                                                                                                                                                                               I





VOLUME  XVIII.                 -                  -                    MAY1,1942                 ~..                 ..~.-.                     ~--i'&JhIEiER`15

                                                                                bet volk  verkondigd? Hebben we hier te  denken  -aan
~.  ..`-&f.E:]D~.1'H'  A-T  pj+  " iets, dat . werkelijk- plaats  .,greep -in  -bet leven  &n den
                     . . _.  .__          _.__  .  .  _  _-  ,  -...-  _  -     apbeid  -van  `den  profeet onder de  teruggekeerden uit
                                                                                Babel,,-en  dat aldus  pFofeti.e-werd  van hetgeen-later zou
                                                                                gesehieden?  .-Of hebben -we  bier- te-  doen met een  pro-
_            Hit W.ei&n  `I&. .f%ich'ts&ipen                                    fetische  handeling, die door den  profeet voor de oogen
                                                                                van het volk werd verricht, en wa-ardoor-het Woord-des
             .          -    _  .-_  _                                          Heeren in  concreten vorm tot Israel  kwam.? Of  kwam
     _,.           .'Dies heb  ik  d&e  &khts&apen   geke&,
                   dew:ijl  xij  e&len$ge  schapen  zijn; en  ik heb            dit Woord des  H&eren-tot  den  profeet in den  vlorm van
                                                       ___.                    een drievoudig visioen, dat hij later  aan-  bet  volk  mede-
                   mij ge?omen twee stokke?,  c&n eenen`heb ik .&&de?                             ,.          _:  ._
                   ~eri&md  L~~FELIJK@ID;  en den andyen                       Ret
                                                                                 .  laatste is meest  waarschijnlijk..                                         -
                   heb  ik  ge'noemd  SAMENBINDERS; en  ik                            Immers komen er in dit  .hoofdstuB  elementen voor,
              -  heb.  d i e   Ghapen  ~e~&kl.                 -  z&h.  il.-r: die -door den.  profeet niet kunnen zijn  verricht of  er-
       Vreem,de opdracht !                                                      varen,  noch  `in de  werkelijikheidj  noch in  dsen  vorm
     Weidt deze slachtschapen!                                                  eerier.  profetisch-syn%bolCische  handeling.  Denk maar
        Immers is het  .een  schijnbaar hopelooze en ook -aan het-  .afsnijden der drie  .herders in  &5ne.  maand
doellooze taak, om  sltichtschapen.  nag te  weiaeq,  &a-                       (vs.  %),-en  aan  -h-et  eistihen en het -afgewogen  worhen
pen, die ten  doode zijn genoemd en reeds op weg zijn van des profeten loon `(vs. 12)  .-  - .                                                        --            .~  :
naar de slaohtbank. . . .                    -                  -,'                   -We-  hebben hier  -dus te  .denken.  aan  prof&ische   ge-
        Het  `last  zich  denken,  -dat de  profeet  bezwaag  zou               zicht,en.
h&ben  t,ege'n het  iCtvoer&   van dit bevel,  dat hij  al-                        -Diih aan de ged,achte in deze.opdracht vervat veran-
thans zonder veel ijver en geestdrift  zich zette tot het                       dept  dit  ni,&s.  -           _.                        __           _              -
volbrengen van den hem opgedregen  task.-   AI:;L,  waar-                             Weidt  .deze  -slachtschapen,-aldus  is de opdracht,
om  tech  dit bevel?. -Was het  -da-n geen werk,  da+ er-op                     die de  profeet van den Heere  on$vangt.-
ber'ekend was, om  ,den.ui,tvoerder van den  aanvang.alle                             En-de  profeet  vervult haar ten einde toe : Dies heb
moed  te,benemen? Waarom  tocllj- o  -Heere?  .  ;  -..  -.                    ik  deze slachtschapen  geweid;-  .-                        :..
..- Weinig verschil maakt het-  daanbij, althans wat de                               Wonderlijke  opdracht  !             - .                        .-
ide,e  aangaat, hoe we ons den  vorm:voorstellen, waarin                                                      _ __  ._  _ .  -                                ._.  _.
deze profetie- door  den-profeet--werd-   ontiangen  en  uit-                                                                     .,            :      ;             . .
                                                                                                                           , .
gevoerd. Er komen in hoofdstuk drie verschillende  -pro-                         .:.-_                  _     -__          -.              .-          _.                 _
.fetie&vooq die  .op het nauwst met  elkander in  ver-                           Slachtschapen  !                                                             ~.
band  staan, `en die,  w-at den vorm-  betreft-,  alle een                            En let  we1 : niet  Mi@ej-maar  dexe slachtschapen !
zekere profetische  actie veronderstellen. De eeaste is                               ..Want slachtschapen zijn  we1 schapen, die -ten  doode
die  van de opdracht om de slachtschapen te weiden,                             Zjn  gedoemd;  die naar- de  slach$bank   worden  gevoerd;
een  opdracht,~ die door den  profeet  getrouw wordt  uit-                      en  we1 zijn  dex-e  slac&tschapen  het  -voB-Israel% dat zijn
,gevoerd. D,e tweede is de profetie van het verbreken                           o<dergang. tegemoet ging ; maar  tech maakt het groot
van` de herdersstaven en  -hetgeen  er mee in  verband verschil  uit  weik oogpunt het wordt aangecluid  ds
staat. En de derde is die' van  de. voorstelling eens                           siachtschapen.                                    _  ._-.
dwazen herders en zijn  gereedsehap.                                                  Wil het  h,ier zeggen, dat ze  zich qpenbaarden als
        En  d'e vraag komt  op : hoe  ontving de  prof,eet  `deze               Gods  vo1.k  in de wereld, dat ze getrouw-  waren-aan
drievoudige profetie, en  -hoe  werd  ze door-  hem  aan                        Jehova,  hynnen  GOdj en  da&  daa,rq   &  yijand hen

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

  haatte en  venvolgde  en den ganschen dag doodde, en               zou  willen weiden? Weidt men dan slachtschapen?
hen achtte als schapen der slachting? Of spreekt de                  Ligt dan in  .dat weiden niet een  daad  van gunst en
  Heere  Zelf hier, en noemt Hij hen slachtschapen,  om-             l i e f d e . En als God de schapen  wi1 geweid hebben,
 .dat Hij Zelf het vonnis des doods over hen  he&ft  uitge-          houdt dit dan niet in,. dat Hij bedoelt hen te verzorgen
  sproken,  r.eeds  v66r  d,e  grondl,egging der wereld, en          en te voeden, hen te beschermen en te zaligen?
  thans ook in den tijd,  oimdat ze rijp  worden voor het                Zeker, wat het  .overblijfsel betreft!
  oordeel ?                                                              En in dat overblijfsel naar de verkiezing der genade
         Beide zou  we1 kunnen.                                      ligt  dtij,d het positieve motief  van het weiden der
         Ach,`,Gods verkoren en getrouwe  vol8 klaagt immers         schapen.
  diikyijls : "Maar om uwentwil  worden wij den  ganscheiz               Israel was  & kudde. En in die  &ne kudde was  -er
 ,dag gedood  ; wij  worden geacht als slachtschapen." tot het einde toe  bet overblijfsel naar de verkiezing der
  Ps.  44:23.  En ook van deze slachtschapen  lezen  wi genade, dat geweid moest  worden en behouden.
 tech in het  ver,band, dat het hunne bezitters zijn, die                Maar bij die  B&e kudde behoorde ook het  verwor-
 hen dooden, en het: voor geene  schuld` houden  ; dat een           pen, vleeschelijk Israel. En dat vleeschelijk element
 iegelijlk dergenen, die hen  `verkoopen zegt :  `5GelooM            -nammtoe  ,in aantal, in invloed, in  macht,  kreeg de over-
 zij de Heere, dat -i-k rijk  geworden  ben"; en dat  nie-           hand. En, die  &ne kudde moest  worden geweid met
 mand hen verschoont.  vs. 5. En het zijn immers  "ellen-            het  eindelijlk   gevolg,  dat in den weg der  verharding,
 dige schapen", die nog door den Heere  geweid  -worden. -bet Joodsche  volB rijp werd voor het  oordeel en  ver-
 %n  w-aarom zou de  Heer,e dan verworpen goddeloozen                worpen werd, terwijl het overblijfsel behouden werd,
 ,weiden, die  reed:s ten  o,ndergang  zijn gedoemd? Maar,           efi  ovferging in de Kerk der nieuwe  #bedeeling.
  aan den anderen kant,  er  wordt in  h'et  verband  ooB                En nu zou het  we1 kunnen, dat een onderherder
 -gesproken  van een oordeel Gods. De Heere zelf  zal zou meenen, dat hij die goddelooze slachtschapen niet
 hen niet meer  verschoonen, maar Hij zal hen  over-                 meer moest weiden,  dat zijne ziel al te spoedig  ver-
 lever&n, zoodat -de vijand het  land te  morzel zal  slaan,         drietig. over hen zou  worden.
 en de Heere zal hen niet verlossen.           Bovendien heet            Het laat  zich  denken, dat hij "alleen voor de  uit-
 het  strsuks : "Mijne  z&l was  over hen verdrietig  ge-            vepkorenen zou  willen prediken" !
 ,worden, en ook had hunne ziel een walg van mij. E n                    Vandiaar  de  opdracht : `%eidt  deze slachtschapen."
 ik zeide : Ik  sal ulieden  niet- meer weiden  ; wat  sterft,
da-t sterve, en wat afgesneden is,  dat zij afgesneden,                  En: dies heb ik deze slachtschapen geweid!
 en  dai de  overgeblevenen de een des  anderen vleesch
 verslinden." vss. 8, 9. Straks wegen ze den herder het
 looti' der  verachking nit, vs. 12.       En de staven  d:es
 .herders  worden  verbroken! . . . .                                    Ik  heb ze geweid!
         En to& deze twee elementen sluiten  elkander niet               Maar wie is deze herder?
 uit.                                                                    ieker, in de allereerste  plaats  de  profeet Zacharia,
         Veeleer  moeten ze  aan elkander  worden  venbonden.        zcoals  `hij in  h& profetisch gezicht  bezig is, en als
         Blachtschapen zijn het, die door  -den Heere ten            herder  ov,er  Israeil optreedt.
 doodk gedoemd zijn, en voor  welker  slacht.ing  Hij de                 In de  tweede plaats,  zeke? ook alle onderherders,
 vijanden als Zijne instrumenten  gebruikt. Of, om het               die hem  volgden tot  aan de komst  Tan  Christus  toe.
 beeld  te laten varen, Israel wordt hier  beschouwd uit             W-ant immers  strekt   deze,profetie,  die spreekt van het
 het oogpunt van zijn  verworpell,  vlseeschelijken  bolster.        verbreken der  staven   Liefelij!kheid  ens  Samenbind,ers,
 God'wil  hen ten ondergang  boeren. En de  vij,anden en die gewaagt van `het loon der  verachting, dat men
 .yan rondom  willen het ook, en  worden door den  Aller-            den herder uitkeert,  zich  vleel verder uit dan het leven
 hoogste  ge'bru'ikt  tot  datc&oel. -I&t zijn  dus geen  slacht-    en den herdersarbeid van den  profeet. Hier zijn dus  _
 schapen, die door de wereld als zoodanig  worden  tbe-              inbegrepen al de herders, die ooit Israel hebben geweid,
 echouwd  en behandeld, doch  di.e voorwerpen zijn van               al de profeten, -die het Oud Testamentische  volik het
 IGods  gun&  ; maar voorwerpen  vaq Gods toorn en                   Woord Gods hebben verkondigd tot den dag van  Chris-
 eeuwige gramschap  zijn het, wier ondergang nabij is.               tus toe.
 Israel  wordt hier profetisch  ~beschreven in zijn  snellen            Zelfs geldt dit woord  allen, die door God geroepen
 a&al en ondergang, na de ballingschap en tot  op                    zijn, ook in de  nieu-we bedeeling, tot den eindelijken
 Christus, door God  zelf  ten ondergang  en  verwo&ng               dag van  Christus  toe, om de gemeente Gods te weiden.
 overgegeven  aan de hen hatende  wereld,macht !                     Want de  gexhiedenis van het Israel der oude bedeeling
         Weidt deze slachtschapen !                                  herhadt  zich in de  kerk der nieuwe bedeeling. Altijd
         Die heb ik deze slachtschapen geweid!                       is er de uitverkorene kudde Gods, en altijd zijn er de
         Maar hoe nu ? Is het dan niet in  tegenspraalk met          slachtschapen, en altijd  krijgt het  vleeschelijlk  element
 zichzelven,   d& God verworpen, vleeschelij-ke  kinderen de  overhand, en sltijd komt  .opnieuw  de  opdpacht  tot


                                           T - H E   STAN,DARD  B E A R E R                                                          327

de herders,  wi'er ziel al te spoedig verdrietig zou  wor-            voedt  de--0pperste Herder Zijne kudde in  `bet  midden
den over de schapen: Weidt deze slachtsehapen!                        der wereld.
       Maar ook zoo is niet genoeg'gezegd.                               Door hen  weidt H-ij ook de slachtsehapen !                 .
       Er is hier meer  dan,de  profeet en dan  alle profeten!            Daarom  worden ze gesteld tot een reuke des levens
       Er is  bier een hooger Ik!                                     ten leven, maar ook tot een  reuke des doods ten  doode.
       Immers, hoe zou de  profeet kunnen zeggen : "Ik  heb               En  wlie getrouw is ten einde toe, verstaat zijn  op-
drie herders in eene  maand afgesneden"? vs. 8. En                    dracht : "weidt deze slachtschapen."
ook hetgeen verder in dat achtste  vers wordt gezegd:                     En zegt: "Dies heb ik deze slachtschapen geweid!"
"want mijne ziel was  o'ver  ,hen  verdri-etig geworden, en              W i e   i s   b e k w a a m ?
ook had hunne ziel eene walg van  mij", kan  we1  `op den
.profeet toegepast  worden, maar  tech niet in laatster
instanti,e op hem  balleen, of ook  zelfs in de eerste  nlaats.
Ook zou een menschelijke herder niet van zichzelven                       Weidt zti!
kunnen besluiten om de schapen niet meer te weiden,                       En weiden beteekent altijd hetzelfde: leiden,  be-
om te laten  sterven, wat sterft, en afgesneden  te  laten,           seller-men, voeden !
wat afgesneden is;  `noch  odk om zijne  herde-rstaten                    Zoo weidt de Opperste Herder Zijne kudde. Zoo
Liefelijskheid  en Samenbinders te verbreken. En  voor- leidt Hij de-Zijnen in het spoor der gerechtigheid. Zoo
al  -oak uit  -bet  .afwegen van het loon der  veracliting,           beschermt Hij hen tegenover de  macht der vijanden,
-genomen  in~het `licht van de. eindelijike   vervulling daar-        die het op liun  verderf  toeleggen. Zoo voedt Hij hen
van,  -is het  we1 duidelijk,  dat hier  "een hooger Ik  ops          met het brood des levens.
`treedt-a-1s   :de Herder  der-  slachtschapen.                           En zoo doet  o&k de onderherder. Hij weidt de
       Daaroti is deze Herder  allereerst God Zelf !                  schapen,.  .ook de slachtschapen !
       I-Iij is de Herder  Israel%  Hij heeft  Z-ijne schapen            Hij neemt  zich daartoe de  twee stokken, hem door
verkoren  v66r  d,e grondlegging der  .wereld.  Dij  ver-             den, Oppersten Herder ter hand  gesteld : Liefelijhheid
~gadef  -Zijnekudde in den  tijd, `en dat  we1 zoo, dat er            en Samenbinders. Het zijn herdersstaven. Ze zijn
.bij die kudde  .altijd  weer slachtsehapen gevonden  wor-            des herders gereedschap, waarmee hij de kudde weidt.
en.      Hij  vedost  Zijne  uitverkorene'  schayen van  .de          Ze  `zijn dus- in het  -algemeen  sjitibool van het  middel,
`schulld-der  zond,e,-  roept -hen  uitde  duisternis  tot Zijn       waardoor de onderherder de kudde van en Oppersten
wonderbaar  -1iCht;  voedt  ,hen- en  weidt hen,  bescher-mt          IHerder weidt. En dat middel is altijd hetzelfde. Beide
hen en  -bewaart  hen, en  geeft him het  eeuwige  leven.             in de oude en in de nieuwe bedeeling weidt de herder
En Hij  weidt  oak de  slachtschapen;en  maaktthen door               altijd de kudde door middel van het Woord des  Evan-
Zijne  -weiding   .vet voor  .den dag-der`slachting. Of wie gelies.  Ben ander middel bezit hij niet. Dat Woord
is  -anders tot deze  dingen  bekwaam? . . . .                        verkondigt hij. Door dat Woord wordt de kudde  ge-
       Deze Herder is  &5k~Christus,   .zooals overduidelijk is       voed, geleid, gesterkt,  besehermd in  bet.  midden der
-uithet  volgend  verband,  vooral  uit het afgewogen  wor-           wereld.' En dat  Woord wordt door de  twee  stokken
den- van  bet loon  -der verachting. Hij is geen  ander voorgesteld naar  tw,ee zijden, uit  tweeerlei  oo,gpunt:
dan  `de..Herder  Israels,   maar God in het  vJ:eesch;  zooals       het is een  Woord van Liefelijkheid, van schoonheid,
IIij tot  Zijne:scha-pen.-komt,   om-hen  te  verlossen en  te        van  aantrekkelijlkheid, -gunsten-genade :  `de  voile  liefe-
vorheerlijken, hen  te  w&den ten  .eeawigen  leven. -Hem             lijk.heid  Gods in  Christus   Iezus  over..Zijn  volk is er in
heeft God  v&r de grondlegging der  wtereld  verordi- -geopenbaard  en. wordt er in verkondigd  ;  .en-het  -is-een
neerd tot  Oppersten  Herder. En  Hij is -g&omen,-heeft               Woord van  Snme&&&irqy, want het  verkondigt  vrede-
Zijn  leven  gestelldvoor   .de sehapen; -is  -verheerlijkt; en in den band des Verbonds, de  jbandaan God door  Chris-
weidt en.besehermt  vanden.hemel -de schapen, die .Hem                tus, de band. der eenheid in  lief,de tot  elkander.
door den  Vadser  zijn gegeven. -En niet, 66n van:hen zal                Ander  gereedeehap  h:eeft de herder niet.
verloren-gaan  in-der eeuwigheid. . . .                                  Met die twee staven, door  dat'eene  Woor,d, weidt
       Maar- ook Bij heeft de opdraoht : "weidt deze-slacht-          -hij de geheele kudde.                   .I  -    .-
schapen  !" En ook  `Hij is  a-an deze opdracht getrouw,                 Het  .6&e liefelijke, saambindende  Wo'ord wordt  al-
zoodat ze "ziende  zien; en  niet  bemerken, en  -hoorende            tj-id.  aan  allen zonder onderscheid  verkondi.gd.
hooren, en niet  verstaan  ;  :opdat  .ze  zich niet  te  -eeniger       En altijd is de uitkomst  tweevouclig.
tijd  -bekeeren,  en  hunde  zonden  vergeven  worden."                  De slachtschapen  worden verhard. Hunne ziel
IKark  4:13.      En  `Hij  da&t  .des Vader,. d-at Hij deze krijgt een  walg van-den onderherder, en van den  Ok-
-dingen  voor-de  wijzenenverstandigen verborgen-heeft.               persten Herder.         Straks  worden ze overgegeven  aan
                                                                                                          :
       En,.zoo  zijn hier dan  eindelijk bedoeld de  onder- het verderf.
herders,  ,door wie-  deze- Opperste Herder  werkt, de  pro-              En de "ellendigen" onder hen  worden  behouden !
-feten, strak&le-  apostelea,  de her,ders en leeraars.                   En bekennen  :-  bet was des  Heeren Woord  !
       Door  -hen  vergadert: en bewaart en  beschermt  en                                                                    H .   H .
                                \


