     VQLUME  XXI                                           FEBRUARY 1, 1945                                            NUMBER 9


                                          .' .'                           . . . . How `lol?g  shz-11  the adversary reproach? shall
     --                                                                   the en&my blaspheme thy name for ever? 
M            E        D                                                                                                     . . . .`. Arise,
                           I T A T I O N 0 God, plea'd thine own cause." Ps. `74 :l, IO, 22. "How
                                                                          long, 0 ILord?  ,wilt'  +hou  be angry for ever? shall thy
                                                                          jealousy btlrn  like fire. . . . Help us, 0 `God of our
                                                                          salvation, for the glory of thy name." Ps. `79  :5, 9.
                  ~Holy Impdtience `.                                     `(How  long, Lord? wilt thou hide thyself for  eveP?
                                                                          shall thy wrath burn like fire? Remember how short
                How many are the days :of thy servant?                    tiy t&e  is.: wherefore hast .thou  ma.de  all men in vain?
              when wilt thou eZecute  judgm,ent  on them                  . . . . Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses,,
              that persecute  me!                                         which thou swarest unto David in thy  trukh?  Re- ,
                                             Ps.                          member, Lord, the.  reproach of thy servants. 
                                                        119:8.4.                                                                        . . .
                                                                          wherewith thine enemies have reproached, 0 Lord  ;
       H,ow  lo&&  0 Lord?                                                -wherev\rith  they have  reproached the footsteps of thine

       This question aDpears  to be the basic no& of this                 anointed." Ps. 89 :46-51.
particular section of P&m  ,dne  hundred nineteen.                            H,ow  long, 0 Lord? . . . .
       Strong expresaiohs  of grief and sorrow, of anguish                    We are waiting, hoping, longing !       "As, the e'yes
of soul and body, but .a.lso of hbpe  and yearning  for the               of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and
salvation of the Lord,  characterize the entire passage.                  as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her &stress;  .
       The ,Ptialmist':s  ,spul fainteih  for the salvation of            so ,our -eyes wait upon the Lord  our God, until that he
Zehooah,  his eyes fail for the Word of ,God  as he                       have mercy upon  us. Have mercy upon us, 0 Lord,
anxiously asks the question: when wilt thou comfort                       have  mercy upon us : for :we are exceedingly filled
me?      1He  is become like a bottle in the .smoke,  parched             with contempt.    Our sdul is exceedingly filled with the
and `dry,  wrinkled a&l miserable, a thing- of  r~eproach                 scorning of those that are at  ea.se and. with the con-
and contempt.       The enemies have digged pits for him,                 tempt of the  proud.`" Ps. 123 :2-4.
persecuted him wrongfully, la.nd he is almost constimed                       How long, 0 Lord? . . . .
by their furious anger. .,. And he prays for God's                            "How long, O-Lord, holy and true, dost thou not
quickening grace, that he may continue in,.the way of                     judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the
Jehovah's' testimonies.       And so, the suffering and                   eairth?"  Rev. 6:lO.
longing of his soul are centrally expr.esesd  %n these                        It is but  one way in which the Spirit and the Bride
questions of impatience : "How many are the da.ys of express their intense loluging  for the coming of the
th% servant? when wilt thou execute judgment on them                      Bridegroom 
that persecute me?"                                                                    :
                                                                              Come, :Lord  Jesus!
       How l'ong,  0 Lord?           '             r                ST
      .It is the question that `is pressed re$eatedly  from

the hear&  of the  people of Gdd in this:@orld,  as -they
are "killed all the ,day long," and, look for the final                       Holy impatience !
realization of ,.Jehovah's  promise.                                        ..~How many are the .day,s  qf ,thy servant?

'     Persecuted by the enemy, apparently `delivered ovei                    : It is a' question of longing, not of vain curiosity.
to destruction .by the anger  of JehoSah,`the  Church                     Other answer than that the extent of'the days of  our
cries out: "0 :God,  why ha&  fhho!l cast us -off for ever?               years are three score years and ten,  ,or at the most


  194                                              T    H     E           STANDARD.`BEARER-
                                                                          _.                                                                   _.

  fourscore years, the poet expects not.                                                  It !appears  sometimes as if- the Land were sli$k

    , Nor is the question a complaint that the days of our                            concerning His promise.
  life are all too brief, and that we fly away too fast.                                  Day after day passes, and there is ,110 .deliverance.:  '
 This is our attitude in as Ea.r as ,we are earthy, and                                   The enemy scorns and derideg,  and mockingly a%&
  live close to the things that are earthy.                  0, we do not             the soul-piercing -question  : "Where is now thy ~God'?"'
  want  to be "unclothed.?'          And the!onging  to be%lothecl                        "Where is the promise of His coming?
  upon" with our heav@nly  house is not aiways  strong.                                   Come, then, 0 Lord !- Show me Thy salvation !
  Perhaps, `we  %;3rosper  to an extent, and our soul cleaves                         Execute judgr+ent  ,upon them that persecute me !
  to the dust, to things ;that are of this w&Id.                        We are            How many laze my days?          These *days  in the body
  rather satisfied with the present, and we seek"not  the                             of this death? These days of sin and imperfection, of
  kingdom of IGod.        Our treasure is upon the earth, and                         knowing in part, of looking in a glass darkly,, of things
  where our treasure is, there is our heart also.                       And we        that are seen, of the triumph of the enemy, of  battle
  reluctar& thinh of. the `end, and anxiously `notice how                             and suffering; of reproach and shame. . ., .
  fast the time flits by. . . .                                                           Come quickly, 0 .God  of my salvation!
      Hoti  many are my- d&ys  ?            0, h6w fe% ! . . . .                          Holy impatience !
         But this is not the attitude of the pdet, nor the,
  intent of his `qtiestion.  ,The entire context proves the

  #contrary,  as also the,last  part of thi;s` same  vel"se: when
                         . . .
  wilt tl!Ou execute Judgment? . . . .                                                    Mighty imp'atience  of the saints !
         The' question  express&s  a holy imp,btience,  a longing                         Mighty, for, paradoxical though it may seem, it `3
  for the ,end of Iii's dti,ys  !                                                     this  holy'impatience that ma&es them truly patient!
      Do not misintercret  this irifense  a`nd eager 16nging.                            Impatient with a .vielw  to the glory that shall be
      It is not the longing-oY  the,suicide  that is expr$sed                         revealed ,iri them, and with respect to the final justifica-
  here.     The poet is not SI!J overcome with the so&ws of                           tion for `which  they long and wait in hope, they are
,' this present time, he is- ndt sg` oppressed with the bur-                          truly patient in regard to the sufferings  -OF  this present
  ,dens  of his' presetit  existence, that he ,prefers  death to                      time.-
  life.     He is not morbidly yearning-  fey the end as                                  Impatient in their longing for the hope they see not,
  such, thqt  is, for death.         No ,Christitin-  ddes.             The dis-      they do with patience wait for it!
  solution of the earthly house of this tabernacle is never
  in itself lan end .to be desired;              Death is and remains                     For,  mark you ,well,  the poet's anxious query is not
  the last enemy. The believer does not want to be  un-                               motivated by the dissatisfaction of ,unbelief.
 .clothed  but clothed upon.                                                              0, unbelief is also'.imea.tient,  but it is impatient
                                        . . .
      But the poet!s  longing is a yearning  and hoping for                           only with respect to the sufferings of this present time.
 .the  final realization of the promise of GoS,  for the per-                         It is- not satisfied with God's way. It murmurs and
  fection of salvation, for the glory of the inheritance in-                          grumbles because, of ,God's dealings with men. It is
  corruptible, and undefilable, la.nd  that fadeth not away,                          rebellious.     It is mutinous.    It refuses to fight thr?
  for freedom from sin and death and the suffering of                                 battles of Jehovah.      It has *no strength to continue In
  this present time, for the glory of God's eternal taber-                            the ivay  of God.     It is faint and weak and miserable,
  aacle,  for the final, public, and perfect adoption unto                            and bitterly complains that the way of the Lord is not
  children, which shall be realized through the redemp-                               equal.
  tion of the body.        For this salvation his soul. faints,                          Casnal  Israel- in the desert revealed this attitude of
  his eyes fail in longing. And; as the last part of this                             unbelieving impatience repeatedly. They never em-
  verse shows plainly, he longs ,for this day of salvation,                           braced ,God',s  promise'.     Always their heart was in
  and; from tliis viewpoint, for the end  df his IpreSent                             Egypt.    0; it is true, the oppression in Egypt had been
  days, especially because it will be the  iday of his perfect                        intolerable, .and freedom from that  oppres&on  had ap-
 and public justificatitin.          He is being persecuted, killed                   pealed to them also.         Besides, even -to their carnal
 all the day long.       As an evil-doer he is filled *with con-                      imagination 4 land flowing with milk and honey. had
  tempt and reproach. He must be jtistified.  And the                                 its appeal.     But they `cared not for'the service of Je-
  day of the final revelation of the righteous j,ad:gment                             hovah.    The glory of His name was of no co&ern to
  of God he expects with-a gre&  longing.                                             them.     Their confidence *was not in the Lord the  ,God
      How many are the ,days  ,of $hy servlant  ?                  !                  of Jacob.      And when the way of th? land  df promise
      ,How long, ,O Lord?                                                             was long an'd. difficult, led through the terrible wilder-
      When ,wilt  thou come to deliv`er me, and to avenge                             ness, they soo,n  manifested their unbelief. In retro-
 my blood; and $e blood of all the saints, Thy servants,                              spect, th6 l%nd of Egypt, with its fleshpots, its on.ions
 that has `been shed upon the earth?                                                  and garlic& after all appealed to them.  iThey became
      The days seem long.                                                             impatient, they murmufed  against Jehovah, they grew
                                                                                -.




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                                           T H E S..T:A  N D A I$ IQ BIE:A R E B                                                                                     195


  faint in the way, and they could not enter in. because of                 enemies attack, persecute, fill' him with reproach and
  their unbelief. . . .                                                     shame.        In the :position  appointed him;.by  his God, he
       They webe  impatient. . . .but for Egypt !                           suffe,rs,,,.  Be do<es not flee for fear,of  the enem&                            They
       Their impatience made them look back with longing                    almost consumed him, :but  he did not forsake"the  pre-
  to :the  land. whence they had been .delivered  with. 2                   cepts of his ,God.  And remaining steadfast at his post,
  mighty hand !                                                             he still prays : "Quicken me after thy loving kindness;
       0, and even the carnal nature of the. children of                    so shall I keep the testimonies  ofthy  mouth." vs. 88.
  God cz.n sometimes so a,.ssert  itsel,f  that they become a                       But while he is thus patient, he is impatient.
  prey to this same rebellious impatience.                                          Patient in trib.ulation,  strong-to. endure,: he longs
       Asaph, before he went into sanctuary, and con-                       wilha mighty.longing  for the !za.lvation  of `cl& Lord 
  sidered  "their end", uttered such a complaint of carnal                                                                                                           !
                                                                                    His soul faints for it! 
  impa'c5ence  $with  the way of the Lord.       Did he not see                                                           . . .
                                                                       "                             -. <,
  how the righteous suffered, how -his own chastisement                             rHow  long are`the days of thy&rvant, 0 Lord>?                              I
  a,waited  him every morning; and how  .the  wicked pros:                          ,Come,  yea, come quickly ! '                  i               !
  pered,  had more than heart could. wish, and how.they                      ii..{..,  `, .' *' ' " :                      `:`i ,: ". `:-: "
  proudly boasted in their prosperity? 0, his feet well                                                              ~ I.                               .:
                                                                                                                                        .a:     I .:
  nigh slipped, and it was in his heart for a moment to                                                                                                       . . :.
                                                                                               `.
                                                                               .Hioly  impatience                          >
  complain that there is no knowledge in the Most                                                                         . I '                . ::
                                                                                                              !
  !High! . . . .                                                               : For  even this?mighty  longing for.  th,e.,&yelatio$  of
       Unholy impatience !'                                                 the,final  gloryofthe  children~of&od'is  concen.tra,tediin,
       It is characterized, not at all by a longing for th.p.               and consecrated to the glory of ~ Jel&vah%name  !.
  revelation of the ,glory  that shall be revealed in us,                           '&is  was  true.
                                                                L_                                       of .the impati&ce:of  the psalmist. '
  by,dissatisfaction  with our present `way, the way of the                         And it is true', of all then cri&`~of.~  longing .o~I?'ih~
  Lord.     It is motivated, not by the longing for the things              servants of Jehovah, of the saints in Christ; throughout

  that are heavemy,  but by the lust for the things that                    the ages.

  are earthly.      It is not a patient enduring. unto the end, _.             They  long  for the theodicy, for the revelation .of

 :but  an impatient refusal to bear the cross.          It-has no           the righteous judgment of God, they cry to Him day
strength to rejoice even in tribulations, ,but  is so weak                  and night, in order -that their God and- His `causei the
  that it complains and murmurs at the. slightest sign of                   cause of the Son of ,God,  the cause- of His ccmn&,
  suffering for Christ's. sake.     It idoes not fight the. battle,         which by His grace is their caus,e,  may be, justified!
  but,lays  down'the arms. . . .                                                    When wilt thou execute judgment upon them that
       It can never enter into the kingdom of God  !             persecute me?                                                                                   .`.j
       How different is the impatience of the  pisalmist!                           ,Bow  long dost thou not avenge our blood on them
      His is the impatience of true patience !                              that dwell o,n the earth?
       It is an impatience that lends strength of .endurance                        The cause of the Son of  `God  they represent in the
  to his patience!                                                          world. By grace they-are righteous. Out of darkness
       Is he not even now conscious of his being the                        they have been called into God's marvelous light,  an1
  serv:unt  of the Lord? And, to be sure, this. means that                  as children ,of light they walk.              TO the glory-of,  CM's
  he is "saved," `that he is regenerated, called, justified.                grace in the Beloved they are set in the world. .There-
  and partakes of alli the .blessings of salvation.        But it fore the world hates them, as they. have hated God's
  also means much more.         To be servand  of the L0r.d. im-            ,Christ.  And they are persecuted. And they must  suf-
  plies that one's whole life in this world is an  appoint-                 fer.      And the cause.of  the Son$f `God is ,evil  spoken,of.
ment  by the Most High which one must fulfill, a sacred                     It is condemned by the mighty of this world. It ap-
 . charge whi,ch. one must accomplish, a holy obligation                    parently. suffers defeat.. They that represent that cause
  which one dare not s&k.  It means that by the grace                       are killed .a11 the day long. . . . z
  of ,God His precepts are our delight, and we have a                               And so, the righteousness of `God does not appear !
  strong desire ta walB,  not only accor.ding  to some, but                         The wicked proqer; the righteous suffer.                     And God
 according to all His commandments.            1.t means that we            is longsuffering.           His very name and glory are at stake.
 are of the party of the living  .God,  a.ad  are set in. `this             Yet, He appears to be slack concerning His promise !
 world to the glory of Bis grace in the beloved.`.  `L.                       How long, 0 Lord?                      For thy name's slake, hov
      How many are the days of  thy sgrvamt?  . . ,._                       long? . . . .
      The psalmist is conscious of his being the servant.                           Execute judgment upon them that .perescute..  Thy
,of the Lord.        He ,calls himself thus with a free con-                saints, and let the glory of Thy holy name appear!
 science !                                                                          IAnd `Thy righteousness shine as the noonday sun I
      It means that he h1a.s  not ,f&saken  his #post.  He                          For ever and ever!
 stands where the Lord his God `hais  stationed him.          The                                      / ., -. _
                                                                                                              ._,                               H. %H.


     `196                                                           ."---.                                    -~rjTHE   S T A N D A R D  B.EAR=R




                     -.
     .                                                                                                                                                                                                                    EDITORI&S  _ .
           .                 Semi-Monthly; except  Monthly in July and  Aug&

                                                                           P u b l i s h e d   b y
     _                       .
     . . . \                           The Reformed Free Publishing Association
     1_ d..
                                                             946 Sigsbee Stree, S. E.                                                                                                                                        The Evangelical
                                                     EDITOR --.Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                         and
     y Contributing editors-Revs. J.  Hlankespoor,  A.. Cammqga,
                P; De Boer, J. D. de. Jong, H. De Wolf, L.  Doe&ma,                                                                                                                                                     The Reformed Church
                M. Gritbers,  C. Hanko, B. Kok, G. Lubbers, G. M.  bphoff,

                A. PetteF,  M. Schipper, J. Vanden.  Breggen, H. Veldman,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Before I proceed with the discussion of the "mer-
                R: Veldman, L. Vermeer, .P. Vis, G. Vos,  Wt Hofman,
                J. Heys,  Mr. S. Dti  Vties.                                                                                                                                                                 ger," ,let  me' state here that through the kindness of
                                                                                                                                                         :`.
                                                                                                                                                                                                             one of the brethren of the "Reformed Church in the
                Communications relative `to contknts  should' be addressed
                                                                                                                                                                                                             United States," a brother that took an important part
          to REV. H. HOEKSEMq,  1139 Fkanklin  St., S. E., Grand
                Rapids, Michigan:                                                                                                                                                                            in ~opposing the merger,  I received a good  deal of lit-
                ,Comrnunicatiolis  re!+ive to subscription should be. ad-                                                                                                                                    :erature  that gave me new information about the history
:1 dressed to MR:  GEFRIT  PIPE, ,946, Sigsbe'e  Street. S. E.,                                                                                                                                              the brethren, especially of the "Synod of the North-
 "`. Grand Rapids, Michl  All .Announcements  and Obituaries                                                                                                                                                 west,`? made ai2.d the struggle they went through.
                must be sent `to `thk  ibove address and will not be placed                                                                                                                                      I discovered,,too,  that several &sses expresse,d  their
                unless the, regular.fee  of $1.00 accompanies the  nptice.
                                                                                                                                                                                                             disa.pproval  of the- Plan -of Union, and of the merger
                                                          Subscription $2.60 per year                                                                                                                        (among ,which  classis  Eureka), while othem  gave their
 ' Entered' as second class mail at Grand Rapids, Michigan                                                                                                                                                   consent on condition that they could retain the Heidel-
                                                                                                                                                                                                             berg Catech,ism  a.s their Confession.

