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A   R E F O R M E D   S E M I - M O N T H L Y   M A G A Z I N E



IN THIS ISSUE:


        Meditation: God's Continuing Work

        Editorials: Toward Better Catechetical Instruction

                    The Nature of the Atonement

        The RES Regional Conference - Some Suggestions

         The Efficacious Calling in the Preaching




                                                Volume XLII/ Num bev 21/ September 15, 1966


482                                                                                                 ~HESTANLL~RDBE~ER




                                                       C O N T E N T S                                                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
Meditation  -                                                                                                                           Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July and August
    God's Continuing Work . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482                                  Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association
         Rev. H. Kortering
Editor's Notes  -                                                                                                                                          Editor-- Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
    Dogmatics Project                                                                                                                   Communications. relative to contents should be addressed to
    End of Volume 42                                                                                                                     Prof. H. CT Hoeksema, 1842 Plymouth Terrace, S.E., Grand
    Young People's Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485                                   Rapids,  Mich.       49506. Contributions will be limited to 300
Editorials  -                                                                                                                           words and must be neatly written or typewritten. Copy dead-
    Toward Better Catechetical Instruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. 486                                                       lines are the first and fifteenth of the month.
          Prof. H. C. Hoeksema                                                                                                          All church news items should be addressed toMr. J. M. Faber,
    The Nature of the Atonement: Limited or General? . . . 488                                                                                     1123 Cooper, S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507
          Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
Examining Ecumenicalism  -                                                                                                              Announcements and Obituaries with the $2.00 fee included must
    The R.E.S. Regional Conference -                                                                                                    be mailed 8 days prior to issue date, to the address below;
                   Some Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489                           All matters relative to subscriptions should be addressed to
          Rev. G. Van Baren                                                                                                                         Mr. James Dykstra, 1326 W. Butler Ave., S.E.
The Lord Gave The Word'-                                                                                                                                    Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507
    The Efficacious Calling in the Preaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ 491                                                          Renewal: Unless a definite request for discontinuance is
          Rev. C. Hanko                                                                                                                 received it is assumed that the subscriber wishes the sub-
A Cloud of Witnesses -                                                                                                                  scription to continue without the formality of a renewal order.
    The Harpist and the King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493                                              Subscription price: $5.00 per year
         Rev. B. Woudenberg
Contending For The Faith  -                                                                                                                  Second Class Postage paid at Grand Rapids, Michigan            "
    The Providence of God (Preservation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
          Rev. H. Veldman
Pictorial News -
    Forbes, N.D. Church .:...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .498
          J.M.F.
Book Reviews  `-                                                                                                                                        OFFICE BEARERS CONFERENCE
    A Handbook of Contemporary Theology                                                                                                 An Office Bearers Conference will be held, D.V., 8:00
    The Other Side of the Coin . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
          Prof. H. Hanko                                                                                                                p.m., Tuesday, October 4, at the First Protestant
News From Our Churches -                                                                                                                Reformed Church, Holland, Michigan.
          J.M.F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500       The speaker, Prof. Herman Hanko, will address
Index To The Standard Bearer, Vol. 42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501                                               the meeting on the topic, "Partaking of the Means of
          Rev. G. Vanden Berg                                                                                                           Grace in Other Denominations' ' .
                                                                                                                                           All present and former office bearers are invited to
                                                                                                                                        attend.



           MEDITATION-


                                                                God's Continuing Work

                                                                                                             by Rev. J. Kovteving


                                            "Being confident of this very thing, that he which.hath begun a good work in
                                    you will pevfom it until the day of Jesus  Christ."                                                                                   Phil.  1:6


       Our five senses are the windows of the  so:&                                                                                     of the people of God in the midst of the world. We
       By means of our hearing, seeing, etc., the light of                                                                              become restless by what we see and hear.
the day and the darkness of the night flood within.                                                                                        Is  that.true  for you?
       These sense impressions: arouse a gnawing' fear,                                                                                    We know that the way to find peace with.God  is. the
a fear that concentrates upon the well-being and safety                                                                                 way- of perfect obedience. The Word of God unveiis


                                             THESTANDARDBEARER                                                        483

before. us the boundary within which we may expect the       time they are to decide whether to make confession of
smile of God's favor, and outside of which rains the         faith and determine which church proclaims the Word
fire and brimstone of His wrath.  ,As we gaze in ret-        of God most faithfully. In such an environment they
rospect upon the worn path of life, our conscience           look around for a life companion, one that will be a
smites us, for. our feet have brazenly coursed the           spiritual help-meet. In these days of youth they are
broad and crooked road far more than the halted steps        expected to decide how they must serve God with their
upon the straight and narrow.       Such perception soon     whole life.    Our fear is this, that at a time when our
is blurred by the tears of sorrow as the damning             young people seem least capable, they are expected to
evidence crushes us to the dust, the sulphur of hell         make the most profound decisions.            This is what
seems more real than the River of Life that flows            causes them to be troubled, and properly so! The
from the throne of God. Can such a sinner ever reach         restlessness of Christian young people is an evidence
the pearly gates ?                                           of this tension.    Where are our parents? Where are
   The church is the bride of Christ, betrothed to           those who will guide them through turbulent waters?
Him, and already now lives out of the fountains of His       The church of tomorrow? One wonders how they ever
love and the riches of His grace.         We look at that    w i l l   s u c c e e d . Even Jesus said, "Except those days
church and we are ashamed.          We ask where is the      be shortened there should no flesh be saved."
beauty of Christ manifest in the church? Does the               Oh, how we need the bold assurance of. our `text,
church bow with humble reverence before the Word             "Being confident of this very thing, that he which
of Christ esteeming Him as Lord? One has to travel           hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
far and wide to hear the familiar voice of Jesus as          the day of Jesus Christ."
He calls. Many who call themselves children.of God               God never begins a work that He does not also
find hours of time saturating their souls with the beat,     finish.
the musicals, the cinema, `and pleasures born out of             Has He begun this good work in you? You youthful
hell, and have not time to sit at the feet of their Lord.    reader,  - I know you may be attracted by the din of
Our eyes tell us that Christ has been forsaken by His        electric guitars and the contortions of the frug, or the
bride, her skirts are torn with her adulterous pleas-        violence and sex of the screen, -- sit still a moment
ures.    To the faithful church it scarcely seems pos-       and ask yourself this question.           We parents who
sible that one day she is to be the perfect bride of         gratefully acknowledge before God that our children
.Christ,  clothed in  `a white wedding dress, a sign of      are members of the covenant of grace, we must face
spiritual virginity.                                         this personal question, has God begun His good work
   We look at our children and our young people.             in us? I'm sure there are many grandpas and grand-
Their special place in the church is that not only are       mas whose hearts throb deeply as they face this
they members of the- church today, they are also the         question.
church of tomorrow. How do they appear? Ah, yes,                The answer is all-important. There is no finishing
the little ones are snuggled cozily in orlon, fattened on    of a work that is not even begun.
Gerbers, entertained with Playskool, and properly               We need not guess in answering. Has God saved
spoiled. Let's admit it. No longer will vanilla suffice;     you from- your sins? Has God delivered you from the
it must  .be number 27 on the list -burgundy cherry.         guilt and corruption-of your sins so that now you begin
The proverbial silver spoon now takes on the appear-         to keep not only some, but all of His commandments?
ance of  Barbi dolls and Buddy trucks, only to be cast          Answer yes, and you spend a great deal of time
aside. for princess phones, teleboxes, and Mustangs.         weeping for your sins.. We don't try to find excuses;
These are the young people, our young people, whom           we recognize that we have none! Before God we stand
Scripture describes as one day will not be able to. buy      naked and exposed; He knows the very thoughts and
nor sell because they will refuse the  markof the beast.     intents of the heart. He is the righteous and holy God.
It makes me shudder to ask, have we prepared them            Bursting forth from the broken heart is the plaintiff
for such a time?                                             cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner."
    Spiritual immorality is the mistress of material            We do more than weep. We focus our tear-filled
prosperity.    They go together.      Both are powerful      eyes upon the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and
weapons for destruction. Their sights are aimed as           listen with believing hearts, "Father, forgive them
never before at our young people. You can be sure            for they know not `what they do." Our eyes behold in
that the Devil is the trigger-master. Our youth are          wonder the darkness, the hell, the curse of our sins,
bombarded with. pornography: visual pornography, in'         the suffering, and shame. Silent lips are broken with
which the God created beauty of the human body is            the exalted cry, "My Jesus, I love thee, I know Thou
flaunted by depraved sex; audio pornography, in which        art mine."
the  ` `music' ' of the world is strummed to the beat of        Refreshed. by the streams of forgiving love, excited
tempestous lust, garnished with words, if understood,        by the overcoming power of sovereign grace, we pray,
that reek with the garlic of Sodom; literary pornography,    "Create `in me a clean heart, 0 God, and renew a right
in which the. imagery of words portray the philosophy        spirit within me".       Being freed from the power of
that brought Rome to ashes. While our young people           guilt and .sin, we resolve to walk in the will of God Who
undergo one barrage after. another, ensnared with            saveth .us.
.temptation  on every side, they are expected to make           :This is the proof of God's work within us.
the most important decisions of their life.. At such a          This.& God's work.


484                                            THE STANDARD BEARER

    It is a work that has its roots far back in the eternal       and therefore an excuse for sin, we are rocking our-
and sovereign mind of God in the perfect decree of                selves to sleep with fatal consequences. Because the
election.     It is a work that is grounded in the rock of        work of God is a beginning, we do not grow complacent
ages, the cross of Jesus Christ. It is no less God's              in sin, rather we turn unto Him who gave us this be-
work as He comes to us and applies to us the benefits             ginning and seek more grace and more wisdom and
of the atonement of Jesus Christ.         By the Spirit of        more' strength from Him that we may be drawn closer
Christ, He softens our stony hearts, He breaks the                and closer to Him in the fellowship of life everlasting.
resistance of our stubborn wills, He molds our minds,                Our text bids us look away from ourselves. God
filling them with the knowledge of His revelation. He             has begun a good work; God will finish it. He began
causes us to weep, in order that we may turn away                 creation; He finished it.       He began the work of re-
from ourselves and behold the perfect satisfaction of             demption; He finished it. He began the work of gather-
our Lord Jesus Christ. He fills us with His grace by              ing His church unto Himself; He will finish it. Nothing
which we hate sin and seek righteousness.                         will stand in His way; no creature can prevent Him
    This work is a beginning.                                     from accomplishing it.       He lacks nothing in perform-
    That's why we worry so much. We long for per-                 ing His perfect will which is expressed in the beautiful
fection! Our young people do; they know that the wages            prayer of Christ, "That they all may be one; as thou
of sin is death, that pleasure without Christ leads to            Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be
destruction.     That's why they are restless; they are           one in us: That the world may believe that thou hast
seeking and learning. We parents long for perfection;             sent me, and the glory which thou gavest me I have
we desire that the love we have for our children may              given them that they may be one, even as we are one."
be a perfect love, always manifest in a sincere desire            John 17:21,22.
to guide them with our counsel, lead them with, our                  This is what we desire most.
example, and discipline them with understanding. We                  This is promised  us,in our text.
desire perfection in the church, where the need for                  As we ponder these profound truths, let us cease
discipline would be cast aside and all our members                from doubting.        Let us say we are confident in God!
walk in perfection, all faithfully attend church, all             As our sins rise up against us, look to the cross and
seek the communion of the saints, all love each other             believe that Jesus paid the price of forgiveness. As
perfectly.                                                        we are inclined to worry about the youth of the church,
    Perfection, however, is not our portion until the             let us commend them to the grace of our Lord Jesus
day of Christ. Through death Christ will deliver us               Christ.    As we contend for the faith in the midst of
from the corruption of sin, and take us from the temp-            weakness, let us confess, God has begun the good
tation of the world, and renew us in His perfect image            work, He will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
where love and grace shall abound without measure.                   Then worry is gone, and instead we will gather in
    Now we have a beginning.       We have yet to contend         the house of our God faithfully. We will spend much
with our old nature, we face the devil and the world              time in prayer and meditation. We will earnestly seek
who distract our attention from God.         We still are         His grace that is greater than all our sins.
prone to stumble into the snares of sinand death.                    Heaven and all its glory is very real to us. Not
    Just because this is true, the knowledge of this              because we will see to it that we will get there, God
fact drives us away from ourselves into the arms of               will accomplish His perfect will. God will perform
our loving Father.       Be careful that you understand           His work in us, even unto the end.
this.    Our human weaknesses and nature of sin explain              Some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we will
for  US  the occasion of our sins, but may never become           remember the name of the Lord our God. Our con-
the excuse for sin. If we are going to find some con-             fidence is in God.
solation in the fact that God's work is only a beginning             To Him be glory forever.




