 VOLUME XVIII.                                               JANUARY 15, 1942                                              NUMBER  8

                                                                       ness   of-  the power of God to  usward,  yea, in-to us, of
                                                                       that  divine  poker  that even now is operative in the
                E                                                      saints, and that will not-cease to work until it has made
                                                                     _ us heirs of the  ,ete?tial  glory, that power of God, the
                                                                       standard of which is  the mighty  pow,er  which He
                                                                       wrought -in Christ, when  tie raised Him from the dead  ;
              The Power- Of Exaltation                           _ _ yea, still more, the power of God which was wrought
                                                                       in Christ, when `He set him at'  ,His  right hand in
 `.              .`Y.  . . An~d  set him  ut his own night ha&d        h eavenly   pl,aces,  far above all. principality, and power,
              .in  heavenly places, far dove  ai1  p@ncCpality,        ancl  might,. and dominion, and every name that is
              and   Power,   and   might,   and   dominion,   and      nam,ed,  not only in this world, but also in that of the.
              .every  name (that is mxmed,  YLO~ only @a &his          eternal   fLlture.  .  .,  .
              world, but  (also  in ithat  which is rto come.               0, God and Father of  -our  Lond  J.esus  Christ! let
                                          Eph..l:zOb, 21.              this prayer be the constant prayer of  &he Church!
       0, that this prayer  $e ours!                                        For; how else shall we know and  understarid  and
       -And that the God and Father of  our-Lord  Je~uis              .,be victori6us  and rejoice in this  world?
 .Christ  may hear  us   !                                                  The  .natural  man understands not these things..
  - This prayer of th.e apostle in behalf oj the Church                F(jr  not only is  $e  ,carnal  .alld- darkened. in his  under-
 at Ephesus, which is after all, the prayer which the                  standing, so that he loves and pursues after the  lie,
 Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ  Iwrought  in his heart,              but he is also a mere living soul, of the earth earthy,
 in his mind, and through Him in the written Word, in and th.ese  things  are @iritual,  heavenly, eternal ; they
 order that  w,e, too, might learn to  know what  to pray              belong   to  th.e  category   of  thhgs  which  eye hath not
 for as we ought. . . .  :                                             seen, and ear hath not heard; and which have never
        For of what avail  cau it be that someone prays in             and could never have arisen in the heart  df man !
z our behalf, even though he be an apostle, or  though  he .                Only through the revelation of the Spirit of Christ
were an angel in heaven, unless God's answer of that                   can they be understood.                        _
 prayer become effective and manifest first of all in                       And that revelation can be apprehended only.  by-
 that our hearts, tbo,  yearn and cry out for that  very               him, whose eyes of the heart  ha,ve  been enlightened,
 blessing fro-m heavenly plalvees  that is the contents of so that he kay  discern spiritual thingi  spiritually!
 the  inter,cessory  prayer?. . . . .                                     And that-wonder of enlightenment is wrought only
        Let, then, the prayer of the apostle be  answered              through  the  grace  of prayer !
 from  heayen  in the opening of our hearts and the  earn-                  May that mighty prayer be ours ! . .
 est petition on  our  part for the spiritual -blessing he  n_
 invokes upon the Church !                   ._.
       That  we,  too, may utter this prayer!           '
       This prayer that the God and Father of our Lord                     TMarvellous   polwer  in  U'S   I
 Jesus Christ may  gi.ve  unto us the spirit of wisdom and               For, if you would  kn.ow  what is that power of
 revelation in  l&e knowledge of him, and that he may so               God that  ,js operative in believers even here in this
 enlighten the eyes of our under!stan,ding,  that we may               world, that power.  whertiby  they were called out  Of
`know  what is the hope of his calling, and what the                   death   in'to  life; out of darkness into light,. then YOU
 riches of his glory of his  inheritan@ in the saints;                 must consider the mighty power ~of  God that exalted
 that we  may0  know, too,  wh&   ia the exceeding great- Jesus- Christ`!`                             -

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

Jesus is exalted!                                                God and to one another and to the whole of created
     He stands at the pinnacle of all created things !           things. They. haire  been determined and fixed by the
     He rules over all  in-the  name of God, and-has an          God   an8  Father of our  Loud  Jesus Christ, "of whom
everlasting dominion in heaven and on `earth !                   the  -whole  family in heaven and earth is named." Eph.
     For this and  no less_ is the significance of the figure    3  :15.  The creatures, small and great, in all their
that is implied in the words "set him at his right hand power and significance, their operation and strife in
in `heavenly places." Earthly kings would sometimes all the universe, are subjected to the Christ of God.
exalt  somleone  at the right hand of the throne of their           iH,e  has rejcfeived  a name which is above all names!
.earthly  power and  maj&ty. And this would imply, not              And that forever!
that the king himself had abdicated, but -he had em-                For, not ,only  in this worl'd,  but also in the world to
powered and authorized the one thus exalted with the             Come, that name remains far above  all  names! He
a&al execution of his rule in the kingdom.               The .will  never be dethroned. Even though in the world
whol,e   kingd,om  would be subjected unto him as unto           to come He will deliver  His  kingdom to the  Father,
the king himself. Thus Christ is exalted `at the right that God may be all  and  i,n  all, He will maintain His
hand of the Majesty in heaven. The dominion is His               position at the head of the kingdom  of glory, far
un.d,er  God  anld  ip God'8  name.  All power in `heaven        above every name that is named in the new hea.vens
and earth is given unto Him !                                    and the  new earth in which righteousness shall dwell
     All power!                                                  forever.
     In that He is far exalted even above the first man             God exlalted  Z&z,!
Adam in his state, of integrity in Paradise. The latter,            The Christ, the Anointed, tie Servant of Jehovah,
too, had dominion. He was king under God. But he                 and that in His  hutian  n&ur.e.       It is not the Son of
was made a little lower than the angels. His throne              God in His divine nature that was so highly exalted.
was on the earth, and his dominion was limited to the Nor is it  ,divine  `power `with which  Christ  is ,invested
scope of earthly things.. But Christ is exalted at the           at His exaltation. The divine nature cannot Be exalted,
right  hanId  of God, and that in heavenly places.  ;His         and divine  pager cannot  Ibe  conferred upon any. As
power and dominion are universal.  H,e stands at the             the Son of God in  airs. divine nature He is co-equal
pinnacle of all created things in heaven aed  on earth.          with the Father and the Holy Spirit, almighty, exalted
     He rules over al !                                          over all, witih  absolute authority and sover,eignty  o.Ger
     For he is exalted far above all principality, and jevery  name that is named. In that nature He could-not
power, and might, and dominion. ,And  this inclu(des  all        be exalted. But this Son of God assumed our flesh
authority and  mi,ght,  wherever they may be found.              and blood, was seen in the form of man,  humbled   Him:
.For principalities, and powers or  authoriti.es,  and           self into  the -deepest  reproach of shame and suffering
mights and dominions are, first of all, the angels that          of our death  and  condemnation. And that Son of God
stand before the throne of Go'd  and see His face-; the          in that  humi%ated  human nature is now exalted far
,heavenly   slpirits  from the viewpoint of their various &bove  all  pririciplality  and power and might and do-
ranks and orders: also in the angelic world -there is minion and every name that is named.
order and degree ,of  power and authority. The refer-               In Him the promise is realized.
ence is principally to them. But this <does not exclude             In His exaltation the Scripture is fulfilled: "What
any other principalities and powers. Also the wicked             is man that thou art mindful  of Him? and the son of
spirits, that once rose in rebellion against `Him that man that thou visitest him? For thou hast  made him
sitteti  on the throne in hea,ven,  under the leadership         a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him
and by the instigation of  their  evil chief, are  c.alled       with glory and honour. Thou hast made him to have
principaliti.es  and powers. Col. 2  :15.  And, besides,         dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put
there are mighty powers and rulers in the earth.. all  things  under his  $eet."               Ps. 8 :4-6.
Above them all stands Christ, the Anointed of God !                 Man in  %he first Adam goes down in order that man
     Far &bove  therq  !                                         in the second Adam  lmay  be crowned the lord of all !
     Their authority and power cannot even be  corn-r               Now we see not yet all things put under him.
`pared with His. T.hey  cannot reach up to His exalted              But we see Jesus,  who also was made a little lower
position.     They are utterly in  subjection-~to  Him. than the angels. . . .
`Under His feet they are. Him  they!   mist obey.                 - For the suffering of death crowned with glory and
Against Him they can never prevail.                              honour !
     And His power is over every name that- is named in             Glorious  ex&t%tion   !
all creation. Many are the names` that are named in
this world. And these names denote the creatures
.in their nature and position, the_ir  power and might,                                                    ii     m-
their relative significance and purpose, in relabion  to            Mighty  .power  of God!                2.
                                                                                                  - - -   ,-:-


                                              T    H     E      STAND-ARD,BEARER-'                              -                171

          For let us not forget  l&at  this is the real  subject              rind  this power He wrought not only upon Christ, 0
      of the revelation of the Word of God in this passage.            so that He personally is exalted.
          Indeed, the text speaks of the amazing and glorious                 It also works  with&a  Him.
      exaltation of Jesus Christ at the right hand of the                     For in  H&  exaltation Christ received the promise
      lWaj,esty  in the heatvens  ;. yet only as a manifestation       of the Spirit as the Head of the CBurch,  of all His own,
      of a mighty divine power that wrought this exalation.            whom  the Father had given Him, so that He became
          It is the w,orking  of the mighty power which God            `he  quickenling   sipirit.
      wroughi  in Christ, when He raised Him from the                         And through that Spirit the God and Father of our
      dead, and set Him at His own right hand in heavenly              Lord Jesus Christ  &uses  t&t  same  exceeding great
      places, that is the main theme of the divine re,velation         and mighty energy, the power  t,o  quicken, to raise from
      here.  ,God  revealed Himself, the mighty God of our             the dead, to deliver from shame and to exalt to glory,
      salvation is revealed in the  resurrecbion  of  Jesus            to operate in the exaited Christ.
      Christ from  tihe dead, and in His exaltation at  the                   So that He is able to subdue  all  thing6   &en  unto
      right hand of God. This the Church must know!                    Himsel,f.                          "
         More : it must  know  the power of God that is oper-                 Impart His dwn life and glory unto us!
      .ating  in her, in the Churcih,  in the hearts of the saints,           And we may be like unto Him
      tile   mlighty  power of grace, whereby they have been                  Amazing power !
      regenerated and called from death into life, from
      darkness into light.                                               :
          For  knlowing  that power, they will know $he  hope
      of their calling.                                                       Blessed riches of grace!
          And to know this power that operated within them,                   For the contemplation of the mighty working  uf
      they must know the power of God that wrought in                  God's exceeding great power` in the resurrection and
      (Christ,  when He raised Him to immortality and ex- -exaltation of Jesus Christ from the dead is designed
      alted  Hlim  to everlasting and- heavenly glory and              to cause us to  knew  what is the hope of our calling,
      power. For the  latter  is the standard of the `other.           and what is the riches of the glory of God's inheritance
      According to the power, which God revealed in the                in thk `saints. .' . .
      resurrection and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ,                   And what is the exaeedini  greatness of His power
      He also works into the saints!                                   into us who believe !
.'        Divine power wrought upon  C.hrist  -to exalt  Hiin   !             It is that power, that wrought upon Christ to exalt
          And how exceeding great is that power!                       Him from  the.lowest  hell to heavenly glory, that power
          It is  .a power over death and hell and shame  a&            that now olperates  through the Spirit in Christ, which
      reproach! It is a power t,hat  is mightier still than the        also works in the Church. For He is the Head of the
      power whereby -all things were called into existence             Church, which is His body. And His own are ingraft-
      from the beginning; or  Y'ather,  let  us say, it is that        ed into Him, become one plant with Him, and through
      same divine  pow& of  .omni,poterice,   but  now revealed in     His Spirit that dwells in  the Head and in the body
      still greater  glory  than in the work of creation!              they partake o? the power of His death, but also of the
          For  ,Christ  `had emptied Himself ! He had no  .namc        mighty power of His resurrection and exaltation into
      left in all the world! He had desdended into the deep- highest glory.
      est darkness of death and of hell. -`He had removed                     Death is vanquished ; eternal life reigns!
      Himself in perfect obedience  .as  far away from this                   IHell  is overcome and swallowed up  ; glory and
      heavenly glory as it is possible  to be removed, into that       power and dominion are ours  in Christ; with Hi.m  we,
      abyss of despair whence there seemed to be  nd  con-             are set in heavenly places!
 ceivable   r e t u r n .    And into that depth reached the                  It is true that all this is ours only in beginning, in
      power of God., From that depth of nameless despair principle, as long as we are in the body of this death.
      that exceeding great  pow$r  of God drew Him. That               But if we know-  the exceeding greatness of the power
      amazing power of God changed death into life, mortal-            of God into u_s,  which, He wrought in the resurrection
      ity into immortality, reproach and shame into hondur             and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead,
      and glory, utter powerlessness to highest power, the             we will also know the hope of our calling: with Him
      replroach  of hell into the-position of glory at the right, we shall be glorified!
      hand of the Majesty into the heavens, the p%eition  in                  That mighty power cannot rest until by it we shall
which He had a  nanie  below all names into that in                    have been made like unto Him, in body and soul!
      which He  has  a  name  above every  name  that is named.               And reign with Him forever!
         .&ceeding greatness of  the  divine  power!                          Blessed hope !                              H ,   H .


17.2                                                                                                                                              T H . E   S T A N D ' A R D   BEAR.ER                                                                           -     -

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    .,


                                  The  Standard  Bearer
         A  .PROTESTANT                                                     REFORMED  SEMI-MONTELY                                                                                                                          _     I                              RIALS
                                                                                   Published by                                                                                                  -
                         The  Reformed  Fr&e   PubZsi:ing  Association
                                                         1101 Hazen  S*reet,  S. E.
                                               EDITOR - Rev.  ,H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                 De  Oorlog  En Zondagsarbeid
    Contributing editors-Revs. J. Elankespoor,  A. Cammenga,
    P. De Boer, J. D. de Jong,  H.  De Wolf, L. Doezema,                                                                                                                                                                               Het is vooral in tijden van oorlog, dat er  vopr den
    M. Gritters, C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbrs, G. M. Ophoff,                                                                                                                                                                Christen vele vragen oprijzen, gewetensvragen, waarop
   A.  Petter,  M. Schipper, J.  Vanden   Bbeggen,  H.  Veldman,   .                                                                                                                                                        hij,  in<ien  hij het leven voor God ernstig  neen&  een
    R.  Veldman,  W.  Verhil,  L. Vermeer, P. Vis, G. Vos,                                                                                                                                                                  antwoord  zaimoten  hebben, een antwoord  naar  den
    and Mr. S. De Vries.                                                                                                                                                                                                    Woorde  Gods,  opdat hij  .overeenkomstig  dat Woord
    Communications relative to contents  should be addressed                                                                                                                                                                zijn levenswandel  ma,g  kunnen  richtien,  en vrede heb-
   to REV. l!I. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand
    Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                                                                                       ben voor zijn gemoed.
    Communications relative to subscription should be  ad-                                                                                                                                                                             8ewoonlijk  staan die vragen in min of meer on-
    dressed  to MR. R. SCHAAFSMA, 1101 Hazen St., S. E;,                                                                                                                                                                    middelijk verband met de roeping om  Gode meer  te-
   Grand Rapids, Mich.  Al1  Announcements and Obituaries                                                                                                                                                                   gehoorzamen dan de menschen.
   must be sent to the above address  and  wil1  not be placed                                                                                                                                                                         Oo@og  is`nu eenmaal een  werkel,ijkheid,  die geheel
   unless the regular fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice.                                                                                                                                                                  en al uit de  zoncIe.opkomt, die daarom  tot  deze wereld
                                                      Subscription $2.50 per  -year                                                                                                                                         be,hoort,  en die  me,de   d*aarom  eigenlijk  lijnre&   in-
        Entered  a s   second   class   m a i l   a t   G r a n d   R a p i d s .   M i c h i g a n                                                                                                                         druischt tegen  .den  vyede van het Koninkrijk der
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            hemelen.  En daarom komen er, vooral als de overheld,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            aan wie ook de Christen gehoorzaamheid verschuldigd
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            is,.zoo gemakkelijk  ,conflicten tusschen de wijze waarop
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            de  overllid  werkt  eti het zwaard  hanteer% en  des
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Christetis  geweten,  `en is het metterdaad niet  altij,d
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            gemakkelijk een afdoend antwoord te  vieden  op de
                                                                                   CONTENTS                                                                                                                                 vraag, wanneer het beginsel  .vlan toepassing is, dat
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Page
MEDITATION -                                                                                                                                                                                                                men,  o,ok tegenover de  eischen- der overheid,  Gode meer
   THE POWEk O F EXALTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169moet  gehororzamen  dan de menschen.
            Rev. H.  Hoeksema.                                                                                                                                                                                                         En dier vragen, die  vor sommigen  on'zer  mannen,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            die  .,werken  in fabrieken, waar men oorlogsmateriaal
EDITORIALS  -                                                                                                                                                                                                               vervaardigt, reeds een zeer concreten vorm aannam,
   DE OORLOG E N ZONDAGSARBEID : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 is wel, -of men  ,de   overheid  zal. moeten gehoorzamen,
             R e v .   H .   H o e k s e m a .                                                                                                                                                                              wanneer deze eischt, dat ook op Zondag zal worden
`IlHE  TRIPLE HNOWLEDGE  -                                                                                                                                                                                                  gewerkt.
   AN EX,POSITION  OF THE HEIDELBERG CAT&HISM  175                                                                                                                                                                                     Ons  lan,d  werd,  zooals  wel te verwachten was, in
            Rev. H. Hoeksema.                                                                                                                                                                                               den  vreeselijken  tweeden wereldoorlog gewikkeld. En
   ELIJAti AND ELISHA-THE BAPTIST  ANQ   GHRIST  178                                                                                                                                                                        er zullen zeker onder ons niet worden gevonden, die
            Rev.  G. M. Ophoff.                                                                                                                                                                                             niet  ver,stta'an,   ,dat   h'et  zwaard aan de  0verhei.d in han-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            den gegeven is, en dat wij daarom niet hebben te  oor-
   SION, DE SC@OONE                                                                  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1181     deelen  over  het  al of niet rechtvaardige van den oorlog,
            Rev. G. Vos.                                                                                                                                                                                                    of ook van  ,dezen   bepaalden  oorlog, maar hebben te
   THE PERSN                                         OF THE PROPHET                                                                          DANIEL . . . . . . .  .._.. . . . . . . . 184 gehoorzamen, waneer de overheid ons  -ten strijde-
            Rev.:G. M. Ophoff                                                                                                                                                                                               roqpt. Dat dit de positie is, die de Christen heeft in
   PROPER COOPERATION BETWEEN PARENTS AND                                                                                                                                                                                   te nemen, is duidelijk  genoeg   ui;t   Gods  Wfoord,  en is
   TEACHERS                                  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     1 8 6    daarom   tevens  de eenig mogelijke positie, die den
            Rev. P. De Boer                                                                                                                                                                                                 Christen vrede kan geven vor zijn geweten. Hij
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            gehoorzaamt en laat de  vera.ntwoordelijkhe+d  voor den
   ATTENTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                          1 8 9    krijg geheel over aan de overheid.
            Rev. H. Veldman                                                                                                                                                                                                            Maar nu komen er  allqlei andere kwesties op. En
   DE KEUZE VAN EEN ZEND.INGSVELD                                                                                                                                   :: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 n dezer vragen is wel  &e van den  ZoadagsaFbeid.
            Rev. B. Kok                                                                                                                                                                                                                De  zaa8  is  namejijk,  dat deze  oriog   onze natie
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            plaatst voor  .een  geweldige taak.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       En de werkelijkheid is ook, dat we voor die  ge-


