                                                                                                                                                 .:.

                       VOLUME. XXI                                                        JANUARY 1, 1945                    :,         : ., `..:`..;  .; `. .I: .$JJMEER.y'
                                                                                                                                                            ,.
                                                                                                             `vation  that penfor& all';th.i$gs'  for hi$ vss.  l'; 2. `.%Ie
                                                                                                             determines'to  -take' his `~~f~,~el'~n"the"sha,d~~  of God's

                                                                                                             wings, untii  `%haae calamities `be.`o&past."'  bs; i.                     He

                                                                                                             grows *confident  that, Jehova..h.  .shall send forth his .
                                                                               `.
                                                                                                             mercy and .hlis  truth. (vs. 3:' Arid'ihis'heart  is:fixed:  he,,

                                                                                                             hill. sing ,`a$ g&e praise ,u.nto
                                          `:'  A  safe  R e f u g e                                                                                      tl-ys. Lord'- among `the
                                                                                                             nations, and will ldeclare.:that.H~s`me~cy  is: great unto :
                                                                       4 `.                 `.               the heave&i,'  and :His truth unto~ the clouds.  vss. 7-10.

                                     !     Ye@, in the ~ha&w. qf .thphhgs  will [ &al&                           (jut of the &p;t@ to `th;c3.  &i&s-&"fia.&i !.                         + ..
                                     ' my .refug f, wntil these .calamSes  .de,  overpast.                       And is not this ~haracteristi&  `{of. `the .life of ,' ea&
                                                                            Psalm  75:lb..                   chi1.d  of. ,God zn ihe qzori,d?             "t' " . . .                           . .
     ,-*                :                      i
     ::                                                                                                          Is he not always in`the `depkhs?
                             E x c e l s i o r !                                                                 And-pdoes he not :always,'  as long ,as he is in this
                             Out of the .depths of trouble and fear to the heights                           world, -and in the tb,didry  of fthiiisi  death;%ry'.unto  the God
     .                of !praise and glorying in the God of our salvation.                                   jof  h i s   s a l v a t i o n  out. of `the'depths?.'
                             An,d that, too,' on the wings of prayer!                                                                                                      ` :    `I
                                                                                     -
                             This ascent ,characterizes  the contents of ma.ny  of                             L ,hd .is it not true. th& o&*-the  `mighty wings of
                                                                                                             prayer he ascends imto:`the  h&&its  .of joy, and peace, 
                      the Oild Testament Psahns. Many, of them are oc-                                                                                                                                 :
                                                                                                             .and  vieDory  over,thie  world?
                      casioned by trouble and  distress, are pressed from the                                                                                                                    '
                                                                                                                  The victory of faith 
                      heart of the goet  by fear and !angu.ish'of  soul because                                                              ! ;            1:
                                                                                                                                                           `._i
                      of the enemy that oppresses him, that surrounds ,him                                                              ----7,.!.  "
                      on every side, that makes it humanly  i.mp.ossible  for                                   These realamities.  . . . . , . . : ;`: .:` "             .                     ;
                      him to survive:               And out .of those depths he struggles,                      In the `shadow off thy wings rwill I take my".refuge,
                      olinging `by faith to Him that `is invisible, emb,racing                               Iuntil these calamities be over~passit:                  -I ..
                      HiBs  immutable promises, ,ascendin.g  on the wings of                                      The ps~al~mist  refers to`the.&aIainities  of the -moment,
                      prayer to the -glorious heights of victorious confidence                               to certain special and very' concrete calamities' that
          '           on wihich  he is-.able  to break ;fprDh  in joyous ,praise  and                        were threatening his destruction at that +parti&lar
                      glory toOJehovah  his ref,uge'and  strength.                                           timle..                                       r .
                      Thus it is also in. this,  psalm.                                                       .- The superscription !in the original .informs `us that
                     H!e @in Ideep  a f f l i c t i o n , .                 .' '                       ,.    the psiaJ[m refers to a time when David was in the cave..                                       '
                             His soul is,`among  lions, surrounded by the sons of                            Whether this means the cave of,  Ad.ullam,  .I Sam. 22 :I,
     men,                      "whose teeth- are  .spears  and arrows, and their                             or the cave of En*gedi, I Sam.`24-.3,  we know not.                   No4-
                     tongue a sharp sword." vs. 4. They have prepared a                                      does,%  matter as far as the.meaning  of `(these  Icalami-
                     net for -his steps ; his $0~11  .is Ibowed .down;.  they have ties" is concerned. It cis evident  that the psalqrist at
                      .digged  a ,pit [before him: vs. 6;            Deeply he feels the re-                 this time was bitterly persecuted by Saul and hiss  men;
               proack of him that,.  would. swallow  hi!m up'vs.  .3.                                        and that  they ,threatened  his. life.                Of .&is  ,he speaks
                      Calamities threaten to overwhelm -him,                                      .          when he complains that his soul is amon,g  lions, in the
,                            Yet;although his soul *is bowed down, ,and  he sees                             #midst  `of cruel enemies that Oet: a snare for ~h.i.s .feet,
                ' &I way  out, his faith is not imushed, `and by'that  faith                                 iar~$  that would slwtallow  him ,up.-.  And he',dscIares  that
                     he, straggles upward to- the mountain .pe&s  of confi-                                  he wilI make his `refuge: in t+e. shadow ,of `Jehovah's
                      :dence  in the Lord his God.                He implores God's!  mercy                  wings. until those partiouaar  calamities are everpast.
                     -.over  him, and cries,unto  the Lord, the God of .his sal-                                 And in that particular, `concrete  sense,  we; too, may                                    ,, ,.
                               `I                      .                                                                                                                                   `r':
                                                            .'

               ,:
(.
                                                                       \


                                  146 ' `,                                       ,TH.B` STANDARD'.B,EARER
                                                                                              :
                                  well rapply  these words as we are mindful .of entering                  with grief and anxiety, our {faith despair; and our
                                 ,upon'  a new. year.                                                      spirits .be @rushed:, and shall we remain- in the `depths?
                                  : ' These calamities!                    `,     :                               Or shail we assume the -devil-mayjcare  lattitude  of
                                             0, yes, there is a special meaning in this  .bhrase           ungodly .inen,  and inI drunken revelry ;close our eyes to
                                 + dio for us, as we stand at the entrance of another year,                stark r,eality,  and speak of a "Happy New Year"  any-
                                  this ,year of our Lord `1945. '                 .,                       w1a.y       ?                                   :
                                  : Dark clouds of evil are lowering overhead!                     ' `.           Or sh@ we put our trust in the vain words of'men,
                                             How miserably superficial and wicked app,esr  `now            of the `mighty ti1.d  great of this world, that speak of
                                 the revelry and shouting, the boasting and bragging,                      chariots and of horses, of the;power of Man, when they'
                                  the .banqueting  and !drunkeness  whereby the men of                     assure us that soon the calamities will .be .ov,er:psst, and
                                  this ,world,  w.hose  `god  is their belly, rwhose  glory is in          that. the Idawn  of a better day is already within the
                                  their shame, and who seek and mind earthly Wings,                        ran,ge  of their vision?
                                  hail the new year, as if,.there  were any reason to expect                    We shall do nothing of the kind.
                                  a better world, a world of peace and happiness, in                             Vain .is the help of m1a.n; And the ex,pectation  of the
                                  ,either  the inuiiediiake  or remote future. . . `.              .       iwicked  must surely perish.
                                              It sounds like the drunken prattle .of those whose                  No, ,w,e shall not remain in the ,depths  to be crushed
                                  life's slogan is : "Let us'ea.t  and drink, for tomorrow we              by grief and oppresslion.        We shall not ,drunkenly  and
                                  .die."                                                                   foolishly .close  our eyes to reality, and speak of happi-
                                             How vain it seems for' men to meet one anot.her  on.          ness where there is none. We shall not put our trust in '
                                  .this.  morning of the .first ,`day of 1945, and wish for                Iprinces  and in the .great  af this world,,  in. the might
                                  the blessing  *of a happy new year!                                      and wisdom of .men. `.But  we shall cling to the mighty
                                  ,.          Is not the world full .of :misery  and corruption as         God of our i?alvation,  as seeing the invisible, and out of
                                  never before?' H%s  there, thea, ever been. a time;when                  the depths we shall cry unto ,Him  !
                                 all the idle.  and prou.d  boasts  of mere znen  were so                         We shall trust in His mercy which is unto  the heav-
                                  utterly put to shame as on this tiery first #day of an-                  ens, and in His truth whiCh is unto the clouds.
                                  other year? Is not even now the magnificent structure                           And we shall make our refuge under the shadow of
                                  ,of Man's culture and civilization `shaking and tottering                His wings.
                                  :on its very foundations 7 Where is now man's wisdom,                           Until these calamities be overpast  !
                                  man's ingenui.ty,  man's good will and purpose to build
                                  :a better Iworld,  to create lasting qeace  on earth among                      Till they be overpast!
                                  the nations,?. Was there, then, ever a war so  tremen-                          But [will they, then, ,ever #come to an end!?
.                                 <-dous in scope, so dreadful in.its .intensity,  so bent upon                   0, to be sure, these calamities may be considered
                                 destruction, as the world-conflict in the throes of                       a specially .dark cloud, that will soon1  ;be olver,past.
                I

                                  which _we find ourselves at" the present time?                                  Not alwja.ys  will David's soul be among these lions
                                              M+st not the words tihoke  in our throat and die that now threaten .him. with death and ,destrdction. His
                                 upon our lips,. when we try to wish one  @nother  a happy                 stay in the cave, surromlded,`by  Saul and his men who
                                  new year,: and at the same time `squarely face reality                   seek his life, will not be.for  ever.
           I                      and the dark foreboding of the future?                                   :      And, the same is tr.ue  of our present calamities.
                                        . Arenot  our .hearti heavy.?                                             All men somehow look foiward to the time when
I

                                  '          :Were  not ,our  sons torn from our hearths and hea.rts       they sba.11 be overpast, when the .glad  news shall reach
                           _'
                                  to shed their blood on the-far flung battlefields of  ,the               us that the war is over, that the armistice has been  '
                                  w&d0 Aind  is happiness quite possible twhen  we con-                    declared, that the $eace treaty is siigned,  that the
     _'                           sider their empty `places in our homes, at our tables,                   nations are.about  to lay d0w.n  their arms; and that our .-
                                  and ,contemplate  the ,possible  suffering and fear and                  ,.boys  may return home.         They `long  for that. time, and
*.                                !sCgon.y  they may have to endure at  .this  v,ery moment?               they yearnestly  scan the sky of events to ,discover
                                  #Do not our anxious hearts, in anticipation,`a.thousand                  whether this dark and lowermg cloud,  of `evil is almost
!.~                              . times ipass  through the agony of the.moment when the                   overpast,,  and the sunshinie  of peace and earthly happi-
. .
                                  anessenger  of evil' shall bring us the tidings that our                 ness may presently be .expected.  to pierce the ,darkness  ?'
                                  loved ones. left their lives on the :blood-soaked  battle-               and to gladden our hearts.            '
                                  .field in the far away land? . . I, .                                           And, no doubt, there is good reason for this expecta-'
                                                                                                                               :
                                  :. These calamities !                                                    tion.
                                        '     '0, ,indeed,  there is plenty of reason ,for us, on this            These calamities ,will overpass, sooner or later.
                _'               firstday of the year 1945, to.speak of the cala.miti,es  of                    B u t  tihat  t h e n ?
,
                _'                the moment .in. a rtrery  special a&se of the word. `.                          Or is it of any real awail  that the present calami~ties,
                                  :          In the ,depths  we.are.                                       the troubles and fears and sufferings of the moment,
                                              What then? Sbdl,  while our soul is bowed down
                                                                     .a                                    shall have come to an end? 1,s it not true, then, that ca:
     ..'

                                                                j
. ..`.               _'

. .                  ,                                                                  .'
,; .,`.  (                       < :                                                                                                                                           .
      1
     `... ,..

1;: ., :                                                                                                                                                        .


                                          T - H %   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                         147
  -.           ._.

 Llamities  l&&he  present are very cbmmon  in the world,                        The end of all our calamities!

 that in recent years they  have swept >down upon us with
 increasing frequen&;in  spite of the avowed intentions
 of menu to prevent `them, thtit  they have ,grown  in ip-               \       Finding B safe re&eat  !
 `te&ity,:.so  that the periods of relative pexce  and pros-                     Under His wings!
 perity seem like patches of pale sunshine  betnveen  ever                       In the shadow of thy wings will I make my ref.uge  !
 fiercer and more d&zuctive storms?                                              As the little chicks run to the protection `of their
         An'd, in general, are not the present `calamities btit               motherahen's  winlgs in the time `of danger, so I will
  an emphatic manifestation la,nd reminder of the one                         seek a safe refulge  in the care and protection of Je-
 great, universal calamity of sin and death, and  `of the                     hovah !           '
 wrath of God un&r wh,ich we pine  anld .die?             And  is it,           And this refufge  we need.
*then, of any avail that we make our refuge under the                           For, although the enemy is overcome, sin is atoned _
 shado+w  of J,ehovah's  wings until these calamities are                     and blotted out, the world is  mercome,  and ,death  is
 overipast,  nnless we include ,ie these calamities :aZZ our                  tillowed  up in the cross and resurrection of our Lord
 misery of sin and death, and look  lforward  to the time                     Jesgs  Christ; although, therefore, centrally, in  Hin;,
 wzhen the  grea;t  cloed  of `universal calamity shall have                  and in His ,exaltation  at the right hand of God, the
  overpast, and the light of the eternal day shall shine                      dark cloud of these calamities, and of nil calamlties,  is
  upon tus fr,om  the face of God :ia;  Christ?                               overpast, yet, in our flesh we are still under  the. cloud,
         In the ultimate sense thiisl  is the implication of                  ~ntl the p,erfect  day cannot ,dawn until thr- fiiial resur-
  David's  prayer and confession.                                             rectioln  and the perfect revelation of God'5  barnernaclc

         Fdr David is the anointed ,of the Lord, orda.ined  by                w&h -men in the everlastinlg  (kingdom  `of heaven.
 Jehovah to sit on the throne of Israel.  .As such he suf-                       And under that cloud, in the body of this death,
 fers. B,ecause  of thjs  the enemies1  set themselves against                we still su3fer  many things : pain aed sorrow, persecu-
 him, and take counsel together to Idestroy  him.               For,          tion and tribulation, reproach and scorn,' destruction
 `though th_e royal seed runs in the line of Judah, the                       and war, -sin and death. . . .
 .present  incu.mbent  of the throne is  ifrom  the tribe of                     And we nee'a the comfort of the  cons:cious  assuratice
  Benjamin, and he is determined to :maintain  his posi-                      that ewe are under the wings ,of the <God  of our salva-
 tion, and & kill the anointed of the Lord.         `Yet ,accord-             tion, His power and grace, His protection  an,d [care,  His
  ing to the promise of the Lord, Davild  [could  not perish                  truth and fiaith+lness,  His bnfathomable  love, and .His
  at the hand ,oBf Saul. He (till he exalted out qf his                       everlasting and abundant mercy, always forgiving, al-
 present cala&ti~es  to Isr&el's  khrone.  Hence, until all                   %v-ays saving, always pr.eserving,  always delirvering  us

 these calamities;will  be merpast,  he makes his re.5uge                     from death and leading tis undo  !everlast$ng  life and

 in the shadow of Jehovah's  wings, trusting that He will                giory !
deliver him;              :                                                       That retreit is safe!
 Yet, in all this Da6d is b,ut  the type.                                         For He is t&e  `slmilghty  -Lord,  sovereigfi  also'  oveI
                                                                 .
         And his.sufferin.gs  are but the type of the unspeak- . al! our cala.mities, and using  them u&o our salvation :
  able sufferin*gs  of Him that `was to come, upon `Wlhose                       And to make our refuge by faith in the shadow OF
, head t&e dark cloud <of ail, the calamities of si-n and                     His wings is rest and Strong  consolation.
 `Idieath,  of all the enmity of the apowers of .darkness  thlat                 Peace that passeth  understanding!
 would set themselves against .him, and of the fierce                                                                           H. H.
 Iwrath of God against the iniquity of &s people, would                                   *
 break and burst, and would pour out its  ,untold,  algony
 of hell. . . .
         On Him were the promises!
         He lwlas to be exalted to the throne of the .kingdom                                  LIEFD&A-AN HET KRUIS                  .
                                                                                                      :
 of heaven for ever!                                                                                       -,
         And in ali His sufferings He truly  sa%ds:  "I will                        fiefde aan het kruis  met sp;jkeTs  geklonken,
 make my refuge in the .shadow  of thy wings,  until these                          Liefde,, ~doornagekl,  cZoo.~&o&ii;  bebloed,
 cala.mities  be ,over,pas.t  !"                                                    Liefde, in de *&epte  !der belle  geionken.  . . .
        And He rwas  not put to shame.                                              Dit is tde steun van mijn onvast  gemoed.
         For it was God that justified Him! And in His
 .res&rection  the lowering cloud of His calzmities,  and                           Dit is de grondl,  die nimmer  zal wijhwz,
 .of all our calamities, was-dispelled for ,ever                                    Dit is de Ziejde,  die nimmer  vergaat,
                                                     !
        That resurrection is our only hope!                                         Hemel  en aarde, zij migen bezwijken:
         It is the light of .the eternal  day piercing the dark-                    Dit is. de rotssteen, die e&?&g  bestaat.
 ness of our present ,@a$h.                                                                                              -H.W.L.