                    And so, the Gospel is the ministry of reconciliation. It proclaims that reconciliation
                is an accomplished fact: the elect are surely reconciled to God. He reconciled us! We
                 are reconciled by grace, by pure, free, sovereigngrace! And it is He, too, that sends out
                the word of reconciliation. For He gave unto the apostles the ministry of reconciliation
                in their very hearts, so that they had the power and authority to speak in the name of
                 God the Reconciler, and they became ambassadors of Christ, as though God did beseech
                us by them: "Be ye reconciled to God!" II Cor.  5:18-20.  And this word of reconcilia-
                tion is still proclaimed among us, from the Scriptures, and through His own ministry of
                the Word by the preachers He Himself sends unto us.
                                                               -- H. Hoeksema, "The Wonder of Grace," p. 33


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     485

                                         Editor's  ,Notes

                                               by Pyof. H. C. Hoeksema

DOGMATICS PROJECT                                             you will find on the inside cover page.
-^ At last you are able to see some concrete evidence             4) A word of thanks to our readers and supporters,
of progress in the publication of the late Rev. H.            without whose faithful support the witness of our
Hoeksema's "Reformed Dogmatics." As the return                Standard  Beaver  could not continue to go forth. And
envelope enclosed with this issue indicates, the  "pre-       with a word of thanks a suggestion: have you ever con-
publication sale" of this long-awaited volume has begun.      sidered that an extra $5 subscription sent in with your
And this means that barring some final hitches in the         own subscription (or, for that matter, at any time)
process, "Reformed Dogmatics" will come from the              would double the witness of our magazine? If you know
press in November.       At any rate, the cut-off date for    of an address to which such an extra subscription
the "pre-publication sale" is November 15. Before             could be sent, so much the better; if not, I am sure
that date you can send in cash orders and obtain the          that the R.F.P.A. board couldfindmany such addresses.
book for $12.95; this will also insure your receiving         In these critical times for the church this is one very
the book as soon as it comes from the press. After            simple  way  in which every subscriber could do his
that date you will have to pay the regular price of           part to broaden the scope of our witness. Give it some
$14.95.                                                       thought ! . . . . . and some action!
   Hence, the moral of the story is: Order your copy
immediately.       Slip out the enclosed order envelope,
fill in the necessary information, enclose your check         YOUNG PEOPLE'S CONVENTION
or money order, stamp it, and mail it promptly.                   Every year our young people's societies and their
   Your response to this pre-publication sale, if im          Federation do something which is unique in our churches,
mediate and overwhelming, not only will encourage the         something which no other organization accomplishes:
committee in charge with a view to future projects;           they have a denomination-wide convention. This year
but it also could result in an increase of this first         they did it again, and congratulations are in order to
edition.    Present plans are to begin with an edition of     all concerned.      As much as I witnessed of and heard
one thousand copies.      But if your immediate response      about the convention, it was a success. Attendance
warrants, this might have to be increased even before         was probably the largest in recent years. All  content-
the first edition is completed.                               wise and behavior-wise, it was a successful convention.
   Once again I wish to emphasize that though there           I believe that the goal of increased program partici-
are passages which the non-theologian will find diffi-        pation on the part of the young people was also achieved
cult because of the foreign languages, there are vast         to a considerable extent.
passages of the book which anyone will find profitable            If I may offer a few constructive suggestions, I
because of their clear exposition of Reformeddoctrine.        would say the following: 1) Keep your convention theme
And there are hundreds and hundreds of Scripture              a bit more restricted, lest you have too large a field
passages referred to and explained, all of whichwill be       for one convention. 2) Keep your theme strictly Bib-
indexed.    You will certainly not regret ordering this       lical. I noticed that more than one speaker had some
book. Do it today!                                            difficulty with the plural "Seeds of Faith,"for example,
                                                              because the singular, seed  (.the seed of the new life,
END OF VOL UME 42                                             regeneration, is the seed of faith), is evidently the
   This issue is the last one of the current volume,          correct Biblical idea.         3) Keep your keynote, or in-
which we of the staff close with thanksgiving to our          spirational, address first in your convention program.
God, Who has privileged us to continue this witness for       This is in keeping with the very idea of a keynote
another year. May the Lord also give us grace to hold         address.     4) If you invite the public to a meeting, start
high the standard, the banner of the truth, in the year       that meeting on time, rather than keep an audience
to come.                                                      waiting.     I refer to the tardy beginning of the mass
   Just four brief notes in connection with the close         meeting. 5) The Federation Board should require the
of this volume:                                               active participation of its minister-advisors at its
   1) A word of thanks to the Rev. G.  Vanden  Berg,          board meeting.         I say this not only because these
who has again furnished a complete index to the twenty-       advisors constitute the nearest thing to any kind of
one issues of this volume.                                    ecclesiastical supervision of the federation, but  aIso
   2) A word of thanks to all our contributing editors,       because your advisors (this year Prof. Hanko and Rev.
who have faithfully and promptly taken care of their          Van  Baren)  can guide you and assist you in making
various departments.       Your editor's task is greatly      and keeping the federation and its activities a dynamic
eased by your cooperation.                                    organization among our Protestant Reformed youth.
   3) A reminder that if you are not already on the           6) Shall I say it, --because of the small minority who
mailing list for a bound volume, this is the time to send     abused their liberty? Pledge your conventioneers to a
in your order to our business manager, whose address          definite curfew of some kind!


 486                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



    EDITORIALS-



                    Toward Better Catechetical Instruction

                                               by Pyof. H. C. Hoeksema


   It is that time of the year again. By the time this       the season reviews or tests are to be added, then some
appears in print, some of our churches will have             books require 35 or 36 weeks. But the point is that if
already resumed catechism classes, and the rest will         the course is to be completed, either with or without
be at the point of doing so.                                 reviews, it requires a minimum of 30 weeks.  Consis-
   In this connection, I wish to make a few sugges-          tories should therefore set a definite time for the
tions, based both on observation and experience. Per-        beginning and the end of the catechism season which
haps from a negative point of view these suggestions         will allow for completion of the course. Do not let
could all be subsumed under the caution: do not minimize     this matter drift along until some time in April, when
ca techetical ins tvuction!                                  the pastor perhaps is longing for a bit more free time
   These suggestions I direct to the various parties         and the pupils are pressing to be free too. For the
concerned in this important aspect of the primary            result will be an unfinished course, This also implies,
means of grace, the preaching of the Word. For               of course, that the consistory makes definite arrange-
catechetical instruction, we should not forget, falls        ments for a substitute teacher in case the pastor is
in this category.                                            unable to meet a class; for otherwise that class will
                                                             nevertheless be a week or two short.
CONSISTORIES AND PASTORS                                        My second suggestion is this. Do not make your
   It is not my purpose to review in this connection         classes too short.    Forty-five minutes for a class is,
all the principles and correct practices of catechetics.     to my mind, too brief; but it is certainly a bare min-
This is both unnecessary and uncalled for; it is a           imum. A full hour for recitation and for discussion of
helpful process, however, for any minister occasionally      the lesson, especially for older pupils and for larger
to review his seminary catechetics course and to do a        classes, is to be preferred. A thirty-week season of
little self-criticism.                                       forty-five minute sessions results in only twenty-two
   My suggestions, both to the consistories who super-       and one-half hours of catechism instruction per year!
vise and to the pastors who do the actual instructing,       This is hardly adequate !
are of a more practical nature.                                 My third suggestion is this. Do not group classes.
   The first is this.     At the beginning of the season,    Both from a psychological point of view and from the
let the consistory determine definitely the length of        point of view of the lesson material, it is impossible
the catechism term and the course of instruction-for         to teach beginners and juniors or juniors and seniors
each class. Our catechism books are set up for a very        in the same class. It is true that they might be cover-
definite course.     If that course is not completed, the    ing the same ground in Bible history; but it is definitely
catechumen will never again have the opportunity to          not true that they are covering it at the same age level
complete it. Thus, for example, there are three books        and from the same viewpoint. Hence, while it might be
for beginners of 6 to 8 years old. These books should        tempting to group small classes for convenience,this
be used in rotation, so that in three years every child      temptation should not be yielded to. A small class,
of 6 to 8 years of age will have gone through those three    -- even one of two or three pupils in a small congrega-
books.    Change that rotation, and there will be one age    tion, -- should rather be looked upon as advantageous.
bracket which misses one of those books. We have             It offers the opportunity for personal tutoring.
two sacred history books for "juniors" of the ages of           My fourth suggestion is this. Do not expect too little
9 and 10. In those two years the juniors must cover Old      work from your catechumens. Memorization of the
and New Testament history from the viewpoint of those        lesson, memorization of any attached memory text,
books, or "they will never cover it again. The same is       and the performance of the work-book assignment is
true of the two books for "seniors" of the ages of 11        the bare minimum.      Any pupil can accomplish this
and 12 years old. The value of sticking to-this system       without much extra effort, provided the teacher insists
is self-evident.                                             on it and the parents cooperate and assist. And es-
   Moreover, all our catechism books are so written          pecially  for. older pupils  -extra  study and even extra
that a minimum season of 30 weeks is required.  If:in        written -assignments should be expected. Moreover,


                                                 THESTANDARDBEARER                                                      487

such ."extras" should not be grudgingly accomplished             things will become a matter of good habit. Neverthe-
by our covenant children; on the contrary, they should           less, let no parent labor under the illusion that a teen-
be schooled to be ashamed not to do their utmost.                age catechumen needs no supervision. 4) Never be
   These are just a few suggestions for the improvement          "too busy' ' to assist your little child in the memori-
of catechism by pastors and consistories.           Perhaps      zation work or the written work.         Nor ever be too
some or all of these are followed. Experience has                busy to assist your teenage child in his preparation
taught me that in some cases they are not always                 and study for classes in doctrine. Always consider it
adhered to.       It is well for our pastors and elders to       an  oppovtunity when `your children seek your help, and
take stock.                                                      especially when your teenagers come to you with their
                                                                 questions.
THEPARTOFTHEPARENTS
   The part of the parents, as any pastor knows, is of           THEPARTOFTHECATECHUMEN
the utmost importance.        If little Johnny does not know         In the hope that our young people also read these
his lesson, you may depend on it that in ninety-nine             -columns, or that at least their parents will call this to
cases out of a hundred the fault does not lie with little        their attention, I also have a few words about the part
Johnny's memory but with little Johnny's father or               of the catechumen himself, especially the  oldercate-
mother.       And if teenager Mary is unprepared in cat-         chumen,  who as he grows up may also be expected to
echism, you may well look first at her parents and her           assume the initiative in regard to his own catechetical
parental training, not at Mary, to discover the reason.          training.
        In other words, the attitudes of parents toward              My first suggestion is probably old and sterotyped
catechetical training, as well as the practices of               in the minds of some. It is this: when your mind is
parents in regard to catechism, are extremely im-                young and pliable, and when your ability to memorize
portant.      If parents take a haphazard attitude toward        is strong, and when there is abundant opportunity for
catechism, children may be expected to ape that exam-            you to become thoroughly versed in the Scriptures and
ple.      If father and mother think little of allowing their    well-founded in the truth  .of the Reformed faith, -- in
child to skip catechism for some flimsy excuse or                the years when all this is true, don't pass by the op-
other, they may expect this attitude to be carried               portunity for instruction which catechism offers you.
through in their child's attitude toward the importance          In later years you will surely regret it a thousand
of catechism.       If mother does not give a care whether       times.
the lesson is memorized and whether the written work                 My second suggestion follows from the first. Do not
has been correctly done, how can the child be expected           be satisfied to get away with a minimum of prepara-
to care?       And what is worse, how can John or Mary           tion.     You are actually "getting away with'.' nothing,
teenager be expected to care when they grow older and            -- surely, not on God; usually not on your pastor; and
when gradually they should be expected to assume these           certainly not on yourself. Putting the maximum into
-obligations "on their own?"          And how can  they.be       preparation, rather than the minimum, yields dividends
expected to place more importance on catechism and               in interest, in understanding what your pastor is dis-
on the things of God's Word and God's kingdom in                 cussing, and in your becoming thoroughly indoctrinated.
general than upon that crucial basketball game or the                And the third suggestion is closely related: pay
fun of the bowling alley or the roller rink?                     attention, and take an active part in class. The educa-
   .Hence, -- and these also are based on experience,            tional process is not to be compared to the process of
--just a few simple suggestions to parents: 1) Never by          pouring water from a pitcher into an empty glass. The
your attitude, your words, or your actions minimize              catechumen must pay attention, must strive to under-
catechism to your children; but always stress its im-            stand, to remember, and to digest.
portance.      All other things being equal, your children           And above all, the catechumen should keep the
will follow the example you furnish them.           2) From      spiritual goal in view. Catechism is designed to pre-
beginners' class on, never leave preparation for                 pare you ultimately to assume your part of the covenant
catechism classes to the last minute or to the night             of grace and to profess your faith in the midst of the
before.      Not only is this last minute work inadequate,       congregation.      Certainly, profession of faith has a
but it encourages a slipshod attitude in your covenant           rather hollow ring  -when  it is profession of a  content-
child.      Let -preparation for next week's lesson begin        less faith. But to the degree that catechism is neglected,
the day after this week's lesson.         3)  Never let your     to that same degree your profession will be lacking in
child leave for catechism without being thoroughly               content. Hence, redeem the time!
prepared.        This holds. both for memory work and
written assignments. The lesson should be memorized
so `thoroughly that no child need take his catechism                Not only the above committee, but also our pastors
book along for a "quick review" or "cramming"                    and consistories could well give some thought to the
before class; that catechism book. should stay home!             possibility of improving. and filling out our system of
And the written" work should be checked over by the              instruction.,
parents for correctness, for completeness, and -for                 At present I have in mind particularly two aspects
neatness before the catechumen leaves home. Early                of that instruction which do not, in the ordinary course
training in this regard will bring the'benefit that when         of catechetical instruction, receive sufficient emphasis.
the little one presently becomes a teenager,. these              One aspect is that of the origin and history`of our


