       V O L U M E   X X V I I I                   APRIL   15.  1952   - GRAND  ~PIDS,  &hCHiGAN                      NUMBER  14

                                                                           van Maria, uit wien Hij zeven duivelen geworpen had ;
                                                                           aan de vrouwen op hun terugreize van het ledige graf ;
                                                                           aan Petrus die zoo bitterlijk geweend had op dien
                                                                           vreeselijken Vrijdag; -aan de tien apostelen daar ze
       Jczus' Veexkjning aan de EnAausga&zrs                               vergaderd  waren  achter gesloten deuren; een week
                                                                           later ook.  aan Thomas  ;  aan velen op  e&r tijd ;  aan
                   "En  zij  dwoilgen  hem, zeggende:  blijf, met ons,     Jakobus, den discipel, den apostel van Jezus. die de
                want het $%ij den avoad en de djg is gedaald. ,En          eerste zou zijn in het martelaarschap; en ook bij het
                hij girg in, om met hen te blijve&"-Lukas  24:29.          meer van Tiberias, waar Petrus in zijn ambt hersteld
       Zoo zijn we dan weer toegekomen aan de herden-                      wordt' door een liefhebbenden Heiland ; aan de glooi-
  king van het heuglijke, historische feit,  dat Jezus                     ing van den ,Olijfberg.
  Christus opgestaan is uit de dooden !                                        Doch hier zal Hij Zich laten zien aan twee discipe-
        Het was de avond van dien dag der dagen. En len, waarvan we slechts Ben kennen bij name.
  wat een dag was het geweest voor deze twee  dis-
  cipelen van Jezus!                                                                                a  *  *  *
       Met verband  van mijn tekst doet ons iets van hun                       Kleopas en een onbekende discipel.
  ervaring zien. Dkze. Wee hadden Jeruzalem verlaten                           Beiden zijn discipelen, volgelingen van Jezus. Bei-
  na Petrus' wederkomst van het graf, doch v66r Maria's                    den vervuld van  dezelfde gedachte  ; beiden vervuld
  b:odschap dat ze Jezus gezien had. Dat blijkt  im-                       van den zelfden Geest.       Hun gelaatsuitdrukking is
  mers  uit hun gesprek, dat ze op den weg met Jezus                       verslagen, bedrukt. Laat  ens wat luisteren naar hen.
  gehad hadden. En toen waren ze maar weer terugge-                        Het gaat over ,Jezus, den Nazarener.
  keerd  naar het vlek Emmaus, waar zij woonden.                               0 hoe zij Hem beminden! Hij was het immers ge-
        Het hoofdthema van dien doorluchtigen dag zai                      weest  die gedurende de .laatste paar jaren hen onder-
  to: in der eeuwigheid zijn: De Heere is waarlijk op- wezen had in de dingen van het wondere Koninkrijk
  gestaan en is van Simon gezien!                                          Gods. En zij behoorden tot die uitgelezen  schare in
  '     Doch `zoo stond het nog niet voor de aandacht van                  Israel die hoopten  op de verlossing van het volk Gods.
  deze twee discipelen. Dat is ook overduidelijk gewor-                        Die twee konden bet buiten Jezus niet stellen. Ge
  den in dat bewuste gesprek op den weg. Ze twijfelden                     kunt zoo goed merk.en,.  dat Jezus lchristus hun geheele
aan het verhaal der vrouwen; ze twijfelden bij het                         leven vervult. Wij hadden gehoopt, zeggen ze. Degene
~ ledige graf ; en er `was immers even later ndg groote                    in wien zij al hun vermaak  in gehad hadden is nu weg.
I twijfel bij  66n van hen: Thomas? En  tech gloort  or                    En op welk een vreeselijke wijze was Hij weggegaan!
~ zco iets als hoop in hunne harten. Immers ze zijn vol                    Dat vreeselijke kruis!
van ,Jezus en spreken over Hem.. En als die Vreemde-                           Dan was daar de verloochening' van. Petrus, en hun
 -1ing niets schijnt te weten van alle de dingen die daar                  eigen verzaking, dat vreemde verlaten van Jezus. Ze
  in Jeruzalem geschied zijn, dan kunnen ze zich niet hadden Hem eindelijk allen den rug toegekeerd.
  indenken hoe iemand die te Jeruzalem vertoefde niets                         En tech beminden- zij -Jezus,  dat is overduidelijk
 wist van die dingen.                                                      uit alles. Ge kunt het immers duidelijk merken, dat ze
       Daarom was het noodig, dat de Heere Jezus aan                       vol van Hem zijn, al is het ook, dat ze spreken.van  een
Zijne discipelen verscheen. En zoo  Werd Hij gezien hoop die geen hoop meer is. Ze spreken zichzelf eigen-


     314                                    T H E   STAN,DARD   B E A R E R

     lijk tegen. Het staat gelijk met den gee& van iekeren       lieflijke woorden! Maar let er nu op, hoe verstoord  -'
     psalm die klaagt : Waar is `God op Wien gij bouwdet   die- twee zijn. Kleopas ziet dezen vreemdeling ver-
.     en aan Wien ge Uw zaak vertrouwdet? Er was groote          stoord  aan, want hij spreekt eigenlijk tamelijk norsche
     donkerheid, duisternis, droefheid op klaarlichten dag woorden : Zijt gij all&n een vreemdeling te Jeruzalem,
     in hunne ziel.                                              en  weet niet  dk  dingen die deze dagen daarin  ge-
            En terwijl ze daarover spraken met  elkander.op  schied zijn?
      den weg is er een derde Wandelaar tot hen genaderd.           Bat is een  norsch   antwoord:  Maar we moeteh
            Er is hier een samenloop van omstandigheden. Z e verstaan, dat hunne dogen  gehouden waren, zoodat ze
     spreken over Jezus en Hij komt en voegt Zich bij hen.       Hem niet herkenden Het gewone vleeschelijke,  na-
            Zalig om door Jezus gevonden te worden. 0, waren     tuurlijke, aardsc.he oog kan den opgestanen Heiland
      alle onze'gesprekken  dien kant heen.                      niet zien. Dan moet er eerst een wonder plaatsgrij-
       $praken  we dezen dag der dagen over  .Jezus?  En0 pen in onze oogen. Jezus moet verschijnen, zal Hij
     zijn we vol van Hem? Kunnen we het zonder Hem               nu gezien worden.
      niet stellen ? Hebben we verlangende,  hun.kerencle           Doch let op het` lieflijk, trekkende van Jezus:'
     harten naar Hem? Hopen wij' ook op dien Nazarener  ?        Welke ? Welke dingen?
      En was veel misverstand  bij de jEmmausgangers,  da&r         0, Jezus lokt lieflijk. Dat doet  Hij "altijd met Zijn
     lijdt geen twijfel  aan.  Er, was  veel misverstand, bij    volk. Hij wil gelegenheid geven om het geprangde
      voorbeeld, aangaande zijn Persoon,  Gods weg en werk hart te verlichten door al wat in dat hart stormt  uiting
     met Jezus, maar er was veel liefcie tot Hem. Dat kunt  te geven.
     ge vandaag ook  soms vinden bij  menschen:~   Er zijn          En dan komt er een stortvloed van woorden, en
      eenvoudige zielen die niet veel weten `van de -dogma-      het is alles verkeerd. Doch dit eene is goed: ze toonen
      tiek. Ze zouden geen examen kunnen nemen in de leer,       dat zij gedurig en uitsluitend bezig zijn met God en
     en promoveeren. ,Ge hebt van die ongeletterde men-          met Zijn Zoon. En dat weet Jezus, want Hij had bet.
      schen in Gods kerk. Maar ze zijn vol van liefde tot        Zelf in hunne harten gewrocht.
      God. Ze hebben levende belangstelling in'God en God-          Jezus vraagt eigenlijk naar den bekenden weg. `Hlj
      delijke zaken. Het allerbelangrijkste is steeds het on-    wist tot in de kleinste bizonderheden wat zij in hun
      derwerp van hun gesprek. Ook al is het somtijds aver-      hart hadden. Maar Hij wil hun gelegenheid  geven om
     i rechts verkeerd. ZOO ook is bet immers hier? Ze heb-      hun ,hart uit te storten. Welnu, ze doen.het.
      ben het geheel en al mis aangaande Jezus, maar ze             En clan komt dat bestraffen en dat onderwijzen
     hebben Hem lief. En dat is de hoofdzaak. Niet alsof         van Jezus. Ge moet .wel verstaan, ,dat alles uitgaat
      we een vrijbrief wilden schrijven voor de domheid aan-     van Jezus. Hij zocht en vend deze twee. Nu zal Hij
      gaande Goddelijke zaken. We  moeten  studeeren,  leeren,, hen bestraffen en onderwijzen; en straks zal Hij hen
      en ijverig Gods Woord bestudeeren. Maar met dat  troosten  en  zaligen.
      al behoeven we de grootste der Goddelijke deugden,
      en dat is de liefde Gods. Welnu, die deugd hebben deze                           a  *  *  *
      twee Emmausgangers. Daar lijdt ook geen`twijfel               Hij wandelt mee. Hij openbaart Zich niet direct.
      aan.  Doch vergeet nimmer: dit is  blijk van de  op-       Let  daar op.    Er zit  schoon onderwijs in  dat  feit.
      zoekende en vindende liefde van God .in Jezus Chris-       Hij houdt hunne oogen, dat ze Hem niet onderkennen.
      tus. Dat is het wat we bier zien. Hun droefheid, enz.      Ze zagen den Heere der heerlijkheid- met. Hij is nog
     kwam op uit, de trekkende  liefde Gods' in Jezus Chris-     een Vreemdeling` voor. hen.
      tus. Ziet ge niet, dat we van nature nooit zoo zouden         .Maar' Jezus doet datgene waar ze het meest be-
      spreken.  van Jezus zooals deze twee het gedaan had-       hoefde aan hebben: Hij opent de Heilige Sohrift voor
      den? Dat komt van God. En ziet ge dien derden              hen. Ze  moeten  leeren om eerst te gelooven  ,en dan
      Wandelaar niet? lL,etterlijk zoekt Jezus die twee,  en     mogen ze ook zien. Daarom komt er eerst een scherpe
      Hij vindt ze ook. En Hij is gekomen om Zijn werk te        bestraffing.
      voltooien. Er klinkt een wereld van zaligheid in de           10, Jezus is een wijze `medicijnmeester.
      eenvoudige woorden van het verhaal :       Hij voegde         :Gij dwazen ! En tragen van, hart om te gelooven !
      Zich bij hen. Of, letterlijk: "dat  .Jezus zelf bij hen       Hij ,wil het kwaad kerst wegsnijden, vooraleer de
      kwam en met hen ging !"                                    druppelen van Goddelijke medicijn hun harte zal
                             *  *,  72 a                         heelen. En zoo volgt Jezus de Bijbelsche lijn van  el-
                                                                 lende, verlossing en dankbaarheid. Zoo is het in de.
            Wat redenen zijn dit, die gij wandelende.  onder     geheele Schrift, en zoo, zien we het hier. Hij zal hen
      elkander verhandelt, en waarom-ziet  gij droevig?. Wat     eerst bestraffen, en' dan gaat Hij hen onderwijzen.


                                                                      . . "._
                                    `j?HE  STANDARD  BEARER                                                          3i5

En let er ook op, dat Hij niet op Zichzelf wijst; neen,     weg, en ginds zien we cl,e eerste huizen van het vlek
maar Hij wijst op de Heilige Bchrift. .                     dat  genaamq werd:  Emmaus.  Nag, eenige weinige
    Dat is eigen-lijk de hoofzaak in heel deze verschij-    sehreden, en ze kwamen bij het huis van een hunner.
ning. De k&k van Christus moet in liefde zich vast-         Ziet hu sterk op Jezus: Hij hield Zich alsof Hij ver- .
klemmen  aan het Woord vah  IGod. Dat is de van             der gaan  Wilde. 0, wat ondoorgrondelijke wijsheid
God gewilde weg voor Ons i? deze bedeeling. Het on-         Gods. Hij wil ons altijd uitlokken. Hij wil bewust
gestoorde  zien komt styaks. Tot het Wbord  en de ge- `en  willend gediend en bemind  worden.  En dan komt
.tuig'enis. Tot de wet en de profeten ! En als we zoo       het wondere dwingen van Jezus. Deze twee doen ons
niet spreken zal er geen dageraad voor ons zijn.            denken aan Jakob bij den Jabbok. Hij had kracht en
    Hij begint met Mozes. Wel, dat zijn vijf boeken.        sterkte bij God. Hij gedroeg zich vorstelijk met God.
En Hij vervolgt met de Profeten. En dat is een groot        Dat  doen deze twee ook.  .Jezus houdt  Zich  also-E Hij
stuk Heilige Schriftuur. En dan in alle de Schriften.       verder gaan zoude. Welnu, deze twee doen eigenlijk
 Wat een lalige tekst. Dat heeft nog nooit een domiee       hetzelfde. Ik bedoel, dat zij ook niet  recht  er  voor
aangedurfd, om te zeggen : Mijn, tekst vindt ge in de2      uitkomen waarom zij Hem verzoeken binnen te treden.
Bijbel, den geheelen Bijbel. Mijn tekst is eenvoudig Ze-zeggeti:  het is bij den avond, en de dag is gedaald I
 Gods Woord en het  geh&ele'Woord.  Neen, dat doeb          Alsof dat de reden was waarom ze Jezus uitnoodigen
niet  .&n perdiker. En dat hoeft ook niet. En  tech         om binnen te treden! Wat  ,de  reden dan was? Ge
zit er een wonderschoone les in voor ons allen. Elke        weet het antwoord., Om des Woords wil, dat Hij ge-
preek moet bet-voile.  Woord Gods zien ; we moeten in       sproken had, kleefde hunne ziel Hem achteraan. En
elke predikatie den vollt5n raad IGods verkondigen en       Jezus last Zich overreden: Hij stapt met hen het huis
dan vanuit het bizondere o6gpunt van een tekst dien         binnen. Dra zitten ze aan tafel, want het is tijd voor
we verkiezen. En dat ddet Jezus hier ook. Hij haalt         het avondeten, de maaltijd der intieme gemeenschap
de Schrift niet te -hooi en te gras aan. Neen, maar         in ,Oostersche  landen.
hier is het bezondere oogpunt van Jezus: Moest de              Als van zelf neemt  Jeztis de  plaa$ in van den
Christus niet alle deie  dingen lijden, en  alzoo  Zijne    Gastheer. Hij neemt brood; Hij ziet hemelwaarts en
heerlijkhei$  ingaan? Dat is het hart van Jezus' preek zegent de spijze ! En dan geschiedt het : `hunne oogen
op weg naar Emmaus.                                         w&den geopend, en  zij.  kenden Hem, en Hij kwam
    Wat een_ preek ! En wat een Prediker ! En wat weg uit hui gezicht !
een tekst! Alles is hier wonderlijk. ,En terwijl Jezus         Hoe k6?t, hoe sober, en tech : hoe onuitsprekelijk.
predikt past de Heilige Gee&t het toe. Want ze geloo-       troostrijk en  zaligen$ voor  allen die  iezus hebben .
ven. Want hunne harten branden in het biqnenste van         leeren liefhebben. Ho6 kunnen we de overgroote blijd-
hen.  Want de  droeve   trekken verdwijnen om plaats        schap  v&n deze twee verstaan.  Zooeven  zat Hij  nbg
te  maken voor stralende  blijdschap, dat van  6.unne       aan met hen, en xu is de stoel ledig. Daar ligt het' ge-
oogen en aangezicht straalt. `En ge kunt de preek van       broken brooch. nog voor hen, bewijs van `Jezus plaatse- .
Jezus nog meer verengen door te zeggen, dat de hoofd-       lijke verschijning. Maar Hij is er niet meer. En let
gedachte is het lGoddelijke  moeten  qor Jezus. lOveral     er nu op, dat het heengaan van Jezus hen niet be-
op den weg van Bethlehem's stal en kribbe tot hef;          droeft. En waarom  niet? Ze zijn vol van bet, Woord
vreeselijke kruis en wat daarachter ligt : overal had       Gods, het Woord dat Hij hun geopend had op den weg.
Jezus dat Goddelijke moeten gezien. lOvera was het          Let er op, dat het eerste wat zij ieggen over dat Woord
geweest : niet Mijn wil, maar Uw wii geschiede! En          is. "Was ons hart niet brandende in ons, als Hij tot
dat moet de kerk  weten, en daarom onderwijst de            ons sprak `op den weg  e%  els  Hij  on.s de  Soh?+ften
Heere hier eerst deze twee discipelen. Maar Idan is         opende ?' Als we het Woord van God in het hart heb-
het ook voor de kerk van Christus van alle eeuweti:         ben dan -kan geen droefheid  meer in ons vertoeven.
    En zoo is ,ook voor ons vandaag. En ,dan dringt de      Dan hebben we alles wat we wezenlijk behoeven.
vraag zich als vanzelf aan ons op: hebben we ondei-            Komt, laat ons naar Jeruzalem terugkeeren en
wijs van Jezus ontvangen? Heeft  -Hij U eerst  be:          laat ons deze  heerlijke troost ook hun mededeelen.
straft, en dan opgebouwd? ,Ge kunt het weten. Want             En terzelfder ure opstaande gaan zij den langen
overal waar dat geschiedt zijn er de brandende harten.      weg op naar Jeruzalem. En bij de broeders aankomen-
-Zoo was het op weg naar Emmaus, en zoo is het van-         de, ontvangen ye nie*t eens de gelegenheid om eerst
daag.                                                       te spreken. Ze  worden  bij de deur begroet met den
                      *  d a  *                             blijden kreet van de kerk aller eeuwen: De Heer is
                                                            waarlijk opgqtaan, en is van Simon gezien!
                                                                       /'
   Wel, we aijn  toegekombn.   aan het einde van  den                                                   6;.  vos.
                                                                 !


