     VOLUME   XXIX                                    DECEMBER   15,  1954   -  GF&ND   RAPIDS,   MICHIGAN                           t+JMBER   6

                                _                                                   liezen zal,  zoolang.&  menschen op deze aarde  zijti die
              `M E D I T A T I O N   .   . den lieflijken naam  dragen van'menschen des  welbe-
                                                                                    hagen Gods. De Engelen  zijn.  uit&ezongen,   `en alles
                                                                                    wordt weer stil, en duister, alsof er  niet% gebeurd is.
             _r             D e              Herders-                               En  tech, die herders  kutineti  niet.bij de kudde blijven.
                                                                                    Ze gaan: Laat bns zien het woord  duct geschied is.
                      "En hit geschiedde als de  engelen  van hen weg-                      `I
                    gevaren  waren   x'aar   den  hemel,  dat de herders tot                                    -*  *  rlr  *
                    elmkandcr zeiden: laat ons dan-henengaan nsar Beth-
                    lehem, en:  aaat  on.s zien het woord dat er geschied
                    is,  hebwelk de Heere  ants heeft kond gedaan. En                 Er lijdt`geen twijfel  a&n, dat  deze eenvoudige her-
                    zij-.kwamen   inet' haast, en vonden Maria en  J.ozef,          ders kinder&  <Gods  waren. Dat is  ov&duidelijk,  Zoo-
                    en het  kindeke   ligg+de  in de kribbe. En  .als  zsij         als we  willen aantoonen. Het  staat   ni& met  zoovele
                    het gezien  hadden, maakten zij alom  bekend  het               woorden in den  t`ekst, maar  we1  indirect.  ~ScGe kunt dat            _
                    woprd  da,t hun van dit kindeken gezegd was. En
                    allen die het  hoooden.,   verwonderden-   zich  eve+  -bet-    geloof  hooren~ in hunsprake : Laat ons  dati henengaan
                   geen hun gezegd verd van de herders. En de her-                  naar Bethlehem en  last ons  z&n het woord, dat er  ge-
                    ders keerden wede?om,  verbeenldjkende  en prijzende            schied  i's,. het welk de Heeren ons heeft kond gedaan.
                    God over alles wat zij geiien  en gehoord hadden,  ge-          Pat  i$-de taal des  geloofs..  \Ge merkt  opj dat een ieder
                    lijk tot hen gesproken was." -Lucas  2:1,5-l&20.                tech op het woord eens  engels heengaan zou. 0 neen,
     Yafi  alle feestdagen is  tech Kerstmis de lieflijkste.                        dat zou juist niet een  Seder  doen. En we hebben  ,Gods
- En het is  dtiidelijk waarom  dieil  dag, ons zoo bizonder                        Woord tot bewijs. Al  stand  iemand  ob uit de dooden
  aanterkt.          In dien  dag,- of liever, in dien nacht  staan                 zoo zouden ze  zich  tech  diet laten gezeggen.  Herin-
  we  in.verrukkirig bij de aanschouwing van het grootste                           nert ge U de gelijkenis van den rijken man en  Laza-
  wonder  v&n alle wonderen : de vleeschworcling. In- dieri                         rus?          En hoe  gemakkelijk was  he!q'oti uitvluchten  te
  nacht heeft de Heere God gedacht  aan Zijn eeuwige                                vinden voor deze herders. We  h&ben gedroomd.  Re --
  genade, zijn  trouti  aan Israel, nooit  gekrenkt.  Toen                          hebben het ons  ver.beeld.  .Of ook, ze zoyden  ~allerlei
  is  #God- met den mensch  getrouwd, want Hij nam ons                              hinderpalen kunnen zien die  heri  tieerhouden konden
  vleedch en bloed  a&n. Aangenomen zijn wij  toen,  alle                           om te  gaal? naar Bethlehem.  Daar  -was  itimers de
  Christenen zijn in dien nacht historisch aangenom.en.                             kudde sehapen waacover ze  gesteld  war&n en waarvoor
  De  profeten van  d&n dag spraken van het heuglijke                               ze.  verantwoordelijk gesteld  tiaren? En dan : slechts
  feit, dat God zijn volk  bezocht had.  Inderdaad.-zoo                             eeti  kitideken; in  doeken `gewonden en liggende in een
  iS het.          W-e lezen in de eenvoudige; nuchtere, en  tech                   kribbe? Daar is niets  schoons  en  tiiets. om  zich te  _
zoo  schoone   geschiederiis,  dat  de herders wakende wa- haasten.  Doch de  herdeps gaan  nu,  aa&onds.  Niets
  ren en over de kudde,  .nabij Bethlehem ; en  bet was                             belet  wanneer  de- geloovige ziel Jezus vindt.
  nacht. En  plotSeling  stond daar bij hen een  Engel  `Gods                           Wat geloofden zij ? Ze geloofden het eeuwig  Evan-
  predikende een groote blijdschap. En nadat die  hemel-                            gelie, daar lijdt geen twijfel  aan. Laat ons zien  bet
  sche. gezant zijn boodschap gebracht had, zien de  be-                            woord. hetwelk de Heere ons heeft kond. gedaan. E n
  vende  herders een heirleger van hemelsche  troongees-                            dat Evangelie was  we1 kort, maar het was  desniette-
  ten die een  tionderschoone  zang  aanheffen, een zang                            min. compleet.            Een' Zaligmaker, de  Christus  en de
  die tot ons gekomen is vanuit het  grijie verleden, een                           Helere.         Dat is genoeg, eeuwig genoeg en voldoende.
  zang die zijn schoonheid  en  aantyekklijkheid nooit  ver-                        Vergeet  niet,  deze herders  hadden  Mo,zes en de pro-            _


                                                .                   _


122                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   -BEAJ$ER

feten, en het is duidelijk uit  alles.`dat ze uitzagen  naar     Ze zien een verlaten  stal en  riekende kribbe. Er-.yas
 de vervulling  de+ belof te  aan  I$  vaderen.geschied. E n     geen  plaats voor hen in de  herberg. Eeu+F!- sehande,
 dat Evangelie was voor hen, zeer definitief voor hen.           eeuwig  wondeg,  eeu$ige heerlijkheid.  Alg. we slechts
Het  was niet  slechts+ een  historische-.geschiedenis.    0     zien door het  .oog  des geloofs.  Anclers  xi&  ti& niets
neen. Ze ontvingen de verkondiging van  bun Jezus.               b i z o n d e r s .
Ze beseften  I.srael's ellende,  hEin eigen ellende, en  ver-        Bethleheni"wist  niet  wat-er dien  nacht  gebeur.d was,
 wachtten Israel's verlossing. En  daarqm was er  groo-          Hier is een  ar.rne  timmerman van Galilea, een  jeug-
te blijdschap in hunne  harten. Het staat  er.  tech  dui" dige,  acme  m'oeder,  -`en  meen klein  kindeke,  dat dien
 delijk, dat dit alles voor hen  was? U is  -heden geboren       liacht  geboren%aL  .:  Meer  qiet. Neen er was niets
 de  Zaligtiaker  welke is  Chri&&y,  de.-Heere !                bizonders  `te  z&n  in  d$n  nacht.  D.w.~., niet voor  l>et
       Dit Evangelie was zeer  pa&culier,  zooals het steeds     natuurlijk oog des  zondi&n.menschen. Jezus?  Chris-
 is. Het was voor hen, en  voor  al. den  volke, voor al het     tus ? De Heere  ?- Een  ahnachtige God ? Onbeschri jf e-
volk van  IGod. Wat een blijdschap  om,  266 naar Beth-          lijke zaligheid? Het' grootste wonder  `der wonderen?
lehem te gaan. Verloren te zijn in  zonde en dood, en            Neen. Een denkende  moedei-, en stille  vad,er<-een   ge-
 d$n vanuit den  hemel te hooren,  -dat ons geboren is           woon kindje, ellendige armoede:  geen lintjes en  strik-
een  Zaligmaker,  Christus de Heel-e.                            jes, en zachte kleertjes,  geen mooie wieg met  zachte
       Hij is Jezus, d.w.z., betaling van onze schuld,  yer- ,dekentjes;  niets  van dat alles, maar een  vmizige  krib-
lotising uit de  banden  dies doods, verkrijging van  bet        be en een vuile stal. Er is niets hier voor het  natuur-
 eeuwige leven, inwoner in de hemelsche stad! Dat                lijke oog.
is Jezus.                                                            Maar, let wel, dit was juist het  teeken, dat  door: den
  - En Hij is Christus, d.w.z., de Gezondene  des  Va-           Engel  )Gods hun was kond  g$daan. En we lezen, dat
 ders om ons profeten, priesters en  kotiingen  te  maken        ze zouden gaan  xien het woord!  Het  Kindeke in  doe-
 Gode en den Vader : wat  zaligheid !                            ken  gewikkeld en liggende in een kribbe  w,as het  -tee-
       `En Hij is onze Heere, d.w.z., de  Gezondene  des  Va-    k e n   IGods.
 ders om  all6  dingen uit de  macht Satans  te  rukken en           En dan  oak, dat er geen plaats was voor Hem, dat
 Zijn  koninkrijk der  -hemelen  op te  richten, het  konin-     Hij  aan het randje der wereld geboren werd, klaar om
krijk-dat staan zal tot in  qeuwigheid.                          er afgeworpen te  worden, dit  alles behoorde tot het
       En zoo kwamen  .ze met haast, een haast geboren           teeken. En het was juist aangelegd op het geloof. Het
 uit het  zaligmakend geloof. Ze  waren niet bezorgd             gel6of  we& te spreken  van-armoede, van onze-armoede.
 aangaande  -aardsche  dingen. Daar  waren him  scha-            Onze armoede  i, de armoede die over ons gekomen is
 pen die ze noodig  hadden voor  hul? broodwinning. Hoe          vanwege onze  zxde. We zijn vanwege de zonde en
konden ze die schapen zonder wachters  achter%ten?               de  zonde-scbuld  geheel en al berooid, uitgekleed, naakt,
 En later  nemen ze  er ook hun tijd voor. (Teruggaande          ellendig geworden voor  ,Gods aangezicht. En het zal
haastten ze niet. Ze namen tijd om te prediken en te             al erger- worden. Er komt een armoede in de  he1 die
 zingen, te  zingen van gena. Maar die haast  vertolkt           onuitsprekelijk is: Van alles beroofd  zullen de  ver-
hun  geestelijk verlangen en hunkering naar de  ver-             worpenen in groote smarten ter neer liggen in het
 vulling der  belofte.      Een  werkelijk hongerige  ziel Vuur dat  .brandt van  VULW   en sulfur. En. het geloof
haast  zich naar Jezus  henen. En  zoolang dit niet zoo          weet dat. Het zaligmakende geloof ontving waarheid
 is zien we  qm naar verontschuldigingen. We zijn nog            in het Mnnenste, en  dat geloof  wor&t gevoed door het
 jong en daarom hebben we tijd en te over. We zijn               Woord, hetwelk spreekt, ter `eener zijde, van onze
verslaafd  ,aan aardsche  dingen,  naam,  positie, weelde,       schuld der zonde  ; en ter anderer zijde, van den  toorn
 zondige vermaken. $!taar wanneer we  bezochk  worden            Gods over die schuld  def zonde.
 door de groote blijdschap, dan verliezen alle die  dingen           `0, we zijn zoo vreeselijk  arm'van nature. En we
hun' beteekexiis-we   moeten dan Jezus zien en hebben            worden al  armer door de  eetiwen  heen. We zijn arm
voor het  hongerige en dorstige hart. Zoo was het met            aan  recht en gerechtigheid. Arm  aan alle deugd van
 de herders. Ze  hadden op de troost Israels gewacht,            gbed:heid en lieflijkheid.    Stelt U Adam voor in den
 en nu het eindelijk gekomen  was,  moeten. ze  zich  haas-      staat der rechtheid, en weent over Uwe armoede. N u
ten  eaar Bethlehem toe. Daqr was de vervulling van              zweten we  Ien zuchten,  nu  schreien we en lijden, nu
het  Woord van  #God; Daar was een groote zaligheid              schreeuwen we het  uit in alle weedom des  harten en
te zien. Daarom: en ze gingen met  haaat.                        de_r ziel. En onze woning, onze  garde is een  tranen-
                          *  *  *  r?c'  _                       den. 0, we zijn zoo  ongei?venaard`arm geworden door
                                                                 de zonde en de schuld. En dat weet het geloovige hart.
                                                                 En dat wisten die herders, want ze  waren geloovigen.
       `Op  zichzelf  `-was er niets ongewoons in die  &al.          En zoo zien ze geloovig. Ze zien en herkenen


                                         THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                  123
                                                                                                -

hun eigen armoede in  di& vuile stal. Ze gelooven dat             ltoestand.  Maar wij  zullen wachten, wachten op  IGod,
 Hij kwam die om  oezentwil arm moest  worden opdat  I totdat Hij ons hale om dien Jezus in den  hemel  te
 Hij ons een rijkdom schenken zou die den  hemel zal              zien.
 doen  ruischen van ongekend geluk en  zaligheid. Door
 het geloof hebben die herders gezien dat er geen groote
 plaats voor Hem moet gegeven  worden door de wereld,                                    a  *  *  72
 doch  d& Hij desniettemin, juist door Zijn groote
 armo.ede, die wereld zal overwinnen. Als iijn  armoe-
 de niet meer uitgesproken  kan  worden op dat bange                  En, eindelijk, zien we, dat deze herders  terug-
krtiis, waar Hij geen voet grond meer heeft om op  te             keerden naar hunne kudde. Do& ze  waren nog niet
 staan, waar  .Hij naakt  uitgetogen is-voor het oog van          klaar, ze verheerlijkten  `God. Let daar  ,op.  ,Godsdienst
 God, menschen, engelen en duivelen, dan zal Hij daar             is theologie.  Het gaat alles om God. Op het  kerst-
 juist het fundament leggen voor een rijkdom der zalig-           feest moogt ge niet in Jezus eindigen. Hij. is slechts
 heid die ons zal  doen  zingen tot in  der eeuwen eeuwig-        middel Gods  o'rn Zijn glorie en heerlijkheid te  toonen.
 heid van gena en  ontzaglijk`e ontfermingen Gods.                Dat hebben die herders gezien door het  geloof. En
                                                                  daarom is hun` einde de  verheerlijking- van God. Die  e
                                                                  herders  hebben goede leermeesters gehad.  Toen die
                          *  a  a  *                              groote  heirlegers der engelen rondom hen in de  at-
                                                                  mosfeer van dien  nacht  aan-?  zingen gegaan zijn,  toen
                                                                  hebben die herders het gehoord : Eere zij  IGod ! .Dat
    Ze hebben  zich gehaast door hst geloof; ze hebben            was de hoofdtoon. Dat is de  hoofdiaak. Dat was het
 door  hetzelfde geloof het  teeken gezien. Ze  zagen im-  ' motief, het  doel, het  alles in  hemel en op aarde.  Ver-
 mers het woord dat geschied was? Welnu, dan  z&en, heerlijkende God ! Bij  .Hem  waren  im.mers van eeuwig-
 ze ook verder gaan. Ze  zpilen door hetzelfde geloof             heid gedachten des vredes? Hij  -verwerkelijkte het
 gaan prediken en God verheerlijken. Het geloof moet              wonder te Bethlehem. Straks zal Hij het wonder  te                     -=
 spreken. Ge kunt het ware geloof niet tot zwijgen                Golgotha toonen, en de verrijzenis van Jezus. Dan
 brengen.  N e e n ,    zelfs niet door het vuur van den          het wonder van het  Pinksterfeest. En het wonder in
 brandstapel. Het geloof  meet.  zich uiten en  het zal           onze  harten.    En het  .ls God die het wonder van een
 zich uiten.    Waarom ?      Omdat door het geloof het           nieuwen  hemel  en. een  nieuwe aarde toonen zal. Het
 hart vol van vreugde is.  Hadden de engelen niet  ge-            is. alles uit God, door  IGod en tot God. Zijns is de
 sproken en gezongen van een groote  blijdschap? W,el-            glorie  en de heerlijkheid tot in der eeuwigheid. Dat
 11~1,   de aanvankelijke  vervulling is in de  harten  van       hebben de herders door het geloof gezien en betracht.
 die eenvoudige herders.       Waar het hart vol van is           Luistert naar hen als ze  zitih  heen  wenden tot de kudde        -
 loopt de mond van over.  .Hoe zouden we  tech stil               in dien  nacht. Hebben ze  sotimige van Davids  schoone
 zijn als we Jezus, den Christus, den Heere gevonden              psalmen gezongen? Ik weet het niet.  IGod weet het.
 hebben? Wat had de  Engel gezegd van het object van                  %aat ons  266 naar Bethlehem gaan.  Geloovende,
 die blijdschap? Het zou al den volke zijn. Welnu,                haastende, ziende, predikende, en verheerlijkende  `God
die herders hebben dat verstaan, en  z&  zagen in die             en den Vader. Als  we~,dat mogen  doen door Gods  lief-
 verkondiging hun  beyel. Ze gaan Gods volk opzoeken.             lijke genade, dan zullen we een zalig Kerstfeest vieren,
 Het geloof vindt het volk waaraan het zijn hart kan              en dan zullen we  .hier en nu een beginsel  van  hemel-
uitstorten. Want het wil den Zaligmaker groot  maken,             sche vreugde genieten, om Jezus' wil.
 den Zaligmaker die  ons van de  he1  verlost.en ons zal                                                         ,G. Vos.
 brengen  tot de hoogste  heerlijkheid.     En zoo  tiien  ye                                     ~,        i
 de eenvoudige herders die plotseling veranderd  wor-
 den door middel van Gods genade, tot verkondigers des                                -:-::
Goddelijken Woords. ~0, die  mannen wisten direct tot
 wien ze  zich  moeten  richten. Ze gaan in. dien  nacht  van"
 deur tot deur, en ze verkondigen kerstmis preeken. En
 ze  hadden een  waardeeren-d gehoor. We lezen immers                 CLAS.SIS  EA,ST will meet in regular session  qn
 in den tekst, dat men  zich  verwonderde over hetgeen            Wednesday, January 7th at First Church.
 hun gezegd  werd van de  herders? God  wrocht mede
 met  .deze. predikers, er  ,yas  ceil gehoor,  & er was              &Tatters for Synod should be brought to this meet-
 vrucht beide deze herders en  `velen van  bun, gehoor            ing.
 zijn nu in den  hem@ bij Jezus.  Benijdenswaardige                                                      ---Q. Jonker, S.C.