       328                                                                                                                        T H E   STANDARD   B E A R E R


                                            The Standard Bearer                                                                                                                                                                                                    -
                    Semi-Monthly, except Monthly in July and August
                                                                           Published by
                                The Reformed Free  l?&Bisbing  Association
                                                         1101  Hazen  Street, S. E.  -
                                                  EDITOR - Rev. ,H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                           A Deeepf;ive  Application
              Contributing editors-Revs. J. Blankespoor, A. Cammenga,
              P. De Boer, J. D. de Jong,  H.  De Wolf, L. Doezema,                                                                                                                                            According to reliable reports by several well-pleased
              M. Gritters, C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers,  G: M.  Qphoff,                                                                                                                                   of his audience, a Christian Reformed minister in
              A. Petter, M.  Schipper,  J.  Vanden   Breggen, H. Veldman,                                                                                                                                  .Grand Rapids recently preached a sermon on Genesis
              R. Veldman, W.  ,Verb.il,  L. Vermeer, P. Vis, G. Vos,                                                                                                                                       14 : 13 in which he emphasized that the Christian must
              and Mr. S. De Vries.                                                                                                                                                                         not separate himself from the world, and that it is
            Communications relative to contents should be addressed                                                                                                                                        proper for him to become member of the worldly
              to REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin St,, S.  E.; Grand                                                                                                                                        unions.
           Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                                                                  The text reads as follows: "`And there came one
              Communications relative to subscription `should  be. ad-                                                                                                                                     that had escaped, and told  Abra.m the Hebrew; for he
              dressed to MR. R.  SCHAAFSMA,  1101  Hazen St., S. E.,
             Grand Rapids,  Mich.  All Announcements and Obituaries                                                                                                                                        dwelt in  the:plain of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of
             must be sent to the above address and will not be placed                                                                                                                                      Eschol, and brother of Aner: and these were con-
             unless the regular fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice.                                                                                                                                       federates with Abram." It is usually explained that
                                                      Subscription $2.50 per year                                                                                                                          these confederates took part with Abram in the pursuit
                   Entered as second  class  mail at Grand Rapids, Michigan                                                                                                                                of and battle against  the- kings that had invaded the
                                                                                                                                                                                                           land of Canaan, and in the  rescning of Lot and the
                                                                                                                                                                                                           people of Sodom..
                                                                                                                                                                                                              It is not impossible that the preacher had read
                                                                                                                                                                                                           Dr,  Kuyper's `De Gemeene  Gratie", for in this work
                                                                                                                                                                                                           of the Dutch theologian one may find a paragraph in
                                                                         CONTENTS                                                                                                                          this passage of  Seriptur,e which attempts to prove that
                                                                                                                                                                                                   Page    Abram  and Sarah did not live in the land of Canaan
       MEDITATIE -                                                                                                                                                                                         "as two lonely vagabonds, without any contact with,
             HET  WEIDEN DER SLACHTSCHAPEN . . . . b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325                                                                                                 the surrounding  trilbes".  (I:325)  ~ It must be con-
                     Rev. H. Hoeksema.                                                                                                           - .                                                       sidered very questionable, however, whether even Dr.
       EDITORIALS  1                                                                                                                                                                                       Kuyper  would  have agreed with the  appiication  made
             A  DENCEPTIVE  APPLICATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;..I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328 -to membership in, the worldly unions by the preacher
             THE SALT OF THE EARTH,-A PRETEXT.*............;  . . . . -...329                                                                                                                              referred to above. In fact, in view of the separate
                     Rev. H. Hoeksema.                                                                                                                                                                     action in various departments of life and the necessity
       !tlHE TRIPLE KNOWLEDGE  -                                                                                                                                                                           for separate organization emphasized by this Dutch
            EXPOSITION   OF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM..... .  .330                                                                                                                                          author and leader, we may well draw the conclusion
                     Rev. H. Hoeksema.                                                                                                                                                                     that he would have eondemned such application whole-
             CONTRIBUTION .,........................;  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :.`....  l,......... 332                                                                  h e a r t e d l y .
                                                                                                                                                                                    : .* .:
=.a                 Mr. S. Bylsma.                                                                                                                                                                            But however this may be, the application is cer-
             THE BOOK OF ESTHER .: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :..: . . . . 333 tainly deceptive, and the interpretation of Scripture on
                    Rev. G. M. Ophoff.                                                                                                                                                                     which it is supposed to be based is erroneous.       It is
       DE BEDRIEGLIJKE TONG UITGEROEID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1336 `deceptive, because it tends to make the people of God
                    Rev. -G;. Vos                                                                                                                                                                          join the worldly unions with a clear conscience  .ancl
             KENNENDE HET  GOED  EN HET  KWAAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339                                                                                                         with an appeal to the Word of God. It even presents
                    R e v .   W .   V e r h i l .                                                                                                                                                          such action on the part of the Christian as being in
            INTfERMARRIAlGE                                        . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
                                                                                                                                                                                        f . . . . 341      accord with the will of God. It is he that refuses to
                    Rev. H. Veldman.
                                 .                                                                                                                                                                         join that acts contrary to the divine will and to the
           .THE VALUE CF EXPO~SITORY PREACH&G  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343                                                                                                                     revealed Word of God. But the interpretation of the
                    Rev. J. Blankespoor.                                                                                                                                                                   text that is implied here is certainly erroneous. Let
       `COMMUNISM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
                                                                                                                                                                       ,..: . . . . . . . . . . . 345      us note, in the first place, that it proceeds from the
                   Rev. L. Vermeer.                                                                                                                                                                        supposition that  Mamre, Eschol, and Aner were ungod-
            ti&KS' FiidM OUR CIIURCHES...:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I.... 347 ly men.                                                                                   This is a thing that is  freqriently  taken for
               -Mr.  S. De Vries.                                                  -                                                                                                                       granted. Abram was the only regenerate, God-fearing
                                                                                                                                                                                                           man in the land of Canaan at that time,  ala the rest


                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                                          329

were reprobate and wicked. However, that this sup-             join it first. Hence, it is evidently the plain duty of
position cannot be maintained is evident  fro& the  pre:       the Christian to  .become member. The Word of  `God
seme of a  mgn like  Melchisedec,  king of Salem  and          demands it of him.
pkiest of the  most High God. Why may there not have               It is next to  impossiible,  in view of actually existing
been (in fact, there must have been) other God-fearing         conditions, and in view of the evident motives of all
people in a land that counted among its  iDhabitants           that join the worldly unions, to  b,elieve that they who
a king that was priest of God? L&t us note, secondly, advsnce this argument are serious. It is the  bread
that we read  `chatthe three Canaanites were  "confeder-       cpestion  pure and simple that determines one's action
-ates'9 with Abraham, which is something quite differ-         when he  ,becom& member. Afterwards he may try
ent  f.rom membership in the union. Abram entered              to soothe his conscience, to justify his action which he
.in$o. an alliance with-his neighbors as the head and          knows is wrong, and to find arguments in the Word of
chief of a not inconsiderable. army (for those days)           God to help him in this evil purpose of justifying him-
of three  hundred and eighteen men, for the defense of         self  `in a wrong cause,-fact  ,is that his action was
the country against  the invading kings. But  wlhen  one       motivated by fear that he  wonld not have a job, or by
,becomes` member of the union he joins an existing body        the desire to keep a good job. Perfectly  carnal, reasons
on its  own basis, and promises to abide by and to act         motivated him in taking the step, and  he'knows it.
according to its  ruJ.es and principles.     IHe does not          But let us take the argument seriously for a mom-
form a confederacy but takes upon himself a yoke, and          ent, and analyze it.
that yoke is the yoke of unbelievers. How true this is,            Fir& of  all, it may  Ibe remarked `that the exegesis
may be inferred from the fact that a Christian does            of the phrase. "salt of the earth" that is implied in
not join a union freely, but  By compulsion, i.e. because      this argument is not Scriptural. Salt,  a,c,cording to
`the union closes the shop to him if he does not become        this  exp!anation,  i,s a  preserwafiive  : it is used to prevent
member. -Let us note, in the third place,  that `the  eon-     corruption. But  in. Scripture salt is  not presented as
f ederacy was, evidently, Abram's  conf  edemcy. In  the a preservative against corruption,  bdut  .as a seasoning
whole history of the pursuit of the kings that had cap-        to render the food palatable and savory. Let us note
tured Lot, Abram is the chief figure, and he takes the         in this connection, too, that the Lord does not say that
initiative. It is to him that God gives the victory, and       ISis people are the salt of the "world", but the salt of
he dispenses  w$h the  booty. Let us not forget that           the "earth".
the land of Canaan was Abram's land by promise. He                 Secondly, even if one takes the explanation that is
defends his  ow1~`country, and expels the wicked from          implied in the  above mentioned argument, it should
the  inheritan.ee of God. In this action the three neigh-      be noted that salt is certainly no  restorative. One does
bors were Abram's allies, confederates.  But. if  one          not put salt in rotten meat to cure it.
joins the union he allies himself with the world  ; the            Thirdly, let us not forget, that when one joins the
world does not join his cause, but he joins  the cause         worldly union he pledges himself to abide by the prin-
of the world. The two cases  are exact  opposi&es!             ciples and practices of the union. He agrees to the
    If the  .preacher who made  us& of this text to de-        closed shop,  then boycott and  alI1 kinds of unchristian
fend membership  ill the worldly  hnions had -at  alil, principles and practices. In other words, he promises
understood the Word of God, he would have preached             beforehand that he will not act as the salt of the earth
a different sermon,                                            in the union. Just let anyone put this to the test. Let
    As it stands, he abused the Word of God to mislead         him try to join a union on condition that he, will not
the flock, and to plunge the Church headlong into the          agree to the principle of the closed shop. He  will1 soon
world !                                         H. H.          discover that "the substance" refuses to take "the
                                                               salt".
                                                                   We  can well agree with Prof. L.  Be&hof (the one
                                                               of  193.6))  when he writes  :.
                                                                   "Finally, the question arises: What should our
                                                               C.hristian laborers do in view of the anti-Christian
    The Salt Of The Earth, - A Pretext                         character of the general labor unions? Shall we say
                                                               that they ought to join the existing organizations and
  A very  common  argument used to defend the mem-             attempt to reform them.7 From what we said in the
bership of the  .Christian  in.  a- worldly union is that      foregoing you can easily infer that we do not  int'end
God's people must be salt of the earth.  Now?  .salt is        to give any such advice. .It  is. our firm conviction that
of no use as long as it remains outside of the substance       the idea of such a reformation is purely illusory, for
that is to be  salt,ed. It is evident' that a Christian        it  ,would not merely mean the correction of a  feti
cannot influence the union for good and act as the             aLuses, but a radical change in the essential character
salt  `of the earth in such an  ~  organizaiion unless  h_e    of the whole labor movement. And they who are not


 336                                       T H E   STAND.A..RD   ~BEARE-R

 unmindful. of the  .lessons of  histor.y,  know that it has         It  mlust be  remakked  here~ that the Revised Version
 always proved  impossilble-  to  reform  e+efi a church             renders. verse 14 more correctly, when it translates
 from. within; are we then justified  .in-  suppoBitig that          "the things of the law" instead of "the things  con-
 it will be an easier matter to  refopm.the-trades unions tained-in-the"law." Dr. Kuyper  ap.pea$  td this passage
 of the present day? We repeat that the-influence of                 in support. of  his.theory~of a restraining grace, where-
 the individual Christians scattered in the various                  by even the heathen are enabled  .to do the good. He
 unions  titill be practically  r&l,  whil,e the danger will         finds the -following elements in this passage :
 be by no  mea&- imaginary that. their spiritual sensi-                 1. It  .t.e$ehes that there is a  .remnant in the hearts
 bilities will  Ibe  ,blunted, and -they themselves -gradually       of the heathen of the original divine handwriting of
 conformed. to  the&afidards- of the world. Moreover if the law. Writes he.: "He (i.e. Paul, H.H.)  ekplains
 our Christian laborers identify themselves with these               in-so  matiy words, -that the  heathenj even in his days,
 unions, they are no more-  able"to  -show. the -world by an         i.e. forty. centuries  alter the fall really have- a-remnant
 organized example what Christian principles  :mean- of this divine handwriting in their soul:  `bhich shew
 for the world of labor, and they  clear& expose- them- the work of. the law written in their hearts'.  Marek
 selves to We- charge' oft hypocrisy. It seems to us also            you well, it-does not state that they have the law itself
 that, where in-the past  some Christian  workingmen,                written in their hearts,  -but the. `work of the law,  as-
 that had  a-clear,,conseption.   of.thehe:Christian-view  of.the    if to refer to a  pmctid  incentive  -rather than. to a
 world, joined the, general labor unions, they  di!d not             clear and pure knowledge, However this may be, it
 do-this in virtue but rather. in spite of the principles,           is. plainly stated  .that there is always  in. the heart of
simpl-y  bet-ause- it  was.the line of least resistance, or          the fallen.  sinner~a  remnant of this divine handwriting.
 since it offered them good prospects- of material re-               Though largely  obliterated.and.having  become-illegible-
 turns;"       (The  Christinn  Laborer in the  Incikst~tial in  its.details, this divine handwriting is nevertheless
 Struggle, p. 29).                                                   left in  -the fallen sinner to such an extent, that one
        With this we can agree.                                      can still see that it was originally there, and also can
        It is only  deploralble that this definite stand is now      still1 make out what was originally written there,"
 repucliated.by-the   Christiap-Reformed   C%urch.                   De.Gemeene  Gratie,  II, 14, 15,
        But surely: the "salt-of-the-ea.&h"  star-y is rather a         2. The passage teaches that the heathen consents
 pretext than a serious argument.                                    to this  -remnant of the handwriting of  the law. of God
                                                       H .   H .     in his heart. He -consents to it, and responds to  ,.it.
                                                                     with..an.  Amen.  We quote him.: "In  the second place
                                                                     it follows from Rom.  2:13, 14  (should.be 14, 15, H.H..),
                              -                                      that this remnant of the law in the heart of the fallen
                                                                     sinner is  ,-quickened to a certain extent. by divine grace.
                                                                     ("door  d e Go.dd 1' 
                                                                                          e  `
                                                                                           IJ ke genade tot op  zekere hoogte
                                                                     levendig. in  hen.wordt gehouden.") For it  stakes `that
        The- T$p.le Knfjy&.(&ge t their conscience  .also bears witness in them', i.e. gives
                                                  .                  testi.mony   tci  .this remnant of the law in their heart,
                                                                     and-still responds to it  tyith an Amen. The conscience
                                                                     and  the.law of God are, therefore, distinguished. The
         An Expositions  Of The, Heidelberg.                         conscience and the law of God  ar.e not the same, as
                          Catechism                                  many would have it.  ,On the contrary, the conscience
                                                                     bears witness with the law. . . . And of this con-
                                IV.                                  science he says that in relation to the remnant of the
                                                                     divine law it is not rebellious, nor silent, but  bearing
                         LORD'S DAY III                              witness  with it. And since this cannot come out of sin
                                .4.                                  as such, it follows, that God not only left a remnant of
                                                                     His law in the heart of fallen man, but that He also
                   Total Depravity. (cont.)                          operates  -int,o his consciousness and compels him in that
        A third and  .final passage to which we must call            consciousness to respond with an Amen to  the law."
 attention in this. connection is Romans 2  :14, 15 : "For           Idem,  W; 15, 16.
 when the Gentiles, which have not  the. law, do by                     3. The text teaches that this operation of common
 nature the things  contain,ed  in:the law, these, having            grace is not  limilted to the individual heathen or sinner,
 not the law; are .a law unto  themsel.ves:  which shew but also operates upon his communal life in society.
 the work of the law written in their hearts, their                  This Dr. Kuyper deduces from the statement: "and
 co!nscien,ce  atso bearing witness, and their. thoughts             their thoughts the mean while accusing or else ex-
 the,mean while accusing or else  excusing.one another." cusing one another." Although it  iS by no means  cer-
                                                                                                    -


