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     VOLUME                                              ,X2$IV..                       February   .I$,  :194$  .7  `Grand  Rapids,   Michigan.   ,:  `.                                                                                                                    _  :.  .:NUMBFR.   A?.
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                                                                                                   ..._,             ;.           .I     i..           ..a'
                                                                                                                                                               3           ..-,.!z     &C~j~+$~of~  bur?  Eg&+   shouid  :vel  &,+j&;i   ifi:  pra&je   &(j                                                                                  .

                        .jM  i  D                                                                                                                                                     `a~~&&.&`~~o$-~   gl'oriotis  (Yodgeaa;   .Qyho  r~&&l;d'  Hi&-
                                                              I;rjr;A   .T'.$   O:N:;

                                                                                                                                                                                      ielf  as  Jkho;u&2;  :  the'
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Co+,&ant  (-jods:  _  -  '  .  :  -  f,-  :  i                                           ._

                                                                          ,,.          :..;                          I                            :                                                                                    ~
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            _
     ,-                                                                                                                                                                                I.         `,          ,.:`:;      `J      I         zuq*`
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         d                        *-,
                 :                                                                                                                                                    .
                                                                '                                                                                :              .            ../
                                          (_....                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    1;,                   /
     ,,  Judy,  The.Pr~~~~,]Of:.,~e~~v~~
                                                                                                                                                                                       ;T,he  p$&  $.  J,&ovah  !                                                                      .,     '     .           4
:                                                                                                                          .z  /  ./
                                                                                                                            ,,,  ,.,  >.  )                                                     That is the tiea&& 6f the name : Judas !                                                                   `              `.'
                                 ..  .I s'LN&  .&I1 I pi&se. the `Lbrd;` the&ore,  She called m                                                                                                 The name Judas iS a glorious name. I can think
                                            l&  n&e   Judah."7AGen.   29:35b:                                                                                                 "
                                                    :                                                                                                  ' ,:                            of no lia& !&ore  beau&%&  more*%ppropriate   f6.r the
                                               "My  hraisk:  s%ll"be of  .T&&.in  th$  great   co&r&                                                                                  `cieatGre~madQ,in:,th,e.im~g-e                                      o                       f                         Go&'  :  :  `_,  ,'
                        I                   gatidn."~~psal,m                     22:25a.                       "                    .,'                _j  .'  '  li'.                 , We first &a? of <t `in, that: s<rI$w,ful~  story `& L&i
          `.                                                                                                                                                                                  _. *'
          "..                                  `!Tien   one  .of  /the.  ttiel&,`.~call~d'  Jbhas   .I&ar@t,                                                                           and her  struggles.                                  By` &il,"&btlety  Lab@.i  htid in-
                :  1'  I, went  &to   the  g$ief   $es&   a n d   s&d  i&o  t&&n, flitted a woman !upon. Jacob,,vliQm tie did no%,tesi$:
                                          What  will-`ye   gi;e"`me,'  and I  &ill   d&+er  I$  .&to
                             . . . . .                                                                                     /.                                                          he  l&&i  Ra&&,  not  Leah.' But  Leah loved Jacob.
                                            you? and they &ov'bnanted  ti@; hj$ ~or,thirt$`piecks                                                                                      In these few words you have :the:material  for a struggle
                                            .of silver. And from that Gme  he&u@&  o$port&&
                                                                          ..,                                                                                                          that is pitiful to behold. How Leah fought to. obtain
                                          ta betray.            .+i.                   .'          _                       /               ;                                          &he.  love of her h,usband ! We can tell. by, the. names                                                                                        I .
                                               Aiid  forthw&h   .hA  c.a&e  to  J&&s;  and  said,  ..&xi~, which she gives to her cliilclyefi i -Reuben, Simeoh, Levi.1                                                                                                                                                                      "
                                            Master; and kissed  Hini."--Matt.   26:14-1$,`49.                                                                                          First, Reul&n : @.&ly,3he: .Lprd ha$h,,looked upon my
                                                                                 `.                                        `                                                           affliction ;  noti  therefore' my  husband  yill  lqve  .c.e!
                      Thi praises of Jell&ah : `the ultimate -and exclusive $ecoqd, simeon ; Bqzqse .the. Ford `h?;h, heard that I
a.nd exhaustive purhose of the Universe,.of histqry and ~8s .hatql," He h@-i ther+re Igiven' mc t@isP'son -a&.!
     of the `n&C World that is ,c&nin&`. .' `. . . `.:                                                                                                  _. _.                          Th@d, >&?yi (.r&eqI$g the most. pitifg!' @-@se ,of r@
                 Th&`prais& of Jehovah:  .`bur.`ek&  $ese&   &lljng,                                                                                                                   st%uggles `and suffe'ri@), :: Noti. t@ titie witl, my hus-
     whether tie `are. good or evil;. tinge1 or `devil,. consciqus band be joined urito nie, be&&e:1 have born him f;l-qe
     or' unctinscious,  no  mat&`in what  state  61;  c&dition sons! .                                                                                                                                                                 . .  ., r                      `,               1..           :
     we may be : we always shduid praise the Lord'! '                                                                                                                                         But- it was. all to `A0 avail : Jacob loved.  .Rachel*
     `."  The -primitive root  .dE  thk  word  `$&tie"  is. the                                                                                                                        m&e  thah poor Leah with her  .. tender eyes;  .aYld
     throwing out of the hand!                                                                           *.
     "                                                                                                                                                                                 heart that. was God-fearing, .more than. the' Feart of
                      With` hands s&etched out, %ih eyes, iook$' u,p- Rachel;,                                                                                                                                                   .          -     `.            -           :     _, , ,                             :
     ward, and singing in-. great jubilation `and rejoicing,                                                                                                                                    Jacob did ,not iurn to .her-with the desired 1ov.e;  r;:.-
     we' should praise the L"o?d!                                                       -                                          -                           "                      .  -But all -~things  work together for good. unto- those
                 `~ ,Atid b&&se of ~ His worth ! .He is t6. be ' p&iseh that love' God, that are the called according t6 .His
     dontinu&i;  because  Hk  is `worthy. It  belqngs  t-0  I$ `good-pleasure. -LIeah .has: learned her `lesson;..  : *When
     C&lk;e&t Cd His Lordship  that H&has all the worth, Shea , again becomes..  preenan% ~ and -bears: a. jsqfi, :she
     ali `the. vifttie, all the la j e&y, `honor and `glory imagiti- tPrns:+way  from her -husband..and;  stretchiQg put,:&er                                                                                                                                                                                                    _
                                                                                                                                                 _.. I
     able, and above our imagination.                                                         L                                                                                       .hand `to-be&veil, :;exclaims.:.  Judah !; _> `Oh Judak! :,.. N.ow                                                                         _
                      And, Ymally; Vr;e shduld'dd So fr6m out of the.mbtive                                                                                                            I- will  prais.e:$he  Lord:!  :;.  `I.-  _.  1:  `:  "r-,:a; .  ;,,.  `_
     ,of-~purest-love!   y .  :'                                     -              . . .  .:  :                                 '  :. . .  :T-, - :' I The"`He,bCw  Jit&ti, and 3h6`%raqslitePat&d  .Juflgs,
     `. :..- -And' `that -love should b< absolutely exclusive. All                                                                                                                     are `the names which .give;tis 23uCswtiefebt calling. :


                                                                                                                            4




218                                           I' H E    S T A N D A R D   BEARER
                           8  * * *                                   Oh, Judah is beautiful !            -
                                                                       And  man,' created in ,the image of God, stood Yn,
       In the deepest sense, this name should be .given` to        the midst of this beauteous scene and found his call-
God. I should say this different: the name Judah ing :' he had to interpret all such singing, and from the
fits God in the absolute sense of the word. That is motive  of pulest covenant love, ireturn to God and sing
better, for it is true.                                            intelligently of all the wonders of His Creator.
       God is Judas, for He praises Himself from eternity              And he did for a little while.
to eternity.                                                          `For a little while his name was. JUDA% : he praised
  Eternally God stretches forth His hand  to Him- God  .in  t&e first  .paradise.   0
self and expresses all  the wonder of His glorious-
Being: it is the song of the praise of the Covenant                      ,                  :::     :% ::: :I:
Jehovah.
       There is no one, and there shall be no one who so               But all thiqgs were perverted, horribly pe;+erted
perfectly knows all the beauties, `the glories and the `through sin apd evil, hard upon the finished picture in
virtues of the Godheid,  as God Himself.  He perfectly tb.e garden of  Ed&.
knows with a Divine, Knowledge just how unutterably                    Man fell. Now all is guilty and also corrupt,`per-
glorious  .He is in power, in wisdom, in strength and in. verted, turned into its very oppqsite.
.goodness:                    I                                        Man still evaluates #God, but deems Him worthy of
       And what would be unutt,era& with us; is, utterable neglect, indifference, or mockery. They curse itistead
in Him.                                                            of blessing Him, who is the joy of the angels.
       He rejoices in them and sings His eternalfeovenant              They do not love, Him anymore  ; they hate Him
song in cadences and melodies that cannot be imagined with cruel liatred.
by us. For  Gocl,is GOD!              .  '                             Oh yes, they will yet praise ; they will stretch out
  ^ Again:  th@ is no one who can learn that  song' the hand in utmost adoration and` *orship, but the
and sing it to perfection for there is no one w!$a'k?ows           object is man, creation, the horrors of sin and evil.
His infinite worth even as He Himself.                             Sometimes t&ir glory is in their shame!
   ' And yet there is  the rpossibility  to sing kis s,ong.            Man cannot deny- his essence, his being : h& must
H&y Scripture has told us.                                         Serve, love, adore,,stretch  fo&h his hand in obeysance,
  . The praises of :Jehovah, our `sweetest tailing !               yearn ior the object. But he lost hi& God; and now he
                                                                   will fashion his own god : it is the idol and its worship :
                         `
                          *  * Y.  io                              abominable iniquiti !
                                                             -
                                                                       No praise, but its monstrous opposite, contrast,
       First,  `We  mUSt  POil'k  YOU  t0  WeZd~On  8S  it  Came- ant&&S.:   he  adores  the  creature,  in  the  place  of`  the
from His holy hands in the morning of history.                    Creator.
       All' things declare the glory of, God, especially the           ,  1      P
heavens. Psalm 19.                                                                           :i:  :I: :i:           21:     `
       "The heavens d,eciare  the glory of God a$d the firma-
ment shewetg His handiw&k. Day unto day uttereth                       Anno d&minus `33 wQ see a J&&s, and we tremble.
speech -and night Unto hight sheweth knowledgk. There                  It is the man Ghose fault it is that at this late date
is no speech nor language where. their voice is not in history we would never think of baptizing our child
heard."                                                           . with the name of Judas. When we call a man Judas
       Attend also to Psalm 98 where we hear: "Let the we make his blood to boil with anger.
fl.oods clap their hands before the Lord for' Be "com-                 And yet the name is sweet, beautiful, full of the
eth, for He comet11  !"
       TAnd Isaiah `55 where we listen again tb the song .wisdom  of God.
of praise: the very trees of' the field shall clap their               But Judas, the historical Judas, is a worthy sod of
hands f 6r they see the salvation of the Lord !                    his f&her the devil.
        Can  you not see the picture at  th& dawn of  his-             But let us remember that he is our representative
t o r y ?                                                          in the drama which transpired anno dominus 33. Let
       Floods and hills and valleys aild mountains ; trees us `emphasize that. Do not look upon him to denounce
and herbs and  grass and flowers ; beasts and birds him in self-righteous anger. He was a man With like
and fishes ; all the forms, the colors, the sounds and             passions as we have. He showed what we a,re capable
the odours : they all unite htirmoniously to Ding their `. of doing.                               z           '
songs of praise to `their Maker : a `very pean of hhppi-             But let us see :- how did he live his beautiful name?.
ness and  kejoicing.  They found  th6ir calling: JUDAH! He certainly evaluated Jesus. He knew  hirh. For
The praise of Jehovah-God!                                         three years he walked with Him and saw His works


                                     THE  S T A N D A R D ' B E A R E R                                                  2 1 9 ,

and heard His `glorious speech. He had a marvellous             - And he sank deeper and deeper,  away into the
Man for a pieacher.                                           abyss.
 . And  &f;ter  all was said and  don&, he went to the But, oh woncler,  He will  contine&  His praise of
chief priests and covenanted w@ them relatitie  the God.                        I               `.
*price of His betrayal: a handful of silver.  Praise  is          Even in the bottommost bottom of hell, Jesus
the stretching  out of the' hand in' wbnd~er.   - But he pra;ises God  I              It is exactly because Jesus always
stretched out the hand to very filthy lucre.                  praised, God that you and I can be saved. It was the
   According to his  name he should praise God in revelation of the love of dbediefice.
Jesus Christ, the Lord. Listen to. this Judas: Hail,              Adam had to `praise God in the beauty of Paradise,
Rabbi ! Hail ! what a beautiful word ! Its root is to re- when everything was for him. But the second or last
joice, to be glad. But in this instance his elatiol;,  is Adam stands on the nethermost bottom of hell; there
caused by the knowledge of his abominable success.            to sing the praises of God. Listen to Him : My GQd !
    The motive of his terrible action? It is nqt love,        My God ! In those few words you listen to praise of
but fpul hatred.' And yet, it seems as though he.loves God the Father!  H,e  htid never let  go of God. Jesus
Him. He embraced and kissed the Son of God ! Wh&t . is Judas indeed !
depth of infamy.1 We can but shudder.
   And `he receives his  reward.   !After Satan has                                       *    *      I     *                  .
used his tool, he casts it into the remorse of `despair.
Judas graps .the rope and hangs liimself. A fitting end           And this is the everlasting Gospel: Jesus"is Judas:
of a son of the devil.                                        for you and for me and for all .those  `that were fore-
                                                              known in ttie.forekno@edge  of the l&e of God..
                                                                  He stood in your room, my brother, and for you
                                                              an-d in your stead he fulfilled the injunction : .You shall,
    And  now look upon the  *Loyd:  Look strongly on. praise Me as the highest Good!'
J&u&,' for Hk is the fulfillment of the name Judas.              And He  is also a  .Judas in you.
  You may say that He is the only Judas that is left,             Through the regenerating power .of `His Holy.Ghost,
on. ihis sorry globe. We "carry with us the nature and through the wonderworking power of His Word,
OS the bseudo-Judas.                                          He teaches you  `to  praise  Gdd.
    But Jesus is the true and `pure praiser of God.               Oh yes, I know that we stammer, that we tremble
    He evaluated the Godhead aright in order to al;rive       &s we sing, tiut sing.we must and sing we will. If-we
at His proper worth. Listen to Him :. It is my meat wduld be siledt the very stones in the street wodld  sing
and drink to do His glorious will !                           God's praises.
    And His hands are ever alqft tq express the wonder            From generation. to generation, there are Judasses
of tile glorious Godhead. He prophesied-of this ages in the great congregation. They sing the song of ador-
before He came, in His prophets: "My praise shall             ation of God, our loving Father in Jesus Christ our
be -of Thee in the great congregation !" Psalm 22:25a. L o r d .
    But, o horrors, what terrible atmosphere surrounds
this Judas! What agony and suffering is His lot !
All the days of His flesh He mu& go with strong cry-
ing and tears to His Father in heaven, for `He is made            Presently this dispensation and this world- will
to bear `the sins. atid the guilt of all the children of pass away.
God. And theiload  that presses sore upon Him grows              It will be the great catastrophe: all things must be
ever Feavier. It grows so heavy that at last it presses purified in that last conflagration.
tlie.very blood thpough the pores of His blessedlhead.,          ,And then the setting will be recreated for the "great
And the thick drops ,stain the soil of Gethsemane.            coi-@egation".                                     .
    But He is the real, the only Judas.            -              And there, ifi that congregation, Jesus of Nazareth,
    Wh'en all the crying  and groaning are  tr&i&at&d but now the glorified Lord, will lead the singing.
in heavenly  language you  would see that  HIS every
expression is praise of G6d.                                      And He  will"teach you and me  $0 sing the song
   You will remember that. the root meaning of the of the praise of God.
word "praise" `is the stretching out of the'hand, up-             That, my brother, will be heaven.
ward in wonder and addration.                                     It is the singing of  the song of  Gases  and the
    Well, you will find it. with Jesus of Nazareth.           L a m b .
    Ages before, He made David sing of it : With,bands            Judas, the reai meaning  of Judas, shall be eternally
strytched  .out  throtighout   -the. night,  .uficoinforted I fulfilled.
sought for light!                                                                                                     G. V.


