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

                             The Standard Bearer
       Semi-Monthly, except Monthly in July and August                                                                                                         EDITORIALS
                                                      Published by                                                                                                                                      .-
                                                                                                                                                                                                      -
                  The Reformed Free  PybIishing Association
                                        1101  Hazen Street,  S. E                                                                                          Schedule For  1943-1944.
                                 EDITOR - Rev. H. Hoeksema

   Contributing editors-Revs. J. BIankespoor,  A. Cammenga,                                                                                        At the last meeting of the editors of the Standard
   P. De Boer, J. D. de Jong, H. De Wolf, L. Doezema,                                                                                            Bearer it was decided to continue the :publization  of
   M. Gritters, C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G. M. Ophoff,
  A.  Petter, M. Schipper, J.  Vanden  Breggen, H. Veldman,                                                                                      the Standard Bearer, as far as its conte'nts are con-
   R. Veldman, L. Vermeer, P. Vis, G. Vos, Mr. S. De Vries.                                                                                      cerned, according to the same plan as that which was
                                                                                                                                                 followed the last t!;vo years. The editor was appoint-
   Communications relative to contents should be addressed                                                                                       ed to assign different subjects  for the lensuing year to
   to REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin  St., S. E., Grand
   Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                             the  differe.nt  writers.    To this one exception was
                                                                                                                                                 made: the Rev. G.M. Ophoff was granted the right to
   Communications. relative to subscription should be ad-                                                                                        select his own subjects.
   dressed to MR. R.  SCHAAFSMA,  1101  Hazen  St., S. E.,
  Grand Rapids,  Mich.   AI1  bouncements  and Obituaries                                                                                           Undersigned will continue to write the medita-
  must be sent to the above address and will not be placed                                                                                       tions, the editorials, and the dogmatic articles, the
  unless the regular fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice.                                                                                        Lord willing. And the Rev. G. Vos is still busy writ-
                                      Subscription $2.50 per year                                                                                ing on  I.%e Psalms, and hopes to continue to do so
                                                                                                                                                 during the coming year. It i,s not necessary to take
                                                                                                                                                 up space for these in the schedule that follows.
                                                                                                                                                   I have not assigned new subjects to the Rev. J
                                                                                                                                                 VandenBreggen.  If the brother  -wishes  to write, he
                                                                                                                                                 may do so on the subjects  that were assigned to him
                                                                                                                                                 last year.
                                                      CONTENTS                                                                                      (Here follow the assignments :
                                                                                                                                  Page
MEDITATIE                                                                                                                                           Oct. 1. The Theory of Soul-Sleep, R.V.; Rymn
  DE GEHEEL EENIGE DAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473               Singing  I'n Public Worship, P.V.; The Author Of
       Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                          Hebrews, B.K. Current Events,  J.H.
EDITORIALS -                                                                                                                                        Oct. 15. The Angels And Salvation In Christ, J.D.
                                                                                                                                                 J.; The  Objective Reality Of the Temptations Of
 SC,HEDULE FOR 1943-1944 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476         Jesus, A.C. ; The Sin Against The Holy Spirit, A.P.;
        Rev. `H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                        Voor De Dooden Gedoopt, H.V.
 EXPOSITION OF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM.....;478                                                                                                    Nov. 1. The Prayer Before The Service, M.G.;
        Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                         The Hardening Of the Heart, H.D.W.; The Certainty
  THE BEGINNING OF PAPACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482                            of Faith,  G.tL.; The Conscience According To Scrip-
        Rev.  G.  M. Ophoff                                                                                                                      ture, P.D.B.
 THE CROSSING OF THE JORDAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484                                             Nov.  15. The Location Of Paradise, M.S.; Sick
       Rev.  G, M. Ophoff                                                                                                                        Visitation, J-B.; Article 36 Of The Confessio Belgica,
 ALS VAN EENEN GEWELDIGEN GEDREVEN WIND..485                                                                                                     L-D.; The Son Of Perdition, L.V.
       Rev. G. Vos                                                                                                                                  Dec. 1; The Author Of Eqlesiasbes,  CR.; "Game-
 A CALL TO ADVANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .488    sters"  I*n The Form For The Lord's Supper, P.V.;
       Rev. J. Heys                                                                                                                              Was Jonah Alive In The Fish? R.V.; Kerknieuws,
 THE VA4LUE OF APOLOGETICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491                                   S.D.V.
       Rev. L. Doezema                                                                                                                              Dec. 15. Debate: Resolved That A Local Consis-
 RANDOLPH ORGANIZED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493            tory Has The Right To Act Contrary To The Church
       Rev, M. Schipper                                                                                                                          Order, I.  ,Affirmative  B.  K. Negative G.M.O..  tea-h
 REPLY TO THE C.L.A. SECRETARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494                                           jlimited to five pages). The King James' Version And
       Rev. C. Hanko                                                                                                                             The American Revised  ; A Comparison, J.H.  ; Current
                                                                                                                                                 Events, J.D.J.
 THE CHR. REF. SYNOD ON LABOR UNIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..a 496
       Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                             Jan.  1. Debate: Resolved That A Local Consis-
                                                                                                                                                 tory Has The Right To Act Contrary To The Church
                                                                                                                                                 Order, II.  B.K. and G.M.O. (limited to five pages


                                   T,HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        477

each). Calvinism vs. Puritanism, A.C. ; Birth Con- Instruction In America, M.G.; Natural Theology. A.P.
trol  Amd The  Seve`lth  Commandment, A.P.                    Sept. 15. Spoken By Jeremy The Prophet, Matt.
   Jan. 15. Why An Educated Clergy? M.G.; De  "On- 27 :9. H.D.W.; desuitism, L.V. ; Foreknowledge And
mogelijkheid"  Van Heb.  6:4, H.V.; Communal  Ele- Predestination. C.H. ; The Septuagint. M.S.
sponsilbility,  H.D.W. ; The Native Religion Of Japan,
P . D . B .                                                   The following are the Rev. G.M. Ophoff's subjects.
   Feb. 1. The Value Of O.T. Revelation For The
New Dispensastion, I: G. L.; The Central Message Of                SACRED HISTORICAL SUBJECTS
Ecclesiastes,  MS.  ; Crucifying Christ Afresh, J.B. ;
Confessionalism, L.D.                                        ,l) The Conquest Of Southern And Northern Pal-
   Feb. 15. The Problems Of A Christian Soldier, J.              estine.
B. ; The Adiaphora, L.V. ; The  Significance  Of The          2) The Division Of The Land In West Palestine.
Book Of Proverbs, C.H.; Kerknieuws, S.D.V.                    3) The Building Of The Altar By The Two And A
                                                                 .Half  Tribbes.
   March 1. Debate: Resolved That We Should Es-
tablish Our Ow'n Schools Wherever Possible, Affirm-           4) Joshua.)s  Parting With The People. His Death
                                                                 And That Of Eleazar.
ative R.V. Negative J.D.J. (limited to five  ,pages
each). Street Evangelism, A.C. ; Barthian  Eschatol-          5) The Conquest Of The Tribes After The Death
                                                                 Of Joshua.
o&y, A.P.                                                     6) The Nations Remaining To Serve Israel.
   April  1. The Half Way Covenant In New Eng-                7) The New Generation. Its Religious Condition.
land, H.V.;  The Power Of The Young Man, M.G.  ;              8) The First Three Judges.
Tithing And Christian Stewardship, H.D.W.; The                9) Israel's Deliverance  Under  Deborah And Barak.
Value Of O.T. Revelation For The New Dispensation,            10) The Oppression Of The Midianites And Gideons.
II, G.L.                                                         Commission.
   April 15. The  ,Coming  And Influence Of Buddhism          11) Jerubbaal.
In Japan, P.D.B.; The  Mmister  And Himself, J.B.;            12) Gideon In The Field.
The Sermon And The Word Of God,  MS.; The Ex-                 13)Proud Ephraim And The Treacherous Cities.
communication Of Non-Confessing  Baiptized   Mcem-            14) Gideon The Judge Who Refuses To Be King.
bers, L.D.                                                    15)Abimelech,  His Usurped Rule  A.nd Downfall.
   May 1. Free Masonry, C.H.; De Plaats Des  Be-              16) Tola Of Issachar And Jair The Gileadite.
rouws  In Heb.  12:1'7.  P.V.; The Romish Conception        . 17) Renewed Apostasy And Punishment: Awak-
Of Justification, B.K.  ; Kerknieuws, S.D.V.                      ening And. Repentance.
   May 15. Eten En Leven In Eouwigheid, Gen. 3 :22.           18) Jephtah's Previous History And His Recall
J.H. ; Revision Of Our Psalter Desirable, A.C.; Faith             By The Elders.
In Regenerated Infants, A.P. Groanings Of The Spir-           19) Jephtah's Conflict.
it, Rom. 8%. H.V.                                             20) Jephtah's Vow.
   June 1. The Beauty Of The Young Woman. M.G.;               21) Samson The Nazarite Judge.
Pragmatism. G.L. ; Christianity In Japan Today. P.            22) The Opening Steps Of Samson's Career.
D.B.; Grieving The Spirit. H.D.W.                                  CHURCH HISTORICAL SUBJECTS
   dune 15. Employment Of Mothers In War Indus-
tries. J.B.; Calvin On The Sabbath. MS. The Best              1) The Fathers On  ,Catholic Unity.
Preaching Method. L.D. ; Kerlknieuws.  S.D.V.                 2) Christian  L,ife Against The Backgrounds Of
    .July 1. Preaching On The Parables, L.V. ; The Sign          Pagan Corruption.
Of Jonah The Prophet. C..H.;  Did God Suffer In The           3) Asceticism In The Early Church.
Sacrifice Of E-Iis Son? R.V. ; Current Events, P.V.           4) The Catscombs.
                                                              6) The Downfall Of Heathenism And The  As-
   Aug.  1. Debate: Resolved That Discipline Of Mem-            tendency  Of Christianity In The Roman Empire.
bers That Belong To Worldly Organizations Should              6) The Alliance, Of Church And State.
Be Left To The Ministry Of The Word, I. Affirma-              7) Christian Apologetics And Polemics.
tive J.H. ; Negative H.V. (limited to five pages each) ;      8) Monasticism.
The Rise Of American  Cu,lts  Albout 1830, P.D.B.             9) Organization Of The Donatists And Other
Geen Roof Gexht, Phil. 2  :6. G.L.'                               Schisms.
   Sept. I. Debate: Resolved That Discipline Of Mem-          11) Church Discipline.
bers That Belong To Worldly Organizations Should
BIe Left To The Ministry Of The World,  II. Affirma-
tive  J.H. Negative  H.V.;  The History Of Christian          We thought it might be interesting to introduce a


 47%                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                               ._..
few  .debates  into our Standard Bearer this year. The                 twelve articles of faith. We must bear in mind that
subjects of these debates  a:re, I think, actual and *de- a period of several centuries intervenes between the
batable. When these debates appear, the readers must time of the Apostolicurn  and the composition of the
bear in mind that the views expressed are not nezes-                   Heidelberg  Catechism and its adoption as part of our
sarily representing the convictions of the debaters. Reformed confessions. During those intervening cen-
Each side will, of course, try to marshal1 all the argu- turies, the truth as it is in Christ had~ been the ob-
ments he can to prove his point, even though,  accrord-                ject of study and tzontemplation,  and had been devel-
ing to his own conviction he is "on the wrong side of                  oped in detail ; many heresies had arisen regarding
the fence."                                                            the very truths declared in the  Apostolicurn,  aot only
                                                         H .   H .     in the Romish church, `but also within the bosom of
                                                                       the churches of the Reformation, false doctrines con-
                                                                       cerning the birth of Christ and the virgin Mary, the
                                                                       suffering and death of the Saviour, the atonement and
                                                                       good works, justification, the ascension of the Lord,
                                                                       the  Chu,rch,  and the doctrine concerning the "last
                                                                       things." A mere exegesis of the `words of the Apos-
                                                                 --    tolic Confession, a symbol claimed by all the differ-
   The Triple Knowledge ent groups of Western Christenr$om, Romish or Pro-
                                                                       testant, would not suffice therefore, to set forth the
                                                                       faith of the Reformed Churches of the sixteenth cen-
                                                                       tury. The great truths of the ApostoZicum  had to Ibe
 An Exposition Of The Heidelberg developed in all their implications, in the light of
                                                                       Scripture, and to be defined clearly over again:& the
                       Catechism,                                      false doatrines that had arisen. And it is  ,this we
                                                                       must expect to  finid in the ensuing chapters of the
                          PART TWO                                     Heidelberg Catechism. This must not be understood
                   OF MAN'S REDEMPTION                                 as if the Catechism arbitrarily imposes its  of'wn view;
                       Lord's Day VIII.                                upon the words of the Apostolic Confession. On the
                                                                       contrary, it faithfully adheres to their simple mean-
               Q. 24. How are these articles divided?                  ing. But at the same time, it gives fullrer and richer
               A. Into three parts; the first is of God the            development to the truths expressed. Taking the
          Father, and our creation; the second of God the Son          twelve articles. of faith, the symbol of the early church,
          and our redemption; the third of God the Holy                for its basis, the Catechism builds at the superstrac-
          Ghost, and our sanctification.                               ture of the truth that must needs be  rais& on such a
               Q. 25. Since there is but one divine essence, why       foundation. And it was the conviction of our Reform-
          speakest thou of Father, Son,  and Holy Ghost?               ed fathers that the positive line of the faith of the
               A.  E(ec&se God hath so  rbvealed  himself  ih his      true Church in the world runs from the confessions
          word, that these three distinct persons are the one          of the early church, not over the declarations of the
          only. true and eternal God.                                  Council of Trent,  .but over the Reformation of the
                                                                       sixteenth century, and that, too, as its principles are
                           Chapter 1. .                                most purely set forth in the Reformed symbols. And
                        Faith In God.                                  this is still thfe conviction of every Reformed believer
                                                                       worthy of the name.
   In Lord's Days eight to twenty two inclusive we `me                    In the present Lord's Day, the Catechism  ,calls our
really dealing with tiwo symbols or creeds: the Apos- attention to the  threefold  division of the  Apostolicurn,
tolic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism, and and makes it the occasion to insert a question and an-
the latter appears here as an exposition of the former. swer concerning the doctrine of the holy trinity. In
And yet, these chapters of our Heidelberger offer Lord's Days nine and ten, our instructor explains the
us much more than a mere exposition of the twelve                      meaning of the article concerning "God the Father,
articles of faith formulated by the early church, if and our creation." The second part of the Apostolic
by mere exposition is meant nothing more than a                        Confession, that Iwhich concerns "God the Son, and
setting forth of the truths that are plainly and  direz+t- our redemption," is explainad in Lord's Days eleven
ly expressed in the Apostolicum. All that is developed to nineteen irmlusive. And the part that treats of
in the following chapters of the Catechism cannot "God the Holy Ghost, and our  sanctification"  is treat-
possibly have been in the mind of the aearly church,                   ed in Lord's Days twenty to twenty two.
land clearly before the consciousness of her faith,                       The answer to question twenty four: "How  ase
when she confessed the truth as expressed in the                       these articles divided?" seems rather simple? and might


    i                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        479

easily give rise to misunderstanding: "Into three all things of the Father and through the Holy Ghost,
parts ; the first is of God the Father. and our creation ; the Holy Ghost do.es all things of the Father and the
the second of God the Son, and our redemption ; the           Son  through himself. It follows therefore that all
third of God the Holy Ghost, and our sanctification." the persons create, redeem, and sanctify: the Father
That this threefold division is actually found in the metdiately  through the Son and the Holy Ghost; the
Apostolicurn'  is evident. The first article speaks of Son mediately through the Holy Ghost; the Holy
God the Father, Who is almighty, and the Creator of           Ghost immediately through himself, mediately through
heaven and earth. Articles two to seven set forth the the Son, in so far as the latter is mediator."
truth concerning Jesus Christ, God's only *begotten              Similarly Dr. A. Kuyper,  in E Voto, I, p. 168, ex-
Son, His Person and work. And the last five articles plains the answer of  our Heidelberger  *to question
are devoted to the truth concerning the Holy Ghost, itwenty four as follows: "Consequently, anly and ex-
and the application of salvation to us.      Yet, we all elusively in ,this sense must be understood what the
feel at once that the twenty fourth answer of the             Catechism refers to in the familiar distinctions: of
Catechism needs careful explanation, if we are to avoid God the Father and our  Greatio*L,  of God the Son
the error of tritheism. The statement of answer twenty and our Redemptioka,  of God the Holy Ghost and our
four might easily be understood as meaning that Sunctification.  By this the Catechism does not at all
the First Person of the holy trinity is our Creator, intend to express that each of these three Persons
the Second our Redemptor, and the Third our Sancti- operates in turn: first the Father to create you, then .
fier. And such a division of the work of the three the Son to redeem you, and finally the Holy Ghost to
Persons of the  ,trinity  was, of course, not in the minds    sanctify you; but on the contrary that He Who creat-
of the authors of our Catechism.         This is evident ed you is the Triune God, and that `He Who redeem-
from the  "Schat*boek"  I, 159, 160. Ursinus here meets ed you is the Triune God, and that He Who sancti-
the following objection : "Creation is here ascribed fies you is the Triune God, so that you as a creature
to the Father, redemption to the Son, sanctification from your first coming into existence until your
to the Holy Ghost. Therefore the Son and the Holy `eternal state of glory, never  have  to do with the
Ghost did not create heaven and earth ; neit,her did the Father seperately  without the Son, or with the Son
Father and the Holy Ghost redeem the human raze;              without the Father, but that you alrways have to do
nor do the Father and the Son sanctify the believers." with the Lord Jehovah, with the living God, with the
And he answers as follows: "We deny the consequence Eternal Being, and thus with Father, Son, and Holy
which is here deduced, for creation is ascr2bed  to the Ghost. {However, whereas these operations of  God af-
Father, redemption to the Son, sanctification to the fect you as being creative, and redemptive, and sartc-
Holy Ghost, not exclusively, i.e. in such a manner that tif&zg, the Catechism makes a distinction, and that
these works do not properly belong to all persons. . . .      of such a nature, that in all the operations that con-
By this distinction is merely  indictated  the order of cern  Creation  the  Father  is the chief worker with
operation proper to the persons of the Godhead. To            whom the Son and the Holy Spirit leooperate  ; in all
the Father is ascribed the work of creation, not ex-          that concerns  Redemption, the Son is the chief worker
clusively or to Him alone, but because He is the source Iwith  whom the Father and the Holy Spirit cooperate ;
of the Godhead, and of all the divine works, and there- and in all that concerns your personal scdnctification
fore also of creation. For all things He did, indeed,         the  Holy Ghost  is the chief worker and the Father
create out of Himself through the Son and the Holy            and the Son cooperate."
Ghost. Redemption is  ascrilbed to the Son, not  ex-             The above quotation may serve to show how !Jif-
elusively or to Him alone, but (because it is the Son         ficult it is properly to define the truth  concerning
who immediately performs the work of redemption.              the relation of the three Persons of the holy trinity,
For the Son only is  become  a ransom -for our sins,          as soon as the attempt is made to proceed beyond
He alone paird the price for us at His cross, not the         the simple declarations of the  Apostolicurn.  They
Father, nor the Holy Ghost. Sanctification is ascrib- agree in this that the twenty fourth answer  of the
ed to the Holy Ghost, not exclusively or to Him alone,        Catechism may not be understood to t:each  that the
ibut rbecause it is the Holy Ghost ,who sanctifies us         outgoing works of God are divided, apportioned among
immediately or through Whom our sanctification is the three Persons of the ,Godhead, so that the Father
immediately affected." And in reply to a similar ob- creates, the Son redeems, the Holy Ghost sanctifies.
jection he writes: "The divine works are indivisible, God triune is the author of all His works, and that in
but the order and manner of operation or working such a way that the relation of the three Persons to
proper to leach of the three persons  must  :be main- one another within the divine Being is maintained and
tained. For all the divine persons perform the out-           revealed in the works of God ad  extcra.  Yet even  SO,
going works of Gad ; but the following order must ibe it may be regarded as questionable whether justice is
maintained: the Father does all things of himself done to the meaning of the Apostolic Confession. Es- _
through the Son aad the Holy Ghost, the Son does pecially  might one hesitate to explain with Dr. KUY-

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

per thst in each of the works of God, creation,  re-        gotten (monogenee) Son of the FATHER GOD, yet
dempion, and sanctification, one  CKf the three Persons the entire section speaks of this Son of God as He
functions as the chief actor, while the other two co- revealed Himself in human  :nature  and  taberna:l.ed
operate. This `would appear to introduce a relation among us, suffered and died and was buried, rose the
of subordination into the trinity in violation of the thind da.y, and was exalted at the right hand of God.
essential co-equality of the three Persons, as well as And although it is not so directly evident that the last
a change into their mutual relationship with respect past of the Apostolic Confession does not treat of the
to the outgoing wortks of God. E%en as it would be a Holy Ghost merely as `the Third Person in the trinity,
serious error to  tes?h that to the Father alone be- but as the Spirit of Christ Who realizes the salvation
longs the work of creation, to the Son that of re- acquired by the Mediator, yet the articles that follow
demption, and to the Holy Ghost that of sanctific.a-        article eight `are limited wholly to the realization of
tion, so it must be regarded as fallacious to say that ,the work of Christ: the church, the communion of
%he Father is chief in the war% of creation, the Son saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection, and
in that of redemption, the Holy Ghost in that of  sane- eternal life.' Notice, too that the words "in GOD"
tification. The truth is that, while. all the works of      occur only in the first article: they are not repeated
God are the works of one God, in them the First Per-        in articles two and eight.
son is always operating as  Fathier,  the Second Person         For all these reasons, it would seem quite in har-
as Son, the Third Person as Holy Ghost.           While,    mony with the original meaning the ea.rly church at-
therefore, the three Persons appear as `essentially co- tached `to the Apostolicurn  to say that it speaks of the
equal in all the outgoing works of God, their personal      triune God, not in  <the abstract, but as the God  of.
relation to one' another never alters.                      our salvation and in relation to the believing church.
       If `we return again to the wording of the  Apos-     The first article does not refer merely to the  onto-
tclic'lrm,   it certainly is evident  tl::t the doctrine of the logical fatherhood of the First Person in relation to
trinity is its underlying groundwork, due, .no doubt,       the Second, but also to the Fatherhood of the one true
to the fact that it gradually grew out of the baptism a;:11 living God in relation to: 1.  J.esus  Christ, the
formula, and the instruction that was  ,based on it. Mediator, our Lord. (According to Scripture, He is
Yet, it is equally evident that it does not offer an ab-    the  God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ). 2.
stract confession of the truth of the trinity as sn:h,      Creation, called forth by His omnipotent will. 3. Be-
in such a way that the first article speaks only of the lievers, for Christ's sake. The second part of the
first Person, art,icles  two to seven of the second Per- A;:ostolic   Ccnn.fession,  does not simply speak of God
son as such, and articles eight to twelve of the thinJ      t'-e Son, in His relation to the First Person of the
Person in the Godhead. This should be evident at trinity, but of Jesus Christ, the Incarnated Word. And
once from the first article : Credo in DElJM  PATREM the third part speaks of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit
omj&otentem;   Creatorem   coeli  e t  ttwra.e.  I   belieye of Christ, realizing the salvation accomplished for us
in GOD FATHER  allmighty (Pisteuoo eis  THEON               un:o all th.e elect. There is, according to this con'cep-
PATERA panktokratora)  ; Creator of  hceaven  and tion, a certain relation of subordination of the entire
earth. We feel at once that we could not possibly contents of the Confession to the First article, and
substitute here: ,I believe in the &%rst Person of the      particularly to the words: I beiieve in GOD. And Iwe
Holy Trinity, the %ath,er, almighty, creator of heaven would paraphrase its meaning briefly as follows: I
and earth. This is impossible because of the close believe in GOD: Who revealed Himself as FATHER,
connection between GOD and FATHER (written in a& as omnipotent, in tzhe work- of creation; -Who re-
all capital letters both in the Greek and Latin ver-        vealed Himself as REDEEMER in JESIJS CHRIST,
sions, and in the former without the definite article),     Hi; only Son, our Lord ; a.nd Who revealed Himself
but also because the attriibute of omnipotence is not as SANCTIFIER in the HOLY GHOST, as the Spirit
peculiar to the first Person, but is an essential pro- of Christ.
perty of the Godhead, while, besides, the work of
creation must be ascribed to all the three Persons of
the Holy Trinity. Nor could we begin the second
part of the Apostoliwrn,  treating of the Son, by sub-         Credo in Deum ! "The Church believes in God !
stituting : "4nd in the Second Person of the Godhe:&        It is  `the Church, and the individual believer that is a
the only begotten Son." For the subject of this second member of that Church, that is here speaking, and that
part, articles two to seven)  is not the eternal Word       is the only  possible, the only conceivable subject of
as he subsists in the Godhead, but JESUS CHRIST. this Credo. The believer in Christ alone is able to say:
And it is these  trwo names that are emphasized. in the "I believe in God,`" and know what he is saying. For
original versions both Greek and Latin, by being all Iby faith he knows the only, true and liviny  God, Who
capitalized. To .be sure, it is affirmed of this JESUS      is GOD, as He revealed Himself & Jesus Christ, the
CHRIST that He is the only  (u&urn),  or only  be-          revelation  that is contained  +a the Holy  Sc?%ptures,   ,.