                                                      I
>148                                                                                                                  TH,E -$TAP;JDARD  B`EA`R'E'R.
                                                                                                                               .                    .


                  The Sttindurd  Bearer                                                                                                                                                                                 EDITORIAL!3
  . Semi-Monthly, except Monthly in July and August
                                                           Published by

        1      ' The Reformed Free Publishing Association                                                                                                                                                                                     . 7,
                                           946 Sigsbee Stree, S. E.                                                                                                                                                     T h e  Evang&ical
                                EDITOR - Rev. H. Hoeksema
                                                                                                            ~_                                                                                                                         and (, "           '
  Contribu,ting.  editors-Revs. J. Blankespoor,  A. Caimenga,
  P. De Boer, J. D. de Jong, H. De Wolf, L. Doezema,                                                                                                                                                                 The Reformed. Church
  M. Grit&q  C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G. `M. Ophoff,

  A. Petter, M. Schippet, J. Vanden  Breggen,  H. Veldman,                                                                                                                                                     I hope that the importance of the fact which I am
' R. Veldman, L. Vernieer, 9; Vis, G. Vos, W. Hofman,
  J. Heys, Mr. S. De Vries.                                                                                                                                                                                trying to `accentuate and bring to the foreground, namc-
                                                                                                                                                                                                           ly, that hot a. single voice of p%test  was h,esrd at the
  Coinmunications relative to contents should, be addressed
  `to REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand                                                                                                                                                    General Synod o'f the Reformed Church ili'the  United
Rapids, Michigan.                                                                                                                                                                                          States against the merger as proposed iti `the Plan of
                                                                                                                                                                                                           Union, is ,clearly  understood.
  Communications' relative to subscription  should be ad-
  dressed to MR. GERRIT PIPE, 946 Sigsbee Street. S. E.,                                                                                                                                                       For this point is, indeed, `of cardinal significance.
  Grand Rapids, Mich.  All Announ'cements  and Obituaries                                                                                                                                                   Unless those brethren in the Evangelical and RR.-
  must be stint  to the above address and will not be placed                                                                                                                                               formed Church, formerly of the Reformed Church in.
  unless the regular fee of $1.00 accompanies  the  notice.                                                                                                                                                the United States, that are dissatisfied with the  ,doc.
                                      Subscription $2:50  per year                                                                                                                                         trinal ,prieci:ples  and church political setup of the unite<!
  Entered as sgcond  class mail -at Grand Rapids, Michigan                                                                                                                                                 church, do not go baok  to that Plan of Union to at
                                                                                                                                                                                                           tack it, they virtually have no right to /voice  their pro.,

                                                                                                                                                                                                           test now against the basics of agreement that is rea,clierl
                                                                                                                                                                                                           in harmony ,witth  the ,princi,ples  express&  in the Plan
                                                                     CONTENTS
                                                                                                                                                                                                           of Union.
MEDITATION-                                                                                                                                                                                                    Such voicei are, indeed, heard.'
  A  S A F E   R E F U G E                                                                                                                                                                                     Though at the General Synod of 1934 there were no
                                                           .."....:r............................~............................ 145                                                                          protests against, `or expressions .of disagreement with
        Rev.. H. Hoeksema
                                                                                                                                                                                                           the proposed Plan of-Union, there were some overtures

EDITORIALS :-                                                                                                                                                                                              that voiced certain doubts and fears as to what would
                                                                                                                                                                                                           becqme  of the Reformed Church,  .&d*  the' $rin:ziples  off
  THE EVANGELICAL AND REFORMED CHURCH . . . . . . . .  148                                                                                                                                                 Rseformed  truth in the merger.
  A. LETTER TO. OUR SERVICE-MEN' ..R . . . . i . . . . . . . . . ...' ..I.......,..  150                                                                                                                       There were overtures "from.: Synod of the North
  E&PO.SITION  dF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM . . . ...150'                                                                                                                                                   West and Sheboygtan  Classis  requesting the General
        Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                                   Synod to attend to it that in the Evangelical and Re-
                                                                                                                                                                                                           foymed  Church the Heide15berg-Catechism  be retained
  SAMSON, THE NAJARITE JUDGE . . . . . . . . . . . ..I . ..a.................  154                                                                                                                         for the former Reformed c6ngregations  as theretofore.`9
  THE ,DOWNFALL`  OF HEATHENISM IN THE ROMAN                                                                                                                                                               And there were. "identical overtures from Minnesota,

  EMPIRE           . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     . . . . . . ...' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157    Ursinus and Eureka Classes, asking certain permis-
             Rev. G. M. Ophoff                                                                                                                                                                             sions with .reference  to ministers, missionaries, the
                                                                                                                                                                                                           Mission House and the Presbyterial forti of govern-
  T.HE  `IDEA  OF COOPERATI'ON  A$ AN E L E ME N T   O F                                                                                                                                                   ment."    All these overtures were  referred  to the "Com-
  DIVINE PROVIDENCE                                                         *..................*...........:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159                                      mittee cm Constitutidn."  (An Examination and Criti-
             ~Rev.  H. De Wolf                                                                                                                                                                             cism, p. 94).

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Se!veral  voices ,of protest were raised against. the
  LIBERTY Ir;r RELATION TO LAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . 161                                                                                                  Constitution that was to be prcrposed !a.s s'oon as it be-
             Rev. L. Doezema                                                                                                                                                                               came `known  what the "Committee on Constitution"
                                                                                                                                                                                                           was planning to propose. Much of this disagreement
  DEBATE-Affirmative                                                . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  ..i . . . . . ..,............................... . .165                                             concerns ,chanlges  in the foEm' oif Igovern8ment,  with the
             Rev. R. Veldman                                                                                                                                                                               details ,af which we +a11 ,not  weary the attention of

                                                                                                                                                                                                           ,otir  readers. `More to the qoint  is the protest r?aised
  DEBATE-Negative                                           . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,..* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167                                                                               ,
                                                                                                                                                                                                           a.gainst the proposed Constitution from a Idoctrinal
             Rev. A. Petter
                                                                                                                                                                                                           viewpoi&.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              Dr. I<. J, Stuebbe prptested  against the `subordinate


  place assigned to the Heidelberg Catechis,m  in the pro-          tion did not abide by this Plan of Union.      For this rea-
  posed Constitution. Indignantly he writes : "Where have son the clergy and the members of #the Church are very
  we `come to? That confession which always was the                 much alarmed." p. 6.
  pride of `the Reformed Church,' and for which many                  It is evident, then, that the attack is not {directed
  willingly [gave  their goods and their  Iblood,  must now be      against the Plan of Union, (with  which;besides,  all hard
  satisfied with Ia very modest mention in a footnote !    .No.     already expressed agreement in 1934.
  friends, we do not want the Heidelberg Catechism ,men-              Also Dr. Stuebbe wtants to keep his stand on the
  tioned only in a footnote ,but we do want it place,d  into        basis of this Plan of Union and from that standpoint
  the Constitution itself, as our standard, expressing the          direct his attack  against the new Constitution.
truths taught in the Scriptures.  We are not satisfied                But is this p~ossible,  as far as the doctrinal standard
  with only a"reflection' or something to show the `his-            is concerned ?I

  torical background',' but we Iwant  a foundation for our            Does not also Dr. Stuebbe, as long as he does not
  faith to rest'upon ! At the time of ,our ordination ,we repudiate the whole. Plan of Union, agree that the Re-
  solemnly vowed that we would faithfully teach and                 formed Church in the United States and the Evaa-
  defend the doctrines contaieecl  in the Heidelberg Cate-          gelical  Synod of North America,  as they `existed before
  chism, and we expect to be faithful to that vow. -We              the merger, are in agreement: "on the essential doc-

  demand that our Confession be pres.erved  for -us. :: Why         trines of the Christian faith and on the ideals of the
  are we so insistent?     Simply because we are con%ced            Christian life as contained in the Old and New Testa-
  that this .,precious  heritage .has been  talken  fron?&rip-      ments and as defin,ed in their respective standards of
  lure and that it leads into- the  ,truth  as revealed in          doctrine"?    Does not also he, on the :basis  of this              -
  Scripture.    Such a Confes&on  must be *known, .under-           Plan of Union "aocept  the historical confessions of the
  stood, believed, lcherilshed  an'd protected in order `to         two Churches as the doctrinal basis of union"? And
abide' in the paths o& righteousness, and to wal:k  in              does this not i,mply  that not only the Heidelberg Cate-
  the fear of the Lord...,  Our Catechism does not limit,           chism, but also the Augsburg Confession, and Luther's
  constrain or narrow' rev,ealed  truth, [but it acts as a          Catechism, are accepted by him as the doctrinal  ibasis
  barrier for all members of the  Churchi  A theologian             of the $merged  Church?    ,How, t,hen,  could it be expected
  pledged to such a standard is prevented from breaking             on such a basis. that the Heid&berg  Catechism would
  dawn all `the fences, and from rmming unconstrainedly.            occupy la.ny  other than, a subordinate position as a
  into  the fields of wanton philosophy.      The teachers of       basis of communion in the merged, Church?
  religion,. as well as all members oif the church, are by            On p. 31 Dr. Stuebbe writes : "The passage which in'
  such a standard compelled to confine their activity of            fact overthrows all Reformed Id:octrine,  and makes all
  thought, reason and research to the only  sour,ee  of true        of item 3 void, is the last sentence of the second para-
  theology and knowledige-the  Word of Gold-and thus                graph.    There we- Lare told : `In these statements. of
  they are prevented from confounding' revealed truth               faith, ministers and members are allowed liberty of
  with doctrines of the fles:h."  (An .Examination  and             conscience whose fieal norm is the Word of God."             But
  Criticism, pp. 30, 31)..,                                         was this not already the basis of the Evangelical Synod
    Let it be [clearly understood that `we tare  not :ariticiz-     before the merger? In rega.rd  to those points of :doc-
  ing brother Stuebbe, .whom  we met at our. conference,            trine in which the Heidelberg Catechism, the Augsburg
  and there l,earned  to know as a Ibrother that is seriously       Confession, and Luther's Catechism do not agree, the
  eoecerned  about the condition of .his Church, for these          Evangelical Synod adhered "strictly to the  *passages  of
  words as such.      On the contrary, we appreciate that he-       Holy Writ bearin,g  on the subject, and avails  itseK  of
  insists on a sound.dogtrinal  basis for the Church in the         the liberty .of conscience prevailing in the Evangelical
  Iworld,  and on maintaining our Reformed heritage.                Church." (Evangelical Catechism, p. 69).
    But we do insist that there isno room for this criti-             NOIW,  the pro.pose:d:  Constitution, no doubt, opened this
  cism, unlless the fbrother  first repudiates the Pl1a.n  of       door of the liberty-of conscience much wider.           '
  Union on the basis pf which the merger was accom-                   But principally this makes no difference. As long
  plished in 1934.                                                  as Dr. Stuebbe does not completely disavow the Plan of
 Y,et,  this is apparently not the intention.                       Union, he agrees that liberty of conscience may be, al-
                                                              `.
    In the same booklet from which `we quoted the above,            lowed with respect to the points .of difference between
  the Rev. E, Buehrer writes                                        the Reformed faith and Lutheranism.
                                :    "-When the (merger  of the
  two Churches was effected, it was on the basis of the               And this tiakes  it impossible to protest and effect
Plan of Union la.nd  .in this plan the merged Church                ually take la.ction against the- merger as it _was finallly
was guaranteed certain rights and .privileges.  It !was             concluded.
  expected that the new constitution would recognize                   $Ience,  the brethren that are not agreed with the
  these guarantees and woulsd ;be framed laceordlingly,.  but       union, and that want to maintain a definite; Reformed
  to our .sad disappoin-tm,ent,  the., Committee on Constitw        basis of fellowship, are obliged to admit that they
                                                               I


 150                                      THE STA.N-DARB  BEAA~ER
                                   I





erred iwhen  they agreed to the Plan of Union, must                          And He doeth all things well.  .He  also controls all
radically break .with  its. p&iicious  declarations, re-                 your way.    Even in the midst of battle, He so absolutely
pudiate its stand!,  protest against it, even at this late               controls all things that not a hair can  fiall from our
date, and break.away  from the merger to organize again                  head Against His ,will.       If we put bur  trust in Him,
on a separate, Reformed *basis.                                          lwe have nothilng to fear.     For He loves us.         And noth-
                                                  -H. H.                 ing can  separate us from His love in Christ Jesus our  .
                                                                         Lord !
                                                                           Let us, therefore, make our refuge'in the shadow' of
                             -                                           His wings, until al! these calmamities be overpast!
                                             .                             There .we  .are safe!

                                                                                              Yours in our Lord,
          A Letter to our Service-men                                                                            H. Hoeksema.


Dear Friends :-

  i ,cannot refrain from addFessing  a feti lines  to you

personally.       I am well aware, ,of  course, that the Bea-
co% Lights reaches you all, and is largely devoted to
your interests.       It is doing a )good  work, .and -it is                 The Triple- I&owled.ge
,doing  it well. Nor do I mean to encroach  uljon itr
field oif acti.&y,  com4pete  with its wor,k,  or try to im-

prove upon it.
                                                                          An Expnsitiofi  Of The Heidelberg
  But I want you to feel that also the  Standard.  Beare)
has yonr interests at hea.rt,  and is constantly `mindful          `A                   Catechism 
of you.     And I hope that the reading material it offers                                                                  1
you may <be of some benefit to you, to your instruction                                        PART TWO
and Icomfort.
                                                                                          OF MAN'S REDEMPTION
  You  arescat&ered  all over the globe.
  ,Many of you haze been  and- still are in the ,thick                                        Lord?+  Day kI1

of the present conflict.     ,Others  are still in the training                                        10.
camps' of our country, always .with  the prospect be-
fore you, however, that you will be sent out..                                         Partakers of His Anointing.

  Things still look- dark. YOUI!  hearts, even as ours,                   To the exposition of the name Christ and the offices
must often be filled with anxiety about the immediate                    of the Saviour, the Catechism ,appeads  a discussion of
future.                                                                  the na!me Cshristian,  and that, too, with personal a@
  While we h&e been in the war three years, in a                         plication to the conifessing  believer who throughout the
sense, we have just begun. Those optimists who,  de.                     Heidelberger is the respondent to the questions.              " B u t

,ceived by the r.eports  we get in the homeland, and                     why are thou called a Christian?      Because I am a memT
which .usually  .picture  the situation i.n colors far too               ver of Christ by faith, .and thus am  `p&taker  of his
bright, feel that- the end of the  wa.r and victory is                   1anointin.g;  that so I'may confess his name, and present
just around the corner, are daily more and  rriore dis-                  myself a lti$ng  sacrifice of %han.kfulness  to him : and
illusioned. The fighting ,gi%w,s  more intense all the                   also that with a free and good ,coriscience  I may fight
ti,me.     Fact' is, that  unless God puts an end to this           against sin and Satan  in this life : and afterwards reign
terrible Iwor18d-struggle  in a way no one is able to fore-              with him eternally, over  al1 creatures;"               .*
see- at present, the war may last for years to come.                        It must be evident`from  theyoutset  that the question
  Our hearts are heavy.                                                  Why are thou called a Christian?  `c8nnot  be taken in
  When we look a% things, and at men,  there is neither                  the sla.me  significance as the preceding' questions con-
confidence nor hope.                                                     cerning the names of Christ: "Why is the Son of God
    But these are times in whilch  we must turn our                      called  Jesus, that is a Savior?" and "Why is he called
anxious eyes away froth  .rnei  and things, in which we                  Chriqt, that is anointed?"     For the latter two questions
should not speak of chariots and  ,of horses, but men-                   are concerned with names that `are  directly from God,
tion the name' of `Jehovah our God, and lift up our                      ,which.cannot-be  said of #the  name Chtistian  at all.        The
hearts to Him, PO sitteth above the cir,cle  of the                      Son of God is called  Jesus, not by man's invention, not
earth, and Who has exalted' our' Lord Jesus Christ at                    even  by His human parents, but in God's counsel,  iand
His risght  hand, the God of ou'r `salvation.                            by direct revel&ion. And He is called the Christ be-
. He reitgtis.                                                           cause .He is the promised Messiah, the One. that was


