52                                                                                                                         T*HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                    TheStandardBearer                                                                                                                                            '
         Semi-Monthly, except Monthly in July and  August                                                                                                                                                                EDITORIALS
                                                                      Published by
                      The  Reformed Free Publishing Association
                                                   1101  Hazen  Street, S.  E.                                                                                                                                   The Importance of Technicalities
                                           EDITOR - Rev. H. Hoeksema
 Contributing editors-Revs. .I. Blankespoor, A. Cammenga,                                                                                                                                                       Frequently the general  pubhc, and sometimes even
 P. De Boer,  J. D. de Jong, H. De Wolf,  L. Doezema,                                                                                                                                                        those that ought .to know better, speak with disdain
 M. Gritters, C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G. M. Ophoff,                                                                                                                                                    about the strict observance of `technical rules and
 A. Petter, M.  Schipper, J.  Vanden  Breggen, H.  Vehhnan,                                                                                                                                                  methods in the deliberation upon and final settlement
 R.  Veldman,  W. Verhil, L. Vermeer, P. Vis, G. Vos,                                                                                                                                                        of any question. To them a "techni~cality"  is so much
 and Mr. S. De Vries.                                                                                                                                                                                        red tape. Or,  ,what is worse, to maintain technical
 Communications relative to contents should be -addressed                                                                                                                                                    principles is to them only an excuse on the part of
 to REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Frankiin St., S. E., Grand
 Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                                                                           an assembly for reaching the wrong decision. To say
                                                                                                                                                                                                             that a certain request was not received by an eclesi-
 Communications relative to subscription should be ad-
 dressed to MR. R.  SCIIAAFSMA,  1101  Hazen St., S. E.,                                                                                                                                                     aatioal gathering on the  grouud of a  "technicali'ty"
 Grand Rapids,  Mich.   AR Announcements and Obituaries                                                                                                                                                      in their mouth means that such gathering merely
 must be sent to the above address and will not be placed                                                                                                                                                    looked for some excuse to reject it. When a protest
 unless  the regular fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice.                                                                                                                                                    is declared out of order by such a meeting on the
                                                Subscription $2.50 per year                                                                                                                                  ground of a "technicality", .they accuse the assembly
         E n t e r e d   as  s e c o n d   class  mail  a t   Grand   Rapids.   kichigan                                                                                                                    of bad "politics".. When an individual, consistory,
                                                                                                                                                                                                             or classis committed a technical error, and the case
                                                           -                                                                     -                                                                           is brought to the attention of the proper assembly,
                                                                                                                                                                                                             and the later condemns the party that committed the
                                                                                                                                                                                                             error, it is enough to say contemptuously that  ithe
                                                                        CONTENTS
                                                                                                                                                                                         Page                whole case was treated and condemned on the  <ground
MElDITATIE  -                                                                                                                                                                                                of a- technicality, in order to make many people
      DE GEOPENDE FONTEIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49                                                                    believe that  irt was mistreated. Technicalities, ac-
            Rev. H. Hoeksema.                                                                                                                                                                                cording to this view, are of little or no importance,
                                                                                                                                                                                               ,N            and they may readily be set aside, and easily be
EDITORIALS  -                                                                                                                                                                                                transgressed.
      THE IMPORTANCE OL TECHNICALITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52                                                                                                                    Now, we would not defend the proposition that
      THG QUESTION OF SUNDAY LABOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54                                                                                                                          a technical rule may never be overruled, nor would
      JESUS REDEEMS .I*.......................;  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55                                                                   we deny that mere technicalities are sometimes used
            Rev. H. Hoeksema.                                                                                                                                                                                to cover up an attempt to get rid of a case or to do
 THE CONQUEST OF THE TRANS-JORDAN REGION                                                                                                                                                                     the wrong thing. A case may be very clear, and very
               AND SIGNIFICANCE
                                                                                          . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58    urgent and important, and the party involved in such
            Rev. G. M. Ophoff.                                                                                                                                                                               a case may very evidently have the right on his side;
                                                                                                                                                                                                             and he may have committed a very slight technical
      GEHUWD OF ONGEHUWDE STAAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61                                                                                                            error in ignorance of the method he should have
        R e v .   W .   Verhil                                                                                                                                                                               followed in handling his case ; and in such a case it
      CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF THE CHILD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83                                                                                                                              .may be the consensus of opinion that the technical
            Rev. M. Gritters                                                                                                                                                                                 error had better be overlooked and the case itself
 THE IDEAL OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMED                                                                                                                                                                        be treated. But this is not usually the case. In fact,
               SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65                   it should be regarded as belonging to the extreme
            Rev. R.  Veldtnan                                                                                                                                                                                exceptions. Fact is, that  technicalitms  are of great
 PACIFISM . . . ..I *....*..............................*..................,.......................  68                                                                                                      importance. They are  .very closely relaked to the moral
            J. A. H.                                                                                                                                                                                         side of any case. And although it is true that those
 THE METHOD OF APPROACH IN OUR MISSION                                                                                                                                                                       ,who speak lightly of them, and who easily transgress
                                                                                                                                                                                                             them, may do so in ignorance of the proper rule to be
               WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
                                                                                                                                                                                                      69     observed, it  ia much more often the case  `that such
            Rev. P. De Boer                                                                                                                                                                                  transgression of technical rules is done  consciouslY,
      NIEUWS VAN ONZE KERKEN . ..I......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71                                                                                                   and with the purpose of attaining  t,o one's end
            Mr. S. De Vries                                                                                                                                                                                  right or wrong. An individual or assembly that viorates
                                                                                                                                                                                                             technicalities is certainly guilty of mismanagement,


                                   T,HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           63

and in so doing violates God's laws of justice and truth. acted in the spirit of the love of Christ. Or take the
   What is a technicality? It is a formal point of case of a person that directly appeals to classis  with-
order. It concerns the technique of a case, the proper out having served Inotice  and a cupy of his protest or ap-
rule  .to be observed, `the proper- method to be fol- peal ,upon his own consistory. Perhaps, in regard ito the
lowed in the treatment of a certain case, whether it matter of his protest the  pro&&ant  has justice on
be by ap in,dividual,  or by an assembly. Technicalities ,his side. Yet, his protest is not received by the classis
are not inventions arbitrarily introduced either by on the  ,ground  of a technicality: he  dEd  no,t serve a
the individual or by `the assembly in any ,given case,       copy of his protest upon his own consistory. What
but they are established rules, applicable to all cases may be the reason for this  Yiolation of `the proper
alike, and always to be observed. Our Church Order rule on the part of the protestant? It may, of course,
is a whole set of technicalities. And they are agreed *be mere ignorance. But more often there is another
upon and laid down for a very definite purpose. They reason. IHe refuses  `to acknowledge the  consistoryS
are not mere empty formalities that may just as Deliberately he ignores them. He does not  ttist them
well  ke  d,ispensed  with, or whose violation has no        He really does not live in the relation of Christian
.bearing  upon the  Idecision reached or the judgment love to his consistory. He wants to expose `them. He
rendered in any given case,. On the contrary, they are appeals to classis. But whether the one or the other
rules that are adopted `to safeguard the proper treat- motive is the reason fur his action, he did not offer
ment of a case, and to assure to all parties involved his own consis'tory the opportunity to treat his protest.
that justice  shail be done to them. They are based          And the classis refuses even to read it on the ground
on the correct supposition Itha% one cannot do justice of this technicality, Or, take the case of the deposition
in a way of injustice, that he cannot reach a right end of an  offffice&earer  by a consistory. The Church
by pursuing a crooked way ; or, positively speaking,         Order demands that "elders and deacons shall im-
&hat justice  crud truth and love require us to walk mediately  by preceding  sent&we  of the  Con&story
in certai,n wa;.s and to pursue certain methods in the thereof  and of the nearest Church,  ,be suspended or
treatment of any given  ,case; They are, therefore, expelled from their office", The consistory violates
themselves profoundly moral, ethical, spiritual. The end this rule by not taking into consideration or by dis-
does not merely not justify the means, but rthe wrong regarding the judgment of the consistory of the nearest
means are not conducive to `the right end.                   Church. The deposed office-bearer takes his case ,to
   Let me give  a  few concrete illustrations, The  well- classis, and he wins his case on the grounld of a mere
known rule of Matthew 18 is a technicality. Zt requires technicality: he was not deposed by a double  con-
that when a person, a brother, has sinned against sistory. Whether or not he was worthy of deposition
someone,  $th4 latter must rebuke the former personal- is left an open question; the  classis does not and
ly, before he can even take witnesses with him, and he cannot even discuss this. And the reason for the
must have rebuked him in the presence of witnesses, rule is very evident. Article 79 of the Church ODder
before he can take the matter to the church. What            requires that it shall be made perfectly evident that
is the underlying principle of this technicality? the deposed  officeabearer  was worthy of deposition,
Brotherly love ; the desire to save the erring brother, and proceeds on the perfectly reasonable assumption
Suppose this rule is violated. A person brings an that the ju,dgment  of one's own consistory alone can-
accusation against a brother before the consistory not be regarded as sufficient, because that consistory
without having first followed the rule of Matthew is interested in the case, and may easily be biased.
18. He is refused a hearing by the consistory. The           Hence, the judgment of a neighboring, disinterested,
accusation may be perfectly true. And `the accusing unbiased consistory is required to depose an elder or
brother may be very much offended at the consistory deacon.
because the latter refused to take up the case. He              Technicalities, therefore, are extremely important,
may even spread the report far and  ,wide  that the and no individual or assembly should be permitted `to
consistory refused him on the ground of a mere violate them. And wherever they were violated, the
"technicality". Yet, the consistory was right, and the error should be rectified, and the case should be re-
accusing brother was wrong. And the latter was noit tried according to the proper method.
merely technically  wrong, but also  moraLLy,   ethical&:                                               H. H.
he violated the law of love! He did  noi have it in
his heart to save the erring  b&her,  but to destroy
him. And if he will but honestly examine his heart,
he will discover that hatred inspired and motivated                  When many of our boys are leaving
him in ,violating the technicality of Matthew 18. And                     To places we do not know
no consistory or broader gathering should ever allow                 Wilt thou 0 Lord be near them
itself to be persuaded that one who violated this rule                    Wherever they may go.


`$4                                   `TKE  STANDAB'D   ` B E A R E R                             _I `."_    --"-.

                                                               a  ,Christian  laborer is in spiritual need of the sabbath,
         The  Question of  Sunday Labor                        and that on that day he must be occupied in a special
                                                               sense with the things of the kingdom of heaven.
       This article is a translation of an editorial in the    And, therefore, in that sense they do not care about
previous issue of our Standard Bearer. Readers who             .the sabbath at all. It might be expected, therefore,
are able to read Dutch may omit this, and proceed'to           that the ,world would abuse the circumstances, and
the next article.  * It was suggested to me, and it make of the war and of the need of defense material
had already occurred to me, that it would be expedient         a pretext to deprive the Christian entirely of the
to translate the article on Sunday Labor, because sabbath. And on the other hand, it might be feared,
 `many that are not able to follow the Holland are too, that there woul,d be found Christians that live
deeply interested in the question. Here follows `the on a low spiritual level, and that, once you granted
itranslation :                                                 them the right to work on Sunday for the  manu-
       When, sometime ago, we expressed our opinion con-       faoture  of war material and at the request of the
cerning the question of  Sun,day labor,  anld declared government, would, for filthy lucre's sake, intention-
that in our judgment Sunday work for the purpose               ally look for a job  tha% requires them to work on
of manufacturing defense material is permissible for           Sunday ; and who, besides, would offer themselves  for.
the Christian  itn case  &he government demands                Sunday work, not only when the government demands
it, we intentionally limited ourselves strictly to the         this, but also when the employer  woulfd ask it of
question proper. The question was not concerning               them for his own material benefit. ' It stands `to rea-
Sunday labor in general, nor even concerning the son that it is "safer" to bind the Christian in lthe world
permissibility of working on ,Sunday'  for the purpose by external precepts. than to leave matters to his
of making  #defense material; but it definitely con-           Christian liberty.
 cerned the problem whether a Christian would have.                That which we then anticipated and feared is
to submit himself to the authorities in case they now becoming more and more reality ; and that is
should demand ,of him that he work also on Sunday the reason why we feel obliged to Grite on this sub- `J
 for the purpose of preparing war material. We swere,          ject once more and to address a word of warning to
 and we still are, of the opinion that in that specific all our people. First of all, it *is evident that in many
 instance the Christian would have to su,bmit  `to the a factory Sunday work is being required, not by the
 government. Such submission would be sinful, if government, but by the employer, simply because it is
 ,Sunday  labor as such and under all circumsEances  were for his  mtierial  profit. And,,  secon.dly, a  goo,d deal
 to be condemned, for in that case our anstier  would of Sunday work is already beinjg Idone in cases where
 necessarily have to be that we must obey God more it is very evident that there is no necessity for it as
`than men. But since this is not the case, and since           far as the war is concerned. (1 have in mind factories
 works of necessity and works of mercy have always, in which the men in turn work on the sabbath, but
 been considered proper-on the sabbath, it is our opinion without working seven days a week. Every seven days,
 that also in this case tie must submit ourselves to           or sometimes even every six days, the employees have
 the government,  ,and leave the right `to  determiue          a day of rest. The only trouble  i,s that this day of
 whether the manufacture of defense material  id so rest (does not always occur on Sunday. In such cases
 urgent that it cannot be stopped on ,the sabbath, and it should be very evident that work on Sunday is not
 the responsibility to the government.                         motivated by the need of speedy production of war
       Even ewhen we wrote that editorial we sensed all        material, but simply by the desire for profit on the
 sorts of dangers, and expected that the question would part of the employer,. It is more profitable for him
 not remain so simple as we presented it at that time.         to let his factory run through, than to stop all work
 It, could be anticipated that this readiness of the on the sabbath. Such Sunday labor certainly does not
 Christian to comply with the demand of the govern-            fall in the category of "necessary labor at the request
 ment would be abused. The control of such matters             of the government". AnId it should be evident  ,that
 usually rests with the "world". And the "world", cares        in our former article on this subject we did nut defend
 not at all about the sabbath. They may perceive that          such Sunday work. On the contrary, it is our con-
 resting on the sabbath, or, at least, one day of the viction that `our people may not conform to this cor-
 week, is a fundamental ordinance of God, rooted in rupt  praotice  of the world, and should persistently
 creation, and that one cannot violate this ordinance refuse to work on the sabbath under such  ciscum-
 with impunity. Even past experience has taught us stances. If the government declar.es  `that the stress
 that it is `not profitable .for, the .employer  if he lets of the times demands that we work seven days a
 his employees work seven days a week. But the world <week,  very  .well ; even though we are loath to relinquish
 cannot appreciate the spiritual significance and value our  sabbathi,c  rest, we will be obedient for God's sake.
 of the sabbath. They do not understand the fact that           But if  it concerns merely a matter of exchanging


                                    T H E   S T . A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           55

one day of rest for another, for the  benfit of the          be it ever so small, in us. There is absolutely nothing
employer, so that we do, indeed, work only six or            we can do of ourselves that adds to, that aids Him
even five days a week, but lose the sabbath and are in His work of saving us. All the work of  salvartion
prevented from gathering with `the church of Christ, belongs exclusively to Him And He surely saves. He
we will  .nut allow ourselves to be led astray by  ithe      does not create a possi,bility  of salvation, `He does not
worlld.  For, in the first place, the rule is then certainly reveal a willingness to save, He does not establish the
applicable that we must obey God rather than men. necessary conditions unto salvation: He saves! Thou
Secondly, compliance would in such cases result in shalt call His name Jesus, for he  still save his people
great spiritual injury for ourselves. And, finally, from  rtheir sins,"
this practice will have the result that we lose the             This, then, is the true implication of that frequently
sabbath entirely, and that this way of sabbath-dese- advertised statement: Jesus saves. It means that He
cration will be continued even after the war.  $&old alone, without the help of man, shall surely and com-
fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown! pletely accomplish all the work that is necessary to
                                              H. H.  /       bring a man that `is utterly lost in sin and death to the
                                                             heavenly glory of an everlasting  righrteousness  and
                           -                                 eternal life. For this is salvation. And we may con-
                                                             sider this glorious work of grace from different as-
                  Jesus Redeems                              pects. For it implies, first of all, that the sinner is
                                                             translated from a state of guilt and damnation into
  Radio Address of Oct. 18, 1942, over W. L. A. V.           a state of prefect righteousness in which he is worthy
                Grand Rapids; Michigan                       of eternal life ; secondly, that he is changed from death,
                                                             into life, from darkness into light, from corruption
   Jesus saves ! This brief statement,  wh,ich  one may into holiness, from the slavery of sin into the perfect,
read now-a-days on billboards and fences, on church- liberty o,f the childlren  of God ; thirdly, ithat in this &ate
buildings and automobiles, is true in all its implica- of righteousness and condition of holiness and liberty
tions, much more so than those swho are responsible he is preserved in the midst of this present world even
fur its public display are willing to admit. That Jesus unto lthe end; and, lastly, &hat he is dehvered  from
saves is guaranteed by His very name, for His name is the corruption of physical death and translated into
not a mere, meaningless appellation, but expresses immortality and  incorru.ptibleness  through the  final
whart  He actually is, for it was given Him, not by His resurrection. All this Jesus accomplishes with  infal.6
parents, but by divine command through a heavenly ble certainty for and in all #whom  He saves. He shall
messenger. And the name signifies:. Jehovah saves, save His peopIe  from their sins!
or Jehovah is salvation. It denotes that this saviour           Salvation, I said, is first of all a change of our state.
is not a mere man, coming with a human claim that By state is understood our legal position before God.
he is able to save, but God, the God of our salvation        God is our Judge. And He is not a Judge before whose
come down to us, ,reve?tling  Himself to us in the face .bar we appear occasionally, or, perhaps, only once, at
of Jesus  ,Christ. And God is mighty. to save to the the end of time, but Who always judges us. Always
uttermost, and the fact that He reveals Himself as we stand in judgment before Him. And always He
Jesus, Saviour, is the indubitable assurance that He expresses verdict. And it is, that judgment of God,
shall surely accomplish our salvation. And thus the the verdict  IHe pronounces that determines our state.
name is interpreted by rthe angel to Joseph in a dream : According to thhart  verdict of the Judge of heaven and
"and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for He shall save earth we are either righteous or guilty. If He declares
his people from their sins". Matt. 1:Z'. Indeed, Jesus us righteous, we are worthy of Iife ; if we are found
saves? Jesus as He is revealed to us in the Scriptures, guilty, we are liable to the punishment of, death.
Who was born in Bethlehem, Who sojourned among Righteousness and life, guiIt and dealth  are inseparably
us for a few years and revealed the Father, Who suf- connected by the righteous judgment of God.  ,We
fered and died on the cross of Calvary, Who was raised should be careful lest this truth be denied or distorted,
on the third day according to the Scriptures, Who was for it is one of the foundation stones of the doctrine
received up into heaven  ,and became the life-giving ,concerning  our salvation. There are many who con-
spirit,-this Jesus saves. And there is no one with sider this a hard doctrine. They try to circumvent
Him, He alone saves. For there is no "salvation in this unbreakable connection between righteousness and
any other; for there is no other name under heaven life on the one hand, and unrighteousness and death.
given among men, whereby we must be saved". Acts on the other, by an appeal to God's goodness  -and
4 :12. Salvation is not in man or angels ; it is not in mercy. God is too merciful and kind to:  infli,ct  the
our own works or righteousness or  religiousness,- punishment of death upon the guilty sinner! He swill
it is in Jesus alone. Nor is there any part of salvation,    pardon him and  <give him life ! But this is a very


56                                     TOHE   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                         m-
pernicious error. Can a man put his hand in the fire         ing the form of a servant, in urder `that He might take
and not burn it? ,Can he take poison and not be killed?      upon Himself our sins, and bear for us the wrath of
Or can he indulge in a life of immorality and dissi-         God. He paid the price and atoned for our sins by
pation without ruining his body? Neither can he sin this act of perfect obedience on the cross of Calvary,
against God  wirth impunity. God cannot deny Himself.        where He voluntarily laid down His life and tasted
He is unchangeably righteous and  j,ust, And since this `death  in all its depth of horror. There He willingly
is true, the relation between righteousness and life, descended into the depth of hell to satisfy the justice
unrighteousness and death, cannot be  br,oken. Only he       of God and fulfill all righteousness. And the verdict
who according to the righteous judgment of God is in         of God was rendered from heaven, when He raised
the state of righteousness is the object of His favor, Him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
and is worthy uf life and glory.                             from the dead is God's seal of approval and accep-
      Now, by nature, as we stand before the tribunal tance of the perfect sacrifice of the Saviour, His sen-
of God (by ourselves, on the basis of our own merits, tence  tihat Jesus' death is the blotting out of the guilt
and by virtue of our relation to the first man Adam, of sin, and that we  .-are  justified through `Him. He
we are in a state of guilt. We have sinned, and we do `was delivered for our ransgressions, and raised for
sin, ,and we increase our `guilt daily. This guilt is the our justification. Rom. 42%. Jesus paid the price of
legal basis of all our misery. We are in the prison of o u r   r e d e m p t i o n .
sin and death, so to speak ; and salvation consists in          Several questions may be asked and often are asked
our <deliverance from that prison, and our trans- concerning this ,vicarious,  substtittional  suffering and
ference  to the state of everlasting liberty and life. One death of our Lord. And it is  weQ for us to consider
that is to save us, <therefore, must be powerful so to them for a moment, especially since these questions
deliver us. He must be able to enter into our prison are often raised in the form of objections against rthe
and lead us out into freedom. But this is not all. He doctrine of vicarious atonement itself. We shall never
must not only be mighty to deliver, but he must have be able to fathom and completely comprehend this
the  right  to set us free. Our being in this prison of mystery of  Ithe kingdom of heaven. It belongs to those
sin and death is not accidental, it is the execution of a things that never arise in the heart of man, and that
sentence thait is pronounAced  against us by the justice can be apprehended only through God's revelation.
of God. Justly we are committed to the slavery the           For us it is sufficient, therefore, lthat the Bi,ble teaches
,devil.  It is according to strictest justice that sin and #us that  Ch:rist  died for our sins according to the
de&h have dominion over us. We have no right to be Scriptures. Nevertheless, we like to have something to
delivered, because *we are guilty and under sentence of answer  lthose  that oppose and deny the truth, and for
condemnation. If, therefore, one is #to save us from this    this reason it is well that we weigh the objections
power of sin and set us free, he must first obtain for raised, and attempt to remove them. The question
us the right to life and liberty. And to obtain that         may be asked: how is it possible (that one person so
right for us he must remove the guilt of our sin; he         bear the punishment of another that the latter becomes
must be able to transfer us from  &he state of guilt and righteous? Can such a substitution be made  accord,ing
condemnation into the state of perfect and everlasting a0 justice? Is there not rather a double injustice in-
righteousness. He must  redeem  us!                          voIved  in such  vicariaus suffering, the-injustice  of
      How can this  ,be accomplished? What  must be done acquitting the guilty, and the other injustice of punish-
in order to remove the guilt of sin and obtain for the       ing the innocent? Besides, is it not a very dangerous
sinner righteousness and life? The justice of God            policy to punish the righteous for the guilty and let
against sin must be satisfied And God's justice can the wicked go free, a  policy that must be detrimental
be satisfied only by suffering (the punishment of sin to all religion and ethics? Moreover, how could the
willingly and in perfect obedience. This is the meaning death of Christ on the cross in the year 33 be suf-
of atonement. To atone for sin is not merely to bear ficient to justify the many and deliver them from the
the punishment and pay the penalty. The suffering guilt of sin and the punishment of eternal death?
of #death, .the bearing of the punishment must be an One man dies and many are made righteous. One
act of loving obedience. Such an act of perfect obedi- man suffers for a few hours on the cross, and many
ence is the sacrifice that satisfies t,he justice of God are redeemed from eternal death,. How is this possible?
and removes the guilt of sin.  It is the price of our        .W,here is  Fihe justice of God in all this? Yet, so  .the
redemption. And when we say "Jesus saves," we (Bible teaches us. For when we  -were yet without
mean, first of all, that He performed this act of per-       strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
fect obedience, offered this atoning  sa.crifice and so      Itom.  5:6. And as by one man's disobedience many
paid for us the price of our redemption,  ubtaining          were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
for us the forgiveness of sin and eternal righteousness.     many be made rigliteous. Rom.  5:19. For he  bath
iHe accomplished  t,his by coming into our flesh, assum-     smade him  (to be sin for us; that we might be made