                                                                                                                                                                                                              - However, I still failed to find a formal protest
                                                                               CONTENTS                                                                                                                      against the  action of the. IGeneral  Synod of 1932, by

                                                                                                                                                                                                             which they adopted the Plan' of Union.
          MEDITATION-
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Secon,dly,  I noticed (this.from the articles jn The
                     HOLY IMPATIENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193                                       Witness .which  I reprinted in the previous issue of our

                           . Rev. H. Hoeks.eFa                                                                                                                                                               paper) that chssis Eureka recently incorporated as the
                                                                                                                                                                                                             Reformed ,Church  in the United States.          I understand
       BDITORIALS   : -                                                            1                                                                                                                         that this means that the classis  is a legal body bef,ore
 f.
                     VHti  EVANGELICAL & REFO,&MED                                                                                   CHURCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  196                                 the law. I even found a notice from classis Eureka
                     WE HEARTILY AGREE . . . . . . . . . . . . I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193                                                      to the Syno.d  of the Northwest  (Acts and Proceedings,
L                    EXPOSITION OF .THE  `tiEJDELPERG  CATECHISM . . . .  ..19Y                                                                                                                              1938) `stating. that the classis  already at that time'
                            Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                 claimed to have a legal right .before  law to all the
                                                                                                                                                                                                             property of the Reformed Church in the United States.
                THE' CATACOMBS . ..*................ i... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1..20%                                                          For us this is something new and strange, i.e. it is
`_ i                 SAMSON'S SEEKING OCCASION . . ..t  . . . . . . . . . ...' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  ?03                                                                              foreign to our conception of Reformed Church polity
                             R e v .   G .   M .  Ophoff                                                                                                                                                     that a classis  or Synod can incorporate as a legal body.
                     A`LS EEN WATERSTtiOOM                                                                                                                                                                   I ,arn sure that the brethren would do us a favor if they
                                                                                                                                                                                                  `( 20.5
                                                                                                 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1..     . .
                                                                                                                                                                                                             would throw some light upon this matter.         I also wou1.d
                                  Rev. G. Vos
          ,. . .                                                                                                                                                                                             like to .know  ,whether  the action of classis  Eureka was 1
                     T;HE  PRINCIPLE OF CHR: SC~HOOL%IS.CI~PLINE  . . . . . ...208                                                                                                                           a purely local affair, and whether it precludes further
                           R e v .   W .   H o f n i a n                                                                                                                                                     congerences  with other brethren that `are concerned
:.                                                                                                                                                                                                           .a.bout  theeoiidition  of the merged church.     Does classis
                     c.hvr~   A N D  T H E  REFORMATION                                                                             . ..*................*......*...**2i0
                .                                                                                                                                                                                            Eureka claim the exclusive right at .present  to the
                                  Rev. H,. `Veldman                                                                                                                                                          *name !`Reformed  Church in the United States," and
-4: ~ONTRIBU~ON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :.. . . . . . . . ...*.......*..*..  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,,,                                                                      would other congregations that would  `d.esire to take a
                                                                                                                                                                                                    t 213
                                                                                                                                                                                                             similar step have to *become a  aart of the corporation
                                  M,r. J. Gritter, Sec'y  C. L. As.
                                                                                                                                                                                                             established by classis  Eureka in order to share the right
                THE APQ'LLINARIAN  CONCEPTION OF gHE NA-                                                                                                                                                     to @at name?
                TURE8  OF+ G'HRIST . ..*.***..* ..,,,...  """""..$  .,......"..  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214                                                                            I confess that I am iomewhat  confused on the mat-
                                                                                            :
                                  Rey. M. Schipper                                                                                                                                                           ter. A little more light is very  desir$able.  4

                                                    .I. I
                                                           ..-_-.                                                             --V-T_.,.  h.%.. , _,. j _ . *.


                                            T H E  STANDARD'BEARER                                                                                 197
                                                                                                                        L...

    But let me now return to the discussion of- the                         interpretative. statements of the essential truth of
"merger."                                                                   evangelical Christianity as taught in the Holy Scrip-
  I would  like to make a  few .remarks  about  the                         tures," might leave, the impression that by it  these                         .
"Constitution and By-Laws of the Evangelical and Re-                   .doctrinal  standards (the Augsburg Confession; Luth-
foyme,d  Church," a copy ,of  which is now in my posses-               er% -Catechism, the Heidelberg Catechism) are  acdepted.
sion through the .kiedness  of the ,Rev.  U. Zogg of Scot-             as the official confessions of the_.E.  and R., thihis  imires-
laed, S. D.                                                            sion is deceptive.       "rhe statement declares nothing con-
    It is not my purpose to enter into a detailed dis-                 cerning a doctrinal basis, it does not say that  these
cussion of this Constitution.            Our readers .will agree       standards are authoritative, it does not even state that
with me that we are mostly interested in the doctrinal                 they are borwct  interpretations Gf the truth bf the 1Ho1y
basis of the Union Church that was adopted finally.                    Writ.         Anyone coul,d  make this statement without
   It is very brief, but also very significant.          Here it       committing himself to being doctrinally  ,or confession-
is.in full :                                                           ally bound. Of course, those corifessions are interpreta-
    "The Scriptures of the Old aed New Testament are                   tive statements! What else cotild  they be? And who
recognized as the Word of God and the ultimate rule of                 would deny it?. -But a creed'is  concerned $with the ques-
Christian faith and practice.                                          tions. whether you  accept the&  -as tru& statements,
    "The doctrinal standards of the constituent                        whet&r you agree to be bound by them, 6hether you
Churches are accepted as interpretative statements of                  w,ill teach and defen#d them,. and reject whatever is in
t;he essential truth of.evangelical  (Christianity as taught           conflict therewith. No confession is adopted by ,t&
in the Holy Scriptures. In these statements of faith,                  above istatement.                                                  . . .
ministers and members are allowed liberty of  cons.ciencc:             *       3.    Even if it were the intention of the above state;
whose final norm is the Word of God.                                   ment to adopt the standards referred to as a basis of.                                       _
    "In its relation to other Christian communions the                 union, this would be completely neutralized by the rest
Evangelical and Refortied  Church shall con.sta.ntly  eni              of that paragraph:           "In these `statements of faith,.
,deavor  to promote the unity of the spirit. in the  bpnd. of          ministers and members are allowed liberty .of cqn-.
peace." pp. 1,2.                                           ;:          science. whdse final norm. is the Word df God."                   1 like
                                             ._
a  T h a t   i s   a l l .                                             to call attention to the fact that the term "li.berty  oii,
    In a. footnote (we are reminded that "accordfng  to                conscience" is a beautiful ,expression  that is here usF:d
the. Plan ;of Union, Article II, the historical confe&ona              to covey the .evil  of "doctTina1  indifference." No one`
of the two Churches are acknowledged as the `doctrinal                 can `be  denied liberty sf conscience.                   True  liberty &
basis of union.               The Evangelical , Synod of North         conscience is beyond the `authority and power of any
America  in its constitution accepts the Augsburg Con-                 man or -body ,of men. And ally honest minis& 01:
fession, Luther's Catechism and the Heidelberg C&e-                    member in any church, though it !would  have the stric$1
,ch&m,  in so gar as they agree.            On all points of dif-      est and post minutely `circumscribed creed, has libeyt?                                 0
ference it adheres to the passages of the Holy Scrip-                  of .Conscience.       He is never compelled to, spea:k  igainst
tures bearing on the subject, and avails itself of the                 his conscience. Is he dot voluntarily ,subscribiqg..  to *
liberty of conscience. prevailing in. the evangelical                  the confession of the church of  which he is a member:
church. The Reformed Church in the United States                       or minister? And can he not sever his connectiofi
in its constitution accepts. the Heidelberg (Catechism  a.s            %th that church whenever he ano longer agrees with ~ '
an authoritative, expression of the truths of the Holy                 its' doctrinal statements:? But the above statement  _
Scriptures anld acknowledges it as its standard of dot-                fron-i  the Constitution of the E. and R. does not mean
trine." `,:                                                            freedom of conscience.              It means doctriilal indiEerence,
    From  all this it should be perfkctly  evident, and we             Any member or minister can believe and teach  what he
say it without  reservation, that the Evangelical and                  wants !
Reformed Church is a church  ,witbout a confession.                                  r              . .
                                                                 It            Hence, the Evangelical and Reformed ; Church is
is a creedless church.  The truth of this ought to be                  strictly .without  a creed.
evident~  from the following.                                                  The ,dqctrinal  basis adopted in the Co&titut?on  ii
1. The statement that "the Scriptdres of the.,Old                      worse than that announced in, the Plan of Uni6nl
                                                                                                                   .
an,d New Testament are. recqgnized  as the Word of                             The latter at least accepted the historical confessi&&
God and the ultimate rule of Christian a.nd f&h  and                   of the two .churches  8s .a do&Gaul basis bf unim                           The
practice," cannot be accepted  as a creed, for a. creed .is            Constitution adopts no doctrinal basis at all  !`
exactly the officia.lly  accepted  statement of what. .a                      ,`The .Constitution  of the &iginal Evangklical  Synod
church or group of churches belieyes  to be.-  the true                permit&d  limited  "liberty of conscience," or freedom
`doctrine  contained in the Scritpures.                                of doctrine, viz., only in as far as the Augsburg  -Con.;
    2. Although the statement that "the doctrinal                      fession,  Luther's Catechism ,and  the Heidelberg Gate:
standards of fhe constituent churchesiare  accepted  as                chisti  differed from one `another. .The Co&titution'o-f




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                                                                                                                                               -_-
 49s                                                 7!H,E  `-S-TAND.AiD  `BEARE-I3
                   .1.              .-_                               ._

the .merged'  church allows unlimited fr.eedoti  `of <doe-                        These are words which every Protestant Reformed
                                                                                                                                       -"
trine.     One can explaiti:'  Scripture precisely as he wants              man should take ,to heart.
in ihe united church!                                                             Th,e ieneral  principle from which they proceed is
        A few illustrations 6f `what this means with!respect                that, if our `Christian Schools a.re  to serve their in-
t&what  is .actually-  being.taugl$  7n tliat church.1 hope                 tended purpose, they must be ,based  on a platform' of
to !furnish.next  time, D.`ii.                                              specific principles.
       Birt'  even-`now enough has been said to warrant the                       For the Christian R,eformed  parents this must mea:?
statemelnt  thit no true .Reformed  tian-;oy  minister can                  that they want their "specific form of faith propa-
remain in such a fell@Vship.                         * .                    gated," ,a.lso in the schbols  that instruct their children.
                                                            Ii. H:                The same is true for Prbtesitant  Reform&d parents.
              ,                                                                   We certainly cannot.' agree with the `Christian Re-
 I.                                                            .            formed parents on a basis of specific principles for tho
                               --                                           education of our chiklren.
                          :      : :. .                                           If we love our Protestant Reformed truth  we wjll
                                                                            certa.inly  strive to inculcate it into our children  "to  the

                                                                            utmost of our power."
       We tihol&eartedly  +idorse  ih&fdll&ing  pa,ragl;aph                      And this means that we will seek to establish our
from the pen of `Prof..`Hetiry  Schulbze,  clipped from                     own schools. wherever this is possible.
The B?miiner  of Jan. 5, `i945                                                    That must be our ideal.
                                              :
       "`There is no aspect of  the Christian school program                      ILet  us wopk  together,. brethren, with all our might
that needs `to be watched more closely.  .The Christian                     unto the attainment of this end.
R&for&ed  c6nstituency  lnave  founded, maintained; and                                                                               H. H.

,d,eveloBed  these schools for the purpqse  of tra.inivg

their chil,drtin  in th.eir  otin faitfi.           T&most  important
item in such.a.Lprograni  -will be the teachers.              There is
a group of .people  coopersiting with us' in the Christian                  The `Triple Kdwkdge
school ,movement  who do nbt;see  eye to-eye iyith  `us on

some important aspects-.of  ~doctrine.  There is a per-
sistent rumor ttiat they, ormany of &em, would  pr,efer

to have their  own schools. . We.  may regret this because',                 A-n `Expnsition  Of The Heidelberg
in order-to bring  and ke'e$ these s'chools  to their highest
degree of ,efficien&y  w& need to pull together, but it is a                                        Ctitechism
perfectly understanda.$ble  position. *hey want their
specific `form of faith propagated.  Atid that' is what                                                    Part Two.
our own  "constituency .wants or ought to want.' :This                                          Of Man's Redetiption
concept&  of broad Chr&ti'anity  is a precarious one.                                               Lord's Day -XIII.
In the'ntim.e  of `Chri,$,ti&y ,dances  have been span..

sofed,  theatre parties' have. been organized, the sov:                                                       `2.
ereignty ,of .iGod  has been igliored,  and'the  Sabbath has                             Christ's Sonship  And Ours.
been desecrated: ' Far' be it .from ins' to accuse, any
teicher  ih' the Christian- schools .of --such a liberal con-                     To avoid repetition, we must clearly distinguish just

ception of ;Chri&aniti.                    But the. fact  remains that      what  subject  .the  Heidelberg Catechism is `discussing
you 'may .h&e  such- a'li`beral  cotiception.and  stili carry               in the jhirteefith  L&d's Day.
the name of Christian.               The parents who support the                  We must- not, in this cotinection,  spea.k  of ihe mjrs-
:Christian  sch6ols"db  -not want any doctrine ta.u'ght                     tery of the incarnation as such, the doctrine `that the
their Thil,dren  that is opposed to theirs.' Any honest                     Son of `God  assumed. our flesh and blood from the
Lutheran  cann@ ~posxi~ji3:  be.Reformed.  " There is -not a                virgin Mary.        For this is treated in the following
good `Methodist that `c&?be Reforme$ These people                           L       o     r    d      '      s          Day. .
have +h$r'  deepest .con&ctions  and ?to.6'!&  has a rig&t                        Nor is% the purpose of-this part of the Catechisnl
to%sk"them  to, be untrue to-them.'  Th$pispen'sation@l1                    to discuss:%he  mystery` of t&e. sonship  of the second
ists are enthusia&i&  ab6tit  their po@ti6h."  They car&t                   #P&on  in the Holy  Trinity, for this was treated in the
be anythihg  else in `ttieir  teaching bue'pispensationa!-.
         -.;,. r..                                                          eighth a:n?Y  ninth-load's Day of our Instructor.
ists. 71f ttie?e  is any `on+ phdse bf `th.~t@ach~er'b~qu&%                      .,But  the:  G.at&hism is helled  expihining  -the words of
cation `that the board;  %ouid  -be "very ,titi~$  conce&$l                 the Apostolic Confession.:               "And in Jesus. Chr&t,,  the
$bout  it is'the'teacher'Stijnc~~ti~n;~f  `CJr;"ristiap  ,doctrin6          c?niLy  begotXe:i'Solz  of G&J."  "That Jesus Clirist is the
;m~:life."`,  . __                                 . :`:                    eteknal'and  &s'etitial  .Son of God, that the -Man Jesus,
                               _I. . .