          124                                                               `Tifti  ,$`rANbARb   BEARER

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                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                             -EDITORIA.LS
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                             EDITOR - Rev. Herman Hoeksema
            Communications relativk t3 contents should be addressed                                                         In the present editorial I  wLsh to  furtiish a few
            to Rev. H. Hoeksema, 1139 Franklin St., S. E.,  Grand                                                        cogent reasons why all Protestant Reformed people
            R a p i d s   `7 ,   Michigan.
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                                                                                                                            In  former years practically all our people enthusi-
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                                                                                                                         ber the time when in our own congregation in Fuller
                                                                                                                         Avenue, Grand Rapids, anybody that was known not
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                                                                                                                         for the nomination of elder and  deacon.  In family
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                                            C.9 N T E  N.T  S                                                                I am afraid that this enthusiasm is fast declining.
          MEDITATION-                                                                                                        I am  also afraid  .that one  df the chief reasons for
                 De Herders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121                this  de&e is that a clear knowledge of, interest in,
                    Rev. G. Vos                                                                                          and love of the Protestant Reformed truth is on the
          EDITORIALS-                                                                                                    w a n e .
                 Why We Should Read the Standard Benrer . . . : . . . . . . . . . . , 124
.                   Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                         This is my reason for writing the present editorial.
                                                                                                                         Mark you well, the  Standard Bearer  is not begging for
          THE  TRIPLE   KNOWLEDGE-
                 An Exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127                         subscriptions. The truth never begs. And the  1sttxG
                    Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                     CZ~YKZ Bearer  represents the truth. If many of us are
          OUR  DOCTI~INE-                                                                                                nbt interested in the  Prot&ant  Reformed truth any-
                 God's Providence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131                                  more, something which I am still loath to believe, the
                    R e v .   H .   Veldman                                                                              truth of God nevertheless stands and marches on,
          IN  HIS  FEAR-                                                                                                 ,eyen without them. Besides, I do not want mere sub-
                 Looking to the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135           scribers, but readers that will make careful  .Btudy_of  -~
                    Rev. H. C. Hoeksema                                                                                  our paper and read it from cover to cover.
          TLIE  DA'I OF SHADOWS -                          .                                        .,                     That all our Protestant Reformed people should
                 The Rite of Expiatory Sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
                 The Absalom  Revolt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138         read the  Stand.ad Bearer,  I  ljersonally  base  -on the
                    Rev. G. M. Ophoff                                                                                    following `reasons.
                                                                                                                             The first reason is that the  Standard Bearer  is the
          FROM HOLY  WRIT-
                 Exposition of I Peter 1:6, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140            only `publication in the world that has always main-
     G              Rev. G. C. Lubbers                ,                                                                  tained and still maintains the  pgre Protestant Re-
          PERISCOPE-                                                                                                     formed truth. And not only has it always maintained
                 Common Grace . . . . . . .-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142    that truth, but it also  ,developed  it and displayed it  '
                 Smoking  and Cancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143       as far as it was in the power of the editors in all its
                 Mission and Creeds . . . . . . . . , . . .-. . . :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143.      riches, -Moreover, it defended that truth consistently
                    Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                     and faithfully over against all gainsayers. If you will
                                                                                                                         take the trouble to peruse. the pages  of  the  Standard


                                        .T"HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            ,125

 B&WY from the very beginning of its publication, you              ches  8s a guide in their preaching  on the  HeidelbergFr.
 mill certainly have to -admit that this is true.         The      I can refer you to many other articles, such -as "De'
 Eame "sound" is  .heard throughout.          Fundamentally' Geloovigen en Hun Zaad- (Believers and Their Seed)  ",
 the  Standard  Bearer `has never changed. It has never  Se to the articles on the Gospel, on  ,t.he truth that grace
 produced a new sound.          It has never struck a false        is  particuiar,  etc.
note. It was always faithful to its purpose, the de-                   This -Protestant Reformed contents of the  StawcZarcZ
 velopment  2nd maintenance of the Reformed truth as               L'&a*er, both positive and negative, is maintained to
 it was first defended by Danhof and Hoeksema, and                 the present day.
 later by the Rev.  ~Ophoff.     It has defended that truth         This  is my chief reason  iyhy all the Protestant Re-
 over against the false doctrine of common grace, both             formed people should. certainly subscribe to, but also
 Kuyperian. and  lAsrminian, as this false doctrine was            read the Standard Bearer.
 of%ially  expressecl and' adopted in the Three Points                 My second reason-why all the Protestant  Reformed
 of the Synod of Kalamazoo, 1924. In a sense, there-               people should support the cause of the  Sta~cklrrd Bear-
 fore, one of the purposes of the  Standard Bearer  from *.er, and read, it, is that our -paper  has  ,bFen the sole
'  its very inception was negative and  controveysial. It          means through which our Protestant  Ref.ormed  truth
 was challenged to show  cause why the doctrine of com-            and  OUT  Protkstant  Reformed Churches have become
 mon grace was neither confessionally nor  Bi~blically known and respected, even in and by the  Reforined
 Reformed. And this  fals'e doctrine as it was adopted             Churches of the Netherlands.
 by the Synod of  K&&zoo,  192'4, implied not only the                 This  purpo.se was accomplished not only through
 .Kuyperian theory that  IGod is gracious to all men in            the fact that the  Sttindard  Beaver  itself was sent and
 bestowing upon them the  t.hings of this present life,- read in the Netherlands, but no less through the re-
 that by a certain grace  whitih  is not regenerating sin          print of several of the articles that appeared in the         _
is  restrained0  in the  iGdividua1 and in the  com.munity,        Stanclaya   Bearer;such as."iGenade Geen` Aaibod", "De
 and that therefore man. is. able by common  grace.to              ,Geloovigen  en Hun' Zaad", "Het Evangelie". Thou-
 perfogm good works and to live a tolerably good life              sands of these reprints were sent all  tirough the  Ne-
 in. this' present world; but also, and even. more em- therlailds.  ICopies were presented to the consistories,                       -
 phatically so,  the Arminian or Heynsian theory that              with the request  tb express their opinion. Other co-
 G-od is gracious to the reprobate in the preaching of             pies were sent for review to several. of the church  pa-
 the gospel and  .that the preaching of the gospel is a            peys in the old country. ,They were read  ; they  were
 well-meaning offer of grace and salvation on the part  _ studied  ; they were reviewed in several papers. And
 of  `God to all that hear,  the.offer being conditioned on        r,YtlioGgh  some of' those reviews were favorable and
 faith on the part of those that hear it. In other words,          others were not, the influence was unmistakeable. I
 from  .its very inception the  Standaycl   Bearer  had to dare say that it was largely through the` Star&&
 &&bat the false doctrine of common grace within the               Eearer that many  Refor,med  leaders in the Netherlands
 covenant, and the equally false doctrine that the prom-           began to question the  theory of common grace.
 ise. of the covenant is an objective bequest to all that             ,The  result- was that  not only our paper, but also                          '
 are  ibaptized, on condition of faith and obedience.              our churches became known, and, in spite of the  fact
     But the.  yealization of this negative and  cor&o-            that the Netherlarids theologians did  not always agree
 versial purpose by no means exhausted the contents                with  our stand, were nevertheless respected as a  .strong
 of the Standard Bearer. In fact, thdse  cont&s  were              Reformed group. JVitness  the fact  that from the Ne-
 jlwtiys and chiefly devoted to. the positive instruction          therlands we received the invitation to be represented
 of our protestant Reformed people in the Reformed                 at the Reformed Ecumenical Synod in Edinburgh,
 ,truth, the truth-of, Scripture and of the Confessions.           1953. Witness also  t'he fact that from the same Re-
 Also this you will find to-be the truth, if you  w.ill take       formed Churches in the Netherlands we received the
 the trouble  to peruse  th'e pages-of the  Stan$arcl   B'earer    invitation to cooperate in  the revision of the Church
 from the-beginning. I can `refer you `to many articles            OFder.     And finally, witness the fact that literally
 of the Rev. H. Danhof and the Rev. Ophoff, and later              hundreds of books of a  6heological  nature are sent
 of  C.h_e Revs. Verhil and Vos and others, to  prove  niy         regularly to the  Standard Bearer  for review.
 point. And I also may. humbly refer you to articles                   I  do not hesitate  to maintain that `no other  gruup
 written by myself. I would refer you to hundreds of               of churches as small as ours has had so much influ-
 meditations, to my articles on the history of the  Pi-o-          ence in  the' Reformed church-world as  the_ Protestant
 testalit  Reformed `Churches, to  -my exposition  0%.  the        Reformed Churches. -And -this  influenci is almost  ex-
 Heidelberg  ICatechism, which, by, the `way, is used  .even       cldsiveiy due to the propagation of the Protestant Re-                  -_  '
`-by many ministers in the Christian Reformed  Chir-               f&tied truth by tlie  &a&ard  Bearer.


                                                                                            t;     -


                                                                                                              \


     126                                                 T           H             E              ST&NDA'R::D  BE.ARER.

            And this I -consider  .anothe*.:reason why,  all  pro- ,and debate. Nor will I deny that in this respect the
     .testant Reformed  $&ple should faithfully support and                                Stamlard Bearer  has sometimes been guilty. At the
     read  -dur paper.                                                      -E,             s&ie:time, I nevertheless wish to emphasize that on
       " A third-reason', and -that tob  iri close  -lonnection                             the whole the  Standard  Bearer  was evidently and  cery
   with the preceding, is that our calling as  P,rotestant                                  plainly motivated by the truth and by nothing  bll't
    .Reformed Churches is to be  Tery specific, arid. that the                             the truth, as it is maintained in our Protestant  Rn-~.
     Standard  B&are?*  is the sole  reprer;entative  in print of                          fortied Churches. I challenge anyone to  deny  that the
     this  specific  calling.                                                              controversy that` was carried on in the  Stan#cZarcZ  Bear-
                                                                                           Br from its very inception is motivated by the love of
            We may not be satisfied with  a sort of  genepal  gos-
                                                                                           the`truth  and  `by the desire to maintain the truth over
    .pel. `We may not even be satisfied with a vague and
     general confession of the  Reformed-  truth;                                          against all  gainsaye&.
                                                                          It is very
    .evidentl$  ou?  .calling as churches- to  abe very specific,                                 Others object,  that the  Stamlaul  B(earer  in its con-
     to cross-  211. the  t's  and :to  dot all  ,the i's of the Re-                       troversy is too  one-iidi;d:
     formed truth.' *This  `&pee& character of our Pro- .                                         x  wili'  &dr$t   ,&is, if  by1  onesidedness is meant that
     testant  Reformed faith  must especially be found in                                  the  St&c&d  Bearer  c&f&d&  on?y the Protestant Re-
     the0  sOrict maintenance of the Protestant Reformed                                   formed truth, and-  nothing' else. Moreover, I want to
    &nception of the covenant, which, according to it,'  is- call  the  attention of  the  Gei~ders to the fact that in its
     not the promise of the gospel,  nor's way of salvation,                               controversy the  S@mZard  &crer  has never approach-
    .nor a  cbntract between- two parties, `but is the  everlast-                          ed  its reader with. a  "Plapa   clixit,  the pope has spoken",
    .ing relation of friendship and intimate fellowship be- -but has  alwayfJ  .Fotivatecl its contentions with sound
    tween God. and His elect people, ace&ding to which He                                  and logical  argtiinents  from Scripture and the Confes-
    is their eternal Friend, and they are His  friend-sec-                                 sions. ,Such, I dare Say, has ever been the method of
    vants.              +                                                                  the  Standard Bearer;  and I challenge  ariyone  to deny*
       2  Perh.aps  if we  .emph&size this specific truth we will                          t.his,
    i-&er become large as churches..  -But it is not our call-                               - But if the contention that  our controversy is  one-
    ing  to be  .big, but to maintain the truth. I{  may be                                sided is supposed to imply that we'bar others, wlio dif-
    very'tempting to  .our  o$en the doors of our church to                                fer with us, from writing in our paper, I maintain that
    -others that differ  Vvith us principally in  respedt to the                           this contention is  utterly false. The  Stan,clarcZ Bearer
   :ti%i.th of the covenant,  iout  we.  must  certainly  relist                           has always been wide, open, frequently even has left
    that temptation.. NO,therwise we will be unfaithful to                                 its proper space to others, in `order that they may ex-
   jour specific calling, dnd soon it will  be.found that we                               press their  opinion,  though that opinion differs radic-
    have- no  specific reason for existence as a Protestant                                ally from ours. We, have gone the length of transla-
    Reformed church.`-                        :                                            ting long articles  from..Tiutch into English, written
         To this specific  calling the  Star&& Bearer  has al-                             by those that were opposed to our conception. We
    ways  be&  .f&thful.  -.                                                               have  taken'articles  that  were so poorly written that
    `,  ;"  -And` this  <is  .a third reason why all our  Prot&&nt                         they could not possibly have been published as they
    R&formed people should  supsort  and, read  the  S'tnn-                                wey`e, and rewrote them on our  own typewriter, in or-
    dard              Bearek                  `-
                                         _                                                 der to give to those that differ with  us` the opportunity
    %. .hy fourth  reasqn  is the  controyersy that is carried                             to  .express themselves. No, the  contefition that t.he
    ,011  in the  Standa?:cl   Bearer;  bo$h with those that are                           Stan&ml  Bearek  is  onesided in this respect is utterly
    without and  with  tho&  that are within.                                              false.     And if  `you will peruse  the  Standaml Bearer
                                                                                          from its very beginning, you are. bound to admit this.
         "What?" I  .hear someone say,. "You  sugge,st that
    `the controversy  .is .a  reasoil why  we should. read  the.                                  But controversy we must  have:
    $$ndard. Bearer 2 ,It  .is`&actly-b.ecause  of all the  con-                            T h e   S c r i p t u r e s   a r e   &ll  of  - c o n t r o v e r s y .
    F&ersy that I  do not  iike the  S~aizdard  Bearer."                                          :Th_e.-(?onfkssions  devote a large part of their con-
      *That  &meo,e  &  m i s t a k e n .                                          I      &tits to  controLrsy.                        Vi.               1_
         I can readily  understand that one dislikes co&o-                                _  ,As long  ai  &e.&e  living is a sinful world and in
    yersy when it. becomes a matter of personalities and
              _.                                                                          an imperfect. church,  ai long  as the truth is attacked
    wlnangling, and when the tone and contents of the  coy- . by those that oppose it,  we  certainly,need controversy.
~  tro-ireysy is. such that it can hardly be.  called ethical                             And  n9 lover of the truth, and certainly no Protestant
   and Christian: I also-  a.dmit that  w,hen sinful men  ey;-                            Reformed  -mab  .or woman should refuse to read the
    gage in  contrbversy, the danger is always present that                               StaFdqd  B'earer  because of its partly. controversial
it  d e g r a d e s   i n   t o n e   a n d   content  i n t o   - p e r s o n a l   s t r i f e   nature.