                                             TfiE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                ;73

 weldige taak nog  volstrek;t  niet klaar zijn. We  ha,dden          za.amheid aan de  omerheid  te  weligeren  en dan de ge-
 ons op den oorlog niet  voopbereid.  We hadden het                  volgen te `dragen.  Anderen  waren van geheel tegen-
 eigenlijk maar  tiat gemakkelijk  gen'omen  in dit op-              overgesteld gevoelen, en zagen hoegenaamd geen be-
 zicht. Niet alleen  hebb,en we geen groot genoeg en                 zwaar om ook hier de  overheid  te  geh!oorzamen, ook  d
 sterk genoeg en wel geoefend leger, maar. er is ook ge-             werd die gehoorzaamheid dan slechts  nood@  bewezen.
 brek aan allerlei oorlogsmateriaal, waarvan zich  .de               En ook ontmoette ik sommigen,  die twijfelen, en
 vijand reeds voor jaren had voorzien.                               gaarne meer  .licht   haddien  over de kwestie.
     Vandaar, dat deze voorbereiding tot den strijd voor                 Misxhien  zou het niet verkeerd zijn,  adat  de kerken
 een goed deel thans geschieden moet, terwijl we reeds               in  het  gemeen door de  s-ynode  een verklaring `opstelden.
 in den oorlog gewikkeld zijn..                                      Dan namen we in elk geval een  ge~meenschalppelijk
     En  vanbaar  ook,  ,dat   `deze  voorbereiding  zoo  spoedig    standpunt in. En daardoor konden de broederen, die
 moge1ij.k  en in der haast  plaats  zal moeten  .hebben.            praktisch voor  zichze4ven in deze  zaa,k  hebben te be-
 Alle-   kr?chten   mloeteh worden ingespannen. Alle pro-            slissen,  wordeti  gesteund en  gelleid.
 ductiemiddelen moeten zooveel mogelijk in dienst van                    Intusschen geef ik gaarne  .mijn  eigen gedachten
 den oorlog gesteld worden.                                          ten beste.
     %n  vandaar.,  .dat  de eisch gesteld zal worden, en hier           In  ,den  grond der zaak staat deze vraag in verband
 en daar ook  reed's   gesteid   wopdt, dat in die  fabri~eken,      met  ,de   sgbbatskwestiie  in het algemeen. Heet  antwoord,
 waar men oorlogsmateriaal vervaardigt, zeven dagen                  dat  we op de -onderhevige vraag  gevn;  han,gt   a.f van
 in  den  week, en dus ook op  Zon,dag zal  worrden   door-          onze beschouwing van den  Zondlag  in het algemeen.
 g%werkt.                                                            W,e kunnen  de vraag aanstonds `wel  zoo  stellen:- Is
     En  zoo  `komt dan de Christen voor de zeer werke-              wenken op  Z.ondag  als  zoodanig  zonde? Is het zonde
 lijke vraag te staan, of hij  `ook  ,in dit  ,opzicht zal           om bezig te zijn met  aaydschen  arbeid  oip den rustdag,
 moeten  ge$.Tp-zamen, dan wel of hier  het  beginsel zal            in  dlenzelfden  zin, als waarin b.v. afgoderij, vloeken,
moeten  worden   toegepast,  dat hij  Gode meer zal moeten           ,doodsilag,  hoererij, en  wat   diaes   meer.  zij, zondig is?
 gehoorzamen  Idan  de  metitschen.                                  Indien ons antwoord  ,op deze vraag bevestigend is, dan
     Ztoo toch' zal  d vraag  n-&e+en  gesteld. Op  ,die            mogen  wee op Zondag  nimmer  werken, en  -dan  moeten
 vraag die  principieelme  vraag, zal hij een antwoord               we beslist gehoorzaamheid weigeren aan de overheid,
 moeten hebben.                                                      als deze van  `pn,s  eischt om op Zondag mede te werken
     Zeker,  het  is ook een praktische kwestie.  Afge-              tot het vervaardigen van  oorl,ogsmateriaal.
 dacht  Iioig van het al of niet moeten gehoorzamen aan                  Fat  spreekt wel vanzelf.
 de overheid, zal de  Christien  niet  gaarne  en niet  ,ge-             Gods  gdbod mogen we nimmer  overtre,den,  ook niet
 makkelijk den  wekelijksehen  rustdag  opoffer&  aan                op. gezag der  overheild.     Of beter gezegd : de overheid
 de wereld. Ook als hij  bot  de overtuiging komt, dat               kan nooit  stiet  geaag  van ons  eischen,  dat wij zondigen
 het zijne roeping is  *om `onderdanig te zijn aan de over-          tegen God. Doet  ze. dit wel, dan is ze geen overheid
 heid in deze zaak, zal  lij toch  aliles in het werk  &ellen,      meer in  dien  bepaalden  eiach, maar eenvoudig een
 om  uooveel mogelijk den Zondag vrij te houden. En                  groep  menschen.      En  d.an  zeggen  wei we moeten  Gode
 als hij aan den  j'oedagsarbeid   nit  ontkomen. kan,              meer gehoorzamen dan de  me-chen.
 blijft het hem toch een oorzaak van leed en lijden, dat                 5s het  ,dus  het Standpunt van  Gods Woord, dat
 hij,  inplaats  van te kunnen opgaan met de gemeente                werken  ofp  Zondag als  zoodani>g,  en  *dus in  lalde gevallen
 des  Heeren  naar het bedehuis, zal  mo&en  werken tot              zonde is, dan weigeren we  gehoorzaambeid;
 het vervaardigen van werktuigen van  vertioesting.                      D,och   aoo  staat de zaak niet.
  Maar toch, voor en  aleer het nog toekomt aan die                      Dat is niet het  standpnt  van  Gods Woord. En dat
praktische zijde der vraag,. is het een *kwestie- van                is nimmer het  stanldpunt  der Gereformeerden  geweest.
 beginsel.        Mag het? Is het roeping om ook  hi,erin   #de          De Heiland heeft het standpunt, dat  sa'bbatsheili-
 overheid te gehoorzamen? Of moeten  w.e   gehoorzaam-               ging eigenlijk bestaat in het vieren van een dag,  ,n
 `heild weigeren?  Grij,p;t  hier de  -overheiid niet in op          dat wel door niets te doen,  zoo   schenp mogelijk ver-
 een terrein, dat haar niet  t,oebehoort,  en  waarop   Gods         oordeeld.     Hij heeft ons  ,geleerd, dat  ,de   mensch er niet
 Woord ons gebiedt  som  `Gmde  meer  tegeh800rzamen  dan            is om  ,den   sabbat,  maar de  sabbat  om den  men*sch.
 de  menschen?  Is deze `vraag eenmaal bevredigend                   Dikwijls  "+verkte".  Hij met opzet op den  sa,bbat, en
 beantwoord, dan lossen zich de -praktische  bezw&en                 deed hij -dingen, die hij `overigens evengoed op een
 w e l   o p .                                                       anderen dag  h.ad  kunnen doen. Met opzet genas Hij
     Hier en daar werd  #de vraag reeds besproken. E n               op den  sablbat den man,  dte reeds acht en dertig jaren
 ze werd op  veracihilleti/de  wijze beantwoord. Sommi-              in.  Bethesda  krank gelegen  haid,  en  droeg  hem boven-
 gen meenden, dat hier conflict bestaat  tusschen  den               dien op om met zijn  beddeken  op den rug door de
 eisch der overheid en dien van  Gods  Wlolord,  en dat  heit        straten van  Jeruza1e.m huiswaarts te gaan.             En als
 daarom de roeping.van  -den  Christen is, om gehoor-                Hij hierom door `de Joden werd aangevallen,  week  Hij
                                        '


174                                           T.HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   -

er  op, dat men op den sabbat behoorde goed te do.en,                er-  dan gevaar, dat ze niet spoedig genoeg .voorbereid
en herinnerde Hij er aan, dat ,als het maar aankwam                  kan wonden tot den  strijld,  tenzij dat ze den eisch
op het  behou.d  van eigen los of ezel, men deze wel uit             stelt  van  Z'ondagswerk,  dan kan dit  zekter  worden
,den  put haaljde  os den sabbat.!                                   gerangschikt onder "noodzakelijke werken". De sol-
       Ceremomeele  beteekenis heeft de sabbat dan ook daat kan ook op Zondag de wapens niet neerleggen, als
niet meer. De gemeente  vanrden  nieuwen dag onder- de vijand aanvalt.
houdt geen `(dagen  en maanden en jaargetijden", om                     -Over  (de  wijze en het rechtmatige van het hanteeren
daantnede  Gode  een dienst te doen. Zij viert niet den v'an  dit  oorlo,gszwa*ard  oordeelen we niet. We laten
Joodschen  satbbat. Ze  rust.ook.niet op den sabbatsdag dit aan de overheid over.
dr schepping,  zooals  de  adentisten.  Ze viert den                   ,Of het beslist noodzakelijk is ingegeven gevallen, dat
dag des Heeren,  en dat wel ais staande in de vrijheid,              er op Zondag wiordt  gewerkt, kunnen  we, ook aan het
waarmede Christus haar heeft vrijgemaakt, en weigert                 oordeel  !der overheid overlaten,  zoolang  als het werk
ook op den sabbat om weer  m& het juk der  dienstjbaar-              geldt, dat op haar terrein verricht wordt, en  dus  op
heid te worden bevangen.            i                                haar gezag.
       <Geen gereformeerde heeft: er dan ook ooit aan ge-               We kunnen de overheid ook petitioneeren, om toch
dacht om werken op  Zlondag   per  se zonde te noemen.               vooral niet meer werk te laten verrichten op Zondag,
       Wel was er  verschi,l  onder hen. Er waren, die               d a n   h o o g s t   noodzakelijk~blijkt.
meer  ".rek,k,elijk"  waren,  aoowel  als die meer stren,ge-            En  verder  kunnen we  trachte.n  om lokale regelingen
lijk op Zlondalgsheilitging  stonden.                                te maken, zoo:dat  ons althans de tijd overblijft om eens
       Maar ze waren het toch wl  eens hi'erover:                   per  Z'ondag   d,en dienst des  Heeren  bij te wonen.
       1. Dat de positieve  heiliginb  van den sabbat op den            Maar als ge mij vraagt: moeten we hier den regel.
voorgroad m'oest  staan, daarin bestaande, -dat  men op toepassen, dat we Gude meer moeten gehoorzamen dan
`dien  dag ijverig bezig was  in! den dienst des  H.eeren,           de  mens$.en?  dan is mijn antwoord: neen, die regel
in de dingen van Gods  konin@jk.                                     past hier niet.
       2. Dat' dit principieel gold, niet alleen van den
sabbat, maar dat we al  de. dagen onzen levens van                      Gehoorzamen is hier, m.i. beslist eisch.
`onze  lbooze  werken  Ibehooren  te rusten, den Heere door                                                                 H. H.
Zijnen Geest in ons  behooren  te laten  wer.ken,  "en
alzoo  den eeuwigen sabbat in :dit leven", behooren  aan
te vangen. Heid.  Cat.,  Zondag 38.
       3. Dat juist on bezig te kunnen zijn op den dag
des  Heeren  in de dingen  van!   Gods  koninkrijk in bij-                              WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
zonderen zin, het noodig is, dat we zooveel mogelijk
allen aardsehen  arbeixd  staken.                                                               1917  - 1942
       4. Dat er daarom nog wel. dingen overblijven, die                 On the 2nd of  January,  1942,  our   beloved  parents
ook op `den  sabbat niet kunnen w(orden  stil gezet. Er
zijn "no.o:d&&ij:ke  dingen",  zoowel  als werken van                                      MR. WILLIAM VIS
barmharti,gheid,      die *op Zondag, zooIwe  als in de week                                        and
behooren  te geschieden. Een boer verzorgt zijn vee op                              MRS WILLIAM VIS - Vermeer                       v  -
Zondag, `een dokter verzorgt zijn patienten voor  zoover             commemorated their 25th Wedding Anniversary. May  the Lord
dit noodig is. Men sprak  daardoor natuurlijg  uit, dat              Who  has wisely led and wonderfully blessed them in  $he  past,
een zeker werk nog geen zonde is, omdat het op den                   continue to do so in the future, and so  cause  them to be a
sabbat verri.cht  wordt.                 1                                                                                             .~
                                                                     further blessing to US.
       Oip  grond nu van deze besohouwiag  van den rust-                                                   Rev. and Mks.  P. Vis
dag meen ik te nioet,en  concludeeren, ,dat, wanneerde                                                     Mr. and Mrs. C. Zevenbergen
overheid  van  ons  eischt,  dat we in bepaallde  gevallen,                                                Gertrude
dat is, wanneer de ov.erh'eid  oord~e!e;lt, dat er noodzaak                                                Henrietta
is, ook og  Zondag zullen werken, er geen conflict kan                                                     Edward
zijn  tussohen  dezen eisch en ht Woord  Gods  en den                                                     Catherine
wil des  Heeren.                                                                                           Gerrit
       <Het  #b,ehoort  zeker tot  deroeiping  der  over'heid  om             II                           Walter
het zwaard te hanteeren, ook in den  oorllog. Maar  .dan                                                   Nellie
b,ehoort  het ook tot hare roeping om dat zwaard te                                                        John
-wetten, om het land in een staat ,van verweer te stel-                                                    Cornelia  -
len, en zelfs gereed te  mak.&  tot den aanval op den                                                      Margaret  -
vijand, indien dit  noodzakehjk  mocht blijken. En  is                                                       and 2 grand-children.


                                       THE   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                175

                                                               N,or  is the  ,command  imposed on man in the form of
                                                               a  cow$tion   unto eternal  1,ife. It is true, of course, that
   The Triple Knowledge elsewhere in Scripture it i,s emphasized that obedience
                                                               and life are inseparably connected: "the man that
                                                               doeth them shall live in them." But even this .does
                                                               not  mean  that man by the  keepinlg  of the law could
    An Exposition Of The Heidelberg                            ever attain to the higher level  (of  heavenly life and
                      Catechism                                glory. In vain (does  ,one  look in the Word of God for
                                                               support of this theory of a %ovenant  of works".
                            IV.                                   But there are  ,other  objections. First of all, it is
                                                               quite impossible that man should merit a special  .re-
                     LORD'S DAY III                            ward with  Goid.   Obedience  to God is an obligation.
                                                               It certainly has its reward, -for God is just, and He
                            2.                                 r.ewards  the good with  .goo.d..  But obedience has its
           Man's Relation To God. (cont.)                      reward in itself. To  oqbey-the  Lord our God is life
                                                               arjd  joy.    For "the statutes  ,of the Lord are right,
   Many and serious objections may be raised against           rej,oicing  the heart: the commandment of the Lord
th&  rather generally accepted doctrine of the  "oove-         is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord
nant of works". That. the relation between God and             is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord
Adam in the state of righteousness was a covenant              are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired
relation, we readily  aldmit.  But that this covenant          are they than gold, yea, than much fine.  golid:  sweeter
should be an established agreement between  Aldaarn            also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by
and his Creator,, consisti.ng  of a condition, a promise       them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them
and a penalty, and  .that  it was essentially a means          there  .is great reward." Ps.  1923-11.  Sin is misery
whereby Adam might work himself up to the higher               and death; life and joy there  .are  in obedience. To
state of eternal life and heavenly glory that is now           keep the commandments  ,of  the  Lord.  is a privilege.
attained by the believers through Christ, we deny.             But the covenant of works teaches  ,that  Adam  could.
First of all,  there.is the chief objection that this  doe:    merit something more, something special by obeying
twine   fir&s no support in Scripture. We  do read of          the commandment of the Lord. And this is quite im-
the  "probatilonary  command" prohibiting man to eat possible. What .the Lord says to His  -disciples"  is ap-
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and  of the         plicable to man in  relati,on  to Gold always: "So  like-
pe.nalty  of death threatened in case of disobedience.         wisle  ye,  when  ye shall have  <done  all -those things
But nowhere do we find any proof in the Scriptures             whi'ch  are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable
for.  the contention that God gave to Adam the  prom&e         servants: we have  <done that which was our duty to
of eternal life if he  shloulrd  obey that particular  com- do." Adam was God's with all his being and life in
man,d  of God. It is true, of course, that Adam would          the world. To consecrate himself with all  thin.gs  in
not have suffered the death penalty if he had obeyed.          l.ove  to the living God was simply his obligation. He
But this is quite different from saying that he would          could do nothing for  Goid.  He  ciould  work no over-
have attained to glory and immortality. This cannot time with Gold. He could never earn. anything extra.
be deduced or inferred from the penalty of death that          The privilege of serving God was all  his.  -Suppose
threatened. Aldam  might have lived everlastingly i,n          that Adam had served the Lord in perfect obedience
his earthly state ; he might have continued to,  eat- of       a thousand years,,  coulid  he  possilbly   hme felt that it
the tree of life and live forever; but everlasting earth-      was about time that his God should reward him with
ly life is not the same as what the Scriptures mean            something special? Suppose the Lord had inquirsJ  of
by "eternal life", and that Adam would have attained him at that time: "Adam, thou hast served me faith-
to this higher level of heavenly  gl'ory,  that there would fully all these years; how much do I owe thee? What
have come a time in his life when he w.ould  have been         would  Aidam  have answered? IHe would have said
!`translated".,  the Scriptures nowhere suggest. Be-           th&  : "Thou owe me, o, Lord my  Gods?  All these
sides, this giving of the probationary command and             thousand years Thou hast  filleNd me with Thy good-
this threat of the penalty of death are no covenant or         ness; pure  dehght  It was to me that I might live before
agreement, oonstitute no transaction between God and           Thee and serve Thee in love ; I owe all to Thee, but
Adam. The latter simply receives a command and is Thou  canst  not possibly owe me anything at all!" Slup-
threatened with just punishment if he disobeys. Such pose this conversation had continued, and the  Land
a command mi,ght  conceivably be connected with the            would  ha;ve   inquireid  of Adam: "But wouldest thou
covenant relation, but that it is the covenant Scripture not rather be taken out of thy earthly paradise and be
does not even suggest. A command is no  co,venant.             translated into another glory?" What would the