                                               T H E  ,ST,ANDARD  .BEARER                                                        199


Who was born in Bethl,ehem,!and  Who left His life on                 a,nd to set it in bold relief, because in the rev-elation of

the bloody tree of lGolgotha,  is very God Himself, --                Jesus Christ God aproached  us so cl.osely,  He came so

that is the definite point-of discussion in this thirteenth           ,dangerously  .near  unto us, that He, as it w'ere,  chal-
Lord's Day. It is true, of course, that,,.to  ,bring  out             lenged sinful men to deny that He is very God.
this specific truth in bold relief, it,cannot  be avoided to             In creation He reveals His eternal power an*d  God-
say something about the &err&  .So~&$ of this Jesu.s.                 head, and sinful men refuse to glorify  rHim, and to give
But this is necessary only in so far as it is required                Him thanks.    The heavens declare the glory of ,God,  and

to distinguish this man Jesus from all other -men, to                 the firmament sheweth His handiwork. In the the@..
maintain a,nd exhibit the infinite chasm there exists be-             pha.ny  of the first Paradis,e,  .when  Adam apprehende.1
tween IHis Sonship  and that of' all other children of                the approa:ch  of God in the cool of day, there was a
God, especially `that of His brethren. _                              clear revelal& of His majesty, before which Adam hid
    Let us clearly understand the importance  an'd the                himself. Even when He revealed Himself through.the
necessity of this distinction.                                        speech of angels, there always was some manifestation

    The importanlce  lies in the fact that the Church con-            of divine glory that made men fear and tremble.          Sinai
fesses :    "I believe  in Jesus Christ." Now, if in this             is hid in smoke and darkness, it quakes and trembles
confession she does not also clearly and definitely main-             at the approach of the Most ,High,  and from its summit
tain that this Jesus.Christ  is' very 80cl,  her faith is             roars the voice of the Almighty as the voice of thunder,
nothmg  but hero-worship, faith in Man, in Self. ,Then                striking terror into the hearts of men. But in Jesus
J~esus is not the revelation of the Father, the God of our            the chasm between the inhnite  Majesty and mere men,
salvation reaching out to us from the mysterious depths               even sinful men, between the Creator and the creature,
of eternity and infinity, but merely  th,e noblest product.           the Eternal and time, the infinite  <God  and finite dust,
of the human race, the revelation of the wonderful                    the only Lord .and His servants, appears to be complete-
possibilities that lie hid in the human nature. Then                  ly abridged, eliminated.         In the sevelation  of Jesus
the confession                                                        Christ GOD seems hid!        In the manger He is a.babe,
                     :    "I believe in Jesus Christ," means:
"I ,believe  in the man of (Galilee, i.n his  .goodness,  no-         helpless and ,dependent.  In Nazareth He grows up as
bility, teaching,                                                     any other child:    .H.e  increases i:l. wi,s,dom  and stature.
                          ' example, and ths.t  I have all the re-
quirements n,ecessary  to follow him, and to make myself              He dwells among                  and.drinks,.speaks  and works,
                                                                                          us, eats 

like him."      Then Jesus is .not  ,the revelation of the            is tired and sleeps, is troubled and weeps. Men can
righteousness, .and wisdom, and sanctification, and re-               see Him, h,ear  Him, understand .Him,  touch Him ; even
demption of God, but of the righteousness, and  wis-                  contra'dict  Him, oppose Him, mo:k  Him, take a hold of
,dom, a.nd holiness, and redemption of man.                           Him and bind Him, judge Him and condemn Him, kill
    Such is the Christ of ~modern  philosophy.                        Him and Ibury  Him!
    It is this Christ upon whom the proud but hopeless                   GO,D  in the flesh yea, ian thelikeness of sinful flesh  !
structure of modernism is built.            The keystone of this          0, how easy it is to ,deny  that .He is ,God  at all. !
structure, that which makes it so hopelessly weak, is a               And this, is, exactly what mere men always did.          They
mere denial : the ,denial that this Jesus is very ,God.               denied it when, in the days of His flesh, !He  wa,lked
    But the faith and hope of th,e  Church cannot rest in             and tabernacled among us, and they even killed Him
man. When the Church says: "I believe," the object                    because He ,confessed  that He was the Son of the.living
of that faith is always ,GOD,  the only God, the  One                 God. And they denied it from Arius to the present
that dwells .in the light no man can approach unto, the               time. They admitted that He wasa wonderful ma,n,  a
Eternal, the Infinite, Who is not  comprehend'ed  by time             good man, a rnarr  that was m'ore deeply ,God-conscious
or space, .but  -Who Himself spanned the chasm that                   than any other bef,ore  Him, a man tha.t  was entitled to
separates Him ,from  us thy His revelation. He is the                 the name Son of God, that was appointed.  to be Son of
.One Whom no one :knows save the Son, and those to                    God, but they denied that He is GOD.           And they still
whom the Son jwill,reveal  ,Him.                                      deny it.
    There&  lies the: importance of the distinction the                  And, therefore, it is very necessary that the Church
Catechism here makes.                                                 jealously guard this truth, this Rock upon which  sheis
    Deny that this Jesus is very `God, and the article of             built, and insist that when she confesses that she be-
our faith ,by `which we confess that we believe in Jesus              lieves in Jesus Christ she means ;zothing  else tharrwhat
Christ mea.ns,  :         "I .believe  in Man."                       she began to confess in the fir& article of the Apostoli-
    Confess, however, with the Church of all ages, that               cum: CVedo  in Deum.     And because in the revelation of
Jesus Christ `is the o,nly begotten Son of God in an alto-            JesusChrist,  God is also-man, there is no more effective
gether unique senseof the word, and your faith and                    way to preserve the truth of the unique  Sonship  of
hope .ar,e  `still$i  the oniy true `God. ,                           Christ, than by idrawing  clear and sharp ,lines of de-
    And necessary .&is  distinction is, necessary it is               marcation between the sonship  of the only Begotten
always again to insist. on, to emphasize this `distin$iou,            and that of the mere creature, particularly thatl'of


                . .


       206                                      T H E  $TANDARD   B E ' A R E R                                          . .,.          .


      believers.    Such lines the Catechism draws, in question             And so, & the Catechism expresses it, Christ is,
      a,,nd  answer 33:    "Why is Christ called the only  be-          according to His divine nature, the  natzLra1  Son of God.
       gotten Son of God, since  w,e are, also the children of          In -Virtue  of the fact that He is begotten, and that, too,
       God? Because Christ alone is the eternal and natural             by an eternal act of the Father within the divine
       Son of God; but w!e are children adopted of (God,  by            Essence,  the Son ,is essentdly God.        Having His origin
      .grace,  for his sake."                                           as Son in the divine Essence, .He  is of the divine
          (Christ, accordin,g  to His divine na,ture,  is begotten      Essence, God of `Gold, Light ,of Light, Eternity of.
      of God. He is the ,olnZy  begotten. Another, So~,&at  is          Eternity, Infinity of Infinity. The act of generation
       begiotten  there is noi._.  Other sons of God niay,  be          being an eternal activity of the  .whole divine Being
      acreated,  ,or they may be children by reasoqof  a gracious       proceeding from the Father', the Son is Himself God,
      act of adoptibn,  they may `even  be born .of,  ,God,  but        possessing in atid of Himself all the divine ,per$ections.
      they are not be&ten. But Christ  is begotten.of God.              He is Almightyj  Allwise,  Omniscient, Omnipresent,
       He is not created, i.e. He is not the Son of God through.        Eternal, i&depenldent,  Self-exist&;-Incomprehensible,
4.     a.n act of #God's omnipotent will, in virtue of which He         the implicatiori  Df all infinite perfections, and the over-
       calls the thin.gs that are not as if they were; nor is           flowing Foun.t  of all good. IHe is the ~natural  Son of
      He adopted, i.e. the right and'privilege of ,being  called        God! . `.
       Son of God are not bestowed upon ,Uirn by grace; nor              And, mark you well, Jesus is that only ,begotten,
      is He born of `God,  i.e. He is not made a being outsid           tha.,t  eteKna1, that natural Son of God.     He, the eternal
      of God endowed ,with  a creaturely refllection  of Gad's          Son, at His incarnation, did not change into man.  .we
      iirtues ; He is ,begotten.  True, He is aho born. He must not speak of a pre-existent ,Christ in the sense
      is the firstborn. among many brethren, the firstlborn             that before `His incarnation He was in the form of
       of every creature, the' firstborn of the dead, but all           God; but' now ,changed  into the form of man.             His ?n-
      this is true  bnly of the Son of God in human  ntiture.           carnation ,did not mean that He left the bosom of the
      In His divine nature He is begotten, the only begotten.           Father, in order to become mere man.           No, this Jesus,
      He does not have His origin in the [divine con,oeption,           this LChrist,  this Babe iA the manger, this Child of Naz-
      in the `divine will, in the eternal counsel.     One the con-     areth, .this  Min of Galilee, this Sufferer on the cross,
      trary, with the Father and the Holy Ghost,  H.e is the            IS very God.. More must be said about this in connec-
       Subject of tha.t counsel.       ,He is begotten by an act        tion with-the  next [Lord's  Day.     But even now it must
      `of the Father in the divine  Essence.                            be rememb,ered  that we are speaking of the historical

          Hence, Christ is the eternal Son of God. And this             Jesus, when we confess that He is the only begotten;
       means, to ,be sure, that as !Soli of Gdd He has no be-           the eternal, the natural Son of God. "For unto us a
      ginning and no end. There is no distinction of time               child is born, unto ;,s a son is given: and the govern-
      between the Father and the only begotten  Son, as if the          ment shall be tipon  his shoulder : <and  his name shall be
       Father were first, anld thereupon He gave being to               called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the ,ever-
      the Son.      The Fa.ther  was `never without'the Son, the        lasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Isa.  9:6.
       Son was never without the Father, the Father  anId the               "I believe in Jesus Christ,"  rrieans: "I believe in
       Son wsere never without the Holy Spirit. But it also             the God of my salvation.."
      implies that the .&vine  act within the divine Essence,               How ,different,  how infinitely differ,ent  from  this
      ,%hereby  the Father #begets  the Son, takes place in             eternal Sonship  of the Christ, is.-.our sonship  as be;
       eternity, not in time atall.     Eternity is not time, even      lievers !              _;..          _ .
       as #God is not the crea.ture;  and time is not eternity,           _ He is ,begotten,  we are ,a.dopted,  and born of %od.
       even as the world is not  ,God.      There is' a i3hasm  ,be:        He.-is the natural Son of  <God, we are children of
      tween eternity and time that can never be abridged,               God by grace, for &His sake.
       even as there is such a chasm between God  anld the                  He is the, essential image of the Father, we are but
      w.orld,  b,etween  the Creator and the creature, between          creaturely reflections of-His image.
      the divine and th& human.         Time is change, flux, be-        A. He is Scin within the divine Essence, we are children
      .coming,  succession of moments                                   without the Essence of .God.
                                            ; <eternity 4s the un-
      changeable, infinite fulness  of being and activity.     That;     i He is God,`we are creatures.
       Christ is the etemaE  Son of God meatis that He IS Soz.              Aldam,  too, -was ,the  son of ,God.     He was such bjr
      in virtue o!f an uncha.ngeable  act of the Father within          reason of his cn&&ion;  `by an act of God whereby  He
      the divine Essence, in whi,ch the Father is active with.          calle;d the- things that are not as if they were. It
       all the infinite fulness of the ,Godhead.       Incessantly,     pleased Him to create a. son.        Hence,  He made Adam
      `eternally, with infinite Perfection of activity of the           after His own image,, so that in' his very riature  he
      whole  divine  Essence;ihg  Father gives life to.the  Sbli.       was adapted to reflect the'-virtues-of  God, was endow&l
       This Unfathomable fdeep mystery  the Church tried', to           with truekndwledge df Gci,d,  righteousness and holiness,
      express by the term etemcil  generation.                          and stood -ifi the relationlof.  a son to God; -his Creator-


                                                                               -


                                          T H E  ST.A_NDARD  BEA-R.ER                                                                   ml
                                                                                                                                          . .
                                               -                                                 -I--_. ."___.._  _ ._ ___ . -"
 Father. He. was known of God, and knew SHim;  he                  in Adam, we are `children. of wrath-.&h  no right to
 was loved of ,God,  and loved Him;  he had the rightto            sonship  whatsoever, guilty andworthy of .eternal  desol-
 dwell in .God's  house, and enjoyed His fellowship; and           ation.  But the only begotten Son'assumed  the.flesh  and
 he served the Father in the freedom of a son.         But he      blood of th,e children, .i&ne  in the `iikeness  of sinful
 became disobedient, ._.,He  rebelled.    And he, lost his son:    flesh, and for sin, took His ordaindd'!position  at, the
 ship.      H'e forfeited.&ll  his rights as a son, and became     head .of all the elect took the whole burden of their
 guilty, damnable, worthy of God's wrath, an exile from            guilt and sin upon His mighty shoulders, and with that:.<,
 ,God's  house with no right to return, worse than a               burden of sin upon Him took the place of God's j.udg7 "
 stranger. And He also became in his very nature an                ment and `wr,ath in their stead, and in their ,behalf,  of-

 enemy of (God.      The image of, God in him was perverted        fered the perfect sacrifice for sin, obtained for Hi3  own
 into the very im,a,ge  of his father the devil.    He became 0 perfect and everlasting righteousness, the right to be
 darkness, unrighteousness, unholiness, a lover of in-             restored to God's favor, to become the  sons of God, and
 iquity.     Man by nature `is. no longer the son of ,God.         to dwell in His house forever-. .God  realized our adop-

     But it pleased God, nevertheless, to have many sons, tion unto children and heirs through the, death of His -
 and to lead them to ,a higher glory .of sonship  than             only begotten. .,And  in'the  resurrection of Christ from
 Adam could ever attain. He adopted us, i.e. He gave               the ,dead,  this `.ado$ion  r&&ed .His own official seal.
 us the right to be his sons, and all the privileges of            For He was raised..`for  our--justification.  Born. 4:25.
 children of `G0.d.~ Us,. who by nature are no children of         Christ, crucified and `raised,`&  the ground of our adop-
 God, -but children of the  ,devil, exiles from His house,         tion. We are children for His.sake.                           :       `. :
 enemies of God H,e  adopted, gave the right to  {His love,                         2%
                                                                       T.his adoption is,,bestowed  upon. us, and. realized. in 4
 to His care, to His blessings, anld to the blessed fellow-        us, through the Spirit of Christ,  .and by faith: For the 3,. `,
 ship of' His tabernacle.      Just as a, human father may         ,spirit of Christ is the Spirit of adoption, through Whom
 adopt a strange child, that is not of his flesh and blood,        we cry Abba, Father. And: "beca&$e'ye  are sons, God
 that is, give it the legal status of his child and heir, 50 o hath_sent  forth th,e Spirit ,of .his. Son into your hearts, ,i"
 God adopted us, who were no children,  .aed thereby               crying, Ablba,  Father." ,Gal,  4 :6. He makes us par-
made us legal heirs of all the blessings  ,of  salvation.          takers of the .a*doption  unto `children' by the faith, He
     This adoption is an act of pure grace.                        wor.ks  in our hearts, through the gospel, by which we
     And we may distinguish various aspect of, or, if you.         embrace Christ and all :His  benefits, are confident"that
 plea.se,  stages in this gracious act of adoption.                we are justified, and that for the sake  of. Christ we are
    `It has its source in God's eternal counsel. For in            the sons of God with all the rights of children. Be-
 that counsel He ordained `.His  only begotten Son to be           si.des, this Spirit witnesses with'our  Spirit th.at  we are
 the firstborn of ,every  creature, the firstborn of the dead,     the sons of ,God,  Rom. 8 :16. And thesame Spirit aik
 and-the firstborn among many brethren, the Head of the            realizes the adoption by causing" us to be Aborn of God,
 Church; and in Him and unto Him He adopted  #alI the              by restoring within us the `image .of God, and making
 elect to Ibecome  sons of God. For He "predestinated              us -like the image of the Son as the first born from the
 us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto             dead.     For what an ea.rthly  -father  is. "impotent to do,
                                                                   i.e. to make of his adopted.child  a son of his own flesh
: himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to
 the praise of the glory of his  :grace,  wherewith he hath        and blood, God performs *by the wonder of His grace
 made us accepted in the beloved."`Eph.  1:5,  6. And              in Christ.    He regenerates                  calls us out of darkness
                                                                                                        L&S,
 Christ "is the image of. the invisible God, the firstborn         into His marvelous light, makes..  us .-partaker  .of His
 of every crea.ture.                                               own life and love, and thus bestows upon us the grace
                         . . :and he is the head of the body,
' the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from             of .actual  sonship;
 the dead                                                              All this is true only in principle .as lon,g  8s we"are
               ; that in all thmgs  he might have the pre-
 eminence." `Cal.  1:15,  18."  "For whom he .did fore-            in the body of this death. ,But  this aIdoption  unto son?
 know, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the             of ,God  awaits its final perfection in the day ,of ,Christ.
 image of his Son, that he might $e the first born among           For we "ourselves also, which have the  fir&fruits.  of
 many brethren."' Rom. 8 :29.      In sovereign grace, there-      the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within  ourselves,
 fore, `He adopted us from before the foundation of the            waiting for the adoption, to-wit the redemption of our
 world, <and that; too;in Christ, the firstborn from  thl?         body."     In that day we shall be publicly and before all
 dyead.                                                            the world justified and manifested as sons of God, and
     And this ado$ion..is  realized in time, and -will be          the image of #God shall. be raised in                       to the highest
                                                                                                                       LIS
 perfected in the day of IChrist,  through the resurrection,       possible glory of a creaturely  likeness, f,or then we shall
 and by the revelation of the righteous judgment of                be perfectly conformed to the image ,of God's only be-
 God. ~                                                            gotten Son in the glorified Christ.
     It is realized through the cross, the perfect sacrifice           But, forever Christ remains_  the only Begotten, the
 of Christ.     For in ourselves, as woe come into the world       eternal,, .the,natural  Son, of God, Whom we ca.,n  never
                                                                                                                      . 1
                                                                                           ::


"approach, but Who reached ,out  for us in the flesh  ;               the gloom.    As you go `onward  it fades away and you
while we are .forever  children adopted, ,by grace, for His           find yourself in the darkness of night." After Con-
sake, highly favored, .yet  always creaturely  reflections            stantine the catacombs ceased to be used as  <burial
of the divine image,. 8                                               places.    Then pilgrims resorted to them and the devo-
   c                                                 H. H.            tional use of the catacombs began. `Little churches
                                                                      were Ibuilt near them for. the celebration of the mem-

                                                                      ory of martyrs. Pope Damascus ,decorated  the cata-
                                                                      combs and built more staircases for the convenience o-f
                          :k                             -7           .the pilgrims. His successors  did likewise. -Then came

