration of a Chris-
of God, is grace to all that hear this preaching.                       tian fraternal relationship between you and us.
       3. That there is a gra.cious  operation of the Holy
Spirit upon all men, outside of Christ, and not regener-                   II. In inseparable connection with the preceding we
ative, by which sin in man is restrained and the natural also beg and admonish  yo.u, in the name of Christ,
man is improved, so that he is not so depraved as with- the King of His Church, that you repent of the acts
out this restraining operation he would be.                             of injustice, upon which your Synod of Englewood,
       4. That by virtue of this influence of God upon Chicago, 1926, set its seal of approval, perpetrated by
the natura1  man he is able to do good works in this. the  Classis  Grand Rapids East and Grand Rapids West,
world, so-called civil righteousness.                                   whereby faithful officebearers, ministers, eiders  and
       The Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches                    deacons, were presumably deposed from their respec-
admonishes and begs you herewith to rescind these doc-                  tive offices, and whole congregations were expelled
trinal declarations.         It urges you to do so on the               from the fellowship of your Churches. In furnishing
following grounds :                                                     grounds  for this exhortation, we will eliminate for
       1. They are contrary to the Word of God and to                   the present the formal, ohurch-political question,
our Reformed Confessions, which latter both you and                     whether or not a classis  has the right and power to
we profess to be the basis of our fellowship. We will                   depose a consistory. And we will w+holly confine our-
not at this time ask too much of your attention by                      selves to the material side of the matter as follows :
supporting this statement by adequate proof from                            1. In the *light of the facts in the case, there can be
Scripture and the Confessions. We consider it suf-                      no dispute about this statement, that the ground of
ficient for the present to refer you to all that has been               the deposition of said officebearers was their  disagree-


                                          T H E S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        461

 ment with the "Three Points" and their refusal to sub- of Holy Scripture, that we  shaIl consider one another
 scribe to their doctrine. Hence, if the "Three Points" and provoke one another to love and unto good works,
 (are  not in harmony with the Reformed Confessions, it to exhort one another, so much the more as ye see the
 follows that the deposition of these officebearers was day approaching, Heb.  10:24, 25, we urge you to
 an act of gross injustice.                                       reconsider this matter and to repent.
        2. In deposing these officebearers, the Classes and          2. Besides, we believe that it is the  ,calling  and
 Synod could not with justice appeal to the Formula solemn obligation of all that confess the same precious
 of Subscription, as they, nevertheless, attempted to do. faith with us, to preserve the unity of the Spirit in
 For :                                                            the bond of peace, and, therefore, to seek to restore
I "&
.s a.  T,he Formula of Subscription definitely mentions that unity and harmony wherever they have been dis-
""the Three Forms of Unity as the standards to which turbed and disrupted. It is this unity which we desire
 all officebearers in the Christian Reformed Churches and seek on the basis of our Reformed Standards, the
 subscribe.                                                       Netherland Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and
        b. We ourselves declare in good conscience before the Canons of Dordrecht. And it is our deepest con-
  God and the Churches that we wholeheartedly sub-                viction that the "Three Points" are the fundamental
  scribe to these Confessions, and, therefore, are in a cause of ,the present breaoh.
  position to affix our signature to the Formula of Sub-             3. While, therefore, we on our part gladly confess
 scription without any reservations.                              that we are far from having attained to perfection,
                                                                  and hereby express our willingness to receive and con-
        c. But what is mure,  we have your own synodical          sider whatever admonitions you may deem proper to
 testimony that we are in fundamental agreement with give us either with regard to our doctrine or to our
  the Confessions mentioned in the said Formula of Sub-           conversation, we are, on our part, fully assured that
  scription, which neither directly nor by implication you yourselves caused the existing breach between
  makes mention of the "Three Points" adopted by your your churches and ours by adopting the "Three Points"
  Synod of 1924.                                                  and by the perpetration of the subsequent acts of in-
        3. Yet, the two classes mentioned above deposed the justice against us of which we made mention above.
  said officebearers from their respective offices, as a And for the restoration of unity and of a fraternal
  result of which congregations were expelled from your relation between us, we consider it paramount that -
  fellowship and they were deprived of their properties you undo as much as in you lies what was done wrong
 valued at many thousands of dollars.                             in 1924-1926.
        This deposition and expulsion we consider acts of
 gross injustice by which we are deeply grieved. We,
  therefore, are constrained to request you earnestly
  that you will look into this matter, that you will re-             IV. Finally, if on the basis of the foregoing you
  consider it, and that you will confess before God and can conceive of a possibility of restoring harmony and
  us that you committed an act of gross injustice against unity, we hereby invite you to a colloquy on all these
 ,us, when you set your seal of approval upon the acts            matters with our Churches, a colloquy that is to be
  of Classes Grand Rapids East and Grand Rapids conducted strictly on the basis of Scripture and the
  West.                                                           Reformed Confessions only. We ask you, therefore,
                                                                  to appoint a committee for this purpose to meet with a
                                                                  similar committee appointed by our Synod at any time
                                                                  convenient to you and to us. For your information
        III. Brethren, it is no carnal desire to be the great-    we state that our Synod appointed a committee of
 est and to humiliate you that motivates us in address- seven for this purpose.
 ing you thus, and calling you to repentance. On the                 May the Lord of His Church so guide you by His
 contrary, we declare with a free conscience that we              Spirit that you give this matter your prayerful and
 are constrained by the love of C.hrist. Accordingly:             sanctified consideration.
        1. We feel assured that the blessing of the Lord
 cannot rest upon your Churches, as long as you main-                               Adopted by the Synod of the
 tain the erroneous "Three Points" and continue to                      Protestant Reformed Churches, May 27, 1940.
 assume responsibility for the acts of injustice com-
 mitted against us in 1924-1926. And we believe that,                At the time of this writing the Synod of the "Chris-
 what the Holy Scriptures teach us, viz., that the sinner tian Reformed Churches" already met and closed its
  who repents shall receive mercy, is applicable  ito sessions.
 churches as  well as to individual sinners. Being, there-           The communication we sent to them was read. And
 fore, sincerely interested in the wellbeing of the Chris- their answer was already received by our Stated Clerk,
 tian Reformed Churches, and  ,heeding the exhortation the Rev. D. Jonker. Our churches, no doubt, are inter-


462                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
Lo-
ested to know about this reply. And, therefore, we           on the basis we suggested no colloquy is possible. On
here copy it:                                                their part they suggest no basis on which they con-
                                                             ceive it possible that such a colloquy might be held.
       To the Synod of the Protestant Reformed Church,          The Synod of the Christian Reformed Church
       Grand Rapids, Michigan.                               merely says : No !
       Dear Brethren :-                                         They turn to us the cold shoulder.
                                          __                    And that is not a Christian attitude. One might
       Our Synod has read your communication with its expect an answer of this nature from the world, but
a,ccompanying  invitation and request.                       surely not from the Church of Christ. Surely, it
       We desire to inform you that no official colloquy is would have been quite impossible for the Synod to
possible on the basis you refer to in your letter, since     introduce this reply to our churches by the well-known
our Synods have expressed themselves definitely on all words from the fifteenth chapter of Acts: "It seemed
matters to which  you refer. These expressions of our good to the Holy Ghost and,,to us". We approached
Synods are available to you in the Acts of our Synods. them in a Christian spirit. As  the party against
                      For the Synod of the                   whom they have sinned, and sinned grievously, we
                      Christian Reformed Church,             called their attention to the erroneous and sinful ac-
                                                             tions of their Synods of 1924 and 1926 against us. We
                                  Daniel Zwier, Clerk.       asked them to reconsider these acts. We admonished
                                                            them to repent. We invited them to a colloquy. We
                                                             expressed the desire for unity. And they merely say:
       Let us consider for a moment the meaning and N O !Suppose that it were true what they state, that a
implications of this brief reply.                            colloquy on the basis we suggested  tom them is not
       We are addressed as "Synod of the Protestant Re- possible for them, was it not their duty before God to
formed Church".         This is rather gratifying. The suggest another basis on which it would be possible
Rev. Zwier who signed this reply as clerk of the Synod       for them to meet us? Suppose that they were con-
frequently tried to brand us as a mere sect. The Synod vinced that we are wholly in the wrong (and I do not
of the "Christian Reformed Church" now officially believe that they are), that they were quite right
acknowledges that we are a "Church". For this we             in all they perpetrated against us, that their acts
are grateful.                                                whereby they expelled us from their fellowship, and
       However, an error crept into the address, due, no whereby they deprived us of our property were quite
doubt, to the different church-political conception fav- justifiable in the sight of God, were they, then, as
ored by the Christian Reformed Church, different,            Ctiristians not in duty bound to admonish us?
that is, from ours. We prefer to speak of "churches",           They never did in the past.
in the plural,  they.speak  of their entire denomination        There is not one among them that ever addressed
as a "church". We believe in the autonomy of the to us even one word of admonition.
local churches, and these local churches are represented        Nor did their Synods ever admonish us in any way.
by our Synod,~ without losing their autonomy. Hence,            Was it, then, not their obligation before God now
the address should have been: "To the Synod of the to do so? Instead they reply to our communication by
Protestant Reformed  Churcihes".                             a mere and cold : No ! I do not state too ,much when
       But this is, of course, a minor matter.               I say that this answer to our communication is posi-
       We are more interested in the actual content of the tively .unchristian.
reply to our communication,                                     Besides, the answer is begging  the question.
       The reply contains an answer to the latter part          We begged the Synod of the Christian Reformed
of our address only, to that part, namely, in which we Church, assembled in Grand Rapids June 1940 to
invite the Christian Reformed brethren to an official review the acts of their Synods of Kalamazoo, 1924,
collloquy. This invitation they not merely decline, but and of Chicago, 1926.
they specifically state, that such a colloquy would be          And we invited them to a colloquy if they could
impossible on the basis we laid down in our address.         but conceive of a possibili;ty  of reunion on that basis
And the ground of this declaration, that such a colloquy suggested.
on such a basis is not possible, is that the Christian          And they answer: impossible,  for our Synods have
Reformed Synods have already definitely expressed spoken!
themselves on all the matters we mention in our ad-             But of course, their Synods ,have spoken ! If their
dress. And we are referred to their Acta further to          Synods had not spoken as they did in 1924 and in
inform ourselves on these matters.                           1926 the breach now existing would never have been
       NOW, we notice first of all that the answer of the made ! It was exactly in regard to what their Synods
Synod is entirely negative. They only inform us that had declared and decided and enacted against us, that


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                 468

we addressed the Synod of  1940! It was with regard bitterly disappointed Dr. Schilder. I can assure the
to those decisions that we admonished them to re- brethren that the professor received a bad impression
consider and repent. And in answer to these admoni- of them at that conference.
tions they reply: impossible, for our Synods have                   But now we made a second attempt.
expressed themselves !                                              One of the excuses some of the brethren made for
    And that is begging the question !                          not being able to cooperate in the matter of the con-
    The Synod of the Christian Reformed Churches, ference in the Pantlind Hotel was that this meeting
June, 1940, did not consider the decisions and dezlara-         was not official. The matters that were to be dis-
tions and acts of the Synods of 1924 and 1926 at                cussed ,there were official declarations of the Synod
a'l. They did not look into the matter. They gave               of the Christian Reforn'ied Churches. And such mat-
no heed to our admonitions to reconsider and repent.            ters could not be properly discussed in unofficial
We asked them: please, reconsider what you did in gatherings.
the past! They answer without any consideration of                  Well, this time we invited the Christian Reformed
the whole matter: impossible, for what we did in the            Church to arrange for such an  ofiicial gathering, in
past is done !                                                  which the  difierenc&s  might be threshed out in an
    Or is the implication of the reply of Synod that            oticial  manner.
-their  Synods are infallible?                                      We suggested that such a conference be held on the
    That is, of course, another possibility. We cannot basis that they on their part could conceive of the
meet you on the basis you suggest, they say, because possibility of having erred and of reconsidering their
our Synods have spoken! That would seem to imply actions.
that the Synod of 1940 may not and cannot review and                This time we are told that such an official confer-
reconsider what the Synods of 1924 and 1926 have                ence on that basis is impossible because the Synods
decided, because the decrees of their Synods are con- have expressed themselves !
sidered infallible.                                                 A  non-oticial  colloquy was not permissible because
    If that is  `the implication the answer smacks of the Synods had spoken. And an  ofiicial  colloquy is
Roman Catholicism.                                              impossible for the same reason!
    From whatever point of view one may `look at this               Once more we failed.
reply of the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church,                And once more the responsibility for the failure  IS
it certainly is very poor!                                      whoiiy with the Christian Reformed brethren.
                                                                    And this time they leave a bad impression upon
                                                                me. Frankly, the impression is that they are we11 aware
    This is the second time we on our part have re- of their own weakness and have not the moral courage
vealed our willingness to meet the brethren of the              to meet us face to face !
Christian Reformed Church face to face in a  colloqium              For, they cannot make me believe that they are
to discuss with them the differences that keep us               serious when they state that it is impossible for them
apart.                                                          to conceive that  thky have erred and to meet us in
    The first time was occasioned by the visit of Dr. conference to discuss  synodical  declarations and acts,
Schilder. This esteemed brother from the old country because the Synods have spoken!
was sincere in his belief that the breach of 1924 should                                                             H. H.
never have been made, and that it could be healed. It
was he, no doubt, that inspired the attempt to organize
a conference between brethren from both sides, where                                    IN MEMORIAM
the differences might be discussed in a brotherly spirit.           On Sunday evening,  July 7, 1940, after a very brief illneq
He  real.`.y  saw the possibility of a reunion, and seriously it pleased our helveniy  Father to take unto Himself our beloved
labored in that' direction.                                     husband, father, and- grandfather,
    That first conference was a failure.                                            PETER ZUIDEMA, age 66
    Surely, it cannot be said that the Protestant Re-               Though we  shail miss  h;m more  t&n tongue can tell, we
formed brethren were the cause of the failure. They kmw  God's way is tile best way, that He doeth all things well
cannot be blamed. Undersigned delivered a paper and that .now our depr&d one is rt rest with his Saviour whom
                                                                he loved and served.    Xow   cxnforting  in our sorrow is the
before that conference in which the entire situation assurance that our loss is his gain.
was clearly set forth, and he invited the brethren to                                        Mrs. Peter  Zuidema
discuss the matter. Our ministers that were present                                          Mr. and Mrs. D. Van  Alten
at that conference urged the Christian Reformed                                              Mr. and Mrs. H. Zuidsma
brethren to discuss the "Three Points". But they                                             Mr. and Mrs. P. R. Zuidrema
refused.    They absolutely  ref'used  to discuss any-                                       Mr. and Mrs. G. Zuidema
                                                                                             Mr. and Mrs.  P.  ,Zuidems
thing essential. They had nothing to say. And they                                           and 9 grandchildren.


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      471

                                                             God's sovereignty but included in it and determined
         The Mystery Of The Gospel                           by it. This, then, does not invoIve us in a contradic-
                                                             ,tion but in a truth which is far beyond all human
   The expression, mystery, occurs frequently in the understanding. Neither is a mystery in Scripture
Holy Scriptures. In I Tim. 3  :I6 Paul, writing to specifically something which we cannot understand.
Timothy, speaks of the great mystery of godliness,           Of course, we do not wish to imply that we would
consisting of: "God was manifest in the flesh, justified eliminate this element from the concept, mystery.
in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gen-        Fact is, there is nothing which we really un,derstand.
tiles, believed on in the world, received up  into glory." All things, also in creation, are far beyond our human
Also in I Cor. 15 the same apostle speaks of "mystery". comprehension. And this is particularly true of Scrip-
There he writes of the great change which shall take ture. Who will even begin to fathom the Divine
place when, at the last trump, in a moment, in the           Trinity? The truth that God is one in being and three
twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed. And in in persons, that the three Persons are co-eternal and
Ephesians 6 :19 Paul speaks of the mystery of the gos- co-essential surely transcends all human understand-
pel. It is to this last expression that I would call at-     ing. Or, who can grasp the Incarnation? Fact is, this
`"ention  in this artic?e.  And it is my intention to em-    truth is reflected creaturely in our own life. The
phasize not the idea of the gospel but the fact that human person operates through a body and a soul
it is a mysery.                                              which are wonderfully adapted to each other. This is
   The gospel, we know, is the glad, joyful news con- beyond our human comfprehension.           How much greater
cerning God's promise of our salvation.       The word then is the "mystery" of the Incarnation, God in the
itself means literally "good news". And in Gal.  3:8 flesh! Besides, this same element may also be applied
it is identified with the promise. The gospel is "good to  the gospel. Who would presume to understand the
news" exactly because it concerns this promise of God. gospel, that work of God whioh  is so strictly Divine,
Were salvation merely an offer and therefore de- which must be revealed to us, which never cou!d arise
pendent upon our acceptance of it, the gospel, as the in the heart of man! Yet, in the light of the Scriptural
proclamation of such an offer, would hardly be "good passages whidh we have quoted, I think we may safely
news". We must remember that the sinner is born conclude that a mystery in Scripture is not specifically
dead in sins and trespasses, unable to will the things a matter which is beyond our human understanding,
of the Kingdom of God. He  is  carnahy minded and although this consideration must not be excluded.
cannot will the things of the Spirit. Now it is, of When Paul, speaking in I Cor. 15 of the change which
course, true that repentance must be demanded of shall take place in a moment, in the twinkling of an
the sinner. who cannot repent. But, to proclaim unto eye, at the last trump, calls this a mystery, he would
him that salvation is `his if he will accept it, that his not emphasize the idea that this is something we can-
blessedness is, as far as God is concerned, merely an not understand. And I believe that this must also be
offer, means that he will never be saved because he          applied to I Tim. 3 :16.
cannot will the things of God and accept the "offered"          A mystery, "eene  verborgenheid", is that which lies
salvation. And this is hardly good news. However, beyond the scope of all human thought and life, which
the gospel, never `to be confused with an offer, is the could never arise in the heart of man, which essentially
blessed proclamation of God's promise. And God's lies beyond this world and all human, earthy existence.
promise is His solemn declaration of what He can and It is super-worldly, above and beyond this life. It
will do. The gospel is "good news' because it speaks must therefore be revealed unto us shall we ever learn
of our salvation in Christ Jesus as dependent upon and of it. In this sense the apostle, in I Cor. 2:1, speaks.
.realized  by our faithful covenant God Whose word of "the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
never faileth.                                               wisdom", as something which, according to verse 9,
   This gospel is a mystery. A mystery, in Scripture, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
is not a contradiction. It is often presented as such into the heart of man, the things which God hath pre-
today. The term, mystery, then, is conveniently ap- pared for them that love Him," In the same sense the
plied to "truths" which are in irreconcilable conflict       Scriptures speak of the mystery of godliness. Godli-
with each other, such as the sovereign will of God and ness is a mystery because it concerns the manifesta-
tie "offer" of salvation or of God's sovereignty and tion of God in the flesh. Also here the truth is em-
man's responsibility. Of course, God's sovereignty phasized that godliness must come from above and
and  man% responsibility must never be understood as could never have entered into the heart of man to con-
contradicting each other. That man is responsible ceive of it. And when Paul speaks of  that great
never means that he is independently free, that he can change which shall occur at the last trump, he empha-
and does determine his own destiny. But it does mean sizes the same thought. Hence, a mystery, is truly
that he consciously and wilfully chooses this own course something which is beyond our human understanding,
of action. Only, it must never be separated from is essentially that which is other-worldly, lies beyond