176                                      TH_E  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

earthy fir&  man have -answered?           Conceivably -this :      of perfection he would have represented the whole
"No, Lord, I do not like to ibe ur@t&d.          I am-perfect-      hullian   ra,ce  and brought forth children. But  the
ly satisfied  here  in the earthly  paredise.  And I am theory that  `Ad*  had the promise of God that he
serenely  hap,py  her.e  by the tree of life. I cannot long would inherit eterllal  life had he obeyed the probati,on-
for anything  el,se than that I may stay here forever ary command does not fit in with the rest of Scripture
and live with Thee in the  friendshi  of  ,Thy  oovenant." nor with `any possible dogmatic  conc'eption.
And suppose  $urther  that  -the  Lord would have asked :              This conception,  morepver,  presents the covenant
"But hast thlou  not merited another tihouxand  years in            relation  .as   somethin4g  incidental and additional to
`this earthly paradise by thy  .faithful  obedience?" What man's life in relation to Gad. It is a means to an enld,
would have been the  inevitalble-answer?         This: "Thou        not an end in itself.       It is not given with man's
Lord art my benefactor every day anew. Surely, I                    cr.eation  and,  there$or.a,  it is not a fundamenta! and
cod,d  never earn my next breath. If Thou shouldest                 essential  rel.ati40nship,   Ibut it is an agreement estab-
,drop  me back into nothingness,, Thou wouldest do no lished sometime after man was called  into being.                      The
inju&ice." No,  indeetd,  as long .as  Adam obeyed, God             question, how long after Adam was created God made
could not  .in justice inflict  .upon  him  ihe   suff,ering  of    this agreement with him, is  .quite  irrevelant. Whether
death  ; but  this  does  qot  mean  that  He.  owed to His         it was a week, or a  iday,  or even an hour after he
creature   &other  moment- bf  exi$ence at any time of              was created that  the. probationary command was
his life. Never can man merit. anything with God. given him, the fact remains that this covenant was
Nor is there any  inidication  in  S,cripture   t?-+t God +mposed  upon the relation Adam already sustained
voluntarily placed man in a position in which he could              to  Gsod by reason of his creation. And the question
merit dcernal  life.                                                arises: what, then, was Adam's relation to God apart
       Besides, how  must  we  .con,eeive  of this promise of from this "covenant of. works"? However, the Word
eternal life to Adam?,  S'uppose  that Adam  woul,d                 of God  ,does   n:ot  present  the-  covenant relation as an
have obeyed the  comtiandmment  of  .God.       Then,  accord- a&dental relationship, but as fundamental and es-
ing to the cov,enant  of works doctrine, he w,ould  .have           sential. It is  not   a means to an end,  (but  an end in
been  ilorified   an;d raised to a heavenly plane of im-            itself. In  its highest perfection, that is, in Christ, it
mortal life.       The question arises: when would this is life eternal itself. For this is life eternal that they
have  happlened ? The usual answer is that the matter               know the'  only  true God  and  Jesus Christ whom He
would  have been deci,ded  Awithin  a comparatively short has sent. John  17:3.
time, perhaps soon after Adam and Even hgd  resisted                   Finally, from the  viemoint  of God's sovereignty
the temptati.on  of the ,devil; At any rate, it is usually          and  wisdom, this theory of a "covenant of works"
supposed that this moinent of  A'dam's  reward would                appears quite unwortliy of God. It  presetits  the work
have  ,come  befo,re  there  wou&d   Ibe  any  descetidants,        of  -God  as a failure to a great  eZ;tent.  Even though
because Adam stood in paradise ai  the representaitive              Gods  may be and will be victorious  in the end and the
of the whole human race. But what then? Adam                        devil will suffer defeat, the latter, nevertheless  sue-
and Eve would have  ,been  translated to a kind of ceeded  in `infZctinig  heavy da&age  upon the works of                           s.
immortal, heavenly glory. W)oulid  they have brought                the Creator, if -this theory were true. Consider that
for;th  the human  -ra&  in  thak  state of glory? This             according to the covenant  ~of  works  cbnception,  Adam
seems quite impossible,  fo,r the propagation of the                stood in a position in which he coul'd  attain to eternal
human race and  the replenishing of the earth appears               life and glory, and merit that same glory and life for
inseparably connected with the present earthy  sttute               all his posterity, by obeying God's command. The
of man in his physical  ibody.  In heaven they do not               glory he  codd  inherit for himself and  all  his  de-
marry `or bring forth chil.dren.      And what of the earth scendant,s   was  the same or similar to that believers
and all the earthly creation? Would  it a.lso, have heen            now receive in Christ. But now it is attained only
glorified, or would Adam simply have been taken out through the deep way of suffering and sin and death;
of it? `Someone might  object to this way of argument-              now  it iS merited only through the death and,perfect
ati,on  that  %e   speak  of things that  did  not  sctualdy        `obedien.ce  of th,e Son of God in the f.lesh  ;  an<  now it
happen and that,  itherefore,  were not in the counsel
              ~                                                     is attained only by some, the elect, wliile  the majority
of God.  ,Trae,   *but   I.  daim. that God's promises are of the race perishes. But will this not everlastingly
sure,  and that He does  not  Iprom.ise  anything that is           appear as a  -failure  on the part of  Glad?  Or rather,,
not even possible of fulfillment within the economy of              can this  ppssitbly   !b&  true in view of the  .tisdom  and
`His `counsel  antd the  whole  of His works.  Ih  is, of           absolute  sov'ereigniy  of the  n/lost  High? If eternal
 couree,  quite conceivable that Adam  wodtd  have obey-            life and glory  could  have been attained in the first
 ed, and that in the  w.ay   (of   obedienlee  he  wodd  have       man Adam?  would God have chosen the long and deep
 continued and perpetuated his earthly life apd  happi-             way through the death. of His Son? He  would  not.
 ness. It is also conceivable that in this earthly  state           And the fact is, that  it was quite impossible for Adam


                                                                                               -.-r-.---v---
                                        .TH%   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              177

to attain to the heavenly level of immortal life. Im-              nant relationship is centrally realized in the iacarna-
 mortality and heavenly glory are in Christ Jesus alone, tion of the Son of God,' for "the Word was made flesh
 and outsi.de  of the Son of God come into the flesh they          and  .dwelled  among us." John  1:14.  And through the
 were never attainable,                                            death apd resurrection. and exaltation of the Lord
    However,  -even  though the first three chapters of            Jesus Christ and the outpouring of His Spirit upon
 the  `bask  of  Genesis  do. not mention the term  "Icove-        the Church, the latter is become "the temple of the
 nant", there can be no doubt that the relation  b,et.ween         living Gord  ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them and
 God and  .A.dam  was such a  clovenant  relation. This walk in t,hem;  and I will be their God and they shall
 truth does not have to be basedupon a  sin.gIe  text  such        be my people." II Cor. 6  :16. And the highest  realiza-
 as  ~Hos.  6:7,   alth'ough  this passage certainly may be ti.on  of the glory God (prepared for them that love  `Him
 quote,d  with referenoe  to this truth. The Lord in that is expressed in the words of Rev. 21:  "Behlold,  the
 pa.ssage_   aeeu~es Bis  apostatizing   people  that they         tabernacle of God is with `men, and.he  will dwell with
have  transgress,ed  the covenant  "like Adam". Some               them, and they shall be his people, and God Himself
prefer `here the translation "like man"  insteaid  of "like        shall be with them and  *be  their God." Indeed, all
Adam",      Although the former is most probably  car-             Scripture presents the covenant relation as funda-
met,   it does not make  a-great  deal of difference with          mental and essential, and if the work of redemption
 resiped  to the question we are now discussing. If                and that of creation are related to each other, there
 "like man" or "like men" is considered  correct, the              can be no d'oubt  that Adam stood in covenant relation
text speaks in a broad sense of the relation between               to God in his state of integrity.
 God  and man as  fundamentaUy  a covenant  relation-                 For  ihe  same reason, however, this covenant re-
 ship;;if the rendering "like  Adlam"  be preferred, it            lation is not to be conceived as something incidental,
 refers directly to the covenant  relation between Adam            as a means to an end, as- a relation that was establish-
 and God. But all of Scripture kroceeds  from the truth            ed  ;by way of an agreement,  ib,ut  as a fundamental
that man always stands in covenant relation to God.                relationstip  in which Adam stood to God by virtue of
All, God's  ,dealings  with Adam in paradise presuppose            his creation. It is not essentially an agreement, but a
this relation, for God talked with Adam and revealed relation  o.f living fellowship and friendship. It was
 Himself to him, and Adam knew God in the wind of                  giv,en  and established by  Adam's~  creation after the
 day.  Besi,des,  salvation is always presented as the image of God. For fellowship, the  inti,mate  relation
 estaslishment  and realization of God's covenant. By              of friendship requires likeness as its basis.         Like
the flood God destroys the first world and saved His               knows and can have fellowship with like. For this
 Church in Noah and his seed, and with these He                    reason the ultimate cevenant-life  is to be found in.God
 estalblishes  His covenant embracing all creation. With Himself, and is ba.sed  on the Trinity. Being essentially
Abraham and his seed He makes. His cwenant  ,as  an                one, yet  Ipersonally  distinct, the Father, the Son, and
 everlasting covenant, and gives them the sign of cir- the Holy Ghost live in eternal covenant friendship.
,cumcisi,on  as a seal of the righteousness which is by            with one another. And for  t&is  same reason, that
faith.  ,Gen.   17:`7ff.  And this'covenant could not be           reflection of God's iife of friendship which is found
 disannulled by the law which came  .four  hundred and in  G,od's  `oovenant with man,' is realized when Adam
 thirty years later, so that the covenant' of Sinai is was  .created  in the .image  of Go:d,  that-creaturely  like-
\ essentially the same covenant  as: that with Abraham             ness of God,  wahich  consisted in true  knowled'ge  of
 and his seed, even though for a time the 1a.w  is super-          God, righteousness and holiness. From the very first
 imposed upon that relationship. Gal.  3:1?. And in                moment of his existence, therefore, and by virtue of
the new ,dispensation  God establishes a new oovenant              his being created after the image of G'od,  Adam stood
 with His  peop!le,  a higher realization of the same              in that covenant relation to God, and was conscious of
covenant as `the old, based on the blood of Jesus, and             that living fellowship and fniendship which is essential
 consisting in this that He will remember their iniqui-            of that relationship. He  knew  God and  1,oved  Him and
ties no more,  and  that He will write His law upon                was conscious of God's love to him.  IHe enjoyed the
their hearts and minds, that all may know Himi             Jer.    favor of God. -He received the Word of God, -walked
31:21ff. ; ,Heb.  8 :8ff.  ; 10 :16,                               with God and-talked with Him, and he dwelled in the
    tioreover,  the Scriptures often refer to this cove- house of God in paradise the first. And as he stood
nant relation without expressly mentioning it. Thus                at the pinnacle of all  created things  on the .earth,  the
we read that Enoch  walked with God, Gen. 5 :22.  .And             whole creation through him was comprehended in that
the same is said of Noah. Gen. 6  :9. `Abraham' is                 covenant relation of fellowship; In Adam's heart the
called the friend of God. Isa.  41:3   ;  Jas.  2  :23.    The     whole creation `was  united to the heart of God!
tabernacle and temple foreshad'ow  the truth that God                 In this covenant relation Adam was the  friend-
dwells with  .His  people  ,under  one roof, in the same           servant and  oficebearer of God in  .a11  creation. He
house, as  -a  ~Friend  with  His  friends. And  this  cove-
              _  -                                                 was  God's' co-worker, And this calling of Adam in


  -178                                      THE   ST~ANDARD   B E A R E R                                                        .-
  the state of righteousness is to be understood very
  con@retely  and-  realistitially.  His life is not  to)  be                     Elijah  and Elisha  - The Baptist
  vaporized in our  itiaginatioh into a sort. of mystical                                _          and Christ
  enjoyment of sweet communion with the Lord under
  the tree of life. `He had work  t,o do. He had a very                     The relation that Elijah sustained to Elisha was
  definite. mandate. God had blessed Adam and Eve                       similar to that  snstained  by John the Baptist to Christ.
  and said to them: "Be  frui&l  and multiply, and re-                  What Christ said of John in comparison with himself
  plenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion ,Can  be said of Elijah in comparison with Elisha. Said
  over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air,                `Christ, "For John came neither eating nor drinking. . .
  and over every `living thing that moveth  qpon  the                   The son of man came eating and drinking. . ." (Matt.
  earth". `Gen.   1:28.         And when the Lord God prepared           11:18,  19).         So,  ,too,  Elijah and Elisha; the former
  for man the garden of Eden and placed him in it,                      came neither eating nor drinking.             The latter came
  .He  gave him' a specific commandment to dress the eating and drinking.
  garden, i.e. to. cultivate it, and to keep it, which prob-                He came neither eating nor drinking, did John.
  &ly meant that he had to guard it against the inroads                 The wilderness was his abode, and his meat there was
  of the  d,evill. He,  therefor,e,  had a very definite task           locusts and wild honey. And he had his raiment of
  to perform. But in  all  his life and work he was to camel's hair,. and  aibout  his  lioins  was a leather-n girdle.
  be busy as the friend-servant of God. Not as a slave The rigor of John's manner of life was in full  agree-
  that works from the motive of fear for the whip ;. nor .ment  with and also expressive- of the character of his
  as- a  wage-ealner  who puts in his hours merely for prophetic function. In his preaching the element of
. his wages  ; but freely,  -from  the love of God, as  H&s judgment was prominent; and this of necessity,nas  he
  co-worker and being of His party, as the friend of God preached exclusively repentance. The substance  of his
  he was to function as God's superintendent over all ~discourse  was : The kingdom of God and its King are
  the works of God's hands. . As such he must replenish                 at hand. Woe to them who will not have forsaken
  and .sabdue  t,he-  earth, culrtivate  and keep the garden,           their sin and turned to God, when  thi,s  kingdom is
  and bring to light all the wonders and powers of the                  ,come.     For the fan  ,of  its King is in His hand ; and
  world. And the pure delight of it in the favor of                     He will thoroughly purge His floor and gather  (His
  Glad  was. his reward.                                                wheat  into  the garner but He will burn up the  chaff
          Thus  w.e  m.ay  truly say that Adam was God's                with  unqu>enchable  fire. And now also the ax is laid
  representative in  I the earthly creation, His  office-               unto the root-of every tree : therefore every tree that
  bearer, His prophet, priest and king. In general this                 Ibringeth  not forth good fruit is hewn  ,down  and  cast
  implies that he had the calling, the mandate, but also                into the fire. Repent ye therefore and live. John,
  the  privilelge,  the right, the  arbility,  but  akso the will       in a word preached `"repentance for the remission of
  to be the servant -of God. The  mmt, and the  may,  and sin" and entrance into the kingdom, and for unbelief
  the  can,  and the  zuill  to be God's co-worker were in              he preached utter destruction.  His.  discourse was,
per&et harmony  with-,one  another in him. As God's to be sure, truly merciful, yet stern and even terr$ble
 -prophet he knew his God  `in all the -earthly creation                when addressed to the leaders in Israel-the Pharisees
  and praised Him in a "great congregation." As  pries%                 and Sadducees.           To them he said, when he saw many
  he wo:uld  dwell in ,God's  house and consecrate himself              of  ~them   Icoming  to his  bacptism,   `"0 generation of
  and all things to Him. -And as king  he would declare vipers,, who hath warned you to flee- from the-wrath
  and maintain the will of God in  all  the earth. All                  to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet. for re-
  things served him in order that he might serve his                    pentance: And think .not to say within yourselves,
  God  !                                                                We have Abraham to  `our  father: for I `say unto
                                                     I-I.   .H.         you, that God is able of these stones to raise up
                           .                                            children unto Abraham" (Matt. 3 :1-g).
                                                                            John's indignation is understandable. Being a
                                                                        Nazarite, he  ha!d separated  him'self  from -his people,
                                                                        .and  taken up his residence in the desert also to en-
                     HE IS ALL IN ALL                                   courage the spiritually disquieted in Israel, the earnest
                                                                        seekers of eternal life, to quit the society of their un-
             In His love I am abiding,                                  believing countrymen and join themselves to him in
                                                                        his solitude,-the solitude where the prophetic word
                 Everything to Him confiding  ;                         had  `come  to him and where he came forward as a
             `Neath His wing my soul is  hiding,-                       prea&er  of -great power, though he performed no
                                                                        miracles. The presence in the wilderness, of this man,
                 He is `all in all to  me:                         -    whose manner' of life and attire and aweful eloquence,