                                                                      the barbarian invasion. Christian barbarians, in search
                   The Catacombs                                      for bones of deceased saints, which they regarded as
                                                                      sacred, entered the catacombs a.nd conveyed loads of
  ,A cata.comb  .i,s an underground cavern or cave.            The    dead men's bones from these tombs to their chapels.
word is used to denote the ancient underground ceme-                  The result .was  that the worship of deceasd  saints was
teries or resting places for the  ;dead  in the neighbcr-             diverted from the catacombs to the churches. The cata-
hood of Rome ,+.nd  of several other chief cities of th.e             combs ceased to be places of- interest and wlere  for-
Graeco-Roman world.             The early vieyv  was `that cata-      gotten for six centuries.    In the sixteenth Fentury  they
combs were originally sand or gravel_ pits and stone
                     .                                                were rediscovered and they became objects of research.
quarries from which the heathen derived their building                In the present century the investigation of the  cata-
mater@s  .apd then `used the resulting cavities asburial              ,combs has ,become  a. department ,of  Christian arche-

,pla$es for .decease:d  slaves` and prisoners.. This vi@              0i0gy.

has been abandoned on the ground that many of the                         Numerous pictures have been found in the cata:
catacombs were no sand pits and stone quarries.  ,It                  combs,-pictures representing scenes of Bible history
has been well established that he catacombs were dug by               and of Christ.    Pictures of "The ,Good  Shepherd" pre-
the Christians and are thus ,of Christian and not of                  dominate. These pictures were painted on the walls
p,a,gan  origin. It was once thought that the catacombs               of the catacombs; The Christians Also painted their
were Ibuilt  by the Christians a+ places of-refuge in times           favorite symbols on the walls of the catacombs and
of persecution.      It was seen that the objection to this           on *the graves of their dead they wrote fitting epitaphs
view  is that the task of excavation was huge and could               and comforting thoughts. The language is a mixture
only be carried out by the Christiansif unmolested by                 of ,Greek  and Latin and many of the words are badly
the heathen magistrates and police.          In the present cen-      misspelled, which shows that, on a whole, the Chris-
tury the investigation of the catacombs has brought to                tians were an uneducated people. Only one name of
iight that they were  dug Iby <he Christians for the pur-             the deceased is given, sometimes his. age and the day
pose of serving as burial places for their dead. That                 of his [burial but never the day of his birth.    More than
the ,Christians'  provided burial places for their--dead              five thousand of these inscriptions have been collected
without being molested by the.hostile  heathen. is easily             and interpreted and can now .be found in museums.
explained, rl'he dead n-n&be  removed for the benefit                 The catacombs also have a varied furniture; most of
of the living.                                                        which has Ibeen removed to churches and museums.
        .The  Roman catacombs are long and narrow halls               Among the articles found are rings, seals, bracelets,
with recesses, for tombs built in the hills outside the               necklaces, clay lamps, coins, all sorts of tools and chil-
city of .Rome.     They are without daylight so that light            dren's toys. Upon many of these articles are- found
had to be provided by lamps,          Some of the halls extend        monograms ,of ,Christ.  A great number of cups are
to a great length. Their combined length is several                   found beside the graves. The presence of this furni-
miles `long and the graves can be counted by tens of                  ture in the ca.tacombs  would indicate that the Christians
thousands. Most of the catacombs were constructed                     would retreat in them for worship and would hide
during the first three centuries.        ,After  Constantine the      themselves in' these Caverns in times of persecution.
Christians' began to bury their dead above ground.                    Rarely would they ,be pursued in these silent caves.

Some of ,the catacombs belonged to churches, others to                   The catacombs reflect the Christianity of the first
private families.         Jerome tells of how as a schoolboy          three centuries, its hope, faith, and love, its life in
he and his comrades visite.d every Sunday the graves of               the face of death and eternity.    These pictures, symbols

`the apostle-so he thought-in the catacombs of Rome -and -relics-of handicraft are so many silent testimonies
w;here,  to quote him, "in subterranean depths the visi-              to the social and domestic conditions of early Christian-
tor passes to ,and  fro between the bodies of the en-                 ity. And this testimony is th'at  the early Christians
tombed in both walls and where all `is dark.          Here and        were poor, humble, ,devotional,  that they were a people
t1her.e  a ray from above, not falling in through  a, win-            with trials and ,s.ufferings  in the midst ,of which they
dow, but only pressing in through a crevice,, softens                 believed and hoped.. The most characteristic pictures


                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D .   B E A R E R .                                             203
                         - i- _-. _ _.:.., ; _                                                                                           , .
       found on the walls .of, the catacombs are those of the                self justified in doing them inj,ury  or killing them in the
       Good .Shepherd,  the fish and the vine.         The three com-        n,ame of God, and you have, no complete hero, but a
      . bined express the child-like faith of the early Chris-               real and interesting man.  Such .a character however
       tians. The Good Shepherd represents Christ who calls                  does not demand our admiration. . . . When we see
       Himself such. The fish symbolizes salvation and the                   Samson leaving the feast by which his marriige has
       baptismal water of regeneration. The vine sets forth                  been celebrated and marching down to Ashkelon where
       the vital union of `Christ and his people.             The cata-      in cold `blood he puts thirty men to death for their
       ~comb,s  reveal a living hope.       Unhke  the expressions of        clothing, when we see a country-side ablaze with the
       despair found onOthe coffins of the heathen, they pro-                standing corn which he has kindled, we are as in-
       claim in symbol and word the conviction of the resur-                 dignant with him as with the Philistines when they
       rection of the body and of life everlasting.           The large      burn his wife and her father with fire.  . . . The Danite
       number of graves show that Christianity must have                     is moved chiefly by selfish and vain qassions, and his
       Ibeen strong in Rome: The religion inscribed upon the                 sense of official duty is' too weak  .and vague; We see

       walls of the catspombs  agrees ,fully  with the religion              little patriotism and ,not  a trace. of religious fervor,
       of the early Christians as reflected by the writings of               Samson is a creature of impulse. . . . perceiving the
       the church fathers of that period.           Many of these in-        next thing that is to be (done in the light. not of religion
       scriptions are also expressive of natural affection.                  or duty, but of opportunity and revenge."
       They reaJd,  "`My sweetest child, innocent lamb, dearest                 [Certainly, this appraisal of the man is untrue. It
       husbanld;  wife, my well -deserving father and mother."               is the result of an unwillingness or inability to read
                                                          G. M. .O.          aright  all that- is -reported .of him in the Scriptures.
                                                                             If there had been that willingness,  statemerits  like, "His

                                                                             gifts-fr.om  the Spirit of the Lord was simply physical
                                                                             s t r e n g t h , "  .and,
                                                                                                 "He had no moral beelevation  and re-

                                                     1 `..                   ligious fervor," wo:uld  not have been made. For`they
                                                                             are equivalent to the assertion that, as to the heart of
                  Samson's~,Se&ihg  Occasion                                -his disposition, Samson was a wic:ked  `man.         Let us see
                                                                            .what  the Scriptures sa'y about him.      The first notice to.

           It is not easy to set forth Samson in  a fright  light            which attention must ,be directed  is the one which
       ethically.      Certainly he was a true believer. The Scrip-          reads, "And the woman bare a son, and called his name
       tures make this unmistakably clear.           But was he, as a        Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed
       believer, a man with strong spiritual impulses and with               him."    It is not the teaching of the  Scriptures,that  the
       a flowering faith or must he be classified with carnal                wicked  are blessed.. But God tblesse,d  the lad.     It means
       belilevers?      Was he, with,  .a11  his sensuality, a man .pas-     that IGod assumed toward him an attitude of favor and'
       si.onately  devoted to the cause of Israel's God? :How                in His love was pre,paring  him physically,  mentally, and
       the liberal mterpreters  judge about the man is clear                 spiritually for His life's calling, so that, as blessed, he
       .fr.om  the following excerpt from the pen of one of their            loved God, His cause, and.!His people.      It means that, as
       number:         "Nobody could be less li,ke  the ordinary idea        constrained by Eaith,  he assumed the obligations of his
       of an Old Testament `saint' th.an Samson.              His gifts      Nazariteship  and was ready and eager to serve. the
       from the `Spirit of the Lord' was simply physical                     cause-of God in the capacity of deliverer of His people.
       strength, and it was associated with the defects' of  -his            It is wrong to' take. the Lord's blessing him as having
       qualitiles.      .iHis  passions were strong and'  app.asently        no other effect than that Samson grew up to be a man
      , uncontrolled. He had no moral elevation or religious                 with a powerful frame, prodigious strength,  anid an
       ferver.        He led no army ,,against.  the Philistines, nor        abundance of n,atural  vigor.      If these endowments had`
       seems to <have had any fixed design of resisting them.                not included a sanctifying grace, it would not have
                                                                            been reported of him that he was blessed of God. That
       . . . When he does attack  them it is because he is stung
'      by personal injuries ; and it is only with his -own arm               Samson, in making war upon the Philistines, .was act-
       that he strikes.          His exploits have a mixture of grim         ing from the principle of faith is what we read in  the:
       humour  and fierce hatred quite unlike anything else in               epistle to the Hebrews.       "For the time wou1.d  fail me,"
       Scripture and more resembling the horse-play of Hom-                 says the author, "to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and
       eric and Norse heroes than the stern purpose and                     of Samson. . . ." Thus the author included also Sam- :
       righteous .wrath  of a soldier who felt that he was God's             son in the cloud of  witnesse,s  by which ,God's  people are "     . .
       instrument."            In a similar vein from another writer        lencompassed.  And the writer concludes, "And these
     - of this class, "Given a man of.strong  passions and un-              all-thus also. Samson-having obtained a good report
       instructed conscience, wi1.d `courage and giant energy,              through faith, received. not ~the promise : God having _ `1
       with a sense of the mission which he has to accomplish               provided some better thing for us, that they without,                      `:
       against his-country's enemies so' that he reckons him-               us should not ,be made perfect." Thus Samson, too,,.
                         /i


 ai:_ ,,                                                         ,, THE S'TANDARD   B E A R E R


 li,&d'iy the promise!.  &&it.&his sins, and the?-were                                    sop was, .rno!+d`  of God. -. But- what h<s reason for
 &iev@_&,  Samsoniywas  .a rn&`lof : &ue faith, of `heroic                                wanting to make-war  on the Philistines ? Abstractedly
 f$h even. In that faith' &%&red  IGod's warfare                                          there could be one or more of several vicious reasons.
 and id&liv&ed  his;people..                  we must .keep  thisbefore  our              So then what in Samson's case  was the principle of
 mind always, iti judging thF.man,,  his deeds, methods                                   action in the mati,  the heart in him from which his

_' and motives. Let us I$$ turn  to the man and interpret                                 spiritual power, zeal, and ,zest fqr that wlasr  proceeded?
 his ,deeds, as we know t&em  in the Scriptures, in the                                   Did God move him in His love or in His wrath and
 light- of the above observations.                                                        anger? Was the man blessed in his ,+eeds or cursed?

      "And ,the.,Spirit  of the Lord, began to move him at                                These are the related questions.     And we know the an-

 times ip the camp of Da:n  between Zorah and Eshtaoi"
                                                     . . ..'                              swers.      They have alreidy been givea  as taken from
 (.ChaE;d3  :25).         ,TQ ,is ,the next. notice, that calls for                       the very Scriptures. 7 The principle from which' the
 oul: attention: Zoiab  was,9ar+son's  place of birth and                                 man acted was faith. His passion for that war pro-
 EshQ,pl  was a neighboring city.                                 Both were `inhabited    ceeded from ti good heart.      It wa6 thus as to its core
 by.  D+&es. an< men ?f...$lah.  The "Camp of Dan"                                        true love of God `and of His people and a holy hatred
lay                                                                                       and God's .adversaries.     And it is in His l'ove  that God
            I between.  t&e .two c&r+.                          The text, at ch. 1:34
 strongly suggest that ij:!was  situated on a mountaill                                   moved him, love for `the  inan `himself and love for the
 top an&t&t warlike ,~8ecolle$~o$~,  were  associated with                                true Israel.     For  it is reported  that God blessed him.
 it& name.,. It may evgc,::,ft%ve  been a military post.                                  The man therefore was blessed ifi his deeds. These are
 F$r. ,t+ te,xt  there reads ;.                     "Atid  `the, borites  force?          #God's .a.nswers.  *And  .He should kndw.
 t@ .Iohi@en  of `Dan. $-@,,th~  mountains for they woUld                                     But this is ,not. saying that in fighting that war
 net, ssffer  them to.col7;le  down i.nto the valley."                         It was     for the liberation of God's people Samson's  flesh was
 t~ere~~@&.`.$he  Spirit,  .$:times  and, Idoubtless,  at short                           not also active.     It was certainly. The principle of
 intervals, began to' &ove,  impel, prod Samson, and                                      pbedience  in him wag also sm,a.ll.  He was a man of
 there-r&es  in his' SC@ a mighty pa.ssion  for expldifs                                  such gross sensuality that on the surface it is not ap-
 ag+inst  .th& Philistines. i It i$ the sudden  surging of a                              parent that the mainspring of his life was faith.        As a
 s&&a!,  force that "@eaiks into action.                                  This .is the    aint he leaves the strange& impression.         The man had
 me@ng,,.?f  the.  ,n,oti&,  .`,fAn'd' the Spirit of Jehovah <be-                         humor. And his humor lvas  grim i.ndeed: He liked to

 gap $0. mo,ve  Sapsor)."~.  ,~`I+ `man, was aroused.
   .:..I...                                                                        As     plajr  with riddles and was given  to jesting. And he
 @ged::upop_by  the Sp$,.,,he wanted more than ariy,                                      loved strange women. IHe was not a ddcile  anld sub-

 t&g  to .de, ;battl.e  w$h $be $dversaries  of God and of                                missive son in the home of his parents, but stubborn
 His .people.  :`_ ~QW w_Frgpg  the warfar`e  of Jehovah is                               and selfwilled, hard to manage, a problem child, if you
 : _ . .
 q.,!g,o~_$  deed as ,a, ,work  of. faith.                         But if the warrior     &ill.      Certainly he was too much for his father to
 is .constrained  by ),bked: i&puls&;  y,arring  IGod's war-                              handle.     As moved by the Lord, he went down to  Tim-
                                              .
 fare is an a.b?mi;n?tion.  .I J@u did It ag mpved `by per-                               n&h. For he understoo!d  His calling. He must `begin
 s?n;a!,,,+mbition,  and he com.@tte$  murder., ,What now                                 td deliver Israel. Now- Timnah was situated not 3.
 YV,~  ,&mson's reag,oti  f&;,,$%ki;g  a&ion  against the                                 ,&reat  distance to thse southwest of Zorak, Samsoa's

 l?$iatines'?:  Wbqt wi;; th,e, &aracter  of his passion for                              native  place,, as was said. It iay, did Timna.h, on the
 t&$$var, 1 of; {the hF&Qd that s,u$ained him in it, and                                  border of the tribe of Judah (Josh. 15 :lO), was as-
 o<,t&.zest  with  wh$ he $Qnght  it?                                 God paved hiti,     signed by Joshua to the tribe of Dan (Josh. 19 :43), but
 &q?  _fie.:did.       But God #so moved David to go and                                  bald  fallen into the hands of the Philistines.     Thus the
 Dcrn&T  Isrgel,  And qavid did'number  Israel in' his                                    citizenry  of the pl.a.ce was made tip of Philistines, with
 pride  Bnd committed ia heinous sin.                               We read df this ai
                             L.                                                           perhaps an admixt$re  of Israelites.         The two elements
 I~~MS~?m!  24,::.  Th,e  CQ@cle? speaks of the interposi-                                had no trouble in getting along together.         For though
 tion of satan,  @$he sin was  committed because God                                      the Philistines had .dominion  over Israel, they were not
 had., efficaciously~~illed  it.                   i,Chrqn. il:l. The Egypt-              t6o actively hostile it' seems. Atid the Israelites were
 ians hated.;the.  cl$Jdren  ,of Isyael.                          But God had turned      not at al intolerant of the idol.a,trous  pra,ctices  of these
 their hea.rts.  39. li@e:  : `Ps. 105 :25`:, Then there is the                           foreigners. They  even went a!ong with them in the
 case of Pharaoh +I& r&&ion to the command of
                       .,, .it *.a,: >*'                                                  worship of their gods. For this, as  ever,  was Israel's
                                             ' : ,.i; . ...:
 Moses that be, Seti;Lsr~~~!~~e~,i"Nas  that he tightened h`i $                           great sin. It was to Timnab that Samson  went down.
 grip @ God'& peo.p$ej .&cause  God hardened l$ heart.                                    For he must make w.ar  against the Philistines. But
 T&@oint  is`t&.t $,~en,,  g&d  &nd evil, are moved, 6f                                   he must have an occasion for beginning that  .conflict.
                                              ,
 G,o$l-.in  -a!l, $at,.th_ey&  $.. Bu,t;,.on  this account *hey  are                      And the sacred writer reports that it was of *he  Lord

z&e the l,ess  respo$sib$`-  *"Y
                                                   Qs..plaip  &at-  it cannot ,be         that he `sought an occasion, sought it from the Philis-
                                   ,
 c&chided  from the meye,,f$&$>at  -a man is moved of                                     tines. Ch. 14:4.  But the narrative does tnot' makn