                                       TBti  STANDARD  ..BE.ARER                                                              127

    You must become acquainted. with ail the argu-              li.berty  ;  pnly use.  riGt liberty for an occasion  td the
 ments, pro bnd against  ,the  ,trut$ of  TGod.                 flesh, but by love  serve  onecanother. For all the law
    And this is my  last.reasoti  why it is certainly nec-      is fulfilled  ?n one  .word, even  in'this  ; Thou shalt love
 essary for all  the  Protestan;   .Reformed people- to read    thy neighbor as  ,thy&lf." And in Eph. 2 : 10 : "For
 and support  the Standard Bearer  with  all their power.       w,e  are his workmanship,  cr&ated  in*Christ Jesus unto
                                                     H.H.       good works, which God hath before ordained that  owe
                                                                should  walk in them."
                                                                 ' The last quoted passage is especially significant,
                        .  p&J  --y--'
                                            _'  `,  ,'       ., for it emphasizes the truth that dur good works are
                                                                tche fruit of the grace of  `God, and that  they'are or-
                                                                dained  .by  ,God  .evidently from all  ,eternity,  that we
                                                                should walk in those works. God's workmanship tie
                                                                are. He made  us. new creatures in  C_h?ist Jesus by
   THE TRIPLE  KNOM%EDGE - the wondrous power of His grace. This  wonder of
                                                                grace  He performed in us in order that we should do
 An Exposition Of The &idelb&g good works. But even these works were ordained  foT
                                                                every  &e'df us before the foundation of the world
                      Catechisni                                by God Himself. For the believer it is a  <God-gi`i;efi
                                                                privilege that he may  walk in those good works. To:
                     PART  I I I                ,               understand how  ,a&  in what sense this is possible,
               O F   T H A N K F U L N E S S                    I have used the illustration of a grand chorus  rende;r-
                      Lord's Day 33                             ing Handel's  Messiah. And I will use it again in this
                          .                                     connection.     If  .such a rendering is to be  siMcessfu1,
                               4                                &very member of the chorus and each voice, tenor and
                    '6~ GOOD  Wokm                              bass, soprano and  altoi as well  a,s the soloists, the or-
                                                                chestra, and  $he accompanist at the organ,  mu&know
    In Questiop 91 the  Heidelbirg Catechism discusses          and perform his part  ,so as  to;6lend  i&o, the grand
 the Scriptural  .truth concerning good works. Briefly          harmony  ,and beauty of the whole. But  iti order to
 it tells us that good works are "only those which pro-         attain  to this harmony  t'hey must strictly- follow their
-  teed. from a true faith,  -are  perfor,tied according to     music., #The  &hole  of the performance by the chorus,
 the law of  `God, and to his glory; and not such as are        as well  as`$he several parts, have  b,een  6`bef.ore  :ordain-
 founded on our bwn  iniaginations,  br the institutions        ed':`b'by.the  artist  &at composed'the oratorio.,  &nd the
 of men.". This answer is at the same time a transi-            men&&s of the chorus only "walk  in'!, the parts that
 tion and introduction to the discussion of `the law of         havti  ttius  be&n` ordained for,  tg&m.  L This  rn@ be  .ap-
 God, that. follows in  the succeeding Lord's  -Days.           plied  @I. the good  %tiorl&.   &  all the  s&its  in Christ.
    As  htis been said before, it is' certainly the  `calling .We must  remen&er that the church is  not a mere  num-
 of <believers to live from .the principle of  r@generat?on     &r  cf  &ved believers:-it is a grand whole, it is a  ba+
 in the midst of the world, antithetically,  atid  there-       dy,  :& unity. And the purpose of the whole is that they
 fpre to walk  .ih  all.&ood3orks. 1t.i.s hardli n&&s%ary       may  show forth the glory of God in Christ. This one
 to quote  ,Scriptur$?n  proof of this  st%ement. The           theme all the saints sing and. develop in their good'
 Lord teaches  us  in  Matt. 5  i14-16:  "Ye are  the.,light    works, each in  his own position and -performing his
 of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot- be          own part. And the great Artist  ordained and pre-                       -
 hid.  N,either do men light  a.caidlc and put it under         pared all the several parts of  this glorious theme for
 a bushel, but on a candlestick;-and it giveth light to         every one of- the saints, just as He by grace  prepares
_ all that are in  the house. Let your light  sd shine be-      them  for- all  the parts they are to  pe$fo?m.           He cre-
 fore men; that they  m&see ypur good works, and glor-          ated  us'in Christ  .Jesus exactly unto those good works
 ify. your Father  +$h .is  ip heaven.>' Aild again,  iti       which He prepared  .for us, that we  .might walk in
 John  15:8: "Herein is  mj, Father glorified, that ye          them.               .,             `.
 be& much fruit; so shall ye be- my disciples;"  `In                This is also the language of- our confessions. Apt.
 Rom. 12  :1 the apostle writes,:  `!I beseech `you `there-     24  bf the.  -Nether.lands Confession speaks of sancti-
 fore, brethren, by the mercies of  ,God,`that  ye present      fication  :and good  ti&ks; It; tells  ds : "It is  &ipossible
 your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable  -unto        that this  holy,faith can be  un$ruitful  .in man: for  tie
 ,God, which is your reasonable. service.". And  -in  `Gal,     do-not  speakof  a `vain faith,  *but- of  silch-a' faith; which
 5:13,14: "For, brethren, .ye  have  -`beeti  called.:  unto    ii- called':. iti .Scriptti?&, `a - faith- that,`. worketh by :.lWe,


 i2s                                  THE  dTANDP;Rfi  B                E     A     R     E     R
                                                                                          -          ..
 which excites man to the practice of those works,              is expedient for  -him, and tramples `under foot the pre-
 which God has commanded us in His Word. Which                  cepts of the Most High. The  result is, of course,  -that
 ivorks, as they proceed from the goqd root of faith, are       he works out his own destruction. Nor dare one  ap-
 good and acceptable in the sight of God, fdrasmuch             pkal  to. his good intentions to decide that an act that
 as they  ar,e all  ssnctiled  by his grace: howbeit they       in itself was contrary to the  law of God is good.          I t
 are of no account- towards our justification." In              may  se&m possible to a sinful  man- to tell a lie with
 :Article 12 of Chapter V of the Canons, which speaks           the best of intentions, but that does not justify the
 of  :the perseverance of the saints, we read: "This  ce'r-     lie.  ,-Good works are those, and  tho.se only, that are
 tainty of  pergeverance,  ho,wever, `is so far from ex-        strictly in harmony with the will of God as revealed
 citing in `believers a spirit of pride, or of rendering        unto us in His Word.
 them. carnally secure, that on the  cdntrary, it is the           But we  Ask: what is included in a work of man?
 real source- of humility, filial reverence, true piety,        When can an act performed, by man be called good in
 patience in every tribulation,  fervept prayers, con-          the sight  of.  IGod? Is  any deed as  such, any outward           .
 stancy in  suffeiing,  and in confessing the truth, and        act, as we observe it, as it appears to us,-suppose
 df solid' rejoicing in  ,God: so that the consideration        that in its outward appearance it is perfectly iri  har-
 of this benefit should serve as an incentive to-the  ser- -many  with the law of  Gdd,-necessarily .a real good
 oius and constant practice of  grati,tude  and good            work in the sight of God? Suppose a  m&n rescues a
 works, as appears from the testimonies of Scripture,           child from a burning house, endangering his own life
 and the examples of the saints."                               by  perforniing that act, an act which is certainly
        04 good works, as motivated by gratitude; and           praisewor;thy before men. Is such an act necessarily
 therefore, as rooted in faith, -and as having their pur-       a good work in  the sight of  God? Or suppose- a man
 pose in the glory of  CGod, we already treated in our          oilers prayer in public, and the contents of his prayer
 .discussion  of Question and Answer 86.  Here, there-          are in accord with the will of  IGod. Does it follow
 fore,  we can be  cbrief, and confine ourselves to the dis-    that he. performs a good work?  ,Or  &gain, suppose
 cussion-of the question, "What are good works?" The            that a man is a preacher  -and. that he proclaims the
 answer is that not we, but God determines what  & gospel and the  .full counsel of God according to the
g o o d . They are not works that are based on our own          Scriptures. Does that dutward act of preaching  net-  _
 imaginations or upon the institutions of men, accor-           essarily constitute  a- good work?  IOr, say that a
 ding to the Heidelberg Catechism, but that are in har-         church member drops a thousand dollars in the' col-
 mony with the law of God.. As  fa? as their material           lection plate for the cause of charity or of missions
 is concerned, therefore, good works are always those           or for some other good cause.              Is that outward act
 that are in accord with the will of  ,God as revealed un-      sufficient to determine that it is good before God?
 to  us in Scripture and as briefly. expressed in the              The answer to this  -question must be  hegative..        ...
 moral law., God alone is good. And His will  is good.            _ We wili readily understand this, if we remember,
 And He alone has the prerogative and  is able to de-           in the first place, that the law of God is a law of love ;
 termine what is  ~good. /Good works, therefore, are            and. in the second place, that the outward appearance
 first of all. characterized by unconditional arid unques-      of a deed is but a very small part of the entire act as
 tioning obedience to the will  .of God. . When  ,God           it  is- witnessed-by the living Gbd.
 speaks, we are silent. When He commands, we obey                  When you  se,e a man endangering  his life by res-
`without murmuring, without objection, and without              cuing a child from a burning house, you see, only the
 reservations.    we never assume  th4 authority to de-         outward part of his deed. When you behold a man
 termine for ourselves what shall be called good. It            drop a thousand dollars in the collection plate, you
 implies too that the utility principle may  no,t-and can-      gbserve but the outward  appearaizce of the act. Back
 not possibly determine what is good or  what is evil.          of that hand that drops the gift  there'&  the mind of
 In the world this is  srequently done: The question            the giver that contemplated it,  the desire that moti-  -
 is asked  wh&her a  certaifi action or course of action        vated the act, the will that finally.  determin.ed upon
 or law or institution of nian works, whether it pays.          the act;  and back of the mind and will and desire of
 If it does, regardless of the  Iquestion whether  hit is       the giver there is the deep heart of  &an, whence are  -'
 according to the will and law of God, it is simply adop-       all the issues of' life. Before he drops his money in
 ted and followed. A glaring example of this -method            the plate, the man has been thinking about it; and that
 of determining what is good is found in the way the            too  belongs-$0 the deed he performs. He has been de-
 divorce  prdblem is solved in the courts of our land.          siring something.  He placed before  hi.s mind a cer-
 Sinful man, rather than submitting himself to the law          tain objective,  a. purpose that- he wished to attain.
 qf God, by his darkened  understan@ng judges what              And by this purpose he -was motivated; urged to per-


                                      Tti.E,  S.T.ANDkRD   B E A R E R                                                   129
                                 -.---                                                           .

  form the act of giving money. His whole inner man               or not a  cdrtain act  on. our part is good, we must not
  was in action before he  dripped the money in the  cOl-         merely  ask what we, did,  but also why we performed
_  lection plate. And all this inner action belongs` very         it, and what was the purpose-we had in view. sup-
  really to the deed itself in the sight of God. Besides,         pose that you  are an  honest businessman, and that
  we must consider that the law of God concerning our             in all your dealings_ you treat your customers. fairly.
  life and walk is, as  w,e said, a law of love, This means       The Question arises: why are you honest in your deal-
  that it does not merely cover the outward activity of           ings? If your answer is that  you love the Lord your
  man, but also his inner. life,. his mind and will and           `God with all your heart, and that it is  jrour  desire to
  all his desires. If the law of  `God were satisfied with        serve arid to promote the glory of your God even in
  the outward appearance of the deed before men, so               your  blviness, all is well. Then indeed your honest
  that  it would call a man's work good if only he con-           dealing is  a.good work. But suppose that upon hon-
  forms himself in his external deportment .to God's              est and thorough self-examination you come to the
  will, the matter would not be so serious. If the law            conclusion that your honest dealing is motivated by
  of God simply meant that outwardly a man must not -the desire to establish and maintain a good business
swear, curse,' commit adultery, steal, murder, and                ancl by `the realization that honesty pays. In  th`at
  slander;  that  out.wardly he is a  man  .that treats his       .case you do not perform a good work at all. Your
  fellow man well, that faithfully attends  church on             reward is gone. You are in your deepest heart seek-
  Sunday, sings and prays and gives alms, the  matter             ing self, a good business, worldly gain. And you are
  would seem rather simple. But  .this is not the case.           not. seeking God's glory;      YOU are really motivated
  The. law of  ,God is this: "Thou shalt love the Lord            by covetousness,    And although  $0~ are  honest in
  thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all         business outwardly, you are no different from the man
  thy soul, and  with  all thy strength." It is the law of        of dishonest dealings that is motivated by the same de-
  love. This implies  *hat in all our works we shall be           sire for profit. All that is not  .to the glory of God is
  mqtivated  by the love of God. It covers. not' only  the        sin.
  outward appearance of the deed, but also the hidden                !A: clear illustration of' this- apparent good work.
  parti that is in the mind, the will,  the desires, that         that is  n&ertheless evil in the sight of the Lord is
  htis its origin `in the heart of man, It demands that           the Pharisee of Jesus'  day. He was indeed very re-
  a work shall be good and  peyfect in the sight of God           ligious. Painstakingly he observed  the law. He fas-
  from  iis very beginning, from its deepest rqot in the          ted and prayed and gave alms, and observed the sab-
  heart, to its ripened fruit in the external act. And            bath blamelessly.  He- went to the temple and offered
  unless a work of man is in full accord with that law            l,is sacrifices and paid vows. In the sight of  men;.he
  of love of [God from  i.ts  v&y first conteniplation,  .yea,    was a perfect example of piety, and his good works
from its. hidden origin in the heart,  $0 the outward             were numerous. Neverthel,ess,  the' Lord calls him a
  deed, it is evil  iii the sight of God and  may be very  a-     hypocrite : "Therefore when thou doest  thine alms;
  bolriinable  to Him indeed, no matter how it appears            do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites
  to` ns. We  .mu& never forget that the very sacrifice           do in the synagogues `and in. the streets, that they may
  of. the wicked is an abomination to' Jehovah.         Prbv.     have glory of men. Verily I say  imto you, They have
  15:8.                                                           their reward." Matt. 6  :2.         And again : "And. when
   All this stands in close connection with the ques-             thou prayest, thou  <shalt not-be as the hypocrites are:
  tion: what must be-the  putiose of  go.od works? The            for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and
  Catechism answers: all  true good works must be  to             in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of
  the glory of God.      This truth we have already  ex-          ineli. Verily I  say,unto  you,-They have their  rewargl."
  pounded.under Lord's  Day 32. Nevertheless, a word              Matt. 6  :5, And again : "MoreoTier  when ye fast, be
  may be said about this. purpose of good works in  t.his         not as the hypocrites,  .of a sad countenance : for they
  connection.    We must remember that purpose and                disfigure their faces, that they may  ,appear unto men
  motive are closely connected. Purpose denotes the               to fast. Verily I say untp you, They have their re-
  end we have in view in performing a certain deed.               ward." Matt. 6  :16. In Matt. 23 the Lord pronounces
  And motive is the will, the urge  and the desire that           the verdict of a scathing condemnation upon  .these
  spurs us on from within to seek  t,hat end. Now God's           hypocrites. He characterizes them as those that
  purpose is His own glory. That purpose  n&St be ours            "bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and
  if our works are to be good `in His sight. Hence,               lay them on men's, shoulders  ; but they themselves will
  good works are  motivated`.by the will and the desire           not move them with one of their  %ingers. But-all  theiT
 to reach that purpose, to glorify our Father which is            works they do for to be seen of men: they make  broacl
 In  heaven. Therefore, in order to determine whether             their phylacteries,  .and enlarge the. borders of-  -their