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             179

   recalled the person of Elijah, bore the desired result.           phet. Yet Christ's preaching was fuller and richer
   Quoting the sacred narrative, there went  out- to him Iby-far  and much  more comprehensive and -thus more
   Jerusalem, and-  a"11   Judea,  and, all the region round         gracious. and appealing to God's people than John's:
   about  Joydan.       And-  they  .were  baptized of him in        Even His enemies were struck with amazement by
   the Jordan, confessing-mark you, confessing-their ithe l&eliness of His  w'ords. Never, said they, had they
   sins. We are to  thin.k  here certainly of a true con-            beard  a man speak as He spake.  Christ preached Him-
  version on a large scale, and thus of the fulfillment of           self, as the true bread and the living water, as the  O,ne
   the prophetic word of Malachi,, "Behold, I will send who  gives rest to the weary; seeks, as the good shep-
  -you  Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great herd, the lost; carries the lambs in His bosom, and lays
   and  ,dreadful  day of the Lord.: and he shall turn the           down  ,His  life for His sheep. It is from Christ and not
  heart of the fa!hers to the children, and the heart of             from John that we have the sermon on the mount and
  *he children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the           the parable of the lost son. It is Christ and not John
  earth with a curse"  (Mal.  4 :5, 6). And,also  the retiliza-      who wept over Jerusalem and prayed for His enemies..
  tion in the lives of these penitent ones of the command            Who is capable of this but Be who was wounded for
  bf God, declared by the mouth  of Isaiah, "Prepare ye              `our  transgressions,  ,&ore  in His  soul  all our sorrows?
  the way of the Lord, make his paths straight? (Isa.                It is Christ who went through the land, raising the
   11:3). So did the  labors  of  John..produce  such fruit          dead,  and  opening the eyes  of the blind, and causing
   as to justify his bearing the title of "forerunner of             the deaf to hear.      John  through His ministry  aqd
   Christ", "Preparer of -the way of the  Saviour": The              manner of life  sho,wed  forth the avenging justice of
   great and  terr+ble  day made  Imention  of by Malachi            God, yet also His  mer.cy.m  But it was Christ, who,
   is the New Dispensation. It is  called  a great and ter-          through His words and deeds; His obedience both
   rible -day on  atecount  of all the  terrilble'and  dreadful      active and passive; showed us the heart of the Father.
   events that are made  to come to pass in it, such as the          It is in His face that we see God as He is. Yet, John
   cru,cif?xi,on  of Christ, the outpouring of the  Holy Spirit,, and-Christ  belong together. Thk labors of both form
  the  destrudtion  of  Jerusalelm,  the judgments of God            one divine work. Together, in their respective labors,
   that overtake the nations  thr,ough  the ages of this             they deprived the carnal Israel, the  generati'on  of
,dispens,ation  and the ultimate passing away of this                vipers, engaged in filling its measure of iniquity, of
   world and the appearance of the church with Christ                every  excu,se   .in the day of vengeance.       This seed
   in glory.                                                         rejected.first  John. Their excuse was that, coming as
      When John saw also many of the Pharisees  a`nd                 he did, neither eating nor  drinking, he certainly had
   Sadduce'es   coming  to his baptism, his anger waxed a  ,devil.  So Christ came eating and drinking. But Him,
  hot. For he knew what drove them, namely, not the                  too, they rejected. And this time their excuse  .was
   love of God-the love that forms the essence of a true             that, coming as He did, eating and drinking, he was
   conversion--lbut     love  .of  self, carnal fear of the judg-    a glutton and a  winebilbber,  and thus not God's Christ.
   ment to come. They would escape this judgment but                 It shows that the true reason of their unwillingness
   wlould   ,bear  no fruit worthy of  repentaece-such  fruit to believe either  J'ohn  or Christ was their carnality;
   as true sorrow of sin, work6  of  tr?e faith and mercy.           their perverseness of mind and heart. But the children
   John had no patience with these persons, "0 genera- :of  wisdom believed both John and Christ. believing
   tion of  vipers-and  `they were this truly-who  bath              they were saved.      Bo was wisdom. justified of her
   warned you to flee from the wrath to  coime.  . . .               -children. As to the others, they perished in their sins.
   IChrist  in distinct&n  from John came eating and                 In their rejecting John, they made themselves espec-
   drinking. He lived. a normal life. He mingled freely              ially guilty of mocking the severity of God, His aveng-
   with his fellows,,  su'pping   .with  them in their homes         ing  justi'ce.  In rejecting Christ, they committed the
   and eating whatever ~:as  set before Him. Indeed,  sb             sin of  des$pising   the  love, mercy and compassion of
   far  remov.ed  was His manner of  life from that of John', .:God.
  so free His intercourse especially with the lowly `and                Elijah, too, as John, "whom he prefigured, came
   despised, that His enemies saw fit to sneeringly refer neither eating nor drinking. He appears  in.Scripture
   to  iHim  as a  wineb$ber  and a glutton, a friend of             as living inuch  of the time alone in solitary companion-
   publicans  and sinners. Christ's  manper  of life bespoke ship with God. Clothed, as he was, with a mantle of
   what was characteristic of His  prophetilc  function in           sheepskin or hair-cloth, his attire `was identical to
   di&inction  from that of John. Assuredly there was  no J,ohn's:  Being the type of a man that he was, it must
   essential difference between Christ's preaching and be that at no time did his daily meal include much
   that of John. He, too,  preahhed  repentance for the              more than a few and  simple articles  .of diet. During
   remission of sins. He, too, made room in his  dis;c,ourses        the. great drought he quenched his thirst with the
  for  thle  element of judgment. The preacher who fails             waters of the  [brook,  and ate the food which the ravens
  to  discotirse   oa subjects such as these is a false  pro-        deposited amid the cliffs. The rigor of his manner of


180                                   T H E   STANDA-RD   B E A R E R

life was also indicative of the character of his pro- When the people renounce Baal, slay` his priests and
phetic ministry. He, too, preached exclusively re-               return to the Lord, Elijah, through prayer, again
pentance for the remission of sins by word of mouth              brings rain. At his word, the-barrel of meal and
not only *but  especially by what he was  aible to aecom-        cruse  of oil  #of  the poor widow with  whom-  he lodged
plish through fervent prayer. His saying to the                  during the latter part of the famine, are not suffered
wicked king Ahab and to the apostate nation at large, to fail. Her dead son is also restored to life at the
"`As-Jehovah the God of Israel liveth, there shall not           word of Elijah. Certainly, the career of this prophet
be dew nor rain these years but according to my word,"           of God, in so far  ai  it is set before us in the Scrip-
was  really's call to repentance and is therefore to be          tures, justifies the statement that in this career espec---
paraphr,ased  thus, "The hand of God will lbe upon thee ially the  righte'ousness,  the avenging justice of God
on account of thy grievous sins (king and pea!pie  were          is revealed, yet also His mercy. As was said in the
Psing  His gifts in the service ,of  Baal) ; Humble thy-         previous  artiecle  on this  sulbject,  the theophany at
self under that hand of His.          Repent of thy sins. IHoreb-t&great  and strong wind that rent the moun-
forsake thy abominations and turn to God,  lest thou             tains, the earthquake and the fire, symbols of divine
be consumed by' His fierce anger." Preaching, as he judgment and wrath-were indi.cative  of the means by
,did,  repentance, the element of judgment was con-              whi!ch  he wouid turn the hearts of the people to God.
spicuous also in all his ministry even to the  ,degree  that And, though Elijah in his deep gloom imagined that
it.  wou1.d  not be  .amiss  to `bestow upon him the title       he had labored in vain, yet, through his ministry, the
"prophet of judgment". He prayed for the immediate hearts of the people were turned back again. The cry
operation of the curse of  -God  `in the people's fields.        .of  the  p.eople  "as to Jehovah, He is the God"-a cry
At his command the- five  hundred7  prophets of  Baa1            \occasioned  by the spectacle of the burnt-offering being
were slain. In the solitude of the wilderness, whither           consumed in the fire of God from heaven- is to be
he had fled to escape the wrath of the queen, he, after          construed as indicating a conversion on a large. scale.
having been encouraged by the Lord, received the                 The prophet had prayed. for this, "Hear me, 0 Lord,
command to anoint Hazael, the scourge of Israel, king hear me, that this people may know that thou art the
over Assyria  ; Jehu, the extirpator of Ahab's house,            Lord :God,  and that thou hast turned their hearts back
king over Israel.; and Elisha prophet in his room.               again."      `On  account  of this fruit, which his labors
Having found Elisha and anointed him, he remained were made to bear, Elijah, as the Baptist, whom he
several years in retirement, when he was again called pre-figured,, was  `a "forerunner" a "preparer of the
forth to confront Ahab, who had plundered and mur-               way"  not, as the Baptist, directly of Christ, but of
dered Naboth  the Jezreelite, and announce to'him the            Elisha his successor. Malachi was made to under-
judgments of God ,by which he and his house were to              stand this, as is evident from a declaration contained
be overtaken. After the death of Ahab, he again went in his discourse and already quoted. What this  pre-
into retirement. When he was at length  called  forth,           `diction  indi.cates  is that in the  .mind"of this prophet
it was to repeat to Ahaziah, who had succeeded to his            (Malachi) Elijah and the Baptist stood out as having
father's throne, and who;. having.met  with an injury,           this in common : loath through their ministry- turned
had sent to consult with Baalzebub,  the god of Ekron,           the' hearts of God's people back again  ; thus.  `both  were
in regard to the issue of his disease, the denunciation, forerunners, the former of Elisha, the latter of Christ.
which he had before given. For their impudence, the              It is also and especially on this  aocount  that Elijah
two  .bands  of  fi,fty,  which Ahaziah had sent for Elijah's    stood out in Malachi's mind as the type of the Bap-
apprehension, were consumed with fire from heaven in tist.
response to the prophet's prayer.  .Having  crossed in              If Elijah came neither eating and drinking, Elisha,
company with Elisha the Jordan, whose waters, were Christ-to whom he, in his manner of life and minis-
divided to let them pass, "there appeared a chariot of try, stood closer than Elijah-came eating and drink-                      .
fire, and horses of fire, and.,parted  them asunder, and         ing.
Elijah went up by a whirlwind, to heaven". The                           As Christ, he lived a normal life. After Elijah
`chariot and its horses were the  embl,ems  of the holy          had gone to heaven, he became a man of the city
warfare of  Godla  warfare  whi,ch  Elijah had perse-            and had a house in  Samaria,  where he dwelt among
cuted with such  uecommon  zeal during his life-time. his people, rendering his person accessible to them at
"So did he ascend into heaven with the full military all times. He was dressed as other men, and ate what
honors of a spiritual warrior.. Even several years they ate. Elisha's manner of life was indicative both
after his transition, there- came from him a writing of the character of the man and -of his ministry. If
to Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, re-               Elijah was stern and severe, he was gentle and af-
proving him for his wickedness and pronouncing upon              fectionate. As was already pointed out, when he be-
him the sorest  judgunents  (2-Chron.   21112).                  held Hazael and was mindful of what his people would
       Elijah performed but a few `miracles of mercy.            have to suffer at the hands of -this man, whom he


                                     T H E   S T A - N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                          181

 anointed king over Syria, he burst into tears. He
 sent away his enemies-the  Syri'an  generals-as  satis-                     S i o n ,   D e   @ho,ofie
                                                                        - -
fied with bread and thus, as has already been remarked,
 translated into action the teaching of -Christ, "Love                                    (Psalm 48)
 your enemies. . .  ."      His ministry, too, was one of           Er zijn ge'eerden,  die in hun titel voor dezen psalm
 mercy. Not many predictions of judgment and doom               sprek,en  van-Si,on,  de onverwinlijke';  of Sian,  de sterke.
 passed over his lips. When he opened his mouth to              Evenwel, als we den psalm  aandachtig  bestudeeren is
 speak, it was to announce deliverance. Miracles were het  juist die onverwinlijkheid en de kracht  van Sion
 wrought by him as they had been by Elijah. But they die hem zoo schoon maakt. En het is die schoonheid
 were all miracles of mercy. He filled -the  valley with        van  Sian  die hier bezongen  w,ordt'door   Israe$   dat  is,
  water, and saved the armies of Israel, -when they were de Kerk van God. Alle deugd is ook schoonheid, lief-
 perishing with thirst (2 Kings 3  :20).  He saved the          lijkheid.
  widow of one of the prophets, and her family, by                  `Wanneer deze psalm  ,gedicht  ,is weet ik niet. De-
 miraculously increasing her pot of oil  (?  Kings 3  :4).      zelfde   ,geleer.den  spreken-hier  -oak  weer van den strijd
  He healed Naaman of his leprosy; he caused the iron           die Koning Josafat  &reed   tegen.  de geconfedereerden
  ax to- swim  ; he cured the unwholesome waters  ; he          Moab,  Ammon en  -anderen.            `t Kan best.  waar   zijn-.
  healed the'deadly pottage  ; and satisfied a hundred men Er is veel overeenkomst. Evenwel,  dat  is de  hoofdi
  with twenty loaves ; he releived  Samaria  in time of         iaak niet.  .A1   zouden~   w.e  ,daar   zeker  van  zijn,  dan
  siege and famine  ; and even after his death, a dead          moeten  we  t,olch  haar  eindelijke  vervulling  eien in
  man was raised to li.fe, by being thrown into Elisha's Jezus,  den Held Gods. En dat is  altoos  de hoofdzaak
  grave (2 Kings 13 :21). See how close his ministry            in `t verklaren van God's Wooed.
  stands to that of Christ? But let us not misjudge
  the man Elisha.         There was nothing of weakness              En dat hoofdthema is duidelijk hier, overduidelijk.
  about his kindness. As Christ, he, too, could be                   Si.on  is de schoone;  aanvallige, lieflijke.
  terribly severe.  ,He  cursed the children that mocked             Die schoonheid,  aanvallilgheid  en lieflijkheid van
  him and they were destroyed by bears (2 Kings 2 :23,          Sion  wordt veroorzaakt door  het  feit, dat de Heere
24).  (He,  too, as well as well as Elijah, was a man of        d a a r   w o o n t .
  implicit faith in God, of strict obedience and over-
  whelming courage. :However  painful to him the know-               En daarom sluit dan  ,ook  de  psalm'mirt"het  geruste,
  ledge that Hazael  was to do his people much harm; he         vredige, op God'vertrouwende         "Deze God-is onze God !
  nevertheless anointed him -king over Syria, as the Hij zal ons immers  geleiden  tot den dood toe !"
  Lord had commanded.                                              Dit  alles   wordt ons  verklaard,  in de volgende  ver-
     Yet Elisha was plainly the prophet of mercy. His Zen.'                                            ..:                                  r
  ministry was calculated to reveal God's love of His                Eerst  wordt het  eenvoudig,   &Is   -een   `feit  gekonsta-
  people, to declare that the mercy of the Lord is over         teerd, dat God, de Heere;  grpot  en:zeer  te prijzen is in
  them that fear Him and keep His covenant. As the              Sion.  Dit Sion is  de. stad  oezes  Gods, de berg Zijner
                                                                                                                 .:
  Baptist and Christ, so Elijah and Elisha; the two             heilightiid.                                                           :
                                                                                                            -
  Ibelong  together. The labors of both form one divine              Die   baatste  cllausulle  wordt  ver,der  verklaard  in .vers
  work. Together in their respective ministries they 3 : Schoon  van gelegenheid, eene.vreugde  der gansche
  deprived the carnal seed in Israel of every excuse            aarde is de berg  Sian,   a,an de  &den  van  .het  Noor:
 `in the day of vengeance.        What this seed said of den.                                                          .,.
 .,the  Baptist, they said of Elijah, namely, that, coming           Jerusalem  was  gel,egen  op den., berg Sion ; `en  op
  as he did, neither eating nor drinking he had a devil.        de  NoordaOtostelijke  helling .was.  de Tempel  gebouwd.
  -What  it said of, Christ they said of Elisha, namely,        Als men  Jeru,zalem  van het Noorden, naderde zag men
 that, coming as  he,did,  eating and drinking, he was a        eerst de Tempel-heuvel.              ,.                       .-.                .
  Lglutton  and a  wi-nebilbiber.  Though this is not stated         En w&r Sion schitterde vanwege het feit, da& de
  in the Scriptures in set language, it is true.          But stad Gods op zijn kruin rustte,  -daar was het hart van
  wisdom, also as she took on flesh. and blood in Elijah        Jerusalem  de Tempel Gods.
  and Elisha, wasjustified of her children..        `-
                                                G. M. 0..            Dit  Sian,   Jerusalem,   Tempel  was "schoon van  ge-
                                                                legenheid, eene vreugde  der gansche  aarde."
                                -                                    Hoe zit dat?
                                                                     Om de  idee  van die schoonheid te verstaan moet ge
                                                                het verklaren in  verband  met de laatste  clausule  van
            Make me pure, Thy grace bestow,                     het voorgaande vers :  ,op  d,en berg  Zijner heiligheid.
            Wash me whiter than the snow.                            Het  woord  dait  vertaald   `wordt door  -"gelegenheid"