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

 this present life, above and beyond the scope of our          true of Jesus' exaItation? We see the empty grave but
 earthy existence. Salvation is a mystery because it is the resurrection was witnessed by none. Shortly after-
 from above and will culminate in that world which awards C!hrist  disappears entirely from our view, is
 surely never could be conceived of in the heart of taken up into heaven, receives all power at the right
 man.                                                          hand of God. From out of heaven He saves us, by His
        In this sense we also speak of the mystery of the      Spirit, calling us out of sin into the blessed reality
 gospel. The gospel is essentially the proclamation of of God's covenant-communion. And His work of sal-
that work of salvation which is exclusively Divine. vation will continue until all the elect, the entire
 It speaks of the promise of Jehovah which He alone Churcrh, shall have been called out of this earthy into
 fulfills. Surely the work of salvation is a work which that heavenly state of things which God has willed
 does not originate within us but from above. And, it from before the foundation of the world.
 leads us into the heavenly life. Firstly, the blessed            Therefore the  gospe1  is a mystery. It is so other-
 realization of ,God?s  covenant with us in Christ Jesus worldly. It is so exclusively Divine. It lies entirely
 could never have entered into the heart of man. We            beyond the scope of our human, earthy life. It origin-
 could not even `have conceived of it. For man is by ates in God, is realized alone by God, will culminate
 nature dead in sin and misery, barred from God's bless- in the heavenly state of glory. Because of this the
 ed fellowship. To return into God's favor is  impos-          gospel must be revealed unto us by God. We read in
 sib1e for him, inasmuch as the righteous judgment of Lord's Day 6, concerning this holy gospel, that it was
 God demands a payment for his sin which he cannot -first revealed by God in Paradise and lastly fulfilled
 bring. Besides, he is filled with darkness, is a (hater       by His only begotten Son. How necessary that God
 of God, and therefore does not will to experience God's should reveal it in Paradise ! In what other way could
 favor and bend the knee before the Most High. Be- we ever  Iearn  of a salvation which never arose in our
 cause of this salvation cannot enter into the heart of hearts and which is so exclusively Divine? And, how
 man. Add ta this the fact that the gospel speaks of a necessary that God Himself, in the second Person,
 heavenly salvation which w.ill ultimately be revealed should fulfil this gospel, this Daivine  promise of our
 in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. How shall man, salvation ! Finally, having fulfilled this promise by
 who, besides being sinful and therefore not desirous of His only begotten Son, in Bethlehem and upon the
 returning unto God's fellowship, is of the earth earthy, cross, how necessary that He Himself should infallibly
 ever conceive of a glory which is other-worldly, heaven- lead His apostles into this truth which never could
 ly, not of this earth! Salvation therefore must come have entered into our mind ! Bethlehem, Calvary, the
 from above.                                                   resurrection and ascension, so exclusively Divine, must
    The gospel of our salvation is a mystery, being be- be revealed unto us by God Himself. This God did
 yond the scope of all human life and understanding, when He Himself imparted unto His apostles the know-
 firstly because it is a matter of God's own sbvereign ledge of this work of salvation. And then, when Je-
 till. Jehovah, Whose ways are unfathomable, past hovah realizes this work of salvation in our hearts,
 finding out, Who had no  counsellor  with Him, was not sanctifies His own revelation unto our souls, we bend
 determined by any creature, willed, for His. own the knee before Him in all praise and adoration,, ex-
 Name's sake, to glorify Himself in a heavenly renewal claiming : "For of Thee, and through Thee, and to
 of all things through sin and grace. Hence, the gospel Thee, are all things : to Thee be glory for ever. Amen."
 originated in the eternal God Himself. However, also                                                               H. V.
 when Jehovah realizes His blessed covenant in time,
- this fulfilment of His promise lies over and beyond                                        .
 the sphere of this world. The gospe1  is distinctly other-                           IN MEMORIAM
 worldly. This is true of Bethlehem. What we see is                On Monday, June 17, it pleased the Lord to take unto Him-
 a babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a seIf our beloved husband father and grandfather,
 manger, as miserable a bi.rth  as one could possibly con-                    Mr. T. HELMHOLDT, age  `72
 ceive of. What we do not see and cannot see at Beth-              Throughout his suffering he testified that he was prepared
 lehem is the fulfllment  of the promise. We cannot see to meet his Lord. That he is now in eternal life and glory is
 the Incarnation,  ,God Himself assuming our  !human           our comfort in our sorrow.
 nature in the Person of the Son. The same is true                                           Mrs. T. Helmholdt
 of Calvary. We see a sufferer, a most extraordinary                                          Mr. and Mrs. F. Helmholdt
 sufferer, it is true, we hear groans ascending from the                                      Mr. and Mrs. P. Heethuis
 b&tomless  pit. But again the gospel is hid from us.                                         Mr. and Mrs. H. Helmholdt
 The mystery of the cross, God in Christ reconciling the                                      Mr. and Mrs. L. Pruis
 world with Himself, we cannot possibly see.                                                 Anna
                                                       The                                    Mr. and Mrs. H.  Wustman
 human mind could never conclude from the cross that                                              Mr. and Mrs. T. Helmholdt
 Jehovah was saving His people. And is this not also                                          and 13 grandchildren


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      ~477

                     A Cry For Help                                 So He did with David. And he knew that God
                                                                found nothing.
        Many, many years ago, it Ihappened  that a piercing,        No David was not perfect. But with respect to the
thrice-repeated cry ascended to the heavens. It was             case at (hand he was innocent. Moreover, he had pur-
     David, and, as was very often the case, David in posed within himself not to transgress with his tongue.
trouble.                                                        We often spoil a good cause with our foolish babblings.
        Thrice `repeated is his crying to God. We refer to Be still ; give pIace for the wrath of God ! He will fight
the opening of the seventeenth psalm.                           your fight, if it is a good fight.
       Hear! Attend! Give ear!                                      How was it possible for David to remain so clean
        Involuntarily we will repeat our cries of anguish. in his cause? Was he not surrounded by the bad ex-
And in the same measure that we are in trouble, we              ample of them that are called the destroyers?      Yes,
will also repeat our cries for help.                            he saw the evil example of the wicked on every side.
       So also David, He was in great trouble. We do not But he possessed a reservoir of power that lifted him
know the historical background. It may have been at above the common mass of evil doers: the Word of
the time that he had to flee from Saul.                         God. He says: I kept myself from evil paths by the
       At once, at the very beginning of the outpouring words of Thy lips.
of his cry to God, he points the Almighty to the sincer-            Wondrous power of the Word of God !
ity of his prayer. It did not come from feigned lips.               Long ago I have experienced this wonderworking
       You must be very sincere when praying to God.            power. Just stay out of church for a few Sundays.
       Oh yes, when asking for  heIp of an earthy indi-         Neglect your communion with those  ' that hold forth
vidual you may be able to fool him. You may act as the words of life. Just close your Bible and fail to
though you are in the last extremity, while you are read its pages for some days, weeks, months. . . .                     "
really not afraid at all. It may be possible to deceive             And the ,results  will be that you depart from the
your fellow man ; but to try to deceive God is  horrib!e        highway to heaven. You walk in darkness again. You
indeed.                                                         begin to destroy. You become foohsh.
       But listen to David: he requests a  favorDfrom  God.         The Word of God is a light on our pathway. It
He wants the Lord to inquire into his case. He pre- keeps you from ways of wickedness, displeasing to the
sents himself before the bar of God's justice. At once, Lord. . . .
in the very beginning of the psalm we hear the same                 But if this is so, how do you explain the devilish
thing: Lord, hear the right !                                   work of Judas, performed in the very presence of the
       David was in trouble with man. There was a case Word become flesh, that is, Jesus? If anyone had
pending. And David had received the worst part. .He access to the words of God's lips, it was Judas. And
lived  aunder  the shadow of a false accusation. It so we could continue to ask: If the words of God's lips
seemed as if all else had failed. He is appealing his keeps us from the paths of the destroyer, how is it that
case to the highest court: God.                                 you find so many wicked evil doers in church?
       The  prehminary was already past. David knew                 The answer is: you have not said enough when you
this. He says to his Judge: Thou hast proved my state that God's Word is a power that keeps us from
heart; Thou ha.4 visited me in the night ; Thou hast            evil deeds. One thing must be added. And that miss-
tried me !                                                      ing element we find in the next verse. "Hold up my
       Happy is the man that is searched thus and who goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not."
can say : and Thou shalt find nothing !                            `That is the work of the Spirit of God. The Word
       Such was the case with David. Whatever this case without the Spirit works death unto death to me. It
has been, David knew that he was innocent. He knew makes me worse than before I heard. And that is so,
that God needed no witnesses to swear to the  innocency         not because of the word, but because I am evil.
of David. God had looked. And God !had made David                   No, the Word must be preached and the Spirit
acquainted with His searching visit.                            must appIy it to me. And then I keep myself from the
,      Do you not remember,, brother, when God visited paths of wickedness.
you in the night?                                                   In a figure I may say: God must hold up my goings
       That season,  ,the night, is a wonderful time for in His paths.
God's searching visits. During the day your world is               A wonderful picture. I see the picture of a mother
so large,  `the creatures surrounding you are so many who holds her child under the arms and teaches it to
the voices of them are so loud. Life is so rich that we walk. My goings would bring me to destruction with-
hardly hear the searching voice of the Inquirer.                out that constant guiding, ,lifting,  steering power of
       But the night came. A cloak of darkness rests the Spirit of Christ within. The Word for wisdom and
upon your world. You see and hear nothing. And the Spirit for its application and then all is well.
there is the Judge. Insistently He asks and prods and Then my course is laid for the everIasting  haven of
digs, until He talks within the depths of your heart.           rest.


478                        .?    7  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

       And David returns to the cry !for help. Hear my spirit of man be proud? We are so utterly dependent
speech, o God ! He will bring his cause before the            upon God. We are also so sinful and abominable. We
tribunal of heaven.                                           ought to hide our faces from God, man and angel.
       There are those that rise up against Ihim. David "Dan zou geen schaamt' mijn aangezicht bedekken  !"
realizes that their intent is destruction.      They will is the cry of God's child.
kill him if they could.                                          And David has recognized them as being proud.
       Over against this terrible and threatening danger Thinking themselves to be souvereign upon the earth,
he invokes God's help.                                        they handle creation as though it were their own.
       And God's help is pictured here in the most won-       They compass the righteous, they lurk like lions for
derful phrases. He calls it the marvellous  lovingkind-       their prey. They have set their eyes bowing down to
ness of God.                                                  the earth in order to follow the footsteps of the poor
       Lovingkindness is that virtue of God whereby all and needy, of the righteous whom he will devour.
His Being is moved to be good to the object of His love.         Therefore he cries to God : Arise, o God! Do not
If Iovingkindness of God is your portion then  all is well. aIIow me to fall into their hands. Personifying all his
Then Jehovah rideth upon the clouds for your help ;           enemies into one individual, he cries to God : disappoint
then the heavens drop dew; then the everlasting arms bim, cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked,
are underneath you; then you are drawn to the very            which is Thy sword!
bosom of God.                                                    This last clause brings a deep truth to the fore-
       Therefore it is marvellous. That means that you gr0un.d.
stand from afar and look upon this virtue of God in              All these wicked people that compassed David were
operation and begin to sing. And to recount all these in reahty  the hand and the sword of God. The next
beauties.     It  ,means that you have left Jerusalem of verse calls them the hand of.God.
the earthy  Judea behind you and looked for the place            That is a very comfortable doctrine, affording great
of a skull. And standing there you have seen the solace to God's people in.distress.
bruised Son of God. And in the darkness of hellish               It means that the devil and all the wicked in their
torment you have heard the groaning of the Lamb of enmity and raging against us are the doings of God
God. But behind it all, you heard the song of God's           Himself. From a holy motive, God uses the wicked to
Covenant, singing of unutterable love, love for you !         prove and test us as silver tried by fire. Gods' hand
       Marvellous  is the lovingkindness of God. It  wil"l    will sometimes make our burden great and He will
bring about your compIete deliverance from alI your thwart our desires. The wicked do not realize this.
enemies, worst of them being guilt and sin.                   O;h no, they have a motive of wickedness. They hurt
       The lovingkindness of God is Jesus on the `cross       us because they hate us. And they hate us, because
of Golgotha, because it is called the saving of those,        they hate God. But God hurts us through them be-
that trust in God, by His strong right hand.                  cause He loves us and He knows that through  suffering
       Saving them, because they are surrounded by immi- we are cleansed and purified like silver is purified
nent dangers. There is the  flesh, the world and the by fire seven times.
devil. But they are the very apple of God's eye. They            The men of the world are God's sword "and God's
are loved from all eternity. And they must be saved. hand.
If one elect child of God would be really hurt: God              Miserable creatures they are. Every dog has his
would be hurt. They must be saved therefore.                  day. Yes, and they have their day too. And their day
       And David has recognized his enemies. He gives         is the now and the here.
us a description of them: they are the wicked, the               Listen to David's description of their lot.
deadly enemies of God's people, who compass them                 They have their portion in this life. Who does not
about, like as the hordes of the enemy's hosts. And think on the rich man and Lazarus in this connection.
they are the wicked because they reveal themselves as Yes, they have their portion in this life. And what a
very proud.                                                   portion ! Being created in God's image so that this
       Ah yes, proud they are. And pride is the worst of very creation calls for God's communion, they only
all sins. It is the very root-sin of man and angels.          receive bread and drink, clothing and shelter, gold,
       To be proud means that you conceive of your self silver and possessions, etc. They receive the things
and act as though you are very God yourself. That that are seen, that are temporal, that are transitory.
was the idea of  ;the devil when he felI himself, and They need spiritual things most of all. They will sure-
that was also his idea in the temptation of man: ye           ly die and continue to die if they do not have God for
shall be as God ! And thus it shall be when sin shall their portion, but they only receive the husks, that is,
have come to full completion. Then the sinful man the earthly things.
shall sit in the temple of God, acting as though he were         Note that God  fills their belly.
God !                                                            Well, you must have some things in your stomach
       To be proud is very foolish. Oh, why should the if you are to live upon this earth. You must have


                                                                D   B E A R E R                                      479
 some bread and some water. You need some rags to                But we know and therefore we also sing in the  Iong-
 cover your nakedness and to protect you from the cold.       ing of our deepest heart: "Wanneer za1 ik ingaan en
 You must have shelter. You must have all these things voor Uw aangezicht verschijnen?"
 if you are to live upon this earth. Still, these things                                                    G. V.
 are not essential to your well-being. Man does not live
by bread alone. The meaning.is that you do not need
 earthly bread in order to live in the reaI sense of the                               -
 word. Christ lived without bread and shelter for 40
days in the desert. And when he hungered he refused                       God, the Knowing God
to make stones into bread.
    If you have a hungry belly, but a soul that is filled        No one can teach God knowledge ; no one can tell
with God's favorable and loving presence, you live and        Him anything at all. He is God. His intelligent will
live indeed.                                                  is the efficient cause of the existence and  subsistance
    Yes, the rich man had a good time. I assure you of things that be, Himself excepted. He created, pre-
that his belly was well filled. And Lazarus lay with-        serves and governs all things according to His holy
out, destitute, hungry, cold, miserable.                     will, so that nothing happens in this worId but by His
    But the rich man was really the miserable one and appointment. He keeps alI things so under His power
Lazarus was blessed, even on earth. His name means: that not a hair of our head, nor a sparrow can fall to
aided of God. The other has no name. His belly is the ground without His will.                  '
filled. But I assure you that he was miserable, even as          God makes history. The events of the day are but
all those that are wicked, even as those that laugh.         the realization of His eterna1  deliberations. He brings
In their laughter is the hollowness of unutterable hun-      to pass what He has spoken; He does what He has
ger. For they miss God. Not that they hunger for purposed (Isaiah  46:lO). His counsel stands and
God. No, but every godless man and woman realizes He will do all His good pleasure ; calling a ravenous
the emptiness of their wicked heart and soul and spirit. bird from the east, the man that exeouteth  His counsel
And their misery is caused by the fact that although         from a far country, (Isaiah 9).
their bellies are filled, they have a heart that is far        God is first cause of the various phenomena in
from God and God is far from them.                           nature.    He covereth Himself with light as with a
    They are full of the hid treasures of God. That          garment. He stretches out the heavens like a cur-
means that God gives them  all His treasure, which is tain, and layeth the beams of His chambers in the
a hid treasure from the point of view of the earth.          waters.    He maketh the clouds His chariots, and
Who sees that the gold and silver, the health and walketh  upon the wings of the wind. The foundations
bodies, the houses and riches  are the Lord's? But they of the earth are Iaid by Him, that it should not be re-
are nevertheless.                                            moved forever. He covers it with the deep as with' a
   They are fuI1 and their children are also full. They garment: the waters stood `above the mountains. At
have more than one generation can devour.                    His rebuke they. fled ; at the voice of His thunder they
   Hence, we read that their children are also full.         hasted away. They go up the mountains  ; they go
This is the correct reading. It is explained in the fol- down the valleys unto the place which He founded for
Iowing  clause. Their children are full also, because        them. God has set a bound that they may not pass
they leave their substance to their babes. And these over; that they turn not again, to cover the earth. He
babes  fill  cup the measure of iniquity which their fathers sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among
began to fill.                                               the hills. He watereth the hills from His chambers;
   How different with God's people.                          the earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works. He
   And (how different is the close of this psalm from causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and the herb
its beginning. There a cry for help; here the rest that for the service of man ; that he may bring forth food
follows satisfaction.                                        out of the earth ; and wine that maketh glad the heart
   How different is the lot of God's people.                 of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread
   They will awake. Their bodies also. First their which strengtheneth man's heart. He appointeth the
soul awoke in regeneration and conversion. Then also moons for seasons ; the sun knoweth his going down.
their bodies will awake in the day of Christ Jesus.          He makes darkness and it is night. . . . He looketh
   And then they will be filled to overflowing when on the earth, and it trembleth: He toucheth the hills,
they see the Face of God. And that is also His image and they smoke (Ps. 104).
which they will see in righteousness.                           We conclude that the sum-total of things made,
   Here a wicked man wonders.                                plus the things being made to transpire, do not teach
   When they hear you say that the choicest and the          God knowledge. Man and the angel cannot teach God.
most delightful thing for you is wrapped up in this:         Being creatures they need to be taught. Neither is
that you may see God, they wonder                            there another god at whose feet our God placed  Him-

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

self to be formed. It must be then that God's know-         cast abroad the fitches,  and scatter the cummin, and
ledge is original with Himself, and at once self-know-      cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley
ledge. Knowing Himself, He knows all there is to be and the rye in their place? For his God doth i~&~~t
known, and taught by none is the teacher of all.            him to discretion and doth teach him. For the fit&es
   As to man, he is creature and not creator. Hence,        are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither
he must be told, informed, taught. Being equipped is a cart wheat turned about upon the cummin with a
with capacities for knowing, he can be taught . He          rod. Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever
understands God when the latter speaks.          Placing be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart,
himself at the feet of God, man will know., He has no nor bruise it with his horsemen. This also comes from
knowledge original with himself. What he knows is a the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and
gift of God. Thrown on his own resources, and left          excellent in `working, (Isaiah 28 :23-29).
to himself, man can kno.w nothing. It cannot be other-         The Lord, then, has no need of man's approval or
wise, for he is but a creature. The ideas embodied in advice for He is the Lord, and man is creature. Yet
things made are not his, but God's. The glory which to such as are His friends, the Lord, great, wise, and
the heavens declare is the glory of the Creator, not of mighty pours out His heart, reveals His secrets. There
the creature. The firmament showeth God's, handi-           is a revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto
work, His speech it is which day unto day uttereth.         him, to shew unto His servants the things which must
Night ,unto night showeth <knowledge  of the Architect      shortly come to pass. And these friend-servants ap-
of the Universe.. If man refuses to listen to the speech prove of what the Lord is about to do and praise His
of God, it is night in his soul. Such are the plain         name for his righteous judgments.. They  say;We  give
teachings of Scripture. Said the Lord unto Job: "Gird thee thanks, 0 Lord God Almighty, which art, and
up thy loins now like a man ; for I will demand of thee,    wast, and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee
and answer thou me, where wast thou when I laid the thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations
foundations of the earth? Declare if thou hast under- were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of
standing.     Who hath laid the measures thereof, if the dead that they should be judged,. and that thou
thou knowest, or who hast stretched the line upon it? shouldest give reward unto thy servants, the prophets,
Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened, or and to the saints, and them that fear thy name,  sma!l
who laid the cornerstone thereof? When the morning and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy
stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted the earth (Rev. 2 :17-X3). In the praise of His friends
for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it -a praise which He, to be sure, prepares, the Lord
break forth as if  it. hath issued out of the  womb?        takes keen delight.
When I made the cloud the garment thereof and thick                                                               G. M. 0.
darkness a swaddling band for it. . . . ? Hast thou en-
tered the springs of the sea, or hast tho,u  walked in
the search of the depth? Have gates of death been                                  IN MEMORIAM
opened unto thee, or hast thou seen the doors of the            The Priscilla Society of the Prot. Ref. Church of  Hudson-
shadow of death? Hast thou perceived the breadth of ville  hereby wishes to express its sympathy with their  fellow-
                                                            memsber,  Mrs. C. Woodwyk, in the sudden 13~s of her son.,
the earth? `Declare if thou knowest it all. Where is                             Mr. JOHN ZYLEMA
the way where light dwelleth, and as for darkness,              May our heavenly Father comfort the bereaved.-Rom. 8225%.
where is the place thereof? Knowest thou it because                                   The   PrisciIla Society,
thou wast then born, or because the number of thy                                         Rev. John D. de  Jong,  Pres.
days is great? Hast thou entered into the treasures                                       Mrs. J. A.  Schut,  Scc'y.
of the snow, or hast thou seen the treasures of the                                     -
hail. . . . ? By what way is the light parted, which                                  NOTICE
scattereth  the east wind upon the earth? Hath the          Classis  East meets in the Fuller Ave., Church Wednes-
rain a father, or who hath begotten the drops of dew `!     day, September 4, at 9:00 in the morning.
Out of whose womb came the ice: and the hoary frost                                                 D. Jonker, S. C.
of heaven, who hath gendered it?" (Job 38).
       We conclude that man knows  ns  man. His ideas                                    -
are not original with him. There is but one such The R.F.P.A. Board has made the following nomination
foundation of knowledge, namely, God. `Men must be from which two must be chosen as board-members at
taught by Him. All men-the farmer and the crafts- our coming Annual membership meeting:  1% Knot,
man as well as the theologian. Attend to the Scrip- Wm. Koster, R.  Newhouse  and A. Wychers.
ture : "Give ye ear and hear my voice; hearken and                                                      F. Pipe, Sec'y.
hear my speech. Doth the plowman plow all day to
sow, doth he open and break the clods of ground?
When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not             No Standard Bearer for August 15.                           '


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IL -                                                                          See what God has done !
           MEDITATION                                                1        And let the sight of the riches of His grace urge
                                                                    II you to shout aloud with the voice of thanksgiving and
                                                                          p r a i s e :
      Redemption Through His Blood                                            Blessed be God !