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             * 481

   and in the light of which he hears and interprets the tulate an infinite chasm bet'ween  God and us, so that,
   speech  of  God in all  His  wvrh~  :  .and knowing  .this after the fashion of Deism, the transcendent God re-
   only true God, he trusts in Him as the God of His                mainA for ever outside of the world. Nor is it thus
   salvation. In his  Rijmerbrief,  p. 18, Barth exclaims:          that this Deus absconditus occasionally spes.ks  to us,
   `IGott!  Wir wissen nicht, was wir  damit   sagen. Wer in the "moment" when the vertical line of His Word
   glaabt,  der  Weiss,  dass wir es nicht wissen."  (Gold  ! bisects the horizontal line of our existence, and that
    We iknow  not what! we express by this. He that (be- the Church now speaks of God in the memory of that
   lieves knows that we do not know this). But $his is Word of God. On the contrary, Credo in Deum, pre-
   cerbainly not in accord iwith the faith of the Church supposes that the transcendent One is also  immanent
   expressed  in this: Credo  in DEUM  PATREM!   The in all things, and through all the works of His hands
   believer does not mean *to ,say : "I believe in some  U,n-       He speaks concerning Himself constantly, while He
    knowable One, and I know not what I say when I                  speaks of Himself as the God of our salvation through
   say  G&" On the contrary. in the words Credo  ii:                Jests Christ our Lord, in the  HoIy  Gospel,  and
   Deum,  he takes the stand that God is known,  bc-                through the Spirit of Christ; He dwells in  ,the Church
   cause He has revealed Himself.                                   and establishes His everlasting covenant with us.
           In this confession, "I believe in God," the Church          And thus it is only the `believer that is able to
   and the individual believer declare that God is GOD.             say: I believe in God. Philosophy cannot find Him.
   He is the transcendent One, Who  dwelleth in the light           "Natural Theology," in the, sense  ,that the  lnatural
   no man can approach unto. He is Holy One of Israel, man, either from "nature" or from himself, `can pre-
   the Incomparable, that cannot be likened to any  crea-           sent the knowledge of the true  God,  awho is GOD,
ture.         He cannot  ,be classified or [defined.  Humsn         does not exist.    This must Ibe attributed, however,
   logic can never reach Him. In this sense, all  thz so- not to the fact that God leaves Himself without `wit-
    called "proofs" for the existence of God must be COX-           ness, even apart from the revelation of the Holy Gos-
    sidered  failures. No syllogism can reach out beyond            pel. It is Icertainly  true that even now "the heavens
    its own  premises,.and  no human  Fremise can postu- ideclare  the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth
    late God who is GOD. Whatever  ma.n  may say about his handiwork; day unto day  ut:bereth speech,  2nd
    God, mere man, of himself, is sure to Ibe a lie. Always night unto night aheweth knowledge." Ps.  19:1, 2.
    he will make a god like unto himself, and that which And "the invisilble things of him from the creation of
    he calls Gcid is only an idol. For God is the Infinite, the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
    He transcends the finite ; He is the Eternal, He trans- things that are made, even his eternal power' and
    cends time ;  ,He is the Invisible, He  tra.nscends   +he       Godhead." Rom.  120. Nor dare it  :be said that this
    whole world of our experience ; He is the Immutable,            speech of God in no sense of the word penetrates
    He transcends all the flux of existence; He is not the          the consciousness of the natural  man. For by his
    First Cause, nor the Cause of causes, as philosophy             "natural light" he retains "some k.Dowledge  of God."
    has called its God, lbut He is simple Being: He trans-          And there is, no doubt, a general testimony of the
    tends  all causes. He is GOD.                                   Spirit, corresponding to this speech of God in  ,the
           But by this confession, Credo  in Deum,  the Church works of His hanc$,  and writing indelibly upon every
    and  .tie believer also express that He is the  Im-             conscience that He is, anrd that He is God ! For "that
    :manent. He is  not far from any of us, for in Him              which is  kndwn of God  (to  gfiooston  tou  Thou)  is
    we live and move anld have our being. Were He mere- manifest in them, for God manifested it unto them
    ly the transcendent One, it would forever be impos-             (ho Theos gar autois ephaneroosen). Rom. 1:19. Ag-
    sI!zlc to say  "I be!icve in God," or, ct lcast, if WC di.rl    ncoticiz.n  and atheism  are not tk,e result of a certain
    say it, we would have to add  wi:h Barth:  "Gott!               natural fallacy of the human mind. On the conlzary,
    Wir wissen nicht, was  ,wir  damit  sayen." He  wouid           they are the results of sin. The trouble is not `%a';-
    be tahe  Unknowtible of Herbert Spencer, the One Whor_l         Ural," but  spirit.ual,  ethical. "The fool  saiilh  in  hts
    we  .must   nee& seek but can never find. Than  w;? hea,rt,  5'here is no God." Ps. 14 : 1. And the un,-Jdli-
    would not even be able to say, "that there is one only ncss and unrighteousness of. men b.ecome  revealed in
    simple and  spirikal  Eeing, which we  call God; and this, that they "hold the truth in  unrighteousless."
    that; he is eternal, incomprehensible,  invisilble,  im- Rcrm. 1:18.           iV&n  corr:rw3cts  the Worci of God. He
    mufable,  infinite, almighty, perfectly wise, just, gosd,       holds it  .under   in unrighteousness. He prefers  ,to
    and the overflowing of all good."  (Conf.  Belg. Art. make his own God. And making his own God in the
    1).      In that case all that we would  s&y about  tGa         foolishness of  his vain imagination  and darkened
    tra;nszendence  of God would  Ibe a mere negation.              heart, he makes him altogether like unto himscif,  or
    But although by its Creclo in  Deum the Church  con- even unto birds, and fourfooted {beasts, and creep-
    fssses  that her  God  is. not the proud conception of ing things. Rom. 1:23. Hence, it is only in the Church,
    Pa&theism, but that He is infinitely transcendent above :,he sphere of ,the indwelling Spirit of Christ, th:t the
    all th;st is called creature, she does not thereby poa-         Word of  Cod  concerning  Himaclf is heard and  re-


  482                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                                                                                     .
 aaived  by faith,' and that the confession is possible:         of Philippi, but fails to mention the presbyters be-
  Credo in Deum !                                H. I$           cause they were included in the first term. (Phil. 1 :l).
                                                                 All the  .elders  appear as a college in one and the same
                                                                 congregation.    This interchange of names continued
                                                                 to the close of the first century. Thus, of the form of
                                                                 government of which the papacy is representative,
                                                                 there are really no traces in apostolic times. But when
           `The  Beginning  Of Papacy                            the church emerges from the impenetrable cloud which
                                                                 covers the close of the 1st and the beginning of the
                                                                 2nd century, we find every Christian community go-
         According to the Reformed conception, which is the ,vernel  by a chief functionary, uniformly termed its
 only scriptural one, `the deacons, elders, and ministers "bishop" with two inferior orders of ministers under
 of the gospel, are, as office-bearers, of equal rank ; them .known as "presbyters" and "deacons"; and the
 and the presbytery or college of elders (cons&tory)             title which originally was common to all the elders
is under, Christ the only and highest judicial (not was now appropriated only ,to the chief functionary
 merely ethical) power i*n the  `church,  which is the local among them. He alone, in distinction from his col-
  congregation. According to Rome on the other ha&, lteagues in the service was now bearing the title of
 the church is the sum and total of local congregat.ions;        "Bishop." He may have been a common elder in ,the
 and in this community the bishop of Rome-the pope church or the minister of the word, the pastor of the
 -is, under  ,God the supreme judicial power and the             flock. Certainly he was a man of superior ability and
 culminating point; land  t.o his person all the other `well endowed with the spiritua1  gifts and on this ac-
 dignitaries and powers in the church-thus also those `count  chosen to be the head of the congregation and to
 dignitaries that  correspoml  to the deacons, presby- bear the title of "lbishop."
 ters or elders, and ministers of the Word in the Pro-              At first the power of `the bishop ove.r  his colleagues
 testant churches-are subject. In the person of  ,the was purely  et&al. When at length it became judi-
 pope these offices are united and are one. He is the `cial as to its character, the title "bishop," signified
 supreme deacon in the church ; the supreme presbyter, :a new a,nd superior office distinct from that of the
 elder, bishop; the supreme and infallible minister of presbyters (including the pastors and teachers.)
the world, pastor and teacher, father or pope. In the               The statement was just made that there are no
 church on earth, he is in the place of Christ-such is traces of such an office in apostolic times. Those who
 the  conception- and as Christ he mediates between challenge this statem~ent make the following points:
 God and man. This, in brief, is papacy or popism.                  1) The position of  .James.  He stood  at. the head
 This essay represents an attempt to discover its be- of the church at Jerusalem.
 ginning.                                                           2) The assistants and delegates of. the apostles,
         In the apostolic churches and at the close of the like Timothy, Titus, Silas, Luke and Mark, had super-
 apostolic age, there `were, according to 1. Tim. 5 :17,         vision of several churches and congregational offices.
 "`teaching elders" or ministers proper, and "ruling                But this proves nothing. What must, be shown is
 elders."      "This distinction," says  Schaff,  "is a  bon-    that James and these assistants were  $.uLiciaZ  powers
 venient arrangement of Reformed churches, thlat can over the  pres@tery. Of this there is not a shred of
 hardly claim apostolic sanction, since the one passage evidence. As to the apostles, their functions strictly
 on which it rests only speaks of two functions in the so-called is seen from the statement that Christians
 same office." But the fact is that the apostle actually are built upon the foundation of the  apostles  and  pro-
 rZoes distinguish between "the elders that rule well," .phets  and upon Christ as the chief corner-stone. Thus
 and those who, in addition, "labor in the word and in the function of the apostles  `was to lay, through their
 teaching" (1. Tim. 5:1'7),  so that the distinction can         infallible teachings, the foundation of the church uni-
 claim certainly  apt:  tolic sanction.      If words have versal. With the death of the last apost.le,  circa 100,
 meaning'then what this text asserts is that  ,there  were these functions ceased. The relation of the apostles,
 two kinds of elders in the church. That the two of- therefore, to the primitive churches was altogether
 fioes  are essentially one we  well understand.                 unique. When they act or give  ofhcial advice apart
         In the apostolic church the "ruling elKleer"  and the from their apostolic office, which they did in certain
 `<teaching  elder" or minister of the word, were of cases, they do so as elders chosen to act along with
 equal rank. The  lztter,  as compared with the former, other elders who do not possess the apostolic gift.
 was not a higher judicial pow.er. This can be proven. -They did not join themselves as a superior judicial
 The two names "presbyter (elder) " and "bishop" are !power to the presbytery (consistory) of the local con-
 applied to  *bo+h. The same officers of the church of gregation in order to complete its government. This
 Ephesus are alternately called presbyters and bishops. gov,ernment  was completely independent of the aposto-
 Paul sends greetings to the "bishops" and "Qeacons"             lic office: it was useless therefore to appeal to this,office


                                    T%iE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                483

in support of the episcopacy (government of the                   Ignatius, the second bishop of Antioch,  continuallly
church  rby a college of office-bearers of which the exhorted to obey the bishop. His epistles contain pas-
bishops are higher in rank than the presbyters or eld- sages such as these: "If any be better known and more
ers.) Not once do we read of an apostle deposing an esteemed than the bishop, he is corrupt. It is becom-
elder or of his usurping the place of the presbytery ing, therefore, to men and women who marry, that
by  excommunicating  out of the church a recalcitrant they marry by the counsel of the bishop. Look to the
,member  against whom the presbytery refused to Gake bishop that God may look upon you. It becomes you
action.                                                        to  .be in harmony with the mind of the bishop, as
   It is said by the defenders of the episco.pa.cy  that also ye do. For your most estimable presbytery, wor-
the episcopal office (the office of bishop) was the            thy of God, is fitted to the bishop as the  stri'ngs  are to
means of the confederation of the church, whether the harp. It'is evident that `we should look upon'  the
in several provinces or throughout the world. Fact bishop, as we do upon the Lord himself. Let all of you
is that the episopal office was indeed the means of            follow the bishop, as Jesus Christ the Father.  Where-
confederation of the churches ; but the means should ever the bishop is found, there let the people be; as
have been the presbytery. What is now in the roman wherever Christ is, there is the Catholic church. He
hierarchy the episcopate  of&e,  has no right of exis-         that honors the bishop shall be honored by God ; he
tence.                                                         that does anything without the  knowled,ge  of the
   The episcopate reached its complete form only by bishop, serves the devil. I exhort you that ye study
degrees. In the first period it was a. congregational and do all things with divine accord: the bishop pre-
oflice  only. But at length the territory over which the siding in  the place of God, and persbyters in the place
church had spread itself was divided into districts or         of the college of apostles, and the deacons being en-
clerical dioceses; and in the chief city of each district trusted with the ministry."
a bishop was established, whence the city was called              Peculiar to the view here encountered is that in
the see( from the latin sedes, meaning seat) of the it the bishop appears. as the superior of the presby-
(bishop.    In course of time the districts or dioceses ters. Especially the last statement quoted is revealing.
assi.gned  to the first bishops became too populous.           "The bishops presiding in the place of God and the
whereupon they were subdivided, and a second bishop presbyters in the place of the college of apostles."
selected ; and so bishops &d diocese were multiplied Yet, in this Ignatian view, the bishop still appears as
according  ;to the `wants of the  church.es. Meanwhile the head of the congregation and not as the repre-
the bishops of the new sees had grouped themselves sentative of the whole church. In a word, the Igna-
around the bishops of the ancient sees.                        tian episcopacy is congregational  and not diocesan.
    So  1di.d the bishops fall into different ranks accord-        It `was Iranaeus who was the first to represent the
ing to the  ecclessia&cal  and political importance of institution as a diocesan office and  as. the continuation
their several seats of authority. On the lowest level          of the apostolate.     Especially the bishops of those
stood the ,bishops of the country churches. The next           churches thought to have been founded Gby the apos-
highest rank was occupied by the city bishops. Among tles have worth for him. He exalts them as the cus-
the city bishops towered the  biishops  of the chief cities    todians of the doctrine of the apostle; "If you wish,"
of civil  provmces  of the Roman empire. They were he argues, "to ascertain the doctrine of the apostles,
called in the East  metropolitans,  in the West arch- apply to the church of the apostles."
bishops. They had jurisdictian  over the other [bishops            The fundamental idea of papacy is this: Christ
of the province; ordained them ; called the provincial         gave Peter jurisdiction over the other apostles, -and
synods and presided in such synods. Upon them de- appointed him to the task of founding His church,
volved the care of the  ,whole province.       Above the agamst which the gates of hell will not prevail. These
metropolitans stood the five Patriarchs. They were privileges were  transferrable  and were actually trans-
the Ibishops of the four great capitals of the empire, ferred by Peter upon the bishop of Rome and upon
Rome, Alexander,  Antioch, and Constantinople, to none other. In consequence thereof, the bishops of
which was added the bishop of Jerusalem. They had Rome, as the successors of Peter, have always enjoyed
jurisdiction over one or more dioceses; ordained the and exercised, and always should, a universal juris-
metropolitan  ~bishops,  rendered the final decision in diction over the whole Christian church, laity and
church controversies; presided in the ecumenial  coun- clergy (including the bishops)  alike.  Thus, the su-
cils ; published the degrees of the ,council;  and thus preme juridical power i,n the church on earth is the
united in themselves the supreme legislative and ex- bishop of Rome. The first to clearly, advocate this
ecutive powers of the church.                                  idea was the church father Cyprian.
    This is the episcopate in its completed form-a                 Such `were also the claims of the papacy. How and
form which it reached by the fourth century. What why, through the centuries, these claims were realized
had contributed to its development was  :the commenda-         (properly they were aever  wholly  r&ized) is a long
tions it had received from the church fathers,                 story-a story too long to tell  here.

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

   Speaking now of th,e beginning or the seed of the       ward the Dead Sea. The waters were "cut off" above
papacy, this seed was the congregational bishop. The       where the priests stood, in full view of the people
further development of this seed was the diocesan          and thus stood as a precipice immediately above the
bishop or the episcopate. The development of this          place of crossing. According to another view the
institution was the  developme&  of papacy. The  latker    waters `were %ut off" very far from the place of
is the completion of. the former.         G. M. 0.         erGssing,  by the city of Adam, so that all the multi-
                                                           tude saw was a bare riverbed. ,The  former  of these
                                                           two views is certainly the one to be adopted. The
                                                           t&t. reads: "The waters which came down from above
                                                           stocd  and rose up upon a heap at or by the city Adam."
                                                           This must be taken to mean that before the crossing
       The Crossing of the Jordan                          was finished, the current ceased B very far off even
                                                           to Adam.
                                                              When the priests that  Ibore the ark were half way
   The two spies have ret.urned and brought in their across they remained standing until all the people
report. In the light of their experience they felt as- were passed over. So did the priests with the ark
sured that the Lord had given into the hands of their form the dam, so to speak, by which the rushing
people  all the land. Immediately Joshua sends the waters were restrained and piled up in a heap. ,
officers of the people through the host to'charge the         Joshua set up t.wo sacred memorials, one in the
people to prepare them  victuals, as within three ldays    midst of the river and one on the Western shore in
they were to pass over the Jordan to go in to possess      Gilgal. Each was forined of twelve stones  according
the land.                                                  to the $n,umer of the tribes of the children of Israel.
    The next day Joshua and the people rose up early The stones were carried to their resting place by
in the morn,ing,  loaded up, on the backs of the bezs:s    twelve men selected  from the twelve tribes.
of burden. Removing from Shittim they came to the             When the generations to come should ask. what
Jordan. Here they lodged for three days, some t.w.3        the stones meant, the fathers were to reply: "Israel
.thousa.ntd cubits from the  shank of the river. Joshua came over this Jordan on dry land, for the Lord your
now made arrangements for the passage of the Jor- God  dried up the waters of tlie Jordan from before us,
dan. The priests were  conmmanded  to take up the until we were  gane over:  th\& all  the people of  $he
ark of the covenant and passover  before the people. earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is
Having arrived at the brink of the water, they were mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for
to stand still.                                            ei'er." (4:21-24).
    As to the people, they were commanded to sanctify         But the miracle with which we now deal was per-
themselves, to turn their heart to God, in faith and formed directly for the benefit of the present .genera-
trust in His promise, anld in willing obedience to His tie=. Thereby E:ey should know tliat the living God
commands, that they might rightly take,  to hearl: the was among them, and that He would without fail,
wonder of grace which the Lord would the next dly drive out from before them the enemy. (3  :lO). The
perform among them. They were told to remove from living God-the God who is "the conscious, indepen-
their place and to follow the ark of the covenant          dent, sovereign and free Creator  and Ruler of all
when they would see it carried forward by the Levi&.       things, of whom, and in whom and for whom all things
But they might not come near the ark-there should are." The Lord of the whole earth ; and this because
b:e a space between them and it, about two thousand        He is the Living God. Life belongs to His very es-
cubits-that they might know the way by whi,:h they. sence. Living is He in lthe same that He is the fouru%
had to go: for they had not passed this way hereto- tion of His own being and the fountain of His own
fore. The  sacredlness  of the ark is here not directly existance.      And it is the Jehovah of the Hebrews,
the reason  but yet may come in as a secondary con-        thus' our Saviour, the God and Father of our Lord
sideration, according to Num. IV:15, the ark, .might Jesus Christ, also is the Living God. For He prepared
not be touched by anyone, not even by the  Levi&s          for His people a way through the Jordan. The waters
appointed to bear it. Uzziah died when he did this         did not overflow them.     They were not destroyed.
(II Sam. VI  :7). Had the masses of the people crowd- This was His work. For the priests with the ark re-
ed around the .ark, those that `were behind could not mained standing in the midst of the river, until all the
have seen .it.                                             people had passed dver. Now the  aFk was the symbol
    People and priests having :been told just what to of the presence of God among His chosen people. On
do the march began. When the feet of the priests the cover of the ark `God sat enthroned ; and from this
that bore the ark were dipped in the brim of the           placie He spake with Moses. Further, here was the
eater, the waters above the crossing stood&ill, so that place of true atonement for the people, where the
DCI more flowed by. The waters below ran away to-          blood of atonement was sprinkled oar. the cover of the