  152                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B - E A R E R

  vertolkt ons dezelfde idee als "berg'?. Er wordt daar                duidelijker dat  d,e  Heere een  schon en, heerlijk  was
nadruk op gelegd, dat Jeruzalem, Sion,  Te~l%l  in                     got.
  de hoogte ligt, dat het door God opgetrokken is, een                  Nu moet ge echter niet  .uit het oog verliezen, dat
  verhevenheid is. Daar hebt ge tevens de grondge-                     het eigenlijke van tabernakel en tempel gezocht moet
  dachte van het Evangelie. Let er toch op,  dat  de                   in het altaar, te weten, de idee van heerlijke  ver-
  wereld, de aarde, het menschdom  .van   nature,   ne-der-            h o o g i n g .
  gesj'lng.erd  werd door God in de diepten der ver-                          Doch ook dan zijt ge er nog niet. Nog n ding
  doemenis, der duisternis, van het booze, van den vloek               moet er aan toe gevoegd. En dat ne is het Bloed.
  de.s.  eeuwigen doods. Dat is een historisch feit. Toen                     Het altaar is niets zonder het bloed.' En dat b'qed
  de  mensch-Gods  zondigde  i.s hij  sterven.de.gestorven  en         beantwtoordt  een bange vraag. De vraag, namelijk,
  dat  proces  gaat door totdat het voleindigd wordt in                hoe kan God die goddelooze en gevloekte en ter dood
  den poel  die;brandt  van vuur en  sulfur.                           veroordeelde  aar,de verhoogen?         Hoe kan God door
         Dojoh  God, de Heere, is de God des  verlbonds. Van           middel van altaar en'  taberna.kel  en  temFe1  met Zijn
  eeuwigheid heeft  iHij gedachten des. vredes gehad ten               volk  ondfer  n dak wonen?
  overstaan van die wereld, die aarde, dat menschdom.                         Het  antwoord- is : door middel van het Bloed.       Dat
  En om  Zijns-  Zelfs wille grijpt Hij die  werel.d,  die             Bloed spreekt  -van  heerlijke dingen.       Van de dingen
  aarde,  datmenschdom  aan en ligt het op om het op de                van  Gods eeuwige  liefde  en genade.
  du!izelingwekkende  hoogte van den berg Sion te  zetten;,                   Nu  hebben we het volle beeld. Het altaar, de
  opdat zij eene  vreug-de zij der gansche aarde. De                   tabernakel,  de  tex-nrel   Gods,  waar  .God  met Zijn volk
  uirtein-delijke   vervul,ling  daarvan ligt  neig in de verte        gemeenschap oefent en zij met .Hem. Door middel
  der tijden. Zij zal geschieden  als.  God zal roepen:                van het Bloed van Jezus.
  "Ziet, Ik maak alle dingen nieuw  !!'  en de  nieu,we  hemel                Begrijpt ge' nu waarom Jeruzalem op een berg
  ,en de nieuwe aarde zal te voorschijn. treden om de                  gebiouwd  moest worden? Jeruzalem, de stad`  Gods,  is
 --dragers te worden van de stad  Gods: het eeuwige,                   n groot  ,alta+.r  den Heere.       En door de eeuwen
  hemelsche  Jeruzalem.. @n in `t midden daarvan zal de                wachtte dat altaar op het Bloed, dat betere dingen zou
  Tabernakel  Gods zijn,  ,d.w.z.,  God zal te midden van              spreken dan het bloed van Abel.
  Zijn volk wonen.                                                            Centraal is dat vervuld toen Jezus stierf op  Gol-
         Daarom  staat  er in vers 4, dat God in hare paleizen         gotha.
  is ; daar is Hij bekend voor een hoog vertrek.           Straks             Hebt  ge er wel eens over nagedacht, dat Jezus
  komen we terug tot dat hooge vertrek. Eerst echter                   stierf op een heuvel?
  iets anders.                                                                Het was de profetie die Johannes zag.          Het nieuwe
         (Ge  moet dan weten, dat  di.e   verhooginlg  van het         Jeruzalem,  scholon  van gelegenheid, een vreugde der
  menschdom, van het volk  Gods,   d'oor  de eeuwen heen               gansche aarde. Nooit schitterde de heerlijkheid  !en
  geopenbaard is. De  algeheele  vervulling  wacht!,   zoo-            schoonheid van  Gods liefde en gerechtigheid en genade
  als we zooeven zeiden, tot de  vernieurwin,g aller dingen.           heerlijker dan toen Jezus  `zi,ch  offerde op het altaar
Doch door alle eeuwen heen heeft God daar open-                        van Golgotha. . . Dr was de vervulling centraal van
  baringen van gegeven.. Die openbaringen zijn veel en                 al de altaren,  van' den  ta'bernakel  van Mozes en den
  velerlei.     !CPentra.al  kunt ge  di,e  verhooging  zaen  in de    tempel van Salomo.  '
  altaren. D.e idee van het  alrtaar  is de verhooging en
  verheerlijking der  haarde.                                                 D;och  vooraleer de vervulling van al die heerlijkheid
                                    Daarom is  oen altaar  e.en
  hoopje grond of  steen,en. Daarin hebben we een  be-el.d,            U  g&oond  zal worden in den dag van onzen Heere
  een plaatje van wat op den dag van den Heere Jezus                   Jezus  Christus is daar  :de bange  ges+?hiedenis.
                                                                        _'
  @$f-$.   vervul~d  zal worden.                                              Leest slechts  de'verzen  5 to  8; Daar hoort ge van
         Later? veel  late,r, wordt die idee van verhooging in         de koningen die vergaderd waren. Die goddelooze en
          ,.
  het altaar nog heerlijker geopenbaard.  Wam  Mozes                   ma!& koningen `waren tezamen doorgetogen. In hun
  moet den  Talbernakel  bouwen. Heerlijker, zeiden -we.               land  haddeen   Be gezegd: Komt laat ons in den nacht
  Ziet ge, het  albar  sprak van verhooging,  d'och   fdc              naar Jeruzalem  optrel&cn.         Laat ons hare paleizen
  tabernakel was nit alleen verhooging. Neen, er komt                 verwoesten en haren tempel met vuur `verbranden.
  het  schoorre-en  leflijke  bij. Leest maar de beschrij-                   Die Koningen zijn de goddeloozen die altijd rondom
  ving  erva,n. Het is `alles goud en  schoone kleuren en              Jeruza'lemigelegerd  zijn. Zij hatn God,  Gods Zoon en
  vormen.       Het verhoogde menschdom zal heerlijk en                Gods  vo1.k  en daarom haten ze ook de  verlmoging  der
  lieflijk en glorieus zijn,                                           aarde in Jezus Christus.` Ze willen gaarne de kerk
         Nog weer later bouwt Salomo den Heere een huis.               van God vernielen.
  En dat is de Tempel. En was de tabernakel  Gods                             Doch luistert nu aandachtelijk toe. Die koningen
  heerlijk, de Tempel  Gods wint het weer in heerlijkheid              kwamen tot Jeruzalem, dat is het altaar, dat is het
  van den tabernakel. Het wordt de  eenwen  door steeds                Bloed, dat is Jezus op Golgotha. "En gelijk zij het  za-


                                                    T H E .   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                                    183

 gen,  alzoo  waren zij verwonderd, zij werden verschrikt,                  zeer sterk zien op Jezus. Want ge moet den roem
  zij haastten zich weg; beving greep ze aldaar aan,                        des  Heeren   kmmen  vertellen  over  de  gansche-   aarde.
 smart als eener  barende vrouw !"                                          Uw eeuwig zingen van  Gods  goedertierenheen moet
      Hebt ge het nu goed gezien? Komt, geliefden, komt                     aanvangen hier op  abrde.           De Koningen zijn in smart
 met mij en ik zal U dat bange schonwspel  toonen.                    0     als  eener  barende vrouw, want, ze zagen Jezus op  Gol-
dat Bloed! Dat vreeselijke Bloed van Jezus ! Zintuig-                       gotha. Doch gij  ju!belt  van  zielwerrukking, want ge
 lijk  `waarneerrbaar        was  dat  bloed  weggevl,oeid.  En             hebt het Lam gezien, staande als geslacht. En dat is
  ook  vo,or  de zintuigen van hen die daar rondom dat                      Jezus op  Gollgotha.         Is `het  dan.  wonder dat zeker  dich:
 kruis stonden was het  donkei geworden; De Man van ter zong : Oh Jesu, ich liebe  Dkh!  ?
 smarten was echter die bange duisternis  doorgewors-                           Ja, daaroam  gaan we-naar de kerk. Gij  moogt  het
 .teld.  Nog wat roepen,, nog  wat  drinken en Hij boog                     ook z zeggen : daarom gaan  .we naar den hemel. We.
                                                                                                                                               e
 het moede  hoofcl.~  Het was volbracht. Inmiddels was                      willen- de  wonderwer.ken   Gods  zien.
 het spotten  ove,rgegaan  in benauwd, zwijgen. Doch                            Dat is ook de reden voor de verzen 12-141
God donderde.            De koningen  waggel.den  op hunne                     ~1i-1  die  verizen  zien we het kerkelijk,  het--goddeli,ik
  voeten. De rotsen  opendien  zich en ht  vorhangsel                     leven.      Ga&  rondom Sion en  omrinigt  het; telt  zij.ne
 scheurde.         En nu komt het. Ziet toch die menigte aan.               torens  ; zt Uw hart  ap zijne vesting  ;  !beschouwt   nder:
  .En leest  dati  weer psalm 48. -Doch leest ook  Lukas                    scheidenlijk zijne paleizen!
 23  :48.  Daar staat: "En alle de scharen  die  s?xrnenge-
  komen  waren   ,om  dit te                                                    0 ja, Jezus Christus mag gezien  wordfi.             En niets
                                 cmndio;ol.cwen,        ziende de dingen    verkeerds, aan Hem. Alles aan Hm is  gan&h-   zer
  die geschied waren, keerden weder, slaande  op hunne,
 IOOrsten."        0, di-e Koningen! Zij kunnen het niet  sc4an             be;rerlij.k.         Lt mar gerust  o$ Jezus en alle d bij:
 om het  eeu.wig  mysterie van  Gods   liefte te zien. Ze                   zonderheden  van dat  Godldelijk  werk n Jez&.
 h&btben  een  vreeze  en schrik van Jeruzalem die niet                         Straks  !mlib  de duivelen  en goddelooze menschen
  uit te spreken is. Later zult ge het wer zien. Als                       dat  ,ook  doen in den oordeelsdag. God zal alle  duivelen
 Jezus uit het graf zal komen, haastten zij zich weg.                       dwingen om dat te  d,oen.  Ze moeten God zien mits-
  Smart als  eener  barende  tirouw  bezielde die wacht                     gaders Zijn Zoon. Ze moeten onderscheidenlijk het
 bij het graf.                                                              altaar zien met het `Bloed.  IGod  zal ze dwingen  om_
      Met een  0,ostenwind  verbreekt God de schepen                        scherp te letten op de Bruid die gekocht en gewasschen
 van Tarsis.                                                                is door dat Bloed. Alle goddelozen zullen de  paleiszen
      Dan zingt de zoete zanger Israels: Zoo  verga het                     des hemels zien die bereid zijn door de hand van
 alle  Uwe vijanden, o Heer%!'                                              Jezus.           -
      Nu moet gij echter niet  alzoo  handelen. Och, ik                         Doch er zal geen vlek noch  rilmpel  haar ontsieren.
 behoef U niet  ,eens  te waarschuwen, want  zoo   doet.                        `t Zal alles glinsteren en schitteren van Goddelijke
 gij zeker niet. Neen, gij doet anders. Leest maar                          schoonheid.
 het vervolg.                                                                   Weest dan ijverig en gaat  roedom Sion.
     ,O God!  ,wij  gedenken Uwer. weldadigheid in het                          Ge hebt toch k`kindren. Er is een navolgend,
 middlen   Uws  tempels! Dat staat er van IJ, geliefden !.                  geslacht. Als het nog maar kleine kleuters zijn moet
 0 dat midden des tempels! Ziet ge nu wel, dat ik heft                      ge al heel vroeg gaan zingen van Jezus die hen omving
 bij het rechte eind had, toen ik U zede, dat het altaar,                  met.  Zijne armen, en zegende. Houdt- dat vol langs  be-
  de tabernakel, de tempel eigenlijk niets  arrders   be-                   z.aaide  en onbezaaide wegen.             Want het schouwspel
  teekenen  dan het Bloed Golgotha, den stervenden en                       van Sion, Jeruzalem; Tempel en Bloed is  zoo  verrukke-
 verrijzenden Jezus Christus-? En dat is, Immanuel,                         lijk schoon.
 God woont met ons onder n dak : Halleujah !                                 En God is het waard.
      Ja, in  d,ien  laatsten kreet van mij vindt gij. Uw                       Doet ge dat en doet ge dat geduriglijk?
 bestemming, kerk van Christus! Hallelujah. Dat                                 -01,  dan zult ge zalig njn in' dit Uw doen. Dan zult
 volgt eigenlij ook in .den  psalm. Er staat : Gelijk Uw                    ge  zoo  gewoon worden,  zoo.  zaliglijk gewoon  wordeti
  naam is, o `God!  alzoo  is  .Uw r,oem tot -aan de einden                 olm van Jezus en van Zijn-Vader te spreken en te
 der aarde. Daarom  zij't  gij kinderen  Gods  geworden.                    zingen, dat wanneer Uw  geslaicht  rondom Uw  stervens-
 Daarom  i,s Jezus  voor U gestorven. Daarom is Hij                         ronde  staat, ze Uw laatste stemme zullen opvangen.
  verrezen en bracht U naar Bethania.                   (Herrinnert ge      Die laatste stemme is dan het laatste vers: Deze God,
 U dat  s#choone   versje in Nederland? Zwijg nu,, treurend                 lieve kinderen; is  onfze  God  ; Hij zal ons geleiden tot
  Gol.gotha  !)                     c                                       den dood toe !
      In het midden Uws tempels, o God !                                        En d Engelen die U haalden, zeiden eerbiediglijk:
      Begrijpt ge nu, dierbaar vol,k,  waarom ge naar de                    Amen, ja, amen !
 Berk toe moet? Ge moet Jeruzalem  zien  Ge moet                                                                                     G    .           V.,


                                                                                .
      184                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEA,RE-R

        The  Person  Of The  Prophet-Daniel                                 of  Nebuchadnezzar's-      reign as king, that he entered
                                                                            upoM   the king's service.  !He  was, then, about 14
             The angel Gabriel  was wont to address  our  prophet           when  in his youth obedience to the law  of his God, he
as  "A  man greatly beloved" (Heb. man of desires)  -                       resolved "in  bis heart that he would not  defile   him-
" beloved certainly of God.                Of  al1  `the nronhets. he was self with the  portion of the king's  meat,  nor with
                                                                            the wine  w&h  he drank. . .  ." The  *king's   meat,
 .the.  .only  one  who  was- given this  title.-   There  was
  reason.          The  written  history of his life shows that he .being  connected with  idol-sacrifices  and the animal
  was a man. of  unfaltering faith, uncompromising  obed-                   food thereof being  killed  with the blood was  forbid-
  ience  in the face of the most trying circumstances,                      den  by   law.    It was most difficult to- avoid this food,
  sterling integrity and unselfish devotion to his  call-                   as Hosea's prophecy shows,  "they   shdl.  ent  zcnclem
  ing.                                                                      things   -in  Assy~ia"  (9 :3). By Ezekiei God said, "The
                                                                            children of Israel  shall  eat their defiled bread among
             The name D,anieZ  signifies  `.`judge  of' God", that is,     the  Gentiles  whither 1 wil1  drive.them" (4:13,  14).
  one  who   &"onounces  judgment in the name of God.
Some  interpret  the name  by  "judge through God,"                             Daniel  trusted that in his obedience to the  law-  of
  while  stil1  others  render  it  "1God  is my judge".                   bis God, (God  would sustain  him  as wll through the
                                                                  Some
`pave  identified  our   prophet  with  Daniel  the Levite of              puise  as through the  foribidden  food. So "he requested
the house of Ithamar, one of the companions of  Ezra,                      of the prince of  the  eunuchs  that he might not  defile
 and whose name appears  ,at Ezra 8  :2. Against this                      himself". ( 1: 8). The  chief  of the  eunuchs  did not at
 is the too  -considerable  distance in  time.                             first  yield ; but he did deign to reason with Daninel
                                                            The notiee
 at  chapter  .i :3.( of the book of Daniel)   "And the king               about the matter; for God had  brotight  him  into  favor
 spake  unto Ashpenaz. .                                                   cmcl  tende+- love avith  the prime. of the euwmhs"  (1:9).
                                        . .that he should bring of the
 children of  Israel,   aed  of the king's seed,  -and  f the             He said to  Daniel  that he feared his lord and  king,
 prin.ces;  . . .such  as had  ability in them to stand in                 who  had appointed their  meat  and drink.             In the
 the king's palace. .                                                      event their cuntenance  bespoke the ill effect of their
                               .  ."-seems  to  indicate  that  Daniel
 was of  Royal   descent.  As a youth he was aquainted living  upon  food so simple,  they would be responsible
 with suffering and privation;                                             , for his  having  endangered his head to the king.
                                               In his  person  the pro-                                                           Daniel
 phecy  of. Isaiah  to' Hezekiah was fulfilled, "Of thy aproposed  that they  Ibe  proved, ten days. Then let their
 sons which shall come  from thee shall  they take away, `countena:nces  be looked u.pon,  and the countenance of
 and they  shall  Ibe  eunuchs  in the palace of the king of               them that eat the  portion of the king's  meat.  And
 BaGyl.on'*'  (Isa. 39 :7). To Babylon with several others                 as he shall see, so  shall  he deal with them.         So he
 Jewish youths he was taken  when  yet a boy, and                          consented   to them in the matter, for he loved .them
 glaced  in the  care  of the  chief of  Eunuchs  to  be   edu- -tenderly.  God answered their faith. Amid  abstinente
 cated in al1 the learning of the Chaldeans.                               of the  vices  that surrounded them, God gave power
                                                             The force
 of Isaiah's prophecy to Hezekiah  may   sbe  that  Daniel                 of mind and body, knowledge and ski11 in  al1 learnfng
 became a eunuch in the proper sense. This view is                         and  wisdom   Yen'times   better than  al1 the magicians
 confirmed  Iby  the  usage  of  oriental  courts according                and astrologers that were in  di   .his  realm"  (1120).
 to  which   `only  eunuhs were admitted to personal Among them  al1 was found none like  Daniel  and his
 offices  near the king.                                                   three  companions.        So the king discovered,  when  he
                                                                           communed  with them.
        Daniel's- name was ,changed  as  wel1  as those of his
 three companions. The purpose was to destroy the                              In his faith,  Daniel  obtained  from God  under-
 memory  of their home and of their God  `and  to  shosw                   standing in al1 visions and dreams (1:6),  in particular
 them that they now lbelfonged  to another master. Al1 knowledge of Nebuhadnezzar's dream and its  mean-
 of them had  names  reminiscent of their God.  Daniel                     ing. It was this gift of God to him that saved his life.
 "Judge of God".  ,Hananiah,  "The Lord have  grace."                      In the second  year of his reign, the king was greatly
 Mishael,  "Who is li.ke  God". zariah, "The Lord help-                   vexed by a dream he was unable to recall.                The
 eth". These were changed  into names  comm-emorative                      magicians were summoned and commanded to declare
 of the king's idols. Nebuchadnezzar  himself discloses both the dream and its meaning. Failing in this, they
 the signification of Daniel's new name, "Daniel,  whose                   would be destroyed together with their houses.           T h e
 name. is Belteshazzar,  after the name of my god"                         magicians remonstrated- with the king. They insisted
 (                5            :8)..                                       that never before had a king asked a  tling so  un-
        Daniel  was taken to Babylon in the third year of                  reasonable. Daniel  is sent for and he  tells  both the
 Jehoiakim. He was then about 14. The three  years                         dream and its interpretation and thereby saves his
 that were occupied with his  being  taught  the learning                  own life not only but the life of his companions and
 anct  tongue of  the Chnldeans,  brought him to 17. It                    of al1 the magicians as well.
 was in  al1 likelihood at this age, in the  second  year                      In his allegiance to God, he (and  his companions)

