VOLUME XXVII                                     September 1, 1951 - Grand Rapids, Michigan                       NUMBER  21.
"                                                                      a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for His
              MEDITATI                                                 enemies ; and Israel shall do valiantly. IOut of jacob
                                                                       shall come He that-shall have dominion, and shall de-
                                                                       stroy him that remaineth of the  city"'
     #        The Excellency of Love                                   .-    And when.we  read the whole history we are struck
                                                                       with the .excellency  of his prophecies. He  .sa~u the
                   "And. though  i have the gift of prophecy, and      wonders of God'$ redemption and the beauty of the
                 understand all mysteries,, and all knowledge; and     people that was redeemed by God's right hand. It is
                 though I have all faith, so that I  coulld  remove    from the prophecy of Balaam that the people of God
                 inountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."
                                                     I Cor.  1352.     are wont to quote the text which tells of the marvel of
          The Apostle will teach the church at %orinth the             eternal justification : "He hath not beheld iniquity in
difficult lesson that all their gifts and talents, if they             Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel."
are to be bondu+e to edification of the congregation,                        And of Caiaphas we all know how he gave expres-
must spring from conscious love of God.                                sion to the very he&i% of. the Gospel, prophesying that
     I' He had told them that-speech, be it ever so beautiful: it' "is expedient for us, that one should die for the
in the outward sense, yea, ,even though it would be                    people, and that the whole nation perish not". And
                                                                       the Holy <Ghost  expressly adds : "and this spake he not
angelic in sound, without love is a discord in the ears
of God. Speech, if it is to be pleasant in God's ear,                  of himself: but being high priest  $hat year, he pro-
                                                                       phesied that Jesus should die for that nation".            '
must  be  the expression of the love of  IGod. If it is not
that, it were better if we had never uttered a word.                         So we,see that a man may have the gift of prophecy
It is nothing but as sounding brass and as a tinkling                  and still .be. nothing in the `Kingdom .of God.
cymbal, discordant, ugly and void of real harmony.                           tAnd as it `is with the main concept of prophecy,
          He will now proceed to- apply that principle to the          so it is with.the gifts of the understanding of mysteries
`gifzts of prophecy and faith, for both mysteries and                  and the gift of knowledge. If they are not put- in the
knowledge are mentioned in connection with prophesy-                   employ of the -love of God, they are nothing. Indeed,
ing.                                                                   they tyill make Us the more culpable before the great
                                                                       white throne. It will' be more tolerable for Balak who
          Though I have the gift of.prophecy  . . . and have           employed Balsam than for Balaam w$o allowed him-
not charity, I am nothing!                  .               ,          self to be thus employed. This man certainly knew
          Is that possible?        -                                   much of the mysteries of the kingdom and had much
          Indeed, it is.                                               knowledge. It  wddld be entirely  Eossible to  build a
                                                                       little dogmatics on the basis of his utterinces. But his
          There are ins@nces l;ecorded  in the Wo?d of God             heart was filled with the hatred against God and His
where men had the gift' of prophecy, and-yet they were                 people. For worldly riches he would fain employ all
lost. At once we think of Balaam and of Caiaphas.                      the gifts that-Gbd bestowed on him, in order to curse
          The one uttered a most beautiful prophecy of the             the people of  ,God.
promised `Redeemer. Listen" to him : "I shall see Him,                       And, yes, ICaiaphas  uttered the beautiful and f&da-
but not now: I shall behold Him; but not nigh: there                   tiental truth, of vicarious atonement,. but his heart,
shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a :Sceptre shall rise              even as Balaam, was filled `with the wrath and hatred
out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and                against  ,God and His  Andinted   :Son. And he was in-
destroy all the children of Sheth. And Edom shall be                   strumental in hanging Him on the accurs&d tree.


       $82 .                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D `  BEAkER

          Many there be that perish who knew the mysteries             but tell everyone within our sphere that His woirks
       of the kingdom and who had knowledge of the numer;              aq'e most marvellous and worthy of glory and honor.
     6~1;  idetails   &`tli~  unfolding counsel of  iedetiption.  r       Mark also the motive of such prophesyi.ng : the love
       And &ey perished because they lacked the one motivat-           of God! And the Divine virtue- comet11  by the Holy
     - ing hr&iple : th& loge of Gbd. which &io&l vitalize all         (Ghost : "for the love of God is shed abroad in our
       pkophecjr, understanding and knowledge.' It is a ter-           hearts by the .Holy Ghost which --is given unto LB".
'      &ble though to think of prophets in hell, but God's             Rom. 5:5.                `.
       Word &as revkaled ;Fhat awful truth.                              - And thus we can understand in a measure that the
          Such revelation `mtikes  us `shudder.
                     -.                                                New Testament *Church declared the wonderful works
          There is a serious and solemn warning in our text.           of .God when Christ poured out the Holy Ghost on the
                                                          _            day of Pentecost. `The exulting church broke out in
          I may write a complete Reformed Dogmatics, and               most beautiful prophesying,-- declaring all the mighty
       be able to pass muster and censure of a reading ortho-          works of ~God.
       dox church, and yet be nothing, stand naked before the
       throne of judgment. I, may talk in my prophesying                  But there is more.
       and reveal mysteries and exhibit great knowledge of                Note how the apostle proposes the possession of
     . . the things of God's kingdom, so that others are edified,      prophecy to the utmost degree. And yet, if love does
       and still be nothing . . .           -                          not accompany such tremendous gifti, we are still noth-
           Oh, let us not make a mistake and think that iti            ing.     _
       such case we are merely neutral. The the L'ord will                Try and  understaid  him.. Suppose a man would
       say in that great day: No, there was no po&ive fruit            possess the kn6wledge  of all the mysteries of the King-,
       for yourself! But no harm done ; you are merely noth-           dom of God, so that he would harbour in his mind all
       ing-! The Holy Ghost employs the word nothing here that Adam, Noah, -Abraham, .Moses, David, and Paul
       to indicate that the fruit we tiight rightfully expect          knew of the mysteries and -the knowledge -of :the king-
       upon the employ of prophecy is not found after all.             dom. And-suppose that he had mastered all the dog-
       But it also implies that tie are in awf)l debt. Pro-            niatics that were written by the church-fathers, that is,
       phecy;if not employed through land in the love of God,          those that were pure in doctrine, - and yet lacked the
       is employed in and through hatred against God: rio              love of  Gbd, he would be nothing!  -
       man ever does  anythifig  without  a motive. And the 0              IOh yes, we are thirsty for knowledge, and we would
       two motives expressed qe the sum total of-all- motiva- fain'kndw about the mysteries, that is, the truths that
       tion. There is no third motive at all. You either act           are so great and so wonderful that I cannot fully grasp
       from the love of God or from  -the motive of wrath              them, the truths that become still greater, the more I
       .against God. The two examples from Scripture also              approach- them with. a wondering mind : we surely.
       teach such. Add to it the case of .Saul. He also was            would desire to know and to know much more.
       found among the prophets. And we know how he
       stqod over against the Lord and His anointed king                   But our $ext tells us that knowledge and' under-
       David. Paul really writes about the saine thing when            standing of mysteries are nothing without love.
       he tells us that we either call Jesus a curse, or that we           They are less than nothing, for the `more- I' know.
       say through the Holy Ghost : Lord Jesus ! There is no           the more responsible. I am' for that which I have
       neutrility  .possible  over against' God. D                     grasped of the works  of God. Responsible, that is: I
                                                               .       must give the right response, the right answer to God.
           Yes, we shudder at the thought. .                               (And this is the response that is pleasant io the ear
           How often do we prophesy from,the.motive oflpur-             of the Almighty: "0  l&d,  ho%  manifsld are Thy
       est love?  *                                                    works ! {n wisdom Thou hast made them all : the earth
           HOW often do we employ our understanding of                  is full of Thy riches!" And in the New  T&tarn&t:   `-
       mysteries and ou? knowledge of `the things of God's              "0 the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and
      kingdom  becaus: we love Him so very much?                       konwledge  of God! how unsearchable are His judg-
                                                                       ments,  and His ways past finding out!"
           If :this verse teaches anything at all, it tells us-that      Standing before Him, having received the gifts of
       we ought to prophesy because of  Gpd's love. That prophecy, and in order to give content to such admir-
       wherever we talk abo@ `God-and His w&drous works                able work of prophesying, having received your share
        (and -that is prophecy) we should di so because our of the knowledge of His mysteries, you raise your
       hearts are burning with zeal for our great Shephercl.           voice in the song of the redeemed, and praise Him  _ .
           Mark the literal meaning of prophcgying : it means .because you love Him ! Doing this, you are a mirror
       to boil over! It means that the `love of .God so boils in which the Lord beholds His image, for He praises
       within our he&s and minds that we cannot keep still,            Himself forever.


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                                          THb-  STAND,AWD--BEAREB                                                   - 483

     And as it is with the gift of prophecy, so also with             And also here: it will be terrible for that person,
  respect to the gift of faith: "and though I have all             having possessed this faith, and yet to find himself
faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not              outside the kingdom. It were better for him if he
  charity, I am. nothing":                ;                        never had been born. `Think on Judas once more. It,
     Let us note, first of all; that the faith which is men- ' had been better for him if he never had gone out with
  tioned here is not saving faith: "A `man having saving           the disciples of- Jesus, teaching and preaching and
faith cannot be lost. Moreover, saving faith worketh               performing miracles _ of healing and casting out- of
  by love.. Faith is essentially the love of God. It is            devils. All such action aggravates the judgment, if
  the clebving  love of tGod.which  throws itself upon His         there is no love as the deepest motive of all such
  Word of promise. . Its two elements are the knowledge            a c t i o n s .
  of God and the-relying on His Word. Such a one can-                  I said: we shudder at these solemn warnings, and
 not be lost. But must.be  saved. His-faith saves him,             well we may.
  accordings  to the words of. Jesus.                                  There is no-one among us who possesses the gift of
     But miraculous faith,& meant here, as is evident              prophecy to the extent that he knows  uZZ mysteries and
  from the text: "so that I coul'd remove mountains".              has. n16 ~knowledge. And on one among us` possesses
     .,There  have been miserable souls who had this mir--         all the faith;
  aculous faith, and who perIshed  nevertheless, Think;                But we do possess "in part" the wonderful gifts
  f.i., on Judas'Iscariot. There is no doubt but he also           of God in prophecy, the knowledge of mysteries and
  went out to preach the gospel of the kingdom at the              of the various facts of knowledge of the works of
  commandment of Jesus ; and he `also came back exult- _ God.
ing: that the very devils were subject unto them!                      And all these gifts make us responsible before God.
     But this nuraculous faith did not save him. He is- It makes us greater debtors before Him who gave the
  lost) forever.  -  -                                   _
    `- Such.miraculous  faith existed during Jesus' sojourn        gifts. -IAnd .He will one day call us to account, to a
                                                                   minute accounting of each and every one of them.
  on earth, -but is no more.
      I know that the Roman Catholic church clnzmS this                And if we have used those gifts unto envying and
  faith and its exercise and triumphs, but we know that            strife,. even as in the case of the four parties' at
  it is all a sham.                                                Corinth,  we'shall suffer loss.. That is also found in
  Also other churches claim, this gift. Especially iGod's   W o r d .
  in our day, the sects that claim this,wonder-working                 We should`employ them in the sphere of the love
  faith are on the increase. -They come to us with won-            of ,God and from .that same love as ,the motive.of  the
  derful stories of "faith-healing!`; etc., but time and           deepest heart.                                                -~
again it has been disproved.  I                                        It is the only excelling way to the heart of God.
      The  *question is often asked: why no miraculous                 It is .the way that led Christ to .His heart. He pro-
  faith now? And : why did the ILord give this gift dur-           phesied and spoke of God from that wonderful motive
  ing and shortly after Christ's sojourn on earth? And             of love. He employed. all'the gifts of God in the sphere
  the Word of God. gives us the answer: God wrought, of that love.` It was the reason why He merited salva-
  z&h the preaching of the Gospel, in order to establish           tion for .His sheep. And He bids us on every page of .
  the N,ew Testament church among the heathen na-                  the Bible to follow His footsteps. It is even now the
  tions; and caused many mi,racles to be performed.                only way to God: the way of the walk in love.
      And if we persist and ask: but why not now, then                  The same `Paul teaches. this- truth in Ephesians
 our answer `must be simply this : the Lord does not               5 :l and 2 : "Be .ye therefore followers of ,God, as dear '
  deem it necessary for. the establishing and the edifica-         children ; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us,
  tion of His Church. He is the same mighty Lord, but              and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacri-
  it does not please ,Him to use this power today.            -    fice to God for a sweetsmelling  savour  !".             _
      In the last days He will, indeed, again show won-                 I'would-conclude by saying that we can do so only
  ders and miracles. And H,e will do so on a great scale.          through the- operation of the `Holy Spirit of our Lord
   But those wonders will be terrible.                             .Jesus Christ, operating in-our heart and mind. If we
      The point, however, of thetext is, that even though. have that Spirit, our -hearts will boil over: we will
  a person would have all the miraculous faith which                prophecy. And you will do so in the measure that you
   once was exercised by Jesus and the apostles, it would          have received the gifts  <of understanding the mysteries
   not mean-anything if the love.of God would not accom-~
                                               -                    and the knowledge of, the facts of redemption. It will-
 i pany the gift.                                                   vitalize these gifts so that you too will stand before
      <He would be nothing in such case.                            His face, exulting in God;
      Miraculous faith, in order to benefit its possessor               It is the beginning of heaven on' earth.
  must be-mixed with the love of IGod.                                                                     .G.         Vos.