                                        T*HE  STANDAkU   B E A R E R                                                    485

 ark, once in the year, on the great day of atonement,
 by the highpriest. To this Paul refers when he calls -~ Als Van  E&en  .Geweldigen  Gel
 ,Christ  the true mercy-seat,  whom.God  set forth before                     dreven Wind                         L
 all the world, as a manifestation of His righteousness,
 for those who through faith in the efficacy of Christ's
 rexnciling death, approach the New Testament place                          (Psalm 68 ;  Tweede  Deel)
                                                                                   .
 of atonement (Rom. 3  :25).                                     Toen we de vorige  maal  iets  schreven  over dezen.
    Thus, Jehovah's restraining the waters of the river psalm hebben we gezien, dat zijn. hoofdthema uitge-
 was a work of mercy that was done on the grounds             drukt is in de eerste vier verzen. God zal opstaan en
 of an ato,ning sacrifice `by blood.                          Zijn vijanden vermorzelen; en.: De  reshtvaasdigen   zul-
    The miracle had significance for Joshua person- len van .vreugde o*pspringen  voor Gods aangezicht.
 ally.. It indicated that, the Lord would be with him            En in de verdere verzen tot en met vers vijftien
 as He had been with Moses (3 :7).                            beschrijft de zanger de groote werken Gods in het ver-.
    The passage of the people through Jordan took lossen  van Zijn  `volk, dat vergeleken wordt bij de
 place on the tenth day of the first month (ch. IV:19),       zwakke weduwe en de .armzalige  weezen. ZGo, is Israel.
 ,&us it is the same month as fomerly the departure door God verlost. Ook zal zij nog verder verlost wor-
 from Egypt. Both were immediately before the Pass- den. De groote verlossing  wacht op den oordeelsdbxg.
 over. ti the valley of the Jordan the harvest had al-           In de verzen 16 en 3'7 lee& ge `een tegenstelIing  tus-
 resdy  begun. At this  .season  the water of the river schen den berg Basan .en de iberg Sion. De eerste was
 stood high. The sacred narrator makes mention. of gelegen in  bet Noorden ; de  andere  was de -berg waar
 this (cb. 4 :15). This was so much more proof of  .:the Jeruzalem op gebouwd was. De eerste mocht zich ver-
 help of the "living God."                                    heugen in hoogte en zijne dalen in groote  vrucbtlbaar-
  The event of the crossing of the Jordan has typi- heid ; doch de la&&e  was door den Heer.e  begeerd om
 cal significance. The setting of the sun of righteous- aldaar te wonen. Op Sion kwam de heerlijkheid  Gods :
 qess in Paradise was the .commencement  of a terrible daar was het koningsh*uis en de tempel; daar woonde
 night, the *night of sin and of t.he revelation of God's de Heere tusschen de cherubim; daar werd het bloedig
 *wrath from heaven in a river of judgments. The way offer geduriglijk geplengd. Doch de eerste wordt.hier
 to Canaan looks through this flood-the -Jordan of voorgesteld als vertegenwoordiger  van  lalle  vijandige
 the sufferings and tribulations of this present time. ma&ten  die jaloersch waren  op Sion. Doch dat  qras.
 Another way there is not, and the tribulations of goddeloos.  `Sion  had  zichzelf  niet  verkoren. 0  neen.
 God's people-those which they have in common with "God zelf heeft dezen berg  begeerd  ter woning, om,
 all mankind-are. greatly augmented by the ill-treat-         aldaar  g&rd, Zijxn. heerlijkheid te.toonen. En ofschoon
 men't afforded them by the world.                            de trotsche bergruggen van Basan zich verheffen-De
    But let us not fear. The Lord has redeemed us by Heer die Sion verkozen heeft, die trouwe  hoadt  en
 name.  -We are  the.Lord's.  The waters will not over- eeuwig lee&,.  zal hier ook eeuwig wonen !
 flow us and -we be destroyed.  We will safely  rexh             Dan  volg% een opsomming van de groote  daden  des
 Canaan's shores (Isa. 43 : 1, 2). For Christ was raised Heeren die Hij  aan Israel gedaan  heeft,  of nog  doen
unto our justification. He is at God's right hand. To zal.                                                    ,"         6
 Him has been given all power in heaven and on earth.            Staaade  in het licht Gods bezingt de profeet  eerst
 He stands in the midst of the Jordan on behalf of His de heirscharen des hemels. Dat zit vast ,aan hetgeen
 people. He rolls back the rushing waters of  .God's hij gezegd  had van de woning Gods in Sion. We merk-
 wrath from them but only in .the sense of course,  that' ten reeds op, dat Hij woonde in Sion tusschen de cheru-
 the judgments of God, the sufferings of this present bim, tusschen  de engelen die op het verzoendeksel  .der
 time do not destroy their faith and thus not in the arke Gods afgebeeld  waren.  Die twee engelen.  ver-
 sense that they are spared of this suffering.                tegenwoordigden de  heirscharen  des  hemels.  En die.
                                            .G. M. 0.         heirscharen  zijn "verdubbeld in getale!"       .
                                                                 Neen, .we kunnen de ,engelen  niet zien. Er zijn
                                                              slechts weinige onzer broederen die de heirmachten
                                                              Gods gezien hebben.  Daaronder   zijn Henoch, Elisa
                         NOTKE                                en zijn knecht, Jesaja, de herders in Bethlehem's vel-
                                                              den en Johannes. Doch verreweg de meesten van ons
 Classical Committee of  Classis East makes the follow- hebben nooit de  en.gelen  Gods gezien. Welnu, hier hebt
 ing  Classioal   .appointments  for the Protestant Reform- ge een beschrijving van Gods legers : Gods  wagens  zijp
 ed Church of Randolph, Wisconsin:                            tweemaa1   tienduizend,  de duizenden  verdub,beld.  De
 Sept. 5, Rev.  L.  Vermeer  ; Sept. 12, Rev. A. Petter; Deere  is onder hen, een  SinaY in heiligheid.
 Sept. 19, Rev. B. Eok ; Sept. 26, Rev. J. Heys ; Oct. 3,        Wanneer  we dit lezen komen we onder een machti-
 Rev. P, De Boer; Oct. 10, Rev. R. Veldxnan.             .    gea indrukt.  #Stelt bet U vow : duizenden en tiendui-


`488                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

              A Call To Advance                           a denomination. Our children receiving these false
                                                          doctrines in school will feel perfectly at home in any
                                                          church that has Arminian tendencies. They will ac-
   As you have noticed from your programs, this is        cept what they are `taught in school. You know, as
our eighteenth Annual Field Day., It is therefore, well as I do that when a denomination becomes indif-
in the' first place, a day upon which we owe God our ferent, the parents also individually exercise no coa-
dee.pest  gratitude for what He  ha.s done for us as a tern over the instruction their children receive. How
denomination in the past year.      Today is a day of many of our Protestant Reformed parents today make
Lelebration,  of rejoicing, of relaxation, but first of all a practice and serious endeavour to find out regularly
it is a day that demands thanksgiving. Since we as what their  chilld is taught? Not very many, I am
Protestant Reformed Churches i$n this vicinity have afraid.
been in the habit of having a field day on the 4th of        It is because of this that I would like to call your
July from year to year this day should be the Thanks- attention this eveving.hour to,  `!A Call To Advance.`"
giving Day of the Prot.estant  R,eformed  Churches, for We as a Protestant Reformed church must advance
God again has richly blessed us since our last annual and establish a school of our own for our children.
Field Day.                                                My speech is suggested by the command of God that
   From the other viewpoint, that w:e celebrate our came to Joshua `when Israel was across the Jordan and
18th Annual Field Day today, must be a cause of  dis- had not as yet entered into the land of Canaan. Is-
appointement for those who' wished our movement to rael had come all the way from Egypt, *had crossed
a sudden end, and who secretly and inwardly wished the Red Sea, came through the wilderness and con-
that this  thi,ng would blow over. It has not blown quered all who opposed her. Moses was dead, and
over. Today we celebrate our 18th annual Field Day, Joshua had been appointed in his place. Israel has
we number nineteen congregations more than  w-e did conquered all the land east of the Jordan and can see
when `we began these. annual Field Days. We have already the laud God promised her. Then the cal!
grown. We have bleen blessed by God, and do there-        came to Joshua, who, apparently, was very hesitant
fore owe Him our deepest gratitude.                       to  lead Israel, "Arise, go over this Jordan." I see a
   Yet, sad to say, our Protestant Reformed Churches striking similarity between Israel at this time and our
faze a peril today that is ,greater  than any they ever Protestant Reformed churches today. We, too, have
faced before. This `peril or danger will be greater come far. We began with the modest beginning of
each time we celebrate our annual Field Day if we three congregations.            Now we number twenty-two
continue in the direction we now are, going. There        congregations. Our movement has spread from Michi-
was a time shortly before h924 and immediately fol- ,gan to Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana and Cali-
lowing that the terrible lie of Common Grace  WX,         fornia. We began with combined consistory meetings,
boldlyand vigorously maintained  i,n speech and print.    then formed a Classis  and now we have two seperate
We with equal boldness and force opposed this lie. We Classis and a Synod. We have come far, but there is
turned to God's  wprd, we became stronger and strong- still a sphere into which we can anld must advance.
er in the faith, and we `grew in the grace and know- The ,call comes also to us today, "Arise, go over Jor-
ledge of Christ. Those were wonderful days and we         dan." Let me call your attention to what I have in
were spiritually strong  and vigorous. But now, sad to ,mind as we consider this call to advance. I would,
say, we have lost ,our first love, and we. have become    first of all, call your attention to the task unto which
careless and indifferent. Yea, we have begw: to com- we are called; in the second place to the require-
promise! Perhaps I may even say we  haze been coin-       ment for heeding this call ; and finally to God's pro-
p:omisi.ng  for some time. If this were our first, se- mise to us if we heed it.
cond, or third annual Field Day, I could not say this,       Let us first consider the situation as it wf:s wi,th
but here it is our 18th annual Field Day and we still Joshua and Israel in order that we may have the
are surrendering or giving our children to be taught right picture before our minds. For Joshua, the call,
by those who believe that `Lhe gospel is a well-meant "Arise, go over this Jordan," means that he must
offer of salvation to all men. Is that not compromis- lead Israel unto Canaan. (Canaan,  as you know, was
ing. But it still is taught, not as openly as before, the typical heaven. Here God would reveal Himself
but it is taught to our children in school. Are we not to His people most clearly through types and shadows.
compromising with this lie if we subject our childen      He revealed Himself to Israel in Egypt, in the  wibder-
to it five days a week and for quite a few hours each ness, and all through her journey, but in Canaan,
day?                                                      Israel was to have the richest foretaste of heaven.
   If present conditions remain, we may celebrate our Here more clearly than ever before ,God  would show
l&h, 20th, 25th and even 30th annual Field Day, but His love and grace to His peoplfe.
there w# be no reason for our seperate existenoe  as         At the time when this call came to Joshua,  how-


                                    T*HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            489

ever, Israel was still outside this promised land. She son. Even then, you  wiI1 find your children coming
had not yet attained to God's promise. Rueben,  Gad home singing Arminian hymns. You can put a stop
and one half the tribe of Mannaseh whose portion to it, you can prevent these things, but never can you
were on the east side of the Jordan had attained the make one who believes in Common Grace teach your
land God promised them, but the other nine and one child God's Sovereign  Grace.                Never can the best
half tribes still had not attained to God's promise. school  board in the world make one who does not see
May Joshua be satisfied? He may not. Israel is a the sovereignty of God, in science, in history and in
nation, a whole, and not u,ntil all the ,trgbes  have re-    geography, teach your child to see these things. It
ceived their promised share may Joshua be satisfied. cannot Ibe done. You may prevent Arminian doctrine
He must arise and go over the Jordan. On the other           in the Bible lesson, but you- will never have -science,
side God's temple will be built. There He will reveal history and geography and related subjects  taugh;
Himself most clearly to His people.                          your child as you would like to have them be taught.
   It was no easy task unto which Joshua was called.            The cost should not be considered. Think once a-
It was not a question of a few men crossing this Jor- gain of Israel. Many of her finest young men would
dan.    That could have been done. The two spies dfe in battle when Joshua heeds this call. Well, be-
whom Rahab saved did cross the Jordan, but all Is- lc+;ed,  you ,will .not be called upon to give cp your life
rael, women and children, cattle and goods, as well as in order that we may have a school of our own. The
the men, must cross that Jordan. To make it seem financial cost, then, cannot be compared or com-
even more impossible, Jordan at this time was a puted.
swollen, swiftly flowing river. Apparently it could
not be crossed.                                                 Nor must we be concerned over th`e conditions un-
                                                             der which our children will receive their instruction.
   Still more, having once crossed, Israel's troubles If we could have a modern, well-lighted, well-ventilat-
are not over. They only begin. Now Israel must fight ed building, that would be fine. No one would desire
against all the inhabitants of the land. Israel, with- this any more than I `would, but we must not be too
out horses and chariots, must fight against well-armed concerned over the physical. The things spiritual
nations who boasted of horses and chariots, and dwelt come first, and if we have a school of our own less
in fenced cities with high  stron,g walls. An exceed- modern and with ventilation and lighting facilities not
ingly great task confronts Israel.      Yet God says to up to present day standards, we must not be too quick
Joshua, "Arise, go over this Jordan."                        to consider ,the material and forget the spiritual whi,zh
   The similarity between Israel at this time and our comes first. Perhaps, our chil,dren because of `poor
Protestant Reformed churches today is very  stri~king.       lighting will need to wear glasses. Still is it not worth
We, too, are still on the east side of Jordan as far it that they see go013 spirituaIly?          Perhaps the condi-
as our children are concerned. There still is room for tions will not guarantee that our child will remain in
us to advance with this doctrine God has given us to good health, but does it not mean much that they
preserve. There still is a richer sphere of instruction grow up spiritually healthy? Our Seminary meets
unto which we can lead our children. Indeed, the old- still today under very adverse conditions with its poor
er generation and `we who have been through the lighting and poor ventilation. Do we hear anyone
struggle in 1924 and halve been brought up in this say, "Let's not have a seminary; let us quit?" Of
truth, we have attained to this richer communion  aed        course not. We are only too glad that we do have
fellowship with God. Our foretaste of heaven's sbless-       one. I don't mean to say we must be careless about
ings is rich. But what of the nine and one-half tritbes,     our children's health. We may not do this, but nev-
the coming generations who are not taught this truth ertheless we must be more concerned with their spirit.-
in school? May we be satisfied just because we have us1 needs than their material. Would you not much
this truth? No more than Joshua might be satisfied rather see your child wear glasses than to have him
-may  w$e be today. The call comes also to us, "Ad- be an Arminian? But that is not the choice you have
vance, arise, go over this Jordan  !" Joshua hesitated to make. It is not as bad as all that. Today with our
a short while, but we have been here on the east side modern schools, with their :approved  lighting and ven-
of Jordan some 18 or 19  years.        Is it not time for tilation, the number of children that are  forzed  .to
us to cross ?                                                wear .glasses and the number of cases of tuberculosis
   We must heed this call. Oh! I know, .we do have snd other contagious diseases is as great and even
Christian Schools -today,  but that does not solve the greater than when all the schools were what today
problem.    Past experience has proven this. You can would be termed decidedly unhealthful and even per-
have a 100 per cent Protestant Reformed school board, haps would be condemned. Many of us gathered here,
$nd if everyone of those men, himself, is 100 per cent no doubt, have attended such schools in our childhood
Protestant Reformed, the best you can do is to pre- days. Did we suffer for it?  YOU  can  mbaike too much
vent any outward Arminian teaching in  .the Bible les-       of these things and be too concerned about the mater-

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

ial. But, on the other hand, do we dare to answer this peace. Similarly there are many things which would
call of God and say, "Yea, Lord I will cross the Jor-       discourage having a  schoo1  of our own. First of all
d.an when thou shalt show me a nice place on the other      the lack of interest manifested in the present move-
side. It looks so wild. If thou wilt show me a nice ment is enough to discourage us. Then there is the
park or garden, something beautiful, I will go over         financial burden. Most of the children will have to
this Jordaa?" Do we dare do that? If we ado, we are come to school by bus, leaving earlier in the morning
not worthy of the name Protestant Reformed. Then than at prIesem  and coming home later at night. These
we deny God's sovereignty in our walk of life; for          things would be discouraging and will be unless we
then, when the Sorvlereign God calls us, we assume the are spiritually strong. But if we are spiritually strong,
right to refuse, and thus exalt ourselves.        The Re- `we will be of good courage and we will advance. Faith,
formed churches always were satissied with modest hope,  and love are powers in us, forces that will not
beginnings. Are we as a Protestant  Reform&  de- let  us, remain idle. They will make us ,arise and go
nomination too proud for this? Shame on us if we over this Jordan. Joshua was spiritually strong and
are.                                                        did heed God's command. Our forefathers were spir-
       Nay, beloved, if we do not have a Protestant Re- itually strong ,and crossed the Atlantic ocean that in
formed school of our own in the near future, it will this country  Ithey might worship God  accordmg  to
not be Ibecause  we ,do not have the money. It will not the dictates of their hearts. If we are spiritually
Ibe because we do not have the necessary Protestant strong, we will see .to it that our children are instruct-
Reformed teachers. It will not be because there is ed in the truth. We will advance. We have advanced
no need. Shall I tell you what the cause will be? It into the fields of missionary work. #Let us also do so
will be because we are sick! It will be because we in respect to the instructing of our chili&en.  I might
are too weak ! That will be the reason. We are too say here that it is so easy ito be concerned with some-
sick and weak spiritually. It was  not without reason one elses children  Isad not with our own. We are so
that when God commanded Joshua to  advarme, He eager to do missionary work. Far be it from me to
told him three times to be strong and of good courage.      suggest that we quit doing so. We must do mission-
Three times, mind you, he must be told to be strong. ary work, but is not our first calling, even before we
The meaning is, of coure, that he must be spiritually begin to work with someone  ,elses  children, to provide
strong. He must be strong in faith, in hope and in for our own? If our denomination is spiritually
love, That is the requirement. Joshua must believe strong, we will advance in all the fields God opens for
                                                                                                                 *
with all his heart that God will give them the land us.
across the Jordan. .Joshua must with a strong yearn-           Really,  Ibeloved,  sthere is no reason for zliscourag-
ing look forward to the fulfillment of God's promise. .ment.  God gives us a very rich promise. To Joshua
Joshua must love, with an intense love, to dwell in the then, and to us now,  <He says, "Be strong and of good
land and. there enjoy the foretaste of the  heal?enly       courage. I will  .not fail thee nor forsake thee." He
blessings to come. Unless he is spiritually strong, he holds us in His hand. We have His promise that He
will  cot arise and go over the Jordan. That same will not  l$ go. He will not relax His hold. He did
thing holds true for you and me. Spiritual strength not relax His hold but toolk Lot and ,brought  him to
is required. We must be firmly  ,convinced  that the safety. Neither will He forsake us and He will not
doctrine God has given us is the truth. We must cut us off from His love and grace. That is His pro-
hope unwaveringly for the coming of our Lob&  Jesus mise. We confess to believe in His  SaTereign grace.
Christ to bring us to the eternal land of rest and to Are we now all of a sudden ,afraid  that He will take
have our children there with us. We must love that this grace from us after havin,g given it to us for so
truth that we have received. If we do, we will hurry long?
up and  estalblish  a school for our children.                 Why are we afraid to cross this Jordan? Look at
       If we are spiritually weak,  `we will become dis- the church in any dispensatian. Has God ever forsak-
couraged at the slightest little things, and many are en His church? Did He ever leave her in the lurch?
the things which have a tendency to discourage. It          Gonsil&er our own denomination. Has God ever left
was so `with Joshua. He had to lead a rebellious peo- us in the lurch? You know He did not. We are
ple. Was he not one of the twelve spies whose re- celebrating our 18th annual Field Day. Is this in
port Israel rejected? Did he not see the rebellion of itself not a manifestation that Be has not failed us
Israel? Such a people he must lead. Then there was          nor forsaken us as a denomination. We have grown
the Jordan, greatly swollen. Why not wait until it          and spread out. He has even enabled us to reach a
recedes? Resides, the picture is different than at the larger sphere by means of the radio.
Red Sea. Now no one is pursuing them. They  haI7e              A moment ago I said it will not be because of. fi-
conquered the whole section east of the Jordan. Why nancial reasons nor that we have not the necessary
not stay here? No lives would be lost, Here they have It;eachers  to have a school of our own. I'd like to come.


    r     -                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          491

bncik to that for a moment. Has God not always, in the science of ApoIogetics  arises from the difference
the past, g+en us the finances we needed for any cause           as to whether i,t should be limited to a defense only
worthy of  .the name Protestant  Reforlmed?  Have we and how that  <defense of Christianity should be made.
ever been prevented from advancing as a denomina- For that reason we must elaborate in our definition of
tion because of the money problem? You know we Apologetics.
have not been. God has not left us nor forsaken us,                 The word is derived from the Greek word "apol-
but even right now gives us enough wherewith to                  ogy" which means, defense. However when `we speak
finance a school of our own. He also has given us                of the science of malking a defense or Apologetics we
the talent and lability. We have many very capable               do not merely limit  ilt to a defense in that narrow
young men and women with the talents and abilities               sense. A. Kuyper in his Encyclopedia of Theology
necessary to teach in such a school. God has not left shows that although the word  a.pology  refers in  the
us nor failed us. Arise, then, go over this Jordan !             narrow sense to a defense and although in the early
    Do you  belietve this promise of God? Are you church Apologetics consisted mainly in a defense
strong in the faith? Do not give me your answer                  against paganism, nevertheless it also partakes of the
now. Give me your answer by having a Protestant character  of  an' attack. It is both  defensivle  and of-
Reformed school of our own in tie near future.                   fensive,  thetical and antithetical. So it is with the
                                                  J. A. H.       Word of God itself.  ,The Word of God is not only
                                                                 a revelation of the truth but also a condemnation of
    Speech delivered by the  Rev: John A. Heys at the  ' 13th    the lie. Any Itrue defense of the Bible and Christian-
Annual Field Day of the Protestant Reformed Churches, July       ity, which is founded upon the Bible,. necessarily con-
4, 1943 at Ideal Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan.                   tains such an antithetical witness.
                                                                    Another point we must make answers the question,
                                                                 against whom is Apologetics directed? Usually, his-
                                                                 torically, the enemies against whom apologies were
                                                                 made were the non-Christians, unbelievers. However,
                                                                 we  all realize that the enemies of Christianity are not
               The Value of Apologetics                          limited to those professedly unbelievers. The foe is
                                                                 also within. The enemy comes also in sheep's cloth-
                                                                 ing.      There are heretics within the church against
    Even though this subject may sound at first out whom she is called upon to fight. The history of `the
of the range of the interest of  most of our people I revelation of God shows that the truth has always had
have no doubt that our  interes&  is nevertheless arous- its enemies within the very covenant sphere  i*n which
ed. Because this subject of Apologetics does not ap- it was made. The  stu#dy  or science or preparation for
pear upon the curriculum of our theological school we an attack against these enemies within and without
would ask the  q,uestion  is there someone who believes was divided into two Ibranches.              There is, on the one
that there is a place for such a special course in our hand Apologetics which concerned itself with the un-
school and  ,wishes to contend for such in our Standard believers directly, and on the other hand Polemics
Bearer? I would therefore immediately state that the which concerned itself with heretics within ,the church.
purpose of this article is not Ito point out the value of                We may leave this  ldistinction  as is. However,
Apologetics in order  to urge its introduction as a now the point of difference comes out. Is there a
special course of study among us. However, it may real essential difference between the two enemies and
also be that some of us do not see any value in Apol-            therefore in the method of defense and attack? The
ogetics at all, who think that it is contrary to Scrip-          answer to this brings out the difference of opinion a-
ture. For that reason you may also question whether              bout Apologetics. And we can say that essentially there
anyone among us would contend for Apologetics. If is no difference between the two enemies  of the truth.
your interest is herewith aroused to follow me further Whether they say that they ,believe in God and `His
as I will try Ito show that there is value in Apologetics        Word or not, they remain essentially enemies of the
when understood correctly.                                       truth. The one within the church is more dangerous
    Let us first understand  ,what we mean by Apol- and must be attacked more often. And this attack
ogetics. Apologetics has been defined in the Ency- requires much preparation because of its  sutbtlity.
clopedia of Religion and Ethics as the Christian de- Thi,s may not appear in controversies within the church
fense against non Christian. Another definition stat- immediately, but ultimately the issue appears and re-
es it this way "Apologeti,cs  is that branch of theolog-         mains, the truth of the Word of God. A careful study
ical study which has for its object the science of de- of the controversies within the church will prove this.
`fending Christianity against the assaults of the en- Examples may be cited here. We refer first  rto the .
emies."          (Encyclopedia of  McClintock  and Strong).      controversy in apostolic times.        At first it was  ,a
However the difference of opinion that obnains  about straggle with the leaders of the Jews who contended