                                         ,T.H-E.  STAN~B~ARD~  BEAR-ER                                                          151


  ordained from stern&y,  and anointed with the Holy                Christitans  by the worlld.     An&as they contemplated< the
  Ghost to be the Servant of Jehovah over His whole                 meaning, of the `name, they also discovered that it was
  house, :and,  therefore, again by divine appointment.             -not at all improper as an appellative of the disciples  J
  But this is not the case with the name Christian.           In    of Christ, that, in fact, ,as _a name Iby which theymight
  S,cripture believers are never addressed as Christians,           be known in the midst of the world, and in distinction
  even though once they are referred to by that name.               from unbelievers, it was very fitting.  D The name .Na-
  Their ,common  designations are `(believers," "saints,"           `zarenes they could not adopt, not only because it was too
  "brethren,,' "elect of God,". `.`the  fa:ithful,"  "servants"     expressive of the hatred and contempt on the ,part  of
  of God or of Christ, "beloved,"-  `~children  of Gad."      I!    their enemies la.gainst  them and against their.Lord,  but               .
  is plain, then that the question Wlhy  are thou ,calle$  a        also because it had no sense. As disciples of Christ.
  Christian? cannot be placed on a par with the questions           they could not call themselrves  after the na'me  Jesns.
  that precede it about the naVmes of the S,aviour.                 for that name ,is altogether too unique and belongs `ex-
      Scripture informs us .that :believers  were called Chris-.    clusively to the Savior. He alone is Jehovah-salvation,                       ~
  t&s  first in Antioch. .We read in A,cts  11:26: "And             and in the work which Be accomplished under that
  when he had foundyhim,  he brought him'unto  Antioch.             name they could ,not  #possibly share in any sense. That
  And it `came to pass,, that Ia whole year they assembled          the well-known Romish Society call themselves Jesuita
  themselves' with the church, and  taugh.t  much people.           is nothing less~than  presumption.        But with the name
  And the ,disciples were called Christians first in Anti-          Christ this was, different.      Christ meant Anointed,`and  -
  och."      It is evident, therefore, that the name did not        by His .grace  they, too, that-rbelieved on. His name,
  originate with Ibelievers  themselves.      They did not of       became anointed ones.          It signified that He Iwas God's
  their own accord ,call themselvies  and\  one Ianother  Chris-    Servant par excelknce,  arid through His name they, too,,
  tians, as, for .instance,  the Society of .Jesus  call them-      were serva,nts-of  the Lord;       And so they soon adopted
  selves Jesuits;     On the contrary, the name was invented        the name, that was at first imposed on them by popular
  by the people in Anti&h.  They called the disciples               slang, as their own.    They called themselves Christian,
  Christians.     It must also be evident tha.t `it wasnot  the     their religion became *known  as the Christian religion.
  Jewish element of the population of Antioch that                  and their (faith  as the Christian faith.
 thought of applying this name to the  rfollowers  of Jesus.         And so there is a special #meaning  to the pointed, per-
  They would rather designate them by.the  term of con-             sonal questiorrof  the Heideliberger  in this connection.
  tempt Nazarenes,  or the sect of the Nazarenes.        It'was       Fact is, of course, that the reason why believers of
  the lmathen  element of the people there that invented            today are called Ghristians is that even in the days of
  the `name. And in their parlance, the name denoted                the apostles- the heathen populatiou  of Antioch applied
 " simply an afdherent  of Christ, Whom the apostles                -that  `appellative ,to them;  and, soon after, they them-
  preached, and Whom the disciples followed and con-                selves adopted' it. ,Hence,  one .is ~&lied  a Christian be-
  fessed as their Lord.       In popular slang the name-was         cause. he is born in the Church visible in the world, or
  intended to denote members of a certain party or `sect.           incorporated into this Igathering  of professing Ibelievers
  In this sense, it is, `no doubt,' also employed  Iby king         and their children. It follows that one need not  neces-
Agrippa, and that, perhaps, with a touch of sarcasm,                sarily b,e a Christian, that the (meaning of the name               -
 in the we&known  words:            "Almost thou persuades:         Christian does not .have  to be applicable to one, in order
  me to be a Christian." Acts 26 :28.       There was, there.       to be called  by that name. Fact is, that there are
  fore, from the beginning a certain reproach `attached             thousands upon thousam&  that are Christians on!>,
  to the name.       And, perhaps, there is a reference to thia     nominally,-without having a persorial  part in the spirit-
  reproach in. the use of the name by the apostle in I Pet.         ual reality denoted by the  name.      In'the light of all this,
  4:16:      "Yet if any man suffer as a  Christia.n,  let him      the question of the Catechism receives a new signifi-
  not ,be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this be-              ,caece:  why are th,ou  ,call,ed a Christian?
  half ."    For to suffer as a Christian `meant to "be               Are you called a Christian ,merely beoa.use  you hap-.
  reproached for the name of Christ." I Pet. 4  :14.                .pen  to Fbelong  to that group of people that years ago
     Before long, however, the nla.me  was adopted and              were called by that name, and ever since were known
 appropriated by believers themselves.         If this had not      by it, in distinction from the heathen? Or does the
                                                                             `.
 been the case, the thirty-second question of the Cate-             name, in its true spiritual significance, apply to you per-
  cchism could never have been asked, `or, at least, if it          sonally? I&you  know the meaning of that name, and
 had',been  given a place in the Instructor, the answer             knowing it, can you claim the right to bear it?
 would have been. entirely different from the one here                The heart of the answer to this question which our
   . I.
 !given;     And for this aIdoption  of a name, which had-its       Instructor places on thezlips  of the professing believer
 origin in the heathen world, there must have been CG               is contained in the words:         "Beoause  I, am a mem'ber
 good reason;-.  -Believers must have considered that it            orf Christ by faith, and thus am partaker of his anoint-

was in God's providence that they should be called ,ing."                                                                      .-. '


        162                                      T;;$I:E         .ST  A N $3 AR D ;. I3 E A'B E R
                                                        _:.                                                                       -.
           All that follows in the; answer is imphed  inthis.                     Q)f Hi-s -anointing we partake:
           I am a Christian' when .I s&e  in, His jahointing,  ,and               This means, therefore, that through Him believers:
                                                                                                                                             .,'
      i_ that,, too, in utter .depen&hce  &&`Him, by faith, and                 too, -are ordained and qualified by His Spirit to be office-
        through His grace.. Al& tl@ dependency is..implied                      bearers, servants of the lming  God.         It means that in
        in the same.     For.1 am not another Christ, but a Chris-              Christ they have the privilege and the calling, the
        tian. He is'the  Head; I am'membgr of His  Ibody,  and                  will and the po*wer  to be and to function in.this world,
        asthe  member is nothing'a&rt  from the Head, or as the                 and forever, as God's friend-servants.        By niture,  they
        branch is nothing apart. from the vine, so I am nothing                 have none of this.    The must is, indeed, upon them, for
        apart from .Christ.      .The..anointing  .is. 1a.lway.g  Eis, and      God will not relinquish His idmemand upon man, that he
        I partake of it., .Td .be a:Christian!  ,therefore,  I must             love Him with all his heart, and mind, and soul, and
        abide in Hin`:          .'
                            "Abide. in me.,,  and I'in you.          As the     strength.    But by his wilful  disobedience, man .ha.s  lost
        branch fcaimot  bear fr&`..of  itself, except. it abide in              the right and the privilege, as well as the will and
        the vine;  no more.&n"ye,.`ex&ept  ye abide.`&  me:  `1 I am            power, and all the qualifications to be the servant of
        the vine, ye' are the.bra,nches  : He that abideth in me,               God.     Christ, however, as the Senvant of God  par  cz-
        and I in him, the same  bringeth  forth much  fruit : for               eelknee,  la.nd that?  too, as the IIead  of those whom the
        ,without  ,rne ye can ,do nothing. If. a man abi:de not in              Father gave `Him, by` His perfect obedience .even  unto
       ' me, he is cast forth as a'b&ch,'  and is withered;  and                the death-of  the cross, blotted out all their sins,  ob;
I'    I men gather. them, `agd cast them .into `the fire, and they              tained for, them perfect righteousness, and thus, He
        are burned.     If ye abide in me, and my words abide in                merited for them the right to be received again in

        You, Ye' shall ask what ye. will, and  it shall be ,done * God's service. To partake of Christ's anointing, there-
        unto .you.",  John 15 :4-7. . And again :              "But ye shave    fore, means that in Him we  hlave  once more the right
        an unction from' the. Holy ,&ie,  .and .ye know all things.             to stand; as servants in the house of our God.           In Him
        . . . But the. anointing `which ye have redeived  of him                is o,ur  ordination as God's oficebearers,  as representn-
        abideth in you, and. ye,  .need  .not  that any man teach               tives of His cause. But, in the second .place,  that we
        you ; but. as the same an0intin.g.  teacheth you of all                 by faith partake of Christ's anointing also implies that
        thin.gs,  and is `truth, and,&.no  lie, and even as it hath             in and through Him *we are qualified #to function 21rp
        taught you, ye shall `abide in him!"  I John ,2 :20,27.                 servants ,of the Most High.          The will and the ,power

          `The spiritual` reality, tl&efore;  ,d our `partaking of to fulfill our `calling as Jehovah's servants we also re-
        Christ's anointing is, ,t&  ,fru&:  of, Christ's imparting              ceive. from Him, :by .His Spirit, and through the
        Himself to us through.His'Spirit,  and'of  our partaking                (activity of saving faith. Christ not only took our
        of l&m, and appropriatmg  $im by, faith, of our dnaw-                   place as the Servant of Jehovah, fulfilling all in our
        ing out of Him `!eve& igrace .f,or:  grace,l :. Christ, the             stead,' but He also delivers us from the slavery of sin.
        Anointed of God, Who `was  obedient unto death, and                     and the devil, and renews             unto willing servants of.
                                                                                                               us
        merited for us an eternal .righteousne.ss,  Who `was                    God. -,

        raised on thethird  idlay &glory,  Who ascended up. on                    And as the of&e  of our ,Lord  is threefold, tha.t of
        `high,, ,leadiFg>  ,captivity'~`~.~ptive,  and is exalted .-at  the     prophet, priest, and king,.so through our partaking of
        right hand `of the Father, received  .the. promise of the               His annointing we also become servants of `God in that
        Holy Spirit,, and in that `Spirit  &$ned  `unto His own,                thre.efold  sense; Christ is our chief Prophet, and as
        that He might impart Himself  to them,. laad  fill us with              such He is the fulness of all the knowled.ge  andI wisdom
        His blessings.' AnId thus we re<eive;...,$Iis  anointing,               of ,God.  At the head of His people He .glorifies  the
        throu.gh  the. means of. fa$hl #which H,e works in ps, and              F'ather,  and declares His righteousness in the great
        whereby we ,are .united $th .&m  and `appropriate l&n.                  congregation. But as such He  ,also  changes us into
           But just ,what  is the sGeci&  implication of. this                  true prophets of God. For He revealed `the Father
        participation by faith .ip,Christ's  anointi,ng?                        unto us, He instructs us by His Spirit, and Word, I&
           We recall that ,Christ's.~anointing  signifies that- He              delivers us (from'  the darkness of our understanding
        was ,ordained  from ete$ty  by God the .Father,  and                    and the perversion of our mind, and by His  .lgrace  we
        qualified bythe Holy Ghost to b.e. God's ,o@eb.earer,.the               are oalled  out of darkness into the .marvelous,  light bf-
        S&want of. Jehovah, re@$enting  His.  bause in the                      God, so that we have the true knowledge of God.:           Here
        world, that He mi,ght.  reveal-unto usthe'full counsel of               this knowledge is still in part, for we see as in a glass
        Gold ,concerning  ,our sal&ion,  fight.`the  ,battle  against           darkly, but presently it will be perfected, and  thenap-
        sin and death, and ha&& overcome &ll the powers of                      pear on a plane ofdheavenly  glory, unspeakably highe;!:
        dar,kness,  might occupy His place as the Firstborn of                  than that of the knowledge of ,God.  Adam possessed i';.
        every creature in, all thhe,..unive.rse.  That. exalted .posi-          the`state of rectitude in the first paradise.           For th&
        tion, ,accord.iag  ib whi&' %& has. a. .name above. all                 we shall see face to face, and know  evenas we ,a$
        names, and is King'oser,:all,  He `now occupies.              He is     known, and Iwallk  in the light of God's countenance for,,
        made Christ and Lord.                                                   ever;
                                                                                                                                          .i ;


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   ` B E A R E R                                                       153


  Christ: is, our only High Priest. And as such He               is their calling and privilege in virtue elf their prophetic
represented us in His humili.ation;  aed1 offered Himself        office..    They are made .prophets,  in order .that they may
as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.     As such He still      confess the name of Christ as the revelation of the God
represents us with the .Father,  and intercedes for us.          qf their salvation.        They are to the praise of thz
But a.s our High Priest He  al,so makes us partaker of           glory of His grace in the beloved. T.hey  must show
His anointin.g,  and forms His Church  into a holy               forth the praise; and m&rvelous  virtues. ?f Him ths.t
priesthood. He makes Us priests of God. He removes               calsled them ,out  of. darkness into His maurvelous  light.
the ,enmity  against God th1a.t  is the motivating power         Anld khey  must do this in the midst of the world, anti-
of our .flesli,  and instills into our hearts the  1o:ve  of     thetically, holding forth txe word of life over against
God, [dwelling in us by His Spirit, and cleansing us             the `lie of sin, and in the midst of a crooked  and pe!:-
from  the defilement-of sin, so that we may become liv-          verse nlatioa.                   i. .:
ing sanctuaries of God, consecrated to Him in true                  Secondly, th;e Catechism describes the calling of -be-
hol+iTess.  _ Also this is as yet true only in principle. But lievers as consisting in this, that they present them-
in the perfection of God's tabernacle this shall <be per-        selves a li&ng sacrifice of thankfulness to Him.                   This
fected on the plane of heavenly glory,. In the New               evid&tly  refers to their pri&stIy  office.          To consecrate
Jerusalem there is no special temple, for the simple             themselves, with sou`l  and body, with al1 +heir heazrt,
reason that the entire glorified Church is become a per-         and  mind, and soul, la.nd styength  ; with all ,things,  `and
fect sanctua,ry  of God.                                         in every department of life, in home, and school, and

  And so He 2s our eternal King. And as  su,ch  HP,              shop, and office, to. the living God, - such is their
fought and finished: ;the battle for us in our behalf,           calling as priests of the Most High,  and that, too, in
against all the powers elf .darkneSs,  the ,devil,  sin, and     opposition to a world that devotes itself to the service
death. He crushed the head of the .serpent,  and js              of the devil and unrighteousness.               .
seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens.             And `so, finally, the Catechism refers to the royal
And He reigns over us, anSleads  us on the everlasting           office of <believers in the words  : "and also that ;with a
glory.    But also as King He causes us to partake of His        free and good con&ience  I may fight against sin and
anointing, so that by 0 His grace we also become kings           Satan in this life: -and aft.erwa.rdg  reign with him
with Him under God, and are fopmed  into .a ?q,r~L               eternally over all `creatures." .O, indeed, in this battle,

`pries.tho~od.  He delivers us from *all  unrighteousness        and in this warfare alone, one may fight with a "free
and perversion of our  wili, according to which we desire        and good conscience," for fighting they have the as-
to do the will ,of our father the Idevil,  and instills into     surance thst  they represent $he ,cause  of the Son of
us a new righteousness, according to which it is our             God in the world, and that they `are more than victors
delight to do the will of God. He  ;gives us the right           through Him that loved them. And although in this
to reign ovjer- all things, enables us to fight the battle       world `this cause must often. appear as suff er+ng defeat,
of faith, and majkes  us partakers, `even  in the midst of       they have ,the  blessed assurance that in the day of
battle, of His own &tory.       And especially Iwith a view      Christ. their God will vindicate their cause, and cause
to our royal of%% as Ibelievers,  it is evident that our         them to enter into the sglorious  victory otf their #Lord !
partaking of Christ's a.nointing  is still imperfect, and
that tie have but a small  beginning of the new obe-                                                                       H. H.
dience, the firstfruits of the Spirit.    For not only have
Iwe not as yet ent.eredl  into the glory od .our royal do-
minion iyith Christ, and not ,only  are .we  engaged in                                      -             -
                                                            A

daily struggle ,a.gainst sin and Satan, but  ,outwardfiy

we suffer defeat, and in the world we have tribulation.

Yet, we may be of good ,cheer,  for Iwe are more than
                                                                                           IN M~EMORIAM
victors. And when Christ shall  ,be revealed, and we
shall *be manifested with Him' in glory, it shla.11  appear            The Ladies Aid Society of the First Protestant Reformed
that Iwe always had the ~victory,  and  we shall reign           Church mourns the loss of one of its faithful members
with and through Christ,. as servant-kingis  of God,
over all the worjks  of His hands in the new creation.                                M R S .   J .  VAN.DER   L A A N
   This threefold aspect of our partaking of the anoint-                                                              *
ing o'f Christ is plainly ipdi.cated  in 6he answer of our             T.he  Society extends it's heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved
Heilclelberger  to the question: "But iwhy  are thou             family and relatives.    May the Lord comfort &em in the lr!:o&
icalled a Christian?"'    For it points to a threefold call-     ledge that He doeih  all things well.
ing of <believer8  in this world, which follows from their
partaking of Christ's anointing.                                                                       Mrs. H .Hoeksema, P.res.
   First of all, their calling is to confess His name. This                                            Mrs.-Al  V&Q  Tqineq  Seciy.