                                     T,HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                57

t.he righteousness of God in him. II Cor.  5:21.   BY rtion by Ris atoning suffering and death, but that on
lone offering he hath perfected for ever them that are         the cross *He certainly paid the price of redemption
sanotified.  Heb. 10  :14. Who his own self bare `our          for all whom the Father gave Him, so that their sins
sins in his own body on the tree. I Peter  2:24.  For          are blotted out, and they are certainly saved.
Christ also  bath suffered for sins, the just for the             As  to the objection that it is a dangerous policy to
unjust. I P,eter  3:18. There can be no question about let ithe righteous die for the wicked, to punish the inno-
the truth of lthis doctrine of Christ's vicarious suffering cent and let the guilty go free, it is not  ,difficulrt  to see
in the light of Scripture. The only question is whether        the error of this. The objection is really  *a very old
we can discern a little, perhaps, of the divine reason-        one.  AIready in the days of the apostle Paul there
ableness of this truth.  s                                     were those who argued that the doctrine of free grace,
    And then we must remember, first of all, that (the         and of `the justification  of the ungodly  rthrough the
statement  .that Jesus died for our sins is not the same       blood of Christ, inevitably must lead to the conclusion,
as saying  Ithat one man died for another, that the that  ti mattered  not how much we sin. In fact, the
righteous ,died for the guilty. If by an earthly  court a more we sin the, more  the glury of the grace of God
man should have been convicted of murder and con-              would become manifest. Let us therefore sin,  [that
demned to die on the gallows, and if then sumeone else,        grace may abound ! And, to be sure, rthis argument
an innocent man, would offer himself as a substitute           would be valid, if salvation meant nothing more than
for the murderer, the court would never accept such that Christ suffered and died for the ungodly in order
a substitution. The innocent man that offers him- ithat the latter might escape the punishment of hell
self as a su,bstitute  is merely another individual, that and damnati,on  and go to heaven. If among men the
stands in no legal relationship to the murderer, and wicked is acquitted, !the result will surely be that he
who, therefore, cannot possibly take his place. But will increase in wickedness. But this is not salvation.
this is not true of Jesus. He is not just another man,         For Christ did not die for the ungodly, in order &hat
but one *who stands in a very defmtie relation to us.          he might continue in his iniquity and feel secure in
For, first of all, He is the person of the Son of God his sin, but in order that He might obtain for him the
Himself, `the Judge of heaven and earth, Who certainly righteousness on  :the basis of which he may be delivered
has the right (if we may even speak thus of  aim),             from the power of sin and death and be made alive
to  pIace  Himself under hhe law in order that He might unto God. He saves His people from their sin ! And
redeem us from the guilt of sin. But, secondly, He is          this implies that He aIso delivers them from the do-
also the representative head of all His own, the elect, minion of sin, cleanses them, sanctifies `them, and
given  IXm before the foundation of the world, He makes them servants unto righteousness. It is quite
was ordained before the world was to ,be rthe head of impossible for a sinner that lays hold un the righteous-
all the elect, and these are chosen in Him. He is re- ness of God in Christ to become careless and profane.
sponsible for them. He represents them before the A man who would argue that in the blood of Christ
face of God. Even as the  f&t man Adam stands as               his sins are all blotted out, and tihat,  for that reason,
lthe representative of the entire human race in paradise, he can safely sin according to all the desire of his
so Christ stands by God's own decree as the represent- fle&,  would thereby reveal that he never received the
ative of all the elect in the hour of judgment on Cal- grace of forgiveness and justification. He is a stranger
vary. Even as the sin of Adam is imputed to all men,           to Christ. For whom Christ redeems He also delivers;
so ethat they are all guilty in Him, so the righteousness whom He  jusltifies He also sanctifies. Thus  8he apostle
of Christ is imputed to all the elect, so that they are        writes: "What then? shall we sin, because we are not
righteous in Him before God. They are one body under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know
with Him as  ithe head a legal  b,ody that is represented ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to
by the head. On  lthe accursed tree Christ does not die obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey ; whether
for strangers but fur His own, made into one body, of sin  unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
one legal corporation .wi:th  Him, that could be legally But God be thanked that ye were the servants  of sin,
represented by their one head. For so he says : I am but ye have ob,eyed  from the heart that form of doc-
the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known trine which was delivered you. Being then made free
of mine. As the Father knoweth  me, even so know I from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness".
the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. My           Rom. 6  :16-18.
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow              But how can tihe death of one be the justific&ion
me ; and I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall        of many? Is ithe substi`tution  of one man sufficient to
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them  out of atone for  cthe sin of thousands and millions? Is the
my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater justice of God really satisfied by the self-sacrifice of
than all. John 10 :14; 15; 27-29. "Jesus saves" signi-         this one man? Indeed, for so the Scriptures teach
fies, not that He created a certain possibility of  salva-     us plainly,. The Son of man <gave His life as a ransom


c                                                                                                                                 1


      58'                                 T@HE   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

      for many. And in order to understand a little of this          of the first Adam before the fall. For, first of all,
      mystery of tie cross of ,Christ, we must remember that it is a righteousness that can never be lost, it `being
      iHe- Who died on Calvary is the Son of God in hum,an           rooted in the perfect obedience of t.he Son of God in the
      nature, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, co- flesh. And, secondly, it is a righteousness that far
      equal wirth the Father and the Holy Ghost. And this transcends the righteousness Adam before the fall ever
      makes His death so precious f;hart by it millions are          possessed, or could ever have attained, for iit makes
      redeemed and juetFfied.  Even in the *world of creatures us worthy of eternal life and glory in the heavenly:
      there is a great deal of difference in our estimation of tabernacle of God ! For, He that spared not His: own
      the death of one creature and of another. No one @Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He
      hesitates to kill a fly ; but if we accidentally {kill a dog not with IHim also freely give us  all things? 0, indeed,
      we feel quite different about it; and how much more Jesus saves! He is our blessed Redeemer for ever!
      precious in our estimation is (the death of a human                                          ,               H. H.
      being! But there is an infinite difference between the
      greaitest  and most honored man and the eternal Son
      of God ! His death is of infinite value ! If Jesus is not
      the Son of God, if the one that died on Calvary were               The Conquest of the Trans-Jordan
      a mere man, His death would be powerless to redeem.
      But now He is God's only begotten Son, God of God                        Region and Significance
      in human nature,  Immanuel!  He it is  rthact  suffered
      death in our stead. No, it was not in the divine nature           In public mourning of Aaron, the people of Israel
     that.the  Son of God died, for the divine nature is not now for thirty days have been encamped under the
      subject to death. But in the human nature, which He shadow  of Mount Hor, when the command come-s .,to
      had adopted from the virgin Mary, it was, neventheless,        them to press onward to Canaan. It means that the
      the person .of the Son of God that tasted death. And desert period of Israel's national existence has ended.
      herein is the great mystery and  [the unfathomable Moving southwards round the mountains of Edom at
      mercy of God, not in that He winks at sin and pardons the head of the Elanitic Gulf  #of the Red Sea, they
      ,&he sinner without satisfaction of His  justic,   but in turned northwards, marching to Moab, by the way of
      tihat %Ie came Himself in the person of His only be- the great eastern  ,desert. The first part of their journey
      gotten Son to bear away the guilt of our sin for ever.         was most trying and difficult. It took them through a
      For God so loved the world, that He gave His only region that was pre-eminently "that great and  terrible:,
      begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should wilderness," of which Moses afterwards spake to the.
      not perish, but have everlasting life ! John 3 : 16. And people. The spirits of the people again fell and bitter
      the death of the Son of God is of infinite vaIue, abun- reproaches rose against God and Moses. The terrible
      dantly sufficient rto atone for the sins of all His people. punishment which the region itself provided for such.
      And this ,is the ministry of reconciliation  ;that "God disloyalty and rebeIlion-venomous serpents abounding
      was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not in it spread terror and death-the remedy which was
      imputing their Itrespasses  unto them". II Cor. 5 : 19.        provided in the "brazen serpent," raised upon  a, pole,
             This, then, is ;the first element in the work of sal- are  incidenlts to which adequate reference has already
      vation, and it is the indispensable basis for all the rest. been made: From this time the trials of wilderness life
      Jesus saves ! That means that Jesus reconciled us unto         may be said to have ended.                        `.
      God through the blood of the cross and His perfect                Continuing their journey, the peopIe came to the.,
      obedience, M is an accomplished fa.ct. The sins of all brook Zered, a watercourse which was dry except ,in
      ,whom the Father gave unto our Lord  fro,m before the the rainy season-thus a wady-and wlhich  formed the.
      foundation of the world are for ever bleed out. Sal- boundary line between Edom and Moab. Crossing this.
      vation is not an opportunity, a possibility, a chance,  but    brook they left  E,dom  and the desert behind them and
      a certainty. It is not contingent upon  rthe will of man,      entered on the rich uplands of Moab. Precisely thirty,
      or upon his wo&s ; it is not even contingent on our            eight years had elapsed from the time of their first
     faith. For even though we are saved through faith,              departure from Kadesh-barnea. During that time all
      we are not saved because of our fai;th, or upon con- the old generation was wasted out from among  t.he
      dition of faith, but only on the basis of His perfect          host, the hand of the Lord having been against it to
     sacrifice. And in that sacrifice alone believers must destroy it from the host until all were consumed. Of
     and do find their perfect righteousness before God, this the. new generation was afterward reminded by,
     the ,only ground of their hope. In the cross of Christ Moses. (Deut. 2).
     they glory! And as by faith they appropriate the                   Ere long, the marching host reached the  Amon;
     righteousness of God in Chris& they are clothed with            "the rushing river,`" the  tist stream they had seen
     a righteousness that far transcends the' righteousness          &nce leaving the Nile. At present the  width   `of its


                                   T,HE  S T ' A N D A R D   B ' E A R E R                                         59

chasm is about  t.hree  miles from crest to crest. Below, Abraham's nephew, and that Esau was Israel's brother.
at a depth of 2000 feet, its bright waters descend down "Ye are to pass through the coasts of  your  brethren
`to the blue waves of the Dead Sea. So, they must                  Take ye good heed unto yourselves, meddle not
have crossed far to the east, where the &ream is yet .&it; them".  (De&. 2  :5).                       '
inconsiderable.                                                  Some of the earliest known inhabitants of  (this
   While the people of Israel were still encamped on region were  ithe Emims the Anakims and the  Z,am-
the south side of the Arnon, the Lord made it known zummins.  According to Deut. 2 :`ll, 12, the Emims were
to them that He had given into their hands Silhon the         many and of tall stature. The Anakins, too; Were
Amorite, king of Heshbon, and hias land and that there- reckoned among the giants. It is probable, therefore,
fore they should possess the land and contend with the that the "giant" Goliath and his family were of this
Amorites in batttle.  (Deut. 2 :29). And Israel smote him     race. The view that, these people `were `of *the `same
with the edge of the sword and poss~ss~ all his land          stock, being given different names by the different
from Arnon to Jsbok. Thereupon turning north, they Itribes  who came in contact with them, is in all likeli-
smote Og, king of Bashan,  an,d possessed the land. It ,hood correct. It is also held to appear probable that
is these conquests  Ito which we now direct our attention.    they came from the Aegean like the Philistines.  The
In treating this subject, I arrange my material under Emims were dispossessed by the Moabites and the Zam-
.the following points. (1) the region conquered; (2)          zumm@ns  by the Ammonites. But shortly  :after the
the conquest of it ; (3) the significance of its conquest. Exodus this region was overrun by the Amorites. The
   1. The land of Canaan is a strip of country  ap-           Amorite  chieften  Og possessed himself. of  Bashan
.proxim&eIy   140 miles in length and 40  tiles in            (De&. 3 :8), and Sihon, "king of the Amorites", con-
breadth, It is bordered on the west by the Mediter- quered much of the district occupied by  Annnon'
ranean Sea and on the east by the river Jordan. This almost ithe whole country between the Arnon, on the                  .
is the land that was  p-romised  to Abraham and his south, and the Jabbok, which flows into the Jordan,
seed. Thus as ithe region with whose conquest we are on the no&h-and the northern part of Moab ; 6xing
now occupied lies east of the Jordan, it was not in- his capital in the strong fortified city of Heshbon,. ly-
cluded in the original promise. But the people of ing about 3000 abo,ve  the level of the Mediterranean,
Israel .had to pass through this region to enter Canaan. and over 4000  above the Ievel  of the .dead sea, from
And its kings were hostile. Lt was in connection  with w,hich it is visible. According to Gen. 10  :16, the
this emergency that the people learned that it was the Amorites were descendent from Canaan, the son of
Lord's will that they should possess themselves also of Ham, whom Noah cursed, and `were thus under the
tiis  tram+Jordanic  region.                                  ban of God. They were a powerful people and widely
   It was a district of considerable size as compared spread through the promised land before the settlement
with Canaan proper. Its southern boundary line was of the Israelites.
formed by the river Arnon. From there it extended                In its natural aspects, this trans-Jordanic region
for a distance of 100 miles to Mount Herman. The is full of interest. As to Bashan, its northern section,
,breadth  of its  no&hern <half-the  section  later occupied the product of eruption from  extinlct volcanoes, spread
by the half tribe of Manassah and forming the over the adjoining plains, have given to the soil that
ancient  Bashan-was  twice that of Canaan. Its                character of fertility for which it has been in all ages
southern half-the part apportioned to  the tribes of remarkable-in all ages, thus also at the time of its
Gad and Reuben-measured barely 25 miles in breadth. invasion by the Israelites. The volcanic soil, we are
This section, hemmed in between the Arnon on the one told, yields on the average, in some places, eighty
hand and the Jabbok on the other, was known to the            returns of wheat and a hundred of  ,barley. The. moun-
Israel of  khe Old Testament as the land of Gilead, tains  themselves  are richly clothed with forests of
while in the New Testament times it formed the pro- various kinds of trees, among which the evergreen
vince of. Peres.                                              oak is .especially  abundant. It was and still is one of
 . The region did not include the countries of Moab, the most remarkable regions on *the -earth's  surface.
Amman,  and Edom. The Lord had forbidden khe chil-               Gilead, the southern portion of this trans-Jordan
dren of Israel to meddle with these peoples, told them region, is, as has already been suggested, a narrow
that He would not give them their land, not as much strip of low-lying plain along the Jordan. It has an
as a footbreadth and this because  $He had given these average elevation of 2500 feet above the Mediter-
peoples the country ,which they occupied for a posses- ranean. Tihe eastern slopes of the Gilead range are
sion. Thus ,&he chil,dren  of Israel, in passing through Itoday comparitively  bare of trees ; but ithe western are
.their lands, should buy meat and drink from them for well supplied with oak, Iterebinth, and pine. The pas-
moneys  (.Deut,  2). So, against these peoples, they were tures we are told, are everywhere luxuriant, and the
.-forbidden  to engage in acts of violence, the reason wooded heights and winding glens, the open glades and
being that  MO& and Ammon were  descendents  of Lot,          flat meadows of green turf, present great beauty of


       66                                     T*HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

       vegetation;                                                    shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and
             2. The conquest of this region. Humanly speaking,        give me water for money, that  I may drink:  only
       tiis was no easy task. The Amorites, as was said,              r will pass  throu,gh  on my feet; as the children of
       were a  powerful  people. The city of  Heshb.on, in            Esau which dwell in  S&r, and  rthe Moabites which
       which Sihon had fixed his  capital, was a strong for-          dwell in Ar, di,d unto me, so do thou utio me, until I
       tified city. Edrei  (Deut.  3  :I), Og's capital, was in       pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God
       ordinary circumstances almost unassailable. it was giveth  us". (Nu.  21:21,  22;  De&.   2:26-28). The peti-
       built in a hollow artificially scooped out of the top of tion was i refused. Sihon. would not let the people of
       a hill, isolated by deep gorges from the country round Israel pass by him (vs. 30). Adding insult to injury,
       (Riehm  E&ei) . Its streets may still be seen running he aft the `head of his people even came out against
       in  all directions beneath the present town of Adraha. Israel to engage with him in battle. The sacred nar-
       But still stronger was Kenath, in the distriot  called rator ends with this reaction not in the king but in the
       Argob (Deut. 3:4), for it was built in the crevices of         Lord. "For the Lord thy God  hrdened his spirit, and
       a great island of lava which had split, in cooling, made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him
       into innumerable fissures, through whose labyrinth no into thy hand, as appeareth this day." (vs. 30) .
       enemy could safely penetrate. Smith's  dictiorwcry  of            Si,hon's army fled and was slaughtered at a spot
       the  Bible.  Porter's  tint cities  of  BnsfLan.  Some  are    called Jahaz, "A place trodden down". Among  &he
       therefure of the opinion that it would have been im-           slain were numbered the king himself and his sons.
     possible for Israel to have overcome a people so                 All the cities were utterly destroyed and  itheir  in-
       strongly entrenched, but for the presence at the time          habitants-the men, the women, and  lthe children, were
       of vast swarms of hornets, a plague common in Palis-           put to the sword none were left to remain. Thus the
`      Rhine, which drove the population into open ground             whole country between Arnon and Jabbok, with  Hesh-
       where they could be attacked. To give ito %heir view bon itself, at once passed into the hands  ,of Israel.
       an air of plausibility, they refer us to a .town  in Joshua    Henceforth the Arnon was the boundary of their
       24:12,  called Zor.eah+ place of hornets. We are told          possessions only the land south of it being  left to Moab.
       further that there is a case on record of a Babylonian            In petitioning Sihon for a passage through his
       army put to flight by bees, and that the Phasaleans,           Fterritory,  Moses held before him the good example of
       a Canaanitish people, were driven permanently from Edom, the friendly attitude that he had adopted toward
       their homes by wasps and hornets. But, as we shall Israel. Yet according to a previous notice the attitude
       have occasion to notice, .there  is no need of resorting of Edom had been hostile. He, `too, "had refused to
       to this hornet theory to explain the military successes give Israel passage through his border and had even
       of the Israelites in these regions.                            come out against him with much people and with:a
             But there were more fastnesses than those just strong arm". (Nu. 20 :21). This apparent discrepency
       mentioned So many as sixty cities "fenced with high can be removed. The western border of Edom, through
       walls, gates and bars, beside unwalled towns a great which Israel  first sought a passage, when starting
       many," had also to be taken.  (Dem. 3  :4, 5). Thus from  Kadesh, could easily have been defended on
       the task to which the people of Israel were now com- account of its mountainous character and few passages,
       manded to address themselves was one certainly adapt- This Edom threatened to do. The eastern line of
       ed to excite fear or deter from undertaking. Yet there frontier, on the other hand, lay wide open and could
       was no ground. for fear at  all., For the  Lo&  .had itherefore  be  edefended  only with great difficulty.
      spoken "Behold I have given into tiine hand Sihon the           Hence, prudence dictated  thait Edom adopt a friendiy
       Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to attitude   ,toward  Israel on this frontier.
       possess it,`" and again with a view to Og, "Fear him              In order of time, the revelation of the divine pur-
       not:, for 1 will deliver him, and all his people, and his      pose that Israel possess himself also of this  trans-
       land, into thine hand . .  ."  (Deut.   -2:24;  3:2). Thus     Jordan region is first and not the petition, addressed
      they coul'd  enter upon this venture a people--the host to Sihon, that he grant Israel a passage <through his
       of the Lord-who had the victory (I  hawe given into kingdom. For the revelation of this purpose came
      thine band. . . .) as a peopIe  who were more than con- to the people of Israel when they were encamped on
      querors in their God. The victory was $theirs ere they the south side of the Arnon, w,hile the request for `this
      engaged the  ,enemy.  So, by this word,  `did  rthe Lord        passage was not made until the Arnon had been
      reassure His people.                                            crossed. Such is the order of events in Nu. 21. Vs. 11
             To Sihon as to the-others-Edom, Moab. and Am-            reads, "And they journeyed from Obeth and pitched
       mon-a friendly message was sent, asking a passage              in the wilderness which is before  Moab,"  thus on' the
      `through his kingdom. "Let me pass through thy~land"  :         south. side of the Arnon,. According to Deut. 2  :24,
      so-the message ran, "I will go along thy highway, 1             it was here that. they learned of God's purpose. The
       will neither turn unto the right nor to the left. Thou text reads, "Rise ye up, take your journey; and pass