    220,                                                                                                                          %$$a  i  s%~N(lri.RD  .j-j~~~pj;C;
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                                          EDITOR:  i Rev. H.  H0eksem.a.                                                                                                                       :                            '                .._ .               '       ;         `:.            3;
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 .'
    tiiit~ibutin~~  Editors : -  `Reir. G. M.  Ophofi,   R&v.  G.  V\es,.`.Rev.                                                                                                                                                         :                 `.           THE                 `ClOVENANT                     GOD                   1.`.
    R.*V8qldni+,   Rev:.H. Veldman, Rey. H. De Wolf; Rev. B.  Kok;                                                                                                                                                                                                                              . .
    R&v.  J.  .D.  De Jong,  Rev. `A.  Pietter,  Rev. C.  Hanko; Rev. L.                                                                                                                                                                      With, this. initial ar&le I `would  l&gin ,A short criti-
   V&meer, Rev. G. Lubbers, Rev. M. Gritters, Rev., J. A. Heys,                                                                                                                                                                   cal` s&v&y of t&c ]?o&ion' which the Lib&at!ed Church-
    Rev.`W.                        Bofman.                                                                                  `
                                                                                                                               .                                                                                                  es in the Netherlands have taken with respect to the
       Com'muriicatior&  relative to  ;&tents  should be` addressed to                                                                                                                                                            Coveliatit  ,of .Grdce,  and related .matters,  Isuch `as the
   &EV.  GERRIT VOB, Edgerton,  Minnes&a..                                                                                                                                                                                        question  L with. whom `God establishes His covenant, '
    Communications relative to subscription should be  acidressed   the  ijromise,   the  `chii@&>   or  the  h&s  of  `the  promise,
   to MR. GERRIT PIPE, 1463 Ardmore St., S. E., Grand Rapids,                                                                                                                                                                     the sign :and. seal of the covenant, the childreti's  part,
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   notice.                    '                                                                .I                                                                                                                                      "  Iri  this  apticle  5 would point out  .tha$  ,if  we  tire  $0
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   Entered as  Second  Class Mail at Grand Rapids,  .Michigan.                                                                                                                                                                    nant and matters relating to it, we will have to study
                         _                                                                                                                                 :                   ;                                                  the Wo?d of God as `it teaches us that God ih Himself
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  is the Covenant God, apart from any relation which He
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  m&y create between Himself apd His creatures. `Not
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  to see this point, at least, not to apply this point in the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  views .of many brethren, hasled many of them to fatal
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ,.mistakes in-their ctincepiton  of the cbvenant, etc.
                                                                       -(-jjN'J"NjTI'Si.                                                                                "                              ..                                     A$  %hi& junc$urti I' would like to ask : How are uie
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  to arrjve at any definite knowledge relative the truth
   MEDITATION  :-                                                                                                                 :. .                                                                                            of thin&, &xc&t `we. go `to `school with. the living God
   J U D A H ,   THE  PRAIISE   O F   WlEBOVAH   ,-
                                                                                                                                . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  `..217                       listen `to  `f-I&- as ~ He-  eipres$e's.  Him&lf aBent sued
                                                                                                                                                                                                                  :
       ~  -Rev.  G. Vos.                                                                                                                                          ,.                                                              trtiths;. io that wk may arrivg at a clear, understaeding
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       of them !                                                                                                   I
   EDITCjRIALSs-   :-'                                                        .'                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    .'            :  __'
             _                                                                                                                                       1  `.                                                                                    &i+t Us `give .you an example. "
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  \
!HE.  COVENANT.   CONTROVERSY, . . . . . . . . . . . . . :..: . . . . . . . . :.;...: . . . . . . . . . . 220                                                                                                                                i  They!.  & the. t&&f fatherho'od.                                           .'            `.:              1
      *'  R&v.   G .   +o;.                                                              .#                                                                                                                                                  Np.w if we are to approximate the truth.of this'&n,
  ,ouR   DOCTRINE                                                                                                                                                                                      222 cept, we  ,will have to. study the  gr,eat:  FATHER, for
                                                . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..~......... I . . .."..~...."..~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
                                                                                                                   I..
          Rev..  8. Veldman.                                                                                                                                                                                                      after' Him all `f@ierhood is named, Ephesians ,3 :14
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  a.lTd 15 ,+ead : "FOP this cause I bow my knees unto the
   %l!IE   tikY  O                        F             StiAtiOWS.   -:  `I  -                                                                                                 '                       226 Father :of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole
                                                                                . . . . . . . . . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
   THROUGH THE AGES                                                                                                                                                                                    228 fan$y ,in heaven and ea'rth  is name&" ,Now,  the word
                                                                         . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
  !THE.  LORD'S, GRACE  SOVEREI\CN................  ;i,:..:...;..:  ....... ;.:...230                                                                                                                                             fc~@@ in.$he,te@  is in Greek pa+& meaning ancestry,
          Rev. G. M. Ophoff.                                                                          ..                                .'                                                                                        a line: of fathers running back tq, some progenitor. It
                                                                                                                                                                           -.                                                     is a word that is diirectly der+d.fyom  the word patSee+,
   &ON'S                                  ZiNGEN
                                                   .:                                                       L
                                                          . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...? . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;.......; . . . . . I . . . . . 233                              meaning-fathey. :Therefore,   I.  db not  s&y  -$otoo much
                                                                                                                                                                                         :'
      ~Rev.   G.-Vos.   :                                                                                                                                                                                                         when I hold that .if `you are'to-  study ,the. idea of father
                                                                                                     `.                                                                   ..-  ,,:                                                igd:.~:f&khwhpcd   you must  :study God  t.he  Bath&, of
  IN,HIS                                                          FEAR                                                                               "                                                                 :
                                          . . . . . . . . . . . ...' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  ;: . . . . . ._..............2% wbsrn a!1 other fatherhpofl is derived. .We must. never
       Rev.                   M.                  G&ers.                                       :                     ..                        ..                                   .I:                                           say : even as we are fathe?.  of, our: children, so. God
                                                                                                                                                                                                    ,,:'
                                                                                                                                                i'                                                                                isthe.;gre,at  ;Father  of His children,' implying that the
  FROM HOLY WRIT. . . . . . . . . ..f . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.; . . . . .237 latter.ase of the idea, fatherhood is .merely a figurative
        Rev,C.  H a n k o .   ..,                                                                                                  .                                              _.  _                                                            .I.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             `u& of the term, or a metaphorical :wa$ :of: speaking
 *PERISCOPE                                                                                                                                                                                                                       of fatherhoo:#  wheg:applyixlg it ts, $kie Godhetid. :. No,
                                    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..~......................~......~.239
         `&a+.  W:  Ho&-,an.                                                             '                                                                                                                                        exactl? the reverse:  6s ~ trug.. .:Gsd is .the Fat&r, .yeally, -
                                                                                                                                                                                   `:                                             esse@ial!.y . . and 0.u: f.@herho@ :. is .de.rivatiye, :-relative%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             \Let us cite another example.                                   `I  ,:I:,  c::  .:  :  ..:::z,.;....:r


                                     T H E   STANDARD  B E A R E R                                                221

   We have bridegrooms and brides among us. .People'            I think that the .most fundamental mistake of the
.marry  and  are given in marriage. And on the wed- Lib.erated  brethren is that they have not asked them-
ding day or night the multitude of guests gather in self the question:. What is the Covenarit? Had they
festive arra; in order to behold the beauteous bride dorie this, they would not have erred as much as they
who has prepared herself to meet her bridegroom.             did: .Failure to ask this question has led them to say
Fresently the bridegroom takes the bride to his arms many things ab&t the covenant, especially about the
and it is given unto him to experience a de!light that       children's part, but they have never arrived at a,
cannot be compared `to any other joy on the face of. Biblically wholesome way of defining the mighty con-
the earth. We all know of that tender and wondrous" cept of the covenant.
relationship.                                                   They  sh6uld have asked them&Ives this question:
 But we know froni Holy Scripture that Christ is Since it is an -accepted fact that all things a& b,ut a,
cjlled the Bridegroom and that the Church is called manifestation of the  Godhe&d with respect to all
the Bride. `Also, that their wedding day is fast  ap- things, what does the Word of God teach about our
prdaching. Yet, if we were to Bay: You see, Christ is        C O V E N A N T   G O D !
a&o a Bridegyoom,  even as we have them among us,               To put that question, and after careful study of
and the Church is a&% a bride, even as we have many the Wdrd of .God, to answer it, would supply us with
brides among us; the same relationship, we see and the proper yiwen for %he solution of all related qges-
adore in the Lord Jesus Christ as  oee day He will           tions, such as the promise, the content of the prom-
ta,ke His bride to His bosom and be happy forever ;-G ise, the objects of the promise,, the sacraments, es-
I say, if we were to speak thus we would really corrupt pecially baptism, the children's part, the question of
things, contradict Holy Scripture and miss the funda- who is the heir or, heirs, etc.
mental" truth that Jesus Christ is THE Briclegroom,             At this juncttire  I would like to point to a thought
anid that the church is THE Bride! All our marrying          expressed by. otie of the most famous Holland theo-
and giving in marriage is nothing but derivative, logians and dogmaticians, the late Dr.  Herman   Ba-
relat&e  and  a shadow  aild symbol of the  real and vinck. `This thought is a veritable gem, a brightly
fundamental in this relationship.                            shining jewel in his wonderful work of .Dogmatics.
   Nbw then, what I. have said.concerning the idea of maiics.
fatherhood,  .bridegroom  and bride is  also true  w.ith'       Some of my readers have already guessed to what
respect to- all things, and I would ask you kindAy to        expression I referred abpve. , You will find it in Dr.
take the wou'd all in its most exhaustive and com@e- Eavinck's Dogmatics, vol. III, p. 222, where we read:
hensive sense.                         `i                    "The Pactum saktis reveals to us the relation and the
   Allow, m6 to explain this pqint.                          life of the three Persons. in the Divine Being as. a
   I mean that all things that are, creation, providence covenant-life, as a life of the highest self-consciousness
and history, the church and the entire new world and and. of the highest liberty. Here, within the Divine
cominonwealth that are coming, exhibit, reveal, show B&kg, the Covenant has its full reality."
forth and manifest the Godhead in all His wonders,              The last sentence in this striking expression I have
virtues,. praises and glories.                               placed iii  italics: And the reason is clear. The last
   It really .is not necessary to prove this statement sentence shows clearly what I had in mind when I said
from Holy Scripture.       Every Reformed theologian above that if we are to &rive at a correct evaluation
admits this `truth. I atiould say' that it' is axiomatic,    and confession of  .afiy relationship or concept, we
yes, even above the  axioti. It is clearly revealed in should .study  it in the ,Godhead, and see that what is
the Bible. Attend, for instance to psalm 19, the well-       derivative and relative in. us, is. essential and full in
knowh psalm that sings of the glories of God. The H i m .
heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament              Applied to the concept of the Covenant it opens
sheweth His h&idiwork. ,Or this : The il>;isible things wonderful avenues of spiritual delight. But  it also
of God are clearly seen, being uriderstood  by the things will set certain  definite limits to our thinking, studying     _
that are made, even His eterfial  power and Godhead!         and confessing anent the concept of the zovenant.
Rom.~ 1.                                                        More about that later, in ti different connection.
   And although we will never be able to exhaust +his           ,Yes, Dr. Bavinck was correct in the above-quoted
revealed knowledge of `God, `we may say that God did statement. God is the Covenant God ifi Himself, apart
reveal Himself. He did show to us what kind of' God fPom any  .reiation to His creature. And this truth
He really is, and He has done this in His Self-revela- has been developed by our. leziders  for lo, these many                 .
tion: the present and the coming world and the hosts         years.. But there has. been very little, `appreciation of
therebf.                                                     the work accomplished.        It certainly did not make
   Let us no% apply this. tremendous truth to the them very popular among the Reformed brethren,
matter at hand, the idea of the Covenani.                    both here  and abroad.  ~'


     2&j%:                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   `B E A R E R

        I And the reason is clear.              .                         -c\lhi,ch man can possibly attain. We are convinced that
         Proceeding from the starting point as already post- the latter conception is the Scriptural  presentatioll.
       ulated by Dr. Bavinck, they taught that God's covenant Thus far we have advanced considerable proof. in
       life is a life `of wonderful harmony and peace, that,              support of this contention. We noted .that the Word
       based upon' the revealed truth of the Trinity in the c-11 God speaks of the covenant as an eternal covenant
       Unity of the Godhead, God lives His life of the cove- and that the Lord realizes it by writing H.is law into
       nant in love and friendship, so that they tire One in the hearts of His people. Moreover,. it is clear from
       all their essential attributes and Three in their Per- Holy, Writ that Adam was created by God in covenant-
       sonal properties :the Father living`the One ~Divine life relationship with Him and that therefore God's cove-
       as Father, and generating the Son ; the So% living the nant with-the first man could not possibly have been
       life of the One .Godhead  as Soti, and willingly being something incidental, something added after his crea-
       generated .by the Father; the Holy Spirit living the tion., We also brought out that Adam, after violating
       One life of the great `Godhead, but as Holy Spirit, the' covenant, was restored into covenant-relationship
       being spirated by both Father and son, in viihich Spirit with .Jehovah and that the Lord did ,so by establishing
       both the Father and the Son find each  otl&r in in- enmity betwken the seed of the woman and that of
       describable love, unity and peace.                    < .          the devil. Scripture, we saw, sp&ks of Enoch, Noah,
              And all these things .are r.evealed  truth.                 and Abraham as the friends of God and Psalm 25 :14
              We will not be%able  in this short series to point out literally indentifies the covenant with fellowship, inti-
       all the Biblical references that support this oft-stated mate acquaintance with Jehovah. And finally the
     .: <iew of our readers, but I do not think that it is neces- Word of God describes the eternal glory as God's taber-
       sary. The whole Word of God is full of. the truths liacle with man, and the Father's house with many
      that God is love, and that His Son is- the Word, the mansions-and this is surely the idea of friendship
      very Self-Expression of the Father, and that the Holy ai.ld communion.
       Spirit  iS the faithful Witness, searching the deep
      tllings of God, so that He may eternally bring Fathep                  God's Covenant with.Man," Unilaterul okBilateral? '
      to Son, and Son to- Father, so that they may live their
      Tri-Une life in Divine perfection everlastingly.                        Is the covenant of i+e Lord with man unilateral ol-
              God is the Covenant God; indeed.                            bilateral? This is a very pertinent question. Must
              And this is our salvation : It hath pleased the iiving God's  covegant  with His people be regarded as uni-
      God to extend  the. roof of His Tabernacle over our lateral  ("monopleurisch")  ? Does .it proceed solely
      heads. It bath pleased Him to take us up into the com-              from' God? Is it-established by the Lord alone?  -Or
      munion of His own Covenant-life, so that His own life must it be viewed as bilateral, "two-sided", ("dupleur-
      might be reflected in ;ls for ever and ev`er !                      isch") ? Does it proceed from God  -and  ma?, and is
              Of that boon I would write some more, even in all it established jointly by God and man?, Besides, must
      its phases.                                                         the cdvena~~t,  also as far as its development, its opera-
              But we will have to- wait for later issues.                 tion and manifestation, is concerned, be regarded as
                                                             G .      V. unilateral or bilateral? Is it cqrrect  to say that God's
                                                                `i        covenant with man is unilateral in origin but bilateral
                                                                          in its operation ancl manifestation?
                                                                             &this connection the question might also be' asked :
                                                                          Shoald we speak of parties or parts in the covenant?
                                                                          We are `probably all aware of the fact that our Bap-
                     OUR  DOc:TRI;NE                                      t-ism Form speaks of "parts'.' rather than "parties".
                                                                          But Professor Schilder, during his recent visit among _
                                                                          us, made it.clear that he preferred the term "parties"
                       Ouy Covenant God                                  to the term "parts". The question, "Is God's covenant
                                                                          with man unilateral orbilateral"?, is therefore a perti-
                   God's Covenarzt with Man Unilateral                    ntint question.