                                                                                                   I



                                                                                        . .
                                   _. -.,  -.
1 154                                            ,Y--:::THE   S T ' A N D A R D  BEABEB


                                                                                 of. man 
        ' Samson, the NaZarite Judge                                                         . . ." (105 :15). Being what.it is, a stimulant,
                                                                           iz    wine symbolizes the .grace  of Christ. But wine; as
                                                                     _.          immoderately used, stupifies and sbenumbs the faculties.
           The last of the three judges raised  `up after -Jeph-                 Even its more moderate.use  :disposes  the heart to carnal
       thah had died.          Israel dild evil again in the sight of the        ease and pleagurable  excitement. "Wine is a mocker,
       Lord'and was delivered into the hands.of  the Philistines                 strong drink is ra.ging  :' and whosoever is deceived
       forty years.     Judging from the silence of the  na.rrativ,e,            thereby is. not wise" (Prov. 30                   He that lovet?l
                                                                                                                         :l) .
       the people repented not Iduring all this time:              It means      wine and oil shall not be` rich" (Prov.  21:1'7).  Who
       that the .deliverance  that the Lord now prepared in the                  has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contention?
       person of Samson was unasked and, judging from the                        Waho has babbling? Who has wounds without cause?
       reactions to this judge's deeds of valor in after years,                  Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry at the
       also unwanted.           But the perversity of Israel, Idid not           (wine ; they that go to seek mixed ,wine" j(Prov.  23 :30).
       deter God. In Zorah, of the family of the.  Dan&es,                       Herein, doubtless, was grounded  the prohibition to
       dwelt Manoah  and .his wirfe who was Ibarren,  ,and bare                  drink wine. As separated. from wine, the Nazir was
       not.      It must be assumed that they were of. the tr,uc                 mentally qualified (for the spiritual employment to
       Israel, of the seven thousand, all the knees of which                     which he was obliigated.  The Nazir was forbidden to
       had not bowed unto Baal, thus.of  tha.t  number, hidden.                  contact a dead body. The corps is lifeless flesh in a
       in the bosom of the nation, .who `awainted,  in those                     state of decomposition. It is material corruption
       days of darkness and' confusion, the Lord, His consola-                   grounded in sin.         The Nazir had to be free from every
       tion in .deliverance.         For the angel. of the Lord came             taint. of it. The idea of the prohibition to allow no
       to the woman and subsequently to her husband. He                          razor to come upon his head comes out in a similar
       .came  and communicated to her this glad tiding, "Be-'                    restriction regarding the altar. "When thou makest
       hold now thou are barren, and bearest not: but thou an altar of stone," says Moses, "thou shalt not build it
       shalt conceive and bear a son;.and no razor shall come                    of hewn stone ; for if thou lift up thy chisel (or iron)
       upon his head: for the child shall be a nararite unto                     upon it, thou shalt defile it" (Ex. 20  :25).       Accordingly,
       God from -the iwomb:  and he shall begia to deliver                       Joshua :built  an `altar  of stone "over which no man
       Israel out of the hand of the Pshilistines."                              had lifted up an iron" (Josh. 8 :3').            So, too, #was the
               Let us consider the law of the Nazarite and in                    Nazir polluted if he allow a razor to  icome  upon his
       connection herewith bring out the significance of Sam-                    head. ,This is plain from the statement, "until the
       son, the Nazarite judge, for the history of the  develop-                 days be fulfilled in which he separated  himself  unto
       inent of revelation. The name `Nazarite is from the                       the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of
       Hebrew root nazar meaning to separat.e.                 Accordingly,      his hair grow."         Cutting the locks of hair, applying to
       the Nazarite was one'who  vowed to separate himself                       his head a razor, the Nazir defiled #himself and was no
       unto the Lord, Num. 6 :l+.                The law of the Nazarite in      longer_ holy. `Tlie view that the reason for this pro-
       .his separation was prohibitive of the following. `He                     hibition was that iron (and iron tools) was the symbol
       who had placed hi-mself  under the restrictions of the                    of evil+ moral corruption and therefore desecrated
       Na.zarite  vow, might Idrink no twine nor strong drink,                   (symbolically) the things to which it was applied, is
       no vinegar of wine, no vinegar of strong drink, nor any                   doubtless incorrect. The Nazir was not defiled if he `con-
     liquor of grapes.           Even the eating of grapes; moist or             tacted the razor, but only if the locks of. the hair of his
      dried, was forbidden him.                  All the days of his separa-     head were cut.          So, too, the altar, what desecrated it
       tion he .might  eat nothing that is made of-the  vine tree,               was the hewing of its stones. ,The  Nazir was a walking
       from the kernels even to the husks. Second, ,a.11  the                    altar of #God.         This. being true, he might lift no tool
       days of the vow of his separation there might no razor                    upon him. The reason for this is perhaps suggested
       come upon his head: until the days of his VOW $e ful-                     by-the stone, cut out of the mountains without hands,
       filled, he must be holy, and,[had  to ,let the locks of the               of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The stone is. plainiy
       hair od, his head grow.             Finally, `"All the days that he       Christ.. The truth symbolized is tha.t  He is of our race
       sepa,raFed  hi,mself  -unto the Lord he shall come at no                  not however by the will of man but solely by the won-
      dea.d.,body.     He shall not make himself unclean for his                 der-iworking  power of God. So, too, the Nazir, who
       `Bther,  or for his mother, for his brother or for sister,                typified Christ.        No.hand of man worked on him with
       when they die: because the consecration of God is upon                    a tool giving shape to the locks of his hair.
       his head."      Let       consider, these qestri8ctions.  We ,must,
                          us                                                       The Nazarite vow was a symbolical-typical institu-
       of coq,se,  allow the Scriptures. to explain its ,own tion as was the sacrifice. In his separation from wine
_      symbo@SCantd  jt is with symbols that .we here -deal.                     and all strong drink, thus in his mental fitness for the
     Wine `is laggod creature of God and extolied  as such                       service of Gold ; secondly, in his bodily cleanliness as re-
       in the Script&es.            "That. he may bring f0rt.h  food             gards the contagion of the ,corpse ; and, finally, in the
       out of the earth.$;nd  wine that maketh glad the heart                    untrimmed or uncut  locks of his hair, he was a type of
                                                                      ,


                                   0
                    I                    THE STAND~ARD  BEAI3~E.B                                                            155
                              I


  Christ and thus ma symbol of true and'perfect  sainthoocl,       respecting the use of the razor. As was shown, the
  of the spiritual man created in Christ Jesus.       The true     prohibition, "there shall come no razor upon his head,"
  Nazir was Christ. He possessed the true goodness                 mea.ns,    "He, the Nazir, shall not desecrate himself            '
  symbolized by the Naiarite  law. Hence, the restric-             through cutting the locks of his hair. The law did not
  tions imposed upon the Nazir of the Olld Dispensation            dispossess him of $he razor; because, behg a sinful
  did not apply to Him.      For He was the reality signified.     man, he might use it to his hurt, but simply forbade
 Quick yas he of understanding in the fear of the Lord             him to apply it to his head.       He might still use it for
  for He ,wai the pure o,f heart.       Righteousness was the      other purposes. T.he  fallacy of the Iview under .con-
  girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the  ,girdle of His        sideration comes out also in the restriction respecting
  reins.    Doing the will of God was His `meat and drink,         the corpse.      Certainly the ,corpse  could not injure the
  For His people sa.nctified  Himself.     And Be was God's        man; .but  it did defile him, if he touched it,-defile not
  own gift, the stone cut out of the rock without hands            his soul but his body.       The contact thus rendered the
  and as such the spotless Lamb of God that took away              Nazar  symbolically unclean.       Thus the sole purpose of
  the',&1  of the world.     Thus the Nazir symbolized also        these restrictions was to bring'into being a symbol and
  the true child of God,. the spiritual man, his creation          type-a type of Christ and a symbol of true priest-
  by'the power of Go:d, his spiritual aptitude and porwer          hood in Christ.
  of discernment and of minding the things which are of                The ulnshorn hair of the Nazarite has beeqvariously
  the Spirit of God, the true  ,goodness  of his heart,. his       explained.       One view, taking I Cor. 11 as its lead, sees
  faith and love under the impulse of which he mortifies           in this Ielement  in the `vow a symbol of the subjection
  his members, which are upon the earth, is separated              of the Nazir to the authority of God.       The law does not
  from sin and is consecrated unto God in spirit an,d  in          indicate that the unshorn hair in men had this  mea.ning               '
  truth. The N*a.zirs  of the Old Dispensation were  them-         nor were the Israelites wont to associate long hair in
  selves believers, doubtless without exception.          Thus     men' with su!bjection  to authority. There is  .perhaps  c.
  they symbolized their own faith and love and the true            more in the view that explained the.long  hair as being
  consecration to God. Their separation was not from               the symbol of strength and vitality. Yet, as the law
  men but only from the things specified in- the law of            plainly, suggests, it twas.  the objective appearance of
  the Nazarite. They dwelt among their brethren to.                the Nazir who was holy, and therefore had not been
  whom they (were living and walking signs of true godli-          touched by the knife.
  ness. Samuel dwelt -among his people and likewise                    The iati of the Nazarite.reposes  on the great princi-
  Samson. Singlehia.nded  he warred their warfare. The             ples of truth-contained in Israel's calling.     Said God to
  law ,of the Nazarite did not require of them that they           Israel, "ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and
live in monastic seclusion. Their calling was to sym-              an holy nation" `(Ex. 19 :6). Israel wa.s  a Nazir, a
  bolize and exemplfy true fa.ith  before the eyes of their        people that ,God .had formed Him for a possession out
  brethren. Hence, they had to ,be seen and heard.         The     of all the nation and consecrated to himself. Thus verse
  visible ,batdege.  of their calling was the uncut locks of       5 is preceded by the words, "Ye shall be a possession
  their hair, their sobriety, and consecration to the serv-        unto me out of all na.tions  for all the earth is mine."
  ice of God. The law of the Nazarites indicates only              The law revealed that Israel's blessed prerogative was
  the`negative element in their calling, to-wit, the  separa-      grounded ia the bloo,d  of the atonement by its giving
  tionfrom  the things specified. There was also a positive        expression to the worship through which Israel could.
  element. In (what outward, visible; doing it consisted.          exhibit itself as holy and consecrated.      Then there was
  is not stated. It could not consist in the perform&e             :also  the Nazir +ithin  the nation, the ,priesthood  of
  of the duties that belonged to the priestly, office, unless      `;Aaron  through whom the people drew nigh unto God in
  the Nazir were a pniest.  Yet Samuel functioned also             sa.crifice  and `prayer.    This priesthood with respect to
  as priest, though he was n olevite.       If the Nazir were      its service also had a law. It  differed  from-the law
  a judge, the positive element in his calling ,would  con-        .of the Nazarite only in one respect; it imposed abut two
  sist in the performance of the duties that belonged to           restrictions.      The command to Aaron (was,  that the
  the office of judgeship.         Samson made war on the          priests, when they went into the tabernacle, were not
 _ Philistines.                                                    tb drink wine, nor strong drink.        They awere  also pro,-
      The Nazir was not an ascetic. His separation from            hibited to touch ia corpse. The priest was the official
  wine, certainly, was not grounded in the paga.n notion.          Nazir in Israel: He was made by the law.. His con-
  that matter, being the principle of evil in the world,           secration was inseparable from his office of priesthood.
  must be abandoned.        Nor can it be that the law forbade     But .the devout inIsrael  would at times feel the need for
  the Nazarite to drink wine,  :beca,use,  beinlg  a sinful and    some special means for giving expression to their
weak man, he could only use this gift of God to his                faith, gratitude and religious ardor. Provision was
  own hurt.        The fallacy of this view comes out in the       made for such.  And this provision was the Nazarite
  light that the law itself sheds upon the restriction             vow with its restrictions. Any Israelite, no matter what


                                             ,


            his tribe, niight  take this vow, swhich  he did when in 2             -token of his consecration.
            condtiion  of special spiritual exaltation. He was the                      Samson in his career' reflects  the people to which
            common Nazir'in Israel.       He was not made by the law,              he belonged. Fraternizing with the enemies of  Jeha-
            as were the official Nazirs in Israel  but  WEU  raised up             vah,-this was the sin of Israel, $60,  the Nazir of God
            by Gc&s Spirit.                                                        among the nations. Then Isra'el  was defiled `and Jehovah
               We now @me to the Nazariteship of Samson.                 This      his strength departed frdm him, and-he became an easy
            Nazariteship was unique and had never repeated itself.                 prey for the adversary.      When keeping G0iq.s  ,covena.nt,
            It was unique first in this respect that  t& birth qf                  Israel, as Samson, was the mighty herb and the terror
            Samson `was announced by,the  Angel of the Lord ap-                    df the heathen, for then God was for him.         T h e  signifi-
            pearing into the.mother..  Secondly, mention is made                   cance of Samson for the Israel of his day is apparent.
            of the fact that she was "barren and bear not."              Thus      His career e&hibits' so strikingly the  connection between
            his, conception and birth partake of the.,character  of a              holiness expressing itself in covenant fidelity and
            miracle.    Born swas he .by the wonder working power                  power to `war God's warfare.       For God is the strength
            of God.     Then, :during  the time of her .pregnsacy,  the             of His peo,ple  in the way of their obedi:nce  to Him,
           mother had to observe the Nazarite rules in her own                     an obedience that is a.1~0  His.          Samson, despite his
            person. The child in her womb could thus be born                       folly  was a true believer.    In penitance  and prayer he
            symbolically hdly.      H& Nazariteship  began from his                lived out. his life in the enemy prison, where he toiled,
            mother's womb. When &me to years, he wrought in                        and died with  his faith the great vichor.
            a time that was characterized lbjr exceptional spiritual                    But heretvith  has not been brought out fully the
            barrenness.       Judah and Dan were oppressed, but they               significance of Samson. There is still another element
            repented not.       They turned not their hearts to the                 of truth that enters in here.    At this juncture insacred
            Lord. They besought Him not to  send salvation. Sam-                    history all things combined to set forth the  ba.sic  truth
     0      son was a deliverer' unaskkd  for. He came unto his                     and fact that salvation is of God alone and that what
            people and they received him  not. They binded  him                     is impbssible  (with man  is possible with God. At this
            -and delivered him into'the hands, of the Philistines to               juncture all things aga.in  unite to proclaim this truth
            keep_the  peace with them.      Being enldowed  with prodig-           tand  fact-the ,character  of the times, the spiritual
            ious natural strength, this hero ,fought  God's warfare                 barrenness of Israel, the unfruitfulness of the woman
            singlehanded. Marvel,ous  were his feats of strength.                   from whom Samson was born, his Nazariteship, his
            In all this he stands bef,bre  us as a remarkable pre-                  greag strength as a warrior. of  ,God ,his doing battle
            indicatioa  of Christ.                                                  with the adversary as a lone individual, la.nd  the miracu-
.               What was the ,secret of his power? Not his long                     lous achievements of his faith. The truth of this
            hair as such but ,his Nazarite holiness and thus his                    statement will become increasingly clear as we proceed p
            keeping faith with the Lord through his not defiling                    with the  tre&ment  of our Garra.tive.  Let us then re- _
          himself or allowing himself to be ,defiled  through' the                 I iurn to it.
            shearing of his locks.        This is .plain  from his own                  Having_communicated  his message to the woman,
            wo&s  to the' woman  that betrayed him.          Telling her all        the angel of the Lord departed. The woman hasted
            his heart, he said to her, "There hath not come a razor                 to tell her husband.    A man of God had come to her,
            upon my head ; for I have been a Nazarite untd ,God                    she said, and his countenance was like the countenance
            froni my' mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my                        of an- angel of God ,very  terr?ble:  but she had asked

            stren,gth  will go from me, and I shall become weak                     him not Iwhence  he was ,neither  had he told her his
            and `be like other men."      "If I :be shaven . . . . ,`? that is,     name. l&t he had told-her that she  should conceive,
            `if I be defiled,' then I shall become .weak.'          Gods was        and bare a son ; further, that she should drink no wine
            his strength and salvation. But God worked through                      nor strdng drink, neither ea.t  any unclean thing, in
            him only as long as he thrcugh  a$aith steadfastly walked               that the child was  to be a Nazarite.     Visibly the woman

            in the way of the precepts of his vow.        Thus the vilctpry        had been deeply effected.      A mingled feeling of heaven-
           that overcaine  the world with which he had to do was  the               ly elation and dread had taken possession of her soul-
            obedience of his faith, his not allowing hin&elf  to be                 ellation  because of the prospect of the removal of her
            destroyed as ?a walking altar of God, as a, sign of the                 reproach-she whd was barren and bore not, would
            heavenly things of God's kingdom.         And that is w&t he           ,conceive  and bear a son not only but a child who was
            diid  not ,do.     Through gielding to the wiles of'  `the              to be a Nazarite unto the Lord `a,nd  who would begin
           ..~w&+n,  by allowing hmisilf to be ,ensnar&  by' his qwn               to deliver His people-dread because her `womanly
            sinful flesh, he destroy&d himself as a sign of the things              intuition had'told her that the messenger was no ordin-
            heavenly. In shlaving  bff the locks of .h$ hair, the                   ary prophet of God of whom there doubtless were
            ,w+u$ slew ien the,per+  of her victim the S&y  urord                   several fn: the.  land even in those spiritually barren
           (0-f God. And l$s &tr&&h  :departed  from l&n; for it                    times-men' -of God who .untiringly  admonished. the
           .&uld  bt3 his' bnly as a reti&d  of his faith `and  as' the             peopl+thus di-ead  because she had perceived that she,


 a sinful woman, had <been  standing in the presence' of            that I. said unto the woman, let  her:beware,`"`and  then
heavenly royalty . Was not his countenance like the -the messenger went on simply to repeat the instruction
 countenances  of an angel of God? That she told her                already given to her.         It indicates that. the `prayer :of
 husband was natural because her secret was too good                Manoah had proceeded not from the need. of more in-
 and !grea.t  to be Bept-thus natural (because she needed           struction as to how the child was to. be treated .but
 someone in whom to confide. And to whom should                     from the need of the confirmation of his faith through
 she turn, if not to her own husband? `Besides,  the                the reappearance of the messenger.            Manoah  `believed
 message concerned him as Iwell, as he was to be- the               and wanted to- believe.         He wanted his soul 4eansed
father of the,  child.     Agood  woman was this un-named           from every vestige of doubt.           But .he failed to :make
 wife of Manoah, a true Israelitess, whose sorrow was               mention of -his doubt which perhaps he .would:not  even

 her own un&.iitfulness  and the barrei:ness  and bond-             .a.dmit  to himself.: `If only the .messenger  would.also
' age of her people and who therefore was most suscept-             appear to him. He had need of asking  the.man  tore-
 ible to the message that had been brought her by she               veal his name_.  Yet all -he actually prayed .for is :in-
 angel.      She had refrained from asking him whence he            strection.    The ,prayer  was therefore really .superflu,
 came, doubtless because she felt too certain that his              ous. Yet it was answered. The man of  God-Man&h
 abode `was not among men.         And .his failure to,,divulge     knew ,not  that the;ian  `who had a.ppeared  `unto. the
 his name-which was "wonderful'`-only strengthened                  `woman  was the antgel of the Lord--Came againand
 her in this conviction. ,For she made mention of it                worked.  a sign that was plainly indicative of -h&true

 to her husb.a.nd  spontaneously, without his first having          identity.     He did so because the Lord- always stands
 touched on this ,point.     It seems to indicate that in her       ready to (bring  to full fruition the faith.  of.  such'.wh!J
 mind the reticence of the messenger regarding his                  .by His mercy wawt ta b&eve..              \ ...' .i. . . ' :: ::
 name was to be expected, .and that also her own reserve                             '
                                                                          .                                             G.:~M.  .f-J.._  `:`--I
 in not inquiring about his place of residence  .among                                                                                     .; I.. . . :,
 her geople  was proper.                                                                                                              .
                                                                                                                              i`T,.- .,i
                                                                                                                               ._
      We learn from the reactions of Manoah  to what                                                            . . . ..'      :' ::`.:
 his wife told him that he, too, was of those in Israel                                                                                       .:.
                                                                                                                :. . ..`.,:
 *who truly feared God. iHad he `been an unbeliever,  ,he                                                                                        .
 would have made light of her words; he would have
given her to understand that, in his candid opinion, she
 had been deceived by a hoax, or that the'man'she  had                                    .&man ,Em$r& `!`:t;, __- .
                                                                                                                                     ., .!.
 seen and the revelation she claimed to' have received,                                             `.
                                                                                                                             :,. .:..