                                     TH.E  S T A N D A R D   BEARE.R                                                   ,.,a1
over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into your               The trembling and woe of the people even when only
hand Sihon . . ." Then  *they  removed and "pitched on itie mere report uf Israel came, answers as the echo
the other side of the  ArYnon, which is in the wilderness to the dread and fear which was connected with Israel.
that  corn&h out of the coast of the Amorites." (Nu.            In the tilal instance it was a fear not of tthe people of
21: 13) ,. Thus they were now on Sihm's e&m-n line of Israel as such but of Israel's God. What God was there
frontier and on  .the north side of the Aron. This is in heaven or in earth that could do. according to His
followed by the  ,notice at vs. 21 that "Israel sent mes- works, and according to His might. T,he military suc-
sengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites".                      cesses  ,of Israel in this trans-Jordan region, the amaz-
   The facts of the matter then are  .these:  Before ing speed with ,which these successes were achieved,
Sihon had opportunity to refuse, God was determined formed a series of wonders of Israel's God, who fought
to destroy him on account of his refusal. This shuws            for him, wonders ithe consideration wh)i,ch etruok terror
that God's purpose was not conditioned by, but was to  .the  Amorites  who occupied Canaan proper,  fllled
sovereignly determinative of, Sihon's  aotipns.  Such them with a great dread and thus utterly disqualified
is  `the implication of the notice that God hardened them for military enterprise. They were completely
his heart. Thus the petition or command that came               demoralized by the report of God's doings. What might
to him was not expressive of God's willingness or de- be known of God-His power and godhead-was mani-
sire that he should yield. It was but the means  Gby            fest in them. His power was clearly seen, being.under-
which he was hardened. And ilt was given him that stood by His  ,wonders  in that land east of the Jordan,
he should be without excuse.                                    so that the witness of the conscience of the inhabitants
   The Lord had forbidden Israel .to molest Ammon,              of Canaan now was, "As to the Jehovah of Israel,
whose country bordered that of the dispossessed Sihon verily He is .the God". Thus also as a result of these
on the eastern frontier. So Israel next turned north works of God, His name was now being declared in
and went up the way to  Bashan.  The revelation of the whole of Canaan. For this purpose He had raised
the divine purpose on  <the south side of the Arnon ,up Pharaoh and for this very purpose He also had
makes no mention of this district. This has led some raised up Sihon and Og. The sacred narrator thus
to suppose that now Israel acted upon his own im- also associates the wonders of God in Egypt with His
pulses. The  !war spirit, now fairly  arsused,  found doings in that region west of the Jordan. "Wherefore
fresh vent in an  expedi!tion  northward, so it is saidL        it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, what he
Especially the great tribes of Reuben, Gad and  Manas-          did in the Red Sea (did to Pharaoh  anld his hosts),
sah, whose  <hearts delighted in sheep and cattle far and in the brooks of Arnon, and at !the stream of the
more than in agriculture, could not resist the  tempta-         brooks that  goeth  down to the dwelling of Ar, and
&ion of invading a country so famed for its pastoral lieth upon the border of  Moab." (Nu.  21:14,  15).
wealth. But this reasoning is wrong. It was Jehovah's              Finally by these wonders he provided  ;t;he mew
warfare -that Israel was warring, and not his own. generation with copius fresh evidence that He was their
Thus also in extirpating the Amorites of Bashan,  he God,  `was for them, and that thus they could enter
acted under divine  necessi,ty.  All the Amorites were upon the conquest of Canaan proper in the  ,assurance
umler  the ban of God, thus also the tribes infeskihg           that the victory was theirs.
this district.                                                                                             G. M. 0.
   The king of Og, hearing of Israel's advance, came
out against him, thus forsook his fastnessess for the                                     -
open plain. This, Itoo was of the Lord. SGod hardened
also his heart. The narrative says nothing about hor-
nets. In Ithis crisis, Israel is assured that he is in God's            Gehuwd of Ongehuwde Staat
way. "Fear him not," said the Lord to Moses, "for
I will deliver him into thine hand . . ." All difficulties                            I Cor. 7:1, 2
were soon overcome, for the Lord fought for Israel.                 Men  heeft,  in  verband  met het hier boven aange-
Thus also this country passed, into the hands of Israel. geven onderwerp, weleens  gemeend,  dat de  Apostel  in
    As Israel had done with Sihon, so he did with Og deze verzen een  tegenstelling   heeft  *willen   (trekken
and his people and his cities. All  ,were  utterly tusschen hot ongehuwd en het gehuwd zijn. En al naar
destroyed.                                                      gelang men den nadruk veranderde trok dan een ieder
    3 The purpose and  signifimnce of this  coned.              aan zijn eigen  eind en heefit men of voor of tegen het
A statement of purpose is found at Deut.  2 :25, "This huwelijk  postie genomen.
day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear              Bij den  eersten  oogopslag  schijnt er  dan ook  we1
of  .thee upon the nations that are under the whole             voldoende   reden   te  iijn, om  aan  te  nemen, dat men
heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall. trem-         tusschen  die beiden, gehuwd of ongehuwd, positie .moet
ble, and be in anquish because of thee",                        kiezen.   Het  staat er  tech immers, wie  ni&  trouwt


                                      THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                     63'

blijfit,  welnu, in  zulke  gevall,en, is  bet  geen  kwaad      huwden   F&X&. En dan is de eerste regel  die. de God-
en'&& bet geen kwaad als men zich van het huwelijk delijke ordinantie  gebied deze, dat er zij  slechts ,&ii
onrtrekt.                                                        vrouw  on  slechts  Ben man, waaraan men  verbonden
    Dat is ,dan natuurlijlk  d,e uitzondering een uitzonder-     mag' zijn. Let er op, het gaat hier in deze verzen  niet
ing,  d'ie de Apostel  zelf maakte  (zijn,de  ongetrouwd)        over een ui~teenzetting  van het doe1 van de instelling
en  dat  om des  Evangel&  wil. Zoo nu  kan het zijn, van  hat huwelijk. Het gaat oak nog  niet er over wat
gelijk  bet in des  Apostels   leven,  zoowel  als in  bet       we1 het hoogste is in het huwelijk, nag minder  of bet
leven van sommige  dienaren Gods, noodig bleek. Maar bewaard blijven  voor hoererij  bet eenigste is, waarom
nug eens  weer,  `dart zijn dan ook de ui'tzonderingen,  dat lhet huwelijk is ingesteld.                                     - -
men  om  ,des werks  w.il  zich niet door den  ban,d des            W,ie schepping en scheppingstd,rift  saamvoegt  ver-
huwehjks laat verbinden.                                         staat weliswaar  iets van de noodzakelijkheid  van bet
    Dan is het vervolgens  niet moei,lijk te zien, waarom huwelijk, maar daarmede is slechits  met den s vinger
in  bet  &weede  vers de Apostel  niet  langer over de z'ets aangeraakt  van bet veel grooter geheelvan  hot doel
uitzondering, maar over de gewone regel  spreekt.  Is van het huwelijk. Dat  hoogste  doe1 is de afsuhaduwing
he&  ttoch   waar,  dat  een uitzondering altijd den regel van  Christus en  Zijn  gemeente  en daarin  ,&e&ken  de
bevestigd, dan  kan  bet  niet  anders  of ook die regel geestelijke  ,banden waardoor  men aan elkander is ver-
rnoet gezien in  iijn  vol1.e   beteekenis.  Meer  neg. De bonden oneindig veel `sterker, dan de  natuurlijk-
Apostel zet die b&den, uitzondering en regel, maar niet vieeschelijke.                                                 `I
10s naast elkander, doch hij wi,1 doen  uitkomen, dat de            Maax daarmede is  itoch  in&t  alles gezegd. Let  er-
regel meet ?yorden.  gehandhaafd en de uiit zondering, op, hoe ook de gevaren  I& Curinthe,  werkklijhei,d
nooit regel moet  worden.  Dst  tech ligt in  bet  tegen-        waren gewo,rden  en diezelfde gevaren oak de  genie&%
sttellend   `maar' `(de)  uitgedrukt.  Hoe  goed  en  profij-    van Christus omringen /                          `,...
telijk het,ook moge zijn, dat in sommige gevallen men               Tegen de zwakheid van  zinnelijke  drift,' gaf `de
zich van het huwelijk  onthoude,   last  hejt  tech nooit' Heere oak voor Zijn kinderen  den weg te bewandelen;
regel  worden.   ' En het is  gemakkelijk  te  v.erstaan,        door  &Hem verordineerd. Daarin moot de Christen
waarom de  AposteI dit  juist tot de  Cori,nthiers   zegt.       zijn  veiligiheid  zoeken. En  schoon  dan niet  alle  ge-
Daar  waren  te  corinthe   allerlei  uictspattingen,   waar-    vaar w,eg  is, voor wat de verd'ere  de gedragslijn zijn
door. op  hot hukelijk een vlek werd  geworpen.  Er zal, worclt  dat niet beshst door hot zoogenaamd  nuchte?
waren   oak verschillende verzoekingen  ftot ontucht, verstand;  maar door het  Woord Gods. De  ho&e, of
vooral met het oog op. den afgodd.ienst,  die hen allen          ook we1 het Iaagste peil, des geloofs beslist in dezen.
bekend was en van waaruit de Heere hen had geroepen                  Maar in  ieder  geval, door  Ite wijzen  op den  God-..
ltot Zijn dienst. ,                                              delijken regel van `een ieder hebbe  zij'n  eigen  man' en
    Daar  waren  er  ,wellicht, die  z5ch  hadden gegeven eigen vrouw', wordt niet in `een enkel opzicht aan de
aan den bijzoinsleren  dienst van Gods zaak en die het' eere van bet huwelijk tekort  gedaan.
huwelijk als een sta in den weg beschouwden,  om zich                                                          w .   v .
geheel  en al aan den dienst des Keeren  te geven. Maar
daar waren  ook de anderen, de over groote  meerder-                                           -
bier  4e  Corinithe: De  me-e&en   hadden  de gave der
heid. En ,glijk bet altijd het geval  is, zoo was bet oak
onthouding  niet: En  .het  s&at   tech  voor  alle  dingen          Corporal Punishment of the, Child
we1 vast, dat  bet  voor hen  wiet  yoed was,  oni  onge-
ctrouwd  itxr blijven. Maar  wart dan?  Is  `bet   huwehjk           By corporal punishment is meant the literal use
voor zwakkelingen, die zichzelven niat  beheerschen              of the rod, i.e. applying ilt to the body so as  ito produce-
kunnen?  Wordt  dan door het huwelijk de deur  or&-              pain. In short, it means to, give the child a beaiting.
sloten, die.. gesloten meet  zij,n. voor men zich in den Perhaps most of us have experienced corporal punish-
huwelijken  staat  bevind?                                       ment at one time or another, and somehow that is
    We gevoelen we& dat we bier een ,te.rrein b&eden,            something which seems to Iinger long in tthe memories.
waarop  de vragen  zich  vermenigvuldigen   en  waarop               The subject deals  with corporal punishment for
we `gevaar  <loopen, meer te beantwoorden ,dan wensche-          the child, that is, under twelve or thirteen years of
lijk is, ja, wat ons  zou  `doen   schrijven,  wat niet  ge- age. The subject is touchy eno.ugh  without having to
schreven  hehoont te  wordem.   Maar  Iaat ons  slech;ts         discuss  (the pro and con of whippings for children, who.
zeggen, wart Pa&s ,011s hier voorhuudt  in dit vers.             are older than twelve or thirteen.
 Allereerst  dan,  bedoelit  hij  zeer zeker  niet,  dat             To limit myself further I should like ti pr&ose a
huwelijksaijheid   niet*  gebonden  zou zijn. Er zijn discussion on the subject of corporal punishment from
groote   geestelijke   e n   zedelijke   gevaren   ,cw>k  i n   bet ithe ViewpoJnt  of the home. We could, discuss the sub-
huwelijk deze zijn  echter   nag  grooter  in den  onge-         ject, for instance, from the viewpoint of the school,


64                                    TcHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

or from the viewpoint of the minister (who is tempted in respect  tto it. But as we said, Modern. Pedagogy
sometimes to give  ithe naughty boy a flogging). But ?nas .gone one further and it has even questioned the
we will confine  ourselves chiefly to such punishment right  rto inflict corporal punishment upon the child
as the home or  ithe parents find themselves interested inasmuch as the child is sovereign and  *may not be
iin `it. In the meantime however  ithe general principles brow-beaten into submission by some superior force.
fur the one will in many cases cover ,the &hers also.            And we might center our discussion now around
       To ou.r subject then.                                  these two leading factors.
       `Modernism has something to say on this matter            Scripture very emphatically asserts ithat parents
and we should be on our guard again& her views. have  %he right to inflict corporal punishment. God
Much of today's  in&u&ion of children or "child               Himself  inflioted corporal punishment upon Israel
culture" proceeds  on &he theory of the Sovereignty of when it `was a child. Witness the many cha&isements
Ithe Child. By nature the child, every child, is good.        He sent upon them. He chastised them in love, to be
It needs character  &raining and  charaoter  building. sure, but He did chastise  cand He often  beat them
It must.be  allowed to develop itself. Lt must be urged very severely. In Hebrews 12 Paul  ,assents that God
to  <develop itself. Outsider's hands must not seize chastises  `His  c!hi.ldrem  even until this very day in
roughly .upon  tthe little something which is developing order that we may become partakers of His holiness.
itself. If it `does wrong, I quote  P'rof. Rugh, "The The  wicked  moreover are being corporally punished
wrong-doer must  in every case be the agent of its every day, witness the fearful wars *raging  in these
own recovery". Lt is its own instructor. It is sovereign times `ansd it is not for nothing /that God closes each
and parent nor Iteacher may ,intrude  upon that sove- one of His fearful punishments in Ezek with these
reignty  wilth a rod. No wonder that a  genera&n              words : "And they shall know that I am the Lord".
lbrought up thus defies all  authority  and tells them God does not wink at sin. N&her shal'l we.
$thaib they have a right to live their own life. Result:         Right here I would. like to  injeot an  i&eresting
reckless pursuit of  vwn  ,lusts and disregard for the word-study from the Bible. I would not  ,be tedious, bu:
supreme sovereignty of God. It is important. also to          follow me just a moment. Let us take the word
notice that this rtireament of th,e child proceeds on the INSTRUCTION, a word which Solomon continually
basis  that, "No sins or crimes are committed by uses in his school for children. The word in&uction
children" TJacobsen,  Modern Practices in &he Elemen-         comes from a word which signifies to bind or to fetter
tary School). Children evidently can make mistakes, and hence it has in it the meaning of force, restraint
can `fail in  adjuslting  themselves to certain given and  consltraint.  From there this word goes on  ;to mean
situations and can suffer of lack of insight etc. but         (by parallel), reproof (as in Prov. 6 :23) then rebuke
tiey cannot be said to cummit %in". Hence once more           (as in  13:l) and also chastisement  (3:ll). In-
corporal punishment is  uut of order. This same move- struction  accurd,ing ito Solomon is therefore not only
ment makes no ending of scoiding at "it'he old Puritan lectures and words, bat also reproofs, rebukes, cor-
attitude  which held that children by nature are bad rections and  chastisemenis.  And in immediate  con-
and must be  Itransformed  by punishment". Note again neotion with this So1omo.n asserts "withhold not cor-
that the modern process of child-culture proudly rection (instruction) from the child, for if (thou  beatest
sweeps aside that shameful suggestion that "children him with rod, he shall not die". (Prov. 23 :13). ) The
are by nature bad" or that &heir actions could be called -word correction here is the same word elsewhere ap-
"sins".                                                       pearing as instruction. The same in  Prov. 22  :15,
      Many a parent today refuses to acknowledge rchait;      "Foolishness is bound up in  ithe heart of the child but
his ohildren commit what could be  cralled   sin, at least, the rod of correction shall drive it from him". Where
his own chiklren  are usually not guihty of sin. Perhaps      instruction has among  i,kr tools also the rod of cor-
this was Eli's great mistake. Eli centainly  surpassed rection. To cite one more example: in II Tim. 3  :16
modern culture in realizing that his sons sinned,             instruction is rendered by the word meaning  chas-
 (I Sam. 2  :25), but he lapsed into it again when he ltisement, while that same word in Luke 23 :I6 means
failed "to frown upon them". (I Sam. 3  :13). And literally "whipping".
 hence he failed  ito treat sin as sin, even though it           This does not mean ,t.hat Scripture pleads for the
 happened to be in his own children. We  parebs               use of  the literal rod, but I do  ,believe that we may
should not want to be guilty of  countenan~cing  sin.. deduce from this that the I process uf God-centered
But that is finally where modern culture wo&l  bring instruction includes the use of corporal punishment.
us.                                                           Hence that gives us the right  ,to use it.
       From the above it is  evident  that the  matter  of       Our childsren  are sinners. Thus we have confessed
corporal punishment exacts from us an account of our when we had them baptized and that on good scrip-
conception of sin as well as of what action God (not tural grounds. And God has called  e&he parents to
society  etc, but God) demands we as parent&shall  itake      bring up these children in the NURTURE of the


                                     TlHaE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           65

Lord. (Eph. 6 :4). And now nurture is once again the         provoke our children to ,wrath a thing against which
same  wurd elsewhere translated  instruotion.  The           P~aul vehemently warns us in Eph.  6:4. As parents
parents must bring up the  children  in a nurture which      we shall have  b chastise ourselves before we chastise
befits i.e., is !worthy of, had been commanded by and our  childlren. And only when we  have crucified all
leads unto the Lord. Hence the parents in their call- thoughts  uf revenge, retaliation, hatred, personal in-
ing to rear their by  natme  sinful children unto  Ithe      sult; superiority complex in us shall we be able to
Lord, must use reproof, admonition, chastisement. Our stand up among our children ,as ambassadors of God
children must be taught that God thates sin. They must toward them and apply the nurture of God to <them,
realize that sin is sin. If the simple word of address even if it be the rod.
is disregarded instruction assumes  the form of reproof;        Finally corporal punishment must serve the positive
if that is  negleated,  rebuke; if that is  in&ective        purpose of teach.ing  the child to be wbjeat <to the will
instruction will call in the heip of the rod. If Itie pain of God. There is nothing gained if the parent, with $a
inflicted by the loving hand of corpor+l punishment big stick in $his hand, have forced Jimmy to do "dad's
may serve to promote the child's realization of <God         wi.11". There is nothing gained if Betty  llearns  once
-sin-righteousness, it is useful.                            that ma's will runs the house. The point is not that
    If now I have said that Scripture admits and pre- the child has to be beaten into submission  beforeour
scribes corporal punishment, and that therefore we own *wi,lls.  I admit the child must learn to reverence
also recognize  irt as a lawful if not (at times) necessary the parents' mandates and must learn  eta obey, but that
means of instruction, let  ,me hasten to add three quali-    is only half of the matter. Hitler has  clab~bed  the
fications.                                                   nations into submission. Our,  chil~dren  are nut con-
    First of  *alI corporal punishment must be used quered territory or vanquished powers. Therefore not
discreetly. Parents who are always seeing sin in their our own wills on the fore and force that upon them.
children land always reaching up for tie stick do Iittle     The positive purpose of punishment, if used, must
more than provoke their children to wrath. Johnie            be  `to bring the child into  co&act  wirth   :the will of
had a fearful beating of his father, his only response God, and by feeling the rod, learn that going contrary
to his brother later was, "wait until I get old and strong to the will of God brings pain and fmally death (for
enough and we'll see .who gets the beatings". Johnie the way of  ithe transgressor is hard),  whiIe obeying
was right I'm afraid, his father  ,had merely triumphed that will brings pleasure and eternal life. For God ,is
over him with brute force. Father  .had made the ri,ghteous.  And God is merciful Let the children feel
mistake of taking revenge . . . and revenge is not the righteousness and mercy of God whom we repre-
corporal punishment, it is wicked. Not all  chilldren sent in the home.              "                      M. C. ,
need corporal  punishmeti,  with some heart-to-heart
talks are much more effective. Instead of giving                                          -=
Betty that awful spanking she should first have found
out what mde Betty disobey the /teacher..  Disobedi-
ence was sin, indeed, but mother should be discreet,             The Ideal of Protestant Reformed
she should  find out what makes Betty act as she does.
Jim gave nei,ghbors  boy's John a black eye. The farther                                  Schools
retaliates sand gives Jim a black eye. But, is that the         That Protestant Reformed  instruction  for our
best way? Well, all these  quesitions the parents will P&&ant Reformed children by Protestant Reformed
,have to answer. They must learn to know their teachers, sincerely dedicated to  an.d thoroughly equip-
children, the make-up, character, passions, weaknesses ped for that task, in Protestant Reformed Schools
etc., and on  :the basis of that administer in&u&ion would be  ideal no Protestant Reformed person, it seems
discreetly.                                                  to me, would care or dare to gainsay.
    Secondly, they must  .use it IN LOVE. Any other             How could  theis  (be disputed in view of what is
kind of corporal punishment is unworthy of the God- promised when our children are presented for baptism?
confessing parent. It may not be applied in  &fence          The question is asked: "Whether you promise and in-
of our honor merely (the child  ahas a  oertain  honor tend to see these children, when come  Ito the years  ,of
too it would defend) nor  su,reIy may it be applied discretion, instructed and broughit  up in :the aforesai,d
snder the stress of emotion i.e. in a fit of rage. Father dobrine, or help or cause them to be instructed there-
comes home from work tired. Jimmy  itumbles  hi,s in, to  tthe utmost of your power?" This implies, not
glass of  ,milk  into father's lap and father  be&s him merely  hhat we shall indoctrinate them in the narrower
with the razor strop. Foolish father. Father was sense of the word, that we shall teach them Reformed
angry and t;hat is no time to handle so  de&x&e  a thing dotine  `as such, but the entire "bringing" of our
as corporal punishment. It must be love which prompts        children, their training and education in the home and
the punishment. If we neglect the love element we the school as well, shall be on the basis of and in ithe


 66                                    T,HE'  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                              -.        _.