             484  -                                                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAREk


                                       THE STANDARD BEARER
                         Semi-monthly, except monthly in July and August
                    Publish'ed by the Reformed Free Publishing Association
                            Box 124, Station C., Grand Rapids 6, Michigan                                                          Why Not Protestant Reformed
                                     EDITOR  - Rev. Herman Hoeksema
                    Communications relative to contents should be addressed                                                         Continuing  With our discussion of the malicious
                    to Rev. H. Hoeksema, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand                                                         carrieature  drawn up of our' Protestant Reformed
                    Rapids 7, Michigan.                                                                                          preaching and teaching by menibers of our late Pro-
                    All matter  relstive  to subscription should be addressed
                    to Mr. J.  Bouwman,  1350 Giddings Ave., S. E., Grand                                                        testant Reformed Church of Hamilton, we now quote
                    Rapids 7, Michigan. Announcements and Obituaries must                                                        the following : "They say that God is unchangeable
                    be mailed to the above address and will be published at a                                                    and works all things according to His decrees. Every-
                    fee of $1.00 for each notice.                                                                                thing has been determined and ordained by Him. God
                    Renewals:- Unless a definite request for discontinuance
                    is received, it is assumed that the subscriber -wishes the                                                   h.as loved the one eternally and hates the other. Be-
                    subscription to  continue..without  the formality of a re-                                                   cause :God loves His children always there is no place
                    newal order.                                                                                                 for wrath.`"-end of quote
                                      Subscription Price: $3.00 per year                                                            <One might well ask these immigrants: "Don't you
                    Entered as Second Class mail at Grand-Rapids, Michigan                                                       believe these things? Do you not believe that `the Lord
                                                                                                                                 is unchangeable and works all things according to His
                                                                                                                                 decrees, that everything has been determined and or-
                                                                                                                                 dained by Him, and that He loved the one and hated
                                                                                                                                 the other eternally? How is it possible that we err
                                                                                                                                 b!ecausi we believe these truths and reject -as heresy
                                                                                                                                 anything which contradicts these. cardinal truths ? Do
                                                   CONT.ENTS                                                                     not our Fathers yeason in the Canons of -Dordrecht
                                                                                                                                 from *God's sovereign predestination? I do not see
             MEDITATION-
0                   The Excellency of Love ..__.. ~_..........._...___............ `. _..._________________  481                 how-it is possible to err because one maintains ,the
                             Rev. G.                        VOS             - .                                                  sovereignty of God, and I do not know of any church
                                                                                                                                 that has gone astray because. it has maintained the
             EDITORIAL+                                                                                                          sovereignty of the I;orcl.~ Indeed, I realize that there
                   Why Not Protestant Reformed ____________ 1____ I: ________ _ ____ 1 ________ _ ______ 484
                             Rev. H. Veldman                                                                                     are heresies such-as Fatalism and Determinism. But,
                                                                                                                                 we, as Protestant Reformed Churches, are certainly
           -OUR  DO<C'TRINE-                                                                                                     not Fatalistic or Deterministic.     This  I, stated and
                  The Hexaemeron or  Creation-W.eek  (4) ______________ _ _.,_______  -488
                             Rev. H. Veldman                                                                                     showed conclusively in my previous article. Besides,
                                                                                                                                 these heresies certainly  do not maintain the Scriptural
             THROUGH THE AGES-.
                   "The  Reformation in the Netherlands and the Netherlands                                                      truth of (God's sovereign predestination. They corrupt
                              Revolt  _..___._........._...........~............~~...........~..~...~............~.... 491       and distort this truth.
            '       The Arminian Reaction _________________.______________________......~..~.~             ________ 494             Moreover, that these Liberated immigrants do not
                             Rev. G. M. Ophoff                                                       .                           understand the truth of, God's eternal and unchange-
                    De  Verwdrpen Steen ._____________._____  ___ 
                                                                             _._.__________~ _________________________ 496 able election is evident  ,from the quotation quoted
                             Rev. G. Vos               _                                                                         above, and I quote: Because IGod loves His children
           FROM.HOLY                    WRIT-                                                                                    always there is no place for wrath.". This, of course,
                    Exposition of Acts 13:32,  33ff ..,.................-..-.......-..-.....-..  . . . ...499                    was never'stated by the undersigned, i.e., in the sense
                            Rev. Geo. C. Lubbers  ~                                 .'                                           in which it appears in this quotation. 10f `course, the
             IN HIS FEAR-                                                                                                        Lord loves the elect, eternally. And, as He loves them,
                 `Back to School (2) ______________________ c-1 ____________________________ 1________ :.:...501                 this love is eternal and exclusive and unchangeable.
                             Rev. H. C. Hoeksema                                                                                 Does this mean, however, that "because God loves His
     ,       PERIXOPE-                                                                                                           children always there is no place for wrath," that
                    aChurch Membership ___._ . . . . ______
                                                                    L   
                                                                     ___.____________________________________.........~  .503    therefore the elect, as theg walk and revlea themslelvvas
                             Rev.  J. Howerzyl                                                                                   in the midst of i%ti world, never experience the wrath
                                                                                                                                 of-the Lord? Indeed, we also endorse' and preach Is.
                                                                                                                                 12:l. That God loves the elect eternally surely-does
             ATTENTION! Delegates to the Synod which re-con-                                                                     not imply that He also always loves them as they re-
           - venes S'eptember  26th at First SChurch,.  ,Grand  Rapids :                                                         veal themselves in the midst of the world: A father
                 If. you need lodging please contact the clerk; J. M.                                                            loves his child; does this mean that he is never Angry
                 Faber, 1123 Cooper Ave., SE, Grand Rapids- 7, Mich.                                                             with that child? The Lord loves the  elect   eternally,


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        485

However, He loves them as elect and as He sees them          race. Hence, the statement as it appears in this article
eternally in Christ ,;esus.  Hence, if these elect walk      which we nbw criticize is-nothing else than wicked and
in ways of sin they do not experience the love of God        malicious slander. This also applies to the statement
but His wrath. We never preached anything else.              that in our pre'achiig the deed of sin is not ascribed to
And, let me emphasize: the Liberated immigrants              the-individual. Professor Schilder,  I am sure, is fully
around Hamilton know this. This truth was empha-             aware of this.
sized repeatedly. .This quotation is simpljr a slander-         A third quotation ,td which I will briefly call atten-
ous carricature  of the truth of our churches.               tion is the fbllowing : `$God's child CANNOT turn his
  Another quotation to which I wish to call attention        back  ,upon  the  L&d inasmuch as  -He always draws
is the following: "The consequences unto which this          His child unto Himself and it cannot resist that. This
preaching leads are illustrated by the following ex-         is shown, a.~., by Paul's cooperation in the stoning of
amples. When Adam fell in  sin he thereby actually           Stephen which is not -presented as sin and they also
did nothing else than carry out God's counsel as obedi-      come to the conclusion that Paul waB not converted
ent servant, namely by leading the humari race to fall.      on the way to Damascu?, but-merely apprehended by
Thereby the deed of sin. is not ascribed to man as an        `God in the heart; Fact is, Paul was elected, God loved
individual, whereby the guilt consciousness because him and every step which that beloved child of God
of the  deed disappears."-end of  qubte.      I suppose      did IS to His honour."-end  of quote.
that the authors of this quotation refer to the sermon          Such nonsense! I recall that I mentioned once in
by the undersigned on  Ldrd's  Day 12: What is the           a sermon that it is my personal opinion that Paul was
significance of the Name, Christ? In this  ,sermon   1       not converted on the way to Damascus. But I do not
emphasized the truth, so familiar in our Protestant          recall ever having referred to  Paul's cooperation in
Reformed Churches, that Christ is our CHIEF Pro- the stoning -of Stephen and that this was not sin on
phet, ONLY High Priest, and ETERNAL King, that               Paul's part. Our churtihes do not teach such nonsense.
Jesus alone is the Christ, the Anointed to lead us into      As' far as Paul's "conversion" on the way to Damascus
everlasting glory, and that therefore, also in the cou_n-    is concerned, I did remark that it was, my belief that
se1 of ,God, there- never was. any other. Also eternally     the. apostle was x child of God froin infancy, on and
Jesus alone is the Christ. Indeed, that Jesus is the         that, on the way to Damascus, he was called out of the
only Christ, al& eternally, does not mean, after Adam        darkness of the Old Dispensation into the light of the
failed to remain-in the state of. rectitude and therefore    New Dispensation, recognizing Jesus Christ, Whom
failed to lead us into glory, Jesus became the Christ,       he thought tb be dead, as thevery God Whom he sought
also as in the counsel of the Lord. This would surely to serve. However, I also added that it made no differ-
be a denial of the `truth of the Word of God as ex-          ence to me whether one wished to believe that he was
pressed, e.g.; in  Eph:  1:9=10. Hence, it was not the       converted now rather than believe that he did serve
Divine purpose that Adam should lead us into. the            the Lord from infancy .on. Besides, I am sure that I
heavenly glory, but that Christ -should lead us into that    added that it was my own personal opinion. Never-
glory, and that Adam's p&e, therefore, in the eternal        theless, these authors of this malicious document as-
purpose and counsel of aGod was to prepare the night         cribe this to our churches, and add the thoroughly
of sin .and death out of which Christ, according- to         wicked statement: "Paul  `was elected, God loved him.
the sovereign counsel of the living #God,-  would save       and every step which that beloved child of God did IS
us unto the praise and glory of His matchless grace.         to His honour." I refuse to comment on this bit of
However, this is not all. The  unders`igned  did not         slander, except to say that it is a riddle to me how
expect that his hearers would . subscribe "overnight" sincere. people and children  ti  ,God  can write so
to this  -%upralaps&ian" presentation of salvation.          wickedly.
But, might he for that reason not preach it? ,Of course,        ,A fourth quotation is the following: "God never
the reader should also bear in mind that this sermop         strikes His people "with. His judgments, for if God  ,I
was on the twelfth Lordls Day, and. that the under-          strikes, then it is not His people which are stricken
tiigned  had treated, prior to this Lord's Day, also         but the world. When the Scriptures teach us how the
ILord's Days 2-5, in which sermons Adam's calling and        L'or'd goes up with the people of Israel, then that is
responsibility were  a$ clearly set forth as they are .explained  merely as concern for people who are elected,
ever set forth in the Netherlands. Bnd, to be sure,          and those are but few in Israel."-end of quote. The
never did the undersigned make the statement that            first  p&-t of this  quotation:is again sheer nonsense.
Adam did actually nothing else than carry out God's          Our `churches should teach that `IGod never strikes
counsel as  obedient  s;ervunt.  In fact, Adam carried       His people with His judgments, for if God strikes,
out God's counsel exactly as a disobedient servant, and      then it is not His people -which are stricken but the
the Lord realizes His eternal purpose and will also          world."? Are we not constantly`inirolved  in the judg-
through the sin and fall of the father of the human          ments of the Lord? Do not wars and pestilences and


  486                                T H E   S.TiNDARD  B E A R E R .

  famines, sickness  and death strike God's people as well       then, was the difficulty? How vividly -1 recall a cer-
  as the world? Were not the `elect, also in the Old             tain visit at the home of elder !I'. Har&. last year during
  Dispensation; constantly stricken by ,God's judgments,         the month of August.- Friends .iisiting with us from
  such as r`epeated invitations by heatheli  n&ions round        the $Stat&  accompanied us on this visit. That evening
  about them, the Babylonian captivity, etc.? Neither            we discussed this subject of conversion-preaching in
am I able.to recogriize any sermon to which this article         the church or congregation of God. Returning home
  may possibly refer, unless it is my sermon on 1 Peter          that evening I declared optimistically  that I thought
4:18. It is so unfair and  unchristian for people that           elder Hart would be convinced of the truth even as I
  they never visit the pastor and later write an article         was convinced of it and as it lives in my soul: There-
  in which they "quote" from memory and  ace&e the               upon our visitor replied that he feared that Hart would
  pastor of various tionstrosities which they never called       never share our conviction .with respect to this t&h.
  to his attention. IOn the other hand, I do not under-. How wrong I, was and how correct he was!
  stand- how they can refer to 1 Peter 4 : 18 inasmuch as           I ask again: What was the difficulty? `The point is
  in that .8ermon I emphasize in my introduction that            this: I emphasized conversion as according to Lordjs
  the judgment of God begins at the house of God. I              Day 33, the Lord's Day which calls our attention to
  simply do not know to what they refer. Hoi;Vever,  I           true conversion. These people demanded a conversion
  am somewhat interested in the second half of this              preaching in the current sense of the word, a con-  _
  quotation. This is not due to the fact that I recall ever      version preaching to people who`are not yet converted
  having made a statement of this nattire, but because           and must as yet be called into the salvation of God
  these Liberated, immigrants evidently teach here that -and our Lord Jesus Christ. I viewed the congpegation
  when the Lord went up with the people of Israel He             primarily as the Church of the living God (notice that
  did so as filled with concern also for the reprobates.         "conversion" and "election" are identified in this quota-
  What do they mean with this? 1 fear that this "con-            tion) `which must be admonished to repent daily be-
  cern" must be interpreted as Divine compassion, love,          cause they are the people of God and repentance `is
  care, etc. This is not. Reformed. It is  Arhiniafi.            required of us as the fruit of grace. They would
  Does not Profa. Schilder declare that there is no "al-         have me view the young people, e.g., as unconverted,
  gemeene gunstige gezindheid Gods?`: A little more              who in that  current  sense of the word must be  eh-
  `light on this particular sentence in the quotation might      horted to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
  brave interesting.                                             Does  this mean that we do not command the wicked
         The fifth `quotation to which we wish to call atten-    to repent, or `that we do not conforin our preaching
  tion is the following: "The prayer to Christ for daily to the particular needs of the congregation as she re-
  repentance has no place in that system. Man  IS  cop-          veals herself in  the midst of the world?  `Of course
  verted, i.e., elected, or nian is not."-end of quote.          not. But it is my conviction that even as a farmer is
  This is more serious than it probably appeals  upon            concerned about his crop so also the positive and pri-
  the surface. Of couY;se, viewing this particular quota- mary purpose of all, congregational labours cdncerns
  tion as such, we could quickly dispose of it and say:          the elect,  the  Church,  the  people of the living God.
  such nonsense was never preached by the unders?gned            And if people may say to. this : there he goes again-;
  and is surely never p?eached  anywhere in our churches.        pl:eaching to  the elect, etc., I answer: that is  Pr-
  However, the issue at stake here is more fundamental           testant  Reformed and that is thoroughly Scriptural.
  than what appears on the surface. I fear that this             I will'presently support this with the Scriptures.
  touches upon a fundamental difference beiween  our                 Indeed, I believe I could have-satisfied these people
 preaching and that in the Liberated Churches. I say:            if I had so desired, although it is a question how long
  I fear this, because we have no dispute with tke Liber-        I could have cdntinued along this way. In fact, I cer-
ated Churches  .of the Netherlands. This I have  men-            tainly attempted to be- as practical and subjective as
  t5oned in all my labours in Hamilton. I  did not  place        I pdssibly could be.      Then I would simply preach
`, myself over against the churches' of the Netherlands.         misery and redemption, the admonition to repent and
  I was simply'dealing with immigrants who wished to             believe. Then I would simply preach that Baptism
  jo<n our Protestant Reformed Churches, and I was               commands us to do so, that-it speaks of our sin and
  called to deal with them as a Protestant Reformed              condemnation, of the blood of Christ as the only atone-
  minister. However, I I<NOW  that this touches upon ment for sin, and that we must believe unto-everlast-
  a -fundamental differenci? between us and the Liber-           ing life, and that whosoever believeth is saved and
  ated immigrants of Hamilton.                                   whosoever believeth not shall be damned. And, preach-
    - Did not the undersigned preach conversion? Of              ing this, I would be preaching the truth. How well
  course he did. Does the undersigned not subscribe to I reme,mber emphasizing this in connection with my.
  Lord's Day 33, art. 24 of our Confession of Faith, and         sermon on Lord's Day 7. But., of course, there is noth-
  Heads III and IV af the Canons of D,ordrecht? What, ing distinctive about this, and one can find this preach-