 were deceptive imaginings affected byher own wander-                   As we saw, in the first three centuries of  our ChriS-
 ing mind                                                           tian `era, the Christians were intermittently persecuted.
               . The idea that she, an unfruitful woman,
 should bare ta child,' would have excited his mirth. He            But in 323 <Constantine the grea.t,  the first Chr%tian
 would have ,wanted to know why the messenger of                    occupant of the throne of the ceasars, besame`the  s&e
 such good news had gone his way without, first con-                `ruler of the Roman worl,d;  and the church was every-
tatting  him.      But Manoah  did not mock.     H.e was deep-      where free from its enemies.           The `church. again'had
 ly interested and concerned, beiieving and hopeful.                survived another baptism of fire.         Thus was confirmed
 For he turned to the Lord in prayer land said; "0 my               .anew  the speech that rose from the burning budh'in
 ,Lord,  let the man of God which thou didst send come              whose flame of fire the angel of the  Lordlappeared  Co
 again unto us,.  and teach us. what-' we shall do unto             Moses-this speech, aamely,.  that `the churtih is inde-
 the child that shall be born."     Thus he had accepted the        structible, because of the indwelling Christ ;in&katihg
 report of his wife was  true.      The, ,child  shdll  be born.    in her by His Spirit a fia.ith that cannot cease.. Con-
 His wife' shall bear.      He shall ,be a Naiarite unto the        stantine, so we saw further, favored the church:.in
 Lord, as she had spoken. All will come to pass. His                many ways.       The result was that .the  church,grew  :by
 sole concern was, how the child was to be treated . l&t leaps and bounds and became fabulously rich. :. .A great
 this the messenger [already had specified, indirectly              many civilized pagans of the  ' Graeca-Roman world.
 but on this accou&  none the less. distinctly, in ,his             adopted the religion of their sovereign, Constantine,
 communication to the woman.         He was to be a Nazarite        land of the court.      But many'others  of-the `heathen ctd-
 unto the Lord, the messenger had said. Hence, the                  tured classes held themselves aloof . . and clave to. their
restrictions imposed upon her were also valid for the               gods.      .When- Constantine died his vast empire:.&&
 .child.    `Thus, from. the aspect`of the'completeness of the      apportioned among his three sons,- Constantine II, Con-,
 communidation,  the prayer that the Lord. further in-              stans, and Constantius.       Three years later, the ,brothers
 struct them was unnecessary. This also ,comes  out .in             enigaged  in a bloody war for supremacy and the result

 the reply of the messenger, who once again appearedtin             was .that Constantius became the sole, ruler and. reigned
 response to the prayer: `Said  he to Manoah;  "Of' all             `until `his death (361) ;-                  .* .                 ; .; __.
                                                                                                                                                            _~


       168                                       T'HE:  STANDAM~~B'EARER

          Like his father, Constantius befriended the church              emperors continued unbroken. The next emperor was
       and &was  even fanatically intollerant of pagan religion,          Jovian, who had been a general in Julian's army.
       and violently suppressed it.       As a'result  -of this policy    Jovian- restored to the church all her privileges of
       of suppression, the heathen ,in great numbers, came                which she had been deprived by.  Julian.      Velentinian I
       over to Christianity. Yet pagan religion continued to              an,d his brother Valens, who reigned in the east, favored
       flourish in the Roman empire. It retained an im-                   the Christian church and opposed pagan worship. Both
       portant influence through literature and the schools of            prohibited sacrifices to heathen. gods at Rome and at
       pagan philosophy; and under the new emperor-Julian,                Constantinople. The heathen soothsayers were burned
       surnamed the apostate--% once more strove, under his               alive or. beaten to, death.     It ,was  during the reign of
       patronage, to rehabilitate `itself in the Roman empire.            these two emperors that heathenism for the.first  time
       Julian was :a nephew of Constantine the great, at whose            was called "paganism.    During the reign of Theodocius

       court he had received a Christian training under the               the great 600 patrician  families of Rome went over.
       supervision of an Arian bishop and was  Ibaptized  . He to Christianity. Paganism was weakening fast.. In
      prayed; fasted, I&d: read the Scriptures and went to                389 it could no longer maintain its seven vestals at
       church like a, good (Christian, but in his heart he hated          Rome.    Theodocius was an *adherent of the Nicene
       everything that his tutors presented, and was `filled              0)thodoxy. He procured for it the  vi,ctory  at. the-
       with love for the culture of paganism.         In 361 he was       second Igeneral  council in Constantinople. Besides, he,
       raised to the dignity. of laugustus in the east by his             too, was most intollerant of paganism.       He forbade its
       soldiers ; and at the death of Constantius, in this same           sacrificial rites and its worship in heathen temples.
       year, he became sole ruler in' the empire.         Having al-      These temples he confiscated and withdrew the-public
       ready thrown' off his mask, he, now #began  to fulfili             contri,butions  to the support of idolatr-y-.  This policy
       what he considered to be the [great  mission of his life,          was continued by his successors. The final  ,downfall
       namely, the restoration of the worship of the pagan                of heathenism in the East took place in the year 450.
       gods ,and  the reduction of the religion ,of Christ to a           Theodocius II ordered the heathen temples destroyed or
       sect. But he had learned that this could not be accom-             turned into Christian churches.      Justinian I prohibited
       plished by persecution.       Besides, the Christians by this      heathenism'as a form of `worship in the empire on pain
      time had become numerous' and  ~influentia~l.  Laying               of death. .He also closed the last intellectual seminary
       violent hands on them, might result in civil war. Julian           of heathenism, the philosophical school at Athens which

      " therefore adopted other- methods,. .He reinstated the             had stood for 900 years.       In the West, heathenism con-
       worship of the gods and contributed to its support from            tinued until 550 as a private religious conviction among

       the treasury of the state.     He tried; further, to renovate      the cultured and aristocratic families at Rome, and in
       paganism :by blending it with Christian morals. He                 some remote parts of the empire in the form c.!f public

       held out'to every Christian, who would apostatize, a               worship. Finally, it was litterally buried under .the
       splendid re,war,d.  He openly affected ,compassion  for            ruins of the Western empire. which salnk  under the

     the poor, blind Galileans-l`nllowers  of Christ- ,who                storm of great migrations of the barbarian tribes from

       could ibe so foolish as, to f,orsake  the worship of the           the north of Europe and from Asia.

       immortal gods for the worship of a dead Jew, meaning                  .First-  to overrun the Western empire were the
       Christ.      He set himself up as highpriest of the pagan          Germani,c  tribes. They came from a region that stretch-
       religion.     In his zeal, he would offer a hundred bulls in       ed from the Rhine to the upper `Danube and from
       a single .day.    But his efforts were fruitless.. They me;        Scandinavia.    These regions were occupied by the
       with no response even among his  ,own party.           Only a      Germanic or Teuton  tribes.       The descendents  ,of these
       small number of Christians apostatized.                            early Teutons are the Germans, the Dutch, the English,
              Julian's reign lasted but three years. He has set           the Danes ,the'  Swedes, the Norwegians, and a great
       out to conquer Persia.          In ,an unimportant nightly         number of Spanish and Italians. The early Teutonic

       skirmish in June, 363, he received from a hostile arrow,           race was divided into many independent tribes, among
       a ,mortal  wound and died soon after.       Had he returned        #whom  were the Goths, who occupied the valley of the
       from war a victor, he, in all likelihood,. would have              lower Danube and the northern shore of the Black Sea.
       resorted to persecution; for he had become increasingly            The Goths divided into two branches known as the
       bitter toward the Christians. In some,:parts  of the               West Goths and East Goths.         In the year 410, a great
\      empire, he already had begun to persecute them.         When       leader arose among the West Goths, .whose name was
       Julian died, paganism, as a legalized religion and wor-            Aleric.  Under his leadership the tribes left their eastern
       ship lost its influence.      The Heathen philosophers and         abode land swarmed into Italy, marched upon Rome and
       soothsayers, lwho had basked in Julian's favor, again              took the city after vainly attempting to come to terms
       went into obscurity.                                               with the Roman emperor Honorius.          Never before had
         After Julian, with whose death the Constantine                   the proud city yielded to a foreign invader except once.
       family beoame  extinct, the succession ,of .Christian              Aleric  was no barbarian but an Arian Christian, who


                                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                  159
                                                                                                                              0

 had spent many years in the Roman empire.                      His fol-      and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures ; so that
 lowers were not all west-Goths.                 Many of them, were           herbs and grass; rain and  ,drought,  fruitful and barreu
  discontented Romans.                 Having m*ade  himself master of        years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and

 Rome, he spared the Christian churches but plundered                         poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but
 the palaces of the ceasars  and. of the rich.               In 455 the       by his fatherly hand."      It is evident that the Catechism
 Vandals, who had set upthe  kingdom of the Vandals in                        does not conceive of God's providence as a  ."seeing  in
 North Africa after having been expelled  ,by the west-                       advance')' but as the first cause of, all things.    It is the
 Goths, from-Spain, brought-far greater disaster to Rome                      omni-present power of God whereby He causes  .a11
  than A1eri.c  h:ad <done  in 410. They sacked  the city                     things to be 1a.s they are.     All things are so absolutely
  and departed with their ships laden with its treasures.                     dependent upon God that they cannot exist or come to              .
  Rome had thus reached a .-pitiable condition. Twice                         pass without His wil1 and power. By divine providence
within a. century it had (been  captured `and pluadere;d                      therefore, we understand that power of God whereby
 by barbarian invaders.. Then, in 476, O,doacer,  a leader                    He upholds' all creature'S  and so governs them that

  of a. Teutonic tribe, deposed the last emperor of, the                      they are made to serve' the purpose which <God *has in
Ron&n  empire in the west, Romulius Augustulas, a                             mind with a. view to them, ;.iyith  the. result that God
  mere child in the emperial throne. This date-476-                           performs all his `counsel to th'e end that He shall b?
  is taken as the date of the fall of Rome and the termina-                   eternally, glorified..
  of the Roman empire in the west:                With Rome fell also
  the civilized paganism in the west.

                                                      G .   M .   0 .                 Divine providence is usually distinguished as, pres-.
                            "
                                                                              ervation, cooperation and government.
               *                                                         .       By preservatio?z  we understand the immineht power
                                 -         -                                  of God whereby. He upholds all things. and they con-

                                                                              tinue to exist. By *cooperation  we understand the op-
                                                                              eration of God's power whereby He accomplishes His
      The Idea of Cooperation `a&ah                                           purpose through the a&of  His moral creatures.           And
     Element of Divine Provider&                                              .by government we mean the power of God whereby He
                                                                              controls and ,directs  all things to His own determinate               .
                                 .c                                           enld.
 Div~ine  Providence                                                                  Now, it must be evident that, as elements in the
     When speaking of "divinesprovidence".;  we Ido so in                     providence of God, cooperation. and government are
 the Iaccepted  sense of the.term.              The word itself, as far       not coordinate.      Although we may distinguish between
 as its literal meaning is concerned, is not applicable to                    the two, actually the former is subordinate to the lat-
  God.    "Pro-video" the Latin verb from which the word                      ter.      Cooperation is a part of government. God's
  is derived, means "to see in advance". It must be                           providence goes over all things, so that He not merely
  evident that we cannot say of God that He sees things                       upholds all that .which  He has ,created,  gives life and
  in Gadvance,  since to do so would immediately suggest a                    being to all His .creatures,  but also sovereignly rules
  dualism and would-  mean that there were a -power that  t over all of them, so that they are made to serve in  con-
  worked of itself, apart from God, and over against                          nection  with all other things for the realization of His
 which. God, seeing in advance what would. be .doae  by                       purpose as He has ordained. And since nothing is to
 this power, would be forced to take certain precautions                      be excluded from this control and dominion of God
 whereby He would be able to meet any emergency that                          which we call .government,  it must be evident that
 lwould  arise. It is in this sense that man  pr.ovicZes,                     God does not merely control the existence and move-
 according to his limited capacity.               The mother, .because.       ment of His irrational creatures but His rational cres-
  she sees in advance that the winter is coming, begins                       tures as well.. God guides the sun in his circuit and
  long before ,winter ,comes  to lay in store for her family                  makes night and day; He gathers the clouds togethe:.
 the food and clothing #which  will be aecessary  to meet                     and brings the storm, the rain a.nd snow`; He makes the
 the needs.         However, we Icannot in this sense speak of                seed to sprout an.d to -produce abundantly or He dries
 ,divine-providence.       God does not simply see in advance                 it up so that it does not produce and there is want
 the things th#s.t  will be; God causes all things to;be  as                  and famine; He guides the bird in his flight through
  He has, from before the beginning of the world, de-                         the air, the f&h in the sea: and the wild  bes.sts  in the
 .termined  them in His counsel. And this is true of al!                      forests; yes, God does all these things . But Go.d :does.
 things without exception.                                                    also more.       He controls and guides all the acts of His
     The Heidelberg Catechism explains the provildence                        rational creatures also.       That mea.ns that all man's
  of God as, "The almighty and everywhere present  pow-                       thinking and willing as -well as all his desires and the
 ler of God ; whereby, as it were by his hand, he upholds                     imagination of his heart ,a.re  under the control of the