 488                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER

churches.         The other is that of the Canons of  Dor-            should strive for improvement in this respect also. And
drecht:        Prior to confession of faith, the above two            the synodical committee for this purpose could give
subjects do not receive any separate and detailed study;              this special study and perhaps present some  recom-
perhaps in some of our churches a post-confession                     mendations at the synodical level.
class takes care of this lack.             Perhaps some of our
ministers have through experience become aware of                         I conclude by expressing the wish that the Lord may
other lacks in our present system. At any rate, we                    bless our pastors and their catechumens in our various
should not take the attitude that we have arrived, but                congregations in the coming season.




                            The Nature of the Atonement

                                                    Limited or General?


                                                        by Pyof. H. C. Hoeksema


SCRIPTURE AND SUBSTITUTION (continued)                                   In this same sense the term is also employed in II
    Another of the numerous passages which point to the               Corinthians  5:14, 15, a passage which I explained in
idea of substitution as conveyed by the preposition                   greater detail on the Reformed Witness Hour last
"in behalf of" (hupev)  is Romans  5:8, where, by the                 spring.      In this passage we read: "For the love of
way, the love of God and the death of Christ are                      Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if
intimately connected. Here we read: "But God com-                     one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died
mendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were                    for all, that they which live should not henceforth live
yet sinners, Christ died for us."                The expression       unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and
"for us" is more literally "in behalf of us." Now it                  rose again."        In this passage the term "for" ("in
is certainly true that "in behalf of" cannot simply be                behalf of, ' ' hupev) occurs in connection with the death
substituted for "instead of," or vice versa. The ex-                  of Christ no less than three times.       Here again, the
pression "in behalf of" certainly intends to emphasize                emphasis is certainly upon the great benefits of that
the benefit of the death of Christ and also the bene-                 death of Christ and upon the fact of our being the bene-
ficiaries.       But it is equally certain that this "in be-          ficiaries of that death.    But again, the former ideas
half of" is utterly impossible except through Christ's                are based strictly upon the idea of substitution. That
dying in our stead. And therefore when Scripture em-                  this is true is very plain from the amazing statement,
ploys this preposition, "in behalf of," in connection                 "that if one died for all, then were all dead," and that
with the death of Christ, this invariably implies and                 too, in such a way that this death of both the one and
includes the idea of substitution, but with the emphasis              the all issued in the life of both the one and the all.
upon the benefit of that substitution. In connection with             But how, indeed, can we judge that all were dead
Romans  5:8 this is confirmed by the following verse,                 through the death of the one, except on the basis that
which points to the benefit which could only be ours by               the one died as the substitute for the all in the full and
way of the substitutionary and expiatory sacrifice of                 complete sense of the word?
Christ.       For we read in verse  9:  "Much more then,                 This same sense is very evident in connection with
being now justified by his blood, weshall  be saved from              a strong designation of the expiatory nature of the death
wrath through him."                                                   of Christ in II Corinthians  5:21: "For he hath made
   All this is confirmed also by what we read in                      him to be sin for ("in behalf of," hupev,  and thus also
Thayer's "Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testa-                     "instead of") us, who knew no sin; that we might be
ment" about the preposition  hupev:                                   made the righteousness of God in him." Again, the
                                                                      text points to the benefit, namely, "that we might be
                                                                      made the righteousness of God in him." But this benefit
           . . ..Since what is done for one's advantage frequently    was accomplished only through an expiatory work of
    cannot be done without acting in his stead (just as the
    apostles teach that the death of Christ inures to our             God Himself, wrought through Christ, and designated as
    salvation because it has the force of an expiatory                "a being made sin for us." And this expiation could
    sacrifice and was suffered in our stead), we easily               be accomplished only by substitution.
    understand how hupev, like the Latin P'YO and our fov,               Strikingly enough, by the way, this same term "in
    comes to signify.... in the place of, instead of, (which is       behalf of" is used in the preceding verse of II Corin-
  more precisely expressed by  anti).....                             thians 5.    And  there  it is rendered by the King  James


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     489

Version in the sense of "in the stead of." For there          because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep."
we read: ". ..we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye            In this context, therefore, it is clear: 1) That the
reconciled to God."                                           picture is that of the sheep coming under attack by the
   Finally, the fact that this term as used in Scripture      wolf. 2) The good shepherd comes to the rescue of the
in connection with the death of Christ denotes the idea of    sheep; and in doing so he actually puts his life between
substitution is very graphically depicted by John 10:         the wolf and the sheep, warding off the attack from the
15-b: "and I lay down my life for ("in behalf of," but        latter, so that they go free while he bears the brunt of
only because it is also "instead of") the sheep."             the wolf's attack.      3) In so doing, the good shepherd
Now why is this passage such clear proof that "in             not only lays his life on the line  in.  behalfofthe  sheep,'
behalf of the sheep" implies and is based on the idea         SO  that they go free; but he posits his life as a  substi-
of "instead of the sheep?" The answer lies in the             tute  for the sheep.      He bears the attack instead of
figure of the good shepherd which the Lord Jesus              them.
employs in this passage.       In the immediate context
the Lord draws a contrast between the hireling and the           This figure the Lord Jesus here applies to Himself
shepherd.    Thus in vss. 11-13: "I am the good shep-         as the substitute for the sheep which the Father gave
                                                              Him.
herd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose          In conclusion, therefore, it is very evident that this
own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and             element of substitution forms a distinct element in the
leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth          nature of the atonement. Without it, the atonement of
them, and scattereth the sheep.     The hireling fleeth,      Christ could not be atonement.



EXAMINING E CUMENICALISM-


              The  R.E.S. Regional Conference

                              - Some Suggestions

                                                by Rev. G. Van Baven


   In the last issue I gave a brief review of a "region-      After each speech there was group discussion  - the
al conference" sponsored by the North American                conferees were divided into six groups for discussion
members of the R.E.S. (Reformed Ecumenical Synod).            of the speech.        But these group discussions were
This was held at Knollcrest Campus of the Christian           limited to half an hour. Then, according to the pro-
Reformed Church.                                              gram, there were to have been "plenary discussions",
   I personally appreciated the opportunity of hearing        that is, discussion by the entire group assembled. But
men of other Reformed denominations express what              these plenary discussions were also very limited (usu-
they believed. Conferences of this nature can serve           ally less than an hour) and were hardly "discussions."
such a useful purpose and be beneficial for the church.       The leaders of each of the six groups would present
But these will be useful and beneficial only as long as       questions for the speaker to answer--but not much
they do not fall into that prevelant error of our day:        opportunity was given for discussion from the floor.
that they become a form of "pressure group" agitating            Possibly the system used` at the last conference
for union among denominations as is being done in the         could be more profitable by allowing more time for
church-world today.                                           discussion. I would suggest, though, an alternative.
   At the risk of appearing presumptuous, I would like           There could be one major speech per day. This
to make a few suggestions concerning any conferences          speech could be an hour to an hour and a half in length.
which may be held in the future. I believe these sug-         The remaining part of the day could be spent in dis-
gestions would make such conferences more beneficial          cussion centered about the subject of the speech. I
to the denominations attending.                               could suggest that if such speech were given in the
THE PRESENTATION  OF MATERIAL                                 morning, there would be sufficient time yet in the
                                                              morning to have some sort of a panel discussion. I
   The conference which we attended lacked one im-            would like to see a panel consisting of four or five
portant thing: adequate opportunity for discussion.           members prepared to discuss the subject of the speech.


490                                            THE STANDARD BEARER

Nor ought this panel to be five men who are ready to        better the stand of other Reformed groups -- and show
agree.     Let each man represent a different viewpoint     them our stand and its scriptural and confessional
of the subject and present either his own personal          basis.
opinion or the position of the denomination to which he        Thirdly, subjects for any given conference ought
belongs.` Such a panel could take at least an hour and      to be properly limited in scope. The theme, "Christ
a half. It would serve to guide the group into further      or Chaos," is so broad that almost anything under the
discussion later on.                                        sun can be included under it. Subjects ought to be so
    The afternoon of the day could be used for "plenary"    restricted that one aspect of a problem or doctrinal
discussions.     I would urge that these be then discus-    question would be discussed. One could possibly go
sion-s.    The members of the conference should be al-      to the opposite extreme and limit overly much, but the
lowed to give their "speeches" on the subject of the        danger is usually in the other direction. Only with
day. Obviously, some rules would have to be in effect       such proper limitations can one study and analyse
governing the length of each of the "speeches" of the       adequately Scripture and the Confessions which relate
members of the conference. Possibly each individual         to the theme.
would have to be limited  `to a ten or fifteen minute          Finally, such conferences ought to be held with
speech with the participant limited to one such "speech"    definite regularity.    Possibly these could be annual
per day. This would give all an equal opportunity to        events. After all, the questions which divide Reformed
present their thoughts for consideration.                   churches are many.        A single conference     hardly
    A conference could also, as was true with the last      "scratches the surface." Only regular conferences
one, continue for three days.        Thus three major       could begin to be beneficial.
speeches could be given. A final, inspirational speech         But what subjects could be profitably discussed at'
to which the public is invited could again fittingly        these conferences? I could make several suggestions
conclude such a conference.                                 which probably are of special interest tous as churches.
                                                            Aspects of that teaching of common grace could be
SUBJECTS  FOR.DISCUSSION                                    discussed -- particularly the first point. I suppose that
    It was pointed out last time that the theme of the      the challenge might be made that this is simply a
conference, "Christ or Chaos," was one poorly chosen        favorite "hobby horse" of ours. Fact is, though, that
as a theme for discussion in a gathering of this nature.    we greatly deplore this which we consider false doc-
Personally, I thought it would be more suitable at a        trine and detect the sad results of this doctrine in the
meeting of the W.C.C. It was a "catchy" theme, pos-         life and walk of those embracing it. Why not, then,
sibly; but it was broad, indefinite, and theologically      study the matter very carefully again in the light of
questionable.     Why should a serious conference of        Scripture and the confessions'? Another subject which
those who claim to adhere to the Reformed truths be         could merit careful scrutiny is that of Arminianism.
handicapped with such a theme?                              The Reformed churches, in the Canons of Dordt, express
    Here too I would offer a  few0 suggestions. First,      with our old church fathers that we want none of this
themes for any Reformed conference ought to be def-         awful error. Yet repeatedly the question arises: what
initely scriptural and ecclesiastical.       As Reformed    is Arminianism? We hear charges of rank Arminianism
people we ought to be spiritually mature enough to          within churches of Reformed persuasion.          Let this
avoid in conferences the errors of the "church-world"       question be thoroughly aired at a conference. Let us
of our day. Our Church Order  states(Art.  30), "In         hear and discuss what Reformed leaders regard to be
these assemblies ecclesiastical matters only shall be       and not to be Arminianism. Related with this, there is
transacted and that in an ecclesiastical manner."           the matter of the controversy now going on in the
This applies to classes and synod -- but is a good rule     Christian Reformed Churches concerning the love of
also for "Reformed" conferences.          If "Reformed"     God and the extent of the atonement. Now it must be
denominations desire to debate the question of ad-          possible, without becoming too involved in local church
mittance of Red China into the U.N., if they want to        controversies, to study that subject through the hear-
discuss racial policy, if they want to questionmedicare     ing of speeches and discussions on these. Or there is
and the "great society," there is room enough for such      the subject of the "creation day." Very profitably that
nonsense in the National and World Council of Churches.     could be discussed. Other possible subjects could deal
For this we do not need a RefoTmed  Ecumenical Synod        with aspects of church polity.    At the last conference
or regional conferences thereof. Therefore I say that       a passing reference was made concerning the differ-
conferences as these ought to be emphatically  Re-          ence between Presbyterian and Reformed churches in
formed.                                                     ordaining the minister of the Word (local church vs.
    Secondly, I believe that these conferences ought to     the presbytery).     Some such question of polity could
have as subjects for discussion that which is divisive      be studied.      There is the matter of entertainment.
within Reformed circles and special difficulties which      Different views evidently exist among the Reformed
arise within Reformed `communities. We all go under         on the subject.      (One remark was made at the last
the name "Reformed"; we hold to the same creeds;            conference to the effect that if one wanted to attend
yet the differences within the circle of the "Reformed"     movies, he would still be very welcome within this
are painfully obvious.    Conferences probably will not     particular denomination --but he would not be allowed
resolve differences--but the differences can be pin-        to sing in church with musical accompaniment.). All
pointed and analysed.      We can come -to understand       right, let us hear the various views concerning proper