       130                                    T H E   S T A N - D A - R D .   .BEARER
                                --_-.--_--

       garments, and love the uppermost  roomi'  a$ feasts,          ing the Lord as far as the outward deed was con-
       and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings          cerned, he never departed from the ways of Jeroboam,
*      in the markets,- and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rab-         that.  *caused Israel  to. sin. Although outwardly Jehu
       bi." Matt. 23 :4-7. And again:  "woe unto you,                was perfectly obedient to this special command of
       scribes- and pharisees, hypocrites ! for  ye-make clean       the Lord, his inner motive was corrupt, and he sought
       the outside of the cup. and platter, but within they are      his own glory and the realization of his own ambi-
       full of extortion. and  exces.s. Thou blind  phaiisee,        tion to ascend the throne of Israel, rather than the
       cleanse first that which is within the cup and  `blat-        glory of Jehovah. Hence, although he was rewarded
       ter, that the outside of them may be clean  also. Woe         ,by ascending the throne of Israel and  ,by the fact that
       unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye           in a few generations after him his seed might occupy
       are like unto whited  sepulchres,. which indeed appear        that throne, he  was nevertheless condemned and pun-
      beautiful outward, but are within full.  of  dead men's        ished for the very good deed which he performed.
       bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outward-       This is very evident from the prophecy of  Hosea, chap-
       ly appear righteous unto men, but within  ye  are full        ter  one,. verse -four: "And the Lord said unto him,
       of hypocrisy and iniquity." The purpose of the phar-          Call his name  Jezreel  ; for yet a little while, and I will  `_
       isee was not the glory of God. Nor was he' motivated          avenge the blood. of  Jezreel upon the house of Jehu,
       by the love of God. His- purpose was his own' glory.          and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of
       His  .motive was stinking pride. He was `an abomin-           Israel." The house of Jehu is punished by the Lord
       ation in the sight of  .God. All his praying arid sacri-      for the blood they shed in exterminating the  hpuse
       ficing  -and giving of alms was in the sight of God by        of Ahab, the extermination of  tihich the Lord had ne-
       no means less abominable  than the act of the highway         vertheless commanded.
       robber and murderer who openly commits his crimes.                It is evident,  thkrefore, that a man may perform an
          `The Old Testament example of Jehu is another              outwardly good act from a very wicked motive. Nor
       striking illustration of the fact  that a man may out-        dare we say that these outwardly beautiful works,
       wardly appear to do a good work, a' work that is even         that are inwardly corrupt, are due to an operation of
       approved by God as far as the zealous  p&for.mance            common grace `by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
       of it is concerned, while nevertheless inwardly he is         certainly does not  .attach  good fruit to a corrupt tree.
       motivated by mere  &fish ambition, and his purpose            Nor  does He call  .such fruit good. But how then must
       was not the  glory of  IGod whatsoever. Of this we read       be  .explained  what is often called civil righteousness,
       in II Kings 9 `and IO.  _ The summary of these chap-          or  <the natural good that  signers perform?. We would
       ters, which characterizes the zeal of Jehu, may  bk           answer as  follow-;s.  The natural-man discerns the  re-
       found in II Kings  10:29-31:  "Howbeit from the sins          ltitionships, laws, rules of life and fellowship, as they
       of  Jero,boam  the son  oft  Nebat, whd made Israel to        are  ordained by God. Moreover, he observes their
       sin, Jehu departed not  .from after them, to wit, the         propriety and utility. He adapts  himself to them for
       golden calves that- were in Bethel, and  that were in         his own sake. If in this attempt  he succeeds, the  re-
       Dan.-  A&d the Lord said unto Jehu, Because thou hast -suit is an act  th& shows an outward and formal re-
       done well in executing that which is right in mine            semblance to the  laxws of  ,God.  -As our Canons express
     eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according            it, they have a regard for virtue and external"  deport-
       to all that was in mine. heart, thy children of the           ment. If this attempt fails,. however, as is frequent-
       fourth generation shall sit: on the throne of Israel.         ly the case, civil  righteoustie.ss  disappears, and the
       But  .Jehu took no heed  to.walk in the' law of the  Lord     1:esult   is- exactly the opposite.    The fundamental er-
       God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not         ror, however, of the natural man is that he does not
       from the sins of Jeroboam, which  mad,e Israel to sin."       seek after God, ndr aim at Him and His glory, even in
       This example, which is often `quoted as a proof of the        his regard for virtue and `external deportment.  .On
       false contention that natural men can do good in the          the contrary, he seeks himself, both individually and
       sight. of God by  .&  operatiqn  of common grace, shows       in fellowship with other sinners and with the whole
     , very plainly that the zeal of Jehu was motivated not          world.    And it is his purpose to maintain `himself in
       by the love of God,  ani did not for its  purpo,se have       his sin  over  again&  (Go& This is sin in the sight of
       the glory of God in view, but was moved by his  o,wn          God, and certainly cannot be denominated a good
       sinful ambition to sit on the throne  `of Israel. He re-      work. And in  ,reality his work also has evil effects
       ceived a special command of God to exterminate the            upon himself and his fellow creatures.          For all his
       house of Ahab for their wickedness. And he very               actions with relation to  mein and his fellow creatures
       zealously and thoroughly obeyed the Lord, and did his         are performed according to the same rule, and with
       work- well. Yet,  altlzough  he was  `so zealous in  obey-    similar results.    Thus it happens that  -sin develops


                                           fHE                STANDARD                 BEARER                                      131
                                   -___                                                                   ---
   0
constantly, and corruption  iticreases, while there
`still remains a formal adaptation to the  laws ordained                        OUR,DOCT'RINE
by God for the present life. But the natural  &an  ne-
v&  attains to any ethical good, His acts and, works
tire always sinful.                                                                 I  0 God's Providence
    However, when the Holy Spirit takes hold  -of a
man, He does not polish his outward appearance, but                                                      (6)
He takes hold of his inmost heart,  yegenerates him,
mal<:es him a new creature in-Christ Jesus, unites him                                     GOD%  PROVIDENCE AND SIN
through faith with Christ; and remains in him, to
dwell in him, to sanctify him, to fill him with the                            ;Cofitinuing  our discussion of God's Providence and
grace of the Lord Jesus. For  we are His workman-                           sin, we concluded our previous article with the ob-
ship, created in Christ Jesus unto good  works, which                       servation that the moral-rational  %ature  qf man  is
IGod before- ordained that we should  walk in  .them.                       also the basis for the  moral-ratiorig   ch&acter of  the
This is also  the reason why the  root'qf  all good works                   gospel also as far as the wicked  are concerned.. The
is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. All that is not of                       sovereignty of the Lord never annuls  the. responsi- .
faith is sin. Rom.  14:23. By faith we are in Christ                        bility of man. We do not merely  conf&s that ,a  cal-
Jesus, one plant with Him, so that we live out of Him.                      Iing goes forth from all the works  ,of God's hands to
;He~lives in us, and operates through us. As the vine                       all'men, but also that the  preaching of the  gospel'conl
,bears its fruit  i;  the branches, So the Lord Jesus                       fronts its hearers with a Divine calling and demand.
Christ bears the  frui% of His grace in all His saints.                     The truth itself does this. -`The' Word of `God itself
H'ence, there is nothing to  boast. ,Good works are. no                     places man before the inexorable calling to  serve  .Him
gift of us to God. Bu t pn  the contrary, they `are  %.-gift                atid Him alone. Whenever the  r  Wbrd of God is truly
of God to us. And for the privilege of  walki<;  in proclaimed. the wicked -are surely  called  knd. com-
those good works,  .which God  @as prepared  an!<:or-                       manded to forsake their way of  sin and darkness,
 dained for Us, in which we have the privilege of walk-                     to "flee unto the  Lord, and to  lov_e the living God with
ing as rational,  .moral creatures, we may and will  give                   all that is in them. It is exactly because I am a  ,rnoi;i
thanks forever to the God of our salvation, Who cal-                        al-rational and therefore responsible being  :  thit  r,e-
led us out of darkness into His marvelous light.                            pentance and faith  arid  -hope and  love  &r@Y  conscious
                                                               H.H.         acts on my  phrt. The ungodly has surely  no right to
                                                                            love sin, hate  (God,  ancl"iie'is  cek"tainly called to  flee
                          -:-:--                                            sin, `to cleave unto the living  .God, confess his guilt and
                                                                            condemnation ; and it remains  ,his calling,  .in the-  w&y
                                                                            bf repentance, to seek his  -salvation  in the way of the
                                                                            cross of  J&us Christ, God's  onljr begotten Son.
            CON~SL&dI&S  - PLEASE NOTE!                                         It is also exactly for this reason that the Word of
        We will be pleased to send  Thi Standard Bearer,                    God is exclusively particular. To be sure, the word
 gratis, to all-your young-men that are in the Service.                     of  IGod in Is. 3  :I@11 must be proclaimed, and we
 Please send us their names and addresses and  be sure                      quote :  Say ye to the-righteous, that it shall be well with
 and keep us informed of changes in  the@ addresses                         him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe
 and also if  and when they  -are discharged from the                       unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the  re-
 Service as we  haxi,=no   way of knowing this fact un-                     ward of his hands shall be given him." This eleventh
 less we are notified directly by you. Quite often young. verse,  ,however, niust be rightly understood.  How of-
 men are  discharged,fram the Service and the  copi&s of                    ten does  it not occur nowadays that woe is proclaimed
 The Standard  Bearer are  still- mailed out to them be-                    to the wicked  and the impression is left that the Word
 cause we  dare not notified  accbrdingly.               '                  of God really intends their good `and  sal-vation ! Woe,
                                                   --THE BOARD
            -:                                                              then, is proclaimed unto them in such a way that it
                                                                            may m&e and induce them to repent and be saved.
                  ;'                          t
                            -::---                                          This, we  %>mderstand,  is not the meaning of Isaiah
                                                                            3 :ll. In these words- the  proph&t emphasizes  the
           0 Thou Who  art Thy people's shield,                             truth that  &i that one can ever say to the wicked who
                  Their helper and their guide,                             co&inues in his wicked way is woe.
           Vpon them let Thy grace and peace                                    Primarily, however, the gospel  _. is -meant only for
                  Foi evermore  abida-              :                  .    the  peoplp of  .God, even as the corn or grain- is the


                                                            I



 132.~     _                                   Pm  ~TANDA~~D   BEARER

 chief concern of the farmer. The Bible is a letter                   fluence, riches, men of `name  atid fame and honour are
 written by the  Laord to His elect. It is  t&e that the              to be foiind among the forces of those who refuse to
 language  of- that letter is spiritual and is also read to           acknowledge the living God and His commandments.
 and  bjT  others besides the elect. And it  is-true that             Over against this promise and fearful array appears
 it is  the will of  (God that the  Bi.ble be read to `and  ,by       the church. of God, and that church  .is  terri.bly small
 the reprobates. That' the Bible is `a letter written by              and weak.  - The party of the living  .God  .does not  ret-
 the Lord to His elect is evident from the fact that it               kon among  its numbers many great and many noble,
 is the Lord, and the  Lor.d alone, Who  realiz`es the work           for the Lord has. chosen the poor of this world accord-
 of salvation,  frpm  the beginning  &en,  u&o the end,               ing to His sovereign good pleasure. It is well to bear
 in the hearts of those whom He has loved from be-                    in mind this comparison -between the church of God
 fore the foundation of the world. If to believe or  to               and the world to understand the comfort of God's  prd-
 will to believe were left to man, then we would be a-                vidence  and, sin.
 ble to speak of a gospel in a general sense of the word.                Nevertheless, this small church of the Lord, de-
Then all those  exprgssions such  .as e.g., "if you be-               spised in the midst of the  wdrld, may comfort. itself
 lieve'!, etc., would refer to  ati activity which originates         with the blessed assurance  that  it has God on its side,
 in man,  .and then it would be necessary to interpret                or,  as we read in Rom. 8: God is for us. Everything
 them in a general sense of the word. But how dif-                    is,  coutrolled by the Lord. Who and what shall then
 ferent the matter becomes if we proceed from the                     beg against us? If God be for `us, who can be against
 :Scriptural  truth that  .faith is purely a gift of the  iL<ord !    .LIS ? If  .we `are kept and preserved in the power of God,
 For  .then we realize that the Lord is addressing in                 then there is really no hostile power. If God's be all
 the Bible His own and. He would acquaint them with                   pokier than there cannot be anything against us; For
the.  salvatiqn which He' has eternally laid away for                 we must not view this Divine power as standing dver
 them and realized for them in Christ Jesus, their Lord.              against the wicked world, so' that the power of the
 Finally, it  `is also for this reason that `we speak of a            Lord and the host of darkness must be viewed as two
 particular promise and  n,ot of a conditional promise.               mighty armies arrayed over against each other. It is
 Wha$. a difference between- these  two- expressions!                 simply a fact that the power of  the Lord also includes
 What a difference if I say : "If you  ,believe in the Lord           the forces of evil and of darkness.  IGod's  is all the
 Jesus   Chris&, you will be saved", or: "If you believe              power,  .hence  also the power of the host of darkness.
 in the Lord  Jesus  Christ  you  are saved and  i;herefore           T.be Lord is  fiat simply preserving and saving His
 w<ll be  s&ed". What a  @?eretice if  ;I- say : "If you              ,Church over against  the forces of evil, but He is real-
 believe the promise will be yours", or:  "If-y& believe              izing His kingdom and  ;gathering  His church also
 the promise is'yours  and will  bd  .realized  in you in the         through these powers of darkness. This enables  .us  to
 day of Jesus Christ, our `Lord".  The former is the                  understand why no forces of darkness and of the
 pr'oclamation  of a conditional promise ; the latter  iS             prince of the powers of-the  air`can cause the Cause of
the presentation of a particular promise. The  former                 AGod any harm, inasmuch as everything is being con-
 we reject and must reject; the latter  tie maintain                  trolled  ,by our heavenly Father. It is true that man is
 and must be maintained.                                              a  .moral-rational, responsible creature. But it is equal-
                                                                      ly true that the strength of men or demons is exclu-
 The  conifort of this  trut;h  -        .-            .              sively  .of the Lord and He operates-with all the host
     This truth, which  maintains-thb   `sover&ig&y  of  God- of heaven and also of  heil according to His eternal and
 also in connection with the reality of sin, is comfort-              sovereign good pleasure. Then we never need be a-
 ing for the people and church of  God first of all from              fraid. Then no evil can possibly befall us. Then the
 the viewpoint of the church of  `God in the midst of                 future is sure, for nothing happens by chance but on-
 the world. For the position of the church and cove-                  ly according to and through  t6e will of our heavenly
 nant of the Lord in the midst of  the.world is indeed                Father,  and all things work together for our good.
 fearful and dangerous. How the' church and the world                    However, this is not all. In fact, however  comf&t-
 -co&pare as they appear in the midst of the world!                   ing this truth of God's sovereign and almighty control
 View,ed in  cotiparison with the covenant people of the              `over all things may be, this is not the only phase,
 Lo$d't,he   power of the world appears tremendously                  yea, this is not  .even  the most important phase to
 great. The host of  dar.kness  is surely greater  ,in num-           which we would  da11 attention.  10, it is indeed of  .the
 ber. `The people of. the living  `God are  surely'hopeless-          utmost importance that the Lord our God governs and
 ly outnumbered. Moreover, this host of darkness is                   controls all `things. But the question must arise in
-able to reckon among its forces the riches, the honor,               our minds  and'hearts-: Why did the Lord will  sili and
 and `the. glory of this  earthly   life. Worldly pawer, -in-         darkness,  and  how  does  thiktmth  servk  me  and  the
                                                                           ,