 160                                      THE S.T,ANDARD  .B.EAl&R'

 Almighty  God.  and `He so dir-e'cts  them `that they are the- people of &rael,  yere gathered together, for to ds
made to SIZFY~  the end which God has determined.             8              whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined be:
        :                                                                    fore to .be dove."  Acts 4:27,  28.
+,c.o+q~  .Tci  S&&m                       -              - `,lT,                  -However,  co?per,ati,on  goes even farther. Ndt only
s. .,: There can be no doubt ,but  what Scripture e&a&                       is there a mediate cooperation .tihereby  God accom-
lish%g this.fact.of  cooperation in divine .providence+afid                  plishes His p,urpose  .in an.iedirect ,way,  but there is
also shows us, the extent' of its operation.: -:Zt is highly                 also an. immediate cooperatiqn  .whereby  ,God  directly
 essential ,that we 3et  Scrip%?ure  speak .here,  especially                controls the thoughts,of  man's heart and works in him
because .of'  the objections which are raised  -agaiast  this                to the end that God's purpose is realized. This is evi-
doctrine and. the many questions which arise with a                          dent, for example, from the history of the sons of EM,,
view to ,its' operation.     Even so, it will not :be possible;              of whom it -is said in I Sam. 2  :17, "notwithstanding
 even ifi.the  light of Scripttire,  to answer every question                they hearkened ,not unto the vqice  of their father, be-
-which may arise. 1. We ma+ however' `expeat  `i.0 find                      ,cause  the `Lord  would slay them." Here it  is eyident
some definitely-established truths Iwhich  may also seive                    that God's0  controlled ,them  in their sinful way that
:to ..g@de: us .in our thinking and discussion of.  this sub-                they refused to, h;eed  .the  warning of their father in
ject.:?                                                            ; ..-i    order- that.  they might  perish as God had proposed. *
        Now when we :consult  Scripture we find !.l$ -this                   Proverbs;2.1  :l tells  us that,  "The king's heart is in the
cooperation of God operates in both a mediate and                            hand of tl$e Lo@, a.s the rivers of water: he turneth it
immediate way.       When we speak of si mediate coopers-.                   whithersoever he w..ill:"     And this is evident, in the
tion. we mean' that God accomplishes His purpose                             first place, in the case of Pharaoh, of  #whom  we read
through the acts of His  rncn%l creatures in such a`way                      that .God hardened his heart, as tile  Lord had predicted
.that,  whereas they propose something entirely  ,diff erent                 in advance to Moses. .Ex. 4:21.  `This is a%gain plain
and are motivated by some ,sinful  desire, the result is                     when we read in II Sam. 24 : 1, "And again .the anger
t&t in the execution of the& sinful ,desire,  the purpos?:                   of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he  moved
fiich God has in mind is  accoinplished..  That this la                      Dcwicl  ngairqt  them to gay, Go, riumber  Israel and Ju-
%he. case is evident fom the fa.ct  that;.  although Joseph's                dah.`!    And fimily, `what is true of all ithe  sinful acts
,b.rothers.  #were motivated simply by the sinful desire                     of men is @so true with a view to their  ,good  works;
..to get rid .of him al?d acted .in accordanCe  n;vith;that                  they also&e performed through the cooperation of di-
 desire when they sol'd h<m as a slaye  into Egypt, God                      vine providence.     Thus we rea,d  in Phil. 2 :12,  `3, "work
 nevertheless had a very .definite  reason for wanting                       out  youi own salva.tion  with fear and trembling.        Fo?:
Joseph in Egypt and accomplished His purpose through                         it is God  which worketh in you both to will and to do
<the sinful act of Joseph's brothers. Therefore  Josepll                     of his good pleasure".
-also tells them, "But as for you, ye thou&h!  evil against
                                                                             `Con&sions
me; but God meant it unto good, to bring  :to  pass, RS                       :
it is this da.y, to save much peop1.e  ,aliae."`,  GEn. 50 :20.               ;    There is indeed .& operation of God's power in .Hid
`The same thing is true when  God;seads  the king of                         moral creatures-iwhereby  He so' ~cont~ols  arid directs
-Assyria to destroy Jerusalem. Although he:is  actually                      their, thou~ghts,&,sires:~nd  purposes, that His counsel is
..enothing  more, than the means:  .through  which Go`:`*                    realized .and @is p.urp0s.e  is accomplished, through
executes- His wrath, the axe in%he hand .of  God, he him-                    them..           `. .Y i: .::'
 self `d.oes  not intend to be, nor does he thi,ak  that he                        In i&is coop.era.tion,  .God  is Sovereign Fnd man is
.is, the avenging agent of God. 9he Lord sa.ys  of. him                      depend.ent.  This. foll.oyvs  from (both preservation and
sin Isa.. 1,O  :7, "Hawbeit  he ,meaneth  not s.o,,neither  .doth            .!gov&nment  as elements of divine .providence.     Man is a
his heart think so; shut it is in his heart to `destroy and                  creature and therefore is and always  remains wholly
.cut off' nations. not a few".      And when he boasts i,                    dependent on God for al! things. And God is always
-his qw:n  strength and relat&  his mighty deeds, God                        the Sovereign and Almighty God, "whose counsel shall
;~ays,~"Sha.ll  the. axe boast itself against him that hew-                  stand, Who do&  all His good-pleasure."       See Isa. 46 :lO.
;;eth$&rewith?  ,or  the sa,w  magnify .itself  against him                  Hence; this coop.eration  cannot be explain'ed  upon tho
&bat +haketh  it.??' etc., Isa. 10 :15. The same thing                       basis of a relation of equality between the human and
.holds  .true  with.  :a :view to the crucifixion, of Christ.                divine, so that man of himself determines his own acts
-The-Apostle'dPeter  testifies -in Acts.2 ;23,  t!Him,  b$ing                r.:and  fGod accommodates Himself in such a way that He
.sdelivered  by the determjnate  counsel :.and forekpowl-                    can cooperate for the .purpose  of accomplishing his end.
:.edge;of  God, ye have ta.ken,  gnd..by  wicked hands,:have                 Nor can we Iexplain  this `coope`ration,  as a matter of
 cp.ucified  -and slain."    And when ,sPeter  and. John. are                permission, as though God iwould  permit man to do
.x&eaease.by  the Jews, the Church testifies,,  "Fqy  c&a; $ruth             certain things. In either case, man would be acting

..&gtinst  thy holy chil,d `Jesus, ,whom.thoa  hast .anointed,               independently of God.        `From the Scriptures quoted

`60th I&rod  and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, an?                      .above,  it.is evident that God exerts a positive control  of


man's .mind  and will according to whjch m.an  acts                                            referenFe.  is npt. to .a. particular part of the Mosaic.
 either for good or bad.                                       ) :.                            legislation but.:to  the law of Moses, and therefore of
                                                                       .I: `.
       Finally, this cooperation of God is of such a silaturz                                  God, in its entirety,. my burden of proof is more .di&
that it ,does not destroy man's moral nature.                                   Man .re-       cult.     I must ma,ke  clear our liberty :a.s  Christians- to
mains the conscious, willing author of all his own  a&                                         the entire law of God. :'                      : ::..                    ,
and is therefore held responsi,ble  to God. And there-                                                As to the question. what is. our relation $0 the law
fore, even though God is certainly the  first cause of all                                     there, are. different answers. At one  ,extreme!  &the
tha.t man does, He never becomes the .&:ihor  of man's                                         position of. the .Antinominian.  who maintains th& ;w&
moral acts. Man is a person and thcefore the .sub-                                             are free from the 1,a.w  in the sence  that it is useless foq'                        I
ject  of his olwn  acts and responsible for them..                              He wills       us ; we have, the li.berty  even to transgress. it.~ Very
and proposes and works and he  ,does.  so freely as' far                                       evidently this .position  is not the position of-the  Bible
as his own mind.is concerned.               However, in. tha.t  all he                         and: _of Paul to Galations. :. It is. snot. :worthy  of our                      c
is dependent on God. And therefore, although he  a&s                                           further', consideration. . On the other hand there is_ the
freely as far as his ,consciousness  is ,concerised  and does                                  extreme position of:: those. who are similar to the
not feel himself compelled of God either  .one way or                                          Judaizers and who  teach the law as a code of ethics
the other, the fact is that God sp controls and directs                                        which can .be fulfilled1 by usin this life.                Perfectionism
him that His end is accomplished through msn,`s  moral                                         plainly argues from this position.           It is also the position
acts.                                                                                          of many who though they d;eny perfectionism,.neverthe:
          `.                                      .           +-H. D; W.                       less teach salvation by works of the law.                  It is_the.err.or
                                                                                               of Roman Catholicism and all Protestantism .which  ha.3
                                     \a                                                        left the original position of the Reformers.                   This posi-
                               .~                              :                 ..'           tion .is. .clearly condemned by the apostle Paul who
:.                            -'                       .:_              .,                     `reaches the point where he wishes that they were cut  off
                                                                                               from the Church `of Christ who teach such heresy; who
         Liberty in Relation to. Law.                                                          in his epistle to the Philippians speaks of suchteachers
                                                                                               as "dogs" a.nd  those of "the concision".
                                                                                                                                                                       ._.
       It is especially this subject that is the concern. of                                         ,This teaching of the Judaizers must `not be dis-
 every Christian.who  has first awakened to the glorious                                       missed,with  a mere statement that it.is not the position
liberty that we have in- Christ Jesus  .and whq at the                                         of the Bible. .,It is too powerful in its  temptation  and
sa,me  time reads the perfect lawof  God. `And it is this                                      attraction .to the-natural man to be so quickly dismissed:.
subject that was the main reason for establishing first                                        The `apostle discerned the attraction of this position
 of all, in a former article, the meaning of the term                                          and the.grave  danger for the Gentile churches and the
 "law" as the apostle Paul used it in his epistle to  the                                      truth of, the Gospel thathe devoted this .entire  epistle
 Galations.      In that article I sought to explain. that in                                  to explain and expound ourChristian  liberty.                    We must
that epistle Paul did not use the  -term_"law"  in any in-                                     `therefore  be positive and oarefully interpretthe posi-
 stance. with a reference to the ,ceremonial  law- only.                                       tion of Paul. in..Galatia.ns.        So too, overagainst. the RoP
Rather was his reference to the. entire law of God.                                       I    man .Catholic,.  and .a11 those who. teach salvation. by
made two main distinctions, however, ,in the reference                                         Iworks,  we must understand the position'of  the Reform-
                                           ..,
pf P:aul  to the,.law.     Essentially though they, are the                                    e r s .                                            ,,_(
                                                                                                                                                   . ..t...
same, they are nevertheless to "be clearly discerned in                                         .     Interesting. it is to read the views of the.reformers,
$.e  epistle.    The first use was,.a  reference to the ,con,                                  Calvin `a.nd Luther; .on this subject.              Before. I sum:
:$ept  law as such.. The second was the use of-the term                                        marixe the teaching of the apostle Paul as it is in Gala-
with the definite article "the?' and referring to .the                                         tians allow me to quote from these two -,men  to show
revelation of. that same- lalw of God upon Mount Sinai.                                        their conception. .-
.I    Instead of treating this subject _from  the general                                            First of all the -position of Martin Luther; .I wish
aspect of the teaching of the'entire Bible, let us'again                                       td quote from.Luther's  commentary on the Galations as
limit ourselves to a consideration of the explanation of                                       it : is.. found. in. the. aabridged translation by Theodore
Paul. in his epistle to the Galations.                        Our task would,                  Graebner, page 54.            It is .Luther's  explanation of verse
of 8course,  be much easier if we had explained,,that  the                                     19 .of chapter two. , ;....                                          : ..`)_'
apostle Paul referred in the main to the. ceremonial                                                 "Paul -does not refer to the Ceremonial Law, *lout
law.     ,Our  simple conclusion would have been that  the                                     to the whole law;- We :a.re  not to think that the Law

apostle teaches, that since the fullness of time .the                                          is. wiped outt  .: It .stays..`~If  continues to. operate .in the
                                                                              ..1 . .)
coming of Christ, we are no,longer  bound ,by  the cere:                                       lwi&ed.:.              aChristian is dead to, the ,Law.           For ex.-
                                                                                                             Ejut
monial ordinances of the old dispensation ; we are free                                        a,mple,  Christ;.by  His resurrection_,became  free from
from them though not frorn,the  moral ,law,.of  .the  ten                                      the grave, .and,,.yet  the ,graye  .remains. .:Peter  was. .de-
commandments.          Since, it. is, my conception,  that ,..the                              l&red from prison, .yet  theiprison  remains. : The Law
                                                                                                            1


       262'                          , .                ,T-HE STAN~E)~ARB   B E A R E R


       .is .abolished  as far as I am concerned, when it has                       Christ is become of, no effect unto you, whosoever of
       driven. me into the arms of Christ. Yet the law con-                        you are justified by the law; ye are fallen  frdm  grace."
       tinues to exist and to function.              But it no longer exists       (`Gal. v I-6) These passages certainly comprehend
      -for me.                                  :                                  something More  exalted than a freedom -from cere-
         " `I have nothing to do with the Law', cries Paul.                        Imonies:      I confess, indeed,. that Paul is there treating
       He could not have uttered anything more Idevastating                        of ,ceremonies,  because he is contending with the false
       to. the prestige of the Law.            He declares that he doeq            apostles, who attempted to introduce again into the
       not care for the Law, that .he does not intend ever to                      Christian Church the ancient shadows of the law, which
      be justified by the Law.                                                     had been abolished by the advent of Christ. But for
          "To- be dead to the Law means to be, free of the                         the decision of this question it was necessary to discuss-
       .Law.  What right, then, has the Law to accuse ~me,  or                     some higher to.pics,  in which the whole controversy
       to hold anything against me?             When you' see ,a person            lay." (page 78),.
       squirming in the clutches of the Law, say to him:                               There is something fundamentally alike in the views
       :`Brother,  get things straight.. You let the Law talk                      of these two Refor.mers  .in their conception of the
       .to  your conscience. Make it  tal,k  to your flesh. Wake                   Christia.n's  relation to the law.    Both Calvin and Luther
       up, and believe  .in Jesus Christ, the Conqueror of the                     condemned Roman Catholicism on the one hand and
       Law and sin.        Faith in Christ will lift- you high above               Analbaptism  and Pieism on the `other. However, as

     , the Zaw into the heaven of grace.. Though Law and                           Bavinck points out there is a difference between these
`- : sin. remain, they-  no longer concern you, because you                        two points of view, the Lutheran and the Calvinistic.
       are dead to. the Law and dead to sin..,,  "                                 Whether the `criticism of Luther -made by Bavinck is

                                                                                   entirely correct, is a matter which I doubt, but which
        il Calvin's idea may be `obtained somewhat from his
       Institutes; Vol. I-I, chapter IX, on the subject of Chris-                  I cannot at this time-determine because I have not read
       `tian Liberty..                                                             enough of their works.       Bavinok says in Vol. II, p. 525
                           ' Calvin writes:          "Christian- li,berty,  ac-
       cording to my judgment, ,consists  of three parts.                 The      that ,Luther  looked upon freedom from the law as free-
       first is, that the consciences of believers, when seeking                   dom from the curse  of the law,. and that he only had
       *an assurance of their justification before God,-  shoul,d                  a place for the law  in. the abnormal life of sin.    Where-
       paise.themselves  above the law, and forget all the right-                  as _Galvin' explained the law also as for faith, a `norm
       .e&isness  ,of the law.`, (page 77)                "The second part         for the moral life,. derived from the  Iwill of God and
.      .of-Ch&stian  1iberty;which  is dependent on the first,  is,                serving as an incentive to ,good  works.
       tl&l$$heir  consciences  do not observe the. law, as being                      Having indicated the Reformed conception of this
     4n&ler"`an.y  legal obligation                                                relation of the Christian to. the law, I would like to
                                            ; but that, being liberated
       from the yoke of the law, they yield a voluntary  abed-                     direct your-attention now to the teaching of the apostle
       ience to the will of God." (page 79)                 "The third part        Paul in his epistle to'the  Galations.
       pf C%ristian  liberty teaches us, that we are bound- by                         To see the Christian's liberty in relation to the law
     no. obligation before God respecting external things,                         let us ask- ourselves .what  the apostle tells us is the pur-
       which in. themselves are indifferent; ,but that we may                      pose of the revelation- of the law of God at Mount
       indifferently sometimes use, and at other times omit                        Sinai. Immediately we can state definitely that the
       them."1 (page 81)         Concerning his elucidation of the                 law was not given to show in itself the  Iway of life for
       first part Calvin writes the following:                "Nor will this       the Israelite. The law as such was weak. It could
       authorize any one to conclude, that the law is of no                        not show the way to salvation for them-.who  could not
       use to believers, whom it still continues to instruct and                   keep it;       It only- showed- them their sins. ' Galationz
       exhort, land stimulate to duty, although it has no place                    3 :ll "For that no man is justified by the law' in the
       in their consciences before the tribunal of God." (page                     sight of God,-it is evident: for, the just shall live by
       77)     Furthermore Calvin writes aboutthis  : "On. thi.s                   faith.",      Galations 3 :18 tells us that it was added to
       point turns almost the whole. argument of the Epistle                       bring out transgressions. We read: "Wherefore then
       to the Galations.       For that. they are erroneous..exposi-               serveth the law? It .was added because of trans-
       tars,.  who maintain, that Paul there contends only for                     gressions, till the seed should come to whom the prom-
       liberty from ceremonies, may be proved from- the                            ise w&made.,'         It is-the-same asp the teaching of ,Paul
       topics of his reasoning. Such as these-: "`Christ-hat-h                     in Romans 3.~20  "for by the law is the knowledge of
       sedeemed us from the .curse  of the law, being made a                       sin."       The way of life was shown before the revelation
       Curse for us." .( Gal. 3 :13)        Again : "Stand fast, there- of the law of, God at.Mount  Sinai. That was promised
       fore,' in the liberty .wherewith  Christ h&h-  made us                      to Abraham<fbur  hundred and thirty years .before  the
       .free,  and be not .entangled  again with the yoke of. bond-                giving of'the' law.      And the law could not change tliat
       tge. .Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be.  cir-                     promise of, God;       Life was to be given by the covenant
       cumcised,.  Christ shall profit you nothing. Every man                      Jehovah through His promise and that covenant could
       that  is circumcised is a debtor to do the whole law.                       neverbe  alteredi  not evenby the unchangeable law of