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

that Jesus was not the Christ. The apostles defended This distinction worked havoc with  ,the defense of
Jesus as the Christ of the Old Testament Scripture.         Christianity was not really a defense, but  a$ giving
Finally when the Jews persisted in their denial, and of ground to man. Under the influence of philosophy
even though they maintained that they  were   ,&b-          apologetics was considered necessary to an introduc-
r&am's  children, the apostles plainly  declare3  that tion to theology. And faith in the  revela-tion  of God
these Jews had not the truth and even that they were res:ted upon man's reasoning it out first.
dogs. It was plainly shown that the Judaizers taught           In a way, at the time of the Reformation, we can
that which was not of Christ. In the second place, if consider the works of the Reformers as apologetic
we would  loork at the struggle of the Reformation fair- in the good sense of the word. They are defenses
ly we would judge  tha;t  it was the question of the against Roman Catholicism. Some place Calvin's  "In;
Word of God'  averagainst  the word of man. If we stitutes" in the class aE apologetics. In his introduc-
would look at it narrowly we probably would call it tion, his letter to King Francis, Calvin makes  his de-
polemics,  tha+ is, a controversy against those  tiho pro- fense for the appearance  of his work to the king of
fess to maintain the Scriptures. Nevertheless, the France. This work, howd;.er  is of a  d,ifferent nature
Roman C,atholic Church insists on other authority  out- than the usual works ?f apologetics.
side of the Bible and maintains ,that it is equal to it.       In our modern times the works of apologetics m;ke
This with the insistence upon works as a basis for the s?me mistake as Scholasticism. They first inves-
justification is nothing less than a denial of the au- rtigate to determine whether the data and teachings of
thority of the Bible and its teachings. In the final Scripture are in harmony  w.ith their reason and then
analysis we can say that the point in all controversies they humbly accept the Scripture. They place reason
is  j,ust exactly a question  & God's Word versus man's overagainst faith. They proceed upon the same error
word.     Therefore it is -so all important to continue of modern philosophy which began with Descartes.
the fight for the cause of God in all controversies  and    Descartce  first doubted before he <built up his system
never say it is useless.                                    of philosophy. The modern apologete of the Bible
    In order to see the value of apologetics we ought does the same. He first proves the truth of the Bible
to see how important it is to make an apology, a de- from his own experience and reason in order to con-
fense. It is an admonition in the Word of God, that vince the unbeliever. This is a  ,fatal concession to
we are to make apologies. We have this in Philip- unbelief,
pians 1:7, "Even as it is meet for me to think this of
you all, because I have you in my heart ; inasmuch as          In our evaluation of Apologetics we must see of
both in my bonds, and in the defense aad confirma- course very clearly that the modern method and idea
tion of the gospel ye all are partakers of my grace." is contrary to Scripture. In our defense of Scripture
And in `verse 1'7, "But the other of love, (knowing that we do not set ourselves up as ju,dges overagainst it.
I am set for the  Idefense   af the gospel." Here the We bow before the sovereign authority of the Scrip-
word defense, or as in the original "apology" is used kure  itself. The Bible contains its own proof and evi-
by the apostle Paul with reference to his calling. We dence. It demands faith in its truth and hope in its
know too how he always made his defense of the gos-         promises.
pel. He defended the ,truth  overagainst Judaism as            And in our defense or  a*poIogy of the Bible we
ewe11  as paganism. He entered the synagogues as well must not fear. It is not our defense. It is God's worlk
as the market place in Athens. His speeah on Mars           in us. By God's grace we shall always hafire that con-
hill is a most marvelous  d.efense  of the truth  over- viction and courage to defend the rtruth  and to testi-
against. paganism. We are admonished in 1 Peter fy against the lie. So we are admonished in I Peter
3 :15 to be ready always to make a defense. "But sanc-      3  :15. The translation  `<be ready always to give an
itify the Lord God in your hearts and be ready always answer to every man" is ;in the original, "be always
to give an answer to every man that asketh you a ready toward an apology." But in our defense of our
reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and faith we do not examine ourselves whether we have
fear."                                                      the faith and hope, but we defend it through an an-
   In the history of the church since the apostolic ti thetica1  confession.
times we find much apologetic work. There are the              However one final question about the science of
early Apologists  like Justin Martyr and Origin which Apologetics. Axe we to take the atitude that  we need
were of a philosophical nature and were- directed a- not be trained in vthe task of defense? And thcs are
gainst the early Greek attacks against Christianity. we to discourage the study of Apologetics? I think
Augustine's work, "The City of God" is considered by no one of us discourages training in theology. `For
some to be of an apologetic nature.      In the Middle tbzt same reason no one should discourage the study
ages there is the work  of Thomas  Acquinas,   "Sum2 of Apologetics understood in the Biblical sense.
Contra Gentiles." In the period of the SchoIasticism           We can profit from  ,the study of the history of
we have the distinction between faith and reason,           Qologies  in the first place. We can see the dangers


                                       TsHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          493

and our calling in such an historical research. It is tory of  OaBPs,wn  gladly cooperated, with the  resuIt
another question whether this subject ca.n be treated         that the Rev. C. Hanko reported that the field looked
more in detail in our school. Up to the present Lime good and advised that more concerted  effort to canvas
such  msterial  has been  incorporatsd  in our  do-mat-       the field be put forth. Shortly after this, the Rev.
ical instruction.                                             1~. Hoeksema was asked to `work with the Rev. Hanko
    More specifically we can conclude  ,that  su-h  a in this vicinity. The rqort of this work  *s.lso  proved
special  trainicg, along  with and under  theoligical         to be verydavorable. The Mission Committt-a then  de-
training, will sharpen the theologian and mJBe him ci,`ed that not only should our ministers and students
a better witness. It will also serve to  confisrm the spealk  the Woad on the Sabbath, but should also try
faith c;tf the believers in the face of modern attacks. to organize a scciety  where all could come to discuss
,And as far as unbelievers are concerned the  slme the Word of God and the problems that were raised
fruit as the preaching of the Gospel will obtain. There due, to the differences of especia.lly  ,the Christian Re-
will be a  pqwer  of conviction proceeding from the           formed and  Prokesfrant  Reformed Churches. This work
working of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin and so           also bore fruit in a deeper understanding of the doc-
that  E;lcery mouth may be stopped.                           trinal differaocs  and of the Word of God in general.
                                               `L. D.         Besides,  :<e have no doubt but that these meetings
                                                              tended to ,mould  the interested parties concerned al-
                                                              most without exception into *the group that was or-
                                                              gznized.                                        4
                                                                 When the Synod of 1943  decided  to instruct the
                                                              Mission Committee to do still more work in Randolph
                                                              and encouraged the Committee to inake diligent at-
            Randolph Organized                                tempt to organize there, the Committee  <decided to ask
                                                              both  th.e Rev. C. Hanko and the Rev. B. Kok to spend
                                                              three weeks in this territory. This time also the  con-
    On the evening of August  17th,  1943, another con- sistories of both Oaklawn and Hudsonville gbl.dly ac-
gregation was  laddeed to our Protestant Reformed ceded to our request and the result shows that eight
Denomination.        In the neat  littl,e  Congregational families signified their desire to be organize& into a
Church building of Randolph; Wis. where our Mission congregation.
Committee had sponsored services for over a year,                The date having been set, the Committee decidid  to
eight families were organized into a congregation. .go to Randolph to carry out th*e organization proper.
    Small indeed is the beginning of this little group,          Since the Revs. Hanko and Hoeksema had labored
but we believe there is promise that this new addition hard in this field, they were asked to be present at
to our Churches will grow .and ripen into a stalwart this meeting and take part in the organia%tion  service.
in our ranks.                                                 The latter because of circumstances, could not attend.
    Each Sabbath, for over a year, the WOX?  of God              As was said, only eight families had requested
had been proclaimed by ministers  `and students to            organization. Therefore it  *could  ,be expected that not
those whom the Lord brought to hear it. Besides, a large audience would be present.
during this period personal  woFk of some of our minis-          After the Rev. M.  Schipper had conducted the
ters was conducted in this vicinity, the purpose  crf prelimiriaries  and the Rev. A. Cammenga, a commit-
which was to enlighten those who  wou18d'  receive them       tee .member  from the West, had led the meeting in
into their homes.       And the Lord has opened the prayer, the Rev. B. Kok preached a. brief sermon on
hearts to receive that precious truth which is the the text found in Isaiah  43221.  He emphasized es-
peculiar heritage of our Protestant Reformed Church- pecially that the formation of the body of Christ was
es. Because of this, we are glad and thankful to Him entirely the Lord's work, and that the purpose of this
Who has given us to see fruits upon the labor per- formation was the praise *and glory of God, and. that
formed.                                                       this purpose would surely be realized. This was ap-
   It is  well known especially to those of our Church- plied very effectively to the formation of the little
es in Classis East that through a suggestion coming group at Randolph. No one was left in doubt at this
from the consistory and minister of the congrega- meetilng as to the identity of the Creator and Former
tion at  Oaklawn,  mission work  was begun in Randolph of this new  congregs.tion.          It was a product not of
and environs. When the  Xission  ,Commit#tee  learned man or a group of men $but of the heavenly Artificer
of those in this territory who were interested in the         Himself Who would also realize His own glory in  and
truth, it immediately asked the consistory of  Oaklawn        through the little flock now organized.
to allow its pastor to work in this territory to  determ-        Then those desiring organization were asked to
ine  the  acjvisability  of continued effort. The  consis-    hand in the certificates of dismissal from the Church-


4 9 4                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         I_

es they left which the committee recognized and az-
cepted.                                                        Reply to the ,C.`L. A. Secretary
    Thene were ,three young men, heads` of three of
the families, and members by baptism*in  the Churches Esteemed Editor,
they left, who asked for the right to profess  athe Name
of the Lord at this meeting. These young men had               In his article in i!Le August issue of the Standard
been labored with on more than one occasion and were Bearer, Mr. Gritter still fails to show that there is an
instructed  ito see that should they desire to affiliate essemial  difference between t.he stand of the  CLA and
with our Churches they should also  #be willing to          the worldly unions on the matter of the strike. No
publicly  maIke profession of their faith. They did one denies  (that there is a difference of degree,. since
.desire this.    The Committee, therefore, before the the CLA is quite conservative in condoning the strike,
meeting questioned these young men at length and de- allowing such a strike only as a last extreme and with-
cided to accept their confessions and grant them the        out any. accompanying acts of violence, such as de-
right to make their, public confession after the mem- struction of property,  etc.         Yet essentiaily they too
bers of the congregation had been given opportunity maintain the strike. And to that I raised objections.
to bring, lawful objections (against them. They were The readers  ,will recall that  1 compared their form
found to be of good repute and above reproach.              of  &ricking with a toy gun hold-up, which is  none-
Hence, they were asked the usual questions, and after itheless a hold-up.
they had *properly  answered were exhorted to continue         Mr. Gritter makes the strike as they approve of it
in their eonfession and were given the ri,ght to vote seem so entirely innocent. He prefers the Dutah word
for office-b.earers  who would form the first consistory `stakin' to our word `strike', although I am rather
of our Randolph Protestant Reformed Church.                 sure that <the word `staking' in its accepted meaning
    The Committee recommended  thiat two elders and leaves an equally bad taste in the mouth of any Hol-
one deacon be chosen. The congregation adopted this lander who opposes the principle of the strike. He
recommendation  and without much delay  cbo,:e its adds : "The  CLA accepts the right of  th,e `staking'
Ieaders.  The Rev. C. Hanko then read the form for without the bad implications of the  strirke. Such ces-
ordination and duly installed the brethren in their sation of work would not be approved of unless there
re_rpectFve  offices.                                       was a real injustice and until everything within reas-
    *After singing the two verses of Psalter number on hs.d been done to secure justice by other means.
370, the Rev. J. De Jong closed the service with thanks It would have `to be entirely peaceful. There could be
to God.                                                     no interference with  th.e right  of others to work. And
    Immedieately  after the service, the congregation the employer would have the right to hire  o&&s.
and visitors enjoyed refreshments in the basement of But the employees who had ceased to work, in protest
the Church and spent a few moments discussing and against an injustice, would have the right to acquaint
speaking about matters related to this joyous occasion. prospective new employees  witth their grievances and
    And so we could return home with joyful hearts, ky such moral persuasion try to influence them not
elated over the fact that our Covena.nt  God had not to interfere with their legitimate pursuit of justice.
only given us  .an open door in Randolph, but that He That is ,the CLA stand."
also had called into  existence  by His mighty, creative       But even so he cannot deny that the employee
Word a people for Himself who shall show forth His maintains his claim to his job. He does not break his
praise.                                                     relation to his employer by quitting his job, .He re-
    We congratula.te  you, sister congregation at Ran- gards himself as still in the lawful employ of his em-
dolph, and welcome you into the fellowship of our ployer, In the meantime he refuses to work, demands
Churches. May the Lord prosper you `in the way of that his machinery shall stand idle and denies anyone
faithfully living- the truth you have learned 40 loje, else (the moral right to take his place. He is still in the
an3 shall  Ibe called upon to continually profess in service of his employer, but refuses to work. He
your community. "Keep that which thou  ha&, which Ik.eeps his job, but does not fill it. He uses moral
has been committed unto you  ;" and "be faithful unto persuasion to prevent anyone from stepping in his
-ihe end that no one take your crown." We hope sin- p!ace.  And the evident purpose is to exert pressure
cerely that the Shepherd of Israel will presently send on his ,empIoyer to gain the end which he considers
unto you an under-sh'epherd  to lead you further into j u5t. His aim, collectively with all the other em-
the pastures of the truth, and that others who as  *yet ployees, is to place the employer in such a position
have not joined with you will see the neoessity of be- that he is forced to comply with their demands. If
ing like-mindad with you in order that you may be en- he fails in this the strike has proved a failure.
couraged in your work.                                         .Our  ,discussion  has simmered down to the question :
                           The Mission Committee,           just what is the relation between the employer and the
                                  per M; Schipper,          employee. Is it a relation of mutual contract or a re-


                                      T;HE  STANDA'RD   B E A ' R E R                                           495

lation of authority and  &edience.   If it is simply a must bring this wish into practice in his relation to
relation of mutual contract, in which the employee them. Both have this, in common that they are in-
sells his ;time,  his talents and his ability to the em- terested first of all in their mutual spiritual welfilse.
ployer, I can conceive of the possibility that the em- Such ideal conditions are only possible when both the
ployee has the same rights and  oibligations  as the em- employer and the employees are truly Christians.
ployer. Neither one has more or less. They stand on Would that we had more of this attitude in penfect up-
an equal basis and can make their demands as equals. rightness among those that call themselves  ChristBans.
If the CLA wants sto take that position their stand on        But Scripture is always very definite on this score,
the strike might be justified on this score.               that the relation of the employer  and the workingman
   But if the relation of employer and employee is is one of authority and obedience. Even when it speaks
essentially the same as that of parent and child, hus- of the laborer working for wages, so  that he is worthy
band and wife, magistrate and citizen, a relation of of his hire, the relation to his employer does not
authority and subordination, the two can never face change one mike.  God still demands of him that the
each other on an equal basis. If the employee is a servant shall be subject to his master, not only to the
servant of his employer he owes him his time and his good and ,gentle,  lbut also to the froward, as sexvants
talents and his honest effort as long as he is in his      of Christ, doing the `will of  `God from the  heart,  in
employ. H,e may not maintain his position and at the singleness of heart as fearing  Go& 1 Pet. 2:18, Eph.
same time refuse to work. To do so is an  sot of in-       6:5, 6. Col.  3222.
subordination.                                               And. since this is the `case, a  strifke is an act of
   The latter, not the former, is the plain teaching of insubordination. The workingman. may present his
Scripture.                                                 case, a strike is an act of insubordin&ion. The work-
   For that reason I can appreci-L3,:e the fact that Mr. ingman may present his case to his employer, even in
Gritter reminds us of other examples of Scripture company with his fellow workers, but he may not
where the relation of employer and employee is strike. He may not hold his job and at the same time
brought to the foreground. Especially in these times rol%se  to work, may not nesort  `to' revolt or extorlioa
when all respect  for authority is rapidly being lost to  ,g;.in  his  .ends, no matter how just his case may
from silght,  the example of Abraham n.nd his servants be. When every attempt fails he can still appeal his
and of Boaz with his workers is of extreme, import- case to  lthe highest Bar of justice, the supreme Judge
ance.                                                      of heaven and earth, according to James 5:1-l& b:lt
   Abraham ruled over his servants with the author- k-e must leave his case there. He  may not take the
ity of a king, even called them to go out to battle with law into his own hands. Notice what James says in
him when he found this necessary: Since he expected in the tenth verse of this chapter, "Take, my brethren,
Sarah  to call him "my "lord" he surely did not expect     the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the
less than that of his servants. In those ad-ays the re- Lord, for an  exam,ple  of suffering  ,affliction   !~.ml of
lation of authority and insubordination was very patience." Or does not Mr. Gritter believe that the
strong. Try to imagine in our day, that a family of righiteous  must also suffer in this world just because
eleven  Iboys, nanging from the ages of 45 to 29 and all they refuse to take matters in their own hands and re-
married, as was the case of Jacob's family, would obey fuse to avenge themselves against wicked injustice?
their father who threatened to starve them Iby refus- W,e  hzve the example of Christ Himself. Was there
ing  .to have them go to Egypt for corn, just because      ever a man who had a more just cause $than He as
of a certain preference for his youngest son. Today        He stood guiltless before Pilate? Did Christ as a last
boys !and girls of 13 to 15 years already begin to take    extreme take matters into His own hands, or di8 He
offence  when their parents lay down the la'w to them.     subject Himself to those in  Iauthority,  even though
But this age has lost its true  respec.t  .for those in they were steeped  wi,th  iniquity and submission meant
authority in every sphere of life.                         death? Also Paul suffered every form of injustice
   The case of Boaz and his workers is also very in-       in the hands of the Jews and in the power  of the
teresting. We read: "And, behold, Boaz came from Roman law, yet he never did more than appeal his case
Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be to Ceasar.
with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless                Too bad that at the close of his article Mr. Gritter
thee."    (Ru*th  2:4)    We ,cannot .fail to note the dif- (bemoans the waste of time on what he calls an  "ac-
ference between his greeting to his workers and their a*emic,  abstract discussion of the strike question."
greeting to him. He greets them as their employer I heartily agree with him that  ,great issues are  at
anld wishes the gracious and sustaining hand of the stake. Even greater than he presents. For our prob-
Lord upon them in their labors. They conscious of lem is not simply "how we as Christians will be able
$their relation to him as servants, wish the Lord's <to continue work without affiliation with sinful or-
blessing upon him. If this is their heartfelt desire ganizations." The time will come when it will prove
they will also show this in their labors, even as he utterly impossible to continue work under any and all


496                                  T,HE  S T A N D A R D  .BEARER

conyitions.    But the more serious problem is how we gsged in sinful practices of itself makes one liable, !o
aye to ,maintain  our Christian principles in the mid,&       ecclesiastical censure  ; however, when members of the
of a u-icked  world, especially we upon whom.the end of church render themselves guilty of sots t,hat are con-
the ages has come. That demands a'n untiring  dis- trary to the word of God, the usual application of the
lussion  of true, ,Christian  principles and of a life that rules for discipline shall be made. Corporate responsi-
is in harmony with them. Are we  spiri,tually  strong         bility may render one worthy of ecclesiastical disci-
enough to face the t.rue issues as they are? AnYi are pline but the  degr.ee  of, guilt must be determined. by
we ready to sacrifice all for the sake of our principles? the local `consistories.
I would suggest that the CLA take up these various                "4. Consistories and classes  should take careful
u,tters  for a discussion in their meetings.                  note of the practices of labor organizations in their re-
   But, Mr. Editor, our discussion has taken up much spective  com,munities  to determine whether member-
sya-,e in the Standard Bearer, and I, as far QS I (am ship in the church and membership in  suNah organiza-
conc.ernelS,  am willing to let the matter  od the strike tions  are compatible.
rest here, lest we overtax the patience of the readers.           "Synod approved the Christian Labor association,
   Accept my thanks once more for the  alloted  space.        with headquarters in this city, for moral and  financia1
                                                 c. H.        support from the church."

                                                                  As our churches are deeply interested in the union
                     --                                       question, we hope to discuss these decisions of the
                                                              Synod of the Christian Reformed Churches.
  The Christian Reformed Synod                                                                                                H. H.
               On Labor ' Unions                                                                        -    -
   From  The Grcmd  Ra2;id.~  Press we learn that the
last held Synod of the Christian Reformed Churches
adopted certain "prinziples"  in re labor unions. Here                                     ANNOUNCEMENT
foilows the entire article `as it *appeared in The Press :        Mr. John Piersma,  who was  declared candidate for
   "In a special session Thursday evening ,at Calvin the ministry by our last Synod, has requested suspen-
College the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church sion of his candidacy. The Synodical Committee has
adopted principles governing relation of its members acceded to this request and announces to our Churches
to labor unions.                                              that Mr. Piersma  is no longer elligble for a call.
   "The labor question, considered by  synodical   ,gath-         The motives given by  Mr:  Piersma for his  action
erings since 1883, came ,baPore  the present assembly necessitates the Synodical Committee to announce
for  comple.te  formulation of standards. Principle3          that Mr. Piersma  is no longer licensed to preach in
adopted were suggested by a committee which has               Prot. Ref. Churches.
studied the problem three years: Dr. Ralph Danhof                                                The  Syondical  Committee
of Holland, vice president of synod  ; Prof. Louis  Berk-                                          Rev. M. Gritters, Pres.
hof, president of Calvin seminary; John  VanVels,                                                  Rev. A.  C,ammenga,   Seer.
active in the Christian Labor association, and Dr.
Garret Heyns, state corrections dire-tor.
   "The principles adopted are as follows:
   "1. Church membership and membership in a so-
called neutral labor union (CIO and AFL) are com-                                              IN MEMORIAM
patible as long as such union gives `no constitutional            On August 6, 1943, it pleased the Lord, to take out of our
warrant  :to sin, nor shows  i'n its regular activities that midst by' sudden death, our beloved husband, father, son rind
it champions sin:                                             brother,
   "2. The Biblical doctrine of corporate  responsi-
Qility and the Biblical teaching of  sthe Christian's                                    CORNELIUS WIERDA, Jr.
separation from the  worId   ,ma.ke it imperative for at the age of 49 years.
members of neutral labor organizations to discontinue             We feel  the loss keenly, but we are comforted by the
membership if such unions whose common pra-tices              assurance that he entered the rest, which remaineth for the
are clearly in conflict with the prisncigles  of the word people  vf  (hi.
cd God.                                                                               Mrs. Cornelius Wierda, Jr.
   "3. The doctrine of corporate responsibility does                                  Frances Wierda
not imply that membership in unions  which have en-                              *    M/rr.  and  j&s.  CqmelJuq   W&da, Sr.  and   Falnily
                                                                          `Iv
                                                                                                   \


     VOLUME XIX                                         SEPTEMBER 15, 1943                                  NIJMBER  22'

                                                                     And the angel of the Lord had aroused him from
            M,EDITATION                                           his profound slum;bers, inviting him to arise, a%nd to
                                                                  partake of food and  ,drink that had been prepared for
                                                                  him, "a cake baken on coals, and a cruse of `water.?
                                                                  And Elijah had followed u.p the invitation, and (had
                                                                  not the wonder of it, registered upon his conscious-
                           At ISor&                               ness?) went  Ibaok to sleep! But the angel had per-
                                                                  sisted, and no doubt after the man of God  ha.d rested,
                    And he came thither unto a cave, and, he awoke-him once more, this time  addmg to  ,the invita-
                 lodged there; and,  behoid, the  ,word  of  the tion to eat and drink the suggestion that a long jour-
                 Lord came to him, and he said  ,unto him, ney lay ahead of him. And so, the  proIjhet "arose,
                 Wha.t doe& thou here, Elijah? And he said.,      and did eat and drink, and went in  the  stren$gth  of
                 I  .have been very jealous for the Lord God that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb
                 of hosts: for the children of Israel have t.he mount of God."
                 forsahn   thy covenant, thrown down thine           And now: `What doest thou here, Elijah?""  '
                 altars, and slain thy prophets with the             Is  ,there,  in the question, not an evident rebuke that
                 sword; and I, even I only urn left; and they he had forsaken his divinely assigned position, and
                 seek my life to take it away. And he said, that his dresence  there on mount Horeb was the,.re-
                 Go forth, and stand upon the mount before suit of an act of  ~disobedience?  But- how could this
                 the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, be, seeing  !by divine direction he had come to the
                 and a great and strong wind rent the moun- mount of God?
                 tains, and brake in pieces the rocks before         I$ is true, the prophet had not been directIy com-
                 the Lord; but the Lord was not in the &n.d :     manded by the word of the `Lord to make this long
                 and  after the wind  ax earthquake; but the journey.        The angel had merely suggested that a
                 Lord  wus not in the earthquake. And after long  journey  lay before him. And there are those
                 the earthquake a  fire;  but the Lord  uxzs who explain that the man of God was at the- mount
                 not in the fire: and  after  the  fire  a4  still entirely by his own choice and determination, When
                 smull voice. An& it ,was so, zohen Elijah he left the land of Canaan, and.went  a day's journey
                 heard it, he wrapped, his face in his mantle.    into the wilderness, it was his definite purpose to
                                               1 Ki. 1.9:s13.     travel to Horeb, in order that there, at that historic
.                                                                 spot where God had established His covenant with Is-
        What doest thou here, Elij.ah?                            rael, he might inquire after the Lord's will c.oncerln-
        Here, at Horeb, far from the scene of thy calling, ing his future work. But this appears very improb-
     and from the field of battle?. . . . .                       able. Was he not minded to resign i,n the detiression
        But had not the Lord Himself directed his way of ,his soul? Did he not, under the juniper tree, com-
     thither?                                                     plain that his work was all in vain, and that he de-
        Under the juniper tree, a day's journey in the sired to die?
     wilderness, the prophet had poured  out his soul in             His way had been *directed  to the mount of God !
     utter despondency, and implored the Lord to take                For, though not directly ordered by .the angel to
     awajr his life. And there, in the utter exhaustion of make his journey  thither, yet it was ,the word of the
     his soul, caused by the high tension of  Carmel  follow- angel that had spoken .of a journey too long for him,
     ed by his present dejection, he had fallen asleep.           and it was  Iby the nourishment prepared by the angel
                                                                                     I