                                                    I             `rjm  $_TANDAR'D   B E A R E R                                              -.


                       THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                E:D  I.T.0  It I A  L
        Semi-monthly, except monthly' in July and August
     Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association`
           Box 124, Station C., Grand Rapids 6, Micaigan                                                                          A. ttTeachr's" Impressions
                  ' EDITOR : Rev.. Herman Hoeksema                                                                    The. reader will please notice that the word "tea-
     Communications relative t3 contents should be addressed '                                                    cher" appears in-the heading above this editorial be-
     to Rev. H. Hoekskma, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand
     Rapids `7, Michigan.                                                                                         tween quotation marks. This is, of course, deliberate.
     All matter relative  tb  subscriptiop  should be addressed                                                   Having consented to write the editorial in this and the
     to Mr. J.  Bouwmzn,  1350 Giddings Ave., S. E., Grand  j                                                     following number of the Standard Bearer during Rev.
     Rapids `7, Michigan,. Announcements and Obituaries must
     be-mailed to the above address and will be published at a                                                    Hoeksema's short stay in Redlands, California, I
     fee of $1.00 for each notice.                                                                                thought it might be of interest to our readers to write
     Renewals:- Unless a definite request for discontinuance                                                      on the above named subject.
     is received, it is assumed that the subscriber wishes the                                                        I do not write as a teacher. The  rfason for this
     subscription to continue without the formality of a re-
     newal order.                                                                                                 is obvious. I am not a teacher. This explains why
                    -Subscription Price: $3.00 per year
                             . .                                                                                  the wqrd "teacher" appears between quotation marks.
     Entered as Sec'ond  Class mail at Grand Rapids, Michigan                                                     I am writing as a minister' who,@ temporarily filling
                                                                                                                  `a vacancy ir+ our own Christi,pn school. Nevertheless,
                                                                                                                  if bur readers will kindly. bear- this in mind, I trust
                                                                                                                  that they will not consider it strange on my pa,rt if
                                     -----I:---                                                                   I feel inclined to pass on to  them some of  the. im-
                                                                                                                  pressions which my teaching has left upon  me. In
                                                                                                   .-             fact, they will understand that this subject came
                       `L                                                                                         rather  spontalleously  to me. I repeat, however: I
                                    C O N 'T E N T S                                                              write these words as a minister. The reader will
                                                                                                                  realize, I am sure, that our experience this season
MEDITATION-                                                                                                       in our own ,Christitin school has made certain definite
        Jesus' Verschijnitlg  aan  de  Emmausgangers                   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313    impressions upon me. `Of them I &sh to write.
           Rev. G. Vos                                                                                                Teachifig  iii our own achristian  school has been a
EDITORIALS-                                                I                                                      wonderful experience.for us. Feeling rather depressed
        A "Teacher's"  Impressiom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  L                     . . . . .
0                                                                                                        316, .last summer when a season of0 idleness and inactivity
           Rev. H.  Veldman                                                                                       loomed before us, the Lord has provided `wonderfully.
THE   TFCPLE   KNOWLBDGE-                                                                                         It is indeed a wonderful opportunity to teach seventy
        An  Expositi&of  the Heidelberg Catechism .  : .  .`. .                            . . . . 319  ' to eighty of our own covenant children from day to
           Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                       ,day. Besides, how often have not my wife and I corn,-
                                                                                                                  manted  during these months pn the wonderful and for
I N  H IS   FEAR-
        Looking To The Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                . . . . . . . 325      us hidden ways of the Lord? It is not even two and
           Rev: H. C. Hoeksema                                                                                    one half years ago that the undersigned was minister
                                                                                                                  of our church in Kalamazoo. Since that time we have
FROM HOLY  WRIT-                                                                                                  administered the Word of ,God to the congregation of
        Exposition of John  18:4-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327            Hamilton in Canada arjid have as' of now completed
         .i&v. G. C. Lubbers                                                                                      almost thirty weeks of instruction in our Adams St.,
THE DAY OF  SHADOWS-                                                                                     329 Christian  .school. All this has occurred within two and
        The  Covenant  of Sinai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .               `one half years. Had anyone told me during the sum-
        The Manna of the  Desert Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331                               mer of 1949 that this might happen I would surely
             Rev. G. M. Ophoff                                                                                    -have regarded it as utterly fantastic. Yet, such has
PERISCOPE-                                                                                                        been the Lord's way with us. Why? To be sure, we
        What Next? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..-........ :........               3s2' may. not pry curiously into the  seciets  of' the Lord.
                 Rev. J. Howerzyl                                                                                 One thing, however, is sure in our consciousness:  Our
                                                                                                                  way from Kalamazoo to Hamilton and then to our own
SIO$S  ZANGEN-
        De Lofzang der Liefde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..~............... 334                             Christian school on Adams St., has surely been the
           `Rev. G. Vos                                                       '                                    the way of the Lord. He led us all the way. We did
                                                                                                                  not seek it.


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          317
                                                                                 .
       This teaching experience, I say, has been a won-      am told (and this has been also my experience during
derful experience for us. 15, not only gave us the op- this school season) that, normally (there  *are,  of
portunity to "forget'" our sad experiences in Canada;        course,  exc&ptio&  to this even as there are  excep-
but we might be positively engaged in the daily in-          tions to every rule), there ark as many A's as E's i!l
struction  of our children. What a field this is ! What      a class and the greatest percentage of the children
an opportunity for those who would make this pro-            are constituted of C's, C, we understand, denotes a-
fession,  their life's work !                               verage ability.     Generally speaking, a teacher will
       But, I wish to say something about my  impres-        have as many brilliant as dull pupils, whereas the
sions. In the first place,' I. Am impressed and amaz-        majority of his students will range between an A and
ed at the `natural ability of the child. On the one          an E. --Of course, .he is compelled, to deal with chil-
hand, what an amazing advance from the time the              dren who could attain unto a higher grade but waste
  .
child enters school until he completes, let us. say, his     their time and simply are content to "get through
eighth grade. At the time he' enters school he cannot -- school". We will return to this nresentlv. This, how-
                                                                                                         "
`read or write.  Is it not amazing what that child is        ever, does not alter the fact that the distribution of
able to do after eight short years? It would be inter-       talents is very obvious also among our children. For
esting to collect all the books which the child has stu-     some it is obviously impossible to get a high mark;
died while in  school and which that child has  mas-         others study-easily, score an A without much effort,
. tered.' What does this. teach us? This, that the child     and have time to spal"e.
is a wbnderful  creation  of the Lord, Bnd also that the        Why is this?. .The answer to this question is `self-
days of our youth are the time when we `must be in-          evident. All children are not alike. The Lord, Crea-
structed in and learn those things which will equip          tor of all things and also of our children, is solely
us for life's  task in the midst of the church and  of      responsible for this phenomenon. We read in I Cor.
the world. The Scriptures admdnish us that we must           12 :29 : "Are all apostles 7 are all prophets? are all tea-
remember our Creator in the days of our youth. This         chers ? are all workers of miracles P Have all the gifts
sur'ely  implies that our youth is peculiarly adapted       of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all inter-
to our remembrance of our Creator. Learning comes           pret ?" `This also applies to the natural abilities of
naturally to a child. This accounts for the fact that       our children. Their tastes and aspirations, likes and
when we become older we~are often sorry that we did         dislikes, and  severi abilities are characterized by
not take better acivantage  of the time when we were        wide differences and diversities. Mental acumen and  I
you'ng. Having become older we find it more diffi-          physical prowess, the desire to study and the inclina-
cult to study. We become "rusty" and the reflexes            tion tp ,grapple  with the soil, etc., characterize also
of our mind do not respond as they did in the days of       the children of the covtnant;  each one is honorable
our youth.. It is; therefore, when we are young that        and profitable when sanctified by the Spirit and
we must concentrate on the  busi-ness  of absorbing          used in the s&vice of -the living God.
instruction.    Hence, reckoning,- of course, with the       ' Tliis, we understand, has much to teach us. On
adaptibility of the child, we inust not feel too sorry       the other `hand we must be very careful to note a
for him when he must spend a little time  with his           child's' inclination and ability. None knows a child
books. We must not be too easy on him. Train the            better than his parent. None is in a better position
child in the. way he m&t go and, when he shall have         to study and understand a child thah his parent. And,
become old, he will not depart therefrom. This="tKain-      because%his is true, that parent is called by the Lord
ing" may at times imply that pressure must -be Used         to study his child or children .and atit accordingly if
to compel him to study.                                     at all possible.' -Some parents, for example, have de-
       On the other hand, however, in connection with       termined with r&pect to  their child or children, al-
this natural ability of the child, there is one more        ready in their infancy, that, they shall become, let us
thing upon which I wish to' comment. It is indeed           say, a minister. And they were compelled to taste
wonderful how much a child can learn in a short per-        disappoinltment.     On the other hand, we must not
iod of time. It is, however, also wonderful to note         become bitter at  oui children simply because they
the differences between the various  cl$ldrefi as far       fail. to get a high grade in their studies. We may
as their natural abilities are concerned. All children      and must reprimand them  tihen they fail to make
are not alike. Variation. characterizes all the works       profitable use of the talents which the Lord has giv-
of God's hands. This also applies to the natural abil-      en them. The fact remains, however, that some chil-
ity of our children. The distribution 6f talents, also      dren must struggle through school: They do the best
among the children, is surely an amaiing `thing, *, I       they can and are'h?ppy when they receipe a C. Such

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

 Children must be encouraged and be given to under-          course, is self-evident. Inasmuch as it is oui calling
 &and that they walk in the ways of the Lord if they         (and this also applies  to. our children) to walk as
use the talents which .the Lord has &en them in His          God's covenant people, and als'o because of the fact
 service and to the best & their ability. And the par-       that'our children are "holy sinners" with but a very
 ents must b.e content with- this- Divine distribution       small principle of the new obedience, it lies in the
 of gifts.  .We are  ofttimes  irked'because the child&      nature of the case that the discipline. of the child con-
6f our lieighbor  record higher marks than our .child- stitutes one of the chief tasks of the training of the
 ren. .We must be satisfied with the place which the         child. I refer particularly to the fact that only our
 `Lord has ordained for them and the talents and gifts       children. (,God's covenant' children) can be disciplined.
 which He has assigned them.                                    The word "discipline" is very commonly used a-
  Another impression  Which I have received refers,          mong us as signifying chastisement, punishment, cor-
 generally, to the cooperation between the classroom         rection. And, the word can c&tainly be used in this
 and the' parents. A few years ago, when the under-          sense.    However, we all, I am sure, recognize the
 signed taught `history in Kalamazoo, a parent called        word "disciple" in the word "discipline." A disciple'
 me and iqcl.uir&d why it was his child received such        is a follower, one who receives instruction and walks
 a low mark on his report- card, whereas the marl&           accordingly.    Discipline means really to disciple a
oil the  p&pers  which he brought home were all good.        person, to train one to be disciple ; this, we under-
 Of course, that parent soon saw the light. That             stand, may include chastisement and correction as.
 child simply did not bring all his papers home. The         well as instruction. In this article we lay the em-
 same also .applies to our experiences during the pre-       phasis upon the idea of chastisement and correction.
sent school year. Many of our children do not bring             IOnly our children can be disciplined. Or, if you
 &l their papers home. They have, of course, been            will, only the children of the Lord can. be disciplined.
 told repeatedly to do so. The child,. for obvious rea-      We .say this not from the viewpoint of the parent or
 sons, finds it `expedjent  to destroy some of the papers    the teacher; This, too, of course, is true.  <Only the
which are returned to him.        The marks which he         Christian parent and teacher can discipline the child.
 receives on his report card rest upon a cold, mathg         True discipline must be rooted in love, must be an
 matical basis. It.is well that parents cooperate with -act of love. It must be rooted in the love bf God. This
 the schopl also in this respect. 1                          lies-in the very nature. of the case. We do not trd;ly
    Another itipression which I have received in this love our children if we condone their evil and def$nd
 school season ,is the sad suspicion that many child-        them because we fail to see any wrong in them. To
 ren do nbt take sufficient time to prepare themselves       love. a child and to "spoil" him are not synonymous.
 for their subjects. This applies  particuarly  ,to the      God, of course, must be the purpose and content of
more advanced pupils as  thbse of the ninth grad!.           all correction and chastisement. It is  for this rea-
 This may be due to the fact that some of the children       son that only the Christian parent  and teacher can
 have jobs. "I"he undersigned is aware' of the fact          exercise true and proper discipline. ,Only he can waru
 th& the schooling of our children is expensive  and         him against sin and evil and only he can direct him
 that therefore their employment is necessary in many        unto the ways of the Lord.
 cases.    We merely, wish to  remaik that the pupil            What I wish to emphasize,  .however,  is the fact
 should work  only0 when absolutely `necessary.      We      that only our children can be the objects of discipline:
 assume, of course, that the child is interested in his      I wish to view discipline from the viewpoint of the
 studies and wishes to prepare himself for his. &lasses.     child. Discipline means correction. And correction
 However, that the chiid does not take sufficient time       implies that there is something there which can be
  to prepare himself for his subjects may also be due        corrected. Even as the purifying.of .gold implies that
  to the fact that there are many other things wliich        there is gold which can be purified so also discipline
 divert his attention and occupy -his time. The radio mu'$ proceed from the certainty that there is some:
  and television of our present day may seriously ham-       thing. present which can be corrected. Our Christian
  per the child in advancing in his studies. The child       school is no mission-field in which our children must
 must certainly understand that there is a time to play      be called to repentance in the current sense of the
 Gut alsd a ,time to study.                                  word. Neither do we proceed from the "hope" of.
  . A  ,fourth observation which I would pass  oti to what our children may  possilJy  become. We do not
obr readers concerns the matter of the discipline of         build Christian schools on the basis of a possibility or
 .o&children.  0, it is  not my intention to call atten-     a probability, but on the ba$is of an `established fact.
  tion `to the fact that they are in need of it. This, of This must be. understood very clearly. The instruc-