light of that doctrine. The latiter should permeate all control them ; that, as an inevitable cansequence, the
the eduoation, all the training, all the discipline our      aocieties are Christian Reformed societi,es, t.he boards
children receive. In view of this solemn pledge we           Christian Reformed boards, and the schools Christian
might well ask : are we  as  Protestant Reformed parents     Reformed schools. I do not  wsrite'.   (this bitterness of
as faithful as we might be in the matter o.f Christian       .heart, nor  expecting  that this should be different, but
edtuoa&n?  Are we instructing and bringing up our merely as a m*atter  of fact, Christian Reformed men
children, and  `are we causing them to be instructed ,and women teach in these schools. A few excepltions
"in the aforesaid doctrine",  *that is, "the doctrine which to this rule do not alter the same. As a result, the
is contained in the Old and New Testament, and which doctrin&  of the Christian Reformed churches, (the doc-
is taught  here in this Christian Church",  and  th,at "to trine as these teachers see it and believe it, forms
the  ~&most  of our power?"                                  the basis and contents of the instruction. Either (that
   Until now  an,d still we support the Christian Schools or nothing at all! We must centainly  expect, (that our
as they are itoday.  We can and may do (nothing else as      conscientious Christian teachers will do all they can
long  *as our ideal is not yet realized. I, for one, can to  instrulct our children in the light of the  (truth of
only candemn  the conduct of people, who deliberately (the Word of  God,  the truth  ccs  they  see  it.  We require
ignore  :the present covenant schools and surrender Ithis of them. Whatever falls short of thi;s on'ly  brings
their children to the Godless,  Christless institutions our' schools that much closer to the schools of  ,this
of. the world, Iwhere all {the instruction is principally world. Wherefore, whatever  doctrilne  is taught, di-
evil, because it does not proceed from faith is not in       rectly or indireotly (and we certainly want doctrine
accord with  ,God's perfect law, is not to the glory of at  ithe basis of all our  instr,uction,  do we not?), will
God, but 6 founded upon the institutions of men and          be Christian Reformed. This also implies, and that is ,
Ithe human imagiinations  of evolutionary thinking. As worse, that the doctrine as we ,believe  and confess it,
matters stand today, the present Christian schools are will not be taught there. Our doctrine is nat desired
certai~nly  the places where our children should be by our Christian Reformed brethren. It is regarded as
receiving their education.                                   heretical, unscriptural, dangerous, Anabaptistic,  and
       This does not mean however, that we support (the      what not. Worse by far than the  fact.  that wrong
present schools as ,wholeheartly  and enthusiastically as    principles and doctrines are instilled in the. minds of
we should like. We do not regard them as our ideal.          our children is the faot,  that what we believe $0 be
How can we, I submit that even our Christian  R4 saund Reformed doctrine, without which real education
formed ibrethren  ,do nolt expect us to. More or less, we is impossible, is rejected. Against the former we might
Protestant Reformed people are strangers in the in- conceivably protest. We might possibly raise our
stitutions we love. Yes, `here and there a Protestant vaices  against thin,gs that u?`e taught contrary to the
Reformed man is given a seat  in the board ; our             Word of God. But,  how shall we protest against that
children attend those schools, and I thank God they which is not taught? And that is more serious, by far !
may and do ; we still have considerable influence in            In the light af all this,' how can we Protestant Re-
at least one school in these United States. Neverthe-        formed .people be fully satisfied with the present set-
less, `we do occupy a backseat; we are standing, more ,up? How can we `consider it ideal, that our children,
or less, on the out&e ; we cannot demand that o.ur           whom we pledge to bring  ,up "in the aforesaid  doc-
do&r& permeate all  t;he instruction that is given ; (trine", are  instruated  and trained in  ithis atmosphere,
we cannot say from the bottom af our hearts: these 5 hours each schoolday, 25 hours each schoolweek, some
are  our  schools.                                           1,000 hours each year? Remember, it would take our
       The Christian schools of `today are  Christian Re- children 40 years to spend as much time  ,in catechism,
formed schools,. I state this merely as ;1 fact. We can      under the present set-up, as *hey  spend in the day-
expect nothing else. Some people in our ,mi,dwt take sclmol  in one year. The 12 years our children spend
exception :to this statement and deny us the right to in school are equivalent, as far as  ithe time element is
make it. Our s&ools, so `they argue, are not church concerned, to 480 years in the  catechism  class.  It
schools and we should  ,not call them Christian Re- would certainly be ideal, that those 12 years, these
formed. They are the schools of the parents. That how- 12,000 hours be spent in a school of our own a school
ever can only <mean,  Lhat, oflicially, our Chri&ian  school where the tru$h  we confess and ,love is maintained and'
societies have not adopted the doctrines accepted by (applied wherever possible.
the synod of  hhe Christian Reformed churches. Beyond           What truth? In broad  o.utline,  which are the
`this however, it means nothing to say that our schools paints involved, the doctrine wherein we' differ with'
are. not church  schoals. The simple and undeniable our Christian  Refbi-med  brethren?
.fa& is, that Christian Reformed people, men who by             Officially these-`are  embodied *in the `%hree points
vintue  of conviction and  chur,ch affiliatiom are  com- of 192;4"., They who'tiast  us out maintain, thatman,  . .
m&ted to the pernicious  .doctrine  of  commo,n grace, by a gracious  bhough not regenerating operation of


                                    TIE STANDARD   BEARER

the `Holy Spirit in the heart, is able Ito do that ,which     testant Reformed schools are and must be our ideal?
ds good in the sight of God. He ,can please the Lord in          The school plays a maj,or  role in ithe whole of the
things (natural and social and civil, in business an.d        training and  i.nstruction   of the covenant  &ild. Let
politics, in <art and science. We believe, that man is us never underestimate its tremendous influence. With
actually depraved in all his ways. Wcithouit  regeneration the home and (the church it forms the Triple Alliance
his every thought and word and deed, in his b.usiness         for the education of the covenant boy and girl. Bow
and politics, his art and science, his personal and social essential it is that these three age&es stand on fthe
alife proceeds from the principle of sin and is enmity same doctrinal  foufndation  `and work together toward
against God. They (teach,  (Mat this good  w,hich the a common end! And how ,datrimental  to the spiritual
natural man is still capable of  ,doing  is the fruit of      welfare of the child if there is conflict between  lthe at-
God's restraining grace operative in all human hearts. mosphere and education in  ;the school, on the one hand,
Actually, man never became wholly depraved. From and in the home and the church, on the other. If a
the moment man fell the Spirit of God checked I the iteam  .of horses refuse to pull together in one direction
progress of sin in such a manner, ithat the human race nothing can be accomplished. The same applies here.
retained remnants of Ithe good it possessed in  the state And not only does the chiId  suffer if all the agencies
of perfection. With these remnants he still works and for its  educrution  `do not stand  firmly  and unequivocally
develops and pleases God. We are convinced, that I&ere un the same doctrinal foundation, but by  rthe same
is no such grace operative in the hearts of wicked token these agencies become a handicap to one another,
men ; thait sin ,along with all of human life is developing too. By pulling together  and spontaneously  preceeding
until the climax is reached in the Anti&r&t, who is from  tie same doctrinal principles, the home and the
to come. Where we see the development of sin and the          school.and  the church promote the welfare of the child,
approach ,of the Antichrist, they see ,good. The Chris-       not only, "but also of one another. The moment there
Etian Reformed churches contend that God  ,is graciously is conflict, that momem  a process. of deterioration sets
inclined toward all men, also the reprobates, that he         iln. From this point of view the welfare of &he home
,has love for `all, would lead all ito repentant and sal- and the church is bound up in that of the school. To
vation, and blesses all. We confess,  Ithat the Lord a great extent of the future of Ithe former depends on
l.oves His people only, that His  *blessing is on the elect the latter. In  ,any consideration of the present subject
only, and  (that the curse of the Lord and nothing else,      the question must certainly be faced: in  huw far is
dwells in the house of Itie wicked. Don't you see how lthe very  ,existence  of our church contingent on the
these dootrinal  ,differences  must affect all education, outcome of  this tissue?
primary or secondary? The connection between ,each               This importance of the school for the swelfare  of the
one of these doctrines an'd "Christian" instruction is child as well as {the home and the church has always
not remote,  %.ut immediate and vital. I know,  rthe been recognized by Reformed  edu,cators. Therefore
day-school is not the place to develop doatrine as such. I stated above,  tiat even our Christian Reformed
Nevertheless, all instruction, all the `prayers  tihat are brethren will grant us that our ideal can be no other
of&red,  all the songs that are  taughit and sung, are *than the one defended in this essay. .&Y&ways  !&they  have
rooted in, ar,e flavored and determined .by the one or stressed the poilnt,  that Reformed dactrine, the prin-
the &her.                                                     ciples of "Calvinism", must permeate all the instruation
    In a broader sense of the word ,the difference be- our children receive. To me that means, that our
tween us concerns the entire field of Reformed doatrine.      Protestanrt Reformed doutrine must permeate all the
Only ignorance says : we differ on only a few points ; education our children receive. And always they have
let's shove them aside and cooperate on the .basis  of ,emphasized,  too, how ,impo.rta.nt it is, that home and
what we have in common. Lt would nut be too difi- school and &urch stand on the same do,&rinal  foun-
cult to point out that the doctrines of predestination dation and build on the same Reformed principles.
and atonement and total depravity and many others are With the principle we fully agree. Wholeheartedly we
involved. More or less we differ in our conceptions of subscribe to  .what a certain C. V.  `H. once wrote (I
sin, of the fall, of God's  co.unsel  and providence, es- quote'from  some lirters:ture  distributed by the National
pecially in the presentatiun  ,and practical  application Union of Christian Schools) : "The Christian school is
and emphasis of all these truths. Again,  don% you the  lilnk which unites the home with the church. If
realize what all  .&his means in the matter of  Chrisrtian    we take &his link ou\t we destroy both the home and
education? No, the school does not  iteach these  doc- the church, but if we maintain the link we save both:
brines  as such. But, no Christian ilnstru&ion  is possible Our Reformed home and our Reformed Church."
without .them ! The basis of all education is dootrine.          The underlying thought is pertinent here: if we
In the ,latter  lies the interpretation `of all things.       mainrtain  the link we save both, our Protestant Re-
    To what else, then, can serious consideration of all formed home and our Protestant Reformed Churches.
these things lead them  to  *he conviction, that Pro-                                                         R. V.


68                                     T*HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                                              Peace is that state in which the ,thoughts  and desires
                        Pacifism                             of individuals or groups of individuals are similar or
                                                             in harmony with each other,  resultmg   .in  aativity
      The largest body of water up this globe of ours has    which is for one another's well being. There will be
been misnamed "The Pacific Ocean". It received this ,and  citn be no peace until all men shall think and will
name from the explorer, Magellan, to describe its alike. They need not have  It:he  .same (thoughts but
qmet, peaceful nature ; for its surface was very calm their thoughts on different (things should run in one
and peaceful when for  cthe first time he looked out         Line  &o a common goal. As the rivers  eaa', of the
over its surface. Comparing with the stormy Atlantic Continental Divide comilng  from different mountain
he and his men had crossed, the name Pacific, which Itops and lakes and flowing through different states
means peaceful, seemed very appropriate for this body aI,1 run into the Atlantic Ocean so must the thoughts
of water. However, had  *he remained there any length and desires of all mankind proceed in one dire&ion to
of time or sailed  `homewlard  across  it', we might be      one common goal. You see, when two rivers come
calling this  vaslt  expatnse  of water by another name together going in different directions,  tthere is con-
today. Only at times is it quiet and peaceful ; at other fusion until they unite and flow in ,one direction. Thus
Limes it is a raging sea, stormy and tempestuous.            i,t is in the world today. But this proceeding of men's
      There is likewise an attitude of mind, a tenet, or. Ithoughts  and desires in opposite direct,ions'  must cease.
system of beliefs incorrectly called Pacifism. Derived They ,must strive for the same goal. That goal must
from the same latin word as Aacific, it has the same be God's honor and glory. They must all be  God-
underlying idea of peace. But like tt.he  Pacific Ocean,     centerd  in their thinking and willing. When this is
which can also become the very opposite of peaceful, realized, they will seek one another's well-being, help-
Pacii%sm,  as to its nature is not peaceful, and in  i,ts ing each other to honor and glorify Him. The labouring
exercise will never br.ing  about peace. This we hope man and ,the financeer  may think aboui different thilngs
to make plain in this article.                               and be busy with different problems, but their thoughts
      Should you turn to Webster's Dictionary for a will  ,harmonize  and meet in God. Then there w,ill be
definition of  Pacifism,  this is what you would find:       no strikes. The German Scientist and the French,
"opposition to war, or the use of military force for any Artisrt,  the American Manufaclturer  and the Japanese
purpose ; especially an attitude of mind opposing all        Fisherman will think about different things, but their
war, emphasizing the defects of  milittary training and thoughts will be in harmony w,ith  each other and meet
the cost  of war and advocating  ithe settlement of in God, as all the spokes on a wheel meet at [the hub.
international disputes entirely by arbitration; also the Then you will have peace, for ,all will be seeking the
system  of beliefs  `or opinions opposing war or the use same goa1, not for their individual pr.ofit  and advantage
of military force."                                          but for God's honor and glory. When this is  theii
      The aim of Pacifism, pl'ainly,  is to foster  peace and goal, they will enjoy helping one another that God
bring an end to all war. This goal the Pacifist hopes        may be honored and glorified. There  w.ill  jthen be
Ito reach by opposing the use of m,ilitary  force and in fellowship, communion and harmony.  That is  itrue
its place settle all matters by arbitration.                 peace.
      To this goal Pacifism will never attain and there-         This, of course, will not be realized in its fullest
fore is not wohy of Itie name,  Pacihm.  It is not a         reaal;ization  until the day of  Ch,rist.  It  cannot  be at-
doctrine of peace.  &t does not believe in peace. It does tained by the Pacifist. He does not even  +&tempt  to
not foster peace. The reason for this is that the Paci-, change the mind and heart.  It is attained only by the
fist does  not understand what peace is and leaves Spirit and grace of Christ. His Spirit and grace alone
tie fad of sin and man's rebellious, depraved nature can renew that  heant and mind by *turning them and
out of consideration. Were peace merely that state in centering them in God. The Pacifist fails to take into
which ,there  is no exercise of military force, Pacifism consideration that most important mtabter  of sin. He
might attain a rtemporary  peace. But to a permanent forgets that man who rebelled against his God will
real peace it cannot attain. Snch a so-called, temporary also rebel against his fellow man.  !He forgets that
peace we experienced ,between  this last war and the man who lkizled tie Prince ,of Peace will also kill his
present world-wide conflict when Pacifism was prac- fellow men, and will not live in peace  witth his neighbor.
,tised  Ito a degree by the League of Nations, although "From whence come wars and  lightings  ,among  you?
this temporary, so-called peace cannut be attributed         Come they not hence, even of yuur lusts that war in
to Pacifism. We have had such temporary, so-called your members  ?" This is not my question alone. This
peace before  Pacifism  was  practised.  But peace is is God's question that He presented through  ;the Holy
more  khan this state in which tthere is no military Writer, James. Do  not overlook the last phrase which
force being exercised. It goes much deeper.                  declares that our lusts war in our members. That war
      What, then, is peace? Peace is the  produ,ct  of love. the Pacifist must first bring to an end. Unless he does,


                                     TsHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           69

all his arbitration is doomed  rto failure. As soon as the establishment of Protestant Reformed Churches
done. nation's patience is exhausted, it  awill resort once wherever there are or come to be, groups of believers
more to military force.                                       that are of one heart and mind with us ,and .tvish to
   Another thing worth noticing is the faat the Paci- confess with us the truth uf" God's sovereign grace  3s
fism is opposition to  mili,tary  fo.rce. This brands it we are commirtted to it.
as being itself by nature anything but peaceful. All             AIthuugh.as  Churches we look for*ward to the time
opposition  whother  military force *or mental opposi- when our mission work can be extended to  in.clude  labor
tion is  co&hot,  strife, discord and not peace. The among  tie "unchurched" and heathen both at home and
seeds of war are in &he hearts and minds of the Pacifisrk,    abroad, we believe that for the present it is our call-
and if *he  *is only interested enough in the case, his ing  tto limit ourselves to the work of church extension.
o;>position  will take  hhe form of physical force. It is We deem it  to be our God-given calling to sound forth
easy to suggest arbtiation if you are not personally anew the sound Reformed fairth  and heritage among
involved and have  nu personal interest in the matter. [the brethren of the Christian Reformed and Reformed
But it is  con&rary to depraved man's nature' not to Churches, to awaken them from their slumber and to
resent  to physical violence when the matter really return to rthem the joy of the Reformed faith. For tt;he
touches him. Show me a Pacifist as meek <as Moses, yet Reformed  <faith is definitely on the way out about us,
he in his anger str,uck tie rock, `hating the `people of our gIorious  heritage is being exchanged  for the husk
Israel in mind. This man Muses was a regenerated of Arminianism. Therefore we are not ashamed of
child of God. Whalt would the unregenerated Pacifist our work, but believe ti to be highly necessary.
do with  $a people that provoked him?                            However, the right  an:d validity of our present
   Is tie believer then a pacifist? Not at all ; he is, mission work is not rthe subjoot  of this article. That
instead, a Christian. To Christ he looks for peace. Of has been treated before by others in our  Startdard
His anointing, he partakes, as His prophet whose mind Bearer.  The question before us now is, What is the
is cenitered  in God, as His priest whose heart is cen- proper method of approach in our mission work?  Just
tered in God, as as His  `king whose strength is exercised ,how  shall we go about.?  How must we approach the
in this peaceful activity of honoring and glorifying God. outsiders? How must the missionary make his contaat?
Surely he disapproves uf war and bloodshed. Surely
he strives rt;o live iin 1oTe with his neighbor and does          The Method at the Begtnning of our Mwement        _
noQ resort to the sword  w$hen he is wronged. But he is          Years ago there was little need of discussing the
no Pacifist.  Pacifism  is a human invention  lthat dis- method of approach. As a matter ,of faat there was
regards man's spiritual corruption and rebellious next to' no  disucssion  of th'is subject, nor needed there
nature and  ,belongs  to the philosophy of  tthis world. *be. Various individuals and groups of individuals  who
Pacifism is anti&ristian  in that it seeks peace apart felt there was something amiss, who were not satisfied
from Christ.  ~Christianity  recognizes sin  ,and moral with the decisions of [the Christian Reformed Synod
depravity and seeks salvation in Christ, The Prince of  `24', of their own accord  iInvited our leaders to come
aof Peace. Pacifism is labeled  wirth the number  six land speak in their communities. These people had
`hundred and sixty six, the number of man. To the heard of the "common grace controversy", read the
seven of rest and peace  irt cannot attain. Therefore pro's and &he con's, and could understand at once if
the believer is no pacifist but a Christian looking to a speaker spoke on the "Three Points" and showed
Christ, the r& giver, who will lead us to the seven, their errors as departures from the Reformed faith.
the rest that remainetth  for the children  of God, the rest Not infrequently halls were rented in advance, bills
of the eternal Sabbath day where righteo.usness  and paid and all expenses assumed by those that invited
peace shall forever dwell.                                    the speaker, people gathered in groups at someone's
                                            J. A. H.          Borne  rto meet our leaders and personally discuss with
                                                              them. People were ready to  cume  out for lectures.,
                                                              evenin#g after evening, and not infrequently were
                                                              organized and could be organized after a few weeks
                                                              persisrtent  labor.
     The Method of Approach in Our                               & that time there were more  opportun~itties  to
                                                              speak than the speakers could fill. Had we then had
                  Mission Work                                as many ministers as we do $now, humanly speaking
                                                              many more churches could have been organized. In-
   By "our mission  wurk" we naturally mean the deed, this was not God's way, and we know that His
mission work our Protestant Reformed Churches are way was and always is best. Yet, looking at it from a
at present engaged in. We mighrt in a sense properly mere human viewpoint, there  `was everywhere interest
call it  church  extensiom  since its  postive  purpose is and readiness  ko listen.


70                                    T&HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

              That Method  l&s Seen Its Day                   not be Ithe methvd employed at the beginning of our
                                                              movement.  A new situation has arisen which demands
      Bwt that spontaneous method is a  ithing  of the a changed merthvd. If there is to be ohur& extension
past.* It is not 1924 and `25 anymore. It is now 1942,        wvrk Itoday,  we can nv longer employ the methods of
some twenty years later.         During this time the 1924 and `25 and the years immediately fvllowing than
Christian Reformed  Church  has deliberately  forgotiten      the methvds of #battle in World War I can be used in
the "Three  Pvints". Nvt that she  no longer  tewhes          the present War.
the errors therein contained, not [that she has repented
of them and turned a new leaf-not at all. She still                               what  Msthod   Now?
defends them if yvu oppose, although only when she               Whart method  must we use nvw?
cannat help but openly defend  &hem.   For the rest              To my mind we must mnt at all begin our labors
the "Three Points" are  fvrgvtten. Hence, when aur in any place by concentrating attention on the "Three
leaders bring them .up people hardly know what rthey          Points". Not that the truth involved  should be negleot-
`are about. They feel that  somethng  is wrong  tthe ed. Nor that the doctrine has changed. But people sim-
IChurch, they  may'lament  that Arminianism is rapidly ply do nut understand if yvu begin with this. It seems
gaining grvund (although it is to-day  hardly a "lamen- ~to us the whvle truth of God's sovereign grace needs
tation" anymore). People simply are not acquainted
w$th these points, nor very much interested in #them          to be stressed and emphasized. In my opinion this
                                                              is best attained by a posz%&ue  setting forth in lecture
right or wrvng. ,Groups of individuals vr even single and sermon and literature of the Refvrmed faith all
individuals rarely of  their own accord ask  vur Mission aIong the line. People are gem&ally simply little ac-
Committee for the labors of the missionary in their quainked with Reformed truth as a whole, (they speak
midst. Those that might be inclined to do so are in- and think  Arnrinianly  even when they claim  rto be
clined to refrain from it fvr fear of getting into Refvrmed. The Refvrmed faith is on the defensive
trouble with their own cvnsistories. Surely, h,alls are rather than on the vffensive. The fundamental  truths
nvt rented and expenses promised in advance. In many of sin and grace, sovereign predestination must be
instances a missionary or minister would not even be brought back as a whole. Our labor should rtherefore
able to get an audience  withvurt  first establishing svme be of a generally Reformed  &aracter, rather than
personal contacts  anld  getLing  people acquainted some- specifically limited to the question of cvmmvn grace.
what with the claims of our churches.
      Tzhere  are Itwo things that should not be forgotten       Secondly, we must go out an,d look fvr fields. We
in  6his con~nection.  The first is that since 1924 many must create them. Indeed we should  lovk  for the fields
years have elapsed, years fd,uring which people have where  (there  is interest, doctrinally and practically, fvr
been fed and nurtured on ideas that depart from the           the sound Refvrmed faith. A Reformed sense must
Reformed faith. The  drifit has gradually been away at Ieast be present, aad tien the labors must be, inolt
from Refvrmed truth toward  rthe Arminianism so ram- only of a public charcter in the form of lectures and
pant in  vur American  eccles,iastica.l  world. People sermons, but also of a persvnal  private nature in the
#have been going to sleep more and more. The know-            form of visits to the  hvmes,  etc. That is the method
ledge of Refvrmed truth, of the Cvnfessivns (`take for we have been  .using  more or less quite consistently
example the ,Canvns  of Dordt) is gradually ,becoming         the last years. For bhe present it is the only possible
less and less. And, secondly, rthe older generation ac- method. People must be acquainted with the truth.
quainted  wilth Reformed truth has largely passed away Naturally, this  form of labor requires  mvre time than
.and a new generation  ha,s arisen. This new  generativn      tthe old method emplvyed  at the beginning. I believe
,has been brought up in the American atmosphere, is it will be impossible any PI&ace  at all to attain organi-
no;t acquainted  w3.h the rich  herita,ge  vf Refvrmed zativn in the course of a  m&h vr so. There may be
rtruth  in the Dutch works, listens to Arminianism  over ,exceptivns  to this general r.ule, as there are to every
the radio and magazines, and hears preaching which rule. Nort that I believe that the vne that labors in a
in most instances is at best a very modified furm of field must wait till everyvne  thvrvughly  understands
Reformed truth.  Besi.des,  this generation is not ac- Refvrmed truth, or that it is necessary to continue
quainted  with the history of our  Ch:urches, nor with labor  for a lvng period of time, bwt I dv believe that
It.he   "Tchree  Puints", nur in maeny  instances even with to organize a P&e&ant  Reformed Church today means
the fact thsut %here is a `denomination that calls itself that one must almost build from the ground up as far
 Protestant Reformed.                                         $s  svund Refvrmed faith is concerned. "You  dvn't
      Naturally then, &here can be no need felt f,or our find Protestant  Reformed pevple  ; you must make them"
mission work. There are  no requests for labor. Neither vne vf the Mission Committee members vnce said. This
 could it be expected. No jieti aw& us to&~, we rn~& is quite correct.
 m.c&z   tim.  Consequently the  me&& of approach  can-                                                  P. D. B.