Gqd that he is ,a truly  good,  Fan,  a good tree bearing                                 it plain whether he hoped to find -what he sdught
good fruit. Other considerat'ions  enter in here: Sam-                                    through mingling with the Philistines in Timnah,  or


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                   205


 through marrymg  into one of the .Philistine  ,families             of the `Lord in the sense that He had commanded it,
 who dwelt there.       Be this as it may, he did the latter.        or gendered .the desire for such a forbidden  ma.rriage
 Arriving in Timnah, he saw there .a woman, one of                   in his heart.       God is not the author of vile affections
 the daughters of ,the Philistines. A <brief  courtship.             in men ; but He does give men over to these affections
 followed and Samson's mind was made up. He resolved                 so that they do the things that are unseemly.          For He
 to marry the girl.      Though it is true that in Ex.  34:!6        is God and none #else.
 and Deut. VII 3 f. only marriages with Carmanitish                                                                    G. M. 0.

 women are expressly forbidden, the ,grou,nd  of the pro-
 hibition extended equality to marriages with the  daugh-
-ters  of the'philistines.      For this reason the Philistines                 .,
 also were reckoned with the Canaanites in Josh. 13  :3.
 But this Idid not deter Samson . He hastened to tell
 his father and mother of his find and to instruct them
                                                                                      MS
 as to what he wants them now to do for him.            "I have                             Een Waterstroom
 seen a wom,an in Timnah of the daughters of the Philis-
                                                                                                (Psalm 80)
 tines; now,therefore  get her for me for wife." Thus he
 immediately came to the point.           For he was a man of           iHier hebt ge een gebed als een waterstroom. En
 few words. He loved action. And in this instance he                 dan ook nog, een  waterstroom die toeneemt in onstuim-
 wanted immediate acti,on.  For the matter was pressing.             igheid. Vergelijk die verzen  4, 8 en 20. Eerst is het:
 "Get her for me to wife" `now  wit.hout  delay.' "          His     "0 God ! breng ons weder !" Dan : "0 God der heir-
 godfearing parents remonstrated with him. `They                     scharen! breng ons weder !" En eindelij,k:  "0 Heere,"
 warned himagainst such a venture.             What godfearing       God der heirseharen ! breng ons weder !"             Het gebed
 parents wouldn't.       They said to him, "Is there never a         begint met een roepen  tot God, stuwt onstuimiglijk
 woman .among  the ,daughters  of thy brethren, or among             voort in het schreeuwen tot God en emdigt  met een
 all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the                hijgen en verlangen naar  `s tHeeren  ,schoonste  Naam:
 uncircumcised Philistines?" But he won't argue with                 De Heere `God  der heirscharen !
 them. He hated argument. He knew what he wanted                         De psalm werd door !Asaf  gedicht. .Wie  hij geweest
 in the way ,of a wife. And that for him settled the                 is weten  we niet.      Het kan zijn, dat we hier den  opper-
 m.atter.     So his only reply to them is, "Get her for me,         zangmeester  van David's dagen hebben, maar can
 for she pleaseth  `me well."         It is not likely that the      spreekt hij profetisch. In dezen psalm wor.dt  geweend
 scene here enacted was new in the little family circle.             over een nationale smart welke vreemd was aan de
 Doubtless this was not the first time that Samson had               dagen van David. David had doorgaans de  overwin-

. stood up against his parents and'that  his will had pre-           ning, doch  hier zijn de muren doorgebroken en  -bet
 vailed.     Too often, as a lad, he had gotten his way with         Wilde  zwijn verwoest den wijngaard  dien God plantte.

 them.       So what could Manoah  .do  but yieEd  if he wished      Ik ben geneigd om te denken,  dat deze Asaf van veel
to .keep  the peace with his son. But now the sacred                 lateren  datum is, b.v.,  ten tijde van de Babylonische
narrator a,dds, <`But his father and his mother knew                 wegvoering.         Dan past de inhoud" beter.
 not that it was of the Lord, that he sought occasion                   En tech maakt het niet uit we&e  Asaf het geweest is.
 from the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines              We hebben hier meer ldan historie. In dezen psaam

 had .dominion  over Israel." .~ Certainly this does not             wordt een toestand  beechreven  van de kerk Gods aller
 mean that Samson $ad  received a rev.elation  from God              eeuwen.          Ge kunt zelfs Uw eigen individueele  leven
 to the effect that he should take him a wife from the               hier geschetst zien, als God Uw oogen er voor opent.
 uncircumcised Philistines.           God does not militate              En boven alles, hebben we hier een beschrijving
 against -His moral will in commanding His people                    van Jezus' vernedering. Verzen  16 en 18. Jezus heeft
 Samson's  marrying that Philistine woman was a sin.                 dit lied vervuld toen Hij *Zich  afzonderde en naar een

 Yet Samson hfad to. marry the woman, marry her ac-                  woeste plaats  ging om te bidden, te smeeken, God  aan
 cording to the determinate. will of God.        For the Philis-     te loopen  als een waterstroom.
 tines had to give him occasion. T)hus  that forbidden                   Wat een diep ingeleid kind Gods spreekt hier ! Hoe
 marriage was just another instance of sin serving                   `kende  hij zichzelf, het volk Israels  en `den (God  des
 God's counsel, another instance of the Lord achieving               Verbonds.  Dat blijkt  direkt aan het begin. Luistert,
 His, ends through the perverseness of men, in this                  hoe hij God aanspreekt : 0 Herder Israels! Wa.t een
 case of a man, who, as to the heart of his disposition,             onuitputtelijke rijkdom van gedachten zit in dien naam
 was a true believer.         The text asserts, and it is well to    `Gods! Hij grijpt  God aan in Zijn diepste hart. Hij
 observethis, that it was of the Lord that Samson sought             beziet alles vanuit Gods oogpunt. Hij pleit op een
  occasion from the Philistines but not that he sought it            eeuwige iiefde. De Eeuwi.ge  God is de .Herder.         In de5
  through contracting that marriage.         The latter .was  not    naa,m Gods zien wij- het Wezen.          En ,Asaf noemt God


  206 j.                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R '

  de Herder van Jqizefs  -kudde. Die 1ieEde  God"s was            de.11 vallen -dan van onze handen en uoeten;  dan komen
  duidelijk aan het licht getreden toen Jozef de geslach-         we in de ruimte.
  ten Israels in het leven behoudde  in Egypte. 0 ja,                 Nu volgt een beschrijving van Israels donkerheden,
  de weg was har!d  geweest, ,doch toen alles voorbij was,        benauwdheden,  ellenden. 0 Heere, God der heirscharen  !
  zag Jozef het, zoowel als vader Israel (en  de broederen:       hoe lang zult Gij, rooken  tegen het gebed Uws volks?
 *hoewel  de mensch  ten kwa:de  $eldxcht,  God had het           Ellendiger kan het niet.      Hier bidt Israel en.God  rookt
 ten goede geleid. De Herder Israels.                             tegen het gebed. Wa,arom?  Omdat het gebed niet

_ Tweed,ens, noemt  Asaf  G o d  als.  d i e  tussihen   d e      deugt. Rooken  tegen een gebed is kwaad worden er
 cherubs zit.           . _~..                                    tegen, zich vertponen  er,$egen,  zich van zulk een gebed
     Als ge 113a&. 6 :2 naleest, ziet ge, dat  Asaf daar          af wenden.    Bidden_+  .het heerlijkste werk voor de
 het oog heeft op dreirlei. Eerst, duidt hij daardoor            kerk van Christus. .*Daarom  is het dan ook het moei-
  aan,. dat ,God  de God des Verlbonds  is.     De cherubs        lijkste werk van alle wer.ken.  _ *Als het er op aan komt,
  stonden met uitgespreide vleugelen op Ide ark des ver-          op de keper beschouwd, is er  .nog nooit een go'ed gebed
 bonds  in het ,Heilige  der heiligen, en, nog nader  aan-        door ons opgezonden.          Alle biidden  is bevlekt met
 gedui,d,  op het verzoendleksel.    Ten tweede, merken we        zoil;de.  Wij zijn nog nooit van onze knien opgestaan
  op, bij het lezen-van de bovenaangehaalde Shriftuur-           m,et d.e overtuiging in het hart : dit was een goed gebed.
  pla+ts, {dat men',daar  den naam des Heeren  aanriep vol-       Als we het toch deden, zondigen wij dubbel.
 :gens  de inzetting Gods aan Mozes.     Ten derde, spreekt           Daarom vindt ge vaak de klacht van  Gods  volk.
  die plaats van bloed onschuldig bloed, hetwelk  uoor            dat hun gebed niet door de nevelen van  Gods  rook heen
 schuldigen geplengd ,werd. _                                     kan;
     Daarom, o Goid, die tusscben  de cherubs zit, wij                En toch is God de "Hoorder der  .gebeen"?
  roepen Uw naam a,an,  den Naa,m  die spreekt van Uw                 Dat is Hij alleen in IChristus. Als Christus' bloed
  eeuwige liefde des, Verbonds, gegrond in het bloed der          onze gebeden heiligt, (dan alleen is er geen rook tegen
 verzoening, der ontferming, der rotimelen'de  ingewan-           ons bidden. Dan neemt God onze gebeden aan. Ziet
 !den  van barmhartigheid.                                        ge, er moet vuur van het altaar in het wierookvat van
     Verschijn blinkende !                                        onze gebeden. Dan zit er kracht in. Alleen het gebed
     Daar gaat het om, Het is zi doeker,  o Hieere  ! ,eens rechtvaardigen, vermag veel. En die rechtvaar-
 .Het gaat alles verkeerd. Daar zal deze psalm van                digheid is Goid,es,  ,is van Ch.ristus.

 gewagen.        Klaar het .donker  op, door te verschijnen q        Verder zal As.af die rookende God bes?chrijven.
als de G'od  Wiens Aangezicht blinkt  van Goddelijk                  IGij spist zeymet  tranenbrood ! Wat levendige, spre-
 licht : barmhartigheid, genade, almachtige kracht om             kende beschrijving van onze smarten. Brood is de
 te verlossen, 1ieflijk.e  goedheid en goed?rtierenheid  !        sts.f  van ons leven.    Voor brood moogt leven, ons leven,
 Verschijn blinkende kemidden  van Uw armzalige kudde.            schrijven. Juist zoqals  .David  zi,ngt  in het onvergete-
 Ons is zeer bange !                                              lij.ke  lied : "Mijn tranen zij,n. mij tot spijze tig en
     Weer heeft Asaf die Ar.k  des Verbonds voor zijn             na&&"      Ziet ge het? Dag en nacht zijn de stukken
 aangedacht, wanneer hj gewaagt van Efraiim,  Benja-             waarin ik mijn leven  slijt. Dus is de gedxhte  hier:
 min en Mana.sse.  Want die drie stammen moesten bij              Gij, o God! zorgt ,er voor, dat mijn gansche leven niet
                                                                  is dan.  traynen,  smart, ell.ende
, het optrekken van Israel's vergadering vraangaan,                                                    !
  vlak na de arke des verbonds. Heeft Asaf ook die                    Hij zal U ook vertellen hoe groot die smart is.       De
 namen genoemd, om den Heere er a.an te herinneren,               tranen  wor&en  ons uitgegoten van een drieling. Een
 Idat  in die ,drie namen de groote liefde Jakobs  is uit-        drieling was een ruimtemaat onder -1srael.  En fdie
 gedrukt die hij had Goor  de kinderen van Rachel`?               drieling was het .derde  gedeelte van de grootste ruimte-
     Hoe het ook zij, hij noemt die namen als vertegen-           maat. Da,arom  heette het een drieling. Evenwel, een
  woordigers van het gansche volk, zooals zij sterk zagen         drieling was een kom, di,e viermaal grooter  was dan
  op d'e a"rke.  In dat verband vraagt hij om de open-            `de Bom, die men gewoonlijk gebruikte bij het eten.
. baring-van  Goids macht ter verlossing van het juk der          Ziet ge het nu? De smart van Israel was  vi.ermaal
 vreemden.                                                        grooter  .dan men onder .gewoone  omstandigheden kon
     Nu volgt het refr,ein, hetwelk wij driemalen zullen          dragen. H,etzelfde  hebt ge in psalm 7'. Daar staat,
 hooren,-doch  met klimmende intensiteit.      0 :God,`  breng    dat Gods  volk het ,water  van een vollen beker werd uit-
  ons weder, en laat Uw aanschijn lichten, zoo  zullen-wij        gedrukt. De smart was hevig, bovenmate groot. (Denkt
 verlost worgen.                                                  aan Nederland .op dit oogenblik).
     Als Gods  aanschijn maar lichten ma.g over ,ons,  dan,           Bovendien is Israel z laag omneergedaald, dat'
 is het gqed.     Het aanschijn Gods is Zijn aangezicht tot       men tWee  dingen met hen deed onder de God-haters.
 ,ons gekeerd in schitterende en blikende liefde.     Daar-.     Ter eener  zijde, waren zij hunne  .naburen  tot.eeq.  twist.
  om is Jezus Christus het Aangezicht ,Gqds.       Dan wordt      Wie denkt hier niet a,an twee honden die vechten om
  ons pad verlicht, om het doek&  op te klaxen.     Alle ban-     n been? Men scheurt hen -uiteen in,%et  twisten en


                                                T H E   S T A N D A R D  `BEARE,R                                                           207


      strijden..       Ter anderer  zijde, lachte men om hen.                 den de stad; En de dienaar des mans Gods  (en dat
      Daar staat ,Gods vol,k.      Om hen heen waren' ,de vijan-              was Elisa) stond zeer vroeg op, ,e.n  ging uit; en zie, een
      den.    En aller vingeren wijzen naar hen. Men lacht en                 heir omringde #de stad met paarden en met wagenen.
spot en verkneukelt zich om den arme: bijtend, sner-                          Toer zeide zijn jongen tot hem: Ach mijn heer, hoe
      pend, hartverscheurend.                                                 zullen wij doen?           (Arme jongen !)     En Elisa zeide  :
          Toch is er hiser een lichtpunt. 5                                   V.rees  niet'; want &e bij ons  .si$n,  zi$x meer dan c&i~
          Merkt het -toch op,_ dat Asaf belijdt, dat Go,cL hun                bij hen zijn! (Lezer, ziet gij de heirscharen waarom
      tranen gegeven had. ;God was het die hen een smaad                      Asaf bidt?)          En Elisa bad ,en zeide:  Heere, open toch
      en twist >gesteld  had onder de naburen.             Met andere         zijne oogen  #dat hij zie!      En de H'eere  opende de oogen
      woorden, 3srael  ontving kastijding. Dat gebeurt met                    des jongens dat hij zag : en zie, d,e berg ,was vol vurigc!
      den ,god,delooze  nooit. Die kei&n  geen kastijdmg.                     paanden en wagenern  ro,ndom  E,lisa!           (De beteekeniis
      Het verschil tusschen straf en kastijiding is dit. Als                  van den naa.m  Elisa is :' "`Mijn God is Heil !")
      er een groot kwaad homtover U, als ge het aan Go                           Begrijpt ge nu waarom Asaf bidt tot den God der
~verbiwd~t!  En het is straf, als ge sterk op den vijand                      heirscharen? Het beteekent #dit:  .Hij wil hebb,en,  dat
      of op het kwaad als zoodanig staart, zonder er ooit                     God Zijn knelehten  gebiedt om Israel uit al zijn smar-
      aan te derrken,  d,at  ZGod het doet.                                   ten te redden. _Hij  heeft kennis aan die heirscharen.
        Nu, Israel heeft kastijding hier. Want zij  belij,den                 En weet, als God slechts n woord spreekt,  zoo zullen
      door Asaf,  dat God hen sloeg en niet de  m@nsch.               Dan     de heirlegers-van God ter hulpe  snellen en een volmaakt
      is het een lichtpunt, want het eind,e  van kastijding is                werk van verlossing werken.
      het ontva.ngsn  van Gods heiligheid. Hebr. 12 :lO.                          Zoo zingen wij van die hirlegers:'  Gods wagers
          En dan komt weer die waterstroom van bidden en                      boven `t machtig zwerk. . . . .
      smeeken:  0 God der heirscharen ! breng ons weder, en                       Breng ons weder, o God der heirscharen'!
      laat Uw aangezilcht  lichten, zoo zullen wij verlost wor-                   Aa,n  het begin heb ik ook gezegd,, dat  d!eze  psalm
      den. Het is nu niet langer een schreeuwen tot  Go!d,                    ons individueele leven schetst.
      maar tot den `God ,der heirscharen ! Wat bedoelt Assf                       Wij gevoelen soms gelijk die arme jongen van
      met ,di,e toeveging  : der heirscharen?                                Elisa;.
          Daar zit dit in: Asaf  bidt den Heere om Zijn legers                    Ik ben vaak,lbng  geweest va'il mijn vijanden.
      van strijdbare helden te gebieden tot de hulp `van                          Dan kermd,e  ik: "He zullen wij doen?"
      Israel. Ik zal- er U iets van vertellen. Noach werd                         Mijn broeder, de meest uitgelezen heirlegers  van
      uit ,de  benauwdheid en de tranen verlost door de  heir-                den God de,& Verbonds zijn verpersoonlijkte  in JEZLIS
      scharen ,Gods,  en ook Mozes en Elisa.         Ik noem er maar          Christus die te hulp geroepen is door den God Uwer
      drie op                                                                 zaligheid. En toen God Hem riep, zeide  Hij 
               : er zijn er veel meer.                                                                                              : Ik kom,
                                                                              o God!
 .        De eerste wereld benauwde de .kerk  ,Gods zoo  erg,
      dat zij teruggedrongen  ,was  tusschen de wanden van                        En toen heeft Hij voor Zijn  volk*gestr,eden.         Hij ia
ne fa.milie : Noach.            Toen riep de Heere de  heir-                in alle hunne benauwdheden benauwd geweest.              Hij is
      scharen des hemels en der afgronden te hulp.                En wat      tot in de eeuwige gevangenis van Isr,a.el gekomen.            Hij
      was het resultaat? Zij gehoorzaamden terstoml  en                       heeft alle hunne smarten z onderschept, totdat Hij
      de vensteren des hemels openden zich en de afgronden                    den naam verdiende : Man van Smarten.
      werden opgebroken en daar hwamen ze aa.#n                                   Z .is Je.zus  al de heilegers.  van den `God oder heir-
                                                            !    Die heir-
      scharen `zijn gelijk aan kloeke helden die Zijn Woor?                   scharen.
 idoen.        En zij verzwolgen de oude wereld der gpdde-                        God heeft er va.n geprof,eteerd  door Mozes: "Die
      l o o z e n .                                                           op den hemel vaart tot Uwe hulp, en met Zijne hoog-
          E,gypte  benauwde de kerk van, God voor vele jaren                  heid op de bovenste wolken." En dat is Jezus!                 Q
      en zij smeekten God om Zijn verlossing. .Toeil gebood                                                                        G. V.