                    In whom we have redemption through
                 his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  CGC-                    We have redemption !
                 cording  to  the riches  of  his grace;                      Redemption in Him, th,at is, in the Beloved, that is,
                 w,herein  he hath abounded toward us in in Christ Jesus our Lord !
                 all wisdom and p&ence.                                       The  apostIe here  hegins  to exhibit the blessings
                                                Eph.  l:Y, 8.             in. heavenly places in Christ which we possess, and
    Blessed be God!                                                       which `are the manifestation of the marvellous riches
    The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!                          of God's grace.
    That is the  <keynote  of this entire epistle to the                     `And where else should he begin than by that basis
Ephesians.     It is the note of praise that should be of  all blessings, that source of all  other  benefits, with-
struck from the heart and sound forth from the lips out which there is  ,no possibility of being blessed by the
of the redeemed, even while they are in the midst God  ,of righteousness and truth: redemption through
of this world that lieth in darkness.                                     $His blood, even the forgiveness of sins?
    The note of gratefui praise!                                              Redemption imphes  two things. It means that one
    He, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,                      is delivered from captivity, that his prison doors are
blessed them!                                                             opened, that his shackles are cut, that his bonds are
    He blessed  us!                                                       loosed and that he is set free. And it `means that this
    With all spiritual *blessings  in heavenly places He liberation took place according to strictest  .justice.
hath blessed us in Christ!                                                The law can condemn him no more. The ministers
   And because ,IIe blesses us in His unfathomable                        of the law can prosecute him no longer to cause him
grace, blessed us freely and sovereignly,' even as He                     to return to prison. Redemption is no mere escape.
hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the                     Sometimes a prisoner gains  *his freedom through a cun-
world, we are able and willing to bless Him, to speak ning plot, by which she succeeds to deceive and elude
well of Him as He spoke well toward us by His al- the authorities ; or again he boldly strikes out for liber-
mighty Word, to adore Him and glorify Him with ty and gains it  *by mere force. He  escapes.  But
thankful hearts in the midst of this world of sin and before the law he is still worthy of imprisonment, and
death !                                                                   the representatives of justice will not rest until he is
    These blessings, therefore, we must know.                             safely  behmd  prison bars  ,once more. He is not re-
   We must consciously possess  them, rejoice in them, deemed, though he gained  this freedom. And he spends
behoId  their greatness and fulness, realize their riches, his life in fear and trembling, hiding in woods and
cuunt them one by one, in order that we may behold                        caves lest he be discovered. But the redeemed is free,
,tihe riches of His grace wherein He, the God and Father actually and legally  fre~e, openly and  pubhcly  free,
of mu- Lord Jesus Ckist hath abounded toward us in the law can condemn him no more.
all wisdom and prudence.                                                      Such, indeed, is our redemption?
    Count your blessings, name them one by one !                              In prison we are, chained and shackled with bonds


I 482                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
   of sin and death. Slaves of sin, servants of the prince         Redeemed through the precious blood of the Lamb ?
   of darkness we are by nature. He is our Lord, sin is            We have that redemption !
   our mistress,  deatch is our wages.     These all have          We, who according to the immediate context, were
   dominion over us. We cannot break their bonds. Nei- chosen in  SHim before the foundation of the Worl  1,
   ther have we the will or any desire to escape from their     whom He, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
   power and dominion.       For, we are not bound from         Christ, predestinated unto the adoption of the children
   without, but from within, with spiritual, ethical bonds by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good
   of darkness. Our mind is enslaved. Our will is in            pleasure of His will,-we have that redemption !
   shackles. We agree with our bonds. We are at home               We possess it even by faith in the Beloved.
   in our prison. We refuse to be delivered. Willingly             We have it and rejoice in it even as we taste the
   we serve our lord, the prince of this world. Darkness        forgiveness of sins !
   is the proper sphere in  Iwhich  we live and move. We           0, indeed, we have that redemption also actually
   would scorn him that would propose to deliver us. And in our being delivered from the bondage of sin and
   we seek our own death and destruction!                       death. For the law of the Spirit of life hath made
      Such  ,is our unspeakable miserable condition !           us free from the law of sin and death. The prison
      And in this state of miserable bondage we are doors are thrown open, the shackles are cut and we are
   legally, according to strictest justice. We are convicts. set at liberty. Yet, the forgiveness of sins always re-
   We have been and always are tried by the Judge of            mains the essence of our redemption, having which we
   heaven and earth. And we have been and always experience the great joy of our legal freedom.
   are found and declared guilty, worthy of this terrible          Our sins !
   and hopeless imprisonment. We  c,annot  escape and              Our misdeeds, as the Dutch translates correctly.
   we have no right to be delivered!                               They are those deeds, those thoughts, those desires,
      But we are redeemed!                                      those words we speak and acts we perform, which are
      He redeemed us ! Redemption is one of the spiritual beside the criterion of God's holy will, contrary to it,
   blessings in iheavenly  places in Christ with which He in conflict with it. Deeds of enmity against God, of
   blesses us, He, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus wickedness and iniquity, of corruption and filth,. And
   Christ, `Who, according to Kis  unchangeab!e  justice they are with us. They arise still from the foul fount
   condemned us to our imprisonment in the bonds of sin of our old nature, the flesh. They still rise up against
   and death, now redeemed us according to the riches of us. They condemn us. They always accuse ,us. They
   His grace ! And `He redeemed us ! He did not merely would deprive ,us of our freedom. . . .
   effect our escape and deliver us by His power from              But we have the redemption !
   death's dominion, but  Jie set us free according to             Even the forgiveness of our misdeeds !
   strictest justice. We `have received a right to freedom.        They are forever put out of the way, And the God
   No mer can ever again lay legal hands upon us to and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ considers  ,us, and
   claim us and lead us back into bondage. Sin cannot           treats us, as if they never had been, nay, as if we
   have dominion over us anymore. The devil cannot ourselves had perfectly paid the price for them all.
   prosecute us. The law itself declares us free. . . .            Glorious blessing of redemption through His blood !
      Redeemed !                                                   Even the forgiveness of sins!
      Glorious blessing !
      He Himself paid the price of our redemption. For
   we are redeemed through His blood, the blood of the
   Bel,oved, Whose God and Father He is. Another way               Blessed be He !
   than through the blood of the Beloved there was not,            The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
   t,here  is not, there could never be. For that blood is         For the glorious blessing of redemption, even the
   the blood that was shed as He tasted death for us. forgiveness  of sins, is but a manifestation of the riches
   And that death He tasted willingly, obediently, in love of His grace.
   to the Father, being consumed by  the zeal of Father's          Tfhis spiritual benefit we have according to the
   House. It is the blood in the way of which He de-            riches of His grace, wherewith He hath abounded
   scended into bell's darkest depths, through which He toward us. Of the riches of His grace we may judge
   tasted all there ever could. be tasted of the awful wrath    by considering the riches of this blessing of redemption
   and justice of God. And it is the blood of the Beloved,      wherewith He blessed us in Ghrist.
   the Lamb of God, in Whom there is no guile; the blood           How rich, then, is God in grace !
   of Him that was oidained  from before the foundation            For, consider, from what ;He redeemed us according
   of the world to stand at the head of the Church, in          to this grace: from all the horrible power of darkness.
   Whom we are chosen, with Whom we are reckoned, There was a mountain of guilt w'hich we could never
   Who in every sense of the word was fully qualified to        remove, original guilt, actual guilt, guilt acquired by
   taste death. for all whom the Father had given Him. . . the sins of our heart, sinful inclinations, sinful desires,


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        483

     sinful thoughts; ,by tihe sins of our mouth, of our eyes,        Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
     of our ears ; by the sins of our actual wal,k. And al- Ghrist !
     together they made us damnable in the sight of God.              Let the redeemed now say it!
     Children of lwrath we were. But the guilt is no more:
     we have the forgiveness of sins. There was a power
     of corruption from which we could never deliver our-
     selves : sin had. dominion over us, over our ,hearts,  our       Praised be His name!
     minds, our wills, and over every move we made. But               For it is not only the riches of His grace that be-
     we have redemption in His blood, and we are free.             came manifest in the wonder of our redemption, but
     Sin hath no more dominion over us; we are under also His wisdom and prudence.
     grace. We lay in the midst of death and there was no             For in  {His grace he hath abounded to us in all
     hope. Spiritual death, physical death, eternal death.         wisdom and prudence. So, at least,  (we would like to
     And nowhere could there be found a way out. But read the text, though the last part of this verse might
     we have been delivered even from the power and the conceivably belong to the next verse.
     fear of death. Death hath given up its victory. We
     have redemption in His blood.                                    Wisdom and prudence are closely related, yet they
        All according to the riches of His grace !                 may be distinguished.
         How rich, then, is that grahe !                              The last named virtue is rather that attribute of
         Or, consider unto what He hath redeemed us ac- God's mind according to which He perfectly and with
     cording to the riches of His grace. For, we have been infinite divine insight conceives of all things. The
     redeemed unto the glory of being children of light in         former is that divine virtue by which He is able to
     eternal heavenly perfecton. Redeemed He hath us, adapt all things to all other things and the whole to
     not in order that we should return unto a state of the highest purpose: the highest revelation of His own
     original righteousness and perfection ; but in order that     divine, glorious, covenant-life in Christ Jesus our
     we might be clothed with the righteousness of God in Lord.
     Christ, a righteousness that makes us worthy of                  By that wisdom and prudence redemption through
     eternal life and glory; that we might be lifted up into       the blood of Christ, even the forgiveness of sins, was
     tghe sphere of heavenly and eternal bliss and beauty given a place, its own place, in the divine scheme of
     and partake of the pleasures that are in His right hand       all things.
     forevermore ; that we might become ,heirs of the in-             0, redemption is no afterthought of God. Salva-
' corruptible and undefilable inheritance that never tion is no repair work. Tthus it is with us, but never
     fadeth away.                                                  with the Lord our God. When we mar or spoil, or
I        From the state of guilt into that of eternal right-       break our handiwork, we probably may repair it,
,~ eousness !                                                      though it  twill always remain imperfect and reveal the
         From darkest  deat,h  into most beauteous and glori- marks of its being spoiled. Or, `we may, perhaps, at-
     ous life!                                                     tempt to make something else out of what we first
c        From corruption into eternal  i&orrupti,bility  !         marred. But all God's work is perfect wisdom and :
         From hell to heaven !                                     prudence. Far be it from us to conceive of the work
         All according to the riches of His grace !                of the `Most High, as if He was forced to repair His
         Or consider whom He  bath thus redeemed accord- once perfect work that was destroyed and, spoiled by
     ing to the riches ,of His grace: pure grace, indeed, it the power of the devil and sin and death. `His work
     was! For, mere, poor, wretched, damnable sinners we           is one, even as He is one. And the one purpose of
     were, enemies of God in ourselves, that would never all His work is,the revelation of His own glory through
     have returned to God, nor ever have asked Him to re- His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the realization of IHis
     deem us. Yet, He loved us while we were yet sinners. eternal covenant and Kingdom in heavenly glory and
         Or, consider how He hath redeemed us: through perfection.
     the blood of tfhe Beloved. For, so He loved us that He           And  to the attainment of that purpose all things are
     gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth adapted.
     in Him should not perish, ,but have everlasting life:            Even the powers of darkness, even sin and death,
         But  why say more?                                        even the devil and all his work have their own place
         Consider this wonder of redemption from whatever in the divine scheme of all things.
i aspect  YOU  will, and always it becomes richer, greater,           It is, therefore, in wisdom and prudence that He
     more marvellous.                                              hath abounded toward us with His grace !
        0, indeed, He hath abounded toward us with His                Blessed, then, be the God and Father of our Lord
     grace.,                                                       Jesus Christ !
        An overflowing fount of most wondrous riches is               Now and forevermore !
     the grace of our God.                                                                                      H. H.


*                                               TJ3E  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         487
                                                                      me.
                  Regarding Dr. K. Schilder                                through indirect channels from the American
                                                                           Consul General at Amsterdam:
                                                                              "Dr. Klaas Schilder at address given-very
         While I was at the sea-coast the Hon. Bartel J.                   well-plans uncertain-funds needed as treasurer
     Jo&man, our representative from Michigan tried to                     of Foundation for Aiding Poor Students in War-
     get in& connection with me by long distance telephone                 time".
     from Washington, to inform us about the safety of                                              Sincerely yours,
     Dr. Schilder. I understand, that as he found me ab-                                                   Cordell Hull.
     sent, he established connection  twith Mr.  LaGrange  to
     whom he imparted .the information that Dr. Schilder              From the above telegram it will be evident that
     ,wa,s safe and well. This information was promptly           Dr. Schilder is safe and unharmed, not only, but also
     announced from the pulpit of the First Protestant Re- that he is still in Kampen, and not in Amsterdam as
     formed Church of Grand Rapids, and, perhaps, in &her         i.t was erroneously understood and announced here in
     ahurches. At all events, it may be considered quite          Grand Rapids.       The "address given" refers to the
     generally known by this time, that Dr. Schilder is well,     address we forwarded, and ,that is Kampen, not Am-
     and that all the rumors concerning his imprisonment sterdam.
     or  (death  were without basis in fact.                          In the name of all our people I wish to thank Mr.
        Later Mr.  Jo&man was kind enough to send me the          Jonkman once again for the trouble  Ihe took to furnish
     correspondence relative to this matter. And although         us with this glad information.
     it is, perhaps, rather belated by this time, I will still                                                    H. H.
     publish this information in our paper, so that all may
     have the correct information. Let me say, that as I                                      -
     was at the sea-coast, Mr. Jonkman's correspondence
     reached me too late to  .be published in an earlier num-
     ber  of The  Stawdard  Bearer.  Hence, here it follows                          Over Jesaja 26:lO
     now :                                                            Over  dezen bekeeden tekst of liever over mijne
                                                                  verklaring er van zond Mr. Sam Van Dijken van Man-
                                                July 18, 1940     ,hattan, Mont., mij eenige vragen, die ik hier zal trach-
     Rev. H. Hoeksema                                             ten te beantwoorden. De broeder houde  het mij ten
     1139 Franklin St., S. E.                                     goede, dat mijn antwoord een beetje laat is. Ik had
     Grand Rapids,  Mich.                                         zijn vragen reeds v&jr mijne vacantie in mijn  be&.
                                                                  Doch toen had ik geen gelegenheid meer urn ze te be-
     Dear Mr. Hoeksema:                                           antwoorden. Maar het is beter laat dan nooit. En de
                 I thought you would like to have the enclosed kwestie zelf is ook niet zoo nieuw meer, dat eep paar
          letter addressed to me by the Secretary of State weken  ui.tstel haar zou doen verouderen.
              confirming the information of the safety of Dr.         Doch  ter zake.
         Klaas Sehilder  in the Netherlands.                         De broeder schrijft mij in "Yankee Dutch" en  ver-
                 I join  with you and  all others interested in zoekt mij hem dit niet ten kwade  te duiden. Natuur-
          the feeling of great happiness over the knowledge lijk niet. Maar het gaat niet we1 aan, om zijn schrij-
          that Dr. Schilder is safe and unharmed.                 ven in dien vorm,  half in !het Engelseh  en half in het
                 With highest personal regards and all good       Hollandsch in ons blad op  te nemen, en te  beant-
          wishes, I am,                                           woorden. Hij duide het mij dan ook niet ten kwade,
                                 Very truly yours,                dat ik hier uitsluitend de Hollandsche  taal gebruik.
                                      Bartel J. Jo&man.              De broeder geeft  voorts  te kennen, dat hij zich niet
                                                                  kan vinden in de verklaring van den tekst, zooals die
        The letter from the Secretary of State to which in het verleden door mij in ons blad gegeven werd.
                                                                  Hij heeft zelf ook we1 een verklaring van den tekst,
     Mr. Jonkman refers in the above letter here follows :        doch  die houdt hij vooralsnog voor zichzelf. Hij oppert
     My dear Mr. Junkman :                                        sleohts  de bezwaren, die hij tegen mijn verklaring
                                                                  &h&t.
                I refer to your letter of May 23, 1940 and to        ,Hier volgen `des broeders vragen en bezwaren, door
         subsequent correspondence concerning your desire mij in `t Hollandsch weer gegeven :
         to obtain information in regard to the welfare              1. De brooder sehrijft,  dat hij verstaat, dat mijn
          and whereabouts of Dr. Klaas Schilder, w~ho has verklaring van den tekst hierop neerkomt, dat  bet  be-
         been residing at Kampen, the Netherlands.                wijs van genade aan den goddelooze hierin bestaat, dat
                In reply to the Department's inquiry the fol-     de  goddelooze  ziet, dat God den rechtvaardige genadig
         lowing telegram dated July 5 has been received           is, maar dat de goddelooze in die genade Gods zelf niet


                                     T,HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          495

zaam als Pharaoh zijn verschrikkelijk bevel uitvaar-
digd ? Leeft daar in het land van  Goshen  met de                            The Intolerant Truth
vrouw, die ihet mankindeke baren zal? Leeft daar  niet
het volk, in wiens lendenen de Christus  is? Natuur-            T'he accountant pores over his figures, burning the
Iijk wel! De  Schrift  trekt ook daar weer dezelfde lijn. midnight oil in order to find his mistake, so that re-
Let slechts op wat de `Heere zegt tot Mozes als (Hij hem ceipts and expenses will check. He proceeds from the
heenzendt naar Pharaoh met de opdracht, dat Mazes            very necessary assumption that figures cannot lie.
moet eischen Israel $te Iaten trekken. Want Israel is Mathematics is intolerant. Two is intolerant. Two
de vrouw, haar zonden ten spijt, wellicht  weinig dit        and two are always four and can never be .made to
groote feit beseffend vanwege de  aware dienst, die add up to five. If the figures are correct and correctly
aldaar  moest verricht  worden.  Ook in Egypte is  bet arranged and correctly added the tot,al  must be cor-
waar  : "En de draak stond  v6or de vrouw die baren rect.              The only possibility of an error lies with the
zoude".                                                      human factor who deals with the figures. And that
   Zoo gaat het  alle eeuwen door en het schijnt  schier     human factor as a rational, moral creature is perfectly
hopeloos, om het Bindeke voor,t te brengen. Wat een confident that if he struggles long enough the error can
bleed en tranen, vervolging en lijden is haar deel ge-       be `detected and corrected.
weest. Nooit was er maar een oogenblik wapenstil-               The carpenter builds a house on the  Ibasis that the
stand, nooit konden die beide partijen het met elkander computations on his blueprint are ,a11 correct. He is
eens worden. En tech we& de Heere  Zijn. Raad uit. very well.aware  that (he is dealing with facts, and that
Bethlehem wordt gepIaatst in de volheid des tijds en facts cannot lie. If he makes an improper slant on his
in de stal wordt whet kindeke geboren. Maar ook dan roof the two measured sections will never meet in the
houdt  ,de strijd niet op. Het ,gaat  van Bethlehem naar center. If he gives in to the impulse to skimp by cut-
Golgotha,  van het kruis naar Jozef's hof. Al maar ting the boards shorter than his plans allow, his house
weer, om dat kindeke $beweegt  zich het wereldgebeuren. will never reach completion.           The completed house
Want hetzij Augustus de wereld laat besehrijven, is depends on <the accuracy of the carpenter in dealing
het de Heere die de lijn trekt van Rome naar Bethle-         with facts. But the very fact that  `he sets out to build
hem. Hetzij Herodus whet tracht  te dooden en voor zich his house is evident that he trusts his competence.
de  macht  wil behouden, God behoede en bewaarde bet            The tourist on the highway consistently follows the
kindeke. Als Pilatus  het door vreeze  overgeeft aan de highway signs in the determination to reach his destin-
Joden en sol,daten, Kajafas het buiten de Kerk tracht        ation. The signs may lead him from his westward
te plaatsen, Jood, Griek en Romein  Zijn dood eischt, course southward for a time, but he blindly follows in
het is alles naar ,den bepaalden Raad en het voornemen the confidence that this one  ,way has but one goal,  `so
Gods, maar  tegelijkertijd onder de inblazing van den that he can safely follow this way until his destination
draak, ,dat Christus Jezus dien weg langs wandelt, tot-      is reached. As !ong as the traveler is on the right road
dat hij schijnbaar  in het graf en den dood ten onder he can never go too far, for the right way is never
gaat.                                                        wrong.
   Maar ook als Mij opstaat;gaat  die strijd nog door.          But the theologian. . . _
Schoon  `Satan hem niet weer treffen kan, zoo blijft tech       Sometimes his problem does not check and without
zijn verhouding tegenover de vrouw dezelfde  grim-           further ado he calls it a mystery.
migheid tegenover  .den Christus, openbaart  zich in de         Sometimes he completely ignores the truth, inserts
grimmigheid tegenover de vrouw en haar zaad. En de his own fancies into the Word of God and yet expects
draak vervojgde de vrouw welke het mankinsdeke  ge-          to  find harmony and unity in his finished structure.
baard had. Aldus streed hij de strijd op aarde en               Sometimes he speaks of going too far on the right
aldus streed hij diezelfde strijd tegen den Christus en road and  caIls it overemphasis or onesidedness.
Zijne heilige engelen.                        w .   v .         God is Truth.
                                                                .He is `light and there is no da&ness  in Him what-
                                                             ever.
                CHANGE OF ADDRESS                               He is the true God ; beside Him there is no other,
   The new address of the Treasurer, Mr. R. Schaaf-          All other gods are vain and empty, the  \?rork of men's
sma, is 1101 Hazen  St., S. E., Grand Rapids, Michigan, hands, but He is the True and Living One from eternity
telephone 34774.                                             to eternity. Therefore Jesus can say, "this is eternal
                                                             life that they might know Thee, the only true God and
                                                             Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent." John  17:3. Al-
                          NOTICE                             though we cannot comprehend  *the unfathomable depths
   Classis West, of the Protestant Reformed  Clhurches, of God, we can know Him, for He has revealed Himself
wiR meet in IHuII, Iowa, September 11, at 9 o'clock in       in Jesus Christ and enlightens our understanding to
the morning.                                  ._.            know Him. But we must know Him as He is. Not to