                                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
    . .  ,_         .^                                                                                                                            si9
                                                                                                                   _ _ __.^ -- .-    -_.
 tion of our children and the building of Christian
 school buildings is a very expensive undertaking. To
 proceed in the "hope" of what our ,children may pos-                            THE. TRIPLE KNOWLEDGE
 sibly or probably become is; $t. seems -to me, a rather
 risky affair. Indeed, we have a firmer ground under                          An Exposition Of The Heidelberg
 our feet. We proceed from the conviction that the
 everlasting God has made an everlasting covenant of                                               C a t e c h i s m   '
 grace with us and wit& our children, that the Son of
 God has washed away our sins and also the sins of                                                    P A R T   I I I
 our children and has presented us righlteous before                                         ,OF  .THANKFULNE.SS
 the living God, and also that the Holy Spirit dwells
 in us and will dweil  in us until we shall stand before                                            Lord's Day 32
 Him as an assembly of the elect in life eternal with-                                                      1.                              ~,
 out spot and without. wrinkle. Thiq is also the basis
 for our  .Christian  school. And this implies that we                                 The Idea of This Third Part (cont.)
 can  di&ipline the child because there is something                              Pantheism, nor deism, nor materialism, nor even
 there which can be corrected. Only then do we have                           the confused mixture of philosbphy that. is called
 certain ground underneath our feet.                       Only then can      existentialism and that seems to be quite popular
 we proceed in the firm assurance.that  our'efforts will ,recently in Europe, can possibly maintain a true con-
 not be in vain. Because only then dp we proceed  from ception of the- responsibility of man.
 the assurance of God's work which is sure and faith-
 ful even unto the, end.                                                          Pantheism must needs deny and destroy all moral
                                                                              freedom afid responsibility, because it denies' the per-'
                                                       H .           Veidman sonality of God and His essential distinction from the
                                                                              universe.    According to this conception, God is the
                                                                              world, and the world is God. The Being of <God and
                              IN MEMORIAM                                     the essence of the world are one.  <God does not ex-
         Suddenly on the morning of March 22n.d it pleased our                ist beyond tind outside of the essence of the world, but
 Covenant God to take unto Himself our beloved .daughter  and                 He is only in the world, and this in such wise that
 sister,                                                                      there is no distinct divine and distinct  c?e&urely
                          HARRIET N.  FLIKXEMA                                essence. He is the soul, the reason, the spirit 6f the
 at the age of 19 years:                                                      world; and all the visible and material universe is
   The  assuraace that she is with the Lord and that He will
 give grace according to our need, is our comfort in this time                his body. We need not say more to make plain that
 of sorrow and  .bereavement.         May His peace  "which   pass&~          this view destroys the personality of God, His willing
all understanding" dwell in us as we look  @eyond the grave                   and conscious activity; He works not by the  deter:
 and  see the glory of the resurrection morning when all sorrow               minate counsel of His will, but by the necessity  of
 shall be no more.                                                            His -own nature. !T'he world is not the product  4f
                                 The  bereaied  family:                       His creation, but the necessary development of the
                                    Milr. and Mrs. John Flikkema, Sr.
                                    Mr: and Mrg John Flikkema, Jr.            divine being, an outflow of His essence. It" is not
                                   .Clarence  J.                              directed by an all-wise protidence, but it develops ac-
                                    Frances A.                                cording to the necessary evolution of IGod's Being it-
                                    H e l e n   J .                           self. And destroying, as it does, the distinct person-
                                                                              ality of God, it also must needs deny the individual-
                           7:-:-                                              ity of the human -soul. Man's soul is after all only a
                              I N   M E M O R I A M   '                       part of the All-soul. His-' reason is only a wave of
   The Esther Society of the First Protestant Reformed Church                 the universal reason. And as the waves of the sea
wishes to express its sincere sympathy to  Frantces  Flikkema,                are borne aloft by the heaving bosom of the  dcean
 one of our members who was recently cast into sudden sorro~~r                of which they are a part, without any determining
by the unexpected de'ath  of her sister,                                      action of their own, so` man's activity, his thinking
                           H A R R I E T   F L I K K E M A '                  and Filling and acting, his joy and sorrow,  his pleas-
   May  they be comforted by the fact that their loss is her                  ure and pain, all these are only the nianifestation tif
gain.       Let us too, remember, the Lord gave; the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed de the name of the Lord.                                 .the experiences and evolutions of the eorld-gdd.  - On
                                                                _
                                             Mrs.  C;  Kreg&  Pres.          this basis there is really no distinction between- giiod
                                             Ejvelyn  Veldtian,,  S&y.        and evil : for all alike itre the outflow of` the;beirig  of


       320       x      '      i  : , i!    T H E   STAl9DAR.D   B E A R E R

       God, necessary phases. of the immutable stream of            sists in the motion of ,matter,  it is a translocation of
       blind development. ,On this basis there is no person-        the ,cerebral  substance ; without phosphorus there can
       al relation bet.ween  God and man. I cannot say' to          be no thought; and consciousness itself is nothing but
       Him, "Thou," for -Be is. no person. I cannot know an attribute of matter." As Feurbach  ekpressed  it:
       Him, for He is no object of knowledge in distinction         "We are what we eat." I need not say thtit if man is
       from me. I cannot love Him, speak to Him, obey               glothing but a sort of chemical factory, there is  AO
       Him, and trust in Him. And thus pantheism destroys           moral freedom and  r&ponsibiliiy  at all. Then good
       the problem of man's responsibility, and can neither and bad actions, courage and cowardice, love and ha.-
       speak of a counsel of :God nor of a responsibility of        tred, righieousness  and unrighteousness, are merely
       man. For. God's counsel implies that all things are          natural phenomena, the result in us of chemical chan-
       and develop not by a certain necessity of the Being          ges, which we cannot possibly control, and for which
       of  IGod, but by the necessity' of His sovereign will we cannot be held accountable. Th!  titist important
     and counsel. -And man's responsibility needs the               question with respect to certain actions of man, good
       conception of two persons in a certain relationship          or ev$ is after all what you feed him ; and this should
       to each other, of two minds alid two wills, a divine         be the supreme care of all education and training.
       Person and a human, the former sovereign and the             For what a man eats he is ; and all his thinking and
       ratter serving, the formeu' commanding and the latter        willing are nothing but the products of material and
       obeying. We must clearly understand this, for our `chemical  changes: All our actions are as  neckssary
       dispute.with  pantheism is by no means as some would         as the growth of the leaves on the tree and the bloom-
       present it, that all things happen with necessity. Thii      ing of the flower in springtime. `Man is subjected
       we also believe. `We also maintain that the Lord de-         to the blind and tyrannical governm&t  of matter. A-
       termined all things from the beginning, and that He          gain we say: we have no dispute with materialism
_      still does. so by His almighty providence. But while         pn the  iround that it teaches that all things occur.
       the pantheist derives all things with causal necessity, w'ith necessity. But as we find the necessity of things
       from the Being of God, the Reformed man finds the            in the wise and intelfigent will of an absolutely good
      -cause of all in the intelligent will and counsel of a        God,  m$teri.alism  finds it in the cold despotism  of
       personal  ,God. All the difference between good and `blind matter. With regard to the subject under dis-
       evil; all moral self-determination on the part of man,       cussion we may say that materialism has no problem,
       all consciousness  of accountability, niust needs cease      because it has no spirit, no mind and will, either in
       if pantheism were true. Pantheism destroys the pro-          God or in man. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow.
       blem of man's  respbnsibility,  because it has neither       we die. And so *it. is quite evident that there is no
       a  pe<sonal  God nor a personal man.                         responsibility of man for the philosophy of material-
          Not- ptherwise it is -with all materialistic. concep-     ism.
       tions. Materialism denies the existence of spirit ,as         But the problem is also destroyed in still another
       a distinct entity. All is matter. And outside of mat-        way. It cannot exist for  -all that follow the deistic
       t'er nothing exists. Matter is the sole God, which           line of thinking. In a sense deism is the very  op-
       means really the same thing as saying that there is          posit of pantheism. The 1,atter believes only in ap,God
       no God. It is the gospel of the flesh. It is the theo-       that is .immanent in the world. The former conceiv-
     . logy of mammon. Man is only material, not spiritual.         es of Him as being only transcendent above the world.
       The soul of man is not a distinct spiritual being, an        For pantheism, God and the world are essentially one
       entity. What we call soul is nothing but the  s&Y%           and inseparable, while deism teaches" that God and the
       total of so-called psychical phenomena, and these, are       world are not only distinct in being but that they are
      nothing but the result of the functioning of his ma-          absolutely severed.    God's counsel implies that He
       ferial existence. As Vogt put it in his "Physiologische      drew a plan of the wdrld as it should be created ; it
       Bricfe", quoted by `Christlieb .in "Modern Doubt and         does not imply the detailed conception of lthe govern-
       Christian Belief," page 146: "Man is produced from `ment of the world. In fact, ,God is the personal Crea-
      `wind and ashes. The action of vegetable life called          tor of the world, but He is not in the world by His
       him into existence. Man is the sum of his parents            almighty" providence to preserve and to govern it.
       and his  -wet-nurse,  of time and place, of mind and         The machine of the world is finished, and now ruris
       .weather,  of sound and light, of food and clothing ; his    according to its own laws and by its own inherent
       will is' the necessary consequence of all these causes,      power. ,The ship of the world is. built and launched,
       govern&by the laws of nature, just as the planet in          and niw sails on the wide ocean of history without
       i$s.,orbit  and the vegetable in  its  soil. Thought con- its builder. The clock of the world-is construed and

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

                                                           cannot be brought into a higher unity as  1
                                                                                                                 321
                                                                                                                  -
wound, and now runs without the hand of its maker.                                                       fai; as our
Such is deism. You understand &hat this philosophy         understanding is concerned, although this higher un-
with relation to the will -and moral freedom of man        ity exists. The will of command is related to our re-
is Pelagianism and Arminianism. It is the exalta-          sponsibility. The will of  .God's counsel has respect ,
tion of man over against his Creator, the mainten-         to j God's government of all things. And these two
ance and vindication of human majesty and the sov-         r,un parallel as far as eye can see, and all attempts
ereign freedom of man. Man in all his thinking and         to penetrate more, dkeply  into this mystery are nec-
acting is absolutely free, and there is no control or      essarily futile. We have  thjs objection against this
direction or cooperation on the part of God. His will      prevalent vigw, that there is not even an -&tempt  i$
is as sovereignly free as the will of- IGod. The latter    gain a conception of the relation betveen iGod's  coun-
does in no wise determine the former. If there is          sel and inan's responsibility. Nor does it even try
a counsel of God, it cannot be absolute, but must be       to. express itself with regard to the proper conception
conditional. God in making. His eternal plan of the        of the relation between the two, though certainly it
universe was conditioned by ?che freedom of His moral      must be admitted that God's counsel and the moral
creatures.    Election means that from eternity God        freedom of man cannot be coordinated, even though
saw who were willing to believe and to persevere, and      we should ultimately not be able t,o reconcile them.
them He chose unto glory. Reprobation signifies no-        Besides, in practice this view often leads to a certain
thing but the eternal  wiil of  .God to reject them of     Arminian presentation of the matter. It ,is empha-
whom He knew that they would not believe and walk          sized t,hat we have to do with the will of command.
in the way of light even unto tl-ie end. Man is free,      The doctrine of God's counsel is relegated to an al-
and determines the history of the world 8s far as his      most forgotten place, and a practical Pelagianism
own actions make history. The absolute sovereignty         is the result. It is not infrequently those who main-
of the Most High is denied. God is placed outside of       tain this conception of the relation between God's
the doors of His own house, and is not allowed to in-      co&tsel and the  responsibilit'y  of man that aye first
tervene in the life and acts of him who is now sove-       to ring alarm when in their estimation one would
reign within that house, the glorious man. Also on         seem to overemphasize the truth of God's absolute
the basis ,of this view we have no problem as regards      sovereignty.
the counsel of God and the responsibility of man. We          Now Scripture certainly emphasizes everywhere
rid ourselves of the problem by discarding God. And        that man is responsible before God. Always he is un-
this price is certainly too high and too precious. For     der the law, and always he is responsible. This im-
I am bold to say that if .in the attempt to solve- the. plies, of, course,` that in a certain, sense man always
problem we must lose  e%her `God or man, then let          remains a rationdl, moral creature that is the free,
us keep God and lose little man.
        .                                                  conscious, and willing author of his own moral deeds.
   The same is true of the philosophy of existential-\ Responsibility, we said, does not presuppose that man
ism, which includes among its adherents birds of           is sovereignly free, but it neither presupposes moral
mariy different feathers.. But they all attribute  Jo      freedom in a positive, material  .sense  of the word.        D
man a certain sovereign freedom, even over against         It is well-known that it is possible to speak of three
God.  ' Man is presented as the creator of `his own        different kinds of freedom. There is, first .of all, the,
norm. He is not bound-to any external laws whatso-         freedom which Adam enjoyed in the state of rectitude,
ever. He can make of his own life whatever he wills,       which is often  exfiressed in the Latin phrase: posse
and he is responsible only to himself. That also in peccare  et non pecc&e, to be able to sin or not to sin.
this ~ philosophy, with its emphasis on the absolute       This, however, is not quite correct, for strictly speak-
freedom of man, there is no room for righteousness         ing Adam's freedom could not possibly consist in the
or unrighteousness, for good or evil, and therefore,       posse  peocnre, that is, to be  abie to sin, but  oily in
no room for man's responsibility, is e&d&t in itself.      the posse non pecca/re:,  to be `able not to sin. Adam
   Finally, I must call your attention to' a view which    was not a neutral creature, that faced both ways, the
I have already mentioned before, the conception,           way of righteousness and the way of sin. But he waS
namely, that is satisfied to leave the counsel of God      created in the image of God, with true knowledge of
and the responsibility of man standing side by side,       God, righteousness, and holiness. As he was Created,.
as an irreconcilable contradiction, though in the faith    it certainly was his delight to do the will of  IGod.
that what seems contradictory to us is not in con-         Never$heles,  he was so formed that he was able to
flict with  each other in  `God. Those that maintain       cast away his own freedom, to, turn away from the
this view generally  .speak of two wills in  `God that     living God unto sin and  the devil. And by this act

                                                   I
                    -.