                                           T1H.E  S T A N D A R D   B,EARER                                                    331

   tain that this is the correct interpretation of this               disobedience of our first parents in Paradise our nature
   clause, and-though it is not  .impossilble that "one               is  ,become so corrupt that we are all conceived and born
   another" refers to  f`thoughts"  rather than to the                i n   s i n . Now, surely, even as we are not by grace
   heathen in their  mutual relationship (the Revised                 prone to hate God and the neighbor, and even as we
   Version translates : "and their thoughts one with an-              are not by grace corrupt, and even as we are not by
   other  ac.cusing or else excusing them") we may let                grace dead in trespasses and sins, and children of
   this pass as being-of minor importance for our present             wrath, so the heathen do not by grace the things of
   discussion.                                                        the law, seeing that it is plainly stated that they do
       4. Finally, the passage teaches that this common `it  by nature.  When Dr. Kuyper, therefore, introduces
   grace enables the fallen sinner  to, do the good,  i.,e. to        into the explanation  of the text the idea that the  Gen-
   keep the law of God. Writes Dr. Kuyper : "And  fmally,             ti:les do good by common grace, he corrupts the text.
   in the fourth  place, it follows from Rom.  2:13, 14 .Whatever these Gentiles do, they certainly do it  by
  (should be 14, 15, H.H.) that this common grace keeps               nature. If, then, what they do is good (keeping the
 operative in the fallen sinner  nolt merely  -a sense of             lawj, it follows that their  natwre  must be good, for
   what is  honorabe and dishonorable, of  w-hat is just              only a good tree. can bring forth  gcod fruit. But see-
  or unjust, good or evil, but  also that this common                 ing that the whole of Scripture teaches us that we are
   grace furnishes him with power to do the good. For                 by-nature  corrupt, dead in trespasses and sins, it must
   he says : `If the Gentiles, which have not the law (of             follow that what is said of the Gentiles in Rom. 2  :14,
   8inai)  by  -n-ature do the things  of  the law.' `They,           15, cannot be-good. For  6~ a  cormpt   nature they can-
   therefor,e, not only  Icnoizc~ them, but they also do them,        not  `do anything -that is good.
   and it is precisely from the fact that they  d,o  thelm that          2. That the text does not state that the Gentiles
   the apostle draws the  concmsion that they know them.              keep the  8aw of God by nature, nor that the law of God
 That they do them is for the apostle the point of                    is written in their hearts, nor that there is a  renma-nt
   procedure for his argumentation. And if it is estab-               of the original handwriting of God in their hearts, but
   lished that even a  chiild of God confesses that he is             that they do-the-  things  bf  the  Zazo, and that they  &how
 incapable of himself to think any good, far less to do               that  the  zuork-of  the law  is written in their  heart&.
   it, then it follows necessarily that also the Gentiles do          And the things of  the law and the work of the law are
   not perform this good in their own power,  but,only be-            not the same as the law itself. By "the things of the
   cause common grace impels them and  enablaes, them to              law" I understand  the things which  th:e law does.
   do it."  Idem, II, 17.                                             Those `things which the revealed and written law did
      But in reply to this interpretation- we may remark              for Israel, the Gentiles did themselves. What things
 the following:                                                       did the law do?      It distinguished in broad outlines
      1. That the passage speaks very emphatically of                 what is good and what is evil, and it prohibited evil
   things which the Gentiles do  by nature  (phusei) :  the           and- commanded the good. Now, the Gentiles do by
   Gentiles, which have not the law,  do by nature  the               nature-just that. Fallen man is not such that he does
   things of the law. Whatever, therefore, may  be our                not know the difference between good and evil. He
   interpretation of the rest of the text,  whatevler  may be         has a certain knowledge `of God; he knows that God
   our conception of just what the Gentiles do, it must               must be thanked and glorified; he discerns the  differ-
   be maintained that they do it, not  by grace,  common              ennce between good and evil: he knows that it  is
   or special, but  by nature. By nature ,an-cl by grace are          wrong to murder, to steal, to commit adultery, to bear
   terms that are mutually exclusive. in Scripture, and               false testimony. The reason for this is, that the  ZOO&
   on its basis also in our Confessions. By nature we are             of the law,, the groundwork, the broad outline of
   all that which we  ar,e by reason of  olur birth in-  a' fallen    the law `is written in his heart. God keeps it there.
   human race, from sinful parents' and through the fall              Fallen man remained a rational moral being. If he
   of our first parents in Paradise.        Nothing is added-,        were not, he could not even sin, nor could God condemn
   certainly no grace. For we were "dead in trespasses' him in the day of judgment. But now it is different.
   and sins; wherein-in times past ye walked according to             That the Gentiles do, indeed, have this groundwork of
   the course of this world, according to the prince of               the  Iaw written in their hearts they show not only  by
_- the power' of the air, the-spirit that now worketh in              doing the things of the law, by distinguishing between
   the  chiIdren of disobedience: Among  w,hom we all had             ,good and evil, by making their own laws, but also by
   our conversation in times past in the lusts of  ,our flesh,        the fact that their own conscience bears witness, and
   fulfilling the desiresof the flesh and of the mind; and            that they accuse or excuse either one another or  thcm-
   were  by nature  the children of wrath, even  as-others."          selves. That this is, indeed, the meaning of  the.  text is
   Eph.  ,2  :l-3 . And the  HeideLberg  Catechism teaches us         also evident from what is added: "these, having not
   that  we  are  "by  .nature"  prone to hate God and our            the law, are-a law unto themselves."
   neighbor. Qu. 5. And it explains that by the fall- and                3. That in all  -this there is nothing that is not in


     3 3 2                                T H E        STANDAR.D  BEARE.R

      ,accord with the  truth that  by  nature fallen man is           four thousand dollars.     There was an old Y.W.C.A.
     wholly incapable of doing any good and inclined  to, all property  avlailab:le on Eastern Ave. north of Wealthy
      e61; nor is there anything in the passage that -suggests St., at a cost of 8500. dollars, but after due inspection
      or requires the theory of a restraining grace.. What this.  was_ deemed -unsuitable for. our purpose. The
      do the. Gentiles do ? Do they have the law of God or a           society then directed the board to purchase .a site lo-
      remnant of it written in their hearts? Not at all;               cated on  Adalms St., between  Kalama,zoo  Ave.. and
      but the groundwork of the law, the broad principles              Fuller Ave. -The price of  thiS site is 4000 dollars.
      of the law are in their hearts, are known to them, so            This must be paid in cash, and it was decided to raise
      that they discern the difference. between good and               this. sum through. the means of pledge cards. Let  .a11
      `evil in a broad sense, and are a law unto themselves.           concerned acquire one of these cards and fill it in as
      What  d`o they do? Do they keep  ihe law? Not at all ; -the Lord has prospered them.
      but they do  the  thin,gs  of the law, they announce what           The remark has sometimes been made that our
      is good and what is evil and show that they are capable          school.society~meetings are mostly attended by men of
      of distinguishing between the two. Does  thi,s mean              forty years  and older, and that of the younger men, of
     `that they also do that which they  kno:w to be good?             whom we may expect that they have children to send
      Not at all. They may, indeed, show a certain regard              to  schooi,  tiot so many appear. But I do not consider.
      for what  they know and declare to  be.virtuous, when-           this so very abnormal.     Of course, we do like to' see
      ever they  consider it `advantageous to themselves: But          more of the younger generation attend our meetings
      all that Paul has written in the first chapter of this           and join our movement. Bat when we consider the
      same epistle remains  true of them: knowing the  jud&-           history of  our-  Protestant Reformed Churches from
      ment of God that they  tha;t do such things are worthy           the beginning; we  will. find that all things among us
      of death, they not only commit them, but also have               ar,e connected, and we must look at the picture as a
      pleasure in them that do  th,em! It is as the Canons             whole    In the beginning three congregations were
      of  Dordrecht teach us in III, IV, 4: "There remain,             ejected from `the Christian Reformed Church. Of
     `hotwever, in man since the fail, the glimmerings of              these one separated itself from us again and went its
      natural light, whereby  he retains some knowledge of             own way. And there followed days of much anxiety,
      God, of natural things, and of the difference between            for we had no assurance' that the Lord would provide
P     good and evil, and discovers some regard for virtue,. a place for  LIS  in this world.  History testifies and
      good order in society, and for maintaining an orderly            Scripture predicts that those that are expelled from the
      external deportment.     But  so. far is this light of           church  ifi the  woEld because they hold fast to the truth,
      nature from  .being sufficient to  brin.g him to a saving        finally  have no  *more standing  rodm in  t&e world, and
     Iknowledge of God and to true  conversic-1;   @at he is           sometimes they disappear from the earth, as for in-
      incapabile. of using it  aright even in things natural           stance,  the.Huguenotsin France. Sometimes the devil
      and civil. Nay further, this light,  &di  as it is, man          accomplishes this by persecution, `sometimes by causing
      in various ways renders wholly polluted, and holds it            int,ernal dissension and strife:  -How we rejoiced, then,
      in  unrigh$eousn&s, by doing which  .he becomes in-              when we might prosper; when our Theological School
      excusable before God."            - .                            might begin training young men for the ministry, and
                                                    H .   H .          when brethren and sisters  in different localities asked
                                                                       to be organized into local corigregations in our fellow-
                                                                       ship, so that we began to see that the  Ldrd was'giving
                                                                       us a place in this world to stand for His cause. For
                                                                       His cause it is. And -He has no need- of any of  us.
                         c o n t r i b u t i o n                       Let us remember this.
                                                                          In May, 1940, our churches might meet for the
      Dear Editor :-                                             `.    first time in  synodical gathering, and so; after seven-
        Permit me to make a few remarks in  The Standard               teen years, we might complete our denominational
      Bearer  &bout our Society for Protestant  Ref,ormed              organization. And now, about a year and a half ago,
      Education in  ,Grand Rapids, in order. that this  cause, we might organize a society for Protestant Reformed
      may be  ,in the mind of all for good.                            education;     The  question still  is:- shall we by the
         `The society has made progress again.  `The- school           grace of God have standing room  .in  the world as a
      boa@ was instructed to look for possible  bililding sites        Protestant Reformed  Chur,ch?  land that this  ,question
      and come with proposed building plans and costs  to' is  closely connected with that of the education `of our
      the society. You will remember that about 180 child-             children the  older people,. who lived through our his-
     r& were pledged to  ,be sent to our school, and for this          tory, plainly see. It is this that  brings especially them
      number of children. we would need at least a seven               to. our school meetings. They realize that this work
      room school, which would cost approximately  thirty-             %ust be done! -

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

      Till now  ihe Lord has given us a place. And with
  it comes the  p?ivilege and calling to  90  on! For go on                    The Book Of -Esther
  we must, would we have the  assilrance   o;f a place in
  the future. We must go on with our Standard Bearer,             The book of Esther records  e,vents that took place
  we must go on, too, with the cause of a -Protestant          in the sixty years that came in between the work of
  Reformed education for our children. With respect to Zerubbabel and that of Ezra. These events, of which  _
  the cause of our R.F.P.A. and that of our educational        we have no-account save that supplied by our book,
  program: Grammar School, High School, we must set            form a story that has nothing to do with Jerusalem or
  our  face like a flint. These things  must be done. To       with those that had returned there under. Zerubbabel
  us  ,all the cause of  -the Protestant Reformed Churches     and  J'oshua  but with those that had refused to return
  is fhe cause of our Lord Jesus Christ,  ana we  have         of  whli& there were many.  -
  no  other cause!  In the  caus'e of His Kingdom in the          Ahasuerus, the well-known Xerxes  .of profane his-
  world He will use  sinfu.1 and imperfect men, that have      tory, in the third year- of his reign entertains at his
  only a small  ibeginning  of the new obedience. But  we court  the aristocracy of his realm for an hundred and
  are confident that the grace of God was  upon us  in `eighty days and all, the  colmmon people in Shushan for
  the  past, because we have the truth, and where the          seven days, which is the usual proportion. In this feast
  truth is preached there is the Church, and there is His      he displays to his subjects the wealth  anti splendour of
  grace and His blessing. That we have the truth the           his kingdom. When on the seventh day the king, whose
  Scriptures testify; and for this we have the testimony heart is now merry with  wine, would place on exhibi-
  of. all the saints that have loved and adhered to the        tion also the  beauty of his wife, Vashti, she declines
  truth of  God's sovereign grace; of this the very synod      to appear before him and his guests, and the conse-
  that adopted the "three points" had to bear witness          quence is that he puts her away and gives her royal
  in spite of itself.                                          estate to Esther, whom he prefers before all other
     ,To go on will mean considerable  expknse, especially virgins. At the same time Mordecai  ,her uncle, from
  for the new school building. This we cannot build now whom she has been separated  in. consequence of her
because of war restrictions. But we can go on to pro-          elevation, remains near the court. She makes a secret
  vide the necessary  ftinds. And ways and means may           of her Jewish origin and Mordecai makes the king his
  be worked out by the board. In the  woi-k of the Lord debtor by uncovering a plot  again& his life. Haman,
  our  heart and mind and will must be controlled by His       who is a heathen and an enemy of the Jews, is set by
  mind and will  t,hrough the Spirit of our Lord Jesus         the king "above all the princes that were with him".
  Christ. Let us praise Him and take courage with the          Embittered by Mordecai's disrespectful attitude-the
  prophet Jeremiah,  Lalm. 3  :21ff; : "This I recall to my king had commanded  thgt he be reverenced by all the
 -mind, therefore have I hope. It  Js of the Lord's mercies    court personnel-Haman easily gets the king to have ,
  that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail       published a decree which, so far  as human foresight
  not. They are new every morning: great is thy faith-         can predict, must result in  tihe complete extirpation of
  fulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul  ;  there-    the Jewish race. Letters are  sent by posts "into all
  for.e will I hope  in him. The  LorId is good unto them the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to
  that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is       perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children
  good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for        and women, in one day-and to take the spoil of them
 , the  sal,vation  of the Lord. It is good for man that he for a prey". In  eviery province, withersoever the king's
  bear his yoke in his  yduith." I conclude then, that if      comman,dment  and decree comes there is "great mourn-
  we all agree that the Lord is our portion, we  liavle no     ing among the Jews, and fasting and weeping, and
  other portion here [below; all else is excluded. And,        wailing  ; and many in sackcloth and ashes."' Conspicu-
  the@ore,  ,our way is clear: as  ProtestAnt  Reformed        ous  among them is Mordecai, who stands, crying aloud
  brethren  an'd sisters we must go on and stand to-           with  a- loud  anld bitter cry, in the street  that is  ibefore
  gether-in the same mind and in the same spirit.              the king's  gazte, so as to, draw the attention of the
                                      Sidney Bylsma.           attendants of queen Esther. She is prevailed upon
                                                               to dare the utmost for the salvation of her people. She
                                                               is even ready to perish in the attempt. But she obtains
                                                               favor -in the king's sight, whom  she approaches without
                                                               previously being called  ; yet she thinks it advisable to
                ATTENTION  - Consistories                      ask the king to dine with her  -once or twice and this
      The  "Agendum" for our  next Synod has been              in company with-  Haman, who does not perceive that
  mailed to all the  Cc&istories.                              this distinction is the beginning of his end. Having
                                                               received a second `invitation, he goes  fortih from
                                     . D.  -Jonker, S.C.       Esther's banquet joyful and with a glad  heart, But