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

 co~dd   be moved not even by the threat and prospect           his kingdom is from generation to generation. . .  ."
  of death. He continued to pray three times in the day,        (4q4);
  openly,  when the penalty was the den of lions. Darius           They were'dreadful messages with whi,ch  God sent
  had  appointed   120  princes to rule over the kingdom Daniel to the monarchs in whose palaces he stood.
  and placed them all under the supervision of Daniel           The decrees of God he declared to them. He withheld
  and made them responsible to him. The princes, long nothing. Yet he was  careful  to show a subject's re-
  envious of him, began to plot his fall. `To their dis-        spect.  .How  amazed and troubled he was for Nebu-
  appointment, they could find nothing to criticize in his chadnezzar's sake, when he was  ,made  to perceive
  administration of the king's affairs.      Aware of his the meaning of the dream, that foreshadowed his
  singular devotion to God, they induced the  #king  to         impending insanity.      For a  .whole  hour he stood
  estatblish  a statute to the effect that for thirty days      speechless. When finally, after being encouraged by
  no one should direct a petition of any kind to any god,       the king, he opened his mouth to speak, it `was to
  save the king, and that the penalty for  disobedien.ce        give expression to the wish that the dream might
should be the lion's den. Daniel could have reasoned .be  to his enemies. With`what gentle words he pleads
  with. himself that  under~  the  circumstances  he would      with him to break with his sins, that the chastisement
  (be  committing no sin, should he for tlie time being might be averted,`"Wherefore, 0 King" he said to him,
  cease to pray in full view of spying eyes. But he did         "Let my counsel be  acceptible  to thee, and break off
  not so reason. He continued to expose himself in his          thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by
  worship. And he received testimony from God that shewing  mercy to the poor; it may be a lengthening
  he did well.. The mouths of the hungry beasts that            of thy tranquility."    To the impious Belshazzar he
  would devour him, were closed by the invisible power          had to announce that God had numbered his kingdom,
  of  God:                                                      and finished it; yet then too with what longing re-
      Daniel's calling was to reveal and extole his God membrance does  .he look back to the days of  Nebuchad-
  in a  heathen  court. How worthily he walked of this          nezzar,  his greatness, glory,  h&our, humiliation and
  calling. When the secret of Nebuchadnezzar's dream            acknowledgement  of the rule of the most High in the
  is revealed to him, how he blesses the God of heaven,         kingdom of men.
 1 `qblessed-  be the name of God forever and ever: for            Daniel loved  #God's  people and the land. that He
  *wisdom and might are his: and he changeth the times          had chosen for His people. It is told  us  incidentally
  and the seasons : he-  removeth kings and setteth up          in connection with the decree of Darius.           "When
  kings : he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge Daniel  knelw that' the writing  &was  signed, he went
  to them that knoweth understanding. . . . I thank into- his house, and his window being open in his
  thee, and praise thee! 0 thou God of my fathers, who          chamber  tonulacrds  Jerusalem,  he  .kneeled  upon his
  hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made knees  .three  times a day and prayed and gave thanks
  known unto me now what we desired of thee: for                before his God, as he did aforetime." In those two
  thou hast made known unto us the-  &g's  matter" words "toward Jerusalem" there lies a deep  .yearning
  (2  :20,  21). And to the king he said that the secret        for the city of Jerusalem;' and those closing words,
which he had demanded, the wise men of his realm                as he &cl aforetime,  bespeak a life of longing prayer.
  [could  not show him  ; "but," quoting his own words,         For Jerusalem was the. city that God had chosen for
  "there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets. . . ."      rHis  name.    The intensity of his soul, when the  70
  How he depre.ciates  himself before the king, "But. as        years.of his captivity were nearly accomplished; "0
  for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any vision      Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech
  that I have more than any living, but for their sakes         thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away
  that shall make known the interpretation to the king,         from  ,the city of Jerusalem, thy holy mountain : be-
  and that thou mightest know the  thou.ghts  of thy            cause for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers,
  heart." The king himself must understand that `"the           Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all
  God of heaven hath given him a kingdom, power, and            that are about us. Now therefore; 0 our God, hear
  strength and glory. . .  ." (Z-:36).  When the king had the prayer of thy-servant, and his supplications, and
  heard, he said,  "Oif  a truth it is, that your God is a cause-m thy face to shine upon thy. sanctuary that is
  `God of gods, and a lord. of kings, and a revealer of         desolate, for the Lord's sake. 0 my God, incline thine
  secrets. . .  ." (2  :47).  In his edict upon his restora-    ear and hear; open thme  eyes and behold our desola-
  tion to reason, the king again praises and: honours .the tion and the city which is called by thy ,name:  for we
  King of heaven, "And at the end of the days I, .`..  . .      do not present our supplication before thee for our
  lifted  - up mine eyes unto heaven  a,nd mine. under-         righteousness, but for thy great mercies."
  standing returned unto me, and I blessed the most                In the providence of God,  .Daniel  was raised to a
  High, and I praised and honoured  him that liveth for-        high position of .power  in a heathen court for the sake
  ever;whose  dominion is an everlasting dominion, and_ of God's people-a position which he occupied during
                          *


- 186                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

  the  Baibilonian  exile of this people. Already  as  a
  lad of 17 he `sat in the king's gate, presiding -over all              Proper  &operation Between Parents
  the colleges of the wise men. And  he-  "continued even                                   And Teachers
   unto the first year  of. King Cyrus." Amid all the
   intrigues and all  the envy toward him, a captive in                    HealthE,  intelligent, helpful co-operation is  neces-
  high office, he colnti%ued,  because  -God  was with him, sary  w;rhere.ver  and whenever two or more persons  0~
  `he  being  faithful.      "The president and the  Satraps           groups  .are called upon `to work  itogetier  toEward  the
  sought in vain to .find  any occasion against him con-               accomplishment  .of  a joint task.
  cerning the kingdom  ; forasmuch as he was faithful,                     This `is a well-known fact and admitted as an
  neither was any error or fault found in him." He                     established truth `by everyone'  that stops to, thinlk  only
  continued faithful. He survived in uncorrupting great-               for-a  moment. In our  larrge  industrial plants, for
  ness the `70 years; %a& honoured during the 43 years                 example, all the departments must interrelate,  tiey
  ,of  Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and owned by the con-                   must coordinate their. work. Efficiency demands that
  quering Medo-Persians.           He w&s  the protector of -His       ndivhere  along the' line of production should there Ibe
  people during the  yearsi  of exile. He  .perhaps  wrote             any  inlter.ruption.  If one  parrt  of the production line
  the decree of Cyrus which gave leave for the longed                  oolmes  to a halt it not infrequently brings the, entire
  for restoration of his people, whose re-entrance in                  plant to a  standst?ll.  There must be coordination of
  their land he did not share. The presence of such                    every  machine,  of every  departme&  of employers.
  a man of God in Babylon has with reason been  &p-                    and employees. All  mu&  work  width united effort to-
  qraised'as converting the chastisement of God's people ward the common end of produlction.                           All-odt produc-
  into the riches of the Gentiles.                                     tion demands such coordiluation.
                             _~                          ,G.  M. 0.        As it is in industry, so also it is with the war'
                                                                       machine  !itself  at the present t&e.            Industry must
                                                                       cooperate  to  tihe full and supply the  +ools of battle ; but
                                   -                                   the armed forces also ,must  cooiperate.         The sea power,
                                                                       the air power and  t!he  land power  mu,st `work together.
                                                                       If each goes  its own way, without supporting the
                                   REDE                                others, the result will be  destruction   to all.  Y,es, so'
                                                                       necessary is cooperation and coordination,  that   the
                                                                       allied nations feel  tjhat  they must support one another;
                Eigen krachten. te verachten                           they must aid one another, join their forces, and
                Wordt op Jezus' school geleerd,                        cooper,ate  to the full.  .D!ivision   `3  strength,  lack of
                Lust en zinnen te overwinnen                           cooper!ati,on  implies a consequent- lack of power. In
                Past een ziel die daar verkeert,                       unity there is strength.              -.
                Zich om schatten af te matten                             But cooperation is .everywhere  necessary wherever
                Wordt van Jezus afgekeurd,
                `t Zondig  haken   naa?   vermaken                     two or more persons are called upon to work toward
                                                                       the accomplishment of a joint task. It is necessary in
                Wordt in deze s  chool  betreurd.                      the local congregation ; tihere  must  be unity of thoug'ht
                                                                       atid  spirit,  bu%  also unity of action.         If  ear%  seeks
                Nauw te letten  op de wetten                           his own in&-d  of the things of Christ, the mabers
                Die  .Hij   aan  zijn  posten  sloeg,                  will `bite  and  devour one another.           They must take
                Alle dagen `t kruis te  dragen                         heed and repent or  they  will destroy one another. The
                Achter Hem, die `t  mYaarste  droeg ;                  church. can only forge ahead when its  metibers are
                Door gelooven `t hart naar ,boven                      unified in one mind and spirit, and cooperate together
               , Te verheffen uit het stof,                            toward the &ming  of the  kingdofi of Christ.
                En door  hopen  blij te  loopen                         All this applies also in  the field of  edectita'tion.  In
                `t Enge pad naar `t hemelhof.
         -.                                                            the training of the covenant  youtjh,  parents and teach-
                                                                       ers must cooperate to the full extent. The more they
               ,IHem+in  `t sterven  aan  te kleven,                   cooperate together, the more you can expect the train-
                Zoo in vreugd als droefenis,                     -'    in.g  to be as it should be. If tie teacher breaks-  down
               -Wordt  bevolen in de scholen                           what the parent is building,  how  can there be any-
                Waar.  de Heere Jezus is,                              thing  bu't  confusion'? T,lie  child-is sure to s,ufifer,  and
                Dietibre  Heiland, leer mij sterven                    pay dearly  for the lack of unity.          The parents must be
                Aan  mij  e&en  zin en lust,                           of one heart and mind themselves, for if t,hey  present
                Dtit  ik  tech  uw heil niet derve                     a divided front the  ,situation  is indeed hopeless. If, for
                Maar  blijmoedig in U rust!                            example, a father does not  claTe a-  whit  about  God and


                                                             `CA
                                            T H E   S-TAND.ARD   B E A R E R                                                          187

 His Word, and the mother seeks to inculcate  into her                  do  n&   -always  cooperate with one  anohher  as they
  child the fear of God, it is for her an almost.  im-                  should  ; father and  mother  each pull on the oars in
 pos8kble  task. Again, even though the  IFXO  be  -6ne  in             an opposite direction. More frequently, parents  do not
 their  ,spiritual  aimb  if the o&parent  permits  I&Z child           cooperate fully witch the teachers to whose care the
 to do one thing while the other forbids it, wh.at  must                children ale  entrlas&ed  so many hours of the day.
 the child do? To say the least, the training such a                    Sometimes teachers do not cooperate with the ptrenrts
 child  is receiving is far from the ideal. Parents must as they should. Bjr  and large, however, I believe that
 cooperate  t6gether.  Especially they, for their train-                parenits  fail t.o cooperate  w&th  the teachers as  otien,
 ing at home is the most basic and has the most effect                  if  no.t  more  frequenttly,  than  &e-versa.  Occasionally  _
  upon the child. The training of the  chur;&  and the                  there  Iare  examples of an entire lack of cooperation
 training  of the Christian  sichool   oannot   alccomplish             on the  p,ati  of parent&  with <the teacher, both in school
 there.  purlpose  unless the'  trainin,g  given at home                and in oatechislm,  the fruits of which become evident
 harmonizies.     To my mind we should ever keep  before                as time goes  orn.          -     c
  us that of the three:  chhufich,  school and home, the                     L& me give you an  illustration of a' very bad
  latter is the most important. A church and school                     coor eration, of a siltua6ion  th& is bound to worik  havoc
 training  may  be ever so good, but if  ihe  training at               on all concerneld  and noit  the least  up:on  the child. M y
  home be  fundamentally'       bad, church  and  school can            example is  im.aginary;,   but   concreitely   true. to life.:
 accomplish exactly nothing. By all means: Keep the                     Such examples indeed  occur,  even to the degree I have
 home fires burning !                                                   imagined it.
     However, the  pri,mtacy  of home training does not                      Johnny  w:as   ,an only boy,  ten  years old. He ,was  nort,
 take away the importance of the training received in                   a  li+tle  spotiled.    Johnny had been very  i!l, and during:
 the'church and in the school. Parents should be vitally                the per:iod  of h!is  recuperation-khe  parer&s  had catered
 interested also in thesei, and give a healthy and  intelli-            to him and spoiled hilm  no end. After he was well  he
 gent cooperation to the teachers  th.a$  take  a part in               clearly  sho,wed   rthe evidences of  iinsi&ing  on his own
 the education of their  tchildren.  Church and sch.001                 way, and he continued to get it. The  pare&s pampered
 must coordinate with the home ; there should  be  `&I                  and Ipetted  h.im,  and  idanced  rto  Ihis  pipes. Johnny was
  Qasic   conflict  between. them. And it is of especial                the  li&tle  lord on the throne. When Johnny  (began
 importance  th& the  tea,chers   that  give training outside           school  his teachers soon  realizted   kha$  he was not-a
 the home be chosen carefully, with a view to their                     litile spoiled. But  wh,at  Ito  do? Johnny's pare& would
 ability  .atid desire to train  tihe child in  the way he              h.Bar no ill  ,of  their  li%tJe idol.  -As: time wenit on the
 should go. A  Chris;tian  parent with the  Ibest  interest             situ&ion  [became  worse.              His  fifkh grade-  iteacher
 of his child at heart will, therefore, a1s.o  send his child           es.peoially  experienced  tdifficulty.   S!he  understood her
 to the Christian stihool;  he will, furthermore, do all in             calling, and was deermined tit she would not cater
 his  p'ower  to see to it  thalt  the teacher employed is              to his  lilkes  and dislikes ; Johnny should know who was
 spirritually  and naturally qualified for  &is task; and               in authority in her room.  So  she  used  a firm,  (but
 finally, he will seek to cooperate with that teacher ,$o               kind hand. Johnny-chafed ynder  it and rebelled.  Iti
 ithe best of his ability:  `BE   will  d,o   thi.s   because   ,&he    school  he tried Ito  get away wfith rthing%,   ~buit  it wasn't
 best interest of  t&e  child he loves  dem&nds   jt. That              easy. Teacher kept  him atier  school when .he clisobey-
 parent will do the same toward the catechism teacher;                  ed, the rules ti order; and for Failure  ho finish his work
 he will see  tha% his  ahild  is in catechism,  thart  he is           i*f he whiled  away  his  time.   ConsequentJy,  Johnny
 there on time, that he knows his lesson that he-behaves                disliked  bti.s  iteacltejr  very much. He did not hesitate
 in a becoming way.                                                     to  rtell his  pare&s  so, because he knew  -they   lent   a
     ,On the other hand, also thi teachers on their part                sympathetic ear $0 his  compleinrbs.  His ills were m.ag-
 will seek to take their places as much as possible. A                  nified;  of course, but still  `they  Ibelieved  Johnny. The
 teacher that  fiully   cooper&es  wiU seek to train that parents even  criltieiaed  the  leacher in Johnny's pre-
 chil,d in the fear of God. He  will give himself to the                sence, and `consoled him  with his  1,ow  marks,  `b18aming   iit
 `work and take an interest  iti  `it, and seek to make it              on  (the   telacher.  The  rteecher's  side was  forgot&en   ;
e  in;teresting.  And, finally,-he will seek to keep  contack           neither did they make any  aittempt   cto   s&e  her  side.
 in various ways with the parent, and keep the parent                   And when rthe teacher once called on them,  she could
 insormed  in regard to his  &hhild.                                    not fail ho feel thalt  the whole situaXtion  was viewed as
     The besit  intereats  of the child demand cooperation              her  faulit.   Whait  could the  tealcher  do? No  mattter
 to the full extent between the  parent  and the teachers.              what she  tiied, no matter how much effort she ex-
     Su.ch  is the ideal,  the Ideal  toward which we must              pended to win Johnny without ca.tering  to his whims,
 strive.  Xt  is an ideal, I said. The reason for  callin,g             the  iboy  remained aloof, recalcitrant arid incorjrigible.
 it thus, is due to the  facrt  that the reality  nolt  in-             Where to lay  ;the   ,blame?   Noit  with the teacher, not
 frequently is far  fr.om  the ideal.  Parents  themselves              even w&h  the boy, but, with the p#arenhs.            They failed