              Basically and' fundamentally but two conceptions                 Gocl's Covenant with Man is Uniluteral in its
      of the  coveilant of  G6d with man are possible. It is                       Establishment-The Reformed View.
      either ti means to an end or it is the end itself. Viewed
      as the former, it can be regarded as a promise, or an                  `When we, in this connection; speak of the estab-
      agreement, contra&t, or a way of salvation, or an lishment of God's covenant, we refer to its origin to
     `alliance against Satan and all the powers of sin and. the moment wheti it is eitablished  rather than to'its
      darkness. Viewed as the end itself it is the highest to            continuous operation and manifestation. The continu-

                                                                                                           I
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                                   THE"  S T A N D A R D               B E A R E R                            I           22s
                                                                                                                        _..
   ous operation of the covenant implies that it must be God and man conclude a covenant, the unilateral char-
   assumed and kept by man. To this continuous mani- acter  -n&urally appears repeatedly upon the fore-
   festatioil  we do not refer at this  iime. To be sure,        ground ; we are not dealing .~ith two equal -parties,
   if the covenant is regarded as an. agreement or an but God is the Spvereign, Who enjoins His ordinances
   alliance, this would seem to indicate that two parties upon the creatures. . . . For, indeeg, the.covenant  of
   are necessary to establish such a covenant,. inasmuch God also imposed dbligations upon those with whpm
   as at least two parties are required to make an agree-        it was concluded  ; obligations, namely, not as conditions
   nient. Reformed thinking,  however,  has always  emA fcr our entrance into the covenant. . . . but as the
   Ihasized the unilateral character  of the establishment way upon which he who had been taken up in the cove-
   of God's covenant with His people.                            nant out of grace henceforth must walk." Other theo-
      First, our Reformed Confessions surely emphasize logians, too, have exljressed  themselves likewise.
   zhe unilateral I character of the es,tablishment  of God's       The iate Prof. W. Heyns also emphasized the uni-
   covenant  in  Christ Jesus; In answer to  Questidn  74, lateral  chairacter of the covenant. However,  accor.d-
   "Are infants also to be baptized"?, the Heidelberg ing to him the essence of the covenant lay in the                          ,
 Catechism answers that "they as well as the adult are           promise, the promise that God will be our God- in
   included  in the covenant and church of God". This Jesus Christ, the Lord. And this promise he inter-
   answer is understandable only if the establishment preted as an offer; as a promise which the Lord simply
   of God's covenant be regarded as unilateral. Indeed,          extended to all. Hence, Heyns' unilateral conception
   these children wtiereof  the Catechism speaks in Lord's of the covenant simply consisted herein that God, of
   Day 27 did not enter the covenant of their own choice His own sovereign will, extended this promise-to every-
   or agreement. The fact, therefore, that they as well one who. received the sacrainent of baptism. And,
  '  9s the adult are included -in the covenant and the .naturally, it depends upon us whether this covenant or
   church cl God emphasizes the unilateral character of promise will be realized in us. The Hdly Spirit, then,
   this covenant. Also our Baptism Form stresses the wills to sanctify us. But we must will to be sanctified
   unil&sal character of the origin of God's covenant.           and accept this gracious promise of God.          '
   We read in Part One: "Secondly, Holy Baptism wit-
   nesseth and sealeth  unto us the washing away of our                  God's Covenant with &an Unilateral
   sins through Jesus Christ. iTherefore  we are baptized                   in its Establ~hment-Scri;ljticrai
   in the name of the Father, and of the .Son, and of the
   Holy  Ghost. For when we are baptized in the name                That .God's covenant tiith man is upilateral is sure-
   of the Father, God the Father witnesseth and sealeth ly `:Scriptural.. This is evident, `fir& of all, from tlie _
   unto  us, that: He doth make an eternal  cdvetiant  of        very idea of the Covenant. We proceed now from the
   grace with us, and adopts us for His children and heirs,      assumption that the covenant is essentially a relation-
   and therefore will `provide us with every good thing,         ship of friendship. Holy Writ surely teaches us thru-
   and avert all evil or turn it to our profit. And when out that we are by nature children of wrath and also
   we are baptized in the name of the Son, the Son seal-         of  dis6bedience. As children of wrath we lie under' .;
   eth unto us, that He doth wash us in His blood from condemnation, are estranged from the fellowship of
1/, all our. Bins, incorporating us into the fellowship of       God, and worthy of eternal death and desolation. As
   His death and resurrection, so that we are `freed from        children of disobedience we are characterized wholly
   &I1  otir  `sins, and accounted  right,eous before God. In by disobediende,  are devoid of all spiritual light and
   like manner, when we -are baptized in the name of the         truth, are darkness in all our thinking and willing.
   Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost assures us, by this holy As Such we are~not subject to the law of God, neither
   sacrament, that He Will dwell in us, and sanctify us to       indeed can be-Rom.  85'. `Hence, the relationship of
   be members of Christ, applying unto us; that which we friendship must surely be realized by God. We have
   h, s-e ;n Christ, namely, the washing away of our sins, no right to it: And we cannot merit the right to it.
   and the daily renewing of our lives, till we shall finally Besides, it is- God alone Who can bring us into this
   be presented without spot or wrinkle among ihe as- relationship of friendship spiritually. We are enmity
   scmbly of the elect in life eternal." This language of ?nd darkness.  -We cannot love God. It is-God alone
   our Baptism Form cannot be understood in a bilateral Who can make us His friends and pour His love into
   SCI;SC of the word. Mind you, all these things are de- our hearts and minds. The very idea of the covenant
   clared of children who are baptized. We read, do we requires, therefore, that we maintain the principle
   not: "For w&n we r;cre baptized. . ., ."                      that it is unilateral-God alone  must and God  can
      Refornied theologians of the past a&o have advo- realize it.                                                                    I
   cat,ed this unilateral character of the Covenant. - Prof.        `This appears, secondly, from` Scripture's account
   Bavinck writes in his "Gereformeerde  Dogmatiek'l,            of the creation and exititence  of man in Paradise. Man
li ~" Volume III, page 194 (we translate) i "But alsb when was created in  t&is covenant  &elatidnship.  Scripture


        224        I                        `THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

        does not speak of any agreement or contr& between come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant
       man and the  living God. To this we  ha& already -.with the house.of Israel, aild with the htiuse  of Judah:
       called attention in previous articles.                       Ndt according to `the covenant that I made with the@
           Thirdly, that the establishment of the covenant fathers in the days that .l took them by the hand to
       must be regarded as unilateral also appears from God's bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My cove-
       dealings with m'an after the fall. The Lord sets enmity nant they brake, although I was an husband unto them,.
       between His church and. the seed of the devil, And saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I
       enmity is, as we have al.$eady  noted, the friendship t will i make with the house of Israel ; After those days,
       of the Lord which renders the people of God Hjs party saith the Lord, 1 will put IXy law in their inward parts,
       over against the children of darkness. Notice also that and write it iri their ,hearts ; and will be their God,
        God sets this enmity: "I will set enmity between ,thee and ,they shall be My people. And they shall teach no
       and the woman,. thy seed and her seed ; it shall bruise      more every man his neighbour, and every man his
       thy head, and thou shalt bruise its heel." And this,         brother, saying, Know the Lord: for  I will forgive
.      `we understand, applies not only to Eve but to all her their iniquity `and I will remember their sin no more."
       seed, to, all the people of God throughout the ages. -Jereniiah  31:31-34. "But now saith the Lord that
       Hence, Gen. 3 :15 teaches us that'our fighting the'good      created `thee, ,O Jacob, I and He that formed thee, 0
       fight of faith, our being the -party of the living God, Israel, Fear not: for  1 have redeemed thee,  I have
       is not the result of an agreement or cotitract but ex- called thee by `thy name ; thou art Mine. . . . When
       clusively the fruit of the irresistible grace of the living thou passest through the waters, I will be With thee ;
       God.                                                         and through the river&, they shall not overflow thee:
           Fourthly, this truth. is clearly substantiated by var- when thou walk&t through the fire, thou shalt not be
       ious Scriptural passages. Notice, please, the personal burned ; neither shall th@ flame kindle upori thee. . . .
       pronoun "I" ,in the following quotations. "But with- For  I am the Lord .thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
       thee  .will  I establish My covenant; and thou shalt thy Saviour:  I gave Egypt for thy  ran'som, Ethiopia
       come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife,         and Seba for thee. . . ; Since thou wast precious in My
       and thy sons' wives. . . . And 1, behold, I -establish sight, thou hast been honourable, and  I  haye  :loved
       My covenant with you, and' with you? seed aft& you ; thee: therefore` will I give men for thee, and people
       . . . . And  I will establish My covenant with you, for thy life. . . . Fear not: for I ati with thee: 1 will
       neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters bring thy seed from the east; and gather thee from the
       of a flood ; neither shall there any more be a flood to      west;. .  `. . I will say to the north, Give up ; and to the
     -1 crestroy the eartli. And God said, This is the token south, Keep not back: bring My sons from far, and
     q of the covenant which  I makk between Me and  you MJ~ datighters from the ends of the earth; . . . . Even
       and every living creature that is with you, for per-         every one that is called by My name: for I have created
       petual generations': 1 do set My bow in the cloud, and       him for My,glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made
       it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and him. . . . Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My
       the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a servants whom I have chosen : that ye m&y know and
       cldud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the believe Me, %nd understand .that I am He : -before Me
       cloud: And  I will remember My covenant, which is there was no God formed, neither shall ther,e b?! after
       between Me and you and every living creature of all          Me. . . . I, even 1; am the Lord; .and beside Me there -a
       flesh;  ahd the waters shall no  more become a flood         is no  saviour.  : . . I have declared, and have `saved,
       to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud ;    and I have shewed,` when there was no strange god
       ,and I will look upon it, that I may remember the ever- among you: therefore ye are My witnesses, saith the
       lasting covenant between' God and every living crea- Lord, that I am God. . . . Yea, before the day was I
       ture of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said am He;, and `there is Jnone that ctin deliver out of My
       unto Noah, This `is the token of the covenant, &hich I hand: I will work ,ai?d who shall let it? . . . . I am the
       have established between Me and all flesh that is upon Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, jrour King."
       the earth."-Gen. 6  :18; 9  :9; 9  :ll-17.    "And  I will -Is&h 43 :l-7, 10-13, 15. "For by grace tire ye saved .
     make thee exceeding fruitful, and,1 will niake nations through faith ; and that not of you&elves : it is ,the gift
     of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will          of God : Not of works, lest any man should boast. For
       establish  My covenant between Me and thee and thy we are His `workmanship, created in Christ Jesus,
       seed after' thee in their generations for an everlast- ` unto gbod works,  which God hath before ordained that
       ing covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed we should walk in them."-Eph. 2:8-10.  Notice-81~0
       after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to'thy seed how God receivei all the gloky in the following beauti-
      9 after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all ful passage, Psalm 89 :l-18 : "1 will sing of the mercies
       the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and      of`, the Lord I for ever: with my mouth, will -1 make
       I will.be their God."dGen. 17:6-8. "Behold, the days known Thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have

                                                                                                       .


                                                                                                                          -
                                      THE  STANDARD   B E A R E R                                                        225

  said, Mercy shall be built up for ever': Thy faithful- ing to verse 7 the Lord had renewed His `promise to
  ness shalt Thou establish in tlie very heavens. I have Abraham that He would give him the land of Canaan
  shade' a covenant with My. ch.osen,  I have sworn unto for an inheritance. Upon Abraham's question, "Lord
  Cavid, .My servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever,     God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?",
  and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.          th.e Lord had commanded him (verse 9) to take an
  And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, 0 Lord:           heifer of three, years old, and a she goat of three' years
  Thy faithfulneis also in the congregation of the saints.    old, and a ram of three years old ,a& a $l"tledove, and
  For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? a. young  pigeon.  `These animals Abraham had taken,
  who among the sons of the mighty can be'likened unto had dgvided them in the midst, and laid each piece one
  the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly against another. The birds, however, he had not di-  *
  of the saints, an,d. to be had in ieverentie of all them vided. After the sun had gone down, we read, a deep
  that' are abodt' Him. .O Eord God of hosts, who is a        sleep fell upon Abraham. During that sleep the Lord
  str&@.$ Lo.pd like unto Thee? or Thy faithfulness round appeared unto him, and told him that his seed would                         ,
  about Thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when be a stranger. in a strang.e land, but that He would
  the.tiaves  thereof arise, Thou stilletit them. Thou hast cause his seed to r,eturn out of that strange land with
  broken  Rahab in pieces, as dne that is slain ; Thou hast a great substance.. ,To symbolize this reriewal  of His             `.
  scattered thine enemies with Thy strong arm. The cbvenant with Abraham we read in verse 17: "And it
  heavens are `Thine, the earth also in Thine : as for the    came to pass; that, when the sun went down, and it
  world and the fulness thereof, Thou hast founded was dark, behold a smoking, furnace, and a burning
  &hem. The north `and the south Thou' hast created lamp that passed between those pieces." The symbol-
  them: `Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in Thy nanie.         ism referred .to in this passage in Genesis 1,5 was a
  Thou hast a mighty au;m: strong is Thy hand, and.high       ceremony usually carried out by two or more parties
  is Thy right hand. Justice and  .jitdgment  au'e the who concluded a covenant with one another. As such
- habitation of Thy throne: mercy and truth shall go the  symbolisin  was plain. The parties declared by
  before Thy face. Blessed is .the people that.know the means of this ceremony that they pledged .faithfulness
  joyful sound: they shall walk, 0 Lord, in the light of to  one another and agreed ~that, if one or the other
  Thy countenance. In  .Thy Name  .shall they rejoice would prove to be unfaithfM1, the same would happen
  all the day: and in Thy righteousness shall they be to him that had happened to those animals which had
  exalted. Fdr Thou art the glory of their strength': been slain. When such a covenant  was concluded be-
  and in Thy favoi our horn shall be exalted. For the tween men both parties would pass b&we& the divided
 Lord is our defence  ; and the Holy One of Israel is our parts of the animals. Hence, the symbolism is striking
  King." And please note, finally' how the unilateral as it appears in Genesis 15. - Abraham iS in a deep
  aspect' of salvation is emphasized in the first chapter sleep. It is God alone Who passes through the midst
  of Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, whereof w,e qtiote      of the animals., And in connection with this symbolism
  but-a, few verses: "Blessed be the God and Father of verse 18 declares: !`In the same-day thk Lord rnccde a
  our Lord Jesus Christ, Whd hath blessed us withQ all        covenant with Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed have
  spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: Ac- I given this  land,,`from the river  ,of Egypt unto the
  cdrding as-He hath chotieti us.in Him.befofe the foun- great river, the river Euphrates." It is thekefore,  not
 datidn df the world;that w'e should be holy and with- God and Abraham who conclude a' covenant with. one
  out blame before Him` in love : Halving predestiriated  us another. It is not the Lord and !Abraham who enter
  ulito the adoption .of children by `Jesus Christ to Him-    into an agreement or a covenant with one another.
self, according to  tl!e good pleasure of His will, To' It is God alone Who passes through the midst of the
  the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath animals. Hence, the covenant. .of `God with Abraham
made  US  accept$d  iri the Beloved., In Whom we have iS of the Lord alone. God will cause the seed of Abra-
  the redemption through His blood, the foregiveness of ham to becoine a stranger in the strange land of Egypt.
  sin&  aCcording to  the. riches of His  grace; Wherein And God alone will cause the people of Isr@ to return
  He h&th &bdunded  toward us in all wisdom. and pru- out of the land of bondage. And God alone will give
  d@nce ; Having made known unto US the mystery of His        the land of Cinaan unto that people for an inheritance.
  will,  ticcording' to His gdod pleasure which He hath The promise but also the fulfillment of thit promise
  purptised'  iti Himself, etc. `etc.-verses 3-9.  Inde&d,    is of Jehovah. ,The covenant is His. He takes us up
  this latte? passage of the Word leaves little do&t as to ,into His covenant  fellotiship.  .Thti establishmerit of
the'sovereign character of our salvation and the estab- the Lord's covenant -fellowship with His people is,
  .lishment `of the Lord's covenant with I%s people.          -therefore, strictly unilateral. To` H<m; tp Him alone
     ,Fifthly, and finally, that the establishment of God's bealltheglory.                   "                     "
  &venaht is unilateral is beautifully emphasized  ifi          .    .'           (to bti continugd)         '
  Abraham's v?sion as.recorded "in -Genesis 15. !&cord-                            ._-.  ._             _         H.  V-  ~