3    3    4                            T - H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

when he sees Mordecai again sitting in the king's  gat,e have we to  do.in our book? Is its content history or
and refusing to give him the required homage, he is              fiction or a commingling of the two? History is a
full of indignation. Finding that  tihe only blot on his         record of -past events. It is solely concerned in the
great good fortune is this  ilmpudance of the hated Jew,         presentaition of facts. Fiction, from  fiotio  to form,
he consults with his wife and friends and resolves to            invent, treats of imaginary events. Christ made use
remove this  pr6id Mordecai  oi,zt of the way the next           of fiction'in  malking His disciples know the  myst.eries
morning, in order that he may recline at We next                 of the Kingdom.      His collective discourses contains
banquet with unmixed joy. He orders a gallows to  <be            several parables., "Now a  parabbe is a brief  na'rrative
buil,t of  seventy-five feet high for Mordecai to be             of imaginary  incidetits for the purpose of inculcating
hanged thereon in  order that the punishment might be            some moral or religious truth.".         .
the more terrifying and disgraceful. But that night                 The view that predominates among  interpreters.?n
could not the king sleep. In consequence he has read             general is that the book  ,of Esther is a medley of fact
to him from the records of the kingdom. .The scribe              and fiction, a story not historical but only standing on
reads precisely that passage  .which narrates how a historical basis and  the design of which is to demon-
Mordecai saved  tihe king's life through disclosing the          strate that God will  ,certainly cause His believing
conspiracy against him. This raises the question, since          people to triumph over their adversaries.         s
Mordecai  hither-to has not been rewarded  for having               `The reason  why interpreters have their doubts as
made himself so deserving, what honour and dignity               to the strictly historical character of this book is the
should be done to him. Hence, just as  Haman has                 following.
come in the early morning with the purpose of gaining               In  the-real turning-point of  +he whole story, as if
permission  fbr  the execution of Mordecai, the question         in  .order to raise the interest of the reader to a high
is put to him. As the question is indefinite, namely,            pitch, and also to make a satisfactory conclusion as re-
what should be done to the man  whom the king  de-               gards  Mordticai   and, the Jews, the timely and fitting
ligh-feth to honour; and as the self-conceited  Haman            nature of many  o$ the incidents seems to translate
has no doubt that. the king  hIas. in mind him, it so            the reader involuntarily from the world of reality to
ihappens that in the same moment in which he thinks .th&t of  ideality. Haman, it is said,  .must take revenge
to destroy his mortal enemy, he both seals his own               upon Mordecai in the  moment of his anger, and cause
humiliation and raises his  enmy to the highest honour.          the gallows upon which he himself should be hung in
He is instructed to execute his own  colinsel. This              the morning to  Ibe erected over  nfght. But in the
first blow, which to his wife and friends presages his           very night, when Mordecai has so much at stake, the
down$all, is immediately  f,ollowQd by a second. In a            !king is made to  have a disturbed sleep  ,and thereupon
second banquet he is exposed by Esther, and .the in-             cause the state documents to be read to him, by means
censed king orders him hung on the same gallows                  of which he is reminded of the desert of Mordecai.
which he had caused to be  contructed  for Mordecai.             The  glue&ion of the king, which is  quite indefinite,
Esther now entreats the king for her people. The                 is accordingly misunderstood by  Haman, and thus
king assigns the matter to Mordecai, who adopts such (misleads him, so that he applies it to himself, and in
measures as  rend.er  the  reg$ decree, which ordered the        consequence of this self-deception, awards to his  mo.rtal
,destruction  df  +he Jews, ineffective, in spite of the ir-     enemy the highest distinction, and that too in the  very
revocableness which it has as the king's decree.                _  moLment when he is intent upon his destruction. It is
     The Jews receive permission from Mordecai to                said that, however intent God may be in a plan where
gather themselves together and stand for their lives `the salvation or protection of His own people depend
in the day selected for their destruction. In  eonse-            upon it; and though  at times He may bring `about
quence  they' turn the calamity away from themselves             occurrances in their favor, nepertheless the facts are
and throw it upon the  adversaries.      So successful are       qot usually so artistically  arranged~by Him as `appears
they that the day in which their destruction was ap-             h e r e .
prehended is made a day of feasting and gladness;                   ,Such is the reasoning of Fr. W.  23chultz in his
and Mordecai, as well as  Est,her,  by means of letters. introduction  to his exposition of the Book of Esther.
an.d ordinances established  2mong them that they And such in substance is the reasoning of all the inter-
should annually keep this  day. as a day of feasting  aed        preters whose  vi&w it is that the. story in our book
joy, "and of sending portions one to another and gifts           is fiction, a religious romance.
to the poor." Ahasuerus rules with a mighty hand                    What to think of this reasoning? It is purely sub-  '
over land  ,and sea, and Mordecai, now second in the             jective and therefore without worth. It comes down
kingdom, and great among the Jews, seeks the wealth              to this that the working of God's Providence,  as pre-
of his people, and speaks peace to all his seed. Such            sented in our book, is too wonderful to be true. Right-
is  the sfory.                                                   ly considered the `argument is deeply sinful. It is
     The first question -that  confront%  us is : With what `equivalent  to saying that there are things which are


                                           T H E       STA.NDARD   BEARE-R                                                 335

     too hard for the Lord.  Nowwhat  is man to tell God a  beneitolent Providence cannot possibly be promoted
     what-thin-g.is too  Hardy for Him to perform? What is by a  nar&ion  of a specific working of this Providence,
     there to  preven5 one, who takes this stand, from  dis-        if  .the narration must be held to be fictitious and if the
     *believing the working of the Divine Providence as  pre-       working must be held not to have taken place. So, if
     selited- in all the other-historical- books of the Bible?      the story of our book is ndt history pure and accurate,
     Nothing but personal whim, humor, sinful fancy. But it is sheer folly to mairitain that its design is to  streng-
.should  sinful whim be allowed  to, set itself up as judge         then faith in Divine Providence.
     over Holy Writ? Apart from any other consideration,              " In ascertaining the place of the book of Esther.
     such a method of dealing with the sacred Scriptures is         in the Canaan, it must be noticed that  *his  Ibook is
     thoroughly  uncholarly.  _  W,e should understand that         wanting in the religious spirit which we find in  tl?e
     the working of God in favor of His people  iS always           &her Old Testament historical books. As to Mordecai,
     uncommon, marvelous, extraordinary, new, unheard               the view that, however passionately devoted he may
     of. It is the newness of this working that spells tbe          be-.to his people, he is a person devoid of true  faith-
     salvation of His people. So, to disbelieve the  wo&ing this view is not at all unlikely. Mordecai was  a:Benja-
     of Providence, as narrated in the book of  E&her, on           mite. Carried to Babylon in the person of  111s  fore-
+he ground of its being too wonderful, is  to open for abears, he was born in captivity. Instead of returning
     oneself the.  cloor to the rejection of the  wh.ole plan of    with his people to Jerusalem in obedience to God,
     redemption.                                                    here in captivity he had remained. That he truly loved
c       Before the thesis that the story in our book is             E&her his  counsin, whom he had taken for his own
     fiction can be pronounced true, it shall have to be            daughter, she being an orphan; that lie  w&s bent on
     made to  r,epose on a ground other than the one under          seeking her true welfare, may be questioned. Did he
     consideration.    The only ground that wjll  ~$0  he?e is a    not charge her that she should not shew her people nor
     statement of the author to the effect that in penning          her kindred as being one of the captive and despised
     his book he  w'as writing not history  but  fietiQn. All       Jews? Does this not imply that, had she revealed her
     the parables of Christ, incorporated in  t3e Gospel            nationality, she would not  have, been brought to the
     zarl'atives, are said to be  parables  by some such state-     king's harem, or that, had she been brought to this
     ment as, "Arid he spoke to them this parable." No              house,  she would soon have been sent back? Mordecai,
     such, statement occurs  iti our book.        But there is      at least, must have  kjeen of this conviction. Other-
     found in the book indisputable -evidence that its story        wise he would not have charged her to make a secret
     is history. At ch.  lo.:2 the statement occurs, "And all of `her people. Bo then, Esther's removal to the king's
the acts of his (the king's) power and his might, and               hareni, her marrying the king, her elevation to a place
the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, where-                formerly occupied by Vashti, the repudiated wife, are
     unto the king advanced him, are they not written in            events in her life for  which Mordecai must evidently
the book  07 the chronicles of the kings of Media and be held responsible. He  wanted it, so. But how could
     Persia  ?" #Here the author tells us that the incidents        he? A harem, filled with pagan  w.omen, was no place
     which he narrated are also found. in the  ar,ehives of         for Esther. The king was no husband for her. He
the empire, the chronicles  of,the kings. Now a  chron- was a heathen; a godless man; she  was a child of the
icle is a register of facts in the order of time in which           covenant.    S&h marriages the Lord  ,had strictly for-
they occurred.          The implication of this notice may          bidden. Yet  how eager Mordecai was that the royal
.,even  be that the writer of our book derived all his data         crown. be set upon her head!        During the time that
     from these "chronicles. of the kings".                         she was  beiilg -prepared to meet the king, "he walked
        All attempts to disprove the historical character           every day before the  ,court of the women's house, to
     of our book have not only failed, as they were bound to, know how Esther did, and what should  be&me of
but have resulted in establishing its  histori,cal  accuracy her."
to  the- most minute details. It  has been found that                  Mordecai  ref,used to reverence  Haman, though the
the. character of  Ahasuerus  is drawn  ,to the- life  ; that       king had commanded it. So determined was he that it
     point after point in it may be matched in the Xerxes           was all in vain that the king's servants daily urged
     of Herodotus.        -     _                                   him. Why this refusal on the part of Mordecai? The
        Those interpreters who held that the story of our           reason  is~ not given. But our author does say this:
book, at `least in its  real turning  poifit, is pure fiction,      "Now it came to pass, when they  spake daily unto him
     nevertheless  maintaiiz that its manifest design is to         iM,ordecai-and he hearkened not  unto them, that
     promote a revival of the Jewish faith in the persistent        they told  Haman  30 see whether Mordecai's  mtitters
     salutary ruling of Divine Providence in behalf of the          would  stand ; for he had told them that he  wzis a Jew."
     Jews. But it should be clear that, if  .the story of our       It is not certain  that the implication of this notice is
book  is  ficti&ous,  like the incidents in a parable, its          this that Mordecai had told the king's servants that,
~design  can& be to  promote such faith. Fok faith in               because  he was a Jew he could not reverence  Haman.  It.


   336  _                               T H E   .STANPAR.D  .BEARER

  is doing this scripture no violence if we take it to mean       deliverance would come from another place. All that
  that Mordecai had already revealed his nationality to this language may reveal is that Mordecai had implicit
  the servants prior to  Haman's exaltation-and thus not          ftiith not in God but in the destiny of his people and
  as a result of their urging him to give to  Haman  the          this solely on account of their being Jews. And his
  required homage. All that  ,with fairness can be gotten statement, "Who knoweth whether  t;hoti art come to
  out of this notice is that the king's servants, having the kingdom for such a time as  this  " is a kind of
  learned from Mordecai at some time in the past that             language that the world also employs' with reference
  he was a Jew and eager to know whether he, a  de-               to its heroes in times of national crises. The hero in
  spised Jew, could continue to flout  Haman to his face          such times. is "the man of the hour", thus a man who,
  with impunity  revlealed to  Haman  both  &iordecai's  con-     as Esther, is come to the kingdom, that  i?, to power,
  duct and nationality. If  (this scripture brings us under       just for such a time as  *his.                 G. M. 0.
  the necessity of ascribing his refusal to bow before                                 (To be continued)  -
  Haman to his being a Jew, the question still remains
  whether he was being  res;trained by Jewish pride or                                       Ht
  right principle, fear of Jehovah. If  the latter, this
  ibowing before  Haman  stood out in his mind as an
  action  that- would involve. him in idolatry. But if so,             De Bedrihglijke Tong Uitgeroeid
  why-then did he not, after the example of Daniel and  -                                 ( P s a l m   5 2 )
  his friends, boldly confess  .this to these servants? Be-
 sides though he refused to reverence  Haman, he later               Dit lied wil een. onderwijzing zijn voor Gods volk
  on accepted, apparently without a murmur, the homage tot  betrachting  van  waarheid, gerechtigheid  en  barm-
  given. him  by the inhabitants of  Shushan  in the first        hartigheden, door God te stellen tot hun  sterkte:
  hours of his elevation. This shows, it would seem,                 Negatief  leert Gods  ToIlk om het kwade te  haten,
  that in refusing. to honor his enemy he acted from              bedrog en  veiuzing  ,te vlieden en op te houden van
  pride, stubbornness and personal enmity.                        schade te werken.
      When Mordecai perceived the great  .mischief that              Het vreeselijke  voorw.erp  van studie is  Doi3g,  de
  had been devised against  the Jews by his enemy Edomiet.                   Die  DoEg was een vreeselijke man. Het
  Haman, he was frantic. And well might he be, seeing vreeselijcke komt  hierin uit, dat hij het kwade lief had.
  that the blame was so largely his. He rent his clothes,            De geschiedenis is overbekend.
  and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the             David was  gevlncht voor het aangezicht van Saul,
  midst of the city, and cried with a loud and bitter  cry:       nadat hij door Jonathan was gewaarschuwd.                  Hij
  This reaction of his bespeaks no piety certainly. To            kwam dan te Nob tot  bet aangezicht van den priester
  rend one's clothes  .in grief was as much a Persian as          Achimelek. En, zooals te begrijpen is, hij  kwam geheel
  a Jewish practice. What is more, it is not said that -berooid en zonder  voedsel. en zelfs zonder zwaard bij
he cried unto the Lord. He cried out in the  stree$               den man Gods. Daarom vroeg hij om beide, voedsel
  before the gate of the king. His  obj,ect was solely to         en een wapen.
  draw the  atterttion  of Esther's  women-servants  and             Toen  Achimelek hem alleen zag komen,  .trad hij
  eunuchs, i.e., such as were assigned her for her ex-            hem bevende tegemoet: Waarom, o David, komt gij
  clusive service. They delayed not to inform the queen.          zoo alleen? Waar is Uw `gevolg ?  `Gij zijt  tech des
  He now required of her that  she put her  1if.e in her  o'wn    Koning's  schoonzoon?  En dan liegt David. Hij doet
  hands and go in unto the king-to make supplication to           het  voorkomen alsof hij door den Koning Saul  gezon-
  hi?. She hesitated, and he said to her, "Think  noit            den is met een boodschap om zeker werk te  doen.  (Tus-
  with thyself that thou  shalt escape in  .the king's            schen twee haakjes moet hier geoordeeld, dat ofschoon
  house, more than all the Jews. Fbr if thou  al,together Gods Woord niets  zegt van dit liegen,  tech David  zich
  boldest  .thy peace' at this  t?me,  ` then shall there en-     bezondigde door dit bedrog. Onder  ditzelfde oordeel
  largement and deliverance arise. to  the Jews from              valt ook ander zondigen van Gods kinderen. D,enkt,
  another place, but thou and thy father's house shall            bij voorbeeld,  aan het liegen van Rachab, de  veelwij-
  be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come             verij der patriarchen en  ook-aan David's aanstellerij
  to the kingdom for  sneh a time as this."                       voor  Achis  toen hij  zich hield alsof hij gek was. Al
      Especially these words are seized by interpreters to        dat zondigen is te veroordeelen. God's wet is eeuwig
  show that there flowered in Mordecai's soul a true              en  bindt altijd. Witte leugentjes zijn ook leugen. Er
 faith in God. Here, it is said, he manifests a precious          mag graadverschil zijn, zoodat ook Gods Woord spreekt
  sense of trust. It may be.. Yet it should be observed           van groote zonden of van zondigen zonder oorzaak;
  that, instead of pointing to the Lord as the almighty           zonde,  echter, is zonde: daarom is dit huidige liegen
  Pr,otector and Avenger of His people, he merely con-            van David een schenden van het  9de gebod.
  tented himself with saying that if she refused to act,              Achimhlek gelooft. David en geeft hem de oude


                                                 `TH'E  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                     ' 337