                                                                                    0

 1 3 8                                       T H E   STANDAKD   B E A R E R

 to cooperate  ; their `love for the child was the kind  that               criitieize  teachers in the presence of a young child-it
 d e s t r o y s .                                                          will  only  harm  ithe   child.  For their  Iwelfare,  their
     The s;ame  situatiion,  fundamentally ait  least  exisited             spiritu~al  welfare! That  .is implied in the fifth com-
 in the  cate.chism  class. Th.e  pare& ldid  not particular-               mandment, which is  itIle first  commatid,rnent  with
 ly like the pastor, and Johnny had more than once                          promise.
 heard them openly criti,&e  him, even his cati~chatical                       Cooperation is necessary  eberywhere.  Not the
 work. Johnny took advantage of the  si,tulation.   H-e                     least in the field of education. The welfare of  ou?
 w,as not  .abtentive,  and the rpastor  reminded him of it,                children  deman&  united effort  t'oward  the common
_ even made him  Istay.  In  such   insitances   (Johnny   di,d             end.         "Di(vine  and conquer" also applies to  l&e train-
 n$  fail  -tro   itell  his  :pare&s  of  h,is unjust treatment  o'n       ing of our children.
 th.e part of the  pastor . Neithe.~  did he ,ever  know h.is                                                                                      P. D. ,B:
 catechism  lesson any  rtoo  Tell.  `He   ~o~mplained   &he
 memory work was  far too hard. The parents  Ibelieved
 ilt, and were  s,atisfied-   `if  IJohnny   k&ew  hijs lesson  (but
half. They  felit you  could   h,ardly   `,ex@c;t  Johnny  Tao                                                  -           -         -
 memorize ,thoroughly  lessons that were so hard. The
 minister  .and  the  iconsistory  were convinced the  1,essons
 were  not  rtoo hand, not even for. Johnny, and  BO  the                                  MORE LOVE TO THEE, 0  CH.RIST
 pastor did not hesitate  Ito  keep Johnny occasionally
 after  (class  if his  recitslition   hfad  ,been  extra poor. Buit                                                  1.
 the parents Beacted  still more unfavorably to this pro-
 cedu.re. They were ,angry,  and made u~p  thaiir  mind to                                  More  loire to Thee, 0 Christ,
 tell the  pastor something at family  visitati'on.          Neilthey                       More love to Thee!
 did  they  hesi*talte  to let `Johnny a%ay  h.ome  for almclsit                            Hear Thou the prayer I make
 any and ,every  reason. And so the child @rew.up  with-                                    On ibended knee:
 ouit any rthorotigh   Icatech&$cal  insltru&on,  simply due                                This is my earnest  plea-
 to the pare&Is  laok  of cooperation.                                                      More love, 0 Christ, to Thee,
    In Sunday School  the   situat$on  was no  differeti.                                   More love to Thee !
 Johnny hardly .ever  knew his text, &owed  no atten-
 tion, and only acrealted  iaonfusion  in ~&US.,  Alrthouigh  he                                           2          .
 had  tibility,  he could never'  ibe made  it;0 take  [parit. -:in                         Once earthly joy. I craved,
 the Christm.as  program. But,  of  course,  this attitude.                                 Sought peace and rest,
 came from  hom.e.      J&my's  parents. didn't have  anach                                 Now Thee alone I seek,
 respect for ;the   ,Sunday  S,chool   rteachers.     The teachers                          Give  tihat is  .best  :
 were simply  ao  good.          I t   wais   alw*ays   criiticism   ,of                    `This all my prayer  .shall   be-
 others, of all  ithe  teachers, that Johnny heard.                                         More love, 0 Christ, to Thee,
     And  bime   we&   ton. Johnny  gr,ew-  up.  <He  was                                   More love to Thee !
 gradually  aprproaching  young manhood.                                                        D
                                                           Now his
 pare& had their  problemas  art home, and that  f.qll                                                               3.
 blast. They could do nothing with him. If they  h,ad
 nok  had  t8he.mselves  to  /blame,  they would have had                                   Let sorrow do its work,
 this  ,comfoFt  at  leasit  that they  had-   d;one   their duty.                          Send grief and p&n,
 But now they began to realize  some'what,   althougli                                      Sweet are Thy messengers,
 they did not  ad(mit   iit as  theyahou'd  have,  Ithat  Johnny's                          Sweet their refrain,                           Y  _
 attiitude  was the f.ruit  of their training. No ,one  could                               When they can sing with  me-
 do  anything  with  him,.   Thus  they had  &rained  him.                                  More love, 0 Christ, to  -Thee,
 They had never given iintelligen$,  healthy and,  help&1                                   More love to Thee!
 cooperation toward  those cthat  were assisitin,g  in train-
 in,g  him. On the contrary, they  had suptported  him in                                                            4.          -
 his  opposigtion.  An  Eli's  *child   lwa,s their reward,  a                              Then shall my latest breath,
 reward ,alc;conding  to their wo&s.                                                        Whisper Thy praisk,
     What a warning example ! It is only too often true                                     This  ibe the parting cry
 to life.                                                                                   My heart shall raise:
     Pare&s, cooperate with th'e  teachers of your  child  i                                This'  still its prayer shall be-
 ,Give  them  wholehearfte?l   ~up~po~rt. Seek to  culitiva,te                              More love, 0 Christ, to Thee,
 res.pect  in your child for those in au,thority,  and  ,never                              More love to Thee!


                                              -THE   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                          18.9

                                                                            fact; Spiritually. no  ,amount  of objective and  experi-
                              Attention                                     me&al instrnction  will interest  .olne  chil,d  in the things
                                                                            of  ,God  and of IHis  comenant.  I
         To arouse the child's interest and  holid   &is attention              Moreover, lstiJ1  viewing intterest  and attention from
     ontee awakened is a  >major  peoblem  in the sphere of                 a natural  p,oint   ,of  `view,  int.erests   can be cultivated also
     instrucltion.  -What is attention? How can  iit be en-                 among adults.         There is,  aaccording  to leading  psy-
     forced?  V6lumes  have' been  .written  on this subject.               cholog:i!sts,  a simple  1a.w  which reads: Any  olbject  not
     This  `question   Iconfronts  us  ;wiith  a  pro!blem  also-from       interetsting  in  its&f  tiay   become   inter-estin,g   cthr,ough
     the purely natural,, psycholog%cal  point ,of  view. --The             becoming associ.ated  with an object in which an inter-
     teacher, in aehool  or in catechism, mnst  .cope  with this            est already  exists.      Ih few  ilJustr8tions  will  serve  to
     difi%culty.     One musk know noit  only what  60 teach but            esitabl:ish  the truth  lpf this  (rule.      Surely,  the most
     also how  ito teach it.                                                natun'ally  interesting  oibj&ct  to a man is his  o,wn   per-
         This   qcesition  also asserts itself in  th'e  realm of           s.on.al  self and  f.ortunas.   H.en.ce,  the moment a thing
     the spiritual. We refer  t,o  instruction in  ;the   ;thin.gs          .becomes   :assdcilated  with his  ,oiwn self  `or  fortunes it
     of IGod's  Word' and covenantt.        Hfow  can  rthe catejchi'sm     immedia.tely   beie6mei  a thing of interest.              L e n d   a
     teacher command  atte&on   sin  his. class? What must                  child a b,ook  and pencils or give ithem to him and note
     be done in our young rpeople's  so,eieties  to  aivaken  and           then ithe  difflerence  in his cai-e  and treatment of them.
     mainrta.in   <their  interest  anid attention? This  qu&i:on           In  ,m&ure  Ilife,,  all the drud,gery  of a man's (business
     is  often  dsked  in our  p.resen!  age. Attention  in cate-           or  professi,on,  intolerable in itself, becomes highly
     ch.ism  `and,  es-p&ally,  in  rslociety   lifer  leaves  much  to     sign&ant  and  ali,ve  with  interest when associated
     be desirled.     It seems so ,difficult  Cto  arouse interest in       `with his  .$ersonal   fortunes.   Holw interesting  lean  an
     the  thirngs   iof  God's  W,ord  .and covenant. How diffi,culit       uninterestjing   olbject   `as a  railroald  time-table  ibecome
     it is for many of our young men and women to engage                    when it suddenly can serve `our  own .personal  interests,
     in  ;a profound  sttndy  of  ,Scriptu.re  and  also  to become         whether we wish to travel somewhere or merely desire
     more  .and   betier acquainted with  the   .history of  sour.          to "Bill" time. To arouse and awaken  iriterest  snd
     chur,ches   .whilch  `we  (believe to represent the cause of           a,ttention   iwe  must  ibegin  with a person's personal  `or
     God in  lthe   midst of  <the  world! Or,  :is it  impossiible?        natural interests an@ instruct him,  so that everything
     What must be  done   about  it? -can  anything be done                 can be viewed `by  lzlim in the light  ,of  those interests.
     about it?                       j                                          However, the law or rule as given above is worthy
          What-is  a'otenltilon?    Attention to an object, i$ what         of  note  also for  anoither  reason. Note,  plplease, that
     takes place whenever  th'at  `object  most completely  oc'cu-          an  .object  `must  ,exist  in  wh.ich  a person sIretidy.   ha,s
     pies the mind.   I,  Atten;tion   and   interesh,  we  undeulstand,    an inter&t. This is true even in the naturaJ   &here.
     are  i,nseparably  connected. To  day   ithat  an object is            We may be able to cultivate and nurture interest .GFd
     intere,sting  is  .only  an&her   tiay of  ,saying  that  irC  ex-     attention. We cannot create or instill it.  ~~+~l.s   &
     &es  attention.                                                        pertinent fact  that   worldly psychologists  rsopgpi&e
          Interest,  :&so  Qn   the natural  #sphere,  can be awaken-       this  ,fact.    All  :men  cannot be carpenters or  doctbcs  or
     ed and cultiv'a&ed  Ibu.t  not cre&ed (by means of instrec-            lawyers. To  .incuJcate  the  intricalcies  lof law `or   inedi-
     tion. Of (children \we know that their interests, that tine  into  lone  who  <imply is  nok   intekested  in  law   .or
     which  oocupies   th,e.ir   atitention,   lire  altogether in the      medicine  .would  surely fail to arouse his interest and
     sphere ,of  .sensation,  the things they see and hear and              attention.  .Is  it not,. in this  aonnelcti,on,  a parent's
     bouch  and  taste. The igrima?e  thlat  Johnny i,s ma&img,             duty to discover the anential  tendencies, likes and Idie-
     the  srpitb.al1.s `that  Tommy-is about to throw; the dog-             l&es of his  /child,  and  ithen  to  enclourage  that  child
     fight in the'street, or the distant fire-bells ringing and to-pursue that line  ,of  endeavor  tto   whi,ch  he  is adapted?
     the  :blowing   of a train  wh.istle-these   a.re  *the rivals         We know this  $0 be an  indisputaible  fact. We  must
     with which the  teach.er   .who  would  Ibe  interesting, must         learn to  know   ithe  object in  which he  hals .a natural
.    incessantly cope. A child will  aim-ys   attend   ,tiore               interest. Only  then  will`iit be  poss.ible  to ,awa,ken  his
     to what a teacher-does  tfian   60  Iwh%t  the -same teacher           ilziterest  an'cl attention to subjects  which he must learn
     says. Consequently,  rthe teacher of young  chilmdren   .will          td  attalin  unto his goal.
     keep in touch with her pupils  iby constant appeal  !to                     What  ld,oes this  iteach   us  as far as  *he  gpiritu,al
     their  naturfal  interes'ts. Instruction must  ibe (carried            sphere-of the  sde,velopment   `of God's  .church   atid   cove-
     on  `objectively,  experimentally,  :anecdoaally.       The  black-    ,nant   :ie   conlcerned?  Of  cotirse,   ibye  can distinguish;
     boardldrawing  anid story-telling  ImlTst be  ~co~s$antly              also in these spiritual matters, ibetween-  natural  atten-
     used. This  muet  be a, self-evident truth. We  `mu:&                  ti,on  and  spiritv,al   atiten'tiofi.   Spiribual  `attention is
     `bear in mind  tha't  we emphasize the thought  that   a               spont.+n.eovs,  signifies that `our heart `and mind are
     child's interest and  \att,ention  lie  .excJusi~vely   in the         occupied with th,e  things  of {God's Word and icovenant,
     sphere  :of   sensati~on.  This  <is a natural,  psychol,ogicd         that the beauties  ,of  Gad's Word fascinate us `and have

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

become the  abject  ,of  the love ,of  our heart and mind.             purpose of arousing their (people  .otit of their spiritual
On the other  h.andb it  (is   possilble  to conceive of  ,one         stqor  and lethargy. We  must   remer&er  that spiritual
who will, for the time Ibeing,   give  Nis attention to the            ifi+,eresrt  and attention can ibe sroused and maintained
Word  lof  God, although himself got spiritually inter-                only through the instrumentality of the unadulterated
ested.     C,oncern.ing   this  temponary,  intellectual (in           truth Iof the Word of God. This is an .undeniacble  fact
distitiction from  spirittial) interest we  bay  safely                for the  sinqple  reason that the Holy Spirit  o'2erates
declare that  it twill cease  `as soon as his  own  `personal          within the  ,he'arts   ,and   ,conscioiusness  of men only in
initerests  `are threatened. In this  Ibrief  article as now           connection  awith  the  rtruth of God. It  2s  `exactly this
ap,rp?ied  to  th,e  khings   <of   `God's  Word and covenant,         work 09 the H:oBy Spirit  %hich  constitutes the point of
me refer specifically Ito  attention in the real, spontan-             c.ontlact  for  `all1   ,Christian  `instruction. The `Lord will
eous  s:piritual  sense of the  sword.     Only then, when we          establish His covenant  (with   IUS  `and  w?th our child-
are actually, truly `interested in the Word of God, be                 ren.
it  ,during  the preaching. of  "ch,at  Word or in-society                     Helzce  our calling is clear.  I The preaching in
aci&ity,  ,w-ill  our  attentioa   (,also  intellectual)  60  thte     DE&vine   w,orship,  the  !discussion   ,at  .OUF   soci.ety  meet-
truth be .assure,d.      Only  rthen  wi.11  .our  society activity    ings, the in8strui&ion'in  our.Christia;n:schooLs            unus't  be
ser.ye  to help  US  grow in ithe  knowledge and agrace  of            in harmony with the  Word of God. `We unus% proceed,
Christ Jesus, and  wil,l   our  discussions be interesting             the prealcher  of the Word and `the ;Chr.isti:an  school in-
and  \beneficial.   !                                                  strtictor, from thebelief that we must not make people
       Attention to, s$rituial  interest in the Wbrd  of God           of  ,God   `or  f;orm  Christian;  charalcters,   0x11  that  `we
is  possi:ble   (only   .when  that Word of  IGod   tias  become       mu& prepare and equip the man of God unto every
the  orbjelct  of our  -love.   Wh,at   .is a recognized  faot         good work. We  wilil  believe then  `that,\God  operates
in natural, life and  recognize:d   2s  sulch   `by  leading           by His  Spirit in  the  hearts  .of  `His  people  and `their
psychologists  of the  wor.ld,  certainly  alpplies  to the            chil!dren,,   .an,d  that the Holy  SpirX~will  `indeed apply
realm  of the spiritual,. ) The truith of IGod,  the develolp-         the  ins;tru,dion  to the co~nscilousnesses  of `the children
meni  of His covenant, the  hisitory  of  Jeho,vviah's  deal-          .of   G.od. We must `indeed proclaim the IbeautieS  of the
ings with His  covenant   (people  can  captiv,ate   o,ur  at-         Word of God and ~God's  peopsle  ,wilrl be $tuyacted  to it.
tention and inter&  ionly when' we have been led to                    Interest in and attention to the beauties  `04   ,God's   tesrti-
recognize  and  see Itheir  i?q$uty  and significance.  `- As          many  will  then  be permanent and abiding. And we
long as other matters, the  things   09  ti,me  and which              can  &rthe;r  maintain  th.at  interest  *and hold that  ;at-
are  below,  have  the  ;lo.ve of our-heart;  spiritu,al  interest     tention  by continuing to hold ,%st  to the Wovd  of !God
in and attention to the spiritual  maltterq  of  lGo.d's               as the only lamp `before our feet and the light upon
covenant  and  #Word  will  (be  impossi!ble.     Etice,pt  ,a man     our path. True preaching, true instruction will always
be  :born agaiT  he canrmt  see the kingdom  of heaven.                arouse true interest and attention. `There, where the
One  m.ay  avail himself of every  pedagogical  ingenuity,             Wlord  `of God is purely  ,preached  and taught, God
)`articl;l>rly  when  deali.ng  with children (and we do               commends  IH'is   iblessings  and  estialbli,shes   ,iHis   17,ovenant,l
not deny the  usefulness  of  th&e  imeans)   ;  ye%,   at&en-         thle Spirit op,erating  mightily within I-he heanti  of ,His
tion,  wholehearted interest in the. *works of `God  must              own. With this instruction we must begin `not in the
be preceded by the work-of  -the  lHoly  Spirit  nvhepdby              s:chooI,.not  when a child  bas  [become  a young man or
He leads us sq&itually into the.  mysteries od the king-               young  Tvoman;   lbut  at home. Our  ch?ldren  must be
dom  .ob   Hea,ven.                                                    trained, .in th% truth of tG.od from  infa&y  on, and !we
   .Hoiwever,  this is  exact&  the point of contact wh+&              need  h.ave  no  doubts   65u't  that spiritual interes't  and
th4e   Frea.cher  of the  .Word  and  Christi.an  `instructor          attention  .wil;l  be   safieguarde,d  and assured.
must ever bear `in mind. We must (believe that the                                                                                H. V.
holy Spirit not only must work this interest in our
heart  buit  also that He does. Besides, this work of
grace is revealed in  the  S&ptures.  ,also  in the sense                                              -
that that which is effected within us is the truth of
God's Word. Hence, to  olbtain   tq,le  attention,,  w,e must
not deviate  f?om the  tru'th  `but  adthere  strictly to it.                   De Keuze Van Een Zendingsveld
We must not try to smake  the Divine worship, school-
`life. society .activity  attr,a&ive  apart from the beauty                    Enkele jaren geleden  werd er door de Classis lonzer
of ;Holy  Writ. Many such external attempts  ,are  made                kepken,  eene commissie rbenoemd  .om  de taak der Clas-
today, particularly in our modern and Arminian evan-                   sicale   Iniwendige   ZendingstcommJssie          te omschrijven.
gelical  (?)  churches,  -to arouse the interest of the                i3t het rapport  dezer  commissie, dat door de kerken
people and  drarw  their  acttention.     These so-called evan-        werd  aangen.omen,   lblijkt   dui.delijk,   dalt  `wij,   a.ls  pro-
gelists  yill engage in all sorts of  a,crobatics   for  the           testantsche  Gereformeerde   ;Kerken,   chit  onze taak en