226                                   T    H    E      SCCUNDARD   BEARER

                                                              attacks of madness; loves David, if he really means to
 '  TEIE DAY  OF  SWOWS
  . . .                                                       do him no harm, which in view of all that has hap-
                                                              pened is impossible, the king will not in the least be
                                                              provoked by his son-in-law's failure to make his ap-
                                7
                  David Es-Afraid                             pearance on the feast ; and he will hear Jonathan out,
                                                              and let the matter rest right there and then. But Saul
                                                              hates David and wants him dead ; he wanted him there
       As was explained, out of loyalty to David, Jonathan on the feast in order to be able to slay the son of Jesse,
tells Sa.ul the !i.e that David put into his friend's mouth. though he knows of course that it is folly to expect his
As we stated, he even added to it in order that Saul          son-in-law. Such being Saul's plans, when h> hears
might be `the more impressed by its. validity as an           that David has run- off to Bethlehem even with Jona-
exc!.lse.. ,Once more, these are Jonathan's words, "Dav5-1    than's permission, his wrath knows no bounds. Bat-
earnestly asked leave o$ me to go to .Bethlehem  and hii ing David and suspecting Jpnathan, he doesn't believe
said, Let me goi I pray thee ; for odr.family has a sacri.. a thing of what the latter says; he brands the exqse
fice in the city ; and my,, brother, he has commanded a lie ; which indeed it is. David is riot in Bethlehem;
me to be there; and  noti, if I have found favor  iu          he is in hiding somewhere in the near vicinty of Gibeah.
thine zye's, let me go I pray thee, and see my brethren.      Saul is certain about this, as appears from the way he
Therefare  he cometh nqt unto the `king's table." ha replies to Jonathan. His anger iS kindled against his
was said, David's purpose in putting this lie in his son. These are the king's words to him: "Thou son
friend's mouth is to put Saul-to a final test. He wants of the perverse and rebellious, do not I know that thou>
to determine for Himself whether the kjng is actually hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine oivn confusion,
purposed  to slay him, or whether  Saul's past attemuts and to the confusion of thine mother's nakedness? For
0'1 his life aEe to be attributed to the king's illness. as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground,
But  LS was explained,  the Lord over and over  hne thou. shalt not be established in thine kingdom. Where-
made it plain to David that Saul does hate him and fo?e now s&d and fetch him unto me, for he shallsure-
t.hat he is indeed determined that he die. What is that ly die."
madness of the king, by which he periodically is being           "Thou son of the perverse and the rebellious. . . ."
-visited, but hatred, envy atid jealousy' gone wild and literally, "perverse one of rebellion." That Jonathan
ruiming away with their victim? This is as plain as is in the sight of Baul. For he is on the side of David,
`th,e day. It is plain also to David,, certainly. And how whom Saul wishes to destroy as ah aspirant to the
,matiy attempts has Eaul.already  made on Ijavid's life ! throne, and therefore a rebel. And in the words, "Do
What can be more evident than that Saul really does not I know," Saul intimates that he is well aware of
want David dead ! But David does not want it that the friendship between his son and David; and regards
way. And the reason is obvious. -David at this junc- this excuse as confirming his opinion. "Do not I
ture is unbelieving. -And in his unbelief he imagines know." A good paraphrase of these words of the king
.that wjth the king against him he actually walks on is ihis, "Think not that I am misled by this- excuse.
the brink of death. Does he not say to Jonathan,              I want the son of Jesse dead ; I intended killing him on
"`There is but one step between me and death? This the feast. Knowing my mind, thou didst permit him
of course' is not true. It cannot be true, as the Lord to absent himself; or, as thou sayest, to keep the'feast
hassworn truth to David, so that, if Saul is to succeed with his kin in Bethlehem, though I doubt that he went
in liis attempt to slay David, he mtist-first slay God. hither." That this is the thrust of SauYs, "co not I
Thias, how little David really has -to fear of Saul ! know," is proved by his'commanding Jonathan to fetch
.But David can't see it that way at this time. He stands David, .that he may be slain.
not in his faith. IAccordingly, he flies back to Gibeah.      I But Saul knows still' more; he knows, too, that
He, himself, will test out the king. And of course he Jonathan has chosen the son of Jesse to his own con-
-hopes against hope that the test will show that Saul fusion. David, he means to say, asp&s after the king-
is friendly, really means to do David no hurt ; and that,     ship ; he has his heart set on-rule. He will be king by
therefore, the king's past attempts upon his life must means fair or foul. For there is no fear of God be-
`be explained from his periodic attacks of madness ; fore his eyes. Hence with that scheming, plotting up-
which attacks accordingly, would not in that- c&e at start around Jonathan will never be established, nor
all `indicate how the king is inwardly disposed;to the will his l<ingdom, that is, his throne ever be secure,
son of Jesse.                                                 and the kingdom securely his. So, the thing to do is
       Considered b$ itself, the test: to which .David in to rid the earth of the man, the sooner the better.
co-operation with J'onathan puts Saul is clever; it is Doesn't Jonathan  und&stand? Let Jonathan then
well calculated to bring into the clear light of. day the `without delay fetch him to Saul; for, certainly, he
hidden man in Saul. If the king, despite his periodic must die. There can be no question about that.


                                        THE      STA-ND'ARD          BEARER                                     .z$q .

           But what has David done that gives Saul the righ$ David ~I& cries to the. boy,. "Is not the arrow beyond
  to pass on hiln a judgment so adverse? Saul does not thee ?: ' It is a question .that.  Jonathan. uses in order
  know of a thing. All he knows is that David has been .to make it more certainly seem to the servant that he
  doing him only good. He killed the Philistine Goliath ; was practicing at a mark; -And by three commands :
  and he has bees fighting Philistines since then, almost k`lVlzike haste, stay not" uttered in` rapid succession,                  *
  without  iriterruption  as  dfficer in Saul's army. So he keeps the boy occupied with the busmess of finding
  what is his fault? That precisely is what Jonathan the arrows, in order that he may not perchance see
  has need of knowing. He puts the question to his vavid,, who is in hiding near by. `r'he boy takes up
  fa:ther. These are his words to Saul, "Wherefore shall the arrows,  brings them to his master, and is none the
  he be  sIain? what hath he done?' It can't be held Wiser. Jonathan gives the lad his artillery,  and dis-
  against him, certainly, that the Lord appointed him to misses him with the command, `*GO, carry them to the
  rule in  _Saul's stead. If  #Saul could point to but one city."
  false move of David! But he can't.  Sau.l's inability          As soon as the lad is gone, David leaves his hiding           .
  to name the crime that is calling for David's, death, place. Meeting up with Jonathan, he bows low three
  should bring him to repentance. But instead it only times. They kiss kaeh other and weep, i&e one with
  feeds his wrath.        In his unbridled rage, he grasps the other. David's grief is more excessive than that
  his javelin and casts it at his son to smite him. That of his friend. Strong men weeping. And there is
  is the king's reply to Jonathan's question, "Wherefore reason. A wicked king seeks the life of a man blame-
 shall he be slain? What has he done?" Saul is a less and just. Still  ,Uavid does. not  keep his grief
  wicked man.                                                 within bounds. Saul's treatnient of him should  n&t
           Saul has again revealed his  disposi6on toward be the disturbing element in his life that he  .has
  David, yet, certainly, no more fully than on previous allowed it to become. He morbidly broods over it to
  occasions, as when he spake to Jonathan and to all the exclusion from  ,his mind of God's constant care
  his servants that they shou,ld kill David, 19 :l. Shoitly over  hi+ ,His grief, springs  larg`ely from unbelief ; ,
  thereafter he sought to smite David to the wall with and in so far it is sheer dgspair that leads' him into
  his javelin. David slipped away ; and Saul sent mes- wgys of reckless deceit healing the most fearful con-
  sengers to his house to watch him and to slay hip in sequences. David is fundamentally a truly good man ;
the morning. David escaped  ; Saul pursued him to he is .one of the ,most lovable saints of all the scrip-
/  Nai@h-; and David would have died right there and tures. But like all God's people, he has his faults,
  then, had not the Lord resceed  him out of the king's the most serious of which is his readiness to take re-            -
  hand. What more could Saul do or say that would course to lying and deceit to bring relief to himself in
1 indicate that he is actually bent on David's destruc- `d&cult situations. Believers have only a beginning,
  tion? Nothing at all. Hence, there was really no and a small beginning at that, of true obedience. (How
  need of putting Saul to this test. David could just true this is) ! And David is no exception. If his con-
  as .well have saved himself and Jonathan the trouble. versation during those trying days, be compared with
  Had he done soj those lies would not have been told, that of his anti-type-the Lord Jesus, Christ-during
  a,nd Jonathan would not have nearly paid with his the years of His trial, how evident that David was otil$
  life.                                                       a shadow, a type, a pre-indication of the ,Christ: and
     Jonathan's reactions to the king's assault and revela- not the very Christ. The sacred writer, of course, does
  tion of his disposition toward David must be noticed. not gloss over David's sins; he brings them, one'and all,
  Jonathan rises from the table in a fierce anger and into the clear light of day on the pages of his narrative.
  eats no meat on this second day of the month. It is It only proves that God wrote the Bible and not men.
  strange  that he was not actualljr killed. Perhaps Saul Men are not honest. And therefore they can't write
  had not actually hurled the spear, but only brandished history. And they don't either. History will have
  it. : `The reason of Jonathan's great anger and of his to be written all over again: And it ,will be, too, by
  not eating is the wrong done not  td himself but to God Himself. And that will be history, good, reliable
  David, "because his father had done him-David- history ! For God is absolutely honest. With Him
  shame." !Saul h&d called David. a rebel; and on the there is no respect of  pejrsons. And therefore all
  ground' of this charge-unproved .not only but proved truly  honest men-honest by His mercy-love Him as
  to  bti terribly false-wants him destroyed.                 they do-love  H.im in the love that He sheds abroad
      The following morning Jonathan goes out into in their hearts.
  the field at the time appointed with David. The lad is         David, to return to him, is overcome with grief.
  with him.         He, is instructed to run and retrieve The  text here reads, "And they kissed one  sother,
  the arrows that Jonathan will be shooting. The lad and wept with one another, until  David exceeded.`?
  is off and Jonathan shoots the arrows further than This last clause, the .one in italics, must be rendered,
  the boy has  rmi. According to the agreement with "Divid did greatly,"-namely, wept violently  aiou&                         -


                                                                                                            .
_  2%                              T H E   `S T A N D A R D   BEARER

  Of the two, he perhaps was capable of the &iTonger,
 the more violent, more vehement emotion. His great
 agitation of soul can, of course, be explained. It is
 indeed a terrible thing for a blameless and just man,                                                            .
 such as David was, to be chased from one end of the
 land to another, `ati David now will. be, by a godless                RenaissancePop&
 and envious king, determined to destroy that man, if                        LElO X. (1513-1521)
 alid when he once gets him in hand. And. all that                                                                     -
 David may do, to prevent himself from being destroy-           Julius II, the warrior pope, was succeede'd  on the
 ed, is to continue placing himself beyond Saul's reach. pontifical throne by Leo X. Born at Florence; Dec. 11.
 ,He may not bring relief to himself in his trying situa-    1475, he was a scion of the famous house of de' Medici,
 tion by laying his hand on Saul. He must wait upon his father being Lorenzo de' Medici, and Leg, wh&
 the Lord to rem&e Saul ; in the meantime he must brigin& name was Giovtinni,  his second son. He' was
 endure being persecuted. And he must  believe that one of the few popes, the splendour of the family
 the crucible of affliction in which he finds' himself, to which he belonged  corresponded  somewhat with
 hati been prepared for him by the Lord in His great that of the lJontifical dignity.
 love of His servant. And how good it was for David             The house of the  Medici. was an Italian `noble
 to be afflicted. How could the Lord through him have family..  Tt  had acquired renown in Italian history
 given to the church those.psalms  that form, a part of through the `large number of statesmen to which it
 our Bible htid David not had that experience?               gave birth and its generous patronage of essentially
     Jonathan must take. leave of his weeping friend to' pa.gan letters and art. Originally an obscure family,
 avoid further exposing him to the danger of being it rose to power by such means as the world is want'
 seen. It is not unlikely that their parting ends an- to eniploy,-means that were persistently pursued from
 other conversation between tllem of which the follow- geheration  to generation. The origin of the family
 ing words of Jonathan are only the conclusion, "Go in is unknown, as is the signification of the  Medician
 peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the arm&---six red balls on a field of gold. The chronicles
 name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and of Florence `make mention'of the name as early,as  the
 thee, and between my seed and thy'seed forever." "Go        12th'century in connection with various  public offices.
 in peace. . . ." As coming from Jonathan the expres- Leo's, father was the second of the great men bestowed 1
  sion is meaningful.  - It  .means  : Let  ,God's  peace fill upon Italy by the house ,o? the Medici.. He was a man'
 thy heart, namely the peace that-rises from the assur- of extraordinary literaky talent, having studied letters
 ance within thee, put there by Him, that He is for thee     from his .earliest  years under the guidance of the lead-
  in His love and will keep thee in thy way, so th'at thou ing literari of the day. But he was more than this ;
 wilt not perish by the hand' of thy adversaries but wilt    he was also a  .ruler. His grandfather, Cosimo, had  _
  overcome. Jonathan, too, is deeply moved. This- is established his power in Florence by violence. He was
  indicated by. the way the text of his last words reads followed on'his captured seat of authority by his son
  in the original, "And of  .that which the both of us Piero. At the latter's death five years later, Lorenzo,
  swore, `we, in the name of. the Lord, saying, The Lord at the age of eighteen, seized the reins of the state with
 be between me and between thee; and between my seed a firm grasp. He ruled as a tyrant; and to divert the
  and between thy seed forever. . . ." ,Jonathan  d,oes minds of the people from the oppressions of his govern-
 not complete &is sentence, he being too deeply moved. ment, he incited them in his verses to festivities and
  But he rises and `departs, and goes into the city. And lulled; them to slumber by sensual enjoyments. His
  David abides solitary. And upon him rests the ban of. verses are often of a most revolting indecency, and
 the king. Where will he go? `To whom will he turn? these productions `were sung by their author in the
  He takes his journey and comes to Nob to Ahimelech         streets, in the midst of the people.      '
 the priest.                                                    Such, then, iyas. the abstraition of Leo ; such was
                                            G. M. 0.         Loren,zo his father, surnamed Lorenzo the Magnificent.
                                                             Every opportunity which family distinction, wealth,
                                                             and learned tutors could give, Leo enjoyed. Already
                                                             at the age. of seven he was admitted to the cl&ical
                   SPECIAL NOTICE!                           state. In this same year he received from the king of.
                                                             France the abbey of Fonte Dolce, It did not take long
     Due to circumstance& Classis West will NOT meet before .he found himself in the possession of 27 ap-
  in Edgerton, -but in Hull, Iowa ; on the 3rd of March,     pointments. At the age of fourteen he was made
  1948. `.Delegates desiring lodging are urged to, write cgrdinal-deacon  by the pope. ,On -the occasion of his
 the Rev. `A. Cammenga, Htill, Iowa.                         investment into the office, he received of his father a


                                 .  .    T H E   S T A N D A R D       B E A R E R                               229

  letter full of fatherly counsel. Lorenzo r'eminded his mined effort to re-possess northern Italy whence they
  son ihat Rome was a sink of corruption, and adnon- had been dk"iven'by Julius II. Leo made a treaty wit+
  ished him to lead a virtuous life. And verily, volup- Henry VIII of England, and the French were beaten
  tuary though he was, Leo' seems' not to have exposed by Henry and expelled from Italy by an army of Swiss.
  himself to the charge of unchasteness. But it is not              The following will serve as an example of Leo's
  likely that this was `a virtue ; it may have been forced duplicity. He reached an agreement with the emperor
upon him by nature.                                          of ,Germany,  Maximilian, and Ferdinand king of Spain,           >
      At the time of his elevation to the papal chair, Leo according to which his brother, Julian de' Medici,,
  was 37 years old. .The festivities of his coronation should. receive certain provinces in Italy. And he sup-
  cost 150,000 ducats.. A procession of 250 abbots, bis- ported,. did' the. pope, the armies of these allies with
  hops, and archbishops participated. Before his coron- money. At the same time, faithless to the king of
  ation he was required to promise to issue no brief for Spain, he was making arrangements  with Venice to
  collecting money for the repair of St. Peter; Had he drive the Spaniards .out of Italy.
  kept  this pledge, the reformation might have  be&                Frances I., king of France, and the successor of
  postponed for some time.                                   Louis XII, was a' young prince who lived only for mili-
      Leo, too,,  was a pontiff only in name. The spiritual tary glory. His `entire  reign  mia? dominated  by the  '
  mission of his office was not in all his thoughts. He ambition of recovering in Italy the states from which
  was not eonc&ned  about the interests of true religion. the French had been driven out by Henry VIII of Eng-
~ In a letter he wrote to his brother shortly after his land and by.the Swiss. With an army of 35,000 men, he
 ' election occurs this statement, "Let us enjoy the pap- marched into Italy and inflicted a disastrous defeat                     1
  acy; for God has given it to us." .These  words from upon the Swiss mercenaries. Leo was now at the mercy
  his pen well express bis attitude. His love of pleasure of the king of `France, and he was much perturbed.
 was insatiable. He spent far too much time in hunt- To orie of his Venetian ambassadors he exclaimed, "We
  ing and fishing, though. the chase was forbidden to the    shall..have  to put ourselves into the hands of the king
  clergy by canonical law. He had a passion for the and cry for mercy'." The ambassador replied, "The
  theatre, attending plays in the palaces of the cardinals victory will not inure to your hurt or damage of the.
  and .rich bankers. To modern performance of plays apostolic see. The French king is a son of the church."
  that he could .enjoy young people in Florence a few The pope saw the point. He immediately terminated
  decades ago were not` admitted. These plays are that his alliances with the German emperor and the Span:
  la.scivious. Festivities of all  sorta  .had the strongest iardi and went forth to welcome the victorious king of
  attraction for Leo. He ordered his life as though the France. At Bologne they met. Frances uncovered his
  resources df the papal treasury were inexhaustible. head, bowed three times to the ground, and kissed the
  Two years after he assumed the pontificate hi's annual pontiff's foot; but his demands were as severe as his
- income had risen to 600,000 ducets. And still he ran -posture was humble. An agreement was struck, ac-
  short, so that all sorts of means had to be adopted to cording to which Leo yielded up the two Italian states
  increase the papal revenues. His court was the most Parma and Piacenz+-but recently.acquired by Julius,
  luxuridtis in Europe. His love of art was the love of and conquered anew for the pope by Henry VIII and                _
  beiuty divorced from spiritual_ grace ;  it was thus t h e   S w i s s .   -           0
  t h o r o u g h l y   p a g a n .                                 In 1519 the German emptiror,  Maximilian died. In
      Yet withal he was notoriously pious. Three times t&e klection  of a successor, Leo's diplomacy was again
  a week-he fasted. He ate no meat on Wednesday and in evidence. The,two aspirants to the emperial thron'e
  Friday.: He daily read his canonical prayers.  l&And were Charles, king of. Spain, and Francis. Though
  before every mass it was hi's custom to seek absolution Leo wanted Francis and was secretly supporting him,
  from his confessor. Yet he turn?d the Vatican'into a he also entered, into a secret agreement with Charles,                           I
  house of' revellitig and frivolit&                         so that both candidates believed that they had the pope
      As was explained, the dream`of  Julius II, the war- on their side. Thus Leo h.ad secured his position, no
  rior pope,' had been an independent Italian kingdoni matter who might win in the election. When it became
  and accordingly his one aim had be& to expel all -for*     bvident that Francis would lose, Leo openly sided with
  eign domination from Italy. His success in this direc- Cnarles, even rising to his support by a sum of lQO,OOO
  tion has been noticed. Leo's policy was to preserve the ducets. At the  Reichtag of Worms, the Diet before
  conquests which he had ,inherited from Julius II. But which Luther appeared, Leo entered with Charles into
  if Julius had resorted to niilitary exploits to gain his an alliance against Francis. The newly chosen emperor
  end, -Leo's weapons were diplomacy, duplicity and op- agreed to drive the French out of Milan, Parma and
  portunism. To the practice of. duplicity he stooped  with Piacenza. In this he also was successful. But before
his alliks as well as with his enemies. Shortly after he the tidings of his achievement reached the pope, -*he
 ascended, the .pontifical thrqne the French made a d&er- latter died, Dec.. 1, 1521.