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              487
                                                                                                  ._~ .__-- -_
  ing in almost any church today which bears the name            the Word of God if these. things be  .lackin& But,
  of  fundamentdlist  over against modernism. Doing              plea&  bear in mind that the positive purpose of the
  this, however, we certainly would not be preaching Scriptures, according to this particular Word of God;
  the whole-truth, the entire counsel of the living God.         is : That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
  And I repeat: WC must be Protestant R'eformed.                 furnished unto all good works. `This man of God is
      Positively and primarily all congregational labour         the elect. ,Or, to confine ourselties  literaily io this text,
  is for the sake of the elect, the "crop". We baptize           he .is the man of God, the man as he is the product of
  our children because they are elect, because God has           God, `God's `man. Hence, the Word of God has been
  established with them eternally His covenant of grace          given us by Divine inspiration exactly in order that
  and has eternally adopted them to be His children and          the elect of God may be thoroughly furnished, equipped
  heirs, and because Christ has suffered and d&d for             unto the perf,ormance  of every good work. Finally, I
  them and rendered them righteous before God. To                call attention to 1 john 2 :12-14:  ,"I write unto you,
  deny this implies a denial of what is reformed. To be little children, because ydur sins are forgiven you for
  sure, not all the children are elect, and it is the good       His Name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because
  pleasure. of God that also the carnal seed of the church       ye  have known Him that is from the beginning. I
  receive the sign and seal of. the covenant, whikh is ad-       tirite unto you, young men, because ye have over-
  ministered to them not in God's love but in His sover-         come the wicked one. I write unto you, little children,
  eign wrath. Or, if you will, also the carnal seed of           because ye have known- the Father. I have written
  the church must bear the -uniform of God's elect in the        unto  you, fathers, because ye- have known Him that
  midst of the world. And all  otir preaching and in-            is  from the beginning. I have written unto you,
  struction purposes, positively and  primarjly, to build        young men, because ye are strong, and the word of
  up the elect Body of Christ, instruct it in all the know-      God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked
  ledge of the Scriptures, in order that the people of the       one." This I consider a truly remarkable passage. I
  Lord may walks mite the glory of God's Name in the             understand the "children" here in distinction from the
  midst of the world, and may know that all things work          fathers and young'men. These children here are the
  together for their good and salvation, which things            little ones. And what do. we rea& of them? That their
  include also include the reprobate, carnal shell with          sins have been forgiven  !hem and that they have
  which they are organically united.                             kriown  the Father. The apostle  here does not pre-
      This presentation is thoroughly Scriptural. We             suppose this, but declares this to be a fact. 109 course,
  refer, at random, to Is. 49 :I-2, Rom. 1:7, 1 Cor. 1:2-5,      this does hot apply to all the children in the bosom of
  2 Cor. 1 :l.-4, Eph. 1 :l-14,. Eph. 4 :ll-16, Phil. 1 il-2,    the church. All of Scripture  contra&&s this. But
  1 Thess.  1:4, 2 Tim.  3:16-1'7, Titus  l:l-2, 1 Peter         this Scripture does inform us that also children share
  1 :l-5, 2 Peter 1 :l, 1 John 2 :12-14. I will. quote just      in the eternal-salvation of the living God. Baptism is
  a </few of these passages. We read Zn Eph. 4 :ll-12.:          therefore a sign and seal, not merely. of something
  "And He gave some apostles ; and some, prophets ; and          which the children may obtain in the-future if they
  some, evangelists ; and: some, pastors and teachers ;' only believe in the Name of the Lord Jesus, but also
  For the perfecting of the saints, for the w&k of the           of something which they already possess.
  ministry, for  the edifying of the body of Christ."               Thk undersigned sividly  recalls his sermon on the
: Here we read that the Divine purpose of the off.ices           parable of, the tares among the wheat, According to
  within the Church of God is the edifying of the body           Matt. 13. At the time there were six visitors in the
  of Christ, the perfecting of. the i saints. This is the        audience from the States, members of' our Fuller Ave.
  primary and positive purpose of the ministry of the            Church. I will mention no names. How I tried to
  Word in all its phases: Verses 14-16 are also of im- emphasize in that sermon that we must and do labour
  portance in this connection. .`Or, I would call attentiqn `wifh all our children, teaching them and praying with
  to 2 Tim. 3 : 16-17 : "]A11 Scripture is given by inspira-     them, etc.! But I also emphasized that we cannot
  tioJ1 of :God, and is profitable for doctrine, $or reproof;    make children of God, that the same instruction serves
  for correction, for instruction in righteousness : That        to soften the one and harden the other. And I preach-
  thee man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished           ed that the Scriptures' speak of sheep and goats, tares
  unto all godd works." This passage of the, Word of and wheat, etc., and therefore distinguish within the
  God is surely pertinent, is it not?. Indeed, all of Scrip-     church in the midst of the world according to eternal
  ture is given us of God for doctrine and reproof and           predestination. And I held up before the congregation
  correction and instruction in righteousness. This im-          the sure` and blessed comfort that IGod has His children
  plies that we must not preach election merely  in the          among our seed, and that He will surely gather and
sense that  we- simply ask the question: Are you an              save His Church according to election, at the same
  elect? But the Word of  `cod must also  repro+  and            time admonishing the congregation that we must be
  admonish and correct. There is no trile preaching of           willing to be instrumental. in the .hatids of God mite

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4 8 8                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEA-RER

   the `Divine realization of His counsel of election but       earth. This is understandable if we bear in mind that
   also (of reprobation.                                        the earth at that time tias limited in size and. sur-
      Indeed, what a tremendous `difference between a           rounded by a vast body of water. Therefore the wicked
   conditional theology5 -and an unconditional theology !       mockers ridiculed the idea of a flood inasmuch as it
   May our churches ever be spared from the former              had never previously rained. And therefore there had
   ?nd continue to mairitain  the latter ! _                    been no rainbow before the flood, inasmuch as there
                                                                has been no rain prior to the flood.
      ,One Fay say in connection `with `this conversion
  preaching: It -is merely a matter of viewpoint. It is         God's creation. of the pbdworlcl.
  surely a difference of viewpoint. But, this viewpoint         +.
  is fundamental ! May we never lose it !                       .' First, let- us note this creative act of the Lord as
                                                                such: First, upon the word of Divine  p*ower  and by
                                       H .      Veldtian.       the quickening influence of the Spirit of God the earth
                                                                is pictured as itself bringing forth the world of. plants.
                                                                The plant was not created out of the seed, is not pre-
                                                                sented in Genesis 1 as coming forth out of the seed,
                                                                but is first. Hence, also here we have no evolutionistic
                                                                presentation of the coming into existence of the world
   -.OUai  ~O~TR'INE-                                           of plants, as if the seed and roots .were first and the
                                                                plants. then gradually came into being and existence,
                                                                but the Scriptures present to us the Divine creatioa  of
  The Bexaemeron or Creation-Week the plant world. We understand, of course, that when
                                                                we read that the earth brought forth the world of
                             .(4)                               plants this does not mean that the earth itself had the
                                                                power to bring.forth  the grass, herbs, and trees, but
      We were busy, at the conclusion of our preceding          that they simply came up o&t of the earth but then
  `article, with a discussion of the grounds for. our obser-    through the almighty and quickening effect of the
  vation that the origin;1 earth was limited in size and        power and the Spirit `of God. Moreover, that God
  di,d not embrace all the present conti&nts.                   caused the plant world to come forth out of the earth
      Fourthly, assuming that the earth of Gen. 1:9-10          also signifies that henceforth the earth would continue
__ was limited in size, we are also enabled to- explain         to bring forth these living creatures, of cou&.e, through
  other things. `On the one hand, this enables us  td           the mighty and quickening power of the living God.
  explain or somewhat understand the flood. The ques-           Secondly, the Lord brought forth the!e living creatures
  t& has often been asked whether the- flood covered            out of the earth, and,each creature after its kind. The
  the entire face of the earth, or a limited part of it.        plant is -indeed a living creature. It lives. The plant
  ,This has been and is being `disputed also today. How-        moves, grows, lives; breathes, draws substtinces  out
  ever, if we believe that the earth befqre the flood was       of the world of its environment untd itself, out of the
  much smaller than the earth of our present day, we            earth, out of the air, out of the sunshine, the rain,
  need have no difficult?. It -is surely an indisputable        changes these substances and transforms them into
  fact that the flood. caused  tremendous geographical          a rich and beautiful fruit. The field of Biology is
 changes. This mighty work of the Lord, causing tre-            very rich, in this respect. Wonderful indeed is the
  mendous upheavals in the bowels of the earth whereby          study of the world of plants, of the grass, the flower,
  other continents arose out of the waters, caused "the         and the trees which bear fruit. The plant grows and
  fountains of thle deep to be opened," quickly, in the         reaches out unto the sun and the heavens, and presently
  space of forty days and nights, covered the earth with        it `lowers .its head, returns unto the dust, an,d its place
  water to a depth of twenty five feet above the highest        knows it no more. However, of all the living creatures,
s mountain. Hen'ce,  we read literally in 2. Pet. 3 :6 that     the plant is the lowest form or sort. Also the animal,
  the world Which then was was overflowed with water.           another living creature, lives out of the  ground  (as
  Tremendous changes must have occurred at the time             does, incidentally, also - man). However, the animal
  of and during the flood. `. And the whole earth was           moves about from place to place, does not live so direct-
  covered with water. This is also the literal presenta-        ly out of the earth.. Besides, the animal has a sou!.
  tion of Holy Writ. And, on the other hand, this also          The plant is the lowest form, sort of the living crea-
  enables us to understand the appearance at the time           tures. It-has no soul: There is in it no breath of life.
  of the flood of the rainbow. Then the rainbow made' It does not think or will or have any aspirations or
  its appearance for the first time. Fact is, until the desires. !There is no shadow of the high.er .`in its being
 - flood it had never rained upon the face of tile earth.       or form of existence. Hence, the plant is not only
  Gen.  2:6 informs us that a mist went  up from  the           taken out of the earth, but it is also exclusively bound

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        _--                            J'HE  STANDAF-D  B E A R E R '                                                 489

   to the` earth.  It -is not free,  dies not move about,       man and be&t.. The vegetable  plant and the fruit
   simply has its poets  in the earth qut of which it came.      tree stand before us as our servant, offer unto us
   dlso from this viewpoint the plant can be distinguished      their fruit which they have prebared  for us out.of t?le
  from the life of the animal. 1                           \    bosom of the  eayth.  IAnd in this sense the world of
      We may also note that Scripture divides the world         plants djso serves man in his service of the living God.
  of plants into three cltisses. They are: the grass; the For man `has -been created to serve and love the living
. -herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit        God. To do so he must live. And herein he  is,con-
  after its kind. IGod, therefore, created the. grass and stantly being served by the world of plants. Especially
  everything which is related to it, the herb or field-         `the  ,fruit tree is a beautiful example of this fact.
  vegetation, food for animal and"man, and the tree,            With outstretched arms, as it were, it offers  man-
  particula.rly  the fruit tree. This -refers, we under-        its fruit.that  he may eat and live, and thereby be able
  stand, to the three great classes of plants, each of the      to serve the living God Who made him.
  three  classes containing countless species. Of im-               Another significance of the world of- plants is that
  portance is the fact, first.of all, that the Lord created     this particular aspect of the Lord's creation transforms
  these three `great classes of plants. Modern Science          the otherwise barren ea?th into a habitation for .man : 0
  would have us believe that all vegetation and plant life      and beast.. It .is especially from this point of view also
  .really and actually h&d their origin in but.one  species,    that the Lord, upon the third day, is engaged in pre-
  and that, evolutionistically, the entire plant world de-      paring a place of habitation for. man whom He will
  veloped out of one species into ,ariother.- The vegetable presently create. The wilderriess or desert is no place
  plant aqd the different fruit trees all had one common        of habitation. for man. ' Hence, the desert is character-
  origin. This theory, however, is surely denied. here          jzed by -wildn_ess  and loneliness. There nothing grows       .
  by Holy Writ. God created, we read, the grass, the            and man cannot jive. But the world of plants makes
-  herb, and the fruit tree. Besides, also of interest is the ea'rth a beautiful habitation for man. `l!he beauti-
  the fact that we. read that the Lord brought forth            fully green and luxurious grass is as it were a.. beauti-
  grass\ the herb, and the fpuit tree after it$ kind, whom      ful carpet for man,.and be&t. The shade tree provid$
  seed .&s in itself; The expression "after.his  killd," al&    shade and shelter and-refreshing.- And the plant world
  appear in Genesis 1 in connection with l&e creatipn of        producing vegetables and fruits also provide oil and
t h e   inimals. The different kinds of plants were wine for man, so that in all these things he may etiol
  created and immediately distinguished at the time `the bountiful goodness of. his God who did provide
  of .their creation. The plant was first, and then -the        for him -such a wonderful habitation wherein he may
  seed. For the different kinds of plants were not only- dwell and serve this God. We repeat it: it was phrti-
 - immediately distinguished, but they are' also immedi-        cularly upon the third day that the `Lord created for
  ately separated: peach plant was created whose seecl,         man and beast 9 wonderful dwelling-place.
  we read, was `in. itself. Each: plant, therefore, bears          Thirdly, the world of plants is Z&O rich in its sym-       '
  its own seed, develops out of itself. The plant, the&+        bolical significance. We must surely beap in mind that
fore, continues  fo bring fortli itself, but  &vays as          the Lord created the earth ati .a.mighty symbol of the
  within its own particular sort and species.        .a         heavenly, the natural as a mighty symbol of the spirit- -
     -Finally, the world of plants `is rich in significance     ual. This truth is surely held before US in Holy Writ.
  and has much to teach us, especially from a threefold _ Indeed, the entire teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ in
  point of view.  l%rst, the world of pla&is a means            parable`s rests upon this fact, namely, that the earthly
  df fellowship and  commtinion  between the lifeless           and the: natural are` symbols of the heavenly and the
  earth, the ground, alid. the livifig creatures such as        spiritual. And .we `do w&l to listen to this wondrously
  man and beast.- ,Man and beast.are aiso earthly and           rich, symbolical speech of all the works of God's hands..
  must live and obtain their.daily substance -out `of the       Ii our grossly materialistic age we are too often en-
  earth. Man and beast have.also  been taken but of the         grossed in the things of the earth round about us from
  dust of the ground and tire dependent upon'the ground         a merely carnal and materialistic point of view. The
  for their daily and continued existence. However,             farmer looks at his grain and cattle and views them
  m&n and the animal cannot live directly  otit of the          merely from the viewpoint of dollars and cents. The
  soil. We cannot eat  $he ground. Neither can the              bread and the water vhich we daily eat and drink
  animals round about us. And neither can man and               are merely. regarded as means Do sustain US in .our own
beast  snnply grow out of the earth. The plant, how- earthy existence. We bo often look at the works of
  ever, is able to do this. It can and does live, exist Gods' ~hand all around us and compl&,ely  `fail to see
  directly out of the earth. It draws its life's sap direct-    and appreciate their symbol.ical  significance. This Js            D
  ly out of the ground and,brings forth that ihich man `due, tie understand, to the fact that we are so often
and `beast can use and eat for their daily. existence.          self&centered, ar? interested not in the living `God and
 The world of plant&<stands  therefore in the se&ice of         His -purpose in His crea'tion of the universe but in our
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4     9     0                          T H E   S T A - N D A R D   B E A R E R   5