496                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
c
know Him as (He is detracts from His glory.' To form is always harmoniously one in God. God cannot both
our  ,own conception of Him contrary to His divine will and not will to save all mankind ; reveal Himself
revelation is to raise up an image before His very face. as both loving and equally  (hating the wicked. To main-
It is not for us to .determine  who and what He is, but tain that Scripture teaches besides God's sovereign,
He must reveal Himself to us. And He must be served elective Grace a general, well-meant offer of salvation
as He is, for He is the only true God and jealous of             is to introduce the lie next to the truth of the Word
His honor.                                                       of God. Furthermore, any apparent inconsistencies
       From God's veracity must follow that God's ways which we might meet in the Scriptures must always
and promises and judgments and Word are Truth.                   be ascribed to the darkness of our puny understanding.
       God knows all things perfectly.  tHe knows  tihem         Nor can we rest content by covering tihem  up as "mys-
exactly as they are because He is far above all things. teries". It only remains for us to prayerfully labor
He `is God. He has  wihed all things just as they are ; with the Word of God, continually comparing Scripture
has produced them in His  .divine thoughts ; has called with Scripture, until we have found the harmony and
them into *being by the Word of His power. His own unity pervading the whole Word.
laws govern a11 His rhandiwor,k.  All creation finds its            Neither can there be any possible danger of over-
harmony and unity in Him, even as "of Him and                    emphasizing the truth ,to a point of "onesidedness".
through Him and to Him are all things, to Whom is the            No more t!han a wayfarer can go too far, granted ,he is
glory forever."                                                  on the right road, no more can the  Truth be  over-
       To formulate our own conception of things outside emphasized. A person cannot be too God-fearing, too
of God is to think the lie. Our sin-darkened under- righteous, too holy. In case we do speak of someone as
standing can never think anything but enmity against being overly pious we do not mean that the person does
God. It has no place for (Him. It sknows no place for actually manifest too much Christian piety, but that
Him in creation, nor in the world-%&tory, nor in our .his sham-piety has reached a stage of fanaticism. Cer-
own lives. Just think of Evolution, Humanism, Modern- tainly a grave accusation. Moreover, it cannot be said
ism. It refuses Him a place, conceives of all things that strict maintenance of the doctrine of Atonement
according to the fancies and the dictates of a deceitful or of ,the Virgin Birth overagainst Modernism can ever
heart. The very thoughts of our mind are foolishness lead to an absurd onesidedness or overemphasis. Which
and sin against God. Therefore greater evil is hardly means that likewise the doctrine of God's sovereign
conceivable than that we insert our theories into God's Election cannot be overemphasized or lead to a one-
Word and make Scripture say what we want it to say. sided world and life-view. If so, it Iwould necessarily
Only when we by grace have learned to submit our- have to be granted that %he very doctrine of election is
selves to be taught of God can our thoughts be in har- false. And certainly those who depart from the truth
mony with His eternal thoughts and  lbe acceptable of the Word of God to onesidedly emphasize the theory
before Him. Only then can we find peace in the per- of a general, wellmeant offer of salvation must experi-
fect harmony and unity of all things in God. There ence the result that they have not merely slighted but
lies the basic solution to all problems.                         have definitely departed from the way of God's Elec-
       How necessary that we at all times submit our per- tion and Sovereign Grace.
verse will and darkened understanding to the light of
God's revelation. Only He can cause us to know His                  It is always a danger signal when we feel that we
eternal thoughts, His  unsearchabIe  wisdom and His must warn ourselves against going too far in develop-
mighty works. Then we hear the heavens declare His ing the line of a certain principle. Truth itself cannot
glory, the day utter speech, and we see the night shew be wrong, but if we find that we have gone "too  far" it
forth wisdom. In  *His light we see the light. Before            can only mean that our conception of things is wrong
that revelation we must bow in humble submission as and that we have lost the way, so that it is high time
before  tihe only source of truth and. knowledge. As             that we turn all the way baok to the crossroads. That
willing pupils we must set ourselves to be taught of should have been a red torch for the Synod of 1924
God, accepting the truth of His  W,ord and rejecting all when it f&t constrained to hold up a warning finger
that is repugnant thereto. Truth is intolerant. It to the churches and  tihheir leaders not  to onesidedly
leaves no place for the lie.                                     overemphasize and misuse the doctrine of Common
       Toleration Condemned.                                     Grace, lest the churches fall into the error of conform-
       In the light of these facts it must be evident that       ity to the world. And yet, after 16 years of possible
truth  and untruth  *stand antithetically overagainst reconsideration, even when many voices were raised in
each other, even as light and darkness, faith and un- the  churah  saying that the Synod has been too hasty,
belief, Christ and Belial, God and Baal.                         the Synod of 1940 once more places its seal of approval
       There are, then, no conflicting statements or con- upon those very decisions of 1924.
tradictions  in the Word of God. Truth cannot be in                 Conclusion: More Zeal  for  the Truth.
conflict with  i:tself,  nor can it raise contradictions, but       There can be but one conclusion, an intolerant


                                               T . H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          497

truth demands that we love it and cherish it at the
sacrifice  ,of all else.                                                                In The Collection Plate
    The evil of our ,day is tihe great ,lack of love for the
Truth. Swept along by the rush and turmoil of the                             Two whole chapters about a collection in the church,
helter-skelter existence of our day very few people put chapters 8 and 9 of II Corinthians, about an offering
forth any real effort So know and understand the Truth.                    of money. That alone is enough  to cause us to stop
With the result that'there is very little respect or love and consider how important ,that side of our church
for it. And some would even defend  this. More and service is.
more the idea is making inroads into the Church that                          A general survey of what Paul says in these two
i,t finally does not make so much difference whether you chapters must at once convince us that  ihe. sees much
have any knowledge of the Truth, or what you believe, more in the collection plate than we often. do.
as long as you know that tihere is a God and have Jesus                        Although Scripture is full of the importance of
Christ as your Saviour. The question which our fathers offering (our Confessions speak of them too) in this
deemed so essential that they placed it' both in the article I would confine mysel!  to II Cor. 8 and 9 and
Baptism Form and in the questions for Public Con- show from them, with the very words of tihe apostle,
fession of Faith seems almost out of place today: "Do                      of what tremendous importance our offering is, espec-
you acknowledge the doctrine contained in tie Old and ially now the offering for the poor and'indigent, charity
New Testaments and in the Articles of the Christian in that sense.
faith and taught here in this Christian Church to be                          A severe `famine had swept over Jerusalem and it
the true and complete doctrine of salvation, resolving reached such proportions that the saints faced starva-
$by the grace  of God to adhere to it and to reject all tion. Help was needed at once. Under the preach-
heresies repugnant thereto?" How little thought is ing of Paul and the other apostles the saints under-
given to this question when we, are personally called stood that the "administration of this service" belonged
upon to answer it in the presence of many witnesses. to the ministry of Christ and His `Church. Hence, in
How else do you explain the readiness to compromise their dire need Paul was deputated (Gal. 2  :lO) to ask
with  ;the world and with unbelief, the unwillingness to and gather alms for the distressed ibrethren  at Peru-
sacrifice for the Truth, the ease with which some can                      salem.    The need ,of the Jerusalem saints had to be
forsake the Truth for every kind of  ,ulterior  motive?                    supplied by the abundance of the saints elsewhere.
    Also in that sense it must be said, "My people have That plainly was  &he rule according to which they
committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the Foun- went and it is well fur us to mark this rule as one of
tain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, the principles which changes not. Not from anywhere
broken cisterns that can hold no water." Jer.  2  :13.                     and everywhere mi,ght the need of the saints be snp-
He who forsakes the Truth must die of spiritual thirst plied, but it must needs go according to the rule of the
next to his own hewn out cistern of the lie.                               priestly offering, in brief: "our abundance must be a
    More zeal to cherish the Truth entrusted to us !                       supply for their want".
More diligence in searching the Scriptures, "studying                         Thus Paul sought that collection.
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman uhat                             Apparently, however, ,before. he as much as had
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly  dividin,g  the Word asked the collection, the churches of Macedonia came
of Truth." 2 Tim. 2:X. For only in the measure that forward with a gift. They moreover "prayed Paul
we know and understand the Truth and are faithfu1 to with much beseeching" that he would take the gift to
it can we experience its blessedness.                                      Jerusalem for them.
                                                    C. Hanko.                 That collection he had before him as he writes. to
                                                                           the Church at Corinth. At Corinth it might be a differ-
                                                                           ent story. Paul had boasted of their readiness to them.
                                                                           of Macedonia, but no doubt Corinth stood in need of a
                            IN MEMORIAM                                    special urging.
                                                                              The collection plate still had to be passed in the
    The Board of the First R&formed Christian School Society               Corinthian church. With the collection from Mace-
of  Redlands,   California,  wishes herewith to  express   its  sincerc    donia before him Paul urges the Corinthians to observe
sympathy to their teacher Mr. P. R. Zuidema, in the loss of his            %heir duty of offering and to observe the rule that the
                              FA'J?HER                                     need of the saints in one place must be supplied by the
                                                                           abundance of the saints at another place. And to the
    may  the Lord comfort him and the other relatives in this              better impress this upon them Paul holds before the
their bereavement.                                                         Corinthians what a singularly glorious thing a hearty
                                      J. R. Vander  Wal,   Pres.           offering is, yea, so important  trhat Paul closes chapter
                                       M. Gaastra, Seer.                   9 with "thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift",


4 9 8                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
L
the gift namely (among others in our salvation) that                                 LOVE
we would and may supply the needs of the poor.
     In the collection plate Paul sees more than we            In 8:8 as well as in 8:24 and 9:13 it is emplhasized
often do. We see money, and sometimes no more than that that collection is also a proof, a token and demon-
that. We see coins of various denominations. He that stration (experiment) of their love to God and the
gives, and he that carries and he that receives, so often saints. In that collection plate Paul sees this question
sees little more in the collection than money. That is answered  `<Do they love God and `the brethren?" and
too  $bad, for  <the sacred gift of "lithurgy" (vs. 12, trans- "do they love in word only or also in deed" (James).
lated service) is lost sight of by the glitter of coins or Actions do often speak louder than do words. To love
the shock at the lack of them. Money,' money, money, in words is easy (especially as long as no collection is
every day we handle it, but it is indeed too bad when       announced and we are not in "deep poverty") -but we
t&e sacred gift of the priestly offering degenerates are exhorted to love in deed. The collection is  "tihe
into the mere business of money. Money is needed, proof of your love" says Paul. In 8:8 it is "to prove
indeed, but mere money does not suffice, the church the realness  (' and the unfeignedness of your love".
must give more than money and the poor need more.           In 24 it is "show then. . . . the proof of your love".
The church must give mercy, the church must give In the plate Paul sees therefore the proof, the evidence
love. The church must' administer. grace, for that is that they were saints of the God of love and mercy.
what the poor need. And that can be had. only among By giving their gifts they  also made a confession of
the saints. Mere money could perhaps be had from "their subjection unto the Gospel ,of #Christ"  (9 :13)
some different source,  `but grace, mercy, and peace that and their confession was that the Law of the love
can be had only among the saints in the ministry of of Christ was in their hearts. Do you love self and
Christ.                                                     the world, there your money will go, yourself and the
     The collection is therefore money and more. . . . worl'd will always *be first in your consideration. And
money plus.                                                 when  #the weekly (monthly) salary comes, you and the
     Let us see therefore what Paul finds in the collec- world  rwill be always first; but, if the love of God be in
tion plate.                                                 our hearts it is borne out by the gift and offering to
                                                            them that are indigent. The greater and more fervent
                       GRACE                                is our love the more wholeheartedly we give. The
                                                            widow's mite meanwhiles is as important as the  well-
     Paul connects that gift very closely `with the grace *to-do's  big check for "it is accepted according to what
of God, in fact the word grace in 8 :19 is really that a man hath and not according to what lhe hath not".
collection or gift. In 8  :l first of all Paul says "we     Only the peculiar thing of it all is that in their deep
maeke  known to you brethren, the grace of God, given poverty the Macedonians abounded in liberality and
unto the churches  of Macedonia", referring of course hence the Christian shows his love through his gifts,
to the generous gift from them. Paul  ,does  not say, be they great or small. That is one of the reasons why
look what I received from Macedonia, but he says, God has such a thing as money in this world.
look what Macedonia had received. Not, we first
received something but Macedonia received something                  MINISTERING TO THE SAINTS
and they receive grace from God. Paul emphasizes
that it was the grace of God which moved them to such          In  8:4  Pa,ul sees  trke collection as a "ministering
a collection. Macedonia itself was in "deep poverty" to the saints". That is what Christ does, His Church
(vs. 2)) but their deep poverty led not to the announce- is engaged in that same work.           In their gifts the
ment that since they themselves were poor and had Church manifests that she is  the (willing friend-servant
enough to  :&take  care of themselves they could do noth- of the Christ. They minister, not unto themselves
ing for others, but their poverty swelled out to giving     (neither do they give with a view to net returns) but
a liberal collection. Indeed a remarkable poverty t&at .they minister to the brotherhood; . . . what blessed
was. It was nothing but God's grace which against ties. The word ministering is the word deacon in
the <background of their deep poverty manifested itself English. The saints "deacon" to the saints, while
in the collection plate. In II Cor. 9:14 it is spoken or the God-ordained officebearer must carry this fruit of
as "the exceeding (i.e. flowing out of its bounds) grace their  deaconing.      In that sense all the saints are
of God which is in you". In that gift is revealed the deacons.
grace of God in the hearts, grace which overflows as           And in 9  :12 Paul sees the collection as a "service".
it were and the result of it is seen in the collection This word refers to the priestly office of bringing
plate. T,he saints gave a collection and Paul thanks offerings to God's House.
God's grace. Not man therefore, but God the honor,             Plainly enough the Old Testament shows us how
not of man, not what man gave does Paul see in the          great a part this had in the worship of the true God.
collection, but he sees first what God gave. . . .grace.    Offering is. a service, in it we express that we are


                                              TtHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           499J
priests of the Most High God and of His Christ and                               Israel's Unbelief According To
we bring ,the offerings of love to His House.                                        Prophetic Prediction
                         BLESSING                                         There are two unshakable pillars upon which the
                                                                       .Church of God can place her trust for time and eter-
    In 9 :5 we read of "your bounty", again referring                  nity. The  first of these is:  it  G written. This is the
to that  selfsame  collection. The word ,bounty, if liter- Word of God as recorded in 1Ho1y Writ. The second is :
ally translated, would read "your blessing".                    Hence it ti come to ~.a. These two are pillars which have
here Paul sees in the collection plate your blessing.                  stood and shall stand the test of the ages. No vain
Through that gift we as priests bless the brethren and philosophy  ,and no assault  `of the powers of darkness
are to them a cause of (not of stumbling, but) blessing. can nullify and overthrow th.ese truths.
With the gift goes our blessing, in it is our blessing,                   Both are the Word of God. And they are very,
that is, the receiving of it conveys to them a blessing closely interrelated. What has come to pass can never
`and gives peace and joy (9  :11). The needy saints                    bc ought else, abut the fulfilment of the Word of God.
taste in it a blessing. While the world curses and our This is true of all history. There is not one detail in
enemies curse ; yea,  w,hile even sometimes the brethren all th.e innumerable hosts of events of time, that. is not
curse .and abuse us, we contrarywise bless. We bless taken up in the scope of the search-light of the pro-
not only with words but with deeds. When departing phetic utterances. For God sees the end *of all things
from God's House the minister pronounces the bless-                    in the beginning; yea, He has made all things in t,he
ing upon the saints,  ibut in that collection  pl,ate  we              beginning in view of the end. He is the Alhpa and the
saints bless one another and are a blessing to one                     Omega, the Beginning and the End. He therefore con-
another in Christ.         And with this blessing comes trols, directs and predicts the things "that must speed-
peace.                                                                 ily come to pass".
                                                                          In the center of all the historical happenings lies
                    `.SELF-SACRIFICE                                   the Covenant of God, His covenant people. In the
    Finally, in 8:5 we read that in and &rough  that midst of this people historically we see the spiritual
bounty . they "gave their own selves - to the Lord".                   antithesis of light and darkness, faith and unbelief,
In that collection we give our own selves to the Lord. obedience and disobedience to the gospel of the promise.
The supreme offering of His Priests. Christ gave Him- `Here man is placed before the supreme question in His
self, as `His servants  -eye give ourselves first, then judgment-hall : What think ye of the Chmkt? Here the
money. What offering pleases God? Money, posses- supreme  etihical  question is so powerfully and un-
sions or goods?        Nay, these things are but dead. avoidably thrust before the face of man, that he cannot
Ourselves. . . . living sacrifices of praise to God.                   but respond to the law of God. It is at this point
    That is the collection.                                            that the drama of history unfolds before God  .and
    In a subsequent article we shall D. V. see what man.
great things are effected by such a collection.                           Powerfully the Word of God had been spoken in
                                                        M. G.          Israel  dutring  the time of the prophets, when  tiey
                                                                       searched out Iwhat manner of time the Christ should
                                                                       come, and make known the sufferings that would come
                        IN MEMORIAM                                    upon the Man of Sorrows, and of the glory that should
                                                                       fo!l,ow. Brightly had the light of Divine utterance by
    On Sunday evening, July `7, 1940, after :a very brief illness,     Seers of old shown in the night of sin and sorrow.
it pleased our heavenly Father to take unto Himself our beloved        Isaiah might see the throne of God attended by the
husband, father, and grandfather                                       Seraph angels, who covered their faces from His glory,
                  PETER ZUIDEMA, age 66                                and  who cried day and night: Holy, Holy, Holy, is the
    Though we shall miss him  Imore than  tongue  can tell, we         Lord God almighty. The  whole.earth  is full of His
know God's way is the best may, that He doeth all things well          glory.
and that now our deputed one is at rest with hi:s S&our whom              But never had the lght of God's revelation shown
he loved  aand served. How comforting in our sorrow is the             more brightly in Israel, than when the Son of God
assurance that our loss is his gain.                                   dwelt on earth in our flesh and blood. Of this the
                                        Mrs. Peter Zuidema             apostle John speaks in the "Prologue" when he cries:
                                        Mr. and Mrs. D. Van Alten      And we have seen His glory, the glory as of the only
                                        Mr. and Mrs. H. Zuidema        Abegotten  of the Father  fdl of grace and truth. And
                                        Mr. and Mrs. G. Verburg        again : No one has ever seen God, the only begotten Son
                                        Mr. and Mrs. P. R. Zuidema     tin is in the bosom of the Father, He had declared
                                        Mr. and Mrs. F. Zuidem*a        (exegeted) Him unto us.
                                        and 9 grandchildren.              True, there was no essential difference in the glory


5 0 0                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
m"  ,.
which Isaiah might behold, and the glory of  wihich          iquity, a seed of evil-doers, &ildren that deal corruptly !
John here speaks. Botih are the radiation of the Divine They have forsaken Jehovah, they have despised the
perfections of grace and truth. Only the glory of Holy One of Israel, they are estranged and gone back-
which John speaks stands in  bo!der relief, because the ward. And the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a
Word had indeed become flesh, and dwelt among the            vineyard,. as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a
children of Israel.                                          beseiged city. Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto
     And  [having  thus come, he called the weary and        us a very small remnant, we should have been as
heavy laden to rest, the thirsty to drink of the Water       Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah !
of Life freely, and to follow Him as the Light of the           And to Israel who is *busy with ,the service of the
world; and thus have the Light of Life. All that tihe lips and not the heart, who have tiheir fore-skins cir-
Father had given Him must come to Him, and they cumcized, but not their inward parts, God has the
that come to Him should never be cast out, but should        following to say: Your new-moons and your appointed
be raised unto glory in the last day. For He did not         feasts my sou1 hateth; they are a trouble unto Me ; I
come to condemn the world, (but to save the world and        am weary of bearing them. And when ye spread out
thus redeem the obedient, those who kiss His rod, for your hands, I will Ihide my eyes from you ; yea, when
His peculiar bride and treasure.                             ye make many prayers, I will not hear: Your hands
     That is one side of His work.                           are full of blood.    Wash you, make you clean ; put
    But there is also another side. For there are cer- away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes ;
tain irrevocable prophetic utterances that cry for ful-      cease to do evil ! Learn to do well ! Seek justice,
filrment.  Not one of  ,these shall fall to  .&he earth.     relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for
Every last jot and tittle shall come to its realiza- the widow !
tion.                                                           With bold strokes the sin of Israel is here depicted,
    Only when this is kept in mind can we understand and the only cure wi&hin  the walls of covenant Zion
the historical phenomena of Israel's unbelief; will we       announced. For God has promised His blessing to
see our own adoption unto sons in its scriptural per- those who remember His covenant and precepts, and
spective.                                                    that from generation to  .generation  ! But His curse is
    Of this the apostle John speaks in the 12ti chapter the Covenant counterpart of those who transgress `His
of the Gospel. This chapter is the last in the book of law, and who will not heed His judgments.
John dealing with the tracing of the spiritual develop-         And it is of this latter that the apostle J&n speaks
ment of Israel's unbelief and of their rejecting IHim, when he speaks of the unbelief of Israel in spite of all
and raising Him up high, nailing Him to the cross.           the  miracIes and signs that Christ had performed
The apostle here pauses to cast a retrospective glance before their very eyes. Christ also had cried to return
upon the phenomena of Israel's unbelief. And in so to the law and the prophets. That he stood for all that
cdoing  he  slliows  us that this is not in contradiction the prophets had said. He had  come to fulfill the law
with the in*tention  of God. The Word of God had not and not to destroy it. And if they would not believe
fallen out. To the contrary it had been sealed and           that He were the great Prophet which was to come
fulfilled:.                                                  for  IHis words, then they should believe for His work's
    Israel could not be1ieve.f                               sake. For  the blind received their sight, and the lame
    They could not and they did not believe because walked, and the deaf hear, and the poor had the
Isaiah had prophesied in his  (day ! The Holy Ghost had gospel preached unto them. Indeed the glory as of the
testified through Isaiah unto the unbelieving, dis- only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth
obedient and lawless fathers. And what had been had been seen by  $he people. It was not due ,to, lack
predicted unto "these fathers"  shall also come to pass of concrete evi,dence  concerning Christ's Messiahship
over  `%heir  chiIdren  unto the third and fourth genera-    that caused them to  .disbelieve.  It was solely to, be
tion of those that hate Me". That is the fundamental attributed to the hardness of their hearts ! For it
principle in ,tlhe Law of God, and it is interwoven in       was because of their covenant infidelity that God had
the prophetic utterance of which the apostle John is brought upon them all the curses contained in the
here speaking.                                               Book of the Law.
    "To the Iaw and the prophets" is the constant               And now God in His righteousness will not that
cry of the prophets. And indeed it was necessary they shall ever repent and be healed with salvation.
at the time in which Isaiah received the vision of which     Once they have stood in His covenant as a people.
is here spoken. What a picture of bold godlessness, They were branches on the noble vine that God had
the prophet paints in the first chapter of Isaiah ! To planted in the land of Canaan. But they were the
what depths had Israel sunken!                               unfruitful branches that were about to be cut off in
    The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's the justice of God.
crib,  lbut Xsrael doth not know, my  people  cloth  not        This is historically the case in the days of Isaiah
consider. Ah! sinful nation, a people laden with in- the prophet. At that time he is to preach to Israel.