 God a.t .Mt.  Sinai. .. '                                            inhis holy- place?" by the answer, "He that hath  cleax
                                                  `.
     Though the *promise was given.first  and the' revela-            hands, and a pure'  heart; who hath not -lifted -up his
 tion of the law in  theform of `the entire  Mosaic legisla-          soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." Psalm 24  :3,4.
 tion was given ,afterwards,  arid' although` the law in it-          God showed that'  He demanded that His will be done
 self as it comes to'sinful  man only s'erves  ,to  .make  him        on earth as it is in heaven, for  .God  is holy.        t _'
 more miserable, the ultimate: pur,pose  of `God- in the giv-             At the same time Paul explains that .God .provided
 ing. of the promise and in the giving of the law was                 that His people would receive the revelation of His law
 always th:e same, the salvation of His co-lenant  people.            together with His .promise  of its fulfillment: After
 Jehovah did not give the law to' ter:ify His people                  saying in Galatians 3 :19 that .it was. ordained by angels          ,
from Mount Sinai in such. a way so as &-cause  them                   he further adds, "in the hand of a. mediator.`,. That
 to loose faith in H_im  and His eternal promises;' Though            mediator is Christ, who had His living type in Moses:
 Jehovah gave the law to bring or&the  sins of :the peo-                  Now, if we see this  pur.pose  of the giving of the
 ple it was to serve antithetically to bring them to                  law, we shall see too that it did not take away the
 Christ.    Paul says of the law, "it was a schoolmaster              liberty of the .Jew.        The Jew was free from the law.
 to bring us (drive'us) unto Christ." Gal. 3 :24. Itwas               He did not have to keep  .the law himself, he had the
 to show them salvation in.the only way, that'is  bv                  promise from God; as a child ,of Abraham, that God
 fa.ith . Abraham knew and it `was made.,plain  to him,               would keep the law for him in Christ.          Essentially,the
 Israel wa's,  shown through the law, that the just shall             Old and New Testament enjoyed the same  lib.erty.  Very
 live by faith and not by the works of the law:          "Before      strongly Paul reminds Peter of that  glorious,principle
 faith came, we were kept under  the;law,  shut up unto               that one enjoys as a true Jew. `Galations 2  :19 "For I
 the- faith which should afterwa.rds  be revealed,,' says             through law am dead to .l.aw,  that I might live unto                    .
 Paul in. Galations 3 :23.     That ameans,.  before. the faith       God." And this follows the reminder to Peter, already
 in .the revelation. of the Christ, which was reserved for            given in verse 15 and  16, "We who are Jews by nature,
 the Church. of the New Testament, God kept his people,               and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man.is
 saved them through. the law: Yet  do not mistake. th.is.             `not justified by the.works  of the.law,  .but  bp.the  faith
 They too were saved by faith.        They too wer.e  children        of Jesus Christ. :. : ."      With this ,concept  `of liberty to
 of faithful A,braham  .' Their faith was worked through              the law for all Jews he speaks to the Gentiles that they
 .the law and the .promise  of the Christ to c.ome.  There-           too are free; though not as Gentiles, but as believers,
.fore,  when the Christ has come,  faith:in.Him  who is               as `child,ren  of Abraham, -as spiritual- Jews.`. Galations
revealed is called the `faith which was to come also.                 3 :29: "And if ye be, Christ's, then are ye A'braham'a
 Apparently only the giving of the law seemed to be                   seed, and heirs according to the promise.".`,  The.  Jews

 .against  the giving of the promise of life to Abraham               are the :tist  `ones of the nations who  enjoyed'liberty!
 and his seed.     But if we would ask whether~  that were.           `And God never. took away their liberty.           Even .when'
 .actually  so the .apostle  would tell. us, Galations 3.:21:         he reminded them` of their bondage to sin  by.  giving

 "God forbid.,' :.That  is .his  answer to the question he            them the law, which was a reminder of bondage  to sin-
 put himself, "Is the law then against the  prolmises  .of            ful people, He carefully. introduced them first. of .a11 to

 G o d ? " '  ;                                                       His igreat deliverance from Egypt, ty.pe  of bondage, and
     In this connection we might seriously question how               introduced the giving of the law to the Jew, whom He
 Jehovah could rev@al  His law with the serious in-                   loved,. with the words, "I ,a.m  the' Lord thy God .which
 tention of having Israel know that He desired that                   hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt.".               `. .
 they Beep the law; and at the same time seriously in-                    In the epistle to the Galations, the apostle Paul
 tend them to know that though their sins were  a:5                   must not be interpreted tosay or intend to say that the
 scarlet He Iwould keep His promise to  .them  given to               Jew did .not have liberty in relation to the law whereas
 their fathers.                                                       the Gentile Christian did. He explains on the contrary
     Jehovah showed that he intended that` His law                    that the Jews: were free, but that their freedom was
 should be taken seriously, in the way He' revealed  .it              overshadowed by the New Testament fulfillment in
 to Israel. We oughtto.  remember the description of                  <Christ.  So he begins chapter four with. the word
 the giving of the law as given in the books of Moses  .in            "now', in order to explain that idea, the difference  be-`

 this connection. Nevertheless, the important interpre-               tween  the Old.  and the New.        It is briefly: the differ-
 tation of the Holy Spirit in this epistle is that the law            ,ence  between the heir as a child and  Ia full grown son..
 was ordained through angels, Galations 3:19.  This                       Having shown that both the Jew of the  Old-Test&
 shows. at lea.& that'  God gave to Israelel the :clear  `revela-,    ment and the Christian of the'New Testament enjoy
 tion that only they who live as perfectly as',do'the  an-            the. liberty of God in relation to the law, and that. the
 igels in .heaven  may be His people standing ,before  His            ,difference'i@only  one of degree of enjoyment  and,`ex-
 face. The Israelite answered the (question, "who shall               perience, of shadow  and fullYlment,  let us takeupthe
 ascend into the hill of the Lord?.;or  who shall stand               questions, what is the real -meaning of 1iberky.m  rela-


        tion to law; and, what is the purpose of the decalogue                    God promised that. The time came when He wrote
        for the Christian?                                                        His law not upon tables of stone, but upon ourhearts.
                 Paul's expressions which will make clear our liberty                             In the Old Testament dispensation God spoke of
        as children of. God are found in Galations 2 :i9 "For: I                  lilberty  by-giving the decalogue on stone with the ways
        through the law am de& to the law."; Galations 4:5,                       of sanctification in the ceremonies, exercises for faith.
        f`To redeem them. that were umber the law,"; md verse                     And all the law was object of delight and daily med,ita-
        2%;; "Tell me, ye that desire to be under the laaui".  ; (I               tio.n  for the believer!               In the New Testament we have
        h a v e   i t a l i c i z e d )                                           the perfect 1a.w of God given to us through the only
                 These ,expressio.ns..,are  clear in themselves but the           interpreter and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.                                It is the
        connection is difficult to see unless we interpret that                   "law of Christ,' now as Paul speaks of it.                            It is essen-
        Paul is referring to the children of God as sinners                       tially the same -as the ten commandments. Christ
       under the law.. According to election we are the free                      never discarded. that record, but always built upon
        children, of God.           But here the apostle is, thinking, of.        it. But He gave the real spiritual thrust to it, love
        himself and all the elect.. of God as..they are born in                   God above all and thy neighlbor  as thyself. Galations
        time under the law, sinners before the bar of God's                       5:14.
        righteous law, This is evident from the expression                                        -Perfect  hberty  in relation to law shall be fulfilled,
        ?und.er  the law", and from the development of the                        however, when we are redeemed according to our ,body
        idea of redemption in the. context i To be under the                      also. Now lwe have that perfect liberty only in our
        law is the bondage in which we are all. by nature.                        conscience by faith. And .we and all creation groan
        It is the .bondage  of the elements. These are ,the                       for the redemption of our bodies.                            Then we can discard
        fundamental laws of God according to creation, which                      the decalogue as a written record.                           It shall forevermore
        nowcurse  us all as we are born because we are sinners.                   be a living law in and through our whole existence.
      The ten"  command.ments  are the expressions of these                                       However, in this world we must have the decalogue
        .$ements.        And Paul tells us that God-. sent His Son                and the work of Christ, the law and the gospel. We
        also,  under these elements . He #was born of a woman,                    must not think that we now know perfectly, instinct-
        made under the law.                  He was subject to the curses of      ively, how to live in our body.                         That is flesh, the life
        creation as they were directed aigainst,  all those born                  of the old nature. Therefore Paul comes with that
~ ..+._+  : of women.     `He hungered and thirsted, felt sorrow and              clear warning after `having expounded the subject
:i_.: , ii'* pain. And ali the curse of God against His people ,was               of Christian liberty "for brethren, ye have been called
      `. ,qqcentrated  upon Him as He was under the elements;                     unto liberty ; only use not liberty for .an occasion to
        that he might redeem them that were under them.                           the f.lesh, but by love serve one another."
          Such is the glorious liberty of the sons of God.                                        Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
        We are. delivered from the `curse of the .law,  death.             As     hasmade  us free.                 But trucify the old man of sin; for,
        sinners we died in_ Christ. to the law. and that even                     that cannot:be  reformed into the life of the law  ; it
        according to the law.                "I through law iand dead to law"     must ,be mortified in the light of the guide to good,
        .is the word of Christian liberty.               I as a sinner do. not    works, the law of IGod.
        have to fulfill the law any more.'              I am free from that.                                                                            L. D.
        ~W'hodesires  now to return under the law and work out

        his'own salvation? If you do, listen to the law.                  The

        law demands perfectiqn  and curses everyone who does

        not abide in all.that  is written in the ,book  of the law
        to do-them; and, it also is no respecter  .of persons; for,
        it also cast out the  bonddwoman  who. was under .the
        law, and her son. But we are .children of the free                                                           Iti MEMORIAM

        woman, perfectly.,delivered  from the law, as criminals.                  ,.i
          But  does that mean, that I as a. sinner delivered                                       `$he  Men'?  Society of the Manhattan Protestant Reformed

        from the obligation to fulfill the law .myself,  when                     IChurch  herewith  wishes to extend their sympathy to Mr. and

        .delivered  will. return to a condition without. law, to                  Mrs. J. Oo&na,  in the loss of their child,

        a lawless state again. Not at all. Paul, says, it  is.all                 . .                       2
        "that we might live unto God".                 To live implies right-                                           CAROLINE
                                                                                         . .;`
        eousness `to God's law.                 That we have now also in                                                                  ,
        principle, by the Spirit of Christ which is  ,given  us to                                 May the L&d  comfort them in the'inowledge  that !He doeth

      _ know of .our deliverance and to also walk in the way                      all things well..
           .;..                                                                                             :                .'
        of salvation. Liberty in relation to .lawothen  means,
        free from the obligation to pay myself, `in order to live                                                          The Men's Society

        forevermore, acc,ording  to ]aw,l.wfqtly  ~~xn  the heart.
            I                        ,...                                                                                          ,    H. P. Van Dyken, Sec'y.
                                                                                                                                                 ~


                                      -TH'E:.~STAADA~~~~  BEAR&~                                                                    '!l65
                                                                                                                                       -.
                                          .    ._...  . _


                                                                            tation,  the proclia.matitin  ,of that Word of God,  coti-
                          D&ate                I' . . :                     tain'ed  ?n the S,C?iptures,  by her who is divinely au'thor-
                                                                            ized to do so; the church. It was the will of the Lord
 RESOLVED                                                                   that this Word should be expounded; preached' to  `His
                 : - THAT HEIDELBERG CA;rEtiHISM
     PREACHING IS M'INISTRY'OF  THE WORD                                    people;    To that end He- eLItrusted  it, not to any indi-
                                                                            vidual, or group: of individuals, but to His church;,in

 Affirmative.                                                               order that she might preserire,  study, propagate,  cbpy,
                                                                            tra.nslate,  intetipjret  and proclaim it. Therefdre  He
     Three hundred years ago our Reformed fathers, in                       instituted the offices in the  church, especially that `of
 synodical  session sat Dordrecht, ordained that once each                  the' `-ministry; that the church thrdugh  these bfficc$
 Sunday the sermon material should be based on a                            might preach that Word, at home and abroad.            Where-
 Lord's Day of our Heidelberg  Catechism instead of on                      ,fore  ministry of the Word is the official expositiQri  and
 the Word of God directly. Did they err in so  d,ecreeing?                  administration of the  Scriptures..       Therein the pretichgr
 Was it wisdom on their part, to lead the  chprch of                        brings the Word. to the church as an anibassador  6f
 many ages in this direction? Does the .preaching  of                       Christ with the,authority,  not merely  of Scripture ?t-
 the Catechism provide the church of ,Christ with what                       self, but of Him Who sends the preacher,  namel;Y,
 she aeeds to have light on her way and  to grow in the                      Christ; It is the proclamatio;l  of the Word only, fo?
 igrace.  and knowledge of her Lord and Saviour? Or                          Christ lyill  speak to tlie,hexrts  of His own only  thi%ugh
 does it deprive  her of her ;spiritual  fyd ,$nd  is. thq                  the ScPiptures,  riever  through the ,word of mere mati.
 word of man being.substituted  for the living Word of                       It is the exposition of the  entire Bible.    Ministry of the.
 ' God? Have our Reformed churches, for' three hundred                       Word is not the preaching of certain isolated passages,
 long years, been receiving stones for bread ; heman of a few truths which may appeal to man, but of the
 conclusions for divine wisdom?                                              w.hole  counsel of God as reves.led  to us in the Scrip-
     It is obvious why this question should  bti considered                 tures.     Only thus can the preaching minister to  all+he
 debatable at all.     The Catechism as such is not S&rip-                  spiritual needi  of the church, open  and shut the king-
 ture, divinely inspired and infallible. It is the work                      dom .of heaven for all who hear, feed the elect kernel
 of man. .Man ordered it to be written ; man composed                        in Christ, instrect,  admonish, confirm in the faith -
 i't; man exalted  it to the rank of confession; and `Man                   quicken in the hope, lbuild  up in the grace  and know.-
  decreed that it should be preached each I+or.$.s  D&y.              It    4edge  of Jesus ChriSt  :a.nd' enrich God's ,bhurch  in' `all
 might be reasoned, that in this the Reformed chupches                      that pertains to the way of salvation.
 erred ;a,nd thus the manifestation of the bbdy  of Christ                      yhat is Heidelberg Gate:hism  preaching? It is?hc
 on earth is being robbed of what she needs for her sal-                    `official  proclamation of the Word of God as expr+sed,
 vation : the minbtry  of the Word of God. The negative exposited  in this' Ref or&ed creed by tee .church  h@$elf.
has the burden of proving that this is indeed the case:                          The Catechism is the church's :answer.  of faith t;o the
  The affirmative will attempt to show that this reason-                    `divine injunction: to study, preserve, e%pound,  propa-
  ing is 5a:llacious  and that the preaching of the  Heidel-`                gate and interpret the truth of His Word. It is  on&
  berg Catechism is very really ministry of the  Word;-                      of' bur .Reformed  symbols.      A symbol is a declaratidn
     What & `ministry of the Word?                             /..           `by 6, tihtirch  oi group of churches, wherein she  d&ares
     Ministry of the Worh  is the .offic&l  pro&mation  of                   what she believes to b&the  truth of the Word of God  or
  the full counsel  of God as revealed to us in the Holy                     the l&e doctrine of salvation. Such symbols are the
  Scriptures.    It is that task whereby the atibassador  of                 spiritual children of the faith of .the  living and divi&ly
  Christ testifies of God ;a.nd  !His counsel to the living                  guid,ed  church .in the ,Word of God.      In them the:church  '
,church,  called out of the ,world.  to the saving knowledge                 as a whole expresses her faith.       By means of them the
  of God in Jesus Christ2                                                    church preserves the truth, systematical1.y  arranged
     The Word is'tlie  revelation of the entire will of God                  and eli,cited  from Scripture through year.3 of diligent
 concerning `our salvation in Christ.     In the wider sense                 and difficult labor, for future getieratiocs.  They tare

  it is the expression to His Church of :God's eternal                       authoritative statements by that church,  awhich  has' the
  thoughts concerning Himself. That .Word  Jehovah                           promise of the Spirit that He will guide her into all               .
  spo,ke  from t&e,  beginning in human language; in signs                   the truth.    All'this applies to the Catechism also.  Herice,
  an& wo,rds_  which man could understand.          That  Word               the Ca.techism  itself is' a preaching by the church, the
  the Lord has preseKy.ed  for us in Holy Writ.              God in,         fruit of the church throulgh  her divinely ordained of-

  spired His servants, ridt. only-to_.speak  that Word, but                  fices, and therefore ministry of the Word.  In that
  also.ta.write'it.    Thus we have the Word of God in the                   C%techism  the Reformed churches exp.ress  what t&k
  Scriptures, on&  in the;Scriptures,  which. ifi that., sense               believe to be the' truth'of the Word of God.         Ahd.n&e
are very really God's Word, from cover.to  cover.                            especially, it iS an official statement concerning, .liot  the
      Ministry of the Word is the preaching, the interpre-                   mere doctrine' of Scripture,.  not. some -controversial