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

that he had been strengthened to make his way                     And the answer, had it been give.n  ~directly, would
through  the wilderness. There God would meet him,             probably have been  : I am here to resign !          I have
rebuke him, comfort him, prepare him `for further become totally discouraged, and wholly dissatisfied
work and final victory. And all the way had evident- with the service of Jehovah. A*nd I willfully forsook
ly been under Jehovah's special direction. Horeb my position, and left the scene of my labors, in order
was the silent and  migh:ty  witness of the covenant           that,  T might tender my resignation to the Lord of
Jehovah had established with His people through                hosts!. . . . .
Moses, a,nd of that covenant Elijah was a lonely .znd             But how could he  ?. . . . .
mighty representative.            From Horeb he must start         How can there ever be, before the face of  ,.th,e
anew. . . . .                                                  Lord, the boldness to refuse the service to which `He
       Forty days and forty nights had he traveled             calls us,    Ah,  alcne under the  ju,niper  tree it  inat
through the desert. And also tliis was in God's special seem possible, and we may appear to have sutllci&"$
dispensation, for the mount was no more  ,t.han two grounds to resign from -our calling,                                 3
                                                                                                         But face td'face
hu,ndred miles distant from the prophet's starting             with the living God, all things appear in `a totally dif-
point.                                                         ferent light, and the words of resignation we would
       Had not God's people of old been in the wilderness fain have uttered die upon our lips !
forty years, because of their disobedience?                       And so, Elijah avoids a direct answer, and in the
       And had not God maintained His covenant with bitterness of his soul  intercedes   against  Israel ! "I
His people, and led the remnant according to the               have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts:
election into the land of promise?                             for the  chil~clren of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,
       And had not Moses, the mediator of the old cove-        thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with
nant, suffered with and for God's people in the  ,de:ert       the sword ; and I, even I only, am left; and .they seek
all these forty years,  - the limit of human endur- my life, to take it away !"
ance ?                                                            Terrible, yet true, except for the last part!
       And must not all this serve to instruct the  irophet        Let us not  *be hard on the man of God, far less
in the ways of the Lord, and to prepare him to re- exalt ourselves above him. 0, it is true, another hsd
ceive the word of the Lord at Horeb?                           stood upon that same mount, hundreds of years before
       0, it was of the Lord, that he was at Horeb!            him interceding before the face of God. And the
       And- yet : "What .doest  thou here, Elijah?"            circumstances had been similar. Also then, there, had
       For, though by God's goodness over His  servsnt         been abundant reason to intercede  against  Israel.
the end of his journey was  :the mount of God, the             For at the very moment when Jehovah of hosts es-
beginning of it had been an act of disobedience and tablished His covenant with His people, and within
weakness of faith.                                             sight of that mount that smoked and shook, they had
       From his viewpoint, the prophet was far from the        chosen unto themselves gods of their own making,
field of his labors, purposing to resign.                      and  forsa'ken the living  Goa, violated His covenant.
       What doest thou here?                                   And yet, the man of God had interceded, not against,
                                                               but for Israel, appealmg  to the very faithfulness and
                                                               glory of Jehovah. But there was a difference. Moses
                                                               must still learn  .that all is not Israel that, is of Israel,
       Terrible intercession !                                 and that God is merciful to whom He will be merci-
       For so the Scripture characterizes the answer of        ful. To him, that people encamped at the foot of
the prophet here on mount Horeb. .                             mount Horeb were the true people of God, whom th,e
       Wot ye not what the scripture saith of  Elias?          Lord could not (destroy. Elijah on Horeb could not see
how he maketh intercession to God against Israel?. . . the remnant  acco.rding  ,to  .the election of grace, the
       Cutting had been the question: what doest thou seven thousand that had not bowed the lrnee to Baal.
here ?                                                            I, even I only, am left. . . . .
       And always the question very really comes to us,           And he h& `been  jealous of the honor of Jehovah
calling us before the bar of the Lord of hosts, the            over against the apostacy  of the people, and their wor-
Judge of heaven and earth, and there demanding of              ship of  Ba,al. He had earnestly endeavored to lead
us an account, a reason why we are, at that particular         them back to the Lord their God. And-they had for-
moment, in that particular place; and demanding an saken God's covenant, and thrown down His altars,
answer in the light of our  callmg  to be servants of          and killed the prophets, and revealed themselves as
the most High in the position He assigned to us. . . .         carnal children, childrenof wrath. And in his jeal-
       And always that question when asked by  Him,            ousy, he had been very ,zealous for the cause of God's
probes deeply into our hearts and minds, laying bare           covenant.     He had labored and risked his life, `and
the intents of our inmost being. . . .                         suffered. Nor has his zeal been carnal, as some would
       It was so for the man of God on Horeb!                  have it. For he had acted and labored entirely in


   ,-- -..-.__  .-           _..-  -    T-B-E  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                    499

obedience to the Word of the Lord. . . . .                      against the carnal seed, to put them to shame, and
   And his labors have been fruitless. . .apparently!           against the priests of  Baa1 to confound them, that
   They still forsook the covenant of the Lord, the             the glory of the name of the Lord might appear. The
&ars were still thrown down, the wicked were still              conversion of the people  w,as not effected by these
in power!                                                       judgments as such, but depended upon the mysterious
   And the end was worse than the beginning!                    but mighty grace of God !
   I, even I only, am left. . . . .                        t         And so, on Horeb the prophet is corrected.
   Terrible intercession !                                           He must go forth, and stand before the Lord upon
                                                                the mount.
          *.-    L  ,.  :                                            There the Lord will  inst.ruct him by signs.
                   t                                                 "`And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great  .and
   Significant lesson !                                         strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces
   For true though the prophet's intercession against           the rocks before the Lord." A sign of the mighty
Israel was, as far as the carnal seed was concerned,            power of  the Lord when `He comes to judge the world
it was  nevert,heless  guilty of two errors, that were in righteousness,  and all the people with equity. A
the cause of his present state of discouragement and picture, indeed, not of any carnal zeal on the part of
unbelief, and they must be corrected.                           the prophet, but of his peculiar calling, and of the
   The one was, that he lost sight of the remnant very special work unto which the Lord had set him
according to the election of grace!                             aside.
   I, even I only, am left!                                         But the Lord was not in the wind'!. . . . .
   0, the prophet might know better. Had not Obed-.                 And after the storm the earthquake  ; and after
iah, the servant of Absb,  informed him that he had the earthquake, the fire. `Similar signs of judgments,
hid one hundred prophets in a cave,  ana  nourishe,d            mighty, destructive, shaking the very foundations of
them? But in a state of spiritual despondency we the earth, witnessing of consuming wrath.
are apt to overlook the work of God.                                But the Lord was not in the earthquake !. . . . .
   But God never forsakes His people!                               And He was not in the fire !
   And the prophet must remember that God  pre-                     And make no mistake: the storm, and `the earth-
served His seven thousand that  h*ad not bowed the quake, and the fire, were all of the Lord ; and He
knee to Baa1 ! His terrible intercession cannot and was present in them in His power and holy wrath.
may not be against them!                                        Hut He was not in them, in that power that would
   And the second error, closely connected with the             save and preserve His -people.
first, was tha>t. he expected positive results upon his             The prophet must  und,erstand   :
own zeal, while he overlooked the fact that the stili               The Lord was not  i'n them !                 _
land secret operations of the mighty grace of God
alone is able to turn the people back to God, and to                                                      Y'.               "<,.
preserve them in the midst of a crooked and perverse                                                     .            _`
nation. "I have been. very zealous, and now, look at                Hark ! The stiI1 small voice !
the outcome of all my labors !"                                     A voice of gentle stillness !                                         I
   There was something in the oalling and labors of                 Difficult, indeed, it is to imagine just how this still
the prophet that was conducive to this  misunderstand-          small voice wlas perceived by the man of God. Was
i n g .                                                         it, perhaps, a gentle zephyr that softly  so-ughed
   He had been a prophet of jud,gment and of mighty through the forest, or whispered over the bare rocks?
power!                                                          ,Or was it the very whisper of the Almighty that was
                                                                                                                                    !.
   In the wilds of Gilead he had prayed the Lord discerned by the prophet?
that He might shut the heavens, and the Lord had                     It matters *not:  to be sure, it was' the `very voice 1
heard him : it had not rained for three years and of  God  !
six months. And the land and its inhabitants, the                   $And the prophet understands, for immediately he
people and the cattle and the beasts of the forest, had         wraps his face in his mantle, and stands at attention!
suffered under the mighty hand of God. He had                       Wonderful, mysterious, mighty, still small `voice
prayed for fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice of God ! By this is represented the posit.ive flork.  of
on Car,mel,  and again the Lord had heard the prayer God, saving His people, and preserving His seven
of His servant, and he had shown His mighty power thousand ! Not by might, nor by power; not by  de-
in the sight of all the people. And once more he had structive signs of judgment, storms, earthquakes, fire;
in&red Jehovah to open the heavens, and the Lord but by My Spirit!. . . . .
had sent an abundance of rain !                                   Always operative,. mysteriously, softly,, but surely!
   Mighty signs and judgments!                                       Blessed zephyr of God!              :_.                                   L.
   But these signs  and. judgments were directed                 _.  .    `,     `_,                     1 .          H.  FL,.  .I


'500                                                                                                    T*HE S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                     The Standard  Bearer
             Semi-Monthly, except Monthly in July and August                                                                                                                           EDITQRIALS
                                                                 Published by                                                                                                                                                     -
                         The Reformed Free Publishing Association
                                                 1101 Haren Street, 5. E.                                                                                                  The Christian Reformed Synod
                                           EDITOR - Rev. .H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                   c
        Contributing editors-Revs.  J.  Blankespoor,  A.  Cammenga,                                                                                                                       on Labor Unions
        P. De Boer, J. D. de Jong,  H.  De Wolf, L. Doezema,
        M. Gritten,  C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G. M. Ophoff,                                                                                                                 It may be interesting to compare the conclusions
        k Petter, M.  Schipper,  J.  Vanden  Breggen, H. Veldman,                                                                                                      adopted by the Synod of the Christian Reformed
        R. Veldman, L. Vermeer, P. Vis, G. Vos, Mr. S. De Vries.                                                                                                       Churches in regard to the union question this year,
        .Communications  relative to contents should be addressed                                                                                                      with those that were adopted a  fe,w years ago. The
        to REV. H. HOEKSEMA, ,I139  Franklin St., S. E., Grand                                                                                                         comparison may show in what direction the Synod is
        Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                              moving, or whether it is merely marking time.
        Communications relative to subscription. should be ad-                                                                                                              We quote  these former conclusions, as they appear:
        dressed to MR. R. SCHAAFSMA,  1101.   Hazen  St., S. E.,                                                                                                       ed in The Banner of April 7, 1938:                    1
        Grand Rapids,  Mich.  All Announcements and Obituaries
        must be sent to the above address and will not be placed                                                                                                            "Now it is perfectly clear that the Church can ac-
        unless the regular fee of $1.00 accompanies the notice;                                                                                                        complish whatever it may ibe able to  `do in this sphere,
                                                Subscription $2.50 per year                                                                                            only with the means entrusted to her, that is the faith-
                                                                                                                                                                       ful preaching of the Word and the judicious exercise
              B&red  u  mcond   clam   mail  a t   Grand   R a p i d s .   Michigan                                                                                    of church discipline. But by these means she may
                                                                                                                                                                       accomplish a great deal. She  oan best  prom0t.e the
                                                                                                                                                                       organization of  Cristian  labor organizations and of
                                                                                                                                                                       other Christian organizations in the social sphere of
                                                                                                                                                                       life :
                                                                  C O N T E N T S                                                                                           "1. By preaching unceasingly and  uncompromis-
                                                                                                                                                       Page            i.ngly the biblical principle of the Christian's separa-
MEDITATION  -                                                                                                                                                          tion from the world. The Bible clearly teaches that
        AT HOREB. . . . . . . . . . ..I......................' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .497    believers constitute a peculiar people, and that as a
               Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                        holy people they are in duty bound to separate them-
EDITORIALS  -                                                                                                                                                          selves from all that is unholy, and should not be un-
        THE CHRISTIAN REF. SYNOD ON LABOR UNIONS....569                                                                                                                equally yoked with unbelievers, but should avoid all
               Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                        social entanglements that might i$n any way compro-
        COMMON GRACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..I........................ 501                          mise their Christian character and profession;
               Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                             "2. By setting forth clearly and unequivocally the
        EXPOSITION OF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM......502                                                                                                                antichristian spirit of  Marxian Socialism with its
               Rev.  H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                       glorification of class hatred, class struggle, and class
        THE CHR. SCXOOL  AS A SEAT OF TRUE CULTURE..506                                                                                                                ethics, and its principle that might makes right; and
               Rev. G. M. Ophoff                                                                                                                                       by  ,placing  over against this the great fundamental
                                                                                                                                                                       biblical principles of justice as they apply in the in-
        THE CAPTURE OF JERICHO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
 .'                                                                                                                                                                    dustrial world and ought to be maintained by a11 those
                Rev. G. M. Ophoff                                                                                                                                      who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ;
         ISRAEL'E THEOCRACY AS A.MODEL STATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510                                                                                            "3. By calling particular attention to the principl,e
              Rev. A. Petter                                                                                                                                           of corporate responsibility, clearly taught in  .the Word
  : THE CHRISTIAN AND SPORTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512                                                of God (Acts 2 :23, 36 ; 3 :13-15 ; II Cor. 6 :14-l?' ; Eph.
           Rev. J. A. Heys                                                                                                                                             5 :ll ; I Tim. 5 :22; II Joh,n 11; Rev. 18 :4), affirmed by
 `. `CHRISTUS'  UITVOERINIG  VAN ZIJN  PROFETISCH-                                                                                                                     an enlightened Christian conscience and recognized
 !  AMBT ONDER HET OUDE VERBOND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . s.......514                                                                                    by sociologists ; and by giving a discriminating answer
 ;  *' Rev. `L. Vermeer                                                                                                                                                to the question whether and in how far one can re-
  `NIEU%VS  VAN ONZE  KERKEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516                                                   lieve himself of this responsibility by  pr,otesting;
  `.         `MT. S. De Vries                                                                                                                                               "4. By exercising  disciplme  in the spirit of love,
        REPLY TO REV. C. HANK0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518                                     but nevertheless with a firm hand whenever her mem-
              Mr. J.  Grit&                                                                                                                                            bers become guilty of propagating un-Christian prin-
                                                                                                                                                                       ciples in the world of labor, assume aa unbrotherly
                                                                                                                                                                       attitude towards their fellow-Christians, take part in


                                    ToHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          501.

 acts of violence, trample upon the fundamental prin- this principle, still less proceeds from it, but is rather
 ciples of justice, or refuse to break with organizations `based  on the utility principle that a Christian may t?
 that are avowedly antichristian in character, or re- a certain extent compromise with the world.
 veal throughout  ian antichristian spirit in their ac-      `~ The earlier report, though  making  no definite
 tivities.                                                  statement to this effect, nevertheless leaves the im-
     "By working along such lines as these with fidel- pression throughout that. the worldly union is anti-
 ity; the Church will naturally train the .conscience  of Christian in character, :and the membership in th'e
 the laboring-men in her midst, and will make them union is incompata'ble with the Christian's faith and
 feel more keenly than they do at present the need of calling.        The later report concedes the possibility
 distinctly Christian organizations in the industrial that Church mem'bership and union membership are
 world. If the need is keenly felt and the necessity compatable. In fact, though the statement is qualified
 clearly seen, the laborers themselves will find ways by an "if," it definitely states that they are compat-
 and means for the establishment of such organizations. able.
 And when they do show that they feel within them              Although neither of the two sets of  con,clusions
 the urge to organize on  a strictly Christian basis,       definitely states that membership of a worldly union
,, that they are willing to take up the struggle in separ- renders one  censuralble, the earlier report is much
 ate organizations for the sake of their king, and that more positive in this respect than the later.            The,
 they are ready for the sacrifice which it may  entail,-    latter is extremely vague and ambiguous in ihis re-.
 then the Church will undoubtedly find many ways in spect.                                        I
 which it can encourage them in their laudable efforts."       Some of these points deserve a more detailed con-
                                                            sideration.                     .I         H. H.
    ,Comparing  these earlier conclusions with those
 we  pulblished in our paper two weeks ago, we  not&
that there are certain points of  sir$larity between'                                -
 the two.
    Both recognize the principle of corporate respon-
sibility, the principle that one is held accountable for                     Common Grace                        ,
 the principles and acts of a body of which one is a
member.                                                                               x.
    Both carefully avoid saying anything at all about
existing unions, i.e. whether or not they are  anti-           Naturally, after reading Van Til's criticism of my
Christian in character, and whether it is  prpper  for a position over against Prof. Heyns, as set forth in my'
 Christian to belong to them. The earlier report con-       "The Gospel," I once more turned to that booklet to
demns  M,arxian  Socialism and its principles, but fails discover whether I really wrote anything that might'
to state whether the  e-xisting unions are socialistic suggest such a fatalistic conception of man as a moral
in principle. The later report at first blush appears agent as Van Til attributes to me. And I must con-
to state something about the CIO and AFL, but the fess that I not only failed to find anything that might
careful  reader will soon discover  th&at actually it is reasonably explain Van Til's criticism, but that it,
left an open question whether these unions are based seems to me that what I actually wrote shouEd have
on principles opposed to the Christian faith. In fact, Ibeen sufficient to convince him that my views are
the possibility is granted that' it is quite compatable     the very opposite from what he presented them to
with the Christian faith to be member of them.              be. How the `brother could possibly inform the pub-
    Both speak of Christian .discipline in this connec- lic that I teach that "when a man obeys the will ,of
tion ; but  :both also carefully avoid stating that mem- ,God he in no sense really obeys; it is God that obeys
bership in a worldly union makes one worthy of cen- in him," I am at a loss to explain. He certainly can-
sure.                                                       not quote one item of my writings in support of that
    But there are also points of difference. And a statement.              I must kindly ask him to correct this
comparison of the two reports will show that the rather serious error.
Christian Reformed Churches are moving in the wrong            In the meantime, I can do no better than quote
direction, i.e. in the direction of *approving  of union from the above mentioned booklet what  1 actually
membership for their members.                               wrote `on this matter. The booklet is written in the
    The earlier report, though failing to apply the         Holland language, and I translate:
enunciated principles to concretely existing unions,           "Apart from his imaginary Scriptural proof, Prof.
is nevertheless rather emphatic in setting forth the Heyns also has some dbjections  of a praotical  nature
principle of fhe antithetical position of the Christian against those who reject the doctrine of a genera!,
in the world, The later report  dw nat even qe@ion &l-mant peer of grace and wlvation.  `According `to
                                                                                                         ..-.


       502                                    T4HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

      his conviction, the heresy of denying this doctrine of somewhere that through sin our rational faculty was
      an offer is very serious, so serious that it ought to be     so corrupted that we cannot trust our logic anymore.
       opposed and rejected by us with all our might, no In view of the above reasoning of the Professor's, I
       less: serious than the error of Remonstrantism. We am almost inclined to believe it. But the truth is
       must,  t.herefore,  also consider for a moment these that we cannot permit the Professor to draw conclu-
       practical objections, on which this conviction of` the sions from our fundamental principles. He so dis-
       professor is based, in order then to conclude by men-       torts our reasoning that it actually appears as if his
       tioning some practical objections of our own against        `consequenzmacherei' is our way of reasoning. But
       the proposition of a general offer.                         he that looks below the surface soon discovers sophis-
       ="The first objection mentioned by Prof. Heyns, try here. Heyns' reasoning is somewhat similar to
       is that, strictly speaking, on the standpoint of those the well-known syllogism: 1. Is that your dog? `Yes.
       who deny a general, well-meant offer of grace and           2. Is that dog a mother? Yes. 3. Then that dog is
     salvation, one is compelled to deny that God's  com-
.                                                                  your mother! Or, as, the enemies of the grace of God
       mandments are well-meant, and have binding force. distorted the teaching of the Apostle: 1. We are justi-
       In order to make very clear in what wrong direction fied freely without works. 2. Hence, the more we
       such a denial must necessarily lea*d  us, the professor sin, the greater Jsecomes  grace. 3. Let us  the&ore
       calls the attention of his readers to the illustration      sin, that grace may :abound!"
       of a murderer. Someone committed murder. He                    We will continue this quotation next  ti,me,  the
       committed this murder in accord with the counsel of Lord willing.
       God. Hence, God willed that the m&an  shoukl commit                                                      H-. H.
       murder. Now, if you proceed from the logical pro-
       position that God cannot will and not will the same
       thing at the same time, you will simply maintain                                       -
       the one fact of the unchangeable counsel of God, and
       say : God willed that the man  should commit a murder ;
       hence, it is impossilbe that He did not will it: the                                                          -__  -
       sixth commandment, `thou shalt not kill,' was not
       valid for this murderer and is not valid for any mur-          The Triple Knowledge
       derer, is ap,plicable  only ,to those that never murder.
       And thus, logical consistency compels those who deny
       that there are two wills in God to deny also the gen-        An Exposition  Qf. The Heidelberg
       eral validity of the commandments of God. If there
       are not two wills in God, there is no general offer:                           Catechism
       this Heyns understands very well. But, he concludes,
       if there are not two willsin God, then there cannot                              PART TWO
      cbe a law of God  wtith general binding force.                              OF MAN'S REDEMPTION
              "When I read this, I had to admit that the pro-                         Lord's Day VIII.
       fessor's argument was rather ingenious: such *a hor-                              Chapter II
       rible presentation of our conception is, indeed, calcul-
       ated to frighten the `inexperienced.' Imagine, people                       Of The Holy Trinity.
       will say, that Rev. Hoeksema of Grand Rapids teaches           Very sober and brief is the Heidelberg Catechism
       that God wills that men shall murder! A clear proof,
                                                        `.         on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Strictly speak-
       hdeed, that the denial of common grace  IS a  dan-          ing, it expresses all it has to say on this important
       gerous heresy ! Well may one abhor such an error subject in one question and answer, the twenty fifth :
       like the pestilence ! However, one can also put it on "Since there is but one only divine essence, why
       too thick. And ,although  there, perhaps, are those that spsakest thou of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Be-
       iare sufficiently naive to swallow this, anyone that does cause God has so revealed himself in his-word, that
       a little bhinlking  for himself will draw the conclusion these three distinct  tpersons are the one only true and
       that the professor must be guilty of a little exaggera- eternal God." But although very brief, the answer
       tion. In fact, the professor himself is so kin'd as to may be considered quite complete. It remin,ds us that
       admit that  2ue do not draw such conclusions as he          we can speak of the *trinity  only "because God has so
       presen~ts.    But, if we only would be consistent, we revealed himself in his `word." It teaches that God is
       would necessarily arrive at such a monstrous con-           one: there is only one divine essence, hypostatically
       ception as the professor here attributes to us!             distinct but essentially one, for they are "three dis-
           "The reader understands, of course, that we not tin& persons," Ibut they are "Qhe one only true and
       only do not draw such conclusions, but also that the eternal   God.". But although all the essential elements
       Professor's logic is not-ours; The Professor asserted of the ,doctrine  of (the trinity are .present  in this Bnswer