                                       THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          501

And His spreaching  is twofold. On the one hand he For Zion is only redeemed through righteousness and
preaches: A remnant  shall  ,be saved. On the other her converts through justice.
his preaching is to be to the fattening of the hearts           To this end Christ speaks in parables. The babes
of Israel, and the blinding of their eyes, in the deaden- must know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,
ing of their ears, so that they should forevermore be        and it must be hid from the wise and the prudent.
willing to repent. Placed before the Iight they would And this He does ,becanse  the saying of Isaiah must
hate it, and love ,the  ,darkness rather than the light be fulfilled.
because their works were evil. And then they would              And when  PauI reasons with the chief of the Jews
be condemned and God would <bring upon them His in Rome from Moses and a11 the Prophets concerning
righteous judgments and remove them from the prom- Jesus, and when ,they disbelieve he tells them: Well
ised  Iand and from His dwelling place forever!              spake the ~Holy Spirit through Isaiah tlhe prophet unto
   Israel was carried into captivity !                       your fathers, saying, Go thou unto this people  md
   Lord who hath believed our report, and to whom            say, By  .hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise
,hath the arm of the Lord been revealed ! Thus the understand ; And seeing ye sha,ll see, and shall in no
prophets cried in the Old Testament. Think of Elijah wise perceive. For  &is people's heart is waxed gross,
when he laments: They have stoned thy prophets and And their ears are  duI1 of hearing, And  ,&heir eyes
killed thy servants, and I alone am escaped, and they they have closed, lest  haply they should  ,perceive  with
seek my soul !                                               their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand
   But what saith the divine answer? I still have            witi their heart, and shodd turn again, and I should
seven thousand whose knee shath not bowed to Baal.           heal them.
This is the remnant that is saved !                             Therefore the  apostIe  Paul concludes: Be it known
   But the rest could not believe because they had re- therefore  ,unto you, that this `salvation  .of God is sent
ceived a spirit of blindness, and God had given them unto the Gentiles ; they will also hear!
over unto their own chosen ways.                                And thus we see the unbelief of Israel to be accord-
   With this all in mind the apostle John is now ready ing to the prophetic prediction.
to explain the unbelief of the Jews in the days of Jesus.       Two ,unshakable,  trustworthy cornerstones in the
It would seem that they should have believed when !church once more appear:
Jesus had performed so many miracles and signs-                 "It is written", and:
signs of the bringing forth of the kin,gdom  of God in          "It shall come to pass".
the broken and  ,bruised servant of the Lord.  Thus                                            Gee. C. Lubbers.
there is the sign of the breaking of bread. The si'gn
of *the raisimg of the dead, and the healing of the sick.
   But no faith in the Son of God is tlhe result. Why?
Because the covenant judgments of God were operating The Man who was Born Hind, Restored
in Israel at this very time. Now was indeed the judg-
ment of the world. But now was the judgment of the              Within the court of the temple, in the presence
world as it began at the ,house  of God. And terrible of the Pharisees and their satelites, Jesus had said,
it is for that "house of God" to fall into t-he hands of I am the light ,of the world ; he that followeth Me
the living God. For it is the ordinance of God amongst shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of
His people.                                                  life." The saying, resented as  egostical  and arrogant,
                                                             led on to that altercation which ended in their taking
    And thus God removed in the days of Jesus the            up stones to cast at Him, and in His hiding' Himself
rest of the historic branch from the vine of His cove- in some mysterious way and passing out of the temple,
nant that He had planted. He was to take the kingdom "going through the midst of them." At one of the
from the evil servants, and was to kill them and give temple gates, or by the roadside without, "as Jesus
the vineyard to those that are worthy.                       passed by He saw a man  wihich  was blind from his
    Of t,his John the Baptist spoke when he preached birth,*`-a well  knowcn city beggar, whom Jesus and
the *baptism of repentance and cried, that the axe was His disciples may have often passed in their way ,up
already  layed at the root of the tree. And t,hat the to the temple. New at the very time Iwhen we might
threshing-floor was to be cleaned, and the chaff to be have imagined Him more than ordinarily <desirous to
separated from the wheat!                                    proceed in haste, in order to put Himself beyond the
    Thus Israel would not be healed, would not be reach of the exasperated men out of whose hands He
cleansed from her sins. Her  whole head was full of had just escaped. Jesus stops to look compassionately
boils and had not received the ointment of God's heal- upon this man. He sees in him a fit subject for a work
ing mercy. And so the old leaven of sin worked on being done, which in the lower sphere of man's physi-
like a cancer and gangrene, and it became imperative cal nature shall illustrate the truth whidh He `had in
for God to amputate the dead Old Testament  ,tree. vain been proclaiming in the treasury, that He was


 502                                 T;HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
s
the light of the world. As  IHe stops, His disciples teaching. Some of His hearers, struck perhaps by
 gather round Him and  fix their eyes also upon the         something He had said about the signs of the times
man whose case  ~has arrested their Master's footsteps, and the judgments that were impending, took occasion
and seems to have absorbed His thoughts. But their          publicly to tell Him of it. Perhaps they hoped  that
thoughts are not His. They look, to think only of the recital would draw out from Him some burning
the rarity and severity of the affliction under which expressions of indignation, pointed against the for-
tihe man is laboring-to regard it as a judgment of eign yoke under which the country was groaning;
 God, whereby some great sin was punished-the man's the deed done by the Roman governor had been so
own, it would be (natural to suppose it should be; but gross an outrage upon the national religion, upon  the
then, the judgment had come before any sin had been         sacredness of the holy temple. If the tellers of the
 committed by him-he had been blind from his birth.         tale cherished any such expectation they were dis-,
 Could it be  t&at  the punishment had preceded the appointed.           As upon all like occasions, when any
 offence;  or was this a case in  ,which the sins of the purely political question was brought  *before  Him,
 parents had been visited on the child? "Master", they Christ evaded it. He never once touched or alluded to
say to Jesus in their perplexity, "who did sin, this man that aspect of the story. But there was another side
 or his parents,  tihat  ,he `was born blind?" The one      to it upon which He  ,perceived  that the thoughts of
thing that they had no doubt about,-and, in having not a few of His hearers were fastened. It was a
 no such doubt, were only sharing in the sentiment of terrible fate that these slaughtered Galileans had met
all the most devout of their fellow-countrymen,-was -not only death by the Roman sword-but  deatsh
that some original sin had been committed, upon which       within the courts of the temple-death upon the very
 the signal mark of God's displeasure had been stamped. steps of the altar. There could be but one opinion as
 It was not as to the existence somewhere of some           to the deed of their murderers-those rough Gentile
 exceeding fault that they were in the least uncertain. soldiers of Pilate.       But the murdered, upon whom
 Their only doubt was where to lay it. It was the false such a dreadful doom had fallen, what was to be
 and deep conviction that lay beneath their question thought of them? Christ's all-seeing eye perceived that
that Jesus desired to expose and correct when He so already in the breasts of many' of those around him,
 promptly and decisively replied, "Neither hath this the leaven of that censorious, uncharitable, super-
 man sinned nor his parents," neither the one nor the stitious spirit was  working,  which taught them to
other  thad sinned so peculiarly that this particular attach all extraordinary calamities to extraordinary
visitation of blindness from birth has been visited on crimes. "Suppose ye", said Jesus, "that these Gali-
 the transgression. Not that Jesus meant to disconnect leans were sinners above all Galileans because they
altogether man's suffering from man's sins. Had He suffered such things? I tell you nay". To give His
 meant to do so, He would not have said to/the  paralytic question and His answer a still broader aspect-to
whom He cured at the pool of Bethesda, "Go thy way,         take out of them all that was peculiarly  GalileandHe
sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee"; but        quotes another striking and well-known occurance
 that He wanted by vigorous stroke, to lay the ax that had recently happened near Jerusalem-a calam-
at the root of a prevailent superstitious feeling which ity not inflicted by the hand of men. "Or those eight-
led to erroneous and presumptuous readings of God's een,!' He adds, "upon whom the tower in Siloam fell,
providence, connecting particular sufferings with par- think ye that they were sinners above all men that
ticular sins, and arguing from the  re!ative  severity dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you nay." He does not
of the one to, the relative magnitude of the other.         deny that either the slaughtered Galileans or the crush-
     Nor was this the only instance in  ,which our ed Jerusalemites were sinners. He does not say that
 Saviour  de& in the same manner with the same they did not deserve their doom. He does not repudiate
 popular error. But a few weeks from the time in            or run counter to that strong instinct of the human
which He  spake  in this way to  IHis disciples, Jesus      conscience which in all ages has taught it to trace
was in Perea. There  !had been a riot in Jerusalem suffering of sin. What He does repudiate and condemn
-some petty premature outburst of that insurrection- is the application of that principle to specific instances
ary spirit which was rife throughout  Judea.      Pilate    by those who know so little as we do, of the Divine
had let loose his soldiers on the mob. Some Galileans purposes and aims in the separate events in life-mak-
who had taken part in the riot, or were supposed to ing the temporal infliction the measure of the guilt
have done so-for the Galileans were always in the           from which it is supposed to spring. It is not a
front rank of any movement of that kind-were slain wrong thing for the man himself whom some sudden
-slain even  wchile engaged in the act of sacrificing,      or peculiarly severe calamity overtakes, to search and
their blood mingled with their sacrifices; an irmident      try ihimself  before his Maker, to see whether there has
so fitted to strike the public eye, to arouse the public not been some secret sin as yet unrepented and un-
indignation, that the news of it traveled rapidly thru forsaken, which may have had a part in bringing the
I the country. It reached the place where Christ was        calamity upon him. It was not a wrong thing in


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                     503
  +
  Joseph's brethren, in the hour of their great distress     He hears the question about his own sins and his
  in Egypt, to remember their former conduct, and to         parent's sins put by strange Galilean tongues to one
  say, "We are verily guilty concerning our brother, addressed evidently with the greatest respect.              He
  therefore is this distress come upon us". It was not a hears the one thus appealed to say, with an authority
  wrong thing for the king of Besek, when they cruelly that ,he wonders at, "Neither hath this man sinned,
  mutilated him, cutting off his thumbs and great toes,      nor .his parents," grateful words to the poor man's
  to say, "Threescore  and ten kings having their thumbs ear. He may have thought in common with others,
  and great toes cut off gathered ther meat under my that he had been signally marked as an object of
  table. As I have done, so God hath requited me".           Divine displeasure. The words that he now hears may
 .But it was a wrong thing in the inhabitants of Melita,     have helped to lift a load off his heart ; already he
  when they saw the viper fasten on Paul's hand, to          may be more grateful to the speaker of these few
  think and say, that, "no doubt this man is a murderer,     words than if He had cast the largest money-gift into
  w!hom,  though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance his bosom. But the speaker goes further: He says
  suffereth not to live." It was a wrong thing in the that he had been born blind "that the works of God
  widow of Zarephath, w:hen  her son fell sick, to say to    should be made manifest in him." If it were not
  Elijah, "What  haves  I to do with thee, 0 thou man the works of God's anger in the punishment of his
  of God? Art thou come to call my sins to  remem-           own or his father's sins, what other work could it
brance,  and to slay my son?" It was a wrong thing be?  An'd  who.  can this be who is now before him,
  for the friends of Job to deal with their afflicted        who speaks of what He is, and what, He does, and
  brother as if his abounding misfortunes were so many what He is about to do, with such solemnity and  self-
  proofs of a like abounding iniquity. It is a very assurance?
  wrong thing in any of us to presume to interpret any          Who can tell us  iwhat new thoughts about himself
  single dealing of God with others, particularly of a and the new calamity that thad befallen him, what new
  dark and adverse kind, for all such dispensations of thoughts about God and His purposes in thus dealing
  His providence have a double character. They may with him, what wonderings as to wlho this stranger can
  be  retributve,  or they may be simply disciplinary, cor- be that takes such an interest in him, what flutterings
  rective, protective, purifying. They may come in anger of hope may have passed through this man's spirit
  or they may ,be sent in love.    And while as to our-      whiIe the brief conversation between Christ and His
  selves it may be proper that we should view them as disciples was going on, and during that short and
  bearing messages of warning, we are not at liberty as silent interval which followed as Jesus "spat on the
  to others to attribute to them any other character ground and made  cIay of the spittle?" This we know
  than that of being the  chastenings  of a wise and that when Christ approached and laid His hand upon
  loving Father.                                             him, and annointed his eyes with that strange salve,
       "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents,       and said to him, while yet  this sightless balls were
  but that the works of God should be manifest in him".      covered with what would have blinded for the time a
  Those works-works of mercy and almighty  power-            man who saw, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam,"  he
  were given to Christ to do, and here was an oppor- had become so impressed as quietly to submit to so
  tunity for one of them being done. To pause thus           singular an operation, and, without a word of argu-
  by the way, to occupy Himself with the case of the ing or remonstrance, to obey the order given, and to.
  poor blind beggar, might seem a waste of time, the         go to the  poo1 and wash. It lay not far off, at the
  more so that the purpose of His persecutors to seize       base of the hill on which the temple stood, up and
  and to stone Him had been so recently and so openly around which he had so often groped  ,his way. He
  displayed. But that very outbreak of their wrath fore- lwent and washed, and lo, a double miracle-the one
  told to Jesus  His approaching  ,death-the close of wrought within the eyeball, the other within the mind
  His allotted time of lab.or ; and so IHe says, "I must -each wonderful even among the wonders wrought
  work the works of Him that sent Me while it is             by Christ. Within the same compass there is no
  day ; the night  cometh,   when  no man can work. As       piece of dead or living mechanism that we know of,
  tlong as 1 am in the world, I am the  li,ght of the        so curious, so complex, so full of nice adjustments,
  world."    "I said so  ta those proud and unbelieving as the human eye. It was the great Creator's office
  men from whose rough violence I have just escaped.         to make that eye and plant it in its socket, gifting
  I will prove now the truth of what I said by bringing it with all its varied powers of motion, outward and
  the light physically, mentally, spiritually, to the poor inward, and guarding it against all the injuries to
  bind beggar."                                              which so `delicate an instrument is exposed. It was
       All this time not a word is spoken by the blind ,the Creator's will that some fatal  ,defect, or some fatal
  man himself. Whatever cries for help he may have confusion of its parts and membranes, should from
  raised when he heard the footsteps of the approaching the first have existed in the eyeball of this man. And
  company, as they stop before him he becomes silent.        who ,but the Creator could it be that rectified the de-


504                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
s
feet  or removed the confusion, bestowing at once upon        ing' as well as any of them, the question was on` all
the renovated organ the full power of vision? Such            sides repeated, "Is not this he that sat and begged?"
instant reconstruction of a defective, or mutilated, or Some said it  was; others, distrusting their own sight,
disorganized eye, though not in itself a greater, ap-         could only say he was like him; but  he  removed
pears to us a more surprising act of the Divine  .power       their doubts by saying, "I am he". Then came the
than the original creation of the organ. You watch question as to how his eyes were opened. He told
with admiration the operation of the man who, with them. Someh,ow or other he *had learned the name of
a large choice of means and materials, makes and              the healer, "A man that is named Jesus made clay
grinds, and polishes, and adjusts the set of lenses           and anointed my eyes, and said to me,  Go to the pool
of which  a telescope is composed. But let some acci- of Siloam an,d wash, and I went and washed and re-
dent happen whereby all these lenses are broken and ceived my sight." But Jesus had not yet been seen by
crushed together in one mass of confusion, what would         him; he knew not where He was. It was so very a
you think of the `man who could out of such materials         singular thing this that had been done-made more
reconstruct the instrument? It was such a display so by its  ,having  been done on a Sabbath, day-that
of the Divine power that was made when the man                some of those to whom the tale was told would not be
born  blin,d went and washed and saw.                         satisfied till the man went with them to the Pharisees,
     But however perfect the eye be, it is simply a sitting in council in a side-chamber of the temple.
transmitter of light, the outward organ by which They put the same questions to him the others had
certain expressions are made upon the optic nerve,            done, as to  !how he had received  ,his sight, and got the
by them to be conveyed to the brain, giving birth same reply. Even had Jesus cured him by a word,
there to the sensations of sight. But these sensations they would have regarded it as a breaoh of the Sab-
of themselves convey little or no knowledge of the            bath, but when they hear of His making clay and
outward till the observer's mind  !has learned to inter- puttting it on his eyes, and then sending him to lave
pret them as signs of the position, forms, sizes and it off in the waters of Siloam--all servile work, for-
distances of the outlying objects of the visible creation. bidden as they taught-they seize at once upon this
Xt is but slowly that the infant learns this language of circumstance and say, "This man is not of God, be-
the eye. It requires the putting forth of innumerab!e         cause  Be keepeth not the Sabbath." The question
acts of memory, and the acquiring by much practice            now was not about the cure, which seemed in truth
a facility of rapid interpretation. That the man born admitted, but about the  character of the curer. Such
blind should be able.at  once to use his eyes as we all       instant and peremptory condemnation of Him as a
do, it was needed that this faculty should be bestowed Sabbath  broker roused a spirit of opposition even
upon bim at once, without any teaching or training,           in their own court. Joseph was there, or Nicodemus,
and when we fully understand (as it is somewhat or some one of like sentiment,  wfho ventured, in oppo-
difficult to do) what the powers were whiclh were in- sition to the prevailing feeling, to put the question,
stantly conveyed, the mental will appear not less             "How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?"
wonderful than the material part of the miracle of our        But they are overborne. The man himself, at least,
Lord-that part of it, too, of which it is utterly im-         who is there before them, wil1 not dare to defend a
possible to give any exp1anation  but the one that there deed which he sees that a majority of them condemn.
was in it a direct and an immediate putting forth of They turn to him and say, `What sayest thou of Him
the Divine power. The skillful hand of the coucher that hath opened  thine eyes?" They are mistaken,
may open the eye that has been blind from birth, but          Without  deIay  or misgivings he says at once, "He is  a
no human skill or power could confer at once that prophet." They order him to withdraw. They are
faculty of using the eye as we now do, acquired by us         somewhat perplexed.      They wish to keep in hand
in the forgotten days of our infancy. It may be left the charge of Sabbath-breaking, but how can they do
to  the fanaticism of unbelief to imagine that it was so without admitting the miracle? It would serve
the clay and the washing which restored his sight to all their purposes could they only make it out that
the man  born blind, but no ingenuity of concep- there had been some deception or mistake as to the
tion can point us to the natural means by which man's having been born blind--the peculiar features
the  ,gift of perfect vision could have been at once of the miracle that had attracted to it such public
#conferred.                                                   notice.
     Yet of the fact we  have the most convincing proof.                                                 G. M. 0.
It was so patent and public that there could be no mis-
take about it. It was subjected to the most searching
investigation-to  al1 the processes of a judicial inquiry,                            NOTICE
When one so well known as the blind beggar, whom Classis East meets in the Fuller Ave., Church Wednes-
so many had noticed on their way up to the temple, day, September 4, at 9:00 in the morning.
was seen walking among the other worshippers,  see-                                              D. Jonker, S. C.


                          A   R e f o r m e d   S e m i - M o n . t h i y   M a g a z i n e
           PUBLISHED BY THE REFORMED FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
      "l_ll-."...--.-                                                                          l-l.l_
Vol. XVI, No. 22.                              September 15, 1940                           Entered  88  Secon'd   Clans  mail
                                                                                            matter at  Grand  Rwids,   hIi&.