                  3 2 2                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER.
                                                      -
                   of Adam he and the whole  .human race entered into             coordinate God as a cause and the devil `as a cause
                    the. state which is designated again by a Latin phrase :      too. In this sense God is the only cause of all things.
                    non; posse non pecc,are, not to be able not to sin. The This is plainly taught in Holy Writ. In Prov. 21 :l
                  natural man is ethically bound to sin. His nature               we read : "T,he king's heart is in the hand of the Lord,
                    is so corrupt that he is incapable of doing any good          as the rivers of water; he turneth it- whithersoever
                    and-inclined to all evil. Yet, .even in that state he is he, will." Ce+ainly,  if the {Lord  turns the king's heart
                  held responsible before  *God. For according to the             at will, He over-rules and directs the issues of that
                    Heidelberg Catechism in Qu. and A. 9, "God made               heart, his will and mind, his thoughts and all his. de-
                    man capable of perfqrming it ; but man, by the instiga-       &es. If it be true of the king's heart, it is equally
                    tion of the devil, and his own wilful .disobedience,  de-     true of every other heart of men. And this is  true
                    prived himself and all his posterity of those divine          of God's relation to man's evil deeds and those ,of the
                    g-if-k."    Finally, there is the highest state of tieedom    devil and his hosts. This is plain from the history
                    that.is attainable only in Christ Jesus, the state that       of Job. Must not the devil obtain permission from
                    is negatively expressed in the.Latin phrase': non. posse      the Lord before he can accomplish his evil purpose?
                    peccay?e, not to be able to sin. This is the state of         And what does the man of IGod say when the devil
                    which Jesus speaks in John 8 :34-36: "Jesus answered          through the means of Chaldeans .and Sabeans, wind
                    them,, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever com-         and fire,  .made Job poor and miserable? "The Lord
                    mitteth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant a-         hath taken away." The devil and his instruments were
                    bideth not in the .house  forever : but the son abideth       after all but instruments in the hand bf the Lord. It
                    f&ever.  If the Son therefore shall make you free,            was  He that took away. Was not the Lorcl the de-
                    ye shall be free indeed." But in whatever state man           termining cause, the only determining cause, of all
                    may find himself, whether in the &ate of freedom in           the evil inflicted on Job, though devils and men were
                  which Adam stood before the fall, or in the state of            responsible agents? Or consult the history of Ahab
                    spiritual, ethical corruption, in which he can do no          when he is about to go out to war with the Syrians
                    good, or in the state of grace in Christ Jesus, he re-
I_                                                                                and Micah is interrogated as to the Lord's counsel.
                    mains a moral, rational creature, and.responsible be-         What is the Word of the Lord by the mouth of Micah?
      . .         - fore God. The soul that sinneth it shall die. ,God  re-       That the Lord sent a spirit of error, a lying spirit,
                    wards the good and avenges Himself upon the. evil-            into the heart of the prophets of Ahab, to persuade
                    doer. And we must all carry away according to what him through these false prophets to go and fall at
                    we. have done in the body, whether it be good or evil.        Ramoth-rGilead.  Who was after all the determining
                    ,Such is the Word of .God.                                    cause of this lying prophecy .in the mouth of the false
                     - `However, it must be emphasized once more that             p'rophets,  though He was not the author of it? God,
                    this moral freedom of man is-not sovereign freedom.           the Most High, the determining Cause of all causes.
                    Man is a creaturk. And even in his moral nature and           I Kings 22 :20, ff.` Who sends wicked Shitiei to curse
                    iri his moral deeds he is absolutely dependent u-pon          David? The Lord, and none, other. II  Sam-. 16  :lO.
             e      God. By the counsel of the Almighty man is hemmed             What do we, read of the sons of Eli? That when their
                    in. .on every side. We may not present the matter as          father weakly admonishes them because of all their
                    `if  ,Godts  over-ruling, counsel and man's responsibility wicked deeds, they hearkened not unto the voice of
                    miist simply be placed side by side, coordinately, but        Eli, becaube the Lord would slay: them. I rSam. 2 :25.
                    that the latter is subordinate to the former. Reformed        Who hardens Phtiraoh's -heart, that he may not listen
                    theologians have often made the distinction between           to the voice of the Lorcl and exalt himself against the
                    God.as the First Cause and man as a secondary cause           living IGod? Who darkens the mind of the hetithen.and
                    of. his  -dwn deeds. And aithough I do not like the           makes them foolish, so that they kneel down before
                    term cause in this connection,-for God is not a cause,        man and beast and creeping things? Who makes the
                    b.ut He is  the sovereign  Create? and the sovereign          heart of wicked Israel fat and their eyes blind, that
                    Btiler.over  all things,-yet the distinction may be used      they become ripe for destruction? The Lord does jt
                    ia:a good sense. (God is not the author of the deeds          all. Ex. 8 :15; Rom. 1:26, 28; Is. 6. IOr consider that
                    of men, whether they be good or evil, but through His leinous sin by which. the Lo@ of glory was nailed to
                    eternal counsel and His almighty providence, as well          the accursed. tree. What do the company of God's
                    as through His* grace .in Christ, He is nevertheless          people, to whom Peter and john return after they had
                   their  &use. We may not have two determinipg causes            been released by the chief prie&s  and elders, confess?
                    of things: to say this is to fall back into the ancient       Read it in Acts 4.:27, 28 :: "For of a truth against thy
                    error of he&hen  dualism. It is not true that we may holy child Jesus, whom thou  h&  anpointed, both


                                           T H E   STANDA.RD  B E A R E R :
 :                                                                                                                      js3
                                                                                               -       -      -
      Herod and Pontius Pilate, with'the %entiles  and the heart and the deed they commit. When Jesus is suf-
      people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do feiing, they have all their hearts desired. Neither
      whatsoever thy handy and thy counsel determined be-          do they feel tha$ a power foreign' to their .own wiil
      fore  .to be done." `Christ was delivered by the deter- tiompelled  them to commit the crime. Hence, they -are
      minate counsel and foreknowledge of God to be cru;           the authors of their sin, they are subject to the righ-
      cified by  wickecl  hands. Acts 2  :$3. These examples       teous judgment and condemnation of  `God.  PontiUs
      can bee multiplied.    And therefore, on the basis of        Pilate delivers Jesus willingly and consciously.. Noth- _
  `Scripture we maintain that God is the only determin-            ing compels him to commit  the crime; He may de-
      ing cause, also when men are moral agents, it makes          ceive himself and act the innocent. But this ia only
 %, no difference  whet,her for good or for evil. Man's            the more a manifestation of his evil conscience.
      freedom and responsibility may not be coordinated                The same is true of the .good deeds bf the Chr;is-
      with God's counsel and providence. The former is al-         tian.    According to Philippians 2  :12,13,  -it is God
      ways subordinate to and dependent on the latter.. For        that worketh within him to will and to do of His good
      God is `God, and man is b.ut a very little creature, even    pleasure.    God establishes His eternal covenant of
      though he' is a moral and responsible agent. All- his        grace with him, .and He establishes it alone. In the
 deeds, all his thoughts and counsels are over-ruled, .%re         establishment of this covenant man is.no6a party. .Nr;idr
      so absolutely controlled and directed by the L-ord to        is the covenant of God with man ever established,"&
      His own end that man is but an axe in the hand of the        the basis of .any condition which God requires man to
      Most High. ,God is t.he chief determining cause even fulfill. The third -part -of the Heidelberg Cate`c'hism
      of the deeds of men. !There are tie two determining stands, therefore, in the same relation to the first two
      causes in the world, coordinate to one another. But parts as man's part in the covenant stands to God's
      God is God alone,  and He is absolutely sovereign. IOur part according to the presentation of our  Baptisti
      God is -in the heavens ; He hat11 done whatsoever He Form : "For when we are baptized-in the name of t&e
      hath pleased. Ps. 115:3.                                     Fathek,  GGod the Father witnesseth and sealeth  unto us,
         Hence, responsibility is that relation and state of       that he doth make an eternal covenant' of grace with
      the m&al creature according to which he is the con-          us, and adopts us for his children and heirs, %nd there-
 scious and willing subject of all  his,moral deeds. Re- fo?e will provide LIS with every good thing, and aPert
      sponsibility certainly does not require an absolutely all evil or  tu?n it to our profit.. And when we  $r;e
      and sovereignly free agent. But it does require th$t         baptized in the name of the Son, the Son seal&h unto
      man is the conscious and rational, willing subject of        us, that he doth wash us `in his blood from all our
      all his actions, that he does things because he wills        sins, incoxporating us into the fellowship of his death
      them and chooses them. A slave forced by his master          and resurrection, so that we  are  free'd  from  alld"oLir
      by brute power to do what is against his.will,  what he      sins, arid accounted righteous before God.        In `like
, hates to do, is not responsible for his action. Nor is           manner, when we are baptized in the name of the Holy
      a somnambulist, who in his sleep walks on a roof and `Ghost, the Holy Ghost assuPes us, by this holy sacra-
      cotiits suicide. Byt a nian consciously and willingly ment, that he will dwell in us, and sanctify us to be
      committitig  sin or performing that which is good re- .members  of Christ, `applying- unto us that which tie
      mains accountable, no matter how his .deeds.  i-nay be have in Christ, namkly, the washihg away of `our sins,
 *over-ruled otherwise by the counsel and providence               and the daily renewing of our `lives, till we shall. $n-
      of the Most High. Man is responsible because he al-          ally be presented without spot or wrinkle among the
  ways remains the moral, the conscious and willing sub-           assembly of the elect -in .life eternal." This is  God?s
ject of all his deeds. And he never  becom'es a  s'tock :`part of the covenant. He works out His part accord-
  and block. Judas, betrays the L&d because he wills it.           ing to His eternal counsel of election, which is .abSo-
      Not for one moinent does'he feel compelied by an out-        lutely unchangeable and efficacious, and t+ough .the          -
 -ward force that urges him against his owti will and grace of the Spirit of Christ in our hearts. Thus He
choice to deliver his Master into the hands of sinners.            worketh within us to will and to do 6f His good plea-
  Nor was such an external compulsidn exerted on Ju-               sure. This, however, does not mean,: whatsoev& that
      das. And because this is the truth, Judas is the re-         in establishing His  covenant  God deals  $ith us  as
 sponsible agent, the authdr  of his sin.' And God's               stocks and blocks. He always treats us as His modal,
 judgment as well as his own conscience condemns hii-n.            rationsil creatures. And therefore, in the covenant  WE
  T.he leaders of the Jews condemn and crucify Jesus.              are responsible for our part. But even this  respbn-
  In committing this crime they act consciously and wil-           sibility of theXhristian  doe's not stand in juxtaposl-
  lingly: there is no,conflict between the choice of their         tion, next to, or over against the counsel ,of God. `Nor


 3%          _                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

 is this relation such, that the fulfillment of our part of    gives us the right conception bf the idea of gratitude.
 the covenant is a prerequisite or condition for God's         Never c&n the gratitude of the Ch.ristian mean that in .
 fulfilling His part. Man's freedom is never sovereign.        any way or to any extent he remunerates God. God
  And  .therefore the part which the child of God  fill-       does  everythingQ  for him, and. that too .for His own
  fills in the covenant is fruit of the part which God         name's sake and for the glory  ?f His grace in the
 fulfills. God is first, and man follows. He works with-       Beloved. Never can man do anything for God. God
  in us to will and to do of His good pleasure ; and as        chose the elect sovereignly from before the found&ion
 a fruit we work out our bwn salvation With fear and           of the world. ,God justified him in Christ everlasting.
  trembling. And therefore, according to the Baptism           He justified him in time through the cross and the
Form : "Whereas in ail covenants, `there are contained         resirrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. It is He that
 two parts: therefore are we by God through baptism,           regenerates him, that calls him efficaciously, that im-
 admonished `of and obliged unto new obedience, name-          plants in .him and works through the gos'pel the con-
 ly, that we cleave to this one God, Father, Son, and          scio& faith in his heart, so that he appropriates all
 Holy ,Ghost; that we trust in him, and love him with          the blessings of s&lvation. It is God that justifies him
 all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our mind,        and sanctifies him, that preserves him unto the end,
 and with'all our strength; that we forsake the world,         and that glorifies him ldody and soul in the everlasting
 crucify our old nature, and walk in a new and holy            kingdom of heaven, where the tabernacle of God shall
 life." -                                                      be with men. And when God so works in him by the
     We may probably still ask the qu&tion: but what;,         grace of His SpiTit, it is man that believes, that re-
 then, does God determine, and how does He so over             pents, that fights the good fight of faith, that perse-
 -rule the deeds of men that they always perform His           veres, and that loves the Lord his God with all his
 _ counsel ? Ultimately this is, of course, a mystery.         heart and mind and soul and strength.  Jt is all of
 But still we can say something about it. In the first         grace, and nothing of works. God is never obligated
 place, we can say that God never intervenes between           to  LX.      We are forever obligated to Him. For, do
 the will  bf man and the deed.  His determining in-           never forget'that indeed we must do good works. But
 fluence does not iliterrupt  the action of the will, its      nevertheless, the doing of. good works is a privilege
 manifestation and execution. In other words, never            which God grants unto us. And so,  all boasting is
 does the Most High so control the deeds of men that           excluded, "For we are his, workmanship, created in
 He forces them to commit what they do not will to' Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath be-
 commit or to perform. The thoughts and desires and * fore ordained th$t we should walk in them."
 deeds of men remain always their own. God stands                                                                    H.H.
 behind it all, behind the mind, behind the Will, behind
 the heart of man, to turn it, as rivers  of. water,                                       El
 whithersoever He wills. But never does He intervene
 between their rational consciousness and their act.                                 IN MEMORIAM
 And secondly, we know too from the Scriptures that              The English Men's Society of-the First Protestant Reformed
 the Lord does this through',His  ,Holy Spirit, whether Church hereby wishes to express its heartfelt ,sympathy to Mr.
 it is unto hardening of the reprobate or unto the sal-        John Flikkema and family in the  esudden  death of their
                                                               daughter,
 vation of the elect. .The manner of this  Qperation  of                           HARRIET  FLIKKE\MA
 the Most High is a mystery to us. We cannot trace               May -the Lord uphold us in our time of sorrow and may our
 the ways of the infinite. But this must be said never-        faith be strengthened in knowing that God's way is the best
 theless, that it is the Spirit-of *God that convicts men      way.
 of sin and that binds the responsibility of every man                                           , J. Kok, Pres.
 -upon his own heart. And it is also through the Spirit                                          H. Velthouse, Vice-Sec'y.
 of Christ that the  ,God of our salvation works  tha',                              -:-.:-
 grace within our hearts whereby we believe, and be-
 lieving repent, and repenting turn to the living God,         TEACHER WANTED-the 1st Protestant Reformed
 to love Him with all our hearts and minds and souls           School of  Redlands will be in need of a teacher for
 and strength.                                                 the lower grades one through four. Mail application
     This, then, is the relation between the third part        to :
 of the Heidelberg Catechism, that speaks of gratitude,                                           John Kimm
 and the two former parts, that speak of sin and misery                                           Rt. 1, Box 13-D
  and of redemption and deliverance.       And- this also                                         Redlands, California.