      de Heere Zij's heirscharen van vuur en hagel,  vor.schen
      en vuil gedierte; zweeren  en schurft, met` de wster-                                  `s                                             _-
      stroomen  van het Roode Meer.       En wat was het resnl-
 taat?        Ik zie ,Israel  zingende `en spelende en Jdansende

      aan d,e andere zijde van de zee. 3k hoor de refreinen                               God is our refuge and `our strength
 van Miram en de vrouwen: De Heere heeft het ros et:                                              Our ever present ai:d,
      zijn rijder in de zee gew0rpe.n.         0, ,s.ls  God ten strijlde                 And, therefore, though the earth remove,
strekt aan het hoofd van Zijn heirseharen,  dan komt er                                            W e  wil1  not be afr:a.id;
een glorierijke overwinning op het kwaad gebroed  !                                       Though hills  amidst the sea be Gast,
          Dothan  werd omsingeld door de trotsche Koning                                           Though foaming waters raar,
 van Syri: Hij zond daarhenen paarden en wagenen  en                                     Yea, though the mighty billows shake,
 een zwaar heir, welke des nachts  kwamen en omsingel--                                            The mountains on the shore.


       iOS                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D  BEARE.&


                                                                            complish,ed  by modern educational philosophers 
          The Principle  of Christian School                                                                                        :
                                                                                     From the control of conduct through ,the author-
                  .                                                            1.
                           Discipline                                                ity of the ,Church  or Bible, to the development of
                                                                                     self-control based upon .a, desire for social serv-

                                                                                     i#ce.
              Our "modern age" must also have "modern" tech-
                                                                               2. From a .social  trai.ning  in classical standards of
       nique and methods in the field of education.           Largely                expression, to the development of free, creative
     . under the influence of the philosophy of John Dewey,                          self-expression.
      <new theori,es  have  been conceived, stated, and incor-
      porated into the public school systems in s varying de-                  3. From a religiously motivated moral training, to
                                                                                     one bssed on conformity to natural laws or on
     ,' gree.    The results are called by various names: Pro-
      gressive Education, New Education, Social Education,                           a desire for social service.
       Social Experimentalism, etc.                                            4. From ,Church  and private schools, to state con-
              The purpose of this "modern" education is express-                     trolled, tax-supported, free, `common and non-
       ed in the names by which  it is k:nown.  <The develop-                        sectarian schools. (Though not strictly a disci-
      ment of ,a4 socially efficient individual is the primary                       plinary motive yet quite interesting a,nd im-
      ,end  sought by the new educ.ators.            Social ejucatio:l               portant to us. W.H.)
       should prepare the pupil for living with his fellows                    5. From aa method of formal discipline, to one of
      through the formation of skills, of social communica-                          motivation, in which the pupils' interests are de-

      tion and the ,building            of the etiquette of harmonious               veloped and utilized.
                                 up 

      and frictionless human relationships.          The school, thus,         6. From methods of indoctrination and domination,
       is looked upon as the prima.ry  agency for adjustiig                          to mebhods of guidance and direction.
      the individuals to his place in society. All means,                      7. From a school discipline based on coercion and
       methods, and activities should be effective to train                          conformity; to one based on self-control and
_     ,young  people to live together on the highest plane.                          social  intelligence.*
              It is but natural that the methods. employed will
                                                                                A simple reading of these statements. should be
       spring from  this underlying philosophy of purpose.
                                                                            .enough  to convince us of the corruption of this modern
       Th,e  method to be used is guidance.         Through guidance
                                                                            educational philosophy in. respect to disciplinary meih-
       the pupil must be helped to solve his own problems;
                                                                            oda and aims.      It is hardly necessary to point out that
       to mahe  intelligent choices when alternatives are pre-
                                                                            it is, fraught with fallacy  from beginning to end.
      ,sented. The pupil  must be guided into all knowledge                                                                              As a
                                                                            theory it rests upon the false basis of Humanism with
       and guided to develop the reasoning powers needed to
                                                                            its emphasis on the inalienable,  rjghts and inherent
       use the facts discover,ed  wisely, in the solution of social
                                                                            go-odness  `of man. It fail,s  to take cognizance of the
       problems. Simply stated, the pupil must be free and.
                                                                            great facts of sin, the fall, and the total depravity of
       uninhibited in thought, word, and  d'eed  and gently
                                                                            every inldividual  as he is by nature.         In practise its
       led and guided to think, speak, an act correctly to the
                                                                            results have been well nigh disastrous. This is recog-'
       ,grea,test  goold  and benefit of himself and his fellow-
                                                                            `nized even by many who have no special regard. for
       man.      The whole theory rests on the basic  assumptio,a
                                                                            Christian irinciples.  The well known columnist Paul
       and error that the i,nherent  natur,e  of an individual is
                                                                            Mallon, for exa..mple,  has written several articles re-
       good, cooperative, and unselfish.
                                                                            cently in wghich  he accords much of the guilt for our
              This same social guidance should be substituted for
                                                                            pfiesent day juvenile delinquency to. the lack of disci-`
       discipline ,a.s  a method of establishihg  order and good
                                                                            plinary training that has resulted from the practise 0.f
       behaviour in the school and outside of it. The pupil
                                                                            the ideas advanced, by the promoters of Progressive
       should be taught to see.that  he can #best satisfy his own
                                                                            Elducation.
       legitimate desires by refraining from any action that
       *will thwart the legitimate d,esires  of -others.                        Overa.,gainst  this popular notion and because we.are
                                                                 . Self-
       control must be established as the principle and basis               often influlenced by the world round about us, pe?haps,
       for action. Recognition of the rights of others is the               to a greater extent than we realize, it is well .to return
       surest source of good cco,fidu&,  so it is said. When a              to the fundamentals.         The Christian Schools should
       pupil r,efmins from a certain act because he sees that               .not  only be distinct but also antithetical. In fact, its
       it is inimical to the welfare of the group, he has been              distinction should lie in i&s  !a.ntithesis  ; also in respect to
       started on thte roa.d to good Ibehaviour,  outside the               mebhods  aims and practise of idiscipline.  No one will
                                                                            deny that man.y of our Christian Schools have already
       school as well as in it.
              Limiting ourselves to the subject of discipline in            lost, or are last losing much of this distinctiveness as
       this Progressive Educational theory we quote the fol-                +. Quoted from:     "The Foundations of Modern Education",
       lowi,ng  principles of change sought arid somewhat a+                pp. 593-599-E. H. Wilds, Ed. D. Farrar & Rinehart, New York.


  regards.discipline  not only, but in every phase of edn-            `fore are children of wrath. . . .",
  cational  policy and current a`ctivity.`,     The only possi-               Simply stateld,  the first principle is that we. by
  bility of retaining what is left, and regaining what has            nature are totally depraved.           It is the first *principle
  been lost, is to return to the fundameztals  in principle           for it instkucts  us concerning the objects of  ,discipli@
  and practise.  A simple statement, therefore, of the                and the necessity for discipline.        It teaches us, further:.
  basic principles of Christian School discipline his cer-            what to expect from an individual by nature and. why
  tainly in order.                                                    to expect it.       He who is totally depraved is at enpity
      The. distinctiveness of the Christian School should             with God and consequently at enmity with his neighbor.
  be found in the falct that its education and means are              T h e  expr&ion of this Jenmity will alw:ays  be dis.-
  .God-centered' and #God ;directed.  Cti%t should be                 obedience and `insurrection for, as the apostle Paul
  everywhere; for our o.nly  knowledge of God `and. ap-               states : "The carnal mind is enmity agai,nst' God: for
  pro!ach to Him is through Christ.       .Christ  must certain.-     it is not subj'ect  to the 1a.w  of God, neither indeed ea.11
  ly be in the Christian School. And that not only in                 be."                                                       i
  name or appearance but'iso,  that the knowledge of God                      This: first principle is alrea:dy,  not, only distinct but
  i.n Christ permeates and fills all that is taught anld  all         antithetical.      It is in tdirect  contradiction to all that wis
  methods used  to accomplish this teaching.            It would      stated in the principles of,the  Progressive philosophy.
  follow, therefore, that discipline in  .the Christian               It teaches that ,discipline must certainly be much more               d
* School mu.&  also ,be God-centered and God-directed.                than guidance, development, !a*djustment,  and direction.
      In order  to find the means  to &complish  this ideal           Just because this' basic principle is denied and refused
  of `ChristianEducation  it is necessary to turn to Christ,          by the world  all its discipline must necessarily be a

  i.e. to the Word ; the Revel&tion  of #God in Christ. Here guidance and development into condemnation. At the
  only can we find the guideposts; the Lamp and Light                 same time, as long !a.s it is .denied,  all discipline is im-
  upon our way,  as regards >education  in all its phases             possible, for as it. is maintained that man is inherently
  and ultimately all knowledge and Idirection.           It must      good by nature, correction is unnecessary. Here also
  be our only rule of faith an& CIFE.           In the Word of        is a fundamental rea:son for maintainiag  distinct Chris:.
  IGod only can we find the principles and working out                tian Schoqls.
  of them upon which `a Christian School must be built                        If we were to remain with this first principle  alone
  and conducted. It follows,  therefore, .that  it is also            it wouM  be quite impossible to s,peak  of discipline at
  to the World  of God that we must turn to diis,cover  the           all.     In his state `by nature man is hopeless and helplegs
  principles of discipline that should govern a distinc$ive           !a.,nd  can never fiild  a way out; not even by the strictest
  Christian School.                                                   praitise  of correction a.nd obedience. ..His depr&ityv
      Before setting ,down  the principles of discipline re-          renders, it all quite impossible. We hasten to add, there-
  vealed to us in Scripture it might be well to `circum-              fore the second basic truth that must underly Christian
  scribe a bit more closely what is, meant by discipline.             School Idiscipline.       This is found in Biblical co;cept
  In the broad sense of the terni,  discipline means simply           of the Covenant. -In the sphere of the <Covenant  God
  to teach.      In this <broad sense it connotes the training        moves, not man, iand God moves so, that He redeems
  of the mental, moral,`and  physica!`powerhs,  by instruc-           His people and implants, within them a new principle.
  tion and' exercise, Thus, any training or study. is .a              of love and obedience.        In that Covenant we see God a.s
  discipline.     In the narrower sense, as it is also used in        the great. Disciplinarian, Christ as the object of His
  our subject, it means to train to`obedience or subjection.          discipline, while the Cross is both thje expression and
  It implies the positions of tauthority  and submission to           end of dl ldiscipli8ne.                        y.
  authority.      At the same tim'e,  if it is to- be effective,              Once again, this second pririciple is distinct and
  it must include authority, power, and ability to correct            &$ithetically  opposed `to , all that the world holds...
  and punish disobedilence  and insurrection.          Discipline     Not willing to hear of sin, it knows nothing of tr:ue
  itself, rests upon the principje  of our having been                punishment and forgiveness. Again, however, it de-
  created as servants anld to- serve, and thus, to be in              stroys the very polssibility  of discipline; only as we
subj e&ion  !and obedience.                                           believe `that God by grace has ,establishecl  a Covenant
      The first and basic principle of any discipline is              with His people can we.hope  for success in disziplining
  found in the fact of the fall into sin.       Through &lful         our .children.  That Covenant of Redemption He has
  transgPessio,n  `of God's commandment man fell from                 established with US, and our  seed and upon &at proii2ise
  the state of free, willing and loving obedience into                we can depend in the `exercise of discipline in correction
  disobedience and #enmity;  thus he became an object of              and training. ,Only  within the sphere of the Covena;nt
  `discipline. The guiding principle of ,Ghristian  School            lies the possibility of true Christian  discipline.  Out,
  ,discipline  is. to be found in this fall.    It `is beautifully    side of the Grace of ,God,  man always remains what he
  stated in our  Baptism Form as follows: `(that  we wifh             is by*nature-totally  depraved and as such prone to 211
  our children are conceived.and  bor*n in sin, a:nd there-           evil ; loving, .desiring  and willing sin.            .         :


  a1o                                      T    H    E      STAiJDARD BtiARER

         Upon these two great -principles  of sin and grace           Wiitemberg.  Calvin was.brought  up in all.the super..
  must-rest the discipline in the Christian School.         Many      stikio'ns  of popery; and this scholar of Noyon was blind-
  lesser principles and practical rules and consequences              ly submissive to the Cliurch,  cheerfully ,complying
 might be pointed out *but they are all implied' in them.             with all ,her  observances and persua>ded that the bere-
  There are,  for example, .the  principles qf love, grace,           tics had richly deserved their fate. Naturally of ,a
  forgiveness and also of punitive measures to enforce                timid and f,earful  disposition he possessed that upright-
' obedience.      The practical difficulties in the workiing  out     ness of heart which leads ,a: man to sacrifice everything
  of these principles `aIre, undoubtedly, numerous and                to his `sacred convictions. Strictness of morals  .was
  would require clarification by an experienced .educator.            led by ,God's grace into strictness of doctrine.       He was
  Pupil-teacher relationships, class-roo&  and home ten-              quiet and serious during. his lessons, never shaned  iti
  vironment,  parent-teacher relationships, .parent-pupil             .the amusements or- follies of his schoolfellows during
  relationships, :a.11  enter in here. We ,do believe, .how-          `the hours of recreation, held himself ever aloof, and,
  ever, that these two--basic principles, ,dd, *broadly  point        filled with horror 1a.t sin, he would often reprimand.
  out the objects,,. aim, content, and methods  .of _,distinc\        thei?  disorders with severity ,and even  bitber+ness.  A-
  Christian School ,disaipline.                                       mong th;em he was the representative of conscience
                                                      W. H.           and of #duty,  so far was he from gbeing  as some of his

                                                                      calumniators. have (depicted, him.        The pale features

                                                                      and the piercing eyes of this scholar hsd already at the

                                                                      age of sixteen intipired  his comrades with more re-
                                                                      spect than khe black gowns of their masters.           He wasr
                                                                      preeminantly a scholar. H'e consecrated to study the
           Calvin  and .the -l&formation                              .whole  force of his genius and of his will.     He compre-
             -                                                        h'ended  everything with inconceiva,ble  sacility.     He ran
   * Tl-+e movement. know,n:  as the "Reformation" is                 in his studies while his companions  .were  lazily creeping

 characteristically .spiritual. It denotes $a;t  work of              along. Accordingly, l&-master was compelled to take
 ,Gold  whereby His peopl,e,  His Church, was liberated out           him out of the classes and introduce him singly to
  of-the shackles .of  Roman Catholicism.            To be s,ure,     fresh studies.
 the Reformation also had far-resching political results.                 Although belonging to .the  humbler class of his age,
 Yet, to many it was -merely political. <This  is due to              John ,Calvi#n neverthel&s  received an la&stocratic  train-
 the fact that the Roman Catholic Church, besides being               ing. His father, Gerard Calvin, not to be  reckoned
 a spiritual power, was alEo clothed.with  political might.           among the rich, desired that his children should  re-
 Nevertheless, the Reformation, in its origin and accord-             ceive the same education as those of. the best families.
 ing to its fundamental significance, is decidedly spirit-            A thordugh  Catholic, :IGerard himself held  ia;n itiportant
 ual.                                                                 office in the Roman Catholic3hurch,  and liTed  there-
         We associate especially two names with the  Re-              fore in familiar intercourse with the clergy and the
 :formtion:  Martin .Luther  and John C.alvin.  In this               chikf  persons in the province.          This undoubtedly
 `essay-we  are mainly i,nteresteld  in the latter.       The sub-    .prompted  him to seek the best i; the field of education
 ject "Calvin and the Reformation" is, of course,.-a veiry            for his children. John was brought up s"crictly;  from
 broad subject and can be treat,ed~  from matiy  .a,ngles.            .his eal;liest  years  he was >compelled  to ben.d  to the in-
 .We,  however, purpose to treat it from the viewpoint                flexible rule- of Iduty  which soon beoajme  habitual to
 of Calvin's place in the Reformation.          John Calvin, in       him.    And it was chiefly to study that he devoted his
 the opinion of the &riter  of this essay, is  o,ne of the            time. .
 men most wondlerful1.y  gifted .by the grace of God  sines               A spirit of piety showed itself early in the child's
 the <days of the :a;postles.     Permit me, theln, to develop        heart. Hence, his father conceived the design of de-
 +he subject of this essay from the viewpoint of Calvin's             voting his soti  t`o.iheology,  then known as the "queen
 training, his work, and the place  whicfi  is u$eniably              of sciences".      & that time it was customary to bestow
 his in Go,d's work of the Reformation;                               ecclesiastical titles and revenues on children.       Children
                                                                      at iajges of seven to eleven :were made cardinals. Ac-
                                                                      cordingly, u$on  J&in -Calvin;.at  the,age  of twelve, was
         When I speak of Calvin's training I  purpoie  to             conferned by the bishop to.his  community the benefice
 emphasize that God very clearly trained him  <with n                 of chaplain. -A benefice was an ecclesiastical financial
 .view  to his life's task.    John Calvin was..born  at Noyon,       Iallowance  to pursue .one's, studies in theology.     He re-
.-France, some sixty.miies  northeast of Paris, July 10,              ceived *he chaplaincy attached to an:aItar  in the cathe-
 1509, twenty-six years after :the birth of Martin Luther             dral Qf -Noyon.      Thus Calvin becaine  a member of the
 at Eisleben, Germany, and eight years before the nail-               ,clerg;lr and capable of entering into tlie holy  drder.  Later
 ing of the ninety-five ,$heses  to *he  .chur;ch  .ddor  at          the Catholic Church d,eclaPed  bitterly that she. fed John


                                                                                              *                         0
                                           \T,N~%.   S TA N D A R D  BEARJ3.R .' /                                                  211.