own carnal enjoyment and advaficement. Hence, we                detailed discussion at this time of all these symbols,
do well to  list& to the wondrously rich symbolical             but we do wish to say something about them. Scrip-
speech of all the works of God's hands. In general we           ture mentions the ones we have just enumerated. The
may remark that the plant symbolizes man from a                 fig tree, rich in foliage but bearing no fruit, according
two-fold point of view. On  the one hand, confined and          to its description in the gospel narrative, is an awful
limited, to the earth in its existence, the.  pltint symbol-    symbol of Israel, rich,  outw&rdly,  in its service of
izes the earthly, man as he, too, is of the earth earthy        Jehovah but without spiritual fruit. The thorn and
and bound to the earth. We are of the earth earthy              the thistle are symbols of the curse. and the wrath of
and completely, dependent ,upon the earth.         In' th<s     God as it plagues man throughout his earthly pilgrim-
respect, in the first-place, the life of man is symbolized      age. The mustard seed, smallest of  all seeds,  bu*
by the plant. IOn .the other hand, howeve?,  the plant          developing into a mighty plant, is a wonderful syrqbol
also lifts up its head heavenward and reaches out unto          of the ,Chu&h of the living ,God even as it has a very
the sun. The plant longs for and tdrns unto the light.          small- beginning but grows into a lhighty organism.
In this strivivng of the j$ant we may discern a symbol          And what a powerful symbol is the oak. The mighty
of the voice of hope, a longi6g for the glorious liberty        oak ! As it is firmly embedded and Irooted  in the soil
of the children of God which will be realized in the            and able to withstand, yea, td taunt every storm. Be-
heavenly renewal of all things in the day of our Lord           cause it is. firmly embedded in the soil it is able to
Jesus Christ for those who have received  and rejoice           resist and withstand every storm ; and, the more -it
in the possession of this blessed hope. Creatioa all            resist the storm the more firmly it is rooted in the
around us calls upon us, therefore, to seek the things          earth. What a wonderful symbol of the Christian and
which are above and not the things which are below,             the Church of the living God! Because we are rooted
t-0 look for the City which has foundations in the day          in the Lord Jesus Christ we are able to remain un-
of. Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Not only,  howevel,  does          shaken in the mid& of the world. And the only effect
creation in  gene&al  symbolize  mari from the above            which the storms of an evil world ,can have upon the
-mentioned  two-fold point 6f view, but also, in parti-         Church of the living God is to .drive it ever more close-
cular, the individual and `sevqal plants and trees are          ly uritq the living <God  and plant its roots more deeply
rich. in symbolical significance according to the. Word         into-His .Sori;) our Lord. Then we read in the Scrip-
of God. ,Our Lord God, Who, we understand, knows                tures of the wheat and the tares. Tares never become
-the end :at. the beginning and from of, old the things         wheat and wheat never becomes .t_ares. Thus the Word
that shall be, yeat Who works' all things according to          of God designates `the Churcll ,of God according to its,
the sovereign counsel of His own will, created all              development in the midst of the world. They, the
things exdctly with a vi&w to the heavenly and` spirit-         wheat and the tares, carnal. and spiritual Israel, are
ual restoration and renewal of all things in eternal and        inseparably connected according  to. the  wiil of the
heavenly glory. He did not create the world and will everlasting  God, and till remain inseparably connected
not preseintly create man with the Divine purpose that          Linti the day of our  .Lord Jesus Christ. Mark well,
 the earthly creation would be the goal and the end of          this is*Scripture's  designation of the organism of the
His work, tintit Adam and his posterity would enjoy             Church. The Lord designates them as He sees and
 eternal life upon the earth and in- the earthly sense          knows them from before the foundation of the world.
of the word. Rather, it was the Divine purpose that             We are all familiar with the Scriptural symbol `of the
 tl$s ear+ly life would beeome the sphere or the scene          seed-that  mu`& die  td bring-forth its fruit. Life all
 of the struggle between light and darkness, righteous-         around us .proclaims  unto us that life is possible only
 ness and unrighteousness, tl?e truth and the lie, the          out of and through death., This surely applies also
Seed of -the woman and that of the serpent, the                 to the Church of the living God, centrally `in Christ
 Anointed of the living God and the anointed of Beel-           and as experienced by His own when presently they
 zebub, the party of the Lord,  of hosts and the hosts          will be called out of death into the life of the eternal
 of  eyil and darkness. Moreover, this earthly.  mu&            Jerusalem. Who among us has not been directed at
 serve as the basis and groundwork for the realization          one time or another to the majestic, haughty, but also
 of His eternal and heavenly Kingdom in Christ Jesus,           cold and-barren mountaip .peaks  and to the lily in the
 His Son, our Lord. Hence, God created the earth to             valley below. And who among us has not recognized
serve exactly as a mighty sykbol of that eternal ahd            the beautiful symbol here: that proud but cold and
heavenly Kingdom of Heaven. This is  the teaching               barren mountain top is the symbol of the proud and
*hroaghout  Holy Writ. In the light of this tremendous          haughty but spiritually barren  sinner, whereas the
 truth the world of plants speaks to us a mighty sym-           humble lily in the valley below reminds us of the
bolical langl!age. The vine, the fig tree, the oak and *humble child of the living God? We  `all know the
the cedar, the thorn and the thistle, the mustard seed,         symbol of the sea. At times the mighty sea is a great
 etc.-.-what mighty symbols! We cannot enter into a
                                                      ,  -      calm, and its mighty expanse tbgether with its great-
                   -.
.'
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                                          THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R 'E R                                               491
depth speaks to us of the tremendous and unfathom-                                       _.
                                                              also be a symbol of the changeableness of man. The
able love of the everlasting God. Then again the              expression : he is changeable. as the wind, is known
Scriptures speak of the stormy sea. The wicked are to all of LIS. And so we could go on. It is clew that
likened to a stormy sea which casts forth mire and            the earth and all of earthly life round about us speaks
dirt and which, because of its unceasing restless activ-      a. rich symbolical language. If only we have eyes that
ity, is a symbol of the wicked who shall have no peace.       see, ears that hear, and hearts that understand, and
Or, even as the stormy  sea is stormy on the surface          are able to receive this language unto the glory of the
but calm within its depths, so also the afflicted church      living God. Then it will teach-us, and comfort us, and
of the living God can be tossed to and'fro in the midst- serve to direct our eye upon the glory that shall follow
                                                                         ,-
of all the afflictions of this world but have peace .and      when  ,a11 things will be made new.
quiet within. Again, life round about us callspur at-                                                .H.           Veldman.
tention to roads that are steep and rocky .and also to
roads that are straight and `smooth. We all recognize
the symbolism. ,Steep  and rocky is the pathway of the                             -:-
child of God and His Church in the midst of the world,'
whereas the way of the wicked, in the midst of this
world, is oftentimes smooth. And so all things round
about us sp,eak of the heavenly and eternal realization                        lJGH  THE,  AGES
of all things, and of God's sovereign way whereby He.                                                 >
has eternally. willed to attain' unto and realize that
glory. If only wee have ears that hear, eyes that see,        The Reformation in the N&h&3ands
and hearts that understand ! Every day the sun rises
in the east and sets in the west, day in and day out,              and the NetherJands
and we are reminded of the vanity of life that there is
nothing new under the sun. ,Or, to continues  with the           The Netherlands at the time was a coalation  of fif-
symbolism of the sun, we should be reminded. every teen self-governing states given mostly to manufactur-
day of the fact that .the~sun  both quickens and burns,       ing and commerce, and, as could be expected, hostile                 :
gives life and hardens. Thus it is aiso with the Christ       to outside interference with its customs and trade.
Who is held before us upon the wings of the everlasting       The king of the Netherlands was Philip of Spain. He
gospel; He, too, is a savour of life unto life-.but also      had come into the possession of this country as heir
of death unto death, quickens but also burns, softens         of` his predecessor %nd father- Charles V. But Philip
b,ut also hardens, and that according' to the good -was king largely in name only.. The real ruling body
pleasure of the alone sovereign God. `l'he same truth         of the Netherlands was the Old Council of State
is also impressed upon us when.we-  are reminded of a. formed of delegates from each province.
tree and a post. Both may be rooted in the same soil,
but the effect of that soil is so radically different upon       As to the religious situation. at the time, the first
the one than the other. The tree will .grow  and bear         to. enter the Netherlands was Lutheranism ; but among
fruit, whereas the other will rot, and rot the more           the lower  classis it was largely displaced by  Ana-
Iquickly according to the richness of the soil. The baptism. ,On a whole the nobility was Roman `Catholic.
same applies to the Church of IGod according to its           But many had embraced Calvinism as set forth in the
manifestation in the midst of the world. Both ele-  ., Belgic Confession.                                  .  -
merits, the spiritual and the carnal, receive the same           Being <king of the Netheriands in name only did
attention, the- same labour, the: same gospel and cate-       not satisfy Philip. He wanted to be king in fact as I
chetioal instruction, etc., but the effect of these means     well.. .One more thing must be said of him. He was a
are so radically different upon.the one than the other. -zealous Roman Catholic. Accordingly he was a bitter
iAnd, finally, although one could go on  indefmitely,         enemy of the Reformation. -Its principles, and pur-
who. is not acquainted with the symbol of the wind.`?         poses were hateful to him. Philip's aim therefore
On the one hand, the -wind is a mighty symbol of the          was twofold, namely to establish himself in the
Holy Spirit, both from the viewpoint of power and Netherlands as the real king of its people; and second,
that of sovereignty. The wind is mighty, irresistible,        to destroy the Reformation in this corner of his realm.
but also free and sovereign. It bloweth whithersoever            In pursuance of these his aims, his first act was
it listeth and none can c&t-rol. The same, we know,           to appoint his sister, Magaret ~of Parma, regent with
is also true.of the Holy Spirit. He enters irresistibly       an advisory committee of three including Cardinal
into the heart of man, and He also enters into the            Granvella bishop of Aeras,  who was the leading spirit.
heart of his  .own  .according  to His sovereign good            Philip's second move was to constitute the Nether-
pleasure. But, on the other hand, the same wind can           lands an archbishop by.itself and-thereby free it from
                                    --                                                                                *,
                          .                                                                                                 -


                                                                      , 

 492                     I  ,:j .ITHE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

the dominion of foreign prelates. In this way he vii-ices-wh,at today is Belgium-were roused to  ..re-
tightened his hold on the Netherlands. For the new bellion by the sack ,of  Antwerp in 1576. In 1578 Wil-
prelates were Philip's own nominees, and they were          liam of Orange made a triulnphal, march into Brus-
given a seat in the Netherlands Council State. L            sels. But in 1578 the cause of the revolting Nether-
   Philip now demanded strict enforcement of the de-        landers'suffered  a severe loss at least apparently so.
crees of the Council of Trent and a relentless punish-      In this year the cause of Spain in the Netherlands was
ment of heresy. So had  satan gone forth to make            entrusted to-the Duke of Parma. ' Parma succeeded
war upon the saints now over there in the Nether-           in stirring up trouble between. the'ten catholic pro-
lands. tAnd by saints is to be understood-not all the       vinces of the south (what today is Belgium) and the
Netherlands indiscrimidly, but' the church  1 the           seven Protestant provinces. of the north (what today
church of the elect - built upon a rock and Against is the Netherlands)-. The result was mutual distrust
which therefore the gates-of hell cannot prevail. For       and the forming of protective leagues. Not long after
God stands watch over His heritage.                         these ten southern provinces made their peace with
                                                            Philip and submitted themselves to his reign. Thus
   As can be expected,  Philip"s doings called forth were these provinces saved for Spain, though por-
the ,strongest  reaction. Catholics and Protestants a- tions of them were latter absorded by France.
like  raised.)their voice in violent protest. By his in-       The seven northern provinces now stood alone in
novations m politics -Philip was robbing them of their      their opposition to Spain. But instead of losing Conr-
freedom. He wasdestroying their trade. His  perse-m age they were capable of- a new and remarkable deed
cutions were harmful to business; Such was their            of daring. These provinces had not" yet formally re-
complaint. There were  iconoclatic  (from  inconoclast,     nounced their allegiance of Philip. This they now did.
image breaker) riots even in which hundreds of              They  ,deposed   :Philip as their sovereign, broke his
churches. were destroyed. And to climax it all, pro-        seal, and set forth their Declaration of Independence..
testant preaching was  now. being heard everywhere.         Its preamble contains these- words: "Whereas God did
   This all to Philip was rebellion in politics and re- not &eat-e  the people -slaves to their prince, .to obey
ligion.. IHe speedily. sent I the duke of Alva !( 1,567)    his commands, whether right or wrong, but rather the
with a picked Spanish army to put down the revolt.          prince f,or the sake of the subjects,. to govern them
Alva, a most able general, was confident that this          according to equity, to love and support- them as a
would be the .easiest  thing.                               father his children or a shepherd his flock, and even
   His  first move was to order the execution of all        at hazard of his life to defend and preserve them;
the leaders. -Hundreds oft heads fell under the `ax of      (therefore) when he does not behave thus, but, on
the `executioner. Second, he beat  `~down the  resis-- the contrary, oppresses them, seeking opportunity  to,
tance that William of aOrange had organized in IGer-        infringe their ancient customs `and privileges, exact-
many. And in 1572 he succeeded in capturing seven           ing from them slavish compliance, then he is no longer
towns of the northern provinces.                            a prince, but a tyrant, and the subjects may not only
                                                            disallow his authority but legally proceed to the choice
   Yet things were really going against Alva. He            of another `prince for their defer@."
had imposed a heavy tax on sales ,to pay for the war         This may all be well and good. But the question
and thereby alienated the merchantile classis. "Beg-        cannot be suppressed how the sentiment. here ex-
,bars." or searovers as commissioned by William- of         pressed is to be harmonized  with I Pet. 2  :18-21, a
tOmrange  preyed upon  Spanish commerce. with English * passage that reads, "Servants, be subject to your mas-
harbors as their basis of operation. In 1572 they cap- ters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle,
tured `Briel. This encouraged the northern provinces        but also to .the froward," that is, the crooked, curved, _
to rise in rebellion, and on July 15th the leading perverse, wicked, unfair, `-`For this is thankworthy;
towns of these provinces - Holland, Zealand,' Fries-        if  a.man for conscience toward God endure grief, suf-
land, and Utrecht - proclaimed William of Orange f ering wrongfully. For what glory is it when ye
Stadhouder. The protestants in France had promised          are buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?
their aid. And though Alva had captured seven towns,        but if, when yes do well, and -suffer ~for it, this is ex-
he was unable to take Alkmaar in 1572. This was _ ceptible with ,God. For even hereunto were ye called :
-more than his pride could endure. Recalled at his because Christ `also suffered  .for us, leaving  us an
own-request, he returned to Spain a beaten and dis-         example, that ye should follow his steps. . . 1"
allusioned man.                                                The preamble makes no mention of Philips' great
 The -immediate successors of Alva were just. as            sin, which was that he persecuted and-killed all the day
unsuccessful. The .Spaniards  laid seige to Lyden but long God's own believing- people in the attempt to
could not take the, city. The end of the .seige came -eradicate in the Netherlands - the seven provinces -
in 1574 and the city was free. The southern  pro- the true religion.