 tootibrooden.       En dat mocht. Jezus hkeft daar later           te  &en dage vijf-en-tachtig  mannen die den linnen  lijf-
 over geoordeeld.  Bovendien, de tijd  was aangebroken,             rok  droegenl  Oak sloeg hij Nob met de scherpte des
 dat  er'warme,  versche  brooden voor het aangezicht des ,zwaards  : de oude  mannen en oude vrouwen, de  kin-
 Heeren  -moesten neergelegd  worden. En de Heere                   deren en de zuigelingen. Slechts  QBn zoon van  Achim4
.heeft het  goedgeikeurd.  Het was een zaak die  geoor- lek  o n t s n a p t e .
 lqofd was  omdat David  hongerde er anders geen                       De. vuige leugenaar  !A De  lafiartige  kwaaddoener !
 brood was.                                                         De  vertichtelijke  moordenaar !
     Ietwat  later geeft de  priester hem het zwaard van               David  hoorde het en zag den arme vluchteling :
 Goliath. Tevens een bewijs, dat David geen klein  mati Abjathar, den priester des Heeren. Hij  vluchtte tot
 was,  doch  van  btiitengewone kracht en. gestalte  geweest        David  en snikte zijn aeeselijke boodschap to-t  de% man
 moet zijn. Dat bleek trouwens ook uit het feit, dat                naar God's hart. En. David heeft dit  evrbarmelijke  feit
 hij met datzelfde  .groote.zwaard  het hoofd van Goliath met het rechtvaardig  geri'cht Gods bezongen.
 afhieuw.       En hier neemt hij hetzelfde zwaard mede                .Dit is de achtergrond van den  twee-en-vijftigsten
 olil te gebruiken  in  tij'd van  hood.                            psalm. Dien moet gij  weten om eenigzins te verstaan
     Do&, o wee! David heeft zoo  tersloops  betierkt,              de groote  verontwaardiging van David die  zich in
 ,dat  Do@g  zich  opgehoitden  had voor het  aangezichtdes         zulke  ster*ke  woor,den uit in dezen psalm.
 Heeren "te  dienzelfden dage".  Het' is mij altij'd een               Zijn eerste uitroep  kenxhetst   bet  leven van  Doijg :
 raadsel, dat  zulk soort  ~menschen  66k mee  doen  aan  den Wat beroemt gij  LI  in het kwade, o gij geweldige?!
godsdienst.  _' Hij  w.as een door  eri door  slecht men&h.            0, kwaad te  doen is erg,  doch  zich te beroemen in
 En  tech  hi&ld hij  zich op  v'oor het aangezicht des             bet kwade is- erger.  .Dat is  echt duivelsch.  Roelm  be-
 H.eer& ! En de tijd  en gelegenheid  gebruikt  .hij om hoort alleen bij het goede en heerlijke en  hetgeen  dat
 zijn Satan's  wex?k te  doen. Dat  zal angstiglijk blijken         welluidt." We  &en in gedachten dien geweldenaar. Hij
 straks, als het bloed van God's knechten  ztil vlo'eien in
                                        _  '                        heeft zijn  rookend zwaard afgewischt: het bloed van
 stroom&n.                                                          `God's lievelingen mocht. niet stollen op het glimmend
      David spoedt  zich  voort; vluchtende  v60; het  aan-         staal  van  zijn zwaard. En terwijl hij  zich  ontgordt,
 gezicht  van Saul..                                                hoor& we zijn snoeven en  lachen.. Hij zal zelfs de
En  Do@&  de machtigste van  Saul',& herderen,  Xeert               smarten en het angstig  gillen van zijn arme  slacht-
 tertig  n a a r   h e t   leger  v a n   S a u l .        '        offers  nabootsen.  Heibt ge het  nooit gehoord? Och,
   En die zit onder  h&t geboomte te  Raina,  broedende             ge  behoeft geen stad uit te  moorden om in. ditzelfde
 en  zuchte&e om wraak. Ach, ja,  %ratik  op' den  ge-              oordeel   te'vallen. Ik heb menschen beluisterd die juist
 zalfie des  H,eefen.'                                              thuiskwamen van hun  hatelijlk werk en mij  gegrgerd
     En als dan  die  KcCng van Israel  zich  uit  iti  pessi-      over  .hun  snoevend gebral: zij  hadden tezamen  tech
 mistische redenen, luistert  Do6g aandachtig toe:  hiel zoo'n  schik gehad. En een ziel was  achter gelaten die
 krijgt hij zijn kans om met  bedrieilijke redenen  zich nog snikte. Denkt gij, dat de wreedheid en vuigheid
 te sterken in den gunst des Konings. 0 Koning, leef met  Dogg uit had?  ,Gij meet beter.
 in eeuwigheid ! En dan klapt hij  uit de school. En                   Er zit ook  sarcasme, of beter, ironie, in de  kenschet-
 liegt, zonder oorzaak. .Hij stelt  h&t  voor alsof de  pries-      sing van dien afvallige :  0 gij  geweldige ! Vrage : hoe-
                                                                        `,
 ter -Gods  niet voorbedachten  rade' en geheel en  al  kui~ veel  krach$t en geweld heeft het genomen om die arme
 dig  yan  Dabid's vlieden voor Saul, diep  `vluchteling            priesters te vermoorden .7 ,orf om een zuigeling  af  te
 geholpen heeft met het brood Gdds en het  zwaard van maken? Of om den broeder te verscheuren in `t diepe
 Goliath  !.                                                        hart  door  leugen. en gedrog?
     Het  gebod des Konings gaat  uit en de  schare  pries-            En  waarom  z&en wij ons beroemen in zulke  ver-
 ters, het gansche huis van  Achim6lek,  al de  mannen              achtelijke  daden? Gods goedertierenheid duurt  tech
 die den linnen lijfrok droegen,  w.ordt ter  slechting  ge-        den  gansclien dag. Ja,  Dogg mag  zich beroemen, want
 1ei.d.  `Kalm,  waardiglijk  e n   gerust  sljreekt  Achimelek de dwaas wist niet,  dat de Heere klaar stond om Zijn
 de waarheid  xoor het oor van den `dwingeland. Doch                priesters te  verwelkomen in den  hemel, ditzelfde bange
 het mocht niet  baten : Valt  dp hen  aan en brengt ze om !        uur ! Nauwelijks had men schreeuwende den laatsten
 Zoo klinkt het van  onder het geboomte  t&  Rama. 0,  ik adem uitgeblaeen, of de Heere wischte de  tran& van
 Wilde U  we1 duizendmaal  danken, gij  mannen  van Saul,           de oogen  Achini4lech's  in den  hemel daarboven bij God.
 omdat gij  allen den moed gehad  he'bt om dit bevel  te                En dan  volgt in de volgende drie verzen een  b'e-
 verachten. Zij  allen zeiden: Wij  willen onze hand                schrijving van dat  so015 menschen-en we sidderen.
 niet uitsteken om op `de priesters des  2eeren  aan te                 Stelt het U voor, zulk een mensch denkt enkel
 vallen ! To& zeide de Koning  tot  Do& : Val`aan op de schade, heeft het kwade liever dan het goede, de  leu-
 priesters !      En  Do@g kent geen  erbarknen,   `no& eer:        gen dan gerechtigheid te spreken, ze hebben lief alle
 Hij  vie1 op hen aan.en richtte  eexi vreeselijk bloedbad          woord&  van verslinding, hunne tong mag geheeten
aan.  E,en  vuile kroon op een  vuil werk.  H-ij slachtte           een tong des bedrogs. En  God.-heeft er voor gezorgd,


       I
      ?38                                            T H E   S T A N - D A R - D   B E A R E R

       dat ze openbaar  worden. Er is een  soqrt menschen die                 derf  komt.        Hebbefi die rechtvaardigen  schik in de
       werkelijk genot heeft om den  naaste te verslinden.                    smarten- va-n-den- Satan-iscksen-.  Dogg-alshij~ zich-krom=
       &let gaat hun niet zooals Gods  volk, dat  berouwheeft,                men moet  -onder de  slagen"van  een toornenden God?
       .Toodra zij  zich door Gods Geest en Woord bewust  weten               Neen,  geliefden, neen,.  dooh hun  hart  springt  op van
       van gezondigd te hebben. En zelfs  terwijl zij  zondi-                 vreugde vanwege het gezicht van  recht en  gerechtig-
       @en, een klagende stem beluisteren in `t diepe hart.                   heid. Dat volk, die rechtvaardigen, hebben God lief en
       Dat volk  haat de zonde en  verre van te  roemen in  `t                daarom  beminn.en  zij ook Zijn deugden, deugden die
       ferslinden met vlijmscherpe tong, trachten  zij den                    blinken in- den straf der goddeloozen.
       ganschen dag om die tong in toom te houden. Dat volk                       David is kalm geworden onder `t  zingen.  Alles
       fidt  :; Zet een  wacht voor mijne  lippen. . . .                      kwam  recht.  Do6g  zal zijn straf niet ontgaan,  noch
            i 0, `die tong ! Als een scheermes, neen,  als  ,een  ge          allen die de wegen  vlan  Dogg bewandelen,
       &epen scheermes vlijmt het en  snij,dt, scheurt het en                     Het  bra&t  David tot de  gedachte hoe het met  hem-
       yerslindt den arme en  di&n die geen helper heeft.  Soms               zelf zou  g&an.
     ~  zelfs door waarheid te  spreken,  doch met den  duivel                    Ik, Heere, ik zal groeien en bloeien onder de  schoone
       in `t hart. En de  schaterlach  weerkli&t,  misschien- en lieflijke belonking Uwer oogen.                                 I k   z a l   zijn.  a l s
       niet  luide,  doch  we1 in `t  zich verkneukelend hart.                een groene  olij$boom in Gods Huis.
            I      Vreeselijk zal het zijn te vallen in de  han'den van           De  olijfboom in zijn  groenheid is de frissche en
       den levenden God ! Voor dezulken is Hij een  verterend                 jeugdige  kracht  die er in  stra&.  Rij is bron van de
       buur. Ik heb gedacht  aan de `ontmoeting  va;n God  en. olie die in zijn  vruchtei schuilt. Hij is zinnebeeld van
       l)ogg,  toen de laatste den,  adem uitblies en de  -geest              het vet en groen zijn der  kinder,en Gods die door Zijne
       T;veerkeerde tot Hem die hem  schiep. Jk  mo`et er niet                begenadiging  vruchten voortbrengen der bekeering
       i@komen, hoe het  DoEg te moede was;  toen hij de oogen                waardig.
       p God zag, God, Wiens  kinderen hij verscheurd had,                        Die bekeering uit  zich  dborhet vertrouwen op Gods
                 Luistert naar de beschrijving van  ,den  Beiligen goedertierenheid.                   E n   d a t   i s   t e r   laatster-  instantie
       Geest  ;  Dogg  zal  afgebroken   worden en weggeraapt,  uit-          Jezus  Ch$stus, de  Heere.  0,  dte Jezus heeft  anders
       gerukt en  onbworteld.             In  &5n  vers stapelen  zich de     gedaan dan  Do$g. Zijn tong  spra;k enkel billijkhe-den.
       .&oorden   ,op, om de ontmoetfng met God te omschrijven.               Zijn leven  wa,s ten offer gesteld  aan het goede. Hij
       Drie beelden  worden  gebruilst.  Do&g zal omgeworpen                  beminde God en Zijn  n$aste, gelijk geen mensch  h&
       worden, gelijk men een gebouw omwerpt. Hij  wordt- ooit deed of kon  doen. Zachtzinnig, lieflijk  ,aanvallig
       iangegrepen  om met een wringende  beweging-  uit aijn                 was Zijn  geetalte, leven en  sterven. Heftig, met oogen
       ilaats   tiitgerukt te  worden. En,  t,en  slotte;  de Heere           die  vIamen konden van toorn tegen den  drivel en het
       z'al hem aangrijpen en plotseling  als een boom uit zijn               duivelsche.  Doch  zacht en teeder tegenover die  lam-
       bodem  uitrukken !                                                     meren, de  aramen van  geest, de bekeerlingen: Weest
                 /  Da&ten we daar altijd  .om, hoe zouden dan onze           welgemoed, mijn zoon en  dochter; uwe zonden zijn U
       viroord'en  geaouten zijn met hemelsch zout. Want we                   vergeven  !'
       zou&en. dan  voller,  rijlker, meer aanhoudend bidden  en                Op:  dien  JeZus  zullen wij vertrouwen.  eons huis zal
       zingen  / Och,  schonkt gij mij de  hulp  van  Uyen  Gee&!             opgericht op Hem  ds  op de  R&s die-van  geen  wankelen
       vocht die mij op mijn  paan  ten Leidsman  St&ken!                     weet. Wij  z&en bidden om de bescherming. van dien
       `$ Hield  ,dan  Uw wet, dan leefde ik onbevreesd; dan                  Jezus en in Zijn Naam zullen wij ons beroemen den  _
       zbu geen schaamt mijn aangezicht  ;bedekken!                           ganschien dag. En dan is het  goed.  (Goed voor David
                 j  Heere! onzen Heere !  ,Geef ons die gedachten- en         en goed voor Gods .gunstgenooten. Want de kracht om
       wddrden die  -1iefJijk zijn  en welluiden!  D,an  ztil den             goed en waar te  zijn is  niet in ons, in het vleesch. De
       liaaste gebaat  worden en niet  geslacht ! Want dat volk kracht om het  goede te beminnen en in de sfeer van
       yan God heeft de  gerectigheid en het gericht lief !                   liet goede te wandelen groeit niet op  vianuit de  mest-
                 j Dat  blijikt uit het  volgende: David ziet het  gericht    hoop van ons liegende en verdervende- hart,  doch ligt
       ober  DoBg van  verrk! "De  reehtva.ardigen  zullen het                in de  kracht  van.den  N'aam.
       zien en vreezen  ; en zij  zullen over hem  lachen,  zeg-                  Onze  vaderen van  Yang vervlogen.  jaren  lieten ons
       -4ende: Zie den man die God niet  stelde tot  zijne-sterk-             een  erfenis-in hunne woorden.  vaa!k  moeten wij die
       te, maar  vertrouwde op de veelheid zij-ns rijkdoms; Hij               ,woorde herhalen : "En.  opdat wij dan dit alles mogen
       Tas sterk  g&@rden door zijn beschadigen  !" Beruit                    verkrijgen,  last ons voor God ons verootmoedigen, en
       bjijkt ook,  dtit  D'ogg een vloekloon van Saul  gekrcgen Hein met waarachtig geloof om Zijne genade .  aan-
       Feeft. Na het bloedbad is hij door Saul in bescherming                 roepen. . .  .',,
       genoimen en is gegroeid in kracht en  .invlloed. Ten                       En- dan  buigt,  de. gansche gemeente het hoofd en
      .Bbste van het  stuiptrakken en  bloeden der kinderkens.                hart en  klilmt op met een  smeekbede om de ervaring
       A$schuwelijk loon !                                                    van  de  krticht des Naams onzes God!
                 1  Doch de rechtvaardigen  sullen  la&en als-  zi&  ver-
-                                                                             L_  I :  ,.; -I  L,  _I I-  _  _  I                        C-L  v .


                                                  TH%                STANDA.-RD                     BEAR--ER                               3 3 9

     K.&nende Het Goed En Het Ksvaad                                             din  verder laat voorlichten, die alleen ontkomt het
                                                                                 gevaar van zichzelf tegen te  spre;ken-iets dat men
                                                                                 juist niet ontmoet  bij~ degenen, die sterke of  minder.
                                                   Genesis 3  :22d.              sterke voorstanders zijn van de gemeene gratie  theorie.
      De  val des menschen is een  v&en  ,van hooger  na&                        Het is  vlooral waar van  .de  laatstgenoemden,  dat zij
 lager, van  uit de  wcaarheid- in de  ,leugen,  van  -uit Gods                  een slag om den arm  houden, om dan  tenslotte,   ten-
 gemeenschap tot in de- gemeenschap van den Satan.                               opziehte van dezelfde zaak, tegelijkertijd, ja en neen
      Waar hij eens stond, daartoe kan hij  -nimmermeer te zeggen, te  schr-ijven  en te prediken. "Zie  de'mensch
 terugkeeren.        Hij  heeft  zichzelvlen en  .met  zich al zijn              is geworden  als onzer  &n',  kennende het  goed en het
 nakomelingen van zijn  goede~ eigenschappen  beroof,d, kwaad".                              Vele theoiogen van vroeger en later tijd,
  door  he< ingeven des  duivels en- door  moedwillige  onge-                    waaronder ook  Calvijn,.  hebben gemeend en meenen
 hoorzaamhei,d.   266 staat het met de zaak des  rilen- hier te  doen te hebben met een  `ironische wijze van
 schen en met de  iaak van het menschdom. Aldus is de spr,eken. God de Heere  ~zeide dan spottender wijze :
  Goddelijrke uitspraak, omtrent een ieder, die uit het                          "Daar staat nu die mensch, met zijn inbeelding, alsof
 eerste  ouderpaar  v o o r t k p m t .   Moedwillige  ongehoor- hij onzer een ware geworden en alsof hij, door  van den
 zaamh'eid.                                                                      Boom des  levens te eten,  nu  oak zijn leven en aanzijn
      ,Ongehoorzaamheid,  niet onkunde,  is-  t.enslotte  de vereeuwigen kon".
 groote en de eenige oorzaak waardoor zijn overtreding                               Calvijn gaat nog verder als hij verklaart:  Goed en
, wordt  gekenimerkt.   Ongehoorzaamheid houdt in,' een kwaad te  weten,  beschrijft  de oomaak van de groote
 kennen en een verstaan van een  uitgevaardigd gebod,                            ellende,   namelQk, dat  Adani, niet  tevreden  met zijn
 waarover werd nagedacht en waar omtrent de wil  oor-                            troestand, trachtte hooger te klimmen, dan voor hem
  deelt. In het geval van den val des menschen,  een geoorloofd was. Waarom  dan de Heere in deze tekst-
 oordeel,  dat  zich kant tegen  bet oprdeel -Gods.                              woorden  lbedoelde te zeggen: Zie nu, of  uw  ambitie en
      De- val des  mens&.en is een afvallen en  wegvallen verdorven smaak, voor de ongeoorloofde kennis  u
 van God,  .de B-ron van  alle leven en  licht. Los van den hebben terneer geworpen. Om dan  verder-de woorden
 levensbron beteekent niet  Rnd@s  dan- een  qevensexisten-                      "Zie, de  menbch  is geworden  als onzer  Q&x"  te  ver-
 tie, die  zich altijd en in  alles tegen God keert. Als de klapen alsof er stond: Na dezen zal Adam  .mij zoo
 mensch eenmaal den  levensband  10s scheurt van God,                            gelijk zijn, dat wij kameraden (companions) zullen
 da.n  plaatst hij  zich  bu-iten den kring der Goddel-ijke                      zijn van elkander. -Hieruit zou dan veel eerder  yer-
 gemeeexhap der vriendschap. God duwt hem van                                    klaard kunnen  word&, dat het dan  tech Adam  te
 Zich weg,  sch.enkt hem niet langer die vriendschap,                            doen zoude zijn  giweest, om met God verder op  ge-
 d'oeh stort over den  mensch  Zi;jn  Goddelijke toprn der meenzame voet te leven. Iets  dat ons onmogelijk toe-
 gramschap uit. God handhaaft  Zichz-elf in  heilige  Zelf- s,ehijnt  en door de  t&t met  alles' wat in den  val ge-
 liefde en  rrerwijst het schepsel naar het  eeuwig verderf;                     schiedde, wordt tegengesproken.
 van waar uit het  zich  n-immer kan verloseen.                                     Kuyper maakt  belzwaar tegen deze  ver,klaring van
     Van  sp'eelruimte  blijft er dan ook niets over. Er                         Calvijn en  merkt op: "Dat  ironic.  nooit tot het nemen
 is  uit dat oogpunt  m.a+r  B6n verhouding mogelijk,                            van een ernstigen maatregel  kan  nopen'", iets dat nog
 namelijmk deze, dat er  vijandsch,ap is tusschen God en                         lang niet  zoo-.zeker  is,  .als.mcn  we1  ZOLI  meenen. Als
 Zijn in  zond.e gevallen  schepsel.  En die  vijandschap de Heere in den  hemel zal  lachen over den  goddelooze
 is wederkeerig. En niet  ,.alleen wederkeerig,  maar ook en hem  bespot wanneer hij  zich opmaakt om tegen
 tibsoluut,  totdat er voor die  ongehooflz8aamheid  betaald                     God  zich te stellen, dan -is  daar  to.ch  we1 ironie. Of, en
 wordt. Ten  yolle.                                                              d,e zaak was al even ernstig, als  Elia spottender wijze
     Met een gewichtig handgebaar, dat de gemeene                                de Baalpriester  *art om harder te schreeuwen, dan is
 gratie hier nog veel vermag, nog veel in stand houdt,                           daar  alt.hans een bewijs, dat ironische  wijlze van  spre-
 v'oor meerdere  zonde, en  overtreding stremmend  we.rkt                        ken  we1  meer voorkomt. in de  Schrift. En zoo  zou nog
 ,en  ingr<jpt, is men  alleen niet  kla& maar men raakt ,kunnen   worden  _gewezen  op  h e t   s p r e k e n   v a n   d e n
 daardoor geheel en al het spoor bijster en glijdt van                           Heiland tegenover de  Farizegn.
 h e t   voetsp.oor  d e r   Schrift  a f ,   o m   tenslotte   b i j   h e t       In ieder  geyal, zou een  enkele zin, omtrent de  wijze
 Modern`isme  a'an  t.e  landen,  dat  altijd  van  d e   moed- van het spreken Gods, if dit  we1 kon uit het oogpunt
 will&e ongehoorzaamheid' onkunde maakt en Gods                                  van  den ernst der zaak, nooit het doorslaand  bewijs
 toorn inwisselt voor  algemeene  goedheid van het  algel  _ zijn, maar moest dan uit andere  Schriftuurpliatsen
 meen  `Vaderschap voor alle menschen, tot op het stuk                           worden aangetoond  worden. En we meenen, dat dit
 der zaligheid toe-schoon het  wellicht niet zoo werd                            juist zeer  we1 kan bewezen  worden, anders ware ook
 bedoeld.                                                                        het spreken van  Elia en de profeten  te veroordelen.
     Wie nu  eerlij!k blijft  tegenovler  de  klare en  ondubbel-                   Bovendien ligt daar  tech niet de oplossing. Het
 zinnige  uitspraak   der  Reilige  S&rift  en  zich door  haar                  gaat er in het  geheel niet om hoe  `de Heere  sprak over