   Calvin at her breast and harbored  & -snake in her                 Philosophy."    By "Christian Philosophy" he meant the
   bosom. At the age of fourteen, in 1523, John Calvin                gdspeb.  This speech amazed the audience. In it Cop

   went to P&s to continue his studies.            There he made      pleaded for -reform, using language borrowed -from
   great progress in Latin literature. Being a member                 Luther, but its concluding.Ija.rt  ,wa&  more indepieadent,
   of the holy order because of the benefice ,bestowed  upon          and in it was struck that note of certainty as to salva-
  him, he came into contact with the godless,ness  among              tion which wa? to be a featuYe.of  CalviniFm  and Cal-
  the clergy, in w,hose  piety he, as a good catholic, had            vinistic -doctrine.          Because Cop had infuri&ed  the_
  had impli'cit  $a&h.     IHQW  he must have beeq shoclied ! theologians of the Sqrbonne  (the theological school in
   It was ah at this time, while the future reformer was Paris); having branded theti as sophists, he had to
   grdwing to maturity in the college of  Lfa Marche.  in             flee Paris. Also Calvin fled because his intimacy with
  ,Paris,,  that Rome  and her satellites were uniting every          Cop w&s known.         Shortly afterward Calvin returned to

   effort to hunt down and  ,trea.d  under foot everythini            Paris, but his sympathy with the Reformation could
   that bore any resemblance to the Reformation. Already              riot. be hidden, and `hence he no longer felt safe in the
   six years b:efore  the ninety-five these had been nailed           city wher!e already so many had hen .imprisoned  for
   to the church door at> Wittemberg.            And the'blood  of    their faith's sake.          In Jianuary  of 1534, at the  age of
   the Protestants was flowing freely in the ctiuptry  of             twenty-five, he fent forth, a wanderer, usually living
   `France, ina.smuch `as the R,eformation  in France- did            under an assum&  name.             Apparently his light was to
  -not enjoy the .political  support as in Germany.                   remai,n  hidden.
       In 1528 John Calvin's father ordered hiin to change                Calwifi's W~ovk.
   his studies to law.    ,Gerard had fallen out of the grace

   oif the eticlesiasti&  authprities in Noyo,n.  So he left              Calvin's life's work centered in  ,Genevaj..  Except for

   Paris for Orleans. The following. year he continued                a, brief stay in Strassburg he .laboreld  in ,Geneva  until
   his studies at .Bourges.           At these sehools Be came        the end of his life.         It was in September of 1536 that
   under the influence of a certain Melchior .Wolmar,  a              he, at the age of twentyseven, accepted the position of
   humanist.anld  favopaible  .to -the R,efortiation.    However,     teacher in this city of Zwitzerland.             In the year 1535,%
   in ,153.l his father died, and Calvin returned' .to ,Paris         ,during  his ,wanderings,  while at Base&  he wrote his
   and to the study of Greek and Hebrew, although from                famous ."Institutes  of the Christian .Relig&."             To be
   the summer of 1532 to that of :1533  he again%was  alaw            sure, this work underwent considerable revision and
  student at Orleans.      It was du$ng this time at Orleans          a.lteration  at various times ; yet, it is amazing that such
  .that  his fellow-students hononed him, apd students will           .a profound work, even a& far as its first edition is
  .not  honor of their own.accdrd  du.bioas  or disagreeable          concerned, -shouPd  have been completed by a man at
  cha.sacters.  It was' also meantime.in 1533 that "God by the `age of twenty-six or, twenty-seven. Calvin tool<
   a ,sudden  conversion subdued -his mind to a. teachable            up his la!bode  in Geneva                 the urging of Farel, who
                                                                                                       upan
   frame", -according to his own words, having. been, to              proclaimed upon him the.curse  of God if he were  .to
   use'Calvin's  own words again, "too obitinately  devoted           le$ve  Geneva. With l?aael  Caltrin  worked in perfect
  to the superstitions ,of popery to be easily extricated             harmony, himself declaring: We were one heart and
   from so profbund gain abyss of -mine."          Of the circum-     one soul.    Calvin's career. in Geneva was a, turbulent
   staned.  of .this conversion nothing is certainly known,           one.    In 1538.he  was ba&ished from Geneva and labor-
 . but its central experience was that -God spoke  to him             ed in the midst of a co'ngregation  for approximately a
  -through  the ScY'iptures  and the will .of God. must b,?           year in Strassburg. He returned to Geneva because,
  ~obeyed.    No.w,  however, -he was immediately' .ihflamed          when a cardinal of the Roman  CCatholii:  Church, during
   with as intense desire to make progress in the., spiritual         *Ca;lvin's  absence, attempted to induce the city to re-
   ,knowledge  of true godliness, So that religion  had he&e-         turn to Catholicism, this-city realized that only .Calvin
  -forth-:the  ftist :plece  in his thoughts.     Humanism was        was able to refute convincingly the arguments of the
  `replaced by: a thirst after the living God and a know-             `Catholic. Of course, we cannot ,enter  i,nto a detailed
   ledge of Him out .of the Scriptures. With renewed                  discussion of Calvili's  work in `Gen:eva.  There he en-
  -energy he applied himself to the study of the Scriptures           countered fierce opposition from ma:ny::quarters,  parti-
  ,and,  particularly, to-the subjects-of Gieek ialnld  Hebrew.       cularly from those who resented his rule as with an
       Among those with whom he ,discussed  Rleformed                 ironhand  and his determination to preser've  and main-.
   doctrine was his bosom-  f @end, Nicolas  Cop, who was             tain the puriiy  of the Church of God. With  u.ntiring
   elected rector of the university of Paris.       In connection     vigor he fought against the evils of the people.            Calvin
  :with Cop's address as .head  of :the  university, it seemed        believed in church discipline to the,fullest  extent.          We
  to the two frien!ds a splendid opportunity to commend               must. remember in this connection, that; although he
   the  Reformation to'the  cultured and brilliant audiance           believed that only the Church  was authorized to exer-
  6 which would attend.       This address -they planned::to-         ciae  discipline and determine w,h&her a person .should
<gether.      ,Cop  delivered it..     He .-spoke on "Christian       be subjected--to  censure, nevertheless the civil -`govern-


              .


                      D

  212                                     T H E  ST.AND.AR.D  BEARER_.*:;`;.?..


  ment was called upon to punish all evildoers, including          himself to be carried ,to the church. on a litter, listened
  those who committed sins which today are not con-                to the sermon, and received the sacrament  ,from  the
  sidered  punishabl:e  by the state. Cdvin believed that          hand of Baeza.      He `died at eight o'clock- in the evening
  also in this marmer  the state must ever stand ready             of ,May 2'7, retaining his consciousness to his last
  to defend and. aid the church. With respect to the               brea.th.     His burial was very simple, without the slight-
  Church the great reformer distinguished between the              est ostentation.
  Church Visible and Invisible. Only, when he spoke
                                                                       CaBvin's  P,lace  in the Rk$ormatio.n.
  of this disti3nction  he did not .mean  to imply that the

  former, in distinction from the  laitter,  consisted'of  good        Finally we face the question, "What is Calvin's

  and evil.        The Church Invisible was,  according $0         place in the Reformation?"         He was the third of. the
  Calvin, the elect .body of Christ. The Church Visible            three reformers: Luther, Zwingli, arJd Calvin. How-
  was. its manifestation, revealing itself in the pure             ever, he was the third only in the order of time.      Much
  preaching  of the.  Word, the proper ad,ministration  df         has been written of Luther and Calvin with  respe&t:,

  the sacraments, and a Christian walk: ,To maintain               their personal characteristics. One hears of the,  im:
  the purity of the Church of God he labored in Geneva,            mediate attraction to the heart-winning Luther ; Calvin:
  and he regarded the state as obliged to assist him               on the other h,a.nd, because of his ofttimes  startling
  t h e r e i n .                                                  severity, .i,s often viewed as devoid of all sensibility, as
     Many were his labors and untiring his efforts  i:l            one  destitube  of love. To this we-answer, firstly, that

  the bity  of Geneva.       tHis work concerned primarily         a, zeal for the truth of God's Word consumed him, as it
 .the proclamation of, the, Word of the living God.        Be-     were.       Secondly,:it  is known that &he  Fren&h  reformer
  sides pre,aching,  caiechetical  instruction was given to        at no time disdained diligeqtly  to visit a,nd care for
  the seed of the church. Calvin wrote his  own cate-              the sick in the city whenever it wa3 possible. The
  chism ,books.      Although his catechism did not have the       inexhaustibleness of Calvin's loving .impulse  to help
  gesial  and artless simplicity of Luther, it, like every-        and advise .on [every  side, and to comply with all re-
 3hing  else which flowed from the pen of the, reformer,           quisitions upon him, from the weightiest demands upon
  is r.emarkable  for its th'eological  thoroughness and.          his `Christian cha,rity  to the li$tle  courtesies of friend-
  solidity. `In concluding our brief account of Calvin's           ship, is most brilliantly evidenced by his ,extelnsiv?
 Nyork  we desire to mention one very important matter.            correspondepce.  How many tears were .dried up by
In- 1558, when Calvin's was forty-nine years  old, an              this. apparently austere man ! In this respect he is in
  academy was founded in Geneva. .This'  institution was           no wise inferior to Luther, and it may well be that he
  primarily designed for the education of ,theologians.            not infrequently surpa.ssed  him in tact and tenderness.
  Calvin wou1.d gl+dly ha"ve expatided  it into a university,      The most loving tenderness and care are always ex-
  but for.  this the financial resources of the small com-         hibited by those who are thoroughly acquainted with
  munity of Geneva wer,e inadequate.          Theoldore  Beza      the Word of .God.                                        1.
  was its first rector. In the very first  year  after its             With Luther the Reformation. was mainly  soterio-
  founding nine hundred men, from almost dl the na-                logical.      His salva,tion  stood upon the foreground.
  tioas of Europe, entered their.names upon th:e rolls of          Luther is `characterized throughout .by  seeking peace
  the institution. Tremendous .,was the ref'ormer's  in-           for his soul.      Overwhelmed by his sense of sirifulnesa
  fluence wh%ch he. exerted upon foreign countries.        His     was he even  after he became priest and professor in
  correspondence was immense and extended in all  jdir-            Wittenberg.        In fact, it was this seeking for peace

  ections.  His industry was marvellous. To be con-                which led him from th,e study of the law to the priest-
  demned to idleness, as he occasionally was when sick-            hood.       However, his pursuit `of pea.ce quickly led him
  ness interfered with his labors, was most pa.inful to            into conflilct  with the customs and rituals of the Roman
  him. His works are well-known. Besides, his "Insti-              ,Catholic  Church.      Yea, what is more, the practices
  tutes" he completed a commentary' on almost Al1 the              and very heart of that Church hindered him in the pur-
 .books  of the Bible, a work which is noteid  for its             suit of peace, tias to his soul a ba,rrier  in his seeking
  general soundness.        IHowever,  his incessant mental        for the living *God.  Luther, finally assured of justifi-
  <exertions at length consumed his physical strength.             cation only through faith, assured of this justification
 These troubles at the la.st incvleased to such an extent          as received from God alone  -without any human inter-
  that he went to the pulpit from his bed and returned to          mediaaries,  began to labor against these false practices
  the latter immediately after the close of the service.           within the ,Church.      Doing so;it became apparent that
  He was at last obljged  to permit himself to be either           he attacked her very foundations, and was therefore
  carried,. or supported to his lecture-room.      Exhausted       excommunicated.
  with labor anld  borne ,down  .by  sickness,  he longed for          John Calvi,n  went. further. Understood correctly,
  repose;      On the. sixth of February, 1564, he preached        Luther% strugg1.e  iy.ai  not a superficial one. The
  his la&.sermon.  ..On the Second of `April he caused             question of peace for one's soul is profound. Yet,


                                        '  T H E   S T A N D A R D  B.EARER                                                     213


 Calvin went further. And, make no mistake about                   necessary for me to refute this.       Since when is natural
 Calvin.         He also knew ,by experience the meaning and       goodness ever to be viewIeld `as the heart of the Re.-
 the power of sin. `Howeirer,  and this was true p&i&-             former's teaching? Calvin's commo,n  grace (which he
 larly of Calvin, the matter of salyation was  sfill more          taught-we deny it not) was to the Reformer a. secon-
 profound' than mere personal salvation. Man's  S&Y,-              ,dary  -issue; something which seems to fit in very
 tion is .not  an end ,but  only a: means.      We are saved.      awkwardly with his conception.           Calvin is Iknown  in
 only for God's Name's sake.          We have been called out      history as the fearless champion of the sovereignty of .
 of darkness into God's marvellous  light in order thai            our God.       This, of course, controlled all his other con-
 w.e may pioclaim  the b&s&d  virtues of that God.        Th?      ceptions. Hence, he proclaim,ed__l%e  truths of uncon-
 glory of God was Calvin's thteme,  throughout.        `Of that    ditional el,ection  and reprobation, inan's natural hope-
 glory of God the -Scriptures spoke to him. And with               lessness and corruption, so that his virtues are  bu:
 all kis  amazing learning and almost unbelievable capac-          .brilliant  vices, the Christ as the only and all,-powerful
 ity for work and understanding he applied himself,                Saviour anld the irresistible efficacy  of .grace-this
 with all the God-given love" of his heart for the truth,          is Cdvinisni.  And also this shook- the very founda-
 to the study of the Word of God. That Word he studied             tions of ihe. Roman Catholic Church. In the third
                                                              J
 that Word he preached                                             place, Calvin's importance was universal. .To  him
                               ; the honor of that Word he up-
 held. Scripture was his only guide, his only rule of              there was neither Greeknor  Scythian, neither French-
 life., His knee he bowed to nothing else. All his life            man, `German, not Swiss, but only the new creature in
 lot7 $ the Lord had led him in that way. ,God  had                Christ J&us.         ,Calvin's  influence, by means of his
 gifted him .with  a `brilliant mind. IHZ:s  childhood and         theological academy and immense correspondence,
 youth had ,been  spent in study.        With the writings of      reached out to the nations of the then, known world.
 the stiholastics  and, early fathers he was thoroughly            Luther provided the spark which :set  the Church' of
 acquainted. His tireless passion for study gave him               .God  on fire; Calvin laid  its foundation, a,$ upon the
 tremendous learning.           And God had subjecte,d,  by        Word of the living God.           Calvin died at the age  of-
 His Spirit, that brilliant mind .to the knowledge of              fifty-five. I' ,He  passed am-ay  because, he could live no
 Himsel,f, revealed in His Word. "A dog", thus 11~                 lo,nger.     He died be&use  he was thorou&hly  exhausted.
`wrote once, "barks when he sees his master  attatiked  ;          But his work was finished. He had split wide open
 it would  be cowardice for me to see, the, truth of God           thte human defenses of the Church which barred the
 attacked aed  keep silence."       This man, who could treat      .way  for IGod's people unto the living God. To God
 his most bitter `enemies with  th.e  greatest kindness,           be a.scribed  all glory for His work accomplished through
 became an uncotitrollable  fury when the glory of God             this' servant of auf `God.
 was at stake.                                                                                                         H. V.
     ICalvin's  importance in the Divine work of' the Re-
 formation, the returil of the people of God out of t3e                                                                           V'

 shackles and da?kness  of Roman Catholicism is, as we
 see it, three-fold.      In the first place, he maintained the

 principle of the authority of Holy Writ as the oniy
 authority and basis for the faith aed  life of th,? cliurch,
 in contrast with the usurped authority of ihe Roman
 clergy and the exclusive authority of the pope.         Main-     Editor of The Standard Bearer

 taining this ,principle  he rocked and caused to cn&ble           Dear Mr. Editor,
 $he very foundatio8fis  of that church. ScripLure  was
 his only' text-book. Scripture was his only rule of                   My attention was called to ai article which appear-
 life.         To the ,Scripturei  he turned, and thrvugh  his     ed in the December 1, 1944, issue of  the StanSard
 God-given genius he preached, revealed  the Scr!p+tires           Bearer, written by Mr. H. A. Van  Putte.n.        That article
 to the people. ,The Word of ,God was John Calvin's                reflects so unfairly upon the C2L.A.) and :even  upon the
 s\<-or&  And how h,e wielded it! Secondly, in main-               so-called neutral unions, that it is not right to leave it
 ta.ining  the Scriptures, he maintained its cardinal truth. :     unchallenged. I would therefore like to have a. little
the  sovereignty of God.         It is hatidly necessary for me    space to,reply  to it.
t.0 prove this.          People today prate of Calvinisni, 1               The brother first of all ncondemns  collective bargain-
 calvinism  which certainly would sound strangely for-             ing.      But, it is quite clear that he has a faulty concep-
 eign to the Reformer, whose name it beam.              Pebple     tion of it.     First of all it must be unbierstood  that when
 today prate of. a Calvinism, whose .underlying  prin-             representatives of unions bargain with an etiployer
 ciple seems to be a control of the  who16  wbrld,m  -in 3.        they`d0 not bmgkn for ,what a zuo-r*ker  ;is goi@y  to'be
 universa.i,  general sense, for God, possible  -by and ,based     paid but for-&at is go&g  to be paid  fo8r the p&form-
on the theory qf common  grace,            I say, it is hardly     unce of a job.       And if an employee can staisfactorily