        _                                                                   `
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                                        T H E   - S T A N D A R D   BEA.RER- .                                         493  _

  Philip seemed to think that the rebellious seven            off the back of  the' Netherlands the  ghurch in this
provinces could be made to come to terms with him, if         land again had rest for the sole of her, feet. And  she+
only their leader in arms T Prince William of Orange          had need of this rest. For even `during the progress
L were struck down. So he published a ban against of that revolt the old lies of Pelagius were again being
the prince, declaring him an outlaw and "the  Chief           revived and set forth in new dress. To these lies the
disturber of all `Christiandom and especially of those        church had to oppose the truth. But for this  .she
Netherlands", and offering anyone who would  cle-             needed rest. The rest. she now had.
liver him into his hands, "dead or alive" pardon for            -`The actual war between,Spain  and the Netherlands
any crime he might have committed, further a ,title           - the seven northern `provinces  - had lasted 42 years:
of nobility, and twenty one thousands crowns of gold          `(1567-1609). During these years many churches of
and in. lands. `The offer of Philip bore fruit. After          Calvinist faith and polity were organized. In 1571
five previous unsuccessful attempts, the prince was           they held their first national synod on account of the
fatally shot by an assasin named Balshasar Gerard.            war outside, of the Netherlands in Emden,..  Friesland.
He was pulled apart by five -horses. His heirs' re-           In  1575 the university of Lyden was founded. The
ceived'the reward Philip had held forth..                     ,Catholics received only the right of employment and
   But the seven provinces fought  on: Prince Mau-            resid,ence. They were not allowed freedom of worship,
rice, a youth of seventeen years .and-- the son of the         nor were they'permitted to hold political office. The
assasinated William, was now chosen stadhouder, and           Anabaptists received a somewhat more generous treat-
under him the war went on with una.bated  fury. By            ment. In addition to being given the right of em-
thistime  France as well as England had become en-            ployment and residence, they also were allowed .free-
volved, both fighting against Philip.                a.       dom of .worship,  though not- allowed to hold. political
  - The turning point in the war came in 1588. Philip          office.  .There restrictions imposed upon Roman Cath-
determined on  the. conquest of England. That, he              olics and Anabaptists explodes the idea that religious
thought, would-establish Catholicism in England and           liberty in the popular sense of this term stems from
make .hopeful the subjection `of the Netherlands. But -John Calvin and the real Calvinists. ,Calvin wanted
his great fleet .- .the Spanish' Armada b-- was de-            religious liberty, freedom of worship, not for heretics
feated in the English -channel, land what -remained           but only for such communions who, according to His
of it was *destroyed by the elements in the. icy and conviction, worship Gocl according to the .dictates  of
stormy seas of the far north. Only a remnant got               Christ as revealed ,in the Scriptures. This oertainly
back to Spain.                                                 is glaringly evident from the. history of' the Reforma-           _
  Z Philip had thought that in England the Catholics tion in (Geneva.
would rise to his aid, but instead Catholics and protes-         Let us take notice that-at the time of which we are
tants joined forces against him. These catholics and           now speaking the Calvinists were in- power in the
protestants were patriots first and then Catholics and         Netherlands. The state was Calvinistic, at least nomin-
protestants - patriots, that is, manufacturers and             ally so. And the Calvinist churches in the land were
traders. With the exception of ,God's believing peo- the established or state  ohurch. This is rather re-
ple, so it was in England.  .So it was, `too, in the          markable considering  that. comparatively the number
Netherlands and everywhere.        -                           of Calvinists in the Netherlands was small.              The
   Finally the Spanish commanders became convinced             great majority i perhaps 7/8 of the population - was
that the -Dutch rebels could not be r,educed  by force         irreligious and  unchurchly.         And as the Arminian
of arms. Negotiations were entered into and the re-            struggle reveals many of the  ,Calvinists were Cal-
sult was the Truce of  i609.  i Though only a truce,           vinists in name only. In their hearts they were hu-
it permanently ended the war between :Spain and the            manists,  pelagians; And they occupied positions of
Netherlands. But it was not until forty wears later            influence in the Calvinistic churches, university  (Ly-
in the peace of Westphalia, i648, that Spain, acknowl-         den) and state;.  .The real battle therefore had still to
edged the. independence of the Netherlands.                - be  f,ought. This brings,  LIS  to the Arminian reaction,
   We must understand the significance of this Nether-         its rise in the Netherlands and. the resultant doctrinal
lands revolt against  Philip.of  *Spain. Whether right  struggle in the Netherlands                      -
                                                                                               .
or.wrong, whether capable of being justified with the                                                         G. M. Ophoff
Scriptures or not, through this revolt God saved His
church there in that land - the church of the elect -                  --                   j+'
from the hand` of Philip that was raised to destroy                                ,:.  CLA,SSIS WEST
her, [God saves His people and promotes the ends of               -          --
His Kingdom also through the sins of men. Of this              will meet in regular  .session in Eclgerton, Minnesota
the outstanding example is the crucifixion  of Christ.         on Wednesday,. September 5, 1951.                         :
Yet  -the sins remain sins  n.evePtheless.  With Spain  '                              -    M. Gritters (stated clerk).

                                         -


     494                                 -THE             STANDAR-D          B$AR'ER

                                                                         `destination. ' He had found that these objections had
                 The" Arminian Reaction                                  not been removed ,by the defenders of Calvin.        -
                         . .      -.                                      s That Arminius had broken in his heart with the
          Arminianism is the contrary of Cnlvin's Calvinism.             reformed faith now became more and more evident
     The tenents of Arminianism are- these:                              from his- off-color statements in the pulpit. He ac-
                                                                         cused the Reformed of having~ cast overboard good
            a) All is of, divine grace.                                  works themselves- and not merely their meritorious-
            b) The truly regenerate can fall from grace..                ness. Rom. 7 :14b fey i &m camel sold uncler sin he ap-
-           c) (Grace  is resistable.                                    plied not to the regenerate but to the natural man.
                                                                         `FhF  t~x@5k3  pffended.   For  SO the heresy explained
     _      d)  God's  f-&&nowl,edge   is  just  `that-forekl~owl-
                 edge ; it is not sovereignly determinative,;                        lCbjections were raised on a gathering of
            e) Christ died for all, but .onl.y the elect receive ministers.  Blnf  Arminius refused to be  correctecl.  In
                                                                        . another. sermon he let it be known that h'e did not be-
             ,the. benefits of His- atonement.                           lieve that anyone could perish solely because of his
          The- implication of- these propositions is. that the           inherited sin. Regarding God's good-pleasure  he kept
     human will is morally free and that ,election and re-               silence. His choice- subjects in the pulpit were good
`probation repose on foreseen faith and unbelief re-                     works, holy living, and human responsibility.
     spectively.                              .                              Ten years of this kind of preaching lost him the               ^
          These views were in circulation even before Ar-                confidence of the churches. This did not prevent the
-minius appeared upon the ecclesiastical scene. But                      government from appointing him to the chair of theo-
     Arminius  .refined  and systematized them and in pri-               logy `in the university of Lyden. The churches could
     vate correspondence gained- for them the approval                   do nothing about it, as the school belonged to the go-
     of his trusted friends.  _                                          vernment. Arminius insisted that he be given an honor-
                                                                         able discharge as minister of the church of Amster-
            He also came out with his conceptions in the open,           dam. His consistory consented on the condition that
     later as professor of theology at the University of Ly-             he clear his-name by an openhearted declaration of his
     den. Bug as we shall see, in hispub~lic utterances he               views. IHe did so even to the satisfaction of the supra-
     was purposely vague. No charges. could properly be lapsarianist ,Gomarus. And this despite the fact that
     based on anything he said. His statements were that                 Gomarus had in this possession a letter written by Ar-
     equivocable, and he always was' careful to insist that              minius' own hand in which he stated that to his mind
     all is of grace. His aim. was to, put across his ideas              the human will is in -no sense determined by the. di-
     without making himself liable, and in. this he suc-                 vine degree. The trouble was that Gomarus was com-
     ceeded admirably. The result was that arminianism                   pletely disarmed by  &rminius' `duplicities. Two weeks
     became a force in the churches that threatened their                later he was ordained in the office of doctor. But the
     very. existance. Verily, `despite his show. of piety -              churches remained apprehensive.
     and ,a pious man he -was - and disp,ite  his emphasis                   ,Gomarus was as `fprof essor `primarius" Arminius'
     in the pulpit on good works and sanctification and                  colleague in the university of Lyden. The two pro-
     human responsibility, and despite his  insistance also              fessors clashed when Arminius through one of his
     in the pulpit that all is of grace,.  .Arminius was a               favorite students and on a public meeting propounded
     heretic, false`teacher in the church. And his armour                and defended the propostion that reads as follows:
     was equivocation, duplicity, evasion and d,eciet, which                 "Predestination is the degree of ,God's  goodpleasure
     he had in common with all the famous heretics of                    in iCllrst whereby He from eternity by Himself deter-
     history.                                      _                     mined the believers, whom He decided to endow with            .
            From 1584 to 1602 Arminius was preacher of Am-               faith, to justify and adopt as His children." ("de voor-
     sterdam. During the first0 years of his pastorate he                beschikking is `t besluit van `t welbehagen Gods in
     adhered in his sermonizing to the Reformed Confes-                   Christus, waardoor Hij van eeuwigheid bij zich zelven
     sions. His- hearers were edified. All-were well dis-                heeft vastgesteld de geloovigen,. die Hij besloten heeft
     posed toward him. But he had no faith in the right-                 met het ~geloof to begiftigen, te rechtvaardigen, en tot
     ness of his preaching. This is evident from his com- kinderen  aan te nemen." So reads the proposition in
     munication to Wtenbogaert, his bosom friend, in which                Holland) . . ,This was a new and strange way of. stat-
     he stated that to his mind predestination should be ing the matter. IGomarus  and others had their mis-
     made to repose not on the good-pleasure. of God but                  givings. And that is not a wonder. -As to the form.of
     on the free will of man. They who beliieve.are chosen.               its .words, the proposition is exceedingly vague. ' `iGod
     This was the. conclusion to which he was driven as a                 determined the believers whom' He decided to endow
     result, so he wrote, of having examined the objections              with faith." What-can that mean? It was plain that
     raised by some to :Calvin and Beza's doctrine of pre-
                                                                 . .     Arminius, not wanting to face issues, and unwilling
                                                        ,  -

                                         1


                    _  ~             T H E   S T A N D A R D   (BEAR-E.R                                               495

 to reveal his true sentiments, was again equivocating.       supralapsarian. And it certainly shuts the door to the
 The proposition allows that faith is not of man but of       conception qf Arminius. For the "means of salvation"
`,God.  ,But  accokding  to Arminius, back of faith           must include also a man's good choice, detemninntim
 and the ability to believe, behind and under these to be saved. Therefore if. the "some" are appointed
 potenses, is the  ~ehoice, the  determinatton  of the        also to the determination to be saved, it must follow
 creature to  beEve  and to be saved, the  det&nina-          that it, too, as well as faith .proceeds  from *God and His
 tion to make right use of $he graces that God bestows.       counsel as -its sovereign cause and -source. Besides,
 According  td Arminius, this  ~determiwtt2on  is not of      how can the ,determinatio'lz to be saved be of man and
 `God  ; it is solely of the creature. Arminius  allowed      snlziation be of <God. Such a conception implies. a kind
 #God to do  eve&h&g  for the lost sinner  <except  be-       of separation between d~tewninukbn to be saved and
 stow upon him this ~determiwu?ion. .He conceded every-       salvation that in the ligl-$ of `the Scriptures mdst be
 thing except this, one thing. But thereby he slew God        pronounced impossible. One of  ttio, man's  subjektive
 conceptionally.  '                                           salvation in all its parts and as to .the tihole of its com-
                                                              pass must either be of ;God or of man,. It cannot be in
    This is evident. For certainly the view accordigg         part of God and in part of man. Such a conception                _
 to which the will, det,ermination to believe is of `man      in the light of the psjrchology of the scriptures is sim-
 must needs imply that the will of man is sov&gnly            ply irrational.
 free, that grace is resistable, and that, accord.ingly,
 man's salvation depends not upon God and His coun-              The report of the split between Arminius and Go-
 sel as its sovereign cause and source, Ibut upon the will marus spread far and wide. The complaint arose that
 of the creature. This precisely is what Arminius inain-      in Lyden old heresies Jn new dress~were  being brought.
 tained in his private lectures to his choice students and    forth. Finally  the'  classis of  Dordrecht  took action.
 in his private correspondelice  with his trusted friends.    It submitted to the south Hollan`d `synod a petition re-
 It tells us how Arminius new formulation is to be read questing- that "whereas it is` being rumored in the
 and  undtirstood.  As follows: "Predestination is the        school and church of Lyden -that doctrinal differences
 degree of .God's  goodpleasure in ,Cl&ist whereby He         have arisen,- it is. necessary that synod device means
 from eternity by Himself determined to save all such         whereby these differences can be quelched ai speedily
 of whom He foresaw that of their own free .&ill they         and capably as possible." I The cukators of Lyden de-
 would choose, determine to be saved;  such &te decided       manded of the four professors and the regent a quiet-
 to endow with,ehe grace of faith, to justify,. and-to a-     ing explanation. All testified--`also Gomarus, strange
 dopt as His children."       '                               to say- that the students did dispute among them-
    Arminius' new formulation of divine predestination selves, but that among- the professors there were
                                                              no differences as far as the main points of doc-
 1:esulted in his being  interviewkd by some ministers
 and his colleague Gomarus. But Arminius by his               trine were concerned, and that they would do what
 aquivocations and evasions knew how to disarm and            they could to bring the disputes among t&e sttidents
                                                              within proper bounds.
 silence his critics; When the meeting, -adjourned all                                       But the reply did not satisfy.
 were satisfied and friendly. The  one exception was          It did not remove the fear of the churches. The
 #GomarL&. He took a  stand.                                  Synod of Rotterdam (August 30, 1605) decided to
                                   On reformation day
 1603 he through onq of his faithful students publicly        request the  curators  of the. school to require of
 insisted that the tiew formulation of Arminius is- de-       the professors that they. unreservedly declare them-
 structive of divine grace and accordingly is only cal-       selves regarding the disputed points. Should any of .
 culated to inflate the creature., This appraisal is cer-     their number refuse, each classis would . commission
 tainly true. As an element in Arminius' system of            one of its members to take in connection with the de- '
 heretical ideas, the new formulation, as  Zo the thought     puties whatever action would be deemed necessary.
 is sets forth, is sheer heresy, however pious sounding.      After the adjourment of- the synod, the synodical  -de-
 :Gomarus  then presented his o&n view of predestina-         puties came to.the  curators tiith 9 questions for which
 tion. He posited. that "`God appdinted some of the           they request_ed.  explicit answers f?om the professors;
 persons,' whom He was contemplating to create, tb            But the-curators refused to co-operate and advised a
 eternal life, and to the way and means n,ecessary for        national synod. The churches so decided. But it was
 bringing them thereto ; and others. to etfernal death.       not until 1618~thus  13 years later-that the govern-
 ("Dat God van de personen, die hij voorgenomen heeft         ment could be induced to consent to the calling of such
 te scheppen, sommigen voorbe&chikt  heeft tot het eeu-       a synod. Herewith a new phase of the struggle
 wige leven en tot de wegen- en middelen om hen t.ot          began.      -             .
 de zaligheid to bringen,  anderen tot den eeuwigen dood,         In the meantime -Arminius in a private letter was
 mitsgaders tot de wegen of middelen, die da&toe lei-         earnestly admonished co remove the causes of the dis-
 den." So reads this proposition in Holland) . `This is       tupbatice,  which tp the mind of the author of the mis-