                                                            so, and being consequently barred from the fellowship
    This September 45, 19.40  number of our Stan-           of these churches, he continued to proclaim the truth,
  dard Bearer is dedi&ed to Rev. H. Roeksema in             and today is acknowledged, together with Rev. G. M.
  commemoration of his ordination as a minister of          Ophoff, to be the spiritual leader of our Protestant
  the gospel on September 15,                               Reformed Churches.
                                     1915, just twenty-        Ordinarily we have our annual Field-Day on the
    The Reformed Fgsee  Publishing Association and          Fourth of July. This custom we have observed  Bs
  the  25th Anniversary Committee have cooperated           Protestant Reformed Churches ever since 1925. This
  in bringing to you this memorinl  number contain-         year, however, was an  exteption  to this rule., The
  ing  ull the. speeches delivered at the %ebmtion          consistory of the Fuller Ave. Protestant Reformed
  held in Rev. ffoeksema's honor on August 1.5;             Church, because of Rev. Hoeksema's 25 years in the
                                                    1940
  at John Ball Park.                                        ministry, deemed it proper to celebrate this event.
                                                            Because of the pastor's vacation this celebration could
                                                            not be held on the fourth of July. Of course, our
                                                            annual Field-Day, proceeding as always from the
      Rev. Hoeksema  `s Anniversary                         Standard Bearer, could have been held regardless.
                         Celebration                        However, two field-days in one season was considered
                                                            too much of a good thing. Hence it was arranged be-
   On Thursday, August 15, we, as a Protestant Re- tween Fuller Ave.`s.consistory  and the Standard Bearer
formed people,' came together at John Ball Park,            to cancel. our annual July Fourth affair, and substitute
Grand Rapids, Michigan, to commemorate Rev.  Hoek-          for it the celebration of Rev. Hoeksema's anniversary.
sema's 25th anniversary as minister of the Word of And so this celebration, ,proceeding  from `Fuller Ave.`s
God. Surely, no greater privilege and no greater work       consistory, but also  .observed  by  all our people in
can be bestowed upon mortal man than to preach the          general;took  place on August 15.                 ..,
Word of God.  OrdinariJy  this is an event worthy of           The setting of our ceIebration  was ideal. Firstly,
remembrance. And when a minister of the Word of the .Lord gave us a beautiful day, partly cloudy and
God has labored 25 years in his chosen work, this event     warm. Then, in John Ball Park we enjoyed a beautiful
is usually celebrated in some ,form or another. Fact        layout, particularly if- we bear in mind the nature of
is, the Bible is the Word of God, the infallible, Divinely the day. We had the Park practically to ourselves.
inspired record of the powerful, efficacious, effectual     This, of .course,  was possible only because the celebra-
Word of God, which the Lord speaks and only can             tion took place on a  .day other than a  ,holiday.   Zt
speak in the hearts of His people. To be a minister         would be impossible to hold our annual Field-Day in
of that Word implies that God has chosen,  c.@lled him a public park on- a holiday because of the many others
to proclaim that Word, has commissioned him to `who would be present and milling about. On this oc-
preach  *His truth, and that therefore through his          casion, however, the setting was ideal. The committee
preaching of the same it pleases Jehovah to edify,          had made arrangements for 1500 "seats between the
strengthen,  .and  contim His people. Therefore we          speakers' stand or band-stand and the pavili?::.  This
declare that the preaching of the Word of God is the        number of seats, however, proved to be far from suf-
highest possible calling unto which mortal man can be ficient. For, although the celebration was sponsored
called. However, the celebration of August 15 was           by, proceeded from the consistory of our Fuller Ave.
not any such ordinary event. Rev. Hoeksema is not           Church, it was truly a Protestant Reformed affair, also
merely a minister of the Word of God, but upon him          in the sense that many of our churches, inasfar as pos-
the task had been laid, not only to preach that Word,       sible, took part in it. It seemed to me that almost all
but also to defend it against heretical interpretations our people wgre present. Fuller Ave., Roosevelt Park,
of the same. within the very bosom of the churches          Creston,  Hope, Grand Haven, Hudsonville, Byron Cen-
wherein we formerly had a name and place. Doing ter,  Holland, Kalamazoo, South Holland,  Portland-


506                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
             -..                     --.                                       -._.    - - - . . -             -
all were indeed well represented, with the exception of ante figure at 2500. The first speaker of the evening
South Holland, which, however, is some 175 miles `was Rev. Ophoff who represented our Theological
distant from Grand Rapids. Also the ministers of School. He was followed by Rev. G. Vos of Redlands.
Pella and Doon, Revs. Lubbers and Van der Breggen           Because Rev. Vos himself could not be present it had
were among us. From the viewpoint of numbers it was,        been arranged to have his speech given to us by trans-
we believe, the most successful undertaking staged by cription. This proved to be quite a novelty. His voice
our churches of such a nature since the "good old days" was clearly recognizable. 1 assume that Rev. Vos repre-
of  1925. And, to make one more remark as far as the sented the older (not oldest) element in our midst,
setting is concerned, the celebration was to some extent    who had lived through the struggle of 1924. The final
a reunion, particularly for the congregation of Fuller speaker of the evening was brother S. G. Schaafsma of
Ave. Rev. Hoeksema had been absent from his church, Ful'er Ave., who represented that congregation. He
had been vacationing since June 30. Only two days be- had been chosen to speak because he, at the time of
fore the celebration he had returned from the east. the confli,ct,  had served as clerk of that consistory.
Hence, he had not as yet appeared in his pulpit at             In connection with this program we would make a
Fuller Ave. Therefore we remark that this field-day few miscellaneous remarks, Firstly, all the spcezhes
also partook to some extent of the nature of a re- bore an historical character. The committee had ar-
union.                                                      ranged this purposely because of the character of the
       The main festivities of t,he day were to begin at    celebration. Also, a loud-speaker had been provided
3 :00 P. M. Rev. R. Veldman of Fuller Ave. was chair- which very effectively facilitated matters not only for
man of the day. There were sports and games for the the speakers but also for the  audien.ce. Moreover,  the
children earlier in the afternoon until 3:00 P. M. It       program was interspersed with singing by the audience
it, of course, not my purpose or task in this article to    and a few vocal and musical selections; Besides this,
give a resume or synopsis of all the speeches which two fitting telegrams were received and read from our
Lvere given. These speeches appear in this special congregation of Hull and Edgerton, relative to Rev.
issue of our Standard Bearer and can be read by a!1         Hoeksema's anniversary. Finally, Rev. and Mrs. Hoek-
our people. I will, however, devote a few lines to sema appeared on the speaker's stand. The,"dominee"
explain why each speaker spoke. Six speeches were spoke very fittingly and was presented a beautiful
delivered, three in the afternoon and three in the even- album and a financial gift. The program was con-
ing. Promptly at 3 :00  9. M. the chairman of the day cluded with a word of prayer by Rev. M. Schipper  of
opened the day's festivities by reading a portion  from     Roosevelt Park.
the Scriptures and a word of prayer. The first speaker         Describing this celebration and giving my own per-
of the afternoon was the undersigned, who spoke as sonal impressions of the day two features must receive
representing the Standard Bearer. It is, of course, emphasis. Firstly, in connection with the speeches
understood that this celebration of Rev. Hoeksema's         which were given, I wish to remark that, recognizing
anniversary bore a special character. To this I have the gifts and talents which God has bestowed on Rev.
already called attention in the foregoing. This will        Hoeksema and grateful unto him because of the unique
explain the nature of the several speeches which were place which he occupies in our churches, the celebra-
delivered. Following the undersigned, Rev. De Jong tion did not fail to give all glory and praise to God
of Hudsonville spoke in the Holland language in con- from Whom alone all blessings flow. To be sure, Rev.
nection with the birth and truth of our Protestant Re- *Hoeksema  has done a tremendous amount of work
formed Churches. The afternoon program was con- among us. As Protestant Reformed Churches ye are
cluded by Rev.  Kok who spoke as representing our           indebted to him. Unflinchingly he stood for the cause
missionary activity. After supper the evening pro- of God's sovereign .grace, has indeed explained and
gram began at 7:00 P. M. And what an inspiring opened the Scriptures unto us. And inasfar as he
scene greeted us at this time ! Although the afternoon `was called of God to defend and hold fast unto the
attendame  had already been above expectation (we faith  orme delivered unto the saints and that through
must remember that the celebration took place not on him we all were led into a clearer and better insight
a holiday, and that therefore many could not be present of the Scriptures, we express unto him our profound
because of their work), the evening attendance surely gratitude. Therefore he occupies a large place in our
exceeded all expectations.     The committee  ,had ar- heart and life. Yet, recognizing the fact that man is
ranged for 1500 seats. Only 1500 seats. Now I do            a mere mortal and that what we are and do we are
not know whether this number constituted the and do only by the grace of God, our celebration did
limit which could be had. Fact is, it proved to not ,degenerate  into hero-worship, but gave all glory to
be  mholly insufficient. Various estimates have been God. I can  certainIy  affirm that this was characteristic
given of the number of people present. Some have            of the entire day. Moreover, this is, of course, the
ventured to pIace the figure at 4000. However, I think      outstanding feature of the day. A higher and more
that we can safely and conservatively place the attend- outstanding  characteristj,c is inconceivable. Then we


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        507

are and will remain secure as Protestant Reformed our paper, our hearty appreciation for  a11 his labor
Churches, if we continue on this high level and perse-        which he might ever willingly do by the grace of God.
vere in that high calling whereunto we are called,               It is well at this time to refresh our memory with
namely, to proclaim the virtues of Him Who called us respect to the birth of our Standard Bearer. Why do
out of darkness into His marvellous light, for out of         we have our own paper? At times the answer has
Him and through Him and unto Hm are all things, been given that the Standard Bearer came into being
now and forever.                                              because the reverends Danhof, Hoeksema and Ophoff
   My second chief impression of the day was that the         were cast out of the Christian Reformed Churches.
commemoration  !was spontaneous. It was real. I could This, of course, is not true. It had been determined
not understand how anyone, present in the evening,            to print a theological paper of our own already before
could escape this impression. It simply forced itself the Kalamazoo Synod of 1924. The birth of our paper
upon you. In this connection I must again remind our and the case of Dr. Jansen are historically inseparably
people of that stirring climax of the day when that           connected. At the Christian Reformed Synod of 1920,
beautiful album was presented to Rev. and Mrs. Hoek-          Prof. Jansen, notwithstanding the grievances brought
sema.    What a moment it was when the chairman against him at that time -by the Calvin seminary pro-
asked the audience to sing the doxology in the Holland        fessors, had been upheld. Or, to state it more cor-
and English languages while the reverend and  ,his rectly, he had not been condemned, The Synod de-
wife stood on the platform ! It was a singing in which clared that the charges brought against him had not
the audience found it difficult to take part. And it          been proven, that therefore it had not been shown
was also difficult for Rev. Hoeksema to speak that            that the professor was guilty of anti-Scriptura.1 and
which lived in his soul. Besides, it would have been anti-reformed teachings. This decision' of Synod, of
more difficult still for him to speak had he been able        course, was anything but satisfactory. It was merely
to see the audience which he could not because of the negative. And the churches, because of its negative
lateness of the hour. Surely, t.he celebration was spon- character, would never be  abIe to  *be at ease with
taneous. And, according to his own words, that which respect to the instruction of Prof. Jansen. To this
impressed him so profoundly was the large, the unique         Rev. Hoeksema called public attention shortly after the
p'ace  which he occupies in the `hearts of all our people.    Synod of 1920. He wrote that the synodical  decision
This was the beautiful and fitting climax of a day well       was merely negative, and contended that Synod could
spent. And thereupon we returned home, giving thanks have arrived at a positive declaration if they only
unto God, I am sure, for all the blessings which He would have  properiy examined the teachings of Prof.
has so richly bestowed upon us.                               Jansen. To this charge of Rev. Hoeksema Dr. Jansen
                                        H. Veldman.           replied. However, instead of answering the charges,
                                                              accusations of our leaders, he wrote that the reason
                                                              why Rev. Hoeksema had written against him as he did
                            .
                     .                                        must be sought in the difference between them relative
                                                              to "Common Grace". #However, during the years>
         Rev. Hoeksema's Anniversary                          1Q20-1922,  the professors of Calvin, apparently because
                                                              of personal hostility against Dr. Jansen, supported the
               and our Standard Bearer                        reverends Danhof and Hoeksema. And at the Synod
                                                              of-1922 at Orange City, Iowa, Prof. Jansen was finally
   We have gathered here today, as Protestant Re- deposed.
formed brethren and sisters, to celebrate Rev. Hoek-             This, however, did not restore peace to the churches.
sema's 25th anniversary as minister of the Word of            Prof. Jansen, to be sure, bad been deposed. But his
God. Surely, no higher calling can any mortal have friends became active. They now assumed the of-
than to be minister of God's Word. The connection. fensive against Revs. Danhof and Hoeksema, and in
between this anniversary and our Standard Bearer is favor of Dr. Jansen. The deposed doctor's accusation,
not difficult to see. Of these 25 years he has labored that Revs. Danhof and Hoeksema did not believe in
now almost 16 years as Editor-in-Chief of our we&             "Common Grace", was again revived and bro:$it  `LO
known semi-monthly standard of the truth of the Holy the fore. Especially the Rev. Jan  ,Karel  Van  Baalen
Scriptures. Besides, the Standard Bearer surely repre- was `active in this respect. Brochures were written
sents his untiring efforts in the proclamation of the         by both parties. At this time, in the fall of 1923,
sovereign grace of God which we love.          Hence, as our men, directed by means of "De Wachter" a request
president of the Board of our Standard Bearer, I, in to their opponents, asking that a meeting be held to
the name of the Standard Bearer, wish to congratulate settle all ,differences  between them;if  possible. This
Rev. Hoeksema upon this joyous occasion, his 25th request remained unanswered. Also at this time, our
anniversary in the ministry of the gospel. And, fur- men sent an article to "De Wachter" for publication,
thermore, I wish to express to him the gratitude of in which they stated their objections against the

          i


                                                                                              ,t     .'
5 0 8                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
  d                                                                                          - -
~ yings of Prof.  Jansen: However, the Publication
   ,ommittee refused to pubhsh this article unless it were              W i j Protestantsch Gereformeerd en
  changed, and added that a long discussion was not de-
  sirable. This is the historical occasion of the birth Waarde Broeders en Zusters:
  of our Standard Bearer. When it had become evident                    Wij zijn hier vandaag bijeengekomen in feestelijke
  that Revs. Danhof and Hoeksema stood alone, that the stemming om te gedenken de groote  daden  Gods over
  church papers of the Christian Reformed Churches onze kerken en met name te gedenken wat God onze
  `were closed to them, it was decided to print our own           kerken heeft geschonken in ,den persoon van den jubi-
  paper, in which our convictions with respect to God's laris, Ds.  H. Hoeksema. Van  hart,e felisiteeren we den
  absolute sovereignty could be published and set forth.          jubilaris met zijn vijf-en-twintig-jarig ambtsjubileum
         If now we are gathered here today truly to cele- en het is onze wensch en bede dat indien het met Gods
  tbrate  Rev. Hoeksema's 25th anniversary in the  minis- wil kan bestaan de Heere hem nog een reeks van jaren
  try of `the Word of God, we can do SO by rededicating .voor  onze kerken moge sparen.
  ourselves to our wholehearted support of our Standard                 De jubileum commissie heeft o.a. ook mij verzoaht
  Bearer. This we will do, this we must do if we truly om bier een korte toespraak te houden bij deze gelegen-
  wweciate   that  which   he,  by  the  grace  Of  God,  has  heid.   Ik  heb  mijn  gedachten   op  papier   uitgewerkt,   en
  meant and still means unto us. Surely, we will not hoop u die  voor te lezen, om voorts hier en daar
  `trust in an arm of flesh. This, however, does not              al lezende een enkel woord aan het geschrevene toe
  mean that we should not be grateful to God for that te  voegen.
  which we, as Protestant Reformed people, have  en-
  joyed through the efforts of our leaders. Today we                    Waar moest ik over spreken bij deze gelegenheid?
                                                                  D
  remember Rev. Hoeksema not merely as a man, but                      e commissie oordeelde  dat mijn onderwerp diende
  as one who by the grace of God has led us into a van historischen aard te zijn.                          Ik zou b.v. kunnen
  c!earer  insight of the truths of God's Word. If then spreken, zoo oordeelde men, over het onderwerp:
  this appreciation lives in our hearts, the Standard "Waarom  Protestansch Gereformeerd". Na over deze
  Bearer will indeed remain our standard, our emblem,             wenk nagedacht te hebben kwam ik echter tot de  ont-
  our ,bearer. I do not say this merely because I would dekking dat Ds. Hoeksema een pamphlet geschreven
  speak a good word for our paper. But I do say this heeft onder dezen titel. Het zou dus heel gemakkelijk
  because it is well at this time that we pause and reflect voor mij zijn om  u dat pamphlet voor te lezen. Ik denk
  and rededicate ourselves unto the principles for which echter niet dat dit de bedoeling was van de commissie,
  we fought some 16 years ago. At that time we  de-              en ik betwijfel ook of deze vergadering daar we1 mee
  manded  this paper because it was our desire to be wit-        tevreden zou  zijn, niettegenstaande het feit dat het
  nesses  to the truth so precious to us. At that time we pamphlet waardig is om gelezen te  worden  en ik er hier
  were  filled with enthusiasm to such an extent that the en daar ook nog gebruik van hebt gemaakt. - Ik heb
  financial burden connected with our own paper was a echter   als onderwerp gekozen :                     "Wij Protestansch
                                                                 Gereformeerden,,
  mere trifle. At that time we read and reread the                                      .
  arti,cles, so that the desire was expressed that the                  Het kan de bedoeling van de commissie niet zijn
  monthly appearance of our paper was not sufficient. geweest dat ik een breed historisch overzicht  zou geven
  And in the light of the reaction among our people, van onze  kerkelijke  strijd. Het is al even onmogelijk
  the manner in which our paper was received, we can om de Drie Punten in den ,breede  te bespreken en te
  understand a statement of Rev. Hoeksema in one of his weerleggen. Daar is het thans de gelegenheid niet
 letters to the brethren in the west: "Het is  heden eene        voor en daartoe ontbreekt mij ook den tijd. Ik moet
 lust om te leven". I am afraid that conditions among mij dus in alle opzichten beperken en heb mij daarom
 us have changed. The Standard Bearer today has at dan ook voorgenomen om slechts enkele grepen te doen
 times a hard row to hoe. The financial obligations ap-  I uit de geschiedenis. En in  verband  met mijn  onder-
 pear at times a burden. This should not and need not 2verp*- "Wij Protestantsch Gereformeerden",  wil ik uwe
 be. Hence, let us on this occasion  repledge  ours&es           aandacht bij  drie&-lei  hoofdgedachte bepalen.
 to the cause we hold dear, rededicate ourselves to the                  I. Hoe zijn wij Protestantsch Gereformeerd ge-
 Standard Bearer, as our emblem in the midst of the                         Iworden.
 world and of Zion. Let us support our paper,  not' onIy                II. Wat beteekent het om te Protestantsch Gere-
 financially, but also as the symbol of our faith and                       formeerd te zijn.
 struggle, that God's Name may be glorified and we may             III. Hoe kunnen wij Protestantsch Gereformeerd
 continue to  ,be an actively protesting  people  in  the                   blijven.
 midst of the world.
                                    I thank you.                       I. Er was een tijd dat niemand onzer Protestantsch
                                                                 Gereformeerd was in  ,den kerkelijken zin des woords,
                                           H.  Veldman.          ook de  j,ubilaris Da,  Uerman  Hoeksema  met.           Een
                                  .".


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                           ,        51s

 Rev. Hoeksema's Anniversary and its                       sies of Arminianism and worldliness, and defended the
                                                           truths of God's absolute sovereignty, and of the anti-
       Significance for our Churches                       thesis of sin and grace, ,he heaped upon himself the
                                                           scorn and enmity of the unfaithful and  luke-warm
   It is indeed an occasion for great rejoicing that       Christian Reformed Churches.
has brought us together here this day. It is approxi-         Time does not permit us to go into detail, but let
mately twenty-five years ago that our highly respected,    us briefly review the history of this case. It was a
.and greatly beloved brother in Christ, the Rev. Herman turbulent world twenty  five,years  ago, when the Rev.
Hoeksema, was called and ordained unto the ministry ,H. Hoeksema was ordained into the ministry of the
of the Word and of the holy sacraments. In him the Word of God. Then, even as today, the world stood
Lord has given unto His Church an outstanding and upon the threshold of a world-wide conflict. Then, as
able minister of  His Word, and equipped him with today, political, economic, moral and spiritual  iounda-
singular gifts  ,wherewith  to labor in that ministry. tions were being shaken. In the midst of this turbulent
By the grace of God he did not squander or bury the        world the Christian Reformed Churches, which for
ta'ents  entrusted unto him by his Lord, but labored years had doctrinally been very weak, were being
faithfully and diligently in the calling unto.which his threatened with a stream of humanistic Arminianism,
Lord had called him. Even the boldest enemy would and of worldliness. Doctrinally, the truth of God's
not dare to deny that he has spent himself in diligent sovereign grace was being sacrificed upon the altar
service. He has always and ,uncompromisingly  applied of Arminianism  *with its passion to save  so& for
unto  ,himself  the saying, which he often he'd before us Christ, so prevalent in the American church world,
as students, "het is. beter om te verslijten dan om te     and the truth of the Antithesis was giving way to a
verroesten." We, as Protestant Reformed Churches, synthetical attempt to amalgemate the church with the
and especially we who are now his co-laborers in the world, Jerusalem with Athens. Spiritually and moral-
ministry of the Word, have greatly profited  by..his in- ly there was a spirit of worldliness, which at that time
struction, and feel that we owe him a great debt of was beginning to reveal itself, and now has reached a
gratitude. Therefore it affords us great pleasure to stage of overwhelming proportions, as  be&me  evident
extend to him our sincere and heartfelt congratula- at their last synod, in connection with- the investiga-
tions on this twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination tions of Calvin College. It was the firm conviction. of
to the ministry of the Word of God, and add the hope the Reverends Hoeksema and Danhof, and they based
and prayer that the Lord may continue to spare him their convictions upon the Word of God, that in Com-
for many years for his family and for our- churches.       mon Grace, which at that time was but a prevalent
   Our joy, however, is tempered with a feeling of sad- theory, but since 1924 has become part of the official
ness. The churches for which he had prepared him- and accepted doctrines of the Christian Reformed
self to labor in the ministry, and in the which he was     Churches, in the wellknown `Three Points', lay the
also cayed  and ordained unto that ministry, and which fundamental cause of much of the worldliness and
at first did not fail to recognize his many promising doctrinal unsoundness of these churches:            It was
talents by bestowing upon him many distinguished and because they warned against this theory of Common
signal honors, ruthlessly and cruelly  ~cast him out, Grace, which virtually denies the truth of God's sover-
when he was still on the very threshhold of his career. eignty and of man's total depravity, and which prin-
They sought to silence him long before he had reached cipally denies the truth of the Antithesis and lays the
the zenith of his latent powers. He, who was hailed as foundation for the amalgamation of the church and the
a great and outstanding leader, was soon despised as world, and therefore refused to submit to the heresies
an outcast; We may well ask, why this sudden and contained in the ~`Three Points', that they were sus-
abrupt change of attitude on the part of the Christian     pended and finally deposed. No not because they were
Reformed  Ghurches?  Why did the churches, in the unreformed, neither because they were in disagreement
which he `was so signally honored, heap upon him their with, our Reformed standards, which we as Protestant
enmity, their hatred and scorn, which finally led to his Reformed Churches still maintain and love, but they
shameful deposition? Was it because he became a were deposed because they were in disagreement with
heretic and sought to inculcate false doctrines? Indeed the heretical `Three Points'.
not! Even the very Synod of 1924, which laid the              Yet, also in this sad history, we acknowledge the
foundation and basis upon which he was ultimately Sovereign grace of our God. Even as Joseph said unto
suspended and finally deposed, was forced to confess his brethren, thus also we as Protestant Reformed
that he was fundamentally reformed, and to this very Churches may say, "they thought evil against us, but
day there is none who would dare to deny this. The         God rhea+ it ,unto good". It was in the last analysis
very opposite was true. Just because, according to the not man, but it was God that called the Protestant Re-
`Formula of Subscription', he so courageously, unflinch- formed Churches into being, even though this does
ingly, and uncompromisingly fought against the here- not leave the Christian Reformed. Churches without