issues, but the  enti+e  way of salv@i,op  as revealed .in                 CbFsed,  not ,on a single passage, but on the current
the written Word of God.             Therefore the catechism is            tea.ching  of the *whole  Bible. It tells us, not what a
,so v,ery.  ,much  in place on the pulpit.. It is pra,ctical,              certain p~hrase,  but what all Scripture reveals about a
subjective, thoroughly spiritual in character and .view,                   specifi,c  truth.      I+gides,  so many .diff.erent  doctrines are
ppint.    It is direct `and personal.       Following  the line of         treated, ip the,  Catechis?,  so many phases .of the, truth
misery, redemptioh  a.nd gratitude, it expounds the way                    as it pertains to' our  salvation in Christ.             For this
of, salvation as reyealed  to us in th,e Scriptures, sub-                  reason regular Catechism preaching _ is so exceedingly
stantiating all it says .with  manyrefereeces  to Scripture                edifying to the church of God.           It compels the preacher
itself, in:`order  that it. may be entirely Iclear  $0 the                 to discu&`.e$erji  ih&&e.  of tlie$rilth  regularly.     It brings
church, that ,a:11 it contains is directly and unmistakably                to the $ttetition  of the chiirch  dobtrines  `which ordi-
from.the  Word of God.. : ::l.,. .,                                        %afily  wtitijd.  never or seldbm  be expounded.          Witho&
 . . And What is Catechism prea#ing?                 It is the .intkr-     Catechism preachini  the true doctrine would .gradually
pretation,  exposition'of th,e  Word of God +...expreesed                  disa.p'peal"  out of the conseioustiess  of the church. It is
by .the:  church,  officially, in her. copfession.  : ..It too,,-&         a m&rVelo&  ,guaraptee  `thtit `the chtircti  will. cbntinue
preac&ing.Iby  the church herself, thllpugh  t&e..divine!y                 to be fed tiith  `the -pure afid  i.ir&dultei%ted  doctrine" of
qrdlained  offices, and hence in the  .name  of and with                   salliratiiin;:  Zs long': as anjr gbod at all is left. in thk
@h@t,y of Chrjst  Himself.              It is. the :prplcl,a.mation  of    preaching.      HEWS' ifiiralutibl&  Cat&@ism  preaching iS
Christ  Himself as He is the center. of a-11 `revelation.                  can be ,astiertained  `frbm  .rn&z  :obs&vatiori.       Whit be-
l+cause .of its varied and deeply spiritual,: practic&                     -&ties bf churched: that discard .it ?        Examine ,churches
sulbjective  contents, it certainly:ministers  tg..thhe,  Ineeds           $h%' -l&&e  deparsed  froth the-"pure  truth," note" the
9$ the church, opens and shuts the kipgdom  of heavein,                    ?pP'i;aching:iri  such chtirches,  arid do `ybu not find that ilp
?eeds the elect kernel with Christ, instructs  ,a.nd  $uildp               As f1h.Y;  as' it.is  based on the  Cai;eehism  the preachin.g  is
up in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  AC-                        still comparatively somid,. much. more sb, than the
.knowled&ng  that no syn@ol  3s such is -comparable to                     exposition'of  free texts?' .N.ot  on1.y is Catechism preach-
Scripture it always makes the Scriptures themselves                        ing ministry of the Word, but it p~%s&es  the latter for
-iis- criterion,. `basis, sougse.     Catechism preaching is a             the:-church. It can be .-abused,  certainly, when it 4s
prea.ching  that lets Scripture speak, that doFF,.,not  exe-               exegeted.  like Scripture and exalted ito a plla.ce  on a par
g&e a Lord's  Day  as one WOK@  a tezt  from: the Bible,                   with .the  Wor'd  of. God. However, this ,cannot serve
b$ always aims to point out the  rejation  between.$he                     :as an .argument  .agaitist  its use.         Comment&ries  can'
two. Therefore texts are  sotight a& quoted by `.the                       be .abused;  :~Eve?$  good thing can be iabused.            What
preacher that incontrovertibly :su&+tiate  the ,con-                       suffers mdre abuse  than Scripture itself? Cold  dolg-
tents of a iiven  Lord's Day, and these texts' in.partia:v-                matics  arid confesSions,  the word of man, can  atilso
lar and a!1 of Scripture in !general  ar~:tiade~l~.dominate                <dominate the exegesis `when a passage directly from
the entire preaching.                s .- ' `:.",                          Scripturk  is .presched.  The !Heidelberg  Catechism is
      Thus preaching of the Heidelberg Catechism, is                       in a unjque serise  the preaching of the church of many
u&eliiably  ministry of the Word. Scripture alone                          ages and .that  mesns  more to me than ,whai a single
.Temains the Ibasis iand contents. of. the pEeaching.            But,      preacher may'have to sa.y about a single text. Our
yo? s?y; whatever is of man may be in error  and a                         Catechism is a confession that has stood- the test and
corrtiptioqr  distortion of the Word of God,  :Man is                      withstood,: the  onslaughts  of mgqre  than three lo:lg
,never  inf+ble.  True enough. However, it is .fac  less                   centuries.      . .
likely that the church of ,Christ should err in her ex-                        If $e'.preaching,  of `the Catechism is not ministry
posi'tion of Scripture than that a single preacher shbuld                  of the, Ford, neither is the sermon of any minister.
:do so .<n his exegesis and interpretation of the Word of                  .W&Q.,++:  sermon is preached, is the church receiving
God, and every sermon, too, is after all the product                       the Word of God directly? 0.f course not! What she
.of ,mere  man.      Besides, we. are speaking about ,.the                 ,is getting is the exegesis, the ,exposition,  the interpre-
~Heidelberg  Catechism. and all who. iare Reformed .are                    tation of the preacher himself; whether these ,be his
firmly convinced, that it expr&ses  the ,truth'of  the                     own, or those of one commentator or another. From
Scriptures  throughout.        To $e q_urep the negative, $0               this -point of' view `a sermon, too, is the work of man.
prove his :point,  that Heidelberg .@$e~hism  preaching                    Yet, in as, -far  .as that work -and word  is indeed ac-
is not ministry of the  Worcd,  hla.s  the,+nhappy  task of                cording td the Seriptures, it is the ministry of the
.showing  that the contents of this symbol are not  ,based                 Word of God; and Christ, through .His church, through
,squarely  and entirely on the Word  c$.:God.  Unless .he                  the preacher, preaches and blesses His Word to! the
.cau proye.  th.e,  latter  he connot possibly disprove the                heart. This applies with equal force. to the preaching
,.forn&r_ .,                         . - . . ,.                            of the Catechism. :                                         ./
                                                                                                                  `_
 :    Catechism preaching is ministry of the ,ent,ire  Word.                   If..the  ,preaching  of the Catechism is not ministry
`It is this in the sense that  every truth di,$~ssed  ,$3                  of- the Word, neither is" Catechetical instruction, We


                                         T H E  STANpA,RD.'  B,EAREI$                                                             167
                                                                                                                             a

believe that the Itatter  is .mini&y  of the Word to the            "    It will be evident that so taken these two cannet  be
seed of the covenant. How.ever,  it isn't if the stand-            $aken  as equivalent,, that Heidelberg Cate,ehism  canrmt
point of the negative is to [be maintained, for catecheti-         be preaching of the Word, of God.            Let ,me first .of, all
cal work is carried on by means, of catechism books,               sta.te  sotie  very t$rong  presumptions against sucl~ an
bwhich,  tod, are the work of mere man.        Yet we know         equivalence.
that it is ministry. of the Word and that .Christ will                   In the first pl$ce  the Heidelberg datechism  is' pxin-
bless it to our covenant children.. Likewise will He               cipally the work pf one man.           Let us not lose sigh*  of
bless the f,a.ithful  preaching of our Heidelberg Cate-            this.     A careful ieadlng  of the history leaves no,doubt

chism, that !blesse_d  ministry of the ,divine Word for            that regardless ,of the persons, the facrdty,.:the  disl&t
which our Reformed churches should ,be- so deeply                  superintendenl+  and councilors that ,a.re mentioned. as

grateful.                           5                              advisors the york igrew f&m the heart and mind. pf
                                                   R. V.           one man-UTsinus.             Even the possible retort,  that  ..it

                                                                   was approved by the annual Synod of 1863, in the  .f,ace
                                                                   of much c$ticisni bears no weight when  we reflect
                                    :                              that much ;bf th{ criticism ,was politically motivate&
Negative. ~                                ,, ,                    other was directed against  the doctrine of the  Lordls

    It will be understood th.a.t in undertaking. the.nega-         Supper ,alld against some of thi: marginal proof-texts.
tive arguments in this .debate  it is only with great re-          The criticism dicl  not result, in any revision or recastiqg
luctance that I ,contrilbut`e  my side.    The work that we        of note. It remains  the work of-Ursinus.                       . . . . .
shall discuss has so :endeared  itself to the  hearts of                 Evep the very acclaiin  with which it was received
thou@ands  upon thousapds  of God's.people  ; the throb of         on the gre.at,  Synod of Dordt  strongly .detracts  from
life resounding in it is so correspondent to  the life that        the probability of a careful study of the work as. a                         1 .
throbs in the life of the Christia.n  ; the true church of         whole on that occasion, and the few points that  we@
God, in what .we hold .to be its purest historical mani-           specifica!ly  named for consideration  were rather sup-
festation has, so consistently used it and so strongly             preSsed  than discussed. `How this would, come about
defended it against the inpugnments of the enemies ;               may easily be understood by comparing it .with  .thes
and we' as' Protestant Reformed Christians find,  this             m&hod  so often observed and complained' of today
treasure of the ,a$e of our fathers so valuable that one           in the larger,church  bodies.        A committee is appointed
hesitates to give even the impression that we as Chris-            to give advice regarding doctrine or condu%t.  .O.ne
tians are not united'in  its use and on its value.                 member of the committee takes the initiative a.nd  com-
   Yet I tbelieve  the resolution, as stated-above must in         poses a.document,  the other mernhers  listen to the ?etid.-
some measure, be consciously ,considered  by- us all in            ing of the document and `%ee +?o  reason for. dissent" ;
order to mzintain  the only safeguard against dead                 thereupon the broader ecclesiastical body hears it read,
orthodoxy and blind adulation.and  worship of confes-              and for wa.nt  of.%ime,  enthusiasm or courage easily
sions.                                                             gives -a half-hearted approval, perhps with mental
   And these considerations .which I shall bring for-              reservations, perhaps with few feebly stated,olbjectipns.
ward may well Ibe taken as igrotind  to question whether           And `even when the approval is loud it is. with a ven-
preaching of the Heidelberg Catechism is truly Minis-              geance, not having in mi:lld  the work a5:`a whole. but
try of the !Vord.  *,                                              a certain  favorite  p.ortion  or eve;1  a favored person or
  Fbr what is ministry of the`  Word of ,God? We                   s&l1 group.        The loud acclaim (Lautesten Beifall)
ms.y define it as the proclatiation:  bf`the Gospel of             there accorded our Catechism stands strongly  in. that
                                                            our
salvation, as the Bible. sets it forth in all its various          light.                                                          1: %',
phases and in its one mighty emphasis, fdr the de-                       .I&msider:  that hereby the on"e-man.  authorship. of
liverance of God's people progressively from -the do-              the work remains  sustained. And on this charactep-
minion of Satan aad this present evil world.and  its               istic rests that first damaging ,presumption  that what
resulta.nt  physical ,desolation,  and the hardening and           one man with his personal bias,' his own peculiar
condemnation of the wicked, unto the glory of the                  spiritual experiences and his own peculiar ,bent of
Triune ,Covenant  God.     And this implies the proclama-          mind, has prbduced  cannot be a balanced .and,full  repro-
tion in such a way that this full revelation, this "whole          ,du,etion  of the Gospel.
counsel of God" is brought to bear upoil  our personal                   A secpnd  strong presumption again&  accepting it;.as
lives and times.                                                   an authoritative text for the proclamation of the  IGospel
    Secondly, what is preaching of the Heidelberg Cate-            is that it was written at la. time when the doctrine of.th;?.

chism? To be honest we will have to define this as                 Reformation was only in the ibeginning  of thorough con-

the exposition of the words of a given Lord's oay with-            sicQr+ion  and -formulation.           How can : we mai&+
out anticipation or retrospection, and that as words of            thg  C&echism  a.s a perfect reflection of the mind  of tee
unqualified and &-&allible  authority,                             church. when `we see the.  few short years in  w.hich it


          r&&ed~~hamely,  1517 (a te@niri&  .by +hich we- give tKe              develb&-th,$$hictishould have beei treated previous-
          &l%$?&iv~  an gratuitoq!ly  overfl?$tig  measuqe,  of                 ly under. "he- &ff&ed."  and "Why. `. . icrucified"  in
     .cou$e)  to 1563, `as compaped  with the 375 ykars of ,doc-                Q:      3       7    ,         3    9    .
     `&r&l  development, since its composition.                   `,.             . Of a somewhtit  different nature is the defect  that
              But there is a third damaging presumption;  `s~@vz-               we tia$ call a lack of due proportion.                              To ,demonstr&
          .what  related to the immediately' preceding.        I, mean the      this we inay  signalize on the one hand the  extensisi6,
          fact that  also from  the viewpoint of its, practical  ;appli-        cumbeYsomd,  repititious diScussion  of tile s2cramen?:s,
          cation `it w&s  writ&n  with a view to 16th cer&ury  Ia6              and compare it with' the lack of any systematic  treat-
          coliditio& and' problems . And do' nFt retort that this `ment-  of the doctrine of .election,  .which has been well
          is $rde'6s  ,%ell of the Scpiptures.    For though  th&Scrip-         ealle'd the Heart  of the Church.                               This means that the
          tu+%::.lti&ar  the` cha,racteristics  ,`of  their times,  yet they    gospel on these two specific points will simply receive
          ris$`fal;~&b$e  theni  ail iby the principle&  they set fofth         a distorted. presentation as to their relation and rela-
     `so eff&%vely  precisely in, against  and thrd'ugh  :th&e                  tive values.              It is not evident t,hat'the  maa who wrote
'    .`$&ely"tihoben  backgrounds. That which ii1 Script&e                      our Catechism was nit &bl&  to lift his gaze above his
     .i~' franied tbby the selective operatiori  e\er&l,  divin?                own t&e  and that what he conceived to ,be of @most
     %isdom for its most effective prese.&ition'  is in: tli'e                  superlative importance is in the light of further Scrip-
          ,Catechism.framed  `by one-man's  mind which was neces-               tdY;e  stud$&&a  more object?ve  and'dispassionate  study
     :&tirily  Kited  -in iti perdceptions  `finite.  p6rspectives  $nd         clarified.  s&d+educed  to its proper- proportion.                           And `dti
          t e m p o r a l  ho?izons.                 `. ' I               :     the other h&nd.it'is  equally evident that the  !`Heart  of
              So much for these very annoying presumptions                      the Chutich!`--was  pradti&Xy  neglected  whether through
          against the unqalified trustworthiness of the, ;Cate-                 `perso&l',lack  of .evaluatibn,  or through polititial,.  and
          chism.                                         /_ `,                  eccle&asti~cal  coiisiderations.                                            .`.
     '        And I ba,sten  to adduce a class of &gumeats  that                       The fin&l result is an untrue picture o$ the whoi&,
          are still more damaging to such  a trtistworthin&s:  I                `az$ospel  that is not above the ,weakness  and Kmitations
          mean the demonstrable weaknesse.5  and errors .as such                .of the.,creattirti'but  that is limited by the mind and the
          in. the work, weaknesses that always necessitate a p&s&               p&pectives and horizons of limited man;                                     ~.
     .ing  apology,. &rcumvention  ,or rectification.                    .`.     :.' 1 These many atiguments  will, I trust, elicit from all
              We may!  b&gin immediaCely  `with. ihe .,w@akn&  of               -those -`competent to judge, the verdict i9-kt notwith-
          Lord's Day. I.     It is well ,kKowri  that,  the. viewpoint of       standing the -unsurpassed  beauty, the alrh'ost  propheti?
          this.sectim  .is Anthropocehtric  @&n-centered) in&earl               spirit, power and, c&cernment  that mark our' Cate-
          of Theocentric.      Th%+  ca.nnot  be neutralized by ,,glean-        chism, yet - ,Heidelberg  `Catechism preaching is not;
          ing and adducing expressions from other parts of the                  prea.ching  of the Word of God.
          work or fnom the author's! Commentary.               For Lord's                . .                                                              A .  E.
                                                                                                                                           _
          Day I is meant to stand as an epitome or summary  of
          the Christian's only comfort, and  -i,S to ch&acterize  the

          spirit of the whole.      It is very weighty ,by position2  it
          is normhtive  Iby design, and when honestly used, will

          necessarily` have to give a tone and.  view,point  in' har-
          mony with the purported theocentricity of the material                                          NOlTICE  1 SU&CRIBERS_
          pfoper.
              A similar defect is found in Qu. 41: Why,  was He                     To make possible the .binding of Standard Bearer.3
          also buried? A. Thereby to prove that He was really                   for the Minister:s, will those .+illing  to donate copies of
          dead. In the light of .the Scriptures we know that                    October' 1, October ,15 and Nolvember  1 of 1943, plesee
          the actuality of the ,death  tias establisheaby  #quite other         send or cc&act,
          proofs and that the  idea of burial carried. quit6 another                                                               Mr. Ralph Schaafsma
          thought ia.nd symbolism.. Even the most eh&ritable                                                                       1101 Hazen  St. S. E.
          commentators consider tliis a very pcidr'and  so@what                                                                    Grand Rapids, ,Miehigan.
          naive instruction..

              I must Blso point to the fauifiness  of Q..  44: `:Hc
          .descended  into hell.    The desce&  into Hades, ,tlie  albode                                                                                                . .
     : of the dead, as Scripture teaches$  Tivas  by the APO&O-
     Sicum ,coticeived  !&s a descent into the abode of the                                                         CL,AsSiS  EAST                                 ,
          lost (ad inferna;  ad inferosj `a(tid the" Cat&chi,&ti-  &n-
     `tifiues  and  ad& to the  confusion `6~ &ainin@th&  i$dZr                 Will meet in .regular'  ses&on  Wednesday; January lo,.:
          df" the Aiostolicum,  thy saying,  Wh$"is'  tlitie `.idded            `&.9:00 P. M., at Fuller  A+!., Prot. R,ef.  Church.
          `(,W&rom  volgt er?) Hd:  descended, ' etc., @d then                                                                _            D. Jonker,  S. C.