                                               XHE STANDARD  BEARER                                                    491

entertainment for the Christian stranger on this earth.         well.      I think such is a good policy --for it does not
Questions of the lodge membership, labor unions,                obligate one to membership in an organization, yet it
divorce and remarriage could be studied.                        allows for full participation.
                                                                   Speakers and panel members ought to be chosen in
PAR XICIPANXS                                                   accord with the subject of a conference.          Men and
   The last conference was not limited to the three             denominations which are most concerned with certain
member denominations which belonged to the R.E.S.               problems under discussion ought to be invited to pre-
I believe all Reformed churches were invited to attend.         sent their views with good Scriptural grounds.
The speakers too were not chosen from only the three               Such a conference, I believe, would be very bene-
denominations, but from other Reformed circles as               ficial to all those concerned.



 THE LORD GAVE THE  WORD-


               The Efficacious Calling in the Preaching

                                                     by Rev. C. Hank0


   We have been discussing the parable of the Mar-              also extend to the Gentiles, according to the promise
riage of the King's Son as recordedinMatthew  22:1-14.          that Japheth would dwell in the tents of Shem. There-
We say that this parable speaks of the preaching of             fore, in the parable we are discussing, Jesus speaks
the gospel as the glad tidings of salvation, in this case       of going into the highways to bring in whatever is
announcing the marriage of Christ, the Crown Prince,            found, that the wedding chamber may be filled with
to His Bride, the Church. This announcement includes            guests.     But even then, when in the new dispensation
a  call to the citizens of the kingdom to come and honor        the Gospel is proclaimed to the ends of the earth, it
the Son by their presence at the wedding feast. The             still reaches out only to those to whom God in His good
true citizens of the kingdom will consider it their             pleasure will send it. It is only recently, and that as
bounden  duty to heed this call in love and reverence           one of the signs of the hastening end of the ages, that
for their God, but they will no less count it as a privilege    through the printed page and the modern means of
to be present at this festive occasion to rejoice with          transportation and communication the gospel has been
Christ in His coronation, sit in His presence and share         preached to the far ends of the earth.
in His bounties at His table. The Psalmist of old al-               We still have two matters to consider:
ready declared: "0 how great is thy goodness, which                 First, that the preaching of the gospel always
thou hast laid up for them that fear thee."                     serves the purpose for which God intends it.
   We also noticed last time that the gospel message                Second, that the glory of God `is fully attained as
is sent forth wherever God in His good pleasure will            the fruit of the preaching of the gospel.
have it proclaimed.      God sends forth His Word. He               First, then, the parable teaches that the gospel
ordains and qualifies His messengers. He lays upon              message always serves the purpose for which it is
them the mandate of the Gospel, so that as His am-              sent.
bassadors, they have only to say: "Thus saith the               This is evident already from the fact that the
Lord."     He never leaves this important work to the           preaching is described as a  call.
whims and fancies of mere man.          But He also sends          This should not be overlooked, especially because
those messengers where He in His good pleasure will             the common interpretation of this parable simply
have His gospel proclaimed. In the old dispensation             assumes that a general, well-meant offer to all men
God limited the gospel preaching almost exclusively             promiscuously is taught here. A wedding implies an
to the Jews, causing the line of generations of believers       invitation, especially as we think of it in our own lives.
to run through the natural seed of Abraham. Only oc-            An invitation can seemingly be accepted or rejected,
casionally were  .others drawn by the gospel from with-         according- to the sentiment of the individual  who. re-
out, but then to be ingrafted into Israel. Also at the          ceives the invitation. No one can compel the invited
time of Jesus' public ministry the gospel was still             guest to come if he does not care to do so. Yet even
limited to the narrow confines of Israel as a nation.           in our own relationships to one another, -this is  .not
:When -Jesus did go`beyond the borders of  Judea  and           entirely true. .We do feel `an obligation  .of love or of
Galilee, He always reminded His disciples that the              deference to attend a wedding, sometimes even in
time- was `coming when the outreach of the gospel would         spite of  .other plans that appeal much more to us. But


492                                            THE STANDARD BEARER

this is the wedding of the King's Son. That must not          questionably He is speaking of the Jews of the old dis-
be overlooked. And the King sends forth the announce-         pensation as the subjects of the kingdom who make
ment.      So that when He announces the wedding feast,       light of the preaching of the gospel and refuse to
He calls with royal authority to come. God calls. And         come.    Outwardly they were citizens of the kingdom of
there is divine authority in His call.                        heaven; historically they were born and lived in the
       Now throughout the parable the word "call" is used,    line of the covenant; openly they professed to be Abra-
even when our Authorized version translates the word          ham's seed; but the preaching of the gospel revealed
as "bid" or "bidden."                                         their inmost hearts. They hated the King and despised
   Notice in verse 3, "And sent forth his servants to         the King's Son.    They loved the things of this world,
call them that were bidden (to call the ones already          and showed it plainly by having no time for the King.
having been called) to the wedding.                           They were so busy with their farm or with their
       Notice also verse 4, "Again he sent forth other        merchandise that they could not take time off for the
servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden (those           marriage.    Some even availed themselves of this op-
having been called), Behold, I have prepared my               portunity to give vent to their hatred against the King
dinner. . .  ."                                               by killing the servants.
       And verse 8, "The wedding is ready, but they which        In a few words, as our Lord Himself interpretes
were bidden (called) were not worthy."                        their actions, they proved that  they  weYe not  worthy.
       And also verse 9, "Go ye therefore into the high-      Actually the man who scorned the use of a wedding
ways, and as many as ye shall find, bid (call) to the         garment, considering his own garments of self-right-
marriage."                                                    eousness good enough for the banquet hall of the king,
   The King has the prerogative to call. Since He             also proved that he was unworthy. The gospel serves
calls to the wedding, those who love the King will gladly     its purpose also in the wicked. It reveals the wicked-
come. For them it is an invitation to enjoy a long an-        ness of their rebellious hearts. For the word of God
ticipated privilege.     But there is always the element      never returns void. It draws the elect, it condemns
of obedience to their King that also enters in.               the reprobate; it converts and works faith in the re-
   Anyone who reads this parable will be impressed            generate, it hardens the unregenerate. It is exactly
by the fact that the emphasis does not fall upon those        this which causes Paul to say with perfect peace of
guests who gladly heed the call of their King, but            mind, after he had preached the gospel of Jesus Christ
rather upon those who reject that call in wicked re-          far and wide, "Now thanks be to God, which always
bellion and unbelief.                                         causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest
   This is true of the man mentioned toward the               the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For
close of the parable, who pretended to heed the call          we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them
of the King, but refused to wear a wedding garment.           that are saved,  and in them that  perish:  to the one we
I shall refer to him again, so now I mention him only         are the savour of death unto death; and to the other
in passing. The main emphasis falls upon the subjects         the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for
of the kingdom who "would not come." We read: "But            these things?"
they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his           Therefore it is true, as I mentioned at the beginning
farm, another to his merchandise: and the remnant took        of this article, that the glory of God is fully attained
his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew         as the fruit of the preaching of the gospel.
them."                                                           God is justified in the wicked, No one can accuse
   The fact that Jesus stresses the wicked reaction of        Him of cruelty when He sends forth His armies to kill
the subjects of the kingdom must be explained in the          those murderers who defiantly reject His call, kill
light of the occasion on which this parable (or sermon)       His prophets, and even nail His Son to the cross. No
was spoken.                                                   one can consider God unjust in His judgment upon the
   It  was the last week of Jesus' public ministry; on        world, that He destroys by fire, both when He burns
Tuesday, to be exact.        The Lord had compared the        the proud cities of the Man of Sin and when He gives
chief priests and rulers to wicked husbandmen, who            every sinner his just retribution in hell. No, no one
beat the servants and killed the owner's Son, so that         can condemn the King for casting out the self-righteous
they could claim the vineyard for themselves: He told         sinner who with a pretense of piety enters where the
them personally in no uncertain terms, "The kingdom           wedding guests are assembled, but despises the right-
of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation         eousness of Christ.         He also receives his just con-
bringing forth the fruits thereof." Wherefore the chief       demnation, for he is cast into outer darkness, where
Priests and Pharisees sought to lay hands on him, but         shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
they feared the multitude. Very fittingly chapter 22             And God is also justified in His people. This is
begins with the significant statement, "And Jesus             evident from the fact that "the wedding was furnished
answered and spake unto them again by parables." So           with guests." God gathers His own. The true citizens
this Parable of the marriage of the King's Son is an          of the kingdom hear the announcement of the wedding
answer to those wicked men who rejected the glad tid-         of the King's Son and gladly heed the call to prepare
ings, because they were the thieves who were plotting         themselves and to come to the marriage. Even those
to claim the kingdom of God for themselves.                   out on the "highways" of the world, who were not  of
   Throughout this parable Jesus is referring to all          the commonwealth of Israel nor of the natural seed of
those who reject the glad tidings of the gospel.  Un-         Abraham, and who in that sense were never considered


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                      493

to be citizens of the kingdom, are also called, and the        Christ.      Salvation is solely by grace; God's gift to the
elect are gathered in.         The servants were told to       objects of His eternal love.
gather in as many as they may  find.  We might expect              The Lord Himself concludes the parable by saying:
to find the word "willing" here, so that we would              "For many are called, but few are chosen." The
read that the servants gathered  in. as many as were           conclusion we should expect if salvation were offered
willing to come.       This would still be correct in the      for us to accept is, that many are invited, but few
sense that God makes His elect willing to come by the          are willing to comply with the invitation. Then God
power of regeneration and conversion and faith. But            never attains His glory.         The wedding chamber is
nevertheless Jesus does not refer to that. He speaks           only partially filled.      God's love is foiled, Christ's
of those that the servants  find.  And the servants find       honor is bedimmed by man's unwillingness, and eternity
those who heed the outward call of the gospel. They            proclaims the praise of those who accepted the gospel
"gather good and bad," that is, some who have the              offer.     The very thought is thoroughly dishonoring to
distinct privilege of being in the line of the generations     God.
of believers, whom we might consider "good." But                   God forbid. The wedding is indeed furnished with
God also gathers others from among the lowliest of             guests.      Not a seat is left empty. The King rejoices
men, whom to all outward appearances we would                  in the coronation of His Son, and the elect join in to
classify as unfit material for the kingdom, "bad".             honor their Lord, that to God may be the glory forever
Obviously none is good in himself. None can come of            and ever.
His own free will; none can come unless the Father                 They sing the song of Moses and the Lamb: Saved
draw him.        And none is worthy to be in the Bridal        by grace in wonderful, sovereign good pleasure, that
feast except he be clothed in the righteousness of             God may be all in all !