 514                                 T H E .   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
 -.
 excuse.. God realizes His eternal purposes, also in %P-          It means that  iwe bring to remembrance not
 respect to His church, even through the  wickedness       merely that 16 years of service of our brother in the
  and corruption of men.     Thus it is always in the denomination of Prot. Ref. Churches, but also that
 history of the church. It often seems as though the preceding 9 years of service in the denomination of
 enemy harms the cause of God's kingdom in the midst       Chr. Ref. Churches. Why should we take no notice of
 of the world, but in reality they are but means whereby these preceding 9 years? Why shouId  these years be
 God realizes His eternal purposes. Heresies  ,within      obliterated from our memory? They should not, cer-
 the church have always inspired the militant church to tainly. They should be included in our contemplations,
 a greater exercise of her faith; and  worldliness  within as we'1 as the 16 years of ministry th~at followed them.
 the church, has always spurred the faithful to greater For these preceding 9 years had great significance for
 watchfulness and prayer. If there had never been a our brother in particular, and for us all in general.
 heretic as Pelagius, a hierarchy of Roman Catholicism,    These years belonged to the form*ative period of our
 a false teacher as Arminius, then there would never brother's career as minister of the gospel. It was
 have been an Augustine, a Luther, a Gomarus or a          during these years that shis eyes were opened to the
 Synod of Dordt. Even so the heresies contained in the fallacies of the common grace philosophy. It was dur-
 `Three Points' were a challenge to the Rev. Hoeksema ing these years that he was prepared for that good
 and his colleagues. How firmly, heroically, and uncom- fight, the fighting of which resulted in his and our
 promisingly they met this  chapenge  to defend. the expulsion from the fellowship of the Christian Re-
 truths of God's sovereign grace and man's total de- formed Churches. It was during these 9 years that
 pravity is a matter of history, and it is our hope and he was joined as pastor to that brotherhood-the First
 prayer that  .he as well as all of us may be faithful Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids and
 even unto death.                                          his present charge-that by the mercy of God stood by
                                      Rev. B. Kok.         him and fought with him from the beginning of that
                                                           strife until the present time. So I say again, these
                                                           first 9 years must not, be excluded from our medita-
                                                           tions today. To exclude them would be to  .take the
                                                           stand that Rev; Hoeksema first began to exist for us
  Rev.  Hoeksema's Anniversary and our when `he, together  _ with his consistory and the loyal I
                                                           ,members  of his congregation .were  expelled from the
               Theological School                          denomintition  of the. Christian' Reformed  Ctiurches.
                                                           And this stand is wrong:
    It is now 25 ,years ago that Rev. Hoeksema entered     And yet, however true it may be that these first
 upon his career as minister of the gospel. It ,is this S'years  of the brother's ministry should not be ignored,
 event in the life of our brother that we now commem-      it is to these last 16 years of his ministry that we give
 orate. Rev. Hoeksema,  as we all know, did not begin greater attention. For these last 16 years comprise
 his ministry in the denomination of Protestant Re- a period during which our brother's service especially
 formed Churches. This cannot be, as 25 years ago          concerned us. This period was ushered in by the fol-
 the. denomination of Protestant Reformed Churches lowing events: The expulsion  of a number of office-
 did not exist. Our brother began his ministry in the bearers, including Rev. Hoeksema, from the fellowship
 denomination of Christian Reformed Churches. His of the Christian Reformed Churches. The three con-
 -first charge was the Christian Reformed Church of gregations, Eastern Ave., `Kalamazoo and Hope, River-
 14th St., Holland,  Mich. It was this congregation bend organizing on the basis of the Three `Forms of
 that instrumentally vested him with the office of Unity and temporarily adopting the name of Protest-
 minister of the gospel 25 years ago.      This congre- ing Christian Reformed Churches. The reorganization
 gation was `served approximately four years by him approximately a year later of these same churches and
 when he received. and accepted a  call. to the Eastern a few others on the basis of'these same forms of unity
 Ave. Christian Reformed  Church of Grand Rapids. and the adoption by this new organization, federation
 When this congregation became the First Protestant of churches, of the name Protestant Reformed. There
 Reformed Church of Grand `Rapids, Rev. Hoeksema           were still other events, namely, the opening of our
 had been. a minister of the gospel approximately ten School, and the formation of the Reformed Free Pub-
I years. It means that the first 9 or 10 years of Rev.     lishing Association, for the purpose of publishing. The
Hoeksema's ministry were spent in the `denomination Standard Bearer. Of these events the outstanding one,
 of Christian Reformed Churches and that he has been the one of greatest significance is the coming into
 a minister in the denomination of ProtestantReformed      being of the denomination of Protestant Reformed
 Churn,hes  16 years. Yet what we now commemorate,         Churches.
brings to mind the entrance of our brother upon  `his         Now in  .this  `our- denomination, federation of
 career of minster of the gospel approximately 25 years churches, our brother, the Rev. Hoeksema, occupies a


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   ` - B E A R E R                                    515
____.                                                                                                                4
large place. In this federation of `churches, he is and His church. To the church at  Philippi  Paul wrote
has been during the entire period of its existence, the      this about Timothy, "But I trust in the Lord Jesus
leader-the leader in every one of its departments of to send Timothy shortly unto you, t,hat I also may be
activity. There is, to begin with, the First Protestant of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have
Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, the brother's pre- no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your
sent charge. He was the one to shepherd this flock state. For all seek their own, not the things which are
during this entire period and until recently the only        Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of him, that,
one. Then we have our Standard Bearer, a bi-monthly as a son with his father, he has served with me in
periodical. Of this publication he is and has been the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently."
Editor-in-dhief during this entire period. The lion Paul, it is plain, knew how to appreciate his fellow-
share of the material that has appeared on the pages workers. SHe recognized the worth of these workers,
of this magazine came from his pen. Then we have             and did not deem it unbecoming to set forth their
oJr Theological School. He is one of the instructors         worth by the written and spoken word when there
in this sc.hool  of ours. How large than the place which was occasion for this.         Why should it be wrong to
he has occupied in our circles during this period. And esteem and recognize the worth of a man of God?
how  manfold his labors. How numerous the duties of So far from the truth it is that such a doing on our
his office. How great his service.                           part is wrong, that it is the wi!l of God that we. do
   Now it is especially this service which we this day esteem and recognize the worth of  <his servants. For
commemorate.     The commemoration of this service consi,der that these servants are His gifts to us,-gifts
is the delightful task to which we resolved to address which He bestows in His love and mercy. Thus not
ourselves when we decided to celebrate the brother's to esteem these servants, to be unwilling to know and
entrance' upon his career of minister of the. gospel. to recognize their worth is to despise God's gracious
Now as this service cannot very well be separated gifts. The apostle understood this. He  tnhus knew
from Rev.  .Hoeksema,  it  ,follows  that what we say and recognized the worth of his fellow-laborers. And
of this service of our-brother's ministry inour midst, to his recognition of their worth he also gave expres-
concerns our brother, the Reverend Hoeksema, must sion.
necessarily reflect upon his person.      To speak  lwell       We should notice however, that what Paul did not
of this service, rendered by our brother, is to speak do is to glory in man, glory in these fellow-workmen
well of him. To voice our appreciation of this service of tis, end with their spiritual powers and talents in
is to voice our appreciation of him. To honor this these laborers. To the contrary, Paul: gloried in God,
service is to honor him. To set forth the significance of in the cross of Christ. He ended in  .Goci with the
this service is to set forth the  signifcance  of him. To talents and spiritual capacities of himself -and of his
thank and to praise God for this service is to praise fellow-laborers. Attend once more to this word from
and thank God for him. This being true, would it his pen, "Greet Priscilla and Aquilla my helpers in
then not be better for us to keep silence of this service    Christ. . .  ." Mark you, the apostle calls these Chris-
altogether. In other words, is it right for us to voice      tian people  #his helpers in Christ. The phrase in  Christ
words of  appreci,ation  of a man and to that man's speaks vo'umes. It tells us that Paul by the mercy
face. Is it right for us to recognize publicly the worth of God took cognizance of the fact that in themselves,
of a man, recognize the worth of a man in that man's apart from Christ, Priscilla and Aquilla were nothing,
hearing and to his face. And my answer: Yes,. this           that of all their gifts, Christ, in  w,hom  all fulness
is right. The apostle Paul set forth the worth of his        bodily dwells, was the seat and channel, that thus
colleagues to their faces. His epistles are`interspersed     Priscilla and Aquilla -were God's workmanship, created
with words of appreciation about his co-laborers in unto good works in Christ Jesus. And therefore Paul's
the kingdom. And some of these words were addressed este&ing  his fellow-laborers, his recognizing their
by. him directly to these laborers. In the  16th chapter worth, his giving expression to this recognization was
of Paul's Epistle to the Romans I come upon passages         indeed a good work-a work in which God could and
which read, `*Greet Priscilla and AquEla, my helpers did delight. For Paul's esteeming his fellow-laborers
in Christ Jesus; Who have for my life laid down their was at bottom an action that consisted in his esteeming,
own necks: unto whom not only I gave thanks, but a'so        glorifying *and praising `God, not man but God.
all the churches of the Gentiles." And again, "Salute           Let us now return again to ourselves. We have
my well-beloved  Epenetus,  w,ho is the firstfruits of congregated here to commemorate the ministry of our
e Achaia unto Christ." And again, "Salute Andronicus brother, Rev. Hoeksema. We shall recognize, acknow-
and Junia my kinsmen,  land my fellowprisoners, who ledge, and concentrate upon the worth of this ministry
are of note among the ,apostles, who also were in Christ in our midst, the worth of this  rministry  `for  trhe cause
before me." And again, "Greet Mary, who bestowed of God as we are privileged to represent it. Doing so,
much labor upon us." And in what glowing terms we do  `a good work. For our brother is God's gift
did Paul speak of Timothy's devotion to Christ and to us, and it is God's will that we appreciate His


516 .                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                .."..-1_--
 gifts to us, know their, true  valr-e. Not to do so is attractive to the flesh: Our .school  a?ways  has been
sin. However, we may not and by the mercy of God small and is small today., Judged  ,by the standards of
 mikl not glory in man. We ma;; not end with our the world,  It is and always has been  wit,hout form
brother and with his `endowments in him. To do  SO and stature. At the time of its establishment it had
would be to deify, to worship a mere man. And how but three instructors. A year later this number was re-
sinful this would be. For man in himself is nothing.         duced-to two. Since then this number has not been
God is all. We must end with our brother, with his           increased. Our school has but two instructors today,
ministry and gifts solely in God. And this by His as we all know. From the time of its establishment,
mercy we w*ill do. We will consider that apart from          our school has been without a building of its own.
Christ, God's servants are nothing. We will consider         Most of the time, the instructors, since the establish-
that God's servants, that our brother is God's creature ment of our school, have been meeting with their
crealted  unto good works in Christ Jesus. And doing students in a basement. At present instructors and
so, our concentrating upon our brother's ministry, our students come together in the basement of Fuller Ave.
setting forth the worth and significance of this minis- Church,-a very good basement indeed, but still a base-
try by word of mouth will be a good work indeed be- ment. Perhaps we should speak here of church parlors.
cause at bottom it will be a work consisting in our          Our school has always had a small number of students.
praising and adoring God for what He gave us in our Most of the students who came to our school since the
brother.                                                     day of its establishment were persons without a col-
    These remarks of mine thus far made, you must ledge training. Thus judged by the standards of the
regard as forming a kind of introduction to my speech war.d,  our school is not great, has little significance.
that now follows, and not only to my speech but to More must be said. In the eyes of men, but let me be
all the rest of the speeches to be given this afternoon more specific, in the eyes of our opponents, our
and in this evening. In congregating in this place to school is an object of hatred and ridicule.              As is
commemorate  she past ministry of our brother, we our churches, our Standard Bearer and our Mission-
must realize what we do and have  `a clear understand- ary minister, so our school,  - it is a thorn in the
ing of the meaning of our doing. For consider once flesh of our opponents. They would be glad should
more that we, are .to speak about a man, about the           our school disappear from the face of the earth.
ministry of a man and set forth the worth of that            And this has its explanation. Our school was born
ministry. Therefore when I set myself to the task  ,of out of strife, our of controversy. To be specific, our
preparing an address for this occasion, the question school was born out of the common grace controversy,
arose in my soul whether the act of commemorating -a controversy that resulted in our expulsion from the
and celebrating the ministerial career of a servant of fetlowship of the Christian Reformed Churches. Then
God might not be an act that as such is wrong. Might we came into being as a denomination of Protestant
it not be an act that of necessity involves us in the sin    Reformed Churches. As churches, we  resoIved  that
of glorying in man. However, thinking into the mat- we had to have a school, a theological seminary of our
ter, I quickly perceived that the act as such is not own,- a school uncontaminated, as to its instruction,
wrong, that the act can indeed be a good work in that by the pernicious philosophy of common grace. We
it can be done to the praise of God. And when done felt that such a school was indispensible to the well-
by God's believing people, who end with all that they being of our churches.            It was simply out of the
are and possess in God, it is a good work, not of course     question, that we permit our own men, our own
a work uncontaminated by sin, but a work essentially aspirants to the office of minister of the gospel, to re-
good. That this might be plain to us at the outset, I ceive their training in an institution, school, other
made these remarks.                                          than our own. We felt that should we permit this,
    Let us now concentrate on our brother's ministry,        we as churches would have no future. For we felt
service, and on that part of it which he performed and,knew  that none of these other schools measure up
in our Theological School. I was asked to confine my- to even the chief and fundamental. requirement of a
self. to this part of his service. Let me then set out safe seminary, namely, soundness of doctrine. We felt
with the statement that we have a school. As has therefore that we needed a school of our  own,-a  school
already been said, the opening of this school, our controlled and supervised and ruled by ourselves, by
theological seminary, was one of the events that             our own churches. Well, God  ,has given us such a
ushered in a new period in the life of our brother and school,La schoo1  of our own. And we insist that our
in. the life of us all. Yes we have a school where young school be reformed, thoroughly reformed in its instruc-
men,are  trained for t,he office of ministers of the gospel. tion, that this instruction *be given in complete agree-
For as Protestant Reformed people, we believe in a ment with our reformed confession. And. we can't
trained ministry. Let us direct our attention for a be too vigilant. For the men who are to fill our pul-
moment to our school. There never has been and is pits come from this school. It stands to reason there-
not now anything about our school that renders it fore that the deterioration of' our school in life and


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       517

doctrine would necessarily go hand in hand with de- him. I need not enlarge on this certainly. And with
terioration of life and doctrine in our churches. SO,     what zeal has he given ,himself  to our school during
our school must be a bulwark of the truth, as we all these past years. We may say this. As has already
possess it in Christ and as we give expression to it in been  ex$ained,  it is God's will that we value what He
our reformed confessions. Well, it is our conviction gives us in His servants. And saying this, in setting
that our school has, from the day of its establishment forth the significance of our brother for our school,
been a stronghold of the truth. It is our conviction      we mean not to glory in man and we do not. Man is
that our school is still a stronghold of the truth. Cer- nothing. God is all. And his servants are His work-
tainly, its instructon is unmixed with the pernicious manship, I say it again. We therefore glory in God,
philosophy of common grace. That instruction is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
truly reformed. And this precisely is the secret of praise Him for wha4 He gives us in His servants. And
strength of our school. Therefore our school has signi- this is what we do as believing people through our
ficance and influence despite what men, our opponents commemorating the ministry of our brother. We say
may think and say about it. In their hearts our oppon- to God that we are grateful to Him for His gifts and
ents well realize that our school is an instituition  to be end with them in Him.    And of course it is our wish
reckoned with. They are afraid of our school, as they and prayer that our brother may be spared many years
are also afraid of our Standard Bearer and of our         also for our school. Our school needs him. Yet, of
churches, and let me add, of our missionary minister      caurse,  this must not be interpreted to mean that
whom we now have in the field. They are afraid of our God is dependent on him for the keeping of our school
school. They fear it. And they  ,hate it. Also our in its present state. God is dependent on no one for
school is a thorn in their flesh. This is fact-a fact He is God and being God He creates His own instru-
which *we tell with sorrow in our hearts. We certainly ments and agents. He cares for His own cause. And
do wish that it were not so for their sakes. Our school the cause which we are as school and as churches may
is hated and dreaded ,because of the character of its represent is His cause, so we need have no worry. Yet
instruction, because in that instruction God appears we should understand that this does not mean that
as a being Who is God and none  e?se. And therefore, should God take our brother from us, He would `raise
such is our assurance, our school is an`bbject of endear- up in his stead a man that measured up to his stature.
ment to God. He has blessed our school and is blessing Therefore our prayer and wish is that our brother
our school as His very own gift to us. And the evidence may be spared for our school for many years to come.
of this is that our school is what it is, a stronghold                                      I have said,
of the truth. And I don't think that I would be over-                                     Rev. G. M. Ophoff.
shooting the mark should I say that our school is the
stronghold of the truth in this land of ours. Let us                                 -
then be grateful to God for our school. Let it be also
an object of endearment to us. Let us love our school
and support it through our prayers and material gifts.
Let us realize what God gave us in our school.                A Voice out of the Congregation
   Well, our `brother, Rev. Hoeksema, teaches in our Mr. Chairman, Guest of Honor, Brothers and Sisters:
school.    He has done so since the very day of its
establishment. He is one of its two instructors. And         The committee of arrangements for this festive
the place he occupies in our school is large indeed.      gathering requested me to say a few words at this
For our school he, as God's workmanship, had great meeting and speak for the congregation.
significance. What is that significance? Let me state        In the past I have noticed that at special occasions
this in few words. As God has made him, prepared our pastor, who otherwise is an expert in extempor-
him for us, for our churches, and in particular for our aneous speaking, writes out his speech and partly
school, so God through him, our brother, has made our reads what he has to say. And as this occasion is of a
school, has made it to be what it is. This is not saying special nature, I presume that you will allow me to also
too much. What I say is the,truth.  Through him, God read what I have to say.
has made our school, and thus has made, formed, the          In the first place let me begin with a word of
ministers who occupy our pu!pits. On account of the congratulation. Our congregation is very happy in
talents and capacities with which God has so richly en- extending to you Rev. Hoeksema its most hearty con-
dowed our brother, this is precisely ,his significance gratulations on this your 25th anniversary~  as a minis-
for our school.    The branches of study which our ter of the Gospel. At this same time we express our
brother teaches in our school are of all the branches earnest hope and desire that it may please the Lord
taught there, the most important. I think now of such our God to spare you, and to give you strength and
branches of study as dogmatics. And for the teaching power so you may be enabled to continue in this glori-
of these branches of study, God had eminently qualified ous task of preaching the Gospel.