                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAR,%R                                              3%

                                                        _- brary, as well as other "tools" of his profession.            He
   -_         I N   &IIS  F E A R '                               should be financially able, too, to continue his educa-
                                                                  tion even .after he has completed the minimum rd-
                                                                  quirement of schooling. All sych elements should be
                  Look+  To -iYhe Future                          kept in mind when we determine a teachey's salary.`
                                                                  He should be paid enough to maintain himself in his
                           Chapter 2                              profession. In the  .third   $ace, the needs of various
                                                                  Geachers may vary, and this factor should be borne in
                 T H E   T E A C H E R   PR,OBLEM                mind. The financial needs  bf an unmarried woman
               (SUGGESTIONS TOWARDS SOLUTION)                     teacher are not by any means the same as those of a
         At the conclusion of our previous installment we        married male teacher with a family. And finally,
 had begun to speak of the salary-question in connec-            salaries should be adjusted according to the value of
  tion with the solution of the teacher' problem. ,Our           the work a teacher is required to perform. The prin-
 first remarks concerned the subject of the proper at-           cipal of a school is entitled to more remuneration than
 titude to be assumed by both pa'rents and teachers `in          the teacher who is responsible for only one cl&s. The
 regard to this matter of salaries. ,On- the one hand,           teacher. who has charge of a class of 30 pupils has
 we warned against an over-pious attitude of expecting           more work than a teacher of 10 pupils. The teacher
 the ,teatiheYs tb "sacrifice for a kingdom-cause". And          who is responsible for three or four grades is entitled
 on the other hand, we emphasized that our teachers              to more salary than a teacher -who teaches only .one
 must not be ma%erialistic.                                      class or. a half Class.
                                 This latter attitude is pre-                               The teacher with 20 years of ex-
valent in  ihe teaching profession in  the.world today,          perience should be  paid more than a beginning teacher.
 as is. evidenced by the increasing wave of unionism                 Next, I would call attention to a rather variable
 among teachers and the coincident wave of strikes               and inta6gible  something : appl'eciation. `I believe that
 in the teaching `profession. Nevertheless, especially ,parents  often do not appreciate the `tremendous booti
 in the field of Christian education the first attitude          they have in a capable Christian  teacher  for their
 mentioned has not been missing. The !Christian  school          children. We often entrust to them one of our most
 teacher must sacrifice. He must not expect a high               precious possessions, our children; our covenant seed,
 salary, must not expect to be paid as much as the               the seed of God's covenant, and expect of them, quite
- public school teacher: But I submit that the sacrifice         rightly, that they shall devote all their talents and
 must not be one-sided, and that the teacher must not            power and ability to train up  those children in the
 be expected to do all the sacrificing, and that rather          way of the Lord for us, and then assume the attitude
 those who establish and maintain a school should be             that they should do it at a-cut-rSate. They must mini-
 prepared to sacrifice, if need be, in order to maintain         ster spiritual things to our children. And it is not,
 it. It is human nature to be much more ready to -let            then, a big thing if they partake of our carnal things.
 someone else sacrifice .rather than ourselves.         And      We should be willing freely, unstintingly, generously
 against .this we must guard.                                    to provide kor their material needs. And if we stu-
         Concretely speaking, I would suggest the follow-        diously attempt to pay our teachers not from.the view-
 ing. In the first place, our schools should strive to           point of the question, "How little can we get by with?"
 pay fully adequate salaries. There are several-factors          but from the viewpoint of the question, "How can we
 connected herewith.       Allow me to mention a few. show our teachers that we really appreciate the great
 There is, first of all, the factor of the actual cost-of        blessings we have in them?" the salary-question. would
 -living. A teacher must surely have enough salary               be no more a question.
 to procure his daily bread, that is, the necessiti.es of           There are, however, some fa&rs on the teacher's
 life for himself and for his family, if he has one. And side of the ledger to wliich we must alsq call atteniion.
 I believe that should include enough so that he can             There is, first of all, the axiomatic fact that a teacher
 procure, is much "cake and pie" too as the average              must do his work. And a teacher must surely under-
 family procures. And any time that a teacher is not stand that he is not working by a time-ciock. He must
 paid adequately he is being literally forced out of the         not expect to. be finished with his work when the dis-
 teaching profession. There is,`in the second place, the missal bell rings, tidy up his desk, lock his rooti-door,
 undeniable fact that `the cost-of-living for a teacher          and have the rest of the afternoon and evening to him-
 is different than that for a factory worker or  un-             self, to use as he pleases. He must not even enter-
skilled  labor,er, for example. He not only has need tain the desire to "get by" with a minimum of work,
 of food, clothing, and shelter. He has need of a  li-           that is, marking papers, preparing report cards, and

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

making enough of a leqson-plan to .get through the ing one another's salary-offers. That is un-Christian
day. A real teacher must devote as much time as pos-          and it is unhealthy. A.given school has a good teach'er,
%ible and feasible to. the work of teaching, being a          and  it would ordinarily stand to keep its teachers.
teacher, and improving himself as a teacher. That             But a second school, being financia%y  more prosperous,
cannok be determined, of course, in terms  df hours           offers this teacher a mor'e attractive  salary. The tea-
and minutes. It is up to the teacher's own conscience         cher is unable to resist the more attractive offer. Ergo,:
and his awareness of thg seriousness of his calling.          the first school is robbed of- a capable teacher. Now
And he must,`therefore; also in good conscience earn          f do not deny that the material side of a teacher's
the salary he receives. In the second place, I believe        contract is a factor in his decision as to whkre and
that any board that pays an adequate salary and which for whom he will teach. But I do maintain that there
does so on a 1Zmonth basis has the right to require           are more important factors. And therefore, it wlould
its  &,eachers  to work on a  1%mohth basis. An ade-          be better if such materialistic competition between
quately-paid teacher should not be allowed to find other,     schools were eliminated as much as possible, and if
employment during the summer months, but should               the various schools would cooperate in setting salary
be reixuired to devote- his time Jo his work, either in       standards. It would result in less shifting around,
private or by means of further formal education.              and in more permanent  tetiching staffs for all con-
This does not mean that a teacher is entitled to no           c e r n e d .
vacation.     But it does imply that the long  summel             Finally, I would like .to mention certain rules by
-vacation of two or three months is intended for the          which a school i board should ideally guide itself in
pupils, not for the teacher. The teacher has racation         the procurement of teachers. #Circumstances may not
in so far as he is not actually teaching in the class         always allow these rules to be  f,ollowed.  But never-.
-room, but he must not t$ke the whole summer as a             theless, I believe it would be beneficial with a view
vacation from his profession. He has a  golden op-            to  the procurement and maintenance of a permanent
portunity for quiet and, uninterrupted study and for
preparation for the coming s'chool-term,  as well as for      teaching staff if some-of these suggestidns were adop-
further training of .himself  in college or university.       ted as working-principles. In the first place, pre-
                                                              ference should be given by a school to those teachers
       Still another  sugges;tion  we would make in this      who intend to make teaching.their life's work, wheth-
connection is that our school boards must maintain a          er they be men or women teachers. The way of least
high enough salary standard to lure men teachers. The         resistance is to qiGckly.get the signature of a would-be
past has shown that  the. reason why school?, were            teacher on the dotted-line: then the teacher-problem
troubled with a large turn-over in their teaching-staffs      is solved for another year. `That is understandable
was to a large extent,to  be found in the fact that sala-     in a way, especially when it is difficult to get teach-
ries were simply inadequate for married men.' `They           ers. But it  ,will prove far more beneficial for any
had to seek their livelihood elsewhere. The result was        school if it &rives to get teachers who want to make
that often the schools were staffed by female teachers        teaching. their career. A school board can easily in-
who used the' profession `as a stepping-stdne  to marri-
age. They taught a little while, saved a few pennies,         vestigate on that score, and has a right to. -If it en-
and soon deserted in favor of the to them greater at-         gages a teacher who knows when he signs his con-
traction of married Jife and the joys of motheihood.          tract that he intends to leave the teaching profession
Perhaps this salary-inadequacy has been overcome              shortly, either for marriage or some other reason, it
somewhat of  l&e years. But by all means  ti school           is certain from the outset that it has no permanent
board must keep in mind that a'knale teacher, who             teacher. however,  if a board engages a teacher who
must function as the head of the family and the' bread        intends to make teaching his career, it at least stands
-winner, must be paid  adeqcately.  `It will benefit if       a chance also `of keeping the teacher in that particular
it does so, -behefit. by having a more permanent staf?        school.
of teachers.                                                      In the second place; a school board should, when-
       In the fifth place, cooperation among  our. schools    ever possible, engage fdly-train&&  teachers. This will
on the matter of salary standards would undoubtedly           eliminate the necessity of a teacher's leaving in order
prove`beneficial. We hope to devote more space a little to finish his education; And it will at the same time
later to this subject of cooperation among our Prot.          eliminate ,t&e possibility that a teacher after all de-
Ref. schools, but even now will mention it in this con-       cides thai he does not want to permanently enter the
nection. I do not believe that our schools should cog-        Sield.                                                  L
pet& with qne another in procurini teachers by better-            Finally, .I would make two practical suggestions.


                                      THE=  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         327`  '

 First of all, that our schools cooperate as much as pos-    Servant of the Lord both passively'and a@tively in ev-                   _
 sible'in regard `to teacher procurement. And second- cry step of the way, the via dolorosa  !
 ly, I think it would be beneficial if our school boards        That is what the  gladitidings as proclaimed by
 would unitedly encourage young people to take up            John sets forth before our, believing eyes in John
1. the teaching profession, and would even encourage         18 :4-9, where we read: "Jesus therefore; knowing
 them by offering financial assistance in the  matte>:       all things that were coming upon Him, went forth,
 of their teacher-training. We need teachers. `And           and sai,th unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered
 I believe that the need will in&ease as the sparks' of      Him: Jesus of Nazareth.  .Jesus  saith unto them: I
 enthusiasm for our own schools are fanned into blazes       am. He. And Judas also, who betrayed Him, was
 of zeal. And we must do all in our power to obtain          standing with them. When therefore. He said unto
 such teachers.          _.                                  them: I am He, they went backward, and fell to the
                                      H. C. Hoeksema         ground.        Again therefore He asked them: Whom
                                                             seek' ye?' And they said : J&us of Nazareth. Jesus
                                                             answered: I told you that I am  He;  if therefore ye
                    ---:-:-                                  seek me, let these go their way: that the word might
                                                             be fulfilled which He spake, Qf those whom thou hast
                                                             given me I lost not one.",
 FROM  H O L Y   W R I T                                         We emphasize that this Scripture passage is a
                                                             message from Jesus to His church. It `is ' the glad
                                                             tidings of the good things first of all revealed in Pa-            '
              Exposition of John lS:4-9                      radise, afterwards preached by the Patriarchs and
                                                             Prophet.s, foreshadowed by the ceremonies of the
     The' church of  `God in the midst of this world,        law, and finally fulfilled in Christ Jesus in His suf-'
 fighting the `battle of faith, is'always  cheered in her    fering and death. That is the perspective that we
 `conflict with the -memory of Christ's death.      This     must have and keep of `this account of -Jesus' death.
 may sound like a trite saying,  somethilig  common-         Here is the `great `tidings that Jehovah  saves His
 place, but it is in reality the profoundest ancl most       people from their sins. For herein is love,  not that`
 actual comforting truth. ., For this memory of Christ's     we loved #cod, but that He loved' us and sent His Son
 death is brought to us by means -of the Word of the         a propitiation for our sins.                                 .a
 Cross.                          L                              Let us -try to see this in this Scripture passage..
   `And that Word of the Cross teaches us that the               The first element, in this passige that strikes us,
 love of  iGod is always manifested in this that God         is, that Jesus takes the initiative. Oh, it is true that
 sent His Soti to dii: for us when we were yet sinners,      when Judas and the band of temple-police and sol-
 weak, godless, yea, even enemies. Amongst men no            diers with swords and sticks an.d lanterns had come
 one will die for a righteous man  ; for a good  maa         to the Garden,. they had thought that theirs  wss the
 someone might dare to die, yet God confirms His love        initiative.     They wholly willed. to perform this evil
 to us in that Christ died for us when we  were yet          work of taking `Jesus captive. Judas is wholly re-
 sinners ! For herein is love in the wonderful matii-        sponsible for his treacherous betrayal of the Son of
 festation of its secret and wonderful nature, not that      Man. And he even thinks that matters are in his
 we lovecl Go& but that Ze Zouecl  us and sent His Son       hand. He had given the sign of the kiss, he kissed                      . .
 a propitiation for our sins.                                Jesus  .much. He stood at the head of this' band and  -
    Such is the love of God that He hands the cup of         Jesus stood at the head sf the little group of disciples.
 suffkring to His  @on  ia our flesh,  so that  He.  must    But Jesus dismisses`Judas  for the-final and last time
 taste death for us, It behooved ,God by virtue of His with the heart-searching question: Friend, unto what
 love &d righteousness'in bringing many sons to glory        art thou'here? Then Judas had returned to the' band.
 to perfect the Author of our salvation through  suf-        But the. imagiplary initiative` was taken from Judas
 f erings.                                                   by Jesus in this heart-searching question that sends
     And, o  glory,  that is exactly what Jesus  undkr-      Judas the following morning to the  retiorse which
 stands so perfectly in every moment of His suffering `ends in suicide!  ._
 as He reads the agenda o$ the great Hour of the pow-        Jesus nevertheless, takes the initiative.
 er of darkness. For thus it is here in Gethsemane.              Had Jesus not dismissed Judas a few hours earlier
 Jesus knows-  every detail `of the suffe&g, and seeing      with the word: What thou doest, do it quickly? And
 it all, He "goes forth"- to meet it; He is-the obedient     had He not thus forced ,the issue? And had the Medi-