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                                         `rHE  ST.`:ANDARD   j3EARE.R.                                                   133

  church of  <God?  God's providence and sin,  inse$&r-          of  the.  d'bctrine of God's  sov&eignty.  Nothing how-
  ab1.y and sovereignly' connected, but why? We have             ever, is farther from the truth. For although it is
  already  .called attention to the fact `that the reality of    true  t.hat the Lord is absolutely and wholly sovereign
  sin and  dea;th is  -a tremendous phenomenon in  #the          with respect to all  t&tit   occurs throughout the  .history
  midst of the world. Surely we are comforted with the           of this world, it is  eqiially true-that the Lord must re-
  thought that all  %he forces of sin and darkness cannot        main God, and this means- that  Be must remain God
  prevent all things from working together for our good;         also as the holy and just and righteous and omniscient
  that my salvation  and that of the  church  .of  God is ab-    Jehovah.  W,hat  ddes this imply?  #This surely impiies
  solutely sure. But,  would  it not `have been  better had      that, although I know that man loves iniquity and
 &his night of sin and death never  beeti introduced?            walks in darkness because he loves the darkness  rather
  Would it not have been- fai better if the Lord would           than the light, I also know that -Jehovah is too pure
  realize His eternal kingdom and gather His chosen              of eyes to behold sin and evil.      Consequently- we de-
  church without this phenomenon of darkness and evil?           clare without the slightest  reservition that man is the
     The comfort. of the  church of God is nbt merely a          author of his own evil, but this  c&i never be said of
  domfort over against the  dar"kness  and evil of this          the Lord. An author is-one with commits sin because             .
  world, but it also `embraces it. On tlie qne hand we           he delights in it and this also establishes  hiss respon-
  have the comfort that the  lionour `of God, Who alone          sibility. But the Lord is never the author of iniquity.
  is' God,-is maintained. This conception of the  sove-          He did not wiil the -evil. because He  d&lights in it. E-
  reign providence of the  Lor'd  as it also  em.braces sin      ternally He willed sin and darkness as the choice of
  allows the Lord to remain God. To the child of  IGdd           man whom He sovereignly willed from before the
  there should be nothing of greater  importan& than             foun&tion  of the world. Also  .the sinner, we under-
  this truth. We are dealing now  with  the  trem&d&s            stand, is the product of God's eternal. and  soyereign
.  phenometion  of sin and darkness.  Ariy conception            will.  And the Lord willed evil as the object of His
  which presents sin as having its origin in the prince          eternal hatred and  displeasuye and the choice of man.
  of the powers of the  ai.r cannot possibly  satisfy us.           This  &u& is -of the greatest- comfort for the
- Principally this view of things deprives me of the liv-        Church of God in the midst of the world. We  de-
  ing'  ,God.  ` And this is eternal life for me and the         clare and may declare, without any reservation:. We
  church `of God :  tq know God, to know  Him as the only        rejoice that it is exactly  that  God Who willed sin'and
  true  ,God, Who is God alone. Any view which divorces          &l.  :How hopeless and `full of despair would be our
  the reality of sin from  the.wholly sovereign control of       position' if the devil were  -at the controls!    Theri-tie
  the living  God.must  be  Y;ejeoted by  us if for no other     could possibly have no rest or peace for a single  tie-
  reason than that it attacks Him Whom to know as the            ment.    How  <tgagic is that presentation of the truth
  only living God  .is  life'everlasting. It must surely be      which advocates  t,hat an accident  accured in Paradise,
  the urge and longing` of my heart and soul  that that          that the entrance of sin intp the wqrld  was something
  God remain  ,God.     We must never `permit another            unforeseen or not Divinely determined ! Or,  <hoti  de`-
  power to appear  ,beside Him. The salvation and com-           spairing is the thought that the fall of Adam-was'. an
  fort of my soul demands that  -He,' Whom I have learn-         event which could have been Divinely averted! For, if
. ed to love through the power of Divine grace,  iscon-          this be true, then the entire history of  sin and grace
  stantly at the controls, and that the government of all        is an unhappy and unnecessary interim. and the work
  things,is continually in His hand, -also at the dawn           of Divine redemption  in Christ  Jesus is merely re-
  of history  ihen the night of sin and darkness was  in-        pair work. How pitiful it is that the Church attains
  troducgd through the sin of our first parents in Para-         unto everlasting  ,and heavenly glory through the deep
  dise. This, I say, we must maintain, in the first place,.      way of sin and  grace if it could have attained unto the
 -purely for  ,God's sake and His glory.                         so,me glory without this night of `sin and shame ! Such,
     However, even this is not all. We cannot  pause.            howeper, is surely not the case. Are not all the works
  here.    To say that the Lord willed sin and darkness          of God  known to God from [before the foundation of the
  sovereignly is surely not  en,ough. The Lord is not a          world? It is not equally true  .that the- Lord, as the
  tyrant. Life  aEd death, light and darkness, the truth         hkavenly Potter, has the sovereign right to make of
  afid the lie,  righteousaess and  unrighiteousness, hea-       the clay whatever He pleases, vessels unto honour and
  ven and hell must not  ,be viewed as parallel and of e-        vessels of dishonour? In fact,  is. it not true that the
  qual significance. Never must the  ,issue be presented         sovereign. Potter of the universe also  ac$ually  makes
  as if Jehovah delights in the one  as* well as in the          these. vessels unto  dishon9ur and unto honour? But,
  other. It is true that  o& Protestant Reformed Chur-           these  works of the Lord are known to the Lord etern-
 ches have been accused  of this gross misrepresentation         ally,  -are  they  qot?  And  this mean& that  thex are


             I                      Tis  STANDARD.  BSAR%B
i 3 4                         -
known by the Lord  a,s only the Lord knows things, cre-       clamation of the truth of  the- Lord's absolute sove-
atively and sovereignly. Hence, we know  that the,            reignty also gives the church the assurance. that all
entrance of sin into the world was not an accident.           is always well in the midst of  t.he world. It assures
And, we must not hesitate -to  say this. For, if the          us  th.& whatever may betide occurs only  $hrough Him
Lord willed sin and also realized His' counsel with  ye-      of Whom and through  Whom and unto Whom are all
spect to sin and darkness, then I know that  ali must         things. Then indeed we may have the unwavering as-
be well. Then the Lord God is sovereignly over all.           surance that all things work together for our good,
Then we  knqw that all things must serve unto the             and  _that, if  ,God be for us, nothing can be against us.
greatest glory of His everlasting Name. Then, we              What, then, shall we say in conclusion?  `The church
know that sin entered into this world because the Lord        of God  -may indeed exclaim in all amazement: if the
would realize the highest and greatest  glorific&ion of       darkness, this  .darkness, this vale of the shadow of
His Name through the deep way of sin and darkness.            .deat,h, this night of sin and death  mist serve the light,
And then we know that the Lord willed evil not be-            has been Divinely willed  ,for the sake of the greatest
cause He delights in iniquity, not for the sake of ini-       glory of His Name,  ,how.great shall  the manifestation
quity itself, but, only because that evil must serve the      of  ,God's glory be in the new heavens and upon the new
greatest glory of His adorable  Name. Sin and dark-           earth? Unfathomably deep are the riches of God!
ness do not exist for themselves, but as the Divinely         No one was God's counsellor and qone could  h&e been
willed background for the manifestation of His light          His counsellor. Everything shall serve to reveal  the
and truth and grace. The Lord does all things only            greatntiss  of the Lord.  And the church of God looks
for .His own Name's sake.                                     -forward, with  unwavering certainty, to, the day when
  This truth  is. of the greatest significance for the        all things  shall  be made new in the new heavens and
child and  &urch of  ,God. 0, this does not imply that        upon the new earth.
we shall ever delight in sin. It is impossible again to                                                          TI. Veldman
delight in sin when once we  heave been called out of
darkness into the Lord's  marvellous light. -The-Lord
does not delight in evil  and. neither does the child of
IGod who has been  .delivered out of that darkness
ness through the grace of God. But it is true that
the darkness advances the glory and honour of God
(not, of course, from the subjective viewpoint of the                                     BOUND  VOLUME 28
sinner), that this  enthe night of sin and death will              Voldme No.  .28 is now in the process of being
have but one  Y'esult; namely, that  God shall  bs praised
as God even into all eternity.  Ev&ythirig  .shall speak      bound in book form., Those who have standing or-
of the virtues and glories of the Lord. Heaven and            ders and reside in the city of  -Grand  Rapids should
hell mast  contri#bute toward the Lord's eternal Self-        have their loose issues in. order, ready to be collected
manifestation. The unrighteousness of men must serve          by the book  conimittee  qf the Board. Those residing
the righteousness of God and His adorable goodness.           outside of Grand Rapids should forward  their loose
   -Finally, the question may still arise whether all         issues, in order, to Mr. H. Velthouse 1025  Wealthy St.
this would not also be true without the supralapsarian        IGrand Rapids 6,  Mich., or to Mr. G. Bylsma 904 Ad-
conception of the entrance  of. sin into the world. The       ams  ?t., Grand Rapids 7, Michigan:  Please! .
infralapsarian confesses as well as  f;he  supralapsar-
ian that  heaven and hell shall  both reveal the glory of                                                       - T H E   BCLIED
the Lord and that the  unrighteotisness  and `eternal
punishlment  of the sinner will proclaim the holiness
and justice of our God. This is -true. However,  .the                                      -1::---
maintaining of the absolute sovereignty  of the  L'ord
also with respect to our present night of sin and dark--                       .  .  Y
ness gives the church of God the unspeakable  comfdrt                        M E E T I N G   IOF  ~GLAiSS,I~S   EAaST
that the Lord is  absolutely at the helm, that our God             CLAS:SXS  `E&ST will meet in regular session on
was "not taken by surprise" when Adam fell from his
lofty  posit@.    The  a'bsolute honour of our  .God is       Wednesday,  January 7th at First Church.
surely an issue of tremenddus significance  for the child       Matters for Synod should be brought to this  meet-
of the Lord who has learned to adore the God of his           i.ng.-                       1
salvation. Besides, we  must not forget  that the  pro-                 :                                 _,---D.  Jonker,-   IS,!C,


                                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                1 3 5

                                                                             nifig to end  is.dominated  by Christian Reformed prin-
          I N   HIti  F E A R ' ciples, is corrupted by the  un-R,efommed and  anti-
                                                                             Scripttiral twin principles of  commofi  grace and gen-
                                                                             eral grace  (Ktiyperiin and Heynsian-Arminian com-
                                                                             mon grace), a principal denial of the  antith'esis  and a
                Looking To The future                                        principal  acceptan<e of the synthesis. Ergo: we con-
                             CHAPTER                 4                       sequently object to the textbooks which have been or
                                                                             will'be produced, as they stand in the service of such
                    CONCERNINGTEXTBOOKS                                      anti-Reformed education.
 What Do W.e Need?                                                                   Now it is sometimes  propqsed that the use of  non-
    In our last installment we pointed out by  way of                        Protestant Reformed textbooks in our  scho'ols might
 illustration and in a negative way the necessity of `after all be salutary,  -because  such. textbooks may be
having  ,di&erent  textbooks in our Protestant-Reformed                      instrimental in teaching the truth by  ctintrast.  Our
sc&ools.   IGranted our own schools and Protestant  Re-                      children, it is  saici, must be acquainted with error,
forfie!$  teachers  .and  P r o t e s t a n t   Ref,ormed   p u p i l s ,    must be trained to defend against  th8 lie,  mvst be
there is still  g very serious lack in the classroom that                    taught also how they must  not  live in the midst of the
employs  non-Protkstant Reformed textbooks.                        And       world. And, one of the best ways to attain this goal
while temporarily such textbooks must  .be used, for                         is to use non-Protestant Reformed textbooks, allow the
lack of our own, they constitute `a tremendous handi-                        children to assimilate their teachings, in order then to
cap for both teacher and pupil, which` must be over-                         have the teacher point out the fallacies of this instruc-
come, as much as possible, in the instruction as such                        tion and pump all the corruption out of' them.             .      .
and in actual class-room  wozk.  X In our illustration                       However, I believe such reasoning to be, in the
last time we referred to the extreme; to worldly text-                       first place, a bit of sophistry. It- is not intellectually
books. And  we did so partly because the employment                          hdnest. It is very difficult for me to conceive of it,
of worldly textbooks has  ,been the rule, rather than                        `that any Christian parent can in his heart really as-
the exception, in the Christian school movement-in                           sume such an attitude, especially with regard to  chil-
this country. It is only recently, through  ihe instru-                      then. For it is the principle of casting our children
mentality of the -National Union of Christian Schools,                       to the wolves first, in order then to rescue them from
that textbooks especially designed for use in the exis-                      the wolf's mouth  ; or of letting them be burned by the                0
ting Christian schools have begun to make their  .ap-                        fire, in  oyder to teach them  ivhat fire is. It is essen-
pearance; and  ,even  ai that the results have been very                     tially not much different than the principle of sin-
meager. Furthermore, from our point of' view the re-                         ning that grace may abound. On somewhat the same
sults are far from satisfactory. Even a casual reading                       basis parents will at times seek to justify themselves
of onk of the key works in the  National Union's scheme                      in sending their children to the public school in pre-
.reveals that our Protestant Reformed schools would                          ference to the existing Christian schools (where  we.
not long remain Protestant Reformed  if they made                            have not our own), or  in opposing- any activity in be-
use of the productions and publications of the National                      half of our own schools, in order to choose the exis-
Union. I  refw to the "Course of Study for Christian                         ting Christian schools.        Let them  learn, by experi-
School9'.      And therefore, the reader must bear in                        ence, what is  wrong,`athey   say, in order with  the aid of
mind that principally our objection is not only against                      the preaching and catechetical instruction to overcome
"worldly" textbooks, but against all non-Protestant                          it..
Reformed textbooks.  And this abjection is quite in                                  But not only is such reasoning dishonest, it is also
harmony with all that we have previously written                             utterly false. It is such, first of all, from a psycho-
concerning the principle of Protestant Reformed edu-                         logical point of view. We read and hear  much of child
cation. We object to the public  scl~pol. Why? Be-                           psychology in our day. But what kind of child psy-
cause the instruction there given is the instruction of                      chology is it, pray, that would treat a child, tender
the kingdom of darkness and is designed from  begin--                        and young and inexperienced, as yet untaught and
ning to end to prepare the child for a life in the  king-                    with his feet not firmly planted in the right way, in
`dam of darkness from the principle of darkness. Er-                         such a fashion? And, secondly, what kind of religion
go: we object  c6nsequently to the textbooks employed                        is it that would treat a  ragenerutecl,  cov'enunt child
in the public  schdol, which stand in the service of such                    (and it is  here, of course, that  you  ha?e the subjective
thus-worldly education. However; we as Protestant                            principle of Christian  iristruction: see the Baptism
Reformed people  objetit also to the existing Christian                      Form, and particularly, the questions to parents) in
schools. W h y ? Because  thi  `iizatruction  from  begin-                   such a fashion? Is it not a denial of  -l;he entire  founda-