                                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAREii                                                                191

 roeping *achten om  aending  te drijven onder d ver-                          van het woord kunnen  `we   :door inwendige  zending
 strooide en  -afgedwaalde  Gereformeerden van  <ons  land.                    -verstaan den ambtelijke arbeid door de Kerk van de
 J3et  $dunkt  ons niet  onnut,   om in  (verbalid  met ons                     verbreiding  <en verkondiging van de waarheid in  heel
L  b o v e n   genourd   or?derwerp,   d i t   rapprt   eenigs'zins            den  kring   ,der  Ghcristenheid,  onder alle verstrooiden en
 breedvoeriig  aati  `te h,a&en.       Het luidt als volgt: "Door              afgedwaal,den.  Uit  pratiisch  oogpunt  i,s het  erch%er
 zending  persta.an  wij, in dit verband,  dien  ambtelijken                    verkieselijk,  daitswe  als  ProiDestantsche   Gereformeerde
 aribeid  der Kerk?, waardoor  !zij  hetzgetuigeniis  der  waar-               Kerken  vooralsnolg   onzei  arbeid  !beperken  tot eigen
 l-.eid  uitdraagt en  verkcndigt  voor  ,degeeen,   :die  nim-                %krin.g   :en den kring onzer  a&ge&waaBde   Gereformeepde
 mer  de  wqrheid   .hoorden,   Izoo.alp  ,de  Heidenen,  of ook               ,broederen,  beide in de Christelijke  Gereformeer;de,  en
 VQCI   C.e   verstrcoiden   em   afgedwaalden.   -  Heet  eerste,              Duxh  Reformed  Ke&en.   iHen te  lbereixken,  door hen
 Xame'ijB  de zending  .ondr   .de  Heidenen, ligt thans                      persoonlijk  op  ke  zoelken, door  prediking  en  re'devoe-
 buitIen ,011~  bestek.    We hebben  `het  dus  te doen met den               ringen,  #doo,r  boek  (en  pamphlet;  hiun de waarheid te
 ar1bei.d   on.<er  vers$xooiden,  die  torn   lde  een  `of  andere            verkonbigen,   ,en,  ~`00 ze door  Gods genade tot  ovlertui-
 reden van de  geinstitueerde  kerk  Lviepwijderd   ,geraak-                    ging mogen  iworden  gelbrachti,  Eooveel  FogeLijk tot
 ten  ; en onder  degenen,  `die van de waarheid  a.fdw.ad-                     orlea%aring  te brengen  :als  zuiver.e,  dat is, als  Protes-
 den.  IHet   ,doel   dezIer   aending  moet  a1tij.d   aijn,  in de            tanteche   IGerefor@eerde  Kerken,-ziedaar den arbeid
 eerste plaats, de eere van onze God en Koning, door de                         en het doel  <der Inwendige  Zending."
 verbreiding Zijner  ,waarheid,  en de Verkondiging van                            Uit het  goven  aangehaalde blijkt  ,duidelijk,  dat wij
 Zijnen Naam  ; in de tweede plaats, de vergadering en                         als Berken  W,el  `terdege'  ,onze  roeping en plicht ver-
 `tot Openbaring  lbyengen  van  het lichaam  van   Chrisitus,                 staan;  .o;112  Inwendige  Zend.ing  te drijven  .on'der   a@e
 do,or  het  ttot  stand  brengen van de  geinstitueerde  kerk  ;              verstrooiden en  afge,dw:aalden,  in heel  !den  kring der
 en eindelijk, de  terechtbrenging  van  ,verxtrooiden  en                     Christenhei,d,   maar  ook  da't  wij  detzen   arbeid  hebben
 afgedtwaalden.                                                                te beginnen in eigen  kr<ng$  en in den kring onzer af-
     "Nu  ,gaat  het in ons rapport `over inwendige zen-                       gedw'aaide  Ger.eformeerde   (broederen,  vooral die der
 ding, in  ond,erschei,ding   `van  heidenzending.  Het ter-                   Christelijke Gereformeerde  Kenken,   om'dat  die uit
 rein  is door den term  "inwmdiige".  dus beperkt.                     De     hi:st.or$sch   .oogpunit het  ci'icltst  bij  .on,s  staan.
 vraag  ko&   ,c'a,arom   onvepmijde1ij.k  op: welke kring                         Dit kon ook niet anders. De nood werd ons  c@ge-
 wordt  ,d,o,or  deze  t'erm   !be,doeld?   H.oe  wijd is deze                 legd.  In strikten zin kon  men   #eigenlijk  niet spreken
 kring? Hierop kan  allerlei  antwoord  wlorden gegeven.                       V&-I   .eex   heuze   .van   geen   lzendingsveld.     Het was een-
 In  dlen   allerergsten   zin  va.n  het `woord Ziet deze term                voudig onze  J$icht   .en  heil.ige  roeping om  @ereerst
 o,p  den kring van  Protestan.tsche   G.erefornieerden.                Te     sen   twist   vaart  te zetten tegen onze (moeder, die  ++n
 arikeiden   ,on#der  verstyooiden  en  afgedwa.alden  in eigen                de  waarhe5d   ,der souvereine  gen.a'de  afweek,  ja  lelfs
 kring, onder  degenen,  die  v,ooral  in de tegenwoordige                     verloo*chende. Hadden wij niet  plech;tig   bjeloorfid,  voor
 t i j d ,   do,or   d e   noo:d   d e r   tij(d)  o f   oolk  o m   andere    God  :en voor  IZijine gemeente, dat wij deze waarheid
 redenen,  verhxxis.d,en,   ,en geen  .contact kunnen houden                   zou,den  handhaven, en  Dok  alle  dqalingen  daartegen
 met een  Prote&a&xh.e   \Gereiformeerde  Kerk, is, naar                       zou,d&  verwerlpen  en bestrijden? En  d[aar  het onze
 deze opvatting, de  haak  der inwendige  Zen:di@  voor                        heil.i;ge   ,o~vertui~gin.g   iw'as!,  ,kn  n#og steeds is, dat de leer
 ons:  a11s  Prote&an;t?slch~   IGeFeformeerde  Kerken. Hier-                  der  "Al!gemfeene  [Genade" zooals  &e  ligt  uitgedrukt
 toe  <behoeven   `we  ons echter niet  te, bepalen. Uitgaande                 ,in de "Drie Punten" van 1924, in  &rijd   is  mlet  Gods
 van de overtuiging, dat we door den  H.eere  vlerwaar-                        Woord,  en  unet  o,r&e   ialonde  Gereformeerde belijdenis,
 di,.&  zijn,  `om  in  dezen-tijad   ,van  velerlei verslapping               ,daar  werd de  .noo,d   ,ons   opgeleigd,  .om   deize  dwaling
 en afval,  ;vast te `houden aan  .de  zuivere Gereformeer-                    te verwerpen  ea  m&-aAe   krx'hten  te `bestrijden. Hier
 den,  (in de  tweede   pla,a&. Zij  staaa,  wat  ,de  formeele                was niet te kiezen  f  tle  deelen.
 belijd,eniq   abetr'eft,   het   .dich+st  bij  qns.  En.  a l s   w i j          En het treurige feit dat  de Christelijke  Gerefori
 daar%ij   ook de historie in aanmerking nemen, kunnen                         meterde Kerken ons  hebiben  uitgeworpen, omdat wij
 wij hieraan  ,nog   toevoegenr   rdat   (buiten  den  lengsten                ons strikt hielden  a.an  de  wa&`hei,d  van  Gods   iso'uve-
 cirkel van ,ei,gen  kring,  :,alle&erst   `de 8Christelijke  iGere-           reine  yenade,  en  ,dle  dwaling  der "Drie Punten"  Van
 formeerde  Ker.ken  ons zijn  aangewez,en,   .als   aons  zen-                1924  verwieryen...en   `biestreden, onthief ons niet  van
 dingsveld,  daarna ook de Dutch Reformed  Chur,ch.                            deze dure  roepimg  en  plichit,  ,maar   d,aardloor  ,werd  zij
 De  ,eersten  zijn in 1924 officieel  afsgeweken van  -de                     juist  vers,cberpt.   Het was juist daardoor dat  ,wij
 waarheid der Heilige Schrift en der  Belijcdenis,   e-n                       als een  atparte  op  +chzeJf   &aan.de  Kerkengroep zijn
 moqen -daarom met  r,echtt als  ?fgedwaalden  worden                          geworden,  olm  in  -onderscheiding  van de Kerken  die
 bes.chovwd; de laatsten zijn officieel. de  Dutich   Re-                      ons  hitwier-pen,  de  voortzettinlg  te zijn  yan  de aloude
 foxmed   Church  van 1628;  ,en  vormen  en  kerkver$and,                    Gel%formeerde  Kerken.              En  Idaar   :wij vroeger van
dat  z$ch  kenmerkt  .dor   all.erlei  afwijking en  versJap-                  binnen  uit  de  strij,d  voerden, werden wij nu geroepen
 ping  in  leer en leven  Ibeide. En in den  breedsten   Pin                   om van (buiten af, haar  boe  te roepen  *om  deze  ern&ifge


                                                                                           --.--  --
         ~---                          S-O~THE   ~TANDARD  .BEAIUGR

 dwaling  terre   van  zich te  weTpen,  en  lom-toch  terug                meerd:e.   waa~rbeid.  Men vond deze wijze diep zondig
te keeren  na.ar  de oudte  en bepr&fde  paden. Daar li,gt                  en beschuldigde ons van sectarisch gedoe en slcheur-
&l!ereerst   -.onze   r,oeping  als kleine  kerkengr:oep.           H e t makerij.  `En  t&h  als  Gij  die   Hlatilde!inlgen  der Aposte-
 ligt  ,to&   VIOOY  d  handj  dat wij als Berken niet  de-                 len  nz;gaan  dan is het steeds.  terugkeerende  in hun
roeping hebben om  a.Uereerst   <de   h&e&lijke   IcT-1aarheid              arbeid dit: "En op  den  Sabbat gingen ze  naar  `de
vaa-   Gods  souuereine   genade  pik   tic @agen,  en te  `;ver-           Syngogue  -en  verkondigden aldaar het Evangelie".
.kondigen,  onder degenen,  die nog nimmer deze waar-                       Zie HandeZiigeder             Aposhelen  3 : 1; 9 :20  ; 13 :5  ; 13 :14  ;
heid hadden gehoond,  teywtijl  onze. eigene  moedeir   van                 ,14:1;   17:1,.   2      ;          
                                                                                                                17:17;  18:4;  18:i9;   18:26;  19:8;
 dezer heerlijke  waapheid   afwjeek,  en vele  vn  hare                   21:27  ; en nog meerdere p&aatsen.                 Bet was  juist  daar
*kinderen van deae waarheriid  watnen  v,ers$oken.  Walar-                  delze wijze  tian   iarlbeliden,   ldie  hun  dgor   den1   HseJ&nd
lijk..wij  .mo&ten   `al&  kleine  kerkengroep.   ons   ar;beids-           werd  ibevolen,  dak zij  de bittere vijands.chap  (der  Joden
v&d-   niet   veKide,r  zc&en   idban   o m   !te  twistien   t e g e n     Yeroo;yIzaiakten.      - De  eenige  vraag voor de  spots~el~en,
moetder, en  om  lin  htiakj   r&dcn  tic strijden en  ite  ge-             adaook  voor  ons, is "alleen,  aooals   <onlangs   ,werd  uit-
tuigen  voor  d,e   waarheid   van   Gods   souvereine  ge-                 gedrukt in "De  Refosmartie"   ;  "Nu zou  i.k niet  (durven
nade.                                                                       bewere,  dat elke beweging, welke  bvardeejdheici  en
    .En  niemand zegge,  jd.at   Idiit  een.  stiijd  is  lvan   mindIer    #onrust  in Id,e  gemeente teweeg brengt,. Ite  ver,oordeeilen
belang, f d'a8 wij een"al  te zwar.e  strij.d  Strijlden.          He't    is.  .De  geschiedenis der Kerk  l#eer;t  (anders. Dikwijls
gaat  om `het  heil  mn Sion, ,o'rn  i!even  f doojd.         Immers       wias het God zelf,   die de kerke1ij.k  rust  verstoor.de  om
is de I,eer  van   Gods  souvereine  g:enade,  van verkiez&ng               tot nieuw leven  op-&e  wekken. Bij de  -eoordeellng van
en  eerwe.rpRn.g,,,  het  hart   aer Kerk.  I  L,o,oclten   &z:e            een `beweging :mag  .a!jzoo  niet  de ma,@  overheerschen,
w.aar,heid,  en.& ke+k-lqvijnk  en stlepfit. !Voeg  in pla&s                of  zij  onrust verwekt,  ?XXUXY   moet worden  nagegam  of
van deze ,wa!arheid,  de dwaling van ,een  iall&emeenn  wel-                zij  dp. toets  van   Chcls   Woor/d  kan   cZoomtau~n."   Ja,
meenend   ,ala&od   vlan   genadle,  en de kerk  vervalt  ia                zeker,  ,de taak der Zending moet  vtan huis uit beginnen,
Arminianisme,  Humanisme, en  Moldernisme.  Daarom naar het  moorbeeid  der Apostelen, en naar het  bev&l
is  ,onze   -@lak,   om tegen deze  dwalring  te  strij,den,   zoo          van  onzen  Hj@land.
ernstig.  Daiarom  ligt  oxxs   a&e&dsveld   nie$ allereerst                    Zoo  was het ook in .geheel  `de &&%edetiis  dser kerk.
in `rt heidenidom,  lmaar  hier in Jeruzalem. Daarom   ge-                  Ook de mannen der  R.eformactiie,,  Huss, Luther,  .Calvijn,
-c?:o;len   tij, als  Proteshaatsch;e   Gesefor.meerde  Kerken,            Zwingli, Knox en  anideren,  richtten  zich  alt,oos weer,
dja:t  de kring der  Chtistelij~k   eGe&formeNende  Klerken                 in  hutien   iazybei:d,  tot de  kelrk  waarin -ze  #eens  een naam
DDE eerste  `l:an   #Gods ons aangewezene plaats is, -om                    en  pla&s  haldden.  Ook de  m!annen  der Afscheiding
zending cte  dirijven.            T                                         zochten hun aYbeidsterre:in,  niet  in het  lvlerne  heiden-
    Het  is voloral  ,dit feit, dat  tij ,ons arbeidsveld zoch-             dom, maar juist  n  .de  kring   ider  kerken  die hun een
ten  onder  de afgedwaalde -Gereformeerden, dat ieer                        $aat's  hadden ontzegd. Alzo:ol  was het ook &n  de dagen
veel  .tegenstamd-  en. vijandschip tegen.  o!ns  heefit   veroor-,         der  Doleantie,  onder Dr. &brah!am   Kuyper.
`zalskt.   Keer-  op keer  moes&en wij het  :in onzen  zen-                    En- niet  and,erts  srtorid  lde zaak onder de voorgangers
dingsa,pbeib   booren:  Waanom_werkt  Dsi  &k  j!ugst  in                   der'hedendaagsche Christelijk Gere$ormeerde  Kerken.
de -kring  onEer  kerken? Waarom niet  bnlder   degenen                     Is  cm&  .zoo   siploe!dig  eigen  ges!chiedenis  vergeten.  11s
I die Inog  nimney  de wa&%eid   h&ben  gehoord? Waar-                     men in het  .begin  *der uittreding ,dad&jk gegaan naar
o.m   galalt-hiij  niet naar  ;de heidenen? Het  -wais  voorB1              het  Indi,anenveild,  naar  China,  f naar  Africa?   Itmm,ers
vanwege deze wijze en  rmethode  van  aFbeiden   (dat wij                   neen ! Dl'at  .kwtim  .pa,s een  bijftilg jaren later.  Mem
veel  en  ibittere  tegenstand moesten  .on&rvinden.                        wendde zich allereerst tot de, naar hun opvatting,
    En toch is het juist deze wijze van  zending d.ri,jven                  fgedwaahde  sG&forlmeerde  [broerderen.
die bei'de  ,door de Heilige Schri,ft  en de Kerkges,chaede-                    VolgenS   Gods   WoouTd  en de  ges:chied;eni,s  der Kerk,
n1s woydt  bevestigd.       Alzoo  handelden  `d:e  apostellen   d,es       staah  hek  dfa!arolm  vast,  dat-het  wer.X  ,der  Zending altijld
-Heeren.    Vol,gens   dies ,Heilands  bevel  liep  de lijn &ij,d           weer van  huis uik  moet beginnen. Het is  waar,  daar
`weer  : Jeruzalem, Judea, Samara en tot aan het uiter-                    eindigt  olnze  roeping  niet,   ,rn-iar  daar begint ze toch
ste der aarde. Ook zij ,werden  bevolen om te ;tw$ten                       wel  voagens   .bet   vopdracht  van  `onzen   H,eiland,   en- het
tegen  hunliieder   Moedter,  beginnende  `van   Jeruzaliem.                voorlbeeld   -dter  Apostalen,  en die Reformatoren.
Lukas   24:44-49.      Nimmer weken zij van deze m&hode                                                                                      B. K.
van  arloeiden.
 . Het   %erld  ons  door  den redakteur van de Banner,                                                            -
de  ,Rev..  H.  J.  Kuiper,  en anderen,  zeer  kwalijk ge-
nomen,  !da$  .wlij in  #onzen   arbteimd  ons  heshaaldel,ij8  wend-                   To live apart  from God is death;
den tot de  ker.ken,  waarin wij  waFen   g&oren en ge-                                    "`i'is  good His face to seek;
togen, toch die  oas   zoo  onrechtvaardig  ui:tw;ierpen,                               My refuge is- the living God,                   '
omdai$   Iwij getquw   wilden   (blijven   aan   d e   bererfor?                          His  praise  1 long to speak,