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

     ator not broken forth into glad praise in the. know-           Whom seek ye? Whom do you wish to kill? What
     ledge, that now the Hour had come that. the Son of             is your evil intent, you "lawless hands"?
     Man would be glorified? John  13:31-35. Judas'                    If  ye seek Me, let  these go  !.
     coming here in the garden with the band was virtual-              Here is the Messianic consciousness as it reaches
     ly upon the' word of the Son of i%Ian who prophetical-         oat for the "Cup" from the Father's hand that may '
     ly, priestly and kingly performs His work in humilia-          ndt be taken from Him. With a steady hand He takes
     tion. Jesus longed for this hour with great longing ;          hold of the cup. With -perfectly active obedience He
    and how was He  pr'essed!  Lt is Jesus' initiative. It          takes the initiative in Messianic consciousness: and
     is His alone.                                                  in  perfectly `passive obedience He will undergo the
            Thus we read in verse 4, "Jesus therefope  knowing suffering  df .the sorrows of `death. If ye seek Me, let.
     all things that were coming upon Hiin went forth . ."          these go. These are the sheep that now must be scat-
            Jesus went forth to meet Judas in the garden. He tered for us a "little while"- after which I Will again
     is'simply reading off the agenda of His suffering in           gather them as the Shepherd, who has  layed down
     this great Day of` the Lord. He knows all things               His life for them. Let them go for I shall presently
    *that are coming upon Him. These things, what are               gather them and make them my witnesses in Jeru-
     they ?     They are the mock  ..trial, the being  le'd to      salem, Judea, Samaria and unto the ends of the earth'!
     Annas, to Caiaphas, to Pilate, to  Herod  and then                Ah, here is the siA%tuting  love of our Covenant
     again to Pilate : it is the being spit upon and buffeted, Jehovah.  He is Christ Jesus, who is yesterday (the
     cruelly mocked and derided, r6beh in a mock robe and           days of the shadows) and today (in this Hour of suf-
     crowned with a crown of thorns to pierce His brow.             fering) and  tomorrow (in the great congregation)
' Pnd what is more. presently to drink the cup of the               the same ! Hence, here is the love of God, that will
     wrath of Almighty (God -against the sins of His own not let us go. Here is &he hotir in which the Son of
     sheep! In this great hour Jesus takes the initiative.          Man, Jesus (Jehovah-saves) gives His life for His
     He is the Chief ,Captain and Author of our salvation.          people; herk is  the. Minister  w,ho gives- His soul a
            And in all this He is fully conscious of being the ransom for many.
     Mediator, the Man Jesus of Nazareth, who saved Hi.s               Behold, I come to do Thy will, 0 God. In the vol-
     people from their sins!                                        ume of the Book it is written of Me. Thou givest Me
                                                                    the hearing ear  and the seeing eye;  ;the body hast
            Fo?, to be sure, the question: Whom seekest thou?       Thou prepared for Me. Lo, I come. Jesus knowing
     must not be understood to mean, that Jesus was in              all these things went forth to meet Judas. It wds
     some doubt as to w%om they were seeking. He knew               possibly by a few yards  t,h&  l!Ie proceeded. But it
     that they were seeking  Him.  ,He  :`knew all things           was the difference between saving His own or losing
     that were coming upon Him." Hence, this is  tiot a             theni in eternal perdition! For all that is written
     question of one who is in doubt as to the hellish and          in ,the volume of the Scroll stands out in bold relief
     avowed,  inte,ption  of these men.        Besides, -had not    before the Mediatorial consciousness of' our Saviour.
     Judas just poipted  Him out with the betraying kiss'?             Here is the firm purpose to do the will of God.
    W h a t   t h e n ?                                             Behold, the Saviour of His own. He is firmly resolp-
            The question of Jesus to these men: whom seekesi        ed to lose none of those given Him by the Father! I-Ie.
   thou? is asked and repeated in order that they may               will surely raise them all in the last day! Such is
     take. Him and nail.Him with sinful hands (Acts 2 :23)          the clear intent of Jesus., `And we -should notice this.
   = to  the Cross. They must hear it very  clearly. from Nor should we overlook the fact, that the text does
     His lips that  jHe is: Jesus of Nazareth.  `That He is         not speak here' in the third person, but in the first
     Jesus of Nazareth means  tha,t He is the One Who               person. Listen *to what was in J&us soul ; all that is
     is called out of Egypt, as the One in Whom the Word within Him groans : of all which Thpc hast given iMe,
     of Gbd will be fulfilled :. Out of Egypt have I called         I have lost not one. Here is the Servant of ,God in the
     my Son.            For Israel is delivered out of Egypt by     "I and Thou" relationship, a,s really as a few moments
     Jehovah who saves in His Coyenant  .faithfulness.              earlier in the earnest crying and teaps of (Gethsemane.
     Jesus means: Jehovah saves. In .Jesus we have the              In unbroken strength the tension of the suffering
     God of the Burriing Bush, visiting His people, hearing         continues in Jesus' soul. There is  no let-up in this
     their cry in Egyp>t of sin and death and the powers            work.  Loving,` He loves to the end. And so Jesus
     of Hell. Whom seek ye? Jesus of  Nazare,th. I am               here tells. us .through  John that He was fully consci-
     He., I am the Great ,"I am that I am" in the flesh.            ous of this purtiose ; nay, `this purpose tias the sole
     I am `! Jehovah-saves", "Jehovah is salvation".                passion of His throbbing being when He asked the
                  ,,


                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             329

soul-searching question: Whom seek ye? For in that
moment He is telling the Father:  .Of all whom Thou
hast given Me I am losing none, Fat,her !                                  -- THE DAY  OF  SHAilOWS
            Behold, the Lamb of ,God lifting up and carrying
away the sin of the World!                  -      L                                     -IL? tovenant  of Sinai
            All of the initiative is His, and  HIS is' also  ,the            We see then  what is to be understood by what
perfect consciousness of being the perfect and com-                       the writer of the epistle  t'o the Hebrews calls the
plete Saviour of His people. Whom seek ye? Jesus                          "first covenant". We see what he means by the "New -
of ,-Nazareth. I am He!                                                   Covenant." The "first covenant'- was the true cov-
            Need we ought besides this  iGlad-tidings?                    enant of grace with symbolical-typical form and mini-
            No, but we do need this message. And in cohdes-               stration.    :The "new covenant" was this same cov-
tending  love our Saviour causes this Message of Glad                     enant of grace as freed from its symbolical-typical
-Tidings to be preached to us from out of heaven.. He                     form and ministration.  Thus essentially the  `ifirst'?
is now finishing the work which He begun to do (Acts and the "new" covenant were one and the same
1 :l) while on earth until the day .in which He was                       covenant.
taken up #to heaven. He would-have us know the                               What then is really the difference between `the
great love, that moved Him in that Hour in  Geth-                         Old dispensation and the "New". In the first place
seniane, when He was delivered into the hands of sin-                     this precisely : that in the !Old dispensation the cov-
ful men.                                                                  enan.t of grace has this symbolical-typical form and
            How did John know that such was  #the glorious ministration.
and saving activity in Jesus' soil1 at this moment?                          But  ;there is still another difference. The  *Old,
Surely it was not telepathy. John' was &indeed  present,                  dispensation was the dispensation of  flaw. The law
but his presence, of mind was not such that he could                      entered in there at Sinai  f&G hundred years after
later by virtue of .his memory give us a "short-hand," the establishing of the covenant with Abraham. The
or telepsithetic  report of what passed on in the mind                    law entered in indeed-the law: "Ye shall keep My
of Jesus between Him and His God. And  jret we                            judgments-which if a man do, he shall live therein."
know just what Jesus' s&l was occupied with in                            Mark you: "he shall live therein." And this is law.
that moment, don't we? We know this because Jesus                         So the Lord had not mandated Abraham.  Bo the
tells us *through  John. By the Holy Spirit Jesus opens                   Lord is not mandating His church today. Thus  ,the
the  m'inds of  ,His disciples,.. -including John.  _ And                 law with its threats of death to the transgressors
Jesus brings to mind all these things.'                                   and with its assurance of life to the observers of the
            These things are written in our behalf. They are              law did indeed enter in and receive the prepondering
recorded that we might believe that Jesus is the Son                      emphasis. This is so evident from the discourses of
of God, and that believing we might have life in His                      Moses recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy. The
Name, and sing: 0, love of God that will not let His                      essence of these discourses is verily this:  Vursed
own perish ! And bowing the head each sings : 10 love                     is he that confirmeth not all the words of the law to
of God, .that will not let me go,!                                        do them," and thus also on the &her hand: "blessed
                                                 G. C. Lubbers            is he that confirmeth ail the words of the law to do
                                                                          them," Deat. 27 :28.      And thus also: "And it shall
                                                                          come to  Ijass, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice
                                                                          of the Lord thy  ,God, to observe all his command-
                                                                          ments which I command thee this day, that. . . all
                                                                          these blessings shall come upon thee . . (Deut. 28 :ll) .
. . . .                        IN MEMORIAM                                But it shall come to pass, if thou shalt not hearken un-
           The Talitha Society of the First Protestant Reformed Church    to the voice of the Lord thy `God . . . that all these eur-
wishes  tp express its sincere  syi?pathy  to the  Flikketil  family      ses shall come upon thee"' (Deu.t.  28  :X,16). This
in the sudden loss of their daughter and sister,                          was preaching the law. And throughout all this dis-
                        H A R R I E T   N .   FLIKKEMA                    course Moses continues to preach law.             "Do this,
, May the God of all grace comfort them with the assurance                and th'ou shalt live," was then the motto,-live in the
that all thin&s  work- together for' good to the glory  of' His           l!qAo. "Thou shalt keep My  j.udgments  and. My sta-
name .and our salvation.                                                  tutes ; which-if a man do, he shall 1iv.e therein." Take,
                                          Rev. C. 3 .Hanko,  Pres.        notice, "He shall live therein," that is, in the law, in
                                                                          the doing of the  law;            `,       i_        c
                                  1       Be&y  Bsuwmnn,  Sec'y.

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

             There was OGospel, too, to be sure. `But it occupied     ciation with the tabernacle and  the. priest. It was
      a second place.       It formed the background for the          therefore by` these things that the church could be
      preaching of the law. And by the `Gospel is to be un-           and actually was led to `Christ.                        (
      derstood the promise of Christ and of salvation and                Finally, we must also see the difference between
      Zife in  Him. And there was certainly Gospel then               the law and. the Gospel. The law assures life to all
      too. Christ, life and salvation in Him, was being               such who do the things of the Zaw. It thus threatens
      presented and preached and promised then, too, only             the disobedient, such who do no.t the things in the law
      through the total of symbols and types of the first             with death and everlasting destruction. That is ail
      covenant. But the law was first.                                the law can do. The law knows of no pardon for a
             But  ,Christ came.    He fulfilled the law. And          contrite sinner. All it can do is to curse a sinner
      thereby through His atonement merited for his own               however penitent.
      pardon and life. Hence, in the present scheme of                   But how different the gospel. The gospel promi-
      things, Christ and the promise of the Christ and of             ses Christ and pardon, life and glory in Christ to ill-
      the blesings of His atonement occupy not only first             deserving and condemnable sinners lost and undone in
      place  bad the whole  palace.  He is first and last. He themselves. What a difference between gospel and law.
      is all. Hence the motto no ,.longer is, "The man that And the New Dispensation is the dispensation of the
      doeth these things-the things of the law-shall live             gospel, not the law.     For Christ has  .delivered   His-
      in them," but, "If- thou believest in the Lord Jesus            people from .the law with its curses and threats and
      Christ, thou hast life abiding in thyself, and Christ           assurance of life to the doers of the law, and made
      will raise thee up at the last day." This is a declara-        them His own. And He is their life, their sanctifica-
      tion to  .the  efect that believers in Christ live, that       tion, justification and redemption. He is their all.
      they live in Christ in that He is their life, and that             We must `see this.      Christ .has indeed delivered
      therefore they also live. fo(r Christ and His Father.           His people from the law.- The law .therefore has no
      For God's lawlis in their hearts, put there by Christ's        more dominion over us, His people; Not alone there-
      Spirit.                                                        fore that the law cannot curse LIS: but it cannot even
             :The New Dispensation is thus indeed the dispensa-      mandate us, saying: Thou shalt keep all these judg-
      tion of Christ and of His (Gospel in contradistinction ments which if a man doeth he shall live in them. Take
      to the Old Dispensation which was the dispensation of           no,tice,  liv.e-in them. We do not therefore derive life
      the law. Then the motto was ; do and live irz the law.         from the law. We would not, though we kept the law
      Now the motto is: `Believe in  #Christ  and thou hast           perfectly ,as do the saints in heaven and as did Adam
      life abiding in thyself. This is first. And  <then, Do,         in the state of integrity. For we belong to Christ.
\,    serve, love as the sheep of His pasture.                       He is our life, He being our. Saviour who atoned for
             Why now did the law enter in and why was it giv-         all our sins and made us his property. Besides being
      en first place? Paul answers this question: "For the            dead in'sin apart from Christ all that the law could
      law was our pedagogue to bring us to Christ, that we           beget for us is a curse.
      might be justified -by faith." (Gal. 3 :24) . . We must            Yet, God's redeemed people are not lawless. The
      bear in mind here that the ancient pedagogue was not            expression "lawless redeemed one" is a contradiction
      the schoolmaster, the one who did the instructing.              in terms. For to be lawless is to be sinful, depraved.
      His sole task was to bring the child to school in order         To be redeemed is to be free from sin; positively it
      to be instructed.                                              is #to have the law in our hearts as put there by Christ
             So the law. In the above-cited Scripture the &a?~        our Lord and Redeemer. To say that Christ'puts His
      is not the teacher, but Christ is the Teacher. And law in our hearts is but another way of saying that
      the task of the law was to bring (the church to Christ,         He raises us from our spiritual death, and that by
      drive her to Christ, that is, impel the believers by its       His Spirit He sheds abroad in our hearts the love of
      curses and threats, to take refuge in Christ.         This      God.
      function #the law performed during all the time of the             Verily Christ. has delivered us from the law, from
      Old Dispensation. It drove the elect, brought under             its mandates as .well as fram its curses. Being by na-
      the conviction of sin, to Christ.                              ture dead in trespasses and sin, He gives us what the
             The law must be said to have led the church to          law could not possibly give us, namely, life and salva-
      Christ also for `another reason.. Let us consider the          tion. All that the law can do is to give life to a right-
      fact that the law contained the patterns for the en-            eous man ; and by a righteous man must be under-
      tire- symbolical-typical apparatus, pre-indicatilzg  the        stood not a man perfect `in  ,Christ, but a man who
      ChriG, SJIJC~ 8s the typical sacrifices by blood in asso- ' never knew sin like `Adam in the state of integrity;