 A CLOUD OF  WITNESSES-


                               The Harpist and the King

                                                 by Rev. B. Woudenbevg


                      But the  Spirit of the LORD  departed  from Saul, and an evil  spirit from the
                   L ORD troubled him.
                      And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from the LORD
                   tvoubleth thee.
                      Let  OUT  lord now command thy servants, which  aye  before thee, to seek out
                   a man, who is a cunning player  on an havp: and it shall come to pass, when the
                   evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt
                   be well.                                                          I Samuel 16:14-l  6

    At first it may almost have provided Saul with a           Samuel had not been the best the last couple of years.
sense of relief to see Samuel go away from him at              That old man had become quite troublesome. Again
Gilgal.      Not as though, of course, he really wanted        and again he would insist upon probing into all kinds
that.      For many years now, -- in fact, since first he      of things that were none of his business. He would
became king, -- he had looked upon Samuel as one of            come around making great big issues out of little
his most reliable and influential supporters. After            things that really couldn't be very important. He was
all, Samuel was the first one who had really recog-            always placing him, the king, on the defensive and
nized his royal potentials, and it had been Samuel who         forcing him to make up all kinds of excuses for things
had done more than anyone else to set him upon the             of which a king shouldn't really have to feel ashamed.
throne.      And he knew, even as the people knew, that        Samuel had become a nuisance, to say the least; and it
Samuel stood in a relationship to the God of Israel            may well have been with a certain sense of relief, a
such as no one else shared. Without personal ambi-             frustrated anger, and a few muttered curses, that Saul
tion for himself, Samuel was the kind of friend'for a          watched that gray head bob along into the distance. If
king to have; and Saul would have done almost anything         the old man wanted to act that way, he would show that
he could to have saved the favor of that old man.              he was perfectly capable of getting along without him.
Nevertheless, the fact was that his relationships with            And when it came down to it, there was no apparent


494                                             XHESTANDARDBEzd.RER

reason why he, Saul, should feel any need for Samuel.           really in a moment, at the pronouncement of a prophet
It could be understood that when he had first become            of God, was the king that Israel through the years had
king he had needed a man like Samuel upon  whom.he              come to know and love. Naive he had been at times,
could lean if need be. It had always proved worthwhile          but they had liked him just the same; proud he had been
in those days to call in Samuel for consultation when-          to an extreme, but that was expected of a king;  self-
ever the problems had become too great. And it had              willed and foolish had been his orders at times, but
always helped too, if for no other reason than that             what did that matter when he could laugh and smile
Samuel always respected his right to the throne,                and make them glad? But now that was gone; it was
more so perhaps than anyone else.              But that was     different. They had told themselves it was temporary
quite a few years ago now, and through those years              and soon would pass by. The servants pretended they
he, Saul had grown and developed in his own right.              didn't notice; but their eyes betrayed their concern,
He- had learned to carry himself about with a kingly            and then their sadness, and finally their fear; and
bearing, and he had proved himself before the people            Saul knew that they knew even though he tried to
with all of the great victories which he had won against        ignore it. He too tried to pretend there was nothing
enemies on every side. He knew how to give orders               and tried to shake it off, especially when someone
and the people obeyed them. The reins of the kingdom            else was near; but the effort was too great and it
were firmly in his hands; why should he worry? If               never really left him, so that he finally just gave in.
Samuel wanted to be that way, let him be that way. If           His nerves became frayed, his temper short, and
Samuel thought that he could bother him by throwing             laughter disappeared from the palace while the busi-
around all kinds of wild threats and predictions which          ness of the kingdom ground to a halt. His eyes
he didn't really know anything about, let him go. What          seemed to withdraw into their sockets to become
did he care.       He would prove to Samuel, the people,        dark, shifty, and obscure so that fewer and fewer
and everyone that he was king in Israel and could do            even tried to look him in the face. A cloud seemed to
anything he wanted.                                             have settled over the palace, and all of the land was
       And so it was that Saul returned to his victory          darkened.
celebration at  Gilgal.     Agag was now dead so he could          At long last one of the servants approached to
not parade him about the way he had planned. But that           dare to say to the king what the servants had been
wasn't so bad.        After his meeting with Samuel such        saying among themselves for some time.          He said,
pomp no longer appealed anyway. But the cattle were             "Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
still there.      They would have their sacrifices and          Let our lord now command thy servants, which are
their feast regardless of what Samuel had said. For             before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning
the rest of the day, Saul threw all that he had into the        player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the
merriment of a great victory celebration, trying with           evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play
all that was in him just to forget about Samuel; and            with his hand, and thou shalt be well." Here was a
for a time it seemed that he succeeded  - almost. But           dangerous thing to say with its deep insinuation. A
underneath, that feeling was there, that hollow empti-          few months before it might only have been spoken at
ness, that gnawing pain at the pit of the stomach, that         the danger of the servant's life. But now the resistance
strange uneasiness. It wouldn't go away.                        was gone.    Saul knew that what the servant said was
   But the celebration wasn't the worst. It was when            true.
he went home that night and tried to sleep. Then it                It was that which had never ceased to haunt him
came back to him-that voice of Samuel, louder and               from the time that Samuel left him at  Gilgal, those
louder and louder still until it shouted and screamed           words, "Thou hast rejected the word of the LORD,
through his' head, and hour upon hour he tossed,                and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over
searching for an answer he could give to drive it away,         Israel. . . The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel
or dozing in nightmarish frenzy as he dreamed of                from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of
himself trying to hide from that voice. Only the break-         thine, that is better than thou.    And also the Strength
ing of dawn finally brought some relief.                        of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man,
       And yet, was it really relief?      True, the awful      that he should repent."
fantasies of the night were gone, perhaps never to                 Actually Saul could not understand why those words
return in so emphatic a form again; but the uneasiness,         of Samuel should bother him so much.         Samuel had
the trouble was still there. The morning was differ-            often come to him, particularly in the early days of
ent too, and the day.         Saul found himself unable to      the kingdom, and had talked to him at length about
return to normal activities and work. He tried; but             Jehovah, the God of Israel, who He was and why He
he. couldn't work. He sought diversions as only .a king         should be worshipped; but most of it Saul had ignored
can do, but they didn't help. He called friends to talk         almost completely. He had taken note of those actions
to him, only to send them- away again, or to sit staring        which were to be required of him, and for the rest
past them in stony silence, not hearing a -word that            had let it slip by. Nevertheless, through it all, there
they said.. Hour after hour he sat. thinking, morose,           was one thing that Saul had felt to be important, and
and angry, and sad.                                             that was the fact that he had received his appointment
       And it wasn't just hours -either. Soon they stretched    as king from Samuel under the authority  .of Jehovah.
out into days, and the days into  weeks;and the weeks           Saul did not know a great deal about this God of Israel,
into months, and nothing would bring any relief. Gone,          and he had -no great desire to know much either, but


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  495

he did recognize the fact that in this God there was         young lad, overawed by the splendor of the court, it
some strange  an-d supernatural power. And now that          seemed that the deep, dark eyes of the king were almost
power was turned against him. It was that conscious-         indifferent to his presence, for the sad look of the
ness which he could not seem to shake; it was from           king's face varied not at all. Little did he realize
underneath that cloud that he could not seem to draw.        that those eyes were set intently on his every move.
Not, of course, that he was in any sense repentant for       Yet it was not David's features as such with which
anything he had done. That wasn't the point. It just         the king was concerned; it was more his general
seemed to make his whole life so much more difficult,        bearing and attitude, his innocence, his vitality, his
and he really didn't even know what he could do to           unassuming c o nf i d e n c e, his gracious bearing and
counteract it, although counteract it he surely must.        strength. These were the things which Saul had always
   For that reason the suggestion of the servants            wanted for himself, the things which he had expected
even struck him with  a  bit of welcome. He had heard        to come to him with the kingship; but instead it seemed
before that there was a certain spiritual power to           that they were receding farther and farther away.
music, and maybe it was worth a try. Maybe some
music would be able to counteract at least the de-              It was, however, when this young man took up his
pressive power of that curse which Samuel had placed         harp and began to play that the king was most affected.
upon him.                                                    There was a light, care-free, joyful air about the
   At his word, the preparations were soon in the            youth which seemed to unite him naturally with the
making.      The servants themselves already had in          instrument and radiated out from him upon the sound
mind a young man who had in his own locality become          of the music. From the lad it seemed that a buoyant
somewhat renowned for his abilities upon the harp.           spirit of  t&earful joy lilted forth to surround the king
Soon he was summoned; and there was no delay, for            completely and to catch him up into its grasp. For
the request of the king was an order to be obeyed            the first time since Samuel had left him, Saul found
without question, particularly for a man like Jesse.         himself capable of forgetting that fearful curse that
The presence of his son David was requested at the           had been pronounced  `upon him; and he could assume
court, and accordingly he sent him with a rich gift of       once again that in the end all was sure to turn again
bread and wine and meat.                                     toward his favor.     For a few days he kept the lad
   It must surely have been a strange meeting: the           there in the palace to play for him, and then he dis-
tall, dark, overbearing and somber king with the young       missed him.     By the sound of his music it appeared
David, hardly any more a boy and yet not a man,              that that spirit of foreboding evil had been driven from
fresh from the invigorating duties of the field. To the      him, and he was cured.




CONTENDING FOR THE  FAITH-



                          The Providence of God
                                        Preservation

                                                by Rev. H. Veldman

   We have already remarked that the doctrine of the         government emphasizes this preservation of the Lord
providence of God is generally treated from the aspects      from the viewpoint of its purpose and goal. But, we do
of three elements which constitute the Lord's provi-         well to distinguish between preservation and creation.
dential control of all things: preservation, cooperation,    Of course, we realize that God's act of creating and
and government.      We now plan to call attention to        His work of preservation both refer to the almighty
these-three elements in particular.                          and omnipresent power of the Lord. This lies in the
    Calling attention to the element of preservation, we     very nature of the case; The almighty power of the
do well to distinguish between creation and preserva-        Lord is  e.qually involved in both. The one is no less
tion.    Fundamentally, of course, the providence of God     a phase of His almighty power than the other. However,
is preservation.    Cooperation is but another aspect of     we must not identify: them. The confessions certainly
this preservation of God, from the aspect of the Lord's      do not  identify,them.  We read in Lord's Day 9 and 10,
preservation of all His moral-rational creatures. And        and we quote: "That the eternal -Father of our Lord


                                              THESTANDARDBEARER

Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth,          their meat from God. . .  .There go the ships: there is
with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and           that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.
governs the same by His eternal counsel and provi-           These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them
dence). . . .  ." And, in answer to Question 27, "What       their meat in due season. That thou givest them they
dost thou mean by the providence of God?" we read:           gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with
"The almighty and everywhere present power of God;           good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou
whereby, as it were by His hand, He upholds and governs      takest away their breath, they die, and return to their
heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and          dust." And in Ps.  148:7-13: "Praise the Lord from
grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat     the earth, ye dragons, and all deeps: Fire, and hail;
and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty,          snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word:
yea, and all things come, not by chance, but by His          Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars;
fatherly hand." And in Article 13 of our Belgic Con-         Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl:
fession we read: "We believe that the same God, after        Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all
He had created all things, did not forsake them, or          judges of the earth: Both young men, and maidens; old
give them up to fortune or chance, but that He rules         men, and children: Let them praise the name of the
and governs them according to His holy will, so that         Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is
nothing happens in the world without His appointment         above the earth and heaven."
. . . . . . . " Also the Word of God distinguishes very          We must not confuse preservation with creation.
clearly between creation and preservation.         As we     Although it is true that the preservation of the world
have noted in our articles on the doctrine of creation,      is as much due to the immediate power of God as its
creation is that mighty work of God whereby He called        creation, this does not necessarily prove that preser-
into being the things that are not as if they were as by     vation is creation. That preservation is nothing else
an act of His omnipotent will. But the continued exis-       than a continuous creation, that God is creating the
tence of all things is not ascribed in Scripture to a        universe anew each moment, is a conception against
creative work of God, but to His preservation of all the     which very serious objections can be lodged. These
things He has created. The Word of God abounds in            objections are set forth by Hodge in his "Systematic
these passages. Generally speaking, we read in Heb.          Theology' ' , Vol. I, 579-580.     First, the doctrine of a
1:3: "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the         continuous creation of the world and all its-creatures
express image of his person, and upholding all things        destroys all continuity of existence. If God creates
by the word of his power, when he had by himself             any given thing every moment "out of nothing," then
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the           it ceases to be the same thing. This would be  self-
Majesty on high."        And in Colossians  1:16-17 we       evident.       It may be wholly similar to what had existed
read: "For by him were all things created, that are in       before, but it is surely something new, and therefore
heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,        not the same thing. It is as much disconnected from
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principali-        what had existed before as the world which had been
ties, or powers: all things were created by him, and         created originally by God according to Genesis 1. This
for him: And he is before all things, and by him all         simply must mean that the unbroken continuity of all
things consist." And in Nehemiah  9:6 we read this:          things, as created by the Lord at the beginning of time,
"Thou, even thou, are Lord alone; thou hast made             is broken.
heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the          Secondly, according to the doctrine of a continuous
earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and        creation, there is no existing or external world. Mind
all that is therein, and thou preservest them all, and       you, preservation is continuous creation. This means
the host of heaven worshippeth thee." Besides, how           that in preservation God is creating the world every
beautifully this doctrine of the Lord's preservation of      moment anew.          We never really have any real, ob-
all things is set before us in Psalms 104 and 148. In        jective existence.       Every moment what is is being
Ps. 104 we read: "Thou hast set a bound that they            replaced by something else.          As stated above, this
may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover         ` `something else" may be exactly the same as what
the earth.     He sendeth the springs into the valleys,      had existed before, but it is certainly something else.
which run among the hills. They give drink to every          We can, therefore, never lay our hands upon anything
beast of the field: the wild asses quench their thirst.      real.        This means that idealism is the real thing.
By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their             Idealism transfers the world of reality from the ob-
habitation, which sing among the branches. He  water-        jective, material world of existence around us to a
eth the hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied      state of mind. If preservation be continuous creation,
with the fruit of thy works. He causeth the grass to         then we are continually dealing with a material world
grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man:        which is constantly being replaced by something else,
that he may bring food out of the earth; And wine that       and which, therefore, is being constantly destroyed,
maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face       Hence, an objective world never really exists.
to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart. . .         Thirdly, the doctrine of a continuous creation cer-
. . .He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth      tainly destroys the reality of sin and man's respon-
his going down.       Thou makest darkness, and it is        sibility.      Calvin speaks of first and second causes.
night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep         God is the first cause and His moral-rational creamres
forth.    The young lions roar after their prey, and seek    are second causes.          This, of course, must not be