                                                                                                    -


496            .r                                             T H E   STANDARD  B E A R E R   _

sive - Rector Ubb6 Etimius - were seven in number.
I cite here the sedon`cl,  fourth, and fifth.                                                                               D e   Verworpen  S t e e n   -'  _
   - 2. The use of-  equivocab18e  (dubbelzinnige)  ex-
               pressioris in the explanation of knotty (nete-                                                       Hebt gij nooit gelezen in de Schriften . . . ?  lo,
               lige) questions.  :                                                                              de Heere Jezus kon de verachtelijke Overpriest&s  en
                                                                                                                Farizegrs  met Zijne woorden striemen!  Stelt  bet U
        4. Sentiments that undermine the official doctrine                                                      voor:  bier is een -college  van geleerde menschen, die
               of the churches.                                                                            1    bet beste  gedeelte van hun leven besteed haddeti  om de
        5. Raising dbubts against the Confessions and the                                                       Heilige Schrift fe bestudeeren. En nu zegt, deze Man -
               Catechis+  -_                                                                                    tot hen: Hebt gij we1 eens in de Schrift gelezen? Let
                                `.,.           _                                                                we1 ; niet : Hebt gij we1 eens aandachtig de. Heilige
   -Arminius'                            reply.:              ' .                                               Schrift bestudeerd? myar: Hebt ge we1 eens gelezen?
   2. He does sometimes tise a word or sentenCe  . in                                                           De Heere heeft dit meermalen  gevraagd. En, natuur-
               a different se&e. than the Calvinist, bit this                                                   lijk,  terticht! Hij is in geheel eenige wijze de Heilige
               cannot well be -avoid&d  because the Scriptures                                                  Schrift  !@f. Hij is het  Wdord  Gods. Het vleesch
               are equivocable. .                                                                               geworden Woord. En terecht, zeiden we, kon Hij, en
                                                                                                                mocht-Hij,  vragen: Hebt ge  we1 eens gelezen. . . .?
  I -4. He as&es his correspondent that his concep-                                                             Want het scheen wel, alsof ze de Heilige Schrift nooit
               tion of prede&iation' agrees' with. the Conf es-                                                 ingekeken hadden. ,Overal  in de Heilige ;Schrifi pronkt
               sion.                                                                                            en praalt het Beeld van den alleen zaligen God, en dat
        5. Never has he r&s&d a!ly doubts against Con-                                                          is Jezus. Doeh toen Hij kwam behandelden zij Hem
               fession and Catechism.                                          . .                              minder  dan een dief- en een moordenaar. Verkozen zij
                                                                                                                -niet  Bar:Abbas  b&en Jezus?  ,O ja, Jezus  mocht het .
    His reply under' 4  amazes. r
                          .-                             s                                                      hug vragen: Hebt ge wel. eens gelezen? Wat, He&e?
                                                                   t                  G. M. Ophoff -_           Dit: de  Steen die de bouwlieden  verworpen  hebben,
                                                                                                                deze is geworden tot een hoofd des hoeks. . . enz.
                                                                                                                Deze woorden-  zijn een aanhaling uit den honderd en
                                                    ,BiiI'
                                                                                           :                    achttiendeli Psalm, de  verz& 22 en 23.  Nu  zijn er
                                                                                                I  .  .          die denken, dat iye hier'te doen hebben met een his-
                                                                                                                tori&he gebeurtenis. Zij zeggen, dat cr een Steen was
                                          `THE  +&ST                                                            bij den bouw des Tempels, waarvoor men maar geen
                                                                                                                plaats kon vinden. En die  Steen  lag gedurig in  ,den  -
               I& is easy to live on the mountain,                                                              weg bij al het grootsche  werk der bouwlieden. Die
         Where  we-speak  to our Lord face to  face                                                              Steen werd keer op keer verworpen, van de eene
                     :
               Btit the test is t,o live- in-the valley                                                          plaats  n8ar de andere. Maar,  0 wonder,  toen men'
                                                                                                                toekwam aan-het .leggen van den Steen des hoofds des
               Just- to live, every day by His grace ! `- _                                                     hoeks,  toen' vbnd men uit, dat die verworpen  Steen
          ,                                                                                                      juist daarvoor paste: Men zegt, dat deze historische
               It is wonderful where all is brightness;                                                    I    verklaring rust op sommige-overleveringen  der rabbi's
               There i?re fain would l'eside  - never go; -                                                      der--  Joden. It weet  -bet niet. Bet  maakt ook  ni&s
                                                                                                                 uit.    De  historische  vervulling dezer  profetie gaat
               But-the test is to l&by the moment                                                                zelfs terug voor dat die woorden in Psalm 118 opge-
          Step by step in--the valley below!                                                                     schreven wierden door  &en geinspireerden  profeet.  Het
                                                                                                                 is een furidanienteele  wet in het Koninkrijk Gods, dat
                                                                                                                de Steen  semvorpen  moet. Dat. is geschied van het
               It is pleasant to be in the sunshine, -                                          `                oogenblik af aan, dat IGod Zijn werk d&s Tempels be;
               Where we see our Lord's hand as -He guides ;                                                      gon in den tijd.  -Last mij  een- voorbeeld gebruiken.
               But the thing that is precious in `Jesus                                                          Toen Abel te&en den grond.geslsgen  werd, toen werd
                                                                                                                 de Steen verworpen. Kain is de eerste bouwqeester
               Is the faith that in darkness abides!                                                       _    .die den- Steen, en dat is ,Jezus, verwierp. Ziet g&, er
                                                                             Philip L.  Carlson                  zijn altijd typen,- beelden, schaduwen en symbolen vati
                                                                                      ,                          dien Steen, geweest in arle historie. De duidelijkste
                                     *n*namao*                                                                   type was de actueele Steen, het hoofd des hocks; in den
                                .                             v                                                  Tempel van Salomo. -Men is het hier over eens, dat
   The way to preserve. the .pe&ce  of the chu?ch is to                                                          die Steen absolnut nb,odig was voor het structuur van
p?eserve  its purity.                                                                                            den Tempel:-  8ommigen zeggen, dat ,hij in het funda-
                                                    ,

                                          -


                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                                497

`ment des Tempels een plaats vond ; anderen, dat hij           reehtigheid: en dat is ook dezelfde Steen. 0, als ze
paste als ,de laatste sleutelsteen  aan den vc5orgevel  des    maar gedtirfd  htidden ! Er sehijnt weer' vreeze Gods
Tempels, do& hoe het dan ook moge zijn ;. zonder dien          te zijn die hen bang maakte. De hEele- Kerk was terug
[Steen is de Tempel <Gods ondenkbaar., Hij behoort tot gedrongen tot 66n huisvol. Maar verder durfde men
`bet  wezen van den `Tempel. Daarom: zorgt ervoor,             niet. En No.ach zaagde en schaafde, hamerde en klonk,
dat ge leest van dien Steen. Hebt ge we1 eens gelezen totdat de arke  IGods klaar was. En  teveis preekte
van,  den  Steen Des Tempels?  Leest ge de Heilige             hij van den Steen. Gods. Maar niet 66n luisterde met
Schriftuur  -Gods aangaande den Steen? Welnu, dan              een luisteren der gehoorzaamheid. Er waren er acht,
hebt ge gezien hoe Hij verworpen is door de b&wlie-            honderd-twintig jaar. voordien : er waren er.nog aeht
den. Zooals ik zooeven aanhaalde: Hij is verworpen toen de fonteinen  zich openden en de sluizen des hemels
van den beginne  aan. Hij? Wien  hebben we op het              hun stortvloed zonden. Men  he6ft  deli Steen altijd  -
oog? Jezus Christus, de Heere. Hij is die Steen des            verworpen.!  Men zag niet, dat die Steen juist paste
Tempels,  zonder Wien we het niet  kuntien stellen.            voor het hoofd des hoeks. Men las, doch men las zonder
Zondep Jezus is er geen Tempel Gods denkbaar. Zon-             te zien. Vreeselijke blindheid en domheid in de' din-
der dien stuttenden Steen Gods komt er geen woon-              gen Gods ! En zoq is die Steen blijven komen door alle
plaats des fleeren in den Geest. De Tempel ii de ge-           eeuwen  heen; vooral bij David is het duidelijk. Da-  -
dachte van het  wonen met  IGod in  BBn  hiis. En die          vid beteekent;  beminde, en dan  natuurlijk,  beminde
gedachte kan n`iet tot vervulling komen dan door den           Gods. Hij is immers ,de man naar Gods hart.?. Nie-
Steen de_s -hocks. Dbt zit zoo : we zijn het niet waard        mand is ooit ee'rder of later een- cluidelijker type.van.
om met God te wonen. Verre van te wonen met God,               `Jezus  geweest. Zou het daarom zijn, dat cle Heilige
moesten we  eig&lijk  in de vreeselijke diepten des            ,Geest in Gods volk vaak sprak van Jezus, Gij Zone
eeuwigen tdoods  in liet verlatene vergaan. Niemand            Davids? Ik weet het niet, maar vermoed het. En hoe
heeft het recht dm zelfs aan te kloppen aan de deur van        is David verworpenj Samuel zou zalven, maar.David
Gods Tempel. ,God is verre van den godd'elooze,  den moest in het veld bijven. Saul wist, dat David koning
onrechtvaardige. Er moet steun komea. E;l die steun            moest worden,  maar hij jaagde hem als een veldhoen
is Jezus  Christus.       En Jezus  Christus is  eigenlijk     op de  bergen. Zijn eigen zoon vertrapte hem.  -0,
Jehovah Zelf,  die. door Zijn Zoon te  zenden in onze          David is verworpen.door de bouwlieden. Maar wacht !
natinx, de steun is voor het gebouw van Zijn gunst-            Daar komt de vervulling van alle typen, beelden, scha-
betiijzen. Maar token  die steun, dat is de Steen, dat         duwen .en symbolen : Daar komt- Jezus Chris&us,  de
is ,Jezus Christus,' tot ons kwan, to& hebben de bouw-         Heere. En als Hij geheel en al  .klaar is  .met al het
liedein Hem veik-worpen. Ts het  nie&  vreeselijk? Hier werk, dat noodig was om Steen te zijn in den Tempel
komt de eenige !Stetin voor de idee van samenwoniilg           Gods, dan neemt men Hem beet en slingert Hem aan
met  -God, en wij werpen Hem weg! . Hij  verklaart             het vloekhout, onder honen, tartell en schimpen, dat
telkens weer aan dat I$j de Steen voor het hoofd des           ons, doet huivcren. En bet zijn de bouwlieden van het
hoeks is, en hoe meer Hij dat verklaart, hoe meer men          HP!? Gods  die het  ,Hem aandoen. Ten minste, naar
Hem verwerpt.          Hoe duidelijker het uitkomt door hun eigen getuigenis.  Zij zijn immers de .ware,~ trouwe
Zijn Woord, dat Hij de ware Bouwer is van God. ge-             knechten Gods? Wij hebben Abraham en IGod tot een
zonden om het Huis Gods te bouwen, zoo dat Hij Zelf            Vader. Maar de ware Steen wordt verworpen. Men
de uiterste `Hoeksteen  wordt, hoe meer men _ verhit hangt Hem aan h-et kruis, en daar sterft Hij. Buiten.
wordt in zijn toorn tegen Hem, en men Hem dan ook              de legerplaats, buiten Jeruzalem, ver van den Tempel,
gedurig `ver:werpt.      Hij kwam zoo  aan den vroegen         moet Deze hangen. Maar  v66r Zijn dood heeft Hij
morgen der geschiedenis: Abel die een lam offert.              hen nog g&raagd : Hebt ge we1 eens gelezen ? 0, te
Dat is een ander beeld dan de Steen, maar het komt bp          lezen van dien Steen, en tech Hem te verwerpen. Het
hetzelfde neer. En als Abel aanhoudt en dat lam ver- toont, dat men ziet en ni& bemerkt; hoort en @et ver-
klaart, en  zegt :  Zonder dat  lam kan het  -niet, dan        staat. Het is de blindheid der haat, die ons toegepast
wordt zijn stem versmoord in,het bloed. Maa?, wacht:           wordt door `den vorst deier eeuw. Blinde Bouwlie-
qr komt,veel meer' bloed der verwerpiqg. Er is een             den ! Leest nog eens ! De Steen die verworpen is voor
lange- lijn van getuigen in de vierduizend  jaren v&r          vierduizend jaren is geworden tot een hoofd des hoeks.
de geboorte van Jezus. En steeds komt het op `t zelf-          Met andere woorden: Hij past precies! Hij heeft al-
de neer: er is iets zeer particulieis van Jehovah ,God,        tijd gepast. Het paste voor Abel om vermorzeld  te
zonder Hetwelk we niet. voor. Hem, kunnen bestaan !            worden.  Daar zit eeuwige wijsheid in. De profeten
Ge moet den Steen Gods loven in bet bouw%&erk  der moeten gedood. Het bloed der martelaren moet stroo-
eeuwen.    Er komt geen Tempel Gods zonder Dien                men. En als men U  .haat, doet de Heilige Geest U
Steen ! 260 spreekt Henoch, en men vangt hem bijna             denken  aan die eerder verstorvenen,  neen, geslachten,
om hem op hun gemak. tee vernielen. Maar ,God nam              eti zegt: verheugt U als ge moet lijden in de verwer-
hem weg. Ook Noach, die prediker wordt van de ge-              ping: want zoo verwierp men de profeten, En bier

                                                                                                                _-


   498                                 THE  S T A N D A R D   k-EARE-k

  is het wonder : de Steen past in den Tempel juist in die bouwen, en gij kunt Uzelf niet klaarmaken voor dien
  verwerping. De verwerping van den Steen is juist de           Tempel.  Paulus hoorde dat, en zeide: "degenen die
  kracht om te steunen. Als ge gaat graven onder het            niet werkt, maar gelooft in  Hem.  . .  ."
  gebouw van Gods gunstbewijzen, en als ge  aan het                AGod bouwt den Tempel, en Hij kotit naar U toe
  diepste en krachtigste fundament toekomt, en dan              en naar mij toe, waar wij in onze vuile kleeren staan,
  onder ,dat fundament blikt, dan ziet ge dat het funda-        en terwijl wij onszelf nog vuiler maken van dag tot
  ment rust op het bloed van Jezus..  Zijn verwerping,          dag, en dan zegt God : alles is geschied van Mij, en
  zou een profeet zeggen, is onze aanname ! Als gij             niet vxn U.
  straks zult blikken in het lieflijke oog~van God, dan
  komt dat hie? van daan, omdat gij staat op de Rots               Luistert maar naar Petrus: "Zoo wordt gij ook
der  eeuwen.   :O ja,  -de Steen past. Zelfs in Zijne  ver-     zelve als levende steenen  gebouwd  tot een geestelijk
  werping. Juist ,cEoor Zijne verwerping door de bouw-          huis."         '
  lieden.    En wilt  ge nu de lieflijkste hallels  zinger!?        Vraagt, ge: Is el: dan niets voor ons  te doen?
  Komt dan met mij en we zullen naar Petrus luisteren               Niets uit en van Uzelven.
  als hij aan `t bidden is. Hij ial kommentaar  geven ?p
den  wonderen  zin van den tekst die zegt: Van den               We kunnen  we1 trachten om het Huis  te  ver-
  Heere is dit geschied, en het is, wonderlijk in onze  oog-    knoeien'.
  en! Petrtis  heeft immers zelf den Heere  dezen zin               Maar wet ge we1 moogt doen, en moet doen, en ook
  hooren spreken ? En later, als Petrus vervuld -is met         daadwerkelijk doet is dit: de Heere heeft  .ook  nog
  den Heiligen Geest, dan ziet hij, dat  -de  kruisigillg,      werken, goede werken, voor U bereid  van eeuwigheid,
  dat is, de verwerping van Jezus eigenlijk van den             opdat  &ij  allen daarin zoudt wandelen. De goede
  Heere geschied is, en daarom bidt hij op den eersten          werken zijn ook nog een gave.         En gij  werkt  die
  Pinksterdag : "Want in waarheid zijn vergaderd tegen          werken door Zijn Heiligen Geest !
  Uw heilig Kind Jezus, welken Gij gezalfd hebt, beide              Is het niet wonderlijk in onze oogen?
  Herodus en Pontius Pilatus, met de Heidenen, en d%e
  volken Israels, om te ,doen al wat Uwe hand en Uw                 Wij zien .die dingen elken dag gebeuren, maar wij
  raad te voren bepaald had dat geschieden zou !" Is            doorgronden `t niet.
  het niet wonderlijk in onze oogen? Wij zien het maar             ,O ja, de Steen werd verworpen. Maar Hij was ,a1
  doorgrbndeti  het niet.                                       dien tijd en- van alle eeuwigheid `voor God dierbaar;
      De Steen Gods is voorspeld, keer op keer.
             , .                                                God mag gaarne naar dien  Hoekst&en  zien. Het is
      In de vulheid des tijds wordt Hij finaal verworpen.       Zijn schoonste werk.                                 - .
  Maar als we zien met oogen die door .den Geest ver-               Straks zal die Steen de goddelooze bouwlieden ver-
  licht zijn, dan zien we dat die verwerping van Gods           pletteren en verbrijzelen,  maar U is Hij dierbaar;
  raad en van ,Gods hand-komt. De tekst zegt: Van den               Sommigen struikelen over den Steen Gods, maa?
  Heere is dit geschied.                                        voor U is Hij de Rots der eeuwen die van geen wanke-
    Lee&t  ge  266 de Heilige  Schrift?                         len weet.
    ,_ Dan zijt ge zalig.                                           Ik  sprak  zooeven van Hallels  zingen: zijt ge  be-
     Weinigen lezen 266 de Heilige &.&rift. Het is zoo          reid om dat te  doen, en voor eeuwig?  -
  vreeselijk vernederend.'                                                                                    G:  vus
      Stelt het U voor : van de allervl-oegste-  dagelt : Ik
  bouw Mijn Tempel, en Ik bouw ook U om in  ,dien
  Tempel te wonen. Als `Tempel en yolk klaar zijn, en
  als ge rondom dien Tempel wandelt om zijn torens,
  vestingen en paleizen te beschouwen dan zullen de
  Engelen U toezingen: Dit is van den Heere geschied!                  Absence of occupation is not rest,
  Of, zooals we het in `Gods  Woord nu al keer  op keer                A mind quite vacant is a mind clistres&`d.
  lezen: Het heil is des Heeren.
     Laat mij het eenvoudig zeggen, zoodat ge het allen                             -i2n*n*n*Ei*.
  verstaan kunt : IGod is aan `t werk gegaan in den vroe-
  gen morgen der historie toen Adam viel, om Zijn Tem-                 Hope, like the gleaming taper's light,
  pel te bouwen en om Zijn volk te bereiden voor dien                  Adorns and cheers our way ;
  Tempel. En nu al voor 6000  jaren zegt God tegen
  ons, waar wij  & bij  staan met onze vuile kleeren:                  Ancl still, as darker grays the night,
  blijf van dit w&k af! :Ge kunt den Tempel Gods n&t                   Emits a brighter ray.