                                                                                                     * ,
&3(t)/                             `r$E  S T A N D A R D ,   B E A R E R

    The importance `of the struggle  tilat was begun `determine what he. shall do? If so, then God  bath
by Luther's nailing of his  theses to the door of the mercy on  tihom he will have mercy. But if, on the
church at Wittemburg Leo did not understand. To other hand, the Lord's will &ordingto which he saved
him the reports that reached Rtime conveyed only the the. Jacobs, is determiiied by the Jacob's willingness to
impression of a dispute between the two monastic believe,-a willingness that God foresaw but could not
orders of which Luther and Tetzel were respectively determinately for&know, thus a willingness that origin-
the representatives. He declared Luther a man of .ated not in God's will and grace but in the hearts of
genius and refused to interfere. But when Luther the Jacobs,-then, in this case, God does not save such
became very bold, and anyone could see that the new men whom He will, but men whom he must save be-
movement menaced the Roman See, Leo fulminated his cause they leave God no other choice. And if this tiere
bull of excommunication against Luther in 1520.             true,  then not the  *will of God but the will of the
                                          G. M. 0.          Jacobs is sovereign and  -morally free, so  i;h& they
                                                            could also choose not to .believe in Christ, could thus
            1         ----                                  resist God's grace and thereby make it impossible for
          The Lord's Grace Sovereign                        God to save them.
                                                                   J&t what is truth here? It must be *plain t0 all
                                                            that  ,everything depends on what. is truth here. If
    Turning to the epistle to the Romans, the ninth         God does not have mercy on the men on whom He will
chapter, and thereof the 18th, 19th, and the first part have `mercy,  K He does not harden whom He will
of the 20th verse, we read, "Therefore hath he mercy harden, if the men whom God saves, He saves because
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he             they, leave Him no choice but to save them, and if the
hardeneth. Thou wilt then say to me, why doth he yet men that He hardens, He does harden because He cam
find fault? For who hath .resisted  .&is. will? Nay, but not do anything else with them, what then ? Then the
o man, who art thou that repliest agailist God?"            question is, whom God really would be saving and
    Let us first concentrate  ofi the statement, "And whom would He really be hardening, if He could .only
whom he will he hardeneth." Just what does it mean get His very own way with men?  _ God  doesn't  tell
that God hardeneth whom He will harden? The state- us, and therefore nobody knows; and the Jacobs may
ment has reference first of all to Pharaoh. The issue question whether God really wants them in heaven ;
is precisely this: Is God's will, according to which he and it may be that those men.whom  God sentences unto
`hardens Pharaoh and the Pharaohs of all .time sover- eternal damnation,. God would have chosen unto life, if
eignly determinative of their &belief and thus not only he cduld save them. The thought that ,God does
determined by it, so that in .hardening these men, God l;ot get his very  own way with men, is too horrible
does exactly what he chooses to do and not what wicked to  contei!nplate.  The issues here are tremendous. Is
men by their unbelief compel hini to do? If so, then        God the Lord of man's heart or is man the lord of
God hardens tk;e men, who& he will harden. :On the          God's heart ? Does God  turn man's heart to do all
other hand, -if the Ltord's  will, according to which he His good pleasure or does man turn God's heart to do
hardens Pharaoh and the Pharaoh's of all time, is           all &an's good pleasure. Is God God or is man God?
determined by their unbelief-an unbelief that God Is salvation out of works or out of grace.  ;Can man
foresaw .but could not determinately--foreknow, so that resist God, His determinate will, His grace ;.or is ,God,
God has no other choice but to harden them,-then in His will, His grace, irresistible? Is God's will in the
this case God is not  hapdening   .men whom he will throne, or the will of man? Do God's believing people
harden, but men whom he must har-den because they have a God who can save them to the uttermost in
leave him no other choice. And if this were true, then Christ Jesus for His name% sake ; or is it .actually pos-
Pharaoh's will and not God's will is sovereignly free, sible that at any time they can fall from grace and sink
so that Pharaoh, should he so `choose, could also will to back into all their, death and sin and miseries, from
obey God and thereby compel God to spare him.               which they were saved, even in sight of the gates of
     But Paul says too, ".Therefore  hath he mercy on heaven, so that no believer ctin ever be certain whether
whom he will have mercy." This statement has refer; or no he  will enter in through those gates? If God
ence in th.e first instance to Jacob, the brother of the    does not save whom he  will, thus if the only, and
profane  Esau. The issue here is this: Is God's will supreme and only deciding factor ii man's salvation is
according to which he bath mercy on Jacob and the the will of man and nbt the will of God, then, horrible
Jacobs-God's elect-soverei&ly  determinative of the to say, the latter is true; and moreover, then the saved
faith of the Jacobs, and does this faith accordingly ones -in heaven, those who decided to persevere to the
originates in God's will; His grace ; so that in stiving end, may sing their anthems of praise to themselves,
the Jacobs God does exactly what he chooses to do and and all that is due to God is a little credit for the assist-
not what the Jacobs by their willingness to be saved ance that he afforded them on their way to heaven.
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                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R - E R                                  231

 It is reaily terrible if the Pharaohs and the Esaus are mercy o.n whom He will have mercy. And  %Ie hath
 getting their way with God but not God with them ; mercy only upon the Jacobs, not also upon the Phar-
 if the reins of God's moral government are in the aohs. God's  mercy,`His grace is not common. God's
 hands of the wicked and not' in thk hands of God ;          dealing with the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Jacobs -in
I ?or then it is not true that God c&n and does so re-       Egypt is flatly against this view, isn't it?  Did, God
 strain the devil and all our enemies, that without His also save Pharaoh and his Pharaohs? Nay for  +his
 ivill they cannot hurt us ; then this is truk, that the very purpose did He make Pharaoh to stand that He
 Pharaohs can hurt us as they choose .with God stand- might make him to see His power and through the
 ing idly by, unable  -to do anything about it. Then,        revelation of this power destroy him. And that was.
 woe unto God's people in Egypt.                             the only purpose that the Lord had with Pharaoh.
     So well may we ask, What is truth here? Well, Nowhere do w,e read in the Exodus narrative that the
 this is truth, for God said it by the mouth of Paul, Lord loved Pharaoh too, and that in that love he w'as
 "Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will  ; and first purposed to save him.
 whom He will He hardeneth." This is truth and                  N&v you would think that everybody would believe
f a c t .                                                    and love this doctrine of Paul to' the effect that God
     God hardeneth whom He will. The .Esau and the hath mercy on whom He will have  .mercy  and that
 Pharaoh are in God's hands; not God in theirs. And whom He will He-hardeneth. But this iS not the case.
 therefore the people of God are saf,e  +s the tenants This doctrine of Paul has many  opponeilts.  In fact,
 of the hard and cruel Pharaoh. They  ar,e safe in absolutely nobody  lo&s this  d6ctrine of Paul, by
 Egypt, in the world, that opp'oses God and persecutes nature. You do not; I'do not. We al! hate  .it to the
 His people. And the Lord can  keep them and save man.  60 if you, love this doctrine, be very humble.
 tInem out of Pharaoh's hand. For He hardeneth whom Do not exalt yourself above the Pharaohs, as if you
 He  ,will harden. He is the Lord God almighty, who were better than they, and as if God loves yowl because
 doeth all His good-pleasure.          `-                    of some merit original with you:Do not boast therefore
     {And so it is just as true that the Lord hath mercy except in the cross of Christ. Because by nature,
 on whom He will have mercy. He hath mercy on the nobody loves this doctrine. We raise objections against
  Jacobs in. heavy bondage in Egypt according to His it. And these objections tire the same old objections-
 will, not according to the good will and determination the objections that we have been raising abainst this
  of the' Jacobs to' be saved. This  cahnot be. These        doctrine of Paul from time memorial. Well the apostle
  Jacobs in Egypt, apart from God's grace in Christ, deals with these objections .of ours and the fact that
 will not to be saved. They love Egypt. They love by he does so constitutes the absolute proof, that `the
 nature their bondage. They lust after Egypt's flesh doctrine that was just presented is actually of Paul
  pots.    Apart from Christ's grace, these Jacobs in &d thus of God. To this opponent-and bear in mind,
  Egypt are just as dead in sin as are the Esaus and the ?&is opponent is you and I as we are by nature-Paul's
  Pharaohs, just as profane, just as rebellious, perverse God is insufferable. The idea that God should be that
  and defiant, hateful of ,God, and unable and unwilling sovereign is to this opponerit  too provoking for words.
 tn seek after  #God and to know God in  lqve, unable He insists, that there is, must be, unrighteousness with
  and unwilling to utter the smallest and the faintest a God so absolutely sovereign< The apostle proposes
  cry for Christ's God and His salvation. These Jacobs his objection in. the form of a #question. What shall
  are by nature dead in sin. HOW then could there be we then say? Is there unrighteousness with God?'
  in these Jacobs a .will to be saved, the smallest and      God forbid ! exclaims the apostle. Then the apostle
faintest desire to be saved,  .according to  icrhich God goes on' to prove from the Old Testament scriptures
  saves them. These Jacobs apart from God's grace that the Lord actually claims and does exercise this
  in Christ are darkness, children of disobedience, and right and that therefore it is, must be, righteous as
 Satan is their spiritual father. But God, the God wi.th God there can be no unrighteousness.
and Father of Christ, who hath mercy on whom He                . But this opponent will not be silenced. !AApproach-
  will have mercy, saves them,' when .He enters their ing tine matter from a. different angle, he now raises
  hearts and lives by His redeeming grace, that these the objection that Paul's doctrine of God is destructive,
  Jacobs cannot pesist i if these Jacobs could resist God's conceptionally, of human responsibility arid that tliere-
  grace, they would right now still be in Egypt; and in fore there is still tinrighteousness with Paul's God.
  their bondage and not in Canaan, God's heaven and Again the apostle proposes the objection in the form
  house. But these Jacobs are in heaven, set there by of a question, that this time he presents as put to him
  Christ,. according to the &ood pleasure of Christ's God by the opponent, "Thou wilt th,en sajr unto me, %Vhy
  and thus also to the praiselof His irresistible grace. doth he yet find fault? fdr who hath resisted his will?"
  And these Jacobs may be certain that, the Lord wants "Who hath resisted his will, his determinate will, a~-
  them ihere, too, really wants.them  there ; for He hath cording to' which He hath mercy on whom He will and


  282                                 'rim  S T A N D A R D .   BEARI~.R-
                                                  .   .
  harden&h whpm He will? Who hath resisted that will go with all his heart and as the rational willing sub-
( of God? Nobody hath and can, the opponent means ject of his rebellion and disobedience. But thou hard-
  to say. Is he correct? Absolutely so. No elect of             enest him according to. thy determinate will that HO
  God has ever resisted, can resist, `God's grace, God's man can resist, so that the blame is indeed thine." God
  will  `to save him. And no  fisau, no Pharaoh, `has cays .in His word to His opponent, "Though I harden t
  ever resisted God's will according to which He hard- whom I wili, I am not the author and the fountain of
  ens him. It is according to God's will that the Pharaohs Pharaoh's sin, of his disobedience and corruptiov. FOI!
  harden therixselves,  must harden, and do harden. them- I am holy God. My eyes are `too pure to behold sin."
  selves. This precisely is Paul's doctrine. Well  then,        But this opponent, contradicting God, says to him,
  says this opponent to Paul, "Why doth God yet find "As hardening Pharaoh's heart according to thy will,
  fault?  with the Pharaohs, he means. For who  c&n` thou art indeed the author of sin."
  resist His will? Let us notice ,that this opponent with               So does this oljponerit  of Paul's doctrine contradict
  whose objections Paul deals, is speaking against God.         God, the true God, the Lord of heaven and earth and
  He criticized, slanders,  tiontradicts  ,God to His face. the God of our salvation.' Yet it must not be supposed
  That is what he do&. This is evident from the first that this opponent admits that. he speaks against the
  part of Paul's reply to this critic of  ,God. Says the trUe  .,God.  H,e insists that the God whom he speaks
  apostle to him, "Who art thou o man, that repliest            against is.Paul's God, a God of Paul's own imagination.
  against ,God." Just what is this critic of God saying For, .in uttering his contradictions, he. is not facing
  agaitist God anyway. He has the audacity to say to heaven ; but he is facing Paul. It is to Paul that he
  God in substance this, "0 God, if it be true that thou        directs his discourse. ,This is evident from what Paul
  hardenest the Pharaoh's according to thy will, if there-      says; "Thou wilt then say unto me, Paul, why doth he
  for they are disobedierit  and rebellious not according find fault". It is Paul's God that he speaks against.
  to their. sovereign will so to be, .but according to thy He speaks to Paul.about Paul's God. Though he actual-
  will, which alone is sovereign, so that the Pharaohs ly contradicts the true God-Paul's God iS: the true ,God
  and the Esaus are wicked and perverse and rebellious -it is nevertheless certain that he says that he would
  because they must be; then the blame for what these not contra&t the true God for anytking. He poses as
  `Pharaohs are is wholly thine, 0 Gbd, and they are the guardian pf the. righteousness of the true God.
  blamelezxs, wholly without fault, not accountable for That :is why he is so incensed at hearing .Paul preach
 their rebellion, so that it is thyself whom thou shouldest     that  God  hardeileth whom He will.  `To  hear-  &is  op?
  smite and destroy and`hot thine innocent victims. How ponent of Paul's doctrine cavil with Paul about Paul's
  a.tl;ocious  thy  doi&, 0 God. How unrighteous thou God, on6 w&d almost be led to believe that he is more
  art." So this opponent of Paul's doctrine, so you and concerned about the righteousness of God than God is
   I, as we are by nature, speak agains%`God, just because       Himself, if such a thing,were possible. Yet he denies
  we can't endure that He is so absolutely sovereign,           that God hardeneth weom He will and thus aiso denies
  `can't stand it that He insists that He is God and that that' God hath mercy on` whom He will have mercy.
  not we are God. This oppbnent contr&dictti.God,  God's For it stands to reason that these two truths stand
  word, testimony, concerning. ,His blessed self.          God and  f,all together. The opponent of Paul  denies  the
   ,ca.ys  in His word, "I am righteous_ and holy  God.  i       sovereign character of God's grace. He  .denies that
   am light and in me there is no darkn&s  at all. Also in God is God and insists that Pharaoh is <God. Thps he
  hardening the Pharaohs according to my good $leasure           changes the glory of the  sincorruptible God into an
  ,and not according to theirs, thou beholdest my perfect image made like unto ,the corruptible creat&e. Paul
  work." But this opponent, contradicting -God,  says rebukes tk;is opponent 6th these words, "Who art thou
  to Him, "Nay, God, what we behold in `thy hardening o man, that repliest against God." The shame of it!
  wh.om thou wilt, is a shamefully unrighteous work of the horror of it !
   thine." God says in His word :to this opponent, "Though               But one will say, this  bpsonent of Paul Feems to
  the Pharaohs, as thou sayest, cannot" resist my deter- have a case nevektheless.  -God's hardening whom He
  mired will, according to which .I harden them, they do will and at once.holditig  the SaTdened  ones responsible,
   disobey my commands to let my people .go and not to -finding fault .with then%, and pu$shing  them as F&e did
   persecute them--commands through which I harden Pharaoh, when He destroyed him, by &e waters  of the
  their hearts-disobey my commands do the Pharaohs Red Sea,-it just isn't right.. Who.- says it isn't right.
   with all thkir heart' and mind and will akld strength ;       Does God say that it i,sn't right? No, `man says that,
   and therefore I may and do hold'them  responsible, and        it isn't right. Paul's opponent again has the, floor.
   acc6untable, find fault with them, and punish them for But let ds consider that what man says' about %qd does
  their disobedience. For the blame is all theirs." But not count; has,no'valuq,  must needs be a lie. What Gqd
   this opponent, contradicting God, says to him, "True, says about himself' to man, that -alone is true, can be
   God, Pharaoh disobeys thy commands to let the people true: And He says that it is right. - And. that settles
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I                                                 T H E      S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             233  -s