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 497

explained dualistically, as if we must conceive of two       "luck." And we should be careful  neverto include this
independent powers operating in the universe. There is       word "luck" in our vocabulary. The Bible speaks of
only one power operating in the universe. This is cer-       the hairs of our head as all being `numbered, that we
tainly held before us in the doxology of the Lord's          cannot make one hair white or black, that not a sparrow
Prayer: "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and        falls off the housetop without the will of our heavenly
the glory, even forever." But when we speak of second        Father, and that He gives to every lily of the field its
causes, we mean that man is a moral-rational agent.          beauty and bestows upon it a glory that Solomon never
God is not the Creator of sin.      He made man good in      knew.     Indeed, there is no truth of which we are surer
His own image, and He made all things good. The              and which we live and practice as little as this truth of
whole world is corrupt because of the sin of Adam.           the Lord's continuous preservation. We say that it was
The children of men constitute a human race, and of          providential of God when we missed a train or plane
this human race Adam was the head. Because of the            that subsequently suffers disaster, and we often fail to
sin of Adam all mankind is under condemnation and            understand that it would have been just as providential
all men are born dead in sins and in trespasses. How-        had we boarded that particular train or plane which would
ever, if preservation be continuous creation, then this      have resulted in our death. And these examples can be
organical unity is destroyed. Then the sin of Adam           multiplied. However, the confessions and the infallible
cannot possibly affect us. This mustleadto two things.       Scriptures ascribe all things to God's providence, and
On the one hand, God then becomes the Creator of evil.       this includes adversity as well as prosperity, sickness
Then all the evil in this world, being disassociated         as well as health, death as well as life, the "bad and
and divorced from Adam, owes its existence to the            evil" as well as the "good."          Nothing happens by
creative intervention of the Lord. Sin, then, does not       chance, but all things occur according to and by the
develop organically from Adam, but is the product of         Lord's constantly providential care over all things.
God's constant and continuous creation. And, on the          This is what we mean when we speak of God's provi-
other hand, every man becomes individualistic. Every         dence from the viewpoint of preservation. In subse-
man stands on his own. All men, then, are sinners,           quent articles we will call attention, the Lord willing,
not because of the sin of Adam, but because they are         to this providence of the Lord as consisting of govern-
created sinful. And every man is individualistic. And        ment and cooperation.       The former refers to God's
this is Pelagianism, which denied original guilt and         control over all things as the Lord guides all things to
pollution.      Pelagianism, and also Arminianism, sets      His own determinate end, and the latter refers to all
forth the heresy that all men are conceived and born         the acts of His moral-rational creatures as always
inherently good; all men have the will to do good; they      under the direct control of the living God.
do not perform evil because they are evil, but become
evil because they choose this corruption. And all this
is directly in contradiction with the Word of God. The
Scriptures speak of the creative work of God as taking                      RESOL UTION OF SYMPATHY
place at the beginning of time, and it also speaks of        The Ladies Society of the South Holland Protestant
this creative work of the Lord in connection with the        Reformed Church herewith expresses it heartfelt sym-
rebirth of. the elect sinner and the creation of the new     pathy to Mrs. Peter A. Poortenga, Mrs. Ernest Medema
heavens and the new earth. But it also stresses that         and Mrs. Don Haak, in the passing of their loving
the continued existence of this world is due to God's        father
work of preservation.
   Preservation means that all things owe their con-                               MR. PETER IPEMA
tinued existence to God's omnipotent and omnipresent         May the Lord comfort your hearts with John  11:25
power.        Every creature is sustained continuously in    and 26 a "I am the resurrection and the life: he that
harmony with its own peculiar being and nature. This         believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
applies to all creatures. It also applies to all  moral-     live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
rational creatures, including the evil as well as the        never die".
good, the powers of darkness as well as the kingdom                                  Mrs. Peter Poortenga, Jr., Sec'y.
of our God, in Jesus Christ our Lord. This element
of the providence of God is known as cooperation. We
will not discuss this element of God's providence in
this article, inasmuch as we expect to call attention in                    EXPRESSION OF SYMPATHY
greater detail later to the doctrine of God's providence     The Men's Society of the Oak Lawn Protestant Re-
in its relation to sin. We now merely wish to observe,       formed Church expresses its sympathy to the Ipema
in a general sense, that preservation is God's continu-      family in the loss of their husband, father and grand-
ously sustaining power as it causes all creation to          father
continue to exist. Every creature is sustained by God
according to its nature, the tree as tree, the animal as                           MR. PETER IPEMA
animal, the plant as plant, etc. TheLord never violates      who was called to his eternal home of August 10, 1966.
or annuls the nature of any particular creature. This        "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
is certainly emphasized throughout in the Word of God.       Philippians 1: 21.
Nothing happens by chance. There is no such thing as                                           Robert Haak, Secretary


498                                              THESTANDARDBEARER


       P I C T O R I A L   NEWS-
                                  These three pictures tell a tragic story,  - tragic to
                              our little congregation- in Forbes, N.D.! View No. 1
                              pictures the front of their church, minus the steeple,
                             after being hit by a tornado on a hot Sunday evening
                              in July. View No. 2 is of the rear of the building,
                              clearly showing the uncovered foundation and indicat-
                              ing how far the building had been moved by the twister.
                              View No. 3 shows the once proud steeple now tumbled
                              down in ruins. This sad affair probably increases the
                              need for collections in our churches as granted by
                              the June Synod before the tornado.
                                                                                 J.M.F.





                                                         3


                Be ye reconciled to God!
                That is God's own prayer! 0, marvellous grace!
                And, what is more, it is by His own grace that His own prayer is'heard, and that the
             sinner turns to God the Reconciler. For He causes the word of reconciliation to become
             a mighty power within us, a fire in our bones, so that we repent of sin in dust and ashes,
             and seek reconciliation with God in the blood of Christ!
                It is all of Him, none of us!
                Let him that glorieth, glory in the Lord!
                                                      - -   H .   Hoeksema; "The Wonder of Grace," p. 33


                                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                           499

       BOOK  REVIEWS-                                      is for ministers. But even then, it is        not quite so brief. It is recommended
                                                          not intended to give a statement of the        as an aid to anyone beginning his stud-
                                                          views of the theologians listed above;         ies of contemporary.theology.
       A HANDBOOK OF CONTEMPORARY                          it is only to guide one in the use of                                  Prof. H. Hanko
       THEOLOGY, by Bernard Ramm; Wm.                     terms which appear frequently in the
       B. Eerdmans Publishing Company;                    writings of these men. When a minis-
       1966; 141 pp.; $1.95 (paper).                      ter begins his reading of these con-           THE O-THER  SIDE OF THE COIN, by
                                                          temporary theologians, this book will          Juan Isaias; Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub-
          The author of this book is Profes-              be of assistance towards understand-           lishing Co., 1966; 104 pp., $1.25,
       sor of Christian Theology at the Cali-              ing the various concepts these men            (paper).
       fornia Baptist Seminary. The purpose                use until he has penetrated far enough
       of the book is defined in the Preface:              into their writings to understand them           Written in story form this book tells
       "The purpose -of this handbook is to                himself.         The book is therefore no     of the problems which missionaries
       provide the minister with a ready                   substitute for a study of the works of        face in bringing the gospel to the people
       guide to the leading concepts of the                these theologians.                            of South America. It is particularly
       major contemporary thinkers in the-                                                               concerned with the problems of com-
       ology.    The center of attention' is                   Although the author does not enter        munication between missionaries from
       focused upon Kierkegaard, Barth,                   into a critical discussion of modern           the states and the local pastors in the
       Brunner, Reinhold Niebuhr, Tillich,                theologians and their teachings, it be-        efforts to establish a national church.
       and  Bultmann. Although Kierkegaard                comes apparent that every aberration              As a story the book is not too well
       lived in the nineteenth century, his               from the truth involves a negation of          written. But inasmuch as it discusses
       thought did not catch fire until the               the truth of the infallible Scriptures;        these problems, it is of considerable
       twentieth. . . .The standard for choos-             and, even this brief book demonstrates        help in understanding the difficulties
       ing the particular list of terms here              vividly how these theologians are adept        of the work. While it is impossible to
       given has been the desire to provide a             at using Scriptural and Reformed ter-          agree with all the book contains, any
       handy reference work for the minister              minologywhile taking out of these, terms       of our people who are interested in
       who is interested in contemporary the-             all their Scriptural meaning and putting       the work of missions will find many
       ology but who either does not have                 into these terms their own unscriptural        valuable points made.      Even for the
       the time or the background to under-               ideas.                                         work in Jamaica the book can be of
       stand all the terms used."                                                                        some assistance.
         As the preface suggests, this book                    One could wish that the book was                                   Prof. H. Hanko



                              IN MEMORUM                                                                  N O T I C E
       on July 28, 1966 it pleased our heavenly Father to take                      Annual Meeting of the Reformed Free Publishing
       from us our beloved husband, father and  ,grandfather,                       Association will be held Thursday, September  29th,
                            PETER OFFRINGA                                          in the Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church at
                                                                                    8:00 p.m. Rev. G. Van  Baren  will be the speaker.
       at the age of 74 years.                                                                                            G. Bouwkamp, Sec'y
           Blessed are the. dead which die in the Lord.
                                  Mrs. Peter Offringa
                                  Mr. and Mrs. William Offringa
                                  Mr. and Mrs. James H, Offringa
                                  Mr. and Mrs. Albert Offringa
                                  Mr. and Mrs. Elwin Landstra                                       WEDDING AiVNl-VERSAkY
                                         1 3   g r a n d c h i l d r e n
       Grand Rapids, Michigan                                                       On Wednesday, September 28, 1966, our dear parents
                                                                                          John Theo Meninga and Tillie (Vos) Meninga
                         WEDDING ANNIVERSXRY                                        hope to celebrate their sixtieth wedding anniversary.
       On August 20, 1966, our parents                                                  Thanks be to God for His goodness and grace  ?$---
                        REV. and MRS. JOHN A. HEYS                                   sustaining and blessing them in their sixty  yea&
                                                                                     together, and may he continue to bless them and us
       observed their 25th wedding anniversary, and hope,                            "in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the
       the Lord willing, to have finished twenty five years in                      days of our life". (Luke  1:75).
       the service of the ministry of God's Word in October                                                 Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Spencer
       of this year.                                                                                        Mrs. Selma Kuiper
           We, their grateful children, are thankful to our                                                 Mr. and Mrs. John Meninga, Jr.
:: covenant God for sparing them for us and for our                                                         Mrs. Jeanette Baker
. .    churches and wish them God's grace and blessings                                                   Mr. and Mrs. Otto Meninga
       in rich abundance.                                                                                   Mr. and Mrs. Richard Baker
           "In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of                                                Mr. and Mrs. George Brown
       my strength, and my refuge is in God". Psalm  62:7                                                   Mr. and Mrs. Thos.  McNamara
                                        Ardess F., John W.; Joyce  A.               Kalamazoo, Michigan.