VOLUME XIX                                         NOVEMBER  15,1942                                            NUMBER 4  -
                                                                    the wicked queen was enraged against God's servant.
       MEDITATION                                                   Besides, might they not argue in their folly, that it
                                                                    was Elijah that kept (the heavens shut, and that, there-
                                                                    fore, to render him powerless would be to open the
                                                                    heavens again automatically? Indeed Cherith was a
                                                                    safe retreat for the servant of Jehovah at this time.
                      At Cherith                                       Yet, this hardly expIains  the whole situation.
                                                                       Why send the prophet into hiding? Was not his
             And the word of the Lord came unto him, God able to keep him in the midst of the enemy? Had
          sayhg,  Get thee hence, and  ~turn  `thee  east-          he not just invaded the very palace of the king to
          (ward, and hide thyself  &y the brook Cherith,            bring the Word of the Lord to him? Would he not
          that-G before Jordan. And it shall be that                openly return in due time, again to show himself to
          thou  shalt  idrink   of the brook; and I  harue          Ahab? And would it not have been a far more glorious
          commanded She  rauens  to feed  Thee there.               revelation of Jehovah, and, in fact, a mighty vindica-
          So he went and  dti according  un;to the  sword           tion of His servant Elijah, had He commanded him
          ofi  /the Lord:  :for  Ihe  went,  and  i&welt  by the    to remain publicly on  .the stage, and to continue to  *be
          brook  Chem'th, that is before  Jordun. And               the chief character in the drama that was being en-
          the ravens  brough.t  him bread  `nnd flesh  sin          acted in the land of Israel?
          the morning, and bread and  flesh in the eve-                <Get thee hence ,. . . hide thyself!
          ning; and he drank of the brook.                             Sent into obhvion  !
                                       I  fiings   17.24.              At the brook the prophet' is in complete isolation.
   Get thee hence . . .                                             With no one had he any contact. No news came to
   Elijah, the servant of Jehovah, that standeth  be- him of the effect of the Word of Gad he had delivered
fore God, sent into oblivion !                                      to the wicked king. 0, his word was, evidently being
   This, it appears to us, is the main purpose of fulfilled, for even there, at the rbrook,  it could be wit-
%herith,  and, at the same  :time,  its significance for nessed that the heavens were of brass, and slowly, day
us, for you and for me.                                             by ,day, the brook was drying up. But what was the
   0, it is true, he finds a safe place ti the brook.               effect of it all? Was the king terror-stricken? Did
   For it must be granted that it was by no means                   the people repent and turn unto the Lord? He knew
improbable that the wrath of the wicked king, and es- not . . . .
pecially of the fiendishly hateful queen, would make                   For just a moment the prophet had appeared in
an attempt to  ,persecute and kill him. There are those,            the center of the stage.
indeed, who consider this hardly conceivable. They                     A very brief message he had delivered: the Word
might, perhaps, try to capture him and put him into of God to Ahab.
prison. But hardly would they put him to death. Did                    And the next moment the Word of Jehovah sends
  he not have the power again to open the  hemns, and him into complete oblivion, far away frvm the center
to cause the rain to satisfy the thirsty land? If, then, of a,ctivity  !
they killed the prophet of Jehovah, would they not cut                 Was he not a servant?
off all possibility of the heavens to be reopened? But                 And must not a servant of the Most High learn
they that argue thus forget, first of all, that hatred that he is of no significance, that the privilege of
is blind, and that this is especially true of the hatred of serving Jehovah is a gift to :the servant, and that the
the world against the prophets of the Lord. Furiously work which it pleases the Lord to  accomplish   through


7 4                                   ,T,HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

the instrumentality of His servant is always God's            way to Jordan, God commands the ravens to bring his
work? When, therefore, he has performed his calling,          servant bread and meat!
he need' not, he may not loiter on the stage of action :         Unbelief scoffs at this, foolishly, as unbelief is
he may disappear. Some of God's most capable, most            always foolish.
highly endowed servants labored  <but a little while.            ,Or "why should it be thought a thing incredible
He than whom there was none greater among those               with you, that  (God  should raise the dead?" Or ,what
that were born of  ,women at the time of the Lord's           rational explanation could anyone give for his profane
public ministry just pointed to the Lamb of God and           mockery at the Word of God, when it assures us that
disappeared. The great apostle among the Gentiles is          God commanded the ravens to feed his servant Elijah
sometimes taken out of his ac'tive ministry and shut          at the brook Cherith? 4s He not the Creator of the
up in prison for years.                                       heavens and of the earth, Who calls *the things that are
       Get thee hence ! . . . .                               not as if they were? And is not He Who created all
       [Hide thyself at the brook ! . ,. . .                  things their Lord, their most absolute Sovereign? Does
       When the servant has performed his calling, he         He not command the clouds, and they gather? Is it
need not be anxious about the result of 3. It is not          not the Word of His mouth that causeth the rain to
for him to worry about the increase. Always his call- descend, and the sun  fo shine, and the soil to nourish
ing is to bring the Word of God. The rest he may the seed, and the seed to germinate in the earth, and
leave safely in the hands of God. 0, one can easily           the grain to ripen in the ear?
imagine that Elijah may have been eager to follow up             Why, then, should it be the object `of mockery that
the word he had spoken to Ahab, and which soon began He commands the ravens to feed His servant Elijah?
.to become manifest as a Word of the Lord in the                 Or does He not Lknow,  perhaps, how to save His
drought it had foretold! He might want to apply that people from the present world?
word! What an opportunity to stage-a great revival,              IHe is the Lord of hosts ! ,. . . .                  ,./ A.
to impress upon the hearts and minds of the nation the           The God of Israel !
vanity of Baal, and to arouse them to return unto the
Lord their God! . . . . .                                        Always He keeps an delivers His people in the
       Get thee hence! . . . .                                midst.of,  and from the ,destruction  of a world of wrath,
                                                              of sin and death. For, with the first Adam they sub-
       Turn eastward to Cherith!                              merge into corruption, guilt and damnation. Death
       The servant must be kept humble. He must not swallows them up. In a world of wrath, *that is delivered
stand in the way of the glory of his Master,. Yet, even       up unto dedtruction,  they are born. Yet, He knows how
the  (best of God's servants were in danger of becoming       to deliver His own from that world of woe, and to
"great men". Paul is cgiven a thorn in the flesh, an preserve them even unto everlasting glory. Yes, He
angel of satan to buffet him! . . . ,                         calls the things that are not as if they were ; but He
       Elijah was a man of like passions as we are . I . .    also raises the dead. He calls (the light out of dark-
       Hide, (thyself! . _ . .                                ness, righteousness out of damnation, holiness out of
       And, in the meantime, the Lord mercifnlly  provides    corruption, glory out of shame, life out of death . . .
rest for His servant, and strengthens him for the work            That is the glory of His -grace !
still to be performed.                                            And of the glory of that grace every wonder is
       Brief had been the- period of labor, indeed ! One      a sign, also the wonder of His commanding &he ravens
short message had been delivered in the name of the to feed His servant at Cherith.
Lord. Nevertheless, $the delivering of that one sermon            For, was not Canaan, during those three years and
had been a tremendous battle, enervating, exhausting.         six months of terrible drought,  .the land of  God'S
       *Go, get thee hence!                                   wrath?  lHad not the wicked grown mighty in the land,
       Turn thee eastward and hide thyself at the brook!      and had not the people followed af,ter  the vanities of
Rest awhire  !                                                the heathen? Was not the carnal element,, wicked
       For the main battle is still to be fought!             Israel, in power, and did not iniquity reign supreme?
       Wonderful Cherith !                                    And had not the ,anger of Jehovah been kindled over
                                                              the whole lan,d?  And had not lthe prayer, of the pro-
                                                              phet cooperated with the wrath of Jehovah to avenge
       Marvellous  way of God!                                Himself upon His enemies, and  .to bring judgment
       For in a land of wrath and judgment God provides upon the wicked nation? Was' it not the  wraith of God
 for His people, and delivers them out of all their           that kept the'heavens sh.ut,  that dried `up rivers and
 troubles !                                                   brooks,  khat caused the  earlth to crack with thirst, and
       At Cherith, that deep and rocky ravine through         that threatened death to every living thing?
 which the water of  .the brook playfully meandered its           But *what of God's peoyjle?


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                                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                           75

                        Were the righteous to be dedttroyed with the                 Yet, do not be hesitant .!to follow up the Word of
            ,,' wicked?                                                           .&he Lord, and to go to the,Ionely,  isolated brook !
                      Were there not prophets of -Jehovah in the land,                   For ithe God of Elijah has commanded the ravens
            hid from the fury of the heathen queen in the caves of Ito feed you there!
     `+. the earth?.  And were there, besides, not also lthe seven                       Mark you well ; He has commanded them. Before
            thousand that had never bowed their `knee to Baal? you go your provisions are ready  1.
                     Were these also to perish under the oppressing wrath                Be not afraid  .to obey the Word of the Lord, and to
      -; of God? . . .                                                            go to your Cherith,. for what is more blessed (than thait
      . ...,            Is God's church to perish wilth the wicked world?         childlike confidence whereby we may daily eat out of
      _                 perhaps at :the brook, as he gazed up at the brazen the Lord's hand ? All the abundance of ,the world, all
      :`, heavens through the canopy of leaves that  oversha-                     ;the prosperity of the  `wicked,  cannot Yield the blessed
    .:I.  dowed his retreat, Elijah thought of this. He knew peace and profound joy there is in one  `day of trust in
     ,: that  Ithere  must be true  peopIe  of God in the land the Lord, a confidence that is always crowned with
    I, even then. What would become of them? And every the blessed experience that He will surely provide!
     -' morning and every evening
      .                                              lthe answer came  ;to him           Be not afraid to go . . . there!
            , in .&he Word of God that *was embodied in the ravens                       For the ravens are commanded to feed you  _ . .
            : that carried his. daily provisions : "I am the Lord of              the+&!
     ,I. hosts. I know how to deliver the godly out of ,a11 his                          Just them! No,: the Lor.d- .has not. commanded `$he
            i temptations, even in the. midst of, and from a world                ravens.  to-feedYod'~e~~~e:  Only there!
                     that is reserved unto the day of judgment  to  .be                  0, the  @rophet-   might have foreseen what would
    `1:;' punished." . . .                                                        be the  result, if the prayer he uttered in  .the wilds
                        I have commanded the ravens to feed thee !                of Gilead *were.  heard; and if the Lord would withold
                        And as I keep thee, and save thee in  ithe midst the rain from heaven ! And foreseeing the drought
      .; of a land of ~wrath, so I will surely deliver all My and the famine he might have thought of himself and
      :- people!                                                                  become anxious, and he might have gathered for  him-
                        Glorious ways of God!                                     self a store of provisions to keep himself alive in the
                                                                                  day of famine. Or he might have judged it better to
      :                 Blessed Cherith !                                         Ieave the country  immediateIy,  and to seek a living
                        For there one may cornmitt  his way unto the Lord, elsewhere.
           and be assured that He will bring it to  pass1                                But there was only one Cherith.
                        There one may casit the burden of his daily cares                An there the ravens would feed him at the com-
                     upon the Lord, and experience that He will provide, mand of God.
     and  ,t-hat  athey  that trust in the Lord of hosts shall                           In the way of the Lord, in the way of obedience
                     never be ashamed.                                            alone we can eat the bread of God's lovingkindness,
                        There one may seek fmst the kingdom of God and and enjoy the blessed experience of childlike trust, of
                     His righteousness, and see the realization of the tasting the goodness of  .the Lord, of  ithe wonderful
                     $.n-omise  that all other things shall indeed be added peace that pass&h all understanding. For there, .and
                     UI%!':O  him. There he' may live out of the hand of God,     there alone, God has commanded the ravens Ito feed
                     directly, day `by day, in childlike confidence ,, . .
     . .                                                                          us!
                        The ravens shall feed `thee  there !
                        0, do not be afraid to go to Cherith, for what is                0, indeed, we `may find bread' elsewhere! We  may
                     more blessed  ,than to live out of the hand of your refuse .to obey the word of the Lord and rather, than
                     ,God ? The ravens shall feed you ! No, if you love $0        turn eastward to the brook, turn westward into the
      follow after your own lusts, if you hanker  alter  the way of ouiowri lusts. `And  in"that way of disobedience
                     Pleasures and treasures of the  *world and of the flesh,     and  carna1 lusts, in the way of the world and of seek-
                     YOU cannot stand it at the Ionely brook. The delicacies      ing  th,e~$ings  that .ar.e,lbelow,  in  #the way of unfaith-
      " of !f;he world, (the lus!t of the flesh and the lust of' $6               fulness.  and  ,denid `of the name- of Christ, we  `may
                     eyes, and the pride of life, are not there. There `yo:       .find bread in abundance. For thus it, often appears:
      ; "' cannot till your barns. for Years to come and' .&hort the wicked prosper. And, perhaps,, YOU feel no need of
     `. Your soul to eat and to drink and  rto  have"&  no  care.                 tie ravens to feed you. . . . .
           " For  <there,  at `Cherith, you  receive your portion, and                   But remember : it is ithe bread of wrath !
            .. no more, every  ,morning and every evening. And                           But the bread of  God's  lovingkin&s  which is better
                     after every meal you must there look again at  Ithe than life you can eat only at the. brook whither God's
                     brazen heavens, and at the drying brook, and trust that Word  sentt you !                                                      ,,
II5: He Who commanded the ravens once will  command                                      Wonderful Cherith !                 : I
                                                                                                           .-  _  .- __              . . - - . .
F .-_  khem  again.  c                                                                      1                                       : (`- "-"33
                                                                                                                                             -.? H:
                                      a)  ,                                                      -.                          t
cu .><< ._                                                                                                      .  -       -a-
   i.ia.


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80                                   TWE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

on the accursed tree for our transgressions, and was tures. But even so, .the mere coming to the Bible, SO
raised on  .&he  third day for our justification; Who was that we read it, study it, hear it preached and learn
glorified and exalted at the right hand of God and about Jesus revealed in it is not the same as coming
received the promise of the Holy Ghost; Who poured to Jesus. Not a physical, not an intellectual coming
out that Spirit into the Church, and in the Spirit re- to Jesus is meant, but a spiritual act of faith. And
turned unto His own,-in that Christ is all our sal- we must ask:  icvhat is  im'plied in that spiritual act
vation. In Him is light and life, knowIedge  and wis- by which one comes to Jesus and is received by Him?
dom,  righ;teousness  and sanctification. In Him are            Four elements may be distinguished in the act of
all the blessings of grace. He is the bread of life, coming to Jesus. These four elements I may  .denote
which we must eat, and "if any  ;man eat of this by the terms: contrition, recognition, aspiration, and
bread, he shall live forever." John  6:48,  $9. There-       reception or acceptance. Let me say a few words about
fore, He could say: "he that cometh to me shall never each of these four  elem.ents.  Contrition is the first
hunger..`tl John  6:35.  He is  *the water of life, and step on the way to Jesus. The sinner, who is of him-
could truly say : "he that believeth on me shall never self dead in sin, acknowledges that he is devoid of all
ghirst." John 6  :35; 37, 38. And  ,the  apostIe  Paul good, of righteousness, truth, holiness knowledge, wis-
writes of this "Christ Jesus, who of God is made dom, life ; and that he is filled with darkness,  COF-
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification ruption, the lie and rebellion against God ; he is sorry
and redemption." It is, therefore, of his fulness that after God, not because of the consequences of his
,we have all received "and grace for grace." John sin, but (because of the horror that he has  simed and
1:16. Bven  as the light that dispels :t.he darkness in*     does sin against God ; and he humbles himself in true
your home when you turn the switch is not originally penitence. The second step is recognition. Over against
*in the light bulb that distributes  the light, but in his own emptiness of all good and fulness of corruption,
the power that flows into your home from the central the sinner beholds the Lord Jesus Christ in all the
power plant, so the light that dispels the darkness of fulness of His grace. He recognizes Him as the bread
sin in your soul is in Christ.  -4nd even as your and the water of life, as the One in Whom is righteous-
home must be properly  *wired and connected with ness,  ,wisdom,   Iknowledge,  sanctification, life, and com-
that central power plant, if you are to have light           plete redemption  CloseIy  connected with the last
in the house, SO your heart must be connected with step on the way to Jesus is the third, that of aspiration
the Christ of the Scriptures, if i,t is to Ibe filled with or longing. Having discovered and confessed, his own
the blessings of salvation. There is death in you, emptiness and Christ's fulness, the sinner desires
but life in Him. There-is unrighteousness in you, but Christ. He hungers and thirst after righteousness,
righteousness in Him. There is darkness in your soul, forgiveness of sin, deliverance  from the dominion of
but there is light in Him. Come, therefore, to Jesus corruption, light and life. And realizing that they
to eat and to drink, and your soul shall live,               are all in Christ, and in Him alone, He longs for Christ
      B.ut here two important questions arise that must Himself, He  woul,d  feign possess Him, lay hold on
Ibe answered. The first of these is: iwhat  does it mean     Him, embrace Him, and call Him his Saviour and
to "come to Jesus?' And the second, na less signifi- Lord. But there is still the fourth element in the com-
cant than the  &rst, is: how does a sinner come to           ing to Jesus, that of reception or acceptance. It is
Christ? As to the first question, we may remark,             not enough to remain standing afar, looking at Jesus,
first of all, that in some circles the words "come to and longing after Him. There are, indeed, many that
Jesus" are frequently used without paying any at- approach thus far, but hesitate to take the last step,
tention to their profound spiritual meaning, and and to appropriate  the Christ for themselves. They
thus  ,have  been coined into a superficial slogan, devoid do not really come to Jesus. They always  hestitate.
of any real significance. The impression is often  gilven    They never rejoice in their salvation. And this may
that to come to Jesus is something,which  any sinner not be. We must come to Jesus. And to come to Him,
can accomplish at will, at any time, an.d at a moment's ;inally and completely, we must once more Iook at
notice. But what is the implication of this  a& Him as iHe is revealed ,to us in the Scriptures. We must
What does a man do, when he  `<comes   ,to Jesus?" Ihear Him call those that hunger and thirst after
Surely,  WC understand  that  ther,e is a figure in  ;the    righteousness, the poor in spirit, the mourning, the
words. We cannot come to Jesus bodily, and if we weary and heavy  ladden ; and we  mu& believe His
[could  such coming would be quite vain  an,d  fruit- Word, promising them complete satisfaction, the riches
fess. The Lord is raised, and  IHe is gone into the          of the kingdom of heaven, comfort and rest; and
heavens. The, only Jesus we know is the Christ of the finally, recognizing that we are those whom He calls,
Scritpures, and the only way we can have contact and that, therefore, those promises are for us, we
with Him and come to Him is through the Scriptures. must take confidence and lay hold upon the Christ
To come to Jesus surely means to come to the Scrip-          of the Scriptures, so that we may gladly confess