             the matter; Should we not want to understand what dit'slechts zoo aanvankelijk. Alles roept  om nog meer
             He does it always right because He does it? Should we recht en geriehten.
             wait to measure God tiith our own yardstick of right-                   Doch aanvankelijk heeft God bewezen recht te zijn,
             eousness `as willingly ignorant of the fact that :Gdd is en recht te richten.
             His own standard' of righteousness and the only stan-                   H& volgende vers zal da& van spreken : %Iij, heeft
             da-rd of righteousness that man may apply to God? Mozes Zijne  wegeii  bekend gemaakt, den  kinderen
             True, w,e deal here with a mystery. And the mystery Israel Zijne  daden.".   >
     -       is this: God's sovereignly hardening Pharaoh so, that                   Ik denk bier. direct aan twee getuigenissen uit bet
             all the blame is Pharaoh's and  Gpd is and remains verre  verleden. Eerst, die  schoone   `nistorie van het
             blameless. But should we imagine that we can com- @aan van Mozes bij God in de  spleet der rots  ;' en,
             prehend God as nqt understatiding  that He .is the"eterG        tweedens, dat fundamenteele vers  iti Deuteronomium
             nal mystery, the incomprehensible God, tiho dwelleth 32; vers 4. En wat de gerichten Gods aangaat, denken
             in a light unto which no man can approach? Let us we direct aan de oordeelen Gods die uitgegoten werden
             not contradict God, but let' us stand in awe of Him,            over Egypte.
             worship and-adore Him as the God of our salvation                       Ziet ge, God is rechtvaardig.
             in Christ Jesus. Doi.ng so we are saved by His irr,e-                   D& wil zeggen, dat Hij in al Zijn denken,  willen en
             sistible grace and we taste that the Lord is good.              leven steeds conform bet hoogste goed is, en dat hoogste.
                                      I                     G. M. 0.              goed is Zijn Eigen Wezen. Alles wat Gbd doet is goed.
                                                                                  D&t is Zijn rechtvaardigheid.
                                                                                     En als Hij tegenover den mensch staat,  dari uit
                                                                             zichO die rechtvaardigheid Gods in "gerichten". Leest
                       S I O N 'S   Z A N G E N h.et eerder genoemde vers van Deut. 32 ; nl. vers. 4 :
                                                                                  "Hij is de Rbtssteen, wiens -werk volkomen is,' want
                                                                                  alle Zijne wegen zijn geri.chten; God is waarheid en
                                                                                  geen onrecht;  reehtvaardig en recht is Hij."
                      Eeutige Goedertierenheid                                     Een` vers om van te  zingen. Daarin ligt al het
                                                                                  heil van Gods volk opgesloten.
                             , (Psalm 103;  TweGde.Deel)                .    .       Want dat volk word* in den tekst genoemd "die
                De hoofdgedachte van dezen psalm trachtten we uit. onderdrukt  worden".
             te drukken in-den titel : eeuwige goedertierenheid. We                  0, er is allerlei soort van onderdrukking onder
             vonden die gedachte  letterlijk in de verzen 1'7 en 18 :             menschenkinderen, en zeker ook  we1 onder de duivelen.
             "Maar de goedertierenheid des HEEREN is van eeu- En al die ondeFdrukkir@  die verworpenen aangedhan
             wigh,eid  en tot eeuwigheid over degenen die Hem vree- wordt door. vervirorp&en, zal aGod ook bezoeken met
             Zen, en Zijne gereehtigheid  aan  kindskinder&`;  aan Zijn "gerichten". Maar daar gaat het hier niet over.
             degenen die Zijn  .verbond  `houden,  en die  aan  Zijne             Net gaat hier in dit gezang over de zaligheid van Gods
             bevelen denken om die tk doen."                                      volk, over de groote goedertierenheid  over degenen die
                Het begin van den psalm hebben we trachten te                     Hem vreezen.
             verklaren  in h&t vorige opstel, en zagen dat de psalmist               Dat is ook we1 duidelijk overal in de Heilige Schrift.
             zijn ziel toesprak om God te loven, met een opsomming                   Later, veel later,.`hooren tie een Ouderling in den
             van de stof des lofs. `t Was overweldigend te zien hoe hemel zeggen : "Dezen zijn `bet die uit de groote ver-
             .God Zijn volk zegent. Reden waarom de psalmist zich-                drukking  komen!!'  j      k
             zelf en oqs toeroept  "geene van Zijn weldaden" te ver-                 En ifi den 44&en psalm h.ebben,we geluititerd  naai
             g&en.                                                                de klacht van een volk; dat stotite  taal sprak in graote
                Nu gaan we Verde?. We zullen nog meer hooren verdrukking. Ze durfden tegen God zeggen : "Dit alles
             van de goede daden Gods ten overstaan van de voor- is ons overkomen,  nochtalis hebben wij U niet  ver-
             werpen Zijner eeuwige .goedertierenheid.                             geten; noch valschelijk gehandeld tegen  UW verbond !"
                "De HEERE doet gerechtigheid en geriehten allen                      Er is &en volk, dat door alle eeuwen heen groote-
          `_: dengenen die onderdrukt  worden."                                   lijks verarukt wordt. En dat is het volk' van God, de
                Gerechtigheid   -en  -gerichten:  di,e  b,ehooren  bij  el- uitverkorenen ten ,eeuwigen  leven. Zij zijn de dragers
             kaar. De eerste deugd is  recht te zijn; de tweede, van het zaad, d$, men zaaien zal van psalm 126. Er
             Fe&t te doen in bepaalde z&ken. De eerste is de ver- is  e&  bijzondere.   reden  waarom dat volk grootelijks
             eischte voor een rechter  `; de tweede is het rechte sire- verdrukt wordt. En die reden is, dat zij dragers zijn
             ken en handelen van den rechter.                                van het zaad der wedergeboorte. Johannes zou daar
                Nu is God de Rechtvaardige, en dtiarom  is Hij ook later van zeggen, dat d<e uit God geboren is, de z,onde
             recht in Zijn richten. De geheele historie der m,ensch- ni,et doet, want, zoo zegt die Schriftuur':  `Y$ijn~ zaqd
             heid 1s: e& kommentaar  op deze. woorden. En tech `is blijft in hem; en hij kan niet zondigen; want h.ij is u$
                        0


  ,234                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D .   B E A R E R   ~

  God geboren."                                                ten bnzent, waarin Hij onze zonden vergeeft, ons ver-
      Daar hebt ge de diepste reden voor hun verdrukkini.      nieuwt naar het `evenbeeld v&n Zijn Zoon en ons ver-
          Dat volk, uit God geboren, en Zijn zaad in zich om: hoo&t in hemelsche hoogte claarboven bij ,God.
  dragend, wordt van alle zijden verdrukt.                        En de HEERE is ook lankmoedig, 66k een deugd
          Eerst, door Satan, die hen haat om Gods wil. Waar ,Gods.
  Satan ook maar het zaad Gods z&t, daar verdrukt hij             Zij is die deugd.Gods  waardoor Hij Zich bedwingt
  dezulken. Want hij haat God. .                               om het goddelooze rot nog niet te verdoemen; het is
    Tweedens, de wereld die door Satan  geinspireerd           de almachtige kracht Gods  waardoor Hij `het kan
w o r d t .    De wereld  haat Gods volk, ook  njar Jezus' "staan", dat Zijn volk getreiterd en geplaagd,  ver-
  profetie.                                                    moord en verdrukt wordt, terwijl het schijnt alsof zij
     Derdens, en dat is het smartelijkste van hun ver- succes hebben. Het is de deugd van God waardoor
  drukking : ze  worden- verdrukt door zichzelf. Wij, Hij kan wachten met Zijn  uiteindelijk oordeel, wan-
  als  kinderen  Gods, lijden het  meeste  van ons booze neer Hij zal brullen uit Sion en Zijne en onze vijanden
  vleesch, dat ons gevangen  neemt, alzoo, dat wij meestal zal` verpletteren. In  bet' Hebreeuwsch  is het woord
 niet  doen hetgeen we liefhebben. `Ram. 7.                    voor lankmoedigheid een tweevoudsvorm van ons
          Daar gaat het over in den tekst.                     woord "neus", ziende op de twee neusgaten  waardoor
          Nu is God rechtvaardig en Hij dqet gerichten allen .God "ademt" in grooten toorn. En lankmoedigheid in
  dengenen die onderdrukt  worden.                             dien figuurlijken  zin, teekent ons God als staande met
          Satan wordt nu, en  uiteindeli.jk,  vervloekt.  Er Zijn hand op Zijn neusgaten  gedrukt; zoodat Hij nu
  konit een tijd (?) wanneer hij  ,Gods volk nooit meer nog Zijn groote woede "uitsnuift" tegen de goddelooien
  zal onderdrukken.                                ...         en de duivelen. `De oordeelsdag is dit, dat-Hij dan die.
   De wereld is  veroordeeld   toen.  ze  Christus  onder- hand, weg zal halen en dan zullen we het zien, dat Hij
  drukt hebben, en aan he! kruis genageld hebben :SQaks lien allen zal wegvagen iti grooten toorn.
  zal het blijken in de openbaring van Gods gerichten.            En Hij is groot van goedertierenheid.
          En ons vieesch, dat ens, altijd onderdrukt en een       De goedertierenheid Gods is die deugd, waardoor
  schrijend lijden bezorgt, wordt bij den voortduur alles in  iijn oneindig  Wezen gedrongen wordt, ver-.
  gedood en zal uiteindelijk geheel verdwijnen, en dan langt en zucht oni ons .goed te doen, goed te zijn, en
  zal vervuld  worden  den juichkreet  di.en we hier zoo ons te overladen met ,Zijne gunstbewijzen. Hij  "tie&"
  $aak uitstooten : `k Zal eeuwig zingen van Gods goeder-      van goedheid over de voorwerpen van Zijn liefde. Een
  tierenheid !                                                 mooie kommentaar  op die deugd is weI psalm 68 :10
      "`Barmhartig en genadig is de HEERE, lankmoedig          (onberijmd), hetwelk zoo vaak gezongen wordt door
  en'groot van goedertierenheid."                              de Kerk van  ,Christus.  Jezus sprak  ,ervan, wanneer
          De barmhartigheid is een van de sehoonste deug- Hij  zeide:-  Maar  zoekt  ,eerst het koninkrijk Gods en
  den van bet Goddelijk Wezen. Het is de. liefde Gods zijne gerechtigheid, en alle deze dingen zullen U toe-
  zoo als zij zich uitstrekt in eeuwig erbarmen tiaar het geworpen  worden. Ook al! .Paulus ons onderwijst en
  object van die liefde zooals he$ voor tijd en wijle zich     zegt, dat als Jezus ons deel is, zal Hij ons dan ook
  in ellende bevindt, met het zeker voornemen om dat r&t met Hem alle dingen schenken. Nog sterker, als
  object uit zijn ,ellende  uiteindelijk te verlossen.         Hij getuigt dat alles het onze is, `en wij van Christus
          Heerlijke gedachte,  als  jk "omringt door  tegen- en  Christus Gods is. En  .het meest sprekende  voor-
  spoed, bezwijken  moet !" Heerlijke, troostrijke  ge- beeld is w,el het getuigenis, dat de groote en vreeselijke
  dachte in  diepen  nacht,  ais duivelen  bespringen,  de God uiteindelijk Zichzelven  aan ons zal schenken, als
  goddeloozen-  razen, en. tie in groote..,verzoeking  onder vervuld wordt het eens gespyoken  woord: God zal zijn
  komen  te  liggen.. God denkt  aan mij in Zijn  barm-        alles en in .allen.
  hartigheid. Hij is bewogen over mij in oneindig  er-             En die deugd is eeuwig.
  barmen.        Zijh rommelen'de ingewanden van ontfer-           Ggd heeft  altija  aan U gedacht. Met eerbied zij
  niing zijn over mij ten  goede: Zijn rechterhand zal het gezegd: Zoo oud  als God is, zoo oud zijn Zijne
-  redding  ge+en.                                             gedachten en Zijne plannen om U te verrijken met
       -En Hij iS genadig !                               #    het hoogste ,en heerlijkste goed. De profeten hebben
          De genade Gods is die deugd, waardoor Hij de het van verre gezien en hebben er.om gejuichd. `Hoe
  Lieflijke .is in Zichzelven, vol van aantrekkelijkheid en groat: is het goed ! zegt de psalmi&  ergens. Geen oog
   deugd, en waarin Hij, Zich nederbuigt naar h&t object heeft'het gezien, geen oor heeft het gehoord, en het is
  van Zijn oneindige liefde, om hen ook lieflijk en sehoon nimmer opgeklommen in het menschenhart wat God
   en aantrekkelijk te maken.'                                 `doen.  ,zal met enb aan hen die Hem vreezen.` Men heeft
          .Be&houwt g& nu dat object van Zijn liefde, zooals al voor eeuwen gestreden over de `vraag : wat moeten
   het`in, de historie zondig en sch$lig werd, -clan is de we belijden van de twee naturen van Jezus. Dat komt
   genade Gods de onverdiende en verbeurde  gunst Gods janwege het innike verbarid tusschen God en mensch,
                                                                                                           w
                                              ,