136                                    T H E   S.T,AN  DARD:  %E`AR'ER

tion of the  Christion  school when we introduce into             just  .one..field of learning: science. And we  .&ay  well
it by means of the text books the world's  instructipn?.          remember-that  the&chaff, the world, also in this respect
And is it  `not a; denial, to be specific, of the entire          is present`for the benefit of the `kernel, the church.
foundation of our own, distinctively  Ref,ormed,   parti-                But from the viewpoint of the spiritual, ethical con-
cularistic Christian schools when we tolerate therein             tent of the textbook, tie must have something entirely
textbooks that are non-Protestant  l$eformed? Is this             different.      In this respect we need textbooks that are
not much rather the proper style of Christian educa-              founded upon the Scriptures, whose every instruction
tion, that we accentuate the positive, that we first of           is controlled by the principles of the Word of  ,God, our
all seek  td lead the child in the proper way, instruct           Reformed, our Protestant Reformed principles. Nor
him in the positive spiritual principles of God's Word,           must we deceive ourselves by introducing a little in-
and that the& from within the safe fortress of  .the              cidental Christianity into the. text books, while we re-
truth we point  ,out to him the-other  sidk, and with             tain principally the instruction of the. world. See in
sound Scriptural reasoning condemn it?  !A,nd  ' once             thfs -connection, the sound advice offered in the, articles
more, is not  that,-beca&e  I want to be  specific,-              fro? the  Refor+iie  which we translated  -a couple
also the proper style of a Protestant Reformed educa-             months ago. Just as we need schools that are funda-
tion,  and that too, over against all (whether that be            mentally  .-and principally Christian, founded.  upori
the world  br synthesizing  Chrisgianity)  ,- absolutely  aZZ,    the Scriptures and the Confessions, so we need text-
that  .is non-Protestant Reformed?  : Well,  the?& also in        books that are written with this fundamental and
regard to textbooks let us not cast our children,  o&r            principal  l&s. The fundamental  differen&   is plain,
little lambs, `to the ravening wolves first, in order then        especially  .in such  sQbjects  as  his&y and geography.
to  .try to. rescue them.  / For these tender little lambs        But also in the  soLeal.led peripheral subjects, the more
may well be  .consumed,  or at least maimed for life,,            formal subjects, for example, arithmetic, this funda-
ere ever you succeed in rescuing  them.            .              mental principle must  iule.
 What  then,. in brief,-.and without going into the                A   d i f f i c u l t   t a s k ,   jrou  s a y .   I   agree.    ..
more technical aspects of textbook  coniposition,-do
we need?                        _      1 .                          -How must this goal be attained?  About this ques-
                                                                  tion  1. will have a few remarks next  iirnei  D.Y.
       From a formal viewpoint we perhaps need nothing
liew: I say "p&haps" because it is not always so easy                                                                 H. C.  Hoeksema
to distinguish' in actual life between the forma.1 and
the material. I say "perhaps" too, because if you in-
clude in this formal aspect of textbooks such elements                                                -Is.  ,'
as  methods,  then to a large  eirtent we need something
new also formally : for the world in it!: spiritual fool-
ishness also  becomes  more and more blinded and  fool-
?sh  even from a natural viewpoint, so that it even -a-
dopts- corrupt methods (witness  the method of  pro-                            To God for help will I repair,
giessive  educatidn, so-called).  For we must not for-                            To  aGod will I direct my prayer,
get  that.,aiso  as regards child psychology' and educa-.                       And surely He will  answhr me,
tiotial psychology and methods of education the Word                              :His great salvation I shall  .see.
of  ,God must certainly be  ,our guide, and is not by any
means silent. But  if by "formal" we mean the  his-                             In weakness I was pressed with fear,.
tol"y,  the geography, the language, the  spel,ling, the                          but better hopes  my- spirit cheer;                           . .
arithmetic,  &  such,  then, of course, we  .need- nothing                      Past mercies lead  me to rely
ile'w in this respect. The facts of history as such, the                          Upon the help of God Most High.
`rules of  grammar  -as such, the facts of geography as
sutih,  the laws of' arithmetic and  the- rules for spelling               Thy deeds, 0  L,ord, will I relate                              ,
as such, are the same for believer and unbeliever;                _ .      And on Thy wonders meditate;
These we need not  chgnge, we  cannot change, and we                            Thy way,  `0 God, is just and right,
must not  attempt to change. In fact, positively, as                              Arid none is like to Thee  in might.
far as `these  matters  are concerned  we may certainly,
and, I would  s&y, must, take advantage of the re-                              Thy  wayi  10  ,God, was in  the sea,
search and the  learning of the world. For  the world,                          But, though  Thp paths mysterious be,
as a rule, knows  mbre about things than the church  ;                          Thy people Thou didst safely keep
by way  .of illustration we may mention in this respect                           As shepherds lead their helpless sheep.


       ._                                   I'H..E  STAND\ARD  .BEARER                                         -
                                /                                                                                            137

                                                                     soul,  .He would have  Ibeen denying Himself before their
      THE DAY OF SHADOWS  ( cdnsciousne'ss  ; He  would have been so disgracing Him-
                                                                     self  iti their eyes as to make it impossible -for  them. to
                                                                     revere Him as God righteous and holy. He thus would
                The Rite of Expiatory Sac&G                          have been  defe&ing the very  .purpose  .of His saving
                                                                     them from all their sins-the purpose  df revealing to
      We were  bccupied with showing just  how.the  101~1            them in the -face  ~of  ,Christ  the total of His glories in
  Testament -saints were served by  their animal- sacri-             order that they, as  .His redeemed people, might de-            .
  fices. To bring the  treatme& of this matter to con-               clare  .His praises everlastingly.
  clusion, let us get  bef,ore us  .once more the principles           And so their firm belief must have been that  ,their
  of truth imposed upon and. symbolized by this,  sae-               sins would surely be expiated. But by whom or by
  rifice. We found  thtim to be those of a sacrificing vic-          what if not by their animal sacrifices? By-the  Lam,b
  tim,  IGod's  own merciful gift to His ill-deserving -and          fully  qualifiid for the task in  every,respect-the Lamb
  condemnable yet chosen and contrite people, paying                 that  `God would provide in His own time. And upon
  as-  t,heir  sub.stitute  f,or all their sins by its death, and    this  sa&ificing  victim they were pinning all their
  thereby bearing away  their  sins, covering,  cancelling,. hopes. Abraham, as was stated, saw the day of Christ
  obliterating them, blotting them out before the face               and rejoiced.
  of  (God, and  thus redeeming them `from all their sins by             Such is the fact here. For the believers of the
  the price of its life rendered to God  ai a full satisfac-         first  .covenant were living by  the.promise of a  f`seed"
  tion of His justice. Now  .these are the very truths               to gain the  ascendency over  the malice of the serpent.
  em.bodied in the sacrificing Christ. And therefore,                For such was the promise. "I will set enmity between
  thou& Christ had-not yet come into the flesh and was               thee and the-  &Oman," said the Lord to our first par-
  not, -as yet, the direct object of their vision, the Old           ents," between thy seed and her Seed. Thou shalt
  Testament  .saints, in embracing with their sanctified. bruise his heel and he shall' bruise thy head." Now
 gind these truths, embraced Him-the Christ-who                      this "seed" was Christ. In the prophetic utterance of
  is the truth (truths) and therefore also the  way and              Noah He appears as "Shem" whom Canaan will serve
  the life.                                                          and in whose tent, sanctuary, house,  -Japheth  will
      And that  He, the Lamb that God in His own good                dwell  ([Gen. 9  :26,2'7). In the communication of God
  time would bring in, is the  Truth;  and that accord-              to Abraham He is set forth as the "seed" in whom all
  ingly their animal sacrifice. was merely a shadow                  the nations of the earth will be blessed. In the psalms
  brought into being for the sole purpose of prophet-                of David His suffering is described.  ,Of this "seed"
  ically  symlbolizing the Truth, the  01,d  Testtiment saints       the  lL>ord was speaking in saying to  David, "And when
 must  have been made to perceive.            In other words,        thy days be fulfilled  2nd thou shalt sleep  with thy fa-
  they must have been  linade to understand that they                thers I will  s.et up thy seed after  thee,. which shall
  could not depend for their salvation on their animal               proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his king-
  sacrifice.     For, certainly; it. cannot  ,be-supposed  that      dom; He shall build a house for my name, and I will
  the gap between their animal -sacrifice and the offender' establish the throne  .of  hjs kingdom f&ever. And I
 whose.  sins it expiated figuratively was allowed to es-            will be his father, and he shall be' my son.        A n d   i f
  cape their attention; For this gap was great. The                  he commit iniquity, I will chastise him-with the rod
  animal is a non-moral. and irratibnal creature devoid              of men, but my mercy shall riot depart from him."
  of rational awareness of God, moral sense, and con-                In the  pyophetic discourse of Isaiah this "seed" stands
  science and accordingly  without sense of sin, thus a              before us as the "servant of Jehovah" whom the Lord
  creature whose dying could not possibly serve as a                 will bruise for our iniquities, and upon whom will be
 payment for sin. Expiation of sin required  a being                 the chastisement of  .our peace. -Isa-. 53  :5. The Old
 rational and moral, a being endowed with awareness                  Testament- Scriptures  are-. interspersed throughout
  of God and a-moral sense. It required moreover a sin-              with remarkable statements  regaPding  this "seed".
 less being capable of pouring out its soul in death as              He is the Shiloh unto whom the gathering of the peo-
 activated by a perfect love of God. `Certainly, the                 ple will be,  (1Gen. 49  :l) . He is the child born unto
Old Testament saints  .must have been given under-.                  us and the  soi given us upon whose shoulders the gov-
 standing of this.                                                   ernment shall be, and whose name shall be called won-
     But if so, were to their minds their sins to remain             derful; Counsellor, the mighty Gdd, the everlasting Fa-
 unsit,oned though forgiven them of  IGod?  .&This,  to be           ther, the prince of peace. Isa. 9  :6.
 sure, could not have been their imagining. Had  ,God                   ,Now by this promise the believers of the  `first cov-
 forgiven and saved them with such a notion in their                 enant lived, How it  was.layed upon the heart of Eve,


                 l&g .                       -                fpHh        srAN`DAi$.D                  BgiREa                _     .,

                 the mother of all the (spiritual) living,  what comfort                     them as an instrument for  the expression of their
                 she derived-from it, is evident from her jubilant cry                       faith  as do the sacraments with regard to the-belie-
                 in the moment of the  b&h of Cain, her firstborn  soti.                     vers of this Gospel  .period. Hence, every new light
                 Said she, "I  have received a man with Jehovah;" And                        shed by Heaven upon the promise was in answer  to
                 of Abraham -Christ said that he saw the day of Christ                       their sacrificing, to their prayers and confessions of
                 and rejoiced. Can it be that a people-the Old Tes-                          Faith to which they gave utterances through. their
                 tament believers- prepared by. the Lord to receive,                         sacrificing.  `One notable example, Upon leaving  the
          -      hold and live by such promises  were.grobnding  their                       ark  N&h  .builded  an alter unto the Lord and offered
                 salvati6n  on the death of animals? This is not well                        burnt offerings.  -. And the Lord smelled a sweet sav-.
                 conceivable.  SCertainly  they  `were  macle to perceive                    our (IHeb.-smell) . The reference- here is in the first
                 that  their animal sacrifice was but symbol. indeed and                     instance to the.  ILlamb,  Christ Jesus, that was slain
                 as such a- preindication of the Lamb that the Lord                          befote the foundation of the world, to the holy zeal,
                 would provide Him. and  ihem. And in  their sanctified                      pure love that activated that sacrifice. But certainly
                 niinds,  it must be, this  "Lamb,"_and  this "seed," "man                   the  .reference here is also to Noah's faith in Christ
                 with Jehovah" were more or less associated.                                 and through Christ in God of which his burnt offer-
                     This, of course, does not mean that the  `Old Testa-                    ing was the expression. And the Lord smelled  it-
                 ment saints had Christ  -as the direct object of their                      this faith. And the smell of it  was sweet to Him.
                 vision, and that they were confessing:  .Jesus Christ,                      And on the ground.  of. Christ's atonement and for
                 the  incacrnate Son  gf  GGod,of human nature and, div-                     Christ's sake the Lord blessed Noah. He said in His
                 ine in union of divine  Fersonality.  No such confes-                       heart that not. again  wouid He curse the ground for
                 sion was theirs, could be theirs.  iret those-saints did                    man's sake. . . And thereupon He instituted with No-
                 see Christ not directly  b.ut through the-glass  ,of the                    ah His covenant.
                 promises of  ,God% association with their  sacrrfices.                                                                         G. M. Ophoff
                 Let us quote the Heidelberg  Catech&m  here.                                                                            ci-
                                                                                                              . .  :
                    Q. 18. Who then is that Mediator,  yho is in one                                                                     -                      \
                                                                                                                         -::::.
                 person  v&y  ,God, and real righteous man?
                    A.  ,Our Lord Jesus Christ: who of  `God is made un-
                 to us wisdom, and  r3ghteousness, and sanctification,                                   .
                 and redemption.                                                                                        The  kbealbm   Rev&z  -.
                   .Q. 19.  Whkllce knowest thou-this?                                          0
                    A. From the holy gospel, which God Himself  sfirst                       The .Progress  of tie Revolt
f                revealed in paradise ;  ,and afterwards published  by  the                     In our previous article! we left Absalom  &Hebron.
                 patriarchs and prophets, and represented by the sac-                        Here, as we- saw, he is at work  setting his rebellion in
                 rifices and other ceremonies of the  law;`and lastly, has                   operation.  As was also observed; he already has sent
                 fulfilled it by his only begotten Bon.                                      out  spi.es to. sound public -opinion.
                     Let us  take notice, the promise represented, thus
     I                                                                                               "And the conspiracy  was strong  ; for the people in-
                 p r e a c h e d ,   proclaiined  b y   t h e   animal  sacrifities.  S o    creased continually with Absalom."
                 says the..  Cat_echism.          That precisely was the grand
               purpose of the institution of the system of animal                               Helo.-"And the conspiracy was strong;  -for the
                 sacrifices. And  :that is what those sacrifices must  be                    people caused to go, and many (w&e) with Absalom."
                 held. to have done: they actually did proclaim, unto                           Doubtless the "people". of  ivhich the text makes
                 the believers -of that day the promise of the "seed",                       mention are the  %pies"  in every place commissioned
                 `Yhe  man with Jehovah", the Christ. But. to m&ntain                        to launch the rebellion over the whole land.  (On the
                 that the  saints of old imagined that their  animal sac-                    same day and at the same time of the  day they go forth
               i+fices actually expiated their sins is to deny that they                     blowing their trumpets and shouting,"  A@salom  reign-
                 proclaimed to them the promise of the "seed". It is                         eth in Hebron." This is the call to all. such who are
                 thus to  say either that this was not their purpose or                      of the opinion. that a change of administration in Je-
               that it was  the`ir purpose, but that this purpose was                        rusalem has become  riecessary,to join the demonstra-
                 not achieved. But the Lord, certainly,  $lways achieves                     tion: And the response is remarkable. As the day
                 His purpose with everything.                                                progresses  m&e and more of the- citizenry in each
                     IGreat therefore were the benefits that the Old Tes-                    strategic place of the kingdom come forth `and rally
                 tament saints derived fqom their  animal sacrifices.                        arqun+   Absalom's  banner. In the-words of the text,
                 .It proclaimed to  them the  ,Christ,   Second,   3  served                 "the.  pe\opleAthe spies-cause., to  gp  .anfl  :many  _%re
                     .