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         i$3

of our Catechism, `these several elements need further Holy Spirit) was mot created, but so begotten of the
e.xplanation  and develogment,  if we are to understand     Father that He is very God, of the same essence as
what the Church means by her confession  ithat God is the Father,  h,aving  His personal  sulbsistence  within
one in essence and three in persons. And this we must the divine Being through eternal genera.tion. Hence,
understand. Even though it is true that the itriune God the Nicene Creed declares: "We believe. . .in Jesus
far transcends our understanding, the  doctrine of  the ,Christ,  born of the Father,  .the only begotten, that
Church concerning the mystery is, of course, not con- is of the essence of the Father  (genethenta  ek tou
trayl to our reason, and is capable of being expounded patros mxxnogenee,  toutestin ek  tees owias  tou patros) ,
and understood.                                             God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God,
    Thus, at least, the early Church conceived of the begotten, not made, of the same essence (homoousion)
matter, as is evident from what her ,greatest  minds with the Father." And after this symbol has spoken
have written on the subject. The truth that God,            very briefly of the Holy Ghost, it returns once more,
one in essence, subsists in threeness of persons, was to the subject of  the essential divinity or  de@  of
one of the first dogma's established by the  Church.        Christ, and the eternal generation of the Son, when it
And as is usually the case, the final formulation and condemns those "who say: There was a time when he
a,doption  of this doctrine was attained only in the way was not ; and : He was not before he wm m:ade ; and :
of a struggle with opposing and heretical views. The        He was made out of nothing, or: He is of another
controversy centered around .the question as to the substance, or essence, or : The Son of Cod' is created,
proper deity and  distinct  persontzlity  of  the Son. Even or: changeable, or : alterable."       *
before the Church was disturbed by the ,Srian con-             It is, perhaps, partly due to this strong concentra-
troversies, there were those  ,who denied any  hypos-       tion upon the question of ,the deity of Chr.ist, and His
tatical  ,distinction in the Godhead. The so-called  Pat- gersonal  relation to the Godhead, that the Nicene
ropassi held that God is one, the Father. This one Creed is remarkably silent on the deity and personal-
God is Father in His invisilble essence, but He is Son ity of the Holy Ghost, and His relation to the Father
in His  revel:ation.    In the incarnation this  Father-    and to the Son. It simply declares: "And we believe.
God animated a human body, and in that body He              in the Holy Ghost." But of course, the Arians were
suffered and  ,died on the  cross.    Hence,. their name just as heretical in their views on the Holy' Spirit as
Patropassians,   which denotes their peculiar view that they were in their teachings respecting the Son. And
the Father suffered: Others are  Iknown  as  No'minul       soon after the Council of  Nicea, some of the  Semi-
Trinitam~ans,    They, too, denied the perso.nal subsis- Arians, who were willing to concede a certain divinity
tence of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. From one           (not deity) to Christ, (homoiousion,  not homoousion),
God, t.he Father, emanate two powers or effluences:         openly denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. After
the illuminating power, Wisdom or the Logos, and the their leader, a certain bishop Macedonius, these  Semi-
quickening or enlivening power, called the Spirit. Arians were called Macedonians. According to them
Both these heretical conceptions, however, still as- the Holy Spirit is not coiequal with the Father and
cribed a certain divinity,  to Christ, though th,ey  denied the Son, but rather a minister or servant. They ar-
His proper  de&. Arius, however,  denited both. Ac- gued th!at, if the Holy Spirit were begotten, He must
cording to him, Christ is a mere man, not divine in         be begotten either of the Father or of the Son. If
any sense, although He is the first and highest of all      the former, there are two Sons in the Godhead, and
creatures.    It was especially the Arizn controversies they are brothers ; if the latter, the Holy Spirit is a
that finally led, first, to the convocation of the Coun- grandson of the Father. Superficial and profane
cil of Alexandria in 321, where the Arian heresies though this form of reasoning was, it was evident
were  condlemned,  and soon after, to the Council of that the lbrief  declaration concerning the Holy Spirit
Nicea   (X25), where the positive doctrine concerning made by the Council of  Nicea was  IX& sufficient. Also
the trinity was established, and  officiahy  adopted in a the deity  an.d personal subsistence of the third person
creed, the Symbol of Nicea.                                 of the trinity must  `be established. And it was this
   From this Nicene Creed, it is very evident that that was accomplished by the Council of Constantinople
theological thinking of that time was concentrated on in 381. It enlarge'd  upon the article concerning the
the person of Christ, and His relation to the Godhead. Holy Ghost as follows: "And in the Holy Ghost, the
And it was from that viewpoint that the doctrine of Lord and Giver of life ; Who proaeedeth from the
the trinity was discussed and established. On the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together
one hand, it must be maintained that the Son was not is worshipped and glorified ; Who spake by the pro-
a mere emanation or impersonal effluence from the phets.",  We may notice, that although in this elabora-
Godhead, but a distinct hypostasis or person. And tion upon this doctrine of the H.oly Ghost the essen-
the same truth must be held with respect to the Holy tial deity and personal relation of the third person to
Ghost. On the other hand, <equal emphasis had to be         the Father are clearly established, it is silent with
placed upon the truth, that the Son (and also the           respect to His relation to the Son.         It does neither


604-.                                  T'H-E  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

affirm nor deny the procession of the Holy Ghost from And in this Trinity none is  afore, or after another:
the Son. This gave rise to the controversy concern-            none is greater, or less than another (there is nothing.
ing the "filioque" (and from the Son), the question before, or after: nothing greater or less]. 26. But
concerning the double procession of the Spirit. And            the whole three Persons are co-eternal and co-equal.
it  .was the Western Church, perhaps under the power-          27. So that in all things, as aforwaid: the Unity in
ful influence.of Augustine, that inserted this phrase          Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity, is to be worshipped.
in the creed adopted at Constantinople, thus separat- 28. He therefore that will be saved, must (let him}
ing itself principally from the Eastern Church, that thus think of the Trinity."
refused to confess the double procession of the third             Essentially nothing has been change2 in or added
ap,erson  of the trinity.                                      to the doctrine of the trinity as adopted by the early
         Somewhat dialectilc  in form and, perhaps, on that    Church. The Nicene Creed is still the expression of
very account beautiful, is the  Symbolurn   Quicunque          the faith of the entire Church of Christ in the world.
 (The Symbol.. "Whosoever" so called after its first There were controversies and restatements of doctrine
word), often,  though.no  d.oubt erroneously, ascribed to with respect to, other parts of the truth, but the dogma
Athanasius. We quote it here: "1. Whosoever will               of  t,he trinity  rem,ained  the same since its adoption
 be saved : before all things it is necessary that he holds    by he Council of  ,Nicea. The Church of the Middle
 the Catholic Faith: 2. Which Faith except everyone do         Ages adopted this truth, and the great minds of Scho-
 keep whole and undefiled: without doubt he shall per- lasticism did not alter it either in form or in conl;ent.
 ish' everlastingly. 3. And the Catholic Faith is this : It is true that there were always individual thinkers
 That we,,.worship  .one God in Trinity, and Trinity in that departed from the line of this fundamental doc-
 Unity; 4. Neither confounding the Persons: nor di- trine. Old heresies  wlere  revived and appeared some-
 viding the Substance (Essence).  5. For there is one times in a new form. Some presented views that re-
 Person of the Father: another of the Son: and  nn- minded of  Nom&u1   Trinitarianism,   liske  Scotus  Eri-
 other:of the Holy Ghost. 6. But the Godhead of the gena and Abelard  ; others separated the Persons .of
 Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one:        the Godhead, and were inclined to tritheism, or even
 the Glory equal,. the Majesty- coeternal. `7. Such as to tetratheism. But all such deviations were regarded
 the Father is: such is the Son: and such is the Holy by the Church as heretical, and never was she serious-
 Ghost. 8. The Father uncreate (untreated)  : the Son ly disturbed by a,ny of them. A.nd the same is true
 uncreate (untreated)  : the Holy Ghost uncreate (un- of the period of the Reformation. The Reformers
 created).       9. The Father incomprehensible (unlimit-
 ed). : the Son incomprehensible (unlimited) : the Holy taught the same doctrine on this score as did Athan-
 ,Ghost  incomprehensible (unlimited, or infinite). (The asius, Hilary, and Augustine before them.               Calvin
 Latin here has:  Immensus  Pater, etc) . 10. The Father writes extensively on this subject in his Institutes,
 eternal: and the Son eternal: and the Holy Ghost I, 13. He insists that the Word of God teaches us that
 eternal. 11. An'd yet they are not three eternals: but there are in God three substances,  subsistences,  hypo-
 one eternal. 12. And also there are not three  uncreat-       stases, a concept which is properly expressed by the
 ed : nor three .incomprehensibles  (infinites) , `but one Latin Church in the word  personae,  persons. "We
 u,ncreated : and one incomprehensible (infinite). 13.         certainly conclude from the words of the apostle (in
 So likewise is the Father Almighty: the Son Almighty: IHeb.  1:3) that the Father has a subsistence of  ,His
 and the Holy Ghost Almighty. 14. And yet there pre own (propriam esse in  Pat,re  hypostasin) , which is
 not, three Almghties : but one Almighty. 15. So the reflected in the Son. Whence again may easily  b.e
 Father is God: the Son is God: and the Holy Ghost             deduced the subsistence of the Son, which distinguish-
 is God.       16. And yet they are not three Gods: but        es him from the Father. The same is true in respect
 one God.        1.7.. So .likewise  the Father is Lord: the to the Holy Spirit: because we shall at once prove tblt
 Son is Lord: and the Holy Ghost is Lord. 18. And              he is God, and nevertheless it is necessary to consider
 yet not three Lords: but one Lord.  r9. For like as           him another  distinct  from the Father. Moreover,
 we are compelled by the Christian verity: to acknow- this distinction is not one of the Essence, which may
 ledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord:             not be made manifold. If therefore the testimony of
 20. So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion: to the  apa& demands belief, it follows that there are in
 say, There be (are) three Gods, or three Lords. 21.           God three  subsistencies  (sequitur tres in Deo esse  hy-
 The Father is made .of .none:  neither created, nor be-       postases). And since the  Latins expressed this by the
 gotten. 82. The Son is of the Father alone: not made, word Person, it is a proof of too much haughtiness and
 nor created: but begotten.         23. The Holy Ghost is obstinacy to squabble albout so clear a matter; Verbally
 of,. the Father and of the Son : neither  ma,cle, nor
 created, nor begotten: but proceeding. 24. So there translated one would render it subsistence. Nor, in
 1s. one Fat.her, not three Fathers: o,ne Son, not three .truth,  ~2s the use of the word Person peculiar to
 &m~:,,,,,~n~~ Holy  Ghsst, not three  Holy Ghosts,  25,       th.e  L&ins  &m,  ,but  alao  the Greeks,  probably  to


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       505

express their agreement, taught that there are three truly, the definition of Tertullian does not displease
`prosopa  in God.    But whoever, whether Greeks or me, provided it be rightly understood: that there is
Latins, differ among one another as to the term,            in God a certain disposition or economy which changes
they certainly agree in the main thing." Inst. I, 13,       nothing in the unity of the Essence."
par. 2.                                                        This doctrine of the trinity has found a place in
    It draws the attention that Calvin here appears to all the main creeds of the Protestant Churches, nor
use the words Person, Proposa, Hypostasis, Subsis-          dared the Roman Catholic Church differ from them in
tence promiscuously, as referring to the same thing. this respect, although the declarations of the Council
He is aware of the  fsct that, especially by the use        of  Trent take issue with the Protestant faith on
of the term  subsistence  or  substance,  he exposes him- many other points. As has been pointed out, the
self to the indictment of teaching tritheism. But he        Heidelberger is very sober and brief on this point.
refuses to strive about mere words, if only it is es-       But the  Cdnfessio Belgica  teaches  tha,t "According
tablished that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. are the         to this truth and this Word of God, we'ibelieve  in one
one true God, yet so that they are distinguished i.n only God, who is the one single essence, in which are
respect to their personal properties. The Latins, he three persons, really, truly, and eternally distinct,
writes, translated the term  homoousios  by  consub-        according to their incommunicable properties ; name-
stantialis,  and therefore used the word substance to ly, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The
denote being.    And Jerome considered it blasphemy Father is the cause, origin and beginning of all things
to say that there are  thr.ee substances or subsistences visible and invisible ; the Son is the iYord, wisdom,
in God. And yet one will find that Hilary, for in- and image of the Father; the Holy Ghost is the eter-
stance, declares more than a hundred times that there nal power and might, proceeding from the Father
are three substances in God ! But even though the and the Son. Nevertheless God is not by this dis-
terms employed may not be above reproach, Calvin            tinction divided into three, since the Holy Scriptures
reminds us that it is necessary to employ these terms, teach us, that ,the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
because the truth of the trinity must be maintained         Ghost, have each his personality distinguished by their
over [against such heretics as Arius and Sabellius. properties ; but in such wise that these three persons
As for himself, however, by  Person  he understands are but one only God. IHence  then, it is evident, `that
"a subsistence in the divine essence, which, related the Father is not the'son, nor the Son the Father, and
to the others, is distinguished from them by an in-         likewise the Holy Ghost is neither the Father nor the
communicable property. By the term subsistence we           Son. Nevertheless these persons thus distinguished
wish to be understood something different from es- are not divided, nor intermixed: for the Father hath
sence. For if the Word would simply be God, and             not assumed flesh, nor hath the Holy Ghost, but the
would not have a  p,eculiar property, John would have Son only. The Father hath never been without the
spoken rashly when  he,  sai,d that he was always with Son, or without his Holy Ghost. For.  th'ey  .are all
God. When immediately after, he adds that the Word three coeternal and coessential. There is neither first
also is SHimself  God, he reminds us of the unity of the    nor last: for they are all three one, in truth, in power,
Essence.    But because he could not be with God            in goodness, and in mercy."
without being in the Father, there arises hence that           The overwhelming testimony of the Church, there-
subsistence, which, although connected with the es- fore, brands the Unitarians as  hereti,cs,  outside of the
sence by dn unbreakable bond, nor can Ibe separated         Christian Church. Servetus launched a violent and
from it, has nevertheless a special mark, by which it blasphemous attack upon this most fundamental of
 is distinguished from it.     Now  I say that each of ,Christian truths, and it cost him his life.  But the
these three subsistences  stands related to the others fa'thers of modern Unitarianism, and of modern
by a distinct property.       The word  relathn  is here Rationalism, are the two brothers Laelius an,d Faus-
expressly used, because when mention is made simply tus Socinus. They agreed in denying the trinity, and
and without further definition of God, the reference they succeeded where Servetus failed, in founding a
is no less to the Son  land to the Spirit than to the sect of their own. They found an asylum in one of
Father. But whenever the Father is compared with the Polish Palatines,  pro,duced  a number of theo-
the Son, his own property distinguishes each from the logians, and formulated a creed of their own. From
other. Thirdly, I assert, that whatever is the peculiar there it made inroads into other parts of the world,
property of each, is incommunicable, because whatever especially in England and America, while on the con-
is attributed to the Father ias a mark of distinction,      tinent it found a powerful ally in rationalistic philos-
cannot be applied or transferred to the Son. And            ophy. But in its Anti-trinitarian position it stands


506                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   ,jSEARER

-condemned by the entire Church of all ages, for the standing; that we do not have the right conception of
Spirit that leads into all the truth constantly taught things. To be correct, we should speak of religion
her, through the Holy Scriptures, to confess that God namely culture.
is one in essence, distinct in three persons, and that          In the light of these observations, it is plain that
these three persons, are the one, only, eternal God, there is no true culture in the world that lies in dark-
Whom to (know is eternal life !                              ness. For the men of this world are bad trees. And
                                              H, H.          bad trees bring forth bad fruit.
                                                                But doesn't the world know, let us say, mathemat-
                                                             ics? True it does. But mathematics; to limit ourselv-
                                                             es to this science, is not of the world but of God.
                                                             Properly, therefore, it does not belong to the culture
                                                             of the world. Mathematics belongs to nobody's cul-
                                                             ture. It' is the capital, given man by God, wherewith
: Thhe Christian School as a Seat of                         man works. The culture of the world  is~the wiisdom
                   True Culture                              of the world that is foolishness with God. The cul- .
                                                             ture of the world is the temple of an idol and the idol
                                                             in that temple. The culture of the world is all that
  First the question : What, in general, is culture. The which proceeds from the principle of sin that operates
"term culture comes from a word that means to. till, in the world. The culture of the world is the he, is
cultivate, promote the growth of an organism. In ex- sin and corruption to which the w&Id, gives expres-
plaining the idea of culture, we may begin  w.ith plant- sion in its philosophy, poetry and art and in all its
`culture. Here culture is the labor, the care, that the works. This is the oulture of the world. We must
farmer bestows on the plants that he grows in his            not, therefore, go to the world for culture. We must
fields.,    He prepares the soil, sows the seed. He go to Jerusalem for culture i. e. religion.
thereupon cultivates the plants.  ,He keeps the soil            It follows then  t.hat man may be ever so educated,
loose, destroys the weeds that spring up around the if he is not one of Christ's, he does not have true cul-
. plants. He feeds the plants through enriching the ture. The blood in a man may be t.rue blue, as they
soil. This is . done 1,argely before the sowing of the       say, he meay  be ever so refined, well-mannered and
j seed. The. plant, properly cultivated, bears fruit. And polished or generous and kind, if he is not one of
its fruit is its culture. The apple is the culture of the Christ's, he does aot have true culture. A woman may
apple-tree ; the pear is- the culture, of the pear-tree, be ever so lovely, gracious, and tender, if she is .not
and so on. Thus the word  culture signifies first the        one of Christ's, she does not have true culture. It
cultural action-the care bestowed upon the plant- is the nobility of the soul that proceeds from the new
and, second, the result of this action, the fruit which life in Christ that is true culture.
the cultivated plant bears.                                     This agrees wholly with what Paul teaches in 1st.
       Now humans, too, are plants. Christ compares          Corinthians (chap. 13). Says he there, "Though I
men with trees when he says that the good tree bears speak with the tongues of men and of angels (speak-
good fruit and the bad tree, bad fruit.        Here He ing with the tongues of angels-this certainly is cul-
refers to humans, to God's moral-rational creatures. ture) , and have not charity, (love in the original ; the
Being plants, humans can be cultivated, trained, nour- life of regeneration) I am sounding brass and a tinkl-
ished mentally and spiritually.. Cultivated humans ing symbol (I do not have true culture). And though
bear fruit, and this fruit is their culture. Thus the I have prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all
culture of a man is his works, his entire conversation knowledge (i. e., though I be the best educated man
in word, deed; and thought, either good or bad.              in the world, the wisest and the  .most profound) ; and
       What now is true culture? It is the good fruit though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains,
which Christ's branches bear. "1" says He, "am the and have not charity, I am nothing (I have no true
true vine, and my Father is the husbandma.n.  . . .ye        culture). And though I bestow all my goods to feed
are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in the poor (this is generosity for you, philanthropy),
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." (John 20). and though I give my body to be burned (What self-
,.In speaking of fruit, Christ refers to the entire good     denial!) and have not charity, it  profit&h  me no-
works of His people. So, then, true culture is the thing." (I have no true culture).
entire conversation of God is  Ibelieving  people in word       Then the apostle goes on to describe true culture.
deed and thought in so far as it  proceed,s  from the "Charity suffereth long and is kind ; charity envieth
new life in Christ and is untainted by the sins of the not; charity vaunteth not itself and is not puffed up,
Hesh. True culture, it is plain, is true religion. It is     doth not behave itself unseemly  seeketh  not her own,
therefore wrong to speak of &i@on and culture. To is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil ; rejoiceth not
do so is to indicate that we are void of true under-         in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all


                                   ,T*HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            5Q7

 things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth milk is Christ as we possess Him in the scriptures.
 all things."                                              That "man of God"  cannot  thrive on the. lie; but
    Let no one imagine that I am casting aspersions        neither can he thrive on the adulterated truth, on
 upon education. It may be an excellent thing for a the truth mixed with the lie. "As new born babes,"
 man to be educated. As reformed people we believe in says the apostle, "desire the unadulterated milk  .that
 a trained ministry. We insist that the men who oc- ye may grozu-mark  you yrow-thereby  ; that ye may
 cupy our pulpits have knowledge of languages, know grow  ttiehv  - mark you,  thereby."  What mother
 words, are able to construct sentences ; be trained in    would think of feeding her infant child with poisoned
the art of self-expression, know history, philosophy food.
 and theology. Moses was a highly educated man.               Here we come upon the reason. why we as parents
 Likewise Paul. Likewise the great reformers of the of Protestant Reformed persuasion must `have our
 lfith century. Let a manlearn, if he can, all there is    own schools-schools that are seats of true'  cultures
to be known about everything above and under the           Certainly, it is the will of God that we as parents piaie
sun. It is well. But let him remember that educa-          ourselves in a position that enables us to choose the
 tion is good only if it goes hand in hand with true       teachers for our own children. We may not-allow
culture. Let him remember that education without others in distinction from ourselves to determine who
true culture is a dangerous thing. It is a curse. Bet- shall instruct our children, especially. not  .,if those
ter, much better, a minister of the gospel with no         others are brethren holding the theory of common
education to speak of but with true culture, than a grace, which is nothing else but incipient modernism.
highly educated minister but with no true culture.            The matter, certainly, is of vital importance. Con-
    If the "man of God" is to <bear  fruit (I now have' sider that this "man of God" (our elect covenant
reference to our elect covenant youth), he must be         youth) is not our man, but  ,God's. God bought that
cultivated taught, trained.      The  cultivat,er  of that "man" with the very blood of His only begotten. We
 "man of God" is God Himself. Says Christ, "My hold our children simply as a trust. God says, "Feed
Father is the husbandman." Properly, God through that `man' that he may grow and mature and be meet
Christ is the sole  cultivater,  trainer of the "man of for  my  use."
God." God may cast him in the crucible of affliction          We he& it said, .now by this one, t.hen  by that one,
that his faith may flower. He chasteneth him th.at he that we would do wrong in taking our children out.of
may  Ibecome  partaker of Christ's holiness. A,n essen-    the Christian schools that be; that the thing for  us.-to
tian element in the cultivation  of the "man of God" is do is to co-operate with the `brethren in improving
his being fed. <God feeds him with the word of truth,      these schools, in making them what' they should bei
thus with Christ who is the truth, the true  brea&         The fact is, we cannot for the simple reason that we
He feeds this man by causing the word-His word-            do not hold in our hands the reins of government of
to dwell richly in him.                                    these schools.    And we never will. In the school-
    In training the "man of God," God uses agents-         boardIs we are in the minority and will continue to
the parents of the child, the pastors in the church and be. The brethren see to this. Now it is the majority
the teachers in the school. The school only is  the seat that rules. This would not be bad if the. split were
of true culture whme  teachers are willing and truly not on vital issues. But since it is,  we,. the minority,
qualified to properly train that "man of God." And are in duty bound to go our way alone. The issue is
here again the essential element in the training of the vital also ,before  the consciousness of the brethren.
child is being fed the truth.                              The proof of this is that, with respect to the schools,
    Here we come upon the reason why the Chris- sthey see to it that the reins do no slip from their
tian parent cannot send his child to the schools of the hands. And their holding the reins means, let it be
world. The pedagogues in these schools feed the child      repeated, that they and not we determine who shall
the lie. But arithmatic is true; and this is taught in     teach our children.
the schools of the world. Assuredly, the multiplica-                                                  G. M. 0,.
tion tables are true, they being of God and not of man:                                                            ..I.
But in teaching arithmatic, the teacher in the schools
of the world proceeds from the lying premise that God
, is not and that the creature is a god to himself; and
so he basically corrupts with his lie God's arithmatic.
And it is this lie that pervades all his instruction.                             NOTICE
    The "man of God" must be fed the truth and the
truth unadulterated. Speaking of the "man of God,"            Classis East will meet in regular session. Wednes-
Peter says : "Desire the  imadulterated  milk, that ye day Oct. 6, at Fuller Ave. at 9 A. M.
may grow thereby (1 Peter 2). The unadulterated                                               D.  Jonker,  S. C.  ,:."