                                   T,HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                  81

with the  Hei,delberg  Catechism, that  it' is our only evident, that if the matter of salvation depended at
comfort in life and in death that we belong to our               all upon the choice of the unregenerated sinner, the
faithful  Saviour Jesus Christ, with body and soul, for statement "Jesus Saves" cannot be true. He may
time and eternity! We have come to Jesus!                        .be  willing to save, but actually He is powerless to
   &it  h&v  t&es anyone  thus  come to  ,the Christ of delilver  the sinner, because of the perversion of the
the Scriptures ? Ct is at this point that we must Ibe            wi11 of man. But the  ange1 said to Joseph that His
quite   tipeciflc, in  order   to maintain the truth that name sh0ul.d be called Jesus, not because He is willing
Jesus actually saves. Perhaps, we  maY state with- to save His people from their sin, but most positively
out fear of  contradi'ction  that the sinner  can come because He  sh&Z save them! Jesus saves! That means,
to  Jests  only by grace. He  `can do nothing of him- not only that IHe merited salvation for us by the death
self. He is saved `by grace. Yet, it was proved more Iof the cross, but also that He actuaI1y *delivers from
than once that even this statement is not sufficient to sin and gives us eternal life, not because .;the sinner
avoid the possibility of misunderstanding and error. first  wills, but in spite of his unwillingness and re-
The question must rather. be put, whether in coming sistance. And thirdly, the doctrine that the -recep-
to Jesus the sinner is  first or Christ. Is it thus,             tion of grace to come to Jesus is dependent on and
perhaps, that the very will and  _ power to come .to             subsequent to the will and choice of the natural man
Jesrs  is all the fruit of grace, but that it depends            is  .contrary to the  .plain~ teaching of Holy Writ. For
upon the will of the sinner whether or not he re-                the Bible teaches that "it is no,t of him that willeth,
ceives this grace to come .to Christ? Is it true, that nor of him that  runneth,  but of God that sheweth
Jesus is willing to save the sinner,  bur; that the ques- mercy." Rom.  9 :16. Scripture declares that we .are
tion whether he actually will be saved is contingent saved  iby grace, through faith  ,and that not of  our-
upon the will of the sinner to be saved? Must we seIves, it is the gift of God. Eph.  2:s. God, the God
present the matter of -salvation as if C.hrist  is ready         of `our salvation in Christ and not the sinner  ;is
#to receive the sinner, earnestly begs him to come to            &-St, for  `$Go,d, who is rich in mercy for the great
Him, offers him all the necessary grace to  `come                love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead
and drink of ,the water of life freely, but that Jesus in sins, hath quickened us  .together  with Christ: by
can do no More,  and is unable to save him if the sin-           grace are ye saved." Eph. %:4,  5.. To the murmuring
ner refuses to receive His grace? Is it correct to Jews in Capernaum the Lord says: "No man can come
present the matter of salvation as if Jesus stands at unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw
the door of the heart and knocks, but is  *dependent             him: and I will raise him up at the last day." And
upon the will of the sinner to open the door, because again : "Therefore said I unto you, that no man Fan
the key of that door is on the inside? Does Jesus throw          come unto me, except it were given unto him of my
out the lifeline to struggling seamen, that must needs           Father." John 6  :44, 6.5. And, on the other hand, it is
perish if they refuse to take hold of the line?                  equally certain that "all that the Father giveth me shall
   God forbid! First of all, let us consider that, if            come to me ; and him that cometh  .to me I will in no
such were the case, no sinner could be saved, for the            wise cast out." John  6:3'7.
simple reason that no man can of himself come to                    The answer to the question, therefore, which `we
Jesus, or even will to come unto Him. Salvation is               raised above is: not the sinner, but Jesus is first.
deliverance from the guilt and the dominion of sin,              Always our act of coming to Him is the fruit of His
and the sinner is wi1lingly in the power of sin. iHe is saving work of drawing us. He enters our hearts, not
not drowning and struggling to be saved, but he is               because we open the door unto Him, but because He
spiritually dead, and he will not be saved. He loves has received from  t,he Father both the right and
ain and hates righteousness. He loves darkness rather the power to enthrone Himself in the hearts of all
than light. He may probably be willing to escape the             His own. He calls by  iHis Word and Spirit, and  `we
punishment of sin ; he may be afraid of hell, and he hear; He regenerates us, and we live ; He opens our
`may be desirous of going to a heaven of his own im- eyes, and we see; He brings us to repentance,  and we
laginati'on.  But he will not be saved from sin, and repent; He gives us a new spiritual appetite, and we
[he will never receive, still less ask for grace to be hunger and thirst after righteousness; He gives us the
converted. If nothing is ,done to him, he -will surely will to come to Him, and we come. Always He is first,
:reject Christ. And if  the reception of grace on his            and because He is first, it is certainly true ethat He
<part  depends on the choice of his will, he will resist shall save His people from their sins. Jesus  surely
to the very end. To be sure, whosoever will may come             saves !
and take of the water of life freely, but  the will to              In this truth there is real joy and a sure cOnSdati6n
come is already the fruit of grace: to  the natural              for  all that do  ,come to Him. What  .comfoY-t  and as-
U/man  the very water of life is nauseating. Secondly, surance  w,ould  there be in the knowledge that You
and in  cIose  connection with the preceding, it must be once  came to Jesus, if in last analysis Your <doming
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82                                   T*HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

to Him was your own work, contingent upon the               iL is absolutely sure that all that the Father gilveth
choice of your own will ? May  nat that same will of unto Jesus shall come unto Him. And for the same
yours that accepted Him yesterday decide today to reason it is equally sure that Christ will never cast
reject Him? Or what assurance can you have that He out those that come un.to Him, ibut that He will save
will receive you, if your eoming to Him was nothing ithem even unto the end. Jesus never fails!
but the decision of your own will? Now, however, it is                                                     H. H.
quite different. For your coming to Him was the
fruit of His first coming to you. Your acceptance of
Jesus means that He accepted you. And so, in your
coming to Him you have the assurance that He ac-
cepted you.. Even your first prayer, though it were
nothing  but the prayer of the publican, was first                     Balaam the Son of Beor
wrought in your  hear.3  `by the marvellous  <power  of
His grace, and in the prayer you have the assurance
that He will hear you ! For Jesus surely saves !               The people of Israel, after their  Ivictory  on the
                                                            ,east of  *the Jordan, fell back to the plains of  .Moa,b,
      Yes, indeed, Come  to Jesus all ye that labor and opposite Jericho. And here the journeyings of the
are heavy laden, for He will surely give you rest.          Israelites may be said to have terminated. From
Come unto Him for He will in no wise cast you out. this point, in the following spring, they crossed the
Come to Him as the Bread of life, and He will surely Jordan and en'tered the promised land.
nourish you unto life eternal. Come to  IHim as the
sole Fountain of the water ,of life, and He will slake         The near approach of the people of Israel  .to  :Moab
your thirst forever. It never happened, and it never and Midian  greatly alarmed the kings of these peoples,
shall happen that anyone came to Jesus, and was not and, not daring to engage them in battle, they sent
received. The Lord Himself assures us, that him messengers to Balaam, a celebrated Chaldean diviner,
that corn&h to Him He will in no ,tvise cast out. John      begging that he would come and curse Israel for
7237.  This means, positively, that if you truly come them. Balaam  .took  counsel of God on the matter;
unto Him  fpr the forgiveness of sin, He will say to        for he had ,knowledge  of the true God, and had evi-
you: Your sins are forgiven you; th,at if you approach dently received at times divine revelations. But God
Him for righteousness, He will clothe you with His would not suffer him to go and curse Israel. When
own everlasting righteousness ;  ;that if you come to Balaam's refusal was made . known to the king of
Him for the knowledge of God, !He will surely illum- Moab, he sent other and more honorable messengers,
,inate  your understanding, darkened through sin by with a promise of still richer rewards. Balaam longed
nature, by His Spirit and Word ; that if you seek from ,h go; for "he loved the wages of unrighteousness.."
Him liberation from the dominion of sin, He will cut        Still, he again asks counsel of God. Xnd God now
the shackles ,of corruption that keep you bound, an,d       ordered  -6him to go-in agreement with his desire.
set you free. Come unto Him, and He will impart Nevertheless, what the Lord should say to him, that
Himself to you. Jesus never fails. He surely saves.         only shall he speak.                     .
      The reason for this certainty is evident. The Lord       So Balaam went with the princes of Moab.  It
says : "All that the Father giveth  unto me shall come was on this journey that the angel of the Lord with-
to me." There lies the `secret ,of this certain accep- stood him twice, and threatened to destroy him. It
tance. Christ came to do the Father's will, and it is was at this time that the very ass on which he rode
the Father's will that all He gives to Jesus, to the reproved him with a man's voice, and "forbade the
very last one, shall be saved. For they are not a madness of the prophet." Still, he was told to finish
mere multitude whose nu.mber  is ar,bitrary,  but cthey     his journey; but under a strict injunction that he
consitute  one Gwhole, the glorious ,Church,  the one Body should speak that, and that  ,only, which  .the `Lord
of Christ through which the one glory of the one God should say. Arrived among the Moabites, he was
in the one Christ must shine forth in all its manifold taken by Balak, the  bking of  Moab unto  t,he latter's
perfection of beauty. When Rhat Body is all gathered high places, where he might have a Iview  of the camp
and perfected, each saint will occupy his own place in of Israel, and, in repeated instances offered up costly
the whole, and serve his  ovvn purpose, reflecting in sacrifices, while he went aside to ask counsel of God.
his own way the glory of God in Christ, and singing But in every instance and contrary to his inmost
his own part in the grand harmony of the mighty desire ,to curse the people of Israel, he blessed them.
choir that will forever cause the new creation to re- "How shall I curse those who God has not cursed?
bound with the praises of the Most High.' Of that And how shall I `defy those whom the Lord has not
glorious choir not one voice may be lost, for it would defied? Who can< count the dustt  of Jacob, or number
mar the beauty and harmony of the  ,whoIe.  iHence,         the forth part of Israel? Behold,  1 have received


                                     T+HE   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         83
 --.
4commandment  to bless Israel; and he is blessed, and sacred narrator tells us of the man. To begin  `with,
I cannot reverse it."                                       he lusted after material riches, after what ,the scrip-
    It is  .this man  Balsam that  :forms the subject of tures call "wages of unrighteousness". He was a man
this essay. We arrange our  materiaals  under the with affections set wholly upon the things beloiw. But
two points : (1) The man as such ; (2) the significance this is not all. So bent was he .to gain possession of
of his prophetic activity for the people of Israel.         these things that he stood ready to curse a people of
    (1)  Balsam is a  Ivery remarkable personage. He        whom he knew that it was the Iblessed of the Lord.
cou1.d therefore not  fai1 to occasion many dissertations. Nor is this all. Vexed because he had been prevented
Opinions have always been divided as to the character from bringing himself, ito curse Israel, he counseled the
of this man. To some he was a wizard and a false            Moabites and Midianites to send their daughters into
prophet an*d as such. a thoroughly profligate character, the camp of *Israel to debauch the young men, and
a child of ,darkness,  wholly given over to the worship     draw them into idolatry; feeling assured that this
of idols, who was destitute of any susceptibility for       would be the most likely way to bring down upon
the true religion, and was compelled by God, against them the curses of Heaven. And his artifice succeeded
his conscious will, to give utterance to blessing upon      entirely. The very next account we have of the Is-
Israel .instead  of curses. By others he was hel,d to be    raelites is, that many of them had been drawn away
`a child of (special) grace, and a genuine and true shy these outlandish women, not only to commit whor,e-
prophet,  who simply fell through covetousness and dom in the literal physical sense, but to be present at
ambition. A third group of interpreters reject both their pagan sacrifices, and worship their devil gods.
these views as untenable in this exclusive form. It is To say that Balaam was thoroughly unscrupulous is
most important to bear in mind, they say, that we           putting it mild. Fact is that he recoiled from nothing
are not considering a fixed charaacter,  but one passing to achieve his obje&ive,  Ndthing was to low for him
through a chrnge, and engaged in a serious conflict.        to stoop to, if only he might come into the actual po-
There  `was a contrast between the man  Balsam  in the ssession of the coveted prize.
ordinary state of his mind, or his habitual tendency,          How powerful his lusting was after .the proffered
and the same man in his quickened state, in his striving riches--so powerful that it paralyzed his faculty of
after ideal heights ; between  the man in his everyday reasoning-may be seen from the treatment that he
and in his Sunday life. There was in Balsam,  so runs afforded the beast upon  [which he rode, when the
the reasoning, tra-o tendenc'es,  an evil and a good or latter reproved him with the voice of a man. Three
ideal. But a tisure            t
                        opened between these two states times the ass starts back affrighted at the sight of the
of the man's sou1, which widened at last into a broad angel of the Lord standing in the way with a drawn
chasm, a permanent contradiction, with the result sword in His hand, threatening death. And as many
that finally the evil tendency and nature in him tri- times it is  Ibeaten by its rider on account of its failure
umphed over the ideal.                                      to proceed. Thus at first it starts aside into the field;
    According to this view, Balaam, at least at the then when the angel bars the path between the vine-
out set, was neither wholly bad nor wholly good but a yard walls, it presses closely against the wall, thereby
mixture of both good and !bad, a combination of two         crushing the foot of the prophet;  an,d then at last
spiritually  di'verse  selves or natures, involved in a when it must pass through a narrow path, in which
mortal combat from which the one self-the evil  self- rthere  was no room to turn either to the right hand or
finally emerged triumphant to the ruin and everlast:        to the left, with the dread form right before it, the
ing ,doom  of Balaam.                                       ass falls  upon   ,his knees under the rider.  Balsam  is
   Now if the theory of common grace were fact and now %he more angry. He wants to be on his way and
truth, this view would be meriting some careful con- to reach his destination. The coveted riches might
sideration. For according to  {this theory, the totally otherwise elude his grasp. It  ,doesn't  occur to him that
depraved sinner is not totally depraved at all. He can- the strange behaviour of the beast is of the Lord and
not be. He must necessarily be, according to this bespeaks the perverseness of his way before Him.  Ba-
theory a combination of .two such natures or selves, laam's greed has rendered him insensible to .the speech
the one inclined to all evil an.d the other in,clined to    of God's signs. As to the speaking of the ass with the
all that is <holy.                                          [voice  of a man, `What have I done unto thee that thou
    Balaam was no true child of God. Nor was he a hast smitten me these  .three times?"-so far is this
combination of two such natures as just described. If speaking from bringing  Balsam  to his senses, that
he were, he would  #be a true child of God.                 he is now beside himself with rage.  ;He would that
    Balsam  was a child of Satan,  thus a thoroughly there were a sword in his hand, for now would he
bad man. There was no grace in him of any sort. #kill it. Only after he is told by the faithful animal *that
(There is, assuredly, but one kind of grace). This is       it has never before behaved in this strange way, does
the conclusion to which we are driven by what the           it seem to dawn upon him, that some very unusual cir-


     84                                    TiHE  S T A N D A R - D   B E A R E R

     cumstances must  ;he at work. So low has this man quest of Assyria by some western power. At length,
     sunk,  .to that extent has he been given over to a mind his prophetic vision reaches to the utmost bounds-
     devoi,d of judgment, through his lust of filthy gain,          to Christ whose coming he foretells and to  ,the final
     to do things that are wicked, that the 1; ery beast upon       consumation  of all things. Nu. 24 22, 25..
     which bee rides is .made to rebuke him. That he might             Verily, these  reacrtions,  doings, and sublime  sen-
     be enriched, he would consign a whole  people- tenses seem to compel this conclusion: Balaam is pre-
     <the very people of God- to the ,place  of eternal deso-       pared to speak the word that God puts into his mouth
     lation.                                                        and this at all costs even. He declares that if BaIak
           On the other hand, it seems that there is much wou!.d  give him his house fuil of silver and gold He
     to say in favor of the man Balaam.                             cannot go beyond the word of the Lord his God. So
           "Come now therefore, I pray thee." Such is the           does he subordinate his own interests to those of
     request of the king of Moab to Balsam,"  Come now, :God and is thus a man wholly consecrated to his di-
     curse me  ,this people  ; for they are too mighty for me  :    vine calling. His courage is great. /He over and over
     peradventure  I shall prevail; that we may smite them blesses a race of men that a king-mark you, a king
     . . . " Balaam replies,"Lodge here this night, and I will -wants cursed. These blessings are pronounced in the
     bring you word again, as. the Lord shall speak unto very hearing of the king. This, assuredly, takes cour-
     me." Balaam brings the request before the Lord. The age. "How goodly are thy tents, 0 Jacob," is one of
     Lord tells him that he shall  no.t go  with  t,hem; and his sentences, and another, "Let me die the death of
     this is precisely what he tells the princes of Moah.           the righteous". Balaam  ilt would seem, loves God's
           But Balak will not be put off.  `He sends princes ,people ; and, despite his greed, his soul thirsts after
     more honorable and with promises of greater riches. .God. He joys in Israel's salvation ; and proclaims his
     The king, is persistent. "Let nothing,  I pray -thee,          blessedness He is a man of keen insight, having broad
     hin,&r  thee from coming to me: for I will promote glimpses of the truth, and a conscience awakened and
     thee unto. very great honor . . .' Attend now to Ba- his convictions of right and wrong are strong.
     laam's answer.. "If  Baiak  Fould give me his house               But let us not be deceived. Balaam, despite all
     full of sibver and gold, I  cannot  go beyond the word these ostentations of piety, is a thoroughly bad man,
     of my God, to do less or more." Once in the  ,king's           a child of ,darkness.  This is plain enough. His setitled
     presence, Balaam says to Him, "Lo, I am come unt.o             and abiding desire is to curse  &d's people that he
     thee: Have I any power at all to say anything? The might be enriched. Not being able to act upon his de-
     word that God putteth in'my mouth that shall I speak."         sire, and still craving the "reqpard  of unrighteousness",
     Sorely provoked at hearing Ba!aam bless the people of he resorts to the satanic artifice of bringing down
s    Israel instead of cursing khem, Balak says to him,             upon Israei the curse of God through his counseling
     "What hast thou done unto me?" Balaam replies,                 the adlversary  to send his daughiters  into the camp of
     "must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord Israel, to debauch the young men, and draw them into
     putteth  in.to my mouth?" I have sinned," says he to           idolatry. To say that Balaam is a child of grace is pre-
     the angel of the Lord, who obstructs his way,  "I have posterous.  ,Such craving and doings are simply incon-
     sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way sistent with grace. He thirsts not after God but solely
     against me: now therefore,. if it pleases thee, I will after gold and worldly honor and position. He loves
     get me back again." He calls the Lord his God, Nu. not God's people at all but thoroughly hates them.
     22 :18. He closes `his first discourse with the remark-        How otherwise could he even for a moment entertain
     able statement, "Let me die the death of the righteous, the thought of putting this people under the ban of
     and let my last end be like his." In his  prophetic            God. This is precisely what he woul,d  have done, if God
     trances, there proceeds from his lips utterances such as shad no.t turned his curses into a blessing. Deut. 23:5.
     these :                                                        In the true sense, he cares nothing at all about God's
           "He  bath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither bath     will but is  ,bent on  following  solely his own corrupt
            he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God        inclinations. He wants his own way, not God's. This
            is with him, and the shout of a king is among certainly is plainly evident. Though he knows that
            them."                                                  -God blesses Israel and sthat therefore this people is
           "How goodly are thy tents, 0 Jacob, and thy  taber-      blessed  in,deed,  in that, according to his-Balaam's-
            nazles,  0 Israel  !"                                   own declaration (Nu. 23  :19), "God is not a man, that
                                                                    he should lie," he yet, in the madness of his lust, in-
           Balsam  predicts the crushing of the  power  of  all     vites the messengers of Balak to remain  ,overnight,
     Israel's approximate and immediate enemies: the  Edo-          assuring them that in the night he will receive in-
     mites, the Amelekites, the Kenites, and the `Moabites,         structions from Jehovah, as if God, being, as He is,
     Nu.  34:1'7-21.  He proceeds even further than this and for His people, could possibly instruct Balsam  to curse
     predicts the ivictory  over the AssyEians and the con- th,em.  Even his  (very making known his request to


                                   T33E  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              85

God, is a terrible insult to God. Balaam thus presents all the truths symbolized by the burnt-offering. This,
in doubt, what he knows to be certain What is more, `he thinks, ought to carry weight with God. "I have
he plainly indicates to the messengers that, as far prepared", says he to the Lord, "seven  altars, and I
as he, Balaam, is concerned, there is nothing that he have offered upon every altar a `bullock and a ram."
would rather do than to curse Israel. He thus deli- But the Lord puts a word into his mouth, and. says,
berately encourages  Baiak to send other messengers, "Return unto Balak and thus shalt thou speak". (Nu.
and this though the Lord has now told him, "Thou 23 :4-6).
shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse this               "And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord
people : for they are blessed." (Nu. 2%  :12).               to bless Israel, he went not, as at other  ,times,  to seek
   `The other messengers arrive and now Balaam has enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilder-
the amazing audacity to repeat his request to God. ness"* With what purpose is not stated. Perhaps this
His deceitful heart allows him to hope that Jehovah new move represents an attempt on his part to shake
.&I at last grant him his wish. Gold is the supreme off the influence of the Spirit in order that he may speak
good with him. He asks the messengers to tarry an- as h,e pleases and curse Israel. It certainly can <betoken
other night and thus intimates that he deems it possi- no true change of heart. Whatever the reason, Balaam
ble that Jehovah will decide differently this time. The now knows definitely the will of Jehovah. If in the
Lord does not now permit but commands Balaam to go beginning he had hoped that Jehovah might allow Him-
with them. Thus the irony of divine providence goes          self to be induced to curse His people, he now sees
on,  gilving  him over to a mind devoid of  ju,dgment        that  .this hope is utterly  (vain. The statement, "And
through the lust of his heart that the measure of his        when Balaam saw that it pleased th:e Lord to bless
iniquity might be filled. There is thus no actual discre- Israel," indicates that what he all along had attempted
pancy between the command to go and the previous             is not, merely to get the Lord to allow him, Balaam, to
prohibition to remain. The prohibition was to go and curse Israel,  Ibut to induce the  Lo& to curse Israel
curse Israael and in the command to go he is still vt&rough Balsam.  Yet He would have had no olbjection
forbidden to curse. Yet, even in his going he hopes to the Lord's blessing Israel, if, in doing so, the Lord
against hope that his wish .to curse .will be granted would only have instructed Balaam to speak the word
him. His way therefore continues in increasing meat of`  h& choice-the word of cursing. This is all that
sure to be perverse before the Lord,. And so the Lord he at first may have requested. It is all that Balak
goes forth to withstand him that he may be wholly had asked of him, to wit, that he, 23aZau~, curse Israel.
without excuse. At the sight of the angel of the Lord,       The pagan king seemed to think that this would be
terror and dread overwhelm him. In his fear for his          sufficient. But the request had not been granted.
life, he confesses hhat he has sinned and expresses a "Thou shalt not curse `this people: for it is blessed"
\willingness  to go back again. But God says to him,         i.e., `I have, am, blessing it.' Balaam now must have
`{Go-with the men. Once in Balak's presence, he              reasoned  .that if he  *was to succeed in inducing the
affirms that he will speak the word that the Lord pats Lord to instruct him to curse Israel, it was necessary
into his mouth. But this cannot be cited in his'favor.       that he turn the  Lord  against His people. This he
Realizing that in himself he has no power to say any- subsequently tried  to do through his enchantments.
thing at all, and fearing that the Lord will turn his           Assuredly,  BaIaam  is perhaps  .the most despicable
cursing into a blessing, he only means to warn Balak personage to appear upon. the pages of Holy Writ.
beforehand for his, Balaam's very own safety. Balak He is the kind of a man whom we read about at Heb.
must not become angry with him, should he pre- 6:4-6, a man once  enlightend,  having  tasted of the
sently hear him blessing Israel, for "have I now any heavenly gift, made partaker of the Holy Ghost, *hav-
power at all to say anything?" Nu.  2233. Always             ing tasted <the good word of God, and the powers of
Ealaam's sole concern is what he considers to be his the  wor1.d   ,to come, and yet reprobated. Assuredly,
own well-being and safety. He thinks only of himself. we need not resort to the theory of `common grace to
   Balaam continues  to go from `bad to worse. He now explain  Balsam.  His prayer, and sacrificing, his
attempts by magical  aret, (Nu. 24  :l)-, to control the penitence and contrition, his confession and praise-
purpose of God and to induce the Lord by his enchant-        in a word,  all  *the so-called good works of the man
nyents to put into his mouth the desired word of were-and who will have the courage to deny this
cursing, and this in connection wi.th thrice seven altars -glittering sins,  an,d thus an abomination in the sight
and thrice seven oxen and seven rams which he, on as         of God.
many different occasions and in as many different                But if reprobation can go hand in hand in a man
places, orders Balak to build and to prepare him He wit,h so much that is seemingly good and admirable,
thus tries to Iwin ,Ged over for his diabolical  desi.gns    what (believer <then can be assured of his salvation.
through gifts, nay worse, through mock penitence and Let us not be confused by our study of Balsam True,'
contrition and praise of God and a mock confession of Balaam was a man of keen insight into the truth; he