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      , 139
                                 .-
  with  Absalom."' The conspiracy is an astounding  sue-         inherit  the  Iand; when the wicked  were  ciZt off, Ps.
  cess.                                                          36:34.  In this respect, too, he prefigured his great
      What may be the explanation?  -Well may we ask.            successor-Christ Jesus-who for the joy that was
  For David is a. good king. He has done so much                 set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
  for the nation. Instrumentally he is its saviour. At           and is set down at the right hand of the throne. of
  the time of Saul's death the entire land'west of the           G o d .   H e b .   12:2.
  Jordan was being  o&run by the Philistines, who had                Sureiy, David  made the Lord his trust. God was
  set as their goal the conquest  pf the whole of Canaan.        in all his  -thou'ghts-God,   .His righteousness, faithful-
  But the Lord had delivered them into David's hand,             ness and salvation, His lovingkindness and truth.
  `and the Philistine menace-ended. Besides, David has           And he did not, did `David,, refrain his lips. He  d;d
  overthrown all the-heathen nations that were spoiling          not conceal the glories of his God within his heart.- But
  Israel from nosth to south. On their ruins he founded          he preached God's righteousness, declared His salva-
  a  dohinion equal to that of any of the great kings of         tion, in the great congregation, that is, he put in wri-
  the east. It' was an emmense region that extended              ting the. inspired thoughts of his heart that. as his
  t,o the Euphrates on  the east and to  the river Nile on       songs+psalins  of David-they might be read or chan-
  the West.                                    :    1  :  ITyy ted  by  t_he choirs of the sanctuary in the  audielice of
   Further,  that'as king in  Israel's.  tl-$one he symbol-      of the worshipping multitudes.        "I will. declare thy
  izes prophetically the Christ must  me& certainly,  that       name  unto.my  brethen : in the midst of the congrega-
  his administration of the kingdom was singularly just.         tion will I praise thee. . .My praise shall  be"of thee in
  He  #reigned over all Israel, and executed judgment and        the great congregation : I will pay my vows before . .
  justice unto all his people. II Sam. 8  :15.  TKe  right:      them that fear him." Ps.  22:22,25;  40:9,10.   AFd  his
  eous  character of his government is well  Geflected in        purpose always `was to  show how  lovely,-how adorable,
his  psalins  particularly.in  his vow that he made doubt-       how worthy of the praises of  his redeemed people, God
  less  .at the time of his coming to power in Hebron.           &,-God,  h?s Saviour.
  (Ps; 101). "I will sing of mercy and judgment," he                 Rejoice in the Lord, 0 `ye righteous: for praise is
  ha:d vowed, `(unto thee, 0  Lol"d will I sing. I will          comely to the  upr:ight : Praise the  Lbrd with harp ;
  behave myself `wisely in a perfect way.  O- when  .wilt        sir&m&o him with the psaltery and an instrument of
  thou come unto me? I* will  walk within my house in            t w e l v e   s t r i n g s .
  a perfect heart. I  willaet no wicked thing-before mine
  eyes : I hate the work of them that  turp aside  ; it shall        Sing unto him a new song  ; play skilfully with  i
  not  clave to me. A froward heart  shall depart  from          loud noise.  -
  me: I will not know `a wicked person. Whoso privily                For the  wori of the  Loxd  is right; and all  @s
  slandereth his neighbor, will I cut off:  hiti%hat hath        wqrks are done with  tru*th. He loveth righteousness
a high look  .and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine          "and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the
  eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they         Lord. . .  ." Ps. 33 :I-5.
  may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way,               Thus he  ias wont to exhort his brethren in the
he shall serve me.  .He that worketh deceit shall not            faith.
  dwell within my  house ; he that telleth lies shall not
  tarry  in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked            And how fully aware he was that by himself he
  df the land; that' I may cut off all wicked doers from         was: was a sinner, shapen in iniquity and conceived
  the city of the Lord.`! He is a  godfearing, just, wise,       in sin, and that he  had need of God to purge him. that
  and benevolent ruler. Tyranny, injustice, oppression,          he might  be clean; to restore unto  him the joy of His
  robbery of the poor by the rich are no features of his         salyatipn, and uphold him with His  .free Spirit, that
  government.                                                    he might teach transgressors God's ways  ; to deliver
    _ He was a  king who could truthfully say to his  sub:       him from bloodguiltiness, that his tongue  mibht sing
  jects," learn of me that I am meek and lowly. For in           aloud of  .the  Lord% righteousness  ; and to open his
                                                                 Lips, that  -his mouth might show  .forth  #God's  praises.
." the by-gone days when without a cause he was being
  hunted as a partridge in the mountain by Saul, he              In a word, how  awase he was that he was  <God's work-
 patiently endured. He could have destroyed Saul and             manship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works be-
  the throne would have been his. But not willing to             fore ordained that he should walk in them.
 make:flesh-his  :arm, he forbore as content to  reckive             How could an upstart like  -Absalom  g&n a follow-
 the kingdom as a gift of grace -from the hand of his            ing for. his conspiracy among subjects of such a king?
  God. By faith,  liie  p&c&ed   that,  if`  he wait on the      That these subject were Israelites and not heathen
 $,orci and keep His way, the Lord would  exalt him to           makes the question  ali the  mofe pertinent.


     140 .                                  T H E   STANDAR-7   B E A R E R
                                       -

       Is  the-answer David's grievous sins in  the  matter
of Uriah? But certainly every true believer in Israel                   k:R  0 M H  0  Ii Y W R  I  T
who was spiritual had long age forgiven-him.                     Fdr
he had deeply repented. And his  cbntrition of heart
               .-.
was genuine. For the Lord had forgiven him.  AAnd                                           -bgmsition   o#  1  Peter  1:6, 7
this was well known. For he had put his `confession
in writing  (Ps; 32 and 51) and given it to the chief                         It is a  wend.erful fact, that salvation is  immtit&bly
musician of  %he  sane$uary.                                             certain for  the  elect  st?angers scattered in the midst
     It  was the carnal Israel that went  over.to  Absa-                 of this world, both in the days of Peter and in ours.
Ibin's side. First to be  mentioiled is the pious god-                   We have  only reason to  *rejoice in  God, our  :Savior.
less-Israel. Their self-righteousness could not be ap-                   In the  d$$h  atid resurrection of  Ghrist He hath be-
peased-by any confessjon of sin. These people  couidn't                  gotten  US unto  a lively hope.  And, we may be cer-
dndur6  David. He was too  ~spiritual, too God-centered                  tain,  this hope never puts us to shame,  becatise the
in his administration of the kingdom.              The -theology         love -of  IGod is shed abroad in our hearts through His
of his psalms  nauseated them. And they used his                         Holy Spirit. -Nothing will ever separate us from the
past  -grievous  sins and his weakness&s and  -lacks of                  love of  !God in Christ. We are kept in the power of
royal  government as pretexes for helping Absalom                        `God through faith unto the  salvati,on  which is ready
try to rid the  larid`  of  biti.                                        to be revealed in  the last day.
         ,.
       Furth&, this carnal seed would include many a                          Such is the glad-tidings of the Gospel!
young person. They were  thankful for Absalom. It                             In this  IGospel-reality  of  .iGod's  grace the believers
can  be.&xplained. They were still small  dhildren when                  are exultant  tiith thankfulness  ;-our joy is of the Holy
the oppressions of  the surrounding heathen  nations                     Spirit, and  it is a well of water springing up  untq  _
were in progress. They had but a  dim recollection of                    e v e r l a s t i n g   l i f e .             .-
the deliverances that the Lord had sent by the hand of                        Even our. present sorrows cannot and  may.  no_t
David. They  kneti not  th& mighty works of the Lord,                    <im our joys,  .but,  strange and paradoxical as it may
and their elders had not instructed  them;                               seem, these  sorrbws  of this present life  c,an only en-
-
       Besides, had  they  hollowed their impulses they                  hance the  g?eatness  of our joy and-final salvation.
would have been crowding  Baal's temples. But they                            Writes Peter in these verses under consideration:
did  hot dare; For there was a law' against it, and                      "?@her:ein. ye  greatly rejoice, though  now for a  liittl,e
with David in  the throne that law was being  rididly                    while, if need `be, y,e have been put to prief through
enforced. What is more, Absalom was young, and                           manifold trials that the proof of your faith being more
beautiful  2nd  glamoro&  ana godless. And the re-                       p?recious than. gold that perisheth though it is proved
port of how he was wont to fraternize with the peo-                      by fire, rn-ay b#e found u&o praise ad glory c&d honor
ple in the gate of Jerusalem and how the interests of                    at the revelqtion of Jesus Christ.`)
the  pepple  lay  .clqs.e to his heart  (apparentiy) had                    _. These  are.bvonderful words of consolation and en-
spread far and wide. What a king he would make                           couragement for the  sorrpw-rejoicing Pilgrim amid
them. And so they streamed  t$ his banner.                               the weariness of his pilgrim.  jonrney.
                                                 G. M. Ophoff            H o w   c o m f o r t i n g   i s   `God's   G o s p e l - d e s i g n   i n   oug
                                                                         lives!       Think of. it, weary pilgrim, what a great and
                                                                         glorious harvest God designs through the winds and
                        q                                                trials  .of life. Sorrow -indeed endureth for- a moment,
                               - q   El El El                           ,b.nt joy  cometh  inthe morning. When ye see all these
                                                                         sorrows.in life  &me upon you, then lift up  your heads
                                                            _            in the, firm trust, that your  final salvation is very nigh.
                                                                         Lift up, therefore,  the loins of your mind in spiritual
                       NOTICE                                            sobriety of faith and hope in God.
       In order to maintain its- financial support of  OUY                  bet us attempt to understand  the details of this
three brethren and their families, the board &quests                     quoted passage, our text:
that those  &ho  int&nd or are willing to contribute to                       First of all we wish to remark, that the phrase'
this cause should send -their gifts to the treasurer as                  "in which"  evidenily refers to the entire former verse.
                                                                         We [rejoice in the faith  in which we are kept by the
soon as possible.       Please send your contributions to                power of God. We  are! indeed. weak. and helpless in
Don Ondersma, 1131 Chicago Drive,  SW., Grand Ra-                        ourselves. But. the  .assurance  of faith, wrought by  the
pids 9, Michigan;  Thank you!                                           _ Word and Spirit in our hearts makes us to rejoice  ex-


                                           9?~fi        STANDARD                BIZAR~~~~                                  14i
_i
      ceedingly.    It is a fact, that  IGod's people are a glad          This dealing of  (God with us is His chastisement of
      people, who love to speak of  (God's  guarding power.          us in love.  (God does not spoil us  ; He deals with us
      Always we rejoice in  ,God's faithfulness and strength.        as with sons and not as with bastards. And the rod
          To be sure, thus understood, our' rejoicing is also of His chastisements strikes us -in these "manifold
      in our having been begotten  tint6 a lively hope. Fur-         trials". They are not a cause of rejoicing but of sor-
      thermore,  it ought also to be clear, that our rejoicing       row when present. But being exercised thereby they
      -is in the hope laid away for us and kept for us in            work in our lives the peaceable fruit  `of righteousness.
      heaven. For truly we  cannot rejoice in  God's, keep-               Wherefore the apostle mentions the design of God,
      ing without  ,rejoicing. also in the hope unto which we        also in our text,  exhilbited in these manifold trials.
      we are kept, the glorious and heavenly  inheritanck.                IGod sends us pain and He  maties `us to taste  sor-
      But the central -point, the immediate thought and              XOW. `The purpose ? That  r&e shall learn to kiss the'
      truth that keeps us rejoicing is, according to the text, rod that strikes  us,  knowing that it is for our benefit..
) the immutable  $eeping of  ZGod.                                   The unbelievers curse  #God-  even. upon their beds  .of
         Such is the status quo of the believers in this             sickness and they spend their last breath in cursing
      world.                                                         God.       Oftentimes they literally "spend!' their last
         Peter  states  this as a fact. He evidently employs         strength in exasperation with the Most High. But
      the  indi`cative mood. At `once this statement of this         IGod's people become longsuffering and patient in suf-
      glorious fact is an encouragement  for the believers to        fering. The grand truth is that in the elect strangers,
      great exaltation. It is what God has wrought and               reborn by God's power of the resurrection of Christ,
      what He still does that encourages  us  to press forward. `are studious unto salvation in the School of God's
      And this encouragement is an aspect of the power .ways of. affliction. Thley sing : Ere I was afflicted I
      whereby  He through His Spirit-  guaPds us from des-           went astray, but now I search out Thy command-
                                                                                                          D
      pair and despondency in our manifold trials and  teinp-        ments.
      tations.                                                            And- what do we learn?
         What a glorious "status quo" of the church!                      We learn more and more in the holy place of
         This unique character of  IGod's people calls for' a        prajrer, as  the.,searching of faith, that the affliction
      special treatment from our heavenly Father. Hence,             that  came to us was only because we really needed it.
      He sends us "manifold  tfials". The trials that are            God. would make us  men- and women, matured  ifi the
      our lot arid portion in this life are not limited to  a        Lord, . It was simply the all-wise pedagogy of our lov-           '
      few isolated instances, says Peter. They are not few           ing and holy Father. As the mother eagle stirreth
      but they are many. Then too these many trials are              up her nest so the Lord places us in the trials of life
      not all of one  `sort and one pattern. Nay, they are           that on the  wings of faith we may soar upwards, plac-
      of manifold  and different kinds. Then it is poverty           ing our hope and confidence alone -in Him. And thus
      now it is riches, sometimes it is sickness,  pain. and         we find rest amid life's sorrows in the design of the
      weariness then again it is war and anxiety of heart.           Architect and  .Author of our salvation. Thus our            .
      Thus it was in the days of Peter. Some  fiust go to            hearts are  fill&d by `faith With wisdom and prudence.
      battle, our dear ones are sick `or  -God places us upon        We  become.wiser than our teachers. Oh, the joy of .it;
      a bed of languishing, when the  ,dtiys are long and            it must be expressed in tens of thousands of  t-ongues.
      dreary and when nightfall can be terrifying.                        We were speaking just now of "this "design" of
         0h;how manifold are God's trying ways. They are             ,God with us.
      as manifold as life itself.                . .                      IGod deals with  us  -very jealously. Why not? Are
         But do we despair, or do  we bless  ,God and die?           we not His peculiar treasure in the earth? All the
      Do we fall by the way-side in unbelief and in brood-           earth  is His, but only we are His peculiar treasure.
      ing  discont&t  with God and His dealings with us?             He has an inimitable glory in the saints. And the
         Not at all. For we are kept in God's power  thru            riches of this glory must  app?ar.   tAnd  iS  ,God not
      f&h!  And this power of  ,God is richly supplied each          jealous of our faith, even as a husband is jealous of
      day anew  %ve need it. IGod creates  sucll  ,situations  in    his beloved wife?
      qur life-in His paternal providence-that He gives                   Nothing can  comp&e with the preciousness of the
      us to taste the power of faith, and of  f&h  on@! We           s a i n t s .
      must  learn to simply walk in faith;  the.d!ross  must be           To demonstrate this  incotiparable  preciousness of
      be taken out of it, and faith must stand forth before          God's glory in the saints, Peter draws an analogy. I t
our `sanctified and believing  conticiousness,  as  ais              is the analogy between the attitude of a goldsmith
      great and glorious gift of power through which, we             toward His gold, and the attitude of the  heavenly
      are guarded.                                                   Father toward th faith of His children, through which