                              I     -
 340.                              :  !--iBjli;THE  S T A N D A R D   BEARER

 dp val in zonde, maar  we1  wat Hij ons daaromtrent                 eerste  menschen kon onmogelijk tot een andere  con-
 o)rer  meedeel!. Trouwens, of  de?e woorden zijn ge- clusie komen. Ware dit. niet zoo, dan was het  hoofd-
 sproken in Adams tegenwoordigheid, zoodat  o&  hij de `element, van wat verzoeking verzoeking deed zijn,  ver-
 itonie van zijn eigen daad zag, is niet zeker -en komt              dwene'n. Verzoeking  tech is nooit anders dan, om den
ohs  voo?,  dlat  dif niet het  gevvial was.                         weg der gehoorzaamheid moeilijk te  maken. We1  ver-
   I Een andere verklaring,  di,e eigenlijk geen  ver-s staan, niet om dien weg  onmogelijk te  maken.
 lilaring kan geheeten  worden is, dat Adam en Eva  nu                  Doch het resultaat behaald door  de  vlerstaedsover-
 h+t kwaad proefondervindelijk  kenden, zooals zij in                legging, moest nu door s'menschen  willen gewild  wor-
 dtn staat der rechtheid het goede  kenden. Dat zegt den in  verband en in harmonie met den  wille Gods.
 natuurlijk niets  en. komt bovendien geheel en al  in. Wat die wil was, werd hun te voren  geopenbaarcd in het
 tegenspra,aik  met den tekst. Wie de tekst in  haar geheel ,"Gij zult daa.rvan  ni,et  eten".
 1e;est zal  bemerken,-dat de  I-Ieere maar niet zegt "De               De wil daartoe'bezaten zij, om te  willen in  over-
 qensch  weet. en  Ikent-  nu ook het kwade", maar, de               eenstemming met den  ~$1 des Hkeren. Daarin lag ook
 `niensc,h  is  onzer gelijk geworden, is  on%er  &5n  gewor-        feifelijk al hun  l&ensgeluk besloten.  -Er was  dan ook
 den kennende het  goed en het kwaad. En dan niet zoo                in hen het zielsvermogen om te beslissen in  overeen-
 dit de mensch  slechts meent Gode gelijk  geworden te               stemming met het uitgevaardigd gebod, omtrent den
 ziin, maar dat de  H&ere dat zegt.  Willen we dan vast- tboom  -der kennis des  -goeds en  deskwaads.  Zeker, de
 h&den, dat de mknsch proefondervindelijk het  kwade .mogelijksheid dit  te verliezen was  daar,.maar dat  rieemt
 kknt, dan komen we bij de verklaring van den  tekst                 tooh niet weg, dat  hit  de `eerste  menschen inspanning
 t&h  Iyel voor een vreeselijk feit  te staan,  want hoe             nam, om  zich  10s te werken en subjectief te besluiten
 din te verklaren, dat hij  11~1  het kwaad  kent, zooals God t o t   d e n   gryweldaad  der  overtreding. Het was hen
 hqt kent? Niemand zou dit zoo  durven zeggen of ook                 meer eigen, in  verband en overeenstemming van hun
 maar durven  den'ken. Dat is, zonder ook maar van                   aard' als schepsel, te kiezen voor  dari tegen God. En
 iehand eenige  tegensp;raak te  hooren.  absoluut  on-  - het is tamelijk zeker, dat het hen nog al wat  tij.d  heeft
                                                  ,
 m;ogelijk en zelfs niet denkbaar.                                   genomen, om tot de  daad van  zondigen te geraken.
   : Wij volgen de verklaring van Calvijn niet en nog                   Neen, in het bewustzijn dier beide menschen was
 vyel minder de hier boven genoemde. De Heere spotte                 het niet een  vraag,.  wat Gods wil was. Het was bij
 mei met Adams kennis aangaande go&d en kwaad.                       hen glashelder wat Gbd'gezegd had en wat het  Godde-
 D?t geeft, wat  ibetreft de tekst, ook geen bevrediging.            lijik gebod was. e  be beelddrager Gods heeft  ni,et  al-
   ; Wij gelooven, dat de tekst op geheel iets aeders  bet, leen zelfbewustzijn, maar kan ook zelfbepalen wat hij
 bdg heeft:      Als we de  araag stellen, had-Adam  alreeds         doen zal en wat'hij  doen moet. Daarom bepaalt hij
 lkennis van  goed en kwaad voor  d@n  val? dan is ons               dan ook bewust, bij het  licht en oordeel des verstands,
 a&wooad, ja ! ! Willen we dat niet,  clan blijft er  alleen         soowel  als bij het  licht der openbaring Gods. .Hij moet
 di$ over, dat Adam  tenslotie in een val  liep; die hij zelf        en  Ii-an  subjectiek.kiezeti   poor God en voor Zijn gebod
 n?et  ztig. Dan ging  h,et den  armen  mensch  missehien            M,aar hij moet dat  doen met  ,de verwerping  van  alles
 we1 heel  sl,echt  &f, maar dan zag en voelde hij het niet          wat  zich ook  t&gen die  openbaring  moge stellen.
 vdoruit.  D&n is er van moedwillige overtreding en                     In dien weg  alleen  komt het tot een kennen van  .wat
 moedwillige  ongehoorLzaamhei,d geen sprake meer.                   goed en van  wat, kwaad is. Dat is, in den weg van  zelf-
   i Daarom, hoe en  op welke wijze  kende Adam het                  verlooohening laat de mensch  zich door zijn God  onder-
 goede en het kwade? Ons  -antwoord-  is heel eenvoudig,             wijzen en  richt dan  vervolgens het leven in naar  -den
 de Heere had het hem geopenbaard.                                   wil, den eisch of het gebod  .Gods.  Zijn God is niet
   j Aangaande  goed en kwaad had. de Heere, door Zijn               alleen het hoogste  goed  ,maar  oo$ de Creterion van alle
 vdrbod, een  vloorst.elling   gegeveti voor het verstand            goed.  .Zoowel  als van  alle kwaad.
 v& onze eerste onders, dat  Hij,-de Heere,  goed en-wat                De tekst bedoelt dan  o,ok te zeggen, de mensch heeft
 Hij kwaad  noemde.  en.-*wat  daairoti   ook-igoed en kwaad         Mij  terzijde geplaatst  kti  g$at nu zelf bepalen van wat
 mbesten zijn voor Adam  e.n Eva. Godsdie&  nu, maar                 goed en van wat  kwtiad is. Of om het eenigzins anders
 odk in het Paradijs, is een dienst  aan God, naar Zijn              t.e zeggen, de  tckst leest dan: Kennende het  goed en  bet
 wil  ,en met de verwerping van alles wat met dien wil               kwaad wil zeggen: kiezende bij zichzelven en voor
 GQds in strij-d is. Hun  vlerstanld moest daarom ook                zichzelven  besluitende, is de  .mensch ons in  dit opzicht
 oo,rdeelen aangaande Gods  verbod, omtrent het eten,                gelijk geworden, dat hij zelf  va,$stelt,  wat  goed en wat
 of: niet  etien van den Boom der kennis des goeds en                kwaad is.       .-
 d$s  k?aads.     Neen, de zonde is niet,  date Adam en Eva           Naar de hoofdgedachte krijgen we dan dit, dat de
oordeelde  ,deze  vru,cht  is  goed, ja begeerlijk tot spijze.       mensch Gods  absolu,te Souvereiniteit aantast, Hem
 ZQ konden heel eenvoudig geen ander oordeel  vellen,                naar de kroon steekt. Hij gaat God zeggen, dat hij
 omtrent de  vrucht van den verboden boom.                Sterker    zich niet langer  wii  laten  gezeggen, wat  goed en  wat
 n@g, dat moest hun oordeel zijn.               Het  verstand der    kwaad is. En de mensch wil dan ook. door den weg
    I


                                      T ' H E   S T A N D A R - D   B E A R E R                                        341

van afval, de grens uitwisschen tusschen den  Schepper          one's conception of the Word of God may be is not con-
`en het schepsel. Wat de maatstaf-.zal zijn, waarnaar           sidered vital. And, must also our churches not cope
g&eel het leven moet  worden  ingerieht,  wordt bepaald         with this same situation? In this connection we would
door den mensch en hij ontzegt God het  recht om hem            remark that intermarriage is not unavoidable. Neither
daarvan rekenschap af te  vragen.                               is it in itself to be condemned. In certain instances,
    Dat was de-weloverdachte en de door den mensch particularly in our smaller churches  ,our young people
gewilde,  ,zoowel als  doo.r hem begeerde zonde in het          have no  oth,er choice, are compelled to look to other
Paradijs. Dat deed liij met zijn  voile bewustzijn.       -     pastures. Consequently the  subjeot  of intermarriage
'  266 nu is het nog met iedere zonde.                          is particularly timely as far as our  Prot,estant  Reform
    Dat hij, de mensch, zelf  bepaalt  en bepalen zal, wat      ed  Chur'ches  are concerned.  Q
goed en wat kwaad is, tegen-het  licht en het getuigenis            The danger and great evil often involved in and
der Godsopenbaring in.                          W.V.            resulting from these intermarriages are readily  appar-
                                                                `ent. We must remember that, also in the sphere of
                                                                matrimony, God works organically, in the line of gen-
                          -`                                    erations.- One selects his friends  frolm his associates.
                                                                `This is an indisputable fact. Neither must this be
                                                                Nconsildered an accident. We believe, do we not, that
                   I n t e r m a r r i a g e                    the Lord brings young people together. This is true
                                                                not only as far as their courtship is concerned. But it
    According to  W,ebster, an intermarriage is a mar-          is truer still with respect to their natural, psychological
riage between two  f.amilies, nations,  `or  trilbes-henae,     ada.ptation.  Unity of faith is not the only requisite
strictly speaking; any marriage may be called an inter-         for.a happy married life. Every believing. young man
marriage. " However, this is surely not the  impli,cation       cannot be the husband of any believing young woman.
of the subject as assigned to me in this essay. The             They must also be psychologically adapted to each
current usage of the term emphasizes the latter part            other. P'ersonal characteristics are elements worthy of
of the definition-"between two nations or tribes".              consideration.    Hence we believe that couples are
Inter.marriages,  then, refer specifically  to,"mixed" mar- created for each other. And it is Divine -providence
riages, whereby persons or families of different faiths         that we "find" each other. This must surely live in  the.
are united in the bond of matrimony.                            consciousness of our covenant young people. Conse-
   Interma.rriages are a common phenomenon. This                quently, marriage must never be considered a "hit or.
is surely  tru,e in the  mi.dst of the world. There one dis- miss" affair. Prayerfully, we seek him or her who,
covers no regard for the Divine purpose of the mar-             according to the good pleasure of our God, has been
riage bond. The thought is ridiculed  th.at a man and a appointed and created for us. Even so, however, the
woman,  acoording to the apostle's words in his epistle         marriage state is usually consummated between per-
to the Ephesians, together form "one flesh",, adapted to        sons of the same faith in the covenant line of genera-
ea&h other, to strengthen and comfort and supplement            tions, who have long been  .associates.
each other in the continuous struggle against the spirit-          Neither is this operation of God difficult to under-
ual powers of sin and  d.ar.kness.      Neither  d,oes the      stand. It is  but natural to seek our "mate" among
world have an eye  ftor the development of God's cove- those who are like  LIS.  Besides, unanimity of faith
nant, that the bringing forth and the covenant training         is certainly a  r,equisite  for `a successful married life.
of  chil,dren is a basic purpose of the Divine institution      This is surely imperative as far as the  mutual relation
of marriage. Hence "mixed" marriages are often the              is concerned between a husband and wife. United in
rule rather than the exception.  Diff,erences of lan-           matrimony the must jointly face the various problems
guage and of religion are not considered. Natural im- of life, fight the good fight of  f.aith, and cope with all
pulses, rather than natural and spiritual adaptation,           the-powers of sin and darkness, within and without.
Idi'ctate the course of procedure. The spiritual need of It is  ,e.g., rather difficult to conceive of. a happy, spirit-
one another, rooted in the  f,ear of God and the spiritual      ually ideal married life between a young lady of Re-
struggle against the  co:mmon  -enemy, is not  bknown.          formed persuasion and a young man with  premillenial-
   That intermarriages are a common phenomenon is               istic tendencies. Is it not a fundamental requisite for
also  applicabl,e to the church, This surely is true of         a married couple, who have vowed to travel through
the church in general, the  chur,ch according to her            life together, that they at least have their eye on the,
broadest manifestation. Tahe young lady of Reformed same goal, and know exactly whither they are  jour.ney-
persuasion and the young man of Arminian or  Bap- ing?` And, surely, the chiliast views that goal in a
tistic and Premillenarian tendencies do not  consiider          different light than he of reformed faith. My  con-
their  ,dif?er,ence in viewpoint of the truth an obstacle to    ceptio,n of the city which has foundations  muslt deter-
their entering into the state of matrimony. Whatever            mine my walk in the midst of the world, my hope and,