  608                                   T#HE  S T A N D A R D B E A R E R

                                                                  As the people received the consecration to the holy
             The Capture of Jericho                            war through circumsion and the Passover, so Joshua
                                                               their leader receives his in a way agreeable to his
      Having narrated the passage through the Jordan,          position.    The Lord,  IHimseif,  appears to him. He
  the sacred `writer ibrings  before us in succession (a)      bears a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua, thus
  the effect of the invasion upon the heathen, ver. 1 of proving that the Lor,d had strengthened him and made
  ch. 5; (b) the circumsion of the people,  ver. 2-9 (c)       him firm, goes near the apparition and asks the man
  the enjoyment of the bread of the land and the Pass- -a man he at first took the Lord to be-, "Art thou
  over in connection with the cessation of the manna,          for us or for our adversaries?" The one addressed
  ver. 10-19; the appearance of the angel of God to            answers that he is the "Captain of the host of the
  Joshua, ver. 13-15 ; and finally the capture of Jericho, Lor.d  and is now come2'        Joshua falls on his face to
  ch. 6.                                                       the earth and does worship, and with deepest rever-
         We briefly comment on the first four of these ence asks: "what speaks  Imy Lord to His servant?"
. events to concentrate in the writing upon the capture The  ge!sture indicates that he recognizes his visitor as
  of  Jeri,cho.                                                JEHQVAH Himself. The Lord instructs Joshua to
         The terror which, according to the words of Rahab,    remove his shoes from o@ his feet in that the place
                                                               where he stands is holy. Joshua does so and now the
  had before seized the Canaanties west of Jordan (ch.         Lord communicates to him His will with  respe-t  to
  2:9-11) is greatly increased  `by the marvelous pas- the capture of Jericho, ch. 622-5. *
  sage of the Jordan. Their heart melts, their courage            "At the approach of the Israelites, J,ericho, so it is
  flees, and a panic has fallen upon them. And this in next stat,ed, had closF,d its doors: none went ,out and
  token that the Lord has given the land to His pao$e.         none came in. Instead of surrendering and casting
         The circumcision of the people  ,took  place upon an itself upon the mercy of God, the city resisted to the
  express command of Jehovah because (ver. 4-6) it             end and was thus without excuse. Jehovah now com-
  had been omitted in the wilderness. The adult gen-           mands Joshua to march around the city with the ark
  eration, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, had preceeded  by the priests giving blasts on alarm trum-
  died in the wilderness. Since, then, the former cir-         pets, one each day for six days in succession, but
  cumcised men of  .war were no more, on account of on the seventh day seven times, and promises that
  their disobedience, the present race of young men then her walls shall fall down. This command Joshua
  must, before they dase undertake the conquest of Ca- imparts to the priests with the people for immediate
  naan, receive the sign of the Lord's covenant. The execution, which then also follows. On the seventh
  reason why the rite was performed is that the re- day the Israelites begin their march very early, with
  proach that clave  to the people all during the period the dawn, because they have to make the circuit seven
                                                               times. At Joshua's command, the people who have
  of the wanderings and that consisted in their becom-         before marched in silence around the city, raise a
  ing a people of slaves under Pharaoh. This reproach battle shout. The trumpets clang and the walls of
  had not been -removed while they were journeying Jericho fall flat. Over the prostrate walls the Israel-
  through the wilderness, because God had been angry ites enter the city, and "each one straight forward,"
  with His people on account of their disobedience, and so that their order was preserved as far as possible.
  they on their part had  neglected  circumcision. The This order was, (1)  `the armed men ; (2) the seven
  reproach is rolled away by the Lord through circum;          priests with their seven trumpets;  .(3) the prieats
  cision. It was only as a sanctified people, holy to the      with the ank of the covenant; (4) the remaining war-
  Lord, that they might and could war the warfare of riors as a rear-guard. The shouting was done on the
  God, successfully strive  rto enter into the promised seventh day only, at the express command of Joshua,
  land. The name of the place of the performance of Silently and without voice, for six long days, under
  the rite was called  Gilgal  "unto  th& day," for, said the  prolon,ged  blasts of the  trmnpets,  the people
  the Lord to Joshua, "this day have I rolled away the marched around and around the City of Palms.
  reproach of Egypt from off you."                               . The city was devoted under the express command
         At this place the Passover,  conneoted  with the first of God. It was doomed, laid under the +ban,.that is,
  enjoyment of the land, and the cessation of the Manna, devoted to Jehovah without the possibility of being
                                                               redeemed. It was thus put away and destroyed utter-
  was also eaten. The designation of the time-on the ly to the honor of Gcd, a propitiation, as it were, to
  fourteenth day of the month-recalls Exodus  13:6.            the divine justice and holiness, that God might be
  T-he Manna ceased on the morrow after the Passover, glorified. The city was burnt with fire, and all that
  because the people had now arrived in Canaan and was t,herein with the lexception  of the silver, and the
  no longer needed the bread of the wilderness.                gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, These,


r
                                         T,HE  STANDAku  B E A R E R                                                509

     were put  into the treasury of the house of the Lord.      exploitations, vain strivings and expectations, selfish-
        The fall of the walls of Jericho occurred through ness and greed; the world that possesses the earth
     the direct efficiency of God. It is certainly soulless and commands the fruits of genius and is seated in
     `to think of an undermining of the walls. Also, nothing the throne of men's kingdoms ; yet the world where
     is said in the text of an earthquake. Yet certainly stalks the curse of God. It is  this  worl,d  of which.
     then resort to an earthquake is no indication of infi-     Jericho was the type, th,e world of reprobated men,
     delity if only it be affirmed that it is God who by His    the world whose people imagine a vain thing, and
     almighty presence makes the earth to quake. Whether whose kings set themselves and take council together
     the Lord assailed these walls directly or made them against the Lord and His anointed, Ps. 2. The world
     fall' flat' through shaking the earth underneath them, of which Jericho was the type is the worldly state as
     makes little difference.     In either case the fall of it stands concretely [before us in the godless. of the,
     these walls was a miracle.                                 earth. It is the church in so far as it takes on flesh
        A devoted city, according to Deut. 14 :17,-  might and blood in the carnal seed. And to this world be-
     ,not be retbuilt.  Joshua, therefore, pronounces an im- longs also the sinful flesh of the believers.
     precation on the foundation and the soil of Jerichho.         It is plain that this world-the world of which
     The curse upon this city-the key city of  Canaan- Jericho was the tppe-cannot be limited to the axis
     was the curse upon everything of an idolatrous na- powers. For it-this world-is as wide and compre-
     ture, upon the  Cananite race with all its abomina- hensive as the world. It is world-wide. Wherever.
     tions. Such a curse the New  Tiestament  Scriptures        the devil is, there is this world. Wherever sin is,
     utters against all false teachings and corruptors of there is also this world. Wherever the curse of God
     men and  m,ockers of God.      '                           stalks there is this world. Wherever selfishness an,d
        The fall of Jericho is the type and image of the greed is, there is this world. Wherever death is and
     fall and destruction of the world, not of God's but of the grave and hell, there is this world-the world of
     man's world.  There  are, certainly, two such worlds which Jericho was the type. This world, therefore
     of which account must be taken and [between  which         is here, in every state of our union, in every city,
     a sharp distinction must Ibe made. "I pray not for village and hamlet. This world is in my heart and
     the world. . .  ." I am quoting Christ here at John your heart. It is the height of folly and hypocracy,
     17 :4. "Now is the judgment of the world" (John certainly, to identify this world with the axis powers.
     1231). Then there is the admonition of John, "Love            Man's world, as was Jericho, is, will be, overcome,
     not the world" (1 John  2:15). On the other hand, this world-man's world-with  al1 that it includes
     there is also a world that, God loved and to which `He and stands for: the devil and his henchmen; the wick-
     gave His only *begotten, a world that God reconciled ed that corrupt the earth; greed sin and oppression
     to Himself and to which aHe does not impute its in- and the exploitation of the weaker nations by the
     iquity, John 3 :16 ; I Cor. 5 :18, 19.                     stronger; persecution of the saints, their tribulations.
        Now it stands to reason that the world that God         They are, will be overcome, con,quered.  Sin, hell, and
     loved and so loved that He gave His only Begotten,         the grave is overcome, in a word, all that Jericho
     reconciled to Himself  `in  CHBIST  and to which He stands for.
     imputes not their transgressions,-it stands to reason         `ihey who conquer are God's people, and their vic-
     that this world is not, cannot be, that world for which tory is complete, decisive and absolute. The world
     Christ does not pray, God's PEOPLE may not love,           is at their feet. It works for good to them. It is
     is judged and will therefore be destroyed. There are, their slave, and they its master, not, to be sure, in
     then, very actually two worlds : God's world and man's the point of view of worldly political power, but in
     world. God's world is Christ, the elect, the  church,      the point of view of the nobility of their heavenly son-
     the body of  ,Christ,  that temple-the temple of God, ship. In the point of view of worldly political power,
     of which Christ is the chief corner stone, the creature the world is their master. It is the world that oc-
     -the inanimate and irrational,,creature  that groaneth cupies the thrones of the world's kingdom. The world
     and awaiteth the manifestation of the sons of God,         possesses the earth.
     the new heavens and the new earth on which will               Yet, God's people conquer. They very actually
     dwell  righteousness and where God will everlastingly conquer the world. But it is their faith that conquers,
     tabernacle with His people. Jericho, certainly, is not -conquers the world. Mark you, faith, not carnal
     the type of this world but of man's world ; the world violence, not battleship and fighting planes, and
     that lies in darkness, whose name is blasphemy, and bombers, not armies well trained and equipped with.
     whose prince is Satan; thus the world that made war guns and swords, but solely faith, true living faith, the
     with the LAMB and sheds the blood of saints and faith that proceeds from the life of regeneration, that
     prophets; the doomed world, witlh its wars and fam- the faith according to which God's people walk' as
     ine, sufferings, tears, and dispair, grave and hell, children of the  lightt, the faith under the constraint of
     rich and poor, economk inequaliti'es,  oppressions, and which,  they  flee  froan sin and turn to the living

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

God, receive God's Word,, confess Christ's name and compassed Jericho was Christ, and the ark was His
witness for the truth, prophesy of Christ's  coming,         throne and the throne of His Father.
desire and pray that only God's will be done and His                                                   G. M. 0.
counsel  Ibe realized. This is the faith that conquers
the world-this, namely, our true contrition of. heart,
our godly conversation, our confessing and witness-
ing, our seeking His kingdom, our reaching out in
prayer for the heavenly and for the heavenly only.
By this faith the walls of Jericho fell. This is the Israel's ThecdcracvY as a Model State
faith that conquers the world. For this faith, this
holy, holy striving, God rewards (the reward is of              The term theocracy is not a biblical word, but it
grace). So this faith, this praying according to His         is the expression of a thoroughly biblical idea as found
will, this seeking in prayer the heavenly, God responds      in t*he passages I Sam,. 8:7, "They have rejected Me
by making the world work for good to us every mo-            that I should not reign over them;" so  12:12 "Ye
ment, every second. Thus the world, is our slave in-         said Nay, but a king shall reign over us: when the
deed. So through his living faith, the man of faith          Lord your God was your  Kin.g;" so  De&.  33:5  "He
brings the world-man's world  ak his feet, yet not           was King in Jeshurun when the heads of the people
he but God in response to his faith and in answer to         and the tribes of Israel were gathered together."
his prayers  (tru,e prayers-prayers in which the be-
lievers seek exclusively the heavenly God, His will             In general we may characterize* this theocracy as
and counsel and thus not themselves). Through his            the state where God was Father-King and as such
living faith the man of faith brings at his feet all th.e sole law-giver and also avenger of that law.
that the world stands for: sin, greed, oppression,              Now this may seem to raise the objection that
persecution, trltbulations, death, grave, hell, the sinful thus we have only the kingly office spoken of whereas
flesh of the (believer himself. The encompassing of in the nation of Israel there were `three offices which
the walls of Jericho was the expression of a living all had a #part in the life of Israel as a people and, na-
faith-the faith of the true Israelites. It was by their tion., and the objection continues that two of the
living faith that they made their enemies their foot- offices thus hang on in an unintegrated way. But we
stool, yet not they but Jehovah in response to their have rightly always taught that the offices are a tri-
faith.                                                       unity of official function in a rational being.  .How-
    Verily, the faith of= God's people conquereth the        ever this apparent aloneness of the royal office is
world indeed. And wanting the things that God wants harmonimd  with the well-estarblished unity of the
and wills and  t,hese  things exclusively, they are at       three by the fact that the royal is the pre-eminent and
one with God as to their willing and striving and the other two are subordinate.
longings, and thus also their will and word is being            It is undoubtedly true that in man as God's  image-
done and through Christ  al1 that God worketh ac-            bearer the three offices  ap,pear and the pre-eminence
cording to the counsel of His will are also their is given to  ,the priest-hood (I Pet. 2  :9;  Rerv.  1:6, 5:
achievements. Thus they are having their way. They           10) since he is prophet to know and declare the will
very actually reign with Christ, the Lord of lords,          of God: king to execute that will in God's name;
and the King of kings.                                       priest to offer the fruits of his dominion as an offer-
    Thus their faith is their victory indeed, not cer- ing of worship.
tainly in the sense that faith merits with God, and not         However the offices in the theocracy are seen a;
in the sense that the victory proceeds from their applied to God, and then in the following order: He
faith as its source, but in the sense the victory is         is Prophet as revealer of His will and good pleasure;
achieved solely in the way of faith, in  th,e way of He fulfills the function of priest in that He Himself
faith in Christ.                                             supplies all that is demanded in that will (Isa. 54 : 17,
    The victory is solely Christ's achievement through       Hosea  14:9) and thus,  becau,se  of this He is King
His:atonement.  He vanquished all our foes. And He whose dominion is un,disputably  established in right-
gives us the victory as a free gift of grace, and when       eousness.
the world *ill have served His and our purpose (His             In order now to answer the question whether Is-
purpose is our purpose) again in answer to our pray- rael's, Theocracy was a model state, we may  unbouebt-
ers  .and%  in response to our holy strivings, it will be    edly  (begin  by saying that the t,heocracy  is a perfect
destroyed.    The walls of Jericho, of Babylon, shall state. Everywhere Scripture teaches us that the per-
fall. There will be new  heavens  and a new earth fect state shall have come when God shall manifest
on  wlhich righteousness will  <dwell. This will be the      His Kingdom of graxe (Dan `7 :14; I Cor. 15 :27; Rev.
victory in its  glori,ous   consumation.  But the victory 21:3, 4) in its complete dominion.
is solely of  God.through  Christ, The priest that  en-         Now of this  skingdom,  Israel's theocracy  until-

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

Christ a-as a type. In it as a kingdom of salvation, execution of the' formal tabernacle-ritual is threatened
God as  Father-Kinfg  ruled  in- distinction from His       with  .death (Ex.  28:43; Num.  4:15,  20)  <and Uzza,
dominion of  potwer  in the world. And although it who touches the.ark with devoted hand is smitten as
might  seem  that the desiring of a king in Samuel's an abject lesson unto holiness. But when we come. to
da.y was a destruction of the theocratic type, yet in       the later kings and prophets an Ahaz builds a heathen
reality it was not so, for the human king in Israel altar in the holy place for his own pleasure and- an
became precisely the type of the Messianic King, the Antiochus Epil hanes sacrifices  a sow in the temple
Incarnate. He was one taken from the midst of the of the Lord ard sprinkles the broth about the sacred
brethren and lived in the most intimate contact with precincts all with impunity. This theocratic type was
God.                                                        waxing old and ready to vanish away.
   When now we  com:e to the transition from the Old           But, there is a second reason why that theocracy
to the New Dispensation we must be on our guard.            could not be a model of the present civil state, and
It is hardly safe to say as is so often done that the       that is that it was a kingdom of grace. Terrible. as
difference between Old an,d New is that in the first some 04  t,he executions and vengeance of the dispen-
the church and state are one, whereas in the New they sation may have been we may never forget that es-
are separate.       The truth is rather that in the old sential to that dispensation was the  obperation  and
dispensation the kingdom of God. was existent in Is-        saving power of the  gra.ce  of God. It is  grqce  tha$
rael mediated by types and shadows and at the same made of Israel a people ; grace that t,hey are not con-
time forming  type and shadow of better things to sumed in the desert, and at Sinai; grace that David
come. And in the New this theocratic principle is           is not destroyed for his sins; grace that Jerusalem
not at all abandoned and dismissed but is appreciably is spared from the avenging angel ; grace that Israel
advanced.    It is precisely in the Church that that is restored from  capt'ivity. This grace was an es-
God through Christ rules by His- Word and Spirit in sential, integral part of the theocratic  aidministra-
His Kingdom.         This Scripture testifies repeatedly tion, and .explains the continuation of the theocratic
([Heb. 12 :22 ; Jer. 31:31-36 ; John 6 :45). Indeed both people.
church and state, if we may so express it, is now found        (Hence the theocracy cannot be the model for the
in the cfhurch,  fcr it is there that God by His Word       civil state.    For in the civil,, state. as such there is
and Spirit  toulches  and orders the whole and every no room for grace. Only in the kingdom of Christ
phase of the life of the citizens.                          is there a possiility of grace. Only in the  kingdoLm
   This becomes still clearer when we remember that of `Christ  is there a possibility of grace. In the civil
in the Old Dispensation the civil state corresponding state which arises out of nature and is limited to
to that of today-was found outside of Israel in heathen-    natural ordinances, any act of grace or pardon `or
dom, whereas even the typical aspect of the theocratic      amnesty is not grace or  forgtieness  but is only a
state continued into the New. Disp., before it died out.    correction of miscarriage in the course  of.  justice.
It appeared namely in the infallible guidance which And the citizens of the civil state cannot safely be
He lent to fihe Apostolical founding and administra- presumed to be susceptible to the methods of grace,
tion of the New Test. kingdom, and it even appeared not even the Christ.ian citizen with his small begin-
in the  ~Divine vindication of His authority in such ninlg of new obedience.
cases as that of Ananias and Sapphira, and Simon               Now these things undoubtedly, become more in-
the sorcerer (Acts 8) Elymas (Acts  13:6-12)  and in
line with this are all the signs and wonders of the telligible and we also more easily reconcile our minds
Aipostolic  age.                                            to them when we realize that all `that may be desired
                                                            in a state is to be fulfilled in the church and King-
   From this it appears clearly that Israel's  theoc-       dom ,of Christ. Even now that is so, as the apostle
ra.cy was not meant as a model for the civil state of
today; on the contrary it is in principle realized in Paul says, II Cor. 10. For the weapons of our war-
the N. T. Cshurch.                                          fare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
                                                            pulling down of st,ron.gholds,  casting down imagina-
   But we may go farther and say not only that it           tions and every high thing. . .and bringing into cap-
was not a model, but also that it could not be a model.
It was i,tself  a defective pict,ure of the perfect, itself tivity every thought to the o.bedience  of Christ, and
full of impossible and embarassing situations and through that same Christ shall one day be reconciled
growing weaker continually as the dispensation wore, u&o God all  t,hings whether in earth or in heaven.
on.  A,ll the immediate and terrible vindications of        Cal.  1:20.
the divine righteousness" and holiness which were so           And then we must also follow out the other con-
frequent in  t.he early history, e. g., during the Exodus sequence and maintain that the state can never .be
and under the judges become less and less frequent. restored unless it is brought completely under the
In the early history every  inedvertant  error in the       dominion of grace. The state is not itself an evil,


 512                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             _      .

but is a phase of creation which has been brought
under the dominion of sin.                                                     The Christian and !Sp&s
    To understand this we must look at the purpose
of the state. It is undoubtedly wrong to  say that                     Should there appear in one of the editions of the
the Funpose  of the stat,e is to make human life pos-               Standard Bearer an article or two concerning the hap-
sible through the restraint of sin. For the state has penings in the world of sport we would be shocked.
not  ,came into existence as an  after4hought  for the              Should there  Ibe  iz detailed report of the progress
restraint of sin `but is given with creation and serves             and outcome of the World's Series in the baseball
the purpose of organizing and controlling the life "of realm, we would shake our heads and say, "What is
men in natural equity for a harmonious systematic this world coming to?" Should one of our daily news-
development. And that for better or for  worse.  Let papers publish upon its sport page, items of  news
us never forget the latter. The law is good, says the concerning one of our churches we would feel highly
Apostle, but it was precisely by the law that sin came              insulted. The reason for this is that we all feel keen-
to  ,appear  in all its sinfulness for the law entered ly that the,church  has nothing to do with sports and
in that the  offence  might abound. So it is with the               that sports are out of place in the life of the church.
state ,which in itself is good lbut which Iby its organiza-         What then of the individual church member, the
tion and ordering of life shows sin in all its sinful-              Christian, what must his attitude be in regard to
ness, "the corruption of the best is the worst." Hu-                sports? May he indluge in them,?         May he follow
manity is an organism and by far its greatest possib-               their development and daily  happenitngs?  We hope
ilities lie in harmonious organization. Thus sin does               in this essay to pen down a  ,few  thoughts on this
not reveal its most damnalble character in a total of               matter.
imiividuals  `but in the  iudividuals   organimd  into a               We do well to bear in mind that a Christian is
smooth organism. And God will have sin to  alppear                  not merely a church member.        He is a disciple of
in all its sinfulness through the highest or,ganization,            Christ following Him in all His teachings and walk-
j:l-st as He will, yea, in order that He may reveal .the            ing after the pattern He  gawe us. rHe is one who par-
restoring power of grace in that highest organization takes of Christ's anointing. The name Christ means
of  humanicty which was corrupt in all its intricate anointed.                   Hence we receive the name Christian.
ramifications. Rom. 5  :20-21.                                      Christ was anointed to be our Prophet, Priest and
   Also it is undoubtedly wrong to say that the state King. We a.s Christians are likewise anointed to be
has its purpose  ,in the creation of a sphere where the             prophets, priests and kings of God. As prophets,
church may live unmolested.. For surely such an elab-               we are to `serve Him with our mind. As  ,priest. we
orate alppara(tus  was not necessary to create a peaceful serve Him with our hearts. Our kingly office we ful-
sphere for the church. , Does not history of the apos- fill by serving Him with our strength. In one word
tolic church tell us of a great fear that came upon all             we may say that a Christian is one ,who, through the
men so that they left the Christians unmolested? Snirit of Christ, is entireIy  dedicated to God so that
And does not Scripture tell us  t.hat it will be precisely he thinks, wills, and acts only to God's honor  and
that state that shall by its intricate organization  pur-           gIorv. In the measure we do this we are like Christ.
secute the children of God?                                         In this measure we are Christians.
   Therefore we conclude that Israel's Theocracy is                    If we,  <now,. approach the question bearing this in
the n-oclel  or tnrr of the state as it is realized in the     mind, we will have come quite a distance closer to the
kingdom of Christ through the church; and further right conception of the Christian's relation to snorts.
that the civil  stake, `which as a creation of God is               The whole matter rests on the answer to this question,
good,' nevertheless has not within itself the power to         "Can we with mind, heart, and st.rength  glorify God
arise out of the bondage of corruption and is destined by indulging in the sports of today?" The snorts of
to  Ibe brought concretely farther  and farther under today may  Ibe  ,divide.d  into the  competitive  snmorts
that power until it becomes the instrument of the suoh as baseball, football, basketball, racinp,  skatin(r,
highest  possilble  apostacy.  For not only does  +h+:         golf. tennis and the Eke and such snorts as hllnting
natural man work the corruption of that state. but             aDd fishing, wherein one does not comlnete with an-
also the old nature of the Christian  ,contributes  to         other. Some of the `competitive  sorts. however. also
its destruction, since in that sphere there is no restor- lend  themseIvcs  to  individua1   induIgenence   am-7 do
ing grace.                                                     not always contain the element of competition. Thus
                                                                    it is  nlainlv with swimming, skatjng and  anlf.
                                               A. P,           +       You feel ,at once that many things will fall away


                                            T,HE  .ST;ANDARD   B E A R E R  ;                                                   513
                                                     _...                   -