                                           T H E   STAPDARD   BEARER                                                      49.9

                                                                     (laos) people! In passing we may note, that here we
- -   - F R O M   H'OLU  WR'IT see one of the thousands of cases in which Paul as a
                                                                     wise architect, according to the grace .of God that IS
                                                                     given him, lays t&e foundation besides which no one
        Exposition of Acts 13:32,33ff                                is able -to lay another foundation.      Cornpace  I Cor.
                                                                     3  :lOj 11 and Rom.  15:20. In the latter passage we
                                                                     notice, that Paul makes it his aim, he is ambitious, so
        This passage of Holy Writ is the very heart  o-f             to preach the Gospel, there where Christ was not al-
     the great sermon spoken by Paul in a synagogue in' ready named, that he might not build `upon another
     Antioch  ,of Pisidia, where he and Barnabas preached            man's foundation, but as it is written in Isaiah 52 : 15,
     the Word of God in Christ on their first Missionary             "They shall see to -whom no tidings. of Him came,
     journey. This very rich and instructive  passage of             and.they  who have not heard shall under&and". Paul _
     the Word of God reads as  follqvirs:  `And we bring             is a trail-blazer in the work of the preaching of the
     you good tidings of the pryomise made unto the fathers,         ,Gospel  among the Gentiles. He is -God's chosen vessel-
     that God h&h fulfilled the same unto us their chikiren,         for this exalted task. lAnc1 he has a great message of
     in that He raised up Jesus; as also it js written in the        Cornfor%  for the people. He can truly fulfill, in the
     second  Psal.w, Thou art my..Son, this day have I be-           Mew Testament sense, the task which God lays uppn
     gotten thee."                                                   our shoulders when He says ".Comfort ye, Comfort ye
        When Paul spoke these words, in that gathering in            my people saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to
     Antioch of Pisidia in the Synagogue, on `the Sabbath            Jerusalem and cry unto her, that her warfare is ac-
.    day it was already late on the clock of God's times and         complished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she hath
     seasons, as they are in His sovereign power and dis- received of Jehovah's hancl double for all her sins."
     pensation. Jesus ~Christ had been born from a woman             Isaiah 40 :l, 2.
     and made under the law, so that the adoption unto                  Such is the Word of consolation bkought here by
     children, and the forgiveness of sins might be pro-             Paul in this sermon. Says the leader in the synagogue
     claimed in His name. The Mighty God, in human                   "Brethrkn,  if ye have any word of exhortation (para-
     flesh, had conquered over sin and death, hell and the           kleeseoos) to the people, say on". and -Paul rises to the
     grave, and he had given His disciples the mandate to            occasibn as a wise architect to lay the foundation here,
     go forth in- His name and to preach an& witness of              namely, Jesus Christ as He is spoken of and promisecl
     the Gospel beginning at Jerusalem and from thence               in the 01~1 Tstament Scriptures and as He has come,
     to  Judea,  Samaria and to the ends of the earth. In            has suffered, died, and was raised from the dead by
     ever widening circle the. gospel must be proclaimed.            God Himself, powerfully being revealed to be the Son
     Hence, the Holy Spirit Himself separated Paul and               of  #Goa in our flesh, as it is written in the Second
     Barnabas unto this ministry. (Acts 13 :l-3). And in7 Psalm !
     heecling.  their Lord and ,Christ they are here in this
     synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia.                                   Blessed-is this audience here in Antioch; as many
                                                                     of them as are orclained  unto eternal life. For their
        The Lord, our Christ, from  bn high is working believing ears hear the things that many prophets;
     with and through -them, preachng peace also to -those           including John the Baptist, desired to hear .and could
     who are "far" as well as to those who are "near".               not hear. It is the great message that God, who prom-
     For the heaits of meil are in the hand of God as brooks         ised deliverance unto his fathers, hath in these last
     of water, and He it is Who leads the course of them.            days spoken unto us in His,,Son, even in His vicarious
     `Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas wend their way               death and resurrection.
     to this synagogue here in Antioch of Pisidia, they do
     not remain seatecl on the seats in the audience, but are            Let us try to analyze this terse and `meaningful
     requested to speak a "word of consolati&" to the "con-          statement of Paul concerning the great message, which
     gregation" if they have such. And, to be sure, they he brings as the Ambassador of Christ.
     have such a word of consolation for the people. They              What  does Paul say is the emphatically unique
     have a word from ,God to this p.eople which prophets word of Consolation that he preached? It is: that
     and brads of old were not given to see ancl to preach:          God, Who promisecl saiavation to the fathers, hath
     `11~~ that the Gentiles are fellow-partakers of the great now realized and fulfilled this promise unto us their
     promise in Jesus Chkist, the foregiveness of sins in. spiritual children, and that this fiifiiied promise is the
     Christ from all that which no one could be justified            great message of Consolation.
     by the law of Moses - -by-works of law that we per-                 In analyzing these  worcls  of  air exposition it
     form.                                                           should riot be difficult to notice three clistinct  elem&ts
        What a word of  cons,olation  Paul and-  Barnabas,           here in the text.
     the son of  cor+olation,   hair6 for  .God's  chukch, to the             1. What, according to the text of Paul, and that,

                                                                        -.


  500                                   T H E   STAND.ARD  BEARER.                                                       .

            too, in the light of the whole address, are we       in this beautiful serm'oti  in which this elective purpose
            to understand by the. term "the qromise" ?           of God is traced in. the covenant-history (heiis-his-.
          2. What does the text teach us, and that, too a-       torie) from  ,Abraham  tb David, the king, to  Chrjst.-
            gain ip the light of the entire address concern-     Paul's tracing of this history is masterful according
            ing the fulfillment of this Promise.                 to the grace of God given Him. Notice how carefully
                                                                 he lays all the truths of God,.  and' traces for us the
          3. And what is the distinct implication of the fact    fundamental lines of the understructure of the' work
            that Paul  ."brings  glad-tidings" * concerning,     of sovereign grace !
            that he preaches this fulfilled Promise?                Notice  the key-note in Paul's interpretation of his-
     :L.et  us first of all attend to the .meaning the term      tory, and also observe his point of departure in this
  "promise". 16 the text we read literally ; "the unto           brief sketching of Israel's relationship to ,God as this
_ the fathers having been made promise,`. It is the. appears from the Old Testament $criptures. Says he :
  promise that was evidently well-known to Paul's and-           "The  ,God of this people  Israel  chose our fathers"!
  ience here, and surely.  stooda our before the mind's          Eviclently all that'-God did- subsequently to this `chaos-
  eye of Paul as the Promise, which is the beacon-light, ing in His elective purpose in Christ dominates all of
  of the hope of Israel. It is the one great Promise,            histdry; this elective ioye is determinative. There-
  which shines throughout the ages,, which shines more           fore we can read `in the last book of the Old Testament
  and.more unto the perfect day in Christ, both in the           .Scriptures  : "For I Jehovah change not; therefore ye,
  day of His humiliation and in the day of His power.            0 sons of Jacob, are not consumed". Mal. 3 :6. Now it
  For it is the well-known and oft-repeated Promise oii          is true, that there  are many in  Is'iael, who are not
  God, which God first spoke to the -fathers, namely, to         chosen,  to whom the great Promise does not pertain,               .
 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. -To them it was spoken,              since they are not of .the Seed! Of these Paul says
  it was "made" so ihat it is-a "testament" a will of the        nothing ,in .this sermon as to the main thrust of kiis ar-
  Testator given with a specific content and to a specific       gument in sketching this history. The steps of Paul
people called the "heirs of the promise". For the                are very bold and conclusive encompassing all of the
  promise is to Abraham and to His Seed; that is, Christ.        history of the fulfillment and realization of the prom-            _
  Gal.  3:16, 17.  _                                             ise in history, the unfolding of the Counsel of God.
         I think &at -it is A. T. Robertson in his "Word         These steps are aS follows:                        .
  Pictures in the New Testament", who says of. this                   1. The choosing of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and
  sermon of Paul, that it contains in brief form the en-                the 70 heads of houses from' which the entire
  tire epistle of Paul to the Galatians and to -the Romans.             peoDle  of Israel ake numbered in their genera-
  That  reInark.  is very much to the point.  Ho_wev&,                   tions, according to the number of, elective
. here in this sermon we -have no polemics, no refuta-                   grace in Christ Jesus, as they are written in
  tiont of error, but simply a laying of the fouridation,                the Lamb's bGok of life. Vs. 1'7, a.
  the teaching of Christ Jesus's death and resurrection
  as the fulfillment of the Promise. It is this "Pauline"             2. The exaltation' of the congregation, the people
  conception of the "Promise" that is so fundamental                     (laos) by God's mighty arm out of Egypt, be-
  in the g!ad-story of grace. IGrace must remain grace,                  cause Israel is God's first-born Son, in whose
  alid works must  remaili works. Now Abraham  re-                       place the souls of Egypt's first-born must be
 ceived the Promise out of faith, and all the children re-               given. Vs. 17b.        Compare  Hosea 11  :l  ancl
  ceive this promise out of faith. Thlis this promise  is                Matt. 2:15 and Exodus 16:36.
 spoken of in Romans 4 :13, and 16 etc.
                                  .                                   3. ,God suffering the manners of. Israel in their
         The Proniise  here is God's immutably sure word iti             forty years of wanderings in the desert. .Here
  which He assures Abl"aham, and His Seed that He is                    we have the entire book of Deuteronomy and
  their God and that they are His people. And the es-                  part of Exodus and Leviticus, all in one sen-
  sense of this promise made to the fathers is undoubted-                tence as to its general thrust. All points to the
  ly that it is Abraham's Seed,. that is, ,Christ. Thus                  fact, that tee Promise stands relative to the
  it is stated in Gaiatians 31:6, 17 where we read ".Now                 Beed! `The Promise did not fail! Vs. 18.              .
  tB Abkaham and He seed were the promises spoken,                    41 For God gave Israel the land of the accursed
  He saith not; CGal. 13 115; 17 :8) and to seeds as of                  Canaan (Gen. 9 :25-27)' and no taunting of
  .m&zy; but as of one, And to thy seed, that is, Christ."               Israel, according to the flesh, is going to stand
  Such is the Pro&se. It is Abraham and His spipitual                    in the way of the -realization of the. promise
  children in Christ, as thejr are according to the elective             to and  in the elect-believers, who enter by
  purpdse in Christ Jesus. Rornans 9.6-12.                               faith into the land. Vs. 19.  -
         Thus also the Promise -is spoken of, here by Paul            5. Abundant. proof of God's determinate purpose