                                      I'HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        331

Let me repeat therefore, all that  .the law can give
men such as we by nature is curse and damnation.                     The Manna of the Desert Period.
   It's not a wonder therefore that the Apostle Paul            The manna of the desert period was not
stood amazed at .the working of the minds of the Gala-       from below, as is natural bread ; it was from above.
tians. These people wanted to return to the law to           The Lord rained it for His people from heaven. Thus
live in the doing of the law as did Adam in the state        it did not grow in the earth; it was not the fruitage
of integrity. -But they were men .by nature dead in          of man's own industry, but of a special working of
sin. All that the law therefore could do for them is         God's power. The manna, in a word, was a wonder,
to curse them. But think what they would .first have a new thing, which. the people of Israel knew not. It
to do to again be on good *terms  with the .law. They        was a thing which they had never seen and of which
would first have to free themselves from the curse           they had never heard. It was brought into being in
of the law by atoning for their sins, implying  thabL        the early morning of each day directly by' the power
they would have to be capable of meriting with God,          of `God's .creative word. Thus as eating of the manna,
as did Christ. But how could they?           Impossible I the people of Israel very actually were living by the
For in the firs#t `place, they were mere men. Second,        word that proceeded out of God's mouth, and bring-
they were dead in sin, and this because they had to be.      ing by its power .the manna into being. And as the
Nay, our only hope is Christ. He is one who gives            manna was all that the people of Israel had to eat in
life to a sinner, lost and undone                            the wildernness, they were compelled to conclude that
   Christ redeemed us from the law and made us His           they lived not by the bread that grows in  ,the soil,
own. Hence, nowhere  .in all the Scriptures of, the          but by manna, that is, by the word that proceeded
New Testament does Christ talk to `His church like           out of the mouth of their God. Through bringing
Moses talked to the church at Sinai. Nowhere in ali          them  in*to that tractless wilderness, the ' Lord took
the New Testament Scriptures does Christ say  .to            from His people every natural resource,. definitely
His church, as Moses said to the church: "The man            bread-such bread as is the product -of man's own
that doeth them-the commandments-shall live in               toil. Thus it seemed as though the Israelites were
them," or 93.used  is everyone that  doe.th  not all         deemed to perish from hunger. The carnal Israel
things contained in the. law," or "And it. shall come `so judged. They said, "Would to God we had died
to pass if thou hearken `diligently unto the voice of        by the hand of the LXorcl in the land of Egypt, when
the Lord thy God, to observe and do all His command-         we sat by the fleshpots, and when we did eat bread
ments . . . all these blessings will come upon'thee. BLIP    to the full; for ye have brought us forth in this wil-
                                                                                                                  .~
it shall come to pass if thou wilt not hearken unto the . derness to kill this whole assembly with hunger." The*
voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do all His           Lord immediately put this rioting of unbelief to
commandments . . . that all these curses shall come          shame. He rained bread from heaven forothem.
upon .thee."    Neither was the Lord directing this kind        The Book of Numbers contains a detailed descrip-
of speech to Abraham. For the law had. not yet en- tion of the manna. In this Book also the virtues of
tered in. The Lord did say to Abraham,  Walk before          t.he manna -are set forth. It fell  .upon the ground
My face and be upright-as He says to His church              round about the camp by night with the dew. It con-
now. That is our calling. That is the second part            sisted of small whitish particles-;.. and it was compar-
to the covenant of grace, namely, that the covenant          able, in. its appearance, to hoar frost, coriander seed,
seed walk in newness of life. And their doing so is          and even pearls. It melted when exposed to the heat
the fruit of the work of their Redeemer in them. Cer-        of the sun. It tasted like wafers, made with honey,
tainly the believer keeps all the commandments of            or like fresh oil. It could be ground in mills, or beat
God,in principle ; but he does not l+qe in them.. He         in a mortar. It could be baked in pans and made
lives in Christ.                                             into cakes.
   There is then certainly a difference between the             Thus  .the manna was a remarkable food. It was
Old Dispensation and the New. The  Old Dispensa-             pleasant to the taste. It was as pure and wholesome
tion was a dispensation of law indeed. While the             as the dew upon which it fell during the night. Tha',
New Dispensation is the dispensation of promise, of          it corrupted if kept longer than a day and melted
gospel.                   1                                  when exposed to the sun, was not due to its being a
   There is of course still other differences' between       light and unsubstantial food. It was of such con-
the Old Dispensation and the New,, differences with          sistency that, like the corn that grows in the earth,
which we did not intend to occupy ourselves. with in         it could be ground in the mills'and did not melt when
these articles.                        4;. M. Ophoff  '      exposed to the heat of the oven. And its nutritional
                                                  1

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

value was so high as to be phenomenal. It formed
the sole article of diet during the entire period of
.Israel's wanderings. By this bread only they lived
and enjoyed `perfect health. It was thus a perfect
food. And the abundance in which it fell  .was so             What Next?
great, that there was bread enough for all and to
spare. The manna of the Scriptures was truly a mir-              Under  the, title "A New Approach" the Moody
acle of the first magnitude.                                  Monthly informs us that "Another effort to reach the
                                                              unsaved will use an entire basketball'team. The team
  Yet, this manna, however perfect a food, was not            from Taylor Universary,-  Upland, Ind., has been in-
the  true-  br"ead.    Its  impe?fection is indicated by      vited to play several exhibition games in Formosa in
Christ. Said Christ to the Jews, "Your fathers did            connection with Youth for Christ evangelistic pervices
eat manna in the desert and' -are dead. Had the man-          on the island.  _~
na been the true bread, the fathers, eating of it, would         "This will be the college's first a&tempt to approve
not have died. That is precisely the point to Christ'sa students from the physical education- department for
argument. The manna was but a  ;type or picture               Christian service in a  f,oreign  country,  although in
of. the true bread,, which is Christ. ,Therefore, who-        the past many individual students. have gone into mis-
szever eateth will'riever die.     i                          sion work.
   As a type,  the manna conveys definite  points of
ir&,truction  aboi7t  ,Chri&. (1) Christ,  ,too, is bread.       "Head Coach  Don Odle will be in charge of the
Except we eat His flesh and drink His blood, we have          group, and will share in the speaking program once
no life in ourselves. But  adlirist is the true bread.        the athletes reach Formosa and the s&ed,ule  of exhi-
Whosoever. eateth His flesh hath life everlasting.            bition games is begun."           --.  -
(2) Christ is bread from heaven, `and as such the               :Serious minded  rhission  enthusiasts have long
very word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,            questioned the over-emphasis on medicine on the mis-
the heavenly offspring of Jehovah's creative word,            sion field. ,Certainly  the idea of a mission-minded
brought into being by His special working as to His           basket ball team is a far cry from the simple "preach:
human..nature; and thus "peculiarly  the gift of God,         the Word!"
coming freely  and directly from His hand. For He
was born not by the will of man, but of a virgin, over-                     -.      q   El  El  El  El
shadowed by the power of the highest.           (3) And          From the same paper: - "The Queen at Church"
He is the all-sufficiefit bread of His people\. For all .,' `Along with other responsibilites,  Britain's new- ruler,
the fruits of His atonement dwell in Him, wherefore           Queen Elizabeth II heads two Protestant churches.
He is the ianctification, the jus,tification, the wisdom         "When she recently assumed the throne upon. the
and redemption of His people. He is their very life.          death of her, father, the young queen became. the head
By Him al_one do ihey live and live everlastingly. He- df both  t#he Church of England and the Church of
is that f'every Word" that proceedeth out 6f the mouth        Scotland.     Both  ari Protestant bodies, but there is
of God as every word of blessing dwells in Him and            no common communion between them.  ~
is spoken by the Father through Him in His Spirit.               "As head of each church, however, Elizabeth takes'
And as the true manna, He is plelitiful; for in Him. the sacrament and worships in the buildings of both.
dwelleth all the  fuhiess of which each  one. of His          Thus she--is an Epi'scopalian w,hile in En&land, and a
own receives.                                                 Presbyterian while in Scotland."
   It was of this Christ, that the marina of the desert          If it were not for the fact that we know both these
was a most remarkable prophetic ,type, i: being a food        churches to be admittedly modern this situation would
from heaven of such exceptional virtue. Yet it be-            seem impossible. Once again however it reminds us
came an object of loathing to the Israelites and they         of the fact that churches of radically different beliefs
began to cry for flesh, and for such foods as  gaklic         and practices can cooperate only on  `a basis of un-
and leeks. They objected to the manna on the. gro'und         faithfulness and  superficiaiity.
that,' as they had eaten of it so steadily and exclu-
sively, their soul was dried away. They meant to                                    El  El  El  El  El
say that they were undernourished- and starving and
that if, they soon were given no  fresh, all of them             "Shall We Remove a Wart from a Patient `DYING
would be dead men . . . .                                     WITH AN INTERNAL  HEMORRHAIGE?'  "
                                          G; M. Ophoff           Under this rather unusual heading we found an


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                .d
                                                 Tj-gj$   Sfji*@D*Rr,   BEARaB                                          383
                                -                                                                -
                                                 \
      editorial from &he co-editor of the Southern Presby-             "Word  has just been received that on January 18,
      terian Journal. who is a1 practicing physician.              while in Java, Dr. Wang (A Chinese minister) was
         It reads as follows:- "We recently" operated on a seized and beaten by robbers. `T,hough not seriously
      patient for an obvious condition which needed  sur-          injured, he lost his Bible, sermon notes, passport and
      gical correction, but which-did ,not involve a questioll other imcortant papers as well as his suitcase and clo-
      of ,life or death.                                           thing. The Moody Institute of Science film, `Dust or
          "After  opetiilig  &he abdomen a carcinoma of the        Destiny' which he had for the first time shown in
      ,colon was found, well advanced- but still completely        Java, was also stolen but was later recovered.
      operable. Plans for the first operation were immed-.             + *My Bible was lost, but not my Christ," Dr. Wang
      iately abandoned and a radical resection of t,he colon later testified, `My sermons, but not my message ; my
      was carried out, with strong reason for  beli&ing            p&sport, but not my way. to heaven, and my addresi
      that the cancer was entirely remoyed  and the patiel;t       book, but not my friends.' "
      cured.                                                           .
         `"Does this not have an bbvious counterpart in the                            u  fzJ  @  pJ  fg
realm of Christian work  today.?,  Only too often we  &  cGyB  Convenient,
'I, are spending our time and effort on desirable social
i and economic changes while we ignore the fact that                  .`... . .There is a growing laxness among us, and our
      man is in this world for a few decades only, and `that consciences   alow much today that our forefathers
      his eternal destiny is being ,determined,  not by his so-    would in no wise *have tolerated. 'i'he pragmatism
      cial advantages, economic security, or racial  privi-        of the world round about us is crossing our `thresh-
      leges, but rather by whether he is born again through . Olds. `Khe -godly norm of  `Is it right? Would God
      faith in the redeeming work of .t&e Lord Jesus Christ.       have it so?' is now often being replaced by, Is it con-
         "Christ made this difference cryst&l  clear  when he venient? Does it pay? how often we wriggle  Out
      `said, `For what is a man prof&d, if he shall gain the       of an unp!easant or uncomfortable situation by telling
      whole world, and lose his own soul?1 or what shall a a  little  c  ?)  lie:
     man give in exchange for his soul?"                              "You are home with. your brood. The telephone
         "The welfare `of his soul is maq's .primary need,         rings. Mrs.. A. asks, *Will it be -convenient if 1 come
      compared with which  evekything else in this world over for an hour?' You never did relish her friknd-
      pales into complete .and absolute insignificance. Where .?ehiB nor enjoy her conversation. Your house is awry
      man recognizes this need its answer is found in Jesus +and you want to finish some sewing. You would con-
      Christ, the ,divine @on of God. Where the Church re- sider the time wasted if she .came. You reply in yoyr
      cognizes her primary mission she preaches and lives 1 sweetest  voitie,  `1,113.  sorry. I have a dental  appoint-
      Him* as ,Saviour, the ollly hope  of the individual and m&t, which I must keep.' YOnr childrep listen. The
      of the world.                                                afternoon wears on. k'ou stay at home.  They make
         `{Only too often Christian work,  ,has concerned their mental  !onclusions.
      itself with the plastic surgery of improved living con-         "Income tax returns are due.  Fathe?  is  labor-
      ditions for people in this world, while ,lgsing sight of ing With the figures. Betty has begun' working since
      the fact that mankind is dying f&m the cancer oi sin         September and has earned $550. `l'ax has been with-
      in the heart, a cancer which has  -a sure cure-the held by- her ernplbyer. But she has also earned $151)
      blood of Jesus Christ shed on Calvary.                       in the home of a neighbbr during the summer. Fa-
         "NO  reputable surgeon would perform  .an opera-' ther argues that no ,one (in the Federdl  ,Government,
      tion for the comfort or looks of the pat&& and at the        that is!) knows of this extra $150. `He advises Betty
      same time leave untouched a cancer which. untreated,         to file no return at all and instead he claims her .&ill
     &eans sure  ,death.                                           as a dependent. B&jr makes her mental conclusioil.
      "Can Christians  .and the Church do  l&s?".                     "One day mother is horrified. John, for no good
         We wish. to thank Dr. Bell for this timely w&iing reason  `at all,  &as been tardy at school. He brings
      against  losikg the center and core of the Christian home a slip which mother must fill in, explaining his
     message. We wish to thank him also' for the strik.= tardiness.            John says, with no appareht  qualms of
     ing and original  v;iewpoint.   _                             conscience," `Aw, tiom, just write that I had to run an
                                            ,                      impo>tant errand for  you. Nobody at school knows
     P.e&&ion                                                      the difference.' Reaping as we've sown.
                                                                      "Betty has gone out of town for the week-&d.
         From the Moody Monthly the following :                    She returns to work on Tuesdak hsteacl of Monday.

I


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       334                                              T'BEI  S T A N D A R D   BEARER.

.      Her employer grants full pay to employees home be-
       cause of illness. 1 When questioned Betty answers glib-                                 S I O N 'S   ZA`NGEN
       ly, `Yes, I was sicker'n  a dog yesterday.' Truth was                                                             _
       she was oti< a wonderful hundred-mile jaunt through
       the countryside. .Her father, if he knew, would throw                                       De L&m9  Der Liefde
       up his hands and cry, `How terrible ! My -child. lying                                       (Psalm 116; Derde Deel)
       so deliberately !'
           ""Our Bible speaks in unequivocal terms in con-                             De zanger van dit lied was in groote benauwheic
       demnation of him who commits or condones a lie.                             geweest,  do@ de Heere  ha{ zijn angstig klagen  gi
       Revelation 22 :I5 is but one of several passages which hoord, en verhoord. De Heere was gekomen  op die ang
       reveal  <God's  displeasufe.             `without (the New Jeru-            stige bede:  loch Heere, beviijd mijne zisl!
       salem) are the . . fornicators, and the murderers, and                          Dat merkt men in .het volgende vers. De zange:
       the idolators, and everyone that loveth and maketh a                        begint  ie  aanbi,dd&. Hij zegt: "De Heere is  genadil
       lie.' Clear, unmistakable language.                                         en rechtvaardig, en onze God is ontfermend." Dat i,
           "You say, `But I  ,really didn't mean to  Zie!' The                     de aanbidding der ziel tot (God. Dat is het einddoe
       bald truth is that you not only did lie but you passed                      van alle dingen, van alle schepping `en herschepping
       on the idea as feasible to the younger generation                           van alle historie en wereldgebeuren. God wordt aan
       which lives so much and so quickly by imitation.                            gebeden. Dat is  hemel-arbeid.  Van voor de grond
           ". . .It's the `lie of convenience' that is so subtly' legging der wereld heeft (God Zich voorgesteld een ver
       making inroads upon us. `The line of demarcation be- loste wereld die juist dit doen zal. Ze zullen juichen
       tween right and wrong is becoming blurred. To tell                          ook zingen.
       the truth, for God's sake, because He wills it, mu&                             De Heere is genadig!.
       remain our only standard. There is no more  nqble                            ,Och, lieve !  - Daar' zou men een boek over kunne1
       motive than that and none more worthy of being emu-                         schrijven.
       lated.                                                                          Wat is tech genade ?
           "What mbre beautiful incentive for godly living                             Genade- is een deugd  `Gods,  Afgedacht van der
       can there be than `doing, saying, thinking what is mensch, is God een genadig God. Daar had Kalamazdc
       right, what is hone%, what is truthful,                                     aan moeten denken,  vooraleer  ze zouden gaan bazeler
                                                                for God's sake?
       If  once that ideal  has been absorbed there will be                        van een genade die ,God aan verworpenen schenkt. Hei
     - peace, joy and contentment of soul because we are is al zoo vaak gezegd, doch we zullen het weer zeggen
       right with God."                                                            Genade is lieflijkheid, aantrekkelijkheid, schoonheid
           For the above we are indebted to Mrs. Clarence Ziet, hoe het woord genade gebruikt wordt bij Jezus
       Bouma in the column `Woman's World' in the B,anner.                         In de profetie wordt van Hem gezegd, dat yenade uit-
                                      I                         J. Howerzyl.       gestort is op Zijne lippen. Wel, dat is vervuld," wan1
                          3                                                        in den oordeelsdag zal God de inwoners van Nazareth-
                                              El-                                  oproepen  tot getuigen van Zijn Zoon. Anno  Domin.
                         TEDDINiG   A N N I V E R S A R Y                          30 oordeelden die menschen, dat de rede van Jezus eec
         On Apri1228,  1952, the Lord willing, our dear parents, '                 genadige rede was, dat Hij genadige  woorden sprak
                      MR. and MRS. LOUIS  LOOYEN'GA                                Hij sprak lieflijke, welluidende taal. En die taal waf
       hope to celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary.                           draagster van lieflijk, schoone en aantrekkelijke ge-
         It is our sincere prayer that the Lord may continue to bless
       them in the future as He has done in the past.                              dabhten.
                                                                                    God is  genadigi Zijn  wezen is genade. God is  dc
         "For our fiearts  shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted           algeheel Lieflijke. Alles wat Hij doet iS  schoon, Iief-
       in his holy name. Let thy mercy,  ,O Lord, be upon us, accord-
       ing  a;3 we hope in thee."-Psalm  33:21,22.                                 lijk, aantrekkelijk.
                               Their grateful children: .                             ,Ge zingt ervan. Het ruime hemelrond ,vertelt met
                                           Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Looyefiga         blijden mend-Gods  eer-en heerlijkheid! En dat is zoc
                                           S t u a r t   A .                       zelfs nu, nadat de vloek geop@nbaard is. _
                                           Sophie M.                                  Dat God genadig is- werd geopenbaard  toen God de
                                           Louisa J.                               dingen schiep; en sifids bewaarde. Alles yerkondigt,
                                           2 gaand-children:                       d a t   G o d   schoon  i s .
                                             -Mary .E. and Patricia A.                Maar dat wordt nog schooner als ge `God ziet in de
       Open house from `7 to 9 P.M.               -                                herschipping. Dan is Zijn genade die deugd van <God
       Grand Rapids, .SMi&igan.                                                    waarin Hij Zich nederbuigt tot den in zichzelven  doem