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R .                                         235

 den mensch  Christus Jezus. God predikt  daarmede
 hoe groot Zijn goedertierenheid is over Zijn volk. Ik                      IN HIS FEAR
 zei`zooeven, dat goedertierenheid die deugd is waardoor
 alles  zich dringt in het  Wezen om ons  goed te  doen
 eti te zijn. Welnu, ge vindt die deugd ook in betrekke-                  i~ozo Do You Quote  Swipture?
 l$iken zi& bij het volk van God. En hebt ge het nooit            No wonder, said one man discussing Scripture with
 bemerkt, dat  ais  men iemand werkelijk liefheeft, dat another, no wonder the people turn away from the
 men zichzelven ZOQ gaarne wil schenken aan het ob- truth. The leaders turn away  .from `the truth, and
 ject? Dat heeft God gedaan, en  we1 zod intiem en Scripture says: as priest so the people.
 inniglijk, dat men moeite heeft met die naturen, die             But, does Scripture really say that? The question
 naturen van Jezus Christus. Jezus bad eens: "Ik in 1s ,;ot whether there is truth in this statement, the
 hen, en Gij in Mij; opdat zij volmaakt zijn in 66n!" question is whether this quotation is correct.
 Ziedaar het  einde, het ddel-einde van de  eeuwige,              If  you  will refer to  Hosea 4  :9  you will discover
 goedertierenheid !                                            that the quotation .is not : as priest so the people, but
    Daarom  : "Hij zal niet altoos twisten, nog eeuwiglijk it reads this way : "like people, like priest". Its equiva-
 den toorn behouden. Hij`doet ons niet naar onze zon- lcn1 you will find in Isa. 24:2 and both passages l"efer
 den, en vergeldt ons niet naar onze ongerechtigheden." to the impartial judgment which God sends over peGpIe
    Wat lieflijke taal van goedertie:enheid en genafle  ! .and priests alike. The people sinned and the priests
    Luistert naar de  kommentaar  van  Jesaja: "Want ate up the siI> of the people and theiefore  both of them
 I.k zal niet eeuwiglijk twisten, en..Ik zal niet gedurig- merit judgment. When  quotkd this way it  l&av;;s  3
 lijk ~erbolgen zijn ; want de geest zoude van voor. Mi,~n vastly different impression than when mis-quoted.
 aangezicht overstelpt worden,  en de zielen die Ik ge .          And how many. people are there, who when they
 maakt heb. Ik was verbolgen over de ongerechtigheid would quote the Jerusalem, Jerusalem text from Matt.
 hunner gierigheid, en sloeg ze; .Ik tierborg  Mij en was 23, give it this way:  ;Terusaleni,  Jerusalem. . . .how
 verbolgen ; evenwel gingen zij &fkeerig henen in den oft would I have gathered thee together as a hen gath-
 weg huns harten. Ik zie hunne wegen, en Ik zal Be gene- ers her chicks. . .  ,but ye would not. You  wOuld per-
 zen ; en Ik zal ze geleiden, en bun-yertroostingen  weder-    haps quote it that way also. But it is not right. Jesus
 geven, namelijk' aan hunne treurigen." En ook dit :           does not say that He would gather Jerusalem, but He          -
 "Voor een kleinen oogenblik heb ik u verlaten, maar says that he would gather "thy children". Not Jeru-
 met groote ontfermingen zal Ik .u vergaderen ; in een salem now but J&usalem's children Christ would g&h-.
 kleinen toorn heb Ik Mijn aangezicht van u een oogen-         er. And He did gather them, only Jerusalem resentecl
 blik verborgen; maar met eeuwige goedertierenheid zal il; and cruc,ifiecl Him.
 Ik Mij uwer ontfermen,  zegt de Heere uw Verlosser.              I recall one time a good old mother, whd had grand-
 Want clal; zal Mij zijn als de water,en Noachs, toen Ik sons in the recent world war, said .to. me that she was
 zmeer  dat de -;&,eren  Noachs niet meer over de aa& greatly comforted by that promise `of %od which said :
 zoudcn `gaan : ;.lz& heb Ik gezworen dat Ik niet n&r when they fall upon the sword they shall not be wound-
 op u toornen. !x& u schelden zal. Want bergen zn!!en          ed." A promise such as that .meant  so much to her
 wijken, en  heu\  c:en wankelen,. maar Mijne  goed::r-        she assured me. I was rather impressed by this -quota-
 tierenheid zal van u niet wijken, en het verbond Mijris tion frown Scripture, never having-read it before. As
 vredes zal niet wankelen, zegt de HEERE  uw  Ont-             SOOF as I reached my~ study I searched .for this quota-
 fermer."                                                      tion. We found it in Joel  2:8. But to my and  later
    Moet, mag ik hier nog wat bij doen?                        also to her great surprise it appeared that these words
    Verklaart het niet heel duidelijk het 9de en lode refer ,exactly td the great army of destruction which
 vers van ,onzen huidigen psalm?                               God will send against apostate Zion. Therefore  -the
    Let ,er ook op, hoe itot tweemalen toe des HEEREN          text actually meant. the very reverse of what this'per-
 eeuivigen goedertierenheid genoemd tierd in deze ver-         son thought it meant and therefore quoted it. with a
 klaring.                                                      meaning it did not have.
    0 ja, leest. dok nog de bede van* Mozes, den man              At a funeral the minister sought to exhort his lie'ar-
~ van God. Ook hij getuigt van des Heeren  toqrn die ers with "prepare t'o meet thy `God 0 IsFael" (Hosea
 over Zijn'volk'is vanwege -onze  zonde.                       4 :12), that is, that men should get ready to stand in
    Maar daar komt een einde  aan het zuchten, lijden judgment before God. That is surely a scriptural and
 en schreien vanwege  de zonde die tegen onzen wil nog necessary &dmonition,  but it could scarcely be elicited
 in ons over gebleven is. God zal ze wegnemen, en tot from this text. The text is a threatening 6f God against
 in alle eeuwigheid zult ge U baden ili de stralingen der the impenitent Israel and an annotmceinent that" God
 liefde Gods ten uwent : eeuwige goedertierenheid Gods ! will most certainly descend upon her in judgment, aDd
                                                G. V.          they will meet the God of righteous wrath.


     236'.              ".                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   .BEAR&R

         Who has not `heard quoted- "Wees nie$ $1 te recht-      upside clown. They took what Moses said and quoted
     vaardig" (be not over  -much  righteotis,`  Eccl. 716). .it so that it' contradicted what Jesus said. Moses and
     This quotation is frequently`ujed  to condemn the con- Christ are one, when it comes to speaking  the Word,ffdr
     duct of persons, who seem to bi! overly pious. Or is it Christ spoke through Moses. Yet the Pharisees knew
     quottid to describe the Pharisee. "But if you will study how to lquote Scripture so that it refuted Christ Him-
     the text carefully you ,will discover that neither here, self. In the sermon on the Mount we notice that the
     nor anywhere inScripture for that matter, ape we ever Jewisli lawyers were skillful in making verbatim  quota-
     wa.rned against  beitig-  extremely righteous. We can `tions from the `Old Testament. : They quoted Moses in
     never be  .too righteous, by faith. The quotation in matters of divorck, taking oaths, taking venge&nce, `etc.
     question however warns against finding fault with Frequently they quot'e Moses verbatim, as e.g. "an eye
     God's treatment of righteous and wicked during this for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" (Matt. 5:38Tev.
     dispensation. And being righteous  over much is alike 24 :20). But yet their verbatim quotations were errors
     to trying to-set oneself up as being wiser than God in and Jesus condemns them as wresters of Scripture.
_    matters of justice during this dispensation. Then you       Over against their literal quotation of Lev.  24:20
     arrive.at a wholly different idea of what this quotation Christ states : "But I say un!o you that ye resist not
     i m p l i e s ;                                             evil". Christ is not in conflict wikh Moses, but the
         "Neither cast ye  your pearls before swine", is a Doctors have quoted &.zripture,  using' it as a vehicle
     c!sssic quotation people frequently use when they want for-their own sinful thoughts.
     to tell you .not to bring the Word of God to profane           It is possible therefore to quote Scripture accurate-
     people. In that cas(f, however, Jesus did exactly what ly; .as far as the letter goes, yet by our very quotation
     He warned His followers not to do, for He constantly abuse Scripture. Example, the Pharisees:
     confronted the profane Pharisees with the Holy Word            Modernism, in all its  schbols of higher criticism
     of  .God. The text evidently is an admonition to His engages in this sort of blasphemy. The more they
     disciples riot to do as the Pharisees do (Cf. the-whole quote Scripture the more. they blaspheme.
     context of Matt. 7). They gave what was holy to the            But Satan is also an-exljert  at [quoting Scripture so
     dogs, and- thus they esteemed holy things lightly, So that it &ntradicts itself. Liar  that he is, you would
     lightly in fact that they  ,eVen made long prayers  in      expect him to insert a word or two when he quotes the
     order to be seen of men. If you pray long to be seen Bible or  change a word or two, but no, he  .quotes it
     .of men e.g., jrou are casting what is holy to the dogs.    substantially correct. This case is recorded in Matt.
         And that "Ephraim is a cake half~baked" is almost 4  :6. Satan quotes Ps. 9 :ll-12, and except that he
     become a proverbial quotation today. Yet `the Bible omits a, clause he qtiotes accurately. Jesus, I believe,
     says nothing of a cake half-baked, it says that Ephraim admits this also for' Christ does not cdrrect Him by
     is a cake not turned. With the. evident difference that saying: it is not so written. But if Jesus should follow
     in the misquotation one is lead to think of a poorly the quotation as the devil gives it Jesus would be tempt-
     baked cake, but in the scriptural. quotation :God wants ing .His Father. What Satan did was to apply Scrip-
     you to see that Ephraim is like a cake which stays long ture in a way in which it was never intended to be ap-
     on the hot fire, unturned, `and is consequently in the plied. Ps. 91 :ll-12 refers to God's loving care over
     process of burning up, (Cf. Hosea 7 :7-g).                  tbc righteous, `but Satan sought to make this text mean
                              To&hig  Scriptwe                   that Christ could let Himself drop from the pinnscle
         In such matters as those mentioned above we all err of the temple and not injure Himself. Satan's quota-
     constantly. We may safely say that we Christians do tion of Scripture therefore constitutFd  a tempt&ion for
     not do it with malicious intent. ' We habe no. foul pur-    Christ. If Christ had obeyed the word of Scripture, as
     pose in mind when we sometimes mis-quote or mis- the devil quoted it,  Jesus would, have tempted His
     apply Scripture. That by no means'makes it harmless, Fa&er in -heaven.
     but-at-,least  it cannot be ranked with blasphemy.             See therefore how extremely important is our quot-
         It becomes devilish, however, if there is a ,design     ing of Scripture. Just because you quote Scripture is
     behind it. Then we get "wresting of Scripture" of no guarantee that you sre ,speaking the truth. Scrip-
     which P&r speaks in- II Pet. 3  :16, where the word ture is truth, but `all men are by nature liars, and it is
     `,fwr&ting" literally means to put Scripture on the rack, the climax of blaspheti?  to quote %zril%ure  with t5e
     torture it, stretch it, tear it apart and treat it at will. purpbse of ,using it as
                                                                                    `
                                                                                    _       _ati, iqstrument  to carry private
     Or we get that against which Paul warns us in II Cor. notions.            8
     4 :2 of handling the Word of God "deceitfully." Then          ' Scripture is` not the WORDS of God first' bit the
     it ranks with blasphemy.                                    WORD. Keep it in the.sihgular and t$&e is tie danger
         Of this sort for instance were the Pharisees i-n. Jesus' that we will ab&e it. Scripture is ONE, let us quote
     day who were experts at quoting Scripture, yet so that it as `being.the ONE WORD of God in all its parts.
     with their quotations they turned Scripture cc&pletely                                                        M. G. .

                        0 .


                                     .\
                                           '  T H E   STAND.ARD   B E A R E R                                             237,

                                                                is evil, the fear of the Ldrd is absent. As it iS stated;
        FROM HOLY WRIT                                          for example; in Deut..5 :29, `$0 that there  were subh an
                                                                heart in them, that they would fear Mej:~and:kee~`M~
                                                                commandtients  always, that it. :might  be `~81 .j witlii
          The Fear Of The Lord                                  them, and with their  `childreti   forever  !"  _  Therefor&
                                                                Scripture teaches concerning. the wicked  th+t "there is
     One of the most common expressio& we meet ,in no fear of God Ibefore  their eyes." Ps. 36 :l, Roti. 3 :18.
 - Scripture  are those wellknown  Words, "the  .fear of        This passage from  t&  I?salms, which is quoted in
  the Lord.`;. It would prove impossible in one short Romans, is especially significant. It proves .b@ytind a
  article to quote all the passag&particularly  in the Old doubt, that a godly fear is entirely strange to wicked
  Testament, where the expression appears. But a nien. They know nothing of it. But it does more;
  closer examination of a few of these passages proves          For the word. that is used can well be translated  as
 .as interesting as it is profitablle.                          dread or terror. So that %ve can w,ell read, that there
     There are various words used in the Hebrew origin- is  not even a dread  tif God before their eyes. They
  al for `fear'. The word `yirah', which is most cominon-       are npt even,  filled with terror ,because .of Him. They
  ly used in reference to God, has the meaning of rever- cre'not  a,$ much as .afraid. og Him. In the ,following
  ence and awe. ,The word `pachad' is also used occasion- verses the sinner is described as f&lows, "He flattereth .
  ally, which means dr'ead  or terror. The fir& word is         himself iin: his own; eyes, until his iniquity be found to
  used almost exclusively when speaking zof the revereri- be hateful: .The-.words  of hs -mouth are iniquity atid
  tial- fear df God that fills the heart of- the .righteous.    dsccit,:.  he-bath left o$f to be,wise and to do g&d. He
  Wheti rarely it is used in speaking of the wicked, it devlseth mischief. upon his. bed,, he setteth himself in,
  stress&  the awe that prostrates them before Him be-' a way that is riot good, he abhorreth not evil." This ,is
  cause of His power and divinity.  Thg second  worcl           entirely in harmony.  with the! thought of Romans 1,
  could..%better be, translated -as terror or dread. It is where tie are told &at "they did not like to retain God
  used for the  \righteous and the wicked alike. When in I,heir knowledge," and `ati a rebult, "God gave theni
  referring to the -righteous, it expresses their holy fear over to a reprobate' mind, -to< d6 those things that `are
for the dreadful  majesty of; the Most High, which njt  fitting."The sinner imagines that `he can sin with
  causes them to humble themselves in the dust b'efore          impunity. He sins, and does not immediately exper,
  Him; acknowledging that He. is holy and righteous. i&e the `dir& consequences.. He becomes bolder and
 _ Iii the New Testament the word `phobos' is used to ex-       defies  .the living Gpd. He proves  that. the unjust mu,&
  press'both the idea of reverence and of terror, and is become unjust still and the filthy must become filthy
  also ,applied  to wicked as well as to the righteous. Yet still, even until the measure of their iniquity is full.
 always with this. marked difference that the believer             jsut that does not mean that the wicked can ever
 fears with an upright fear, while the ungodly,are filled succeed to entirely banish God from his thotights. God
 with. wicked; rebellious fear.                                 makes His power ,and godhead known in all the iydrks
     Although :Scripture occasionally speaks  of "the fear of His  hatids, but especially in His  jud'gnieiits..  Nor
  of God", the  ,expression  "fear of the Lord" is much does God leave Himself without witness in their h&&s.
 more common. The Lord is none other than Jehovah, In the old dispensa$ion,  the terror of .th& Ldrd fell re-
 Who is. the .almighty, unchangeable,' `sovereign God, peatedly tipon the heathen nation round about Israel.
 who has no need of men's hands to be worshipped by `Think of the people;of Jericho whose hearts melted
 them, ahd who cannot possibly .give His-glory to any within them when.~they heard of the mighty works of
 `other. He is infinite in power, giorious in majesty, the God of Israel:  ,Joshua 2 :9-11. The same terror is
 sovereign over all the  earth, so that He  wdrks all felt tihenever the Lord' sends His visitatiOns  upon the
 %hi'ngs according to the purpose of His ~$1, that they         earth. And the time is coming when the wicked will
 may herve'in a most perfect way unto the glory of His          cry to the rocks to cover them from before the faee:of
 Name: 2:His fulness fills all things, His lobe is eternal, the living God.' Also. this is; from. the Lord,: Who' Iis
 His gdodness has no liniitations. Holy and righteous is mighty iti .power  and gl&idus in- majesty.            s.. j . . : c i
 the Lord, the God of infinite perfections. He makes His           But the :fear of the'upright`is  a gift of His &%c&
 people eternally :blessed with the assurance, ."I an? thy It is the fruit of the operation of the fi61$ $!,pi~it  withi
 God." For' tb know Him is nothing ,sh&t'df .life eternal.      in the heart. Thjs is expressed ip so `maizy .tiror&`.in:
     In speaking  of the fear .of the Lord,' we-`realize ,at    Isaiah 11:`2,`3, `<And the Spirit df the .Lord  SIiall're&t
 dnce that this fear has its origin in IGod Hpself. The upon Him',  the spirit of  wisdbm and  urid&t&nditi&
 true and upright f,ear of the Lord is a gift of His grace. the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of.knowledg@
 It is impossible for the sinner -to possess that fear, for and of the fear of,+he  Lord; and' shall .-niake-  Him. di
 his heart is at erimity with `Gtid, so that ,hB continually    quick understanding in the fear `of `the Lord :l`and He
 banishes God from all. liis thoughts. When the heart shall. not judge after&e sigh%. of:;His eyes,' zieftlier re-


 2381                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   -B.EARER .