                                           T H E   S T A N D - A R D   BEiRER

      faith. The premillenarjan conception of the heavenly           that the usual result is not necessarily that the young
      Jerusalem, if such a conception exists  (?), surely does man accompanies the young lady, that the "weaker
      not compare with the reformed view of that glorious            sex)' triumps over the "stronger". The opposite also
      future. And so we  coulfd go on. Strange companions            occurs. What does happen is that that person gains
      indeed  musty be the young man of reformed belief and the  "vict'ory", who has received the weaker instruction
      <he young lady of arminian tendencies. How. shall              in the truth. If a young man and a young lady marry,
      the never  sul-e and always doubting- arminian comfort         without the parties involved  arr.iving at a just under-
      and strengthen and exhort him who  1~now.s that in this        standing of the truth, the result will almost invariably
      life one can make his calling and election sure?               be that he (or she) who received the truer instruction
       : Besides, unanimity of  .faith is also a basic require-      in  `the  Word of God will capitulate to his (or. her) com-
      ment as far as the training of our children is concern-        panion in marriage. Why is this? The reason for
      ed. This hardly needs any elucidation. Is it not our           this lies in the very nature of the case. Fact is, already
      clalling to train them in the way they should go, to pre-      during their courtship the truth of the Word of God
      pare them for their place and calling in the midst of          never was the paramount issue.  ,How could it have
      the  church-  and also of the world? Are w.e not  obli- ,been? Spiritual adaptation to  each~other,  i.e. that they
      ialted to rear them in the fear of the Lord, instruct          are adapted to each other in the struggle for the
      them in the blessed truths of Holy Writ? Is it not             development of God's covenant, was not the dominating
     - imperative that parents  thems,elves agree concerning         factor. They  per#mitted natural impulses and attrac-
      the truth shall they be  a,ble to instruct their children?     tions and affections to be of greater importance than
     Surely, it cannot  be considered conducive to their well-       the Divine purpose  o,f marriage. The truth was sacri-
      being when contrary faiths and beliefs are  hel,d  befo're     ficed already from the very beginning. Consequently,
      them: Consequently, the Lord operates organically this being true, how could the  truth and the develop-
      also in the sphere of matrimony, and brings  youn.g ment of God's covenant become the dominating issue
      people  ,together who know each other as of the same           when they finally entered into the marriage state?
      household of faith.- Besides, that oneness of faith is         And I think we may say without fear of contradiction
      a: basic requirement for marriage is clearly taught in that the sanctity  o,f the marriage bond is little under-
      4Scripture in the Divine narrative of Isaac and Rebecca.       stood today. Young people who love the truth of God,
       j Bearing this in mind, it is not difficult to foresee        who would live unto the glory of God, will surely think
      the great evil which can accrue f rom a mixed mar-             twice before entering a marriage state which will not
      riage. The mutual. relation between a husband and              be conducive to the glory of God's name and the  fur-
      his `wife will surely be affected. To maintain his or          therance~of His cause in the midst of the world.
      her own belief will invite trouble and dissension.  Hence         How, then, can this  _ evil be avoided? On the one
      quite  ,often a common understanding is sought- and            hand, the  instrnction which our children and young
      reached with the result that the issue is silenced, and        people  receive"at home is of paramount significance.
      neither party is a  .comfort and spiritual support for         We, as parents, must manifest an active and spiritual
      the other. To the danger to which the children of              interest  ins our children. We must provide them with
      such an intermarriage  dr,e exposed we have already            the very  .best` Christian instruction. The truth in all
      called attention. Rather than confuse them by each             its beauty must  Ibe held before them. Emphasis cannot
      parent attempting to inculcate into them his or her            be laid upon this too strongly. Apart from the fact
      own particular belief, instruction is often entirely neg-      that our children must not receive their instruction  .in
      lected. These children are the pitiful victims of such the public institutions of the world, also the Christian
      an unholy alliance of parents unequally yoked. And,            training of our boys and girls must be-definite, specific,
      the covenant of God is profaned. What  shoul,d be -a           Protestant  Refor,med.   Anid when our boys and girls
      marriage unto the glory of God's Name, purposing his           begin to reach the age of discretion, they must be in-
      praise and-  #the  devel,opment of His  c.ovenant in the       structed -also in the purpose of "matrimony. I repeat:
      midst of the world has degenerated into the matrimony          w.e, as parents, must take an active interest in -our
      of two persons who utterly fall short `of the purpose          children and young people, also in their associations
      for which this holy ordinance of God  was- instituted.         and fellowships. They must know  that a young man
      And inasmuch as God establishes His covenant organic-          must seek a young lady in the fear of God, in order
      ally in the sphere of the truth, the generations of such       that  aiso-in. the state of marriage God's Name may be
      unholy alliances will ultimately be  -cut off from the line
                                           I                         glorified  antd His  ,covenant established.
      of the covenant-only, we will be required to give an               On the other hand, as far as our young people are
      account before the living God for having occasioned            concerned, they must seek each other in the truth. To
      this severance of the covenant bond.                           be sure; intermarriages- as such are not to be con-
        : Is there any remedy against  :,his danger? How             demned. Particularly in  OLW  small churches they can-
      m"ust these intermarriages be explained?        We know        not always be avoided. `And `surely: we would not main-


L


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                                        :THE  S T A N D A R D   ~E.ARE.R                                                    343

       tain that under these circumstances our young people the danger of falling into such wandering roots. . Do
       should not engage in these fellowships  beyouad our          we not sometimes also hear a clamor in our own circles
       own sphere.     However, the love of the truth must          for a different kind of preaching? Not, of course, that
       dominate.    This does not mean that a' Protestant Re-       this  trend of thought and clamor is the same as the
       formed young man should not at  certain intervals at-        above mentioned modernistic preaching, but is wrong
  tend Divine worship where his friend is wont to wor-              nevertheless.    What I am referring. to is the cry: the
       ship, although this  shouId not become a "fifty-fifty" sermons are too deep, we don't understand them, let's
       proposition. We must surely proceed from the con-            have more practical preaching. About this I want to
 vi&ion. that  t6 us the truth has been entrusted as to             say a few words. In the first-place that it is true that
       none other, that we surely have the most glorious in-        the sermons of the minister must not "go over the
       sight into -the Word  of  Go:d. And if then we attend        heads" of the congregation, i.e. the congregation in
       services elsewhere we  shoul,d avail ourselves of this       general. A minister must not strive-to show how deep
       opportunity to emphasize the difference between our          he-can delve into Scripture, but must attempt to bring
       -.,proclamation  of. the Word of God and its preaching       the Word to his flock so that it can understand it.
       elsewhere. But, unanimity of faith must be attained.         Fle must preach in such a way that the congregation
       If this is impossible we should consider  the. truth more    as a whole can comprehend his message.            Secondly
       precious than  niarriage, convinced that the one  -can       with  such. clamors we do well to examine ourselves
       never be blessed without the other. Natural affection        first of all. Do we perhaps sit `in  chur.ch, thinking
 must  certaitily be subservient to spiritual adaptation.           and expecting the sermon to just be "poured in", with-
       Where the  1,atter does not exist the  forme? must not       out any effort  oli our part? If so, then the sermons
       occur. Let  usseek  each other in the fear of God and        are always. to deep, and the minister is quite sure  :`a
       the love of His Word and Cause. Where love reigns,           be accused of such too. The Sabbath day in reality is
       the true love of God in Christ, God will commend His         also a day of  woY*k for the congregation., There  must
       blessing.                                                    be the proper preparation, and an exertion on the part.
                                                     H: V.          of  the listener to understand. We may not sit in church
                                                                    `as in an easy chair. I've heard people remark already
                                                                    that they were somewhat tired after the  .serv&cs.
                                                                    Not  du,e to  special.physical  weakness,  but -because they
                                                                    made a serious attempt to follow the minister, and
                                                                    .understail,d  the word  .brought.    Thirdly, we must have
  1       The Value Of Expository Preaching                         practi.eal preaching, to be sure. The  W,ord- of God
                                                                    must  ,be applied to the congregation according to her
          Exp&itory preaching is today rapidly on the de-           needs and conditions. And failure to do this is a seri-
       cline. I think I can safely say that never in the history    ous lack.
       of the Church has the  pilpit become such a means for            Bu,t if this outcry for more practical preaching, not
       the public  ai in our day. Tell me what is not trkated       too deep, means  &ore superficial; more light preach-
       on the pulpit today in modern circles, and I'm sure          ing-then it is something different. And I think that,
       that I would receive an answer much quicker, than            this  sometimes"is the meaning of this demand. But
       if I asked what  2. treated on  the pulpit. Social prob-     my answer  boo would be  eentirely different, for such
       lems, political, moral, economic, international and          I'm sure is  posi,tively wrong. Then we are on the
       many others  are  treated there and  &pposedSy'solved.       wrong path  because such preaching certainly elimin-
       Even the. discussion of. a popular  Holywood movie star      ates  exp.ository  preaching.
       with all his  GodIess  vices and immorality finds a place       What is expository preaching? It-is preaching  that-
       on it. And this is no exaggeration. All that on the          exposes the Holy Scriptures. It is preaching-that  ex-
       pulpit, the Divinely ordained  mea@ for the preaching        pounds, unfolds the Word. of God. With expository
       of the Word. How tragic! Yet how true and char-              prealching the  .text is explained, with its phrases and
       acteristic  of' our day and age-the last days. Truly         woyds.  !In other words it is what we may also call
       the devil appearing under a cloak of righteousness and       exegetical  pyeaching. Or as the  solland language  h,as
       as an angel of light.                                        it, preaching that is  characterized by  "tekstverkla-
          We can readily see and  un,der&and  that such  cer- .ring". But we must  n.ot confuse expository preaching
       Qinly is not expository preaching. Nor is a roaming with other kinds of preaching; with series preaching,
       through Scripture expository preaching, or the  nar-         character preaching, doctrinal preaching, practical
rating  o$ stories,  or,the discussion of current events.           preaching, etc. Expository preaching; is- not  anot,her
       Expository preaching is  somethin,g  entirely  differ'ent. kindtnext to these, but must  ibe the foundation of these.
       But let us not deceive ourselves by thinking that our        All of these must be expository preaching, i.e. based
       pres&ing is  ,perfed and that we are exalted `above          on exegesis. Even true practical  -preaching is  exposi-


       3.4i                                   XHE  - S T A N D A R D   FYEAR-ER

       tody . preaching.     To elucidate still  more? expository        last word about it  have been said.
       preaching is the opposite of topic preaching (preach-                 But shall we now ascertain the meaning of this
       ing on a  .certain. topic). With topic preaching a text %evelation, written in human language, two things  `are
       is hung on the topic and the sermon is a sermon on                necessary. In the first place that we understand the
       the topic, not on the text, and often everything but              language in which it is written ,and  se.condli that we
       the text.  W,hile expository preaching is preaching interpret and explain it. So it is with every piece of
:      th$t  "&i.cks" to the text,- then the minister is bound           literat,ure.  T o   understan,d  t h e   w r i t i n g s   o f   s o m e o n e
       to  $he text and brings nothing else. We feel and know, .else we must know  that  particnlar  language, and be
       of  kourse, that  thii kind of preaching we must have.            able to interpret and explain it in our own minds. So
          ;The standpoint of the expositor preacher is always            here with God's Word. Exactly  tha,t the  exp&it>ry
       thtit Scripture is the' Word `of God, and that God's              preacher does. He knows the language (in a special
       W&d only can comfort and edify.  IZe proceeds from                way the original languages) comprehends the contents
       t,hG viewpoint that  mar?s word can never do such.                and then interprets it. That he does with every sen-
       Therefore he  colmes with God's Word and  no,t with his           tence and phrase and word of the treated portion of
       ok imaginations and ideas. Always  ,and again he                  Scripture. And the  resul.t+e  begins to unfold that
       as+:: what does Scripture say,  tihat does the text say?          rich `revelation of  G.od.         In that way he has the key
       Scnpture is his sole authority and guide, and he lets             to the bottomless mine of God's Word. But-what also
       thit  #Scripture  s_peak to his sheep. To  under&and   ,this      has- become evident  no& is that he can bring God's
       a$ the  f,ollowing, we must bear  iii mind that  S.crip-          Word, those riches,  only  b?_~  menazs of  +&eq~etn~~on,-
       turp is the revelation God, in Christ. It is the one most by means of exegesis,  or expository preaching.
       bea'utiful revelation of Himself revealing Himself in all             The value of such preaching is evident.
       His virtues, wisdom, power, marvelous and manifold                    If not done, then in plain  wok-ds the  W,ord of God is
       gr$ze,  faithfulness, love, holiness, wrath over against not brought. The preacher that fails to exegete does
       sini etc.; His works and His ways.  ,The revelation of            not and cannot bring God's Word. His  sertions are
       lGo$ in Christ Jesus.  .This we find in every book of             characterized by roaming through Scripture from
       Holy Writ. That revelation God  gavgto us in various              (Genesis through Revelation, or he comes with  ,human
       ways in times of old: Ip history His dealings with  tthe          words and- ideas, the daily  probl,ems, current events,
       chiJdr.en  :of Israel, by means of  theophariy (direct  revel-    etc. And no wonder.  l@or&than-,one  candidate of the
       atidn, through an angel,  e.g.,) prophecy, visions, direct        minisltry of the Word has felt himself placed before a
       insljiration, etc. This dne complete revelation He has            tremendous problem: how can I  ,bring the Word twice
       caulked to be preserved and kept for the  chtirch of all          ,every Sunday, 52 Sundays per year  ,and bring  some-
       we:. Therefore He has caused it to be  writt&n,-yes  in t,hing new each time?                         -The answer is-expository
     hutian  l a n g u a g e . In human language, our language,          preaching. And.if he doesn't do that he  ,doesn't bring
       so that we can  understaed it. Unto that end Divine               th.e Word. Remarks are sometimes made that in much
       ins&ration. II Tim. 3  ;16; II Peter  1:21. Holy men  of          of the preaching of.. today  {the Christ isn't brought.
       God were moved by the Holy Spirit to write His Word.              W.hy not? No  .eXpository  preaching.  ,God. reveals
       having been moved by the Spirit they wrote nothing                Himself in Christ throughout Scripture.
       but:  t,he Word of God, not their word  and God's word.           fails to interpret that Word, `naturally fails to preach
       They wrote only God's  W,ord, wrote as God moved them             ithe Christ.  `But the tragic part of it all is that the
       in <very chapter, sentence and word. We believe in                church then goes astray. It is  remarktble, yet easy to.
       pleriary inspiration, i.e. that Scripture is the Word of          be understood, that as soon as the church forsakes this
       Go< only and entirely. Even so that God has put every kind of  preachiilg  .she wanders off. History has
       word in  its place,  .every "and" and  `%ut", every jot           taught that time and again. The .pul.pit has become  #the
       and:  titile. And so God is revealed. And  Be has done            place of bringing most everything but the revelation of
       that:  iri the most perfect way, so that in the products of (God in Christ. Sometimes then it is seen  tha,t there is
       these irispired men we have the highest  .and most per-           a big defect in the church, and people call-for  revivials,
       fect: revelaction of `God. It is but natural then, that by        or  there is a reaction of Pietism. But they fail to come
       charging this Word or interchanging words, the revel-             to expository -preaching.
       ation `is lost..                                                      But  ahe church thrives and is. safe only with this
               That one complete revelation we have  iin the one         kind  ,of preaching. And again,  lie wonder, for then the
       book called the Bible. !In the Bible, God's  r,evelation  in Word is preached, and the Word of God always has its
       human  langLlage,  we have- all those virtues of God re-          positive  eff,ed. It never returns void. By such preach-
       vealed, His works  and ways. And  ;that Word is un-               ing the riches of the  Word.is  unfolded. It is a key of
       fathomable  ; we  -can go into the depths (even thbugh            the  kingdom:of heaven. Heaven is opened to the be-
       we usually don't go very deep)  but we never reach the            lievers.  `God speaks to  ;their penitent hearts of the
       bottom. Scripture is inexhaustible. Never will. the               justification in Christ, of His unfathomable  lovk, and

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

satisfies the thirsty and hungry  souls. But by such             superficial viewpoint, Communism is very attractive,
preaching it is also  closed- to the ungodly. For,  remem-       especially to the masses of -people in  distinctiofi from
:ber; expository preaehing brings the Word of God, the           the few aristocrats of society. For the masses of
compleite Word of God; therefore the preacher also               people are often in poverty and must work in the sweat
comes with woes, and the terrible and righteous wrath of their brow to earn their  `6measure of wheat for a
of God upon the  unbeliever. Expository preaching and penny and their three measures of barley for a penny".
expository preaching only is a savor of life unto life .Especially when the oil and the wine of the rich must
f'or the believer, but also a savor  .of death unto death no,t be touched. If  t.hen in times of poverty anyone
for the wicked.                                                  proclaims the tenet of Communism, which proclaims
    T$e value of such  *continual preaching is that it           the "abolition of  in,equalities  of life" and the inequali-
brings  us  everything of the Word of God. It brings ties of the  possess'ion of groperty  by distributing. all
God's sovereignty, and man's  total depravity  ; it causes       wealth equally, then it indeed appeals to the masses.
more humiliation,  eolitinually causes us  to. see our           TVhen  khe masses of people then must  sw,eat to earn
misery, but also to taste of  that glorious redemption,          even their bare existence, and the rich wallow in
but also to express  oiar gratitude. The  effect of such         luxury, there would be nothing better than that the
preaching is  f&h  ,and a stronger faith, for faith is by        rich would share  wit,li the poor their riches and "the
hearin'g, and hearing  Iby the Word of God. Humanistic           rich would not `be quite so rich and  ithe poor would
preaching does not work  fai;th. Moreover, it  wc@ks- not be quite so poor". Surely we  can very well under-
love, gives us hope,  com`fort,  a desire  t6  walh  iti the     stand that Communism makes headway among the
way of  sarictifiCation, and praise to  oouz" God. And last masses of people, especially in times of depression
but not least it rightly divides the. word of truth, II          and poverty. Were it not for the  princ_iples of Christ,
Tim. 2 :15. Exposi;tory  preaching is an absolute  neces-        we personally would undoubtedly be very communistic,
sity for the maintenance of the  truth: Its effect is the for also the undersigned- can speak of dire  pover;ty
edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in the           when he was  .fir.St in America  ,and his  .father had to
unity of faith, and of the knowledge of  ;the Son of God,. take  care  bf a family of nine, with wages that ranged
unto a  ,perfect man, unto the measure of the stature ,from 6 to  8 dollars a week. Surely Communism ap-
of the fulness of Christ. Eph.  4:12, 13. And finally,           peals to the flesh of the masses of people.
""That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furn-              Secondly it should be noted that superficially Com-
ished unto all good works", II Tim. 3  :17'.                     munism is very idealistic. Did  no;t the Scriptures teach
    In conclusion, the value of expository preaching is          the same, when it pictured to us the first believers after
so great that it is indispensible. By it the truth is            the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, as
kept, the church thrives and manifests herself as the            they laid their gifts  a!t the feet of the apostles and the
.body of Christ. And finally glory  <to our God, for His         latter distributed to everyone according to his or her
Word then returns  td Himself.                                   needs? And  djd not  t.hose who possessed property, sell
                                                                 that property in order that the poor -would have no             -
                    . .                           J. B.          needs, and everyone would be taken care of? It surely
                                                                 is unbelievable that ony one  suff,ered want or undue
                                                                 poverty at that time of the New  Testameat Church,
                                                                 wherein the sharing  df  wealth seemed to be the very
                                                                 basis of the life of the believers. If that is established,
                                                                 is it  no;t Christian to adopt, the Communistic  prieciples
                                                                 of "share the wealth", and "holding all wealth in com-
                      Communism                                  mon for the equal use and advantage of all"? Surely
                                                                 the principles of Communism seems very idealistic and
    In this essays we do not contemplate speaking about should be adhered to by all Christians.
a  nat;tionality or a certain country in  parti.cular, but we       Yetthe strange part of all is the fact that just those
will confine ourselves to  &the  "ism", the  `6ten@?,  or the    nations, which have adopted communism, are also the
ideology called communism. This ideology of com-                 most godless nations on the face of the earth. It was
munism is defined in Webster's dictionary, "as a                 not many years ago that all  t.he world stood' aighast at
scheme of equalizing the social conditions of life; speci- the godless  pxactictis of Communistic Russia. Organi-
fically a scheme which contemplates the abolition of             zations were set up in that country, with the name:
inequalities in the possession of property, as by dis-           "The  Soci,ety. of the Militant Godless"  *hose aim and
tributing all wealth equally to all, or by holding. all          ptirpose was solely to make propaganda against all re-
weal,th~ in common for the equal use  snd advantage              ligion. All faith and knowledge of the Most High  ,God
of ,all:"                                                        had to be  abol-ished. All believers had to be severely
    First  of. all, let us  not  faii~ to notice that from  & persecuted.  And  this  au2c.i  cwntenanced  not only but