          I


 21-4                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

 perform tha,t job he is- entitled to the rate set for it.        Christian workers should not belong to  the%                  But, let's
 It is' true, of course, that there is a great difference         be hgnest  at least.         Such a picture as Mr. Van Putten
 between men.. And, the`  C.L;A.  and many other unions           has. drawn is pgrossly  unjust.                          .
 as well, ta,ke-  cognizance of that and therefore provide           And then the admonition to C.L.A. members at tha
 that the rate set on a job is the minim&n'  ra.te and$hat        end, to think it over!           Think over what? `Does Mr.
the ,employer  may pay more *to the mork efficient em-            Van Putten  even mean- to imply that the ridiculous
 ployees.     That fact that the employer very seldom does        comparison  he made also applies to the C.L.A. ?                  If so
 that `only proves how little exceptional ability is ap-          he owes us an apology.           Who ever heard of .the  C.L.A. .
/  p r e c i a t e d .                                            breaking a, contract, beating up people, destroying;
    Collective bargaining has come with mass industries.          peopl,e,  ld,esfroying  property, etc.? I would like to
 And it is a blessing for the worker that it did.       What      know about it.          .
 chance has an individual`in a mass industry, where  the                                            .
                                                                     Such writing, Mr. Edltor,  does more harm than

 employer has' no direct contact with the men; to bargain         good.    Your Church has the union problem to contend

so tha.t  he will get justice, when not a man's ability but       with.    But, those who are faced with, the problem are
 the labor market determines what  wages are going tj             not going to be kept`out  of unchristian unio:ns  by pre-
 be.paid?      (I have normal conditions in mind of course..)     senting. that kind of arguments.             Above everything we

 Not only that, but if Mr. Van  P&en's idea were to               must be honest and just!               Would it be just to condemn
 be carried `out. theme  `would h&e to be 300 Idifferent          all the people in a church as thieves arid adulterers be-
 rates in a factory employibg  300 men. Nd two men                cause a few had fallen into such sing? That would
 are exa.ctly.  equal in ,ability.    What a mess that would      be,doing exactly as Mr. Van P&en has done.
 be! What a lo,t  of trouble that would cause! Who                                   Yours for justice and truth,
 would determine the exact -wotih  of each man? The                                                J. Gritter, Secretary C.L.A.
 answer is of cou.r&  that they must do that together.
 Yes, but isn't it much fairer then to bargain for all the

 employees doing  the same kind of work at one time,
 through a chosen representative @ho h,as the ability to
 do so? What -Mvdr;. Van`P utten writes about such a man
 not being able to swear  fin oath, etc., is quite mean-          The~Apollinarian  Conception .of the
 ingless.     Such an a.,rgument;,is,  only brought in for ef-
 fect. I have many times represented  men indbargain-                          Natures of [Christ
 ing.      An oath was *never  required, but-if  it had been
 I would riot have hesitated to take it.                              There are some people concerning whom, you just
         When the brother touches on responsibility before        cannot become angry. No matter. how they may op-
 God he ought to think a bit more about his responsi-             pose you, there is somethirig  about them that makes
 bility towa.rd fellow-workers. The Lord taught us to             you want to like them. Perhaps this  is due to the
 pray, "Give us this day our daily bread", not, "give me".        logical viray  they present their opposition ; then too,
 ichristianity  is not everybody for himself, but we are          their persona.1 .character  or sincerity often tempts o.ne

 definitely our brothiers'  keepers too. .Iti our employ-         to hand& them, 9s they say, "with gloves. on".                    Some
 ment that means that we should be as much concerned              opponents'there are who are so offensive in their ap-
about our fellow-wokkel-s  g&ting  a just wage as about           proach $h2,t-  you immediately decide to vanquish them
 ourself.     The way to do that z is to bargain collectively and' put them ifi their proper place. While, on th?
 throdgh a Christian qrganizatioil.                               other hand, there are others, who perhaps are just as

   So. much on that topic. But the brother passes on              vicious al?d bent on your ,destruction  but who are not

 .an $rgument  against unions that would be- amusing if           iquite  so boastful and appear to be  very sincere i.n their
 `it `wasn't so terribly unfair.        His assuniptiofi  of a    opposition, against wh.om  you decide to treat them as
 decorating contract& taking a job, then demanding                kindly 9s possibIe  and sincereIy  1a.y before them your
 more, and because the other party refuses to pay it              argumentation as you have been  impressled  by them.
 .proceeding  to drive that man's family fr,om his home,              The study of .the  history involved in our subject
 destroying his property, etc. etc., is supposed to be a.         and particularly as-it pertained to the persdn of  Apol-
 fair ,picture  of a union in .action!      What a shameful       lintiris  himself, -has brought me to two inescapable
 miisrepresentatipn even of any unchristian union ! It i3         conclusions: first, I *as (dealing. with an i,ntelligent
 very true that some unions have made misuse of their             but dangerous heretic  ; second, I was confrotited  with
 power. But the ca.rricatujre  presented by Mr. Van               a man who left every semblance of  sincierity  in his
 Putten  is nof a:true  picture of at least 95 percent of         attempt to defend  his doctrine.
 qrga,nized  labor.       I am not making a plea for the  neur        The Apollinaris of whom I speak is the well-known
 tral unions.     There are many pea`sons  why I believe that     heretic inscribed in Church History with the full name


                                      THE  S T ' A N D A R D  BEARE:R                              ~                     215

of Apollinaris of Lao,dicea,  and is to be distinguished           The second advantage believed to be gained by his
from his father also known by the same name. The                theory was the securing of the unity of Christ's person
latter was mede a presbyter. in Laodices,  in Syria and         Apolliuar$  asserted that if Christ possessed two per-
was called Apollinaris the, Elder, while his son with           fect natures then it must also be maintained thaJt He
whom we are now concerned was known as Apollinaris              was two, persons and consequently the resultant product
the younger.    He was born presumably about 310 and            is two mediators.          "If", said  he, "to perfect man be
like his father was first a teacher of rhetoric.     About      joined perfect God, there are two, not one: one, the
346 he becanie  acquainted with Athanasids, .and they           Son of God .by nature; another, the Son of God by
became warm friends, notwithstanding theological                a,doption."    On the other hand, he held that his theory
Rdifferences.  .Athanasius  calls him a bishop in 362.          gave one person, who was at once perfect man  `and
Epiphanius also speaks of him as one .who had always            perfect God, the two natures not being concrete  sep:-
.been beloved by himself, Athanasius, and all the ortho-        arable things, but two aspects `of the same person.
dox; so .that when he- first got tidings of the. new            Christ was true' God, for He was the eternal Logos
heresy, he could hardly' believe that such a ,doctrinG          ma.nifest  in the flesh.        (He was also true man; for
could emanate from such a man.                                  human nature consists of thee component elements.
    Apollinaris had ,done excellent servi,ce as a champion      body, animal soul, and spirit of all three are combined.
of Me Nica.ean  symbol against the Arians, and had              according to the theory, in the person -of Christ  ; while,
given a still more conclusive proof of his zeal in that         on the commo.n`theory,  there were four things com-
cause by suffering exile on account of his opposition           bined in Him, whlereby  He became not a man, but a               .
to the Arian heresy.                                            mandGod, a. monstrum, resembling-the fabulous animals
    How Apollinaris tias  moved to invent the theory.           `of Greek mythology.         True, it might be objected that:
which  forever marked him in the annals of Church               the third element in the person of' Christ, the mind
History as one of the arch heretics. may be accounted            (nous), was not human but divine.           But Apollinaris
for with several reasons,. chief of which no doubt              was ready with his reply. "The mind in Christ,"  he
. would be his determi.nFd  .hostility  to the opinions con-    said in effect, "is at once divine and human  ; the Logos
cerning the person of the Saviour, characteristic of            is at-once the express image of God` and the prototype
the Arian heretics.     The Arian doctrine of the person        of humanity."      ,This appears to be what he meant
of Christ was, that in the historical person called Christ      when he asserted that the humanity of Christ was
agpeared  in human flesh the very exalted, in  & sense          ,eternal,-a -pa.rt  of' his `system which was much  mis-
divine, creature named in Scripture the Logos. The              understood by his opponents, who supposed it to have
Logos having taken the place ,of  a human soul, and             reference to the body of Christ. There is no reason
being liable to human infirmity, yea, :even  to sin, in         to believe that Appolinaris meant to teach that our  .
as much a.s, however exalted, He was  still a creature,         Lord's flesh was. eternal,, and that He brought it with

therefore finite, and fallible, was capable of turning, in      Him from hea.ven,  and therefore was not really b&n of
the abuse of freedom, from good to evil. Apollinaria            the' Virgin Mary; though some- of his adherents may
replied to Arius in effect as follows : "Christ is, as you have held su,ah opinions. His idea was, that Christ
say; the Logos appearing in the flesh and performing            was the celestial man; celestial, because divine ; man,
the part of .a human soul ;. but the Logos is not a crea-       not merely as God inca-&ate,  but because the Divine

ture, as you maintain ; ,He is truly divine, eternally be- ,Spirit is at the same ti.me essentially- human. In the
gotten, not made, a.nd therefore morally infallible".    In     combination whereby Christ's person was constituted
no other way did it seem to him possible to escape the          there was thus nothing incongruous, though there was
Arian mutability; for he not only~  admitted the falli          something unique; the divine being fitted in its own
bility of'all  creatures, however exalted, but he believed      nature, and having, as it were, `a yesrning  to becorn
that in human beings at least a rational soul, endowed          man.                 ,.
with intelligence and freedom, not only may, but must              .The  third. advantage accruing from his theory, that.
inevitably fall into sin, Accordingly,  Apolli~aaris de-        of making Gold in very deed the subject of a suffering
nied that Jesus had a human mind and ascribed to Him            huma,n  `experience, Apollinaris reckoned of no less
only an immutable divine mind which, to quote his own           value than the other two.         It seemed to him of funda-
words, "should not through defect of knowledge: be              mental importance, that the person of Christ should  be
subject to the flesh, but should without effort bring           so conceived of, that everything- belonging to His
the flesh into harmony with itself."                            earthly history, both the miracles and the sufferings,
    The advantage Apollinaris saw in this theory was            should be affirmed directly and exclusively, of the
`therefore a sinless Mediator which according to all            divine element i-n Him. Further, he asserted, a  mau
orthodox thinking was essential to salvation.       In other    liable to the common corruption cannot save the world;
words, if Christ was fallibl,e  and capable of sin, He          neither can we' be saved, Ieven by ,God,  unless He mix
could not be the perfect Saviour.                               with us.    He must become an impeccable man, and die.


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            and rise agaiq`and  so destroy the empire of death over            birth of a complete human nature in time:
                                                                              . .
            all                                                                      3. Apollinaris asserted finally that not the human
                  ; He must die as Go,d, for the death of mere man
            does not destroy .death,  but only the death of one over           in Christ endured suffering but the  <divine, hereby de-
            whom death cannot prevail. Such thoughts as these                  nying the Scriptural truth that  `He was tempted in all
            appeared to Apollmaris  arguments in favor of his                  points like we yet without sin."
            theory ; for he maintailned  that in the common theory                   No better can the true doctrine accepted and ex-
 ; the divine had-really no part inChrist's  sufferi.ngs:              To      pressed by the Church over against the Arian and
            rectify `this defect was the leading aim of:. the new              Apollinarian h,ersies  be stated than in the creed adopted
            Christology. . Gregory of_Nyssa,  in his polemical treat- at the, Council of ChalGedon  in 451 which is& follows:
            ise aga,inst  Apollinaris states that the whole scope' of           "Wle,  then, following the holy Fathers, all-with one
            the work in -which the lat,ter  promulgated his opinions           consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son,
            was to make the deity of the only-begotten Son mortal,             our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect i,n ,Godhead
            and to show that not the human in Christ endured  suf-             and also perfect in manhood ; truly God and truly man,
       feritig,  but the impassible and unchangeable nature in                 of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the
            Him, converted to participation in suffering.                      Father accor.ding  to the Godhead, and consubstantial
            ' The `defects of the theory of Apollinaris are very               iwith  us according to the ma.nhood;  in all things like
            glaring. One radical error is the assumption that to               unto us, without sin ; begotten before all ages of the
            get rid of sin `we must g:et,  rid of a. human mind in             Father according to the Godhead, and these latter days..
            Christ.      Gregory of Nyssa, referring -to the apostolic         for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary,
:: dictum, "Tempted in all points like as we are, without                      the Mother of God, alecording  to the manhood; one and
            sin,`? very pertinently remarks, "but mind is not sin."            the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, in two
      .If it be siin, then to be consistent, the theory ought to               natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, the
            take `away mind not merely from' Christ, but from                  distinction of <natures  being by no means taken away
            human nature itself. Yet Apollinaris is so far from                by the -union, but rather the property of each nature
            doing this, tha.t he represents mind (nous)  as the lead-          being preserved, and concurring in-one  person a.nd one
            ing element in human. nature.        It is because the mind        subsistence, not parted or ,divided,!into  two persons,
      mis the domiilating  element that' its omission is neces-                but :one' and the same Son and Only-begotten, God the
       .sary  in order to secure the  u,nity  of Christ's' person.             Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the
If `Christ consists of two perf,ect,  i.e. complete, un-                       beginning have Ideclared  concerning Him, and the Lord
            mutilated natures, then, according to Apollinaris, He is           Jesus Christ..Himself  has taught, us, and the creed of
not one.._                                                                     the holy Fathers has handed down to us."
             `Another manifest defect -in the theory is, that i?:                                                                M. S.

,s adopts means for excluding' the -possibility of sin in
            Christ, which defeat another of its own `chief ends,
            namely, that of making th.e  divme  partaker of suffer-
            ing.      Place is found for the Physical fact of *death,  but

            no place is found for the  mortal'suffering  connected

            `with temptation. Christ is so carefully guarded from

            Sin, that He is not even allowed to know what it is to
            be tempted to sin. Apollinaris was so afraid of the                            0 come, behold what wondrous works,
            Arian doctrine of fallibility tha.t  he solves the problem                         Jehovah';s  hand has wrought;
            of_ Christ's sinlessness by annihilating the very -con-                        Come,. see what ,desolation  great
      ditions under whi'ch the problem had to be worked out.                                    He on the earth hath brought;
                                                                                           To ,utmost  ends of all the earth
      . Accordingly, .a11 the temptations and struggles of Christ
      are reduced to a show. and a sham.                                                        He causes war to cease ;
      .:                                                                                   The weapons of the strong destroyed,
 :           I : h conclusion, let us reca.,pitulate  summarizing the
 ,tenets  and errors of Apollinaris, and set forth briefly                                      He makes abiding peace.
            the true and accepted doctrine that evolved from this
            controversy.                                                                   Be still and know that I am God,            :

             .      1. :Apollinaris  denied that Christ possessed a human                       `O'er  all exalted high  ;       '
i mind and theref,ore  necessarily bdeni,ed a complete                                     The subject nations of the earth
            hum.a.n~.  nature.                                                                  `My Name shall magnify ;
                                                                                           The Lord of hosts is ,on our side,
 j                  2. Apollinaris asserted. that$he  humanity of Christ
       *was eternal, the humanity here, having reference not                                  Our safety to secure;
      to the flesh but His ,spirit,  was both divine and human,                            The God of Jacob is for us,
            celestial and Ieternal,  again ~denymg  the conception and                          A refuge strong and sure.
                                                                                                       .