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B$EAR'ER                                           335

waardigen zondaar, yerkoren  tot het `eeuwige  leven.          God. 0 neen. Het plan der verlossing is de zeer ge-
Om he' nu heel praktisch aan te toonen: God komt               voelige, de zeer zachte en teedere God Zelf. Dat plan
neer in het eerste Paradijs en zegt: Adam, waar zijt ,loopt langs* de paden van de rommelende ingewanden
ge?~ Dat is de genade (Gods. Dat is Zijn onuitspreke-          van ,God naar den armen zondaar. _
lijke lieflijkheid. We  hadden kunnen verwachten, dat             En. hier is dan dat beeld waarvan ik sprak. Als
God neder zou komen in de uitgieting van `Zijn eeu-            een teederlijk bemind kind zeer &ek is, buigt zich de
wigen toorn' en. gramschap. "Doch Hij komt en zegt             moeder  over  hqar lieveling  heen en dan kreunt die
lieflijk:. Adam, waar zijt ge? En dat heeft Hij  her-          moeder in haar .otiuitsprekelijke liefde. Dat kreunen
haald, telken keer  als Hij een  tiitverkoren, in  zich-       over haar zieke kind is de on.tferming van die moeder.
zelven verloren zondaar roepf vanuit de duisternis             En dat is een beeld van den .ontfermenden  God. Ah
tot in Zijn wonderlijk licht.                                  veer vervuld in het kruis van Golgothi.
  Ik noemde dat roepen  van God in de duisternis lief-            Als <God  Zijn `volk ziet in banden van den dood, daar
lijk. Moet  ik dat bewijzen? Let er dan op, dat  dit           d' angst der  he1 hun  allen troost doet  missen,-dan
hetzelfde is als het komen, lijgen, sterven en opstaan kreunt God over hen, en dan kreunt Hij over hen meer
van" Jezus.      Het  roepen van God in het Paradijs:          clan eenige moeder dat ooit deed. ,God spx-eekt daarvan
Adam, waar zijt gij? is vervuld geworden in het brul- in Jesaja. Zal een moeder ooit haar  zuigelink   ver-
len van Messias. Anders kon het niet. Er was maar geten, dat zij zich niet ontfermen zou over den zoon
&5n weg waarlangs God lieflijk kon roepen den ver-             haars schoots? Welnu, zegt God : indien zij vergate, dan
doemelijken zondaar, en dat was de weg van het ver-            zo:l Ik tech u nooit vergeten. Gods ontferming is een
vloekte  hoyt van Golgotha, dat  `God zou zien  door-          eeuwige deugd, zoo oud als God oud. is. Ik mag het
boord, gemarteld,  gehotind  en.  bespot, en,  eindelijk,      ,nog  dieper  zeggen: die ontferming is God Zelf.  SGod
stervend.      Er zijn immers boeken geschreven -die tot' is Zij'n deugdeh.
titel hebben: De Doocl~vc&  Gods Zone?.                           "De. Heere bewaart de eenvoudigen  !"
   God is genade.. Hij riep mij vanuit de he1 tot den             Wat heerlijkheden! Hij bewaart de eenvoudigen!             *
bemel. - Dat is het lieflijke in God.                             -Wat zijn de eenvoudigen ? Dat zijn menschen die
                                                               lanuit he,t hart tot in de gedachte, het woord en den
   En dat is naar het eeuwig welbehagen. God wild&             daad-66n zijn. Ik  z&l een  beketide   cIich6 gebruiken:
Zijn lieflijkheid tot op bet hoogst openbaren. En dat eenvoudigec mensch& zijn menschen die meenen wat
is diezelfde lieflijkheid in Zijn Zoon.                        zi j zeggen. Dat zijri menschen die uitkomen voor wa-`;
   Maar genade' Fit vast aan *Gods rechtvaardigheid.           ze zijn. Dat zijn menschen die niets achter hun elle-.
Gods lieflijkheid is een rechtvaardige lieflijkheid. Toen      bogen houden. Eenvoudig staat tegenover  valsch, be-
God Zich een weg baande naar -Zijn-vo.lk, dat Hij van          clriegelijk, tweeslachtig,  duivelsch.
eebwigheid  beminde,  toen heeft Hij een  rechtvaar-              Een eenvoudig mensch staart U aan met een op&
digen  yeg, bewandeld, en die  rech.tvaardige Weg is           gelaat,  s.preekt  tot U met  gullen mond, bestrijdt U
Jezus .Christus. Zegt Jesaja niet, dat Sion door recht         met open vizier.                  ._
verlost zal worden;  en zijne wederkeerenden dooi- ge-            Tegenover die deugd van eknvoudigheid staat de
rechtigheid? En zoo is het. God is de zeer Lieflijke,          mensch die tot -U glimlacht, doch die U vloekt in zijn
maar die lieflijkheid is `rechtvaardig. Het werk der           h a r t .
verlossing mag gezien worden.            Niets ontbreekt er
aan. De uitverkorenen  hebben de  -e&wige  verdoe-                 Er is een fundamenteel verschil tusschen menschen
menis  v&diend. Weln;, dan zal IGod die verdoemenis            en mensclien. En het fundamenteel verschil ligt hier,
                                                               in die eenvoudigheid.
die zij verdiend  hebben Zelf lijden. En dat is Jezus                                   80 ja, ge behoeft h&t niet eens I
aan het kruis, de  groote  Verworpene. En  aan dat             te zeggen : ik weet, dat Gods volk een zeer zondig volk ,,
kruis betaalt Hij de laatste penning aan Zijn `eigen           is, en dat ook zij vaak `ialsch en'bedrieglijk zich open-
gerechtigheid. Aan dat kruis betaalt Hij tot genoeg-.          baren. Maar let hier tech op: Gods vobk heeft een be-
doening van Zijn deugd, de gerechtigheid.                      ginsel. van de `eenvoudigheid in zich. En de verwor-
   En onze  #God is ontfermend.                                penen hebben er niets van.
   Wat zal ik van die deugd ,Gods zeggen ?                         Hoe is' dat zoo gekomen?              ,
   Ze is zoo overweldigend grqot en schoon !                       Dat zit zoo: `God is de Eenvoudige bij uitnemend-
    Ontfermende IGod, wat zal ik van U zeggen hier?            heid. God is altijd Dezelfde, waar Hij Zich ook mag
   Ik zal direct met een  bbeld  beginnen, een beeld           openbaren. In Zich diepste Wezen en in `Zijn gedurige
waar ge allen kennis aan hebt. -                               openbaring blijft Hij Zichzelf altijd gelijk.
   Z,iet ge, de verlossing van de? aqnen zondaar is                Ik weet wel, dat het niet kan, doch als ge eens blik--
maar geen koud, beredeneerd, ongevoelig plan van               ken kondet in Zijn diepste Wezen, en Hem beluisteFelea-=
                                                                                                                .~


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*    336                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                       ~. d
                                  __..-.--                                                                   -
     in Zijn Eeuwig inblijvend Woord, zoo zoudt ge den-                Van onze zijde  worden  we  nauwelijks  zalig. We
     zelfden aGod, vinden, naar kyaliteit, als de :Gbd, die Zich ervaren dien  iekst  elken dag. Maar bij God is onze
     openbaart in den hemel, op de aarde en in de hel. #God         verlossing geschied. Vooraleer de  wqeld geschapen
     bleef, blijft, en zal Zich gelijk blijven tot in de? eec-      wierd,  waren wij  allen  zalig.. Wij zijn van  eeuwig-
     wigheid.                                                       hcid af aan de vermakitig  ,Gods geweest in cle spelende
         Nu d&l: die God woont in de  uitverkorenen  na             Fijsheid (Spreuken 8) . Toen Jezus bet uitriep: Ret
     hun bekeering, door Woord en ,Geest..  En zoo noemt            is volbracht ! toen baren we allen zalig historisch, cen-
     God Zijn volk, ook hier, de eenvoudigen.                       i  raal; en  er. werd er niet  &5n gemist. En door  al&
     .  ' Dat  volk.  bedvaart Hij. Xn Hij doet dat om Zijns        bange eeuwen' heen zijn ze allen zalig geworden. `Ze
     Zelfs wil. God  yerheerlijkt Zich`alleen in Zijn.Eiger,        bliezen den  laatsten  adem   tiit, en de Engelen Gods
     w;erk. Hij begon. ~dat .goede werk in hen, en Hij zal          stonden gereed om hun moegestreden.  ziel- zachtkens
     het voleinden tot op. den dag van den Heere Jezus naar boven .te dra'gen, naar boven bij ;God.
         En zoo hebt ge niets te vreezen. De inwoning van              Hoe zou het anders? Hij verlost Zijn volk. God
     den eeuwigen God in het midden van U is waarborg,              staat in voor Zijn Eigen &erk. Hij is het die @en allen
     dat ge bewaard zult worden en bewaard zult blijven.            bij name roept : en er wordt er niet QBn gemist ! Wie
     God. betiaart de eenvoudigen.                                  zou niet .zingen? Want God is ons `ten  schild in `t
         En  da! bewaren ziet op Zijn hand, Zijn sterke             strijdperk van dit leven . . . . .
     rechterhand.  Er is een allerbizonderste  voorzien%g              Nu niag de  diehter dan ook zeggen: "Mijne ziel,
     die altijd over Gods volk gaat. Iti een paar woorden           keer  wedq tot uwe, rust, want de Heere heeft aan u
     wordt ons dit verhaald, door den diehter : Ik was ui.t- we@edaan."
     geteerd,  doch Hij heeft mij verlost!  1s het niet om            -`Er was rust  geweest, en die rust was verstoord
     van, te zingen?                                                door de angsten der hel,.de banden des doods, de droef-
         Neen,  bet  gist niet altijd naar het vleesch  voor        heid en benauwdheid van het onmigdelijke  verleden.
     Gods  volk. Inderdaad, het gaat juist tegen  hei De Sabbat der ziel was veranderd in de onrust -en on-
     vlee'sch in met Gods volk, meer dan eenig ander men-           vrede vali het slagveld. Als God een ziel wederbaart,`
     schenkind. VeleO zijn de tegenspqeden  des -rechtvaar- ' bekeert en geroof schenkt, daalt de Sabbat in zulk een
     digen, maar uit die a!le redt hem de Heere.        '           ziel. Die Sabbat is de rust #Gods.
       d' De zanger heeft bet ervaren. .Ik, was uitgeteerd.            Doch God  loutert Zijn voik. Hij zendt  winden,
     Neen, we weten niet tot in bizonderheden wab die uit-          orkangn,  slagregens die tegen het huis aanvallen. Dan
     teering-geweest  is. We hebben de angstige  klachten           schudt .en kraakt alles, en dan schijnt het alsof we
     beluisterd in het derde  vers.' Het was erg  geweest;          o m k o m e n   zullerx                                   .
     Er waren banden des doods, angsten der hel, benanwd-           `Maar. we hebben Zijn Eigen Woord,  hetweilc  ons
     heid en droefenis. Wd hebben toen opgemerkt, dat dit           vert'elt  `hoe- die ,dingen ov'er ons komen moeten, opdat
     zekerlijk op deri Messias iiet, die in Zijn profeten Goor-     we Zijn heiligheid zouden deelachtigdtiorden. Hij  .gee-
     ui,tleed,  wat Hij in de volheid des tijds zou vervullen.      selt een ,eigelijken  zoon dien Hij aanneemt. Na regen
     Maar tot  op` zekere hoogte  `is  bet  geleden door  deien komt zonneschijn.
     zanger. En  oak  doo.r  ens;  De weg naar den  hemel is           En de vrede die alle v&s&d  t.L b&en gaat daalt
     bezaaid met doornen en distelen.  -In de wereld zullen         in het hart neder.
     we verdrukking hebben.  Jezus zendt ons te  midden  '             Zoo geschiedde het in `t leven van dezen dichter.
     der wolven. We worden  den ganschen dag gedood, we                En hij sprak tot zijn ziel : Keer weder tot uwe rust.
     zijn geaeht als schapen der slachting (Psalm 44 en             Keer weder tot uwen Sabbat.
     R o m e n i e n   8 ) .                                           Wat is rust? Wat is de Sabbat der ziel ?
            0 ja, als ge een kind~Gods  iijt, dan wordt ge vaak.       Ze is dit: dan gaat ge de groote werken Gods aan-
     verteerd,  uitgeteerd.                                         schouwen.       Dan gaat ge die werken  ,Gods prijzen.
         Maar menigvuldig zijn de verlossingen van den              Dan gaat .ge in in het volbrachte Middelaarswerk Gods.
     God Jakobs. Het wa,ter mag`tot aan de lippen komen,            Dan  ontvangt  God de lof en de eer en de majesteit
     men mag zeer laag  zinken (zie de Engelsche  verta-            tot in der eeuwigheid. ,Dan gaat de zanger alles ver-
     ling), God kwam ter rechter  uur en verloste U. Zoo            tellen in een psalm. En dan zorgt God er voor, dat die
     is het altijd gegaan in bet verleden ; zoo gesehiedt het       psahn bewaard  wordfin d&n bundel der gezangen Gods.
     elken dag nu ; en `zoo zal het gaan totdat alle. kinderex  I Dan gaan gij en ik er over praten,  zingen,  jubelcn.
     Gods veilig  thuis zijn. Hij  z@ hen  -nimmey  dm  doen        Dan, wordt daardooy  de 10-f Gods grooter gemaakt.
     `komen in duren tijd en hongersnood..                   1'.                                                   G. Vos.