                                        .-THE  STANDARD   BEARE-~                                                              501

            of election id the Great Promise we have in the           can do our children no good, but. rather 2 world of
            450 years of the Judges. For it is the period,            harm, if that education is not characterized by the fear
            which indicates the crying need of the King               of the k,ord. -Our question, then,_ for this article is :.
            of righteousness in:.Israel; it all points tdward         Where are' your children goingto be trained this com-
            the  tieed of the coming of the Son of David,             ing year - b@ it in grade school, high school, or c01-
          accordirig  to the flesh.  Therefor'e  Sati is  re-         lege - from a spiYitua1 point of view?
            jetted, and God finds in David a man, who will
            do all His good-pleasure. Vss. 20-22.                      T/wee  PossMities Theoretically
          6. And David is, according to the prophetic word,               I write purposely "theoretically". Because it is
            not really David, but the Son of whom .God                my sincere conviction-- and that of any Reformed
            says : This day `have I begotten Thee, the first-          Christian - that the first. possibility is after all no             . .
,           born Son out of the dead, in whom all God's               possibility atall. I write~"theoretically'2, in the second
            promises are- yea and in Him, Amen !                      place, because in last instance from a principal stand-
                      (To be continued)           G. Lubbers          point there is only one possibility, according to my
                            _                                         -sincere  conviction - and. also in this I am in the corn-
                                                                      pang-of many sound Reformed Christians. With this
                                                                      in mind we may briefly ennumerate and describe the
                                                                      three possibilities tq which we refer.        _
                                                                          The first is the public  scliool,  in farming; areas
                                                                      often rq$erred  to merely as the rural school or the con-
             I N   HIS'FE                                             solidated school, and in urban areas referred to as the
                                                                      city school. It is a tax-suppbrted and government con- .
                                                                      trolled institution, providing free education to all the
                    Back TQ. Schoolm                      .-          children of the tax district in which it is located. Due
                                                                      to the. principles of separation. of church and state
                                 (2)                                  and religious toleraice, these schools are said +o bk
        In oui l&t article uider this title we began to ask non-religious.                                          ".
     sonie questions and to point out the answers in regaY;cl             The names  "publ$' or "rural" or "consolidated"
     to the education of our children, our covenant children,         or "city", however, though from a formal point of view
     from the formal poifit of view, and that too with re-            correct, are from the standpoint of principle- mis-
     gard to children of various ages and circumstances.              nomers. From the latter viewpoint, it must be clearly
b And we tried to point out the need and desirability of              understood and recognize,d  that their correct name is
     a higher education specifically from the standpoint of           "worldly schools". They are schools which, from the
     the fear of  the Lord, proceeding from the general               point .of view of the spiritual, ethical principle yvhich            . .
     principle that this fear of the. Lord must be manifest           controls the instruction given in them, are schools of
     and exercised exactly in every sphere of life. We are $he. world in distinction from the church.                     ,           .
     not called to withdraw ourselves. from any department                The second  possibiliti is the *Christian School.
     of life, but exactly to be active to the fullest .extent in -This is not a parochial' or church school, that is, a
     every sphere. And that includes the sphere of ed&a-              school maintained atid controlled by' a church. The
     tion, in which from a fomnal viewpoirtt we must "go              latter .we $d not indlude among.the  possibilities, since _
     all the way", must be able to coinpete wit.h `the world ;        in our circles! it is in actual fact never considered.
     we must make use of secondary and higher education,              The, Christian School iS. a private, parentally owned
     training our covenant -youth for a life "in the world",          and controlled school, which provides instr&ion for
     albeit they must not be "of the world".                    -~    the children of those parents fdrming the school so-
        We concluded by saying that  w-e had more per-                ciety and- supporting the school financially.       These-
     tinent questions. .* To some of these we would call your         parents, realizifig that it; is the parents' duty to `train
     attention' in our present article.    And as you will their children, and realizing that because of circum-
     notice, this time we approach thesubject of education            stances in our ~present complex life they are not able
     from its spiritual asp?&. And we should see at once to educate their .children  .themselves,  have banned to-
     that though our previous question, regarding educa-              gether for the purpose of  .-  unit@ly contracting for
     tion from a formal viewpoint, is not to -be slighted,            teachers who make it their vocation to be busy in the
     nevertheless the present question, as to the spiritual           field of education.
     principle  df the training of, our children, far out-                As the name of these schools indicates, they are,
     weighs all others. We should see and also act on the             from the viewpoint of the spiritual, `ethical principle
     principle that all the fo?mal education in the' world            which controls the instruction  givel% in  them, Chris-


         502          '                        Tm  STANDARD  BEEtiER  *
         tian, not worldly.  That. is theoretically,- at least, the       ant Reformed (for us, Reformed) instruction. The
         idea of a Christian school. They are, it has often been          contrary has been the case. Christian Reformed par-
         emphasized ih the-past, not schools with the Bible,              ents have been in the majority, have quite generally
         ihat is, `not ordinary secularr &hools  to which a little        provided the schools wjth Christian Reformed teachers
         Bible instruction, prayer, and  religiotis  music have           have maintained Christian Reformed principles of ed-
         been added. But they are schools founded on Scrip-               ucation, and have effectively blocked any efforts to
         ture, in which instruction is given in every subject             introduce our Protestant Reformed principles into the
         according to the principles of Holy Writ. In a word,             educational system of the Christian schools. In fact,
         a Christian school is a school in which the instruction- they themselves are so conscious of their success on
         is controlled from beginning` to end, only and always <this score, that though our parents support the schools
         bi  &e~ spiritual principle of the fear `of the Lord,            financiillly, are legally' members of the societies, even
         which is the ,b_eginning of wisdom.                              are allowed to have a minority representation on the
            We -must- not fail to. note, however, (leaving out            boards, they refer to `the Christian schools as thei.r
         of view for our present pufpose the fact that B cer-             own Christian Reformed schools.
         tain notion of Christiail education has also gained a               Nor, -from their own viewpoint, are they to be
         foothoid in fundamentalist circles) that the societies           blamed for all this. If Protestant Reformed parents
         maintaining these schools are from a denominational              were in a similar situation in. the s&called coopera-
         viewpoint heterogeneous, that is, they are formed of             tive Christian school societies, I would expect them to
         parents belonging to different Reformed  denomina-               do the very same. If tie act from principle, if we
        tions. Thu's, for exampie,  Protestant Reformed, Chris-           retilly and truly insist .on our own principles, ins@t
         tian Reformed, cOrthod6x Presbyterian, and Reformed              that'they are Reformed .$nd Scriptural and that'any-
         parents -may uilite in one Christian School Society,             thing departing therefrom is an error, what else can
         maintain and support one school, and have their chil-            we- do?  ,What else can Christian  -R&formed parents.
         dren instructed there; That has b&en the situation in            dothan try to make their schools YChristian Reformed?
         the past, and' it still is in many localities. What does         And what else could Protestant Reformed parents -do
         this,  imgly?  - First` of all, the  `very fact of  this  de-    than try to make their s&ools Protestant Reformed?
         &minat$nal  heterogeneity posits the existance of dif-           And what else can cooperation in any real sense do,
         ferent conceptions as tb what &-the fear of the Lord:            then, but suffer an inevitable shi,pwreck?.
        As  -far as Protestant Reformed and Christian Re-                    No, my intention is not to tilame anyone from that
         formed parents are concerned, this difference centers            point of view. I simply, call attention to certain un-
        on the very fundamental and key subject of the grace              deniable facts and the inevitable consequences of those
         of God, more particular or common and general. In                facts.
         the second place, it stands to reason that the instr&-              The third possibility, therefore, is very plainly that
         tion will be controlled by that element in the school            of Protestant Reformed Christian schdols.  Formaily,
         society ~which is able to maintain an a&iv? meajority.           they are quite the same in character as the Christian
         Its conception of the fear of ihe Lord, its conception           schools mentioned above, of course. A gr6up of par-
       -. of what Ch?ist-ian education really is, will control .and , ents freelv unite in the maintainance and support of
                                                                                    "
         color the instruction given in the. school, will control= a private school for the education of their own chil-
         the personnel of the teaching staff, will control the            dren. The difference is that the society is homogen-
         whole school. The o`nly other possibiIity is that `you           eous denominationally speaking, that'is, all the parents
         have a compromise-s&+001,  with a-teaching staff made are df one denomination, the ProtestantRef.  Churches.
       -- up of teachers from different denominations, `each              They are therefore able-to maintain `a' school exactly
         teaching according to his own conge$ion of Christian             in  harm&y with their convictions, and to provide
         education, or bverlooking differences. The `resilt is their children with the instruction which they as par-
         miserable from any viewpoint: you  either have a                 efits would give in the home, were they practically
        school that halts between two or more opinions, or you            able to do so. . They are able to maintain schools
        have a  school that is  colorl_ess,  built. on some very          which are specifically Christian, which are founded
         broad religious principles, a lowest common denomin-             on Scripture pureiy, according to their earnest con;
  ator. religiously.                                                      vlictions, schools which are indeed controlled from be-
            IAS far as actual facts are concerned, we know                ginning to etid, only and always by the spiritual prin-
         what  the result  has been. Nowhere has  a group of              ciple of the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of
         Protestant Reformed parents been able t6 gain con-               wisdom. .
         trol of any of the ,Christian  -schools. Nowhere have
         Protestant RefoFmed parents ever been able to provide
         any of the Christian schools- with! a completely Pro-                           *                      -a  -
I .      testant Reformed teaching staff, thoroughly Protest=.                Those are the possibilities in theory.


                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                 503
                          _
     The substance of: our .answer  will have to wait for
 &other issue of our Sticn,da~d  Bearer.                                           PERISCQPE
     But eve;1 now let us ask what method must be used
 in answering the question. Shall we view it practic-
 tally? I know, then you cari fiTid many objections in                     Chawch              Menzbe#hip.
 regard to all three. I may ,give you many a practical                            The Christian Heraid, a liberal reli&ous  magazine,
reason for rejecting public  educ&ion.                   I- may point      recently conducted ,another annual survey of .. church
 out-that  the company in which we place our children                      membership. The following figu$es are presented :
 is. bad, etc., etc. Someone else may be able. to heap
 contempi  on thp Christian schools, as some do, excus-                           Church membership in tlie United States rose to
 ing themselves by saying `that the conduct of Chris-                      85,705,290  in  1950,,a record-making 55.9 percent of
 tian school children is worse than that of public school                  the population. The total membership was up 2,950,
 pupils,, etc., etc. And a third party may see all kinds                   987 over the previoys year. Lest yqu should become
 of bears on the way to Protestant Reformed education.                     too joyful, however, we ,would  point out that included
                                                                           in these membership rolls are many churches that we
     That is the wrong procedure. IThe question, - and                     cduld not even hono?  with tke name church, and in-
 this is true in regard  to all three Ipossibilities, - is                 cluded among the members are those whose names are
 one of  pl"irz+ke. And practice must not control prin-                    inscribed and nothing more.
 ciple ; but. principle must guide practice.                                      Taking the .above into consideratiod we- quote, the
     And I am sure that when the. principle is applied,                    following Christian Herald figures :
 the question falls. away. You have but one possibility
 left.                                                                            Protestant membership. rose 1,409,045 to a tottil of
                                                                           -50,083,868, tin increase `df 2.89 percent. ovkr the pre-
                     <                       H. C.  Hoeksetia.             vious year.  _
                                                                _-                Roman Catholics increased 859,784 to a total of
                                                                           28;470,092  up 3.1 percent.
                               pJ              *          I~                      Jewish congregations, on which there were no new
                                                                           stati&>cs remained listed at 5,000,OOO.             0
                MC&NING  AND' EVE'NING  :                                         The Southern Baptists who added 318,624 members
                                                                           in 1950, had the biggest gain-of any single Protestant
             Lord of the morning,                                          denomination.
                Cloudy sky or sunshine,                                           The Methodist chirch  still is the laigest Protest&
          _  Make Thy gracious  smile                                      denomination. Its membership rose 143,078 to a total
               Its radiallee shed on me ;                                  of  8;935,647. Its membership gain was the second
             Feeling Thy presence                   '                      highest.
               At my first awaking,                                                                 *  *  * .*
           , Make my heart respond
               With joy at finding Thee.                                   The Revised ,5$anclard Version of the Bible.
             God of the evening,                                                  Thomas Nelson and Sons, publishers of the revised
               Starlit sky or storm filled, '                              Bible, have revealed that there will be nearly l,OOO,OOO
             Let Thy quiet blessing                                        copies printed in the first edition of the revised stan-
               Steak its peace to me.                                      dard version of the  Bib'le.  The  -retail  value of this
             Having Thy presence                                           pr+ting orderj the largest ever placed for `a full-sized
               Known each waking hour -.                                   book by a commercial publishing house, is more than
             May my:life this day                                          $5,ooo,opo.
               Have won "well-done" from Thee.                                    This is the revision which has been criticized as'
                                      Edith Barker SwigaFt                 being not only the work of modern, liberal scholars,
                                                                           but of revealing this  fact in its failure to  ttike into
                                                                           account the truth that the Bible is-verbally inspired.
                    aa&n*~aAP*                                  .,~ , .


   Sin has `many- tools, but a lie is the ha&e which From the Synods.                                   .
 fits them all;                                                                   ,Christian Reformed :' `Tge Synod ofthe Christian

                                        i
                                                                             -                                     .-


   50h                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D .   B E A R E R   <

   Reformed Churches decided among other things the terians in the  ycafs  1860 and following. This, of
   following :                                                          course, with the idea, of removing any pdstiible  offense
          1. -Decided to withdraw                                       with a view to eventual merger.
                                      f~y-mi  the `National Associa-
   t i o n   o f   Evangelicals.                                           In this- connection  it: is- interesting to  sead the
          2. ,Interpreted  their 1928 ,&and on worldly amuse- Southern Presbyterian  Journal and what it has to
m e n t s . In this interpretative statement Synod cle-                 say regarding this issue. `In its exp?essions  it rather
   clared that 1928 was not legislating on any and every                cleal.1.y states that the issues of 1560 ff. aPe no longer
   use of the  well-known  trio, dancing, theater-attendance            alive bui they raise, instead the far greater issues -of
   and card-playing but warning against worldliness in                  the Auburn Rffirm@ion-of  1924 (in which over twelve
   general and especitilly  as i-t comes to manifestation in            hundred Northern Presbyterian ministers insisted that
   these three. The- degree of .partiicipation  which would             it was not necessary to believe in the virgin birth,
   con,stitute "midemeanos and  offgnsive conduct" was                  the vicarious atonement, the bodily resurrection, the
   left to the judgment of the individual consistories.                 working of miracles and the Inspiration of Scripture,
                                                                        in order to be a minister in this denomination) and-the
          3. Appointed Dr. Spoelhof, a faculty-member of                heresies which it  contains. In this connection the
   the College, to become president of'the colleg&, which               spectre of Dr. Machen, founder of the Orthodox Pres-
   appointment was accepted.                                            byterian Church is again rising before the Northern-
          4. Appointed Dr; C. Van Til from Westminster to               Presbyterian Church from which he was expelled. All
   a n&w chair of "Recent trends in theology" at ,Calvin these things are urged by the gY:oup in the Southern
   Seminary. This appointme& will be considered for a                   Presbyterian Church as reasons for not merging with
   $tiaf' atid the professor-elect will decide next year.               the Northern Presbyterians. IOf this group the voice
          5. Made  a special place  iti the Seminary for re-            is the Southern. Presbyterian Journal.
   tiring Col,lege president, Dr. Schultze.          -
          6. Decided to buy land and build a $100,000. de-                                     :p  *z :i:  :t
   dominational headquarters in Grand-Ra'pids. This will                            -.
   be located on Fuller Avenue across from our our First                   Associate Reformed Presbderian Church in Geti-
   Protestant Reformed Church.                                          eral- Synod `decided not to merge with any other group
          7. Among other items, it was decided to discourage            at present. iA plan fox its `merger with the Southern
   Boy Scout membership instead' of encouraging the                     Presbyterian Church had been approved by a prelimin-
   membership in the Boys Club movement. To appoint                     ary committee.
   a negro evangelist, a graduate of Westminster Semin-                                                           J. Howerzyl.
   ary, to do follow-up work for the Back to God Hour
   among the negroes and decided to wait one year to
   find a successor to Dr:Volbeda  of Calvin Seminary in
   the field of practical. theology. It was decided to                                          -jq               -
   appoint Dr. Hendriksen for an additional year instead
   of- giving him a life appointment in the field of. Ne,w
   Testament at the seminary. During the ensuing year                                     SONGS IN THE NLGHT
   the question of methodology and content of the courses
    will be investigated. The charge or suspicion which                      Well He knows that affliction is needed ;
    was voiced in several places concerning the allegedly                    He has a wise purpose in view,
   socialistic leanings of professors at Calvin was evi-                     And in the dark valley He whispers -
    dently not substantiated. At least those against whom                    "SHereaRer" you'll know what I  db'".
   the finger was raised were aquitted and reappointed.
                                                                             ,So we'll follow wherever He leadeth,
                             * :c  :k  *                  c                  Let the path be dreary or bright;
                                                                            For we've proved that our God can give comfort,
                                                                             ,Our God can `give "Songs in the night".
   Presbytwian USA.                            _                          `,  .'
          The only item of interest to us at the moment is                                  *manaEla!3*
   the decision df the General Ass&mbly of this church to
    send a l.etter of repentance and confession concerning                 Give ndt from,.the  top of your purse, but from the
    the injustices perpetrated upon the Southern Presby-                bottom of your heart..