 prove after the hearing of His ears." Here `the Holy befpre God. Psalm  19:0, "The fear of the Lord is
 Spirit is called the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, who clean, enduritig forever : the judgments of the Lord are, -
 works that fear in the heart. The objection might be true and righteous altogether." Psalm 34  :ll,  `%ome,
 raised, that this passage has reference to Christ, since ye children; he&&en unto me ; and I will teach yo$ the
 the first verse speaks of the Rod and the Branch that fear .of the &ord."
 shall grow out of the root pf Jesse. But even though              Therefbre @so rulers m&t walk in fear. InDavid's
 this is true, what applies to Christ in this case, applies la.st words, the man of God teaches us, "The God of
 also to His people, who are filled with the same Spirit.       Israel said, -the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that
    That fear of the Lord has its' source in God, but it ruleth over men  niusit be just, ruling in the fear of
 also has God as its object. It consits of reverence and God." 2 Sam.  23:3. While Jehoshaphat  admodishes
`awe before Him Who alone is worthy of the name of the chief of the fathers, "Thus shall ye do in the fear
 God. This is not tlie fear of a slave who shudders             of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart."
 at the very thought of his master and trembles when             Tliose who are privileged to possess this gift of
 he stands in his presence, so that he obeys him only grace must .also experience the blessedness of it.
 because there is no &cape. In that sense, the apostle             The first  b&efit derived from it is a true and
 John assures us,. all fear ip gone. Fbr "there is no fear abiding confidence in God. He  ,who fears the Lord,
. fear in love ; but perfkct  love ctisteth out fear ; because works out his salvation with fear and trembling. Which
 fear hath torment. He that feareth is ndt made per- does not mean that he doubts all his days wliether he
 fect in love." I John 4:X The Spirit of Christ is not will ultimately reach the goal of salvation for which he
 the spirit of bondage again to fear, but is the Spirit of is s? riving. That would be %t very opposite of -the
 adoption, which causes us to dry, Abba, Father. There- coniicic-nce  that fills our  hearts  ihrough  godly fear.
 fore the fear of  the  believ`er  is  ,the fear of sons and    The b&ever knows: that God Works in him bgth to will
 daughters, the holy awe and reverence that causes us           and !.o do according to divine good pleasure             He is
 to rejoice even as we tremble in His presence. The confident that'the same God Who has begun a good
 psalmist says in Psalm 2 :ll. ",Serve  the -Lord  with work  il,-  iyirn will also surely  .Eirlish it` in the  clav of
 fear, and rejoice with trembling." While Acts  9:31            Christ Jesus. That confidence is rooted in fear. I'or
 states, "Then had the churches rest throughout `all ;le c,m only marvel in awed wonder at that grza\ and
 Judea and Galilee and Samaria,  and were edified; and glQric;tis work of salvation which is being wro!:ght in
 walking in the fear of the-Lord,  and in the cqmfort of him. : OAnd, he knows that none other than God is busy
 the Holy Ghost, were mult$plied." This fear comforts with ,that mighty work in his heart. He worships his
 the heart, but at the same time fills it with a dread of -God in holy reverence. He trembles at the thought
 sinning agains.$$he glorious majesty of the Most High. ,that his clumsy and sinful hands might in some pray
 ks we read in Psalm 119 : 120, "My flesh trembleth with mar $ha$ work. "Is ,not this thy' fear, thy confidence,
 fear of thee, and I am afraid of Thy judgments." thy liope and the uprightness of thy ways?" Job 4:6.
 That causes the believer to work out his salvation with "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his
 fear and trembling, fdr. God it is which ivorketh  in h,im     children have a place of re@ge."
 both to will and to do of .fiis good pleasure. Phil. 2:13.        Moreover, the lasting benefit of this, grace is none
   Therefore it follows, that the fear of God is more other than the blessedness of eternal life experienced
 than a mere consciousness of awe and reverence before already in this present -time. Prov.  22:4 says, "By
 the face of God. It manifests itself in sanctification humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honor,
 and true piety. The believer, whose heart is filled with and life." According to the spiritual-ethical nature of
 holy fear, walks humbly before God and seeks to be this book of Proverbs, these rihhes and honor are not
well-pleasing `to Him. He seeks the Lord with a per- mere earthly benefits, but belong t,o the blessings of
 fect heart. From this aspect the book of Proverbs `eternal life, which `God bestows on those who fear Him.
 spe%ks repeatedly of this godly fear. Proverbs 1:7 Therefore Isaiah 33 :6 assures us., "And wisdom and
 calls `the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom.           knowledge shall  be the stability of thy times, and
 Just because `it  iS the  beginning,  the basic  ljrinciple    strength `of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his
 of all true wisdom,  wicked' men are fools `who despise treasure."
 wiscloln  and instruction. `They hate knowledge and.do            In conclusion, we can briefly sum this all up by say-
 nol; choose the fear qf the Lord. (128). On the other ing, that the fear bf the Lord is `God's own gift of grace,
 hand,. "the fear .of the .Lord  is $0 gate evil, for God       whereby we experience the beauty of the Lord in awed
 hates pride and .arrogahcy,  the evil way `and the fro: wtinder,  which becomes evident in a holy walk, and
 ward mouth." `Prov. 8 :13. "By mercy and truth in- fills us with confidence and peace unspeakable and full
 iquity is purged  ?afid by. the fear of the Lord men           of glory unto the praise of our God.                C .   H;
 depart from evil." Prov.  16:6.         '                      ;il An inform&iv& article on this subject by the Rev. R. Veldman
     Also `the Psalr+ swtik df this fear as a holy walk appears'iri  the Standard Bearer, volume 22, number 4, page 99.


                                      T H E   STANDARD   B E A R E R                                        ._    239

                                                              these people through means of correspondence and  `.
                P E R I S C O P E                             distribution of our literature, especially The Standard
                                                              Bearer. Then about two years ago The Reformed
 FLASH! . . . . Rev. Hoeksema Preaches!!                      Witness Hour secured an outlet for its radio program
                                                              in Bellingham, which is about 16 miles south-west of
   We heard the good news here  rather incidentally Lynden. ,This station,  KRO,S;  is now a  IOdO watt
 atid felt it was worth passing on to our readers. Ac- station. and, hence, can be clearly. heard in this are&
 cording-to word received from Bellflower,  on Sunday The response to the program was good and a compara-
 .evening, January 25, "dominie" mounted the pulpit tively large mailing  list.was built tip.               1
 .a.nd delivered his first sermon since he was stricken           At a recent meeting of the Mission Committee these
 last June. Our informant told us that his correspon- things were brought to our attention.. In the mean-
 dent wrote that "he was very lively".                        time our work in Byron Center seemed  to be pro-
    That .our beloved pastor a%d teacher continues .to        gressing towards organization,. Our labors there, how-
 improve is also evident from the following note which ever, were more or less at. a stand-still, pending  the
 appeared on the bulletin of the 1st church in Grand `acquisition of a suitable place in which to  meet.  It
 Rapids, `on January 25:                                      appeared  that there might be a possibility of acquiring
    "I have some ieal  news  to write  you. I went in a church and parsonage in Byron Center but it was
 the ocean!- You can imagine how I longed to do that. also evident, that even if this property could be pup-
 I did not try to swim much, however, because I was           chased, the negotiations and arrangements would take
afraid of the breakers. But I was surprisingly steady some time'. And the  po&ibility also  existed-,that in                   ..
 on my feet. I believe I could easily swim.                    case a suitable hieeting place could not be found, no
    "All in all, it shows that there is steady improve- re-organization would-occur in the near future.
 ment. Yesterday I walked two `miles without my cane;            The  Missioli Committee felt it wise, therefore, to
 although for safety sake I had it with.me-it took me          send' one of our missionaries to make `a preliminary
 fifty-f&e minutes. ,O, the Lord is good to me, above investigation of the'lynden area, in order that a de- '                        .
 all expectations !                                            cision might be reached which would be based ofi first-
    "Love to, you all, e$peci&ll$ to the sick.                hand ipfokmation  and as ti result of personal contact.
                                  Rev: H. Hoeksema."          Undersigned was delegated to journef  to Lynden and
                                                               spencl sonie time there, while the Rev. Knott continues
                                                              the  xrork in Byron Center.  +t  this `writing we  h&ve
 Missionary News. . . .                                       np news of developments in Byron Center:  so must `con-
    Greetings from Lynden, Washington ! !                     fiile our r&port to the w&k here.
                                                                                     1  :!:  ::< :iC :b
    ~Undoubtedly,  many of our people %vill be surprised
 to know that we are -in Lynden. For that reason it               We  `ieft Grand Rapids by car. On  Thtirsday, Jan-
 might be well, first of all, to explain how this came uary 15. A howling blizzard `was blowing Snow in
 ambout. Perhaps, you will recall, that at the close of eyery   dir&ion   a&l retarded our  p?og?ess for the
 our.l& news article concerning our labors we included first few hundred mi!eS along Lake Michigan. Since
 a paragraph entitled: What Next? We mentioned that time, ,&cording to the news,.much  more snoti &id
 that we had written our .various ministers and con- cold have be& the Portion of the "-Easterners" (one
 sistories asking for suggestions and information re- can hardly imagine it all `as he ldoks dut here oh &e&n
 garding possible -future fields of activity. In answer fields and watdhes the hardy tulips  and daffodil&be&in
 to our request several replies were received  .which to raise there heads while the violets  blc& in the
 suggested that the Lynden, Washington a.rea would do6r-ytirds] . Abotit supper  ,time that  nigh*  `%ti .%ri
 be worth considering. It was pointed out that sdme riGed  in -Oskaloosa, Iowa, where we sljent the week-end              e
 former members of our  chnrches had moved to this as guests of the Rev; `and Mrs. J. Howerzyl. On Sun-
 area and that there were others- who would like to day it was our privilege to preach qnce, both inX%k&
 come if there were a pkotestant Reformed congrega- 100s~ and  ,Pellb;  ,On  each occasion an offering  was
 tion here. `Then; too;it  is well known that there. have received for the' Missioli Fund.
 always. be& some interested families who live in and            `On Monday morning we left  Oskaioosa `and `con- .
 around Lynden. Several years ago, the `Rev..H.  Hbek- tinued to  .Parkersbyrg,   Iow$, the home of Mrs.  Hof-
 sema visited- here and  spol?e to large audiences. A :?-.tints  `~Jil~f?llta.    "From here we continued by train to
 few years later the Rev. B. Kok, at that  time our the northwest  while Mrs. Hofman returned to Grand
 Home .Missionary,  spent a few weeks in Lynden' and Rap&, aftei- visit@ with her folks foe a f'eu+. days.
 aroused added interest.                                       The iong journey to  Lyriden  lasted  froin  Tuksday
     Since that time con&et has been maintained with noori until -i Q arrived her o'n+Fi9day-n'o&;` the  .cast 16


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--                                       :
      w--L,.                                                                                T - H E   .STANDAR'D  ,BEARER  =
                                                                     :;-0

                                                                                                                                                    pi
        miles  .i'rom Bellingham via bus.  So, here' we;are in, . . own -is. another, Christian grade school to serve those
       ty,J+-i.. `:xI, a&in&on.
                                  ;                                 _,  .                   ,"                                                       further                                  remov@.                                      _                                 t
                 ,..
         .'                                                 $  :> . .  .,                                                       `.                                                                                                                                                  /
                                                                                                                                                    I.              ,:          ..'                       :ig            $  :i:  :i:
                                                                                                                                                                                       -       I
           "                                                /  *
                  Lynden is in the extreme north-,western  part of the                                                                                            Gur labor here,  at. present, is' of a preliminary,
       state of Washington. It is about 14 miles inland from nature. We have <contacted  several families and find
       the Paccfic ocean. Bnd :3 .,.miles- s'outh  of, the.. Canadian some enthused, some interested, and -pther willing ,to
       border. The city;with  a .population:of  `about 3QQO;  .as listen. Before we left Grand Rapids we  had, made
       well as the surrounding country, lies .in the, valley of arrangements .with- the' Radio Committee to use the.
       the NooksackRiver.                                                                                                                            time of the' Reformed Witness Hour on.-KVOS, if: we
         ,...                                                On three sides, (north, south and
        east). tlne.~va!ley is..:surrounded  by the Cascade Range so desired. We plan to speak over KVSO, on Sundays,
        of: the -Rocky: Mountains. ' Westward the valley opens                                                                                       February g and 15, the Lord willing. In the meantime
        up and gently slopes to the shores of the. Pacific. Mt. we are -looking .up, and' meeting the people who. have
        Baker,' whose'snow-capped dome rises over 10,000 feet written in or listen. to the broadcast. .or {who,  in: some
        above,.sea-level,  is clearly seen a' distance of `45 miles other way have expressed interest. In this manner. we
       ,to;:tho south-east. Many other well.known peaks, both will attempt to determine the possibilities of this .acea
       -in Canada  .and the  U. S., `are  in. plain sight,.; The for future labor. ,At this writing, it would be toot early
       -weather is comparatively 1 mild with light frost' and to give a well-founded answer to that question.                                                                                                                                                                               ,.
        some rain but seldom. snow!- though: there is an abun-                                                                                                                                                                                                                            :
        dance `on .the.hills snd mountains in the .distance.                                                                                               0                                                           Q ::
                                                                                                                                                                                                           .a-                    :`,:                     :i:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                . .  .' ,                                 .' : ~  I, I
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                  As we sit here and look around, the.thoughts  come                                                                                                                                                                                                    `
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        ,
                                                                                                                                                     Striking  Testimo;ny..~  . . .
       to our mind: "how beautiful for'situation'.`,` and, "as,                                                                                                                 . .                 .~                                            ('              ,.
        the hills, .round about J,erusalem". Besides.. the massive                                                                                                ,In connection with the above we pass on an inter-
        Rockies always strike one' with awe. They too bring esting experience. While looking up those on `I the
      ' to mind the. words. of the Psalm&t:!  `"The firmament mailing list of the Reformed Witness Hour, we came
       showeth  :Thy:  hdndiwdrk".  `And.-.even  more as `one to the home of an elderly American womanl  who .had
        travels through: them their towerin-g' majesty must. bee+ receiving "the message: She lives outside .Lynden
      necessarily humble' one. and cause-.him- to wdnd& in and attends a small -Community Church near her home.
        awe before his God and utter : "Whtit  7s man that Thou When we knocked at her door she opened it and asked
        :art  :mindful, of  :him?"                                                          -.          .-           ,,                              if we were the doctor. We replied that we were not
        .".`,  :... . .  .'  /;
         ,....          *`,                                                                                                                          the doctor but a minister and thereupon she `invited. us
                                                             * : :Jt -*  .g,                                   -                ..--.                in and sajd they were expecting a veterinary. since
                                                                                   ,                                                                 t-!~>~`/ had a sick cow,-
          , The physical and natural beauty of' \he `Nooksack                                                                                                      While she talked she stated that she enjoyed ihe'
       valley is not greatly marred   but ,even: somewhat en-, Radio" messages -but ,also' readily admitted that sin&t?
        haneed,.  by.`its%habitants  ; for it would indeed be `-a she was not Holland-.and, hence; due to .her lack of
        lonely place urithout  its people. " Lyiiden  itself.is a neat training, ,-she did not -understand them.. too :.well. `It
       and -`clean:: little' towri  with trim" houses .-&nd `yards. be&&evident,:however,  that she was a Bible student.
        It-,$ She :center  of a large trading-areas and, has `many In th'e course of. the conversation. she: revealed, -&at
       .fne stores.. .One. can almost -seethatit.thi$  ,area  is .well- -thougl, she- did not `grasp `the truth-as we know dnd
        populated.with thrifty Holland stock;.there  are over ,ldve it, `She likes the note' which our program. strikes.
        a thousand families of Dutch descent `in this vi&&jr. ~-She, said that she did not'at all agree with the tenden<y
       <Most of these. livol on comparatively 7small :, but we& ,of the inodern pulpit which claiins-that man is getting
        kept-.dairy,farms.                             This area is' the `great milk-shed - `better &i;ld:exhorts him to use`his i&vi1 twill and po+;el-
       for the: largercities on the. coast: ; Besides-milk, poultry to  e&icate,  himself from  -sin and ruin. She herself
       .an.d. eggs and , all kinds of fruit `are ,&port&t  -`pro:                                                                                    was' tionvinced  that sin' is' developing fast and: that the
        dqi&s;r  .`.  ,;                           ,:..                 `i         i  ;:.-. .  i:  .,  .~:-'                          -I      ..    signs of the  Qming of Christ increase.                                                                                       .  *            `.
       : ,.-There are several. churches in Lynden. IThree large                                                                                           ..I Otieragainst `su& claims as the fact that men -build
        Chris?ian Reformed churches in toivii: have an average .great hospitals, etc., she understood that in it,`21 they
      * of .,over :200, f&m%& ~eeich: There are *also ychristian `do'not  -seek God's honor `and glory but merely Satis-
        Reformed churches  i$ the snialler,town$  nearby. .: Be- faction of their own-sinful pride: To me'itwas `strik'-
        sides these; one can find the `Reformed, :B:aptist,: M&ho- ing, and'&o `heartening,. that' she reould,  independently
        dist .,and Gatholic $mrches; asYwell-`as  `lesser groups                                                                                     as' it w&e,' `and'upon' the basis .of S&&e,. so desrly
        such as the Gospel :H;all .and Christia%n'Science. `There .testify to. the:`truCh-as. we `k$w;`it. -Gbd's'ways  `are
       -i,"  a: Christias'~ade,Elch.~9l,;an~ a~splend~d'n~w .Chris-' indeed past finding out!                                                                                                                                              ' ,  c  ::  `:                           "  :  " ,`.
        tian,High S,cho.ol--in  Lynden: `"A]:,few~:miles'. &rt@.$f                                                                                   ;. ~. . _
                                                                                                                                                                 _ . .,-  :  -1  "'  :  "I                . .  -                                        *' .' . Ipi He<
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