   86                                                S T A N D A R D   ` B E A R E R

  was a true prophet of Go,d in the sense that God spake           onder de EdomEeten  met het zwaard uit te roeien. En
  His word through him; he was contrite, he praised te zamen met  Aibisai waren  er 18,000 van de hatelijke
 and prayed, he sacrificed and counseled with God; but             Edomieten gevallen. Van die achtien duizend versloeg
  one thing he would not .do, that is, forsake his sin-            Joab er twaalf .duizend. En de geheele achtien duizend
  mark you-forsake his sins. He continued to walk in worden  in II Sam. 8  :13  aan David toegerekend omdat
 his abominations, adding insult to injury, until finally, hij de Koning 4sraels was.
  overtaken by the judgment of C&d, he was destroyed.                 Wel, Joab kwam weder. Abisai was alreede  terug-
  His whole religion was vain, an abomination. There gekeerd. En  <toen de  rkrijgsoverste  met zijn  leger   te
 was  nolt an atom of grace-of holiness-in it. To this             Jeruzalem aankwam is  David  gaan dichten en  zingen
 man Balaam there was but one self-the wicked self. en spelen op `t melodieus instrument. Er kwam een
         But this is not written to deject the truly  penitent.    "lelie der getuigenis"..    Want  z&5 moet het  `Susan
 And it won't. But Iwe can take warning here. That a eduth" vertaald  worden.                    En de  ganxhe  kerk der
  man prays and sacrifices, goes to church and builds              eeuwen  zingt hem zijn zegezang na.
  churches, is yet no sign that he is true believer, But              Bij aandachtige  studie van  ,dezen  psalm  -merken
  his  tbringing  :forth  fruirts worthy of repentance is.         we op, dat de vervulling ervan gezocht moet in den
  The ungodly will go to church but .they will not forsake hof van Jozef.             Na het bange Golgotha zingt de
  their sins. Balaam would  ev8en go to heaven, if the             Christus  Gods  Iv,an de groote  slagen die Hij  mocht
  Lord would have him there. "Let me die the death of slaan vooral  tegen den hatelijken Esau. Want Edom
  the righteous." Indeed! But he wouldn't put away his is Ezau. En  Jezus  is Jacob.
  abominations.                                                       Bij aandachtige studie: let op die banier van vers
         Whether a man's religion-his prayers and sacrific- 6 en de bevrijding der "beminden" van vers 7: Doch
  ing, his praise and confession-is good or bad, depends lirooral de verzen 9-11 wijzen ons den weg naar Chris-
  upon the motives-the kind of heart-from  ,which it tus Triumfater.. Daar deelt Jezus het grondgebied ;
  springs. The element of motive and purpose enters in             daar juicht Hij van de van God gegevenen.
  here.                                                               Wie  denkt  niet  aan Golgotha bij  ,het lezen van vers
         In a following writing we will explain the signifi- 3 ? Messias klaagt : 0 God, Gij hadt ons verstouten,
  cance of Balaam for the people of Israel and for the             Gij hadt ons  gescheurd.  Gij zijt toornig geweest:
  church in general.                                               -keer  weder tot ons!
                                                 G. M. 0.             Toegegeven dat David hier het oog heeft op al de
                                                                   smart van de  handen  ,der Edomieten ondervonden;
                                                                   doch kan dat ooit vers  3 uitputten? Gij weet beter.
                                                                   Er is slechts een flauwe vergelijking mogelijk. Vele
                                                                   jaren later is dit vervmd  in Jezus. Daar heeft Edom
                                                                   zijn slag geslagen en zich gewroken op #Jacob. Daar is
                  De Roemende Koning                               Jezus door God ,verstooten  zooals niemand *tevoren  of
                                                                   later ooit verstooten is geweest. God heeft den Messias
                               (Psalm  60)                         van  Zich geworpen in eeuwige Godsverlatingen.  Toen
         De  hlistorische  achtergrond  `van dezen psalm  wordt    is psalm 60 gezongen in bange duisternis.         Terwi jl
, ons in bijzonderheden geschetst.            David heeft dit      Edom met flikkeren,d  zwaard rondom den kruispaal
  gouden kleinood ons nagelaten vanwege  een glansrij!ke           scheurde en verbrijzelde.      De verzenen van Jacob
  overwinning op zijn vijanden.. Wij mogen zelfs spreken werden Iverbrijzeld. Edom had zijn dag.
  van overwinningen, in het meervoud, Hij was naar het                Doch  het was de Drieeenige God die a-hter  Edom
  Noorden en naar het  Westen  getogen om de  Syriers  te stond. Dat  beseft  David en dat weet  .Jezus.  Daarom
  slaan. Ook had  .de  [Heere   di.t vijandige volk  in'zijn zegt hij : Gij hadt ons gescheurd ; Gij zijt toornig ge-
  hand gegeven. De slag was geslagen tegen die lfijan:             weest! 0 die toorn van God"! David ervoer er iets
  den van Damascus af tot aan de groate rivier Eufraat van.               Jezus heeft met  .den last van dien  t,oorn   ge-
  toe. Doch terwijl David zijn slag sloeg in het Noorden wdrsteld, .doch lvoelde  zich weggedrukt iot in de diep-
  en in ,het Westen waren  de Edomieten verraderlijk van ten, de peillooze diepten der eeuwen eeuwigheden ! Daar
  uit het zuiden  in het ontrbloote  land gevallen  en hadden      behaagde het de Heere Hem te verbrijzelen.  Doch
  vreeselijk huisgehouden onder de vrouwen, kin,deren              vanuit  :die diepten hebben wij een stihreeuw  gehoord.
  en oude menschen. Smartelijk klaagt Davi'd daarvan Die schreeuw begint zooals deze psalm : 0 God !
  in de verzen 3-5.         Oogenblikkelijk had David zijn             Nooit heeft  Jezus  nagelaten om  .te smeeken  to.t
  ,fiwee   krijgsolversten  Joab en Abisai met een sterk Zijn God.  Mocht Hij Hem niet  langer  Zijn Vader
  leger en met  versnel,de  pas naar het Zuiden gezonden. noemen, dan zal Hij  coepen  tot Zijn God. De ervaring,
  En in het Zoutdal had Joab groote wraak genomen.                 de zoete ervaring van een  VadersZoon   te zijn moest
  Hij bleef er zes  maanden  om al  mat  mannelijk  was Hij derven: gelijkk  de groote Vreemdeling van Galilea


*-     `_     -     -     --     -    c.  .r*  _=-*=$/sTTII.E    S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         89

                                                                             th,e Christians that they must be "good stewards of
The Doctrine of Christian Stewardship the manifold grace of God?.
                                                                                Bince our article deals with  CJtrist&~n Stewardship
                                                                             we must naturally view this question solely and only
      In the category of Christian  ,doctrines  that of from the view point of the Christian an.d his specific
Christian Stewardship is not the most difficult to ap- /calling as  such. But in passing let it be said that
prehend mentally. In no way does it require mental                           not only the believer, but the unbeliever as well, is
eserti,on  to understand its fundamental principles. diivinely  called and charged to be God's steward. Re-
Neither does it require a genius to comprehend its gardless of man being righ4teous  or wicked, reprobate
practical significance and exercise.  H'owever,   sim,ple                    or elect his calling is that of steward.
though this doctrine may Ibe, I cannot think of another                         True stewardship always presupposes that there is
doctrine which is wider in scope and involves a greater a lord who entrusts in the hands of one of his ser-
portion of our Christian life.                                               vants this business, with the injunction that said ser-
      :Christian  stewardship is so wide in scope that it nrant must manage the same to the profit of his lord
completely covers our entire relation with respect to T!he same holds true when we speak of man being a
Gad, to man, to the world, to time and  .to eternity and steward of God. God is the Lord who has entrusted.into
to our very selves. It is the mainspring of our whole                        the hands of man the government, the management of
life. When, therefore, the sense of stewardship is (God's own house to the glory of God Himself; This
lacking the possible good which man can do is nil, for house of God is the entire worl,d with all that it Icon-
its absence makes us self-willed, self-indulgent, self-                      tains. Since stewardship emphasizes that the entire
asserting, God-forgetting. When, on the other hand, its business or house belongs to the lord, so  Itoo, with
sense is present and we feel our responsibility to it our respect to man's stewardship in reIation  to God, every-
entire life becomes God-centered.                                            thing in God's <house lbelongs  positively to God alone.
      Stewardship is the Christian's world and life view Ln the whole world there is nothing that man can claim
in a nutshell. It answers all questions with respect to as his own.' The whole realm of nature and all that
government  capiltal  and labor, Church and the world,                       it produces is  IGod's. This, too, is  $rue of  ,man himself.
home-life and that in public, property and charity, All that man is and can produce belongs to God. Man
and many other relative questions. For an example,                           with  lhis body, time and talents, as well as his food
athe ,very  spectre  of Communism troubling every nation and raiment are the sole property of God the Lord.
of the world to-day finds its root and development in                           How could this be different? Did not God will and
the denial of stewardship. The struggle of capital and gifve to every creature, great and sma'll,  a place and
labor is caused by the  rich and poor alike, both deny-                      purpose in His divine plan of all things. Were they
ing that they are stewards. Thus, in  .the life of the                       nat all brought forth by the Word of God "Who calls
Church, the much debated question of New Testament t,he things that are not as if they were?" Is not man
tithing, as well as the ever troublesome question of himself the product of God's own making, curiously
good works and their merits are solved by  .the correct wrought i)n the image of the Creator who is blessed
conception of stewardship. In like manner we could forever? And is not every creature  uphe1.d by the
go on, naming the one problem after the other, all (power of God's providence so that Ithereby  they con-
fin.ding their solution in man being a steward.                              tinue to exist? But by confessing all this, all has ndt
      The word "steward" is very indicative of what is been said ! To this Scripture adds : "and unto Him are
implied $y its concept. The word is derived from the                         all things". Every creature must perform .His will,
Anglo-Saxon, "etigweard", composed of two words :                            every tongue must sing His praise, for the purpose of
3`stig", meaning, house, hall or sty  ;  an,d  "weard" all things is the #eternal  praise and glory of God Who is
meaning: ward or guard.. Hence a steward is one who most blessed forever.
has been placed over a house with the very purpose                               In the midst of this glorious creation God placed
of keeping and guarding it. This, too,  .is the exact man as king, as steward. God bestows on man the
meaning of both the Hebrew and Greek words, em- task of utilizing all things  to the glory of God. For
ployed by Scripture, .denoting  stewardship. Literally this reason ,God had endued man (with greater gifts
the words could be translated : "house-managers".                            than any other earthly creature, creating him in the
Stewardship is, therefore,  lthe management of another's very image of God himself that man might be the
business, property or other affairs.                                         keystone in that divinely wrought arch which unites
      In the study of God's Word we find that Scripture all creation with its Creator. As  sach man became the
continually emphasizes that man is God's steward. ward, the  Ikeeper, the house-manager of God's earthly
We find this idea in many parables of Jesus, such as                         creation.
Of: The Pounds, The Talents, The Unjust Steward and                              Due to sin man did not abide in thlis glorious state
I'he Unprofitable  Servants. Thus Peter, too, reminds                        w,hereia  God had created him., Through the corruption.


90                                     T'HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

and depravity of man he {becomes a slave of the de,%1 ;        privilege itself would be sufficient reward.  How much
and the execution of the stewardship becomes im-               more so  #when the God of heaven and earth calls us to
possible. Fallen man can only serve sin, hate God and          be His  ,stewar,ds,'  laborers together  with Him!  In
use all that which is of God to despise and rejeat the         heaven nor on earth is there a greater joy and a more
glorious Creator. Spiritually man becomes a Com- glorious privilege; and the privilege as such is a  suei-
munist, shrieking in the face aof God, Who owns all            cient reward in itself.
things, "Property is theft". Making God a thief  an'd             For us as Christian stewards, being wards 02
trying to tear all things from the hands of God man ,God's house, wherein all ,is of God and wherein all is
.div,ides  &d's entire creation among his fellow rebels. fv~ God, our duty becomes  {very evident. In the home
Among fallen man there is no room for stewardship,             and *by the way, in Church or in &he worl,d,  in our work
and therefore, try as the w.orld  may, all their treat:es      or in our play, in our keeping and giving, it is no
of peace, governing boundaries and ,resources,  will on!y      longer a question of what is God's portion and what
result in more and greater wars. Man who robs God              is ours? There is absolutely no sphere in life where
and  <divides   i%ie spoils among his fellow rebels shall      we can apportion the things between God and our-
tnever  find peace.                                            selves. The truth is: ALL IS GODS.  Ali1 that we are
      Stewardship, as ordained by God, is, however, not with heart and soul mind and body, with food and
lost by  sm. Sin never  aliters any  *decree  or ordinance raiment, in life and in death is  Go&S.  Everything
of God. Though man through sin has so deeply fallen which we can see, feel and touch in the world about us
that it is impossible to be stewards of God, God, in           is God's Today is God's, tomorrow also. The  `war
Christ, through grace changes the hearts of those is God's, peace also, The battlefield is God's, the home
whom  ,He has  eter,nally  chosen to be His stewards.          is too. Our cradle is God's and so is our grave.
Thus God maintains  ,the calling to and the possibility        Therefore in all things we may seek only one, and
of the stewardship in His own people. And not only that is God. And wherever we are and whatever we
is the stewardship maintained, but in Christ it is             d,o it must  Ibe done faithfully as good stewards of
raised to'a much higher plane, for the Christialn be- God, that all glory may be His, now and forever.
comes a steward of heavenly treasures. Through                    This also solves the question of what we may
,Christ everything, prosperity and adIversity,  joy and and may not do. For as stewards it is not lthe question
sorrow, good and evil becomes a heavenly treasure for of what we may do, but of what we mu& do. All mu&
i.n them and through them we are heaven-bound.                 be to  Go& to His glory and praise forevermore. .Never
      Thus the stewardship of the Christian is not a may we seek ourseltves,  always must we seek God.
burden but a pleasure. A pleasure, not rooted in the              And the reward? Yes, there shall  .be a reward; but
mistaken notion that we can now do something for not of merit on our part, but the reward of grace in
d2od, who did so much for us, and who sorely needs             Christ. I-Ze merited for us the right of the steward-
our help. No; true, faXi& stewardship is rooted in ship as well as the grace and strength for its execution.
gratitude and love. How could we ever do anything for Therefore, stewardship as  well as the  grace  an,d
God? Is not all that we are and do dependent on the            strength for its execution. Therefore, the steward
fact that God first gives it to us so that we can return       shall have a reward . . . but of grace for grace. And
the same to Him? It should always be borne in mind             in the measure  *that we have been faithful, in that
that God is infinite and, therefore, self-sufficient. How measure, too, shall be the reward; for God is faithful
can man or any other being add to Him who is &less             and just. Therefore, Christ says: "Blessed are those
in all His glorious virtues of wisdom, power,  know-           servants Iwhom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find
*ledge,  bliss and life? Stewardship is the fruit of God's     watching. Verily, I say unto you, that he shall gird
own work in us, the work of redemption in Christ               himself., and make them sit down at meat, and will
whereby we have been saved from so great a death came forth and serve them"; for we shall hear our
and  have received the glorious life of the sons of Lor,d say: "Well ,done, thou good and faithful servant,
God, whereby Ctid  Himself has shed abroad His love            enter &thou  into the joy of thy Lord",
in our hearts, from  wlhich  principle  the Christian now                                                  A. C.
lives and labors.
      Stewardship is, therefore, a privilege given by  Gfid
to us for ,our eternal joy and pleasure. What greater
joy and honor can any creature receive than that the
all-glorious Creator, who needs no help, stoops so law                Trust not in man who soon must die,
as to permit us to become laborers together with Him !
How elated and over-joyed we would Ibe if we .would                   But on rthe living God rely ;
personally be called by the President to become laborers              Moat blest the man w,hose .help is `He        '
tog&her   with him in the affairs of the nation; the                  That made the  heaven..and  earth and sea.


                                   TlHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             91

                                                             dance and Catechism attendance woul,d  be on Ithe same
       Doctrinal Instruction and The                         level. I have heard more than once from some of .our
                                                             own people that they would look upon such system as
                    Christian School                         a happy solution to !the whole School problem. It is
                                                             said: let us put the practical difficulties out of the
   When one writes an essay on the subject "Doctri- way, make Church-schools, and make it compulsory
nal Instruction and the Christian School," one will un- for our people to send their children to our own
doubtedly be guided by his conception of the main and Schools. In that way, it is said, we play safe. Usually
fandamental   purpos,e of the Christian  Sch,ool. You t,hey  ad,d : "In our own Schools our ,children could and
must have definite convictions on questions such as should be indoctrinated in the Prot. Ref.  doat:rine."
these : "Is the Christian School an extension of the And 1 agree that if Church-schools is the i,deal thing
home or is it an extension of *t.he  Church? Does the by  all means let the School indoctrinate our children.
School find its origin in nature or in grace? Is the         Hawever, things are not as simple as they may seem
School earthly or is it heavenly? Does it deal direct- at first glance. To mention one thing, if we want to be
ly and principally with matters spiritual or temporal? consistent a Church-school certainly should by all
Is it a God appointed institution or is it an institution means use instructors that are office-bearers. Conse-  ~
of man?" etc. On t,he other hand it seems to me that quently, out go all our' girls, and out go most of our
it would make consi,derable  difference whether a Ro- men teachers. Hence, from a practical point of Iview
man Catholic, a Lutheran, or  8 Reformed man would it is well nigh impossible to have a School that is in
write on the above  sutbject.  We  all know  &hat both       every respect a Church-school.
the Roman Catholics. and the Lutherans are strongly             However; there is still more, the idea of a Church-
in favor of parochial schools. But then such parochial school is fundamentally and principally wrong. We all
`schools are really extensions of their own churches agree of course that there exists and should exist a
and confined to a particular parish. It seems to be the close relation between Home, Church and  School-
contention of the Roman Catholics and the orthodox training. It is even so that the training by the IHome,
Lutherans that the School is first of all the business       Church and School is overlapping in some  respeots.
of the Church. If t.heir conltention  is correct it stands But it is equally true that :the School is not an extension
to reason that the School should be sponsored, guided, of the Church but of the Home. The School does not
controlled by the Church.. Then the Church is really fmd i*ts origin in grace but in nature. The aim of the
duty bound to giive the children their elementary train- Church is that its members, young and old, grow in
ing. And  !the parents who are members of such a lthe knowledge and grace of Christ, the principle aim
Church are duty bound to send their children to such of the School is to prepare our children for their .place
a Church-school.                                             in this earthly, temporal life. The Church aims at the
   There are also people, even many that call them- world that is to come, the School prepares the children
selves Reformed, who claim  Ithat the elementary educa- first of all for their place in this  world and for  ,t.he
tion is first of all a matter of  ,t.he State. Consequently various spheres of life in this present world.
they have' their children instructed in the Public              For all the above mentioned reasons we can not
School.  I add immediately however that the conception favor a Church-school. Of course it stands to reason
,that the State must instruct our children is not at all that the Church is Ivitally  interested- in the elementary
Reformed.. True, the State certainly is interested in education of its ,covenant  children, but that does not
its citizens and can not very well condone illiteracy of mean that this is the &sk of the Cliu.rch.  And I am
its citizens. Hence, it stands to reason that ,the Stafte    positive that even the only Prot. Ref. School which
should by all means encourage, even demand that our          we have in our denomination is in that sense of the
children receive elementary training. But it does not word not a Church-school. The idea of a Church-
at;  all follow from the foregoing that it is directly school may sound  Ito be a happy solution to our Chris-
the business of the State to educate its citizens.           tian  Scheol  problem, but it is fundamentally wrong, it
   But how about the Church then? Quite often one            is not at all Reformed but it is essentially Roman
`comes  into contact with Reformed people, including ,Catholicism.  The School is the extension of the home.
some Prot. Ref. people, who would favor a Church-            And it is the calling of the home, of (the parents, to
`school.  It stands to reason if we had a `Church-s,chool    prepare their children for their future life in this
the Church would say to its members: "You must w,orld.  And to that end they make use of the means
send your chil.dren 1t.o our School".. In other words it of  ,the School to help them in their atask. The School is
IWould become compulsory  %or the  chil.dren of  t,he        a practical necessity. Today we can not do without
Church to  alttend  such a Church-school. And to be it. But the  pawnts  should sponsor the School, control
negligent in this respect would make the parents im- the School, in other words it is  the& School. And this
mediately subject to discipline. For then School  ataten-    Reformed principle we must maintain.