                                     .,         .      .     _     ..-
  -
an,d  !be denied us when we hold  i&t to the  above                        itis the  .convi&ion  of the undersigned that the  Chris:
dcscript.ion of the.  khri&an.       If he is, and he most tian shouM hawe nothing to do with them and should
assuredly is, dedicated to  Gold  `with. body and seul,                    have no inlferest  in Yhe #activities of these godless
heart, mind and strength, life becomes very  small                         men who desecrate  jGod's sabbath  band live for self
for him. We must not  let this turn our hearts  `0:                        and  ncrV for God. Their activity is to no degree at all
min~ds  away and seek to excuse behavior which is                          to God's honor and glory. What is not to ..His glory
n,ot Christian according to the s!tandard  given above.                    should be loathsome to us. Should we care to know
Let me first prove my contention that this is the                          aho is the worlrd's champion if he or they excel1  only
rilgh,t conception of  `the  I  Chridtian.     Jesus, Himself,             in  th@ which is not to t&d's glory? When two men
says, "Whosoever would come sfter me, let hijm deny fight like beasts in the boxing ring, it is not the
himself, take up his cross and follow me."  Coming                         Christian who enjoys *this. A mind and heart dedicat-
after Him is being His disciple, and that is what a' ed %o God will shudder to see or hear (the wonderful
Christian is. Paul declares, "None of us liveth to body God gave us undergoing such devilish, abuse.
himself, and no man' dieth to himself. For whether The Christian's heart is full of love,  ibut the  prize-
                                                                          V fighter's is full of hate. No one who loves his neigh-
we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, bour would think of stabbing and punching his body
we die ,unto the Ford: Whether we live therefore, or so brutally. No Christian will wan't to witness it or
die, we are `rthe Lord's." Or, if you will read Luke listen to it over the radio. When dogs fight, we stop
9:57-62.  There we are taught  ithat the Christian, them. Yet this human brutality is enjoyed by many..
presented here as the citizen of the kingdom of heav- If the child of God listens and enjoys these things, it
en, must indeed be dedicated wholly to God or he is                        is his old man of sin and he must fight against it
unfit to be ia disciple of Christ. _                                      and `not give in to that lust of his flesh.
    We, need not be hasty,. now, in drawing our con-                             Paul warns us that in the last days men shall be
clusions,  (but we  ,must  be honest. The element of lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Beware
ccmpetition  in sports does not condemn them, unless then lest you find yourself in that category. Are you,
this competition tends to prenrent our glorifying God a Christian? Then live a life dedicated to God.
with the strength and talents He gives us. That is                               How of&en is it not that we find a child who
one of the great  angers in competitive sports. We knows all the baseball  .players in a certain team  with
soon become angry and jealous and say things that their batting avenages but cannot 4ell you the names
are no't to God's glory or even resort to  physioal                        of tie twelve apostles ! There are grown ups who are
violence. `Ihis need not be the case, but only  ;oo no [better. Shame on us. The one sin also leads to
often it is.                                                               another, for on the sabbath we cannot let the world,
       In i%-nited space as is allotted for th& es!zy all go, <but either wonder all  d*ay how the game is com-
                                                                           ing out, or else under the pretense of looking for
the phases of sport carmot  be treated. A few  words                       music on the radio, go past the station where  4he.
can be said, however,, concerning some of them.                    Ia scores are- being given. That is not the activity of a
general  1e.t it first be  s&ted that when the child of                    Christian. Do not deceive yourself. If ithe world has
God resorts Ito any sport to keep his body fit `in order such a hold on us, we should examine ourselves and
that he thereby~may  serve God, there $s no ,danger  in !ask ourselves whether we are really Christians after,
sports. One does need recreation. Paul makes men- all. We must not be Christians merely in name.
tion of the race (more than once. Were it, .as such,                             If I may have a few more lines, I .would  also lske
sinful he woui;d not borrow the figure of this sport. to remark briefly on the sports of hunting and fish-
But let it be understood that is must be  recreatio:l                      ing. A Christian may practice them. The disciples
and Gust not ibe carried to extreme so that `we play were fishermen. Isaac sent Esau to hunt for veni-
until  exhausited,  go without food in order  to-get `to son.                       However, the `Christian does not fish for the.
the  Ml parks in time or play even when tired from a sport of it, and the Christian hunter does not hunt for
day's work.       Such behavior is not to God's glory. the sport of it: We see too much shooting of harm-
                                                                           less .creatures  by boys and men just for ,the sport of.
We may not indulge in sports for sport's sake. Su2.h shooting. This is decidedly wrong and sinful.  OnlyA:
seorts  as football, wherein one endangers ,his life or God can give life, and having given it to creatures .we
runs  the risk of serious injury, must certainly be  conr may not without ;a good reason take that life away.
demned. Likewise, the  sport of automobile racing,                         If the creature does not harm us, let it live,  Ho:w
wherein one in no way prepares himself for service little we think of life ! Likewise is the practice of.
to God, is of the @evil.                                                   fishing for the fun of feeling the struggling fish,.
       In regard to the organized sports  pradticed  by the and then having  :caught  it, release  It.  <to have the
x&d  WB  @x&ball,  fo&baA,  baaketrball  and .the like, same experience some other day, If we. do not fis&

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

and hunt for food, we have no right to fish and hunt.         hand. iHij bleef  mensch. Hij werd nooit redeloos, 0111
Hunting and fishing are not sports for lthe Christian. een andersoortig schepsel te worden.  Maar alle deze
They are means whereby he seeks the food God has gaven, van hoofd, hart en hand sloegen in hun geeste-
provided for him.                                             lijk-zedelijk   tegendeel  om, en het drievoudig  bsstaln
                                             J. A. H.         van den mensch werd nu instrument des duivels. Zoo
                                                              openbaarde de mensch zijn geestelijke afkomst, n.l.,
                                                              dat hij de duisternis liever heeft dan het licht Gods.
                                                              Zoo is bet ook `gegaan  melt zijn profetisch  ambt.     De
                                                              mensch is niet meer  profeet  Gods.  lHij bedenkt en
                                                              spreekt enkel ijdelheid. Het he&t den mensch niet
Christus' `Uitvoering van Zijn Profe- gced gedacht om God in  erkentenis te houden,  eLl
                                                              daarom heeft God hen overgegeven  in eenen verkeer-
tisch i4mbt Onder het 0ude;i'erbond den zin. Zood%at ook des memxhen  hoofd-zijde, name-
                                                              lijk, die zijde die te doen  had met zijn profeten ambt,
   .Bij de bespreking van dit onderwerp,  dienen  we          nu  vervuld  is met  alle ongerechtigheid, hoererij,  boos-
allereerst voor de aandacht te brengen, dat Christus          heid, gierigheid, kwaadheid; vol van nijdigheid, moord,
de  ambtsdrager  is lbij uitnemendheid. Eigenlijk, dat twist, bedrog,  kwaadaardigheid,   oorblazers;   achter-
Christus   alleen  een  an&t  bekleed en uitvoert, en dat klappers, h.a ters Gods, smaders, hoovaardigen, laa t-
er dus geen  schepsel is  dlat eenig ambt  zbekleed  dan dunkenden, vinders van  kwade   dingen,  den ouden  on-
alleen  zooals het afgeleid is van Christus' ambt. Dit gehoorzaam; onverstandigen, verbondsbrekers, zonder
tiordt  %ns ddidelijk als we letten  op wat een ambts- natuurlijke liefde, onverzoenlijken, onbarmhartigen.
                                                              Zie Rom.  128-31.      In het  licht van deze taal der
drager is in  bet algemeen en daarna  op. de uitvoering Schrift zal  immers niemand kunnen beweeren dat de
van  "bet profetisch  ambt, in het  Ibijzonder.               mensch meer profeet  Gods is.
 De mensch  ilmmers  werd van stonde  aan in  .c,en              Wat is we1 een  profeet  Gods? Gewoonlijk meent
arnbt Igeplaatst, en dat ambt bestond in het algemeen `men dat een profeet Gods is iemand, die de toekomst
daarin, dat hij God rechtzoude `kennen, Hem verheer-          voorspelt,  en dus met een blik in die toekomst, den
lijsken, Hem dienen met alle dingen,  en alzoo  verzorger menschen *kan toeroepen wat haastig geschieden  zal.
van Gods aardsche huis. In een  woord was de ambts Nu is dit we1 eea der elementen van een profeet. Hij
taak van den mensch, om in, en met, en door alle              moet ook  we1  toekomsti~ge  dingen   openbaren  en  ver-
alle  dingen  God te dienen.  Echter dit dienen Gods ikondigen. Maar  di4 is niet het een en al van, een
geschiedde op  drirvoudige  wijze, geheel in  overeen-        profeet.  Ja, is dit nog niet  ,zijn  voornaamste   ltiaak.
stemming met des menschen drievoudig bestaan. Dat Volgens het IHebreeu'wsche  ,woord voor profeet,  is zulk
drievoudig bestaan den menschen wordt  we1 eens  ge- seen profeet,. een die  overkookt  en overvloeit.  ' De
noemd HET HOO,FD,  HET HART, en DE HAND van profeet  Gods is een ,die letterlijk overvloei't  en over-
den mensch. Dat zijn de drie zijden van des menschen kookt van de kennisse Gods. Het hart is zoo vol van
natuur, met  welke   -hij is versierd,  krachtens  Gods de kennisse Gods, dat de ,profe'ten  overvloeien en alzoo
scheplxnd  werk in hem. Met xijn hoofd kende den verkondigen ze wat -God hun geopenb&ard  heeft;;. De
mensch Zijnen God en  sprak   va!n Hem  als het hoogste kennisse  Gods  vervult hen zoo dat ze  overmeesterd
goed. Met zijn hart, wijdde  zich den mensch God toe, zijn door die kennisse Gods, en het gevolg is dat ze
en  offerde hij in liefde  alles  aan God op.. Met zijn       spreken en niot ophouden totdat ze den vollen raad
hand hield de mensch de teugels  vast en regeerde hij         Gods hebben verkondigd. Alles wat ooilt van G&l ge-
in Gods naam en ton; Gods eer. Alzoo was de mensch apenbaard moet  worden, wordt als het ware van God
`naar de zijlde van zijn hoofd, de profeet  Gods, en naar     overgegoten  in dien  profeet  en  alzoo   wordt  de raad
de zijde  van zijn hart, de priester Gods en  naar de Gr3ds  tbekend gemaakt  aan den mensch. Daarom ook
zipde  van zijn hand, de koning Gods op de aande. Zoo- kan  er geen geopenbaarde kennisse Gods zijn, die
dat het  `5&e  am&,   hetwelk   bestond  in  vriend-knecht    venborgen is. Nooit mogen we zeggen dat eenig deel
 Gods te zijn, op driewoudige  wijze uitstraalde en kwam      der  Schrift venborgen  is, of dat zekere gedeel,ten  be-
 de onderscheiding in dat ambtelijk werk,  die vandaag hooren tot den verborgen raad Gods. We1 kunnen we
 nag ken'baar is door de  *b&end+? uitdrukking : de zeggen: Ik kan Idat of dat niet verklaren maar nooit
 mensch is  profeet,  priester en koning Gods.                ,dat eenig gedeelte  der Gods openbaring, eene verbor-
       We moeten echter  niet uit bet oog verliezen dat de genheid Gods is. Er is geen verborgenheid  ,Gods in
 mensch  eigenlijlk  niet meer de  profeet,   priesester  en <de Schri f t. Deze  Itwee  dingen   sluiten elkander uit.
 koning Gods is.      D,at  alles verloor de mensch  toen     Als het in  ide Schhrift  opgenomen is dan kan het niet
hij in de zonde viel. Ja,  we1 bleef in zekeren zin de meer  verborgen zijn. Of als er verborgen dingen zijn
mensch profeet  en priester en koning. Dat wil  zeg-          (bij  IGod),  ,dan zijn die eenvoudig niet geopenbaard.
 gen,  we.l   bleef  ,de mensch behouden hoofd, hart en Zoodat  we mogen  zeggen dat de profeet Gods is een


-518                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B ` E A R E R                                           `7.

                 Reply to Rev. .C. ;Hanko                       because of the expression of Christian virtues. To
                                                                those mistreated servants the Apostles direct admoni-
                                                                tions, to be patient, obedient, not only to the good but
Editor of ,the Standard Bearer:                                 also to the froward. Pees Rev. Hankb snppose `that I
Dear Mr. Editor,                                                would contend that the Apostles were wrong  `in their
                                                                admonitions? I trust  noit.      Ian their position those
        May I reply to the article of Rev. C. Hanko, pub-       slaves had to do what the Apostles demanded of them.
l'shed in the September ,l issue of your paper? It is           They  h,ad no legal standing, no protection  Iby law.
not a desire to have the last word that prompts me              They were under authority recognized by the Roman
to ask for this, but concern about being misunder- government. Revolt would have been contrary to the
stood. I am  wholeheartedly  in agreement with the              law not only but it would havecast an evil reflect'on
stand of the Protestant Reformed Churches  that mem-            upon the Church. It would have led to persecut!ons
ibership  in the ,C.I.O.  and A.F. of 3;. is, not compatible    far worse than they had experien*eed  up to that I'ime.
with membership in the Church of Christ. Therefore              Those slaves were .ad.monished  to be patient until de-
I am very anxious to  (gain the support of the members li'verance  was brought by the hand of God. That de-
of those churches for the C.L.A.                                Iiverance  ,from %bondage  did not come `in their day,
        I wish to state at once that it is the position of the nor by  lthe return of Christ, which the Apostles
C. L. A. that the relationship between employers and thought to be imminent. Bu`t deliverance from slavery
employees in our present day is one of mutual con-              did come ! It took centuries, but it was accomplished !
tract. `They are equals in the sight of God. Both have Should we not see in the improvement brought  abocl!
rights and obligations.                                         in the social conditions and the living standards of the
 It is not correct to do as Rev. Hanko did: place workers the general operation of God's Spirit, working
that relationship over against one of absolute author- through the beneficent influence of Christianity? Or
ity, as two opposites, lthe one exclusive of the other, must we simply ignore history? And was perhaps the
and -then to state that the one is  .Scriptural  while the emancipation of the slaves in our own nation less than
other is not. Thalt is all wrong.                               a hundred years ago a mistake?
     Also in the relationship in which the employer                The position of the Christian worker of today is
and employee meet one another. as, equals,  in which not comparable to that of the slaves of the Pauline
they enter upon an agreement, recognizing rights and era. And it is not so that the Bible demands such a
obligations on both sides, there is  ,room  for authority.      re:ognition  of authority as was in force !between  the
Proper use of the authority which the owner has is slave and his &master.  That is why I referred al:o to
recognized ,by the,CJL.A. and in the labor laws of our Abraham and Boaz. Between :them and their servants
land. But never the misuse of authority, to impose in- there was good will and mutual understanding. (I fail
j.us,tices  !    That  we do not recognize. To that the         to see the difference in the exchange of greetings  `bc-
Christian worker of our day does not have to submit. tifi-een,  Boaz and the reapers which Rev. :Hanko puts
        I `do not agree at all when Rev. Hanko makes the        into it.) But (that is not .all. In Leviticus 19 :13, the,
<bold assertion that the relationship between employer employer is told not to hold the wages of the  hirel:ng
and  elllrployee  is essentially the same as between parent overnight. The hireling had rEghts too. In Lev. 25 239
and child,. husband and wife, citizen and magistrate. and  ,40 there is reference to the hired servant. Jacob
In the first instance the- relationship has been estab- ugreed with Laban in regard to his wages. Throughout
lished by agreement, either spoken or written, which the Ol'd Testament there are many indications that
can  Ibe terminated at  .any time .withoujt violation of there were many reialtionships  of employers and free
God's law. In the second the relationship has been workers. Jesus referred to such a relationship in one
established by divine institution, a relationship which of his parables when he spoke of an agreement reached
cannot be broken at will without violation of divine between the owner of the vineyard and the idlers in
,precepts.  The adhority in the first is very limited, the marketplace. All that proves that Rev. Hanko's
not the authority of government.; in the second ,it is sweeping statement in regard to the Scriptural re-
`very definitely that. Surely the difference is so  olb-        lationship  bei?ween  employers and employees does not
vious that it needs no further explanation.                     hold, and that the  ?dea of mutual contracts  2nd of
        To (bolster his position Rev. Hanko must again          t/;, restore  .it to him. In principle it is the  sa,me  ?as
hark back to the conditions that existed in lthe early             I, tou, believe ithat Christians must suffer in pa-
<Christian  churches. What were those conditions? A tience ! Yes, indeed ! Such suffering will surely come
considerable number o.f the members of those small when we testify. Bnd when it comes as a  realt of
churches were slaves. They were often mistreated by that we  mfay not revolt or seek revenge. But, that
masters who were not Christians. It is indicated that does not mean  {that  we may not strive for justice,
they were mistreated even for well-doing.             There when the injustice has no direct connection with our
seems to have been hatred against those servants Christian testimony. ln such cases we may use the


                                            -     .
,                                   T&HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               519

laws, that God has providentially caused to be  en- reality? 1.f we come face to face with the question in
acIted.     We may not take the law in our own han'zls,       a concrete case we can come to a much clearer decision.
of  course  not. The C.L.A. abhors that. But, when Then the facts will be right before us. And, ,as stated
an employee has unjustly been forced out of em$oy- before, with the'laws protecting labor's righits  which
ment he has a moral claim to the job he was forced we now have, and all the agencies for settling of dis-
to give up, and he may use moral persuasion to regain lpetes  in states and nation, it is very improbable that
it. That is his right. And  i;t is the employer's duty rthe C.L.A. will ever be  faceu' with the question  .of
to restore it  jto him.  In principle it is, the sam as       whether or not to cease work in protest zagainst  in-
claiming return of something that was taken from him justice. For  these reasons I believe that we would
lby unfair means. There may be no legal ground for do better to cease arguing and to work  Itogether for a
an  a&ion  to recover. But, that does not mean that           solution of the problems right at hand, one of `whi:h
the party who was wronged has  noit the right to seek         is the closed shop. That, to me, is a much more im-
recovery by moral persuasion, and the one guilty of           portant one right now.
the offense is certainly obligated to restore it  ,to him.       Thanks, again, Mr. Ediitor,  for the space given me.
That's sound Christian ethics, isn't it?                                                J. Gritter, Sec'y C. L. A.     ,:
     I was a bit amused by Rev. .Kanko's  stateme&  that
Paul never did any more than appeal to Ceasar ! That
was very naively put. What more could he have done?                                      -
If ever there was a man who believed in Ima'kin,,g  use 02
his rights under the law it was Paul. He appealed to
the highest tribunals in the Roman empire! Rev.                                 Cmtributim
Hanko ought to have called Paul very inconsistent.
The same man who admonished the slaves to submit Rev. H. Hokseema
in patience to everything they had to endure himself
appealed from one court  to another!                          Dear EdMor  :-
     And yet Paul was not inconsistent. His position             In reading lthe Schedule for 1943 and. 1944: I fell
was entirely different from that of the slaves. They that there would be much valuable reading' material
wore bondservants  lbut he was a free man! He had for the Standard Bearer reader.
some authority of his own. He could and did demand               This is esppcially true when we are to have debates
justice.                                                      on such vital subjects as mentioned. Others could be
     The `difference between the position of P,aul and added such as: Have Elders the right to serve in of-
the bondservants  was no great,er  than between that fice without a general knowledge of the Three Forms
of those same slaves and the free workers of :foday.          of Unity, in accordance with God's Word; as also a
If Paul were writing to Christian `workers today he           fair to good knowledge of the church order.
would not (write to them as slaves but 1a.s free men. I          I am  excludicg  the Ministers here. To me  it  .iu
imagine that he would admonish them  `as follows:             self evident that they have this knowledge, since they
to be good workers; to give an honest days work for received this at school.
a fair wage; to bangain  fairly with `the employer; to           I sometimes fear that our elders rely  altogokher
respect his rights; to be lawful in the pursuit of their too much on the past&.  This do my mind is a griev-
rights ; to use their liberty not `as a means to impos.e      ous error. The ofl?ce  of elder is very particular. It
injustice ,but to set examples of Christian virtue: in        is the office of the Holy Spirit in the Church. And I
brief, to be Christian in the  true sense of ;the term!       believe Ithat each and every elder is responsible to God
making full use of the wonderful opportunities afford- for what he does and says, as he fills that holy ofIioe.
ed them through their position as free men! Employ-              But all are not agreed with me on that  eoi,nt. As
ers would Ibe admonished in the same spirit. And I I heard a (brother relate some time ago: "The church
believe thait he would add a *warning  `against affilia- order is becoming too much a law of the Persians and
tion with unchristian unions. All that would be en- rthe Medes." And, there are more that view matte,rs
tirely in harmony with the spirit and character `of in this same way. Thus a good ground for not know-
Paul as revealed in his writings and actions.  Aezl           ing the church order.
Paul was Biblical, surely?                                       Thus : Is it essential ; or none essential  ;  6o know,
     :I really meant  i+t when I stated  Ibefore  that I think and strictly mainta;in  the church order; and why?
we could use our time to much better advantage than              However, I have  a, remark which I feel constrain-
we are doing in carrying on this debate. I do not look ed to make. I love a good debate. Especially when
upon our differences as of such fundamental import-           Qhe question is vital. Rut at the end of this schedule
.ance. We can agree to disagree on that point and still you as Editor state: "That the views are not necessar-
work together. Why should we divide our strength ily that of the debaters ; and that each side will  mar-
in antiroipation  of something that may never :bec,ome  a     shall all the anguments Ito prove his point."


  -520                                  T       H         E        STANnAR,D  BEA&El&d  f&Rids,-Bac@i,   - 
                                                                 -
      Now I cannot see  d&ate  in this light. For how
  can anyone marshal1 material which he himself dis-                                          N O T I C E
  believes to be the truth? Can  h,e take part of the
  LIE?  How could 1  honerltly debate on the question                 Qhe Annual meetinb of the Reformed Free Pu:blish-
  that the CHR. REF. CHURCH is right; and that we                ing Society will  Ibe  hel,d Sept. 16, at  7:45 P. M. in
  are wrong when  I am convinced that the Common Fuller Church Parlors. Speaker for the evening, Rev.
  Grace Error touches the honor and glory of my G5d?             B. Kok. Three board members are  .to be chosen from
  Would I not (become a deceiver, and a liar? May we             the following nomination. `G. Koster, R. Schaafsma,
  rlay with  `the  urdruth; to establish the truth? I            B. Woudenberg, D. Jonker;  .H. Knot, and Chas. Pas-
  question  this very seriously. In doing so (defending toor. All  mem,bers are urged to be present, also
                                                                 friends .and subscribers are invited. Financial report
  the Chr. Ref. Church) would I not be killing myself,
  and acting what I am not if I took the negative part will  ,be read and opportunity given to pay membership
  of such a debate?.                                             an%  subscription  fees. Agents will be  ,there at  7:15.
  " Foss$bly  you can enlighten me how these debates             If  TossFble  join the organization, your support is
  can be carried on differently than I surmise. Await- necessary.
  ing your answer,  `1 remain,
                                   Yours in Christ,
                                   H. A. Van  Putten

                                                                                            IN  MEMQRL4M

                            REPLY                                     The Deaconate of Fuller Ave. Protestant Reformed Church
                                                                 of Grand Rapids unite to express their sympathy to a fellow
      In answer to the objeation  of Mr. Van Putten,  the        member, Mr. Henry Bouwman;  in the loss of his
  following may suffice:                                                                      BROTHER
      1. Such debates as the brother likes are not for-
  mal debates that are assigned to the debating parties, who was killed in action.
  but acltual  controversies, in which each of the, debat-            May `our Father in heaven comfort and sustain him ynd his
  ing panties is convinced of the truth of his own posi-         family in their sorrow.         '
  tion.      In debates that are assigned the parties may                                                    H. Bastianse, Pres.
  or may not be convinced of the <truth of the position                                                      J. Boelema, Sec.
  they take in the debate. And since the debates an-
  nounced in the Sta,ndard  Bearer are assigned to the
  parties by undersigned, it was  (but fair to me to state
that  lthe views defended by them are  not necessarily
  theirs.
      2. I believe that such debates are possible if both                  Let all Qhe earth ZThovah  fear,
  the affirmative and the negative mean to serve the                         Let all that dwell 60th far and,near
  ultimaite  purpose to Ibring out the truth of the mat-                   In awe before {Him stand ;
  ter One  canllcot,  of course,  corxscientiously  serve the                For, lo, He spake and it was done,
  lie, even in a debate. But one can certainly purpose                     And all with sovereign power begun
  to  marshall  all the arguments that are and  may'be                       Stood fast at His command.
  brought up in  sup,pont of a -wrong view in order to
  give the opponent an opportunity to refute them, and                     He makes the nations' counsels vain,
  thus to edify the readers and sharpen their wits.                          The plans the peoples would maintain
      3. The brother must remember ,that the subjects                      ,Are Ithwarted  ;by His hand ;
 assigned to the debaters mnst be considered delmtaable.                     Jehovah's counsel stands secure,
  Mr. V#an Putten  has in mind the questions that are                      His purposes of heart endure,
  not debateable  among us, so !that the one party of the                    Flor evermore they stand.
  debate must take the side of ,what is absolutely con-
  sidered to  Ibe the LIE,  an,d would have to make an                     0 truly is the nation blest
  attack upon the honor and glory of God to defend his                       Whose God before the world confessed
  position. The brother will admit that this is not the                    Jehovah is alone;
  case with the subjects I assigned to the different par-                     And blest the people is whom He
  ties. They are  debatable among us.                                      Has made His heritage to be,
                                                 H. H.                        And chosen for His own.