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER





                                      NEWS FROM OUR  CHURCHES-

                                         September 1, 1966
   Rev. H. Veldman, of Hope Church in Grand Rapids,           write that they miss society and church life in their
has accepted the call to "come over and help  US"             new vocation.       They, like all our servicemen, also
tendered him by our Hudsonville Church. He plans to           confess that they would appreciate letters from the
take up his new charge within the month.                      members of their congregation.
   Rev. G. Lubbers, of the Southwest Church in Grand                                         *  * *  *
Rapids, has declined the call which he had received               Rev. G. Van  Baren,  pastor of First  Churchin Grand
from our Edgerton, Minnesota Church.
                          * * * *                             Rapids, has begun his annual Family Visitation with
                                                              vigor.    The first week he scheduled almost forty calls
   Contribution from our Young People over the signa-         in five afternoons and evenings.               This year he will
ture of Mr. Charles Westra, president of the Host             officially visit the half of his congregation not included
Society of this year's  convention:--                         in last year's schedule.
   The 1966 Convention of the Protestant Reformed
Young People's Federation was held at Southeast Church                                       * * * *
from August 19 thru the 22nd. The theme, "Faith"                  We lifted the following paragraph from Southeast's
and the various sub-titles: "Seeds of Faith," "Growth         bulletin for general interest in our churches: -- The
of Faith," and "Fruits of Faith" were developed and           song, "Perfect Peace", written by the late James
explored by a series of dedicated ministers and lay           Jonker, has finally come off the press. If you are
leaders in lectures, discussion groups, a debate, and         interested in obtaining a copy of this sheet music
one film presentation.                                        please contact Mrs. H. C. Hoeksema, 1842 Plymouth
   Several innovations marked this year's convention;         Terrace, S.E., Grand Rapids,  Mich.                The price is
it was held over a week-end, the discussions of the first     fifty cents, and the family has stipulated that the
day were used to acquaint the convention with the topic       proceeds will go to the Protestant Reformed Scholar-
and thereby make the mass meeting more meaningful,            ship Fund.
and one  .major address was worked into the outing                                           * * *  *
schedule. `Also the events were scheduled so that each           The latest publication (pamphlet) of "The Reformed
complimented those scheduled adjacent to it, e.g., the        Witness" is a dissertation by Rev. B. Woudenberg, of
recreation events were placed to allow "letting off           Lynden, Wash., on, "The Totality of Sin." Those on
steam," thereby preventing restlessness during the            their mailing list who carefully read this pamphlet
more serious meetings.                                        will surely be pleased to note that there still are
   Some one hundred sixty delegates and visitors reg-         ministers who dare to preach the truth of the totality
istered the first evening, and the number swelled to          of sin as it has overcome all men.                 This sin, this
over two hundred twenty-five by the time of the ban-          division between God and Man, wrote Rev. Woudenberg,
quet which marked the end of the event.                       "all began in Paradise, or even before that, in heaven
   The theme was developed with dedication and skill          when Satan and his cohorts aspired to take over the
by each speaker; the applications to everyday life were       throne of God.      From there it spread to the earth into
vivid and challenging; the tone of the convention was         Eve first, and then to Adam until they too were instilled
that of enthusiasm, and the attendance at meetings            with the ambition to be `as gods', to take the right and
indicated that the conventioneers were vitally inter-         authority of the Most High as their own. And this
ested. Next year -- on to Hull!                               spread has continued, It has permeated the whole
                          * * * *                             human race, each individual and the thrones of nations
   News from our own schools is meager at this                . . . . " Do you  agree?
writing except that Mr. Franklin Block has accepted                                          *  *  *  *
the post of Principal at Adams; Miss  Hulda  Kuiper              First Church of Grand Rapids, has announced a
has chosen to leave Oak Lawn to fill a position in            special congregational meeting to call a Missionary
Loveland; and Miss Hilda Meelker of Redlands, has             from a trio which include, the Revs. R . C. Harbach,
signed a contract to teach at Adams.                          J. A. Heys and M.  Schipper.                 Besides that item of
                          *  * * *                            business, approval will also be sought on several pro-
   Hudsonville's consistory has been forced to make a         posals dealing with improvements on their property
change in scheduling their collections. The request           and use of their Mission Endeavor Fund.
for special collections has exceeded the dates available                                     * * * *
for them, so it was decided to leave the evening  col-           A wovd of Aguv the son of Jakeh to ponder: "Surely
lections available for the "specials" while the morning       the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the
offerings will be for the General Fund.                       wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood; so the
                          * * * *                             forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife."
   Doon's  servicemen, Marvin Mantel and Jay Stellinga,           . . .see you in church.                               J.M.F.


                                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                  501




                          Index To The Standard Bearer, Vol. 42

                                                                   Author         Page
Genesis  25:29-34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.                          26                           SUBJECT INDEX                Authov Page
Genesis  32:lO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                          98                                     A
Exodus 17:15, 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                           170    Added Reason For Alarm . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.                415
Numbers  13:26-14:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                            194    Agnosticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R.C.H.          37
Numbers  14:6-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                          218     All Diligence in Observing . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.              173
Deuteronomy 33:27a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                               5    A Needed Reprimand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.             178
I Samuel 6:10-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                             42    Anointed, The Lord's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.            449
I Samuel 7:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                            63    Annual Financial Report . . . . . . . . . . . . .D.K.             71
I Samuel 8:4, 5, 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                             80    Annual Secretary's Report To The
I Samuel 9:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                           133      R.F.P.A.      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .G.B.     71
I Samuel 10:9, 10, 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                             154    Ark's Return From Philistia, The . . . . . B.W.                   42
I Samuel 10:20, 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W,                            180    Arminianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R .C .H.         109
I Samuel  11:4, 6, 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                          228     Arminianism, Support For . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.               331
I Samuel 13:19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                           273     Assurance of Covenant Membership. . .G.V.D.B.                    261
I Samuel 14:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                          296     Astrology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R.C.H.         84
I Samuel 14:24, 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                            322    Atonement and Mission Preaching,
I Samuel 15:10, 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                            396      Particular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C .H.      189
I Samuel 15:22, 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                           418     Atonement and Missions, Particular . . . . .C.H.                 156
I Samuel 16:l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                          449     Atonement and Missions, Vicarious. . . . . .C.H.                 234
I Samuel 16:14-16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.                           493     Atonement, Dr. Daane on Limited . . . . . H.C .H.                 29
I Kings  19:4b, 12, 14,  15a . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.                          386    Atonement: Limited or General?
Psalm  23:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.                      266       The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.            77
Psalm          . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .J.K.                   458    Atonement: Limited or General?
Psalm  103:ll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.                         338      The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           100
Isaiah 9:6b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                        122    Atonement: Limited or General?
Matthew  lo:34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                         122      The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           125
Luke 23:27-31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                         242     Atonement: Limited or General?
John lO:l-39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                         325       The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           149
John lO:l-39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                         400     Atonement: Limited or General?
John 10:7-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                          370      The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           174
John lO:ll-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                           371    Atonement: Limited or General?
John 10:17-21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                          447       The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           224
John 10:                                                           G.C.L.         474     Atonement: Limited or General?
John  14:2, 3 .  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  : . . J.K.     362      The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           246
John 20:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.                       290     Atonement: Limited or General?
Acts  6:7-7:60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.L.C.                           33      The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           270
Acts  6:7-7:60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                         205     Atonement: Limited or General?
Acts  6:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                         65      The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           293
Acts7:l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                          65    Atonement: Limited or General?
Acts 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                      104      The Nature of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           343
Acts 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                        135    Atonement: Limited or General?,
Acts 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                        182      The Nature of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           464
Acts  27~23,  24a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                         50    Atonement: Limited or General?
Romans  12:1, 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                            16      The Nature of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           488
Galatians 6:1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                          232     Attack Upon The Very Foundation, An . . H.C.H.                    54
Galatians 6:1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                          271                                      B
Galatians 6:1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.                          306     Baha'ism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R .C .H.      158
Philippians  1:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.                       482     Banner Misses The Point, The . . . . . . . H.C.H.                 53
Philippians 4:11-b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.                         434     Barth's Doctrine of Scripture . . . . . . . . .D.E .              90
Hebrews  11:24-26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.                          314     Barth's Doctrine of Scripture . . . . . . . . .D.E.              151
Hebrews  12:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                           74    Barth's Doctrine of Scripture . . . . . . . . .D.E.              187
I Peter  4:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.                   410     Barth's Doctrine of Scripture . . . . . . . . .D.E.              252
II Peter 2:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C.H.                        284     Barth's Doctrine of Scripture . . . . . . . . .D.E.              282
II Peter  3:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                      146     Barth's Doctrine of Scripture . . . . . . . . .D.E.              347


502                                                           THESTANDARDBEARER

Barth's- Doctrine of Scripture . . . . . . . . .D.E  D                  404        "The Epistles of John", by Tyndale . H.C.H.                95
Barth's Doctrine of Scripture . . . . . . . D.J.E.                      453        "The Epistle To The  Remans", by
Barth, Significant Doctrines in the                                                  J. Murray . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . H.C.H.      354
     .Theology of Karl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .D.E;            10        "The Kingdom Of The Cults", by
-Barth,  Significant Doctrines in the                                                W. Martin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.       263
          Theology of Karl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D.E.           57        "The Lord Protector", by R. Paul  e . .  .H.H.            167
Belgic Confession, Article 13 . . . . . . . H.C.H.                       22        "The Morning Star", by G. Parker. . . lH.H.               335
Birthright Despiser, The. . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.                     26        "The Mysterious Numbers Of The
Bob Jones' Bed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C .H.                316          Hebrew Kings", by  E. Thiele . . . . H.C.H.             354
Book Reviews --                                                                    "The Other Side of the Coin", by
           "A Bible Inerrancy Primer", by                                            Juan Isaias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.     499
             J. Gerstner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.        95        "The Pelican History Of The Church",
     I     "Adventures  .Of A Deserter", by J.                                       by 0. Chadwick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.         44
             Overduin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S .        239        "The Quest For Serenity", by
           "A History of Christian Missions", by,                                    G. Morling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .H.H.     191
             S. Neil1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .H.H.     95        "The Register Of The Company Of
           "Basic Introduction To The New                                            Pastors .Of Geneva In The Time Of
             Testament", . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.            95          Calvin", by P. Hughes . . . . . . . . . .H.H.           407
           "Bible Study Course On The Book                                         "The Resurrection of Jesus", by J.  0rrH.V.               167
             Of Ephesians", by J. Schaal . . . . . . . .H.H.            407        "The Ten Commandments", by
           "By What Authority", by  B. Shelley  ., . .H.V.              191          R. Wallace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.      383
           "Christian Counseling And Occultism",                                   "The Theology Of Augustine", by
             by Dr. K. Koch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.           215          Dr. A. Polman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.       407
           "Commentary On The Epistle To                                           "Uitverkiezen En Uitverkiezing In Het
             The Hebrews", by F. Bruce . . . . . H.C.H.                 311          Nieuwe Testament", by H. Venema .  .H.V.                 47
           "De Verborgenheid der Godzaligheid"                                 Buchrnanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R .C .H.    178
             by Ds. E.  Vanden  Born . . . . . . . . . .H.V.             24                                    C
           "Faith On Trial", by D. Jones . . . . H.C.H.                 167    Calling In The Preaching, The Divine . . . .C.H.              440
           "God Is Dead", by K. Hamilton . . . . . .H.H.                455    Calling In The Preaching, The Efficacious  .C.H.              491
           "God Is Not Dead", by G. Girod . . . . .H.H.                 455    Calling, The Efficacious . . . . .  : . . . . . .  .C.H.      374
           "Handbook of Contemporary                                           Calm In The Storm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .M.S.         50
             Theology", by Bernard Ramm . . . .  .H.H.                  499    Catechetical Instruction, Toward Better. H.C.H.               486
           "Inasmuch, Christian Social Respon-                                 Christadelphianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R.C.H.         203
             sibility In 20th Century America",                                Christian Reformed Synod, The . . . . . . . .H.H.             442
             by D.  Moberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .H.V.       406    Church and State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.       21
           "Listening To God On Calvary", by                                   Constitution on the Church, The . . . . . . G.V.B.            117
             G. Gritter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  ;H.H.      431    Constitution on the Church, The . . . . . . G.V.B.            139
           "Luther's Grote Catechismus", by                                    Constitution of the Church, The . . . . . . G.V.B.            207
             Prof. P. Boendermaker . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.            191    Church, The Institute of the . . . . . . . . . .  .H.H.       251
           "Man In The Occurring Of God's                                      Communion Prayer, The . . . . . . . . . .G.V.O.B.             304
             Revelation", by Ds. M. Van Dyk . . . .H.V.                 383    Creation -- Days or Periods? The
           "Miracles: Yesterday and. Today, True                                . Doctrine of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.      230
             and False", by B.  Warfield . . . . . . .H.H.              431    Creation -- Days or Periods? The
           "Missionary Principles", by R. Allen. .H.H.                  407      Doctrine of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.     248
           "Open Letter To  Evangelicals",  by                                 Creation -- Days or Periods? The
             Dr. R. White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.           39      Doctrine of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.     298
           "Papal Infallibility", by J. Rowe11 . . .  .H.H.             239    Creation, The Doctrine of . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.          31
           "Philippenzen en Philemon'!, by                                     Creation, The Doctrine of . . . . . . . . . . .  .H.V.        211
             Dr. H. Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.      191    Creation, The Doctrine of . . . . . . . . . . .  .H.V.        162
           "Principles Of Conduct", J. Murray. H.C.H.                   311    Creation, The Doctrine of Calvin-Hodge . .  .H.V.              92
"Principles Of Conduct", J. Murray. H.C.H.                              354    Creation, The Doctrine of  - Hodge . . . . . .  .H.V.         141
,          "Rondom Israel", by Dr.  H; Bergema. .H.V.                    24                                    D
           "Several Sovereign Grace Union                                      Daane on "Limited Atonement", Dr. . . . H.C.H.                 29
             Tracts" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.       335    Decree on the Eastern Churches, The . . G.V.B.                286
           "Spiritual Depressions: Its Causes                                  Dekker Case, Study Committee
             And Cure", by D. Jones . . . . . . . . .H.V.               383      Recommendations in the. . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.            393
           "The  .Anatomy  of Anti-Semitism", by                               Dekker,. Dr. Stob, Synod, the Committee,
             J. Daane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.       215      and Professor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.        413
           "The.Churdh  In The Age Qf                                          Denying The Lord That Bought Them. . . . .C .H.               284
             Revolution", by A. Vidler . . . . .  t .  .H.H.            239    Depravity and Mission Preaching . . . . . . .C.H.              19
           "The Cross In The  New, Testament",-                                Depravity and Mission Preaching . . . . . . .C.H.              61
             by L. Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.         311    Dispensationalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R.C.H.        302