92                                    T*HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

      Naturally, the parents  wil,l by all means endeavor Itian School. It would be better of course Ito speak of
to send their children to such a School *which can be "Reformed  Sch,ool." Water does not rise higher than
of the greatest assistance to them tto train and edu-          its suurce,  rtherefore  the spiritual quality of a Chris-
cate their children. That's why Reformed  parenits             tian School can not in the final analysis be any better
who fully understand their covenant obligation toward than the parents who support and control it.
their  children will send their children to a School that         In the second place we need men and women that
`is based upon the  principIes  of the Reformed faith.         are thoroughly  #trained  in the Reformed doctrine,  (that
And i&he purpose  is not to have .their children instructed &love the Reformed doctrine and are able to base their
in the Reformed doctrine, that is the special preroga- teaching upon the Reformed truth.
tive of the Church, bat to have their children instruct-          Naturally we all realize that we are far away from
ed by teachers that have a Reformed world and life-            this ideal. And  ilt is also a fact  that we need more Re-
vierw. From the foregcring'iit  also follows of necessity formed people and more Reformed teachers if  `we
,:hat we must come to the conclusion that doctrinal  in- are ever even remotely to approach the ideal.
stru&ion  is not the business of the Christian School.            In &sing let me say that to my mind we  shouI,d en-
The Church teaches  dodtrine, and although the School courage our children, who have the  albility  and the in-
teaches Biblical history, the subject of Reformed doc- clination, to study for the (teaching profession. Not for
trine has no place on the curriculum of the School.            the money that is in it, but for principles sake. A
Doctrine is and must be taught our children by the thorough Reformed teacher is privileged to implant
Church and thrti  the office. You may never make of abiding principles into the hearts and minds of our
the Chrisitian School a broader Catechism class. This coven& children.
is a point well to remember, particularly for us Prot.            Finally, in view of the foregoing I would strongly
`Ref. people. .At present, and I am sure also for the          encourage our young people who study for the teaching
future, most of our people will have to send their profession, or who perhaps are teaching at present,
ch3dren  to a Christian School which is predominankly          to see to it that they thoroughly master  the Reformed
Christian Reformed. However, we should insist that             doctrine. This could be done perhaps by  foIlowing
also in our present Christian Schools no doctrine shall special doctrinal course in our Pre-seminary School.
be taught.                                                     I am sure that they would be more than bwelcome, and
      But let no one draw the wrong conclusion. All special-arrangements  co&d be made for this purpose.
the foregoing does not mean (that the teaching in our Affter  all the Prot.  Ref. conception of the truth is truly
Christian Schools has  n&hing  to do with doctrine. Reformed.
It most certainly has. The teaching of the various                Therefore, we conclude  ithat the ideal Christian
suibjects is based upon doctrine. The School must and School is based upon the foundation of the Reformed
does apply the principles of doctrine. If this  .were          doctrine, although the School  iitself   .does not teach
not so our  ,Christian  Schools would be of no use what- doctrine as a subject,
ever. Christian educaition  is not colorless and tasteless,                                                       J. D.
iwithout  form and lines and principles, {but it is root-
ed in the fear of the Lord. And  lthe spiritual quality of
your teaching depends upon the doctrinal conceptions
and convictions of  rt.he teacher. A Reformed teacher                                IN MEMORIAM
will base his, iteaching  in every branch of study upon
the Reformed doctrine. And this of course will have                De Hollansche Vrouwen  V.ereeniging  van de Fuller Ave.
tremendous consequences for his teaching, it will color Protestantsche Gereformeerde Kerk betreurt het verlies van
it. As the humanist  and the evolutionist in the Public een haren  leden  welke de Heere tot  zich nam om zijn naam
School  necessarily teaches everything in the light of g-root te  maken
his philosophy, so the Reformed teacher teaches every                              MXS. JENNIE HANK0
branch of study in  &he light of his Reformed princi-
ples and convictions. After all doctrine, false or true, in den ouderdom van bijna 70 jaar. En hoewel zij door veel
determines -the religious character of all the instruc- Iijden onze vereeniging niet bij kon wonen,  steunde zij die altijd
tion, of tie life and the discipline in the School.            met haare gaven.
      Therefore, what we need in our present day Chris-            Moge de Heere ons allen  alzoo voorbereiden voor de groote
Itian Schools is not more teaching of  ,doctrine  or the eeuwigheid die aanstaande is om met haar den Heere  g-root
introducfion of the subject doctrine on the curriculum. te  maken.
But  what we need is Reformed people who are Re-
formed  ito the core, Reformed in conviction, under-                                           Namens de Vereeaiging
standing, loving and living the Reformed truth. That                                             Miss W. Woudenberg, Pres.
                                                                                     >
 is  first of all really the backbone of a good Chris-                                           Mrs. Cammenga, Sec.
                                                                                     ..d  -


                                    T*H'E   S,TANDARD   ,BEARER                                                    93

                                                             mines cthe game through us, in the other we fail to put
  Games of Skill and Games of Chance                         forth any effort of ,our own and Gad determines the
                                                             game without us.
   Such is the difficult though timely  subject assigned        This does not mean, however, that every game is
to  US for this article. We say, difficult, because it is solely a game of skill or  wholIy a game of  chanca
a subject which, with all  irts related questions, has For taking notice of the various games played today,
occasioned much contention in the past and concerning we soon discover that some of the games consist of an
which there is much difference of opinion even today. element of both, chance and skill. Think, for instance,
And we add that it is timely, because our task as we of the card-game. The outcome of the game depends
see it is not merely to bring  out the difference be- not only on our abi.lity and intellectual acumen, but
tween games `of skill and games of chance, ,bnt also to also and largely so on the cards one receives to begin
ascertain as to whether or not these games should wi1t.h.  LHence it is not only a game of skill, but also
have a place in our lives, and if so, to paint out how of chance. And such games (there  are many today.
(large a place this should be. This we regard to be very In reality, therefore, there are three kinds of games:
filtting  and necessary, especially today. For no one games of skill, games of chance, and games of skill and
can deny that we live in a pleasure-mad world, a world chance.
which is  charaoterized  by  superficiahty  and  worldly-       What must be t,he Christian's attitude toward these
mindedness, and in which there is lack of  spirituallity     games ? In answering this question  iwe do  *well to
and knowledge of the truth. And living in such a Ifir& answer the question, whether at all we shou1.d
world,  we'as Christians are tempted to go along with play any game. For there have always been those in
the  stream and thus lose our distinctiveness in our the past, and there are still a few today, who maintain
~amusements.    Hence the need that with a view to these that life is so serious that we should always work and
we learn to see the boundary line more clearly, and never play. The question therefore arises: are games
that ever again we be reminded of our peculiar calling, as such sinful? In answer to this question, we should
so that also in our games and entertainments we may bear in mind first of all, that diversion, recreation and
truly be a different people.                                 a change of occupation, either mental or physical, is
   In answering the question, what the difference is simply necessitated by a law of human nature. Both
between games of skill and games of chance, we would the body and the mind become exhausted through being
say in !the tist place, that the difference is not this, constantly and for any length of time busy at the
that in games of skill we determine the outcome, while same task. We crave for ,a change and except this
in games of chance the outcome is determined by mere chan,ge be had, life becomes a continual grind and we
chance of fortune. Such is the difference according are  nat fit for our calling. And then, too, it should
to some. The outcome in games of skill then depends not escape our attention, that Scripture itself informs
on our own ingenuity and effort, but in games of us, that the *saints of old often made mirth, played,
chance  it depends on fortune or good luck. But in leaped and danced for joy;  aed that wise Solomon
reality there is no such entity as chance or fortune. spurs us on Cto rejoice and be glad in the days of our
For it is God Who rules over all, and Who determines youth. Therefore we may safely conclude that the
the end of all, also the end of lthe game of chance. He playing of game as such is not sinful, and that  recrea-
directs the turn of the wheel the fall of the cards and It,ion  and amusement can be either good or bad. The
ithe cast of the dice. Actually, therefore, there are no question whether they are good or evil, all depends
games of chance, and it surely cannot be said in rtruth, on the content we give them. Time and place, measure
that in so-called games of chance mere fortune or and means our aim and purpose ;  all these determine
chance determines the outcome. Nor will the distinc- the character of our play.
tion hold that in games of skill we determine the end,          But then how about games of skill and games of
while in games of chance it is determined by God. For chance? Also here God's Word must be our only
God's providence overrules even our skill and ingenuity, guide. And turning  to that Word we  r,ead  in I Cor.
as also every move we make and each step we Itake.           10:31: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or what-
,God,  therefore, deci,des  the outcome both in games of soever ye do, do all to the glory of God." If we bear
skill and in games of chance. He does so,. however, this principle in mind, namely, that our entire life
with this difference: in games of skill we are act&e,        must be to the glory of God, it will not be difficult to
in games of chance we are passive ; in `the former we settle the question as to proper and sinful game& For
are co-workers with Him and we employ every means according to this principle also our games and amuse-
at our disposal to win the game, in the latter we are ments must be to God's glory. This. means that lthe
inactive and to obtain the coveted prize we rely upon come& of our games must not be in conflict with.God's
the fall of the cards and the cast of the dice; in the law, so that the playing of these games would be  God-
one we exercise our God-given ability and God deter-         dishonoring. Nor may they be empty and (vain, so that


94                                    TlHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

God receives no glory and  `we ourselves derive no happens that he responds  with passions of anger and
benefit.    Insteard they must be in harmony with the disappointment, and not infrequently it is seen that
law of God and their nature must *be such, that they the things  to which men sold their souls lead  ithem to
serve to equip us and make us fit for life's task, namely,    suicide. Hence all games of chance we must shun and
i:o glorify our God. Turning again to the Word of only games of skill may halve *a place among us.
,God, we find that in Ephesians 5 :16, we are exhonted           Secondly, however, we should use discretion even
to redeem the time. This certainly implies, that we           in choosing our games of skill. For not all games of
must not only use every moment of our lives to glorify skill can afford Christian entertainment. Dancing is
God, butt above all, that with a view to God's glory and      sometimes also called a game, and surely it is not a
our own edification, we must use every moment in game of chance, yet to panticipate would be a grievous
the best possible way. The question for us in general sin. Nor are all proper games of skill of the same
is therefore not: what do I like best? Nor  sho,uld  it order. One is more edifying and constructive than
be : what pays best? And awith a view to games and            another. And since we are to gl,orify  God also in our
amusements, the question is not: whet is most enter- amusements and are to redeem the time, we should
taining and thrilling? Nor should it ever be: what choose those games which gIorify Him most and serve
is most to my liking? But always and everywhere to prepare us best  to glorify Him more.
Ithe question must be : how and where can I best glorify         Finally, even these proper and best games of skill
<God. And how can I best prepare myself, so as to             should have (but a small place in our lives. True, a?
be able to do such in an ever greater measure.                such they are not sinful, sometimes they are necessary,
      With this in mind we may draw the following con- and often they prove to be refreshing and beneficial.
clusions. Firstly, that we should play only games of Yet even so, games should be a secondary matter. For
skill. I Games of chance should have no place in our          redeeming the time we must seek God's highest glory,
lives at  *all. If for any reason, then surely for the        and there are many other ways in which this is more
reason that the .more  serious-minded of God's people easily and  fbetter  attained. Therefore it is a saddening
in  the past have always opposed these games. True, sign if, when families and friends are together, *they
they were no& always, able to detect and expose the eviil     know of nothing better than rto spend an entire evening
of these games, but nevertheless they felt that games playing games, regardless whether these be games of
of chance  ,shouId  *be shunned by the Christian. This skill or games of chance. It reveals that their spiritual
general attitude of God's people, as also the fact tha: life is at law ebb and that to them  s;pir&ual  things
indulgence in these games is always on the increase           are not worthy of discussion. And the deplorable fact
in times of  superficiahty  and worldly-mindedness and is, it will become worse still, for they seek to feed
that  it is generally the less serious who indulge in their souls with husks. Let us  ithen beware to put
them, should have something to say to us. It would            first things first.
surely be the height of @once& on our part to indulge            The result will then be: amusement problems we
,in that which the more since in the past, who were will not present since we have none, the antithesis Ibe-
also led by the Spirit of God, condemned.                     tween light and darkness will be clearly seen and peace
      Moreover, games of chance are also a gross waste .wXh  God  w.ill be a daily experience.
 of very precious time. They require no skill,  iatel-           The conclusion of the whole matter is therefore
lectual acumen or physical adroitness, so that  lthe this : No games of chance at all. Only proper games of
result is, we ourselves derive no benefit, nor does God skill. And these at the proper time. How true are
receive any glory.. They are empty and vain. This is then the words of Jes,us "Straight is the gate, narrov
also evident from the fact, that those indulging in is the way, and few there be that find it"..
them soon become superfiicial  and mind only tie things                                                    P. v.
bi-hat are seen. Rut w'hat is even worse, they are a dis-
honor to God. For God has created man to rule as
king over the works of His hands, and He has there-
unto endowed him with the necessary talents and
ability. But in games of chance, man willingly abdi-
cates and subjects himself to the (things to attain his                   Tho' troubles assail,
goal. He r.efuses .to earn his possessions -by earnest                    And dangers aff right ;
effort and to rule over the things round about him.                       Tho' friends should all fail,
Instead he se& his soul to the things which he' plays                     And foes all unite':
#and looks to  hhem to determine the end. And the re-                     Yet one thing secures us,
sult is, man who was  crated to be king, has become a                     Whatever betide  ;
slave. For in slavish fear he watches the turn of the                     The Scripture assures us,
wheel and the distributing of the ~cards, And it often                    The Lord will provide.


                                      TcHE  STAND.&&D   B E A R E R                                                 95

                                                                they also had choirs. And, as mentioned, they found
          The Choir In Public Worship                           their places in public worship, and perhaps almost
                                                                exclusively. Time and again we read that they sang
   Singing is a prominent part of our Divine worship.           praises in the house of  (the Lord. David evidently
It also finds a <place  in the `daily life of the christian.    had many choirs totailing the large number of 4000
Many a song is sung by God's children in their homes,           singers. These various choirs had leaders as to be
and `many a soul loves to utter itself in this manner. expedted of whom some cwere Jeduthun, Heman, Ger-
In our Divine  <worship  it certainly is an integral pant.      shon, Kohath,  Asaph and Merari. These names often
The redeemed child of God immediately feels  /that his          are mentioned in'  :the.prologues  of many psalms from
serving God would be incomplete without it. Wow our             which it seems that  Davi,d   wrote many psalms  * in
older members love `those Holland psalms ! And I'm order that they could be sung by these choirs.
sure that the Psalter finds as much favor with many                No different has it been in the N. T. since the
of us.                                                          age of reveldtion.  Singing at all times was a part of
   This  [truth certainly is not a phenomenon. God              the  cworship of God also in the form of choirs. Men
has made us to sing.  Not only has He created us                like Chrysosltom,  Ambrose, Ephraem Syrus, and Igan- ,,
with a mouth by which we can speak and sing, but has tius are mentioned in connection w5th the history of
given it as a means for the soul to titer itself. Such          singing in the church. Some raised strong opposition
the soul of the redeemed child of God does too. Re- against the songs of the heretics tithers put songs in
joicing  *in the deliverance from sin, in being a panti-        rhythm, and still others at that time already strongly
*zipant of ithat marvelous grace and love of God it must        opposed all hymnolgy in the church and defended
speak, and does so in this asthetic  way by means of psalmody. The first  ,Council of  Braga (353 A. D.)
song and praise. In heaven there certainly will be              even expressly forbade the use of any human compo-
much singing. The saints worship by means of sing- sition in public worship. Nothing was permitted ex-
ing, according to,the book of Revelation. And how often         cept the psalms and hymns of the Old and New
don% we sead of the angels singing unto the most                Testament. But interesting  irt is that choirs at that
High ?                                                          time  aIready were used in public worship, and thalt
   The purpose of  ithis article, however, is to show cthey went hand in hand  with the song worship of
how we must do that, or how not. The question be- the church.. In the Greek and Latin churches singing
fore which we are placed is not whether it should `be           has been restrioted to the choir and the clergy from
hymnology or psalmody but whether it should be the 6th century unto our #very  day. In the eve of the
done by the congregation itself or by a choir. Should           Reformation, choir singing in public worship seems to
the choir in public mwship be recommended and per- have been very prevalent, even to the extent that irt
mitted, or condemned? As Prot. Ref. Churches we general was the only form of singing in  .the Divine
condemn such. We must have nothing of it. Bat services. But also in respedt ,to this the Reformation
why? 0 it's so easy to condemn such and claim it to brought kremendous changes. The credit for this must
be erroneous, but why? Or do we forbid it a place               b.e given first of all to Martin Luther. Luther  w.as
among `us merely because it is found in the modern the man who  openIy  and seriously condemned the
and  superficial:,churches  of our day? Do *we not en- choir in public worship and brought singing back to 2he
joy the singing of a good choir? I'm sure most of congregation: And Calvin built upon this foundation.
                                                                Not only did he also oppose  !the choir, but he also
US  do. Suppose once  ithat the choir of Dr. Fuller of
Los  Angeles  wouId  sing some of our psalter numbers.          rooted out all hymnology in Divine worship and in-
I'm sure we'd all think  irt to be wonderful. Why do            troduced  psahnody,. And is was during the time of
?ve then deny such choir worship in the church?                 Calvin and through his influence that the composition
   Let us first turn .to Scripture. From it, it is evident of the rhythm and notes of many psalms itook  place.
that music has always had a place with God's people.            In the  Du@h language this work was not completed
Singing was done bolth /by the people and the choir, and until `many years later.
mark you by the choir in public worship. The Israel-               The exponents of the choir in public worship
ites sang songs unto  lJehovah   after the deliverance allways  were many. It is also quite natural thab they
thru the Red Sea, we read of the song of Deborah sang hymns almost exclusively. Result was that ,the
and Barak, much singing was done by the great Reformed Church of Ithe Netherlands also found her-
musician David, and also by his contemporaries. And self placed before this question. She, as we may
SO  we can go on. We read of such in connection with            know, pitted herself against this form of liturgy, and
the angels in the fiel,ds of Efratha, Ithe N. T. church,        strongly defended the views of  Luther and Calvin.
&he saints in heaven praise Him who is worthy to This position was also taken by the Synod of Dordt.
open the book, and sing the song of Moses and the               And what about  lthe choir in public worship since
Lamb. But during the time of David and other kings that time? The best and shortest answer I can give


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96                                    T+$E  S T A N D A R D  BEAREIt

is that history has repeated ,itself time an.d again. No service remarks are made: wasn't that singing just
different is It in our day. The situations in our day wonderful, or some criticism is given. Butt #the one pur.
are no different then those of the leaders of the            pose of singing has been  lost. Our forefathers felt this
Reformation.                                                 very keenly too; even to %he extent that e*ery  organ-
      In respect to this matter, history teaches us some- player, who atempted  to display something ex,traordi-
thing in very `plain #terms.  In the first place -that the nary or exceptional ability was immediately forbidden
,conselrv;ative  church has always opposed  `choir sing- all playing. And in passing we can remark that we
ing in public worship.  But in the second place that ,do well to keep this in mind when listening  :lo any
the first step to choir worship is  hymnology in the singing or any other kind of choir. Isn't it always our
church. These are facts and .therefore  not to be denied. first inclination to {take  particuIar  notice of the singers,
      The  quesition, however, that arises is: what is the harmony, etc., and pay no or little attention to
wrong with this. form of worship from the view point the words and our worship of God by means of them?
of principle? For wthat principle reasons do we op,pose      I'm sure no can deny this.
it? Negatively,  centainly not because the choir at-             One  westion however, to my mind can still he
tempts to beautify Ithe singing of the songs we sin.g.       raised.. What about the choirs of the 0. T.? To be
Harmony and the singing of different parts certainly sure we can't just brush them aside.  .Fact is that
is proper. We should keep that in mind with our as mentioned, they did sing in public worship, in
congregational singing too. At some times and some the house of the Lord, and as it seems ,to me l&hey only.
places 3. is very poor, and therefore could and should I can't find a passage in Scripture  (that speaks of
be improved upon. Our very form of worship must the people doing such. To this question  I think
be to the best of our ability. God is a God of ,harmony      there is only one answer, and a very proper one. It
and order. In heaven the singing will be perfect,            is quite evident from the related passages that all
with perfect harmony and beauty. Such singing we the choir singers of the commonwealth of Israel `were
never hear nor will hear on earth. The shepherds near taken from the tribe of Levi. I Chr. 24 ;5 ; 15 ;16 ; 25;
Bethlehem heard a little of it and how  :they were Ezra 2 :41; Neh. 7:44. The singers were thus taken
,enraptured.  and fascinated.                                from the Levitical  tribe as well as the priests and other
      But positively, we oppose the choir in public wor- workers in the house of lthe Lord. And like the priests
ship exactly because they bring  ,this very thing to         represented the congregation in their service, so the
the extreme. All people are not good singers. Some           singers represented them with this form of worship.
members are very poor singers and mona:ones  some- It is natural then that the N. T. brin,gs about a change.
times are not a few. Therefore the exponents of the We have all become prophets, priests and kings. Now
choir worship {believe in picking out the best singers       we all worship in the house of the Lord, live with God
in order that they may sing their songs in the mos';         in the new and more blessed communion, the tabernacle
beautiful way according to their ability. The results,        of God is with men in principle, and therefore we
however, are evident: (1) That the singing is taken all sing. We all must sing. The choir is entirely oat
away from  #the congregation, to whom it has been of place. And the  church  of the N.  T.  ,continued
given. .Singing is part of the ,worship of the congre-        daily with one accord in the temple ,and breaking
gation; so ih has been and will be in heaven. It is a bread from house to house, did eat their meat with
.God given means by which the soul can utter itself.         gladness and singleness of heart,  praising  God and
Singing is one form of audible response of the soul ?ha.:    having fav.our  with all the people.
has been redeemed from  bhe depths of misery and                                                        '          J. B.
tasted of that marvelous redemptive grace of  God..
How proper singing is for him ! He must sing and
loves to do so. But ,what a poor soul who is deprived
of such actions in public worship, and must k&en to
some one else do so, here  #the choir. (2) The second                                   IN  MEMORIAM
result stands in close connection with the first. The            The Consistory of the Oak Lawn Prot. Ref. Church wishes
choir has one aim: to beautify and improve upon to express its sincere sympathy to their pastor and family in
the singing. `That is the very reason for its existence. the loss of his mother
Result  is that the form of singing becomes the wor-
ship i&self. (Songs  are no more utterances of the soul.                        MRS. JENNIE HANK0
The one and only question is show nice and appealing              May our God comfort them with his abiding grace and the
they can sing. Reality teaches us that in listening #blessed  assurance that there remaineth  a rest for the people
to such a choir there is no utterance of the soul, nor a of God.
personal praise of God, but one attempt to note the                                           D.  Kort,  Vice President
harmony and  ,beauty of the singing itself. After the                                         J. Buites, Secretary
                                                                                  A.