51x                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

       We thank you most heartily for all your efforts and trio and was called by this  chnrch.  Between paren-
patience to unfold unto us as a congregation the           thesis, no doubt, you will allow me to mention a little
mysteries of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus incident. At the time when Rev. Groen had a physical
Christ, so that we may grow in His knowledge. We           breakdown and was trying to recuperate at Harder-
thank you for all what you have done for us in the past    wijk, I was delegated with an other brother elder to
and we pray that the Lord in the day of His coming         visit Rev. Groen and to convey the greetings of the con-
may give you the reward of a faithful servant.             sistory to him. On the way over to  HoIland  many
       Above all we give thanks unto our faithful caaenant topics in connection with Rev. Groen and the congrega-
God for the great gift He has given unto us as a con-      tion were the subject of our discussion, and questions
gregation in giving unto us such a faithful servant. such as, `how soon will we be placed before the cossi-
And as we have learned also through your ministry bi.ity of having to call another minister, and who
that we never should end in man nor glorify him for would be the man who could fill Rev. Green's  shoes.' I
his deeds, we would end this congratulation with the well remember that this elder said to me, I have gone
well-known words,  Soli Deo Gloria.                        over Ret Jaarboekje three times already and examined
       However ,as God usually makes use of means to every name. I came to the conclusion that the only
work out His plans and to impart His wisdom unto us man for Eastern Ave. is Rev. Hoeksema from Holland.
creatures of His hand, so it .has pleased Him also in IHe combines several of the qualifications required for
this case to use Rev. Hoeksema for the welfare of His a man su,ch as we need. He is a good speaker, a young
congregation at Fuller Ave., and for the furthering man, strong and vigorous and ambitious. I served
of *His Kingdom at large. And it must be considered a with him on a committee of our last Synod and became
great privilege to be deemed worthy to serve in this somewhat acquainted with him; he not only possesses
capacity and to be allowed to carry on this work for the above named qualities, but he is also modest and a
25 years.                                                  hard worker." How a man that gave such recommend-
       No doubt when you look back and review the way ation could later oppose Rev. Hoeksema as he did, has
of these 25 years, you will confess that weakness and      been a riddle to me.
much shortcomings characterized your labor, for we             It was not long after this discussion took place,
are such imperfect servants. Nevertheless much joy that Eastern Ave. was placed before the actual fact
has been experienced throughout these years for our of having to call a pastor. Rev. Groen had received
God gives joy already in this life to his faithful ser-    his emeritization on account of disability and the  con-
vants and in the great day of His coming the crown of sistory made a trio which was duly presented to the
glory.                                                     congregation, and Rev. Hoeksema was called, prac-
       Since practically 21 years of your ministerial career tically by a unanimous vote. I remember very well
has been spent among us of the Fuller Ave. congrega- that the consistory decided to pay a visit to Rev. Hoek-
tion, it cannot be considered' amiss that we somewhat sema and the entire cons&tory  one evening boarded
review these 21 years, at least the committee must the Holland Interurban and called upon Rev. Hoek-
have had this in mind when they asked me to give sema, pleading with him to accept the call. Before
somewhat of an historical sketch. I will try and com- long we received his reply notifying us that he ac-
ply with this request.                                     cepted our call.    Consistory and congregation were
       It has been my privilege to know Rev. Hoeksema happy, and glad that the man of their choice had ac-
for some years before he came to Grand Rapids as cepted the  cal'l and thanked God that He had prospered
pastor of the then Eastern Ave. Chr. Ref. Church.          their work.
Even when he was a student and lived on Sherman St.,           Word came that Rev. Hoeksema would come soon,
I lived across the street from him. And even later due to family circumstances. The parsonage was made
when he was in his last year at Calvin he one day ready and under supervision of Mrs. Harry Van Dam
became my next door neighbor when he moved into and Mrs. S. G. Schaafsma the furniture was unpacked
.the apartment over Trompen's Store on Eastern Ave. and arranged in the parsonage ; a dinner was prepared
At that time I did have no idea that later,on  I should and in the late afternoon Rev. Hoeksema and family
<become even more intimately acquainted  with him. arrived.           They were welcomed at the station by a
For a few years after Rev. Hoeksema entered the            committee of the consistory consisting of *Harry Van
ministry and accepted the call of 14th Street Church Dam and myself, and taken to the parsonage. We
in Holland, Mich., we somewhat lost connection with `were happy and were anxiously waiting for the further
him. However by way of The Banner we kept in touch necessary steps which shouldunite us as a congregation
with him and. it did not take very long before the         and pastor. During the week prior to -Feb. 29, 1920,
Church at large found out and recognized the gifts         Rev. Hoeksema was duly installed as pastor of Eastern
and talents which God had bestolwed  upon this young Ave. Rev. Tanis, Rev. R. B. Kuiper and Rev. J. Vander
preacher. And so when Eastern Ave. became vacant Mey participating in the services, and on Sunday, Feb.
it was no wonder that Rev, Hoeksema was placed on 29, our new pastor preached his inaugural sermons,


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                     519
~~                           --..-                                              ___._                                 -
and no doubt many of you remember the stirring
sermons on the topics: "I'll Cry", and "Ik Wil Dat                   The Transcribed Speech  -
Gij Weet." They struck the right note and the congre-
gation was happy and thankj%  that they. had received Mr. President, Rev. and Mrs. Hocksema, Beloved in
a new pastor. Days of joy in the service had arrived the Lord:                                           `l-:,::`.
and the thorough method of preaching and teaching           It would not do to begin my speech somewhat on
of the pastor were very beneficial to the congregation. this order-On this joyful occasion I am very glad to
And again the same thing happened to which I referred be in your midst, and as I look upon your smiling and
a while ago. Some of the consistory members who happy faces, etc., etc. No, that would be the wrong
lauded and praised the pastor and his preaching the approach. The truth of the matter is that I am about
most, were ready a few years later to stone and crucify 2j500  miles away from you as I speak these words, and
him.                                                      I am looking into a little instrument which seems to
   Peace and prosperity ruled for a while. Several have a great power to embarrass me. Moreover, I am
improvements were made and both congregation and far from looking  into  any smiling or happy faces. The
pastor became acquainted Iwith each other and the room where I am recording these words is empty but
bond of love between both grew and became strong, for my solitary presence. Even the technician is hid-
a fact to which the happenings of 1924  dan testify. ing himself in another part of the building, and I must
The mentioning of this year fills our hearts with sad- carry on alone.
ness. In order to give a somewhat complete picture            However, the occasion is a joyful one and I can
I am compelled to mention this- year, however I will assure you that although I am absent in body, I am
not relate what happened during that period. I am with you in spirit, even though I cannot join in your
intimately  acquainted with this dark period and wish speaking, singing and listening pleasure, there, where
that I could forget about it. We can say thanks unto you have a glorious day of wonderful spiritual com-
God that we survived the storms of that dark time,        munion. I hope, nevertheless, that my recorded voice
which sometimes  ,appears to me like a nightmare. And will somehow, in some way, interpret the hidden joyous
He who is faithful unto the end kept us united. feelmg   .of thanksgiving and gratitude that fills my
Our earnest prayer is, 0 God, send now prosperity. heart. For it is a joyful occasion. Exulting in our
That he cwho is faithful may preserve us in the bond covenant God, we commemorate the fact that He gave
of love, could it be for many years to come, unto the     His servant to us, His church, for lo these many years.
glory of His name.                                        It would be base ingratitude to both God and man to
                                I thank you.              let this day pass unnoticed. It is altogether proper
                                                          that the day. be set aside for all your feasting, speech
                                     S.  G. Schaafsma.    making, hymns and psalms and spiritual songs, making
                                                          meIody in your heart.
                           -                                  Rev. Hoeksema and family, when I say these things,
                                                           I do not speak for myself alone. My voice must be
                           NOTICE                          regarded as representative. I speak for my family,
                                                          my consistory and my congregation.
   The beautiful photograph of Reverend and Mrs.                                                 Before the latter
                                                          knew my person, they had already ,thankfully enjoyed
Hoeksema which is reproduced in' this issue of the the contents of at least'some  part of these 25 years of
Standard Bearer will be made available to those de: love's labor in the vineyard of Christ, which we are
siring to have one.                                        now commemorating.
   The picture is very attractively mounted and               I happen to know that the very sound of Redlands
measures 11x13 inches. It will be sold at cost for the has a peculiar charm for the Reverend Hoeksema.
nominal sum of 55#.                                        What he accomplished there more t,han eight years
   Grand Rapids people may  or,der from:                   ago will never be forgotten, neither by them nor by
        A. Van Tuinen, 339 Gibson S. E., Phone 55506 him. Spiritual bonds were laid by our God through the
        S. De Vries, 700 Alexander S. E.                   ministry of the Word and conversation that tended to
        D. Langeland, 14  Mack N. E.                       Godliness, such as will challenge time and space, en-
        D. Rietema, 1504 Colorado S. E., Phone 62214 during for all eternity. Therefore I would emphasize
        S. De Young, 911 Eastern. S. E., Phone 57510 that my voice is now Redlands' voice of hearty  felicita-
        A. Vos,  552 Kalamazoo S. E., Phone 39977 tions.
   People living outside of Grand Rapids will kindly          I had thought of including a word of warning for
order from their local pastor (including  104 for cost all of us on this glad day, for there is an ever present
of mailing) for convenience in handling paym&t  and danger lurking on every corner ou days such as these.
mailing of the picture.                                    The inclination of the heart of man is evil from his


520                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
b
youth. He will exalt the creature before the righteous           No, I could not write a Hoeksema  ,history. At least,
face of the Creator. We hear and see and read of it would not be a history in the accepted sense of the
examples of $1~ hero worship on every side in the life        word. However, let no one think that the more than
of the godless world. Yes, they have their jubilees, twenty years of his acquaintance have been without
but they exult in man. They are jubilant in the crea- positive fruit for me. I smile when I say these words,
ture that is bat dust and ashes, while the praises of and  1 know that you forgive me. You see, the Rev.
Jehovah are alien to their banqueting <hall. Moreover, Hoeksema is a man who manages to make his presence
they even make a very poor job of their creature-exalt- felt.  Bnd this is especially true with men and women
ation. Who has not vexed his righteous soul because whom I will call kindred souls. At any rate, if ever
of the ill-hidden hypocrisies and hollowness of all this any man was molded  ,by the influence of another, it is I.
praise of man. "Hail, fellows! Well met!" Yes, in- I cannot conceive of myself as I am today, if God had
deed, But they stab one another in the back at every not made his way to cross mine. A little of that in-
opportunity, And what else can they do, where they fluence I would sketch.
are burdened with the terrible inheritance of evil and           It must have been in the year 1916 or 1917 that I
carruption?  Can an  E,thiopian  change his skin or a first heard and met him. He delivered a Christian
leopard his spots ? They hate God and they hate their School speech on Deuteronomy 6, verses 6 and 7, in the
brother, who is made in the similitude of God. No, a Third Reformed Church of Kalamazoo. After the
jubilee in the world is an evil spectacle of sham friend- speech I said to my friends, "This is what I  Ihave
ship, a laughable caricature of true appreciation, a waited for all my conscious spiritual li'fe." In those
vain show of would-be thanksgiving and gratitude. days and at those places they fed us husks that the
Therefore, even at its best, it is corrupt. While He, swine would eat, and not the heavenly -bread of life.
who ought to be the main object of all jubilees, namely In this first speech of Rev. Hoeksema, I listened to the
the God of our salvation, is silently harvesting the          first throb of God's covenant life, and it fell upon my
harvest of wrath reserved for the day of reckoning.           thirsty soul like cooling streams refresh the desert
       I was going to sound a voice of warning, therefore,    land. If I may so express myself, it brought me to
but I desist. It is not necessary. I might even go so rest and tranqmlity.  And that rest and harmony has
far as to state that the idea could be wrought into a increased through the years.
fitting speech for today's jubilee, to show that if our
people have learned one solitary thing throughout the            At different occasions I  ,have written about the
25 years ministry of Rev. Hoeksema, then it is certain- `oude stem', and you must bear with me. Such effu-
ly this inspiring conviction and confession: Jehovah is sions are, the fruit of history. Yes, the sound of that
God ! Jehovah is God ! Praise, magnify, and glorify voice, and I speak spiritually, partook of the eternal,
Him alone.                                                    the glorious. It witnessed and testified of the covenant
     And now what shall I say? You may ask of me to of God's eternal love and frendship. A voice than
give a historical account of these 25 years of the Rev. which there was none"more  spiritually melodious. No-
Hoeksema's ministry.  T,he material, gifts and talents, where did we hear such spiritual exposition of the
out of which historians are molded, are sadly lacking Word of God.
in my makeup. If I were to attempt such a historical             I remember when I met him the first time in Grand
sketch, I am sure that the results would be incomplete Rapids. I wanted to make him understand what he
and fragmentary. First of all, I have not known him had done for me %and what I thought of him. I ex-
that long, and secondly, I lack the historical data neces- pressed myself rather strangely and yet correctly. I
sary for such an undertaking. About twelve or th,ir-          said, "Do you know, Rev. Hoeksema, why I enjoy your
teen years ago, I began to gather all the pamphlets, sermons so ? It is because you speak like the prophets
brochures, and books which he had written alone or in and the evangelists of Scripture." You see, be!oved,
collaboration with the four professors and the other sound Biblical preaching carries conviction. It is the
ministers, or, which  he wrote together with the Rev.         only preaching that the Holy Ghost can use for the
Danhof, But from time to time good friends of mine application of the Word of God in the heart.
revealed that they needed this material more than I.             While he was at Holland, Michigan, I attended
For they borrowed it and forgot to bring it back. The Calvin College. At that time all I heard of him was
last blow to my collection of the Hoeksema material           the one solitary speech in Kalamazoo, of which I spoke
(was struck when Dr. Schilder took the greater part           to you some time ago, and yet the influence was of such
of it to the Netherlands. Well, I am sure that he a nature that when the other students heard me in our
needed it more than I, and the positive fruit of this         usual debates, one of them said, "There is one book
friendly robbery was s,hown  in his subsequent writings. among many which you have great need of reading,
Even aboard ship on his return to the Netherlands, he and that book is Kuiper's `Gemeene Gratie'." (In pass-
quoted from one of my former brochures. But my col- ing, I may relate the significant fact that this student,
Iection of these works was on its last legs.                  later a minister in the Christian Reformed Churczhes,


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                     ;a.    521

became apostate with respect to the faith of his fathers, here and I will try and present it into words. There
and now serves the world exclusively.) And that in- are those who would say we celebrate today because
fluence has increased through the years. He became God gave us in the Rev. Hoeksema a great exponent of
my pastor for five years and for an equal number of Reformed polemics. It was particularIy  in that field
years he  ,became my professor. The truth of God that he came to the notice of the inhabitants of Zion.
which I had seen at Kalamazoo, like a glorious shining        And then we will hear the record speak. How he
shaft of brilliant light that shed luminous rays in our fought against the enemies of Christian instruction,
abject and dolorous twilight or semi-darkness, became         how he slew his thousands in the Rultema case. They
through the years such a wondrous power in my life            will tell you of his victories against higher criticism
that I live to sing and to speak of it in the midst of the    in the famous majority report and later of his  artic!es
congregation of God.                                          ,in the papers when he  ;zttacked  and overcame the
   No, I cannot write a history of the Rev. Hoeksema's Jansenites.         And, finally, they will point with pride
25 years of ministerial work. All I can do is testify to the gigantic strugle of this servant of God against
in your midst that he is a man, who through the grace         this terrible lie, later laid down in the infamous Three
and the gift of God which is in him, can and does make        Points. His polemics were read far and wide. His
his influence felt for good. This seems a trite saying, very name is connected with the name of this heresy.
but yet I am certain that kindred souls among you, and        Some even think that he concocted these lies. And as
God give that they comprise the whole multitude, will         it was with the heresies mentioned above, so it always
respond, will acknowledge that this so-called trite say-      was with any other deviation from the truth. He
ing is fraught with deep and effective truth. Let me          would be the first to raise his voice against such wan-
tell you that at every occasion when a visiting minister dering from the pathway of the Reformed confession.
of our churches would come to Redlands, whom my And I will admit that his work in that field has been
people had never heard before, the congregation would Herculean. But it- is not the deepest reason why we
exclaim, "They all speak the same language." AI- thank God today.
though each .has his own characteristic way of present-          There are others who will point with almost pardon-
ing the truth, it is all one tongue, one message, one         able pride to his labors in the field of journalism. Was
glorious truth we are preaching. And so it is. We are *it not Dr. Schilder who charmed our hearts when he
stamped with the stamp of what I would call a God- spoke of the evolution of a distinct literature of the
exalting an all-sin-condemning theology.                      Protestant Reformed Churches. And as I write these
   It goes without saying that all this influence for lines, I glance at the 15 volumes of the Standard.Bearer
good is properly the work of God's grace operative in and smile. Yes, the pride of those people is pardon-
today's guest of honor. That is the way I like to look able. He did a great work in writing those many
at him and judge of him. For judge of him we must pages. I ought to know. But, no, I do not th,ink that
and we' will. In this connection the question arises,         even there we have struck at the root of our great re-
What is the reason for today's jubilation? Many of joicing.
our brethren in Christ live, struggle and die without           Well, then it must be his great gifts as an orator.
the benefit of a day like this. Why are we,  as Pro-          Is  ilt not true that some Calvin students were warned
testant Reformed Churches, commemorating this jubi- not to go to his church because of his terrible drawing
lee? A very interesting question that. It was natur-          power and the fatal charm of his personal magnetism?
a'ly the first question presenting itself to me f,j,r an Even apart from such d'istorted  testimonies, is it not
answer when I heard from afar that I was supposed to true that he can preach the Word of God like none in
speak on this occasion, and I have answered it in part, our circles, and then I would embrace all the Reformed
in fact I have come very close to a very definite and         Churches in my comparison. And then I would agree
complete answer at the end of the other side of this that we certainly thank God for Rev. Hoeksema as a
record. But we will try to complete the record, so to pulpit orator of great power and eloquence. He has
speak.                                                        charmed us all, and yet I would take issue with those
   I might put the question in this form. What is the who would single out this fine gift as the one outstand-
divine idea in the gift of this man's 25 years of life        inlg reason why we are thanking God today and every
and work? We may ask ourselves, What is God's                 day for his gift in this man.
message to us on this joyful day? It certainly means             Oh, no, the field isbroad,  and I have not come to
more to us than the fad that he accomplished 26 years the end of possibilities. I hear a veritable chorus of
of ministerial work.     That happens  to very many voices that will point out to me his remarkable gift to
ministers. On such days the consistory comes to the           exegete the Word of God. It has become proverbial
parsonage. They drink some coffee, make a few com- among us to say, "When you take issue with him, be
plimentary remarks, and we go on with our work.               absolutely sure of yourself, because he is usually right."
No, I feel instinctively that we  (have something special     And I assure you, beloved friends, that I know whereof


522                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   ` B E A R E R
_I-
I speak. Also, here I would agree  with all those voices       God-conscious. And the Lord ,has done so through him
that his gift to open the text, to i:ly bare the thought by endowing him with all the gifts and talents enumer-
of the Word of God, dwells in k=i:n  as in no other of ated above. These gifts, in the various fields enumer-
my acquaintance, eit,her  in this age or by our books in ated, are and never were an end in themselves. They
former ages. I may say that he is a man mighty in serve and have served to bring the church to the con-
fiie Scriptures and I am sure that none will contradict sciousness of  t&e great Other, the Triune God, the
me. Even his avowed enemies have told me face to               covenant God of His people, who sha'l surely requite
face that none can exegete the Word of God, to their the evil and reward the good, Who always doeth His
knowledge, better than he. God gave him a very strong good pleasure, and Who shall glorify Himself in the
logica! mind, and we, ministers of the Protestant Re-          Son of His right hand, Who shall stand wit& many
formed Churches, benefit much more from  tihat gifted          brethren eternally before His glorious face.
mind, than we realize ourselves. And therefore I agree            This is the deep note of gratitude in my soul ; to `wit,
that for that reason, he is a gift of God to us. 1  w,ilI that my God would use His `servant to bring me ever
even  .go much farther than that. He is a gift of God closer to a  hallowed contemplation of such everlasting
to $e, church 0% God at large in this field. His exegeses beauties of holiness, in order that they might praise
will: live after him, and I am persuaded to believe that God forever. And 1 am persuaded that I hear many
h$::vill  receive his due after his death much more than echoes voicing like sentiment and conviction out of
now.                                                           your hearts and the hearts of your children.
       But if you will appreciate the past and the present        And terrible as it may be, it is also the reason why
aright,  with respect to Dhe question at hand, you wil4        he is so cordially  chated by many others who would
agree:that  even here we have not arrived at the real rather make out a case for a wicked man than for the
reason why we are thankful to God.                             living God, Who is blessed forever. But hatred and all
       Neither is it in the field of dogmatics.. It is true    manner of wickedness, which he had to taste notwith-
that on many p.oints  and dogmas there [has arisen much standing, this servant of God shall continue to do God's
more light through his work and thoughts. Today work. More correct would it .have been if I said, God
we see much clearer the beautiful conception of the shall continue to work in our midst through him. For
grace of God than in tie second decade of this century. that is the way it is. And for how long? We do not
This is especially true of the development of the dogma know. We hope and pray that it may be for many years
of the covenant of grace. We see now clearly that the to come. And when the struggle is over and the battle
covenant idea is the substratum of the whole house of on earth ended, we know that he shall enter into the
God; whose picture we admire in tihe first earthly para- rest which remaineth for the children of God, and re-
dise, whose type we heartily welcome in the entire his- ceive the reward of a  f.aithful servant. There we, and
toly and  offer-cultus  of Israel, whose earnest we            all God's people, shall see still clearer .what he has
have within  our hearts through the  .spirit of our Lord shown  us through His servant, that, namely, sa!vation
Jesus Christ, `Wil?o  is the Builder of that house and who     is the Lord's. And we shall live always God-conscious-
laid its foundation in His own precious blood and whose ly, for He shall be all in all.
full realization shall cause us to sing everlastingly. The        In conclusion, beloved, I would like to have you al1
house of God, whose central idea is found in God's sing the wonderful Dutch Psalm 89, the 8th verse.
own covenant life! And so it is with many dogmas.
He made them live for us at school, he taught them,                Gij  tech,  Gij zijt hun roem, de kracht van
not as dry as dust system of man-made distinctions and                hunne kracht ;
definitions, but he  taugiht  them as the system of living         Uw vrije gunst alleen wordt d'eere  toege-
truth, that was constantly fed from the Word of God.                  braeht ;
The charge that he made dogmatics' to rde over his
exegesis is base and false. The very opposite is true.             Wij steken `t hoofd omhoog, en zullen d'eer-
Still, my friends, we have failed to find the one satisfy-            kroon dragen,
ing answer to our question, for even his great gift in
bSe field of dogmatics is not the deepest urge of our              Door U, door U alleen,  om `t eeuwig  welbe-
                                                                      hagen ;
gratitude today. No, there is a distinct reason for our
jubilee.                                                           Want God is ons ten  schild in `t strijdperk
       As I see it, the answer is found when we make a                van dit  leven,
comparison between our lives today and say 20 or more              En onze Koning `is van `Isrels God gegeven.
years ago. It will not be easy to do this, for we are
forgetful creatures. I have made a comparison and
have done so often. And I find that the Rev. Hoeksema             I thank you.
has been used by our covenant God to make us more                                                      Rev. G. Vos.