                                                       THESTANDARDBEARER                                                                 503

Divorce, The Word on . . . . . . . . . . . . i  .H.H.            250    Instructing Our Children . . . . . :  : . . . . . . J.K.         458
Dogmatics Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           320    Israel's Rejection of Jehovah . . . . . . . . . B.W.             -80
Doon Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.         293                                     J
Doukhaborism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R.C.H.          255    Jehovah-Nissi, Our Banner . . . . . . . . . ; . .M.S.            170
                                 E                                      Jerusalem's Mourners Rebuked . . . . . ; . .M.S.                 242
Easter, A Fixed Day For. . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.             359    Jonathan's Second Victory . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.           296
Ebenezer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B .W.      63                                     K
Ecclesiastical Censure . . . . . . . . . . . .G.V.D.B.           429    King, The Harpist and the . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.             493
Ecclesiastical Censure . . . . . . . . . . .G.V.D.B.             465                                     L
Ecumenical Meeting in Rome . . . . . . . . . .H.H.               358    Lawlessness, The Growth of . . . . . . . . . .H.H;               467
Ecumenism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.          280    Learning To Be Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.          434
Ecumenism, The Decree on . . . . . . . . . G.V.B.                237    Letter From Moscow, A . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.              164
Editorial Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.      292    Liberated, Trouble Among The. . . . . . . . .H.H.                357
Editorial Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.         2    Lord's Supper, Celebrating The . . . . .G.V.D.B.                 327
Editorial Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.         369    Lord's Supper Form, The . . . . . . . . .G.V.D.B.                 59
Editorial Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.         461    Lord's Supper, The Purpose of the . . .G.V.D.B.                  160
Efficacious Calling, The . . . . . . . . . . . . .C.H.           374    Love, Fervent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.     410
Election, Particular Atonement, and                                                                      M
  Missions, Sovereign . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C.H.            111    Majority Report, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.           194
Examining Ecumenicalism . . . . . . . . . G.V.B .                 45    Man's Animal Ancestry . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.               20
Expecting The New! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.           146    "Mary -- Rabboni" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.       290
                                 F                                      Memoriam, In (Rev. Herman Hoeksema) . .                            3
Faith, The Choice Of . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . J.K.          314    Mercy Without Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.             338
Fast, A Foolish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.         322    Minority Report, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.           218
Fearless Through The Valley . . . . . . . . . J.K.               266    Mission Preaching, And Depravity . . . . . .C.H.
Fervent Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.        410    Mission Preaching and Depravity . . . . . . .C.H.                 it;
First Church, Holland, Michigan. . . . . . J.M.F.                455    Mission Preaching and Efficacious Grace. .C.H.                   320
Forbes' New House of Worship. . . . . . . J.M.F.                  94    Mission Preaching and Particular
Formula of Subscription, Defense of the. . .H.H.                 381      Atonement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C .H.       189
Formula of Subscription Under Attack The.H.H.                    164    Mission Preaching, The `All Men' in . . . . .C.H.                259
Future, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.        331    Missions and Particular Atonement . . . . .C.H.                  234
                                 G                                      Missions and Vicarious Atonement . . . . . .C.H.                 156
Galileo!, Indeed, Remember . . . . . . . . H.C.H.                222    Morality, The New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.          115
God is Dead? . . . . . . . . . ; . . . . . . . . . .H.H.         176                                     N
God Our Refuge, The Eternal . . . . . . . . . .M.S.                5    National Council of Churches Again, The .  .H.H.                 359
God's Government and Sin . . . . . . . . . . H.C .H.              22    Nebuchadnezzar A Child Of God? . . . . . H.C.H.                  127
Gone To Prepare a Place . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.             362    News Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.      251
Grace and Mission Preaching, Efficacious  .C.H.                  320    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                 18
Graham, An Attempted Reformed                                           News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                 48
  Defense of Billy (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.          438    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                 72
Graham, An Attempted Reformed                                           News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                 96
  Defense of Billy (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.          461    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                120
Graham, Criticism of Billy . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.             358    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                168
Graham, Dr. Jerome De Jong's Defense                                    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                144
  of Billy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.       196    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                192
Graham's Methods and Doctrine, Billy. . . .R.H.                  451    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                216
Graham's Ministry of Error, Billy . . . . R.C.H.                 416    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                240
Graham, Speaking of Billy . . . . . . . . . . H.C .H.            319    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                264
Graham's Teachings, Further Critique of H.C.H.                   268    -News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.               288
                                 H                                      News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                312
Handle With Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.          398    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                336
Heart Failure, A Case of. . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.             130    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                359
Heart Failure, A Case of. . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.             184    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                384
Heart Failure, A Case of. . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.             201    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                408
Holiday or Holy Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.           472    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                432
                                  I                                     News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                455
I.C.C.C.     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.V.B.    308    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . .J.M.F.             480
I.C.C.C.     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.V.B.    333    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.                500
I.C.C.C.     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.V.B.    394    News, Pictorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.       498
Inasmuch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; . . . J.A.H.      257    No Smith In Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.    273
Infallibility~of Scripture, Liars Deny. . . . . R.C.H.           470                                     0
In Remembrance of Him . . . . . . . . . ..G..V.D.B.              209    Obscenity Issue, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;  .H.H.          382


504                                                 THESTANDARDBi!$ARER

Once Again -- Christ's Resurrection . . . . .H.H.            177     Self Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .G.V.D.B.          128
On Guard! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.     275     Self -Examination, Preparatory. . . . . .G.V.D.B.                40
O.P.C.-C.R.C. Merger?, An . . . . . . . . H.C.H.             389     Service, Our Reasonable . . . . . . . . . . . G.C.L.             16
"Op De Lange Baan Geschoven" . . . . . H.C.H.                437     Shepherd Of Israel, The Good. . . . . . . . G.C.L.              325
Open Letter To The Reformed Journal                                  Shepherd Of Israel, The Good. . . . . . . . G.C.L.              370
  And Dr. James Daane, An. . . . . . . . . H.C.H.            220     Shepherd Of Israel, The Good. . . . . . . . G.C.L.              400
Opposition To The `Confession of 1967' . . .H.H.             213     Shepherd Of Israel, The Good. . . . . . . . G.C.L.              447
Our Brother's Burden and Our Own . . . G.C.L.                232     Shepherd Of Israel, The Good. . . . . . . . G.C.L.              474
Our Brother's Burden and Our Own . . . G.C.L.                271     South Holland Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.M.F.           479
Our Brother's Burden and Our Own . . . G.C.L.                306     Staff Meeting, Annual . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.          319
                                                                     Statement of Ownership Management
                               P                                       and Circulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.D.        56
Particular Love, Particular Atonement,                               Stephen's Apology Before the Sanhedrin . G.C.L.                  33
   and Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C.H.     86     Stephen's Apology Before the Sanhedrin . G.C.L.                  65
Progress With Blake and Pike . . . . . . . . .H.H.            68     Stephen's Apology Before the Sanhedrin . G.C.L.                 104
Post-Communion, The . . . . . . . . . . .G.V..D.B.           372     Stephen's Apology Before the Sanhedrin . . .G.L.                135
Prayer Issue, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.      382     Stephen's Apology Before the Sanhedrin . G.C.L.                 182
Professor, Our New Seminary . . . . . . . H.C.H.              23     Stephen's Apology Before the Sanhedrin . G.C.L.                 205
Protestant Reformed Education: A                                     Sterile Theology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C .H.        341
   Continuing Calling . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.       245     Still Small Voice, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J.K.         386
Providence of God, The . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.         329     Sword of the Prince of Peace, The . . . . . .M.S.               122
Providence of God According To The                                   Sympathy, Note of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.          320
   Confessions, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; .H.V.      ,355    Synod of 1966, Report of The . . . . . . . . . .H.H.            423
Providence of God (According To The                                                                   T
   Confessions), The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.     402     Tax Exemption for the Churches . . . . . . .H.H.                358
Providence of God, The . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.V.         420     Tensions in `The Teaching' . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.             390
Providence of God, The (Preservation). . . .H.V.             495     Thankfulness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .G.V.D.B.         113
Public School Issue, The . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.       332     Thanks, Note of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.        319
                               Q                                     Theology of Karl Barth, Significant
Quo Vadis, Reformed Journal? . . . . . . . H.C .H.           340       Doctrines in the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D.E.         10
                               R                                     Theology. of Karl Barth, Significant
Rally Reflections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.    137       Doctrines in the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D.E.         57
Rationalistic Biblical Criticism . . . . . . R.C.H.          352     Tranquility in the Valley . . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.          300
Rationalistic Biblical Criticism . . . . . . R.C.H.          379     Trusting In A Human God . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.              376
R.C.A.-P.C.U.S.:  Proposed Merger . . . G.V.B.                45                                      U
Reason For Alarm! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.         365     Union of Evangelicals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.          67
Reformed Church And C.O.C.U. . . . . . . . .H.H.             444     Unitarianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R .C .H.        12
Reformed Journal, An Open Letter to                                  Unity, The Bases of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.        367
  Dr. James Daane and The . . . . . . . . . H.C .H.          220     Unworthy of all God's Blessings . . . . . . . .M.S.              98
Reformed Journal, Quo Vadis? . . . . . . . . H.C.H.          340                                      V
Regeneration in the Preaching of the                                 Vainglorious Man in the Space Age . . . . H.C.H.                151
   Gospel, The Place of . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C.H.      349     Vatican II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.    177
Remembrance of the Lord's Suffering .G.V.D.B.                226     Vatican Council, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.           88
Remembrance, To Bring To . . . . . . . . . .G.V.               8     Vatican Council, The Second-Fourth
Reports of Classis  East and West . . . . . . . S.C.         360       Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G.V.B.      426
Resisting Unto Blood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .M.S.        74     Vatican Council -- Third Session . . . . . . G.V.B.              69
RES Regional Conference . . . . . . . . . . H.C.H.           319     Vatican Council -- Third Session . . . . . . G.V.B.             117
RES Regional Conference, The . . . . . . . G.V.B.            476     Vatican Council -- Third Session . . . . . . G.V.B.             139
RES Regional Conference, The                                         Vatican Council -- Third Session . . . . . . G.V.B.             207
       -- Some Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . G.V.B.        489     Vatican Council -- Third Session . . . . . . G.V.B.             237
Russian Orthodox Church, The . . . . . . . R.C.H.            278     Vatican Council  - Third Session . . . . . . G.V.B.             286
                               S                                                                      W
Saul Selected To Be King. . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.         133     What Happened in 1924? . . . . . . . . . . . . .H.H.            213
Saul's Victory at Jabesh-Gilead . . . . . . . B.W.           228     Wisdom, The Beginning of . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.              13
Saul, The Anointing of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.       154     Wisdom, The Beginning of . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.              35
Saul, The Election of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.       180     Wisdom, The Beginning of . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.              82
Saul, The Rejection of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.       396     Wisdom, .The Beginning of . . . . . . . . . . J.A.H.            106
Saul, The Rejection of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . B.W.       418     Worshipping The Unknown God . . . . . . . J.A.H.
                                                                                                             _      -      ~~        345
Schism in the Church of South India. . . . . .H.H.           358                                           Index by G. Vanden  Berg