                                               .
 142                                  TBE  ST.AN;iAAD   BEARER

 faith He keeps them in this world unto glory. The
 Apostle reasons from the lesser to the greater. Gold                  .PERISCOP.E
 tried in  the fire is precious. It is twice tried. Once
 to remove the dross and then again  to show its  ap-
~ proved character, to demonstrate that it is indeed            COMMON GRACE
 pure and tried gold. Such gold is precious. But even              In recent  number,s  of  Torch  and  D%mpet, a rather
 so it perishes. The rust and corruption of time causes         interesting discussion is carried-on between Prof. H.
the most pure gold to perish; soon it looses its lus-           R. Van  Ti.1 and the Rev. J.  Piersma on the one hand,
 ter, it becomes simply a  trinklet that is cast aside          and a  certain*Mr.   S. Wolters,  formerly a  member of
 as so much useless and worthless trash.                        the liberated church in the Netherlands, now member
        But such is not the  case with the jewel, God's         of the Christian Reformed  ,Church in Houston, B.C.
 gift of faith in its glorious activity.. This faith is in-
 comparably greater than gold. And  it. must become                From this discussion we quote the following:
 manifested through the manifold trials of  l<fe.                      We can agree with you that a' wrong appli-
        Three things must become evident. from faith.                cation of the doctrine of common grace can
        The first is that faith must be to "praise". Praise         make for a blurring of the line of demarca-
 of whom? The text  does- not express it, but evidently              tion between the church and the world. Oth-
 to God whose power and wisdom and might becomes                     ers in the Christian Reformed  ,Church are al-
 manifest in this faith. "Praise" -is expressed  recogni?            so aware of this fact. It might comfort you to
 tion of God as its Author and `Finisher. The believer               read here a quotation from the Faculty State-
 more and more  sings : All that I am I owe to Thee..                ment which appears over the  signa%ure of
 Thy wisdom Lord hath fashioned me. I give my  Ma:                   every  fuil-the  member of the Calvin Col-
ker thankful  prais;;  whose wondrous  works my soul                 lege teaching staff as published in the 1952
 amaze!        '                                                     Acts of Synod. In  order to -understand the
        Secondly, it must be unto "glory".. It  must be              statement we wish to quote, let us say that
 such that the virtues of God are manifest in the faith              the entire document was drawn up because
 that is ours. It must be. emphatically seen that it is
                                                --                   "the Faculty of Calvin College notes with re-
 God's glory in our faith.                                           gret the presence among some of our people
        Thirdly, it must be unto  "hotior". Honor  iS re-            of perplexity, doubt, and fear concerning our
 cognition of dignity, God's dignity in the saints.                  college and its staff. In order to help re-
        Now. this all must be manifested in the final day            move this  dotlibt  and to restore, if possible,
 of Christ, when He shall be revealed in the Church.                 a general confidence in our  wou'k, we wish
        This cannot be revealed now as yet.' Now it is the           humbly and sincerely to make the following
 time of trial. In the drama of the history of this                  declaration . .  ."
 world  wee see the saints live and die` in faith, and  w,e            Point 2 of this statement begins by stat-
 read : These all died in faith not having `received the             ing : "We acknowledge, and in all our teach-
 promise. But that is not the end of the matter. Pre-                ing are guided by, certain basic Christian
 sently comes the great day of the  Lor,d, when the "age             principles,"  among which is  the following:
 to come"  shall be ushered in. Then shall the great                   "cl. That there is an inescapable anql bask
 preciousness -of faith be seen as the victory that over-            antithesis between the  degenerate  and the
 came the world.                                                     unregenerate  and that the  ~cloctrine   of  com-
        In this  knowledie we are saved in hope. Thus               -man grace is no escuse for glorifying `world-          .
 we are kept in the power of  IGod through faith.  - Thus            ly cultwre'."
 our hope throbs with life and our faith rests  firmly                 Evidently the common grace problem is re-
 on the rock-bottomness of God's immutable Promise.                  cognized by more among us. The dangers of
        Yes, we rejoice with exceeding great joy. And                a wrong application of this doctrine are
 though now our eyes are filled with tears we rejoice                clear.ly cited in the material quoted above.
 in the  pmspect  that  &God Himself shall  ,wipe  ail tears         No doubt the prophetic integrity of the
 from our eyes., This boon He keeps  f,or  US  in store,             Christian class-room is lost when such a mis-
 and unto this great blessedness  He jealously guards                use obscures  the antithesis between church
 us through faith.                                                   and  wor.Id. Again, we accept  your"point.
        Jehovah is a man of war  ; Jehovah, the  ,fa?thfu!.          Whether this fault is as general. as your let-
 God, is His Name!                                                   ter appears to' indicate is questionable. But
                                           Gee.. Lubbers             the presence of the problem is not to be


                                             - - T H E -   ST.ANDARD  BEARER                                                        143
                                 - -    -     -
       denied. May  iYe all  resol;e to live the Chris-             the mucous lining of the mouth, nose, and
       tian life of God's glory out of the principle               `throat, that it aggravates hoarseness, cough-
       of regeneration !                                            ing, chronic bronchitis, and tonsillitis, that it
  We can only rejoice in the fact that "the com-                    may be  s&da! in cases of  &omach  arid duo-                                  *
 mon  g?ace  pro,blem is recognized by more among us."             denal ulcers, that it interferes with normal
 Yet, as long as the leaders in the Christian Reformed              digestion, contracts the blood vessels, in-
 Church speak only of a "wrong application of the doc-              creases the heart  rate,. and raises the  blo-od
 trine of common grace" that "can make for a blur-                  pressure.     A n   i n v e s t i g a t i o n   b y   t h e   M e d i c a l   I
 ring of the line of demarcation- between the church                Research Council  of England and Wales,
 and the world," their position and problem can hardly              cited'by Mr. Norr, concludes that "above the
 interest us. Such a  bl&ring of the line of  demircs-              age of 45, the risk of developing the disease
 tion, in other words, of the antithesis, is inevitable             (lung cancer) increases in simple proportion
 as long as the false position is maintained that  #God             with  the amount smoked, and may be fifty
 is gracious to the righteous and wicked (in bestowing              times  as great among those who smoked
 upon them the things of this present `time), to the                twenty-five or more cigarettes daily as a-
 elect and to the reprobate alike, that by the power of             mong non-smokers."
 common grace  sin- is restrained, and that, in virtue                After quoting numerous authorities who
 of that same grace, the natural, unregenerated man              agree  ,on the danger of cigarette smoking,
 can do good in this present world. The antithesis can              Mr.  Norr-w proposes a four-point "Prevent
,- be maintained only  when we take the position that               `Cancer   !" campaign, which would include a-
 the righteous and the wicked, the  ,elect-and  the repro-          lerting the public  td  the- danger,  stooping
 bate have all things in common except grace.                       the fake testimonials which so  str"ongly   in-
                                                                   .fluence the young to begip use of cigarettes,
                                                                    ripping off the mask  .from cigarettes claims
                     -:-:--                                         by publizing, among other facts, that  cigar-
                                                                    `ettes contain chemicals both harmful and
 S                                                                  deadly, and breaking "the, stranglehold of
  MOKING AND  C.ANCER                                               the tobacco hucksters" on television and ra-
      Recently  several~  iapers  and journals published                                                                     e
                                                                    dio.
 articles that deal with  `the`effect of smoking on the           The figures, I must  admit, are rather impressive.
 laiynx and lungs. Inv&tigation seems to shbw that             How yalid the conclusion is, that is drawn from them,
 excessive smoking produces cancer of the lungs. This          I cannot judge.      The question is, of course, whether
 appears to be the case  especialjy with cigarette smo-        other  facors, such as e.g. excessive drinking, must
 kers,  pro,bably because  the,latter  usually have the bad    not also be taken into  considepation. At any rate,
- habit of  ,inhaling. The following quotation I clipped       personally I rather stick to my pipe, which I have
 from Signs  of  the Times:                                    smoked for sixty years.
         Cigarette smoking as a direct cause of can-
       cer of the respiratory  tract is getting more
      and more attention from the medical profes-                                    -:::-
       sion. Roy  Norr,  author of an article,' `%mo-
       kers Are Getting Scared  !" in the October,             MHSION  AND CREEDS
       Christian  HeFalcl,  cities a study published re-.
       cently in The Journd of the Americctn Me&i-                Under this title the Rev. Harry R. Boer has an
       cab Association  which reveais that in  19i4            articie in  The Reformed Journal  that is, indeed,  ior-
       only 442 men and 166 women died from  can-              thy. of our attention. It is always striking when, in
      .ver of the larynx and lung. Now the same                this day and age, someone calls attention to our con-
       disease kills 24,000  &ach year,  5,000.of  whom        fessions, but our interest is especially aroused when
       are  wo&en. ,During this period the  annual             we read the striking title: Mission  ancl  Creeds.
       consumption of cigarettes has risen from                   The occasion for writing this article may  ,be found
       eighteen billion to  -four hundred billion, and         in the introductory paragraph:                       .
       cigare%te smoking has become very common                       It has often been observed that the three
       bmong women.                                                 creeds of the Reformed Churches-the Belgic
        Mr. Norr points out that "no one ques-                      Confession, the Heidelberg Catecliism, and
      tions"  Jhe effect of  tobacoo  as an irritant to             the Canons of Dordt-do not bear a strong


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                                                                                                                                                                          ._      _.
     144                                               .   TH-E  S T A N D A R D   BE.ARER:   7.
                                              ` - T - ` - F -                      -         -                 ~      -                                      -.
                                                                                                                    . . .
              mission&y  .chara.cter.              So  much .is this the .  _                                  -.today. -The,report.of the  committee of  pre-
              case that a Christian  -Refo?med  consistory                                        I             advice and its adoption is as  folk%s:
             -overtured. the recent synod to submit for the                                       .  -  _'  `)  B.  Re&nmimck&o~n~
              `consideratiori  of the  Coming Reformed  Ecti-                                     :` :          Your.  advisory  co&&tee   d o e s   n o t   recom-'
              menical Synod a proposal that it  "draw  u@  a                                      1             nlend  a&illg  ?avc%ably   on  thi& overture.
             -creedal statement  .concernitig  Christian.  mis-                                                     Ground                 :'
              sions." The lack of  .missionary  emphasis  iii                                                   -The  work of  Missions   is included in the  con-
              the creeds  lieed not w-holly surprise us. , ,A  _  :                               :--,          ilotation  of  .the first  mark'  of  the Church,'
              number  of, considerations explain though they                                           .-       natiely,  `the faithful preaching of the Word.'
              ds not justify  this..                                                                   . .      Addpted;             /
            The writer then continues to explain the reasons  -                                               Per,hads   some  n%embei: of the advisory  com-
     and mitigating  circumstances that  account for the lack                                                   mitt&L  c&ld' enlighten `us as to where `the
     of proper emphasis on missions in our creeds. And                                                          statem&t`th&t the first mark of the Church
.    thereupon he offers in a brief paragraph what may -be                                                      is  "tlie `faithful  .preaching of the Word!' can
     considered. the contents of his article:                                                                   be found  in the creeds.- The Belgic  Confes-
                                                                                                              tiion  statks,"`If  &&pure doctrine of the  ,Gos-
                The creeds are almost -wholly  coilcerned                                                       pel is preached therein."
              with the: doctrinal and.  in,ternal.  life of the                                                                                      When synods
                                                                                                                quote their' creeds they should quote them
              Church. Their look is inward. The  fi%t  -                                                        c o r r e c t l y . .
              question and answer  df the Heidelberg Cat-                                                           Quite `apart  from this unhappy inaccur-
              echism is  typicalL"What is your `only com-                                                       acy, it is a `pity that this important overture
              fort in life and in death? That I with body                                                      was so  lig,htly disposed of. Since the ground
              and soul, both in  lif,e and in' death, am not                                                    adduced for its rejection  is.errofieous  or, at
              my own.`. .  ." Still, expressions of `a  niis_sion:                                              least,. open  to question,. in particular because
              ary thrust are not wholly lacking. In this                                                       *the English word "therein" excludes the
              and in a following article. I  wish to reflect                                                 L "connotation" of the "work of -Missions,?
              on  the existing data. It should be useful                                                the way.  for.  its  .co.nsider&ion remains open.
              to know just what the creeds do say about
            the large  and necessary missionary. task of                                                      Personally, I  would, nevertheless, consider it a mis-
             the Church.  ~  There.may be a few surprises.                                   take to draw up and adopt a separate creed for the
            . One would hardly expect, for  ilistande, that                                  task of missions as a sort of a "fourth mark" of the
              some of  .the most significant  caterial is found                              t.rue church.  `~ After all, the mission is nothing else
              in the Canons of Dordt. We will also find                                      than.  pkeaching-  of the Word: And  for this, plenty
              some surprises of a negative kind. -The                                        material-  can be found `in' the Confessions that can
                                                                                                                           -
              Heidelberg Catechism, so significant for our                                        serve as a basis for mission work.                     The Rev. Boer
              preaching, omits  .+ll missionary references in                                     confines himself in his discussion to the Netherlands
             `the treatment of questions which -today                                             Confession, but also in.  the  Heid. Catechism there is
              one would hardly discuss  withbut alluding to _                                inaterial that can serve as such a basis as `e.g. Lord's
             their missionary implications. We should not                                    ~Day 21 and 25. And especially the Canons  .are rich
             hesitate, it seems  t`o me, to acknowledge the                             _    in-this  kespect.   .`Or. how can the truth of election ever
             1imite"d  vision of the fathers in this score  and                              be divorced from the preaching of the Word? If any-
      ._     implement it for the  ifistruction and edifica-                                 thing special must be adopted as a  ba&s for mission
             tion of the Church as opportunity permits,                                      work, I  would.favor another "Declaration of Princi-
                                             -.                                              ples" based upon all our confessions. This might,
            Thereuion  the  Rev. -Boer  criticizei  the action of                            indeed, prove valuable.
     Syriod  respecting the overture fqr the  Ecumepical
     Synod :                                                                                                                    0                                                H.H.
                                        .
                In' view of all thkse  cotiiderations- the  re--                                                                     -:-::---'
                                                                                                                                                       .,
                                                                                                        _
             port of the committee of ire-advice to whom
             the  overt&e was entrusted for study and
             a&on' of the  synod in  adopting  this report                                                          .,-Hope in God, ye waiting people;
             is questionable'to say the-least. It is  the kind                                                             Mercies great with  Hini`  abourid  ;
             of action that might  .have been expected                                                              With the Lord a full redemption
             three  hundred years ago  but will hardly do                                                       :  ., -From the  g&lt;of sin is found..  '                         .
                                                                       -_                                                                                          `..