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  supporte.cl by the  governme"nt   itselff.  Russia openly million  members. The equalization of all possession
  declared war upon the `Most High Gbd. I fully realize              of properties can not work to the advantage of all men,
  that-such truth is distasteful to the present rulers of            for all  tien are enemies of God and of his Christ, and
  our own government, for  0u.r country is allied with               works against sinful man for evil.
  Communistic Russia; against the Axis Nations. How-                     Secondly, Communism does not recognize the Sover-
  ever we  .merely note this to  ,prove the point that,              eign rights of the true owner of property.  -1.t does not
  whereas seemingly Communism is Scripturally ideal-                 even recognize the Sovereign God in all its scheme
  istic, in reality and practically it opposes God and His           and practice. Scripture abundantly states that God is
  Christ,  ai well as His chosen people.                             Creator of all things  tha`t are, move  ,or have any being.
         We wish to go just a step further. According to             Thai therefore He alone has sovereign claim to all
  tthe definition of Communism it is plain that every                things~ under the heavens. To Him alone belong the
  scheme of equalizing social conditions of life, and  hol,d-` catt1.e on the thdusand hills.                      Those cattle on the
  ing all wealth in common for the  .equal use and ad-               thousand hiils are apportioned by God alone, and
  vantage Of all, falls under  t.he term Communism. In               a l l   p r o p e r t y   a n d   possessionfi  a r e   a'dministered-   b y
  other -words, the use of property for all men, and the             millions upon. millions of stewards, appointed of God,
  advantage of all men,  i.s contemplated in Communism.              to use it all, not  of the people., by the people,  a&d
  Man  becomes the theme of this so-called ideology. All, for  the  people,  bu:t  of  Go&  by God,  ad for God.
  efforts or schemes that are  of the people,; by the people         No man has right in himself, and God gives to the one
  and  fdr the  peoplei are therefore principally  Com-              administration over ten talents, to  ano~ther five talents
munistic. Therefore -we may conclude, on the basis of                and to another one talent. God does not distribute
  Webster's definition, -that whether you name  Com-                 equally to -all men, fbr "the  rich and the poor meet to-
 ' munistic  Russia,  or Fascist Germany, or Imperialistic           gether  ;' the Lord is the Maker of them' all."
  England, or Democratic America, we see in them all                     Thirdly we must remember that the ideal com-
  the principles of Communism. It is  :the principle  df munist state, in so far as men will have all things in
  man,  who-has his number given in Scripture as 666;                common, shall be the  inheri,tance of the saints in the
 *possessing no -seventh day of Rest, having no peace                day when all things shall be made new. Not all men
  with God, rejecting the `Christ and persecuting the                shall enjoy that  sta.te, it is true. Outside of that per-
  s a i n t s .                                                      fect state, shall be the dogs, the sorcerers, the whore-
      IOver against this.  Communislm. Scripture teaches a -mongers and whoever loves the lie. The wicked shall
  communion of Saints, consisting of two main prin-                  be cast into outer -darkness, where there is weeping
  ciples. Fi-rst, that all and-eperyone who believes,.  being        and  gnash&g  ~bof teeth.           They shall not inherit the
  members of Christ,  are in common partakers of Him, `heave&,   bLi.t also the  ear,th shall be completely taken
  and of all His riches and gifts; secondly, that  ,everyone         from them and being made new, shall be given to the
  must k-now it to be his duty, readily and cheerfully to            meek. Then the heavens and the earth shall be ruled
  employ his gifts for the advantage and salvation of                by righteousness and all the saints shall dwell in per-.
  other members.        Thus our fathers expressed them-             feet  co,mmunion and shall enjoy for use and advantage
  selves  in the  Heid,elberg Catechism.                             of all, the new creation. This, however, will be the
      This implies first of  -all that -man by -nature is not  .a    state wherein the Most High shall rule sovereignly and
  imember  .of Christ,  yhence-also Lsnot  a  comnion  partaker      graciously over all, and from that principle will the
 -of Him, and thellefore ,also no;t -a ,parta-ker of any-of the      saints also have all things in common. This will be
  r&&es-and-gigts  of-Christ.  Man.is an enemy of Christ `possible, for then the earthy  will-be no more, and the
  and  .of His  -riches and gifts. In opposition to Christ           saints will no longer be plagued by  earthly-min,ded,ness,
  and  tke  believiers  therefor,e,  mari seeks to  .utilize the     for it will all be heavenly. God will then, in His Christ,
  earth and its fulness  and -equally distribute it to all           through His people, rule over all the works of God's
 -men, yea,  .to-the-ad-vantage  of all  ,men. This is impos-        hands.. Everything will be for the advantage of all, to
  sible. There-  is'nd -advantage in the earth and its-  ful-        the glory of the Triune God.
ness to all men. The- earth  .and the very ground tilled                 A faint picture of tliis glorious state is pictured to
  by  ,man, is -cursed for man's sake. How then can this             us in the  earl< Christian Church, immediately after
  earth  -and its fulness be use-d  -to the advantage of all         Pentecost.. We read: "And the multitude of them that
  men? This is  ,easily  recognizable in Communistic                 believed were of one  hear,t and mind  ; neither said any
  Russia.     The  equajization of all `earthly  t&ngs  brings       of them that  $ught of the things they possessed was
_ man ever  ,deeper under  $he  curse, and  d,eepens his             his own ; but they had all things common. Neither-was
  hatred  .of God  and-His.  Christ. That -is why the  `%o-          there  any among them that lacked, for as many of
  c-i$et-y of the Militant Godless" `can  .pr?osper  in Russia,      them as were possessors of  larids or houses, sold them
 .and in  193%.  already- number over three and  .a half .and brought' the  -price's of the -things that were sold;


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                                     .%v-    .,TH'E  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                      347
                       -_.



 `and laid them -down at the apostles' feet : and distribu-
 tion  iYas  mad6  unto  every  man  according  as  he  had                          N&vs From Our Churches                                     "
 need".    This  beautiful  picture   of  the  i.deal  Christian
 communist state, was possible only because of the great                     Having  read  the  pamphlet,  "The  Christian  Re-
 loire  of  Chris.t,  from  which  the  belieirers  lived  at  that,, formed  Ch&ch",   what  it  teaches,  written  by  Rev.  H.
                                                                        Baker,  Missionary  at  large, of  those churches,  I would
 time. Nay,  this  was  the  very  opposite   of  the  socalled
 communism  of  our  present  clay  among  %he  nations. like  to  make  a  few  comparisons   with  that,  in  connec-
 Today the principle  of the world  is FORCE. In l&ssia tion  with  our  own  Cthurches.
the-state   collects   all  an.d  thus  divides. In  reality  it  is         In  pis introduction,   the Reverend   makes plain  that
 no  diff,erent  in  our  o-wn  country.        The  State  taxes this  Church  was  established  in  the  United  States  of
 those  who work and pays out to those who .do not work.                America  in  the  year  1857;  anld  that  i.ts  historic  con-
 Today's   communism  has  the  poor  man  saying  to  the              fessions   originated   soon  after  the  great  Reformation
 rich:  You  nz;u.st  share  with  me. But  in  the  church  of of  1517.  They  are  the  Belgic  d)onfession,   the  Heidel-
 Christ  immediately   after  Pentecost   i,t  was  the  prin- berg.Catechism,   and  the  Canons  of  Dordt.
 ciple of lovle. Ther,e  was no forced giving,  nor did the                 ,`The Missionary  begins with God, and that is a goscl
 poor   demand. qnly we read that those  wh,o possessed beginning indeed. God must be the center of our whole
 lands or houses  sold them. The voluntary gift of love life,  and  it  must  be  the  predominant   factor  in  all  our
 was  the  rule.  This  rule  was  in  turn  born  from  the activities  to  serve  him.  Now,  the  Christian  Reformei
 principle  th_at : "neither   said  any  (of  them)  that ought Churches  teaches  that  God  is  One,  three  in  persons:
 of the things he possessed  was his own". Th.e believers Father,  Son;  and  Holy  Spirit. That  the  Bible  is  pre-
 confessed   God's ownership.of all things, and  that they eminently His self-revelation  from which men learn to
 were  but  stewards  in  -the  .house'  of  the  Lord,  to  dis- know  God  unto  their  salvation  and  His  glory.
 tribute according to the_ needs of- the saints.                            Cre&ion is no Evolution  ; but all things were created
                                                                        by  the  Almighty  God,  and  governed   by  Htm. Man  in
 This  i,deal  condition.   could  not  last  on  earth  it;  is        Creation  is  a.,  rational,  moral,  and  i$mmor;tal  being,
 true. The terrible  reality of an Ananias and. Sapphira, by `nature totally depraved.
 with their deceit  and lies, revealed all. too plainly that
 the  ideal  was  not  yet  reached  in  the  chur'ch  on-earth.            Christ  is  the  Saviour,  the  Son  of  God;  equal  to  the
 Also  the  dispute   between  the  Christian  Hebrews  and Father  in  all  things.  The  law  is  the  divine  revelation
 the  Christians  from  Greece,   abou.t  the  daily  ministrat-        of  His  will  for  all  rational  creatures,  and  it  serves  to
tions,  revealed  that  such  an  ideil  condition   could  not bring man under t&e conviction  of sin and to lead him
 be  maintained.  The  "having  all'  things  in  common" to  Christ.
 condition   of  the  church  was  and  remains  an  ideal,                 On page 9 we read: that to all who hear the gospel,
to.  be  fulfilled  only  when  all  things  have  become  new.         God  offers  salvation  in  the  way  of  faith  and  repent-
Until  then  the  church  must  needs  supp0r.t   her  poor,            ance.  The  Rev.  draws  the  conclusion  that  that  is  so,
and  thus  reveal  the  mercies  of  Ch?ist                             out  of  the  gospel  narrative,   Mark  I:15  ;  Mark  16  :15.
                                                  our  Lord.   And
only  the  love  af  Christ  can  minister  this  mercy   to  the       Now the Rev. Baker should know by this time that *God
poor  an.d  needy.   Therefore  Communism  as  it  mani- is God and no man, .and He never offers anything, and
fests  itself  today  is  thoroughly  to  be  condemn,ed  and at any rate not in the plail of salvation, for it is a free-
the  poor  among  G?Zl's  people  must  also  be  poor   in gift of God's grace merited'by Jesus Christ;  and if God
spirit,  and  with  the.  saints  of  -God  must  loo'k  forward        had  it only in His hand, there is not a sinner  who will
to  the  day  when  God  will  make  everlastingly   rich  all ever grasp for it. And aark 1:,5 ; 16 :15 do not teach
those  who  hope  in  Hi,m.                                             an  offer  of  salvation,  but  it  comes   with  -the  demand,
     -.                                                L.  v.           preach  t.he gospel. and repent  ye and b,elieve. Neither
                                                                        do  you  find  it  in  the  confession,   nor  in  the  catechism  ;
                                                                        neither  in  the  Cane-ns  of  Dort.
                               --                                           It is good `Ref&med doctrine  to say that Ragenera-
                                                                        tion  consists  in  the  implanting   of  the  new  life  in  man
                                                                        by  God  through  His  Holy  Spirit. Conversion   is  not  a
                              :-NOTICE-!                                mere  reformation  of  habits  but  a  change  wrought  by
                                                                        God,  and  by  faith  the  sinner  relies   npon  the  promises
All  Announcements   and  Obituaries  must  be  sent  to                of God and.thus embraces Jesus Christ who is an Aton-
Mr. R. Schaafsma, 1101 Hazen St. S. E., Gran,d Rapids,                  ing Substitute for the sin of mankind.,  We are justified
Michi,gan, and will not be -placed nnless the regular  fee              on  the  basis  of  the  finished   work  of  Jesus  Chiist,  and
of  $1.00  aooompanies   the  notice.                                   sanctified  by the  Holy Spirit,  and therefore  enabled  to
                                                                        live  a  godly  life.
      PLEASE  do  not  send  rwtices  to the printers.                      The  Chr. Ref. Church  also teaches  that  God elected


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Y48                                         `@-@E:STANDARD  B               E    A    R      E      R        -  -

a people  unto.eternal life, and that there is an eternal         Churches maintain  <that neither our fathers, nor #Scrip-
security for that people in Christ, who is their Inter-           ture teaches that the natural man can do any good  ; for
cessor, so that they can never fall away from faith and           all that is not of faith is sin. I refer you  iqparticular
grace. They also maintain that there is an invisible              to the "Drie Scheuren In Het Fundament Der  Gerefor-
-Church  -which consists of all -true believers, and that         meer.de  Wa.arheid."   I
this invisible Church becomes visible in the fellowship              Maybe some of our  rea.ders  will say, why bring  this
of those who profess the true religion. They baptize up again? Why not live in peace together? Because
children of believing parents  ;and the Lord's Supper is          the Rev. Baker is of the opinion that his church is as.
for them a sign and  ,seal of the broken body and- the            sound as when it was established in the year 1857, and  _
shed.blood of Jesus Christ. They also warn to live a              that is not the truth. It is misleading. If this was
Christian life in the midst of the world, and prayer- is          correct then there would not be Prot. Ref. Churches
for them the chief part of the thankfulness which God today. In 1857' the brethren in the Chr.  Ref; Churches
requires of His children.                                         were sound in doctrine. In 1924 they knew the truth
       Now, if some members of the Chr. Ref. Church               as yet, but they thought more of the doctrine of Com-
`read this,  #they will say: what is the matter with this         mon Grace.                                             S. D. V.
doctrine? Are we not sound in our Creed? Why is it                                    (To be Continued)
that some say that we are connected with Arminius
and Pelagius?
       `Well' my dear Chr. Ref. readers, it is this way: The
Rev. Baker is not  h,onest in his dealings with you. He
should  have'written: In 1924 the Chr. Ref. Church had                                     Q.  .
a controversy with some ministers of our Church. We                                          NOTICE
knew they were Reformed, but we could not use them
anymore and so we deposed. them, and also their  con-                Young men aspiring to the ministry of  ,the Word
sistories, and now they name themselves Protestant                in -our Churches  -and  ,desiring admittance into our
Ref,ormed   ; which they are. Of course we  ha,d to add
some to our confession. Only three points. They are               Theological School are requested to appear before the
in short : 1.  Th.at God is gracious to all  ,and more parti-     Theological~ School Committee at its next meeting,
cularly in the preaching of the Word. God wants  a17.             June 1, 1942, in the Fuller Avenue Church parlors.
men  to- be saved. We  have- proven `this from Scripture,         Aspirants must present a certificate of membership
and  -from our -Confession. However, the  Prot. Ref.              and recommendation from their consistory and also
brethren maintain that that doctrine is false. They               a certificate of health from a reputed physician. Ap-
say, there is no general offer of grace. God chose His
own and them only,  aed for those Christ suffered and             plication for financial support can be made directly to
died. God worked all things after the counsel  of-His the Synod.                      '
will. For the Reprobate the outward preaching of the                              The Theological School Committee.
gospel is  no'more grace or favor but a savor of death
unto death.
       2. The second point.  t,eaches that God sustains sin in
the life of the  iedividual, and in society. He restrains
the devil and  ,a11 our enemies, that without His  ,will
they can do'us no harm. Now, our opponents  say that                  .                      NOTICES                                       *
                                                                                                                                     1:
Scripture and  o.ur Confession do not  .speak of a re-
straint of sin, but by His power and providence God                  The Consistory of the First Protestant Reformed, d'
governs all things, and gives to all His  creatures.exist-        Church wishes to call  .to the attention of our churches.
ence, power and talent, -and so there is room for the             that Synod will meet D. V., on Wednesday, June 3,
development of sin and, grace in the organism of the              1942 in the parlors of the Fuller Ave. Church. This
h u m a n   r a c e .                       ;;:                   is to be preceded by a prayer service on  Tuesd,ay even-
       3. In the third point our Synod declared: that the         ing, June 2. The President of the former Synod, Rev.
unregenerate though incapable -of  doing! any saving
good, can do civic good. There are  &inim&ings  in man            H. Hoeksema, will preach the sermon on  .this occasion.
of natural light, whereby he retains some  nowledge of
                                                   +
God. He knows the difference between good and evil,                                                 T h e   C o n s i s t o r y ,
and God renews the heart, influences  man so that he                                           of  t.he First Prot. Ref. Church,
is able to do civic good. However, the' Prot; Ref,                                                       G.- Stonehouse, Clerk.
                                                                                              -


